independence

I just got home. I'm sitting "Indian style" to avoid these mosquitos that won't seem to leave my poor little legs alone. I swear after India my legs will never look the same, small little circles and indents in places where I can't stop scratching.

I rode the bike to Amrita's house today.
She was one of my close friends here who recently had to stop teaching due to family circumstances.
I showed up a little late and she woke from a nap. Ran around a bit and made some chai. I sat asking her how she was and worry seemed to furrow her brow every now and then.
I didn't bring my camera but I managed to draw her on a scrap of newspaper on the bed.r

Some hours passed and she cooked me dinner with her sister in law. I stood in the kitchen and she practiced her english while I watched her make this vegetable curry sort of dish and rice.

After dinner I interviewed her for the wish book.
This is how it went.

Name: Amrita Singh Date: November 21st 2011

Me: Oh, Singh, this means lion, yes?

Amrita: Yes, how did you know?

Me: Uh, I read it somewhere. ( a book recently on different faiths in the east)

Ok..

1. I wish that there was a day for...
uh for what? anything I want? Just standing at myself, fully independent I want to be. Independent means I just need to earn on myself, not dependent on anybody else. I just don't want to take money from anybody else.

2. This would be good because...
me?...it has somewhere..what to say..secret? It happened somewhere..my mentality, I actually had some problems, that's why I want to earn money on myself. That I really don't want to share, it's family problem, yaar,.

a Amrita smiled her sweet smile all through these questions. I ended with asking her to describe her perfect place, she said:

I'll say I actually, I've never been out of Dhampur, but the peaceful place is at my Mousi's (Aunt's) house.
She gestures to her aunt whose sharing the blanket with me as we're all sitting on the bed and some Indian sort of crime/drama television series is on.

Then she drew her wish;

and she told me

" Everyone needs to fight to get fully independent, everyone fights for this in India..."
she looked over what I had written and added,

"for the mainly, mainly for the girls."

I thanked her and told her how much I missed her at school. It was getting late and she pleaded that I stayed over but I knew I needed to get home.
The road was dark and there are no street lights, but the ride home was short and I knew it.
My path was lit solely by the cars or motorcycles that would pass until I reached the beginning of the mill again.
As I bumped along on the road I sung Disney tunes in my head to try to forget the stories of one of the other teachers villages where girls had been taken recently in the corn fields.
I sung to myself and passed the field and knew of course I'd be fine.

I reached home and now here I am. Another Indian wish and day blowing me away.
Things I have to share.


Again here's the link to this project if you want to help as it continues:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/courtneybird/the-wish-book