Last week was field trip week for our entire school.  My class was supposed to to camping out in the woods but it was too wet and cold for the little guys. So, we camped out at the elementary school.  We went horse back riding, boating, hiking, and on a trampoline.  We saw monkeys, rolly pollies the size of your finger, cows, monkeys, cows, did I mention monkeys?  According to the kids, we saw bison, a fox, and a baby grizzly bear.  We didn't, but their imaginations get the best of them sometimes.  We put their sleeping bags in the library watched a movie to fall asleep too and then dog piled Mrs. Mitchell.

I (Kyle) went with the 10th graders to a city called Coimbatore about 6 hours from our house.  We did some various social awareness activities like visiting a tribal village, planting trees, communicating with a transgender community, hearing tough stories at an HIV/AIDS support group and learning about child labor.  We also learned how to make bricks (see below).

Making bricks out of mud

As you may know, Kyle and I like adventure.  We like exploring, climbing, and anything out of the ordinary.  I wanted a bean pod.  Not just any bean pod.  A 1 1/2 foot long bean pod that you can shake and make music.  Naturally they grow on trees, so I climbed up and took one.  On the way back down however, the last branch broke and I fell shin first into the edge of a concrete hole.  It was a bummer, but I got to see what my bone looked like up close!!  Kyle got to take care of me all week with a bum leg...that was fun.  I got lots of piggy back rides.  I got the stitches taken out yesterday and it seems to be healing slowly, but at least it's healing.  

Brick-making is one of the main sources of income at this tribal village.  We learned how they do it and then we tried it ourselves.

Random stuff

Had some students over to the house (I'm their academic advisor)

Found a dead chipmunk under our bed...Lynea looked under the bed and exclaimed, "There's either a big hairball with eyes, or a dead chipmunk under our bed."  It was indeed the latter.

Note from us

well, we’re back in India and have jumped right into a new school year.  for those of you that didn’t know, we went back to the U.S. for the summer and surprised some of our closest friends and family.  we had an amazing time with our families, especially our 2 new nephews!!  but now we are thoroughly excited to be back in india in our “little house on the mountain.”

we’re also quite excited to have momma harrill staying with us for 2 weeks!  she has made the grueling journey all the way to india and up the mountain to kodai.  wish she could stay longer (she just left this morning).

I (kyle) am teaching full time this year (grades 9-12) and lynea is still doing a superb job with the 3^rd and 4^th grades.  the second year of marriage is just as good as the first so far.  I’m still baffled by this girl that has come into my life.

I compare this blog update to the first time you work out.  it’s easy to work out when you’re in a rhythm, but the longer the break, the harder it is to start back up, especially because you know there will be kinks and soreness to work out.  I’m working out the blog soreness now in hopes that the blogging rhythm will start back up.

thanks for taking the time to stay connected to our lives.

uncle kyle

Tough job

With our mother!

First day of school

Uncle Kyle and Judah

Aunty Neea and Mathéo

Videos in order:

1. Lynea visits my 10th grade class

2. My 9th graders learning trust

3. Riding through a town

4. Eating "Indian" style

reflections on the first year

Today, Lynea and I celebrated our one year anniversary.  And to be honest, we didn’t do much that was out of the ordinary.  But somehow, that’s one of the beautiful things that I’ve discovered in our first year of marriage – doing everyday, ordinary things with the person you’re in love with transforms those things into extraordinary things.  We were discussing yesterday what we should do on our anniversary because we’re supposed to do something special.  We both admitted that we had thought about writing a nice letter to each other, and perhaps we will in another week or month or something.  Maybe if we were more of the gift type people, we would have done better at that.  But somehow, it felt like forcing it.  For us, the day-in day-out love that we’ve been able to give and receive has been the most precious gift that we could ever give each other thus far.  It has been a special time for us, and the words we could try to write each other or even that I’m trying right now simply can’t do this year justice.  We’re not poets, just normal people.

