Role Play

So much has happened in the past 12 days, and I feel terrible for not keeping up better with my blog. Where to start. The school of course!

In 7^th and 8^th grade English, the students were reading a parable or excerpt from a story. As a demonstration of their comprehension for these, in my opinion, rather difficult texts (Pride and Prejudice for 8^th graders, for example), the students were to create their own little play to show the class. Each class was divided into about four groups. From there, each group had to determine who would play each part and if they would have multiple parts, write their script in a creative manner instead of simply word-for-word, utilize some sort of prop, memorize most of their lines, and practice inflecting their voices/displaying the correct mannerisms of their characters in order to show true comprehension of the story. All of these tasks were completed within three forty-minute class periods (and any preparation students chose to do outside of class).

I was astonished by the results. The students were fantastic! The seventh grade students acted out a parable called A Grain as Big as a Hen’s Egg. There were three old men in the story, a king, some children, two wise men, and a traveller. The students came prepared with crutches made from newspapers wrapped around their textbooks, some sort of black pastels and/or black tape to make moustaches, chalk dust to make their hair look white, a crown made of newspapers, and a tennis ball to serve as the grain. These are just some of the props students developed. The 8^th graders made fake pipes, brought in tea sets, and sewing kits to act the parts of Elizabeth, Jane, and Mr. Bennett. Keep in mind, most of these students are living in severe poverty and collecting these resources would have taken great time and effort!

Within just these few classes, most of the students had memorized their lines, decided upon scene changes (8^th grade only), determined their characters’ personalities, and created props. And most of the groups performed wonderfully. (Two of the groups did not use their time wisely which showed in their performances). I was sincerely laughing aloud at how the children walked hunched over like old men (7^th grade), showed the sarcasm and overreactions of Mrs. Bennett, and danced (boys with girls!) formally as they would have at the dinner party (also 8^th grade).

Aside from the specific lessons, the students are finally warming up to me. I am not such a novelty anymore, and I am so thankful for it. The students still stand up when I walk into the classroom like they do with the other teachers (something that will take adjusting to) and get so excited to say hello to me, but in general, they know that I’m there now, they listen to me when I ask them to do something, and are taking me seriously now that they better understand my role in the classroom. That role being, right now, assisting the teacher in classroom management, checking comprehension, promoting proper use of the spoken and written English language, and helping students stay on task.

The students are wonderful, but the teachers deserve so much credit for where the students are academically as well as behaviorally. I have thoroughly enjoyed coming to know the teachers at the school. They are all curious about my weekend plans, excited when I wear a sari or a salwar kameez to school, and informative about their teaching methods and their reasoning for it. The teachers are hilarious, too! They are constantly making jokes and looking on the bright side of their situations instead of complaining about how this or that is so hard. It seems that they’ve recognized their jobs comes with difficulties, so they do not grumble about their situations unless they are truly looking for suggestions on how to improve it. I am so glad that I am fortunate enough to work with such a supportive teaching staff.

Before I move onto discussing non-school related topics, here are some fun facts about the school:

• Students did all the interior painting. They are very talented artists.

• There is an art show at the school where students can choose to sell their art to profit the school. Fantastic idea!

• Students learn at least three languages: Hindi, English, and Kannada (the national and state languages).

• Students also learn Indian and western music.

• Each student is provided with transportation to school, breakfast, lunch, tuition, a uniform, and textbooks, free of cost.

     I'll post again soon!

It is what it is

So I've decided that if you have to drive in India, the best time to do it is at night. When I arrived at the airport and we drove to the house I am staying at, there were relatively few cars on the road and the darkness somewhat dulled the vast visual differences there are between the U.S. and India. It was nice to have a less jarring transition. The school was awesome and had me picked up from the airport, so I didn't have to worry about finding my way around Bangalore. I’ve always wondered what it was like having one’s name on a sign to be picked up. It was just what I thought. Very odd. But, it made things easy for me. Even with the ease through which I got through security and the relative comfort I felt, there were still some things I noticed that I thought I'd point out. 

1. Turn signals are optional as are road lines. Instead, honking horns is a much more useful way of letting people know where you are on the road. There are also speed bumps. Everywhere. So breaks are hit pretty frequently.

