Bad Boys

The cricket boys-a real handfull

The day kicked off sort of badly but it ended up all right in the end. The older boys at camp were being complete jerks. The kids were great as usual but guys, what a pain. We did paper mishae, which turned out to be a real mess, but the kids enjoyed it. I am not sure if the balloons will work. We covered them with newspaper and flower mixed with water instead of glue (teaching them to be creative with the resources they already have). I am starting to connect with the older girls. It is nice because they have a very strong sisterhood among them…something I have not been a part of much in India so far. The girls know how to deal with the guys and seem to agree completely that they are sleazy. The older boys came to hang out today-apparently they were making fun of my accent cuz the girls kept getting mad at them-jerks. The oldest girl came from a public (which is actually private in India) school called The Sacred Hearts. She told me what they were saying and it really pissed me off. These guys were 18-19 and still had to come and take away from their younger brothers and educational time. Well, maybe it will keep them from trouble, but it is still annoying. Next time I will have to buck up and scold them for being so disrespectful. After getting my spirits knocked down from the boy ordeal and the fact that our taxi driver insinuated that I was sick in the head because I went barefoot and got wet in the rain when I played with the kids, I proceeded to trip and fall flat on my face while going back to my flat. All my school supplies scattered across the walk way and rolled down the hill I was walking up, my bags busting like bombs as they smacked into the pavement and my legs and palms took a thorough shredding. Lunch was rice and Dhal…. again. I slept for an hour or so and walked down to town. Guess who brightened my day? Benji! The little guy sure did make me feel better. It is to bad he can’t be more like that all of the time. . I had dinner at the Manali Pheasant again-very good. After I finished eating the waiter sat down and talked to me for about half an hour and he actually seemed like a decent guy. It was so nice to have someone to talk to! We agreed to meet again on Sunday and I told him I would show him my photo of my hometown. I got some nice shirts from the free box that I finally discovered in one of the other flats…I’m sooo excited about them! I talked to mom a long time, it was like a breath of fresh air to talk to someone who had a clue about where I was coming from…Vicky (lil Sikh boy) came today…glade to see him.