This will be my final post from India. I will post more when I can, but I won't be in India to do it. My flight leaves in an hour. It's been a remarkable couple of days. I have experienced a wonderful outpouring of love from these Indian people that I have been able to associate with. They have little in the way of material possessions, but they are very rich in love. It is difficult to put my experiences into words, but I'll do my best:
Today, we left Rising Star and drove to Chennai, where we spent the day. It was a fun day with friends, shopping, visiting, and tasty Indian food. Last night on the other hand was a difficult, and wonderful, night. It was a night of goodbyes. I said goodbye to the teachers at the end of the school day. They were all very kind and told me about ways that I had helped them to become better teachers. They also all told me that they will look forward to seeing me again at RSO, preferably by next summer. I had my last playtime with the kids, and then my last dinner with the other volunteers. We shared things that we had learned in our experience here. After dinner, Life Dance performed for us. As always, it was fantastic. Their dancing is very moving. Or sometimes just fun. Either way, I love it. I took some videos that I will post on this blog when I get the chance. I headed over to the hostels after the performance to say goodbye to the children. Some of the boys in my house had prepared a present for me. It was a wonderful gift - a simple box that they had made and covered with stickers that they purchased with stars from the Star Store on campus and then filled with notes for me. Saying goodbye to them was hard. I also said goodbye to Rajakumari, who gave me a gift of some small things and a kind note. She doesn't have much (when she asked me how much my plane ticket cost in rupees, she was shocked), but her gift means that much more because of this. Of all the notes and gifts that I received, I think that the most moving for me was a note from a boy who has been having difficulties in school. He has been refusing to do his homework and has gotten into trouble. I have worked with his teachers, the counselor, and others on creating a behavior plan for him. He hasn't been happy with me on numerous occasions because I haven't let him get away with things like not doing his homework. He told me that he wasn't sad that I was leaving because I bothered him about homework and studying. But when I returned to the volunteer hostel, I left the room for a few minutes and, when I returned, my roommates told me that a boy had come looking for me and had left a note on my bed. It was a page-long letter from this boy, who hates to write and complains about it constantly. He told me that he loved me and would miss me and that he understood why I wanted him to study and do his homework. You can see why it is so hard to leave these children.
My flight is being called, but I want to take a moment to share what I learned, as I did with the volunteers last night. During the last five weeks, I have felt tremendous love for the people that I am serving and working with. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love these people in India. I have had the opportunity to experience a little piece of the Savior's love for them as I have served them. I have been able to enjoy the gift of charity. For this, and so many other gifts, I am truly grateful. India is a special place. I'll be watching it disappear out of the airplane window soon, but I know I will not forget it.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Medical Trip
Today, I took a day off from the school to visit one of the leprosy colonies and participate in medical work. It was an interesting day. It is hard to describe the experience of washing and oiling the feet of these patients with leprosy. They live in a small area. The houses, I understand, are quite improved from what they were living in before, because renovations occurred in 2009, but they are still very small and very simple - a couple of small concrete rooms, without furniture. There is no running water, so they get their water from a well or a small pump next to the well. Contrary to common rumor, body parts do not fall off with leprosy, but they retract into the body. Some of their feet were so small because their toes had retracted into their feet. If this becomes to extreme, they do have to have limbs amputated. One many had his foot and leg amputated below the knee, and he had a prosthesis to help him walk. I imagine that the feet of the Chinese women who had their feet bound may have looked similar to some of the feet that I saw today. They have ulcers on their bodies. The dead skin needed to be trimmed in these ulcers and then they needed to be treated and bandaged. For some of them, especially one poor woman, this was a very painful process. It was hard to see them deal with this, with no anesthetic to dull the pain. Despite their circumstances, the people that we met were very happy, very hospitable, and very grateful. Most spoke no English or only very little, but they told us through gestures how grateful they were for our help. It was quite an experience. Although I will be going back to work at the school tomorrow, where they need me more and I can have more of a lasting effect, I was glad to have this experience once.
Delhi Trip
I have just returned from a trip to Delhi and Agra over the weekend. It was truly an amazing few days. A lot of it was spent traveling, but it was worth it. We started out in the middle of the night on Thursday and left Chennai early Friday morning. We flew to Delhi, where we first took a bicycle rickshaw ride through old Delhi. We stopped at the spice market and chile market, both of which smelled wonderful. I purchased a few spices, including some wonderful-smelling cinnamon. I can understand why Christoper Colombus wanted to travel to India to purchase spices. Then, back on to the bicycle rickshaws. They were quite a wild ride, but a lot of fun. We were able to go through back streets in old Delhi that would have been impossible with most modes of travel – walking, bicycle, bicycle rickshaw, or “scooties” – motorbikes – are the only possibilities. Then we had lunch at a very tasty Indian restaurant. Excellent curries, nan, and all kinds of good things. Outside, there was a snake charmer. He had a green rat snake in one basket and a cobra in the other. He played the traditional instrument to “charm” the snakes. I know that the music doesn’t matter so much as the motion, but it was still neat to see. He was making money by convincing us tourists to take pictures with him and his snakes. I did fine with the rat snake, but when he opened the cobra basket and it popped up and flared out its head, I was definitely startled. After lunch, we all piled on the bus for the six-hour trip to Agra. We stopped at a McDonald’s on the way. It was interesting to see the menu of an Indian McDonald’s, which serves no beef or pork. There were chicken and fish sandwiches and a veggie burger.
