"What am I doing here?" I asked this question to myself several times a day during my first weekend in Lumberton, New Mexico. Getting used to the new environment was the toughest adjustment of my life.  Homesickness set in quick as I came to realize that this would be my life for the next ten months. I had to get use to undrinkable faucet water and sometimes even showering in brown water.


Becky (right) with 5th and 6th Graders from St. Francis Elementary School

           My experience with my fifth and sixth grade classroom has been incredible. I have learned so much about their culture and the way of life out west. The Indian way is much slower than what I experienced in my internships. I had to adjust to the slow classroom performance of my students as well as lower academic skills. I find my group of students to be very enthusiastic about life but very lazy when it comes to doing work. They are a spirited group that loves to volunteer and help out in any situation but complain about schoolwork.  Each year, the students adjust to a new group of volunteer teachers from across the U.S. They are very welcoming and respectful; but on the Rez, it is uncool to be called a "School Kid." As they reach the seventh grade they become more passive in their learning; my biggest challenge is to help them stay "School Boys" and "School Girls."

            Each day, I am awed by the beauty of New Mexico's landscape, thankful for this experience and grateful to share my life with my housemates.  We bond through talks at the table, weekend outings, and by being present for one another. We find that we have many similarities as we experience life as teachers. We share in each other’s joys as we attend our first feast or pow-wow, drive the countryside, spot our first elk, wonder at the sight of the Milky Way, sing together in the house, meet parents at our first conferences, or go on weekend road trips. Each day, we experience God in one another and appreciate the gift of togetherness.