4 pretty perfect days

I blogged about Thursday already - that was day one.  On Friday I had my 8th graders and they are AWESOME!!  After school I walked down to Bandra fair to check out all the craziness.  A lot of  it is normal fair stuff- food stands, rides, toys etc.  It is attached to the Mt. Mary festival though.  People buy was versions of whatever is ailing them then take a pilgrimage up the mount to offer it to Mary.

I walk every day, but on Fridays I try to get lost on purpose to experience somewhere new.  It doesn't always work, but I hit the jackpot this time!  I got into this area of "real" Mumbai.  All of Mumbai smells - think Terry Hershey park Bayou times 5, but this place was times 100!!!  garbage everywhere and it smelled really bad.  People were living in super tiny areas.  As soon as they saw I had a camera, they told their friends and wanted me to take pictures.  People were hollering from all over wanting me to take a picture of their work.

One guy made me take several pictures of his kids - I don't think he has any pictures.  This other guy kept saluting me.  I am going to try to get the pictures developed and go back to find the people and give them the pictures.

On Saturday a bunch of us went to South Mumbai for a shopping trip. We got a lot of cool stuff and ate at this restaraunt.  The old guy was soooo cute and so proud of the fact that the Queen and George W. Bush had eaten there.  Really good food.  I had to walk through the kitchen to get to the bathroom.  wow.  you just have to trust that food is cooked right!!!!  Saturday evening my friend Andrea and I went walking and saw the sunset over the sea.  Then I took her to the neighborhood I explored on Friday.  I knew she would appreciate "real" mumbai.    The guy on the left in the picture above saw us and remembered me :)  I told him I'd bring the pictures back.

On Sunday I got up to run, but my running group wasn't there :(  they much have ran somewhere without telling me!  but I ran yesterday so that is ok.  I decided to walk to Juhu beach.  In the first 2 weeks I got here I blogged about walking and getting lost in a crazy neighborhood - later I found out I was close to Juhu beach so today I decided to try to get there on purpose.  Bandra (where I live)  is considered a really nice part of Mumbai.  I walked north and got in a place that is not nice :)

Then I got to this part that was nicer than Bandra!  the roads were wide and cleaner.  and there were stop lights that people STOPPED at!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I should have taken a picture of that!!  That would have been an anomaly!!  there were walking signals with green walking guys and I actually crossed at them!!!  it was wonderful!!!  It was like I was in another world..  then I saw the OX cart going down the road and was like "yep - still in India"

Got to the place where the rickshaw driver rescued me when I got lost the first time.  I WAS SERIOUSLY ONE TENTH OF A MILE FROM THE BEACH!!  if I'd have walked another 50 feet I would have seen it then I would have had to go a little further to get to a road to access it.  crazy!!!   it was calm and serene.  I didn't go in.  Wasn't too worried about the cleanliness - I have swam in Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico!  but I didn't have a swimming buddy to rescue me if I was drowning.

I didn't get a picture of it, but I saw a dog with little booties on!!! ha!!  guys the owned didn't want him walking on the filthy street!

I am hoping this week continues with no crying and more perfect days...  This week I feel like I could live here a long time.  I like my flat, I like the neighborhoods that are in walking distance, I like the experiences, I like the people I work with  - it is pretty great here!

Really Fantastic Day

First of all today marks the end of a week without crying!!  who hoo!  on to week two!

I had two of my 6th grade blocks today in the morning.  We had a lot of fun with our test review - loud and very chaotic but they were doing great and loving it.  I put 32 integer problems on the board and they each had to pick two.  The first class missed NONE!!  The second class missed 3.  Let's hope they do this well on the test Monday. 

We took our class picture today.  I work at a school where you can take a class picture!!  We have around 50 sixth graders.  Imagine trying to get all of them to sit still and face forward - whew.

After lunch I watched Jordan's Algebra class while they graphed speed, distance, elevation, etc.  They watched videos then tried to graph what they saw.  Then they did their own action and used this machine measure those things.  It was hilarious to see what the groups picked to do.  One group just had a kid walk, others were running into walls or falling and they loved seeing the graphs.  I have never seen kids so into Algebra!  As I was watching them, I translated a test into French.  It takes a very long time.  I have to translate all the English into French then translate all the French into English to make sure it was ok.  I also sent invites to kids who need extra math help to come to our "math club" on Mondays.  We teach basic math skills that they should already know in a fun, game like environment - trying to catch them up.

