I'm here!

I had an interesting time going through security in both Newark and London ("Miss, we're going to have to remove some of the items from this bag and run it again... meaning it was packed too densely to see anything on the xray). Both flights were pretty uneventful with the exception of mild turbulence. It was nice because there were plenty of options for entertainment as far as T.V. and music. I managed to get a little sleep on the flights, but I was pretty sleep deprived by the time we touched down in India. Going through customs was not a big deal, we changed some money, I called my mom and we headed to our car. It was kind of a trip because Indian cars drive on the left side of the road and the drivers sit in the right side. Also because Indian drivers honk every time they pass, which occurs frequently. And because pedestrians and bicycles go on the same roads on which regular cars speed upwards of 80 kilometers. Close to Bangalore the roads were just as nice as in the US (nicer, maybe), except for these occasional speed bumps, which weren't so much bumps as several consecutive dents in the road.

We drove through Hosur, which is a decent sized city then through some smaller villages and then down one lane dirt roads then backed to paved roads until we arrived a Shanti Bhavan. We are really in the middle of nowhere! There is no way I would have found this place even with mapquest style directions. The sun had just come up and before entering you are surrounded by farms and huts and pass the occasional cow or goats. Upon entering the grounds of Shanti Bhavan you hear birds singing, see lush tropical trees and beautiful stone buildings. It's quite nice.

We have rice with a sauce and vegetable at four meals a day (Breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner), often accompanied by hard boiled eggs and all the water is drinkable. So far none of the four of us who've just arrived have gotten upset stomachs (fingers crossed). Accommodations are better than at horse camp(!): metal frame bed bed, sometimes-warm shower, and intermittent electricity. There is satellite TV in the teacher's lounge (which I haven't yet seen).

I'm going to be teaching the fourth grade, plus musical theatre and dance classes for the entire school and helping with choir. My days will start at eight (breakfast), but I'll probably be going to aerobics three mornings a week at 6:30. I start on Friday the sixteenth. I'm working on my lesson plans.

Today is Pongol, the local harvest celebration and they're all dressed up and so adorable. They're all very proud of their clothes, which are very special to them. They're called home dress and it's whatever their parents have sacrificed and scrimped and saved to send them to school in. It's really touching to hear them talk about them. They kids are dancing and singing. They don't have regular classes and everyone is feeling quite festive. I've gotten a lot of really cute pictures. :-D Apparently this festival is celebrated over several days, the first Pongol is a harvest celebration and it is noted by getting a special rice dish in a pot to boil over at sunrise and shout "Pongol," which is both the name of the dish and the holiday. We had the dish today and it was tasty. So far the food has tasted much better than Indian food I've had in America. People keep asking if I find it spicy, but general I've found it to be perfectly seasoned. I think even my mom would be ok eating most of the food. Well. Maybe not.

The calling cards I've got aren't certain to work. Since it's not actually a payphone, but just a line out, I haven't figured out how to call the number to use them. I'm going to try to use them still, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to. If I can't get them to work I'll pick some local calling cards up while I'm in town.

We watched both "The Departed" and "The Wedding Singer" this evening in the volunteer lounge.

FRIDAY

Today was my first day teaching. It was... a challenge. I was disappointed because I set my alarm for six PM instead of six AM and missed the aerobics class. So I got up and ready in time for breakfast. Immediately after breakfast was my first class: Creative Writing. I asked them to write about Pongol. It went pretty well, I encouraged them to write three pages by telling them if they finished early they could play a game. We only had time for one round of heads up seven up. If I didn't have Sheryl I think it would have gone much slower. I then had a break. Next I taught Math. That was not so hot. I've never taught a math class before and I wasn't sure how to prepare. My class is really varied in skill level. They are also undoubtedly the most 'spirited' class of the bunch. Thus when teaching them about rays and angles, several of them grasped the concept right away, most of the rest got it when we worked through it together, and the few remaining didn't get it because of the distractions caused by those who were bored. Next was musical theater class with the fifth graders. We taught them choreography to "We Go Together" which they've apparently already danced to. Boo. In any case in forty five minutes we taught them about 40 seconds of choreography. After that was spelling with the fourth graders. Which was better but only because I was extremely strict and Sheryl kept taking away the things with which the kids were playing. Then we went to the library and it was fine until it was almost time to go. At that point the kids had all checked out their books and Sheryl was playing with them in the corner. Unfortunately they wanted nothing of cleaning up and lining up. It was really frustrating. We had a talk and I talked to a couple of the other teachers who know them well about strategies of getting them to listen. They all basically said this would happen and I just need to keep being firm. In any case I'm pretty certain I'll need to spend at least an hour preparing for the next day's classes. I think I'm going to institute a reward program using points to earn an incentive (chocolate?). I'm also going to have lots of extra work for those children who finish their work early. I think I'll also get some puzzles so the children who finish early can play quietly or read while the others continue working. I remember spending a lot of time in the reading tub in my fourth grade class because I finished early. I also remember playing Mancala in sixth grade after finishing math tests early. I think this strategy might be something normal teachers use. In any case, after the frustration of the afternoon I watched Rapunzel with the fourth and fifth graders had popcorn for snack (YAY) and graded the creative writing essays. I also wrote my lesson plans. Then we went for an assembly where the children sang and one 11th grader did a traditional dance. I was really impressed. Tomorrow we're having a long assembly in the morning then all of the volunteers are going to Hosur. I'm planning on buying phone cards, a surge protector, dish soap, something for incentive and a salwar kamiz. Next weekend we might all see the Taj Mahal.

SATURDAY

PANCAKES FOR BREAKFAST! YAHOO!!! I'm so excited. Today another American volunteer arrived, his name is Steven. He's from Florida and recently graduated from school as a philosophy major. He'll be here till mid April. The fourth grade boys all apologized to me for their behavior yesterday and I guess the vice principle (Miss Beena) took away their nature walk this morning. I felt a little bad, but I know that I have to have authority and that's her way of giving it to me. They were actually all very cute being so contrite. I'm feeling really positive about next week and I'm so excited for our trip to Hosur this afternoon. Internet and phone cards! I'm also really excited about the very real prospect of traveling with the people here on the weekends. It should be fun and much easier than by myself. Plus if I've seen a lot by the time school lets out for break I may be able to return and help for a couple weeks before I head to London and home. I went on a walk this morning with Joe and had a semi-warm shower (my first hot water shower). So I'm feeling really good. Super positive. I think today and tomorrow will be really easy days and Monday I should be able to start to get into the rhythm of life at Shanti Bhavan. Thinking of you all a lot.