CELEBRATING GOOD TIMES
“I’m happy and sad at the same time. You’ve got me smiling with tears in my eyes”. Well that’s a pretty good summary of today. It was our last day at the school and oh so sad. We did review lessons with each of the classes from lessons we had taught earlier this week, then we passed out hygiene and school kits, and lastly we had a dance party and played with the kids until it was time to say good bye. These are just a few little details that I always want to remember…
- the little kids were always eating this power stuff during our lessons. It smelled really gross and I’m pretty sure it was some kind of seasoning but they loved it so much and it was so funny to watch them eat it.
- Today Souraj face planted and was crying in the dirt so I picked him up and he just cuddled up to me and cried for a good 15 minutes. It was the saddest thing but so cute at the same time. He is the biggest sweetheart and just wants to make you happy. Of course while I was sitting their it made me start crying and little Aajeet saw me so he came over and started making funny faces at me to make me laugh.
- In the youngest class whenever you give them markers they just start drumming on the desks. I don’t understand how it is so entertaining for them but they could do it for hours and never get bored. They know they shouldn’t do it to so when they start to do it and you look at them they get the most sheepish grin and it just makes you laugh.
- The second youngest (we named their class the not so littles) LOVE when I read my book to them. It is so cute to watch them do the actions and try to say the words with you. When they try reading along it kind of reminds me of when someone is trying to sing to a song they don’t know the words. It’s so funny but their little voices are the most precious thing.
- The middle class has the funniest but most good hearted boys in it. Dinesh reminds me soooo much of Danny it’s hilarious. We had a dance party one day and he just hopped in the middle of the court yard and started break dancing. It was so funny. He wears this black bomber jacket every day, it’s my favorite thing. Aditya and souraj are also in that class. Watching the three of them is so funny because one second they’ll have their arms around each other and the next their karate chopping. They are too funny.
- The second oldest class is by far the calmest, probably because there is the least amount of people in that class. When you sit in a circle to teach they all fight over sitting next to you and then when you finally get them settled the people next to you lay their head on you knees or shoulder and cuddle up to you. Their minds are so quick and they can memorize things faster then anyone I’ve ever seen!
- The oldest class is notorious for cheating on the matching games (but then again it’s all about winning so you’ve got to cheat to win;). They like to try and read the book to me and when they get words right they light up.
- As we walk to school we walk past the kids houses. Almost every morning they come out on the patio as we hike up and wave to us. Their parents come too sometimes. It’s so cute to see how much they love their kids.
- I love looking at the shingles of the roofs by our school because they are made of thin slabs of rock. sometimes you can look down from the view at our school and see people with straw baskets on their backs drying corn on their roofs.
- I have memorized the book going on a bear hunt from cover to cover. I made up some actions to help the kids understand the words better. Today Varsha, a girl in the second oldest class, told me that my book was her favorite. It was so cute.
- Biral is the sweetest little boy. He’s in the not so littles class. He has the biggest, cutest eyes and a very short attention span haha. Everyday you can see him peak his head around the door of his classroom onto the patio to look and see what the other classes are doing. It’s so sweet to see how curious he is.
- I love just walking in the courtyard of the school and feeling these tiny arms wrap around you waist. Then you turn around and see these bright eyes, wide smiles and crinkled noses staring back at you. Every time this happens they let out the happiest little giggle and will not let you go until you pick them up haha.
- I taught Aajeet how to wink and it is the most darling thing I’ve ever seen!
- In the little school kits we gave the kids little chocolates. They are so sweet and all offered me a little piece. Even when they have so little they just wanted to make sure everyone had some.
- Lavinia is so tiny and is like a koala because she always wants to be held on your back.
- Poonam is a sassy little chica with a mind of her own haha. She is the leader of the pack in her class and it’s so funny to watch her interact with the others.
- We did henna the other night and when we went to the schools the next day all the little girls sat and started at my hand. They were mesmerized haha.
- Devkala and Pooshpa are the most beautiful sisters. They’re eyes are a crazy beautiful color that I don’t even know how to explain.
- One day I was in the littlest class trying to teach a lesson and they were just NOT having it. So I sang wheels on the bus for 30 minutes straight and I’m not exaggerating haha. They love that song so much.
- At lunch all the little kids eat outside on these steps and we eat in the principals room. On the very first day there were three little boys with their heads peering around the corner. It was like I the movies when their heads are kind of stacked on top of each other. Then they leaned over too far and fell right on top of each other. It was soooo funny.
- Yesterday we were playing with a ball in the courtyard and it got kicked over the fence. This little boy was the only one brave enough to go get it out of the bush and I swear I’ve never laughed harder because when he came out of the bush he had little thistly things ALL over him. You could barely see the red on his sweater and the brown on his pants. All his classmates were so cute though and took a good 10 minute chunk out of their break to help him peel them off.
All in all today was just tender. It was so fun to play with the sweet little kids, but it was so sad to say goodbye. I gave Aditya my light up Spider-Man watch, it made him so happy. I wish I could have given them everything I had with me. When I said goodbye for the last time it made me wonder what their lives will be like in the future. Where will they live, what will they become, what will they look like? I have no idea, and I probably never will but I hope that what I taught them will help them to have a bright future. It started raining on the bus drive down the mountain which was too fitting for the days mood haha. India is a beautiful place.
