India Has My Heart

Love these People...

I could kill blogger. It is such a pain to freaking post photos. haha but I got few up for your viewing pleasure!!! This is me and Kim2 at Construction. We were mixing paint to paint some bathrooms..it felt so awesome..and then it started eating away at our skin. It was pretty exciting there for a minute!! So here we are painting like painters, and sweating like sweaters.

Awe..tell me that isnt precious!!! This is on our education day. We help tutor the kids in English. It is just plain adorable.

BUJJI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am sponsoring her!!! I just got the email back from the sponsorship director and it is settled!! YAHOO! What an incredible girl. Seriously, the most beautiful, kind person I have ever met. She is like the mother of her family. All of the girls will be playing, and she will be hanging up clothes to dry, taking care of everyone. Such a great example to everyone she is around.

Here are what some incredible friends helped donate for Rising Star! We cant just give the kids presents, they have to earn them at the Star Store. We are trying to teach them to earn things and be self sufficient, instead of begging for things..because that is what they are taught to do at birth.

I leave tomorrow, and none of us want to. India will always have a piece of my heart...the feelings we have had here are something we cant explain. The group I have been with are some of the most amazing people I have ever met. I feel like I have known them my entire life. Thank you Rising Star for changing our lives.

Yesterday, Sagayamary said "Saturday, you go to America?" and it nearly broke my heart. I cant believe we leave on Saturday. She asked me if I would stay for her birthday. It is on September 13th. She is so excited because she gets to talk to her mom! These kids become so attached to us, and then we all have to leave. :( Man o Man am I gonna miss her.

Gotta live it up the next few days.

Vannakam, Nandri

Today was so great, and its only half way over! This is Kim...she is one of the coordinators, and she is leaving tomorrow. She has been here 4 months long. Kim is over all of Medical, she always does a Rumba Super job!!! We will seriously miss her, but I think some good things are going to come once she gets home. :)

For medical today I was over Blood Pressure!

Then we have a line of people: Alex cleaned the sores, Brandie also cleaned, and Micah took off bandages.

With blood pressure, it gets kind of boring..so I went and sat with the people waiting in line, and we had the most hilarious time!!! Its so amazing that we speak different languages, yet we laugh so hard, and smile, and they grab my cheeks and kiss them. It is so special to be apart of their happiness. I think these two ladies have a crush on Micah..they kept pointing to him and laughing. Hilarious!!

Vannakam in Tamil means Hello, and Nandri means thank you! We always say that to them, and they say it back. It is so cute.

Love all of these people. <3

Medical

When we arrived at the Colony we were waiting for the other medical bus, and as we sat there this man started praying. "Father, Father, Father, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you" It was such an incredible moment for all of us..seeing how this man in our eyes does not have much..yet his capacity to love is so huge. I have found this in most of the people of India. We were all talking about how we just can not explain anything..you just have to experience it for yourself. These are moments I will cherish for the rest of my life...

I had the opportunity to put oil on their legs, and sores. {I also had to cut their toe nails...hehe} It is so painful for them, but you can just see how grateful they are for all that we are doing for them. There is such a stigma when it comes to leprosy...and as we have been here they have challenged us to not call them "lepers" But the "leprosy afflicted". We are trying to break all the negative thoughts that surround these wonderful people.

Today I am on medical again! I am so excited, these are by FAR my most favorite days, because of all the beautiful people we get to help.

Here is another video of little Elle!! Ahhh I miss her.

*side note: College starts today, and I missing the first week... :| Not the best feeling in the world..hopefully it will be okay though!!

Back Home at RSO

Guys. I am sorry I have not blogged!!! What the heck! I am just having the time of my life right now, and I dont want to miss a second of it. We all are having a hard time blogging, cuz we are just having so much fun! This last weekend we went to the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, went to the Delhi Spice Market, just pure greatness. It was fun because we had a six hour drive to and from Agra to Delhi, so we got to know each other a lot better! I just cant explain how incredible this experience is here. I love the entire group, I love all the kids, and I love the people. I seriously love Bujji. She is my favorite. Tonight I was laying down with her telling her goodnight, and she gave me a kiss on the cheek. It basically melted my heart. Here are a few pics:

Me and Bujji!!! She is just pure greatness. :)

I rode an Elephant!!! It was SO much fun. I dont have a picture of me on it , because it wasnt on my camera...but I will post one soon!

I LOVE THIS MONKEY!!!

Tomorrow we are doing Yoga. Micah is a Yoga instructor, and it was seriously incredible when we all had yoga last week. I am also working medical tomorrow!! Yay!!

Love you all and miss you!

T.I.I.

This Is India.

We had a huge storm and the internet has been down. We always say "TII" because usually something goes wrong, or the power goes out, or our driver cant understand us..little things..but thats how it goes in India. Everyone actually loved the internet being down because we didnt have to worry about emails, and the "real world"..but we are back on. So I will post a video for your viewing pleasure! I'm not even sure if this will work..hopefully! This is Elle..I love her. She lives in a Leprosy Colony, and we were walking through the colony before Medical, and she saw me, came running up to me..I picked her up and she gave me the biggest kiss. She is the happiest little girl I have ever met. Such an example to me. Side note: I am going to Delhi this weekend, and not taking my computer because we dont want to have to worry about them. I LOVE IT HERE. It is simply amazing, and I dont want to go back to America! I love everyone in our group, I love all the kids, I have not had one thing that I do not like here. It is just pure greatness. Love you all! Its late, and I am getting up in a few hours to go to the airport so Peace Out!

