Tuesday -
It is quite sunny out this morning , but very dark clouds are on the horizon. Does this mean rain? Kolkata really needs it! Breakfast was lovely as always - watermelon, mango and cantalope ; the most intense multigrain bread I have ever eaten and my ever present cappucino. Today was especially pleasant because the servers could bring me one ( yesterday the machine was broken and they were so upset and apologized profusely). Such a small thing , but such great joy for all of us! Government school today in the morning; Brian will do his classroom teaching today and then we will be privvy to another cultural presentation. I really do love these!
Arrived at school and was welcomed with morning ma'am and morning auntie! It makes me smile to see these great kids. As soon as we check in we were headed to the Loretto School on the opposite side of town. Whoo Hoo!! another taxi ride. The inside of the Loretto School is beautiful , with child painted murals everywhere showing flowers and nature. Great way to contrast the stark absence of the same just outside the walls and gate. This is an all girls' school with very deep ties to the U.N.. I noticed the teachers are very dedicated , but experience the same frustrations as we do. THe pride of this school is their Rainbow Programme. These are girls of all ages that have been brought in from the streets and provided with food, shelter, clothing, health care and education. the tradition girls work with these children and the school feels that both gain. The Loretto School is responsible for teacher training as well and they are working hard at providing inquiry training and techniques.
The taxi ride to and from the Loretto School was probably the hottest thing I have ever experienced in my life!!!!! The sweat was unbelievable and I felt that I had been swimming, I was so drenched. Once back at Soma's school we ate chicken parcels for lunch and then went to the auditorium for a cultural programme featuring the music and songs of Tagore. It is hardto believe that our time here is nearly finished. One more day and then we will be off to Delhi.
A bit more sightseeing this afternoon ; Victoria Memorial and some brief shopping. I think I am getting a cold - sneezing and runny nose. Maybe it is just nerves, since I have to present to the 1science department tomorrow. Topic - Inquiry based teaching! In 1 hour only!
Wednesday - Brillant sunshine; no clouds and extreme heat ( it is only 7 am ).
I will be giving two turtle seminars today and then teaching about inquiry based learning. I love talking to the students;hate talking to teachers........ not because I hate teachers, but because I feel they should be teaching me!
It was so hot today that my clothing ( salwar ) felt like it was painted onto my body and when I tried to climb the 5 flights of stairs at school to get to the classroom , I really had a hard time even bending my knees. The critical thinking/inquiry based session consisted of all 10 science teachers and ended up being only 30 minutes because of conflicts that delayed our start. After lunch I had two turtle sessions and that was an absolute blast! The students were very involved it is was surprisingly interactive. As the day drew to a close, the students and I began to realize that this was the last time I would see some of them; that our time had been too brief. What they didn't realize was how much they have changed my life and my perspective on so much.
We closed our day with some gift shopping at a craft center that housed crafts from all the states. It was huge and overwhelming ,like most everything the past two weeks
Thursday - up at 6am which is quite late for me. The sky is overcast and the wind is blowing quite hard . Still no umbrella, so someone has a Wildlife umbrella from the US.
I have packed and exchanged over &40 US in case there is an exit tax. I also need to have rupees to cover my share of Soma's costs. I am sipping the last drops of my last cappucino in Kolkata and it is wonderful as always. Have thanked the staff and written " atta - boys" to those that really helped. Soma arrived and with her our car . We exchanged the costs of our stay and left for the airport and as we were leaving I received my last daily Namaste. We travelled for about 20 minutes and the car started making some noisy sounds that didn't sound too encouraging. It finally stopped and as it did, we were left in the middle of a 5 way intersection!! That wasn't the worst part because we got a push to the road side and we were out of the way - the worst part was the anxiety about making a flight or not ................. happiness about 20 minutes later as the car started and we were on our way again. The normal airport exchanges, hassles and security and we were on our way to Delhi.
we arrived in Delhi and were the last of the cohort to arrive. A quick supper, some sleep and get ready for sessions in the moring before our 5 hour drive to the Taj Mahal.
