Lessons Learned - Eden Rabdau

I could write more about the vines in our yard or how I can't handle ordering at drive throughs, but I thought you might get a little more out of this: A new post from Eden, again in her own words. You can read the original post along with others here.

Coming into India I had no clue what to expect. I had no clue if I would find that favorite girl that I would do anything for. If we would feel like we made a difference. If I felt like I helped someone at all. In one week I found that favorite girl I would do anything for. We made a difference. I feel like not only did I help one person, but 25. 

These girls have the most spectacular souls. Souls filled with pure joy. Souls filled with the desire to give and to love.  Souls that I’ve never seen before.

I think sometimes we come into an adventure like this expecting to change these girls lives and to help them so much. Which we do.  But in return they do the same. The girls live the most simple life style, one with no excess, even one without the essentials. It’s honestly one of the most humbling experiences I’ve ever had. So many of the girls either have a single mom who cannot afford to keep them at home or no parents at all.  25 girls live in a crammed “house” hardly big enough to hold a family of 4. Ceilings sit two inches above my head and mud floors are beneath me, beds made of wood with a dirty rug over the top is what they call home. No one deserves to live like this, especially these girls. 

These girls have taught me a few very important things.

-How to be selfless.

-How to truly love someone for all they are. Flaws and all.

-How to devote your whole heart to service.

-To pay attention to the girls who has just peed herself. Also to not pick her up while playing soccer.

-They’ve taught me to smile and to laugh just because you can.

We were going to say goodbye today but it got postponed until tomorrow so we could celebrate India’s Independence Day with the girls. When Raj told everyone we didn’t have to say goodbye today the girls cheered and hollered. I can’t even begin to imagine what tomorrow will bring.  Either way, India and the people of India have changed me yet again.

Eden Rabdau

Azadi

Eden is back in India.

She left about a week ago. We just started hearing from her just in the past couple of days... guess that's the type of delay you get traveling some 44 hours straight. If I've got this right: 2 hours to Chicago, 15 hours to Delhi, 11 hours on a train, 6 hours in a bus. Plus delays. Plus layovers.

She's essentially in the foothills of the Himalayas... near a town called Chamba, in an area called Himachal Pradesh. see it here or here. If you go a few hours west, you'll be in Pakistan.... a few hours east, either China or Tibet. She says it's the most beautiful place she's ever been, that we'd love the people, the curry, the mountains and the stars. I can almost see it.

I'm not sure we initially believed she'd ever go the first the first time. We were a little skeptical when she vowed to go back. Now, before she's even been there a week, she's telling us she'll return... next time for months and not just weeks. I have no doubt.

She said we should go as a family, back to northern India. Should we? Could we? It seems completely implausible and impractical. But still... something so far out of the ordinary... the concept feels magnetic.

I'm sure there will be more photos and posts... You can follow the official blog here. But for now, from India... in her own words, Eden. (and a few from Tracy in between)



Namaste.

How are you guys? India life is great. For the most part. A few things that suck hard core are 1. Humidity. I've never hated being sticky more in my LIFE! 2. (name withheld). Her and this girl (name withheld) are being absolutely horrible. They are so exclusive. I'm rooming with them and it absolutely sucks. They are just buddy buddy the whole time, I feel like I'm third wheeling it hard core. I spend as little time with them as possible. Besides them everyone else is awesome. The group works really well together and we are constantly laughing. Have to say I haven't laughed this much/this hard in months. It's been a blast. Today I spent a lot of time with this little girl names Ashu. She is 6 years old and we are pretty sure she has fetal alcohol syndrome and probably some sort of learning disability. She definitely isn't all there. But she is hilarious. She always is just talking to herself and laughing. She has a really deep and raspy voice that is adorable. She was constantly clinging to me today. At one point I was holding her and she kept on trying to lick my face but I got it so whenever she would try she would end up licking my shirt instead. She would just literally climb up my body until she was in my arms. She is a crazy little girl that's for sure. She also doesn't speak Hindi. She speaks Chambian so no one can really communicate with her. There is one translator that sorta understands her. She also has scabies covering her entire body. We are going to try to take her into the doctor while we are here to get some medication for the bites. She only knows one phrase in English, "VHAT IS VOUR NAME?" it is SOOO funny. I'll try to attach the video, either way I'll put a picture of her on here. Video didnt work. but the photo is here.. Today has been a REALLY long and tiring day. I'm ready for bed. This morning we left the NHPC at 6 to go over to this metal basket and ride it across the river. It was more like a really fast scary river. It was a blast. I'm already planning my next trip back here. I want to come back right when I graduate and live in either Kullu or Chamba. But I want to stay for at least 4-5 months next time. These two week trips are great, but not nearly enough time. I gotta head off to bed though, Can hardly keep my eyes open.

Goodnight! Love you guys. MISS YOU!
Eden

Ps. The shopping in Chamba absolutely SUCKS. Nothing. Hopefully there
is something good in New Dehli.


On Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 10:37 AM, Rabdau wrote:

Sounds like you are having lots of fun. That little girl is so cute, it's too bad about her circumstances. She hangs onto you because she is starved for love. She's lucky to have this time with you, she'll remember it forever. Too bad about the shopping. No pressure tho, just have fun doing it. You're not going to bring home bed bugs are you? Yuck! Keep doing great work! We love you and miss you so much!

Love Mom
Sent from my iPhone

noo noo noo! i wont bring home any bed bugs. even though our beds are hard as ROCK. ashu is adorable. im excited to continue working with her, hopefully we can improve her english. shopping, well we will see how the rest of shopping goes. it's always rainy here in chamba. maybe it's just because it's monsoon season but we've only had two days of sunshine the rest have been torrential downpours, pretty cool to see though. the clouds just nestle right into the mountains. ive never seen anything like it. we think out mountains are cool in utah. no, THESE are cool mountains. i think we may need to
take a family humanitarian trip to chamba. you would loooove it. and dad would take so many pictures and eat soo much food. tell hailey that the sheet she helped me made has saved my life from cockroaches 3 inches long from a spider that was no lie as big as my hand. ill show you my picture when i get home. it's also saved me from picking up some sort of std on the train. i gotta run though, the day is about to start. love you guys!

Number 19

We celebrated Eden's nineteenth birthday on the first of March. I use the word "celebrated" with some reserve as she was incredibly sick for most of the surrounding week. She had hand, foot and mouth disease as it turns out... No, that's not the thing that livestock get. Eden doesn't have any hooves.

She was a good sport though. And presents apparently have the power to heal. She got the kind of clothing she really likes... you know... the kind she'll step over as she heads downstairs to raid Tracy's closet.

For dinner, we canceled the curry and fed her milkshakes instead. She did have cake though... although none of us would let her blow out the candles. See for yourself.

Also... Evan isn't wearing a burkha... he's wearing his blanket... named Sheldon.

Fall at 50mm

Okay, I promise... This will be the last gratuitous photo barrage for at least a week or so. I'm not saying anyone loves my writing and is counting the days until I do more, I'm just feeling a little guilty about taking the "easy way out". As much as I like to write, it takes me a lot of effort to string together a few clumsy sentences. Clumsy photography comes much easier. A note for my very few readers... please click on the photos you like. They get bigger.

Berries behind the house. Probably not edible...

Eden's new autumn hair color. Also not edible...

The leaves on our favorite tree turned just in the last couple of days.

When obscured by said tree, our house seems almost quaint.

This is me, perpetually in need of a shave.

This fall has been a gift... blue and gold.

Eden patiently poses. Man, I love this lens.

Boomerang

If you remember, I posted recently about Eden's move up to Logan and into Utah State. Tears were shed, deposits were made and roommates were... Armenian. Well that was so August. Eden is now back home, in a new school and headed a new direction. In fact, she just started last week at a Paul Mitchell to pursue cosmetology. She just felt that a four year college wasn't "her thing". Hard to argue with that, but we did nonetheless. As a parent, you feel conflicted. You want the best for your kids and you want them to be happy. But what if what makes them happy doesn't fit your idea of what's best? And what if the thing you think is best doesn't at all make them happy? You question every motivation... on both sides. In the end, the call was hers to make. And so she's here, she's happy and we are as proud as ever.

Up Up and Away

So Eden is away at school now and she's started a blog.
Will she keep it up to date? Not if she's genetically anything like me.

Reluctant Return.

Eden is back.

I don't mean back from India, she's been home for almost two weeks.
I mean back to normal...

She's no longer sending me SOS texts from class.
She's finally agreed to make a Christmas list.
Her room is a once again a stunning disaster.

A return to normalcy is understandable... even necessary I suppose.
School. Choir. Homework. Lacrosse. All demand attention.
You just hate to see the routine replace the radical so soon.

It's okay though... appearances can be deceiving.
The henna may have faded, but I think India was indelible.

She posted a ton of photos on Flickr.
You can see them all here.

Wheels Up

Remember this photo? Probably not. I posted it way back in February. This is Eden holding her acceptance letter to Youth Making a Difference (YMAD). I'll let you read more about the organization on your own, but in the interest of time, I'll sum up the critical stuff here...

- YMAD is a non-profit that takes teens to do humanitarian work in India.
- Eden has spent the last year with a group of fellow students preparing to go.
- They will work primarily in remote villages outside of Kolkata (Calcutta).
- She left this morning at 5am.
- She and Tracy waited until the very last minute to cry. (I was unaffected).
- She will have not have access to a cell phone or ranch dressing for 17 days.

The place:


The people:


We are excited for her and proud of her.
If you only knew how far she has come...

You can also follow their daily progress on the YMAD blog.

Stay tuned.