2. Dogs just kind of hang out everywhere. Even on the highway. I saw one that wanted to get on the other side of this wall for some reason, so it just jumped on it, like a cat, and walked along it like it was the most normal thing in the world. The wall was at least four or five feet high. 

3. Billboards range from the size typical to those seen in the U.S. to 4-6X that size. I have never seen them so big. And oddly, they usually have people of European descent on them rather than native Indians. 

4. Bangalore is an entire city under construction. The population recently boomed, and you can see a building in progress nearly every block.  

That was my first night. I thought for sure, I would be in complete shock, that'd I'd be overwhelmed from the get-go. But it wasn't so. My nice driver dropped me off, I was introduced to my host family, and I went to bed in order to get ready for school the next day at 10 am. I don't know how, but I avoided the jet lag! The 20 hour flight was just long enough that I was able to adjust my sleep schedule prior to my arrival. 

So I woke up the next morning and ate some fruit and drank some chai tea (not American style) before chatting with the ladies who were home. My host mom has her home open to many of her friends, so they'll be in and out, I've been told. I chatted with one of her physician friends who spends half the year in Bangalore and the other half working as a family physician in Toronto. We chatted about the ins and outs of life here, some things to look out for, and some of the major changes in mentality that the country is undergoing. Highly informative. 

I was told I was being picked up at 10, so when the car honked its horn, I went out, asked if the driver was going to Christel House (my school), and then trusted I would get there. Being in India is really going to have me trusting in others a lot. There aren't really road signs, just landmarks. So when I was on my way home tonight and it was time for me to get off the bus, they pointed to the white building across the (approximately) 4 lane roads, and I just did what everyone else did, walked through the traffic with my eyes closed. Just kidding, but you do just kind of walk around the cars, weaving in and out, sometimes stopping in the middle of the street, and observing when others have decided to walk. I recognized where I was at that point (not bad for having ridden from the opposite direction only once) and walked the few blocks home. I must have looked like I knew what I was doing because no one questioned me. I didn't even get stopped by the auto-rickshaw drivers!

Oh yea, the whole school day that I did between 10 am and 5 pm. I don't know what I was expecting, but going to the school was entirely different from whatever notion I may have had. My school has approximately 1,000 students. They are selected based on poverty levels, number of siblings, etc., the least fortunate being chosen to attend. Tuitions, uniforms, transportation, breakfast, lunch, and snack are all paid for by Christel House. The school is sponsored by various individual donors, as well as some major companies. The generosity of those individuals and companies provide the many benefits for the students, in addition to the teachers’ salaries. Students are chosen in kindergarten and attend through 12th grade. There are about 31 students in a class and two classes per grade. 

The teachers’ schedules are quite fascinating. The teacher I am with teaches English for grades 6, 7, and 8. In between those three classes, she either pulls a few struggling students and works with them in a small group, or it’s her break/prep time. Today, they had a spelling assessment, and most of the students desperately wanted to be the ones to answer questions she asked. I’ve never seen anything like it. The amount of respect for the teachers was incredibly. Each teacher is called by her name and then “ma’am,” but it sounds more like “mam.” So I’m “Theresa ma’am.” The teachers are all very friendly, but I’m really going to have to work on getting their names down. They tend to get stuck in my mouth like a tongue twister, so I have to hear them a few times before I say them correctly.

And the students. Absolutely adorable. But it’s so sad thinking about the lives they lead when they are not at school. Most of them don’t have access to a toilet, food, or any sort of learning support outside of school. Some even live in the partially-made buildings throughout the city. Most of them do a double-take when they see me. I thought I could get used to it because I was warned ahead of time, and I had experienced something similar when I went to Haiti. It was different, though. In Haiti, I was at least in a group of blancs, or whites, and I saw others here and there, but here, I am the only white person around. I haven’t seen another white person since I left the airport. Being such a minority is something that will definitely take some getting used to.

