Back in Ranchi

Okay, so most of you didn’t know I even left Ranchi. And now I've been back for a few days. But anyway, on Saturday morning, I went with Priti to Chendwa for a youth meeting. Chendwa is a small village in Jharkhand, and about 50 youth came from all over the area. All of the youth belong to tribal groups and they were excited to find out that I grew up on a farm, just like them. Saturday afternoon, during one of the sessions, I was asked to share about myself and about Mennonite youth in the US. Priti translated for me. I think that really helped me connect with them, and one thing I said was that I wish I knew more Hindi so that I could get to know them. After that, they all wanted to talk to me and ask me questions. It was hilarious! One or two of them know a little bit of English, so they would talk to each other in Hindi, mostly trying to figure out how they were supposed to say things in English. I was excited that some of the time I could actually understand them when they were speaking Hindi. It will still take a while, but at least I’m beginning to learn more.
Saturday evening they had a cultural program and a group from each area sang several songs, then they performed a tribal dance. After each group went (and Priti and I presented one English song), everyone began dancing together. So naturally, I had to join in. It was so much fun! They were all very impressed that I could pick it up so well. Who knew that we’d be up dancing until 12:30?! And then Sunday morning, we got up around 5:30 (yeah, ouch!), and after a morning worship service and lunch, we caught a bus back to Ranchi. I think everyone from the villages was returning to the city that day. 3 buses passed by because they didn’t have any more room. Finally we were able to get on a bus. We had to stand for the first 45 minutes or so, but eventually with people getting off and on, we were able to sit down for the remaining hour and a half. I was so exhausted after the weekend, but I am very glad I went.