In Agra, we checked into the hotel. It was wonderful – real showers, not buckets, double beds, only three to a room, western-style toilets – pure luxury. Also, the staff was very attentive. They welcomed us to the hotel with cool washcloths and guava juice. Then, they wouldn’t let us take our luggage to our rooms – they delivered it shortly after we went up. We slept for about four or five hours, and were up in time to leave for the Taj Mahal at 5 am. The idea behind this is that when the sun comes up, the mausoleum is beautiful, because the translucent white marble reflects the colors and changes throughout the day, but is very beautiful in the sunrise. Unfortunately, it was foggy, so we didn’t get this effect. Even so, the Taj Mahal was incredible. It is huge, but at the same time it feels so delicate because of its incredibly intricate carving and inlay work. The emperor who built it for his wife’s tomb wanted its beauty to last, so instead of paintings, it is inlaid with tiny pieces of semi-precious stones making absolutely beautiful flower decorations. Also fascinating were the Koran verses inscribed in calligraphy. The letters appear to be all the same size as you look at them from the ground, but in reality they are much bigger at the top and get smaller as they get closer to you. What mathematics that must have taken to create this illusion! A beautiful red sandstone mosque is built on one side of the mausoleum and, to preserve the perfect symmetry of the Taj Mahal, another identical building is on the other side, facing the opposite direction. It could never be used as a mosque because it is facing the wrong direction, nor could it be used for a palace or anything else, because no one could live next to the mausoleum, so it was built just to preserve the symmetry. The unity of the entire complex was amazing. It was definitely awe-inspiring. I understood why it is a wonder of the world.
After the Taj Mahal, we had a nice breakfast at the hotel’s breakfast buffet, then headed out to see the Red Fort, which was also quite something. We saw where several of the Mogul emperors lived. One of the more interesting places was the harem, where all the concubines lived. There were some nice balconies there to catch the air, as well as a 400-year-old “Jacuzzi” that the concubines could sit in. One of the emperors, we were told, had more than 500 concubines. It was interesting to imagine what the place would have been like when the emperors lived there.
Next, we visited a rug factory and a marble factory. In Agra, it is against the law to use machines – everything must be done by hand. This allows the artisans to continue to work. It was amazing to see the people work in the same way that they have been doing for hundreds of years. At the rug factory, men worked to tie tiny knots. They were so quick, that they could tie several hundred thousand knots in a days work. They memorized the patterns during their apprenticeships, and they’d sing out the patterns to their partners, who would sing them back, to ensure that they were keeping everything perfectly symmetrical. At the marble factory, the descendants of the people who did the inlay work on the Taj Mahal work on the same marble, with the same semi-precious stones, to make smaller works. They shape tiny bits of semi-precious stones on a wheel that they work by hand. They arrange them on the translucent marble – the same kind that the Taj Mahal is made of – and scratch around them. The marble is dyed with henna so that they can see. They scratch a place for the stones, and then glue them in with a secret glue recipe. Watching both processes, done by hand, was amazing. These are true works of art.
Dinner was pizza at Pizza Hut. Some of the pizzas were Indian (chicken tikka masala pizza, etc.), but most of us were missing American food, so we went for pepperoni. It was great.
The next day, we headed back to Delhi, but we stopped on the way for elephant rides. Then, on to Delhi, a short stop at an outdoor mall for lunch and shopping, and back to the plane for the flight back to Chennai. We arrived back at Rising Star around midnight on Sunday. It was a lot of traveling, but it was worth it. It was truly an amazing trip.
In Agra, we checked into the hotel. It was wonderful – real showers, not buckets, double beds, only three to a room, western-style toilets – pure luxury. Also, the staff was very attentive. They welcomed us to the hotel with cool washcloths and guava juice. Then, they wouldn’t let us take our luggage to our rooms – they delivered it shortly after we went up. We slept for about four or five hours, and were up in time to leave for the Taj Mahal at 5 am. The idea behind this is that when the sun comes up, the mausoleum is beautiful, because the translucent white marble reflects the colors and changes throughout the day, but is very beautiful in the sunrise. Unfortunately, it was foggy, so we didn’t get this effect. Even so, the Taj Mahal was incredible. It is huge, but at the same time it feels so delicate because of its incredibly intricate carving and inlay work. The emperor who built it for his wife’s tomb wanted its beauty to last, so instead of paintings, it is inlaid with tiny pieces of semi-precious stones making absolutely beautiful flower decorations. Also fascinating were the Koran verses inscribed in calligraphy. The letters appear to be all the same size as you look at them from the ground, but in reality they are much bigger at the top and get smaller as they get closer to you. What mathematics that must have taken to create this illusion! A beautiful red sandstone mosque is built on one side of the mausoleum and, to preserve the perfect symmetry of the Taj Mahal, another identical building is on the other side, facing the opposite direction. It could never be used as a mosque because it is facing the wrong direction, nor could it be used for a palace or anything else, because no one could live next to the mausoleum, so it was built just to preserve the symmetry. The unity of the entire complex was amazing. It was definitely awe-inspiring. I understood why it is a wonder of the world.
After the Taj Mahal, we had a nice breakfast at the hotel’s breakfast buffet, then headed out to see the Red Fort, which was also quite something. We saw where several of the Mogul emperors lived. One of the more interesting places was the harem, where all the concubines lived. There were some nice balconies there to catch the air, as well as a 400-year-old “Jacuzzi” that the concubines could sit in. One of the emperors, we were told, had more than 500 concubines. It was interesting to imagine what the place would have been like when the emperors lived there.
