My First Day at School!

So I woke up with jitters, nerves, and uncertainty, not knowing what to expect in my first day at the school.  I think once I sat down to observe my first class, I felt a little better.  However, the process leading up to that point was full of silence, the perception that I was shy, and, I'm sure, a little discontent amongst teachers that don't want to change their very easy routine.  When I met the headmaster, a.k.a. head principal, he wouldn't even look at me.  In fact, he kept his back to me during introductions.  He spoke only to Ganga, and after speaking with my roommate, Heather, we both gathered he is not very fond of women as equal status.  

In the planning room, I asked an English teacher if there was Internet, as this was what I was told, and, without looking at me, she responded with "In Nepal, we speak up.  Now please repeat your question."  I know that was a hierarchy pecking order response, letting me know where I stand, but, again, as Ganga told us to always remember, we are here for the students, not to impress the teachers.  If they climb aboard, then great!  If not, it's the students that will benefit from us.  He used the infamous story of the starfish.  

I met the assistant headmaster, who is pretty fluent in English, and I was told he is like the "Don" of this community and school, for those of you who are familiar with 'The Godfather'.  He carries himself in such a way, but, again, he has been helpful, which is all that matters.  

I was given 4 classes to teach: my first class is reading, writing, and speaking with 12th graders, who have no set curriculum or book, so I'm under the impression that you bring any topic to the table.

In the later morning, early afternoon, I teach grades 3, 4, and 2, respectively, which is a big change from the young adults I'm used to working with, but it seems all exciting as they exhibit high energy and a value in learning.  Then, on Fridays, I will be running a workshop in the morning, before my classes, to teach young adults, current teachers, and teachers-in-the-making teaching strategies and management.  I'm not sure what to use for this workshop, so I figured I would start off as an open forum and go from there.

When I sat in on the classes, which are English classes, only one teacher actually spoke in English while the other spoke in Nepali and expected the students to respond in English.  They have very basic government-administered lesson books, which are about huge size of a small composition book in the states, and teachers show up, use the book for a very basic lesson, spend about 15 minutes, or so, checking a few lines students have written in their books and then it's the end of the period.

The most upsetting observation is that there are very bright students, but since teachers don't plan, nor are they expected to, what you give is what you get.  I sat in the planning room to plan, and teachers sat in the planning room to chat and carry nothing on them except a correcting pen and a white board marker.  

I went to observe my last class and when I arrived, she was finished with her lesson, but gave me the lesson book and told me I need to teach chapter 4 tomorrow.  There was a miscommunication regarding time; in addition, this program is designed to co-teach and work side by side with Nepalese English teachers, however, I already have the feeling that they are going to disappear and use the next six weeks as time off from their English classes.  

I already have one of my lessons planned for tomorrow, however, it's grades 2 and 3 I really need to look at much further and generate some activities.  It's more difficult when you have nothing to work with, unless you buy it at the stationary store, which is along my walk to school.  I will need to figure out what I need and purchase it sometime this week.

Anyway, I'm off to plan.  It should be an interesting first week of school!

My first night with my host family!

Sunya (Dai= elder brother) and Kabita (Didi= elder sister) are such charming host parents.  Didi stays at home during the day with Ama (grandmother) and Dai works at a shop in Thamel.  He gets there by a motorbike and it just seems so dangerous to me to use that means of transportation, especially during monsoon season.  If I was Didi, I would be so worried he would not make it home.  

As darkness moved in, it was dal bhat time and as kind as my Didi put out a spoon for me, I ate my dinner with my right hand for the first time.  It wasn't as difficult or messy as I anticipated.  You cannot use your left hand because that is the hand that you "take care of bathroom business" with, so it is considered unclean.  I couldn't imagine if I was a lefty!

I met Heather last night, who is from Virginia.  She volunteer teaches at a private school and works at a children's home.  She is very sweet and has such positive energy and we seem to have a lot in common.  There are two little girls from the community that spends a lot of time here and they are embraced as if these children are their own.  It takes me back to the quote, "it takes a village" and it makes me feel really good that communities still embrace this concept!

Last night, when Dai returned home from work in Thamel, he and Didi joined us in Heather's room, sitting on the floor talking about anything and everything, family, Heather and my families back home, herbal remedies that serve as powerful and effective medicines locally.  Just observing the compassion and kindness that Didi and Dai exhibit towards each other makes me feel so fortunate to be witness to this congenial relationship.  I was thinking last night how calm I am here.  How I don't feel anxiety, anger, frustration.  It is so calming, it is almost therapeutic.  It's the complete antithesis of the United States, or anywhere I've traveled, for the most part.  

After we sat around and talked for a bit, Dai wanted to watch the World Cup, Argentina vs. Iran, so we all gathered in their bedroom, on the floor, on the bed, and watched the game on TV.  What a game- it was very intense and Argentina's star player, Messi, finally scored a goal at the very end!  At halftime, Dai asked Didi to make some black tea with ginger (yum!) and then he brought up a mango, Didi quartering it and we ate mango as a refreshing snack.

After the game, we went to bed.  They have a rather large, all-black German Shepherd with beady yellow eyes, and all I've heard him do is bark.  I've heard he snarls, can bite from time to time, but while walking downstairs to bed, he just watched me and, disinterested, went back to sleep.

I pulled my mosquito net down, sprayed the net and the outline of my bed with OFF; you could see the mosquitoes in the room, flying over my bed and all.  After I pulled the net down,  I heard the mosquitoes and their high-pitched buzzing and kept thinking that they were inside the net with me.  Dai said you can even hear them bounce off of the net- maybe tonight I can see such a show!