goodbye Rising Star

This video is purely in accompaniment of a post on my India blog. Which, again, won't give me video for free. Grrrr.

But if you're to lazy to go look at it, I'll explain here... this is the view out the bus window as we left on Friday night for the airport (I myself was to come back later, and fly out Saturday, so I had to experience the goodbyes twice :(

oh and I had the video setting on a low quality by accident. Oops. Oh well.

(oh and by the way, I am NOT finished blogging about India... there wasn't enough time there to do it justice... so if you're interested in reading/seeing more, please keep checking back! Thanks yo :)

i love you Rosemary

This is my little Rosemary. I am now not only her "Auntie", but officially her sponsor :)

If YOU would like to sponsor a child at Rising Star Outreach, click HERE. Let me tell you, I've seen the sponsorship program live and in action, and it's real... and it's helping these children to be the FIRST generation from the leprosy colonies who will be productive members of society, and to break the mold that has cast them for so long. It was so hard to choose just one of the children to sponsor-- I love them all! -- but I also can't deny others this opportunity (even we as volunteers were "fighting" over the kids who still needed sponsors! They're going fast! :) Each child needs three monthly sponsors to cover the cost of their education and boarding (hostel) at Rising Star.

Oh and by the way, I know this post is on the "wrong" blog... dumb wordpress requires money to put video on my India blog. Almost worth it, for this clip. (But luckily Blogger is more generous :)

I love you Rosemary... !

that's a whole lot of BSS

Sooo... I have a new respect for the President of our United States, and it comes from his presence here in India.

It's not just that most people (even in remote rural leprosy colonies) seem to know who he is, it's that he is a symbol for hope of ALL kinds, even when that hope extends to, say, using his face to sell difficult farm lots or solicit enrollment in a local computer college or to incite revolt against a conflicting political party because Obama=Change, everyone knows that.

Especially, though, it's because you see his face in full color on these advertisements, smiling and happy and pretty much telling you, "Hey-- you want change? Attend this computer college. I did, and look where I am now." HOPE for all ages.

The BSS Computer College is the most prevalent of all the Obama-ads I've seen, and though I've caught a peek a number of times, as well as had my own personal encounter with the real-live Obama in the past I've never been in a position to be quick enough to actually photograph one of the posters.

All I know is, it ain't no lie, dreams do come true where Obama is concerned. BSS dreams, obviously, in hoping that the mere presence of his face on their ad will inspire massive enrollment, and one of my own personal goals definitely came to fruition today, on the drive to Bhathalapuram when I finally snagged a photo of said ad. True, I had to suddenly yell "Obama!" the moment I glimpsed it and then force Kelsey and Kristin down and out of my way as I lept a whole 2 feet horizontally across the van to aim my lens out their window at a moving target, all within a 2.5-second window of time, but I know -- I KNOW -- it was my hope in Obama that gave me the strength to do it. Thanks, Barack! And I'll definitely attend your computer college, no probs.


Though, I must say... no disrespect to his handsome profile, of course... but those smiling mustachioed faces surrounding him are also pretty tempting prospects. I have no idea what they're advertising, but you can be sure I'm buying it. Or attending it. Or giving my firstborn to it, whatever.

I was slightly disheartened on the trip back from the colony, though, when we saw this competing ad for the Apollo computer course. Who does she think she is, this random young Indian girl?? She is no Michelle Obama, that's for sure. Poor poor Apollo Computer Education LTD. It's too bad they weren't able to sign on Barack before those sharks down at BSS got him. Or, er, used his image without permission.


But, really, who am I to say which is the better face of computer education (and change)? Take my poll (to the left) and tell me what you think. And then, as a thank you, please feel free to use my posted image of Pres. Obama for your OWN ads and posters, it's totally de rigeur and, naturally, makes so much sense in any venue or theme. Happy posting and polling!

Inhibitions: GONE.

