Hanky Panky (Lizzie E.)

Holy Cow. Literally.  I swear everyday India just becomes more and more amazing.  From the landscape to the people it is absolutely stunning.  These last few days have been crazy.  The kid get  more and more roudy but also excited everyday.  We do five rotations a day, 1^st-5^th grade.  The kids are quite well behaved before lunch but after it seems all that can go wrong does.  Sometimes the classroom feels more like a zoo.  There are children hanging in the windows, others yelling things I don’t understand, and some even wrestling.  So anyone who is a full time teacher….. props to you.  We are getting better at controlling the kids but it has definitely been hard.  They just get so excited to see us everyday it’s hard for them to sit still.  My savior this week was my new favorite game.  Hanky Panky.  More commonly known as Down by the banks.  One of my favorite things from the whole trip that will always remind me of the kids is this simple hand game.  Hearing those sweet souls sing “Down by the banks of the hanky panky, where the bullfrogs jump from HANKY PANKY”  is one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard.

This weekend was quite an experience.  Saturday we attended a cultural exchange with 400 students and a large government official.  I was honestly quite nervous at the beginning but seeing the young boys and girls perform their tradition dances was incredible.  It almost made me feel slightly dumb performing our goofy dances, but all the kids loved it! Their were a few speakers in the program which were some big education guys: each of them spoke so highly of YMAD it almost brought me to tears.  Hearing all of the incredible things this program has done for these children was heartwarming. That night we went to dinner with the District Commissioner of Chamba, the Head of Police and some other big fancy guys. It was quite intimidating answering their questions but they turned out to be quite friendly.

Sunday, today, we went to see a Hindu temple.  It was incredible.  Still working after 1,000 years.  Walking through Chamba town is always and experience. From the open sewage on the sides of the roads to the constant honking of motorbikes, it’s actually quite beautiful.  Today was quite a relaxing day, after being so busy it feels so nice to be able to just lay down for 20 minutes, although being this busy has been fun.  I CANNOT wait to see my kiddos tomorrow.  This weekend has felt like years.  I have no idea, absolutely no idea how I’m going to say goodbye to these beautiful, talented, and happy children.

Now for my shout outs…….

1. Family: I miss you guys soooooooo much.  I can’t wait to see you guys. Hope all is well. Keep rocking
2. Oly D Co: Bet the concert was Amazing!! I was rooting for you ladies. Love you with all of my heart.
3. BLUE TEAM.  8 CHAINZZZ. I love my team. They are honestly the best people I know.  Led by the fearless Scott, My girl Samye, Norm of the rings, Sweet Gabrielle, Belinda the baller, Studly Nick, and the always beautiful Sarah.
4. Allison:  Oh my goodness. Allison Ford kicks butt.  She is the coolest lady I’ve ever met. Mom don’t worry about me she’s taking just as good of care as me as you would. ( The yelling and all……just kidding haha)
5. Raj aka THE MAN:  Thanks for finding my camera! (sorry dad) He does so much for us and is one of the sweetest, goofiest people I’ve ever met.  Thank you for everything!
6. Finally….. Shout out to café rio. To say I miss you a lot is an understatement.

Well my friends, be grateful, because we are so blessed.

Love you all,

Elizabeth Dott

One Response to “Hanky Panky (Lizzie E.)”

1. Janie, on November 26th, 2013 at 8:45 pm Said:

   liz biz you are killing me. COME HOME ALREADY!!!!