Neemdi
Where to start?
I don't know where I left off.
About a week ago, I moved to a small village called Neemdi outside of Udaipur in India. Through an organization called The Learning Foundation of India, I've been given the opportunity to teach English and basic computer literacy to underprivilaged kids.
After the orientation for the project in Jaipur, we took an over-night bus to a small city called Bhindar (our base of operations and a relative centerpoint of the villages served). After an extremely drawn out reception ceremony (including speeches by teachers and headmasters that lasted two hours), we headed out to the villages.
I have been paired with a boy named Nishant from Haryana. He and I were the first to be dropped off---in front of the exact school you would imagine an Indian village having. There we were "greeted" by our contact person in the village, Laxmiji. Laxmiji explained to us that there was some trouble and that the host family that had agreed to house us would no longer be able to do so.
...
So we sat in the school for an hour in 110 degree weather. Someone suggested that we sleep in the school. Where would we shower and use the restroom? There is a barber shop 100 meters down the road.
...
To my disappointment, Nishant was overwhelmingly agreeable. And of course, I couldn't say anything or I'd be the "disagreeable American." So, I started to counsel myself. It's fine. It's only a month. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. At least you won't have to travel far to get to school. It'll be great actually! It'll be like fending for yourself in nature.
But, my distaste for the sleeping-in-the-school idea must have been radiating from my expression because they started offering to "search the town for a better solution." Great...
So, we walked away from the school, on the one main road in Neemdi. And, we entered the first building on the right. "This is a vacant building. No one lives here. There's no front door but don't worry, it's a safe village." Uh-huh. We passed a couple of rooms with some dirt floors and very modest plumbing (including a hole in the floor). "This is the bathroom and shower. If you'd like we can put a curtain up." Uh-huh. We walked up a flight of narrow stairs and we were on the flat roof of the vacant house. "You can sleep up here. Do you think you'll need a bed? Or will the floor do?" Uh-huh.
Nishant said, "This is fine."
This is fine? I mean. It's FINE. But there's no food and there's no door on the bathroom. I started to counsel. No, it's FINE. It'll be like the Boxcar Children or something. We'll struggle and come out on top! What an experience!
"Is this fine with you Niral?"
"No, this is great," I said. Again, my distaste must have been seething from my pores because we continued to "search for other options." But then, a young boy came running and whispered something to Laxmiji. Laxmiji said, "Another host family has decided to take you in."
Great. Now the village hates us because no one wanted us. And now one family has taken us in but they're going to hate us because the rest of the village hates them because they took us in. Great.
We walked deeper into the village passing a beautiful tree at the convergence of two roads. The tree was surrounded by a raised circular white stone bench covered with old Brahmin men (I guess talking about philosophy or something...). Just as you'd expect in a village.
After a few minutes we came to a small, but very nice house. We were ushered into a small set of doors right next to the main door. "This will be your room." Ok. This looks okay.
The room is about 12X10---just about enough room for two twin sized cots and our luggage. The walls are covered in fading milky blue plaster. Pictures of Sarasvati and Krishna are randomly pasted on the wall---gaudy clocks and mismatched wall hangings are everywhere. Very odd. YES. There is a ceiling fan!
We were immediately given chai and crackers and Nishant started to speak to the 12 gawking children piled in our doorway. My new host brother Punit (12) started to ask questions about me (in Hindi to Nishant). "Where are you from?" "How long are you here for?" Pretty standard stuff.
I then made the mistake of taking my digital camera out. I took a picture of the kids---and was then literally attacked by all of them trying to see the LCD screen. I also met my two host sisters, Niramla (8) and Sheetal (3). And, my host parents Ramratanji and Radharukmanji.
Everyone was very accomodating and finally after a long talk and dinner we went to bed.
---
The next morning (Saturday) we started classes. Not because we were prepared or really excited to start teaching---but moreso to create the image that we we were there to work. As I had mentioned there was some bickering about our arrival, so we wanted to prove we were ambassadors of good will.
Our first class was great fun. Shapes and colors. "Always speak in full sentences." Totally BSed off the top of my head. But I started to get an idea of the level of English in the village.
That level is nothing. Often I'll ask "How old are you?" And I'll get "I'm fine," in response.
After a week though, our teaching schedule has finally been settled. 8-9:30 we teach primary school kids (basically, we play games and sing songs like Head-Shoulders-Knees-and-Toes). 10:30-12:30 we teach 11-15 year olds. These kids don't have the tenacity to really learn English formally but they're mostly intelligent. So, with these kids we focus on spoken English and removing the fear of speaking. Finally 1-3 we teach 15+ (except for one very smart 13 year old girl). These are the "advanced" English students. But really, they're not so much "advanced" in English---just more "advanced" in age. Regardless, I'm teaching them legitimate grammar, parts of speech, and phonetics.
I hate drawing lines at sex and propogating the gender binary---but I'll do it anyway. I've noticed in the primary section that boys are more raucous and confident. Girls are shy and not as responsive. This is also true in the middle section. However, in the advanced section, the girls are a pleasure to work with. They're all wonderfully mannered, always prepared, and very smart. The boys, on the otherhand seem to have lost their confidence with age and are pretty much stupid.
Anyhow, this week has been a wonderful experience. And, I'm so happy that I'm here. I'm writing from a hotel in Udaipur where I'm staying for the weekend. But, my bus back to Neemdi is in half an hour so I have to go right now.
I'll be back in Udaipur next weekend. So until then.
I don't know where I left off.
