This past week I have been lucky enough to have had two visitors. Two of my cousins made the trip to Surat, and it has been very exciting and refreshing to see some familiar faces. One of them has been doing a research project here in India, and decided to make the trip to Surat on his way up north to Delhi and the other just came to travel around with him. This visit was unexpected, as I didn’t think they would actually have time to make a stop here with the rest of travels they had planned, but luckily for us everything was able to work out.
Having them here for the past week has made me realize how much I miss home, and how much my experiences growing up in New York and in college has shaped my perspectives about my living situation, and the work I am doing. Additionally, since they have been here, I’ve come to realize how much I’ve changed during the last two months living in this environment. Most importantly though, I’ve come to know that no matter how much you love the work that you are doing, it’s crucial that we allow ourselves to take a break to refresh and regroup. Granted, I was still teaching a normal schedule when my cousins were here, but their visit still enabled me to take a break from my normal routine. Even if we didn’t do anything but stay up and talk all night, it was enough for me to get myself together. I must admit, living and teaching here can be extremely stressful at times, especially because of the language and socio-cultural differences. However, sometimes I need a small piece of the familiar to put me back in focus, and I definitely was able to receive that this past week.
On a different note, their visit has also allowed us to explore the city a little bit more, and in our travels we have found some of the most delicious restaurants. It was very luxurious to discover these eateries, but if I ever have more visitors, I now know some of the spots to go. =) Lastly, I also got to indulge in my new passion: Bollywood cinema. We saw two movies in the theaters during this past week. I didn’t particularly enjoy the movie Luck, but Life Partner was decent. In case anyone is wondering, the movies do not have English subtitles, but it's pretty easy to understand what is happening in the plot line because most Bollywood movies have similar ones.
However, the power of expressions really does help, which is something useful to remember when I am in my classrooms. Sometimes all it takes is a simple facial expression and the right inflection in my voice, and my students come to understand very quickly what I am saying. Now, who says you couldn’t learn anything valuable from a Bollywood film? If there is one thing that I will take away from my time here so far, its that learning really does happen everywhere and anywhere.
Until next time,
Pamela
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