Communication

Greetings from India!
Our trip has been the best experience that any of us could have ever asked for. We are learning so much and pushing our limits... in a good way. On of the harder things that we have been dealing with is communication.
The adults speak well enough English that it is fairly easy to carry a conversation with them. However some of the kids here are just starting to learn English. They all know common phrases like, "What is your name?" or "What is your favorite color?" but it does not go much past that. We have found other ways to form connections with these kids.
Most of the time they grab your hand and lead you to play your 900000000000th thumb war, but there are some more unique cases too. Just the other night a group of us were on the roof and some of the younger boys came up. After touching the basics of conversation we were all just standing around. Randomly Cameron made a cow noise. For the next half an hour we were all making weird noises and faces. We were all laughing so much we were crying.
Other times it is nice just to sit and hold a kids hand, because words are not always necessary for them to feel how much we love them.
One way we are working on talking to them is trying to learn little bits of telugu. So far I've learned to say, "how are you, I'm fine, I love you, thank you," and count to ten. Most of the time I know I'm saying it wrong, but the kids just shake their heads yes and smile.
We are thinking of you all and can't wait to see you soon. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, they're working. We're having a ridiculously good time!
Kathryn Theige