Amanda with some first graders.
Hanging out with the laundry.
Dancing in the dorm on a Sunday.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Red Hot Chili Peppers
February 18th, Shanti Bhavan
Hooray! I think I might have actually taught someone something today! I imparted an idea to the fifth graders and by the end of the period, they had made an improvement! I feel valuable. I hope they retain the information…
Today at lunch I accidentally ate a chili from hell. It was well-hidden in a lovely side-dish of cucumber salsa, and when I bit into it, it was as if someone had taken a hot poker and seared the inside of my mouth. I had to go back to the dorm and eat a butter milk toffee to get it to calm down because there were no other milk or butter products around to take the sting away. Amanda told me that the food here is milder than in the rest of India… I’m going to be eating a lot of naan when I travel…
Hooray! I think I might have actually taught someone something today! I imparted an idea to the fifth graders and by the end of the period, they had made an improvement! I feel valuable. I hope they retain the information…
Today at lunch I accidentally ate a chili from hell. It was well-hidden in a lovely side-dish of cucumber salsa, and when I bit into it, it was as if someone had taken a hot poker and seared the inside of my mouth. I had to go back to the dorm and eat a butter milk toffee to get it to calm down because there were no other milk or butter products around to take the sting away. Amanda told me that the food here is milder than in the rest of India… I’m going to be eating a lot of naan when I travel…
Dancing Queens
February 17th, Shanti Bhavan
Today was a fun day. We had the sixth grade for aerobics in the morning and I started trying some things out with them for their part in the show. I only taught three classes, so I had a lot of free time and Amanda and I started planning the arts classes and talking through some choreography ideas. I’m using three songs from Billy Elliot in the show, and the program is going to include almost every student in the school. The choir is going to sing two songs and the fourth and sixth graders are going to dance to the dance break of Billy’s big song in the show. I also have an eleventh grade girl named Beena who is going to dance some solos in that number. She’s very graceful and she wants to be a professional Indian dancer. I’m excited to see what she can do, and what she can teach me. I’d love to learn some traditional Indian dance. It’s going to be really cool, because the dance will have three diferent themes running through it. The fourth graders are going to be doing ballet, the sixth graders are going to do dance inspired by boxing, and Beena will be doing a combination of modern dance and Indian dance. The second grade is doing a scene/dance from the song “Shine,” that involves some basic ballet and some acting and singing… it’s a lot, but I think they can handle it. The third grade is making art projects that will serve as scenery, the fifth grade is writing and acting out original scenes related to Billy Elliot, the eighth grade will be writing and reading introductory paragraphs for each part of the show, and the forst graders are doing some visual group improvisation (making shapes with their bodies). The seventh grade is on academic probabtion, so I won’t get to work with them, but school is more important. It sounds like a lot right now, but I think it will turn out really well.
I worked with the choir tonight and they’re actually pretty capable. I picked two boys to sing solos and they sound really nice. I’m looking forward to giving some of the students a chance to step out from the group and show what they can do. There aren’t that many opportunities for them to be recognized as individuals here and I think it will be a good exercise in confidence for them. I found out that there are a few violin students, and so we’re hoping that they will be able to come up with some parts and play along with the choir. I really hope that works out!
Sixth graders had their musical theatre class from 8-8:45. We worked on some boxing moves and they picked up very well. They can’t do anything too complicated, but when they have strong, clear movements to do, they kick butt! I’m really getting jazzed about the show.
We watched The Bourne Identity … off to bed!
Today was a fun day. We had the sixth grade for aerobics in the morning and I started trying some things out with them for their part in the show. I only taught three classes, so I had a lot of free time and Amanda and I started planning the arts classes and talking through some choreography ideas. I’m using three songs from Billy Elliot in the show, and the program is going to include almost every student in the school. The choir is going to sing two songs and the fourth and sixth graders are going to dance to the dance break of Billy’s big song in the show. I also have an eleventh grade girl named Beena who is going to dance some solos in that number. She’s very graceful and she wants to be a professional Indian dancer. I’m excited to see what she can do, and what she can teach me. I’d love to learn some traditional Indian dance. It’s going to be really cool, because the dance will have three diferent themes running through it. The fourth graders are going to be doing ballet, the sixth graders are going to do dance inspired by boxing, and Beena will be doing a combination of modern dance and Indian dance. The second grade is doing a scene/dance from the song “Shine,” that involves some basic ballet and some acting and singing… it’s a lot, but I think they can handle it. The third grade is making art projects that will serve as scenery, the fifth grade is writing and acting out original scenes related to Billy Elliot, the eighth grade will be writing and reading introductory paragraphs for each part of the show, and the forst graders are doing some visual group improvisation (making shapes with their bodies). The seventh grade is on academic probabtion, so I won’t get to work with them, but school is more important. It sounds like a lot right now, but I think it will turn out really well.
