Gotta Keep It Movin

So life is really switching into gear here in Mizoram. This past week I went to a wedding, spoke at a business presentation as a creative consultant, preached, and taught classes. Now it seems I'm always moving, especially after being informed that in the next week I will deliver 4 messages in 3 days.

I also had some fun last week at a special event the seminary puts on for "freshers" (new students). During the event, upperclassmen present songs, skits, and even do stand-up. During the program, each fresher is called up to be introduced and to draw a random upperclassmen's name from a hat. The upperclassmen who gets picked then asks the student a funny question. For instance, one guy asked, "So, do you like me?" When the student said "yes," he just stood there in awkward silence then smiled and passed the mic. We all bust out laughing because it was so awkwardly funny the way the guy pulled it off. I really enjoyed the time to gather and have a good laugh at ourselves. That's something I appreciate about the approach to seminary here: full of laughter and fun. Which isn't to say they don't take studies here seriously. Principal Hnuni runs a tight shift but the school is well respected and students move on to great positions so I guess it works out in the end.

I was also presented with gifts from the seminary including a nice Mizo necktie, Mizo bag, and hat. I was very thankful and continue to feel slightly bad about my celebrity status here. Everywhere I go I'm invited to speak or stay. Some times I'll speak at the churches where my fellow AICS-ers are interning before they've recieved a chance to speak. Hopefully these churches provide them opportunities to do so because I feel as though I'm taking people's spots. No one seems too upset so I guess that's good, but still.

On another note, this week marks a full month I've been living here in Mizoram. That's a crazy thought, but I've really enjoyed my time here and I'm sure the next month will go by quickly. I'm still loving teaching english and my students are enjoying all the funny english slang I've been teaching. Last week we learned "what's up?" before moving on to Present Verbs. I think tomorrow will be "high-fives."

I use slang and other items to share about American culture then draw connections with Mizo culture. I've also been assigning free write topics to give my students an opportunity to talk about their culture. This week's question was about gender roles and how the sexes are treated (I gave a talk about the history of gender roles in the US before giving to topic. I saw a couple eyes with glimmers of feminism. Wonderful.)

Well, that's all I have for you now. I'm sure this week will provide enough for me to write about later. It'll give you a chance to catch up on some of those long posts if you hadn't made it through. Hope your summer is going well and I've enjoyed hearing from all of you!

pax et bonum



SHOUT OUT SECTION:
Kirsten- Yea, apocalyptic literature is very interesting and incredibly complex. I bet that was a cool class. Glad to hear your trip is good to go! I've always wanted to go to Egypt so I'm a little jealous. You'll have to take a lot of photos for me and tell me all about it!