My time in India has sadly come to a close! I have recently been backpacking around Rajasthan, which is north of Mumbai. Traveling has been exciting, with every day being its own adventure. I explored Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Pushkar and Delhi and became much more open to rolling with whatever and whomever came my way.
Although I did not blog much towards the end of my experience, I want to wrap up with a few thoughts. If you are curious about the daily work I did in Kalwa, my wonderful co-teacher Debra wrote a blog post about our time teaching together. Debra and I experienced everything side by side and I feel she expressed herself well. Read it here!
The learning centers in the Kalwa slum are different than any schools I have seen. The classes are like little families - communities of cousins that support each other, look out for each other, and discipline one another. I learned so much from the kids in those rooms, especially from their ability to trust. Every student opened up to us, listened to us, and respected us. I believe this knack to connect shows what keeps Kalwa going. Those in the slum have so little financially, yet they sustain a society that has structure, purpose and permanence. The kids in the community have such a strong capability to love and maintain a joy that they bring every day to the classroom. I will miss them immensely!
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Although I did not blog much towards the end of my experience, I want to wrap up with a few thoughts. If you are curious about the daily work I did in Kalwa, my wonderful co-teacher Debra wrote a blog post about our time teaching together. Debra and I experienced everything side by side and I feel she expressed herself well. Read it here!
In the past 2 months, I have rediscovered my love for teaching. I get such a surge of silliness and energy when I am interacting with children. It was extremely empowering when that energy proved successful to hold the attention of 40 eager minds all at once. I beamed in those moments, enjoying the focus to ensure they understood the simple concepts we pieced together to teach them.
The learning centers in the Kalwa slum are different than any schools I have seen. The classes are like little families - communities of cousins that support each other, look out for each other, and discipline one another. I learned so much from the kids in those rooms, especially from their ability to trust. Every student opened up to us, listened to us, and respected us. I believe this knack to connect shows what keeps Kalwa going. Those in the slum have so little financially, yet they sustain a society that has structure, purpose and permanence. The kids in the community have such a strong capability to love and maintain a joy that they bring every day to the classroom. I will miss them immensely!
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