Day 12 - 24Jul2012
I was on education rotation today. Not my favorite of rotations, but I had a better time doing it today than I did last week. I've gotten to know most of the kids now which makes tutoring fun. Before heading to school, I was able to Skype with my mom. She had some great news for me! I've been accepted to the LSAC (Licensed Substance Abuse Counseling) program at the University of Utah. I made her hold the letter up to the camera so I could read it for myself. I'm really excited, but also really nervous to go back to school. I never thought I'd go back to school after getting my bachelors.
I tutored mostly in reading today. I was able to tutor my favorite girl, Jayanthi. I know I shouldn't have favorites, but I do. She is behind in her reading abilities, but it was fun to have her sound out a word and then recognize the word later on and read it without sounding it out. Tutoring kids for five hours can be draining, but it is very rewarding.
It was too hot to play "catcher" during recess so I sat on the steps in the shade. Jayanthi and some other girls talked to me about my face. They wanted to know what the dots on my face were (freckles) and they touched my fake eyelashes. Then the grooming began. They went through my hair looking for bugs. Lice is such a common occurrence here that all of the girls know how to do checks. They didn't find any lice, but they did find a mole that they seemed quite concerned about.
I took my iPhone to play time...big mistake. If I bring my camera or phone to play time, that is all the kids want to play with. My phone is in one piece and working perfectly, it just causes drama. For example, if I have the rule be that each kid can take five pictures, without a doubt one of the kids will break the rule and make the other kids upset. That happened with Anitha. She took 20 pictures. And when I told her that wasn't fair and that she would not get another turn, she was upset with me. Jayanthi came to me and pulled me away from the other girls for a "serious matter." The "serious matter" was that Anitha was no longer going to be my friend. Such drama with these girls! I've decided not to take my camera or phone to play time from now on. I'll just have to get pictures from other people.
Family time was better than usual for me. I sat with a small group of boys and folded paper into those four square mouth things...do you know what I'm talking about? I used to make them in church with the sacrament programs. All of the boys really liked that and I made one for each of them. The boys were really mellow tonight.
I took my usual nightly shower, but the power went out. It was out for about five minutes and I showered in the dark. Power outages are common and happen multiple times a day. They usually only last a few seconds, but sometimes it can be minutes. I figure I haven't really taken a bucket shower in India if I haven't done it in the pitch black.
Day 12 Complete
Firsts/Realizations: I feel like I've lived here forever and yet the days have gone by so fast.
I was on education rotation today. Not my favorite of rotations, but I had a better time doing it today than I did last week. I've gotten to know most of the kids now which makes tutoring fun. Before heading to school, I was able to Skype with my mom. She had some great news for me! I've been accepted to the LSAC (Licensed Substance Abuse Counseling) program at the University of Utah. I made her hold the letter up to the camera so I could read it for myself. I'm really excited, but also really nervous to go back to school. I never thought I'd go back to school after getting my bachelors.
I tutored mostly in reading today. I was able to tutor my favorite girl, Jayanthi. I know I shouldn't have favorites, but I do. She is behind in her reading abilities, but it was fun to have her sound out a word and then recognize the word later on and read it without sounding it out. Tutoring kids for five hours can be draining, but it is very rewarding.It was too hot to play "catcher" during recess so I sat on the steps in the shade. Jayanthi and some other girls talked to me about my face. They wanted to know what the dots on my face were (freckles) and they touched my fake eyelashes. Then the grooming began. They went through my hair looking for bugs. Lice is such a common occurrence here that all of the girls know how to do checks. They didn't find any lice, but they did find a mole that they seemed quite concerned about.
I took my iPhone to play time...big mistake. If I bring my camera or phone to play time, that is all the kids want to play with. My phone is in one piece and working perfectly, it just causes drama. For example, if I have the rule be that each kid can take five pictures, without a doubt one of the kids will break the rule and make the other kids upset. That happened with Anitha. She took 20 pictures. And when I told her that wasn't fair and that she would not get another turn, she was upset with me. Jayanthi came to me and pulled me away from the other girls for a "serious matter." The "serious matter" was that Anitha was no longer going to be my friend. Such drama with these girls! I've decided not to take my camera or phone to play time from now on. I'll just have to get pictures from other people.
Family time was better than usual for me. I sat with a small group of boys and folded paper into those four square mouth things...do you know what I'm talking about? I used to make them in church with the sacrament programs. All of the boys really liked that and I made one for each of them. The boys were really mellow tonight.
I took my usual nightly shower, but the power went out. It was out for about five minutes and I showered in the dark. Power outages are common and happen multiple times a day. They usually only last a few seconds, but sometimes it can be minutes. I figure I haven't really taken a bucket shower in India if I haven't done it in the pitch black.
Day 12 Complete
Firsts/Realizations: I feel like I've lived here forever and yet the days have gone by so fast.
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