Next, we visited a rug factory and a marble factory. In Agra, it is against the law to use machines – everything must be done by hand. This allows the artisans to continue to work. It was amazing to see the people work in the same way that they have been doing for hundreds of years. At the rug factory, men worked to tie tiny knots. They were so quick, that they could tie several hundred thousand knots in a days work. They memorized the patterns during their apprenticeships, and they’d sing out the patterns to their partners, who would sing them back, to ensure that they were keeping everything perfectly symmetrical. At the marble factory, the descendants of the people who did the inlay work on the Taj Mahal work on the same marble, with the same semi-precious stones, to make smaller works. They shape tiny bits of semi-precious stones on a wheel that they work by hand. They arrange them on the translucent marble – the same kind that the Taj Mahal is made of – and scratch around them. The marble is dyed with henna so that they can see. They scratch a place for the stones, and then glue them in with a secret glue recipe. Watching both processes, done by hand, was amazing. These are true works of art.
Dinner was pizza at Pizza Hut. Some of the pizzas were Indian (chicken tikka masala pizza, etc.), but most of us were missing American food, so we went for pepperoni. It was great.
The next day, we headed back to Delhi, but we stopped on the way for elephant rides. Then, on to Delhi, a short stop at an outdoor mall for lunch and shopping, and back to the plane for the flight back to Chennai. We arrived back at Rising Star around midnight on Sunday. It was a lot of traveling, but it was worth it. It was truly an amazing trip.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Catching up
It's been much too long since I've posted. It's been so busy here - I am really feeling the pressure of time. There is so much to do and not enough time to do it in! Last weekend, the 2nd session volunteers left. I was sad to see them go, and I have missed them. It was difficult for the children, as well. On the evening before they left, one of the boys in my house wouldn't speak to one of the male volunteers, because he was so unhappy that he was leaving. This was tough on Drew, the volunteer, and it was so difficult for Gokulraj. He didn't want anyone to see, but he was wiping away tears. He would only talk to me, because I wasn't leaving. Eventually, he opened up and talked to Drew a little bit, but it was tough. Since then, the children have frequently asked me when I will go to America. When they know that it is not yet, they always smile very wide, but I dread having to leave them so soon. I am coming to know more and more of their names, and am feeling greater love for them with every day. I wonder sometimes about how hard it must be for them to always have people leaving. I am amazed at how quickly they open their hearts to new people, when they are constantly having to let old ones go. I wish that they could have more stability in the adults in their lives. They learn too early to rely on themselves, but they still embrace and love those who come into their lives, however short they are here.
Another thing that happened this week was that my best friend among the housemothers, Rajakumari, left. She is living at home now with her parents, although I at least still get to see her during the day because she is still teaching science. I know that this may be easier for her - she was doing so much, with teaching all day, looking after 22 girls in the morning and at night, and working on her master's degree through correspondence in her nonexistent spare time - but it was still very hard to leave. I found her in tears at the end of last week. She told me that although she had to this some time ago, because she wants to be able to do a special science class in the mornings for older children preparing for the state exams, she still did not want to go. She did not want to live at home with her parents, where there is domestic abuse (a common problem in India, especially rural India). She didn't want to leave the children that she loved and cared for. I miss her a lot - I have spent most of my evenings after dinner in her "house," working with her on English and helping her to plan lessons. She is reading Charlotte's Web, and she likes me to read a page and then she reads the same page. I correct her pronunciation and help her to understand words that she doesn't know. She is a wonderful woman - 22 years old and doing incredible things.
Many of the people here are quite remarkable. There is one housemother who just turned 28 years old. She is a widow - her husband was killed at the beginning of this year. She has a 12 year old son (going on about 30 - he is definitely in teenager mode) and a 9 year old son. Her husband was abusive. She was married when she was 14 years old. She is very intelligent. She speaks fluent Hindi as well as Tamil, which is unusual in this area, and her English is among the best of any of the Indians here at Rising Star. However, she was not able to receive an education as a child, and she really wanted to learn to read and write, so now she studies every night. She can remember most of the letter sounds now, and she is beginning to be able to sound out words and read very simple books. The volunteers try to help her when we can. She is an amazing woman.
I am really in a groove now at the school. Every day is full to the brim. I teach about 3 or 4 periods every day on average, as a model, while the teacher in the classroom watches. I meet with teachers to critique and provide suggestions and assistance, as well as to help them with lesson planning. I observe teachers and am doing teacher evaluation as well. I am really enjoying what I am doing, even if I am really busy. I feel like I've gotten over a hump and I feel very comfortable at the school and with the teachers now. They seek me out for help, I provide trainings each Tuesday at teacher meeting, and I get to see them a lot one-on-one and in small groups in the staff room. The children all know me, too, and they enjoy seeing the "English ma'am." They all ask me when I will come to teach in their classes again when they see me. Kanmani loves to tell me the good news when he has a day with no "x" for behavior problems, which means he gets a star on his behavior chart, and a tiny girl in UKG (kindergarten - I think she is 3, but she might be 4), always runs to jump into my arms each day at interval when she sees me (interval is recess). She doesn't speak English except for "yes," but every time she sees me she shouts "ma'am!" and starts running.
Tonight, at 3 am, we leave for Chennai, where we will fly to Delhi for our weekend trip. We will go to Agra and see the Taj Mahal. I am quite excited. I will update you on that trip, hopefully very soon.
Another thing that happened this week was that my best friend among the housemothers, Rajakumari, left. She is living at home now with her parents, although I at least still get to see her during the day because she is still teaching science. I know that this may be easier for her - she was doing so much, with teaching all day, looking after 22 girls in the morning and at night, and working on her master's degree through correspondence in her nonexistent spare time - but it was still very hard to leave. I found her in tears at the end of last week. She told me that although she had to this some time ago, because she wants to be able to do a special science class in the mornings for older children preparing for the state exams, she still did not want to go. She did not want to live at home with her parents, where there is domestic abuse (a common problem in India, especially rural India). She didn't want to leave the children that she loved and cared for. I miss her a lot - I have spent most of my evenings after dinner in her "house," working with her on English and helping her to plan lessons. She is reading Charlotte's Web, and she likes me to read a page and then she reads the same page. I correct her pronunciation and help her to understand words that she doesn't know. She is a wonderful woman - 22 years old and doing incredible things.
