Long Overdue Update - weekend trips, pizza, and more!

     It’s been a while since I last posted – things have been really busy around here for the past week.  My 12^th grade kids have been in trouble because they spent a good part of last year slacking off instead of studying, and are now really behind in some of their subjects, especially accounting.  It’s not easy to see them get disciplined, especially when it involves yelling, crying, and punishments that don’t always seem fair, but tough love is sometimes the only thing that works.

     Speaking of tough love, I gave my first series of monthly tests at the end of last week.  My 11^th graders did relatively well, but the 12^th graders have some catching up to do, and the pressure is mounting on them as time goes on.  It was definitely an interesting experience being on the other side of testing – writing, proctoring, and grading an exam has a different set of challenges that are hard to appreciate without going through it.  Teaching has gone well so far, especially in econ – having TA experience really does make it easier because I already have ways to explain econ concepts that have worked in the past.

     As always, the kids are amazing.  It’s hard to have a bad day around here because even if something happens that would normally put a damper on the rest of your day, you’ll get a smile, a laugh, a joke, or even just a hello from one of the kids and it will put a grin on your face almost by default.  Two of the girls in 11^th and 12^th grade have started making me goodnight cards on most nights, and they are the most adorable things I have ever seen.  It was one girl's birthday today, and she wrote me another card about how I made her birthday special. It’s impossible to come back to my chair at night and find cards like these lying on top of my stuff without thinking to myself about how lucky I am to have a chance to help these kids.

     In other news, they got a special donation last week from TOMS shoes, and each child got a pair of TOMS to wear during school days.  It was an exciting whirlwind handing out shoes and recording sizes and names for everyone at school, especially when kids were confused about which sizes to try. 

TOMS!

     Anyway, last Saturday I went to Hosur (the closest city to SB, about 45-60 minutes away) with a few of the other volunteers.  We saw a Hindu temple, walked around the streets, shopped, and jumped into a tiny hole-in-the-wall corner shop for what might have been the best mango juice I’ve ever had in my life.  The owner of the shop is below, and you should be able to tell from the picture alone that the dude is a boss. 

Swag.




Looking down on Hosur


The Hindu temple overlooking Hosur


Sex awareness on the streets of Hosur comes with a mustached condom...

     We also stopped at a Domino’s pizza to indulge in a taste of home and to place an order for the school, which led to the following picture (one of the volunteers, Emily, dubbed it “The Great Pizza Accord of 2013”).  Yes, negotiations over pizza prices in India do happen.  

President Obama presides over the deliberations

     Unfortunately, when we got back to SB that evening, I got pretty sick, and my nighttime festivities consisted of a fever, chills, and periodically walking into walls as I stumbled to find meds.  Luckily, whatever cocktail of drugs I took when I was half-conscious worked, because after a few uncharacteristically long naps the next day, I was back to normal (almost).  Thankfully, this happened on a Sunday, so I was able to start this week of classes feeling a little bit better.

     Today, the results of the pizza accord came to fruition when the entire school got pizza and fries for lunch, compliments of Payal, one of the volunteers who is leaving this weekend.  Since many of them had never tasted pizza before, it was a special treat.  Their smiles and excitement were priceless, and the novelty was hilarious for the little kids - some of them tried to eat their slice with a spoon before we corrected them!  I took a few pictures before I proceeded to stuff myself with the fries, which tasted like they had come straight from heaven.  

Much easier without a spoon!

 

Rice < pizza

     Earlier tonight, the school choir was rehearsing for a special music video that they are going to film in Hosur on Saturday (which I get to help with!), and I got a part of the rehearsal on video.  It was so much fun messing around while they were singing and making sure everyone was smiling.  It's time like these that put a smile on your face for hours afterwards.

     It’s hard to believe that in a few days my six weeks at SB will be halfway done.  It’s been and continues to be one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had, and I’m sure the next month will make me appreciate SB even more than I already do.  Meanwhile, enjoy the pics!