Week 6...CHECK!

This week I...

1. I taught at what is called an English-medium school (or is it Tamil-medium??...don't quote me on that) one afternoon.  Anyway, the school is for those children who come from lower economic backgrounds.  I introduced myself and then we played name bingo (or began to play).  This form of bingo is when each student creates their own bingo gamecard by filling in each of the boxes with different categories (favorite color is blue, black hair, etc.) and then they must have their fellow classmates sign in the box or boxes which pertain to them.  To say this was a rowdy group is an UNDERSTATEMENT!  Many of the students were not strong English speakers, so between trying to explain the instructions to the students so that they understood what it is they were doing and keeping them on task, I was quite ready to leave after the class hour was finished.  We ended the class period with singing Father Abraham.  They really enjoyed this, although what began as a circle of students doing the body movements, quickly became a "Father Abraham Mosh Pit"...lol.  Anyway, while I enjoyed the children's excitement and eagerness, I did learn that language is so important in communication.  I found myself at times frustrated because I did not know Tamil and the children's English was very limited, so communicating instructions and directions or even explaining a lesson became much more difficult and seemed almost impossible at times.  I really wish I could just download into my brain whatever language is needed when I travel. 
2. I learned how to make homemade naan, roti and wheat bread.  My supervisor's wife continues to make me feel loved.  She invited me over to not just learn how to bake each of these items, but to be able to take my very own loaf of bread home.  With high expectations, I am taking all of these new recipes and cooking styles back with me to the U.S.  I just really hope I am able to put them to use.  Life has a funny way of slipping you back into the saddle of chaos when reality sets in.  Nonetheless, when a free moment does arise, at least I have something to look forward to possibly doing. 
3. Presented a lesson on gossiping for my senior girls.  Apparently, this is a topic or area of concern for the dorm--as is for places all over the world.  Again, here lies another example where humanity crosses over all cultural or language divides.  Gossiping is a world-wide problem.  Anyway, we had a good discussion. 
4. Received positive feedback from school teachers and administrators about the kids' gospel choir.  Apparently, what is being heard during our practices is being enjoyed--so much so that I have been asked to lead praise and worship during the school's weekend retreat for their 11th graders.  Again, no one is listening to my "group singer" claim.   
5. Helped with leading praise and worship during Sunday's service.  We incorporated hand movements in an effort to help people let loose and be alive during praise and worship.  While it looked like the kids and younger people may have appreciated our efforts, there still is work to do for our "more seasoned" church members.

Week 5...Check

This week I...

• Taught a lesson entitled "Think Right, Do Right, Feel Right" to my Junior Boys and Junior Girls dorm groups.  Taking the Genesis story of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit, we discussed the relationship between our minds (thinking), our bodies (doing) and our hearts (feeling).  We dissected the story together and brought out points about how, in most times, bad, evil or disobedient actions begin with a thought.  Here is where rationalization usually becomes the culprit.  Following the thought, comes the action.  If we have convinced ourselves that something is okay to do, then we will do it.  The problem, however, lies in the emotions or feelings which follow.  Just as Adam and Eve felt guilt and shame following their disobedient actions, our disobedience results in the same ending emotions.  Conclusion---be very careful and even picky what you allow to keep your attention and your company because it only takes the planting of a thought.
•  Did a lesson on female infanticide with my Senior Girls dorm group.  This was definitely a powerful discussion and caused me to leave that night with many thoughts and questions on my heart and mind.  God made both the man and the woman and said they were both good, but somewhere in history, somewhere down the line of creation, the woman became so devalued and even viewed as burdensome or worthless.  Female infanticide is a very relevant issue in India today and listening to these young girls discuss how those who participate in such an act are not just the uneducated and impoverished, but rather (and often times more so) the educated and well-off women population, truly made me stop and think.  "What do you say to that statistic?" questions one of the girls.  I respond, "we, as women, must look at ourselves.  If we cannot even value ourselves, then how will anyone else?  It begins with us."  From the "mean-girl" problem found amongst young girls (and sadly, sometimes even the older ones) to the self-devaluing beauty competition enforced by society and supported by women (whether consciously or unconsciously), the change, the fight against such a belittling and apathetic system toward women begins with us women.  I left this meeting with a stronger desire to move in the direction of teen girls/young women in reference to the focus of my MDiv/MSW ministry/profession.
•  fell under the attack of...dun dun dun (descending sound for dramatic effect)..."Traveller's Sickness."  For the sake of this being a public page, I will save you from the sharing of any details, but know that in addition to this very uncomfortable period of time, my toilet stopped functioning.  I will now end here and let your mind fill in the rest (hey, this is part of the experience as well, and I did not want to leave out any important details;).  

