Goodnight India.. I Love You!

  Even after saying goodbye once.  I still keep hoping I will see each one of you again.  It was not until I returned from a wonderful dinner with wonderful friends that it really felt over.  The campus was dark, empty, and quiet; not the way I like it.  I hoping to say one more goodbye  to a dear friend.  We had exchanged parting words once before and her face is always in my heart, yet I sought one more contact. I was just a few minutes too late and she'd already left. All of the cleaning ladies, kids, teachers, and staff were gone and the hubbub of the day finished  - everything quiet.  

  It really was a wonderful day of goodbyes.  I actually felt like I spent quality time with most of those I love.  So much better than the running I did at the end of my time, last year.  I was so blessed yesterday to see a village friend with whom I thought I would miss connections and today blessed again because one of my favorite cleaning ladies came back...just in time.  She had been gone for 22 days and was not expected to return till Monday.  I think she came early just to say, "Goodbye."  Boy was I happy to see her… and she was equally excited by my enthusiasm upon her return.  It is late now. I intended to be in bed way earlier (considering that my car leaves at 2:00 am).  But after calling everyone to say goodbye I just needed to walk the campus, think, and pray.   While I greatly prefer the excitement of the day, the quiet campus provided the perfect setting for thinking.  What a wonderful summer filled with joy, blessings, and new friends.  Good-night India.. I love you.. see you soon (I pray).

A Great Gift!

What a great day I had yesterday. I planned a perfect day... from 9:00-10:30: teach, village trip at 10:30-1:30, 1:30-lunch, 2:00-visit favorite office, 3:30 meeting, 4:00- beautify, 5:00-tutor, 6:00- shop, 6:30- visiting with friends .. 8:30 more visiting with friends, 10:00 pack, 11:00 bed.

BUT as I should have guessed, leaving the school took awhile and when I returned from teaching I found out that the car headed for the village trip had already left. My heart sank because that is my favorite place to go. THANKFULLY.. knowing my desperation - they came back for me. I had such a great time visiting everyone. My favorite lady, the one I have written much about over the years, works during the day. I never even checked her house because she is never home. But just as we were deciding whether we could visit one more home…. out she came! She had stayed home for the day! What a great gift to end to my trip. She is one neat lady. I am SO blessed to know her. The rest of the day went mostly as planned. So nice to see everyone but sad to go. Now, one more day of visiting and saying good-bye. God willing I will be back in a year. Thinking about that is helping my heart.

Good-bye Week

Oh God help...     being in the villages today reminds me again just how much I love it here.. and how much I feel recharged.  Spending one afternoon with the wonderful ladies from the village has filled my cup to overflowing but it is also leaves me with a heavy heart. Today was one of those days when it seems as though the small amount I am able to give is sooooo little in comparison to the everpresent heartache I witness.  I wish holding someone’s hand would fix the problems endured. I wish that my unintelligible English words could leap outside of the language barrier and really offer encouragement.  Not ready to leave.  Hoping this week gives me quality time with everyone.

Happy Teacher

Two weeks ago I visited a school located in the middle of a slum area. I loved the location and loved the teachers but somehow it did not feel like a very productive week. I introduced some behavior modification techniques to one teacher with a class of 50 (3-4 year olds). I was not sure which concepts would "stick" after I left. Today, the teacher found me and thanked me. She said that before I came she'd had daily conversations with the principal, telling him that she could not do this. She told him that she had too many students who were too young (plus she did not speak the same language as the kids). She reported today that her modifications are still working. Her class is listening, quiet, and now knows six letters. She said she no longer needs to meet with the principal.

MATH

July 30, 2011

  I told the teachers at school today that I needed to write a letter. I need to write a letter to a former teacher. I am sure that she would never imagine that her name would come up in India and that I would end up sharing from my heart the difference she made to me.. but...I did.. and I know that the impact she had on me has touched teachers half a world away. It’s been 22 years since she was my math teacher. She gave me a poster that year that still hangs in my childhood bedroom .. it reads .. "I would love math if it didn’t have so many numbers.. Keep trying - Love, Mrs. Mizzelle."

 I was never good in math. That year, I was moved to her math class. It was really a class higher than where I should have been. I knew that my “math anxiety" was already high.. and being in the advanced section only made it worse. I am not sure why she came to mind this week. It has been a while since I have thought about that year.