These are all things that I will have to adjust to throughout my time here. I thought I’d be freaking out by now because of the culture shock, but somehow I’ve kept this “It is what it is” mentality, and nothing has thrown me for a loop…yet. I’m excited to learn more about life here. In addition to helping with English, I’ll get to help out with science too. I’m oober stoked! Oh yea, and Diwali, the festival of lights, starts next week. So I get a holiday during which to explore the city. Wahoo! Tomorrow after school, Rhoda is taking me for a walk around town to get acquainted with things a little more. I’m sure it’ll be grand.

Over the ocean and through Europe

Can I say something crazy? I'm going to India!! I've been pretty freaked out the past couples of days at this realization. I am aware that I am going, I know that I have never experienced something like this before, and I know I am going to miss my family and friends, but it is still so surreal. And I'm already in Paris waiting for my connecting flight. I guess some things take getting used to.

Speaking of getting used to things, I adjusted so quickly and LOVED my Indiana placement site at Sprunica Elementary. My students and mentor teacher were incredible, and I will miss them terribly! On my last day, they presented me with lovely book complimenting me and asking me questions about my trip. After having to tell the kids several times that I won't be coming back to work at Sprunica but that I would not forget them, I finally headed back home and got ready to leave for my trip the next day. Actually it's been pretty helpful that I have had no recovery time since the end of my Indiana placement because I have not hAD time to get to used to spending time with my fiance, family, and friends again. I'm still on the go, working on my classwork, preparing for graduation, and job searching. And I'll be on the go as soon as I get to India. I'll be arriving in Bangalore at around midnight and will get to meet my principal, new mentor teacher, and students at around 11 am the next day. The nice thing about the long flight is that it gives me a head start on adjusting to the jet lag. 

In case anyone was wondering, I decided to name my blog "Pray, learn, teach" because that's the order of what I will be doing in India. 

Pray. Spending two-and-a-half months away from home is going to be tough. It will be even more challenging not anyone knowing and being in a culture complete unique to my own. In other words, I am going to have to rely much more completely on God than I have been doing lately. It's so easy to fall into a routine without a strong reliance on God when everything is going well and much easier to just turn to Him in times of need. Going to India is a result of things going so well, so I am try trying to come to rely more on Him during this dually wonderful and terrifying opportunity. God has this awesome habit of making me turn to Him when I start getting complacent. Needless to say, I'll be spending a lot of time on my knees from now on. 

Learn. I am going out of my comfort zone. I like being at home, where am I with all my friends, know the routines, foods, and how to get places. I enjoy trick-or-treating and sharing a Thanksgiving meal with my family and friends. Fall is my favorite season in Indiana. But this year, I decided to give all that up for some time and get to know more about another portion of the world. Every one of my senses are going to be bombarded and so I will have to adjust and learn from those experiences to simply exist. I have to learn to discard any judgments I may want to make on people. I have to learn what it's like to have water as a scarce resource. I have to learn completely new mannerisms, and I have to learn what qualities are valued and respected. Each interaction I have with another person will be a chance for me to learn about myself, others, and the many places I will be visiting. Good thing I love learning.

Teach. By the way, did I mention that the reason I am going and to India is to student teach? Well, it is. I will be working with an incredible NGO called Christel House whose mission is to end the cycle of poverty for children around the world by providing those most in need with a great education and help in finding a job when their time after school is over. I love this mission and it is the same one that I feel called to have a future teacher. The people who work at the school have been wonderful, and I am so excited to finally meet them in person. 

Read all about Christel House India here:  http://www.in.christelhouse.org/

Well, I am getting ready to board my flight now. May

All in One Week

I have just one week to go before embarking on what is guaranteed to be a life changing experience in India, and I just got engaged!! With some brief, and frantic, wedding planning taken care of, I have so much to do in this upcoming week. School assignments, work, and job applications can be difficult to focus on when you're thinking about a twenty hour flight to a new (temporary) home.

These next 2.5 months are going to be exciting and exhausting, fantastic and frightening, educational and enlightening. I am going alone to a land about which I still have so much to learn. I am excited to have this time to enter more deeply into my relationship with Christ, knowing that He is the only one who will be able to bear the weight of everything that I will experience.

With the many opportunities that I will have in India, I am glad that I will be able to keep all my friends, family, and students updated with my goings-on while I am away. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I make this spiritual and educational journey!