Please, One More By: Grace Bergstedt

I woke up this morning and realized it is the last day I will be teaching the kids! I am going to miss them so much! Today almost everyone in our group taught their emergency lessons. Emergency lessons are lessons we prepared by ourselves before we came to India. I taught the kids about the ocean. Some of the words I taught them are dolphin, ocean, shark, seashell, whale, sand, coral, fish, and seaweed. I read the kids a book called Pout Pout Fish, and most of them liked it. For the craft today, they made balloon fish. The kids loved the balloons, but it got a little crazy. Balloons were everywhere, and I had kids from every group saying “please, one more” in the cutest voice. Despite the balloon mania, it was a great last day of teaching!

The highlight of my day was giving shoes, socks, and sweaters to all of the kids in our school. Right as the sweaters were pulled out of the bag, a little girl I was teaching yelled “Sweaters! Sweaters!” Once she said that, the other kids looked around and realized that they were all getting new sweaters. They all stood up and ran to the bag of sweaters with excitement. Next, the shoes and socks were brought out, and they had the same reaction. It made me so happy to give them something they need and see their happy faces. We will also be providing them seat cushions, a slide, and hygiene kits, all with the money we raised. It makes me so happy to be able to provide the kids with items that my team and I payed for.

With Thanksgiving being just a few days away I would like to share a few things I am grateful for. I love my family so much, and am blessed to have such a good one. I am grateful that they love and support me in my education, sports, and times of need. Each member of my family is such a great example to me, and I am very lucky to have them. I am also grateful for my house, school, and neighborhood where I have so many opportunities to learn and grow. Some of these opportunities include being able to play on a soccer team, and have computers and smart boards at school. I also am lucky to have enough clothing items, and access to books and supplies. Other things I am thankful for are clean water, toilets, washing machines, clean air and a clean environment. Everyday in India, I see trash on the streets, in the river, and on the mountains. Compared to here, the United States are very clean. Lastly, I am grateful to be in India. This is a once in a lifetime experience, and everything here has changed my life. From the kids, to the mountains, to the leaders who made this all possible, I can easily say; I am blessed.