  I am guessing that it started on Wednesday. I was watching a third grade math class. I missed what had transpired before I entered and the conversation was in Telugu so I was not sure what was being said. However, standing among his peers, was a wide-eyed boy looking intently at his teacher. His eyes brimmed with tears and he wore a look of desperation. It was as if I could feel his small heart. I could identify with his angst....when the realization hits that you don’t know the answer. More than anything - you want to shrink from the room. Even as I watched - the elapsed time seemed endless. I had to make a conscious decision not to jump in, take his hand, and offer encouragement ( I meant to say something to him today but forgot… I hope someone will).

  In my daily half hour teacher sessions, I usually talk about a variety of  instructional methods that can be used with struggling learners. Thursday's topic was learning styles and and how individuals learn differently. If we vary the instructional modality, perhaps someone who could not understand...will be able

to comprehend. 

 Even though I had not planned it - I began telling about my own struggle to understand math. I told about the hours of tears at the kitchen table, struggling with computations and calculations. I also shared the wisdom of my teacher who knew that my fifth grade heart needed confidence even more than my brain needed math.

  I told the teachers yesterday and as I write this now it still brings tears to my eyes. Mrs. Mizzelle would tell me a day ahead of time, which problem I would need to solve on the board so that when I went before the class I could meet with success. She made sure that I never looked different or felt inadequate. I am not sure what will happen to my third class friend or whether he will ever really understand mathematics. 

  As I prepared to depart, one of the math teachers.. the quietest at the school said, “ I know now that it is my job to make all students successful and to give them encouragement.” How wonderful that the teachers were inspired by my teacher, a world away, who they will never meet. Thanks you Mrs. Mizzelle. Your impact on one (me) has impacted a school of many -  including one small, wide eyed, third grade boy.

Thankful!

Tonight.. I am sitting looking at my pictures from the past weeks. I am smiling as I remember small moments. I remember the gift of a family from a world away, the giggle that bursts from almost every lip whenever they hear my attempt at Telugu, and a smile on the face of a friend I made last year. This year, that same friend, is quick to take my hand and try to engage in conversation. She has even learned English and attempts to speak it. Between her very broken English, my very broken Telugu and a lot of acting - - we sometimes communicate a spoken message.. but more so.. we communicate a heart message. I am looking at faces of people I don’t know but long to meet. I really wish I could come for awhile and work in a rice field or as a sweeper. I would love to listen. I would love to know their stories. I wish I took pictures that did justice to the beauty of aged hands clutching the worn ends of saris or faces that peer through once brightly painted doors. I would love to hear what they know about faith, about life, and loving others. I am thinking of people I do know whose faces are a joy to see each time I visit but so hard to leave. I love the expression of surprise that says without words…”You came again.” I love when they tell me to “go and come” (back soon). I am looking at new friends… who with great persuasion agreed to have tea or the faces on those I was with today - how they laughed when I tried to teach the electric slide. I am thankful for teachers who trust me enough to enter their classrooms; who allow me to take their class and share ideas. I am so thankful that God is teaching me to give the week to him. Most weeks have not gone according the plan I have set. Some days, that has left me feeling frustrated.. but this week I am loving seeing His plan instead of mine. Mostly, I am truly thankful to God to be here again. What fun!

Catch the Lingo

(see if you can guess what the phrase means… don’t cheat. )

a. If you are “eating nicely” you…
b. “They got the baby” means…
c. If you are going to put your baby in a perambulator you will…
d. If you ask for a cover for your bananas they will give you a….
e. Ordering “plain water” will get you…
f. If you are “not eating properly”
g. If every table in a restaurant is full you can..
h. A head nod =yes, a shake= no, a wiggle from side to side= ….
i. If you are told to…“take this road and the house will come”..you will
j. If someone “has sugar” they…
k. If you are asked “have you taken food?” they mean..




answers below:)


a. ate a lot of food… or they are impressed you can eat with your hand
b. They had a baby
c. put them in a stroller
d. bag
e. water that is not cold (If you want cold water you have to ask for it)
f. you did not eat enough
g. join a table that has empty chairs (even if others are sitting there)
h. whatever you want…. Or, no (but they don’t want to tell you no)
i. pass the house
j. are diabetic
k. did you eat

I know there are more.. but that is all I can think of for now.