| Little Wonders of India |

 Wow, I’m really in India! It still doesn’t seem real to me. It’s so beautiful here, pictures don’t do it justice. It hasn’t even been a week since we left, and so much has happened! Two days of traveling, freezing in the tent the first night (Thank you mom. I am so grateful for my thermals!), spicy food, hiking up to a gorgeous waterfall, discovering we had hot running water in the building some of the other kids are staying in, and finally, going to the schools and meeting the kids, and falling completely in love with them. The first day we met them was so much fun. Most of them were pretty shy though, but by the end of the day they were climbing all over us. The second day, they were waiting for us out on the balcony and once they saw us hiking down, they starting cheering and waving at us. We have a rowdy group of kids on our hands! By the end of the day they were chasing us and having tickle fights. On the third day, a lot of them hiked up to greet us, hold our hands and walk to the school with us. I won’t lie, I choked up. It’s amazing how after such a short period of time so much love can be exchanged. The two girls in that picture are Godavari (left) and Reena (right), and they are only two of the many kids who have stolen my heart. By the end of the third day, they were calling me “didi” which means “sister” in Hindi, and they kept telling me they love me. They are so precious. I don’t know how I’m going to say goodbye to them. I do miss everyone back home, but I can’t imagine leaving this place.

-Atalee Smith