Shanti Dan and Monsoon Rains

Hello! Wow, again it seems that so much has happened since I last wrote. I couldn't possibly record it all, but I'll try to give you a few highlights! Don't worry, I'm journaling like a maniac! I've worked at Shanti Dan for 5 days now and am loving it more and more! I've started building realationships with the women and getting a better sense of what to do with them. Today, I painted fingernails with some polish I found at the market for 10 rupees (20 cents U.S), gave foot and hand massages with lotion (many of the women have extremely dry skin from the constant laundering), helped hang and fold laundry, and sang songs with them! Many of the women truly have beautiful hearts and really are in need of so much love. I found out that the women that are there are women who were deserted on the streets by their families who didn't want to care for them. People with mental disabilities are extremely vulnerable in this society and are largely left to fend for themselves and many suffer exploitation. Missionaries of Charity goes out to the streets daily looking for those who are in this kind of dire need. If they are willing to come, they are admitted to the homes. So, the work that Missionaries of Charity does is really incredible.
I am also loving the people I'm working with at this home. Right now, we have people from Spain (lots!), France, Germany, Japan, Los Angelos, and Eugene (me). I've mainly been hanging out with the girl from Japan (Jun Ko (spelling??)) and the girls from Spain. They are all so nice and welcoming and they think my accent is "so cute...so american" they say! I tell them I think their accents are cute and they just laugh at me and say "what accent?" Jun Ko is awesome. She is currently on a world tour and has traveled throughout Southeast Asia & India and will be continuing her travels to South Africa and South America! Wow! I thought I liked to travel! I went to lunch with the Spanish girls and they showed me this awesome Spanish cafe where they have the most amazing pineapple and mango juice with the best cinnamon rolls I think I have ever had (sorry sweet life!). The cafe is really cool...it has a room full of seated cushions and air conditioning! I kind of feel like I am in Costa Rica rather than India when I go though because everyone is speaking Spanish (very quickly I might add!) I tried to explain to the Spanish girls that I'm a vegan and they said they have never heard of such a thing and gave me a strict lecture about my protein needs! Apparently, they don't have vegans in Spain! They said that if I ever went to Spain though that I could stay with them....so my trip to Spain is in the works! :)
I think the monsoon rains have arrived. It was raining in torrents today with thunder and lightning. The courtyard at Shanti Dan was flooded within a matter of minates!Wehad to wait it out before we could leave and when we left the streets were like a shallow creek! As I'm writing, it is pouring rain as if you were standing under a waterfall. The nice thing, though, is that it never lasts too long and it tends to keep the temperature down. I think I may just be getting used to the heat....I'm not profusely sweating anymore! Alright, I'm off to find an ATM and do rupee/dollar conversions and find some peanut butter and fresh mangos! Until later....
~Rachel