I can't think of a creative title so this will have to do

This is my fourth or fifth attempt to post since coming back from Hampi. The internet has been pretty spotty this week, it usually cuts out right when I'm about to save a document or send an email or upload some pictures...and then everything gets lost. The internet-man has a cruel sense of humour. Still, I'll try again...

The most exciting news of late is that I now have a volunteer position with an NGO near Hyderabad!! Let me explain how this happened. Last Monday (before Hampi) I had an appointment with the Concern India Foundation, an NGO that funds other NGOs around India. I found CIF before I left America, when I was searching for Hyderabadi NGOs online. I called them a few weeks ago and took an appointment, and it was through them that I was connected with one of their beneficiaries near Hyderabad in Kukatpally, the CHORD project.

Chord is a school for children taken out of child labour, slum children, and destitute children. This Monday I went and met with the director, a very inspiring man who single-handedly started the project (there are now four schools throughout Andhra Pradesh). As we were speaking, he expressed his heart for the children, and he explained that he directs the schools completely on his own, for no payment, while supporting his own family.

Because my Telagu is EXTREMELY limited (note: non-existent: I know how to say, "hello" "come with me" "a little bit" and "enough") I can't really help out in the classrooms so much. However, what they need right now is someone to help them with the letters they send to foreign donors and grant organizations to get funding. I was more than happy to agree. I will get to interact with the kids some, too. Next Thursday I'm going back to basically sit in on some classes, play with the kids, and do a little internet research in their office.

Here's the truly incredible part: after the director expressed their needs, he said if I would help them he would give me a job for the rest of my life there. !!!! Not only that, but while I work with them they're going to pay my transportation!! I tried to turn him down, saying that I wasn't expecting any payment. But he said that he understood I was a student and things were tight, so I should at least let him make a timetable for the time I spent with them, that would cover my transportation.

So after writing all this of course I have to give you the website. Here it is. If you are at all interested in sponsoring a child, please do so. It's only $30 a year for one child's education and support. : )

My weekend at Hampi was perfect, marred only by the occasional person trying to rip us off, accidental fall into the river, and sketchy 8:00 pm walk through a dark banana grove. I'll start with the banana grove: on tour book and local recommendation, our first night in Hampi Brittany, Ilana, Pareen and I decided to eat at this restaurant called The Mango Tree. When Pareen was reading us the description of the food in the Lonely Planet guide to India, she quoted them as saying, "Even the walk is delicious!" However, by the time we returned from our temple excursions and set off for dinner it was already dark. We didn't think this would be a problem because our hostel was right in the center of all the shops and restaurants, but this particular eatery was quite a walk, as we soon discovered. The Lonely Planet "delicious walk" quote was repeated sarcastically several times as we gingerly picked our way through a dark abandoned street, a wood, and then finally a banana grove. Thankfully, we arrived safely and the food was worth the walk.

My slip into the river occurred as our group set off to climb to the Hanuman Temple in Hampi. Hanuman is the monkey god, and this temple was perched atop a high hill/mountain that was separated from main Hampi by a river. So, we asked a boatman to take us across in his boat, aka a large straw circular basin covered in tar. I fell into the river just as I was carefully climbing into this boat, explaining to my friends how, in order to safely climb into a boat without falling, one should keep one's weight low and centered...pride does indeed come before a fall.

Despite this early blow to my pride, I insisted on trying to "row" us down the river, even though we were paying the boatman a very nice price to row us there himself. I say "row" because my paddling attempts merely resulted in spinning our basin in circles, giving the boatman/guide a good laugh and my friends queasy stomachs. Anyways. We eventually made it down the river, alighting at an extensive banana grove (our weekend was full of banana groves) which our guide led us safely through, then some more fields, and finally to the base of the mountain, which was looking less and less climbable the closer we got. However, we made it up the 600-odd steps, (pausing every few feet to admire the AMAZING views) to the temple, where we had a nice chai break chilling with the swamis in the temple, before climbing down again.

There were many other adventures in Hampi but the internet is still working and I don't want to push my luck, so I'll only include this last bit of news: I'm now training to run the NYC Marathon this fall! Some of you may know that last year, with two of my friends, I ran the Queens half-marathon. Anyways, one of these friends sent me an email with information on an organization that raises money for cancer research, which we could run for in the NYC Marathon. We were both very interested in this, because my grandmother passed away about three and a half weeks from cancer, and my friend lost also her grandmother to cancer last year.
So, we've decided to run! I'm looking forward to starting training again, because I really enjoyed my long runs last spring, although running in Indian heat will certainly be a different experience. But there are a few runners in the program that I can run with, so at least I'll have company!

That's it for news, hopefully the internet co-operates when I try to post this!