And our team name has meaning by kt

I seriously cannot get over the deaf kids here in India! Before leaving Mysore, we visited the Government school for the deaf. We arrived before school started so we were able to engage in games with the children.

Alf, Wyatte and Chandru (our deaf Indian coordinator who is helping take care of things on this end) organized a game of cricket. Ganesh had a GRO moment where he gave a beach ball to a group of kids. Then he and Abi taught the kids how to play a game called Steal the Bacon. Meanwhile, Smitha and Bus taught the American version of the elephant game.

As for me, I walked around filming everything and noticed a boy who had been following me from the very start, he was not interested in any of the games, only the videocamera. So, I gave it to him and taught him how to use it then he helped me film some of the games. .::melt::. Little kids are so cute. I think we were all more impressed with this school because of their use of sign language, but the facilities... Wow. The games we played were in the weeds, amidst piles of rusty rebars and deadwood.

After school started, we observed a couple classes, the first thing we noticed was the lack of girls. It is simply too dangerous in the area, plus there are no dormitories provided. There was no electricity nor lights, it was dim in the classroom, the teachers did not sign that great and taught in another language.

Despite all of this, talk about motivation. The kids all paid attention, helped with erasing the board, sat patiently in their seats when one of the teachers was late and rose in unison to greet her when she arrived out of respect. I saw no complaints nor expectations of pity, only happiness.

On the way back to Bangalore, all 10 of us were cramped in a tiny car and stuck in traffic to boot, so Chandru struck up conversation with me that really made me think. He asked me if he could talk with me about something and asked what I planned to do. That caught me off guard and I admitted that I honestly didn't know where to even begin addressing all of these issues that deaf people face here in India. He then more or less asked if I planned to do something and explained how foreigners tend to come and go but the problems remain and their help, while appreciated, is often short-lived and not enough.

It is easy to read what I have just said above as ungrateful, but please don't take it that way for what I saw in the backseat of that tiny TATA was frustration. I saw someone who truly loved India and someone that wanted his deaf son to get the basic necessities to succeed in life such as educational access, interpreters, Indians who understand, a government that helps, and people from the outside who love India as well.

We brainstormed together as to what could be done. It seems like a sign language system needs to be established, taught, and accepted. A school with dormitories would be nice, updated technologies at the schools as well, we even discussed the logistics of distance learning and online learning as well as bilingualism in order to preserve communication between parent and child.

I hope that each and every one of us go back to America with a newfound appreciation of life and a commitment to continue our work long after we leave.

Before I close, the explanation behind my title. Before we left Mysore, it poured. I have never seen rain like this, the streets became flowing rivers of mud, schoolchildren took off their shoes and splashed in the puddles on their way home. Indians took cover under whatever they could find, cows looked very annoyed. And the Monsoon Riders hurried back to the aunt's house, changed clothes, went outside, and played. Who says you can't be a kid again? :-D
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