Surf's up!

It was a day off from normal volunteer duties today. So we went to the beach!

Remember how things are always changing in India? Well, it happened again today. We were supposed to have 2 vans to take us all to Mamallapuram for a day of surfing, beach, and shopping. Oh, and eating. But, they ended up sending one of the vans out to pick up some of the parents of the kids here (it was parents day today). So we waited an extra 40 minutes while the coordinators figured things out. Then we squished 9 of us into a little SUV. Let's just say it was not super comfortable for a 90 minute drive. But, we got there!

Upon arrival in Mamallapuram, we proceeded down the street (yes, we braved walking on the crazy busy streets!) to the surf shop. And yes, I sucked up my fear of drowning and was a part of the group that attempted to surf. After getting our boogie boards and surf boards, we made our way down to the beach.

This was not the first view we had, but it'll do. :)

We were at the Bay of Bengal, and it was perfect! The waves were great, and the water and air temperature was just right. It actually reminded me a lot of the Gulf of Mexico. It took me a while, but I finally got up the guts to get on a boogie board. I never actually made it out far enough to even try to get up on a wave, but I don't think I would have been able to even if I had. But it was AWESOME nonetheless! After a while, we started playing over or under, or just plain acted like we were 5 and made whale sounds while jumping into the waves. I loved it! 

We then headed back to change into dry clothes, but first Nery (the construction coordinator) found the guy that gets much pleasure out of hosing down the tourists. It was pretty fun, and it felt good to get the salt off of me. Then we ate lunch at a place called Moon Rakers. I had chicken fried noodles. Oh my. They were SO good! And it was a nice change from the rice and curry every night here on campus. We then proceeded to shop. Things are pretty cheap here, which is super good for me! My all time favorite finds of the day, though, are my scarf and silver ring. Yep, real silver. And I'm pretty fond of my elephant pants, too. :)

When we got back to RSO campus, we hung around for a while, ate some more rice and curry (go figure, right?), sat around telling awkward date/first kiss stories, and then headed over to movie night with the kids. I think the movie we watched was called After Earth? I don't really know. And I have no idea what the storyline was. And I'm pretty sure I have no desire to ever see it again. But it was fun to see the kids and have them be so excited to tell us about all the things their parents brought them. :) 

I can't believe my time here is almost up! I don't want it to end. The people here are just fabulous! Volunteers included. These kids have next to nothing, but seem to be the happiest people on earth. Every single one of them has the goal of going to college and getting a real job when they grow up. I just hope that it happens for them, and that they can become a part of the regular society here again.

Moosah

Gracie

The surfing group. Side note: we also got to be in someone's wedding pictures. I guess it's the cool thing to have the American's be in your pictures. :)