Smiles go a long way... : )

YAY! My turn to post. It's a somewhat cooler day in Kolkata, but not really there's just bit of wind intermingling with the scortching heat. We survived election day playing games inside and enjoying each others company and the quiet and peaceful Sudder Street, which to be honest was unreal and kinda weird. Anywho, today as we head into our last full week here, we are venturing to Kali's Temple and a few other places to see in the area. But that's not what I want to tell you about. Although I know Christine already posted about ShiShu Bhavan I wanted to tell you a little bit more about our day there. So here I go... :)

ShiShu Bhavan is just down the street to the Mother House so we do not have to enjoy many different methods of transportation or the hustle and bustle of all the crazy traffic. Our walk home through the busy streets and neighborhoods is one of the most intense illumination of senses. Non-the-less Christine and I just walk our exhausted feet into a large building compound right on the main road. The two huge metal doors are painted rustic orange and only one sports the name Missionaries of Charity: ShiShu Bhavan. We go in the side door to the right, greet a few Massi's and Sisters along our way and continue on to the left down a hallway towards the toddler house. As we enter around 8am, the Massi's are gathering for their morning prayer and we sit with them under the rotating fans as the screaming and yelling of the kids comes from the back. Occasionally one of our kids will meander out to say hello and then get hustled back into their room. At first sitting with the Massi's was honestly really quite awkward. They sit there look straight at you and point to things. You know they are definitely talking about you in a different language that I obviously don't understand and then they laugh. Now, its almost comforting to hear them talking and to sit with them as they all say "Good Morning Auntie" and hold your hand for an extended period of time and tell you to sit down next to them.

The Massi's pray together and sing the most beautiful songs that I will never understand, but love to hear, right before our day gets started. When prayer is finished the head Sister, Sister Joan of Arc, will come out and give the Massi's directions and make sure that they are all there. Christine and I brace ourselves for what we are about to enter into. If you look forward into the large dark room behind the foyer about 50 cribs lay untouched. On either side of the cribs the kids are running and playing in their appropriate areas. We go almost all the way down, unlatch the gate, and enter the overwhelming room of 5 and 6 year olds screaming. In about 2 seconds you are hunched over with about 3 kids attached and clawing at your back. Kids get so excited to see you and just jump and oh man do they have good grips. It can take almost 5 minutes to detach one. By now I have the hang of it and sit down on one of the tables and say good morning to all of them.

There are about 15 to 16 kids in our classroom. I have become very attached to many of them. Two in particular are twins, Jason and Jackson, If I could adopt them... though my mother would would totally not approve at this stage in my life, I totally would and have many a times contemplated it. Sometimes the two can most definitely be a bit much to handle, but I honestly enjoy the challenge. After the first few days Jason jumped into my lap with his tummy lying on my legs. I began to just gently run my fingers up and down his back for almost 20 minutes and he was perfectly content and very calm. Ever since then every morning we come in he has jumped into my lap and slaps his back and says "Auntie" and points to his back. So I just rub his back and enjoy that simple peace while the other crazy monkeys are climbing up walls, running around, and most often hitting each other. We spend almost the next 20 minutes in there until the Massi's either tell us what to do or we decide to take them to school.

What happens next is always a toss up. Some mornings we will go to the park next door to the Toddler House, while other days we will go up to the school. The park is always an experience. Your name, Auntie, is called more than you can count. You push children on the many different types of swings, chase them, collect leaves with them, and get really really really dirty. School is also an experience. Some days we will teach them small words, letters, or objects. I have fallen in love with drawing and writting with chalk for the kids. Today I drew a face, and we went through all the body parts on a face. We had them point to their own ears, eyes, mouths etc. and then we had them help us spell the words outloud. Then we sang Heads, Shoulders, Knees & Toes and that was a huge hit. The kids knew the words and were so excited to sing along. Then we give them a piece of construction paper and asked them to draw a face. Some were quite interesting while others just drew what they saw on the board. Other days Christine and I bring in dental coloring books, regular coloring books, and play dough. Their little faces light up like the sun when they recieve something new, although sharing can some times be quite the struggle.

No matter what the activitiy however, I really enjoy the joy they bring me and what I can share with them. I can see it in their faces and I can tell by their crys that the yearn for something more and something better. The first day we were at ShiShu Bhavan I was working with Jason he had a fit and the Massi told me to leave him alone. As I mentioned in one of my emails, I challenged myself to stick with him. I can't help it, I saw it in his eyes, he wanted to learn. By the end of that first day he and his brother had written their ABC's out on the board all by themselves! Success. It was such a warm feeling. What helped them get by was encouragement and lots of high fives. Our kids LOVE high fives. It is the most simple and greatest reward that the children just die for. When they have drawn something new, completed a picture, or built the eiffle tower with play dough, they will run over point to what they have done, put it in the other hand and whip their right hand up to hit mine. Sometimes, I'll let you in on a secret, they have only even drew a line or nothing has even changed and they still run over for rewards. The smiles that come across their faces when they do so are just SOOOOO big and full of love.

Our day is split up into to two sessions. One session then break for chai, then another session. We change their clothes and then help to feed them lunch. Once they are settled and almost all are chowing down we head out into the big room of cribs and change the top sheets on all the beds. Then just before we leave the kids run out, climb up and jump into their cribs two by two and lay down for a nap. If we are still there at this point, I love to go around and give each child a kiss on their forehead. I will kiss my hand then stick the kiss on their foreheads. Again this is a moment of small presents, but their faces just rest with joy. Their heads will perch up and their high energy will drop and a small smile will just curl up on their face. Then my morning is done and Christine and I head home.

I told our SMC group last night that a lot of the reason why I do service and my every day goal in life is to make people smile. A smile, though small and simple, can do wonders in a persons day and to a persons heart. These children that I work with every day at ShiShu don't always understand me since we have a strong language barrier, however, a smile does more than words. To see these children smile makes my heart melt with warmth and love. Although I don't know them to well and they have no idea who I am and will probably forget me, our shared smiles becomes our strong bond. The smiles I give them when I am there may be the only smile they get for that day and every day each child deserves a thousand smiles. No matter how sick, exhausted, and over-worked I feel here, I can never go a day without smiling. I have so much to offer, share, and learn that I must always wear my smile.

Though I don't always agree with the ways in which things are done and I am not always in the best of spirits, I know that I must not forget to put on my smile while getting dressed for the day. A smile can most definitely go a long way.

Sending you manys smiles and love from Kolkata.
<3 Claire