Dear all,
They say if you can do three weeks in India you can do it for life.
Last Sunday evening we were caught up in more incredible Ganesh celebrations as Padma told us to accompany the students to a dance and singing 'festival'. Driving through India at night time was incredible and something we haven't done yet - the bright lights of Hyderabad city centre were blinding and it almost felt as if we were in an Indian New York City, if you managed to look past the cows and rickshaws. It was really nice to be a part of the celebrations and see the students perform again - I'm very fortunate to work in a school with such a talented and passionate group of young people. At the end of the night, the bus had to take everyone back in two loads, and Elena and I were left with a group of male students and teachers and were the only two girls. It felt a little strange initially after learning all about India's standards and perception on genders mixing, but we sat with a guitar and taught them songs and sang and laughed while we waited for the bus to come back and after a while it felt really natural and nothing to worry about.
This week I tried as much as possible to throw my self into the role of teaching with my new positive attitude and slightly lighter feeling in my stomach. I really enjoyed teaching LKG this week. Teaching small children aged 3-5 can be difficult anyway, as you have to try your hardest to make it fun and constantly hold their attention, but when they are both blind and speak very little English, it's even more of a challenge. Elena and I give them baskets of toys to play with - building blocks, beads and necklaces, puzzles etc - and prepare them for their exam next week, asking them questions like 'Put ten beads on the string for five marks' and 'Put the circles in size order for five marks' etc. We also have a basket of animal toys, and get them to feel the animal and their marks to identify it and then learn the name. I had a breakthrough when one of the littlest boys, Shridha, came up to me and proudly shoved a toy donkey in my face and uttered 'DONKEY' with a big smile on his face. One small step for man, one giant leap for Miss Lottie Atkin. It may not seem like a big deal, but the fact that he remembered the marks of the toy donkey through feeling it and remembered this new, unknown English word filled me with pride. I almost cried as I showered him with praise, which got me a weird look and a 'Lottie m'am teacher, cow?' My new approach to not getting stressed in the classroom and learning to relax is really working too. I've decided that every lesson is not going to go according to the plan I lovingly slaved over the night before, and when all else fails, singing is your best option. The children love hearing songs and chants and stories, and singing really simple stuff with them like 'You Are My Sunshine' and 'The Wheels on the Bus' is really effective and they seem to really enjoy it.
So even when your lesson on adjectives doesn't quite go the way you thought it would, whack out an old nursery rhyme and everyone's happy.
Life at Devnar was super exciting and jam packed this week. On Friday we celebrated the end of Ganesh and were allowed to borrow Padma's beautiful sari's and jewellery to dress up in. I honestly felt like such a little princess, though I don't think I'd be able to wear one everyday. I have a lot of respect for the female members of staff at Devnar and the women of India who cook, clean, haul big heavy objects about, pick up children and run up and down the stairs in beautiful heavy sari's when I can barely manage to walk to the shops without falling over. The day involved ceremonies and a massive dance party in the middle of the school courtyard with drums and music and a lot of excitement. The boys asked Elena and I to join in, which quite frankly, did not take a lot of persuasion on my behalf. It was an incredible feeling to be dancing with everyone, in the rain as well, to the loud music and hearing all the laughter and shouting around me. I genuinely for a second felt like I was in a scene of a Bollywood movie and enjoyed every single moment of it. Then we watched a group of students picked up the Ganesh statue and moved it out into the streets, where the celebrations continued deep into the night.
