Week 8

Late on posting week eight, haha. Seems that I got caught up in the fact that I'm only here for two more weeks, and I'm wondering where all the time went... 
Everything is coming to a close, I only have two more days teaching at school, I only have four more nights sleeping in my bed here, I only have four more hot showers that only last two minutes, I only have a few more spiderwebs to walk through. When I got here 8-ish weeks ago, it felt like this day would never come and now that its here it feels like it came maybe too fast.
Next Sunday I will be on a plane to southern India for my last hurrah with the whole family before I leave. 

 I was asked what teaching is like here. If I put it simply being with the children, is the cutest thing ever. I'm constantly surrounded with "Good morning Ma'am", "How are you Ma'am? I am fine.", and "What is your name?" to which I tell them and receive a puzzled look and a butchered pronunciation of my name "Bunin" (kind of like Burning without the r)
To put it not so simply, it can be exhausting and hard at times. Certain kids don't want to be taught or don't want to be uncomfortable. Certain teachers are hard to communicate with. Most lessons are hard to teach. 

 One of the first things I learned when I got here is that the Indian style of teaching is drastically different than the American style, and even more drastically different from my teaching style. They are used to memorizing and things being shoved in and out of their brains, they are used to no creativity in their lives. In fact many people here don't know the word 'Imagination' which I've known since early childhood, thanks to Spongebob... Haha
My solution? We play games a lot and draw pictures and read books. Anything I can do to get them thinking in English, but more importantly to teach creativity and imagination. That has become my main mission while I've been here. The more I teach, the more used to me they get and some more excited. I have one 8th grade class that is constantly finding me and asking me to teach them:) 

(Also, when I first got here in the blasting heat and humidity the mere fans in the classrooms killed me.)

When Charu, one of the English teachers and a new friend, did mendi (henna) on my hand.

I found this gem from like a hundred years ago, McArthur and Ved didn't recognize me at first, then they were amazed that we had met before. Little do we know when Ved says "You always have a home in India if you wish," very seriously a few moments after this picture was taken, that I would actually take up that offer a few years after. That has been the best decision of my life.

When Zara decides to take selfies on my phone and they're actually good.

P.S. Can you believe this? Because I can't. What the heck happened?

Week 7

I cannot believe I only have three weeks left of this insanity!
This week was Diwali which is like all the holidays mixed into one, but mostly Christmas. Diwali (Pronounced - Divali) is a festival of light over dark, righteousness over evil. Everyone gets a new fancy outfit, every house and store is decorated with millions of lights, music is blared, presents are given to co-workers or friends, fireworks and Japanese lanterns are set off, and there are huge parties. As fun and memorable as these experiences were, nothing could or maybe ever will compare to the time I got to spend with the "untouchables."
The Indian caste system has been abolished for a few years now but it is still respected and followed religiously, thus the untouchables are still left. Often these children are not able to go to school, the families make them work so they can survive. But their work is not regular work, it is picking up the garbage in the city, collecting it, and sifting though it to see if any is worth salvaging to sell or use or eat. When all the valuable trash is gone from one area they are forced to move, they cannot stay in one place very long. 
I spent my Tuesday evening with these kids, walking through their "village" I was awed by the homes made of trash and tarps. I could not even begin to comprehend how they lived, I hurt for them. But after meeting and spending time with them, I learned that's not what matters. They were the happiest people I have ever met, they are not happy because of where they live or how their lives are, they are happy because they are alive and get to experience the world around them. We took them shopping for warm sweaters and  dresses to keep them warm when it starts getting cold soon. I have never met anyone so grateful and so willing to give up their one opportunity to get something new to make sure someone else can receive as well. I have no idea if I am making or have made any bit of difference here, but I do know they have made a difference in me.

