Dolphin

PACKING LIST
5 pairs of clothes
rain jacket
undergarments
toothbrush/toothpaste
hairbrush/hair ties/clips
body wash/shampoo/deo
book to read, pens
cell phone/ipod/camera/chargers
light blanket
flashlight
waterbottle
id stuff/money


so thats pretty much all i packed into my chekered jansport backpack. the lesser the "stuff" the better. we got an inspire bag thing that included the reader put together by the coordinators, a towel, spoon, cup, inscents, and mine specially had tennis balls as well. i took of all my rings, except for the one from my parents, rubbed off the eyeliner, tied my hair up, and wore a simple kurti. i was ready.


the program started off in Ahmedabad, which was convenient for me since i was already in Gujarat. for the entire amd portion of the trip, we were staying at this place called ESI-Environmental Sanitation Institute. that place was so beautiful and clean. emphasis on clean. the first thing i saw when i walked in the entrance gate was the Nandini bus. it is basically a moving toilet exhibition. did you know that about 40% of India does not have toilets? its quite shocking. also near the entrance is the actual toilet exhibition. at ESI they test out a bunch of toilets and even come up with a few originals.


the first people i met when i reached the room where we were staying were Chaiti and Shane, 2 of the 5 amazing coordinators. we talked a bit and then my parents left. ahh i really didnt really have any expectations for the program but i could tell it was going to be worth the 6ish weeks. after an hour or so, i met Ushma and Sara, 2 more participants in the program. they were a bit tired from flights and stuff. people continued to show up and eventually we started to hang out and get acquainted. Rohit, Sachi, Amitbhai, Amit, and Shraddha were all there from the start and Rajendra and Manisha came a bit later.


we played some ultimate frisbee in the sprinklers! omg i got soaked it was soo funn!! for the next couple days we played some games in which we got to know eachother. we played this one game called.. im not sure actually. but it was a name game in which we each picked an animal that best fit our individual personalities and then chose an action to go along with it. one person starts off saying his/her name, then his/her animal and does the action and then says the name, animal, and does the action of another person.  the best one was "amit horse" :) i chose dolphin because i love the water and i love being free to just swim and sing.. what animal are you?