Today marks my 21st day in India. I arrived on January 4th, coinciding with a few different teams' arrivals. The days that the team were here were so jam-packed full of school activities and other wonderful experiences such as:
the cultural program
sing-song service
a trip to Paravasa Ulagam (a water park in TN)
Pongal cultural activities
Sports Day
community dinner
Honestly, with getting in the correct time zone, going to school almost every day, co-leading chapel each morning at 6:30am and attending all of the fore-mentioned activities, those 13 days went by in a blur. So, it's difficult for me to believe that I have been here that long already!
Yesterday marked my first full week of being here by myself. While I've never felt more exhausted in my life, it has been exhilarating to say the least. It's an incredible feeling to be doing what God has called you to do. Every day I teach spoken class to grades 3-9 and, no, it's not always a piece of cake. In fact, after Tuesday, January 26th (India's Republic Day), two more classes will be added to my teaching schedule in addition to a special spoken class for a select group of students and a weekly class for the teachers. As far as I know, beginning on Wednesday January 27th, my teaching schedule will look something like this:
9:30 6th standard/grade
10:25 7th standard/grade
11:15 8th standard/grade
12:00 3rd & 4th standard/grade
12:45 LUNCH
1:15 9th standard/grade
2:00 LKG/UKG (equivalent of pre-k and kindergarten)
2:45 5th standard/grade
4:00 special spoken class
Saturdays: 3-6pm teachers class
Some classes are very chatty and a little too eager; others are very difficult to manage at times. My biggest class size is probably well over 100 students with my smallest not being that "small." Some days I want to pull my hair out and later on in that same day, I cannot stop smiling. But, life is like that, isn't it? Nothing is every easy or the same or what we expect. God has us face trials to help us grow and become stronger.
Tonight, I was laughing so much with my thambi, Lokesh, during study time. Here are some of the lyrics he made up to a song that he was singing about me (don't forget to picture a skinny 13-year-old dancing awkwardly!):
"Tricia Aunty's a nice
Tricia Aunty's a nice
Tricia Aunty daily takes message
I like Tricia Aunty's words
like sharing is caring
she's a nice
She takes spoken class very well
Tricia Aunty's a nice football player
She's a good goalkeeper
She kicks the football very fast" (don't mind his small grammar mistakes!!)
He had me CRACKING UP at the littlest things. It is truly these moments that seem so insignificant to an outsider that are the most important to me. I believe the little things like eating lunch with my students every day and wishing them luck on their tests when they have them are making a difference in their lives. The impact I have on their lives is the reason I came to Tamil Nadu in the first place. Some of these children have experienced things that I could never even wrap my head around. They don't know what it feels like to be really loved by someone, especially by our Savior, Jesus Christ...and that is why I'm here. God brought me to this corner of the world to show people just how much of a difference love can make in someone's life. After all, God is love...so why not share it?
the cultural program
Yesterday marked my first full week of being here by myself. While I've never felt more exhausted in my life, it has been exhilarating to say the least. It's an incredible feeling to be doing what God has called you to do. Every day I teach spoken class to grades 3-9 and, no, it's not always a piece of cake. In fact, after Tuesday, January 26th (India's Republic Day), two more classes will be added to my teaching schedule in addition to a special spoken class for a select group of students and a weekly class for the teachers. As far as I know, beginning on Wednesday January 27th, my teaching schedule will look something like this:
9:30 6th standard/grade
10:25 7th standard/grade
11:15 8th standard/grade
12:00 3rd & 4th standard/grade
12:45 LUNCH
1:15 9th standard/grade
2:00 LKG/UKG (equivalent of pre-k and kindergarten)
2:45 5th standard/grade
4:00 special spoken class
Saturdays: 3-6pm teachers class
Some classes are very chatty and a little too eager; others are very difficult to manage at times. My biggest class size is probably well over 100 students with my smallest not being that "small." Some days I want to pull my hair out and later on in that same day, I cannot stop smiling. But, life is like that, isn't it? Nothing is every easy or the same or what we expect. God has us face trials to help us grow and become stronger.
Tonight, I was laughing so much with my thambi, Lokesh, during study time. Here are some of the lyrics he made up to a song that he was singing about me (don't forget to picture a skinny 13-year-old dancing awkwardly!):
"Tricia Aunty's a nice
Tricia Aunty's a nice
Tricia Aunty daily takes message
I like Tricia Aunty's words
like sharing is caring
she's a nice
She takes spoken class very well
Tricia Aunty's a nice football player
She's a good goalkeeper
She kicks the football very fast" (don't mind his small grammar mistakes!!)
He had me CRACKING UP at the littlest things. It is truly these moments that seem so insignificant to an outsider that are the most important to me. I believe the little things like eating lunch with my students every day and wishing them luck on their tests when they have them are making a difference in their lives. The impact I have on their lives is the reason I came to Tamil Nadu in the first place. Some of these children have experienced things that I could never even wrap my head around. They don't know what it feels like to be really loved by someone, especially by our Savior, Jesus Christ...and that is why I'm here. God brought me to this corner of the world to show people just how much of a difference love can make in someone's life. After all, God is love...so why not share it?
