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!