A New Day in Dhauladhar School

I write from the Carrom board, where I am getting demolished by Vicky and our cook, Pawan. While this is the worst that I have played I cannot complain, because today was a much better day than yesterday (and I'm still not out of the game at this point). Still, the amount of trash talk that is going on in Hindi is enough to keep anyone amused for hours. Vicky just 'scratched' the striker (a ten point penalty) to cheers of "Catob!", or "Good Shot!" in Hindi.

Whereas I felt overwhelmed and a bit shocked by the events of yesterday's school day, today I woke up with a sense of determination to succeed. After a great deal of thoughtful reflection I determined that the first day was one of chaos and awe. The second day was one in which I felt helpless and powerless. Today I decided that I needed to do my best, regardless of circumstance. Having a plan for the day helped out a great deal, as did having the younger children in the morning and the 5th graders in the afternoon. I took a more businesslike approach in that I wasn't afraid to be firm and demanding of both teachers and students. It ended up being a much better day as a result. I realized that as much as I would like to be on vacation, during school hours I have a serious job.  Having a plan for the day helps a great deal too (seems like a no-brainer but this is harder than it sounds), such as teaching things like geography.  

I took a large world map to the fifth graders today.  Pandemonium ensued.  Not only had they no clue about where America was, but they couldn't recognize where Palampur was within India.  This hit me hard, as I realized how small their worlds are (and indeed the worlds of a majority of the inhabitants of Palampur and Himachal Pradesh).  Things like this put learning subjects such as the solar system into perspective... How can I teach the ideas of the sun, moon, and planets when these children have never, and may not ever, see things as simple as a fresh water lake?  This all made me realize that teaching nearly anything would be an enriching and worthwhile experience for these kids, and it helps me see their side of the equation when we are having a tough time learning.

After school we came back for lunch and had a nice relaxing afternoon.  We had our compulsory Hindi lesson after lunch and then had a wonderful lecture from two Indian doctors at 5pm.  They spoke about the state of the Indian healthcare system, but we diverged onto topics ranging from the marriage customs here to he marijuana plants that grow on the side of the road.  Both the old doctor (perhaps 65 years) and the young one (29) were laughing hysterically as they told and showed us how to harvest the resin from these plants.  They continued to tell us about where to find the best stuff in the province.  Quite an experience, to say the least.  

Now I am torturing myself over the Carrom board, but am going to call it a night.  Tomorrow should be interesting (we are traveling to a Buddhist monastery and an ancient Hindu temple) so I will be writing to let everyone know how it goes.