Thoughts from Week One

What an intersting week this has been... I had no idea what to expect from my initial experience in India, but I can say with certainty that is has been fantastic. Friday and Saturday went off without any major obstacles. Teaching is getting more manageable, and the hours don't seem to pass so slowly. Weezie and I are gradually thinking about exciting lesson plans instead of strictly teaching out of the textbooks, and everyone else seems to be acclimating well to the new environment.

I have learned a few things about education here in India. Naturally, some are good and some are bad. The children here are especially sharp; they can do mental math in a heart beat and enjoy learning new things. This makes coming to school and teaching a real treat. I have noticed, however, that education here is centered around results and not any sort of process. When doing math of any kind the children can give you the answer quickly, but when asked how they arrived at such an answer they are completely spellbound. Things like English and science are simply memorized and not truly learned. I think this comes from the system of discipline here, which involves a meter stick and small knuckles. The kids are much more interested in knowing the correct answer and not being reprimanded than applying a process and missing a small step along the way. Resultingly they are very well-behaved and attentive, but not really learning anything. I have come to realize that this is nothing that I will be able to change in eight short weeks, but something which I feel should be changed eventually.

I have also noticed that the teachers here are more than willing to let me take charge of absolutely everything, while they sit in the principal's office and chat. This is a negative of many levels (translation help, etc.) but my main worry is that nothing that I do (whether good or bad) will be learned by them and used later. If the teachers are not present during the school day then when I leave they will just revert to the same practices and principles which they used before I came. This is extremely frustrating, and makes me feel that my hard work may be completely in vain. This, again, stems from the existing system of Indian education. We have been told that it is illegal to fail any child until the ninth grade, meaning that teachers are never held accountable for what children learn up to that point in a child's education. They simply show up, collect a paycheck, test the kids once every three months, and pass them along to the next grade. Many of the volunteers here have found that this leads to an enormous discrepancy in the ability levels of chilren within the same grade. Beyond these things everything is just gravy!

As I briefly mentioned before we attended school on Saturday, as we missed Monday due to travel. The children attend school every Saturday, then have one day off on Sunday. On Sunday we all slept in a bit more than usual and left the home base around 10:30 to have a picnic nearby. The site was only about a 5 minute drive away, down some rock stairs, and settled in a pine forest which borders a large field. The partition of the two settings is a serene little stream of clear mountain water. As we sat in the shade of the pines we could see local boys playing a game of cricket in the field. After we ate we went to watch them. The game was quite intense as we found out that they were playing for Rs 45 (just less than $1 US) and lasted almost until we left. When we returned home most people went in to sleep off their lunch of rice, chicken, and potato chips.

Another observation that I have made is the Indian obsession for cricket. While hockey is considered India's national sport, no child in the country wants to be anything other than a world-class cricketer. Part of this obsession is due to the fact that the Twenty20 World Cup is currently being held in England. T20, as it is called, is the most exciting rendition of the game, with matches lasting only about 2.5 hours. The other versions call for either 8 hour or 5 day matches (probably the reason why we Americans, with such small attention spans, never watch the game). We have been up late at night every night to watch teams from around the globe (all of them former British colonies) attempt to play their way into the final stages of the tournament. India won its first match and plays again tonight.

All in all I could not have imagined a better first week. There were obviously setbacks and uncomfortable moments, but the positives far outweighed any negatives that were present. The people here are kind, the living is easy, and the scenery isn't too shabby either. Nothing that requires noting happened today (Monday) and school promises to be more routine from here on in. I will continue to post with as much regularity as I see fit, but do not fret if a day or two go by without a new post. In the meantime I will add some pictures of Dhauladhar School (which Weezie and I have been accumulating over the past week), as well as pictures of the staff, other volunteers, and perhaps the home base and surrounding areas. I will also try to add captions to the pictures and clean them up a bit, but I am having some trouble with the limited formatting options available through Blogger.com. If anyone has requests or questions please feel free to email me and let me know. Namaste.

Cross-Cultural Experiences

Let me preface this post by saying that today was, by far, the most interesting and enriching day that I have had thusfar. Wait until there is ample time to read this.

