Bright Skies, Bright Saris, Bright Smiles

The last few days have been some of the most relaxing so far. The weather's cleared up - all that rain we had last week went back to sleep, and the sky is saturated with sunshine once more!

As I've gotten more familiar with the kids, I've gone slightly lax with discipline and turned up the smiles. But a bit of talkative chaos every once in a while balances out with concentrated moments of hands shooting into the air, focused chalkboard writing, and soft babble as they fill out worksheets with glee. In the morning before class I have my girls crowning my head with their busy braiding hands, and my boys all running to get me chalk for the day and picking me "flowers"(i.e. haphazardly yanked-up leafy plants).
Unfortunately, the two boys that were struggling the most in class (and the worst behaved) haven't been at school for most of the week because they have to work on their family farms. I see them hanging around the village around the time that we leave, but our coordinator said that there's not much they can do about it because they would arrive too late to do lessons. They suffer because they must work instead of getting an education that could possible free them from the poverty they face daily.

On a happier note, we went sari shopping yesterday. I was extremely thankful for Ritu, our female coordinator, and our three Indian volunteer friends that came with Noelle and myself - buying a sari is quite the complicated process! The most important part is the actual sari, the long sheer fabric that comes in infinte colors and patterns. We sat in awe as chiffon rainbows spooled through the air, thick with Hindi negotiations. I chose a royal blue traditional hand-dyed fabric - lower-priced and without all the embelishments, but still vibrantly beautiful.
And that was step one. Today we returned to pick up our freshly ironed saris, and transfered to another store to be measured for blouse tops, match fabric color, buy peticoats, and have fabric sewn at the bottom of the saris to weigh them down. And so many questions involved! What length for sleeves? Drawstring skirt? Round back or square? We'll have them by Saturday, ready to wear to our farewell dinner and whatever else we choose...
After the sari details overload, a handful of us went to a rooftop restaurant for afternoon chai. We'd planned on doing this based entirely on the setting - wide, plush window seats with 3-inch high tables and plenty of pillows - perfect for lounging barefoot and sipping masala tea!

It's been nice to really settle down and enjoy the small luxuries of Udaipur these last few days, especially with so little time left. We depart next Wednesday for Rathambore National Park for a tiger safari, then the final stop in Delhi for the Taj Mahal. Only two more days of teaching are squeezed in; tomorrow we are visiting the communities of our schoolchildren, and our last day (Wednesday) will be simply spending time with them. It's remarkable how quickly the time is passing; it feels like we've only begun to make a difference with the children. But it's been a visible difference nonetheless, and for that my heart is brighter than the shelves of a sari shop.

~christiana