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.