I worked with the choir tonight and they’re actually pretty capable. I picked two boys to sing solos and they sound really nice. I’m looking forward to giving some of the students a chance to step out from the group and show what they can do. There aren’t that many opportunities for them to be recognized as individuals here and I think it will be a good exercise in confidence for them. I found out that there are a few violin students, and so we’re hoping that they will be able to come up with some parts and play along with the choir. I really hope that works out!
Sixth graders had their musical theatre class from 8-8:45. We worked on some boxing moves and they picked up very well. They can’t do anything too complicated, but when they have strong, clear movements to do, they kick butt! I’m really getting jazzed about the show.
We watched The Bourne Identity … off to bed!
I'm not a Maharincess!
February 16th, Shanti Bhavan
Saturday night Amanda and I henna-ed our hair. We bought the powder at the market in Hosur and one of the teachers told us how to do it. We mixed the powder with water in one of the metal plate/bowls from the dining hall until it was a thick paste… and then we realized that we hadn’t bought gloves or anything to apply the henna with. (Ooh, ending a sentence with a preposition… very bad English teacher). Anyway, Amanda decided to use a plastic grocery bag to protect her hand as she smeared the baby-poop-like mixture all over my head. This mode worked for a few minutes, but then she decided to just use her hands and wash them immediately after. I did the same for her and we both escaped with an only slightly oompa-loompa orange tint to our skin. The henna then formed a thick crust on our hair as we let it dry and set for the next two hours, during which all of the volunteers watched French Kiss in celebration of Valentine’s Day. At around midnight, we proceeded to wash out the henna, which was not an easy or pleasant undertaking, as the sun had been down for hours and the solar-powered water heater was not working. Pouring freezing water on a headful of cow dung – oh I’m sorry, I’m in India – mutton dung, in the middle of the night was pretty gross, but when it was all washed out, we were left with beautiful deep auburn color that looks amazing in the sunlight. I think I’ll definitely do it again before I go. Mom – I’m the Hennarincess of Shanti Bhavan!
I also forgot to write that while I was in Hosur on Saturday, I got my eyebrows threaded for Rs 15 – about thirty cents. They did a better job than the place I go in New York that charges eight dollars, and it was less painful.
The sunset on Sunday was beautiful. It was a gorgeous night and I sat out on the rocks for about an hour, just watching the sky change and feeling the warm breeze. How delicious! There’s not really much more I can write about that, but I took some pictures, so hopefully I’ll be able to upload them and you can see.
Today was my first official day of teaching. I think it went pretty well for the most part, but I can already see where there are going to be some possibilities for problems. I’m sharing the English classes for the fifth grade with Miss Nirmila (one of the school’s most intense and discipline-oriented teachers) and I think I’m going to have to fight a bit to be the one in charge. She’s a good teacher and she’s been with them for the semester, but I’m a native English speaker and I have a lot to offer the class. Hopefully as she sees more of my work in class, she’ll relax and let me take the reins.
Amanda and I had the kindergarteners for musical theatre class today and they are so cute! I’m having them sing “Rubber Duckie” for the show and we started teaching it to them. I hope they remember it for next week, because if they can retain the song, we can put a little dancing with it too. Their house mother, Raji Mommy, will help them throughout the week and we will probably stop by their dorm sometime and go over it with them.
Today I also wore the kurta – that’s a long tunic made out of light, loose cotton – that I bought in Hosur. All of the chidren said I looked very beautiful… they love it when the volunteers wear Indian clothing. Amanda said that when she wore a saree to class for the first time, they treated her like a movie star.
We watched Raiders of the Lost Ark tonight in the dorm. I forgot how fun that movie is… Goodnight!
