Summer Camp

July 16, 2008-(Wednesday)- Palumpur, India

Today was WONDERFUL ! We gave the kids the map of the world which didn’t have the labels on it. We wanted to see if they remembered much from yesterday. A few remembered the continents, which was a start. The problem is that they knew the names of the continents, but they didn’t know where they were! I couldn’t believe that some of them couldn’t find India on the map ! They also had no idea how big the world is! We brought a globe, and showed them that the globe was the same as the flat map that we had given them. A few didn’t realize that the earth is a sphere! I have to say I was shocked. Again, once we started showing and labeling things on the map, they asked for more. When the 40 minutes were over, they didn’t want to leave! I felt so happy and excited. This is the joy of being a teacher! It was incredible to see the faces of the kids and hear them laughing and asking question upon question. After the classes were over for the day, Usha told us that the kids had gone to her class and said that they loved our class and that they learned a lot. This was great. Shri and Brian figured out how to rig up a video presentation on the Seven Wonders of the World. We are going to incorporate this into our lesson as the Taj Mahal is on the list. I am so excited, I can’t wait to see the kids’ faces when we bring the world into their classroom! I can’t help but think of all that would be available to them with just a projector, a computer, and an internet connection. The world would be theirs for the taking. I am so frustrated that I can’t do more, but I am happy for what I am able to do.

After lunch, I went to the tailor’s to pick up my new PJs. They came out perfectly. Then I went back to the house to take a little nap. After about 1 hour, Gee-too called me and told me it was time to go to the dentist to get my crown put on. Dr. Singh was wonderful. The crown fit perfectly and as I looked in the mirror, you could hardly tell the crown from the other teeth. I talked to Dr. Singh for a while. It was his family who donated the land for Gyan Deep. His family also owns the Tea plantation we visited. Dr. Singh has developed a non-profit organization and wants to help more schools like Gyan Deep. We talked a bit about it and I hope that someday I can come back to India and help out with the educational system here. I feel so torn because I want to help India, but when I was in Peru, I wanted to help Peru. Next summer me and Joel and Rachael will hopefully go to Costa Rica. There are so many who need help, but I know I can’t help them all.

Once back from the dentist, I went to see Pooja. I think I am finally getting immune to the sound of honking horns. Here in India it is nothing personal when someone honks at you. They are not angry, you have done nothing wrong, they simply want you to know that they are coming up behind you. It is a matter of notification, not anger. This is so different than in the U.S. I wonder how I will react to horns when I get home again. When I arrived at Pooja’s house she was so happy to see me. One thing I noticed was that she was wearing the same outfit from the other day. She showed me around her little home. It has 4 rooms; One main room which has a bed and chairs, table, and TV. Then there’s the kitchen, another bedroom for her parents, and lastly a small room with a refrigerator, her bed which she shares with her grandmother and brother, and other household odds & ends. I noticed the complete absence of toys in the house. I asked Pooja about this and she showed me her doll. This was her ONLY toy! The doll was on a shelf in the main room where apparently the family kept their prized possessions. There was a picture of her grandmother and Uncle at the Taj Mahal, some other family trinkets, and all this was in a glass case. Her mom and dad asked me for tea, and I had tea with them. I was astonished and humbled at how these people who had so little were so willing to share with me, who was for all important purposes, a stranger. I gave Pooja and Vicrown a few American coins and explained to them how the U.S. money system works. I made sure Pooja had my address, and got up to leave. Pooja insisted on walking me back to the house. It was a nice walk. She told me that someday she wants to be a scientist who works with the planets. I told her that I might see her on Mars someday when she is all grown up. When we got to the house I ran upstairs to get the picture of Joel and Rachael as she wanted a picture of them. I grabbed one of the bags I’d bought in Amritsar and some tea I’d bought and gave them to her for her family. She had tears in her eyes as did I. Then she hugged me and we said good-bye. When I walked back into the house, Juggy told me that he wasn’t able to change my flight to Delhi, and that I was going to have to leave tomorrow! I was so disappointed. I ran upstairs to pack. Brandy and AJ chatted with me while I tried to fit my belongings into the suitcases. Even though am leaving most of the clothes I’d brought with me, my luggage is full of souvenirs. I picked out the cortas, pants, and dupatas that weren’t my favorites, and quietly gave them to the cleaning girls who were cleaning our rooms. I knew only too well how little they earned and how few clothes they owned. I will be sad to leave India, but I do think it is time to go home. I feel like I have 2 lives; one here and one in Jacksonville. Soon it will be time to go back to bills, cooking, Wal-Mart, kids, etc. I wonder how much of a shock it will be once I am home.