Work and reflection

Besides overcoming my first small bout of sickness in India, this week has been pleasant and full of self-reflection. Reflection about personal character, my aim in life, and alternative career paths to follow upon my return to California. I am young, capable, passionate, skilled and keen to learn more and more, what shouldn’t I be able to do? Reevaluating life priorities will determine the outcome of my future actions and achievements. Those who know me well realize that one of my number one end goal for quite some time has been to be able to help others. Whether I thought I could accomplish this in protesting (which I believe is part of my past now) or come to India to work on development projects, the aim has always been to give to those who have less. Keeping this aim in mind, I am reevaluating my next life steps to find a way to best accomplish this. And I won’t leave a stone or option unturned in finding my way.

This period reflection came about on Monday, when for the first time since June 24^th 2013 I was feeling a longing for home, otherwise known as homesickness. Sharing these thoughts with my Facebook network and older brother Rick via WhatsApp gave me resounding support to keep up the good fight and do what I have to do. All those who contacted me couldn’t be more right, after all I know what I am doing here. This was also followed by phone calls from mother and father whose voices I hadn’t reached my ears since I arrived in Bhorugram. This was especially pleasant in light of the wildfires that had been roaring close to our home, to know that they were safe and certainly out of harms way. By Tuesday, any nostalgia that had been built up had disappeared again and I was quite focused on my work. 

Students and teachers alike were working hard in preparation for examinations commencing tomorrow for the entirety of the week. In light of this too, I asked of how I could be of most use to the students. I decided to triple down on the classes I was teaching to cover the novels in English the students of 10^th grade needed for their exams. After doing a diary entry writing assignment (since I am covering Anne Frank’s diary) with the students, I learned much about their lives and also who the cheaters and copiers were (in addition to finding out who thought I was helpful or handsome, the latter which I had to respond with as inappropriate to say to their teacher). Overall the writing skills of the 10^th graders are impressive given English is their second or third language, but much work is to be done.

On top of this I came to learn one of the English teachers is quitting mid-school year, leaving one class of 9^th grade and one of 10^th grade to be without a teacher. I have volunteered with the principal to take over these classes so long as I have full power over their marks (grades). This offer has been graciously accepted. In a period of three weeks I have ventured from the position of teacher’s assistant to novel lecturer to full-time teacher. Should I start asking for a paycheck soon? Of course not, I am doing what I can for a resource-tight school. After all, they are taking care of my food, my housing (and its cleanliness), my laundry and transportation. Plus now I am eligible for a trip across the country to Kolkota once exams are done. Anyhow I start teaching these two classes Monday, 23^rdSeptember and I am excited for the preparation.

Teaching is only half of my internship here in India, so quick recap of the week follows. I’ve written and reviewed two development project proposals regarding water and sanitation. “Help by Wash” will focus on building filtration methods of “grey water” in villages in order to reuse water and thus help drive down water demand in a region of water scarcity (think hot hot desert). The other project focuses on providing assistance in building household latrines. Open defecation is a huge problem in India, and rural areas often believe that it is sinful to have a toilet on your home premises. So this project hopes to reverse these beliefs, and such projects have been quite effective in the past. In order to make more of these projects possible, it is of my own personal belief that my NGO needs to excel in presenting itself and build an effective marketing campaign. This would help funding and donors become more attracted to this organization that works so well at a grassroots level. In 2012, PepsiCorps sent a team to work with Bhoruka Charitable Trust for a month, and left a report detailing such a marketing scheme. As far as I can tell, these recommendations have not yet been implemented. I hope I can be a driving force to help set these improvements in place.

Growing, learning, teaching, writing, playing and staying busy, busy, busy.
I’ve reaffirmed some life mottos this week: I must work every day to improve and be a better person than I was yesterday; and, there is no such thing as failure, there are only results. It’s been a good and busy week in the journey through life, and it has been refreshing reminder that I am and always will be in the driving seat of my life and my journey. Until next time friends.