This week began with us substituting for every teacher who hadn't arrived back on campus (as well as some who were here but needed some leisure time…….). We taught several math classes, English, biology, physics, computers and some PT (physical training, equivalent to our PE). It was an interesting experience since we hadn't been given any books or notification as to what we would be teaching. Basically we walked the hallway and found classes with no teacher, jumped in, ask the kids to borrow a book and taught the lesson on the spot. I think our improvisation skills improved quite a bit actually. By the end of this week we actually figured out a set schedule and had our own classes to prepare for, which was a relief. The Hindi teacher is gone for a few months doing some training elsewhere so we took over her six classes for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. Since we know Hindi really well, this is a great opportunity for us! Just kidding. We are teaching English instead and so far we have learned that we have to start very basic… Since this area is pretty rural and most of the kids come from villages where their families work in the farm land, not many of them know English very well. Another obstacle is that the kids don’t have a lot of motivation to learn English because they expect to end up working in the farmland like their family. But to us it seems like having a teacher from America who speaks English is working to motivate them a little bit. So far so good… Along with the English classes, we are teaching all of the PT classes they have. Only some grades get to have PT and usually it means that their teacher takes them outside and supervises while they play, or if they are older, sit and talk. We are trying to make it a little more organized and involve them in some exercises and games that we participate in also. We don’t have a lot of resources for that, but we’re working on it! If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. So far we have volleyball, capture the flag, and running races haha!
We've been asked to take charge in a lot of situations so far, including the sermon for church, afternoon bible study, and many more… it’s a bit overwhelming but we are dealing with it! We have taken on some of the responsibilities but we couldn’t possibly do them all and we let them know that short notice is hard for us. Sooner or later we are going to have to step out of our comfort zones (more than we already have ha!).
Our neighbors, Ramana and Chandu are the sweetest!!! We still have daily tea with them and have started eating lunch at their house too. It’s fun getting to know them and feels a little like our Indian family. According to Ramana, Trevor is “big brother,” Sidney is “small brother,” and I’m the sister! Chandu is teaching us some of the ways of Indian cooking and this morning helped me make something called sweet vermicelli, which is almost like tapioca pudding with noodles in it, and of course a very different flavor… Hopefully we can come home with some great recipes!
We have been walking or running pretty much every day and have explored lots of surrounding villages. We are now used to the staring and expect a crowd of kids to form behind us as we pass through. Today we had kids on bicycles zooming past us only to stop and wait until we passed so they could ride by again. Yesterday we were invited in for some Indian coffee as we walked through a village. They didn’t speak English, but their kindness spoke for them! People are starting to get used to seeing our faces around more often and it’s fun making connections with villagers close by.
Until next time!
-B
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