Hello friends! I hope everyone is enjoying crisp, autumn weather. While I imagine you are enjoying apple cinnamon cider, marshmallows over a fire, and other autumnal treats, I am enjoying things fried in coconut oil, chapathi, chicken byriani, fish curry, bananas, and other carb-filled food. We have been thrown into our classes and are just coming up for air now. The children are very excited to see us and we are trying our best to get aquainted with everyone even though there are about 65 students per class. We have also been meeting with various government officials, press conferences, and lounging by the pool. Just kidding. There is no pool....unless you're counting the pool of sweat I create every day. If you want to get through the day without frying up like the papadum I ate for lunch, you would get up at 5:00 am, get some work done until 11:00 am, stay inside until about 4:30 pm and finish any outside activities then. The tricky bit to this operation is that even though we aren't teaching all day between the hours of 11:00 and 4:30, there are blackouts at least twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening. Sometimes there's a blackout all day. That makes planning lessons REAL. HARD. Not to mention maintaining a reasonable body temperature. Just yesterday, I was forced to watch Big because there wasn't anything else to do. Thank God for Tom Hanks. There was no light because it was storming (storms and power outages do not always go hand in hand here) and it was so hot, I didn't want to move for fear of exploding into some form of humid fire.
Anyways, not all was lost. Our friends Stanley and Ira the geckos came to check on us. Usually they come every night after sunset, but today it was a little earlier because of the storm. They even brought around their other friends Jerome, Reba, Gretchen and her son Vishnu. Also, Sven has been coming around lately on Wednesdays after 4:00 pm. They were here all night because someone can't take a hint, so my roommates and I just went to bed around 10:00. Even when I got up for a bathroom visit at 3:00 am, a moth flew past my face and Jerome killed it right above the sink where I was trying to wash my hands. Of course when I saw what a vicious killer Jerome was and discovered that the water was turned off, I screeched and fled the scene to my bed where it took me another hour to erase those horrific images from my mind. The next morning I submerged from my bedroom to find half of the moth in front of my door as what I presume to be a "I'm sorry" gift from the geckos for overstaying their welcome. This moth was about 3 inches across and what was even more peculiar was that I saw other bits of the moth being carried across the floor to the door by ants.
I must say, India keeps me on my toes!
Anyways, not all was lost. Our friends Stanley and Ira the geckos came to check on us. Usually they come every night after sunset, but today it was a little earlier because of the storm. They even brought around their other friends Jerome, Reba, Gretchen and her son Vishnu. Also, Sven has been coming around lately on Wednesdays after 4:00 pm. They were here all night because someone can't take a hint, so my roommates and I just went to bed around 10:00. Even when I got up for a bathroom visit at 3:00 am, a moth flew past my face and Jerome killed it right above the sink where I was trying to wash my hands. Of course when I saw what a vicious killer Jerome was and discovered that the water was turned off, I screeched and fled the scene to my bed where it took me another hour to erase those horrific images from my mind. The next morning I submerged from my bedroom to find half of the moth in front of my door as what I presume to be a "I'm sorry" gift from the geckos for overstaying their welcome. This moth was about 3 inches across and what was even more peculiar was that I saw other bits of the moth being carried across the floor to the door by ants.
I must say, India keeps me on my toes!
Well, at least it's unusual wildlife. :) Here in Ohio we've got toads in the garden and woolly bear caterpillars on the deck.
ReplyDeleteAs for blackouts and lesson plans, improvisation is your friend. And as a great musician, you know how to improvise! 65 students is a lot--but I know you're doing a great job. I love reading your updates and can't wait to hear more. What you're doing is amazing--hang in there!
Thank you! I've had a very sharp learning curve but being thrown in is the best way to do it in my opinion. I finally feel the pain and understand all of the things my teachers would complain about. Making the connection with the kids makes it all worth it though...as sappy as that sounds.
DeleteWell really, just geckos? Could be so much worse. I actually think of them as rather clean. At least that's what the Geico one appears. Glad to hear you're adjusting to the disruptions of daily life, and just think you're sweating off all those carbs without having to work at it. I think. I'm sure those kids love you and are thrilled to be around you -- carry on, and all that rubbish.
ReplyDeleteLove n stuff,
Aunty Tris
"Let's get down to biz-ness, to deFEAT
the HUNS..."
I'm loving your Mulan mindset here. The other week we went to someone's house and walked to the river that ran behind their backyard. Two days later they found a 14 ft. python in the backyard. So, I'm glad it's only geckos.
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