India's 65th Year of Republic

Hello everyone! Yesterday marked three weeks of being here in Kodai and I am quick to say that the time has gone by so fast. Knowing that the semester is just starting back at home, I feel like I have had a great head start. The next three and a half months are going to go by quicker than you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Well I guess not really that fast.

This last week went great. I am starting to get in the groove of things and now that I am set in the everyday stuff, I am searching for those adventures that are easily found here. Again, I went to dance class on Wednesday but this time Karissa and I taught some line dance to Cotton Eye Joe. By the end of class I found myself laughing so hard that I almost fall over. We are beginning to pick up Merengue, which is just the simplest dance but just so much fun!

Thursday after school I was the teacher in charge for a first time club meeting for the Math Squad. This club is of juniors and seniors who go to the middle school and help the students with their math. It went so well! It was exciting to see both the older and the younger kids learn new things and get to know each other. Afterwards I heard a few of the seniors saying “I am only seventeen but I have a kid in 7^th grade”. The students were proud of their time they spent working on math. This has been great for me to see especially because the last two years I have been putting a lot of time and passion into just this, student-to-student aid in mathematics. I am glad that the teachers in the Math Department saw my passion for this right away and let me kind of take over.

On Friday I helped out with the students’ dance club and got to meet a lot of great 11^th graders that I have had the chance to talk with at school in between classes or after dinner. After dance we needed to buy some Indian clothes for the upcoming Republic Day on Sunday so our great friend Leah came to a few stores in town. I ended up buying a beautiful, white kurtha (shirt) and some amazing purple Aladdin-type pants. To top off my outfit I ended up buying a very nice purple scarf. After dinner I went to my friend Leslie’s house and we watching the new movie called Her. Such a thought-provoking movie and talk we had about it.

On Saturday, I went on another hike to a place called Gundar Pool. Getting there I felt like I was in Jurassic Park. There were so many interesting new sounds and vegetation such as bamboo and the noises of black monkeys from far away. This path was a normal path for the KIS students and staff so for the last 50 years people have been tying knots in sapling trees to mark the confusing trail. It was weird to see these grown trees with knots in them. I have some pictures below. After getting back from the hike I pretty much did laundry all day and hung out at the house.

Sunday, like I said, was Republic Day and it was the 65^th Celebration for India being a Republic, which was reached with a very peaceful approach. It was interesting to talk to a few of my Indian friends who are very much disappointed with the government and politicians here because of corruption and what not. But in the same conversation she expressed her hope of the future India and what God can do with a country like this one. Celebrating this holiday has helped me really appreciate all of the freedom and rights we get as Americans. How blessed are we to be born in a country that so many citizens of the world want to be apart of. I have talked to many students who are Indian, Korean, Thai, etc that want to end up in the United States for the rest of their lives. I have never met someone who is an American who says they want to live the rest of their life in a different country (I am talking about growing old). I truly believe that the USA is one of the best places to live in the world because most cultures can be who they are right beside another culture.

The rest of the day on Sunday was full of relaxing and what I can only call comfort. Karissa and I sat outside watching our neighbor kids play soccer. We talked for a bit with our other neighbors (the principal and his wife). Then after the game was done we were invited to what Karissa named “a compound tea”. Everyone who was around gathered on the lawn in the sun for tea and friendship bread. People here LOVE teatime and I am really starting to get used to that. After the weekend in the sun, I have a nice sunburn on my neck that still stings.

This week seems like a regular week and will resemble to past weeks so I will be highlighting more of the revelations I have had and the different opportunities I have been apart of. I ask for prayer in being diligent in reading my Bible and finding someone who I can approach and ask to intentionally disciple me. Thanks for all of the support and I love hearing about what you guys like about my blog. Love you all!

A Full Week: Normalcy

I am on official week two of school here at KIS and its weird to think that no one back at home has started classes at UM. It has been a while since I have written but this is mainly due to the fact that I have so much to write about that it is overwhelming therefore I decide to push it back another day. Yes, I understand that this does not make much sense but here I am finally writing to you what I have been up to. It has been over a week since I have posted so there are lots to tell you. I will give you some major highlights and some of the difficulties I have had.

