I’ve been feeling under the weather for the past couple days but this morning I started to feel better. I ended up staying home Sunday, and Monday and today I just went to Bengali class and then came home. Lots of rest, lots of water, Kohima’s care, a friendly missionary-nurse-friend –consultation, and a mom-consultation via Skype and I’m ready for a full day tomorrow.
These past couple days were a great kick in the head to stop trying to do everything, to figure out how to get everything done well. There just isn’t time in the world to do that and it’s exhausting to boot. Happy to say that I don’t have a serious sickness, was just uncomfortable, tired and achy. Kohima was very gracious, telling me to rest and not worry about what was scheduled to be done. This morning I woke up and was still pretty tired, but I wasn’t sure that I felt quite as sick as before. I almost said that I wanted to stay home form Bengali class and sleep in a couple more hours. Then I remembered that I was learning dependence on God and decided to let Him decide. So I closed my eyes and sank deep into myself, where I image my soul takes root, and where my direct channel to God is the strongest.
God said go to Bengali class, so I pulled myself out of bed and headed off to class. As the day progressed, I felt better and better. S spent the afternoon reviewing Bengali, and I’m still trailing, grasping at anything and everything within reach when someone asks me a question, No matter, I’ll still know more Bengali than when I started (as my mom has been reminding me).
As I’ve struggled with my Bengali class, it makes me appreciate how hard it is to catch up in class if you start off behind or fall behind somehow. I experienced that in some of my classes last year, and I’m having a similar experience with my Bengali class. It makes me wonder how kids who get behind in school must struggle to keep up if they fall behind or didn’t learn the building block material. How it must be hard if you’re in second grade and you didn’t really get part of fourth grade but somehow managed to pass. And as a reward for managing to pass fourth grade, you get to struggle to keep up with the kids who learned everything last year and have a strong base to connect what they learn in fifth grade. Add missing days of school and parents who don’t have the time, energy or interest to encourage you to do your homework and projects and it starts to look like a mountain. A mountain I’m not sure that they kids who are passing 5th grade with flying colors could scale without the foundational knowledge.
I never consciously realized just how drastically your previous education and home environment could possibly effect your ability to learn new material. It’s interesting for me to think about what the best way to address a lack of foundational knowledge would be. I’m curious about what the current methods and how effective they are for kids who are struggling with school, maybe just because they can never catch up.
Kohima had a bookshelf made out of a smaller bookshelf and some pieces of wood that used to belong to the bed that I’m sleeping in. It looks a little mismatched, but I thought it was great. She had it built not flat to the ground like most book shelves, but on six-inch legs so that it would be easier to clean underneath it. She also had the top shelf start about 3 inches down the sides instead of right on top to she could keep books on the top shelf without them falling over. I loved the whole concept, of working with what you have and making smart, functional decisions. I think that Kohima and Nancy run their programs with those same concepts, making smart functional and sustainable decisions to make a difference in people’s lives here. And they do it all with healthy doses of laughter. I can’t remember the number of times that Kohima has made me laugh; I love her sense of humor and I adore her jokes.
We went to a department store tonight, one that was for the most part un-Westernized. There were so many beautiful things there. Textiles are a big business in Bangladesh and the amount of embroidery on one bed cover made my head spin, and it was all hand stitched. Somehow though, I didn’t want any of the super fancy coverings, clothes or pillows. It was too ornate and not functional. If it was hand stitched, well then it had to be hand washed, and you have to be very careful not to ruin the expensive cloth. And I would rather not tip-toe around where I am living in fear of using sheets, napkins, pillows or bed covers.
I appreciated the gigantic amount of work that must have gone into all those lovely clothes and linens and was surprised that, have done embroidery myself but I didn’t feel the pull to own something like that. I love pretty things, but I need them to be functional—functional being a loose and stretchable concept. Actually, (and I’m sure it won’t surprise you) I spent most my time walking around the store thinking about how I could make different items; everything was a little different than Western style stuff and that was extremely interesting. There are two other stores near by that are handicraft stores with more functional things, which I want to go back to.
One thing I do want to make when I get back are two pillows for the car. Most cars here have pretty pillows sitting on the shelf under the rear glass and I was very puzzled by the pillows at first. Then I remembered long car rides in the back seat where I would have been ecstatic for a nice pillow to dream on. I think it would be a great way to remember Bengali hospitality—keeping pillows in the car for guests to snooze better. A little less decoration though; somehow sparkly pillows are almost never comfortable or functional ones.
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