I suppose I will start with my school day, which ended early for reasons which will be discussed later. We began the day with a worksheet on the uses of "in, about, beside, above, etc." and this went over relatively well due to the fact that we had practiced two days ago. After some English practice (consisting of my reading a sentence and the children repeating it aloud) we moved on to math. The reason for the switch was that the kids eventually stopped looking at their books and were just looking at me and emulating the sounds which I made. The highlight of the day was that I was allowed to teach some science and English to the 6th grade class.

This class is especially bright and attentive. I am almost positive that this is due to the fact that all but one of the students are girls. I have found that girls are much more willing to learn in a classroom setting, whereas boys tend to make faces, slap each other in the face, and pull the girls' pigtails (which all girls wear). We learned about cellular respiration, both aerobic and anaerobic. For what seems like a difficult subject they caught on quickly. They asked questions like "Why do we need ?" and some others. I explained the body in terms of an automobile, and how a car needs petrol (gas) just as our bodies need food. The faster the car goes, or the more we exercise, the more energy we expend. The released energy come out in the form of exhaust from an auto, and in sweat and heat from our bodies. This was the most accomplished moment of my young teaching career. Even as I sit here writing I am smiling at how well they received such a difficult concept. Around 11:45 the school day ended, and this is when things got interesting.

We knew that we were going to leave early, but with the understanding that we were to attend a Hindu wedding of one of the teachers' sister. We could not have been more wrong. As time went by "wedding" became "ceremony" and finally "function". So we hopped into the car and drove toward home, only to stop half way at a house. We soon came to find out that we were attending a Hindu death ceremony, for the husband of the principal of the school. I was told that he died four years ago from cancer, and that this was the annual rememberance ceremony. As we walked up to the house we saw a large number of people, both old and young, sitting out of the porch of a large house, with some visiting inside the house. We walked up and greeted everyone with the traditional "Namastar" or "Good morning". For the elderly men and women you greet with "Namastar Ji", which is a Hindi term of endearment. We were prepared to visit for a few minutes and leave, but we ended up being invited for lunch!

As we approached another side porch we were asked to remove our shoes and sit in one of two lines, one for men and one for women. Each person sits with legs crossed, beside one of their own gender and facing one of the opposite gender. A large 'plate' of leaves stitched together with small sticks was placed in front of me, followed by men serving a large portion of rice and seven smaller portions of traditional 'fixins' which are mixed with the rice and ingested with the fingers. The men beside me took great pleasure in the fact that I ate with my left hand (the one which most Indians reserve for cleansing themselves post-restroom) and word quickly spread down the line. Thankfully I am used to the food at this point, and the meal ended up being fantastic. After the meal we were greeted by the principal and her mother, who gave Weezie and I huge hugs. She then (in Hindi) said "You are now my son, and you are now my daughter." with what resembled tears welling up in her eyes. I have said it again, but with each experience I come to realize how genuine and hospitable Indian people really are. We were not just invited to this ceremony out of nicety, we were truly invited as guests of the family and treated as such. I was also amazed that in this culture everyone eats as equals. There are no sterling silver table settings, no mahogany dining tables. Every man, woman, and child (caste willing) sits with one another on the floor, eating from leaves. From the most affluent businessman to the poorest farmer, everyone comes to eat as equals in India. Even if a poor family hasn't enough food to feed themselves they will offer a king's ransom to you as the guest. If this doesn't exemplify the traits of compassion and hospitality then there is not much in the world that does.

We left the meal with smiles on our faces and a deep sense of gratitute in our hearts (and stomachs) and prepared to head back to the homebase. I was ready to call it a day worth of cultural exchange and it was barely 1pm. We soon realized that we had yet to scratch the surface of Indian culture for the day. At 2:30 we piled in the cars again (this time with the 7 other volunteers) and made our way to Tashi Jong Gompa Monastery and Baijnath Temple.