Many of the people here are quite remarkable. There is one housemother who just turned 28 years old. She is a widow - her husband was killed at the beginning of this year. She has a 12 year old son (going on about 30 - he is definitely in teenager mode) and a 9 year old son. Her husband was abusive. She was married when she was 14 years old. She is very intelligent. She speaks fluent Hindi as well as Tamil, which is unusual in this area, and her English is among the best of any of the Indians here at Rising Star. However, she was not able to receive an education as a child, and she really wanted to learn to read and write, so now she studies every night. She can remember most of the letter sounds now, and she is beginning to be able to sound out words and read very simple books. The volunteers try to help her when we can. She is an amazing woman.
I am really in a groove now at the school. Every day is full to the brim. I teach about 3 or 4 periods every day on average, as a model, while the teacher in the classroom watches. I meet with teachers to critique and provide suggestions and assistance, as well as to help them with lesson planning. I observe teachers and am doing teacher evaluation as well. I am really enjoying what I am doing, even if I am really busy. I feel like I've gotten over a hump and I feel very comfortable at the school and with the teachers now. They seek me out for help, I provide trainings each Tuesday at teacher meeting, and I get to see them a lot one-on-one and in small groups in the staff room. The children all know me, too, and they enjoy seeing the "English ma'am." They all ask me when I will come to teach in their classes again when they see me. Kanmani loves to tell me the good news when he has a day with no "x" for behavior problems, which means he gets a star on his behavior chart, and a tiny girl in UKG (kindergarten - I think she is 3, but she might be 4), always runs to jump into my arms each day at interval when she sees me (interval is recess). She doesn't speak English except for "yes," but every time she sees me she shouts "ma'am!" and starts running.
Tonight, at 3 am, we leave for Chennai, where we will fly to Delhi for our weekend trip. We will go to Agra and see the Taj Mahal. I am quite excited. I will update you on that trip, hopefully very soon.
Friday, July 8, 2011
India Portraits
My roommate, the photographer and videographer, took some photos of us dressed up in saris. Some of the kids got in on the action, too. Here are some of the photos.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
What I'm Missing
I realized today that I have not included any photos of the leprosy patients, since I have not been to the colonies - I am so busy here at the school! I am working with teachers more and more, building relationships and trying to help them to improve their teaching. So tonight, I will post some photos of some of the leprosy patients and some of the other volunteers when they go out to the colonies to work with them. I will go out some time before I leave - I can't miss it completely - but for now I'm needed here.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Mealtime at Rising Star
Check out this video about eating lunch at Rising Star in the dining hall - no tables, chairs, or silverware here!
The video is at: http://gallery.me.com/risingstaroutreach#100277
The video is at: http://gallery.me.com/risingstaroutreach#100277
Back on!
For the last few days, we have been having electricity problems. The electricity would surge and then die down, over and over again. This meant that the air conditioning did not have enough power to work for long enough to cool down the rooms, and also that a number of people have had electrical things short out. One guy was holding his computer during a surge and he got a shock - his fingers were numb for hours. My adapter surged and shorted out, but luckily my computer and cord were protected. So now that the electricity is working again, I'm back on and I can sleep in comfort again.
Today is the 4th of July. I really miss being in Cody for the 4th of July, but it's also really good to be here. We sang some songs, including the national anthem, at dinner tonight. We also had brownies with our Indian food, which was great. I really do like Indian food for the most part, but having it every day is tough - red rice, with its husk, and curry sauce. The sauce has some differences, but it's always a spicy sauce of basically the same kind. So it was a great food day - yesterday, when we went to church in Chennai, we had some pizzas delivered to the church at the end of the block of meetings, and I had a few pieces left over for today - cold pizza for breakfast, yum!
Work wise, it was a busy day. I am still feeling kind of sad, because I'm turning over my 7th and 8th standard classes to a guy who just arrived. He was a teacher in Texas for a year and he has teacher training, so I am sure it will go well, but I will miss them. I have a few more days with them to transition and to help him continue the work that I'm doing. It will be hard for me not to do those classes any more, because I really enjoy them. But the folks in charge here really want me to be free to do some more model teaching in classes, so that when I leave, teaching in general will be better. I do understand this. So today, when I wasn't teaching, I did a lot of observing and making notes for things that individual teachers could work on. I will continue to do this, and I'll also be meeting with teachers, individually and in groups, to work with them as a coach. I have a meeting tomorrow with the third standard teacher. It is her first year of teaching, and she is really struggling with classroom management, so her students are also not learning much. I learned early on that classroom management is a prerequisite to learning. So we will talk tomorrow and come up with some strategies and a plan to put into place, and I will spend a fair bit of time in her classroom helping her to implement it. In the evenings, I've been helping the science teacher, Rajakumari, to understand the English textbook that she is using, how to pronounce and understand words, and also some ideas for lessons. She is wonderful. She really wants to improve her English. She is reading Charlotte's Web, and she is excited to see the movie when she is all finished. She works so hard - she is a housemother, as well as a teacher. She told me once that she is 22 years old and she has 22 children, and she teaches all day. I wonder sometimes how she does it, because it seems that she never gets a break. Many of the teachers here really do want to improve, which is so great. It's good to work with them.