• helped with leading praise and worship on Sunday which is made up of and led by the church's young adults.  On the Saturday before service we prepare by choosing songs and practicing them.  However, such a practice is more than just that, more than just a practice.  Before any singing begins, before any song is selected, we pray as a group.  We give testimonies about how God has blessed us this week; prayer requests, sharing issues or difficulties we are having; and then a Bible lesson.  Praise and worship--not about a performance, not about perfect notes, but about our Lord and Savior.  I am so glad I was able to join in this portion of the service because it reminded me of the purpose and point of praise and worship, holding each member who desired to be a part of this special time of the service accountable for what they were doing.  Why are you leading, singing or participating in praise and worship? 

• took my first tourist trip.  I went to the city of Madurai by car which was an eight-hour ride (No "RITCS Anxiety" here...lol).  I witnessed some of India's countryside, its highways and most importantly, bathroom stops.  Details such as these are what make travelling interesting and unforgettable. 

Madurai is referred by some as the "Athens of the East" because of its rich cultural heritage and architectural splendor.  Famous for its world-acclaimed Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, I just had to go and witness this historical site for myself.  Taking off my shoes before entering the temple as required (and dismissing the smell of animal droppings and any disturbing thoughts of what my feet could possibly be touching to the back of my mind), I was able to appreciatively walk the floors of this mentioned-as-early-as 7th-century temple.  As a Hindu temple dedicated to the gods Shiva and Parvati, it housed many candle and flower altars, "Nandi" bull statues, and temple priests, as well as statues of Shiva and Parvati, to name just a few.  To walk along the floors of history, while witnessing the many devoted Hindus who came to worship and give thanks to their gods, it was quite an experience.

 

 

 

Black is Beautiful!!!

