9

Hellooo family and friends. To start, as is becoming customary, I apology for the long delay. But while I am indeed sorry, I can’t promise to be better in the future, as my busy life has been getting even busier lately. A few weeks my co-teacher got very sick and ended up in the hospital for a few days. Thankfully she is doing much better now and has started coming back to school this week, but prior to that I found myself suddenly no longer teaching partial periods and assisting the rest of the time, but rather having to plan and teach 7 full periods. Which would be one thing if it was only one or two grades, but is a whole other story considering I teach 7 different grades, classes 2-9 (minus 6). The very moment I stepped into class 2 I knew I was in for a challenge. 35 second graders, who were relatively well-behaved before, started creating chaos the moment they realized that I was going to be taking over. Because what I quickly realized was that they had instantly realized the first week: there is little I can say (in my broken Nepali) or do that measures up to the corporal punishment they are used to. In essence, they know I don’t hit, so they know that there’s hardly any incentive to behave when the alternatives (such as playing with contraband marbles, fighting, dancing and singing, etc.) are so very much fun. And I can’t really blame them. Who wouldn’t want to play all day? But needless to say, that first day was a little rough. After that day though, by necessity I quickly started learning things that more seasoned teachers no doubt have down pat. For example, one lesson: keeping kids busy keeps control in the classroom. That’s not to say that I started assigning busy work, but I did start over-planning my classes so that I had more than enough activities to keep ‘em engaged and didn’t have to pause in between, important considering all hell can break loose in the span of about 30 seconds. I was getting the hang of all this around the time my co-teacher came back, but it sure has been a learning experience. But overall that time of total control in my classes was both challenging and enjoyable. I really appreciated the extra time I got to spend with the older kids in particular and the independence that allowed me be more creative with the curriculum. Now, I am shifting back to my previous role in the classroom, but I feel a little more empowered to break from the norms that I did before.

             As I’m sitting trying to remember things that y’all might like to hear about, I’m realizing that it’s been so long since I last wrote that I can hardly remember what all has happened. But I also realize that, aside from the things that I think of as big events, y’all might find my day-to-day life interesting, so I’ll throw in a spoon or two of that. Lately my day-to-day life’s been getting colder. And by cold I mean it’s dipping into the 40’s and 50’s, soon to be 30’s, but that certainly feels a lot chillier without indoor heating or hot water. The new weather has added to the list of things I love the big heavy blanket I’ve been given for the cold nights, under which I hibernate nightly and wake only after my second alarm. In addition, seeing my breath in the kitchen in the morning makes the milk tea I loved before even more deliciously satisfying now. On the other hand, the cold has also added showering to the list of things I avoid, so in the words of g-wise, look out boys! I do feel accomplished when I say that I wash my hair a couple times a week and my face a couple times a day, which, with deodorant, honestly makes me feel down-right clean. It’s alright if you can’t understand that, I might not have at some point in my past. In addition to my perhaps challengeable hygiene, there’s also been a shift in my clothing. I think if some of you saw me here on certain days, you might not recognize me. The other day I had to laugh at myself. I don’t even think it was laundry day, but I looked down and was wearing a pair of bright sky blue pajama pants, a pinkish-red tunic type top, a bright purple sweater, a grey knit hat with flowers hot-glued to it, and hot pink flip-flops. Quite the fashion statement (though probably no worse than some of the things I threw on in middle school). Things might be improving now though, for even though I do love those comfortable tiny little pink shoes, I am happy to announce that after a four hour round trip trek to the other side of the city and back, I am now the proud owner of two new pairs of shoes that actually fit my giantess size 11 feet. (Thanks again to my mama, Mr. and Mrs. Morrison, and everyone else who made that possible!) All that said, I realize that I may be ruining my chances for securing a boyfriend in the future with these perhaps too honest accounts of my condition, but seeing as how my marriage may or may not currently be being arranged, I’m not too concerned.

