The Tallest Man on Earth

I wear you in the patches of my clothing, you know every thread goes through my heart.

These are lyrics that I've just now found I have been hearing wrong, it's actually-

When you mend the patches in my clothing, you know every thread goes through my heart.

Very different meaning now but....I think I like my version better. Life brings people and takes them away, but you will always be effected by your relationship with them, for good or bad. It's always good to remember and take what you've learned and not forget it. I just wish I could use all my energy and give it to all the people who hurt. I've always wondered if people could (on some level) feel it if you thought positive thoughts toward them. Kind of like praying, but more of a passing of positive energy. They wouldn't know why, but their mood would lift or an opportunity would open itself up to them or if they could just feel that someone was thinking about them and they didn't have to be so alone.

I am so frustrated by the limits of my own body and mind. However, being here has opened me up to so many new things, I don't think I'll ever stop learning or growing and if I do...I'll die.



"oh, I said I could rise from the harness of our goals, here come the tears...but like always, I let them go..."

5 Down, 5 To Go

I can't believe I've hit the half way mark. You know how you feel like time stands still, but then all of a sudden it's gone? This realization makes me feel kinda old. But I've still got a lot of life left in me. A lot of time still in India for that matter.

We had school for the first time in a while today. It went really well, I'm finally finding a rhythm for the class. It's still really challenging at times. But I don't go home crying everyday like the first month or so. I'm loving my kids more and more. They are very special and I look forward to getting to spend even more time with them. It's really fun when I meet them outside the classroom and get to talk to them. They are always really happy to see me. Which is nice, at least they don't hate me...I think.
I don't know how effectively I'm teaching them English, but I do what I can and  I think just having someone there to give them time and encouragement is good.

It's finally starting to cool off here. All the Indians are wearing sweaters and hats like it's gonna snow. But it still feels like summer to me lol

My family is coming in less than a month and I cannot wait. Anyway, I really don't know what to write about most of the time. So, if anyone has any questions about anything feel free to ask and I'll answer to the best of my ability.

oh! on my way home from school there was a giant elephant walking down the road. It was all painted with people ridding on top. It was massive, I guess I never really realized how big elephants were until I was literally right next to one. Of course I didn't have my camera, sorry.
okay, that's enough pointless ranting.

hugs and kisses from India,
Meg

A Little Update, Nothing Special

It's been the week of Diwali here. Apparently this means everyone spends all the money they have on fireworks and sets them off on every street corner. It has literally been sounding like a war zone outside for the past two days. The lights are pretty, but the sound really sets me on edge.

Other than that....I've been sick a lot. But it's getting better, I hope.
I'm working on logging books at the school so we can hopefully end up having a little library for the kids to check out books. I know they would love that.

I think about coming home everyday. But I know that even if I hate every second of it I have to stay till April. If I don't, I'll always regret it. I'm also pretty much halfway done and my family is coming in a month! whoooo! *happy dance* then I only have like 4 months to go and I know they will fly by.

I've learned and discovered so much about myself while being here. I've made great friends who I am able to share this experience with. I'm hopefully helping people too, but really this trip has already been worth it for me.
I am so thankful to all the people who worked so hard to get me here.

I'm finally finding Indian sweets I like, thats a big deal for me lol I'm sure I've changed in ways I don't even realize and wont realize till I get back to the states. Thank you all so much for your support. I'm sorry I've been MIA for so long.

Hugs and Kisses from India!
Meg

3 Month Check Point

This is an exciting time for me. I can't believe I've made it three months. I was looking through my old sketch books and reading some things I wrote about the prospect of coming here....and now I've been here three months. Life is crazy if you really think about it.
Things were really sucky the beginning/middle of this month. But Joy and I decided to take a little trip. We leave tomorrow. This, more than anything else I think, is lightening my spirits. That and the fact that this month flew by. I feel like I just wrote the blog about September limbo. I also know that the months wont be slowing down. I'll be home before I know it.
This doesn't stop me from being extremely homesick however. I wish I could be there for my sisters first year of college. I wish I could go see where my mom has started teaching. I wish I could go see my brothers new apartment. I wish I could be home and try to repair my relationship with my dad. I wish I could see my old roommate Allison in her first musical theater role. But I am only here for a year....I can't wait to see what else is going to happen while I'm here. I have only just begun.

