Quick update

Not feeling inspired today, so here is a boring list of events of this week. Sorry!

• On Monday one of the volunteers from last year came for a week & a half visit. She's lovely, and it's been really nice having her around. She's helped us see a side of the Thapas that we hadn't before.
• Last weekend Rosalie & I did some shopping at the tailor, and so are now proud owners of gorgeous cotton salwars and some hilarious tailored shirts that didn't quite turn out as expected. The shirts were so cheap that it doesn't matter, and they look quite funny. I also had a pair of pants made up, but clearly they only make western pants for men, as they've made me a pair of men's trousers! Again, it's not a big investment so it's not the end of the world, and made for a good laugh! My salwar is amazing though, and I'm in love with it.
• On Friday I had one of my best field trips ever! Classes VII - X got to go down to Siliguri for a science-related field trip. We got to come along as well (I guess to "supervise", but the older ones are complete angels), and it was so much fun. We took a bus down (the children sang songs the whole way down - anything by Akon seemed to be the most popular choice). We went to 2 museums. One of them was full of taxidermied animals - lovely! - and animals preserved in formaldehyde. The best (aka worst) exhibits were the baby elephant and leopard fetuses in jars. You could see spots on the leopard. It was all a bit macabre to say the least. I preferred the other museum, which was all about plants, and (which seems to be unusual for Indian museums) had a decent amount of information (as apposed to just rooms full of labelled displays). We then went to a park for lunch, and the children played on the swings and see-saws (so cute!), and then to "Science City", which was kind of like the Indian version of Science World, but much less flashy. We did get to see a 3D movie, which was really fun. The children were so cute - after a particularly good scene, they started clapping. We then finished with a trip to a little amusement park. Again, it felt a bit funny at first as we seemed to be the only ones there, but it was good fun. Bumper cars, and a particularly rickety ferris wheel/rollercoaster were highlights. The whole day was so much fun though, and it was really nice seeing a bit of Siliguri, which looked a bit more "Indian" (hot, busy, and cows everywhere). We didn't leave until after dark, (and after the driver had his dinner), but rather than sleeping on the way back, the teachers got the children singing songs again, which they did the whole way. So cute.
• Yesterday we went to Shanta Bawan, which is a convent nearby. The nuns there take in and look after orphans, and find them homes. The babies were adorable, and seeing them was really bittersweet. It's heartbreaking to see all these lovely little babies who don't have homes, but they were really well looked after by the nuns and the women who work there. They also apparently have more prospective parents than they do have children, which is also nice to know. The nuns themselves were absolutely lovely as well, and so welcoming.
• Next week we may be going to Darjeeling (fingers crossed) for the day, and are doing a little talent show at the school on Tuesday. We came up to Kurseong today to buy prizes

Ok now I really don't have time, so will have to stop! Miss everyone masses and masses

Unexpected Experiences

Random events, unexpected encounters... these are the things that have and will make this experience unforgettable. So far, there have been many. Being recorded on camera for a local news program on the one of the top 3 in Indian Idol within our first week, an unexpected meeting with a German couple, wearing saris for Eva Taylor (one of the Lattitude agents), another unexpected meeting with the owner of a gorgeous house nearby, who invited us in for a quick visit that turned into an incredible second breakfast... and this is only the first month! No matter how frustrated I can get sometimes (failed lessons, miscommunications, and the long process of getting settled in), there have already been incredible experiences that will make this unforgettable.

Kumal and Gauru on one of our evening walks

Birthday party!!!

A Holi visit to Kurseong with the girls.

Saris!!!!!! With Eva Taylor. I wish I could wear mine allllllll the time.

Darjeeling!

Is better to visit for the weekend, as opposed to the day trip that we were forced to do a couple of weeks ago. All of us from the Lattitude group are meeting up for a special Lattitude dinner this evening. We (Rosalie & I) arrived yesterday, along with everyone else, and it has been really nice to catch up and compare (horror) stories. Things are going well at Blue Diamond, but we were both VERY ready for a break!!!!

This is (as usual) just a quick post because (as usual), I'm somewhat pressed for time. I tried to upload photos today, but couldn't get it to work, so I might try again next time I'm in Kurseong.
Anyway, we're really enjoying our time in Darjeeling. Last night we had hot showers, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Pure bliss. Our room is absolutely massive as well, so having lots of space is really nice. And we're really enjoying the chance to have a change from the routine in terms of food. We eat potatoes at every meal, and rice at least 2 meals a day. While the food is tasty, it's a bit repetitive, and so the chance to have things like meusli for breakfast is an incredible treat. It's also been nice to do a little bit of pleasure shopping for the first time in ages. Whenever we go into Kurseong we're usually just buying supplies for our classes.

Today we went to the zoo, which was actually really nice. There are trees everywhere, and the animals looked quite healthy and happy.

