a little bit of excitement

There has been quite a bit of excitement around here lately. First of all, my class has started up again. Thanks to a number of holidays and confusion around their teachers disappearing to Kashmir, I had incredibly patchy attendance from all of my students. Most of them missed taking the midterm test. Once I came back, I hoped that things would straighten themselves out, but there were still rampant absences. Thankfully, I have all of their phone numbers, so I send all of them text messages reminding them to show up to class this last Saturday. Even still, there were some people missing, but today the last of them came back again. It's a relief to know that my classes will start running normally again.

Secondly, Kelly, the Shansi fellow in Madurai, came up to visit. Anya cut out of the retreat in Kashmir a bit early and went to meet her grandparents in Calcutta. There, she also met up with Kelly. They two of them traveled around Calcutta and Varanasi before come back here on Saturday.

While the retreat in Kashmir reminded me that I was part of something bigger, not just a disconnected English teacher in the Knowledge Center. Now I am reminded of something else bigger. It's not just Anya and I here and, our fellowship isn't just about navigating the ins and outs of Jagori. I had sort of forgotten all of the other Shansi fellows around Asia and that we're not just teaching machines. It's about cultural exchange, traveling, and growing in understanding of the world as well. Anya scolded me the other day that perhaps I take my classes a bit too seriously and that I need to consider traveling sometime soon. To that end, Kelly is going back to Madurai about the time that this current class session finishes. I am toying with the idea of going back with her and seeing a bit of south India.

On top of just reminding me of my place in things, it is wonderful to have Kelly around. Although we only met during our winter term training, we've become friends. It's always nice to have a fresh face around to liven up the group.

The third bit of excitement is that, for the full moon, the Jagori Grameen website was launched today. There are still pieces that I need to fill in more, but it is online now at http://www.jagorigrameen.org.