week 5
Feb 5
I cannot believe the fifth week is almost over! I became very upset when I came to this realization last night. I have been having the best time here and am already planning to come back.
This week was definitely a week of learning for me, starting with the weirdest sport ever, cricket. Tuesday I went to a park to attempt to play cricket, but my past of baseball definitely got in the way. When I got up to bat they laughed and yelled at me for the way I held the bat up by my shoulders. Apparently, in cricket you hold the bat down, an aspect, that I could not get use to. When I finally hit the ball in this awkward fashion, I dropped the bat and began my run. This was quickly accompanied by more laughs and shouts. Apparently also, your not suppose to drop the bat in cricket. The game fault like it was going on forever and in many cases it does. Professional cricket matches last from over five hours to five days. Though this sport was fun, I cannot see myself doing anything for that long of a time. This laughter pushed me to challenge these cricket fans to baseball next week. They happily agreed so next week I will have my time to laugh.
When the game came to a close I decided it was time to get working on my lesson plan for the week. This week I was in my older class everyday except for Thursday, because of the project we were doing. I was giving them a cube to cut out and on each side they were to glue things that represents them. So this week we cut out magazine, took photos, and cut out the cube. The children seem really excited about this project so things are going great. While doing this project though I got thinking about what photos to put on their cubes. What I came up with was a family photo for each child. I was very excited about this idea and then something else popped into my head. These children have never had a family photo! Jake Glaser from America would be taking these families’ first photos, something families in other countries get done many times a year. Needless to say I am so glad I can finally give something to these children that every family should have. So when I go to print out the photos I am making sure to print out two of each, one for the project and one to put in a frame for the family.
When you think of poverty you think of lack of food or dirty living conditions. Most people (including myself) miss what poverty really means. Seeing the trucks distributing rice to the families today wasn’t as shocking as the fact that these families don’t have a family picture. That’s what working in poverty has really shown me. That every single small detail about these people’s lives are different. They all do the same things as everyone else around the world; they just do it in a different way.
I knew this week was going to be busy, but I think I handle it very well. I made 15 cube posters. Taught about Botswana and Egypt, played cricket, looked up games from around the world, had tea with people from Vidya, had dinner to discuss the upcoming exhibition, made lesson plans for my younger students, worked on videos for Vidya, had the children write letters, bartered with many rickshaw drivers, searched for school supplies, and Skyped with a class of seventh graders. What a great week it was. I was so glad I got everything done and had sometime to chat with people back in the States. Having the Seventh graders asked questions about my trip and the comparison of life was great. I really enjoyed sharing my experiences based on what they were interested in. The children also help push me through this week with their hard work and smiles. I survived this week, but looking at the calendar, doesn’t shed any light on a easy week. As things pick up more is piled on. Luckily I am motivated and ready to take on these challenges.
My friend on my train home.
