Thursday, August 02, 2007

Dave says goodbye to MILLEE

On June 26th, 2007, I spent my last day with the kids at the school. I remember telling one of my friends that when I first came to India, I was expecting to keep networks networking, internets internetting, and the laptops laptopping; perhaps even sneak in a bit of research at the same time. What I didn't count on was falling in love with nearly 50 kids. And for that reason, leaving the school was one of the most difficult things I've had to do, not just in India, but in my life.



I'm glad Neha, who recently joined the group (WELCOME, NEHA!), described her experience of the school with a fresh set of eyes. It reminded me of all the things I loved about working with those kids. And even though Neha's experiences were all new to her, I take a lot of joy in the fact that each day for me was as exciting, fun, and full of love as the first. Just to reiterate what Neha had said, "they are happy any which way, which is one of the things that makes them so special". She was talking about pictures, but I feel like this is pervasive in their life which, indeed, makes them very special and me very happy.



My last day there, I had to say goodbye. I walked into a quiet classroom and said goodbye to the kids. I remember how they ran up so that they could give me a hug with their precious, filthy hands (if you've been following along, you know how I feel about their hands). I remember the questions they asked, each one broke my heart: "Where are you going?" and "What is your phone number?" so that they could call me. The hardest question for me to hear was, "When are you coming back?"



I will dearly miss those kids. I will miss the excitement of having their pictures taken and showing it to them. I'll miss all the silly things they said during our interviews with them. I'll miss the fact that they loved you, not because of who you were or where you come from, just because you were there.



Since then, I have enjoyed a whirlwind tour of beautiful India and now back in the US trying to get caught up with all the work that has been waiting patiently for my return.

2 comments:

8&20 said...
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Dave said...
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