News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Elize van der Laan teaches English to 13- and 14-yer-old boys in India.photo provided
The contrast couldn't have been greater for Elize van der Laan. One day she was in the heat of Mumbai, India; a couple of days later, she was in the deep snows and chill of Camp Sherman.
Van der Laan is on a holiday break from her International Baccalaureate program, a two-year stint in India with United World Colleges, replacing what would have been her senior year at Sisters High School. The Americana Project standout played Saturday night in a solo concert at The Open Door in Sisters.
She admitted to feeling a bit rusty; though she brought her guitar to India with her, she doesn't get to play much. She's too busy.
Her classes run from 7:30 a.m. to 2:10 p.m., after which she gets a lunch break before heading into some kind of planned activity. One day a week, that activity involves teaching English to 13- and 14-year-old boys in the village high school in Paud, some six hours' travel southeast of Mumbai.
A background teaching music to younger kids through the Americana Project came in handy.
"That gave me experience I didn't know I had already," she said.
Her college is situated on a hill overlooking the valley where Paud is located, a very rural area, far off the tourist track. She lives on the campus with some 250 students from all around the world.
The international flavor of the campus has, in her first semester, had a profound impact on van der Laan. She has friends from so many different countries now that she feels a much greater sense of connection with events in far-flung parts of the globe. And she has a different perspective on her own country and her home town.
"There are kids from all over - so many cultures are mixed together, it's overwhelming," she said. "I became very proud of where I come from. It's funny how much that really elevated when I got there."
Many people have a rather jaundiced view of Americans, and Elize seeks to represent the best aspects of her culture - and of the values of Sisters, which she describes as openness, closeness and commitment to the arts.
"It stands out to you how special this place is, really," she said.
In addition to her teaching, van der Laan interacted very closely with the local population during a "Travel Week" to the state of Karnatka in which she worked with the NGO Vanastree (www.vanastree.org) that promotes biodiversity and the empowerment of women through agricultural independence.
She stayed with a local family, took her meals with them and tried to interact despite a complete language barrier. They ended up communicating with remarkable experience through miming.
"I learned a lot from that experience," she said.
Elize credits her older sisters Julia's experience in Cost Rica with sparking an interested in pursuing the International Baccalaureate program - despite initial reluctance.
"At first I didn't want to go at all," she said. "I was so into staying in Sisters and so in my comfort zone."
But her research excited her as she picked up on the commitment the students in the program exhibited.
"Everyone there wants to be there and is very interested in what they're doing there," she said.
The academic demands are rigorous.
"I'm doing well," she said. "It was difficult at first. I'm having to work really hard, which is good. The challenge is nice."
There are lots of opportunities for physical activity as well, and Elize regularly swims and practices yoga.
The Sisters teen has no idea what she wants to do after completing the program. So many new possibilities have opened to her.
"Whatever idea I had before just got so confused by going to India," she said.
But she knows that nothing is the same.
"I really think it's going to change my life forever," she said.
For more information on the United World Colleges International Baccalaureate program, visit www.uwc.org.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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