HELLO
Hey there everyone. It's been quite a while since I've written a blog, and I am really sorry! Especially to my family members and friends who don't have Facebook or email. It looks like my last blog upload was in February, so long ago I am going to have to dust away the cobwebs up in my brain to let you all know just what has been going on in my life. I will start by saying that each day I am abroad, I learn something new about myself and the world around me. The world is a much smaller and more accessible place than a lot of people give it credit for. I would have never thought about hopping in my car or on a plane for a visit anywhere in the U.S.A prior to my move across the world, but now that I realize how easy it is and how many wonderful, reliable people you meet along your way who can give you a place to stay or a cold beer to drink, it's not as unfeasible of a situation.
I know my leaving home and the United States has been especially hard on my parents, but I am actually the happiest I've ever been, at least in my adult life. Yeah, I still have ups and downs because I'm a human, but each day I wake up and feel so blessed to have this opportunity to touch other people's lives while having my own life enriched by others. I think I may have learned the most from the children I've worked with both in Thailand and in India (I'll talk about India a little later). Children are just so genuinely, unfathomably, and wildly happy and carefree that it makes you wonder why, perhaps, you too are not that way anymore. I'm not going to get all idealistic on you, but there is something about the way a five-year old laughs or the look on their face when they finally understand or learn something new. The world is an empty canvas to them in so many ways, and I feel that I have almost started anew in a similar way. I am not ready to settle down or stop seeing everything this magnificent Earth has to offer; not that I think settling down is settling, per se, it's just not for me right now. Once you step so far out of your comfort zone, it's difficult to imagine going back anytime soon.
As my boy Michael Franti once said "It seems like everywhere I go, the more I see the less I know," and that holds so much truth and honesty for me. Each and every place I visit, person I meet, or thing I do, I really feel that I know so little about the world around me and about myself as I fit into that world. It's difficult to explain, but I feel more confident in myself and in my ability than I ever have before, yet I still feel as though I know so little about myself. That does not scare me, however, so much as it makes me want to see more, learn more, experience more in order to find my true self. I think that we are always changing and finding ourselves throughout our entire lives, and wouldn't it be a shame to lose that to a job you're not happy with or stuck in a relationship that doesn't suit you? Anyhoo, I guess I'll start talking about the last few months and see where that gets us-I'll try not to make you yawn too much.
INDIA
On March 8th, I left Ubon for Bangkok to stay with my good friend Wendy Goldsmith for a few days before flying to India for just under a month. You see, we had summer break in March and April since those are two of the hottest months here in Thailand. My good friend and fellow Assumption teacher Zach Ezung is originally from northeast India (specifically, Nagaland), and he invited myself and one of my best friends in Thailand Eliza Arsenault to volunteer teach at the school he helped found in Jonglapara, India in the Meghalaya province. This was probably one of the best things I have ever done.
The children at the Montfort School in Jongla quite literally have the clothing that is on their backs, maybe a bicycle, and the biggest hearts I have ever encountered. Eliza and I were two of the first Westerners to physically visit this area of northeast India, and everywhere we went, we were received with open arms, delicious food, hugs, handwoven scarves, and so much love. While I love being in Thailand, I noticed a stark difference between the students at Assumption and the students at Montfort. Both schools are St. Gabriel's Foundation-associated institutions, and yet they could not be more different. First of all, nearly everyone speaks fluent English, even some of the youngest students. They have such a bonafide love for learning, such as I have never seen. They show the utmost respect to their elders and really love their friends and fellow classmates. They actually want to learn and listen, and would not dare speak over the teacher or act inappropriately in class. These children are so beautiful sometimes it's hard to imagine that they will likely never leave northeast India.
This corner of India is essentially it's own country by all other aspects than it's flag and government. The people are incredible diverse; I will admit, I thought that all Indians looked like Kumar from "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle." That's not meant to be offensive, it's just the honest truth. However, people in northeast India come from a rainbow of backgrounds including Myanmar/Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Tibet, Nepal, and even Laos and Cambodia. They live in tribes, which are essentially villages or towns united by a local, tribal language. In fact, most of them speak very little Hindi and use either their local dialect or English where possible. These languages are known as "mother tongues," and there are indeed over 1,600 of these mother tongues in India.
Christianity, more specifically Catholicism, is widely practiced in this corner of India and the people are some of the most devout I have ever encountered (that's saying a lot coming from someone who was raised in Massachusetts in an Irish Catholic family). They attend church every week at least twice in addition to the Sunday Mass. Eliza and I were also there for Easter which was quite the experience; we walked through the stations of the cross all around the property, going up hills and walking through some jungle undergrowth, complete with a local kid acting as Jesus carrying a huge wooden cross.
We ended the trip with a visit to Shillong/Cherrapunji. Shillong is a beautiful city in northeast India which used to be a British hill station back in the day, and Cherrapunji is famous for being the rainiest place on Earth. I'll put some pictures up, but unfortunately we did not get to see the true volume of the rain or the waterfalls as we visited during the dry season. However, the harrowing mountain roads with drop-offs literally thousands of feet to the bottom of steep valleys and the general beauty of the region was enough to suffice and terrify me for a little while.
If anyone is bored and looking for a new song to add to their repertoire...
The next leg of our journey took us to New Delhi/Agra, India.
Holy crap! I saw the Taj Mahal (
ताज महल)! Once again, every place I travel to and/or visit in the past year is like a shock to my system because I never
imagined being able to see some of the things I have seen. I learned about the Taj Mahal from the History Channel/National Geographic; it's sort of a place of mystery not only in it's beautiful history but also in the fact that it lies in India, a place known only to me previously from "The Little Princess" and "The Secret Garden." More recently, I had seen an article about how they are probably shutting the Taj Mahal to the public in the next decade or so due to the defacement and overcrowding which is contributing the this beautiful monument's demise.
11 Places to See Before They Disappear
Sometimes, one visits a place they had heard about or seen on television with much higher expectations than what they actually see. The Taj Mahal is NOT one of those places. It's absolutely magnificent, and to be truthful, there are no words that would accurately give this monument justice. The white and black marble is so smooth and unmarked, the gorgeous stone inlaid designs are a testament to the lost art of stonework and painstaking patience. Most importantly, to me at least, is the fact that this building was erected as a mausoleum to honor Emper
or Shah Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Um...pretty sure that sets the bar pretty high for any man...in the whole world. So romantic!
I'll just let these pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy!
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| Outside of the Taj Mahal! |
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| Our tour guide messed up the ONE shot that matters. Just kidding, but he really did mess it up for me. |
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| From a few kilometers off. |
As many of you know, I have been living in Thailand for the past year working as a kindergarten teacher in the northeastern province of Isaan in a city called Ubon Ratchathani. It’s been an amazing, challenging, and incredibly eye-opening experience, one which I was certain would end once my year-long contract was up. However, an opportunity has presented itself in the form of a volunteer placement in Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka at the Turtle Conservation Project located there.
As Chief Seattle once said so profoundly, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” Think about where you would like to take your children and grandchildren someday, where you want them to go on their own. Please help me in raising awareness about marine habitats and in protecting these peaceful, docile creatures. Your donation will not only go towards conserving these mammals