Week 6

Being sick is miserable. Being sick in another country far from your parents and your comfort food is a whole different kind of miserable. I spent a good three days in bed, which as it turned out was exactly what I needed because it gave me the time to do college applications and enter some scholarships. Also a whole different kind of miserable, haha.
 Saturday I was able to go to Lucknow (two hours from me) by myself to meet a wonderful person who would quickly become a friend. Her name is Aishvarya, she was full of historical facts and loads of information I didn't know I needed to know. She had just graduated from a college where they had filmed part of Harry Potter, thus she was a very western Indian which was quite refreshing. She took me to the Bara Imambara 

and the Chota Imambara, 

then to an old boarding school La Martiniere (right next to where the first mutiny took place, the boys from the school ages 4-18 were sent in to fight) where we met Aishvarya's father. He went to the boarding school and still stays in touch with it, he was the best guide. 

Other highlights from the week:

We built a monster out of styrofoam for Ved's factory (Chuk) because it is an environmentally friendly factory.

We currently have a Russian family here with twin boys, the whitest children I've seen in a while. HAHA. I of course had to take a picture biggest to smallest, darkest to lightest.

Week 5

Hello to those few people that actually read my blog, nice to know there are about thirty of you who care and wonder about what I am doing😂 

The best and worst part about the people here is that they make friends so easily. You talk to them for mere minutes and suddenly you're their best friend. Which automatically means they are not gonna leave you alone, and they are going to constantly text you and say they miss you even though you've known them for five minutes and they have lived most of their lives without you. I could not have asked for sweeter, more helpful, no concept of personal space or problems people. I love them.

For example Gangga, the driver, was taking me to school and we past an elephant sauntering down the road. Gangga immediately flipped a u-turn, stopped the car, stopped the elephant and made me take a picture. In his limited English he told me all about it. He loves to show me "his" India, and honestly before that moment I had never adored a person more.

This is Charu, she's an English teacher at the school I teach at. (surprisingly doesn't know English very well) She's been one of those people who has adopted me as an immediate friend, and I truly appreciate that. Charu is 24 and is the oldest of three girls. Her family is well off, according to India's standards. But her family also has no boys, so they hold no promise and no potential. Charu has always been interested in language and her father was actually willing to send her to college so that she could learn English properly. She went from a girl with no promise and no benefits to the family to a teacher and a life changer for most of these kids. Her family now calls her the "son" of the family because she actually has worth. 

  I've been sick the rest of this week, trying to survive babysitting Zara while in Delhi so that McArthur can take her friend out for her birthday. I've learned that being sick in another country without things like sleep and warm soup is horrendous. Still sick, pray for me. 

5 weeks through, 5 weeks left.

Week 4

ONE MONTH!!!

I cannot believe it's already been a month here! In so many ways it has felt so long and in so many ways it has felt so short. I am beyond proud of myself for doing this, I never thought it possible a year or even a few months ago.
While I've been here I've made it a goal to try everything I possibly can and experience all that I can handle. I've picked up my new slogan from my host mom, "Why not, you're in India." This has landed me in a couple interesting situations. This week the situation happened to be singing at an Indian concert. Yes, this is exactly what it sound like. 
My host father had been bugging me to sing since I arrived, but I had told him that I feel more comfortable in front of one hundred people rather than two. I had eventually sung for Ved and a few of his family, but the endless bugging had not subsided. So when we showed up to a concert, that sounded like a teenage boy band that had been roughly thrown together and did not appeal to the ears, and they were offering people from the audience to get up and sing, I was immediately volunteered. I was pushed up to the stage and the one thing that stopped me from freaking out was, "why not, you're in India." The first song that came to my head was She Used to be Mine from Waitress on Broadway.

I got up on stage expecting to sing it acapella and ended up being accompanied by the band, which confused me so much and made us both sound very out of tune. But when else was I gonna get an opportunity like this ever again? Needless to say, it was an exciting evening. I now have more paparazzi than before. Haha! 

I was also able to attend the festival of Durga and eat with my hands for the  first time.  (pictured, Vidya, Ved's daughter, on my right and Nance, the babysitter on my left)

That's been most of the excitement for the week. (And for those asking, yes I do have access to General Conference and am excited to watch it when I find a spare moment)