After a pleasant 30-40 minute ride through the countryside of Himachal Pradesh we reached the semi-secluded setting of the Tashi Jong Monastery. The friendly little community is home to a community of 150 monks and about 400 refugees from the areas of Tibet and Bhutan. The complex is home to many young men and women who are there to study the teachings of Buddhism in the hopes of one day becoming monks (and perhaps even gurus) of their religious and philosophical framework. From the ages of 16-26 these young people study and are not allowed to leave. If they decide to leave then they are excommunicated from the community for life. We were allowed to enter the temple in which they learn, which also doubles as their dormitories, and then we moved on to another temple which holds small memorials for monks who have revently died. On each memorial site they place various things such as money, fruit, cookies, juice, and other food; these are the things that they will need to survive in the next life. We then walked to the very top of the mountain to see the shrine and memorial to a guru who died a few years back. The story is that this man was one of four disciples to follow the original guru from Tibet and the last one to pass away. In the house where the teachers live, on the top floor in a corner room, there is a small box in which the mummified remains of the last guru are preserved. This box is covered by silk cloth in the traditional Buddhist (and Tibetan) colors of red, yellow, and blue and surrounded by numerous pictures and a great number of gifts for the afterlife. You will see in the pictures that a picture of the last guru hangs on the wall to the left-hand side of the box. After this we made our way back down the hill, spun the prayer wheels (always in a clockwise direction) and saw a few young students debating. This was an intersting sight as the young men debate their philosophy by standing quietly, with their hands behind their backs, and when they have their answer they quickly step forward with a loud clap of their hands. They then proceed to calmly explain the teachings of the Buddha, and their views on his philosophy. For having never been to a Buddhist monastery this was a unique and delightful experience. After this we piled into the cars (in the pouring rain) and headed to the Hindu temple.

The Baijnath Temple is said to have been built in 804 CE and has been an important pilgrimage place ever since. It is a shrine to the goddess Shiva, who is worshipped and celebrated for her help with female fertility. The large stone building is surrounded by an outer fortress-style wall which also houses three smaller shrines (one again to Shiva and two for local dieties). One of the most interesting things that we found were the monkeys that live in and around the confines of the temple. The girls went wild about these little fellows and snapped about 300 pictures. I had read about not getting too friendly with monkeys here so I kept my distance. This proved to be a prudent move as one of the girls was semi-attacked after she got too close and looked a monkey in the eyes as it was eating food (this is the monkey body language equivalent of saying "Bring it on!"). This culminated our experience and all the girls (7 out of 9 volunteers) left in a mess. I had an incredible time visiting both the Buddhist and Hindu places of worship and seeing how both religions practice their worship. I hope that we will have the opportunity to do more of this soon.

When we got back everyone was ready for some down-time and we sat around watching Indian music videos while Pawan (the cook) sang along to every word. The Carrom board inevitably got pulled out and tense games ensued. Vicky and I had a tough time, but with such bad luck we surprisingly lasted for a few hours before losing all of our Carrom men. After such a tiring (but tremendously exciting and enriching) day it was time to hit the hay early. We had to go teach on Saturday because we missed Monday this week. More adventures to come tomorrow.

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.  

Palampur Update - My First Days of School

Yesterday was a new experience, to say the least. I woke up around 5:30 and walked around our complex, checking out the Dhauladhar Range (the Himalayan ridge which in Hindi means "snow covered" and is also the name of the school in which I am teaching) and reading my book on Gandhi and Churchill. At around 7 I helped Pawan (the cook) make Chai and some breakfast. We hung around the homebase until 9 when my adventure for the day really started...

The drive to our school is only about 15 minutes and actually quite pleasant. When we arrived we were greeted by the sound of the children (about 50 total - grades K-6) performing their daily morning prayer and assembly. This is a feat in and of itself, and I will have to take some video for those of you at home to truly appreciate it. Just to whet your appetite it is pretty much a 3-12 year old military processional which is led by a handful of 6th graders, one of whom beats rhytmically on a large drum. After prayers they do an exercise where they stand "at attention" and "at ease" about 15 times, followed by some light calesthenics and their Indian pledge of allegience (which includes an allegience to their parents and family names). Once the kids realized that we were standing behind them watching it pretty much fell apart; apparently they were just as excited to see us as we were to see them. Upon our saying "hello" they all responded with "Good morning sir; good morning madam." Following this they all filed into their classrooms and we met with Pinky (the only teacher who speaks even broken English) and the Principal, who was visibly very shy and excited to have us. We were supposed to sit and observe the classes for a few hours and then return to the home base. Instead, what ensued was one of the most taxing (emotionally and mentally) two hours of my entire life...

