A Day in Our Lives

Now that our students have all left, we've got some time to do a little reflecting on our third semester here at Woodstock. One thing that we wanted to post on our blog, but haven't had time for yet, is a video made by the Development Office here. It goes throught a day in the life of Woodstock School and does a great job of showing some of the things we can't show on our blog. The video features our friends and colleagues, and Beth even has a speaking part. You can follow this link to see the video on Woodstock's American server. We hope that you enjoy a little glimpse of our lives.

Dave and Beth

Santa Breakfast

One of the great traditions in the elementary school here at Woodstock is the Santa breakfast that is held every year before the youngest students "go down" to Delhi to catch their planes around the world. Generally, the middle school staff is not invited, but we had a great connection this year that allowed Beth to get an invitation. Dave was inexplicably absent, but it was a great morning for all involved. Our connection that scored the invitation was, of course, Santa Claus himself. He did a great job of handing out presents to all the elementary schoolers.

He also posed for a picture with Beth and made sure to distribute gifts to all his hard-working elves.

It seems, though, that not all of the students were very excited to see Santa this morning.

Dave and Beth

Celebrating

Though our grades have been completed and entered since Monday, we still had one extra week of school to complete. Since there was little motivation to start anything new, much of our time this past week has been taken up by celebrations of the end of the semester. On Wednesday, we had our advisor group Christmas party. We played games,

decorated Christmas cookies,

and had some great Tibetan food.

We also made our students bring in a sock so that we could have a traditional Christmas stocking for each of them. Some of them are actually our socks, but they got the idea when they saw all the candy and presents stuffed inside.

In addition to our advisor group Christmas party, we also had a banquet with the whole of the middle school. Though he was not actually present in India any more, there was a place reserved for Dave's student teacher, Matt.

We also had a fantastic visit from Santa Claus.

He dropped off a present for everyone, though some were more appropriate than others.

We love our students, but we are definitely ready for them all to head home. We are excited for the plans that we have during this Christmas break, even if we have to stay in India.

Dave and Beth

Rockin' Around

With Christmas fast approaching, we've done a bit of decorating around the house to make it feel more festive. We've got some great Christmas candles and we've rocked around the Christmas tree (even if it is only a foot and a half tall).

We've also strung a couple of rooms in the house with some great paper stars that are popular here in India. The one closest to the camera has a great pop-out image of a very Caucasian-looking holy family.

Finally, we've put up Christmas lights. These are, in actual fact, Diwali lights, but they get the job done. We try not to look directly at them for fear of inducing a seizure because of the crazy lighting pattern.

It's definitely not the same as being in the Chicago or Michigan for Christmas, but it is alright. We're definitely looking forward to seeing some family a couple days after Christmas.

Dave and Beth

We've Got Spirit

One great thing about the end of the first semester here at Woodstock is Spirit Week. During the last week of school, students and staff are encouraged to show how much spirit they have by dressing in a different silly way each day. Monday was twin day and Dave looked quite ridiculous and nearly indistinguishable from our friend Scott (Dave is the one wearing maroon shorts, if you can't tell them apart). Today was celebrity day, so we decided to dress up like Minnie and Mickey Mouse during school.

Since grades have already been entered, it's been fun to have some other things going on this week. The students are watching movies in most classes and we're all ready for a break.

Dave and Beth

Christmas Caroling

The Christmas season has begun here in Mussoorie, and we were greeted by our first round of carolers tonight. Nobody asked us for figgy pudding, but it was a nice treat to have some great music come right to our door.

It was a bit different, of course, from the caroling that we're used to in the states. Most of the songs were in Hindi, but they did sing some familiar tunes.

We've been warned of another set from a different church coming tomorrow night, and we're planning to leave the light on for them.

Dave and Beth

Quest for Christmas

One thing that we've been involved in since arriving at Woodstock is Quest. This is a weekly after school youth group along the lines of Young Life. Last year we worked with our friends Jared and Emily and this year we've been working with our other friend Joie (because Jared and Emily moved back to Ohio). This afternoon was our last Quest of the semester, so we had a little bit of a Christmas party. Beth made a ton of sugar cookies and frosting and the kids went crazy.

We also did some carol singing which was enjoyed by all.

We ended with the Christmas story and sent the kids on their way. It has been a great way to interact with students in a more intentional way outside of the classroom and we're looking forward to one more semester.

Dave and Beth