Saturday night Amanda and I henna-ed our hair. We bought the powder at the market in Hosur and one of the teachers told us how to do it. We mixed the powder with water in one of the metal plate/bowls from the dining hall until it was a thick paste… and then we realized that we hadn’t bought gloves or anything to apply the henna with. (Ooh, ending a sentence with a preposition… very bad English teacher). Anyway, Amanda decided to use a plastic grocery bag to protect her hand as she smeared the baby-poop-like mixture all over my head. This mode worked for a few minutes, but then she decided to just use her hands and wash them immediately after. I did the same for her and we both escaped with an only slightly oompa-loompa orange tint to our skin. The henna then formed a thick crust on our hair as we let it dry and set for the next two hours, during which all of the volunteers watched French Kiss in celebration of Valentine’s Day. At around midnight, we proceeded to wash out the henna, which was not an easy or pleasant undertaking, as the sun had been down for hours and the solar-powered water heater was not working. Pouring freezing water on a headful of cow dung – oh I’m sorry, I’m in India – mutton dung, in the middle of the night was pretty gross, but when it was all washed out, we were left with beautiful deep auburn color that looks amazing in the sunlight. I think I’ll definitely do it again before I go. Mom – I’m the Hennarincess of Shanti Bhavan!
I also forgot to write that while I was in Hosur on Saturday, I got my eyebrows threaded for Rs 15 – about thirty cents. They did a better job than the place I go in New York that charges eight dollars, and it was less painful.
The sunset on Sunday was beautiful. It was a gorgeous night and I sat out on the rocks for about an hour, just watching the sky change and feeling the warm breeze. How delicious! There’s not really much more I can write about that, but I took some pictures, so hopefully I’ll be able to upload them and you can see.
Today was my first official day of teaching. I think it went pretty well for the most part, but I can already see where there are going to be some possibilities for problems. I’m sharing the English classes for the fifth grade with Miss Nirmila (one of the school’s most intense and discipline-oriented teachers) and I think I’m going to have to fight a bit to be the one in charge. She’s a good teacher and she’s been with them for the semester, but I’m a native English speaker and I have a lot to offer the class. Hopefully as she sees more of my work in class, she’ll relax and let me take the reins.
Amanda and I had the kindergarteners for musical theatre class today and they are so cute! I’m having them sing “Rubber Duckie” for the show and we started teaching it to them. I hope they remember it for next week, because if they can retain the song, we can put a little dancing with it too. Their house mother, Raji Mommy, will help them throughout the week and we will probably stop by their dorm sometime and go over it with them.
Today I also wore the kurta – that’s a long tunic made out of light, loose cotton – that I bought in Hosur. All of the chidren said I looked very beautiful… they love it when the volunteers wear Indian clothing. Amanda said that when she wore a saree to class for the first time, they treated her like a movie star.
We watched Raiders of the Lost Ark tonight in the dorm. I forgot how fun that movie is… Goodnight!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Some pictures...I hope
The afternoon assembly. The Guest House (where we stay).
Some 4th Grade students at work.
Valentime's Day
February 14th, Hosur
Hi! I'm writing this from an internet cafe in Hosur, the closest "big city" to Shanti Bhavan. I woke up this morning and immediately read my Valentines from Brandon and the kitties (also Brandon). He sent them along and I'm so glad he did, because it made me so happy. Hosur is fun - I'll write more about it tonight and post next week, but I just wanted to do a quick note to tell all of you who are reading that I send my love and I'm so gratful for the support I have back home. Aunt Laura and the girls, kiss Buddy and Idgie for me if you're reading this, and Mom and Dad and Brandon, I love you more than words can say. Happy Valentine's Day!
Hi! I'm writing this from an internet cafe in Hosur, the closest "big city" to Shanti Bhavan. I woke up this morning and immediately read my Valentines from Brandon and the kitties (also Brandon). He sent them along and I'm so glad he did, because it made me so happy. Hosur is fun - I'll write more about it tonight and post next week, but I just wanted to do a quick note to tell all of you who are reading that I send my love and I'm so gratful for the support I have back home. Aunt Laura and the girls, kiss Buddy and Idgie for me if you're reading this, and Mom and Dad and Brandon, I love you more than words can say. Happy Valentine's Day!
Shanti Shanti
February 12th, Shanti Bhavan
Today was a great day. I woke up at 6 for the morning aerobics class. Today we had the 11th grade girls and they were really fun. We did basic stuff like push-ups and sit-ups as well as some dance moves. They all have such big personalities and I wish I could be with them more often, but they have their studies and so we only see them in the morning.
