Day 21: Sunday, June 16th
This blog post has multiple authors!
ERICA:
Our last day in Sirupinayur went by so quickly that the reality of our departure didn’t hit me until we were on the road back to Chennai. Zoning in and out of sleep on Zia’s and Michael’s shoulders, I recalled flashes of the day, from packing up our bedrooms to eating our last meals to saying so many goodbyes.
We saw our building for the last time, as it sat undisturbed with water ponded on the floor slab, the concrete curing for the next two weeks. For our closing ceremony, we decorated the village with a rainbow of balloons and various other decorations we found at a small store in Chengalpattu. During the ceremony itself, a few guests gave speeches, and our team had the opportunity to say a few words. After posing for a barrage of pictures and laying out the snacks we had bought for the community, we said our final goodbyes. We weaved our way through the crowd of children, wanting to linger with them for a few more moments but knowing that we were pressed for time. I wanted to cry, but there wasn’t enough time. As soon as we got back to the house, we ate a swift last supper and ran upstairs to grab our packed luggage. After saying our goodbyes to our host family, the cook, and the other faces that had become familiar in the past month, we piled into two vans and left as quickly as we had arrived.
MICHAEL:
Describing everything that happened our last day in Sirupinayur is like speaking about a flash of lightning. It was brilliant, loud, colorful, but also fleeting and bittersweet. Nothing truly hit me until Victor and I were packing our room for the last time (taking artsy pictures of everything). When the lights flicked to darkness, it’s hard to reminisce about how crazy and fulfilling our last time in the village was.
Extra as always, the PUC India girls dressed in a rainbow of traditional clothing, and reluctantly (as always), the guys tagged along to complete the picture. The color festival continued to the village as our “decor counselor,” Ayah helped beautify the village with streamers and balloons. Goodness, the kids had a blast blowing up balloons and watching their village become more colorful. While this happened, a couple of the older children I became closer with made a mini-cypher, and it amazing to see dancing (in our case b-boying) transcended the language barrier for a fun time.
During the closing ceremony, people spoke, we shared some sweet sweet Coca Cola with the kids, and PUC India screamed our goodbyes alongside the village children. Honestly, just thinking about that moment makes me emotional. Even though everyone was exhausted, everything was still, and no one wanted to leave such a perfect snapshot. One last time, the children chased our van goodbye, waving and smiling.
Saying goodbye to our host family and their staff hurt equally as much. We became extremely close with the children, playing volleyball, talking about other lives, them teasing us about our hand-laundry techniques. After exchanging numbers and promising to be lifelong friends, we said our adieus. The day literally flashed before our eyes, and before we knew it, we were driving back to Chennai, filled with memories and relationships we never thought imaginable.
ZIA:
From the kurtas we wore to the balloons and decorations we put up to the last magnificent sunset, this day was FULL of color. The hardest moment came saying goodbye to one little girl that I had gotten close to. Her mom (about my same age) and I would sit together most days as curious Magalechu would deliver various leaves, rocks, and other tokens into our hands. She was just about 2-3 years old and would give the biggest smile (followed by a shy hiding of her face) whenever she saw me. I struggled to figure out how to say goodbye to her and her mother, a sign of how impactful our time together had been. I finally decided to leave her with a Polaroid of us. Here’s to hoping it sticks around and one day when she is taking after-school lessons or escaping from a flood in the building we helped build, she would have some sense of the connections we had made.
VICTOR:
We were setting up the ceremony when I looked up at the sky. It was almost sunset. The sky was a beautiful gradient of red, orange, blue, and indigo. I don’t recall a single evening that the sunset wasn’t spectacular. Anyway, as I glanced up, a little white dot shined brightly. Wait, it was moving really fast! Could it be? Ken busted out his trusty skygazing app to confirm that we were, in fact, graced by the presence of none other than the International Space Station. It just so happened to be taking a cruise over Tamil Nadu.
The ceremony was a wonderful blend of heartfelt words, songs, and dance. At the conclusion, each person who played a part in the project was presented with a ceremonial towel, dramatically whooshed around their shoulders. I was whooshed twice!
We said our goodbyes and headed back to find a small feast had been prepared by the best chef in India, Arun. Over mutton biryani and super spicy sauces, Gladstone Xavier, a social work professor from Loyola University in Chennai, explained how some social issues are completely different in India. For instance, in America, vegetarianism is commonly adopted for animal rights, environmental, or health reasons. In India, however, vegetarianism is a habit mostly adopted by the upper castes. It is considered socially radical for upper caste people to eat non-vegetarian, and people are working to break the stigma of non-vegetarianism.
Entirely too soon, it was time to head back to Chennai. As we drifted away from the house we called home for 3 weeks (really? Just 3?) the thought dawned on me how long it may be before I share the same space as these generous and kind people. Not forever, hopefully.
SARAH:
Saying goodbye to our host family and the village was a difficult task. Luckily, we had a fun day planned with a wonderful final meal and a colorful final ceremony. Ayah did an amazing job of serving as our “creative director” for decor. Janet loaned me her sari so that all the girls could wear traditional Indian clothing. We ended up making a rainbow with our outfits, which fit perfectly with the mood of the day.
We left Sirupinayur after a late dinner, each of us full of conflicting emotions and having lots to say about our final day. We enjoyed getting to know Gladstone Xavier from Loyola University at dinner, but were excited to be with our most familiar face (the great and powerful Poul) for the drive to Chennai and the bittersweet end to our incredible adventure alongside CASA and the welcoming community.
AYAH:
Everything was so quick. Packing, eating, decorating, celebrating, laughing, dancing, hugging, crying, eating (again), driving, flying, and then just leaving. Our closing ceremony was at 7pm and my flight was at 4am. There was really no room to breathe. We headed to the villages dressed in our kurtas with our decorations, gifts, and snacks/drinks in hand. The ceremony began. Members of the community spoke, a traditional song performance was done, we did the Macarena with the kids, and so on. Soon enough everything was over. The ride back to the house was quiet. I don’t think we have ever been quiet and it drove our driver insane. None of us needed to speak a word since we were all feeling sunken with the reality of the situation. Shenmugam, a member of CASA who helped us with so many things while in Tamil Nadu, brought us all ice cream. While trying to work some logistics and pack the car most of my ice cream melted. There was no time to eat it. I know I will find myself in Tamil Nadu again. I think that thought was the only thing letting me feel okay. I drove to the airport alone and endured the next 30 hours of travel alone. It was strange. Having been surrounded by me team and others most every second of 21 days made that 30 hours feel lonely. I happened to meet a woman and her kids who were also headed back to Austin from Chennai. Her family happens to live near mine in Cedar Park. Reminded me how the world can be so small.
PUC Team India 2019
Comments