Having said that, we did wake up unusually early (5 something) and took a borrowed motorbike to a couple nice spots to watch the sunrise.  It’s been crowded on the mountain as of late, but it was too early for any crowds and we cherished riding through the winding roads alone with the sun beginning to illuminate the sky.  We don’t always get away from school much, and as we sat on the edge of a cliff, we were reminded that we live on a mountain in India.  I don’t think we purposely tried to get away from our friends and family in the U.S., but somehow we ended up about as far as you can get (just ask my parents who came to visit).  In some ways it’s been good – learning to rely on each other, developing our own way of life.  In other regards, we’ve missed the heck out of everyone!  The internet has made it so much easier, but it still isn’t quite the same.

Oh ya, back to the anniversary thing.  We sat on a cliff and I pulled out 150 pictures or so that I had printed up of our first year together.  We looked at them all and reminisced.  Then we came home around 8:00, made breakfast, got back in bed and looked at some of the pictures and slideshows we had made throughout our dating and engaged relationship.  A little while later, Lynea was asleep in the hammock and I would periodically, go outside, look at her and wonder how I got to marry her.

Sometimes it seems like we’ve been married for years, and sometimes it feels like the day before yesterday.  I’m so thankful for our friends and family who have supported us in all of our life endeavors and now support us together.  It means a lot knowing that people all over the place love you and pray for you and smile when they think of you.  We’ve certainly had our fair share of challenges this year – new marriage, new job, new country, new sicknesses.  We’ve had to learn how to say no; how to protect our young relationship.  I’ve learned that I am more selfish than I thought (thanks for giving me the heads up on that one, Doc), and that I need to be home when I say I’m coming home.  But along with that, I’ve also learned a joy that I’ve never known before in living with this girl that I love. 

Lynea’s brother wished us a lifelong honeymoon after we’d just married, and so far, it’s been exactly that.  We have to remind each other almost every week: “We’re married.  We live in India.  We’re teachers.  We’re married!”  It’s almost unreal sometimes.

So today, if I had a glass, I would raise it to my wife – the best wife imaginable for me!  To our marriage – for many more years of joy and mystery and just good ‘ole fun.  And to God – for allowing me to live this life with Lynea, the most precious anniversary gift I could ever ask for.

April Showers bring May Tourists

This month has been quite miserable when it comes to leaving the house. There are about 5 billion more people in our quiet little town because of tourist season. Not only are there tons of extra people all over the place, none of them like to walk, so there are cars everywhere as well.  Oh, and all the prices skyrocket!! Chicken that usually cost Rs.100 is now Rs.176. That's awful.  Other than the stressful shopping days, life is GREAT!!! 

Sadly, school is coming to a close. There are only 3 weeks left of real classes!!! Then we have a week of goodbyes and clean up. Our first year of teaching has been wonderful and it went so fast! In my 3-4 class, we are  finishing up a unit on space learning all about the life and death of stars, the planets, craters and astronauts.  It's been fun, but next month will be more fun. We're doing a 2 week unit on Bubbles!!!! We're going to create water games for the elementary school picnic, explore how soap is made, and what fun things we can do with bubbles, like giant slip n' slides!! 

Kyle is finishing his year heading the exchange program.  Have you ever prayed for a visa?? We have been praying that all the paperwork, visas, and passports arrive before summer for his students going off to the Netherlands, Germany, and soon he'll start the Australia paperwork.  It's coming along, but I think he's pretty happy that he'll only be teaching next year.  Visas in India are a stressful thing. 

Coffee Coffee Coffee!!! My mother is wonderful.  She sends care packages and they always seem to get here at the perfect time. For example, when I'm stressed my favorite chocolates come in the mail. When Kyle's out of coffee, he gets 4 lbs in the mail!!  He was able to do another coffee tasting with some friends and make Doc's Famous pancakes.  Our friends LOVE them!  (Pictures to come soon) 

Last night we went to a dinner party!!  Our friend Yisu turned 26 and she's an artist at her core.  She's always painting for us, so for her birthday we set up an easel and we all painted for her.  She had a blast and so did we!  

Oh and Kyle made bagels!! They are sooooo yummy! Who needs Panera!? (Actually, I do because they have cream cheese and we don't.)

Well the count down is on.  Please pray that we (as well as our students) will finish the year strong and then have a relaxing vacation. We love you all!!!