2/18

I am really beginning to notice a difference in the practical speaking skills of my students. It is very rewarding to see them speaking confidently, and I can tell that they understand the majority of what I say now. Teaching has been a (perhaps the only) consistent and predicable part of my experience in India. Along the way I have really enjoyed getting to know my students and helping them struggle (and persist) their way through English grammar and vocabulary. I have appreciated their dedication and their patience with my developing teaching skills. I have felt like a very inadequate teacher some days, but more often than not, I feel appreciated (and what more can a teacher ask for).
I finally finished my project today. I have had 3 or 4 cells in my logical framework to complete for the past two weeks, and it always seemed that when I sat down to do them something came up. I know that isn’t a very good excuse, but life here isn’t about planning, its about the moment. And there just weren’t that many moments available to finish that last little bit. I have also been asking the staff and Puthumai for some clarification and more details about a few of the terms and issues I was less familiar with. In the afternoon Puthumai gave me another assignment, to read the current government schemes available in W. Bengal. The document was intimidating at first, but eventually very interesting. The schemes helped me get a better sense of what problems the area faces and what the government is doing to combat these problems. I them wrote a few page summary of what I judged to be the most impactful programs and what suggestions I offered. It was good to do some intellectual work.
In the afternoon I visited Ruchi one last time before they boarded the train this evening. It was good to see Trisha and chat with Ruchi, and I know that I am going to miss having them around Raiganj. Then I met up with Regina and Hannah at Chonditola for an afternoon of arts and crafts. In my package their was some pencils for the kids, and Regina had some water colors and crayons. Hannah had purchased some notebooks for the kids early that day. We all brought the supplies and it was the first time that I have seen all of the kids sitting quietly for more than 15 minutes. It was great because the younger and older ones were all entertained and there was plenty to go around.
We all headed to St. Xavier afterwards to play with the hostel kids. We took tea and sweets before playing, to stock up on energy, and because as Hannah noted, it was tea time. There are four groups of kids out playing, they are all boys and they range in age from kindergarten (KG) to high school. I played a game that was similar to UNO with the KG’s for a while. The game was German (I think), and although I am pretty sure the rules are exactly the same as American UNO the kids had rules of their own (that changed quite often). It was definitely a good laugh. After I tossed the kids around for a while, chasing them and spinning them around while holding their hands. When that tired me out, I ran off to join some of the older ones in a game of volleyball. There is usually always a volleyball, soccer and basketball game going on. The volleyball teams consist of as many people as want to play and usually the oldest boy serves the whole game (I think this is because the old ones are the only ones who can hit the ball over the net). After a while Hannah and I left, because she didn’t want to walk home in the dark, and because I had broken quite a sweat by that time.
When I arrived at SWI Puthumai and I rushed to grab a rickshaw. He informed me on the way that we were going to Ruchi and Jonathon off at the train station. I was so glad he thought of that, it was such a considerate thing to do. We surprised them, and chatted for a few minutes before they had to board the train. After a slightly sad good-bye we waved as their train sped away. It was really sad to see them go, but it is a blessing that I have had people to care about in Raiganj. During dinner we watched the news, per usual, and discussed the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban. It was a very interesting conversation, and I enjoy hearing the Fathers varying political positions and theories.
I have a large swollen bug bite on my left ankle, I showed Fr. Herman, because he was the only one up when I discovered it, and he thinks it looks like a wasp or ant bite. The only thing is, it doesn’t hurt or itch, which rules out the majority of bug bites. And it is decently swollen. I put some bug bite cream on it and will see what comes of it in the morning. Seeing the bite and realizing I had no idea what it could be from made me remember that I am in a foreign country, with different bugs and different sicknesses. It is surprising how easy it has become to forget that I am in some place that isn’t normal for me to be.
Sending love.