How many times have you heard this phrase?
     "Yeah, Yeah," I reply.  "Yes, I know. Black is beautiful." I nonchalantly respond not because I disagree or find no truth in such a statement, but rather just the opposite.  It is a truth or value that I hold, but until today, until my time in India, I was reminded how much I took it for granted.  Thankfully, I grew up with a mother who in addition to affirming the beauty of her brown-skinned black children, more importantly, always affirmed that beauty is more than skin deep.  My mother, a woman on the lighter side of the brown spectrum found amongst the African-American population, a woman classified as a "red-bone" to some, never fell victim to burdening her children with any false idea or value of beauty being found in the lighter-skinned woman, a plague that over the years I have come to learn as being not just a sickness found in the U.S., but in countries all over the world.  I did not grow up with any notion that lighter (or darker for that matter) was better.  It was the heart which mattered.  However, by living in a country where the color black is often times associated with nothing remotely close to what its society has been socialized to define beauty as, in recognizing this fault, my mother made sure to enforce the beauty found in the brown skin of her children.  And while my mother did not march around militantly chanting "BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL," "BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL," she nonetheless instilled the value found beneath such a phrase through every word and action she exemplified.  And today, I was reminded why such a phrase, such a recognition of beauty, is not only important, but very necessary.
    Today, while engaging in my morning duties with the athletics group, I greeted Prenita with my morning hello as usual.  Prenita is a pretty little eight-year old Indian girl with a little bit of sass.  With beautiful silky black hair and smooth dark-brown skin, this doll-baby faced little girl caught my attention from the first day I arrived.  Rolling the sound of my 'r', I announce, "Prrrretty Prrrrenita."  With all of the surrounding children giggling, Prenita bashfully moves her eyes away from me, but I repeat it again, "Prrrretty Prrrrenita."  Maybe it has something to do with the notion that she kind of reminds me of Aryianna in that she is witty and can sometimes put off a bit of an attitude in the choice of words she uses, but when her bite is returned, the sass-induced tough girl illusion quickly disassembles and her feelings are easily hurt--"sugar and spice", sensitivity and sassiness, is what is wrapped up with everything nice in this little girl.  So for the past eights weeks, I have enjoyed getting to know, running around on the track, and resolving little eight-year old girl disputes involving little Miss Prenita.  However, today, was different.  Today, Prenita reminded me of an important value. 
     I had noticed that Prenita would come to practice in the morning with a light whitish coat of lotion or cream on her face.  I went back and forth between the idea that it was sunscreen lotion that had not been fully rubbed in and some sort of religious ritual as she is Hindu and many Hindus in India have what looks like three painted vertically parallel white lines across the forehead.  However, what puzzled me was that the white residue found on Prenita's face was all over her face rather than in any specific design or order.  So out of curiosity I asked her what the white residue meant.  Expecting some sort of religiously-inspired historical answer, I was caught by surprise by her response. 
     "Prenita, you are Hindu, correct?"
     "Yes," she confirms.
     "What does the white residue on your face represent?"  Noticing the lowering of Prenita's head and the tightening of her lips, I move on to rephrase my question thinking that maybe I did not communicate my curiosity very well.  "I mean, is it related to your Hindu beliefs?" 
     Prenita's head again is lowered and she replies in almost a whisper, "it's a cream."  And immediately following this response, all of the pieces--past events and comments, and the present uncomfortable body language--came together.  After her response I immediately knew what the word "cream" really meant, what it really represented.  My "Prrrretty Prrrrenita" was using a skin-lightening cream on her face. Whether due to influence from Indian society, her family, friends, etc., I am not sure, but here was an eight-year old little girl worrying about the darkness of her skin.
     "Why are you using that?" I jestingly ask.  "You know that you are beautiful, right?  Do you tell yourself in the mirror each day that you are beautiful?  In the U.S., black is often said to not be beautiful as well, but that is a lie.  Look, I am black."  Trying to lighten up the mood and invoke a smile, I ask, "are you trying to say that I am not beautiful?"  Prenita smiles and chuckles at my question and we continue to talk for a few moments more.  I continue to affirm her beautiful dark brown skin a few moments more, but it was during these same moments that I was reminded how deep our societal values run in our communities and how deeply they affect even our children. 
     Prenita's nickname was given out of genuine affection, never realizing the possible effect that even such a simple nickname as this could actually have on this little girl.  The question, "do you really think Prenita is pretty," by one of the other eight-year old girls after hearing me shout "Prrrretty Prrrrenita" was more than just a question to further tease Prenita.  This question held roots in a deeply embedded societal value of beauty, a value which was disturbing the self-confidence of women as young as eight years old.  When an eight-year old child is using a skin-lightening cream on her face daily, WE have a problem.  WE, meaning you and me.  WE, meaning human beings.  I am so glad that when God made man and woman, he saw that it was good.  Not a light-skinned man and woman, not a white-skinned man and woman, just a man and woman.  U.S., India, Argentina, Philippines, Brazil, this issue of lighter is better is something that plagues people all over the world.  When will it stop?  When will we stand and question such a devaluing belief?  Black is beautiful, as much as is brown, white, yellow, orange and every other color, and I stand today reminded that this phrase or cliché, if you wish, is so much more than just a group of words, so much more deserving of a response greater than the nonchalant "I know" because the recognition of the truth of its words is needed in countries, needed by men and women, needed by little girls and boys all over the world.  Today, I stand reminded that "BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL!!!".
    

