I had such a neat experience this evening. Krish, a preschool student at my school who spends some time in my classroom each day, celebrated his 5th birthday. Krish's primary teacher, Christina, and I decided to stop by his birthday party to say hello. His family is from India and are some of the sweetest people I've ever met. There were probably close to 100 family members and friends at their house, many of them dressed in traditional Indian clothing. Christina and I were the only Caucasian people there. I felt like we stood out like a sore thumb. This was a real eye-opening moment for me because I realized, "This is what their family feels like almost all of the time." Wow. I was so impressed how quickly they made us feel comfortable. Just about everyone introduced themselves to us right away and said how happy they were that we were able to make it. Double wow. This really made me stop and think. What is my normal reaction around people who looks differently than me? Do I try to make them feel welcome and comfortable? I'm definitely going to make a point to start doing this because it made the biggest difference for me. It kind of goes back to that old saying... "You'll never understand until you walk a mile in someone else's shoes." I didn't need to walk a mile. I only walked about 5 feet and it totally changed my perspective. Who would think that I would learn so much at a 5 year old's birthday party? I'm always surprised at how "life lessons" come about. This was definitely one of those times.
Well the party was off to a great start. Krish was having a blast! His mom planned an amazing party. The theme was "Trains." His family had so many cute decorations- including conductor hats for all of the kids! Alpa and Ajay (Krish's parents) insisted that Christina and I stay to enjoy some traditional Indian food (they had the party catered). Of course we agreed! Below is a picture of my plate.
Christina and I had no idea what to "order" from the caterer (almost all of the food was made to order). Ajay was so helpful. I cannot tell you what any of this stuff was called but it was good! The brown thing was sort of like a crepe filled with some potato mash and vegetables. The soup was made with lentils- it was sort of like vegetable soup. This was the part when I felt like Anthony Bourdain. Christina and I were sitting at a table with Krish's friends and family, experiencing real Indian food and culture for the first time. It was awesome! At this point I became so jealous of Anthony Bourdain because I realized that he gets paid to do this-- travel the world, try new foods, and experience cultures unlike his own. Probably the BEST. JOB. EVER.
We stayed at the party a little longer to sing happy birthday to Krish and watch him cut the cake. So cute! They have a family tradition that I really want to incorporate into my family when kids come along: the birthday person cuts the first piece of cake and each immediate family member feeds the birthday person one bite of cake. What a cute idea! Here is a picture of Krish, his mom, and his sister.
Isn't he just adorable!? I love him so much! When he is in my classroom, his presence reminds me to "chill out" and just enjoy the kids. It's so easy to get stressed from all the pressure and benchmarks that have to be met in kindergarten. And stress can quickly turn a happy teacher into a grouchy one! But Krish has one of those happy-go-lucky personalities. He is such a joy!
I feel so blessed to have him in my classroom, even if it's just for a short time each day. And I feel even more blessed to have experienced such a wonderful event. Happy 5th birthday, sweet Krish! I hope you have many more to come.
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