Sorry everybody--I know this blog has been poorly maintained.  I'll try to make my posts a little less sporadic from now on. 

The last three days have been spent taking trips here and there, but today was the most fun by far.  We went to a little village an hour or so outside of Bangalore.  The air was exhaust-fume free, the people were pleasant, the food was good, and we got to have play time with the local school children!  Yeah, making messes with crayons and paint!  My favorite interaction with kids: half and hour of doodling with neon-colored crayons and then running away before any actual responsibility gets involved.  I'm sure they're teachers were just thrilled.

Kids are such adorable little monsters! :)

The night before the trip we (my fellow USAC students and I) went out and bought some toys and goodies for the kids.  I bought a big stack of notebooks and some crayons, and I'm really glad I did!  Kids are the same everywhere.  I was quickly surrounded by little artists who grabbed my arms to get my attention every time they drew something new.  I got some amazing drawings! 

Look out!  It's the elusive Four-legged-chicken-baby-demon!

There was one little boy who went to town drawing me pictures.  It was so awesome! 

I made him write his name on this one.  I still don't know what it is, but it looks pretty.

There was a little girl who didn't actually want to draw--oh no--she was having more fun being the crayon police.  All she wanted to do in this world was organize the crayons in order, put them back in their little box, and make sure that people asked her permission before selecting their next color. 

No Dad, we did not sit around making pamphlets or smoke pot.

This was all part of the group called CSA (Center for Social Action), which tries to bring a better standard of living to poorer areas in India, like the villages and slums.  They educate people, help them find ways to make money, attempt to eliminate things like child marriage, and generally empower them to help themselves.  We got to talk to some of the women in the village who were part of a self-help group.  The group serves to give the women more power and respect in the male-dominated society they live in.  It was inspiring to hear them talk about the many ways that their lives and attitudes have changed for the better since they started this program.

Three generations of empowered women.

We were only there for a few hours, which was the perfect amount of time to suit everyone's temperaments, so everyone had a good time.

We wound up the days by going out for coffee and Italian food at Pascucci's and eventually splitting off into smaller groups.  Some would go home, while others would find themselves sitting around a small computer screen watching the live action version of The Jungle Book--which is a delightful movie--with a small but fabulous, funny, and intelligent group of people.

 That's all for now, but I'll post something about my trip to Mysore soon.

Love your faces
-Liz