About a week ago, I moved to a small village called Neemdi outside of Udaipur in India. Through an organization called The Learning Foundation of India, I've been given the opportunity to teach English and basic computer literacy to underprivilaged kids.
After the orientation for the project in Jaipur, we took an over-night bus to a small city called Bhindar (our base of operations and a relative centerpoint of the villages served). After an extremely drawn out reception ceremony (including speeches by teachers and headmasters that lasted two hours), we headed out to the villages.
I have been paired with a boy named Nishant from Haryana. He and I were the first to be dropped off---in front of the exact school you would imagine an Indian village having. There we were "greeted" by our contact person in the village, Laxmiji. Laxmiji explained to us that there was some trouble and that the host family that had agreed to house us would no longer be able to do so.
...
So we sat in the school for an hour in 110 degree weather. Someone suggested that we sleep in the school. Where would we shower and use the restroom? There is a barber shop 100 meters down the road.
...
To my disappointment, Nishant was overwhelmingly agreeable. And of course, I couldn't say anything or I'd be the "disagreeable American." So, I started to counsel myself. It's fine. It's only a month. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. At least you won't have to travel far to get to school. It'll be great actually! It'll be like fending for yourself in nature.
But, my distaste for the sleeping-in-the-school idea must have been radiating from my expression because they started offering to "search the town for a better solution." Great...
So, we walked away from the school, on the one main road in Neemdi. And, we entered the first building on the right. "This is a vacant building. No one lives here. There's no front door but don't worry, it's a safe village." Uh-huh. We passed a couple of rooms with some dirt floors and very modest plumbing (including a hole in the floor). "This is the bathroom and shower. If you'd like we can put a curtain up." Uh-huh. We walked up a flight of narrow stairs and we were on the flat roof of the vacant house. "You can sleep up here. Do you think you'll need a bed? Or will the floor do?" Uh-huh.
Nishant said, "This is fine."
This is fine? I mean. It's FINE. But there's no food and there's no door on the bathroom. I started to counsel. No, it's FINE. It'll be like the Boxcar Children or something. We'll struggle and come out on top! What an experience!
"Is this fine with you Niral?"
"No, this is great," I said. Again, my distaste must have been seething from my pores because we continued to "search for other options." But then, a young boy came running and whispered something to Laxmiji. Laxmiji said, "Another host family has decided to take you in."
Great. Now the village hates us because no one wanted us. And now one family has taken us in but they're going to hate us because the rest of the village hates them because they took us in. Great.
We walked deeper into the village passing a beautiful tree at the convergence of two roads. The tree was surrounded by a raised circular white stone bench covered with old Brahmin men (I guess talking about philosophy or something...). Just as you'd expect in a village.
After a few minutes we came to a small, but very nice house. We were ushered into a small set of doors right next to the main door. "This will be your room." Ok. This looks okay.
The room is about 12X10---just about enough room for two twin sized cots and our luggage. The walls are covered in fading milky blue plaster. Pictures of Sarasvati and Krishna are randomly pasted on the wall---gaudy clocks and mismatched wall hangings are everywhere. Very odd. YES. There is a ceiling fan!
We were immediately given chai and crackers and Nishant started to speak to the 12 gawking children piled in our doorway. My new host brother Punit (12) started to ask questions about me (in Hindi to Nishant). "Where are you from?" "How long are you here for?" Pretty standard stuff.
I then made the mistake of taking my digital camera out. I took a picture of the kids---and was then literally attacked by all of them trying to see the LCD screen. I also met my two host sisters, Niramla (8) and Sheetal (3). And, my host parents Ramratanji and Radharukmanji.
Everyone was very accomodating and finally after a long talk and dinner we went to bed.
---
The next morning (Saturday) we started classes. Not because we were prepared or really excited to start teaching---but moreso to create the image that we we were there to work. As I had mentioned there was some bickering about our arrival, so we wanted to prove we were ambassadors of good will.
Our first class was great fun. Shapes and colors. "Always speak in full sentences." Totally BSed off the top of my head. But I started to get an idea of the level of English in the village.
That level is nothing. Often I'll ask "How old are you?" And I'll get "I'm fine," in response.
After a week though, our teaching schedule has finally been settled. 8-9:30 we teach primary school kids (basically, we play games and sing songs like Head-Shoulders-Knees-and-Toes). 10:30-12:30 we teach 11-15 year olds. These kids don't have the tenacity to really learn English formally but they're mostly intelligent. So, with these kids we focus on spoken English and removing the fear of speaking. Finally 1-3 we teach 15+ (except for one very smart 13 year old girl). These are the "advanced" English students. But really, they're not so much "advanced" in English---just more "advanced" in age. Regardless, I'm teaching them legitimate grammar, parts of speech, and phonetics.
I hate drawing lines at sex and propogating the gender binary---but I'll do it anyway. I've noticed in the primary section that boys are more raucous and confident. Girls are shy and not as responsive. This is also true in the middle section. However, in the advanced section, the girls are a pleasure to work with. They're all wonderfully mannered, always prepared, and very smart. The boys, on the otherhand seem to have lost their confidence with age and are pretty much stupid.
Anyhow, this week has been a wonderful experience. And, I'm so happy that I'm here. I'm writing from a hotel in Udaipur where I'm staying for the weekend. But, my bus back to Neemdi is in half an hour so I have to go right now.
I'll be back in Udaipur next weekend. So until then.
posted by Jay at 4:31 AM
1 Comments:
hi niral i m Anant from neemdi thanks for written about my village my email id is anantchoubisa@yahoo.in
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