Last few days in India :(

What a wild ride this has been!!!! I can't believe it is already my last day in India! It has gone by SO quickly! It has been amazing getting to know everyone here and I will miss SO many of my teammates. The country has been one contradiction after another. You see incredible beauty right next to incredible ugliness... feel incredible joy after feeling utter despair... see hope at the same moment you see apathy... what an amazing culture! I thought coming to India would be fairly easy because I am fairly familiar with the culture, the food and such. And those things have helped... but it has still been a challenge. For me, I think India has been about being my most genuine self while feeling physically ill. Illness has plagued me every moment since being here... I came with my asthma acting up, a few days later had food poisining, while recovering from that I think I had a touch of Delhi belly, and the day I get over Delhi belly I get a terrible sore throat, the sore throat turned into a cold which has caused me to lose my voice. Through it all, I have appreciated the ability to push through it and completely enjoy myself anyway. I have been grateful that my body, although sick, has been able to fight these things and has been kind to me (for example, I would be fine throughout the day but as soon as we were back at the hotel, GAME ON! LOL!).

It is now my last day and although I am ready to get home and start feeling better, I am not looking forward to leaving my teammates. I've grown REALLY attached to quite a few of them and can't imagine saying good-bye to them...

For those of you wondering... my mom worked her magic and was able to get me on my original flights! YEA!!! I will be leaving Delhi tonight (well, tomorrow really) @ 3:30am and arriving in L.A. in the afternoon on the 18th.

The last few days has really been about the people here... On Wednesday morning, the homeowner of the site came by and brought us this thick, tar-like tea. It was like nothing I've ever tasted! We sat around drinking it and talking... working with Dan, Amy, Jerry and Natasha has been amazing... they are such hard workers and AMAZING people. Not once have I been annoyed, frustrated or tested by any one of them. And when you are working in a 10ftX15ft square right next to a leaking sewer... it would be PRETTY easy to let tensions rise! :) On Wednesday evening Natasha, Jerry, dan, Matt, Liam, Chinmoi and I sat upstairs in the dining room and played UNO. I don't think I have laughed so hard in my entire life!!!!!

On Thursday morning I rode to the site with Ava. She is AMAZING! She is 19 and is from Bethesda (Maryland). She is taking a year off before going to college to become a journalist. She amazes me... she is so much more mature and insightful than I EVER was at her age!!! I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation as she talked about her hopes for her career and processing her thoughts about the trip thus far (its her first time out of the country). Later on in the day, the other team had witnessed a beating of some poor man in Bawana... they were all pretty shaken up about it and I think Ava took it the hardest. I just sat there and rubbed her back because I remember seeing similar stuff the first few times in a different country and how hard it shook me up.

After lunch some women from Chetnalaya came and did Mendhi on our hands. I had two different artists work on my hands so they look REALLY different. One is obviously better than the other... but I was THRILLED to have the experience! Sujata (our guide) came up behind me and put her head on my shoulder. She then proceeded to tell me that women get mendhi on their hands on before they are married. She mentioned that it is a time for all the women to gather, have fun and be together. She sat next to me and began to feed me sweets and even gave me a juice box while holding it up for me to drink out of! It was great way for me to see... no, more like FEEL, what that must be like to have sisters all around you taking care of you and such. At that moment, I was overcome with feelings of love and tenderness for all thsoe we have met here. I was also feeling sad that a few minues later we would have to say good-bye. Saying good-bye to the people of Chetnalaya was hard... Sujata, Lau Sing, and the women in the sewing room... such an amazing project! Talk about grassroots! because I'd had the henna done, I couldn't tie my own shoes so Jerry (amidst much teasing about being prince charming and me cinderella... does the shoe fit? : )) tied my shoes for me!!! :) Leaving Bawana was a mixed experience... I will not miss the smells, the dirtiness, the chaos and the filth. I will miss the hundreds of children that would run up and want to shake your hand or walk nearby. I will even miss our stinky sewer site!!! OH!!! SPeaking of Sewer sites... we had shirts make for us while here in India!!! Chinmoi hooked it up (because as they say... ANYTHING is possible in India!). They say "soo-er-star" on the front, H4H on the arm, and Bawana December 2010. They stink to high heaven but they are super cool! I can't wait to wash it so I can wear it!

Last night we went to the Regent, a hotel across the street for a late night night-cap. My cold was going full force but I had an AMAZING time anyway. Jerry, Amy, Matt, liam, Natasha, Chinmoi, clint, Dan, Ava and I all sat around drinking and playing UNO. It was by far one of the best nights here! We came back to the hotel at about 1:30am and all of us hung out in my room laughing hysterically. we were teasing Chinmoi, calling him Chin Muffin and he TO THIS DAY still calls Ava "EVA" on accident. i think everyone left @ about 2:30 in the morning. Natasha and I stayed up talking for quite a bit but she really wasn't feeling well :( It must be her turn for Delhi belly :( In the middle of the night I woke up because she had fallen off the bed! We were both cracking up!!!!!

Today is a pretty chill day, we have the farewell lunch with Habitat in about an hour and then some of us are going to try to go get massages. We have our team farewell dinner tonight and then I head to the airport right after :(