1/14 Is it really almost Spring?

Everyone seems sleepy today.  It's funny though how a meal can make everything okay.  Black eyed peas, cumin, tumeric (or haldi), ground corriander seeds, onions, garlic, chili, and some ginger (or adarak) is all it takes;). The villagers also brought some sweets - part of the festival tradition.  Rice flour triangles with sugar and milk.  Anise and cashew treats.  Siddarth says that the cold is coming again.  It helps to know in advance so I can mentally prepare, but more importantly so I can make sure all of my socks are clean for layering purposes of course.   Dinner was made with green papayas - poor Siddarth winced a bit as I guess he had to live off the stuff for three years while at the Cheo project. It was interesting but a bit too mushy for me.  I've been really struggling with the value of my impact on the students but working on lesson plans helps to focus and direct the concern.  Theoretically, I know we, as volunteers, help to give exposure and maybe even a little education, but it's much harder to believe in practice.  It's just such a short period of time.  These kids are amazing, strong, resilient, intelligent.  I just can't imagine how they would respond to consistent dedicated devoted teachers.