JIBHI

Woww, I made it a whole 8 days without an entry. I was in Jibhi Monday thru Friday with no internet. But I was so preoccupied there that there's a good chance I wouldn't have blogged anyway.
I was SO sad to leave Manali on Monday morning but I sucked up. 3 hour drive packed into the car. It was hot and squished but I love our group so of course a fun time.

The first day in Jibhi we were a little car-lagged so we ate lunch, helped to make flags and signs for the Health Mela, and took naps.

When we woke up we hiked to a waterfall and I cannot even begin to explain this. It looked like a scene out of Bridge to Terabithia. There were little streams and tall plants and flowers everywhere with a little stone path and bridges made from branches.
The waterfall was gorgeous.. so gorgeous that we went back the next day and took showers in it.

Our group really lucked out because this week happened to be the week of the Health Mela hosted by LWH. AND Reena and Kirti were staying there as part of their internship. These are social worker girls who are my age and I absolutely love them :) The third day there was the first day of the Mela and we hiked up an insane mountain for over an hour in the hottest heat in traditional Indian clothes. We sweated so much it looked like we had jumped in the water by the top we reached the top.

So the Health Mela is an amazing concept. These children live so far up on the mountain that their health is often neglected. We had to take an hour long car ride from the Jibhi clinic to the bottom of a mountain and then hike an hour, just to give you an idea of how far it would be for them to reach the clinic. So basically, they bring the clinic TO the village. We had one doctor, one dentist, and 115 children. They put on a funny skit to teach the kids about nutrition. Even though we couldn't understand what they were saying... still quite hilarious to watch. The girls took some pulses and helped to entertain the kids. Then when we realized we couldn't do much else to help, we laid out on the roof which felt amazing.

After hours and hours of being dehydrated and sweaty, we hiked back down and went back to the clinic. Jibhi is so remote there was basically one street with about 4 small shops on it. It's extremely quiet and has the best air I have ever breathed.
That night we watched a bollywood movie with Dr. Parvesh. It was about a blonde haired girl who moves to India :)

Then I got to share my travel pictures since none of them have ever been out of the country. So they saw Las Vegas, and NY, and Italy, the Bahamas, Baltimore... it was neat.

The second day of the Mela we were able to drive to our destination. Even more kids this day but WOW I got some of the best pictures I have ever taken. The kids were so awesome. We again took pulses, played with the kids, and wrote up some forms for the clinic.

I got a chance to just sit down, enjoy the breeze, and talk with Reena and Kirti. We talked about marriage and divorce, past relationships and what not. These are topics that vary quite a bit between our 2 cultures.

When we got back to the clinic, we had the most amazing time! Reena, Kirti, and Dr. Parvesh have never swam before and they wanted to learn. So we all jumped into the river to teach them haha. Unfortunately there was a current... and rocks. Reena slipped and busted her lip/tooth on a rock! She's fine now but it was pretty swollen. And pretty hilarious. The girls did SO well! They were all really scared. We realized later that learning to swim in freezing water... in the rain... with a current and large rocks would really be terrifying. So I'm very proud of them.
They all kicked and screamed and splashed but oh my goodness it was hilarious! Then Rinya, our beautiful friend who works and lives at the Jibhi clinic, jumped in. She's a pretty good swimmer so no worries. The water was SO cold that it gave me a panic attack and I couldn't catch my breath. We got out and the boys got me a shirt and towel. Then we walked to the waterfall again to show the girls and Dr. Parvesh. They're NUTS
They all just jumped right in and start lathering shampoo and soap all over hahaha. It was great to watch but I couldn't stand the cold water anymore. When we took showers the 2nd day, we were screaming because the water was so cold it hurt. And they're just standing in it!

They taught us some bollywood dances... or at least they tried to teach us. And then we headed back to take showers and eat dinner. That night we all hung out upstairs, played cards, and gave American and Indian dance lessons. It was such a wonderful farewell to Jibhi.

OH and during the days we got to play with the cutest little boy!! He made me miss my little brother :( He spoke english so well. Oh my goodness he was adorable.

Friday we had class in the clinic, ate lunch, and said our goodbyes. Unfortunately we had to be back to the hotel in Manali by class time so we couldn't go to the 3rd day of the Mela :(
I cried when we had to leave.. I MISS JIBHI and it's quiet beautiful atmosphere!