I would like to share with you an interesting Rising Star story before I sign off tonight. Becky, who started Rising Star, shared it when she came to visit. She told us that in their first years, they did not charge any tuition to the parents who sent their children to the school. Then, a few years in, none of the 8th standard (8th grade) girls returned for 9th standard. When they checked, they found that they had all been married over the summer break. Becky was very upset. She felt that much of what they did would be wasted if all the girls married around 8th grade and were not able to continue their education. She spoke with the Indian woman who has helped set up Rising Star. She thought about it and said that to help this problem, they needed to start charging tuition. Becky was surprised, but agreed. When they met with the parents, many were quite upset. They said that they could not afford the tuition of 1,000 rupees per year (a little more than $20), but they were told that this was not true - through Rising Star, they have received microloans to set up small businesses, so they would be able to afford this, although it would require some sacrifice. The Indian woman and Becky explained that this money would be put into a fund and, when their children graduated, they would receive all of the money for their graduation to help them. The parents were interested - they have never had 12,000 rupees to give their children all at once. Now this is how Rising Star works, and in the first year after this was implemented, all of the 8th standard girls returned for 9th standard. Now there are 9th and 10th standard girls as well as boys.
It is not always easy to be here, but I am glad that I am. There is so much to see and learn, and so much to do!
Today is the 4th of July. I really miss being in Cody for the 4th of July, but it's also really good to be here. We sang some songs, including the national anthem, at dinner tonight. We also had brownies with our Indian food, which was great. I really do like Indian food for the most part, but having it every day is tough - red rice, with its husk, and curry sauce. The sauce has some differences, but it's always a spicy sauce of basically the same kind. So it was a great food day - yesterday, when we went to church in Chennai, we had some pizzas delivered to the church at the end of the block of meetings, and I had a few pieces left over for today - cold pizza for breakfast, yum!
Work wise, it was a busy day. I am still feeling kind of sad, because I'm turning over my 7th and 8th standard classes to a guy who just arrived. He was a teacher in Texas for a year and he has teacher training, so I am sure it will go well, but I will miss them. I have a few more days with them to transition and to help him continue the work that I'm doing. It will be hard for me not to do those classes any more, because I really enjoy them. But the folks in charge here really want me to be free to do some more model teaching in classes, so that when I leave, teaching in general will be better. I do understand this. So today, when I wasn't teaching, I did a lot of observing and making notes for things that individual teachers could work on. I will continue to do this, and I'll also be meeting with teachers, individually and in groups, to work with them as a coach. I have a meeting tomorrow with the third standard teacher. It is her first year of teaching, and she is really struggling with classroom management, so her students are also not learning much. I learned early on that classroom management is a prerequisite to learning. So we will talk tomorrow and come up with some strategies and a plan to put into place, and I will spend a fair bit of time in her classroom helping her to implement it. In the evenings, I've been helping the science teacher, Rajakumari, to understand the English textbook that she is using, how to pronounce and understand words, and also some ideas for lessons. She is wonderful. She really wants to improve her English. She is reading Charlotte's Web, and she is excited to see the movie when she is all finished. She works so hard - she is a housemother, as well as a teacher. She told me once that she is 22 years old and she has 22 children, and she teaches all day. I wonder sometimes how she does it, because it seems that she never gets a break. Many of the teachers here really do want to improve, which is so great. It's good to work with them.
I would like to share with you an interesting Rising Star story before I sign off tonight. Becky, who started Rising Star, shared it when she came to visit. She told us that in their first years, they did not charge any tuition to the parents who sent their children to the school. Then, a few years in, none of the 8th standard (8th grade) girls returned for 9th standard. When they checked, they found that they had all been married over the summer break. Becky was very upset. She felt that much of what they did would be wasted if all the girls married around 8th grade and were not able to continue their education. She spoke with the Indian woman who has helped set up Rising Star. She thought about it and said that to help this problem, they needed to start charging tuition. Becky was surprised, but agreed. When they met with the parents, many were quite upset. They said that they could not afford the tuition of 1,000 rupees per year (a little more than $20), but they were told that this was not true - through Rising Star, they have received microloans to set up small businesses, so they would be able to afford this, although it would require some sacrifice. The Indian woman and Becky explained that this money would be put into a fund and, when their children graduated, they would receive all of the money for their graduation to help them. The parents were interested - they have never had 12,000 rupees to give their children all at once. Now this is how Rising Star works, and in the first year after this was implemented, all of the 8th standard girls returned for 9th standard. Now there are 9th and 10th standard girls as well as boys.
It is not always easy to be here, but I am glad that I am. There is so much to see and learn, and so much to do!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
A low day
Today I don't have much exciting to share. Unfortunately, I was sick last night. It felt like food poisoning, but it seems to be going through the volunteers, so it's tough to tell exactly what's going on. My roommate was sick, and then the next night, I was sick. I am feeling better, but really tired right now. I mostly stayed at the hostel today, and on top of everything, the air conditioning went out, so it is really hot. At least we have the fans. And luckily, I am feeling better now. I guess this is India, right? I'm looking forward to tomorrow and feeling well enough to be back at the school.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Success!
One of the things that has been the most difficult for me is the way that students in India are taught. Everything is rote memorization and copying. Because of this, they see no problem with copying work from one another, and writing is very difficult because it requires them to think of things themselves. I get lots of whining when I require my 7th and 8th standard English classes to write more than a couple of sentences, which I do every day at the beginning of class. In 1st standard, the idea that writing could be used to communicate and express their own thoughts is completely foreign. They only think of writing as copying sentences as words provided by the teacher to practice letter formation. So, I have been trying to get them to sound out and write words - invented spelling is fine, I just want them to make the sound-symbol connection and record something original. Today, I went back to early kindergarten and had them draw a picture and label it. And it worked! I had pictures of ice cream, cats, suns, dogs, lions, tigers, dinosaurs, fish, and many more. The kids drew and labeled their pictures, mostly by sounding them out. It was really great to see their success and their excitement, and I think the message was at least partly received that writing is not copying - it is communicating.