Same Race, Different Rats

     One of the reasons why I left "Corporate America" was to rid myself of the toxic effects of working---and by working I mean living, breathing and sleeping work because that is what working in "Corporate America" requires (if you want to be the best that is, and who doesn't want to be and do the best in whatever they do?)---in an environment so greatly influenced by the "Rat Race."  Yes, sure the money can be enticing, but accompanied by the never-ending competition of what car you drive, how much money you make or what designer brand you are wearing, some are caused to really question whether such a profession is worth the headache while others attempt to cope with the self-degrading reminder that you truly don't possess any value until you can keep up with the Jones'.  So I decided that if I am going to deal with such a materialistic value system, I might as well do so while in a profession that is aimed to help the less fortunate, discouraged, disempowered or devalued.  Now, please don't mistake my dislike of the rat race as a disapproval of enjoying some of the finer things of life because I too enjoy some of these indulgences.  What I am referring to is allowing such a value system to be carried over into your personal life where the value of people and life itself is determined by a price tag.  Therefore, in an effort to rid myself of such surface-level living, or so I thought, I took steps toward preparing for a career in the ministry/non-profit/academic/philanthropic arena.  I soon learned that the rat race isn't an "effect" of "Corporate America."  It's an effect of the human race, the human need to feel superior.  Deciding to work toward achieving a higher education, I quickly realized that the race did not stop, but rather continued, only using different rats this time.  Instead of what car, it's from what school is your degree.  Instead of how much money, it's how many SAT vocabulary words you use while speaking.  Again, I am not discouraging nor frowning upon any educational accolades or articulate speech deserving recognition.  However, I can't tell you how many times I have had conversations where people are not described first by their sincere and kind actions or introspective thinking through real-life experiences, but rather the number of degrees they have and from which schools as if the latter is a true indication of the person's deserved level of respect.  What ever happened to not judging a book by its cover?  What ever happened to a person's level of respect being determined by their actions and interactions with others?  As I sigh to myself, oh how silly I was to think that I was escaping such a superficial value system.  We just can't help ourselves.  Again, I return to my "Superiority Complex" thesis.  
    One of the best things I love with being in a third-world country is that I can wear the same sweatshirt or pair of jeans (ensuring that it is clean and smelling fresh of course) three times in ONE week and no one cares.  No one points out the fact that I am not wearing a different outfit each day.  No one cares that I am not matching from head to toe.  It's not about me being lazy or dirty.  It's about recognizing that there are way more important things to be worried about like water or from where the next meal will come.  Of course third-world countries too suffer from the effects of their own version of the rat race, but because this is not my context, because I am here only temporarily, I am able to escape my world's rat race and just simply live in another's without the effects, able to be an observer and be reminded of the things that truly do matter in this world so that when I leave this place I am hopefully made stronger and that much more encouraged to be the change I desire to see.

Week 4...CHECK!

This week I...

• Enjoyed a rooftop BBQ with the young folk crew.  Hamburgers, chicken, and vegetable kabobs with sweet rolls is what was for dinner.  I learned how to play Indian pool while listening to some U.S. R&B, pop and Christian tunes.  It's funny that even in being thousands of miles away in India, the taste in music still overlaps.  Globalization or Westernization...I will let you decide.

 

Getting the grill started

Indian pool

• Accompanied the students to Mercy Park.  This is the track-and-field stadium where the big inter-school games competition will take place.  The athletes took a half-day fieldtrip to practice on the real grounds.  The exciting while also frustrating part of teaching in India is I never know what to expect when walking into the athletics practice each morning.  While planning to return back to my room immediately following practice for some needed studying, my plans were soon changed when I was informed that I would be riding on a bus with 40 kids to practice offsite at another field and not return until about lunchtime.  Ummmm...I was so not prepared for this and all I could think about was that I have no toilet paper (when travelling to other places in India, you must always carry toilet paper because not all restroom facilities provide such, if you know what I mean;)  Anyway, lesson learned.  I am always prepared for the unexpected when coming to sports practice.



Waiting to board the bus

• Finally began practicing with the school's older choir members for a gospel choir group  and boy are they SANGIN'!!! Because they are excited, I am even more excited.  I guess the other students also agreed that they sounded great because once practice was over, a number of faces could be seen lined up against the window, peering in and listening.

