Happy Teacher's Day!

It's Teacher's Day here in India! Apparently it's quite a big deal in the Junior School. I didn't know it existed until this morning at assembly when the Head of Junior School called all the teachers up to the front and we got a resounding round of applause from the students. Super cute. I even got a couple cards! It made me feel great that the students consider me as much of a teacher as the permanent teachers on staff.

Speaking of student gifts: yesterday, as I was warming up in the choir classroom and preparing for the upcoming rehearsal, three brothers in the Junior School came in, wondering what I was doing. They hung out for a little bit, chatting, while I casually played some piano. The youngest of the three, a bespectacled kindergartener with shorts pulled up a little too high on his waist, suddenly remembered that he had something for me! He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of white rock, which he proudly handed to me. I thanked him for his gift and he grinned and ran out the door. Upon closer examination, the rock was actually quite pretty (although it was pretty dirty as well). At first, I didn't know what I was going to do with a rock, but then I realized that it was the first gift I had ever received as a teacher. It now has a place on my desk next to my calendar, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep it for good.

It's been a pretty wonderful week.