First I am overjoyed to say that two month from today is birthday and I get the best present ever…my dad is coming to visit for a week! He has wanted to visit since I told him about coming and when I got here I discovered that I had a five-day weekend because of holidays in March. My dad has already purchased his ticket and has begun all of the preparations that are needed to come visit me. I will keep you updated on what we plan to do for the week he is here.

Last week was the first full week of classes and I would say it was so nice to have a regular everyday schedule. I got the chance to teach students and give them a homework assignment over the Sine Rule. Also I have been observing both other math and French classes, which has become not as awkward giving me a chance to fully appreciate different teaching techniques. Last week I got to do more activities outside of school and began to do things other than moping around at home and sleeping. I joined a staff salsa and east coast swing dance club, which are on Wednesday nights. This was so much fun for me because I LOVE dancing and I get to learn two new types of dances and hopefully be “fluent” in them. Another weekly thing that I am most excited about this semester is a Woman’s Bible Study on Thursday afternoons. It is at a lady’s house (Jessica, an administrator) and about 5-8 women are there to talk about a video series that we will be watching. The topic is very interesting and not something that I have ever studied, secrets. This last week I feel like I already have bonded with these woman and it’s so nice to see them at school everyday even if it is just a brief “how are you”. What gets me so excited for this group is the fact that these women are not hesitant to invite the Holy Spirit and they are evidently fervently searching for Christ.

Last week was a very special week; it was Pongal Holiday. Pongal consists of three days and mainly celebrates the harvest and the harvest gods. It is named after a pongal food, which is like a sweet rice pudding that has a very different, distinct taste that I cannot explain. On the first day it is celebrated by eating all-day and starting very early in the morning. I got to eat for the first time pongal and raw sugar cane. The second day celebrates cows and animals that help plow the fields and thanks are given to the sun god for the harvest of the year. The third day consists of people visiting each other and just enjoying their company. I have discovered that India LOVES holidays and there does not go a stretch of two weeks without a holiday and people get off work to celebrate it. The Pongal Holiday brought lots of tourists to Kodai therefore it was not fun to walk home because of two reasons. One, there is no room to walk because there are buses parked on both sides of the road and there are tons of cars. Two, the tourists like to hoot and holler at Karissa and me because we are white woman. It is actually very annoying and at sometimes, frightening. But with this said, I am just that more appreciative of this town who accepts the internationals more than most small towns.

After a great week of school and getting settled of living in Kodai, I went to grade 9 camp with 60 kids and 5 other adults. We drive an hour of very curvy roads and after thinking “I am going to die” about a dozen times, we arrive to our drop off. Next we all hike up and down a few hills to get to the camp for about 20 minutes. Getting to camp was such a great feeling because the nature surrounds the place, there is a “lake” nearby, the tents are already set up, and the smell of food begins to fill my lungs making my stomach grumble. The first night we split the students in teams and my kids were the “Werewolves”. These teams would be given points throughout the weekend for various activities such as creating a flag and chant, a scavenger hunt, race on the lake on the raft, a zip-lining race, and teamwork. The students got plenty of free time on Saturday to go rock-climbing, swimming in the lake, do archery, play volleyball, or go zip-lining. Most of the time I just made sure that all of the students were being safe and behaving but also got the chance to get some sun, read my book, and chat with a few of the other chaperones. It was great to see students doing their own dishes and cleaning the toilets. A lot of them admitted to me that they have never cleaned up after themselves in their life (most of the students come from very wealthy families). In summary, I enjoyed camp but more because the students had fun. Maybe I will go there with no students some day in the next four months.