Keep These Kids in School

On Thursday this week we didn't have school. I learned that this was because the school is so low on funds they had to pick between buying the kids lunch and having school or paying the teachers half their salary which is already late. If the teachers don't get paid then they don't come to school. If we can't buy the kids lunch, we don't have school. Apparently the school is always like this. The teachers never get paid on time and everyday we have to check if we have enough money for lunch. Also, a lot of kids don't get lunch at all if they don't get fed at the school.
This is really important you guys. Even a donation of $10 would be extremely helpful. We need to keep these kids in school! If you can donate, please go to the schools page http://www.asha-deep.com/how-to-help/
Thank you! 

September

I never thought September would arrive. I thought it would stay July and August for the rest of my life. But here we are. In September. It's been over 2 months since my arrival to this city. As for December, when my momma comes, I know that will never come. I shall be stuck in September limbo for forever, I am sure.
I haven't been able to be as productive as I had been hoping. It's mostly been really hard on my body. I haven't been feeling well at all. I think it's just the new food, new climate, new water and so on. The sucky thing is that I can't be productive at all if I feel bad. I think this will get better with time. I can already tell it's getting better. I'm figuring out what foods I need and stuff. I'm also just getting used to all the new germs.

However, when I do feel well and am able to teach it is amazing. Those couple times when I actually feel like I'm getting through or have a good class. The high is so great. I go home smiling. It helps me to want to actually stick this out :P Joy has also been really amazing. She is continually helpful and encouraging. She says that if I've made it this far I've got nothing to worry about. I don't know if I believe her. But it's nice to have someone say it lol and it's nice to have a friend.

3 American kids just moved into my building. They are here studying Hindi and seem really cool. So I'm excited about that.  I'm working at a coffee shop right now. I love working here because I hear all these different languages while I work. It also seems that country's come at different times.
In August there were a bunch of people who looked like they were from China, or Japan. Now all I am hearing/seeing are people from Israel and France. It's kinda fun. I wonder who will show up next.

The other night I met a guy named Pete who is studying at the University. He is Australian, but he spent a year studying in Champaign!  How small is this world? It continues to amaze me.

Okay, well, I feel like this is a long rambling post. I hope I didn't bore y'all. Here's a picture of a larger than life Beauty and the Beast I found at a Pre-school I visited. lol I thought it was pretty awesome.

Magnetic Letters

I brought these magnetic letters with me from 'merica Thanks to my mom. She is really the mastermind behind everything I've been able to do.
I didn't have any big magnetic board to actually use the letters on, so I figured we could just set them on the tables. Which we did. But before we did that, the kids went around the room trying to find things to stick them to. Here's what happened. oh! and I started working with one of Sarah's students in her 5th class who never really learned the sounds of the letters so he can't read. The first day went good. It's nice to work one on one.

...And the Monkey Saga Continues

I witnessed a monkey attack in school today. Sarah and I were on the 3rd floor teaching art when a monkey came and sat on the ledge of the room. we were in between classes so it was only Sarah and I. We weren't looking at it because that's what you do.

Then, this little boy who is about 5 or 6 runs right up to it! Sarah tells him to be careful (in Hindi) and he says "I wont be attacked!" (in Hindi) and he kinda give the monkey this devious look. Next thing I know the monkey lunges for him, screeching. Then another monkey comes running towards him! The boy runs around the corner to try and get away. Everyone else screams and runs into their classrooms. I turn the corner to make sure the boy got away. As soon as I clear the corner I got a huge rush of adrenaline.

The boy was on the ground in the middle of the hallway with the two monkeys on top of him. He was screaming and thrashing. I start towards him to try and.....save him? fight off the monkeys? I didn't know. Thankfully, before I actually reach them, the monkeys run off. The boy gets up crying and clutching his leg. Images of a huge monkey bite flash through my mind, making me sick. How much of his flesh had been ripped away? I braced myself for the worst.  But I knew that no matter how terrible it was, I needed to get the kid out of the situation and to whatever medical attention he needed.

Thankfully, the worst of the damage was some scratches on his leg. I grabbed his hand, told him everything was going to be okay and lead him down to were the schools first aid kit is kept. On my way down one of the 7th grade boys charged up the stairs with a big stick. I assumed to fight off the monkeys.

Once we get downstairs I sit the boy down. He is still crying hysterically. I find Dettol and apply it to the scratches and put band aids on them. I also knew that this kid was gonna need a rabies shot, but we don't have anything like that at the school. Once the kid was taken care of I went back upstairs. There was now 3 or 4 boys with big sticks patrolling the area.