• In light of the Trayvon Martin case and verdict, my subject this week in class dealt with the evils and violence associated with identity.  In India, religion is what identifies and divides people.  In the U.S., it is race.  While there are other factors that are considered by many in the identities of citizens of both countries, religion and race in each respective country is the primary form of identification.  In comparing the race issue in the U.S. (offering my assistance with this portion of course) with the religion issue in India, I asked the children to list the effects of such divisions or distinctions for each country.  Some words that came up for both included VIOLENCE, CASTE, FEAR, and HATE.  Is it ironic that two different countries, with two different issues end up with very similar results??  I think not.  I label this as one of the human ties that bind all of us together--The "Superiority Complex."  Unlike Alfred Adler, I use this term not to explain the need to make one's self feel superior because of an entrenched and hidden issue of feeling inferior, but the need to make one's self feel superior because of fear of the other and all that such an unknown could possibly entail---hmmm, I think I just found my next blog (stay tuned...;)  Anyway, I asked the students what they could do differently.  If they are our future, how will they change it?  Do they believe it should be changed?  While everyone unanimously agreed that something does need to change, I had to pull teeth to get responses about what each student's individual contribution could be in helping to foster such a change.  I am still working on this, but the discussion was interesting nonetheless.

 

Week 3...CHECK!

 This week I...

• Attended a seminar on the book of Revelation- What stuck out to me, you ask?  I would say Dr. Carr (the professor who led the seminar) and his discussion of God being a God of justice, standing with the poor and oppressed, and how the church is to hasten the coming of the kingdom by also fighting for justice, standing for the poor and oppressed, and etc. here on earth. "Hastening the kingdom"....hmmmm. I'm still pondering this one...

• Made homemade pizzas from scratch (dough and sauce INCLUDED!) 

• Dinner picnic with the young folk at Dolphin's Nose

• Met with my Senior Girls group and the topic chosen for next week....FEMALE INFANTICIDE.  I LOVE this group of girls.  Girls dealing with real issues.

• While in the midst of teaching, I asked a young boy to read a scripture as part of my lesson, but he repeatedly refused to do so, but in a very polite and respectful way.  The type of manner in which you could not get upset with his outright disregard of your request as the teacher.  So obviously throwing me for a loop, I inquired as to why he can't read the simple single verse and he replies, "I am Hindu."  Well, I can't say I have ever heard that before.  Needless to say, I moved on to the next student, but those few minutes, those few exchanged words created a moment I will never forget.

• I indulged a little this week. I enjoyed a half hour back and shoulder massage.  I mean others had told me about this place and needing to go there, so I did the only responsible thing and went in to check out the services and ensure that everything was up to standard.  Don't worry, I was sure not to overdo it, hence just the 30 minute massage, but after having to only pay a little over $7, I have stamped the establishment as MASSAGE SERVICE APPROVED.     

 

Food, Food and More Food!

Chapati (tortilla-looking bread), lady's fingers (okra), rice and dal

     In coming to India, one of my biggest hesitations was...yes, you guessed...THE FOOD!  Not only do I not like spicy food, but the thought of having to eat a vegetarian diet for the majority of my meals was not exactly something I met with open arms.  However, if being a vegetarian was ever wrong, then I don't wanna' be right!!!  Truth is that changing my diet to better mirror that of a vegetarian is something that has been on my heart and mind for some time now.  So a vegetarian diet wasn't something I feared in coming to India, per say, but such a change is very different and better received when it is done by choice rather than by circumstantial force.  Anyway, my fears were all for nothing.  The food is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS here!  Who would ever thought that okra (termed as "lady's fingers" in India) could taste so good.  While most food served in India is spicy, my site has been very accommodating in toning down the spicy levels.  Taking note of all types of recipes and ingredients, I may actually be ready to start eating a vegetarian diet (until 6pm that is;) when I return to the states.



The dining area where the delicious meals are served

Breakfast time at the school

Community lunch after church