Entry Six: നന്ദി, Na Knee, Thank You

Lizzie Revay
Nov 30, 2018
8 min read

In the U.S we have this lovely celebration known as Thanksgiving. While the history around this holiday is rather dark, gory, and horrible, the modern tradition of using it as a day to be thankful is something to be observed.

It has been strange being here (in India) and not celebrating some of these very American holidays, so I have tried to incorporate them in my own way without forcing them on a people that have no need or history with these days.

For Halloween, it was as simple as wearing orange and black while handing out sweets (my mom sent me candy corn)... sort of like reverse trick or treating.

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving I asked my students, fellow teachers, program members and alum, as well as my family to express what they are thankful for.

Here are a few responses:

The prompt for students was "I am thankful for _______________."

Standard I (1A and 1B)

"I am thankful for my teachers"

"I am thankful for my mother and my father"

"I (Sideways) am thankful for my mother"

"I am Thankful for my mother"

" I am thank for my sister"

"I am thankfun for my mother and my father"

"I am thnkful for my father"

"I am thankful for my mother"

" I am thankful for my father"

"I am thankful for my teacher"

"I am thankful for God"

"I am thankful for God"

"I am thankful God"

"I am thankful for my sister"

Standard VI (6A)

"I am thankful for my parents"

"I am thankful for GOD

God Gave us teachers, parents, friends, water, food, air, etc."

"I am thankful for my parents"

"I am thankful for my God

Because God give us so many things Family house etc..."

"I am thankful for my parents"

"I am thankful to my God and my parents"

"I am thankful for God and my parents"

Standard III (3B)

"I am love my parents"

"I am thankful for my family and my God"

"I am thankful for my parents"

"I am thankful for God"

"I am thankful for my teachers I love my teachers My teachers also love me I am like Neethu Teacher and Lixy Mam"

"I am thankful for my mother"

"I am thank full for my family"

Standard II

"I am thank ful for my father"

"I am thankful for my house"

"I am thankfull for my house"

"I am thankful for my house"

"I am thankful for computer"

"I am thankful for my father"

The prompt for the teachers was "What are you thankful for?"

"I am thankful to God almighty and I am thankful to this exotic nature that gives me all the inspiration for loving, forgiving, dreaming, above all to live the life beautifully. I thank my parents for their upbringing I thank my siblings for their good company and I thank my teachers for their patience. I am grateful to all and I am indebted to all." - Neethu Teacher

"Myself Jovan Thresia Joseph. I am the staff of Holy Cross School. This is my 3rd family. The first one is my own family. Second one is CEZMS LPS. First of all I thankful to God for getting such a wonderful family including good friends and coworkers. If I achieve anything, that's only because of my parents, they are the strength of my life. One of my big ambition is to communicate with foreigners. With the God grace I got a chance to fulfill that wish." - Jovan Teacher

"Hi,I am Liza. I am thankful for my loving parents, good friends,good neighbors, good husband, good sons,getting a life in this beautiful world.......... I am grateful for what I am and have.Thank you." - Liza Teacher

"Sometimes it’s easier to focus on what we don’t have, rather than what we do have. It’s important to take time out and remember all of the things to be thankful for that many of us take for granted"....(Family)We have our ups and downs, but they really are my foundation....(Friends...(dear ones))There is no way I could survive without them. Love you guys" - Soosan Teacher

The prompt for the people of the program was "What are you thankful for in regards to SSC-India?"

"I am grateful for the opportunity to coordinate the Stonehill Service Corps program, and I am continuously inspired by my India Corps members - their loving hearts and adventurous spirits. I am thankful to Fr. Johny for his friendship, guidance and mentorship, and to the Holy Cross School community for their gracious hospitality in opening their hearts and homes to us!" - Kris Silva, Director of the Stonehill Service Corp

"I’m thankful for the genuine acceptance and welcoming Aymanam and the holy cross community showed towards us, as outsiders. They took us in and made us a part of each of their families! Especially Liza tr... she was like a mother to molly and I and helped Molly and I understand the important role mothers play in the closeness of the community! Also so thankful for kris because without her and her hard work and dedication to the program and us volunteers, we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to take part in such a transformative experience! And obviously my kiddos because they lit up my day for a year!" - Marissa, Alum 2017-2018