While I was bandaging the kid, the monkeys had gotten into my bag, taking out my umbrella and hand sanitizer. I got both of them back. The boy was sent home with a note saying that he needs a rabies shot. I hope his family follows through with it.

We decided it would be safer to pack up our makeshift art class and continue lessons in the classrooms. Once we get down there we realize we are missing all the pens that the kids use to draw! The monkeys had taken them. This was not good because we really don't have access to get any more. Thankfully, Sarah had a small stash hidden away. It wasn't until the end of the next class that we saw the pens on the ground outside the school. We were able to get most of them back.

I feel like I'm still a little in shock from the whole situation. No wonder the locals are scared of the monkeys. I think the little boy also learned a lesson. I doubt he'll be so arrogant around the monkeys again.

Oh India, I wonder what surprises you have for me next.

The villains...

 

Monkeys, Toilets and Country Roads

So here I am, calmly eating lunch with the teachers and kids. I listen to the teachers babble in Hindi, wondering if they ever talk about me while I'm in the same room because they know I don't know what their saying. When all of a sudden the kids scream and run to the corners of the room with their plates full of rice. A monkey had come running into the room! One of the biggest male teachers stands up. He looks like he's going to be the one to take care of the situation if the need arises. However, before any action is taken, the monkey runs across the room and climbs up the gate and out of sight. Everyone laughs nervously and goes back to eating. I could hardly believe what had just happened.
One thing I've learned while being here is that if the locals are afraid of something...it's really worth being afraid of. Like running Water Buffalo and Monkeys.

Toilets. I have a squatting toilet in my apartment...which is fine...it's suppose to be better for your body or some crap like that (crap...tehehe.) But one of my favorite things is to go over to my friend Joys house and take a good old fashioned crap in her western toilet. You have to be thankful for the little things here.

If I didn't live right on the river I don't know what I would do. I miss the country so much it almost hurts. I miss the woods and the cornfields and the space. I also miss the quiet. It's so loud here all the time. But I get a little relief as I bike to school. It takes me right along the river and I get to bath in it's openness and beauty. I think I would be feeling more homesick if I didn't have this little bit of nature to look at.
Anyway, these are my thoughts. I am constantly trying to figure out what I'm going to do next year. I have to keep reminding myself that it is far to early to try and make a decision. My adventures here have only just begun.
Hugs and Kisses to you all.
Meg 

Random Thoughts

A lot has been happening. Something I've been thinking a lot about recently is commitment. As scary as commitment is, I believe it's really the only way to live. I've been realizing more and more what a great idea it was for me to commit to being here for a year. I've been here for about 2 months and I feel like things are only just beginning to start. I am feeling more comfortable, my relationship with the kids is getting better, I am figuring out how to teach and these things are only going to get better. I think I'll actually be able to do some good here. Even if it is only a little. Anyway, my point is that things take time, you have to commit in order to experience and enjoy all that the experience can give you.
Anyway.............
August 15th was India's independence day. The kids put on a program and we didn't have school.

Having a camera always causes chaos.

I've been helping Sarah with her art classes she's doing. It's been really great. It's so encouraging because kids who wont participate in any other class have started to participate in her art class. This is only going to give them more confident in their other classes. I haven't started my music classes yet. I will soon though. I've just been so overwhelmed with everything else I decided to wait till I felt more able to handle it. I feel I am close to this point.

Facebook depresses me. Everyone is moving back to Charleston for school. But I guess I'm not too sad about not going back to Eastern. This year will go by fast. I know it will. 

I Want to Ride My Bicycle...I Want to Ride My Bike

This little contraption has saved my life. It takes no time to get anywhere and I don't feel so assaulted by the mass of people or foul smells lol Horaah for bikes!

My New Room

Here it is. It didn't take long for my stuff to end up everywhere lol I love it though. Especially the orb in the corner. It is lighting that doesn't make you feel like your in a prison. It's awesome. yay!