I took a chair into the 5th grade class in order to sit and observe, and Pinky just sat there and looked at me. Apparently she wanted me to teach the entire lesson for the day! "Oh my God, what do I do!?" Talk about pressure - I have now been placed in front of six young kids who speak only what they have been able to mindlessly memorize in English, and I have no idea what to teach them. Fall-back plan: review what I think that they may know in math ('maths' to everyone here) and English. We began with the standard (in a slow and deliberate tone and pace) "Hello, my name is Will. What is your name? I am from the United States. I am 22 years old. Where are you from? How old are you? Do you have any brothers and sisters?" Thankfully this lasted about 15 minutes, but then I found myself stuck again. After standing in front of the kids and teacher for a few minutes with the standard "Umm, uh" and sweating my ass off I decided to grab one of the kids' maths book and do some review of everything from fractions to multiplication and division, telling time and even some basic geometry. We ended with a little English and then it was on to the 3rd and 4th grade class (which are held in the same room due to a severe lack of space. Pictures are to come, but I thought that it might be too much of a distraction for the first few days.

This was one of the most tiring two hours of my life and, judging by the amount that I sweated, about as stressful as any interview that I have ever completed. Everyday when we are done we have to complete a log and journal of the day's proceedings so we did this before our lunch at 1pm. Lunch was followed by our first Hindi lesson of the trip and a 'drop off' exercise where we were abandoned in the market of Palampur and given various tasks which we had to complete. This wasn't really very hard and we had a great time walking around the market (a true market in the sense that every single door for a few miles is a shop) and seeing the town of Palampur. We came back and had some down time before dinner, in which we played the first game of cricket.

This was very fun because we have been watching cricket for the past two days and I have been furiously asking questions about the rules, scoring, etc. of the game. For anyone that isn't serious about the game I do not suggest trying to learn. Scores routinely reach between 150-300 points and there are ten different ways in which a batter can be called out, just for starters. We played for about three hours (until it got too dark to see the ball) and then retired to dinner. After our meal and a quick meeting I fell dead asleep at around 8:30.

Today began at 7am (pretty late seeing as how I have been waking up at sunrise, or about 5:30) with some chai and a nice phone call from my family. We went to school and left about 12. I'm not sure why, but I had a pretty big wave of angst come over me after school today. Some of it may have to do with the cultural change, as I haven't experienced much (if any) negative culture shock to date. Mainly I was a little discouraged with the state of the school in which we work, how much responsibility we have been given, and how hard the educational exchange is with such limited common language. After venting to Weezie and having her talk some life and enthusiasm back into me we headed to the market, which greatly raised my sprits (though I didn't realize it until we had come back to our homebase). While there I found some great shops in which to buy cloth for traditional Indian clothing and some souvenirs, but the purchase of the day was a few CD's of Punjabi Hip Hop music (the choice of our drivers) to which I have taken a special liking. We got home and jammed the new tunes, played Carrum, and watched our meal being cooked in the tandoor (a large cylindrical oven which plays host to cooking chicken, potatoes stuffed with cheese, and flat bread called naan which is slapped on the side of the tandoor). This was the best meal that we have had, in everyone's opinion. We found out that this is a traditional send-off feast which was prepared for our friend Eliza, who has been here for four weeks and is leaving Palampur tomorrrow to travel south.

Now that the sun has gone down people are sitting around writing in journals, playing Carrum (which I have decided will be a definite investment when I get home, if I can find a nice set), and swinging in the chairs which sit out on our lawn. I have to go because I am being summoned to the Carrum board by the staff (could be an intense game tonight), but I will keep writing as much as I can.

Arrival in Palampur

We have been waking up early here. The sun usually rises about 5AM and we are up about 5:30 or 6 (to the sound of the farmers driving their cows in the fields, in Palampur) and we will just hang out until breakfast at 7:30. Yesterday we arose and I asked Suresh Bai if I could help make Chai. In his usual stone-faced (but happy) way he showed me how to make it. It took about 45 seconds for him. He put some fresh ground Chai leaves into a pot of water, added some cardammom, sugar, long cloves, black pepper, and fresh ginger root (beaten to a pulp). Boil and strain - Chai tea is ready. After this we sat for about an hour and a half to listen to the lecture of a brilliant retired professor of comparative political history on the over 5,000 year history of India, its people, and its incredible diversity. This really puts the culture and contradictory nature of the Indian people in perspective, but is too much to go into now. After this we piled into vans and headed to the airport for our flight to Dharamshala (followed by the hour car ride to Palampur).