Saturday was a half day and Elena and I took our very first solo adventure into Hyderabad. We got in a rickshaw all by ourselves and ventured to the big post office down the road to get envelopes, then went to the big fancy supermarket to do our first big food shop. I'd like to think India has totally turned me into a responsible adult - we're buying toilet paper, cleaning products, mineral water and fruit (we'll ignore the jar of Nutella that costs way too much in the basket as well), I'm organising when to hand wash my clothes every other day and, most recently, we cleaned up a rotten watermelon from the fridge in our room and cleaned the whole thing from top to toe with bleach. We were SO proud of ourselves. We spent the rest of the day cleaning and relaxing - we're truly starting to get into a routine with things. On Sunday we were requested to wake up at 5am to accompany Dr Goud, the founder chairman of the school, on a trip to a medical camp in a rural Indian village. We were hurried into the boot of a TOYOTA (there Elena) with people we didn't know, and made Nutella sandwiches and ate boiled eggs that Padma had lovingly made for us as we drove through what felt like scenes from the jungle books. Once we arrived, we were treated to a second breakfast at the house of the doctors we were visiting, and then taken to the medical camp. It was insane - it was jam packed with thousands and thousands of people, all from rural and impoverished backgrounds, all queueing up to see the doctors that had driven from Hyderabad to help out. As we have no medical experience it was hard to actually assist with the check ups, but we kept all the hundreds of children entertained and ended up having a full fledged meet and greet session with the people from the village. Seriously - we had queues and queues of people asking to have their photo taken with us, which was so surreal. After an afternoon of meeting the people of the village, having random babies thrown onto your lap and taking photos with everyone, we were driven to a bungalow at the side of the road and given spicy egg and spicy mutton and roti for lunch. The spice left a tingling sensation on our lips but we felt too rude to refuse, so we powered through. We're still getting odd looks from members of staff or people in restaurants when we ask for only a little bit food, and is it very spicy? If so, we can't eat it I'm afraid. This was definitely one of the most surreal experiences we've had so far - totally random but so much fun. Dr Goud then, very kindly, took us on a boat ride across a beautiful river about 1km down the road from the bungalow (in what can only be described as a washing up bowl made out of bamboo sticks, yet it fit about 20 of us in it) and to the temples where we were blessed (I think. It's very hard to know what goes on when you don't speak the same language, but I had rice thrown at me and drank some tea, which was nice). I sat in the boot of the car again on the way home feeling very full, very blessed and very happy with my new Indian life as I watched the insanity and bright lights whiz past me.
India, I've discovered, is like one big party (when we're not working). Everyday I can always hear some form of drumming in the distance, a random firework going off at night and people are always throwing rice at you and rubbing red paint onto your forehead. Everything you've heard about India is true - the colours, the smells, the people, the laughter and the constant positivity in the air. Even the poorest people you come across have a warmth that you can't help but notice. India is also beautiful. Even when you're making your way down a street covered in rubbish, pot holes and stray dogs walking around, there's still a certain charm and charisma that comes from the friendly local shop keepers waving at you and children running around your legs asking your name.
This week has definitely been a good week, and as El and I sat down for dinner last night - egg rice as we're still only allowed plain food - I said that Devnar was finally starting to feel like home. Everything is becoming familiar - the trips to the market in the morning to buy our fruit for breakfast, sitting outside in the evenings reading our books and playing with the kids, hand washing our clothes and putting them out to dry in the classroom next door. This week we're teaching the kids the words to 'Happy', complete with a dance and everything, after school so that they can perform at the World Sight Walk this Sunday. I knew as soon as I'd settle into a routine I would start to feel much happier here - and I am.
Baby steps, eh?
L x
They say if you can do three weeks in India you can do it for life.
Last Sunday evening we were caught up in more incredible Ganesh celebrations as Padma told us to accompany the students to a dance and singing 'festival'. Driving through India at night time was incredible and something we haven't done yet - the bright lights of Hyderabad city centre were blinding and it almost felt as if we were in an Indian New York City, if you managed to look past the cows and rickshaws. It was really nice to be a part of the celebrations and see the students perform again - I'm very fortunate to work in a school with such a talented and passionate group of young people. At the end of the night, the bus had to take everyone back in two loads, and Elena and I were left with a group of male students and teachers and were the only two girls. It felt a little strange initially after learning all about India's standards and perception on genders mixing, but we sat with a guitar and taught them songs and sang and laughed while we waited for the bus to come back and after a while it felt really natural and nothing to worry about.
This week I tried as much as possible to throw my self into the role of teaching with my new positive attitude and slightly lighter feeling in my stomach. I really enjoyed teaching LKG this week. Teaching small children aged 3-5 can be difficult anyway, as you have to try your hardest to make it fun and constantly hold their attention, but when they are both blind and speak very little English, it's even more of a challenge. Elena and I give them baskets of toys to play with - building blocks, beads and necklaces, puzzles etc - and prepare them for their exam next week, asking them questions like 'Put ten beads on the string for five marks' and 'Put the circles in size order for five marks' etc. We also have a basket of animal toys, and get them to feel the animal and their marks to identify it and then learn the name. I had a breakthrough when one of the littlest boys, Shridha, came up to me and proudly shoved a toy donkey in my face and uttered 'DONKEY' with a big smile on his face. One small step for man, one giant leap for Miss Lottie Atkin. It may not seem like a big deal, but the fact that he remembered the marks of the toy donkey through feeling it and remembered this new, unknown English word filled me with pride. I almost cried as I showered him with praise, which got me a weird look and a 'Lottie m'am teacher, cow?' My new approach to not getting stressed in the classroom and learning to relax is really working too. I've decided that every lesson is not going to go according to the plan I lovingly slaved over the night before, and when all else fails, singing is your best option. The children love hearing songs and chants and stories, and singing really simple stuff with them like 'You Are My Sunshine' and 'The Wheels on the Bus' is really effective and they seem to really enjoy it.
