"A Noble Profession"

One thing that you hear a lot as a teacher is how "noble" your profession is. The phrase, "teaching is the noblest profession" was said a lot throughout my university classes (I guess they were trying to ingrain in our minds that hardly getting paid really was worth it). A lot of people who go into El Ed really believe this and will often proclaim that teaching is not about the money, its about making a difference in a child's life and creating the great minds of the future....I'm not one of those proclaimers. Don't get me wrong, I do want to help the kids and I do want to make a difference in their lives and really teach them and make them better people... but seriously, is there a better profession than getting to work and play with kids all the time? What's more fun than going to work and reading Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein, coloring the solar system, or going on a walk to look at different types of clouds? To be completely honest, my main reason for going into El Ed was completely selfish--I wanted to have a fun job that I enjoyed going to everyday.

At Rising Star, I am currently teaching English to 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th standard. I try to do creative, fun things in english because creativity is not a priority in schools here, so I really try to spice things up. For 5th standard, they are split into two classes for english because there are so many different levels. I teach the upper level class and because there are only ten kids I have been able to do some really fun things with them. The class just finished reading an abridged version of Alice in Wonderland. To make the book more exciting, I told the kids that at the end of the book, we would write poems (there are lots of rhyming poems in Alice in Wonderland) and then have a Mad Hatter Tea Party and share our written poems. The kids really got into the book and did a great job on their poems and the party was a HUGE success! 

Setting the table getting ready to go! 

We made Mad Hatter hats to wear at the party to get more into the book/movie. 

 The kids drank mango juice from tea cups, little goblets, or small colored glasses. 

Ismail was rockin his hat.

 While they ate, I played a few parts from the Alice in Wonderland cartoon so they could see the characters from the book in the movie.

 They wrote the final drafts of their poems on "playing cards"

Nagu sharing her poems with the class--they did an amazing job!

Each kid also picked a poem out of a Shel Silverstein book to read to the class. This is Jennifer with her little glass after she read her poem.

Anne (who was awesome and came and helped and took all these wonderful pictures) and I also shared our favorite Shel Silverstein poems.

With the class after the party--it was way too much fun.

I love that I have been able to teach so much here at Rising Star. I truly love teaching so much and wouldn't have any other job. These kids (especially here at Rising Star) make every lesson, activity, and project fun. Granted, there are some days when I wanna wring their necks...but the fun days, like today, far out weigh those. :)

Vanakkam

Digress

Ok, so I realize this blog is dedicated to India but I must take a post and digress, if I may. To stray from my intended subject matter means that the topic at hand is very special, important and dear to my heart. Naturally that subject is:

Harry Potter

Let me start out by saying that I am quite the Harry Potter fan. I have read all the books (multiple times) and been to every midnight showing for the movies. Some of my best memories from junior high/high school include going to said midnight movies and the midnight book release parties with Easton. Every time a new book would come out the rest of the world would stop for a couple days while I immersed myself in the Harry Potter world. To say they are my favorite books would be putting it lightly--I. Love. These. Books.

Because I have been in India since the end of May, I missed the release of the last movie. I hated getting on Facebook the weekend it was released because EVERYONE was talking about going to see it, how amazing it was, etc. etc. and the fact that I couldn't go see it broke my heart. We tried a few times to see the movie in theaters but this is quite the task. The closest movie theater with American movies is 2 hours away and because American movies are only played in a few theaters, you have to buy your tickets a week in advance to be able to get a seat. Every time we would try to get tickets (even many days in advance) the shows were always sold out. I was heartbroken to say the least. One volunteer had a pirated copy of the film, but I was a true fan and held out--I refused to watch the final film off a video someone recorded at the back of the theater.

But finally, today, I was able to watch the final film in all its epic glory. I laughed, I cried, I sat on the edge of my couch two inches away from the computer--it was amazing. I watched it with Anne (who is also a big Harry Potter fan) and by the time the final fight scenes came I don't think either of us were breathing. Even though it strayed from the book, I absolutely LOVED the movie and thought it was a great way to end the film series. Now, I did not write an entire blog post just to give my review of the movie. This blog post is a salute to the end of my Harry Potter childhood. By watching the final film, I feel like a chapter of my childhood has closed. Like I mentioned above, these books and movies have given me many cherished memories and countless hours of joy so for that I have to say

Thanks a bunch J.K.  

Well...this post very well may solidify my nerd-dom...but I really don't care--I LOVE HARRY POTTER AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT!

Vanakkam

Half way....

Yep, you heard that right. I have reached my halfway mark. I have been in India for 5 1/2 months and I have 5 1/2 months left here. It is seriously crazy how time flies. I remember back in May, as I was packing to come, thinking how far away November seemed--it felt like it would never come. Now I am sitting in my living room staring at the date in disbelief; it can't be November 9th! Yet at the same time when I look back on all that I have done since I have been here, it seems like I have been here for ages. Time is just a funny thing I guess.

I got thinking about my half-way mark because Rebecca (a fellow volunteer who has been here as long as I have) is leaving to go home today. She is the last out of the volunteers who arrived in India with me at the beginning of the summer--it's kinda like the end of an era. Rebecca and I have become bestest buds and I am roomba roomba (very very in Tamil) sad to see her leave. This is my online salute to my partner in crime from the last 6 months--it's not gonna be the same here without ya. :)

You are already missed Rebeccer!

Each day I am dreading more and more when it will be my turn to say good-bye. The longer I am here the deeper my relationships with the kids, staff and fellow volunteers become; making it that much harder to say goodbye. There is something about this country and Rising Star that just latch onto your heart and never let it go.....but if I'm looking at the glass half-full then I have a whole 5 1/2 months to play, teach, work, and just enjoy being in India. :)

Vanakkam

Stage Mom

Well, at least I have figured this out before I have kids of my own but it has become clear: India has turned me into a stage mom. I cheer loud, I constantly give out high-fives....it's severe. There were two instances yesterday when my "stage mom" side came out:

This last week, a volunteer family that is here was tasked to re-do the Star Store that the kids go to once a week to spend the stars they receive for good behavior. We had a big grand re-opening party for the Star Store that included a ribbon cutting, a tour of the new store for the kids, and a dance party. It was great to see the kids in awe of the new Star Store (it really is RIDICULOUSLY cute) but the best was the dance party. The little kids  here (especially the boys) LOVE to dance. They just can't get enough. After helping with the tours through the store I took a seat and watched the awesome-ness unfold. For some reason I just can't help but cheer everyone on--commenting on their cool moves, callin out their name, making the kids who are sitting down get up and dance--I'm like a mom at a birthday party.

 The kids checkin out the new Star Store

It's so so so SO cute now! 

Sitting with the kids keeping the dance party goin 

Christraj (in the purple shirt) ALWAYS gets so into it when he dances--he's the best.

My other stage mom moment was during the LifeDance performance we had that night. We had a volunteer leaving so we had LifeDance perform some of their dances for him. Every time they perform I feel like such a proud mom--I whip out the video camera and sit in the audience beaming and smiling at the kids, giving frequent thumbs up and silent 'super' signs with my hands so they always know that they are doing great--I basically turn into a giant, smiling goofball. 

Rebecca and I with the LifeDance team--I love these kids so much.

The thing is, even though I have turned into a goofy stage mom....I love it! I love cheering for the kids and making them feel good about themselves and their talents--they deserve all the praise they get. :)

Vanakkam