All joking aside though, I’m doing really well y’all. So not to worry, particularly for those with the propensity to do so *coughmamacough* ;) Class 5 Homework: Adjectives to describe me lately- happy and content, cold outside and warm inside, loving and feeling loved, tired yet steadfast, and overall just thankful. As my fifth straight Thanksgiving away from home is the day after tomorrow and my first Christmas without my family is approaching, homesickness is a little higher than usual. But then whenever I find myself down, I am again constantly reminded of the beauty in my life. I am so fortunate to be here, to have this opportunity, to be working with these kids, to have the love and support of my friends and family at home, and for so many more things. I truly cannot complain (beyond joking).

I hope that most of y’all are able to head home for the holidays and see your families, that all is well with you and them, and that you have a peaceful and happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for reading, and please please be in touch! (k80may@gmail.com) Lots of love to you all!

p.s. In closing, a few things from my diary, which is more of a list of things that make me smile. Hopefully they might make you too J

-the sun-kissed Himalayas spotted from the roof this morning while I was washing my clothes

-wedding season and the brass bands that are playing at them, which can be heard for miles

-things i have gotten from my students the last couple of weeks: 2 lollipops, 1 small plastic turtle, lots of smiles, 1 frog keychain (minus half the chain), 1 marble, 1 fake 500 rupee bill, 1/4 of an orange, 2 guavas, 7 candies, many handshakes, many more "good morning miss"s (even in the evening), 3 pink roses with assorted other hand-picked flowers, and countless beautiful drawings in their English journals

  - the first grader in the morning assembly who, when counting off after the student who said 99, hesitated, then pronounced confidently, “ninety…. Ten!”

8 p.s.

For those of my family and friends without facebooks, I made this video public so that hopefully you can still see it. My host cousin Asika, who's about 4, is another little darling who keeps me smiling. We recorded this video for y'all, though I'm not sure she understood who she was talking too... In the outtakes and when we watched the videos we recorded, she kept trying to talk to herself in the computer. So here's Asika's namaste <3

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2232600023676&set=vb.1508160483&type=2&theater

8

Hi again y’all. Finally able to get a little update in… I was having computer troubles, namely my computer charger stopping working, but I am back in business now (knock on wood). Thanks so much again to Salif, Mr. Donahue and the Donahue family for the help in that regard! We were recently on vacation for a couple weeks for one of the biggest holidays here, Dashain. Happy belated Dashain/Bijaya Dashamiko Shubhakamana to you all! We just started school again, but only for a couple weeks before another huge holiday, Tihar (or Diwali). It’s roughly the equivalent of Christmas and Thanksgiving holiday season at home, and I’m lucky to get to celebrate all of these holidays in the weeks ahead : )

It’s crazy that I’ve been here 3 months now. I’ve been saying lately that I’ve been learning more than I’ve been teaching. As I think may be the case for teachers all over the world, it’s hard to gauge the impact of your work. I’m just taking it one day at a time, trying to continuously step back and re-evaluate what I’m doing and improve, find the little ways I can have the most impact. But after a month and a half or so of the actual teaching, it seems to only get more and more challenging.

My schedule is still pretty much as I described before. I teach 6 periods of English grades 2-8. Four classes are English Language and two are grammar. After school I teach a class to two Sirs from my school and another nearby. To end the workday I help tutor 6^th graders at home with my host sister. Before Dashain break started, I started setting up some smaller classes in the mornings before school with 1-3 students per class. This was something I decided I had to do after these weeks of teaching and observing my classes. I have been learning my students’ names, habits, personalities, and current levels of English proficiency. Combining this information with their test scores from the first exam, I started inquiring about some of my students with my co-teacher. Some attend school irregularly, some seem to have virtually no reading comprehension, some have difficulty behaving in the context of a structured class. And to be perfectly honest, some of what I’ve been finding out is heart-breaking.  Many of the kids who I’ve asked about and am starting to work with outside of school are working in other people’s homes. Some are from much smaller towns and villages that are outside the Kathmandu Valley, places that can take days to get to on bus and by foot. Their families may have arranged for them to come to the Valley in the hopes that they will be able to get a better education by working in other’s homes and going to school. The reality of some of these kids’ lives sometimes seems to be different than their families’ hopes and aspirations though. Many are struggling in school, some are clearly many grade levels behind, and at times their work at home keeps them from attending school and doing homework. But some are thriving, top of their class. These challenges are difficult for my school and I to face. I just hope that with a little extra time, love, attention I can help these students and my others build a stronger base in English. Hopefully in my final blogs from Nepal I will be able to speak of such progress.