Thursdays is the Math Counts day.  I have never coached "mathletes" before :)  it is so fun to see them in action.   We work on math that is way above grade level, be we also work on team building because a lot of these kids are very good at math but have trouble colaborating.  We also have some that really struggling with English and that holds them back.  Today we divided them into teams randomly and took them down to the cafeteria.  Each team had to pick a "runner".  They would answer a problem and I would check the answer.  If I said Yes, Jordan would give them another problem.  The school is very community oriented so after school there are tons of parents and kids down there - eating a snack, hanging out, waiting for their drivers.  So we spread them out on tables and we sat on the stairs and it was funny to watch them run through the cafeteria.  They seriously didn't notice any of the chaos around them - they were so focussed on math!  Several teachers came by to chat with us - they thought we were just hanging out waiting for the bus.  NO!  this is us working!!  :)  We are training mathletes and today we made them run like athletes!  ha!  we need whistles! 

The bus ride home took a little longer due to the Bandra Fair.  Lots of pilgrims headed to Mt. Mary Church.

I went for a little walk and ate the chicken curry Jesse made. 
Pretty perfect day! 
Tomorrow starts week 2 of no crying :)

Week 6

Week 6

I love Sundays!  I met with the running group and ran 6 miles!!  Then we did 50 meter sprints 4 times - I need to work on that!!!  Great way to start the day.  I'll get some math done then go to church!

I will never regret coming here.  The people I’ve met and the opportunities I’ve had in just the last 6 weeks are worth it.  And to think I have years of this to experience! 

This was a really busy week.  I declared it a no crying week and made it until Thursday – 4 days.  I was disappointed but a friend suggested I try 5 days next week and increase it each week and another friend told me every Sunday is a chance to start the no crying week over.  Wise men these friends!! I am a high achiever – I expect a lot out of myself and want to do everything right all the time.  I realize that my expectations need to change a little in this situation.  This is my first overseas experience and it is a lot to adjust to.  People who have done it before say it is never easy and it is a different process for everyone.  I vacillate between really loving it here and really struggling.  

One thing that helps my sanity is walking.  I walk most days for an hour or two after school.  My favorite place is by the sea.  This week I decided to walk out on the rocks all the way out into the sea.  This is what the path looked like.  I got to the edge and it was quiet. It was silent except for waves.  I couldn’t hear a single horn honk.  I might go there more often J  I also get up and run or walk in the mornings – that gets my days started off right.

I enjoy my kids.  I have a 6^th grade class that is composed of mostly French, German, and British kids.  I call them spies and gave most of them nicknames.  I asked one Korean kid if I could give him a nickname and he quickly said “no”.  I asked if I scared him and he said “sometimes”.  The whole class laughed!! Most of the kids like my quirkiness – not him J 

Jordan and I started coaching Math Counts last week.  We have 16 kids – mostly boys (I think we have 3 girls).  It is fun to get to co-teach with him with these kids who WANT to do math!!  This week we had them do a team building activity and it was very interesting to watch…. We have our work cut out for us with this team!!!

A traveling curriculum specialist visited our school this week.  She worked with the math team and gave us a ton of resources!!  We might get to go to one of her workshops in January to work on some more things.  I am thankful I work at a school that values these kinds of experiences.  I love my job.  I feel totally overwhelmed most of the time :)  and inadequate sometimes, but it is the kind of challenge that I wanted.  I enjoy what I get to teach and the kids I get to work with.  My principal is awesome.  My advisory co-teacher is fastanstic.  My math teaching partner is the best person I could have ever been matched with.   I had 8  parents meet with me this week and they were all great.  They were supportive of me and the kids.  They question me and challenge me, but it is in the best interest of their kids. 

There are days I struggle and days I cry, but I am not unhappy here.  This is what I've wanted to do for a long time and finally have the opportunity.  It is definitely making a stronger person and a stronger teacher :)

My niece turned a month old!!!  and she totally smiled at me on Skype!! 

Day 1 of the "Week Without Crying"

I promised my teaching partner this would be a week without crying.  Well, hopefully more than a week :)  but this week was the starting point!