"I am grateful for so many things; my health, my family and friends, my education, my job, my warm coat on cold days, the roof over my head...and on and on. And for the last year, there were few things that I was more grateful for than Aymanam, a small, everlastingly green village in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. You are probably a bit familiar with the place by now. For just over ten months, beginning almost immediately after graduating from college, I lived in a seminary in Aymanam. Together with my fellow grad Marissa, and the wisdom of Stonehill grads before us, I navigated life in a beautifully bustling, lively and culture-rich community. To those unfamiliar with India (my parents), it seemed scary, as all foreign place can be scary at first. But I have never felt more welcomed as a visitor than I felt in Aymanam. Without any shred of doubt, the thing I am most grateful for from my year in India, is the people of Aymanam. Four priests and two brothers welcomed Marissa and I into their home to live, work, and share meals with them. They introduced us to the fundamentals of life in India, and made us feel very much at ease. The teachers we worked with consistently invited us into their homes for tea, meals, celebrations of marriage, and sometimes just to hang out. We made friends who I continue to keep in contact with, and forged relationships with students who occasionally made us want to pull our hair out in the classroom, but who looked up to us, and gave me an extraordinarily strong sense of purpose. After our teaching obligation finished, we spent a month traveling throughout the parts on India we had not yet explored, on this journey we had similarly warm experiences meeting some of the most welcoming people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Fundamentally, people are the epicenter of my love for India. We experienced so much life in the span of a short year because of what people shared with us. I am resoundingly grateful for the human beings (and of course the goats, dogs, buffalo, chickens, and ducks that lived with us too) that gave us such a rich life while we so briefly shared their community. I hope someday in the future I can share my community with them!" - Molly, Alum 2017-2018

"I'm grateful for the Holy Cross Community and the students of Holy Cross School. Throughout my year of service they have taught me how to persevere in the face adversity, how to be a bit more compassionate in a complex society, and how give wholeheartedly of oneself. To my former colleagues and teachers, you welcomed me with open arms and loving hearts like Mother Mary. I'm grateful for my time in the village of Aymanam, the people, the food, the culture, and the traditions transformed my perspective and guided me to the path I know embrace." - O'Shane, Alum 2016-2017

"Thank you SSC for the year that changed my life. For separating me from all that I know, and asking to play a role so foreign to me. I will always be grateful for the love and friendships that came from my year as a SSC member, and I look forward to many more who choose to join our community." - Sarah, Alum 2016-2017

"Finally made it to India for the first time recently and visiting our oldest daughter while she is doing “a year of service” at the Holy Cross School located in Kerala. I can honestly say that traveling to India was never on my bucket list of places that I wanted to travel to ….clearly ignorance of my part. Upon landing at the Cochin International Airport at 3:00 AM after taking two flights totaling 19 hours I was greeted by Lizzie and Anish who proceeded to drive us back to the Seminary at the Holy Cross School – (a 2-hour drive through the winding roads of Kerala). During the first two days – I was clearly recovering from Jet lag due to the 9.5-hour time difference. I was warmly greeted during my stay in India by the Holy Cross Fathers (led by Fr. Johnny), the Teachers and Staff of the Holy Cross School and all the Students that I met while visiting. After adjusting to the time difference, the climate, the food – I really began to enjoy my stay. It was quite normal for us to venture out from the Seminary / School compound and walk through the streets and venture through the Aymanam community. While walking we met several of the school students, teachers and parents – who invited us into their home to share tea, cookies and meals – the hospitality was simply wonderful.

Father Johnny, Soosan Teacher, and Anish were able to arrange to show me, Lizzie and Trey some of the area surrounding the school. We even took a 3.5-hour boat trip through the rustic Kerala backwaters ending up at the Alappuzha Beach (Arabia Sea) – it was a real treat. I left with an appreciation for the people of India, (including the Fathers and Teachers that work at the school), it was a short life changing experience. A link to some of the photos I took can be found here." - Lizzie's (My) Dad, who came to visit

What is Lizzie Mam thankful for:

Sofieauntie, who makes us delicious food everyday, works so hard but is always the first smile I see in the morning
The aunties at school who are a combination of Danish pedagogues, janitors, and nurses, yes they do it all
Soosan for showing me the ropes and always being so helpful
Jovan and Neethu as they have been such good friends
Liza, for being so motherly
all the teachers, students and community members for being so welcoming
my friends at home who have gave me some amazing advice as to what I might be doing next year
equality
the ability to travel
The Fathers of Holy Cross, for providing us not only with a house but a home
the SSC for giving me this opportunity
Stonehill, specifically the education department
the sun, the rain, and the stars
clean drinking water
conservative clothing, as I have never felt more confident in any other clothing
choices
the friends and family that have supported me on this endeavor despite the fact that they wish I was home with them
my India predecessors who have given amazing advice throughout this expierence
coffee
the USA
India
Camp
study abroad
cold weather