            My friend asked me about my work schedule the other day and was surprised that I work from about 9-6 (without lesson planning time) 6 days a week. But I realized that those hours, which probably would have driven me insane in some of my previous jobs, aren’t so bad now. I built my schedule to be this long, and I like my work. My kids make me want to be at school. I even wished I was working during the holiday. And you can’t really beat the reception of all the “Good Morning Miss”'s I get everyday, not to mention the 4^th grade girls who have started waiting for me at the bottom of my hill then run up and walk with me hand in hand to school. That starts my day with a smile, but it doesn’t stop. My second graders spontaneously sing “twinkle, twinkle little star” every time I come to their class, there’s hardly ever a day in which someone doesn’t call me beautiful, and when I leave school each day, kids of all ages like to run up for a hand shake, which is fun for them especially in its novelty to the traditional Namaste (hands pressed together as if praying). This kind of work atmosphere may very well spoil me for when I return home to any other job.

            At the end of the day I’m just taking the ups with the downs, facing challenges as they come, and learning so very much. Sometimes I just stop for a moment and marvel at the fact that this is my life, and I feel again so fortunate to have this opportunity. After a hard year last year, I am so thankful to be able to say that with the highs and the lows, I’m averaging out to being very happy. My life is beautiful, it always has been, but sometimes we lose touch I think. Hope all of that doesn’t sound too cliché ;) Just thought some of y’all might appreciate a little glimpse of how I’m doing personally. I hope everyone at home is well! Please write me sometime if you get the chance! My email is k80may@gmail.com. Take care of yourselves <3

           

            

7 p.s.

 part of the reason why i love going home everyday... the 6 kids i help tutor every afternoon

asika, a little girl in my extended family, modeling my bracelets for y'all 

 asika and I

 dressed up for tij with my aamaa (mom) on my left and my sister and a neighbor

 my host sister samjhana and i on tij

7

Hey y’all sorry for the longer than usual delay. I have been busy moving and settling in with my new host family. Life is truly great. Those of y’all that know me well know I love to be busy, and I have already succeeded in finding plenty to do in my new home. In the morning, I wake up around 5:30. Yes mama, 5:30 AM. And if it’s not raining and I’m not a complete zombie, I go on a morning walk with my sister and dad. After returning, I usually read and plan my lessons until the morning meal, which is more like brunch. Around 9 I head to school, about a 3 minute walk down the hill. I teach with my co-teacher until about 4, then after school tutor the vice principal and his two fellow teachers and friends in English. Two of these men are trying to get into a Masters program in Philosophy, which is a pre-requisite for PhD programs they want to complete. The test is coming up in January, so my aim is to help them with written and spoken English, as these facets are essential for entrance in the program. This is kind of a daunting task, and I just hope that I will be able to help them achieve their goals. Rajan Sir has already completed a Masters in Education, but all of his tests and writing assignments were in Nepali. So while he is highly qualified and capable, his past lack of opportunity to obtain a quality English language education is now a huge obstacle to his career aspirations.

After this tutoring session, I return home and help my sister tutor 6 more students, 4^th-6^th grade. They are great, not to mention endlessly entertaining. Fridays they get to have writing, speaking, drawing, or speaking competitions, and I have been named the permanent judge. Last Saturday, we all went for a picnic to a Hindu temple which overlooks a river in the valley below and has a beautiful view of the mountains. We shared snacks, beaten rice, samosas, ramen, biscuits (packaged cookies), and tang. Then, after arranging the order of who would carry the backpack on the 40 minute walk home, the kids cleverly waited til it was my sister’s turn then raced ahead so they wouldn’t have to carry it up the hill.

