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
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