Each day begins with the voice of Mr. Parisi calling us to get up. We start the mornings by making breakfast, getting dressed and preparing a lunch for the school day. The drive to Blackfeet De La Salle from the bunkhouse is fifteen to twenty minutes filled with good music on the radio and even better scenery with the mountains and the sunrise. When we arrive at the school we help set up and prepare for the students to arrive. This involves setting up a breakfast table or setting up tables and chairs in the gym for something happening that day. When the students arrive in the morning, we each talk to the students of the grade we teach and wait till homeroom. When the day starts everyone goes to their classrooms. Each grade has their own classroom besides fourth and fifth grade who share a room and who I help with during the day. Their schedule is what you would expect 4^th grade to be; phonics, math, recess, native American culture, science, and religion. Besides helping the kids one on one the best part of the school day for me is playing basketball with the kids during recess. This week is catholic schools’ week which is filled with different fun activities and competitions. At the end of the school day today we had a scavenger hunt filled with different question about the catholic faith and Blackfeet culture. Often we stay an hour after the school day to hear talks from people of the Blackfoot spirituality and life on the reservation. When we don’t have a talk we help clean and prepare the school for the next day. On the drive back to the bunkhouse we share the funny moments of our days and enjoy the scenery as we head back. After we get back we enjoy a homemade dinner made by a couple of the guys. After dinner each night we come together to read passages from the bible and from the meditations of De La Salle which relate to the theme of the day. Using those verses we journal and then come back together to reflect on the day before going to sleep. – Brendan

 

Compared to the previous days, today was a large steppingstone in the right direction with our relationships with the students of De La Salle, and how we have interpreted it in our own lives. Tonight, we established that we have had a better time connecting with the students, but tonight was the first night we talked about how it made us feel. Personally, I pondered why we are put in the situations we are put in. These students in Browning, Montana are as bright and human as we are, but the deck of cards they were dealt is very different from mine. But it isn’t just about the deck of cards, it’s about the perspective we take at the deck of cards. My view of a happy life is different than what a happy life might be for a Blackfeet person. They may live in material poverty, but they understand the mountains, the nature, the horses, the cattle, the landscape. They are one with the earth and their culture, and that is a place where I might experience my own poverty. So, in a way, they find happiness in a different way than I do. The second thing I pondered is why am I here. At first, I thought it was purely about making a different in a community in need. However, after tonight, I realize that I am not going to change the life trajectory of every student I talk to this week. What I can do, is be the best person I can be for each of the students I encounter. I hope that I participate in a cycle of other immersion students who also give them their best. Hopefully, that makes a difference and a change. We ended our reflection tonight with a prayer from Mother Teresa called Do it Anyway. It was compelling because it illustrates that sometimes doing things for the right reasons are hard and people may twist it or not like it… but we should do it anyway. My favorite line is “The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.” I’m more than halfway through the trip, and I’m happy with the good I have done and will do. I hope I have made a difference in the students’ lives and inspired them. ~Luke

 

Baltimore Maryland is not the first place that comes to mind when we think of stars. We get maybe 3 or 4, and that’s if you’re lucky. As I prepared for the Montana trip, I received a book of constellations from someone very close to me. I read and read, memorizing each page, praying that we would get a good night to see as many as possible. The first few nights were bleak at best, and you could only see 1 or 2 constellations from my book. Some nights were cloudy, other nights had a full moon that polluted the light. But tonight, Wednesday night, was perfect. Absolutely clear skies, no wind, and a little convincing lead to a late-night car ride to “the spot.” We anxiously clambered out of the car, and there it was. It was like someone put a bowl on your head and put a thousand holes in it. Horizon to horizon, each one twinkling and gleaming on our faces. Some chose to lay on the ground to take it in. I found myself spinning around, astonished at how many there were, and my eyes seem to find another 10 every minute. It was as if the diagrams from my book had climbed off the page and jumped into the black canvas above us. (I found every single one in the book). We saw many shooting stars as well, which was a surprise to many. Suddenly, it made sense why our ancestors all stared at the sky. It was stunning. We drove home and readied ourselves for bed, but not before a few of us hopped out and ran to the end of the driveway to take in a few more seconds of its beauty. – Sebastian