There and Back Again: India and Beyond

Namaskaaramu! Greetings from India! After spending a week in Orissa, I traveled to Hyderabad, which is a city in the state of Telangana. There, I met up with a couple other ladies from the U.S. who I would spend a week with, teaching kids how to play volleyball. My initial task was to make sure they got settled into the hotel and had everything they needed. This was my first opportunity to act as hostess of a team, and though I was exhausted from traveling (as were they), we all managed to settle in and spend time resting before our busy week began. I went to sleep in my hotel room, excited about spending the next day (a Sunday) attending a church service, and spending some time playing games with the kids. But, I woke up in the wee hours of the morning with a major stomach virus (essentially traveler’s food poisoning). I ended up spending the entire day in my room nursing myself back to health. Not exactly what I had in mind for the first day in the city, or really for any ...

Photo by  Aman Bhargava  on  Unsplash After my stay in Mumbai, where I learned about urban poverty and related issues, I traveled to the state of Odisha where some friends of mine are working to make a difference among the rural and tribal populations.  When I was in India before, I spent the bulk of my time there, and it was amazing to see how the work has expanded over the past four years. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to see many of the people who I had met previously. My arrival had been kept quiet, so most of the people, including the children, were not expecting to see me. Some, who had been here four years ago during my last time in India, immediately recognized me, others being more tentative. Many asked my name, and when I said “Jessica,” their faces immediately lit up, and they said “Jessica, sister!” This time, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with a team of students who were putting on a special children’s program. It ...