It is quite sunny out this morning , but very dark clouds are on the horizon. Does this mean rain? Kolkata really needs it! Breakfast was lovely as always - watermelon, mango and cantalope ; the most intense multigrain bread I have ever eaten and my ever present cappucino. Today was especially pleasant because the servers could bring me one ( yesterday the machine was broken and they were so upset and apologized profusely). Such a small thing , but such great joy for all of us! Government school today in the morning; Brian will do his classroom teaching today and then we will be privvy to another cultural presentation. I really do love these!
Arrived at school and was welcomed with morning ma'am and morning auntie! It makes me smile to see these great kids. As soon as we check in we were headed to the Loretto School on the opposite side of town. Whoo Hoo!! another taxi ride. The inside of the Loretto School is beautiful , with child painted murals everywhere showing flowers and nature. Great way to contrast the stark absence of the same just outside the walls and gate. This is an all girls' school with very deep ties to the U.N.. I noticed the teachers are very dedicated , but experience the same frustrations as we do. THe pride of this school is their Rainbow Programme. These are girls of all ages that have been brought in from the streets and provided with food, shelter, clothing, health care and education. the tradition girls work with these children and the school feels that both gain. The Loretto School is responsible for teacher training as well and they are working hard at providing inquiry training and techniques.
The taxi ride to and from the Loretto School was probably the hottest thing I have ever experienced in my life!!!!! The sweat was unbelievable and I felt that I had been swimming, I was so drenched. Once back at Soma's school we ate chicken parcels for lunch and then went to the auditorium for a cultural programme featuring the music and songs of Tagore. It is hardto believe that our time here is nearly finished. One more day and then we will be off to Delhi.
A bit more sightseeing this afternoon ; Victoria Memorial and some brief shopping. I think I am getting a cold - sneezing and runny nose. Maybe it is just nerves, since I have to present to the 1science department tomorrow. Topic - Inquiry based teaching! In 1 hour only!
Wednesday - Brillant sunshine; no clouds and extreme heat ( it is only 7 am ).
I will be giving two turtle seminars today and then teaching about inquiry based learning. I love talking to the students;hate talking to teachers........ not because I hate teachers, but because I feel they should be teaching me!
It was so hot today that my clothing ( salwar ) felt like it was painted onto my body and when I tried to climb the 5 flights of stairs at school to get to the classroom , I really had a hard time even bending my knees. The critical thinking/inquiry based session consisted of all 10 science teachers and ended up being only 30 minutes because of conflicts that delayed our start. After lunch I had two turtle sessions and that was an absolute blast! The students were very involved it is was surprisingly interactive. As the day drew to a close, the students and I began to realize that this was the last time I would see some of them; that our time had been too brief. What they didn't realize was how much they have changed my life and my perspective on so much.
We closed our day with some gift shopping at a craft center that housed crafts from all the states. It was huge and overwhelming ,like most everything the past two weeks
Thursday - up at 6am which is quite late for me. The sky is overcast and the wind is blowing quite hard . Still no umbrella, so someone has a Wildlife umbrella from the US.
I have packed and exchanged over &40 US in case there is an exit tax. I also need to have rupees to cover my share of Soma's costs. I am sipping the last drops of my last cappucino in Kolkata and it is wonderful as always. Have thanked the staff and written " atta - boys" to those that really helped. Soma arrived and with her our car . We exchanged the costs of our stay and left for the airport and as we were leaving I received my last daily Namaste. We travelled for about 20 minutes and the car started making some noisy sounds that didn't sound too encouraging. It finally stopped and as it did, we were left in the middle of a 5 way intersection!! That wasn't the worst part because we got a push to the road side and we were out of the way - the worst part was the anxiety about making a flight or not ................. happiness about 20 minutes later as the car started and we were on our way again. The normal airport exchanges, hassles and security and we were on our way to Delhi.
we arrived in Delhi and were the last of the cohort to arrive. A quick supper, some sleep and get ready for sessions in the moring before our 5 hour drive to the Taj Mahal.
No comments:
Post a Comment