Life Dance Video take 2
Okay, my attempt at linking the video didn't work, so try checking it out here:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2064297899686&oid=103449216362829&comments
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2064297899686&oid=103449216362829&comments
Monday, June 27, 2011
A list that I will undoubtedly add to
Things I like about India:
Chudidars - so comfortable in the hot weather that it is like wearing your pajamas all day
Fresh mangos - we are in the middle of a mango grove, and I never knew I loved mangos until I got here
Rising Star kids - they are affectionate and fun
Other volunteers - I am with a great group!
Indian food - I've had some great food, including this fantastic pineapple and cashew rice pudding that I really want the recipe for
Things I don't like about India:
Heat - I am melting
Fresh papayas - I didn't know it, but I really don't like this fruit
Indian food - Some of the things are not to my taste, like this fish curry that we had last week, with huge pieces of fish including bones and eyeballs - thank goodness for peanut butter
Chudidars - so comfortable in the hot weather that it is like wearing your pajamas all day
Fresh mangos - we are in the middle of a mango grove, and I never knew I loved mangos until I got here
Rising Star kids - they are affectionate and fun
Other volunteers - I am with a great group!
Indian food - I've had some great food, including this fantastic pineapple and cashew rice pudding that I really want the recipe for
Things I don't like about India:
Heat - I am melting
Fresh papayas - I didn't know it, but I really don't like this fruit
Indian food - Some of the things are not to my taste, like this fish curry that we had last week, with huge pieces of fish including bones and eyeballs - thank goodness for peanut butter
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Church in Chennai
This morning, we left at 7:30 am to travel to Chennai (about two hours by bus) to attend church in the Latter-day Saint branch there. The service was in English, since that was the first language of the majority of the congregation, but they did have a Tamil Sunday School class, and they regularly paused to translate into Tamil for the people who do not speak English well. We were probably about half the branch (there were about 30 of us), and then there were a couple of American families that are living and working in Chennai. Although the native Indian population in the branch is still not tremendously high, it is growing very quickly. There was a baptism today after church, and there was a confirmation during church of a member that was baptized this week. Apparently there have been about 40 baptisms within the last month or two. Not all are active, but active members are growing as well. They are building a new church building a couple of blocks away from the old one. It is very large and, right now, it seems like it would be impossible to fill, but the members have faith and the church is growing very quickly.
As is the case whenever I travel, even though people were dressed differently and spoke a different language, the church is the same - the sacrament, the lessons, all of it. I will be substituting in the 12 and 13 year old Sunday School class in two weeks, and the lesson manual is just like those at home. People are welcoming and kind, and many of these Indian saints have great faith. They attend church weekly knowing they will not understand everything, they read their scriptures, they pray, they pay their tithing out of the limited money that they have. I can tell that Rising Star is increasing missionary opportunities, as many people from Rising Star (including several housemothers and older children) have chosen to attend church. It was wonderful to attend church in Chennai.
Later, I fell asleep for a long time - I was exhausted. But I woke up in time to watch Life Dance perform again. There dance number really is inspiring. I hope that I will be able to share it with others and inspire them, just as the dance suggests. Unfortunately, the volunteer who has been teaching dance will leave this week. The students plan to continue on their own, but I know it will be difficult for them without an adult to lead. These students are very dedicated - they give up their play hour from 5-6 pm every day for dance class and practice. And I know that they love it. Last Friday, I taught my 7th standard about persuasive paragraphs. I asked them for an opinion about what they should do this weekend, and one of my boys told me dance. His reasons were that it makes our bodies strong, it is fun, and it makes our audience happy. He is certainly right when it comes to me as the audience!
As is the case whenever I travel, even though people were dressed differently and spoke a different language, the church is the same - the sacrament, the lessons, all of it. I will be substituting in the 12 and 13 year old Sunday School class in two weeks, and the lesson manual is just like those at home. People are welcoming and kind, and many of these Indian saints have great faith. They attend church weekly knowing they will not understand everything, they read their scriptures, they pray, they pay their tithing out of the limited money that they have. I can tell that Rising Star is increasing missionary opportunities, as many people from Rising Star (including several housemothers and older children) have chosen to attend church. It was wonderful to attend church in Chennai.