Hanging out in the girls dorm after school. They love to paint our nails and sing with us!
So even when your lesson on adjectives doesn't quite go the way you thought it would, whack out an old nursery rhyme and everyone's happy.
Life at Devnar was super exciting and jam packed this week. On Friday we celebrated the end of Ganesh and were allowed to borrow Padma's beautiful sari's and jewellery to dress up in. I honestly felt like such a little princess, though I don't think I'd be able to wear one everyday. I have a lot of respect for the female members of staff at Devnar and the women of India who cook, clean, haul big heavy objects about, pick up children and run up and down the stairs in beautiful heavy sari's when I can barely manage to walk to the shops without falling over. The day involved ceremonies and a massive dance party in the middle of the school courtyard with drums and music and a lot of excitement. The boys asked Elena and I to join in, which quite frankly, did not take a lot of persuasion on my behalf. It was an incredible feeling to be dancing with everyone, in the rain as well, to the loud music and hearing all the laughter and shouting around me. I genuinely for a second felt like I was in a scene of a Bollywood movie and enjoyed every single moment of it. Then we watched a group of students picked up the Ganesh statue and moved it out into the streets, where the celebrations continued deep into the night.
Ganesh festivities at Devnar
Saturday was a half day and Elena and I took our very first solo adventure into Hyderabad. We got in a rickshaw all by ourselves and ventured to the big post office down the road to get envelopes, then went to the big fancy supermarket to do our first big food shop. I'd like to think India has totally turned me into a responsible adult - we're buying toilet paper, cleaning products, mineral water and fruit (we'll ignore the jar of Nutella that costs way too much in the basket as well), I'm organising when to hand wash my clothes every other day and, most recently, we cleaned up a rotten watermelon from the fridge in our room and cleaned the whole thing from top to toe with bleach. We were SO proud of ourselves. We spent the rest of the day cleaning and relaxing - we're truly starting to get into a routine with things. On Sunday we were requested to wake up at 5am to accompany Dr Goud, the founder chairman of the school, on a trip to a medical camp in a rural Indian village. We were hurried into the boot of a TOYOTA (there Elena) with people we didn't know, and made Nutella sandwiches and ate boiled eggs that Padma had lovingly made for us as we drove through what felt like scenes from the jungle books. Once we arrived, we were treated to a second breakfast at the house of the doctors we were visiting, and then taken to the medical camp. It was insane - it was jam packed with thousands and thousands of people, all from rural and impoverished backgrounds, all queueing up to see the doctors that had driven from Hyderabad to help out. As we have no medical experience it was hard to actually assist with the check ups, but we kept all the hundreds of children entertained and ended up having a full fledged meet and greet session with the people from the village. Seriously - we had queues and queues of people asking to have their photo taken with us, which was so surreal. After an afternoon of meeting the people of the village, having random babies thrown onto your lap and taking photos with everyone, we were driven to a bungalow at the side of the road and given spicy egg and spicy mutton and roti for lunch. The spice left a tingling sensation on our lips but we felt too rude to refuse, so we powered through. We're still getting odd looks from members of staff or people in restaurants when we ask for only a little bit food, and is it very spicy? If so, we can't eat it I'm afraid. This was definitely one of the most surreal experiences we've had so far - totally random but so much fun. Dr Goud then, very kindly, took us on a boat ride across a beautiful river about 1km down the road from the bungalow (in what can only be described as a washing up bowl made out of bamboo sticks, yet it fit about 20 of us in it) and to the temples where we were blessed (I think. It's very hard to know what goes on when you don't speak the same language, but I had rice thrown at me and drank some tea, which was nice). I sat in the boot of the car again on the way home feeling very full, very blessed and very happy with my new Indian life as I watched the insanity and bright lights whiz past me.
Feeling like celebrities!
Children at the medical camp.
Our mode of transport...
...and the exact moment we realised what we were getting ourselves into!
This week has definitely been a good week, and as El and I sat down for dinner last night - egg rice as we're still only allowed plain food - I said that Devnar was finally starting to feel like home. Everything is becoming familiar - the trips to the market in the morning to buy our fruit for breakfast, sitting outside in the evenings reading our books and playing with the kids, hand washing our clothes and putting them out to dry in the classroom next door. This week we're teaching the kids the words to 'Happy', complete with a dance and everything, after school so that they can perform at the World Sight Walk this Sunday. I knew as soon as I'd settle into a routine I would start to feel much happier here - and I am.
Baby steps, eh?
L x
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