Hello Shower..Hello Potty..

This is our shower. Isnt it great?!

This is our Potty. Pure excitement. I know...

I LOVE INDIA!!!!!!!

{this is not sarcastic...I seriously love it!}

Wide Awake at 4 a.m.

Wellllllllll I am awake everyone. Slash I cant tell if it is raining or the fans just sound like it. But here I am wide awake. Dang jet lag....dang you to heck!!!!!!!! With my luck I will be on construction tomorrow, and crash mid day. I do wish I were on a bottom bunk currently so I could get up and turn the AC on. Heat rises people. I'm trying to think of something else that is exciting, but I cant. I will now post random pictures..cuz I am bored..hehe enjoy.

These girls were on my flight from Utah to Chicago..sadly after that we split up, and I was on my own.

This is a picture of Chennai as I was landing!

This is the picture I attempted to take as I was coming out of the airport=FAIL. haha

Dancing in the Monsoon

Today is a day for the record books. OH. MY. WORD. Pure amazingness. I seriously dont know where to begin, slash what to say. I shall just start at the beginning. The group (17 of us) were picked up at the Marriott at 10:00 {after eating a most delicious buffet, last meal happiness} We drove about two hours to Rising Star campus...we made two pit stops along the way..getting bread, and probably to Jasons surprise MT DEW! haha We drove through organized chaos, poverty, and what I like to call Flinstone cars. Seriously they are so small and cute they look like Fred Flinstone's car! Hilarious. After driving through all of that..we made it to Rising Star. We live in what we call the Elephant House. I have come to find out that I have "squatter phobia" {I made it up...but seriously} *squatting on the toilets is a serious talent..and you know something is wrong when everyone is discussing their technique!!! All the girls got dressed in our chudidar's and started unpacking. For a good 4 hours it was a torrential down pour!!! I was determined to go dance in it..So me and Anna ran out and were going nuts..and then everyone came and joined in on the fun. It was seriously like we were taking a shower. So hopefully it happens again tomorrow, and we will all be taking our shampoo with us! It was such a surreal experience dancing in this rain, the loudest thunder I have ever heard, with people I have never met before, all in India. So much fun, such a great memory. We then had a tour of the school, and the dorms where the children live.

The kids just melt my heart. They see you and they come running. Give you hugs, call you "auntie auntie!!" It seriously is adorable. They just love everything about you. They play with my hair constantly, climb on me, and the biggest crowd pleaser of the day is my Monkey/Gorilla impression. Which I then had to do for all of the volunteers. I told this little girl today that I liked her earings, and she said "oh, would you like them?" and started to take them off!!! They are just the cutest little things to hit the world. I didnt take many pictures today..but hopefully I will post more tomorrow. So far I have no complaints. It is just so much fun.

I am living in the jungle in India.

*{side note: Frogs coming into the squatters at night=kephy holding it until the morning..if you get what I'm saying. hehehe}

Other side note: I am on the top bunk, and there is not bar to keep me from falling off.

Pray for me. :)

Arranged Marriage

NEON lights on our plane...they were normal in Brussels...and BOOM they changed when we got to India. Awesome.

I learned more on my plane from Chicago to Brussels than I ever wanted to know. I sat next to an Indian man..Which was great because I followed him to our gate to get to Chennai. Anywho, he asked me what I was doing in Chennai and I told him, then I asked him what he was doing. "I am going to go pick up my wife!!" Naturally I got so excited! She just got her visa, and she is coming to America! He lives in Kansas. He then told me their story of how their parents arranged for them to be married. He has seen her 4 times, this will be his 5th. He told me that they had to go to astrological people to find the date of their wedding, when the stars would align and what not, and he was like it just happened to fall on her menstrual cycle. {TOO MUCH INFORMATION!!} It was pretty funny because he kept asking me "Do you have any tips for me about women?" haha He was saying how they have to learn to love each other after they are married, along with just the silly things like getting to know you. SO crazy. He was also like a bird, I swear. He would like eat and then spit it in to a napkin. so weird. haha I would put my headphones on, and he would keep talking. It was hilarious. That is all I can currently think of...slash...I am now at the rising star Elephant house!! It is just pure greatness! And let me tell you all..I am sweating like a sweater. man. life is goooooood!

Okay India! I see you!!

This is the view from my window at the Marriott.

We flew right over Afghanistan and Pakistan!! I'm sure Debbie will love that. ;)

Sketchy Sketch.. Lets just say I didnt eat much on the planes..

