Our 4th of July Celebration...

I'll bet many of my readers were thinking that I wasn't going to celebrate the 4th of July here in Nepal, right?  Well, on the contrare!  Ganga, our field director, has graciously opened his home with the assistance of his family, friends, and the hostess with the mostest, Mary.  We all came from our respective homes, some bringing additional foods, American-style, such as pastas, watermelon, Pringles, Oreo cookies, s'mores!, and the rest of us came to partake in the festivities.  

Traveling by micro-bus, it was completely empty upon my getting in and within a few stops, I think my face was pressed up against the window and I had two children half sitting on my lap as we had to continue to squeeze like sardines.  When it came time for my stop, the bus was so packed that I could barely squeeze out of the micro-bus, so how did EVERYONE help me?  They all "gave me a hand" hoisting me out, multiple hands cupping my behind.  Any other time, I would have probably turned around and slugged someone for doing so, but in this modest country, everyone throws in a helping hand and has no additional agenda.  

It was so nice to reconvene again with our volunteer friends and those we lean on when times can be confusing, challenging, even frustrating.  Knowing they are there by our side just makes the experience even more encouraging for all of us!  Many of us sat in different rooms, as our group is rather large in numbers for one room, eating, drinking, laughing hysterically, and just sharing, even playing the "fan game"!  It's amazing how close we have become already and how easily we have gelled since our first week in Thamel.  But nevertheless, our 4th of July was a way of enjoying each other's company, decompressing, letting our guard down and just being ourselves and we all know that there is no better way to embrace those experiences around you!

I'll admit, we did not have fireworks, but we did have camera flashes in the pitch black of the night, taking pictures of our group on the multi-level rooftops!  Some arrived in festive, Uncle Sam colors and we had a very welcoming 4th of July poster!  Alright, so you might be saying that that was not a true 4th of July celebration!  No fireworks??  No grilling of hot dogs and hamburgers??  No patriotic songs?? I completely disagree.  The 4th of July is about being with family and friends, sharing an appreciation for our country and the sacrifices made to establish the kinds of freedoms we enjoy.  It's remembering 'back home' when, in fact, you may be far away in a distant land called...Nepal??  No matter where you are, no matter who you're with, the 4th of July can always be celebrated from within one's heart!  

Being in Nepal and having traveled to Africa continues to reinforce my appreciation of the gifts and the freedoms and luxuries we have in the United States of America.  They are not to be abused nor taken advantage of, nor used as bragging rights, putting other international communities down in a condescending manner, but, rather, they should be appropriately expressed, embraced, maintained, and shared with those around us, always remembering those who made incredible sacrifices, those who laid down their lives, those who are courageously serving now.  

I hope you all had a great 4th of July holiday!

My first invite for tea...

A very kind and genuine teacher has invited me and a volunteer from Milan, Italy to her home for tea this afternoon.  In Nepali culture, it is an ultimate gesture of kindness and hospitality to be invited into someone else's home.  Tomorrow is also Irene's (Italian volunteer) last day in the schools before she departs for home on Sunday.  Irene is a volunteer from EVS (European Volunteer Services), which is akin to the U.S.'s Fulbright program, so she has been in Nepal for 5 months with three other volunteers (one from Italy and two from Spain) and is very sad her journey has come to an end here in Nepal.  She will venture next to Paris, France, where she will study for a two-year Master's degree in Human Rights and may begin one of her first courageous internships in the Middle East.  I have worked with Irene in the classroom with my level 3s and she has been nothing but kind and caring.  She is not a teacher, but has come to work in the orphanages, which are so plentiful here in Nepal, especially since the Maoist insurgency era.  So not only has she touched my life and the children with which she has worked, but also Sangheeta's, who is very sad that she will be leaving soon.

Sangheeta is a teacher and teaches English at the 7th grade level amongst other courses and has been doing so for 25 years, exhibiting such care for children with very difficult home situations, mental anguish, embracing the innocence of young children.  She has hosted Western volunteers before and embraces them as her own children, as she had done with us this very afternoon.  We were invited for tea and she prepared a smorgasbord of food and drinks, finishing with hot tea.  (Tato chia!)

We met her husband, who is also a teacher at the school down the road, her two daughters, her daughter's childhood friend (who is applying to study abroad in the U.S.) and her son.  What a lovely family and her children have such a great sense of humor and zest for life!