Soooo... many of you know that I'm not really a nudist. In fact, until the now-semi-annual Midnight Naked Swims at the Homestead, I was super-shy-modest and had probably never stripped down for anyone, except for the time I was in the ER for massive kidney stone pain and so out of it that when the nurse said "put on this hospital gown", I was ready to bare all right then and there, Allan Staker in the room or not. (Allan, however, was not delirious, and so, graciously excused himself without catching even a tiny peep.) So I didn't strip then, so that doesn't count at all. And, really, the Midnight Naked Swims ALSO don't count, because it's dark and everyone's a blur and there is a Five-Foot-Radius Rule while in the pool anyway, because really, who wants to see that.

Well, that's all changed.

Today (Saturday), most of the volunteers were in Delhi/Agra at the Taj Mahal, so the remaining troops used the day off to head to Mamallapuram, a beach town about an hour from the village ("beach", as in the Indian Ocean, more specifically the Bay of Bengal. I KNOW. COOL.) We went to the Ideal Beach Resort (that's the name! and it is) to use the pool and beach facilities, etc, and to get nine-dollar-massages. (I KNOW. AWESOME.) Specifically, "aruyevic" (or something like that) massages... I don't know what the name means, but I'll tell you what it turned out to be:

A rub-down.

And... AWESOME.

Oh and by the way, totally nude.

Not nude as in "kindly remove your clothing and get under the sheet on the massage table while I give you a little privacy" massage-nude, but as in "You take clothes off, please-" "-Uh, everything?" "Everything" while she stands and watches - nude. And then sit, naked, in a chair while you get the preliminary hair and face massage. And then crawl up onto the towel-covered massage table, naked, while your masseuse waits with her bowl of oil in hand.

And then... she covers your entire body with oil, and commences the rub down... this is no kneading muscles massage for the most part, this is a rapidly-run-your-hands-from-toe-to-shoulder-in-a-sweeping-motion massage that feels like mini wooden rollers are going over the whole surface, slick with oil, and you can't tell if she has bumpy hands or if oh my goodness, I didn't know my muscles etc. had that many ridges.

Oh and by the way, did I mention it's a full-body massage? As in, FULL BODY. Front and back.

A few thoughts that went through my head during this 40-minute experience:

1) Huh. I'm completely naked and some stranger is rubbing down my entire body.

2) Huh. That isn't phasing me at all. Weird that it's not phasing me at all.

3) Huh. I never knew I was ticklish on my, to be delicate, "bottom". Soles of the feet, yes, but on my rear-cheeks? No. Weird.

4) I should be naked more often.

Man it was great. :)

(And soooo not something I would post on my India blog... hence the deviation from "I'm not blogging on here until the end of August" :)

Esther and I were still pretty oily even after the post-massage towel-down,

but ohhh, so relaxed.

can't help it

gotta put a couple of photos on this blog, as well...

this is Rosemary (yes, an English name...), and it was her birthday yesterday.
PRECIOUS. I have about 100 photos of her.

AND, on a totally different view:

This is a little photo we like to call "The Jared". Jared is also known as "The Boy" (so named by Kelsey, the one in the blue bandana), since he is the only boy in a volunteer group full of girls, this session. Jared was posing in "awkward photos" for me (there is eventually going to be an entire blog post on my Go and Do blog dedicated to that, at some point :), and we came up with this one. Sooooo great! I LOVE LOVE LOVE these girls! And boy!

Top row: Bree, me, Kelsey, Kim, Kaitlin... Front row: Karly, Sami, Ava... and, of course, Jared.

(and yes btw I am the grandma of the group! They are all 17-21, except for one 27-year-old girl! Weird-- why aren't there more girls in their 30's out here doing this?? :) BUT-- we have all immediately bonded and I can't even express how much I love everyone!)

As usual, for more info, keep up with the real blog... (click here)

all the cool girls go to india

From now until the end of August I can be found at my other blog! Click HERE

xoxo and namaste!