For the rest of the day I observed classes so I can effectively take over on Monday… and I’m actually writing this on the 13th so I’m having trouble remembering exactly what I did yesterday…
February 13th, Shanti Bhavan
I observed more classes today and got to even teach a bit in some of them. I gave the 4th graders their spelling test and participated in a class discussion about Hairspray with the 5th grade. I met a lot more of the students today . I met Rajne, the 11th grade boy who is a wonderful pianist, and Amanda took me down to the dorms to meet the kindergarteners and the 1st graders. All little kids are cute, but you have never seen cuteness like this. They are so tiny and adorable and they’re used to new volunteers coming all the time so they run right up to you and hug you and hold your hand.
As I was walking into lunch today, I was wearing my sunglasses and one of the little boys came up to me and said, “Miss, you look cool in your specs.” It was so funny to hear that phrase come out of a tiny Indian kid’s mouth.
Amanda and I started planning my final performance project for the kids that we’ll start working on next week. We’re using material from Billy Elliot for the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th graders and one 11th grade girl, Beena, who Amanda said is a gifted dancer. For the 1st graders we’ll be doing theatre games and the KG will sing “Rubber Duckie.” I think it’s going to end up being really cool. I’m glad Amanda is here to help me, because she already knows the kids and so she can help me identify their strengths and weaknesses before we even start working.
I sat with the 6th and 7th grade girls at dinner today and they were so cute, asking me “Miss, who is your Valentine?” and wanting to know all about Brandon.
On the way out of the dining hall, I was stopped by Mala, one of the 11th grade girls who is hilarious and has become one of my immediate favorites. She called me Lizzie and asked if I had ever read or seen “Pride and Predjudice.” We talked about Colin Firth and Johnny Depp and other actors we found “dreamy.” As we parted ways, I heard her singing a Justin Timberlake song… such a Western exchange happening in the middle of India. It made me feel at home!
Since it’s Friday the 13th, we are going to watch a scary movie tonight. I think “The Sixth Sense.”
I just realized I forgot to write about the other volunteers. I’m older by a few years than everyone except a middle-aged Canadian man named Jaques who is here for the fourth time now. The other volunteers are Amanda, Joe, Molly, Arjun, and Steve. They are all really nice and so far we’ve been having a good time. Most of them are taking a year or a few months off after graduating from college, so we’re in different places in our lives, but I think we will all learn a lot together.
Tomorrow is Saturday, so there are only a few classes in the morning and then in the afternoon we will travel to Hosur, the town neaarest to the school, for some internet, food at a restaurant, and phone cards! I can’t wait to post my blog and make phone calls. More on that later!
Today was a great day. I woke up at 6 for the morning aerobics class. Today we had the 11th grade girls and they were really fun. We did basic stuff like push-ups and sit-ups as well as some dance moves. They all have such big personalities and I wish I could be with them more often, but they have their studies and so we only see them in the morning.
For the rest of the day I observed classes so I can effectively take over on Monday… and I’m actually writing this on the 13th so I’m having trouble remembering exactly what I did yesterday…
February 13th, Shanti Bhavan
I observed more classes today and got to even teach a bit in some of them. I gave the 4th graders their spelling test and participated in a class discussion about Hairspray with the 5th grade. I met a lot more of the students today . I met Rajne, the 11th grade boy who is a wonderful pianist, and Amanda took me down to the dorms to meet the kindergarteners and the 1st graders. All little kids are cute, but you have never seen cuteness like this. They are so tiny and adorable and they’re used to new volunteers coming all the time so they run right up to you and hug you and hold your hand.
As I was walking into lunch today, I was wearing my sunglasses and one of the little boys came up to me and said, “Miss, you look cool in your specs.” It was so funny to hear that phrase come out of a tiny Indian kid’s mouth.
Amanda and I started planning my final performance project for the kids that we’ll start working on next week. We’re using material from Billy Elliot for the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th graders and one 11th grade girl, Beena, who Amanda said is a gifted dancer. For the 1st graders we’ll be doing theatre games and the KG will sing “Rubber Duckie.” I think it’s going to end up being really cool. I’m glad Amanda is here to help me, because she already knows the kids and so she can help me identify their strengths and weaknesses before we even start working.
I sat with the 6th and 7th grade girls at dinner today and they were so cute, asking me “Miss, who is your Valentine?” and wanting to know all about Brandon.
