In one week from today, I will be in Germany, transferring flights (if I am figuring out the time change correctly) on my way to India. This journey marks a year + of anticipation, collaboration and hard work with the U.S. State Department's IREX Teachers for Global Classroom fellowship program, of which you can read more about here: www.irex.org/project/teachers-global-classrooms-program-tgc Yesterday, I was speaking with my bestie, trying to describe the mixture of feelings I am having about leaving for three weeks. I have been out of the U.S. exactly three times before, and I live and work in the same county in which I grew up. I have an adventurous spirit and love to do new things and meet people from varying backgrounds. I seek to open my mind and heart. However, as I told my friend, I am anxious about the impact this trip will have on changing my whole being. She responded that it will be a good change, and of course it will, but a small part of me fears that. Since I am going to a country with a 79.8 percent Hindu population, I thought it might be appropriate to consult the Bhagavad Gita, which says, "What you have taken, Has been from here What you gave has been given here What belongs to you today belonged to someone yesterday and will be someone else’s tomorrow Change is the Law of The Universe” and “Set thy heart upon thy work, but never on its reward.” So as long as I accept that the person who enters India will be profoundly different than the person who leaves, I can handle my anxiety about change. The second quote speaks to being open to learning from my encounters and lowering my expectations of how it will affect me, but rather on how I can impact others - my Indian students, my own students upon my return, my host principal and teachers, my partner teacher and cohort of American teachers. The real reason teachers teach and stick with it is to help others. We work diligently, sometimes rarely receiving a personal reward, but knowing that the work itself is important provides incentive to cultivate growth in others. I do not have my complete itinerary yet, but I fly into Bangalore on July 4, with my 11 other TGC fellows, where I will be getting a cultural introduction to the country and its education system. On July 9, my partner teacher, Jane from Michigan, and I will fly 4.5 hours and then ride for 2 to reach our host school, Brilliant Stars School in Udaipur, Tripura. As you can see from my map, it is on the other side of Bangladesh. Here we will teach lessons with the students, lead professional development, observe and visit cultural destinations as well as having the honor of being invited to dine in home with several people associated with the school. Here is the link to the school if you want to check it out. http://www.brilliantstarsschool.org. We will be here for 8 days. Then, we will fly into New Delhi, where we will reconvene with our other American teachers to debrief and plan for implementation of global standards into our classrooms, school and communities. In just writing this first entry, my anxiety is starting to change to purposeful direction. I am just about ready to roll. I have my vaccinations, anti-malaria pills, anti-naesua pills, DEET, antibiotics, a sunbrella, chargers, airplane pillow, and seemingly endless list of things I need to take with me. As the last-minute-motivated person I am, I am still working on my lesson plan and presentations. I have Sykpe and whatsapp downloaded on my phone. I have letters and photos to share from my high school students, and an assortment of gifts for the students and my hosts. Yes, I will miss my family, a special someone, friends and pets. I will not pretend that the tourist part of me is not excited about the Taj Mahal, elephants, curry, chai, beautiful saris and flowers. And despite my fear of the uncertain, I am honored to be chosen and open to the rich and life-changing experience that lies ahead. Please follow me as I travel along. I will be updating several times a week. Namaste!
3 Comments
Ron
6/27/2017 01:00:10 pm
Love you Robino.
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Libbie Lowe
6/28/2017 09:17:14 am
I am so excited about following you, Robin.
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Biswajit Sinha
6/29/2017 09:49:30 pm
Bingo!! You have chosen my favorite quote from Bhagavad Gita. It has been source of my inspiration. Detachment from this world, is what I understood from this quote.
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