I have discovered how small this world really is and how much God wants us to be reassured that we are not alone. Jessica, the lady who leads the Bible study, grew up as a missionary kid and as she was telling Karissa and me about where she grew up and about her family, God was tugging on a string in my heart about this specific part of her life. About ten minutes later she asked me about where I lived in France and I told her close to Lyon, in the French Alps. She tells me that her sister and brother-in-law lived in a town called Albertville. Now this town sounded so familiar to me and I realize that it is a town nearby to the town I lived in, Chambéry.  Then she goes on with her story that her sister was in France for a year to study French before her and her husband go to Madagascar as missionaries. Of course I suddenly realized why God was nudging me because that is where my good friend from college, Caleb, grew up as a missionary kid. I realize why Albertville sounds familiar because that is where Caleb and his family lived to prepare for their mission to Madagascar. Low and behold, Caleb’s family and Jessica’s sister and brother-in-law know and somewhat work together as missionaries in Madagascar. AND get this; about 10 of my friends (including Caleb) are in Madagascar at this moment to do short term mission work!!! WOW! GOD IS SO BIG! He provided a relationship and a one that I can fully participate in right away because of this crazy connection back to home.

I hope you have enjoyed the stories and pictures. From now on, I will try to write more often and take more pictures for you to see. Thanks for all of the support and the desire to talk to me through skype and email. I have been able to see the impact of the prayers you have been praying for me and I so greatly appreciate it! Here are a few photos of my place and the view from my place.

Ups and Downs

It is Monday afternoon and today marks one week of being at Kodai. The last week has been stretching and challenging to the point of I can’t decide if the next four months will be excruciating slow or surprisingly fast. I have had some moments of great depression and I have had those moments of awe in discovering this new country and culture of India. There are two parts of my life here in India that brings their own praises and challenges: the everyday life of living in India and teaching at an International School. I am continually challenged on letting God have full control of both of these things and learning how to once again be meek and humble in the situation I am in. Let me tell you what I have been up to.

On Thursday and Friday I had the first few days of classes and nothing went as I had expected. I had learned that my cooperating teacher, Graham, has only three sections and that his schedule for teaching is quite small compared to what I would teach in the US or even here at KIS (Kodaikanal International School). This is because he is the MYP Coordinator for grades 6-10 which does take up a lot of his time. Knowing this I started to scramble with ideas of how to make the most of my time here. After talking to Graham and a few other teachers I seemed to get a schedule that will work in theory. I say this because its not quite put together fully and probably won’t be for a few more days. This what seems like my teaching life will be like here at KIS. I will be observing and eventually teaching the three sections of Graham’s (a very English guy) which is 10^th grade mathematics (maths as everyone calls it here), observing (maybe teaching) one 11^th grade French section with Dominique (a very French guy), observing one 11^th grade math section with Shubhankar (a very Indian guy), and observing a low level math class with Steven (a normal American guy). Also, I believe that I will have in a sense “office hours” for 11^th and 12^th graders who are struggling in their math classes. Also, I will be trying to work with 11^th and 12^th graders in an after school program that will provide the students to help younger students in their math schoolwork.

Working at the school has been great but different from anything I have ever experienced in Montana. Some things that I have seen here that are different include prayer before my Math Department meetings, teachers and students eating at the same place, the chance to see students outside of the classroom around campus at all hours of the day, and the sense of community found in the students and staff. Today, Monday, was a much better day of observing and participating as a teacher in the classroom and I feel like I soon will be able to fit in at KIS.

Over the weekend I walked around Kodai quite a bit and went on a hike to Pillar Rocks. The view was of the beautiful mountains called that Palani Hills. I greatly enjoyed feeling like I am at home with the mountains all around me. As I discover the town more and more, I realize how many things are to be found out and studied while I am here. I finally bought a blanket to keep me warm at our house (yes it is cold here!). I still have difficulties in my everyday life but the desire to overcome them and not see them as so huge has grown in the last few days. I have so much more to say and talk about but I must be going. I am off to have dinner at a Tibetan restaurant!! I will write soon again especially about my special Sunday morning at church. I could write so much about it that it will probably take another post.

I ask for prayers for my Chi Alpha family who is in Madagascar right now on a mission trip. Also, if you would like to, there is a place to put your email in and follow me. Till next time!

Traveling to Kodaikanal

Hi everyone! It has been a long week but I am finally starting to get time in to be able to write about how my travels went and how settling in is coming along.

