What's been goin' on!?

Sorry it’s been a while since my last bloggings, life as usual is crazy here! Hopefully this lengthy update will be worth the wait! 

Weather

As is traditional of my country of birth, the meteorological events should be the first port of call in any update.  Ever since hearing I was heading off to India, I’ve been waiting for insane heat. But, just as the summer was drawing closer and the drastic tales from teachers, India in typical fashion confused us all by being chilly! The climate chaos culminated Anna and I being caught out in a hailstorm and torrential rain. A swirling river was flowing over the potholes of Mayuri Marg.  No choice but to wade through the suspiciously murky water while trying not to think about what may be soaking into my sari. To be honest, I loved it, made heading home an adventure!
No worries, the heat has finally hit and wooow, it’s HOT! Everyday we’re reaching highs of 40°C. My pasty self has been hiding in the shade and moving from fan to fan. 

The four hours a day of government controlled powercuts really make me appreciate the wonders of electricity.

Gotta love India!

Festivals

Not even the killer heat could stop Indians from celebrating festivals and me from joining in.  Recently had a triple bill of festival goodness – Shivaratri, Holi and Ugadi. 

Shivaratri the Hindu festival fell on Thursday 26th of Feb. “Shivaratri” means Night of Shiva and the tradition is to fast and stay up all night in sympathy for the God Shiva. Its origin story is quite a tale (at least what I interpreted from the various confusing renditions is, so my telling may be slightly inaccurate). 

“Once Upon a Time, whispers of dark magic swept though Hindustan. It was said that under a rock in the ocean a potion was buried that would grant the drinker immortality. All the demons of the land were filled with an unquenchable thirst for this potion. Minds full of trickery; they called for the gigantic sea serpent who dwelled in the ocean depths. Using their silver tongues they dared the serpent to prove his size by winding himself around the rock. When he was tightly wound the demons grabbed his tail and pulled, trying desperately to dislodge the rock. Not the best plan, as the enraged serpent spat deadly poison and the swirling water quickly became toxic. Panicking the demons and people of the land called out for Shiva’s help. 
And duly he came.  Seeing the chaos he used his power to remove all the toxins and transformed it into a fruit and swallowed it, holding it in his throat. His second wife Ganga lives on his head her cooling water influence reducing the effect of the poison. Since that day he has been holding that fruit in his throat, unable to eat, drink or sleep.”

Shiva’s sacrifice is honored on Shivaratri, his devotees fast (don’t eat) or and stay awake all night. 

I decided to join the devotees in fasting etc, the staff and pupils were surprised. I was keen to join in with this cultural occasion and had mentally prepared myself for starvation. Luckily, fasting here involves not eating anything but… fruit. Mountains of melons, oranges, bananas and even strawberries were devoured. 

Of course, festivals mean temple visits. Anna and I joined the aunties and pupils in wandering around the deities, offering fruits to the gods, being wafted with incense and eating Prasanum (blessed food). I always enjoy a trip to the temple, beautiful artworks and confusing rituals make for interesting experiences. I’m always on my toes incase I accidentally offend someone! 

Spent the majority of the night squeezed into the bunks of the girls dorms. Anna and I were quickly put to work mehinding.  Into the wee hours storytime was in full swing. My turn came and the first thing that popped into my head was the plot of Rabbie Burn’s poem “Tam O’ Shanter”. The girls were thrilled by this “devil story” each line was translated into Telugu for the aunties. Who would have thought Burns Day rehearsals in Primary would come in useful on a Hindu festival?
By 2am the mozzies had got too much and my bed was calling – teaching the next day. 

Holi, is perhaps one of India’s most famous festivals. I’d been anticipating this one for a long time. It didn’t disappoint, powder paint and chaos galore! Literally a couple of hours of chasing/ being chased by kids everyone intent on painting me all the colors of the rainbow. Great fun! Was stained pink and blue for the next few days though…

Cheesy photo op from a visiting professional photographer 

Ugadi is the telugu new year celebrated on the 31st of March. We all had the day off and as traditional; the room was cleaned and tidied clothes washed, all to start afresh. A special drink is concocted – salt, sugar, spice, mango, coconut and neem flowers – the mix of tastes represents life. It was… refreshing! 

Work

Currently my work is winding down as exams are taking precedence. Anna and I ran the LKG activities exam. My lower classes finished all their exams this week and have headed home. Now it feels strange to be here without seeing their cheeky faces. Finding other things to do, helping out in the printing room and working on my OCN qualification.