They mentioned how everything is so much bigger in the. U.S., including the people, the food portions, the size of toothpaste!, the size of sodas, etc. and just how expensive the states are in general.  They said when they visit the states, they are told that they look like malnourished children who have not eaten much in their lifetime.  They said most Americans look older than they really are and it's so deceiving because of how large they are in size!

I couldn't help but agree with most of what they were saying and always wondered what impressions other cultures have had of America.  However, and I'm not sure how much I believe this, they said I look much younger than I am and I don't look like many of the Americans they have seen. I'm pretty tall for a female and built kind of broad and don't think I look that young.  My level 12 class concurred that I don't look OR act my age, but I'll just take that as a compliment of someone who embraces youth.  That's what I'm going with anyway!

What a most enjoyable visit with Sangheeta's family and a time in which I've really enjoyed myself and the people around me.  When you can let your guard down in another country, in a very different culture, you are able to just embrace the purity and sincerity of the human connection.  What an incredible experience to feel, observe, and be a part of!

A change in the tide...

I am so edified by today's progress at school.  Yesterday I felt like I struck out with all of my classes and that we, sort of, hit a brick wall.  However, what I perceived to be a misunderstanding, perhaps, needed further practice at home for the students because when they brought their homework in today, they nailed the assignment!  When you put anywhere from 5-6 hours of lesson planning for four very different levels of English Language Learners, you can't help but pray that it at least makes sense.  Well, today, not only did I score 4/4, but I could just see the elation and excitement and pride in my students' smiles!  Today was the first time that in every class, I felt like I was in the right place at the right time!!  What a feeling!  When teaching is your passion and you want students to succeed and do their best and see how their hard work pays off, and it ACTUALLY happens, there's no greater feeling in the world for me!

In addition, not only have I felt really good about today's lessons and interactions, but I feel like the teachers and assistant headmaster have really rallied behind me!  I had such a congenial conversation with the assistant headmaster, Siraj, and we both ended up laughing, so hard, out loud!  Today, like every day, I sit in a room and hear the Nepalese carry on their conversations in a completely foreign language.  I can pick out familiar words, but, eventually, you just focus on what you have to do and it simply becomes background noise.  However, today, Siraj translated what they were talking about.  The topic?  How to make their meals more delicious at home!!  So we started talking about housewives (not the reality show) and stay-at-home dads.  This made Siraj laugh because that is an unseen reality in Nepal.  He asked if they were called house husbands and started laughing again.  I told him that that fact, indeed, is increasing in our country and it's no longer considered taboo.

We continued to hold a conversation and he asked how my trip went in Thamel and I told him how I became very ill from whatever I ate.  Well, apparently, that word spread fast and the teachers seemed to really show compassion and made sure they helped me out in the classroom.  Even Gokul Sir, my level 4 co-teacher, told Munu Miss, my level 2 teacher that my stomach was upset to which she also told her students.  I am really starting to see the kind of caring and compassionate Nepalese communities in which I've read about.  Truly amazing!

Munu Miss might one of the most beautiful  Nepali women I have met and she wears the most beautiful, colorful saris and shalwar kameezes and so I told her I thought she was wore such beautiful clothes.  So modest in her natural beauty, she giggled, shaking her head 'no' and told me that my clothes were beautiful and that I had a nice body shape.  This Amazonian woman!!??  Really?  Oh my goodness.  I guess I responded the same way, but nevertheless, I was so happy we engaged in our first real conversation.  Although their English is limited, they have been so sweet to me and make the attempt to tell me something in their broken English and I'll take that any day because it is from the heart, it is genuine, and has touched my life indefinitely.

What's in a Name?

After speaking with many of the Nepalese communities, I have come to understand that there are careful decisions when naming a child.  The child cannot be named until an astrologer sees the order of the planets and constellations and then they will give the parents the first letter of the name to which the parents then decide what name their child will have.  This is a very serious and careful process as every name has a very significant meaning.  

After speaking with my level 12 students today, I told them to ask me any questions; nothing is too personal for me.  I will not be offended by their curiosity.  So we started talking about family and questions like 'are you married? Are you dating? Are all of your siblings married? Do they have any children?' came along, which made me very delighted to speak of my lovely niece and nephew.  I told them their names and they asked what the names mean.  So, I told them I would need to look them up and share with them tomorrow.  So I did some research and to my pleasant surprise, my niece's name, in Greek, means "helper and defender" and my nephew's English name means "God has been gracious" and it made me smile because, not only do they exhibit those meanings and so much more, but the naming of a child is so important, no matter the culture, no matter the location.  He/she is a child and we shall always raise them up to become and to share their significance with all they meet along their journey called life!

