India Service Program Blog

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

“If you could only see how important you are to the lives of those you meet…There is something of yourself you leave at every meeting with another person.” –Fred Rogers

Today was another incredibly exhausting & rewarding day. The beautiful chaos of Chennai is like nothing I have ever experienced in my life. Cows, cars, motorcycles, cabs, bicyclists, & brightly colored pedestrians all come within a breath of collision at any moment. It is literally a symphony of sight & sound that is hard to imagine & even harder to describe. Our driver, Stephen, amazes me every morning as he calmly & deftly weaves among the throngs to safely deliver me to Grace School.

Today was my second day at Grace teaching English to the 3^rd, 4^th, & 5^th graders. They are all so beautiful & eager to learn. I showed the 3^rd graders pictures of my garden back home in Virginia & they worked on their English skills by writing sentences describingwhat they saw. We have been challenged at times to understand each other, but so far we’ve been able to work it out. They have requested stickers, longer stories, & Simonsays for tomorrow. One of my third grade boys, Jastein, ran back into the room atthe last minute to give me a flower, which I have pressed into my journal. The 4^th grade class had fun working with anagrams & the competition was fierce tocreate the most words. 5^th standard is my largest class with 9 students. It can get quite boisterous as they call out “Mam, Mam “ to get my attention. We have been working on expanding their conversational English by writing descriptive sentences. Today they wrote about their favorite thing to do after school.

Balaji, a boy from my 4^th grade class, came & sat with me during recess. He showed me his sticker collection & reminded me to bring some tomorrow. Then he & some of the others taught me a few Tamil words before it was time for me to go. As I was leaving I was surrounded & given high fives & fist bumps as some of the little ones hugged my waist.

After a delicious lunch & a quick nap the team walked to SEAMS to work with the kids one on one. SEAMS always starts off a bit chaotic as the kids are getting home from school & are rushing to complete their chores & get groomed for the evening’s activities. Arun, “dancing man,” always looks particularly sharp with a bright crisp shirt & jeans.

Before we got started, Megan, Candy & I ran upstairs to check out the progress on the library. The mason & some of the boys proudly posed for pictures while they worked. Chris & Dustin have done an amazing job working with the masons. It looks like their goal to have it completed before they leave in February just might happen.

In between working with the kids on their English skills I held a mini clinic to check their various wounds. I wish I could have done more, but they seemed happy to have their cuts & sores washed & bandaged & to receive a few soothing words. Some seemed disappointed when their fresh scars weren’t “band-aid worthy.” As always our time at SEAMS was way to short. I’m looking forward to returning tomorrow.

Diana

Monday, January 9, 2012

A great day for firsts!

As our new team assembles for the first time at the breakfast table, there are many emotions running in all of us.  Excitement, anxiousness, curiosity, and even a little fear are all present in the team as we prepare for our day of firsts.  First time building a library, working construction,  or teaching  children English.  All tasks equally  daunting  and difficult but nevertheless, rewarding and satisfying to each of us.  

Chris, who is helping build Seam’s first library has also taken the task of putting together Seam’s first reward point system.  This system allows groups as well as the individual kids to accrue points by completing chores, cleaning their room and going the extra mile to help in whatever way they can.  At the end of the month, the top team and top individuals  win a prize.  This is a great way to instill responsibility in the kids and it’s also really fun! Chris put together the chart, the point system and even put on his photography cap for a Seam’s group photo!

It was Dustin’s first day working on the construction for the library.  When he came home from lunch, his clothes were drenched , and he had a look of pure satisfaction on his face.  The look of pride in getting your hands dirty and really accomplishing something great.  He told us of how he enjoyed  his experience learning how local construction takes place.  He also helped with Chris with the point system, and while at Seam’s in the afternoon, took individual time to help the kids with their comprehension of words. 

Although Diana’s a nursing teacher, this was her first experience teaching kids.  I empathized greatly with the nervousness and trepidation she felt as she was also the first to go to Grace school.  Talk about brave! But with determination in her eyes, and with a stoic nature that I’m sure she has had all her life, she faced this head on and succeeded in teaching her class to use descriptive words and making sentences of those words.

It was Candy’s first trip to the classroom as well. She explained how she felt nervous to be in front of the students and even said she didn’t think she would like it.  But with Candy’s optimism and positive attitude she came home thrilled to have gone and was excited to return tomorrow! I think she has found a new calling with the second graders!

Like most of the team here, I have a lot of firsts as well.  First time to India. First time at Global Volunteers. First time in a classroom setting. My first experience with the little ones at Assisi was truly memorable.  I felt as if I had never left home when I entered the school.  Something about being able to teach the young ones appeals to me and inspires.  My experience at Grace was challenging to say the least.  But you know what they say, if at first you don’t succeed, try try again.

It was a great day for firsts and we all look forward to seconds!

Diana

Sunday, January 8, 2012

“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend or a meaningful day.” – Tenzin Gyatso

While it was sad to see Kerry depart, this weekend was exciting because of the arrival of the latest team.  The new team is: Megan, Diana, Candy, and Dustin, who like myself will be staying until February 11.  It’s exciting to be surrounded by such an eager and enthusiastic group.  Saturday was a slow and comfortable day with several in the new group recovering from jet lag.  Today (Sunday) we went through the orientation process, my second.  When we got to the group exercise of describing the characteristics of an effective team it was interesting that the descriptors used were almost identical to those offered by the previous team.  I suppose great minds think alike.

In the afternoon we ventured over to SEAM for the new group’s introductions and tour of the facility.  Dustin has the upper hand here, being a former volunteer to Chennai.  Indeed, many of the children recognized him, with one pointing out that he was wearing the same pants that he had previously worn on his trip in 2010.  It was a very lively time that included songs and dance from the children.  After spending some time with the kids we headed off for a delicious dinner. Once we returned to the guest house I finally completed work on my photos…so far. Tomorrow we will be splitting up as usual with Dustin and I heading to SEAM for the library build.  I know he’s as eager as I am to see this thing completed.  I look forward to a productive day with an engaging and high-spirited new team.

Chris