Day 6

Saturday was another beautiful day in Patna. I don’t know if we’ve mentioned it, but Patna has been going through a heat wave this week, and it has been over 40 C every day. Laura was very happy when Brayden told her that is over 100 F…we knew it felt hot! J On Saturday, we had breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa Sinha, and then got ready to pay a visit to the blind school for girls. On the drive over, Grandpa Sinha explained that there are many schools for blind boys in Patna, however, there were not any schools for blind girls, essentially leaving them without a future. On top of all of the other charitable work the Sinha family does, they have also started this school. It was not hard to hear the pride and love in Grandpa Sinha’s voice as he talked about how much he enjoyed visiting the girls, and how accomplished they are. The school provides education until grade 10, at which point the girls can continue on their studies at University. At the school, the girls are taught to read and write Braille, speak English, and work on computers. These skills will help them gain employment and further their education, leading to successful lives amidst opposition. We were very excited to go to the school, but had no idea just how touching it would be.

When we arrived, we were shown the original school building, which was small and in general disrepair. Thanks to donations, they have begun building a new school, of which the first floor is complete, and it is very spacious and nice. When we entered the new building, classes were in session. Dr Sinha explained that they cannot use traditional large classrooms, “as it would not work to write on a blackboard, they can’t see!” Instead, the school is made of a series of small classrooms, each consisting of a teacher and 7-10 girls. When we entered the first classroom, the girls immediately stood at the sound of the door opening and greeted us. They were very excited to hear Dr Sinha’s voice, and became very excited when they heard he had brought visitors. At that point, they reached out their hands to us, asking in English, “what is your name?” It is difficult to describe the feelings that occurred when we touched their hands back and looked into their faces. It was a sweet moment that will not soon be forgotten. There was something very special about the school, despite the adversity of their situation, the girls were all so happy and greeted us with beautiful smiles. They also laughed together and played, and their joy was contagious. They were proud to show us how they wrote Braille using a stylus and grid, and then flipping the page over and reading to us what they had written. One girl worked hard to write, and then read to us her message that she was very happy we had come today. Touching the hands of those girls created a deep connection and was a special experience, and definitely a highlight of the visit. Dr. Ajit Sinha showed us the construction on top of the building to expand the school and it was all possible thanks to donations. A picture below shows the director of the school for the girls who is accounting for a donation that Dr. Ajit Sinha brought with us to the school.

As we left the school, Laura noted a sign asking for donations for Braille equipment that stated, “Please donate, because God gave some of us eyes in our fingertips.” It was an interesting reminder that we each have been given different blessings, as well as adversities, but that through working together, we can succeed.

After the blind school, we went to the AB Eye Institute. We are telling you these guys never stop! Open six days a week, over 12 hours a day, they have sure set a high standard for work ethics! We were very excited to be attending the clinic that day, as we had gotten the bad news that our flight Monday had been cancelled, and we had been moved to an early flight, meaning it was our last day at the clinic. We worked hard, and due to it being Saturday, the clinic closed “early” (meaning 5 pm) for the week. The staff were all very excited to be finishing up for the week and were looking forward to their day off! We bid everyone a fond farewell, and took a group picture with the staff. We hoped to be able to come into the clinic for at least a short time on Monday, but were not sure if this was to be goodbye.

After work, we came home to another Indian feast. We had brought some snacks and food with us, expecting to be hungry while we were there or possibly not like the food, but we were sure wrong! We were filled to the brim every meal and treated like kings! Tonight the Sinha’s had bought chicken from a restaurant nearby, and it was delicious. Indians eat everything with their hands, rice, liquids, etc, it takes a certain amount of skill, and we had gotten pretty good at it, but still used the fork or spoon for certain items. Tonight as we reached for our forks to eat our chicken, Dr Sinha said, “the joy of the chicken is in eating it with your hands!” At that point, we forgot the forks and went all Indian, no more silverware. It was a little bit of a challenge as eating with the left hand is a big no-no, imagine trying to eat a piece of KFC by pulling it apart little by little with just one hand…and the piece is also smothered in a delicious, but slippery sauce! Needless to say there were some laughs around the table, but it was a great experience! From that point on, we forgot the silverware and ate with our hands. Tempting to keep it up at home, although eating spaghetti Indian style probably wouldn’t work…

After lunch the family had a short rest, and then we traveled to a different area of Patna to visit Dr Sinha’s nephew. In India, it is tradition to visit different family members on weekends, and they keep in contact with a wide range of relatives. This nephew is an honorable Judge in the High Court of Bihar. (If you haven’t picked up on it, the Sinha’s are a pretty well connected family!) He and his family were very hospitable, and we enjoyed an evening of pleasant conversation. We were also treated to a delicious frothy lemon-lime sugary drink that may have ruined lemonade for us for the rest of our lives. It is very interesting to see cultural differences in things that appear normal to us. For example, it is very strange to everyone that we are the same age, and stranger still that Laura has finished school before Brayden. Another funny moment was when Laura was asked why she stopped school after her Master’s degree? That was very sad, why wouldn’t she want to go for doctorate? It also didn’t make a lot of sense when she answered it was because that was as far as she wanted to go and she was done! Luckily, she could default to the cultural norm of stating maybe she would consider it after Brayden completed his education, which made a lot more sense to everyone. Her job doesn’t make much sense in India either, as going to school in India is a privilege, so they cannot comprehend why kids would be bad at school, and why they would keep attending school if they were bad. They were quite sure that what she did was a good thing, but maybe she would like to switch and attend medical school which would be much more rewarding. We had a laugh to ourselves, and knew they meant it kindly. They then continued to offer Brayden some advice. The family was very kind, when we commented on how hospitable they had been, the wife quickly stated, “we have not shown any hospitality at all, come back in the winter when my garden is beautiful and we shall eat a delicious meal in the garden and really show you hospitality.” She then picked us a bouquet of sweet smelling flowers and thanked us for visiting. It was a very pleasant evening, and another thought provoking experience as we shared conversation with this accomplished family. Afterwards, we returned home and fell asleep very quickly, we have found that with days so busy, we sleep very well at night. We went to sleep quickly, for we have an early morning tomorrow!