Things are quite busy at the school as we're gearing up for a big celebration when Eva Taylor (one of the Lattitude staff) comes to visit. We've taught the children a few songs, and then we'll be wearing saris (which we bought yesterday), which I'm really excited for. I don't really like the salwars I bought in Kolkata, but I LOVE my sari. It's gorgeous. I'll definitely try to get pictures up of that.

Last week was a bit interrupted as there was a strike on Monday (which was awesome as it meant no school!!! We're as bad as the children), and then Tuesday they had no school because it was Holi. Our Holi was rather tame, which I have to admit I was slightly disappointed by, as I'd really been looking forward to it. We played around in the morning with the boarders, and then in the afternoon we went to Kurseong and met Sauru's (who is the girl who cooks all of our delicious food) family, which was lovely. She was excited as it was the first time she'd seen her mother in 3 weeks, and I think she also wanted to show us off a bit to everyone in her village (this thing of us being mini-celebrities in our village is something that I'm still not exactly comfortable with). Then it's been teaching/prepping for Eva's visit until we came here.

Running out of time again, so I'll have to stop. Hope everyone's doing well. I'm still dealing with a cough that's gone on for 2 weeks now. The other day Mr & Mrs Thapa came into our room and fed us spoonfuls of local raw honey to try to soothe our throats. It was so delicious we've decided we need to try to stay sick for as long as possible!

Two Weeks!

Still settling in a bit, but things are continuing to go well. I can’t decide whether two weeks feels like a long time or if it has gone by really quickly. No pictures again, I’m afraid, as I forgot to bring the appropriate equipment. Sorry! Instead I’ll try to describe to you what everything looks like through text.

- quick sidenote before I get started! Two things have just happened in the internet caff that have been really disorienting:
1: Somebody’s cellphone went off and they have the exact same tone as my phone does at home and for a moment I thought it was mine
2: Today they’re blasting more contemporary pop songs, including Love in This Club(!?!?!?!?) – I don’t think I can quite describe the feeling I had sitting here on the top of a mountain in India listening to that song! It actually made me feel a bit homesick (first time too)

Anyway, my life in Ghayabari so far:

Teaching:
Thanks so much for words of support. I had a few good classes this week, so I am feeling a bit better about it. Those classes are always going to be difficult, because you’re battling communication problems as well as wildness (so even if they wanted to co-operate they can’t understand what you’re saying). I don’t know that I’ll ever particularly enjoy teaching the little ones, but I know I can cope, and after this week I know that it is possible to do SOMETHING with them. And then I think the more we do, the more likely they’ll come on to my side a bit.

We’re teaching at 2 schools. On Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays I teach at Blue Diamond, and then Tuesdays and Wednesdays I’m in another village called Tindharia, where I teach at a Nursery called Regal Academy (all the schools have really posh names). Rosalie teaches at Tindharia on the days that I’m at Blue Diamon & Blue Diamond when I’m in Tindharia. Every other Saturday we teach in the mornings, so we’ll still be able to go off and do weekend trips.

Funny story about teaching: quite often the boarders are the worst of the lot!!! I was quite miffed in my first Class 2 class, when it was Rahul (one of the boarders) who was the ringleader in climbing up the walls! One of the boarding girls in Class 1 (which is #1 of my Terror Classes full of Terror Children) is one of the worst ones for whacking other children. Typical. I so thought that in seeing them all the time they’d automatically be more cooperative with me, but this is not the case!!


Sights:
Perilously steep cliffs and mountain ridges, covered by trees and tea plantations. Even though they’re in the dry season (it’s funny to think that their winter is their dry season, coming from Vancouver), everything is very green.

Houses are tiny, usually made of tin and/or brick, and painted bright colours. Almost everyone keeps potted flowers outside their houses, it’s lovely (geraniums, daisies, pansies, and several more that I don’t recognize).

Vast majority of people are of Nepali descent. There are flags, posters, slogans, and signs everywhere, calling for Ghorkaland. Some people paint “Ghorkaland” over “West Bengal” on signs with their addresses. I’m hoping Mr Thapa will tell me more about that, as I really feel that I know nothing about it.

There is litter everywhere. People drop their garbage on the ground without the slightest thought. It’s automatic for them. This has probably been the biggest culture shock thing for me so far. It’s really weird for me, because the idea of picking up after yourself is something that has been instilled in me right from when I was tiny. It’s such a shame, because the scenery here is incredible, and yet continuing to be spoilt by piles of litter everywhere. Even the tiny ones at Regal Academy drop all their food on the ground, & it’s not seen as something bad. It’s a bit depressing, because I really don’t know that there’s anything that you could do to change it, when it’s literally everyone who litters. And there certainly aren’t garbage/recycling facilities up here, so what can one do?
Sounds:

In the mornings: children (they wake up before 6am to study for an hour & a half before school! Try getting any Vancouver children to do that), chickens (they roam around the yard, everyone keeps them it seems), and quite often this really nice, relaxed Indian pop music that someone nearby plays.

AAnnnnnd I need to stop. Sorry about the quick conclusion. Will continue, hopefully next week.