Word Barf

This is how I feel about writing. It would be so much easier for me if I could just barf all the words onto a page and then try and figure out where they go. But because writing is the way it is, I have to go into my mind and try and pick out the words from the word barf. It's a messy business that I hardly ever get right and I just end up feeling like I've still got barf in my brain once I'm finished. Oh well.
I wanted to blog today because things are going well. I'm feeling more and more like I know my way around.  I am also moving into my new building on Saturday. I cannot wait for this. It's just a room with my own little bathroom and a balcony off the back. I have a shared kitchen. I'm going to be the only one in my building for a while. But when school starts there will be foreigners moving in who are visiting/studying. I am looking forward to meeting a bunch of different people.
My friend took me to "the walmart of India" yesterday to get house supplies. It was an adventure. Here in India the check out system is whoever can get the attention of the clerk. You seriously have to fight to get checked out or else it will never happen. I almost didn't have enough money and everywhere only takes cash. But it worked out, don't worry lol Anyway, I am continually blessed by people who are willing and happy to help me. I could not do this without the support and love of other people and this humbles me. But also continually reminds me that there are good people out there. Which is good. It's easy for me to get caught up in all the bad things that have and will happen.
Anyway, this is my little rant for the day I guess. Sending out my love to all of you. bye. :P

A Lot of Nothing

I was sick all last week. I didn't go to school or go to Hindi lesson. I was almost thankful that I got sick so I could take a break from everything. However, I was not thankful that the hospital I went to did not have soap or toilet paper in their bathroom (just to say again, this was the cleanest place in the city and it did not have soap.) Thankfully, that was last week and I do not seem to have contracted an even deadlier disease from being there.
The Snake festival as pretty interesting. Here's some pictures

I have met many amazing people while here. I would talk about them more, but I feel their privacy is something I should be conscious about. I can't wait to see who else I'll meet during the rest of my stay.
On a sadder note. Things have been really hard. Being sick sucks. I constantly feel like I don't know what I'm doing and everything here is about 10 times harder than in the states. BUT! it's okay. This is something I know I want to do. The year will go by fast enough i'm sure. I can't believe I've been here a month already. anyway, general ups and downs as always. not looking forward to my period starting. ha. byez.

Fun Stuff

My friend and I spent the day going around the city. We went to various temples and went to our guides silk factory/shop. I got to sit and help make a silk sari!

So, I'm obviously not very good at it. But it was fun and I can only hope some Indian woman will enjoy wearing it as much as I enjoyed working on it. We then went to the shop that sold the saris that they made. I ended getting two really beautiful saris from them. If you're wondering about the red dot on my head....I got blessed at a temple we went to. The guy also bumped me on the head five times with a wand made of peacock feathers and gave me a black necklace made of string lol. We also played a carnival game-

(I was the only one who actually popped a balloon!)

The last thing we did was go to "The first preaching place of Buddha). Here's some pictures -

I love this last picture. The art here is breathtaking and there is a lot of it.
I think we are going to the river temple tomorrow and getting Henna done on our hands. As much fun as I'm having...I miss my people in America. Much love to you all! 

Bug Bites

I've been waking up in the mornings with bites all over my feet (which I then scratch into scabs.) Thankfully, I have a mom who thinks of everything! Bug spray bracelets! (/anklets lol)

Tomorrow I'm going to check out some temples with my friend Anna. She is leaving on Sunday. I'll put some pictures up if I find anything really interesting! 

Swimming with buddhist monks

How crazy is that?
One of the younger ones even asked me to a race....this video is of me having obviously won the competition between India and America. (U.S.A!)

Soon after this was taken it started to rain. We got out and went to the mall right next to the hotel.
I got my nose pierced!

Well, enough about me. Here are some cute kids that I get to work with :) 

 Lunch time! This is the only meal that a lot of these kids will get.

My kids

I made it through my first week of teaching. It was a little intimidating. The only way I've been able to survive is literally taking it one day at a time.  I am teaching 3rd, 4th and 7th grade. I really enjoy my 4th and 7th classes.
The 3rd class is filled with monsters. I've decided that I'm going to have to make a poster board of their names and give them gold stars if they behave well (hopefully this will work) They constantly yell and fight with each other.  I know I should also make a seating chart, but I feel like I don't know the kids that well yet. 
My 4th class loves to draw. There are a couple kids that really have talent. They love to draw and tell me about their culture. I found a book of Indian history for children and they ate it up. They seemed to already know the stories and really enjoyed helping me pronounce all the Indian names. It helps that they already know the story because it will help them understand the English better.
7th grade is my smallest class (this helps a lot) and they know the most English. They love to read books aloud and have conversations. However, it is very apparent that I need to learn as much Hindi as possible in order to get my points across.
I asked my 4th and 7th classes if they wanted to make videos so I could show my family in America.
Here's what came out of that....lol
7th class (They came up with what they wanted to say)

4th class wanted to sing the song I've been teaching them. We've only worked on it for like two days. We've got some ways to go...but aren't they cute? lol

So yeah. It's hard. It's going to continue to be hard. But I think I can do it. I've had 3 Hindi lessons and I really like my teacher. I am also feeling more and more independent. I can go to the store and get things I need by myself...things like that. 
But I do miss my family and my friends. I've had doubts all week....but I'm gonna keep sticking it out.
LOVE YOU ALL!