On the way out of the dining hall, I was stopped by Mala, one of the 11th grade girls who is hilarious and has become one of my immediate favorites. She called me Lizzie and asked if I had ever read or seen “Pride and Predjudice.” We talked about Colin Firth and Johnny Depp and other actors we found “dreamy.” As we parted ways, I heard her singing a Justin Timberlake song… such a Western exchange happening in the middle of India. It made me feel at home!
Since it’s Friday the 13th, we are going to watch a scary movie tonight. I think “The Sixth Sense.”
I just realized I forgot to write about the other volunteers. I’m older by a few years than everyone except a middle-aged Canadian man named Jaques who is here for the fourth time now. The other volunteers are Amanda, Joe, Molly, Arjun, and Steve. They are all really nice and so far we’ve been having a good time. Most of them are taking a year or a few months off after graduating from college, so we’re in different places in our lives, but I think we will all learn a lot together.
Tomorrow is Saturday, so there are only a few classes in the morning and then in the afternoon we will travel to Hosur, the town neaarest to the school, for some internet, food at a restaurant, and phone cards! I can’t wait to post my blog and make phone calls. More on that later!
Across the Universe
February 11th, Shanti Bhavan
I arrived at Shanti Bhavan this morning at 4:30 a.m. The flight to India was pretty uneventful – no individual TV monitors on this leg. I slept a lot and only woke up to eat…curry. I sat next to two young Indian guys - Sadheep and Senthil - who, it turned out, were from Kerala, the state in southern India that I plan on traveling to when I’m done at Shanti Bhavan. They asked me what I planned on seeing and when I told them I hadn’t made plans yet, they took my guide book, circled and underlined all the places I should see and gave me an itinerary! I guess I was right to decide to leave my plans up to the locals. Anyway, I exchanged email addresses with them and they promised to send me some more information on a few sights, so I guess I’ll see if that happened when I get to check my email.
When I arrived at the airport, it was about 1:30 in the morning. The airport in Bangalore is new and very clean and modern. I followed the crowd through customs and to baggage claim, where two extremely attentive workers insisted on helping me with my bags. They put them on a cart for me and went with me to the taxi area where the driver from the school was waiting for me. By this time it was about 2:30 a.m. and the driver and I set out on the 2 hour trip to Shanti Bhavan. I tried to stay awake as long as I could to look at the scenery, but I after observing some little road-side towns and enjoying the painted trucks (they really do paint all their vehicles so vibrantly and intricately the way you see in movies!), I quickly fell asleep. I woke up about an hour later to the sound of drums beating and I looked out my window to see a festival in full swing. In the middle of a dirt road in the middle of the night, about fifty people were dancing, playing music, and partying inside of a semi-circle of trucks with what looked like pinball machines on the back of them. They were covered with garish Christmas lights and portrayed images of Hindu gods. The driver laughed and turned the car around without much thought… does this kind of thing happen all the time here? We took a detour and about an hour later, we pulled up to the school.
It really is in the middle of nowhere. It’s sort of like summer camp or a dude ranch or something. The security guard let us through and I was let off at the volunteers’ quarters. Mr. Aneesh – the general grounds-keeper guy – met me and escorted me into the room I’m sharing with Amanda. She’s one of the other volunteers with ASTEP and she’s already been here for about a month. I put my stuff down, got into bed with my clothes on, and fell asleep.
I woke up this morning at around 7 and took a cold shower (the water heater is solar-powered, so there isn’t any hot water until the middle of the day). I tried to unpack a little until Amanda got back from her morning aerobics class with the kids and then we went down to breakfast. The dining hall is basically a big open-air pavilion with folding tables and chairs and a small kitchen in the back. The volunteers get a hard-boiled egg every morning and today there were dhosas – sort of an unsweetened pancake with a sauce. I skipped the sauce, but everything else was pretty basic and good. As soon as I walked into the dining hall, the kids started staring. They are so adorable with their big eyes and huge white smiles. Amanda introduced me to some of them and some of the teachers and “aunties” (the women who live with the children and take care of them). After breakfast, I went to see Miss Beena, the Vice-Principal, about my class schedule. I’m going to be teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders language classes – grammar, creative writing, and reading – and working with Amanda on the Musical Theatre classes for all grades.
I start on Monday with my own classes, but since I arrived in the middle of the week, I’ll be observing and sort of assisting with them for the next few days.
