It's me, Rachel. I am not only the youngest member of the team, but also the designated "little sister" and "funnest person to tease".
Today for instance we were laying on the beach, and the guy I thought cared for me like a sister-in-law, tried to get the man with the 8 foot long python around his neck to put it on me.
Yep, that is just the tip of the iceberg.
A lot of things have been pretty cool on this trip. I have had a lot of new experiences, and made a lot of new friends.
The first few days in India opened my eyes to a lot of things. There were crazy drivers, animals all over the busy streets, and it always had this terrible smell. The food was ok for the first week and then it just got really old.
At the orphanage we played with the kids usually every day. Duck, duck, goose, and assorted Indian games, we also just sat and tried our best to communicate with the little children who know very little English.
I, on the other hand learned ten words in Telegu, although I have since forgotten all of them.
Whenever I walked downstairs to where the kids were, I was always surrounded by little children who wanted to hold my hand (no worries dad they were younger than 12), and wanted to know more information about me. My name, my age, and when I was going back to America, I don't think they ever really got that I was from Canada. It is like any white person there must be American.
When we first got to India, Brian had told us to be careful not to make "best friends" with any of the children, singling them out for special attention could make other kids jealous. So I tried my best to spend time with as many of the kids equally.
The first time I met Ganesh and his little brother Danush, was when he had been picked to play Daddy Mekala in the film we were making. He was a really sweet kid, but not someone I spent much time with.
Then, 4 days before we left for Sri Lanka, I noticed that Ganesh was showing up more and more in the little circle of children who followed me and talked to me. He seemed a little shy at first, but once he learned my name and I learned his, we were fast friends.
A couple of days before we left he took me by the hand and showed me around this little orphanage that he and his brother have called home since their father died, and mother dropped them off, too poor to take care of them. This nine year old boy gave me flowers, and walked with me around the entire compound, showing me the room where he sleeps with 87 other boys, and the classroom where he spends his school time.
When other children would try to hang onto me, Ganesh would protect me from them hurting me, and pointed to me saying in broken English "Rachel is my friend."
The night before we left, when Ganesh found out that we were leaving, his face fell, and he kept sending other team members to get me so that he could tell me that he did not want me to leave.
The morning of January 3rd, will go down as one of the hardest days of my life. Our team got up one by one to say goodbye to all the little orphans. I watched through tear-stained eyes as the children cried, and cried, and cried. When it was my turn to talk, I thanked all the children for being our friends, and then my eyes met his. I completely broke down, not being able to say any more.
We hugged the children for the last time and boarded the bus to the airport. As the children lined the driveway, I could still see Ganesh, tears streaming down his face looking at me and waving.
I have never in my life felt so needed by someone. In the days that followed I struggled to put my words on paper. I tried to write exactly how I feel towards that little boy, and how much I will miss him. But it is almost impossible. Because when you are all that someone has to receive love from, when you are so important in the life of a little child, it is amazing, and it can leave you speechless.
I took away from India some amazing memories, some amazing pictures, two little notes in Ganesh's handwriting . . . and in return I left my heart.
Rachel Hiebert - as dictated to Brian
Rachel Hiebert – Tuesday, January 16, 2007
