Father's Day

First let me say Happy Father's Day to my wonderful Daddy! Second, let me apologize for not getting this up sooner. We have been without internet for a little bit and right now we have no electricity. “Welcome to India!” as my friend Gwen says.

I would like to start with one of my favorite stories about my father. I was in the sixth grade and at this particular time in the year we were making our school schedules for seventh grade. If you wanted to be in an AP/Advanced (AP) English class, you had to have your teacher endorse your schedule. I desperately wanted to be in Accelerated English. I loved reading and the English language. My sixth grade Language teacher refused to sign off on my Accelerated English choice because to her I did not have the capacity to handle that particular class. (Side note- at my house the English language is taken very seriously. I do not talk the way I usually do when I am at home with my parents.) That afternoon, I got off the school bus feeling quite defeated. My parents asked me how my day was, and I proceeded to tell them all that had happened. That same week all the schools were having a “Parent's Night” where the parents could meet with the teachers and ask any questions. My mother was to go with my younger brothers because they attended the same elementary school. Daddy woke up early (another side note- my father has worked two jobs the majority of my life...any sleep that he was able to get was quite precious.) and took me to the middle school. My Dad was beyond exhaustion, and yet he got up early to take me to school. All of the teachers were in the gym. I had no idea what he was going to say or what was going to happen. He walked right up to my Language teacher, with me standing sheepishly behind him, and said “Hi. I'm Cliff Statum, Robyn's father.” My teacher in turn introduced herself. The next words that came out of my father's mouth shocked me, and he didn't even raise his voice. He said “Robyn will be in Accelerated English next year.” I thought my teacher was going to argue with my Dad. (mind you I know better than to do that :) Yet, she didn't. She said, “yes sir.” and signed off on my schedule. My father believed in me when my teacher did not. My father stood up for me when I could not stand up for myself. My father is my hero. Even now when I have professors that do not think that I am up to the task, I think of that night. Look where it has gotten me to...doing an internship in the middle of India.

Speaking of India, here is an update:

The last few weeks have been quite challenging. I've gone from people that know me and my personality to many that do not. I am slowly but surely learning not to talk nearly as much as I usually do. I am more apprehensive about becoming accustomed to the double standards that exist here in society. It is difficult coming from a world where we have inalienable rights to moving into a world where nothing was created equal. I am loving my time here the more I get to know the people that I serve.

So, I have been trying to learn all of the local staff''s names. There are 18 in total I do believe, but don't quote me. The ladies are welcoming and very friendly. We have maybe 5 or 6 male staff members. There is one that laughs all the time. His laughter is infectious! You can't help but smile when you are around him.

Life is good. I miss my friends and family. I am becoming accustomed to eating mostly vegetarian food. I did start last night off by walking in the street with some cows. I still jump and start running when goats get near. The other day I grabbed Amina and put her between me and the goat. All is well my friends. I hope that you are doing well. If you need any funny stories, just let me know!