Day 11

Day 11
June 3, 2011
This base we are staying on is full of hidden things. First we find out they have a secret kitchen, which by the way we take full advantage of, and now we find they have a hidden gym that is supposedly a well kept secret. There were hesitant enough to give us the key so we could even use it. It is inappropriate for women to exercise her, so I have a feeling they were trying to keep the young Indian boys from seeing a western culture shock. But luckily it helps to have connections and eventually they gave in to letting us use the gym. This gym is honestly a joke compared to Lifetime and Bally’s or wherever else you may go, but we are at least grateful for a little something. It has one treadmill that works a stair climber/elliptical mix that was maybe manufactured in the 80’s and a bench complete with two sets of weights. The stability ball that is there is flat and everything including the floor is covered in dust. However is has just enough space for the group of us foreigners to do our daily routine of Insanity. The best part about that workout program…they only thing you need is yourself and water definitely helps!
Yesterday we got to visit a slum called Mud Fort and today we had the chance to see another called Pipe Village. It was so interesting to compare the two. Mud Fort is a slum in which we have just began work in. Pipe Village is almost on the opposite end of the spectrum. Our base has been working with this village for 10 + years or so. Mud Fort was dirty, unbearable, and very unhygienic conditions. Pipe village on the other hand… I really feel like I could have lived there if I absolutely needed to. The people of that area work for a company that manufactures swear pipes. With the malfunctioning or old ones the people have literally built their home into them. The only problem for me being tall is that it is quite easy to hit your head, but if I had a playhouse like that growing up it even could have competed with my tree house. Granted the peoples situation is still not something to be jealous of, but it does give you hope that with persistence, prayer, work, and intervention things can be changed around here. Besides the base, pipe village has been one of the cleanest places in India that I have seen so far. It was nice to go out with the slum ministry today to see what they do on a daily basis. The play with the kids and teach them things. It was pretty fun to act like a child again writing on chalk boards and coloring Disney characters, but how they can handle that every day is a mystery to me. I definitely was not called to be a teacher by any means, but I feel that by wanting to help with hygiene, nutrition, and medical care is where I am best suited. This weekend should be great! And on Tuesday we are leaving to go to Rajasthan and from there we will go to Agra to see the Taj Mahal! I’m really excited about this opportunity and can’t wait to see a new side of India aside from Hyderabad and surrounding areas.