I love India By: Clara Larsen

Hello everyone! I LOVE IT HERE! It is so beautiful here and I am so happy! Not gonna lie the traveling was a little rough but I’m so happy we went through it because we are in the best place ever! We had 3 flights one from Salt Lake to Dallas, then Dallas to Doha Qatar (which was a fourteen and a half hour flight) that one was hard and exhausting but we got through it! Then our last flight was from Doha to New Delhi. Once we landed we started our sixteen hour bus drive from Delhi to Kullu. The bus drive was a little scary, Indian roads are actually crazy. There were times where we were so close to the edge of cliffs I thought we were going to just fall right off. It was a super bumpy ride but the view was beautiful! After traveling for so long it was a glorious moment when we finally made it to our hotel.

Now we have a set and study schedule. We wake up at 7 get ready, have breakfast, pack lunches and head off to our schools! The bus ride to our school is about a hour, the roads are very bumpy and super narrow. There have been many times where our bus driver has had to have a stare down with oncoming busses and if he loses we have to reverse and find a wide enough spot where both busses can fit. After the bus drive we get dropped off at our schools. After teaching at our schools we come back to the hotel and unpack our teaching supply duffle and the track it for the next day. Then we hang out, shower (the bucket showers are actually not bad andour water is so hot we have to use more cold water then hot to make it comfortable to shower with), and blog until 7 then have dinner. I haven’t been the biggest fan of the food so I’ve been having lots of oatmeal and instant potatoes (thank you Leah for the best oatmeal and thank you mom for getting me a bunch of yummy snacks!). After dinner we have a little pow wow with everyone and all the leaders and talk about our highlights and something we can do better the next day we teach. Then we have a campfire until 10, we play games and talk. Then we go to bed and repeat!

My team is seriously the best and Jens is the best leader! Our school is amazing I love all the kids so much they just make my day a thousand times brighter! The first day was a little difficult but it was is fun meeting the kids for the first time. The second day I was the activity leader and my activity was teaching dancing (pretty perfect for me right). It was so much fun we played some music and I taught them some dance moves my favorite one I taught them was the “shoot” haha it was so cute. We also played “Ride that Pony” and it was so fun! The kids loved it and I loved watching them having fun doing it! Today was our third day at the school and it was the best day! The kids have totally opened up to us and I feel like I know them so much better! There is a little girl who I just absolutely love her name is Chitra and she is 5 years old. She is little miss sassy pants and is so freakin cute but is also a little stinker but I love her anyways! She reminds me a little bit of me when I was younger because she does whatever she wants is so sassy (there’s a picture of me and here below!) I love all the kids so much and am seriously so happy and love seeing their cute faces. Today we played jump rope and tug a war it was a blast! The kids can jump rope so well and would ask us to double jump with them! At the end of the school day the teachers at our school gave all us on our team a traditional hat and presented it on a sliver platter and put it on our heads it was so cool and all the kids clapped once it was put on our heads.  Today was a success and I cannot wait to go back tomorrow!

On our way home today Raj had a little surprise for us and told us we got to go to a Indian wedding!! It was so awesome we got to dance with the people there and see the bride it was so cool and it was very beautiful! Anyway I’m having the best time I absolutely love it here I don’t want to leave but I can’t wait to tell you all about it when I get home!