I Know Places/By Jared West

I Know Places

Jared West

It feels like not much has happened since I did my last blog but I’ll try to write about a couple more random things per usual. (I just finished writing this and its really long so this is simply not true). We had our last day of school where I taught about adjectives and it went simply swell. I was the only one that wasn’t doing my emergency lesson (I still have no idea why I did mine earlier in the week) so everyone was just kind of chilling while I was still trying to teach my lesson so it was minorly successful. It was a really solid day and we got to give them their shoes which was adorable and we played a lot.

On Saturday, we went on a hike to the top of this mountain and it was pretty lit. The drive up there might have been the scariest thing and it was lengthy but it passed quickly. Almost every road in India is a one way road that goes in both directions and this specific hill was not very spacious. There was this one part where this massive bus was coming down and it had to squeeze past us with less than an inch to spare. Like kid you not if I stuck my finger out the window I could’ve trimmed my nail. The hike was fun and the top of it was memorizing (I’m running out of words even though that word doesn’t describe it at all). There was this temple which was kind of just like a house that was filled with smoke and they gave you some little pieces of chewed gum but it was epic to say the least.

They had all these little stands at the top of this mountain so we went and checked them out. Trying to buy things with people who can’t speak the language might be the most stressful thing I have ever witnessed. I picked up a rubiks cube for 100 and that went well but some other people were trying to buy all these different rings and bracelets and it stressed me out so much when the poor lady would try to communicate the price. Anyway the cube has been pretty dope and helped pass the time.

I also finally cracked out the cats cradle which has been fun (I really wish I knew more tricks though). I brought it to the last day of the school and would show the kids and they really liked it. I wouldn’t let the kids touch it but then the teachers came over and wanted to see it so I was like oh I guess and then they literally started popping off. I was blown away because they were literally goated at the game and then they started doing these tricks that I didn’t even know existed and it blew my mind. Hopefully I can remember/figure out what they did, but it was def a core memory. I also pulled out my picture book and showed the kids. The kids were mildly interested. Some of them noticed I didn’t have a beard in the pictures and laughed at me which made me happy. I also got told “handsome” and “very nice ____” which boosted my self esteem.

The Vikings play tonight so hopefully my hero TJ Hockenson can go off, although I don’t know if I will be able to figure out if they win this time. We thought our yogurt granola bars were out so we started rationing but I found my secret stash so we still got a couple which will keep me alive (although only one more chocolate dip remains). My dreams are still bonkers although I remember them less and less as I sleep better which makes me sad but also happy cause I sleep better. We just went and got dinner at this restaurant which was great. I got a banana shake this time which was actually pretty freaking solid and some pizza which was fine. The service in the restaurant may have been the slowest thing of all time and I was literally the last one to get my food. I’m pretty sure I could’ve read the bible front to back in the time it took them to bring me my pizza. As the old saying goes “good things are worth waiting for” but I’m not certain it applies cause the pizza was mid but I’ll go with it.

We did some yoga this morning which was alright. It no joke killed my arms and I felt like I was about to collapse but solid none the less. We went to another temple which was basically was the same as the last one although it looked a bit cooler and gave us a wonderous bracelet. We started our mural. I was about as helpful as a fish in a running competition (moral support is important yall). It actually looks really good though and I’m very proud of our village group.

We went on a sicko mode lookin zipline which is India’s tallest and it was fire. It was cool to look around at the beautiful landscape and I screamed really loud. We had this circle of trust moment which as anyone smart one knows once you enter the circle of trust you can’t leave the circle of trust. We went around saying what we were thankful for and it was really cool. I got to open my letter from my family and it made me really happy. Some were weirdly intelligent, some were musical, some were a little passive aggressive, and some were amazing in every way. I thank them all for their thoughts.

Anyways, I think this will be my last blog which is a little sad. I feel like I’ve learned so much and I’ve got a lot of good ideas (for one person granola bars beat=moose vs child, it works perfect). I hope the rest of the trip continues to go so well. We have to say goodbye to the kids tomorrow which I’m sure will be sad but as the old saying goes “I would rather it’s over than it to never happen at all”, that sounds kind of depressing but I hope we can have a good goodbye. I’m excited to return home and I’m missing a lot of people and things. Anyways to anyone reading this see you in 5 days.