Even the Best Laid Plans...

When it comes to trip planning, all my ducks are in a row. The piper has been paid and every single one of my eggs is nestled in diversified baskets. So when I got the email saying my flight had been changed, I was somewhat taken aback. Lumbering structural pieces of trips to India, like Health Insurance, Luggage Tags, and even occasionally Baggage Claim, were typically smooth sailing for me, clearing the way for the day to day mayhem and merriment of The Merasi School to confidently stride to center stage.

But this trip, I paid the price for three years of airlines never cashing in on my decidedly less pricey standby ticket. So, the last few days in the desert classroom were a phenomenal swirl of writing lesson plans, teacher meetings, rewriting lesson plans, and digging fiercely through the mighty To Do list with the ever-patient Sarwar Khan. And, as I wiped the dust from my palms and high-fived Fridah and Fridah, our two most dedicated students/floor washers (in truth, first we needed to have a short demo lesson on high-fives, underscoring the point that one doesn't move one's hand away when the high-five offer comes to town, but rather waits or even moves into the shared gesture of accomplishment), I was once again thoroughly blown away at the many different paces of change.

At times, change seems to bop along at the reckless pace of molasses mixed with maple syrup. Days, weeks, months go by and there is little indication of a shift in the scenery. Then some days, the garden shoots into full bloom, that little rascal Asif learns all of his ABCs and the ceiling fan you thought would come around the same time of the Apocalypse arrives, is installed, and shows signs of working. I think in the US, I've acclimated to a steady, constant, or at least predictable mph for change. But in that lovely little desert classroom of ours, change operates at about 15 different rates and, what I'm slowly beginning to appreciate is that no one is more valuable than another.

So, I'm back in the Red, White, and Blue, hashing through work from the trip, throwing my hands in the air for the Phillies and Notre Dame, and plastering my lawn with political signs. I will gleefully and merrily keep you posted this month on all that transpires on both sides of the ocean with our desert classroom. But only if you promise to do me one thing: VOTE on NOVEMBER 4th. At The Merasi School, we're big believers in little acts wielding big power. The Merasi are a population that has no access to political representation and we're working our hardest on changing that. So for now, take that beautiful right that you have and march to those polling booths in a few short days to show this world what you're made of. Because who knows? Perhaps the pace of change is about to take a step in your direction...