We landed in Silchar and drove to Assam, India. We are working with Partnership Ministry School (also known as PMS). India is amazing. It’s by far my favorite country so far. The people here are so kind. The children are so different here. In Africa they asked for money and it was a “give me, give me” society. Living in Africa was so hard because you want to give the children money when they ask, but if you do you will feed the mind set that they don’t need to work, they can just wait for the “white people” to give them money. Here in India this hasn’t corrupted the children yet. They bring us flowers and ask for hugs. They want our autographs and stop us for a picture. I learned to leave early to anywhere I was going to be on time because I knew there would be many kids stopping me for an autograph.
The family dynamic is so different here too. It is amazing how that cultures change. Unlike Africa, fathers are very present here. You see families and children who are well behaved. People are so respectful to each other. Also unlike Africa, people here are very time sensitive. Don’t get me wrong Africa was great, but after being there I have a much greater appreciation for cultures that emphasize the importance of family.
It’s been very hot and humid here. It’s about 95 degrees and if you could turn humidity on “high” it’s cranked up as high as it will go. Our host served us hot food and the food is very delicious but honestly, hot anything is the last thing you want when you are drenched in your own sweat. But we are so very thankful. I developed a heat rash and on top of the heat rash I have bug bites because the bugs in Assam are very bad. There is not a time that I am not sticking to myself or wishing I could stand in front of a fan for the whole day.
On Sunday we left to go Haflong, Moulhoi India. It’s in the middle of the mountains. It’s beautiful up here and it’s so nice to escape the heat. It’s cooler here and the bugs aren’t bad. The hospitality of our host is unreal. I love it here. We are teaching English and the Gospel! My students are amazing and the amount of trust given to us by the teachers is great. We walk into a classroom and the teacher hands us the material, smiles, and walks out. At first this throw me off, but now I am able to pick up what they are teaching and go from there.
We are only here for 2 weeks before heading back to help at the main school in Assam. I’m sad we are here for such a short time. I’ve already gotten to know some of the students and really love them. We had a volleyball game USA vs India. The kids painted a court on the dirt and hung up a net between a building and a tree. The whole school came to watch. We won our first game and they won the second. We will see who the ultimate champion is at our next match! I’ll keep you updated.
Till next time, God bless!
Lyndi