My elbow wasn't too bad. but my back was hurting.  It woke me up every time I rolled over last night.  and it was stiff this morning.  But this is the week of positivity!!  Today was Teacher day in India and the Administration greeted us as we got off the busses and hugged us and gave us a little box of wrapped chocolates.  NICE.  Kids even said "happy teacher day".  Don't think I ever got that in the states!

My 6th graders were WONDERFUL today.  They got my math jokes, participated etc.  The key is to have them in the morning.!!  I told them about the car because I was walking weirdly.  One little Indian girl said "This is Mumbai, Miss Staley"  her tone basically said "of course you'll be hit by a car!"  This other girl said "are you sure it was all mud you fell in?"  I laughed out loud.  I didn't smell any poop when I fell so I'm pretty sure it was all mud.  but my pants may never come clean!  Let's see if Jesse can miraculously clean them!

During my third block I laid down flat on my back in the teacher's workroom - that felt way better than sitting.  Took a little nap :)  During my 4th block, my teaching partner and I had to meet with our principal, assistant superintendent and a curriculum specialist named Erma.  Honestly we were dreading it a little because it was taking up some of our work time.  but she was wonderful!!!!  and helped so much in just one block.  We are spending a lot of time with her on Friday so that should be helpful!

I went walking today and got a new bag.  I also finally got a water cooler and ordered a huge thing of water from my Choice boys.  They delivered it and even set it up for me :)  love them.  now I have water and don't have to buy bottles anymore!

Day one of no crying was very successful and there were no new injuries!!!  That counts as a fantastic day!!
Have my 8th graders tomorrow and no faculty meeting tomorrow.  Should be easy to have a no crying day!

What is my Reputation?

Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.”   William James

Are people's lives changed for the better because I'm in them?

Today there was a guest speaker at my church and he had a big target with concentric circles. Belief was in the center, values in the next circle, Attitude, behavior and Reputation were in the last three circles.  It was like waves in a pond - your belief system ( the Bible) affects your values, which affects your attitude which affects your behavior, which all together makes your Reputation.

The Bible should affect our values.  What do we value? Honesty? Integrity? kindness? service? generocity?

Our values affect our Attitude and Behavior - are we kind, honest, trustworthy?  do we serve others?

All of that affects our Reputation. 

What we do and who we are affects people.  If we are generally kind, helpful, honest and then we aren't, that hurts people because they expect you to be better than that!  If you are generally mean, selfish, etc people are hurt less by you because they are used it, that is what you are known by!  So it is much harder to have a good reputation and keep it!!

What is my Reputation?  I hope it is that I am honest to a fault - I don't lie ever! /// that I am generous with my time, money and service to others/// that I am kind and compassionate/// that I am funny/// that I love teaching and would do anything for my kids///that I am good friend and would be there if you needed me////that I love my friends and family with my whole heart/// that I'm good in a crisis//// that I am strong/// that I am willing to correct wrongs///that I really listen to people///that I acknowledge when I've hurt someone and that I appologize and make it right/// that I am cheerful and positive/// that i am hard working///that most of all I know that I have been Saved and would be nothing without Jesus.

Is that what people really think of when they think of me?  I don't know.  Some are kind of fact - I don't ever lie and I would do anything for my kids, friends and family and I'm funny :)  :)Other attributes probably vary by the day.  Not all of these things deal with today exactly but they are an example.

Was I kind to everyone I came in contact with today?  Probably not. 

Did I tithe like I should have at church today?  No.  but often I do.

Did I stew over something someone said or did to me instead of talking to them about it immediately?  occasionally.

Did I help friends that needed me?  Today I did and I think most days I do.

Was I honest today?  Well like I said - lying is a huge issue for me so I tell the truth today and I had to tell a friend the truth about something I didn't want to admit.  and that is how it should be.

Did I appologize when needed? probably

Do I work hard? - always! except for housecleaning :)

Did I really listen to people today?  yes

Was I cheerful and positive? generally.  My goals this week is to not complain about the rain, CPR or 6th graders :)

Did everything I do today reflect that I serve Jesus Christ?  NO.  every day I can so NO.  which sucks and needs to be improved.