My First Motorbike ride from Kathmandu to Godawari:

Yes, I rode on the back of my Dai's motorbike and I had some reservations because the monsoon began shortly after we arrived in Kathmandu for our first WorldTeach meeting.  It was so intense, it sounded like hail was bouncing off the rooftops.  It was so thick and heavy that it looked like one of our blizzard-like snows this past winter.  Us crazy tourists pulled out our cameras and couldn't believe the intensity of rain.  The rain flowed so quickly, it flowed right into our restaurant, pushing all the way back to the bar in the back of the restaurant!  Employees were working so hard to squeegee the water out as quickly as it was pushing back in.  What a sight to see!  

Ganga said if the rain remained that intense, he would go back to my home with me on a micro-bus instead of me riding a motorbike back home.  Shortly after I had three or four mo-mos, a cucumber slice, and one and a half fish fingers, I felt very ill.  In fact, my stomach exhibited a type of hatred for what I had fed it, but I've had similar responses, like this one, every time I eat in Thamel or Kathmandu, so either the way the food is prepared is drastically different or the food is not as clean while preparing it; I'm not sure.  

When our meeting and casual conversations about everyone's experiences in their first week came to a close, Ganga got everyone on their respective buses to return home and since the rain came to a drizzle, I ventured further into Kathmandu and into Thamel, passing the Royal Palace, which is now a museum, and crossing a few roads to get there, which were undertakings in themselves as traffic seems to never stop.  

Ganga drew me a rough sketch of a map to help me find my way and I also asked a man walking behind me if he could show me the way to the Kathmandu Guesthouse, which he did delightedly.  He was very kind and verified with other shop owners of its location.  When I found Dai tucked into his little shop, I sat down and we chatted for a bit before he closed up and we were on our way.

We had to walk through some traffic to get to his motorbike parking lot, putting on our rain gear and off we went.  I felt a little like Gulliver being able to see directly over his helmet.  Riding this motorbike is a difficult sensation to describe.  I felt very vulnerable, more so than when I had ridden on the back of a four wheeler, or my brother's sport bike.  The roads have very little lighting, if any, and the little lights that are on these bikes might shed light on a few inches in front of you.  

There was a lot of weaving in and out of trucks, buses, other bikes, crossing over lines from opposing traffic and then back on our side of the road.  It was a little crazy and cramped when two motorbikes' rear view mirrors brushed up against my arms, just to give you an idea of how close traffic sits until they can proceed on their journeys!  Once we left Kathmandu, it was dry as anything, so if you don't keep your mouth closed and your eyes squinted, you will chew on the ever present dust that engulfs your face and your eyes will burn from all the debris.  The air felt good on my face once we arrived in the outskirts of Kathmandu, but that is when we were driving along on pitch black streets.  Random stray dogs will casually cross the road, people were crossing the road and you could barely see them until you approached much closer.  As we were heading up a never-ending hill, Dai stopped the bike and looked at the back tire and we had a flat.  So?  We walked the rest of the way home, uphill, in pitch black until we found our way back home.  It felt good to move around, but my stomach cramping became worse and worse, getting chills, feeling feverish, so I was glad to be home, arriving safely from a very long and busy day.

Upon arriving, Didi was ready to feed us dhal bhat, but I told her I wasn't feeling well and so Dai said tea with ginger would help.  After drinking tea and trying to evacuate the cramping poison from my body, taking some meds, I went to bed.

I woke up feeling like a Mack track hit me and after receiving my morning tea around 7, I told Didi that I still did not want to eat anything, so she left me sleep and I slept until around 9:30.  We'll see how today goes- I still feel uneasy and a bit shaky, but a restful day should do the trick.  I have to do my lesson plans for school tomorrow (it's hard to remember they have school on Sundays) hand wash my laundry on the rooftop, and maybe explore a little today if I feel up to it and the weather allows me to do so.  There's always an adventure to behold, always stimulated by my surroundings and interactions, different sounds, smells, etc. and it's so important to embrace them all the best I can!

A Day in the Life at School

So I start off my morning waking up begrudgingly as I never seem to get enough sleep, however the Nepalese appear to need far less sleep than Americans.  I wear ear plugs to keep out the sounds of the mosquitoes buzzing around my mosquito net and the ruthless barking and whining of a rather large German Shepherd, who looks at me as his next meal.  His name is Laika.  