Later, I fell asleep for a long time - I was exhausted. But I woke up in time to watch Life Dance perform again. There dance number really is inspiring. I hope that I will be able to share it with others and inspire them, just as the dance suggests. Unfortunately, the volunteer who has been teaching dance will leave this week. The students plan to continue on their own, but I know it will be difficult for them without an adult to lead. These students are very dedicated - they give up their play hour from 5-6 pm every day for dance class and practice. And I know that they love it. Last Friday, I taught my 7th standard about persuasive paragraphs. I asked them for an opinion about what they should do this weekend, and one of my boys told me dance. His reasons were that it makes our bodies strong, it is fun, and it makes our audience happy. He is certainly right when it comes to me as the audience!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Trip to Mamallupuram
Today was Saturday - no school for the kids - so the other volunteers and I went to the small town of Mamallupuram. This is a beachside town, and it has a lot of little shops. We visited the beach and swam in the Bay of Bengal. The water felt wonderful in the heat, but it was really salty. I made a few purchases with my rupees. On the way back to Rising Star, we stopped and ate parotha, which is a lot like nan. It is a thin bread that you dip in a sauce. It was served with an egg and onion omelet. It was actually very good. Then, when we got the rest of the way back, it was time for movie night with the children. This happens each Saturday evening at 7:30. Since the children don't have televisions in their houses, they are very excited to see the movie. Tonight, it was Tron. It was in English, to help them work on their language skills, but I think the younger ones especially still had trouble understanding it. They didn't mind - the visual effects kept them quite entertained. The children like to use the volunteers as pillows. I had two little boys with their heads on my lap through the movie. My legs kind of fell asleep and I had to periodically shift position slightly. At one point, as I looked down at them, it struck me that these little boys, who have known some very hard things in their lives, are still quick to show affection. I was so glad that they are at Rising Star, where they have good nutrition, an opportunity for an education, and health care. When I was in Mamallupuram, there were many children, especially young girls, who would come up to tourists and try to sell them simple beaded necklaces. I thought that our children here at Rising Star would be in this situation, or worse, if they did not have this opportunity. Many of them have begged with their parents in the past, but this Saturday, Gokulraj excitedly told me that he would be riding a bike (the children get a turn to ride bikes about once every two weeks). Other children worked on homework, helped with chores, and played. Some read books. In the evening, they watched a movie together. These are things that children should be doing, and I was grateful that these children that I am coming to love are able to do them.
Friday, June 24, 2011
In India, Responsibility Comes Quickly
So, on the second day of teaching (Thursday), I was invited to serve as principal for the time that I would be here at the Rising Star school. The person who has been doing this since March is leaving tonight, and the regular principal has had her visa denied several times so, until further notice, she cannot come. In the end, I felt that I did not know the school, the teachers, or the students well enough to do this job, but I will be taking on a number of "curriculum specialist" type responsibilities - training teachers, working with teachers, helping with behavior management plans for some students, and even working with teacher evaluation - in addition to my teaching responsibilities. I will work closely with the education volunteer coordinator and, together, we will help the school to run as smoothly as possible. It strikes me that in India, especially here in rural India, the knowledge and skills that you possess are put to use quite quickly. There is plenty to do. I am really enjoying working with the children, but it is definitely a challenge. For example, in my 1st standard class, the students really struggle with English, and giving directions requires a lot of acting out or drawing pictures and checking with students regularly for understanding. Sometimes, an Indian "housemother" is there with me, and that is quite helpful. She can translate into Tamil. However, the housemothers are not great at English either, so communicating with them can take work, too.
Yesterday I got to see the Life Dance group at Rising Star (a group of about 20 students) perform a piece. It was beautiful. It was about how one person can touch and help another, and this is magnified. There is a portion of the piece where the students were assigned to watch their parents and family members at home who have leprosy, and turn some of the movements that they observe into choreography. This was very moving and a reminder of the situations that these children come from. I was also able to see a number of my 7th and 8th standard students perform in this piece. One of my 8th standard boys, Joseph, had a dance solo. He was quite remarkable. His performance was powerful.
Today, a major highlight was a visit from the Marriot hotel staff. They come once every three months, serve food to the children (and volunteers - it was wonderful!), and do fun activities with the children. They danced with balloons and music from a DJ, and it was a blast. We got to dance with them. They were so excited and having so much fun! It also rained several times today. I never appreciated rain until I arrived here. It is wonderful to stand in the rain. It is cool, but not cold, and feels wonderful in the heat. It is really hot here. But I am so glad to be here, to interact with the children and the teachers and the other volunteers. It is beautiful where we are, in the middle of a mango grove and a coconut grove, and it is wonderful.
Yesterday I got to see the Life Dance group at Rising Star (a group of about 20 students) perform a piece. It was beautiful. It was about how one person can touch and help another, and this is magnified. There is a portion of the piece where the students were assigned to watch their parents and family members at home who have leprosy, and turn some of the movements that they observe into choreography. This was very moving and a reminder of the situations that these children come from. I was also able to see a number of my 7th and 8th standard students perform in this piece. One of my 8th standard boys, Joseph, had a dance solo. He was quite remarkable. His performance was powerful.