Do people see only the worst parts of me?  that I am a jabber monkey sometimes?  that I get cranky sometimes?  that I am selfish with my time occassionally?  that I judge other people's actions more quickly than I should, that I cuss sometimes? - Hopefully they see a lot more of the good than the bad.

“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
² “For behold, darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness the peoples;
But the LORD will rise upon you
And His glory will appear upon you.
³ “Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

Isaiah 60:1-3

They talked a lot about light today.  I need to be a light this week and not part of the darkness!

More and More Blessings

So I left my flat a little later than expected to run this morning. Thank goodness I did!  I kept seeing runners - alone and in pairs all going in same direction.  I went up to a man who looked like a running coach and asked him if this was a running group to train for the marathon.  I asked if I could join them.  He gave the Indian Head Bob and said "'why not?"  as I was talking to him another guy ran passed and told me "come on - get running!"  so now I have a running group!!!  Afterwards this nice lady and man talked to me and it turns out they don't alway run here.  They are from a club about 12 Km from here and they have a marathon training program and they meet at different places on sundays at 6 to run - sometimes Juhu, etc.  So it was divine intervention that I caught them this week!!!  I had left my phone at home so she called my phone so I'd have her number so I will know where to run next week.  When I asked the man his name, he said it really slowly.. Dix it.  and when I said it correctly he beamed at the woman and said "most American's don't get it right"  The actual Indian pronunciation is "dickshit"  seriously!!!  He said he lived in LA and said it was terrible because his name is two bad words!!!  So he says it in syllables then the x doesn't make the      di "cksh" it  sound.  It makes an "x" sound. 

I have some people to train with and I get to hang out with some Indians!  There were like 40 of them in the group. Lots of them were slower than me!!

Camera Getting adventure!

So I went out on a mission to get a camera.  I waited all day for the rain to let up and realized that wasn't happening so I put on my tevas, grabbed an umbrella and headed out.  Immediately outside of my apartment I run into Bryan and Jordan who are also math teachers at ASB.  Chatted with them a little and headed on my errand.  Five minutes later I ran into Corey - another teacher at ASB.  I talked to him a little then continued.  I walked around on one of my general scouting trips then headed to Croma - the go to electronics place.  Several men greeted and me and tried to have a conversation - since I am now on an anti stalking mission I did my best to deter it.  I've never been a woman that has guys chasing her!!!  apparently I just needed to move somewhere where being white is "exotic".  I hunted around some of the stalls in the same building as Croma and found exactly what I was looking for!!!  A beautiful sony cybershot that is an upgrade from what I had!!  I go to pay for it and my credit card was declined!  Stupid Citi bank!  I called three times before I left the states to make it clear I was living in India.   I bought a TV a few weeks ago and I bet that triggered the fraud alert.  Then they usually call to have to verify etc.   Well obviously they couldn't call me so I bet when I talk to them today they are going to say the cancelled my card.  Augh!  I definitely value the fact they are trying to protect people, but I did what I was supposed to and called in advance!!  and I've only bought one thing.  Anyway I had to come up with 7,800 rupees!  I wasn't expected to spend any.  so I dump everything out of my purse and used a couple thousands and a bunch of 100s, 50s, 20s, and 10s.  There were 29 bills on the counter - they were laughing at me!!!! 

Customer service in India - they open the box so I could look at it.  He puts the battery in and SETS THE TIME AND DATE FOR ME.  Shows me it is ready to go and writes up the bill and I head on my way.  As I wait for him to pack it back up I hear "shouldn't you be making math lessons?"  It is Paul and Kurt two of my 6th grade team teachers.  I've never lived in a neighborhood where you run into people.  5 ASB teachers in one afternoon! 

I head on my home - now I can't eat at this restaraunt I wanted to try because I am down to 40 rupees!  that is less than $1.  The rain was bad on my way there, but worse on my way home.  MONSOON!!  ugh - it was raining sideways, turned my umbrella inside out, soaked me.  I saw one of the tarps they put up over stalls collapse and send a deluge of water over people.  I stepped on one of the rectangle cement things on the side walk (people in Mumbai - you know what I mean)  I try to avoid them because so many have holes etc. but I step on this one and it flipped down - my cat like agility :) prevented me from falling into the pit!! 

