http://katieverickson.blogspot.com/
Check out the blog of my fellow Badger and Indian roommate: Katie!
Check out the blog of my fellow Badger and Indian roommate: Katie!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
missing something
While Woodstock school has shown me lots of ups and downs since I arrived, I am finding myself becoming more satisfied each day. Since my arrival, I had plenty of, "what am I doing here?" moments. I didn't expect to adjust over night to living in India, but I think I pictured a much more dynamic and fulfilling life here.
I would never admit to be anything less than happy here because I know so many people thought coming here was crazy or just plain stupid. Maybe it was, but it's still too soon to say. I have a new emotion every hour about this place. Will I stay three years? Will I make it through the semester? Would I like a different job in the school more than my current one? Should I move to Thailand and get a real salary? Maybe America is calling me home?
I knew I'd miss my family and friends, sure. I just hoped that I would find such happiness here that I wouldn't be brought down by it. The trouble is that whenever I find myself struggling with adjusting, I think about my family. This creates a landslide of emotion. Now, I'm not just sad about the situation of my life, but I'm missing the people I love too.
What this place lacks in terms of making me truly happy is undetermined. I've talked about this up, down, in, out, and all around with Katie. There's just something that's not here that we had before. Perhaps, it's the stress of our first year teaching in a new country at a school unlike any school we have ever worked in or seen in action. Maybe it's the lack of freedom you feel in a country where you have to rely so heavily on others. It could be the suffocating environment of a boarding school in the mountains of India. We might be discovering that teaching isn't really our calling after all. Missing our families could be weighing us down so heavily that we can't make new families here. Maybe India isn't all we cracked it up to be...
I would never admit to be anything less than happy here because I know so many people thought coming here was crazy or just plain stupid. Maybe it was, but it's still too soon to say. I have a new emotion every hour about this place. Will I stay three years? Will I make it through the semester? Would I like a different job in the school more than my current one? Should I move to Thailand and get a real salary? Maybe America is calling me home?
I knew I'd miss my family and friends, sure. I just hoped that I would find such happiness here that I wouldn't be brought down by it. The trouble is that whenever I find myself struggling with adjusting, I think about my family. This creates a landslide of emotion. Now, I'm not just sad about the situation of my life, but I'm missing the people I love too.
What this place lacks in terms of making me truly happy is undetermined. I've talked about this up, down, in, out, and all around with Katie. There's just something that's not here that we had before. Perhaps, it's the stress of our first year teaching in a new country at a school unlike any school we have ever worked in or seen in action. Maybe it's the lack of freedom you feel in a country where you have to rely so heavily on others. It could be the suffocating environment of a boarding school in the mountains of India. We might be discovering that teaching isn't really our calling after all. Missing our families could be weighing us down so heavily that we can't make new families here. Maybe India isn't all we cracked it up to be...
Miss Shannon: My leg is paining. I'm feeling pukish.
This has been a crazy month. After quarter break, I was welcomed back to campus with parent/teacher conferences. Then immediately following that was the 1500 meter races, Interhouse, and Interschool Sports Day. It involved a lot of organized chaos for about three weeks of my life. Sports Day=Track and Field. I know what you might be thinking, "Shannon loves T&F, sounds awesome." I won't bore you with the nonsense that is sports at Woodstock school, but I'll just say that it was not the scene you're imagining.
After the final day of Interschool competition at the neighboring school, I was nothing short of relieved. This past week was Activity Week. The students head out on various adventures throughout the country. The older grades do hikes and such. I was paired up with the 4th graders. Our adventures entailed touring around Mussoorie and learning the history of the place. I was actually pretty excited about this assignment for several reasons.
1. No teaching for a week.
2. The 4th graders are awesome.
3. I would learn about the place I call home.
4. The 4th grade teacher is a ducks in a row kind of person, and I knew I had nothing to worry about.
I had a glorious time trekking around with the 4th graders. They are a very endearing group, but by the end of the week, I was ready for a 4th grade break. Highlights from the trip include: getting back to school and finding out the taxi we passed had pulled over so Rishabh could puke, seeing a stuffed tiger, riding the cable car in Mussoorie, a tour of the hotel Rokeby, and having students eat a smore mere minutes afrer discovering what a marshmallow was.
After the final day of Interschool competition at the neighboring school, I was nothing short of relieved. This past week was Activity Week. The students head out on various adventures throughout the country. The older grades do hikes and such. I was paired up with the 4th graders. Our adventures entailed touring around Mussoorie and learning the history of the place. I was actually pretty excited about this assignment for several reasons.
1. No teaching for a week.
2. The 4th graders are awesome.
3. I would learn about the place I call home.
4. The 4th grade teacher is a ducks in a row kind of person, and I knew I had nothing to worry about.
I had a glorious time trekking around with the 4th graders. They are a very endearing group, but by the end of the week, I was ready for a 4th grade break. Highlights from the trip include: getting back to school and finding out the taxi we passed had pulled over so Rishabh could puke, seeing a stuffed tiger, riding the cable car in Mussoorie, a tour of the hotel Rokeby, and having students eat a smore mere minutes afrer discovering what a marshmallow was.
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