These weeks in school have been dominated by first exam tests, which all students have to complete in every subject. And though school is technically 6 days a week here, we’ve also had a lot of breaks. Some were due to bandh’s (strikes), such as the one last Sunday, when a new Prime Minister was being named. Others, such as today, were due to holidays. This week was a Nepali Hindu festival for women called Tij. Tuesday night we ate rich foods in preparation for fasting on Wednesday. Then Wednesday morning we dressed up in Saris and bangles, many given as gifts in the preceding weeks, and headed to the temple for puja (or worship) and lots of dancing. Much like Christmas music which starts up in the U.S. after Thanksgiving, there are many traditional songs just for Tij, as well as new ones that come out each year. Tij music had been on TV and the radio in the weeks before the holiday, and was blasting from a pavilion outside the temple all day the day of. And even though we had all not eaten or drunk anything all morning, all the women were dancing. After a long, fun, tiring day, we broke the fast with fruit and milk and water. And amusingly, I hear that now that I have fasted, a good husband should be coming my way!

For now I think I’ll end my update here. I’ll try to add a few pictures later! All the best to all y’all at home. And keep in touch! My email is k80may@gmail.com, and I just got internet access at home, so let’s skype! Love y’all!

6

Hi again y'all. This weekend we finally finished our month long training period. Tomorrow I’m headed to Bhaisepati, my new town, home, and school, this time for the long haul. This again is with mixed emotions; I am sad to be leaving one home, yet excited for the next and all that lies ahead.

Friday was supposed to be our last day of Nepali classes, but unfortunately class had to be cancelled. There were 2 bandhas in Kathmandu, which made it difficult for everyone to get to the USEF office. Bandhas are essentially strikes that can be localized to a certain part of town or throughout the entire Kathmandu Valley. They are generally called as a form of protest to a particular issue. For example, after a boy drowned in a flash flood that swept him off a bridge, apparently the community called a bandha and demanded a better bridge be built. Strikes are often political in nature as well. Friday was an example of both. Apparently the Maoist Party called one bandha, and another was a local call for justice for a young woman who was killed by her boyfriend the day before. As a result, across the city, stores were closed, and traffic was limited to pedestrians on foot, as buses, taxis, cars, and motorcycles were prohibited from driving in certain areas. I believe it would be fair to say that bandhas are generally non-violent and more of a nuisance for those wishing to travel. Though it’s all a matter of perspective, as in the case of school-age children, bandhas are more of a pleasant unexpected holiday from school, akin to a snow day.

So while we missed language class that morning, we did fortunately still manage to meet up and get outside of the valley in the afternoon, headed for “camp.” Camp was the last event scheduled in our orientation, a short overnight vacation to a riverside “camping” spot. I put that in quotes because this was definitely the plushest camping I’ve ever heard of. While we did sleep in tents, the tents were semi-permanent with beds, and there was also a lounge area complete with a kitchen, bar, fire-pit, and ping pong table. Dad, you may be happy to hear that all those years of destroying me in ping pong on the back porch gave me enough skills to beat every local man who challenged me that night. Just trying to be a good son ;) I think it’s fair to say we all enjoyed this retreat as a little break from our hectic schedules and a chance to allow ourselves to loosen up a little, even wear bathing suits and swim at the edge of the river.

After returning to Kathmandu, we went back to our original homestays. It’s a bit confusing, but after meeting our new families and working a few days, as I spoke about last post, we returned to our original families to finish up our training. I believe the rationale is in part because these homes are much closer to the USEF office. But today was my actual last day with Laxmi and her family. She and her friend surprised Olivia, another ETA, and I with snack food, pepsi, ice cream, and a kind of impromptu farewell party. While eating together, someone had the idea that Olivia and I would look good in saris, a theory which had to be tested. So after we ate, Olivia and I dressed up, or rather were dressed up, in saris, and then posed for photos, which I’ll try to add below. These saris were incredibly beautiful, though for the unpracticed, like myself, a bit difficult to maneuver in. Thankfully, as I am not yet married, I don’t have to wear them daily.

I think that’s all I have for y’all today! I wanted to squeeze a little update in and a photo or two, because after tomorrow I won’t have any internet from home, and have not yet figured out what I may do about that. But I will of course try to keep everyone updated when I can. As always, much love and best regards for all. Please keep in touch! (if you need, refer to my first blog post for contact info)

Xoxo from afar!

p.s. to 5

p.s. please forgive this English teacher's grammar and spelling errors, as she writes most of her blogs stream of consciousness style
p.p.s. please enjoy this photo of my first host family :)