I got home and was going to try to skype call the credit card company and saw my sister was on.  It was good to talk to her for a few minutes and see Charlie.  Bri saw me in the video an said - "your hair looks terrible!!!"   Well - dear sis. this is what happens when you go to buy a camera in mumbai during monsoon!  A car tried to back over me, several bussed nearly ran me down, Indian men tried to harass me, I was hungry because I had no money left, my umbrella flipped inside out so I got soaked, rickshaws bumped into me and it rained incessently.  I think the fact I got home in one piece is minor miracle! not too worried about my hair - although she is correct - it was horrible!!

Rough week

Wow this has been a really long, tough week! It is hard to believe that it was THIS monday that we got out early for monsoon - seems like forever!

On Tuesday I had my two 6th grade classes.  They wore me out!!!  They were loud and crazy and not listening and they didn't do too well on the test last week.  Haiku - this computer thing I use for class was not working and every assignment they turned in to me was coming in blank.  It was a tough teaching day.  On Tuesdays we have Middle school meetings after school.  I got in there and they immediate told us three more things we have to do.  I was so overwhelmed and trying to hold it together.  Two technology people came over to talk to me about the tech problems and tears were sliding down my face the whole time they were talking to me. Eventually I was crying so hard my principal came over to take me out of the room.  I think I have cried twice in the last three years!!!!  I have cried 3 times in 5 weeks here and in public!!!! aug!!  My principal was really nice and said there are three big things - Mumbai, Technology, and teaching kids.  She said there was nothing we could do about Mumbai - I am doing great and knowing and reaching my kids so if technology is throwing me for a loop - let it go!  let them use paper for awhile :)  I need to keep working on technology though because I'm starting grad school in tech this summer and there is no crying in grad school!!!  :)   Tuesday night I got word that my sister was really sick and in the hospital.  She had been released and I was just going to wait til night to call her.  During the first block of school I checked my email and found out that she had had another emergency - this time 911 had been called and EMTs took her to a different hospital.  I had declared Tuesday and no crying day and here it was 8:30 am and tears are running down my face.  The next day she was in the hospital again for surgery.  Last I heard, she is doing ok and recovering :)

Wednesday I had a meeting about our Week Without Walls trip and I am so excited - will tell about that later.  As I was riding on the bus home I saw patches of blue sky.  HUGE patches of blue sky.  Then we noticed there was sun on our arms through the bus window!!  I was in heaven!!!!  I so needed this for my spirit.  I went walking and the streets were really crowded due to this Ganesh festival going on.  it was hard to move anywhere.  I got stuck walking behind two guys smoking pot and blowing it straight in my face.  Couldn't move around them.  Maybe they knew I needed a little help to make it through the week.  Ha! ha!  when they noticed me, they lowered it and let me pass.  I decided to go down to the   Arabian sea and see if I could see a sunset.  I ran into one of my students and his family (they are new to international teaching and flew with me here)  We sat at a cafe and watched sunbeams hit the water.  sooooooooooo lovely.   I walked back to their place and was going to try a new way home and this guy overheard us and was talking to us - asking where we were from etc.  That is not uncommon for Indian people.  He was out for his night walk and started walking with me home.  fine.  but then he started asking questions - are you married? do you live with anyone?  where do you live? what time do you usually walk at night? what is your route?  blah blah.  I answered really vague.  I started to think about what I was going to do if he followed me all the way - I didn't want him to know where I live!!!  I didn't want to go to a woman's apartment because then he'd be hanging around there.  Most of the men I know live back with that family I came from!  Reid and Rachel live near me, but it is a little too near me so I didn't want to go there.  Jordan lives a little ways a way - I thought that might be my best bet.  Or there is a bar on my street that a lot of my friends hang out at so I thought I'd just go there and see if any of my friends happened to be there!  Thankfully he stopped right before my street.  but he asked for my card - he wanted my # - no way!!  he took my hand and wouldn't let go!!!  I had to pry him off of me!!!   He kept saying "I hope I see you again"  "I hope I run into you again" "I'm single"  augh!  I'm not too concerned about walking around my neighborhood because I walk all over at all times and the probability of him being at the exact place at the same time even if he is actively looking for me is low.  It's running in the morning by the water - he could totally catch me there.  So I didn't run this week.  My co- adviser has a big husband and lives near me so she gave me his #.  The school is looking into getting me pepper spray and sending a guard running with me if he continues to bother me so they can scare him into leaving me alone!!  I don't think I'll have a problem.