After my meeting with Miss Beena, I went to meet Mrs. Law, the Principal. She is lovely and intelligent and seemed very happy and grateful that I was here. She told me to feel free to disappear and rest any time I needed to today, but I told her I was going to try to stay awake as long as possible and go watch some classes. My first class was Amanda’s creative writing class with the 4th grade. They are so cute and curious, “Miss, how did you come to Shanti Bhavan?” “Miss, what movies or Broadway have you been in?” “Miss, why is your hair longer on that side?” They ask anything and everything that comes to their minds. Amanda gave them two minutes to ask me questions and then I settled in to watch. After the third period, there is assembly, which is where the whole school comes together to say a prayer, hear about world news, meet new volunteers and say good-bye to the ones who are leaving, and just have a bit of time as a community. I was put on the spot and had to introduce myself to everyone, and after it was over, I was bombarded by kids who wanted to say hi and tell me their names and ask me more questions. “Miss, were you in that ‘Sound of Music’?” “Did you play the eldest daughter?” “Miss, will you be taking our class?” (That means teaching).
After assembly, we had a music class with the 2nd graders, who are so tiny that they look like kindergarteners. They were so cute (albeit tone-deaf), and they showed me the dance one of the pervious volunteers had taught them to James Brown’s “I Feel Good.” They may not be born singers, but these kids can dance!
Lunch was next and the curry was too spicy for me to eat. I think it was a combination of my stomach being off from jet-lag, and it being spicier than usual, but man! I had to stick to the white rice and poori. After lunch I went back to my room for what I thought was going to be a short nap… Amanda woke me up 5 hours later for a short walk around the grounds before dinner. We are allowed to sit with the kids at dinner time and I was beckoned over by a table of 6th and 7th graders. We had a fun time eating and there were, of course, more questions. They also tried to help me learn their names, but they all have quite long and unfamiliar names and so I wasn’t so great at that game. It was fun to sit with them though, and I look forward to doing it tomorrow night.
After dinner, I was ready for bed, but the other volunteers warned me that I should try to stay up as long as possible to avoid waking up in the middle of the night. I reluctantly agreed to stay up and watch Jurassic Park in the volunteer lounge, but I’m glad I did… I forgot how good that movie is. Now I’m off to bed… hope I’ll sleep through the night!
I arrived at Shanti Bhavan this morning at 4:30 a.m. The flight to India was pretty uneventful – no individual TV monitors on this leg. I slept a lot and only woke up to eat…curry. I sat next to two young Indian guys - Sadheep and Senthil - who, it turned out, were from Kerala, the state in southern India that I plan on traveling to when I’m done at Shanti Bhavan. They asked me what I planned on seeing and when I told them I hadn’t made plans yet, they took my guide book, circled and underlined all the places I should see and gave me an itinerary! I guess I was right to decide to leave my plans up to the locals. Anyway, I exchanged email addresses with them and they promised to send me some more information on a few sights, so I guess I’ll see if that happened when I get to check my email.
When I arrived at the airport, it was about 1:30 in the morning. The airport in Bangalore is new and very clean and modern. I followed the crowd through customs and to baggage claim, where two extremely attentive workers insisted on helping me with my bags. They put them on a cart for me and went with me to the taxi area where the driver from the school was waiting for me. By this time it was about 2:30 a.m. and the driver and I set out on the 2 hour trip to Shanti Bhavan. I tried to stay awake as long as I could to look at the scenery, but I after observing some little road-side towns and enjoying the painted trucks (they really do paint all their vehicles so vibrantly and intricately the way you see in movies!), I quickly fell asleep. I woke up about an hour later to the sound of drums beating and I looked out my window to see a festival in full swing. In the middle of a dirt road in the middle of the night, about fifty people were dancing, playing music, and partying inside of a semi-circle of trucks with what looked like pinball machines on the back of them. They were covered with garish Christmas lights and portrayed images of Hindu gods. The driver laughed and turned the car around without much thought… does this kind of thing happen all the time here? We took a detour and about an hour later, we pulled up to the school.
It really is in the middle of nowhere. It’s sort of like summer camp or a dude ranch or something. The security guard let us through and I was let off at the volunteers’ quarters. Mr. Aneesh – the general grounds-keeper guy – met me and escorted me into the room I’m sharing with Amanda. She’s one of the other volunteers with ASTEP and she’s already been here for about a month. I put my stuff down, got into bed with my clothes on, and fell asleep.