Well people its been a long two days. But I am here! Holy crap. I dont even know where to begin!! I shall post a few pics. Who knows if anyone is even reading this haha. Umm So I landed in Chennai at like 11:20. Stood in a really long line for customs. Walked out got my two checked bags (which by some miracle..they both arrived!!) After that...I was alone in India. I walk outside through 4 men with machine guns..and I look and there are like 3 hundred people STARING AT ME. It was the craziest feeling in the world..but it was SO great!!!! hahaha My heart was beating like a beater. haha I tried taking a picture..but I didnt want anyone to shoot me..so i didnt. Anywho I look over to my left and another miracle I see "Amanda Bernhisel" written on a piece of paper. YAY!! What the heck. It was just so crazy. Then I get in the car with this man I have never met..and all I think to myself is: "ya, I think I could beat him up" Then we start driving...and I felt like Jack Bauer on 24. You know it was the coolest thing ever!! I got to the Marriott safe and sound, and life is good people. :) I have to jet! sorry this is rushed. we are going to rising star in a few minutes!! HAPPINESS!!!!

TOMORROW

Well Tomorrow is the big day. I leave SLC at 11:15 am. Chicago, Brussels, Chennai. All in all it will be 22 hours in the air. Just ask me how excited I am for that!! I am planning on organizing my picture folder in my computer, because it is a disaster. That will take maybe an hour...hmmmm 21 more to go... I plan on taking pictures of EVERYTHING. Airports, food, probably a sweaty kephy...cuz lets face it I sweat when I am nervous. haha {too much info? sorry..} People have been SO unbelievably great donating things, and someone even gave me a journal and some money!! I am so grateful to have these wonderful people in my life.

Here is a video that I love from Rising Star that will show a little bit of what I am doing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1OJ7qPHlG4

I took the new malaria pills, and life is gooooood. :)

Sincerely, Nervous and Excited Kephy.

India in 4 Days! No Big Deal... :|

I leave for India in 4 days:

I got new Malaria pills-These ones just may cause Hallucinations {NBD}

I can only imagine what those hallucinations would be in India..haha oh boy..

I seriously have made list, after list, after list, of what to take. I have run out of ideas.

I am almost finished packing!

I have to be an M.C. for our YSA talent show tonight..ask me how excited I am for that.

{I'll keep you guessing}

{I'll give you a hint: Not that excited.. :|}

I need to get my books for school..seeing as I am missing the first week, which tends to be what I do every semester. We are gonna change that in January I hope.

I need to email some teachers.

Lets pray they are fine with me missing the first week..

I need to find another good book to read on the plane.

I need to get a car to get me from the airport to the hotel-

This is the most frightening part of the entire experience for me. I am by myself..in a foreign country...not a clue what they will be saying...just me and a paper with directions. So if you don't hear from me for awhile, you will know I have been kidnapped.

!!Excitement!?

Jenny is MARRIED!!!

Well...It happened. Jenny is now Jennifer Brown.

What the heck. It is just so weird to me!! BAH!!!

I will tell ya what though, she was SO happy. That happiest I have seen Jenny.

Eric is one lucky guy.

Katie and I always teased Eric about being the "God of High School" and how everyone knew Eric Brown! Mr. "I work at Abercrombie & Fitch". We would always tell Jen that she had fight for Eric Brown no matter what because, well he was Eric Brown! haha But the truth is, is Eric is the lucky one. Jenny has been one of my best friends through out the years. Of course she was popular in Highschool, and she is BEAUTIFUL. But she was also with me at the hardest time in my life. {yes she held a bowl as I threw up.. too much information? Someone else held my hair..It was a pretty magical moment the three of us shared. haha} She has been there for me through thick and thin. She is loyal, crazy, and fun loving. Eric really is one lucky guy.

Congratulations you two! I love you guys!

1 week left of my Summer..

I spent almost every single day this summer with Katie. {as you can tell, she is in the majority of these photos} She is my Best Friend, and I dont know what I would be doing right now without her!!! Summer consisted of U2, Rent, St. George, Serendipity, the Movie at the Capitol, Bee's Games, 4th of July Parades, Lagoon, Alpine Slide with James, Planked, and went to MULTIPLE firework shows. Became Besties with someone I NEVER thought I would even talk to after High School..Ms. Britny. :) Perfectly Pun nuh nuh! Tomorrow my other best friend is getting married. Miss Jen Torres soon to be Brown. CRAZY. I say it was a great summer.

Wonderful summer with my best friends. Love you ALL!

Oh sweet Malaria Pills

Today I woke up, (having dreams about India all night), and I was like "hey today I should try my Malaria pills." (thinking NOTHING would happen...duh...) The doctor told me to try them before I left because it sometimes will make people nauseous. Well I am driving to work today....only working a half day....and I thought to my self 'Kephy you are gonna yammy" then I was like "You are totally over reacting!" "you are a hypochondriac!"....."Nope.....you really are gonna throw up" "right now!!!" grabbed the cup that was by some miracle left in my moms car. and proceeded to vomit. Lets just say I am SO grateful that I found this out NOW instead of throwing up in India, and there being nothing I could do about it. Lets just hope I can leave work early now, because I have the shakes, I'm sweating like a sweater, I have a headache, and my breath stinks. I have a feeling this is just the beginning of the madness and excitement of India. All Hail Doxycycline.