Today, a major highlight was a visit from the Marriot hotel staff. They come once every three months, serve food to the children (and volunteers - it was wonderful!), and do fun activities with the children. They danced with balloons and music from a DJ, and it was a blast. We got to dance with them. They were so excited and having so much fun! It also rained several times today. I never appreciated rain until I arrived here. It is wonderful to stand in the rain. It is cool, but not cold, and feels wonderful in the heat. It is really hot here. But I am so glad to be here, to interact with the children and the teachers and the other volunteers. It is beautiful where we are, in the middle of a mango grove and a coconut grove, and it is wonderful.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The last few days
We've had some Internet trouble (it is rural India), but I'm on now and I want to share an update of my first few days in India, hopefully before I lose power. I arrived in the middle of the night on Sunday and took a shower, since I felt like I needed one after 30 hours of travel time. I was staying in the Marriot, so they had a western-style shower. Also, I wanted to savor my last real shower. On Monday morning, I ate at the Marriot breakfast buffet. I had Indian breakfast, and it was good, especially a stuffed bread called a Paratha. It is made to order with things mixed into the dough and then baked on a stone in a brick oven. Then, at 11 am, we left in a bumpy bus through the city of Chennai for Rising Star. It was fun to see the interesting sights out the window, especially the cows wandering on the side of the city streets. When we arrived at Rising Star, I got to see the exciting Indian toilets and bucket showers, as well as the room where I'll be staying, the courtyard, the grove of mango trees, and so on. Then we all headed over to play with the Rising Star children during "playtime." Playtime was exhausting! That evening I learned that in addition to teacher training, I would be taking over four classes starting the next day - 1st grade phonics, 1st grade writing, 7th grade English, and 8th grade English. They call grades "standards" here. On Tuesday, I observed the teachers of these classes to find out what was going on, as well as running a teacher training on lesson planning. The training went really well. Although I only had a half an hour, and I could have talked much more about lesson planning, the teachers responded really well. I've since had a number of teachers tell me that they thought that what I taught was really useful and they plan to use it. Also, it allowed me to get to know the teachers a little bit better. I told them that it was really hot here (it is - I think I'm melting), and they laughed. I told them that it snowed not that long ago in Cody, and one looked at the other with a confused expression and said "snow?". The other one explained that it was cold from the sky. Today I taught for the first time. Mostly, it went really well, but my first class with the third grade group (phonics) was tough. It is clear that the young kids think that Americans are playmates, and so when I showed up to teach, they figured it was playtime. This made managing the class difficult, but I got through it, and when I came back to teach the same group writing after lunch, I was better prepared and the class went much, much better. I have high hopes that tomorrow will go well. One of the wonderful things that is happening is that the children are starting to know my name. They call me "ma'am" or "auntie" or "Heather ma'am." They run up to me and climb on me like kittens. I have a couple of boys in my "family" - I'm assigned to a group at the boy's hostel - who find me in school and remind me to come during "family time" and help them with their maths. They tell me about what they're doing and are excited for me to get there. I have to say, kids are pretty similar all over the world, whether they are in class or playing, whether they are teasing, or getting into trouble, or showing love. These kids absolutely love cameras - they want to take pictures and have their pictures taken all day. They like to dance in front of the camera and make funny faces. They also love to tease their "auntie" and "uncle" volunteers. Today, some boys made a lasso with a rope and covered it with sand and then tried to get volunteers to stand in the middle of it so that they could pull it tight and catch them. They are a good group of kids - some are better, more motivated students and others are more challenging, but they all have great potential. I am enjoying my time here and I am excited to see what the next weeks will bring.
I miss you all, and I hope to be able to tell you more soon. Hopefully the Internet, and the power, will hold out. We have quite a few power outages every day, but they usually don't last too long. I hope that all is well with you!
I miss you all, and I hope to be able to tell you more soon. Hopefully the Internet, and the power, will hold out. We have quite a few power outages every day, but they usually don't last too long. I hope that all is well with you!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Fundraising ... we did it!
Thank you so much to everyone who donated to Rising Star Outreach in my name! I have reached my commitment, and even slightly exceeded it. I am honored to be surrounded by such kind and generous people! I am taking the final steps to getting ready - final shopping trips for those important last (I hope) things, packing my suitcase, trying to figure out how I'm going to make it through 30 hours of travel time, reconfirming my reservations, starting my anti-malaria medication, and on and on. I can't believe that I leave in only a day. Thank you all, and I promise that I will post more exciting photos as soon as I have them.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Getting Ready...
With less than a month until I leave for India, it is still hard for me to believe sometimes that I am really doing this. I am not a person who makes snap decisions - it took me three days of pondering before I decided on a name for my cat. But when I was deciding what to do this summer, and I came upon Rising Star Outreach, it felt right. It really felt like something that I should do. Then, since the first couple of volunteer sessions were full, I figured I'd have until at least mid-July to get ready. But, wonder of wonders, my volunteer session begins on June 20. So, here I am, trying to get ready in significantly less time than a lot of people who are heading out on the same trip.
One of the hardest things right now is fundraising. I've been getting a lot of "you're paying your own way to do this?!?" lately, and the truth is I'm doing way more than that. Rising Star relies on its volunteers to do a lot of the necessary fundraising for its programs, and they definitely cost money (mobile medical clinics, boarding schools serving hundreds of students, microfinance loans, leprosy colony support projects). I hate asking for money, but I know that I can't come up with it all on my own. I'm trying to reach $3,000 if I can. So I'm swallowing my pride, biting the bullet, and asking. I'm surrounded by wonderful, generous people, so I believe that it can be done. Actually, the whole thing is reminding me a little bit of something I remember President Boyd K. Packer saying when he was speaking in a Cody, Wyoming Stake Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints some years ago: "In this church, we ask everyone to do everything, and to pay for everything." I remembered it because I thought about the blessings that come with this sacrifice. I get the idea that Rising Star (which was started by an LDS woman) follows similar ideas - through real sacrifice, it creates blessings for all involved, from the people served, to volunteers, to donors. So, I'm asking.
My visa application is in. I have my prescription for anti-malaria pills. And I've started gathering my things to take with me. Onward to India!
One of the hardest things right now is fundraising. I've been getting a lot of "you're paying your own way to do this?!?" lately, and the truth is I'm doing way more than that. Rising Star relies on its volunteers to do a lot of the necessary fundraising for its programs, and they definitely cost money (mobile medical clinics, boarding schools serving hundreds of students, microfinance loans, leprosy colony support projects). I hate asking for money, but I know that I can't come up with it all on my own. I'm trying to reach $3,000 if I can. So I'm swallowing my pride, biting the bullet, and asking. I'm surrounded by wonderful, generous people, so I believe that it can be done. Actually, the whole thing is reminding me a little bit of something I remember President Boyd K. Packer saying when he was speaking in a Cody, Wyoming Stake Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints some years ago: "In this church, we ask everyone to do everything, and to pay for everything." I remembered it because I thought about the blessings that come with this sacrifice. I get the idea that Rising Star (which was started by an LDS woman) follows similar ideas - through real sacrifice, it creates blessings for all involved, from the people served, to volunteers, to donors. So, I'm asking.
My visa application is in. I have my prescription for anti-malaria pills. And I've started gathering my things to take with me. Onward to India!
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