Still, I had a good run of teaching before the exams. After working here for over seven months, I’ve made plenty of mistakes and learned from them.  Those who say “teaching is a learning curve” are very wise. I myself am a visual learner, so initially it was hard for me to conjure up ways to communicate ideas without visual aids.  I’ve had to think outside the box; considering the other senses and observing how other teachers work. The lessons commonly run with oral repetition with the teachers explaining things in Telugu. The pupils make notes in Braille and read Braille textbooks. These methods were challenging for me, I don’t know enough Telugu or Braille. I want to engage the pupils in English in more creative ways than just repetition (although that comes in useful). 

I have various teaching practices which have evolved over time. We sing songs and I use my ukulele to play along with the class. I've even attempted writing my own vocab songs. Songs with actions add another element. 

Role play works well for pupils to practice conversation. This is not something that the pupils are used to doing and it took a while for them to fully engage and get carried away in their acting. Emotions topic was particularly enthusiastic, and has the added bonus of helping the pupils be more eloquent about how their feeling. We've also taken imaginary train/bus/ auto rides through India. 

Sense of touch is used a lot by the pupils. Braille is the main way they use it for learning. I’ve expanded on this in my lessons. Tactile aids such as balls, cups, plastic models and the popular puppet Mr Badger have been used to teach adjectives. Braille slates can be used to draw maps, as were used for layout of their homes when teaching that topic. Even 3D posters are possible. My map of Scotland used in International Education Week was just the start. A generous gift of foam stickers means Vocab posters are now a possibility. It’s fascinating to see how the pupils interact with these items. The partially sighted pupils help to explain them to their blind friends. 

Even drawing is possible. Using crayons, the pupils can feel the wax on the paper. The pupils get very carried away with drawing and the results are always interesting. 

It’s definitely the most challenging job of my life so far. I’m glad I’ve had all this time to work at it and slowly but surely see the pupils English improving. Class is sometimes frustrating and exhausting but always interesting and surprising. 

Outside of my timetable, I have plenty of time in school. This has given me opportunity to start a few clubs. Tuesday and Thursday are Ukulele Club. I brought my Uke with me from Scotland and I’m fair getting my money’s worth. 10 enthusiastic (grabby) kids + 1 ukulele = stress. Despite the constant fear of uke death, the lessons are great fun. I love how keen the kids are to learn and being able to share this fun instrument with them. I’ve even got a few prodigies. One, has already been playing guitar for a couple of years  is totally blind and already is getting better than me at playing – using scales to find chords he’s never played before! Hoping to be able to acquire some more ukes.

I’m sharing my hobby of uke playing and crafting. My lovely generous friend sent me a lot of embossing kits. The metal stencils and styluses are perfect for 3D drawing. This has proved very popular and in the Wednesday or Friday classes I struggle to keep up with demand for prepped stencils. 

Being able to share some of the things I love with people who otherwise maybe would never have experienced it is such a privilege. 

Working the special Braille printer

Also been working hard for Democracy (again) which translates to cutting up paper. Braille numbers are printed onto sticker paper and then cut into strips by teams of aunties, uncles and parents. Bundles of 100 strips are created. Our goal was crores (millions) of these bundles to be used all over the whole of India. Devnar is the only place in the country with the specialized printers which has meant astronomical demand, can’t even comprehend the number of strips of paper we've made. Spent a fortnight of my life cutting for 9 hours a day. Not quite as exciting as the glamorized idea of a gap year but I was happy to help. Seems like a silly thing to be doing but to think I’ve helped blind people participate in democracy in some small way.
  

Ignore the crazy eyes and yes, one chair is not enough!

Going out 

Over the past while I’ve spent a LOT of time in the Devnar building. Thankfully I’ve also been able to escape and prevent myself going totally stir crazy! 

Went to the Zoo! It was an impressive place clean and well run. Many animals – elephants, tigers, rhinos, hippos and more - all looked happy and healthy. Anna and I had a great day out spotting the animals and riding the Tiger Train! 

GIANT TORTOISE!!!! ahem...

One night Anna and I were bundled into the school jeep with 13 other people and driven off. We arrived at none other than a film première! Well… a film’s audiotrack premiere (yep, I didn’t know those were a thing either!). The Telugu film ABC (Always Be Careful) was linked with charity work for the differently abled. Our girls and boys dance groups wowed the crowd with their performances and two girls sang a lovely song.   

Less than a fortnight before I embark of 52 days of adventure all over India! Very excited to explore this incredible country, but I think I might miss Devnar.