The Fourth of July in India

My American friends and I decided we couldn't let the fourth go by without a little celebration. (It's funny, I feel waaay more patriotic now that I'm not in America) Anyway, we decided fireworks and a couple drinks on the roof would be appropriate (no?) The drinks were taken care of already because it is very inappropriate and very scary to go to the liquor store. So, they ask guys they know to go and get it for them. So all we had to do was figure out how to find fireworks. We asked the guys at the coffee shop were we could go. They gave us the name of a place and the Hindi word for firework. Thankfully my friends knew a little about where we were going. However, when we got to the market we had to keep stopping and asking people where to go. The people kept pointing us in the right direction. We ended up at this little shop.
This is me (obviously) buying the fireworks.

   Here are some pictures of the market. Sorry they are kinda blurry.

We weren't even sure we were going to be able to find fireworks. We were very excited to be successful! We rushed home to get started.

 The sparklers went out before we could get the picture :P

 I had a great night and was very glad I was able to do a little bit of celebrating. I've been missing home a lot. I also learned a lot by sitting and talking with these ladies. I hope you all have a great Independence Day as well! 

First Day of School

Well, technically it was a half day. I think it still counts. I met two of the classes I'll be working with. One of them is really little kids (I'm just helping the teacher in this class) The kids were so cute! I couldn't believe it, I can't wait to work with them everyday. It's really sad though because a lot of the kids had really bad heat rash because it's been so hot. I would have taken pictures of the kids but I thought having a camera the first day would be too distracting. I also want the kids to take me seriously (lol is that silly?) Anyway, the next thing I did was work with the 3rd grade class I'll be teaching. Sarah is helping me out the first week or so, which is amazing. My biggest challenge at the moment is learning all of their names.

I also had time to go through and clean all their music supplies.
This is all that I found. It will do for now, but I would really REALLY love to get those handbells that they use a lot in churches? ya know? I looked it up and it would be about $150 to get a set of 25 of them. But I would also have to wait till my mom came in December because she would have to bring them over. But maybe I can find something that is over her. I'm still thinking about it. If you would like to give money specifically to get music supplies for these kids you can send me a message telling me that is where you want your donation to go. These kids have very difficult home lives, I only hope I can give them a small outlet to have fun and express themselves. I'm really looking forward to this year :)

Oh, and my mom told me to take a picture of myself the first day. This is for you mom.

Never Give Up Hope!

Hello Peoples.
Right after I finished writing and posting that last blog "Some Thoughts" I got a text on my phone. It was from the only other person who's number I had besides Sarah (I met her once). She invited me to go to a concert! and here I was thinking I was going to spend the rest of the day cooped up in my hotel room alone. We ended up spending all evening together and she brought some other people she had met. They were college students studying religion here. It was great conversation and a wonderful, completely authentic Indian concert. I even made it home all by myself! (Yikes!)
So, anyway, the moral of the story is...you never know whats going to happen. Things can change in an instant. Don't get too caught up in the moment, good or bad. love to you all :) 

Some Thoughts

So, I passed out a couple days ago. From what exactly? I don't know. It has been extremely hot, but we hadn't been out very long when I passed out. Whatever the reason, I decided to get a hotel room with AC for two nights.
Sarah told me that people find it very hard to live here, some people can't even do it. This is intimidating to say the least. I only hope that passing out doesn't become a regular thing. If it does, I can't imagine being able to stay. It is hard being here because everything is so different and I do feel very alone, Sarah is amazing, but she is also leaving in two weeks or so for a wedding. Girls also aren't really supposed to be out past 9 or when it gets too dark. This can make the evenings especially boring. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not here for me, I'm here to try and help these kids. I know things will pick up when I have school everyday, and lesson plans to make in the evening. I will also start Hindi lessons soon. AND school starts tomorrow. aaugh! I can't let myself get too anxious....all I can do is try my best. Just thinking about this next year makes me want to curl up in a little ball and give up. But! one day at a time. I know I will regret giving up more than fighting to stay. I miss my people back in America. Anyway, I just feel a little trapped in this hotel room at the moment and thought I would share my slightly depressing thoughts. peace.