I woke up this morning at around 7 and took a cold shower (the water heater is solar-powered, so there isn’t any hot water until the middle of the day). I tried to unpack a little until Amanda got back from her morning aerobics class with the kids and then we went down to breakfast. The dining hall is basically a big open-air pavilion with folding tables and chairs and a small kitchen in the back. The volunteers get a hard-boiled egg every morning and today there were dhosas – sort of an unsweetened pancake with a sauce. I skipped the sauce, but everything else was pretty basic and good. As soon as I walked into the dining hall, the kids started staring. They are so adorable with their big eyes and huge white smiles. Amanda introduced me to some of them and some of the teachers and “aunties” (the women who live with the children and take care of them). After breakfast, I went to see Miss Beena, the Vice-Principal, about my class schedule. I’m going to be teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders language classes – grammar, creative writing, and reading – and working with Amanda on the Musical Theatre classes for all grades.
I start on Monday with my own classes, but since I arrived in the middle of the week, I’ll be observing and sort of assisting with them for the next few days.
After my meeting with Miss Beena, I went to meet Mrs. Law, the Principal. She is lovely and intelligent and seemed very happy and grateful that I was here. She told me to feel free to disappear and rest any time I needed to today, but I told her I was going to try to stay awake as long as possible and go watch some classes. My first class was Amanda’s creative writing class with the 4th grade. They are so cute and curious, “Miss, how did you come to Shanti Bhavan?” “Miss, what movies or Broadway have you been in?” “Miss, why is your hair longer on that side?” They ask anything and everything that comes to their minds. Amanda gave them two minutes to ask me questions and then I settled in to watch. After the third period, there is assembly, which is where the whole school comes together to say a prayer, hear about world news, meet new volunteers and say good-bye to the ones who are leaving, and just have a bit of time as a community. I was put on the spot and had to introduce myself to everyone, and after it was over, I was bombarded by kids who wanted to say hi and tell me their names and ask me more questions. “Miss, were you in that ‘Sound of Music’?” “Did you play the eldest daughter?” “Miss, will you be taking our class?” (That means teaching).
After assembly, we had a music class with the 2nd graders, who are so tiny that they look like kindergarteners. They were so cute (albeit tone-deaf), and they showed me the dance one of the pervious volunteers had taught them to James Brown’s “I Feel Good.” They may not be born singers, but these kids can dance!
Lunch was next and the curry was too spicy for me to eat. I think it was a combination of my stomach being off from jet-lag, and it being spicier than usual, but man! I had to stick to the white rice and poori. After lunch I went back to my room for what I thought was going to be a short nap… Amanda woke me up 5 hours later for a short walk around the grounds before dinner. We are allowed to sit with the kids at dinner time and I was beckoned over by a table of 6th and 7th graders. We had a fun time eating and there were, of course, more questions. They also tried to help me learn their names, but they all have quite long and unfamiliar names and so I wasn’t so great at that game. It was fun to sit with them though, and I look forward to doing it tomorrow night.
After dinner, I was ready for bed, but the other volunteers warned me that I should try to stay up as long as possible to avoid waking up in the middle of the night. I reluctantly agreed to stay up and watch Jurassic Park in the volunteer lounge, but I’m glad I did… I forgot how good that movie is. Now I’m off to bed… hope I’ll sleep through the night!
Weinerschnitzel!
February 10th (9th, 11th???) It depends where you are…
I am sitting here alone in the Frankfurt Airport waiting for my flight to Bangalore and it’s finally occuring to me that this is actually happening. I feel like I’ve been planning this trip forever and now the hour is at hand! (That was supposed to sound overly dramatic). I haven’t done anything really by myself in a long time and now that I’m sitting on this bench of seats looking out on the rainy tarmac in a fluorescent waiting area in Germany with Me, Myself and I, I’m getting pretty smug and proud of myself. I know that there is no way in this world I would have been able to get to this moment without the help of so many people (some of whom I hope are reading this right now… gotta make sure I’m making good on your investments. THANK YOU!), but at the same time I’m very aware of the fact that I did it! Who knows, maybe I’m growing up… we’ll see.