So my journey began Friday afternoon with a friend who surprised me by coming to say goodbye at the airport. It was definitely hard saying goodbye to my mom and also saying goodbye to my brother and dad on the phone but I was ready to get this adventure started. I met up with my fellow student teacher in Denver and then off we went to Frankfurt and Mumbai. Everything did not go smoothly because 5 minutes before boarding, I still did not have a ticket in my hand but eventually God worked it all out. When we got to Mumbai we were a little late and we waited for our bags for about minutes. Then it took about 15 minutes to do some currency exchange. By the time we had exited the airport, we were about 1 hour and 30 minutes later than what we told our driver. I was SOO nervous that he was not going to be there but luckily he was but another 15 minutes he would have been gone.

The hotel we stayed in was amazing and pretty much luxurious compared to the buildings around it which were slums. We ended up doing very well with going to sleep and getting up at the correct times. We did go to the olympic sized pool at 6 pm and there was no one around because it was too cold. Us Montanan girls thought it was CRAZY that we were swimming at the beginning of January and we didn't even see our breath. I was thinking of you guys who have the zero degree weather.

On Monday we took three more legs of the trip that had the typical bumps that would be expected while traveling to India. We ended up taking a three hour taxi ride up the mountain on a winding road but I did not get sick, surprisingly. We did stop about half way up and went to an overlook of the lower plains that had mango and coconut trees being farmed. All around us were these little cat-sized monkeys that were eating fruit from the side of the road. When we arrived to the town of 40,000 people it was 7 at night and we were met at the school by two teachers. They took us to our apartment that has "the most beautiful view" of the town at the Jaffna compound. We are apart of a duplex that is connected to the principal and his family who are very nice and helpful. I was not expecting this but our apartment has three bedrooms, kitchen with most amenities, bathroom, a couple fireplaces, sunroom, and a living room. We have more room than we need but we are very grateful for it. It is about a 10 minute walk from the school which must be done with someone else at night. We don't have internet at the house which is a big bummer but I have it all set up at the school.

Tuesday I was in meetings all day for professional development and learning about the Middle Years Programme. After that I walked around with another teacher and she showed me all of the places to go around town for about 30 minutes. I was so tired that I went home crawled into bed and fell asleep at 6 pm and didn't wake up till 4 am. Today (Wednesday) I had a meeting with my cooperating teacher, Graham, and the Math Department which was so great because I got to work along side of all the teachers and do some collaborative work. Guess what else is super cool! We started our meeting with prayer!!!

Tomorrow I start teaching with 10th grade mathematics and I can not wait to meet them!! When the fog clears out I will take some pictures and post them. Miss you all!

Starting 2014 with a BANG!

Hello everyone! First of all I would like to say Happy New Year. My resolution this year is to keep a continual travel blog which is what you are looking at. To start off this resolution I have a big trip to India for a whole four months beginning on the 3rd of January. I am going to live in a town called Kodaikanal which is in the south of the Tamil Nadu state. I will be student teaching in a 10th grade math class and a French class at Kodaikanal International School. Because the school is an International School all of the classes are taught in English and the students/staff represent over 30 nationalities. The city I will be living at is in the mountains which will provide much comfort and I can't wait to discover the surrounding beauty!

Preparing for this trip has been very difficult compared to my summer in France because I am not sure what I will need clothing wise and I can't fully prepare myself for teaching in such a different culture. Packing has been fun and a challenge but after some advice from family and friends, I was able to get all of my stuff in one check bag (a large backpack) and two carry-ons (personal backpack and small rolling luggage). A few fun and interesting things that I packed along are a water bottle that kills bacteria and viruses by UV light, huckleberry salt water taffy for my students, a Montana calendar, Flathead Cherry tea as a thank you gift for my cooperating teacher, Nutella, Montana coffee cup, slippers, and importantly my camera to take lots of pictures.

My preparations has been full of prayer on seeking what God has in store for me and how this trip will mold me for my future. It is hard going with knowing that my community of support will be completely different but I trust that God will be there for me in all situations. I look forward to meeting my students, being apart of their transformation into adults, and hopefully showing them God's light by letting Him be Lord of my life. Prayers are greatly appreciated for my crazy four days of travel to get to Kodaikanal. Well off I go! Love you all very much!!!

Mariah