When we arrived we were greeted by the CCS drivers, a delightful Sikh named Vicky and another tiny man named Pinku (whom they call "Okay"). The 'National Highway' that we took was interesting. By 'National Highway' they mean a two-lane paved road (riddled with potholes and fauna of all sorts) which makes its way into an even smaller one-lane paved road around Palampur. Car sickness in the back seat of a car is one thing, but sitting in the back facing another student was almost enough to make me lose my meager lunch. Thankfully I didn't. I find it pretty incredible that all animals here know exactly what a car horn means, and do not hesitate to jump up from their sunning spot in the middle of the road before getting run over. Large bull cows are the expection to the rule. The best thing about the drive here? The road signs. Two of my favorites read "Better Late Than Never" (referring dually to the dangerous road and the Indian idea of not really using clocks to tell time as they are always late) and the best... "If Married, Divorce at Speed". This was an actual government-sanctioned road sign.

When we arrived at our homebase we were all amazed at how ideal it is. The facilities are modest by American standards (as most are) but extremely nice for India. We are in about an acre worth of outdoor seating areas, a field of grass on which to play cricket, badmiton, and soccer, and a nice covered area where we eat, watch cricket (an obsession in India, but especially now with the 20Twenty World Cup coming up in a month) and play Carrum. They staff here plays Carrum every night and the matches are always tight, highly disputed, and much publicised. You cannot pull the board out and start playing without every man on the staff coming to watch and give advice, as well as a good deal of grief on every shot.

The best part about Palampur so far? It has to be a tie between the incredibly hospitable and fun staff (we may as well be best friends already) and the fact that every morning I step out my door to the sight of the snow-capped Himalayas looking over the Kangra Valley. Compared to the hustle and bustle of Delhi, this is a much-needed respite. This is a place that is known to the locals for its beaty and the curative properties of the pine-scented air. Pictures are sure to come, but I have to sign out here before I miss my breakfast and chai (it is almost 7am). More to come tomorrow.

First Thoughts on India

They call it 'Incredible India' here for a reason. Delhi is very different than a Western city, as you might expect. Everyone here has no real regard for traffic laws or speed limits, and we saw two wrecks on the way home from the airport at 1AM. Not to worry, we pretty much roll around in a tank, and our driver is the man (he listens to Hindi DJs mixing all types of techno music). They all use their horns to announce their presence to other cars and trucks. Essentially, the bigger you are the more of the right of way you have (trucks, buses, SUVs, cars, mopeds, auto-rickshaws, motorcycles, bikes) save for the big exception of cows. Being as they are the most sacred animal in the Hindu religion they are allowed anywhere they want to be, at any time, and at any pace. An hour long traffic jam on account of a bovine parade across the national highway is not out of the ordinary.
The heat here is pretty intense, so I am greatly looking forward to getting to the mountains (Palampur). Life will be simpler, the air will be cleaner, and we will be able to spend our afternoons strolling around town and visiting tea plantations (we are pretty much confined to our apartments as of now). With that being said, Delhi is amazing. There is a vast difference between rich and poor here... you may come across a five story luxury house with a family of five living in a shanty (usually built with two sticks, a tarp stretched over them, and bricks or cinder blocks holding the 'house' together) right across the street. Some of this discrepancy is quite sad from a Western point of view, but many Indians see it as normal (a result of the rigid caste system that is still very much a part of life here).
The biggest surprise? The food here is amazing! Granted, we are given a dumbed-down version of what real Indians eat, but the vegetarian diet is a non-issue because of the fantastic spices here. We are eating a lot of rice, lentils, and a type of flour tortillas. Tea (Chai in Hindi) is had at least three times per day, if not more. It is a very large aspect of their culture, and a good way to bond with others. Indians don't really abide by 'time' as we do, so they are more than happy to take a long break over tea and talk about whatever is on their minds.
I have found that Indians are a very welcoming people; the most hospitable I have ever come across and very eager to meet new people and learn new things. If you have a smile on your face then you are almost certain to see the same with nearly everyone you see. For a land that is on the other side of the world I am surprisingly at-ease and comfortable here. Check again in a few days and see if I say the same, but I think that I will.
Wow, that was a lot... Now we are watching a Bollywood movie in Hindi and playing Carrom (a hybrid of shuffleboard, air hockey, and billiards) which is played on a square board with chalk on top. You slide a plastic disk with the object of knocking wooden pucks into four holes at each corner of the board. To say the least, we are all enjoying ourselves. I will add another post tomorrow, after we arrive in Palampur (if not Tuesday after our first day of work). Hopefully pictures are to come as well.