Aditi is Amazing!

            At 9:15, Anne picked me up and Gaus drove us to school.  Anne and I had a very nice chat on the way to school, which took about 45 minutes.  I witnessed my first taste of children beggars.  A little boy and girl were doing some kind of acrobatics when we were stopped at a light and then came up to all the cars.  I saw them right away, but Anne pointed them out to me and said, "you must harder your heart or you will give to one and then before you know it you'll want to give to them all" (read that sentence again and picture a sweet, old woman, saying it in a British accent and it doesn't seem as terrible).  Needless to say I felt that pit in my stomach that I did want to give to them and I probably will to every begging child, but I will "harder my heart."

Before I knew it, we pulled up to the campus, which is without exaggeration outstanding (there are pictures below) and it's amazing to see a school that is outside!  Each grade has only one class and they are called "standards" not "grades" and kindergarten is called "preparatory."  Anne introduced me to Neela, who works in the office and is someone I have been in contact with prior to my arrival.  Then, I met the principal who seemed very nice and said that I should stop by whenever I like to speak with him further.  Rekha Chari was the final key player that I met- she is wonderful! She worked at a Montessori school in Connecticut and lived in the states for a while, but now she is the curriculum coordinator for the upper school (she is also working with the lower school).  She totally understands the American ways and was able to help me bridge the gaps where I was confused about the way things work.  We decided that I will observe in the various grades for the remainder of the week to determine where I will remain for the rest of my time here by Monday. 

Today, I began in Preparatory, which happens to be Rhoda's classroom and I could not get over how much the students know, how laid back the day is, and how large the classrooms are- it's incredible!  She did this adorable activity with the students where she had them stand up and as she held up a card with a sound on it, the students were to make the sound while doing whatever motion goes along with it. Then, she had them listen to a song and as they listened they were writing down the sound emphasized in the word and they are in Kindergarten!  But what I was truly shocked by (I'm not sure why) was when she asked what the sound "sh" was and a little boy raised his hand to answer, "that is a digraph!"  I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't think I learned what digraphs were until I was in college and was studying them so I could learn how to teach them!  Anyway, the students have two blocks starting at 8am and then at 10am the students have a recess type thing with snack and the teachers are given time for tea/coffee.  Then at 12:10 the students eat and at 12:30 the teachers are released to lunch until 1:15.  When the students get back from play time, they go to drama and dance.  After drama and dance (or whatever the special area of that day may be) they have 45 minutes which lasts until the end of the day for free time.  Granted I missed about 2 hours of instruction in the morning, but I could not believe how chill everything is there, but they must be doing something right because this school is truly the "cream of the crop." It's wonderful what they do with these students and the education they are receiving, but I guess I'll have a true idea in the coming week of just how great the education is compared to the other places I've seen.

An interesting conversation that I took part in at lunch was between myself, the other classroom teacher besides Rhoda, and two other teachers.  Somehow it came up about their maids and so I asked if everyone has a maid here.  They all responded by explaining to me that yes, everyone has a maid here because it is their job in society- the maids (who are Muslim for the most part from what I gather) need the work and the money and the people who hire them need to work because "they can't possibly do it all so we must rely on them."  They continued to explain that if the electricity went out how would they wash the clothes and get everything else done? I was quite shocked to hear just how honest they were being, but it's how things work here and there is no need to change something that works perfectly fine in a society?

When the day was over, I got on the school bus with Rhoda, a couple of other teachers, and quite a few students.  As my stop approached, I learned that Allison from Wisconsin is in her second year at the Design College attached to Aditi and she happens to live across the street. I only spent the walk from the bus stop to our respective places, but she seems nice and has to be about my age so that is a nice comfort to have.

My bathroom

My bedroom

The carpet area in preparatory

View from the front of the prep classroom

View from the back of the classroom

        I just finished unpacking and feel as though this is starting to feel like home for the next few weeks.  Luckily my stomach has been pretty okay so far and I'm certainly sticking to the milder foods.  Actually, I made myself a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch so I'm not breaking out a whole lot just yet, but there have been some delicious things that I've tried.  Now I am alone in the flat for a couple hours until Gina gets home, which is nice to have the quiet and do whatever it is I want although I could do the same with her here.  The weather was rainy and yucky last night into this morning, but by the afternoon it was sunny and warm which was a nice change.  Below are some pictures of my room and bathroom, the school, and some pictures I was able to catch on my way home on the bus from school.  I certainly stand out and everyone wants to know why I chose India, which is becoming slightly comical for me, but I enjoy explaining that it's of interest to me and I'm truly enjoying being in a country and immersed in a culture COMPLETELY different from my own.  It's an adventure all right!