Thursday I had Math Counts after school.  It was our first meeting so we just got to know them and gave them a practice test.  We had 4 do really really well.  Far above grade level.  The major problem we saw was English.  Most of the kids that came were not native english speakers and really struggled.  We are also going to work on team building - a lot of these kids just like doing math themselves and trying to be the best!  but part of the competition is team work so it is important. 

Friday I had to chaperone the MS social.  I was in the dance part.  wow.  Weirdest middle school dance ever.  The boys jumped around and tried to body slam each other.  Whenever a boy and girl danced a slow dance the others would clap and stare!!!  so bizarre.  Girls would slow dance with each other but not like they do in the states.  The were smushed together heads resting on shoulders and dancing.  Boys did it with boys too.  My princial and I said we have NEVER seen two middle school boys dance like that together.  Most of them doing it weren't Indian but I guess they pick up on the culture here.  Men walk around with their arms around each others shoulders, holding hands and they share motorcycles sitting really close and holding on to the front person's thighs.  You would never see that from straight guys in the states. 

I didn't get home will almost 7 then I walked over to a staff person's flat.  Someone she knows makes Kurtas so my friend and I tried them on and we each got one.  I will put a pic up when I get a new camera!  I hung out with Nancy and Zach for awhile - could hear all the drumming but didn't get out in time to see a Ganesha parade.  Still have a few days.  A big street near me leads to the sea and they process the Ganesha down to the water so I have a good chance of seeing at least one.  Then I met some friends that were hanging out at a bar.  They were about to leave when I go there so I wasn't there long.  I walked home and it was nearly midnight and these two little boys ran up to me and shook my hand then hugged me.  I was keeping on eagle eye on where my wallet, keys and phone were, but they didn't take anything.  They just genuinely hugged me.  I tried to ask where their parents were but their english was really limited.  They didn't ask for money so not sure why they hugged me but it was a good end to the week.

I have a lot of blessing thrown into a stressful week!  I came home in tears on Tuesday and Jesse had cooked some wonderfull chicken and rice.  My friends Andrea and Corey came over for dinner.  On thursday Jesse made BEEF and rice.  yum!  I eat so many more vegetables here that I would never eat.  she cooked spinach in the meal and I didn't mind it - I hate cooked spinach!!  I also eat a lot of fruit - she's been doing pineapple, pomegranate, apples,kiwis etc.  She makes a huge fruit salad and I take some everyday to work.  This week she got oranges!!  but she also put melon in there.  I don't eat melon - not honeydew, canteloupe, or watermelon so i've been giving it away at lunch.  I adore my 8th graders.  They are low math students but love me and work hard for me.  I had a parent thank me this week.  She said she asked her daughter what her favorite class was this year and for the first time ever she said Math.  When her mom asked her why she said "my teacher".  My first goal before I start slamming them with Algebra is to get to feel confident that they can learn anything.  That they can do it. that I am like no other teacher they've every had and that this year will be different!  Several parents have contacted me and said their 8th grader comes home so excited that they played bingo and got a sticker :)  but even if we don't play a game that day, they still like. Yesterday we were doing estimating in word problems with fractions and decimals.  I had them work in groups of 2 or 3 and every kid in both classes got on it immediately and I heard no talking that wasn't math related.  The were discussing, helping, sharing, and debating.  and I was delighted!  One of the biggest blessing is that Brianna sends a pic of the baby every few days.  Jordan and my students are the ones around so they 'have to" or "get to" see her all the time!  depends on your perspective!!  Hopefully they see it as "get to"!  because they will be seeing a lot of her.  The kids like looking at her and amaze at how tall and skinny she is and her crazy faces.  One of kids said "why does she look upset, all she does is eat and sleep - how hard is that???"  ha!!!  love my 8th graders!!!

this was long, so if you are still reading :)   this next week will be crazy too and I don't really get a weekend because I have CPR and first aid training ALL day Sat.  but I declare this week a no crying week and will be looking for more blessings