Teaching Teachers

A couple days ago I accompanied Sarah to a teachers workshop type of thing. It was being lead by a foreigner who runs a house/school for children here in the city. However, she was fluent in Hindi, so I didn't understand a lot of it.

But I did understand that she was talking about the importance of play. This is something I learned a lot about in some of my classes at Eastern. Sarah said that teachers here in India have degrees in the field that they are teaching, but rarely do they have any type of teaching training. This causes problems because a lot of teachers just don't know how to teach.
She also mentioned things like when you're teaching children English to not make them say their last name. This is because last names here are associated with your cast and we want to try and make everyone in the classroom feel as equal as possible. This workshop is actually 4 days long, but since I don't know Hindi yet I decided to not sit through it (It was also really really long) and Sarah is going so she can tell me if there is anything I should know. It's very good that there are people here willing to teach the teachers how to teach.

A New Name for a New Place

Sarah and I have been meeting people and going around town for the past couple of days. While we have been out we have noticed that people have a hard time understanding my name (Meg). When we visited Sarah's Hindi teacher we asked him what it meant. He said that meg means rain and that it is masculine. This could not do. However,we found that there is a name used over here that would work, Meghna, meaning princess of the rain. Needless to say this is now how I am being introduced to everyone as of now. I think it is very beautiful and it makes me feel more apart of the culture to have a name that people will understand.
Just thought I'd share :)
-Meghna


P.S. after reading this post my mom sent me this picture lol I guess I was destined to be a princess. Too bad I left my tiara back in the US.

How Hot is Hell?

Not as hot as it is here.

My Temporary Home

I'll be staying here for the next 3 to 4 months.

Geico The Gecko

I've made a new friend!

I saw him on the wall yesterday and freaked out. But Sarah said that they are good because they eat the bugs and mosquitoes. It's kinda weird living with a gecko. However, I was assured that they are completely harmless and I've decided to name him Geico and try to befriend him. We're having tea a little later to get to know each other and to discuss car insurance.

School at Asha-Deep isn't going to start for about another week. I can't wait. Tomorrow Sarah is going to take me to visit her Hindi teacher. I will hopefully be able to start lessons soon. I'll try and keep y'all entertained for the next week before school starts. I'll have to entertain myself somehow :) more posts to come. 

For Women Only

When Sarah and I were traveling around Delhi we took the subway. They have a couple special cars in the front just for women. They had these pink signs on the floor and hanging from the ceiling. There were actually guards standing at the entrances to make sure no men got on. I don't think we would ever see something like this in America. I thought it was funny.

This is my wonderful friend Sarah and my first authentic Indian meal. Sarah has been so helpful. I don't know what I would do without her. She is a teacher where I will be teaching. yay!
The food was amazing. I had pomagranite juice! and we bought mango's at the market today. sooo gooooood.

We just got to where I'll be staying for the next couple of months. I'm going to take a video so I can show you guys around. It's different in some pretty interesting ways lol But that's a post for another day. I know all of you guys are just waking up...but it's time for me to go to sleep! sweet dreams everybody!

Hello Everybody! Welcome to my blog. I'm not the best at this, but I figured this would be an easy way for me to record what happens while I'm over here in India. The above video is me in Germany! I was able to spend and afternoon in Munich because I had a really long layover. It was beautiful.

While I was walking around in Munich I found this artist on the side of the road. He was really nice and talked to me for a long time about his art and where I was going. I ended up buying the little painting I am holding in the picture. It was so much fun.

But now I'm in Delhi. We will be here until tomorrow morning when we (Sarah and I) fly to where I will actually be staying. We have done a lot of shopping because the city I am going to is very traditional and I need to wear the traditional clothes (not complaints there!)
I am very nervous about actually starting out in the classroom. But I am also very excited! My mom assures me that I can come home anytime lol so if it gets too much for me I know I can always come home. I feel that I am up to the challenge however and I enjoy a good challenge. But I do know I couldn't do this without all of yalls amazing support and encouragement. More posts to come!