After waking up, I collect my towel, wash rag, change of clothes for the day and sleepily walk to the bathroom, which is upstairs and I take the coldest shower that, in hindsight, actually gives me no choice but to wake up, which is fine with me.  I've adapted quite well.  There is no separate shower chamber, so you must squeegee the excess water to the drain against the wall.  Then I head back downstairs and start to get ready, already sweating by this time.  I make no attempt to dry my hair; kind of pointless in this humidity.  Shortly before I leave for school, I am called to eat my dhal bhat, around 8:30 in the morning.  It's difficult for me to start my mornings off with rice and lentils, quite a large platter, including eggs, a side of vegetables, and water and chia (tea).  Completely stuffed, I check my bag and off I walk to school, which, long way or short way, it takes me 5 minutes?  A conundrum if you ask me.  

When I arrive at the school, I've been told numerous times that my class doesn't start for another 20 minutes.  What's confusing to them is that no one preps for a class.  They simply show up and work out of the lesson plan book.  So the fact that I sit alone, most of the time, in the teachers' prep room must be an anomaly to them.  But as time marches forward, many that have made no attempt to acknowledge my presence or just exchange a hello now peek their heads in to say hello, they'll wave from their classrooms as I leave the campus, and are starting to speak as much English, as they are capable, with me.  

My host teacher is a bit of a different character and sometimes I get the feeling that he is using me as his stepping stool for recognition by the government as being an exemplar teacher, so I am learning on the fly how to work alongside someone who doesn't let me finish my sentences, demand I create his lesson plans, and sends mixed messages on times, expectations, etc.  We have our first WorldTeach meeting in the city today to discuss our experiences, struggles, successes, etc.

So, Sunday through Thursday, I start off my morning at 9:35 to work with level 12 learners who are there upon a voluntary basis.  It's a program after their classes are finished to sharpen their English skills in speaking, writing, listening, and reading.  Their mandatory classes begin around 6 am and will run until ~9:30.  This includes the 2-year bachelor's students.  Then the younger students begin their day at 10 am and will go until 4 pm.  So my level 12 class ranges in size from 18-35.  It depends on the day, I guess.  They are a really nice group of students and seem to really have a deep appreciation of my being there.  Already after 4 days, they are becoming more and more comfortable in trying to speak English.  They've learned English as a compulsory subject since the grade 1, and as 12th graders, they were never given an opportunity to present in English.  They can read passages but have no idea what the passage means.  They can listen intently, but don't/can't always process what is being said.  Part of this issue stems from many teachers who are ill-equipped or insecure about teaching a language that is foreign to them, so most of the English classes will be taught in Nepali.  Now you know the rest of the story.

After my level 12 class, I have about an hour to plan at the school until I teach my level 3 students, followed immediately by my level 4 students.  Seeming I've never taught the elementary classes, this was a foreign concept and having no resources, I struggle to come up with engaging activities, games, and other learning components.  So, I've purchased a pack of copy paper and have used colored pencils, crayons, pens, pencils to create flash cards, homework assignments, maps, and yes, it is very tedious, but not only am I trying to engage my students to learn English effectively, but I'm also modeling different teaching strategies to my Nepali co-teachers who work really hard and actually embrace the concept of co-teaching.  Sometimes they help translate, they'll even write down my lessons, ask to use some of my tools I've created, and see a different way of presenting material.  They are extremely friendly, and shy, and speak broken English, but I imagine they're learning a lot just from me speaking English the entire time in the classroom.  

The students are absolutely wonderful and charming.  They work really hard and they work to impress!!  They are very respectful of teachers let alone adults, and so behavior management is not really an issue.  Sometimes, when I think a prepared lesson is going to be a hit, it absolutely fails, and so through constant self-assessment, I need to spend at least another 5-6 hours in the evening sharpening my next day's plan.  

Between my level 4 class and my level 2, I walk back home to have some chiso (cold drink), and a snack.  Then I head back to the school for my 2:40-3:20 class.  I've sung a few songs and they love it and the songs will tie into my lessons, which is great!  They are such fun children, but a major disconnect is that there are age ranges amongst the students.  There are clearly some students who should be bumped up to the next grade level and some that should be dropped a level just so that they have a fighting chance at learning.  There is also a handful of students that have just moved in from remote villages, so while they practice writing their alphabet in English, most of the other students are working on the presented material.  There is a major disconnect, but at the very least, we can share a smile.

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!