It was definitely hard to leave – that good old adage about never knowing what you have applies here. It seemed like just before I left things started feeling really good, but someone recently reminded me that the times when you are getting complacent are the best times to make changes. No one ever gets where they want to go by standing still…
My friend Katherine told me I should relay this anecdote:
When I got to the airport in Chicago (after the usual tearful good-bye to my mom) and got up to the check-in desk, I handed the gate agent my passport and was waiting for her to check me in. I must have looked tense or sad because she stopped what she was doing and said “Are you alright?” (read mild irritation, not compassion). I told her I was nervous and she quickly shut me down, telling me it was going to be great. I think that might have been the moment when I realized I was doing the right thing. Anyway – that might not seem like a big deal, but it stood out to me – and I’m really doing this blog so I remember what I was thinking. (I mean, it’s for all of you too, but mostly me. Ha)
For anyone who’s interested, I highly recommend Lufthansa Airlines. Clean, comfortable, punctual (gotta love those Germans), and decent food (free booze). I watched three movies on the way here and plan on watching three more on the way to India. There’s also a weird statue of Goethe in the middle of the Frankfurt Airport. All things to be duly noted.
Ok, that’s it for now, I’ll try to avoid being so long-winded in the future, but I can’t promise anything. I know there’s only going to be more and more to write about in the coming days.
Aufwiedersein!
I am sitting here alone in the Frankfurt Airport waiting for my flight to Bangalore and it’s finally occuring to me that this is actually happening. I feel like I’ve been planning this trip forever and now the hour is at hand! (That was supposed to sound overly dramatic). I haven’t done anything really by myself in a long time and now that I’m sitting on this bench of seats looking out on the rainy tarmac in a fluorescent waiting area in Germany with Me, Myself and I, I’m getting pretty smug and proud of myself. I know that there is no way in this world I would have been able to get to this moment without the help of so many people (some of whom I hope are reading this right now… gotta make sure I’m making good on your investments. THANK YOU!), but at the same time I’m very aware of the fact that I did it! Who knows, maybe I’m growing up… we’ll see.
It was definitely hard to leave – that good old adage about never knowing what you have applies here. It seemed like just before I left things started feeling really good, but someone recently reminded me that the times when you are getting complacent are the best times to make changes. No one ever gets where they want to go by standing still…
My friend Katherine told me I should relay this anecdote:
When I got to the airport in Chicago (after the usual tearful good-bye to my mom) and got up to the check-in desk, I handed the gate agent my passport and was waiting for her to check me in. I must have looked tense or sad because she stopped what she was doing and said “Are you alright?” (read mild irritation, not compassion). I told her I was nervous and she quickly shut me down, telling me it was going to be great. I think that might have been the moment when I realized I was doing the right thing. Anyway – that might not seem like a big deal, but it stood out to me – and I’m really doing this blog so I remember what I was thinking. (I mean, it’s for all of you too, but mostly me. Ha)
For anyone who’s interested, I highly recommend Lufthansa Airlines. Clean, comfortable, punctual (gotta love those Germans), and decent food (free booze). I watched three movies on the way here and plan on watching three more on the way to India. There’s also a weird statue of Goethe in the middle of the Frankfurt Airport. All things to be duly noted.
Ok, that’s it for now, I’ll try to avoid being so long-winded in the future, but I can’t promise anything. I know there’s only going to be more and more to write about in the coming days.
Aufwiedersein!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Leaving on a Jet Plane
Hi everyone!
It's about midnight on Feb 7th and I'm getting ready to leave on Monday afternoon. I'm feeling a lot of things - fear, excitement, sadness, exhileration... complete lack of knowing what to expect. My dad said something to me today that I think is worth sharing - he always has a poetic and lovely way of putting things. In the movie Private Benjamin, Goldie Hawn's character is getting ready to parachute out of a plane for the first time and her commanding officer says "I hope you catch a cloud, Benjamin." He said that's what he hopes for me in this experience and I hope it too. It's going to be scary and I have no idea what will happen, but it has the potential to take my breath away and become a defining moment in my life. I guess we'll see....
I'll write more as soon as I can. Thanks for checking in!
Elizabeth
It's about midnight on Feb 7th and I'm getting ready to leave on Monday afternoon. I'm feeling a lot of things - fear, excitement, sadness, exhileration... complete lack of knowing what to expect. My dad said something to me today that I think is worth sharing - he always has a poetic and lovely way of putting things. In the movie Private Benjamin, Goldie Hawn's character is getting ready to parachute out of a plane for the first time and her commanding officer says "I hope you catch a cloud, Benjamin." He said that's what he hopes for me in this experience and I hope it too. It's going to be scary and I have no idea what will happen, but it has the potential to take my breath away and become a defining moment in my life. I guess we'll see....
I'll write more as soon as I can. Thanks for checking in!
Elizabeth
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
