Things are really good here - I am incredibly busy and enjoying it! I've beeen coming at 6am to stay afloat on the things to finish. I just finished September's monthly grading today. Relief, whew! Now my sights are focused on the one act play to come - Oct 13 performance. Unable to find a play that had a big cast to include lots of kids, and also one I felt my kids would enjoy and/or understand clearly, I decided to write my own. Bit autobiographical, all observational: two plots occur simultaneously, an American's boys last day at home before leaving for Nepal to join the Peace Corps vs. a Nepali boy's last day at home before leaving for the US to study. After I finished writing it, I picked the parts = 16! For a 25 minute play, and we started rehearsing. By surprise though, my actors are intensely dedicated. They'll leave class during the morning (Sitaula sir tells me they can do this twice per day), stay after school at 11:30 to practice. These days, they inform me of practice, "Sir are you free?" Oh, okay, I say. As the class captain tells me, the girl playing the Nepali's mother, "we want to win!" I am busy, but it s a good busy, especially since August break I am feeling more and more part of the school.
Last week I went to another school to be a judge of an English poetry contest. This experience made me happy to be at LMV. Like LMV, the school is old, 20 years, and private. Though it was flashy and trendy = no other words describe it. Between poems, the choir would sing Abba songs backed up by a synthesizer, the principal would speak over microphone about one or two model students. It made LMV look ancient, though it also made me proud of LMV's emphasis on value based education and closer to a more traditional and secure Nepal.
Two new developments in my life:
South Asian Documentary film festival will run from Thursday to Sunday!
My mother visiting for Deshai!
Molly and I are very grateful to Madhab for changing our afternoon schedules to end at 3:30. Even if I don't leave at that time, being done is a huge psychological relief. We have choice to go out before dark comes vs. stay at school and work (as this week required) vs. go home and relax. The biggest effect has been I feel much more in Nepal these days. At least twice per week, we're going out seeing a concert, swimming, seeing people, very nice.
In teaching, things are going really well. My class 8 classes are becoming more and more what I dreamt teaching would be like. Every day I feel a stronger connection to the students and sense they are understanding a lot more. Since September, I have been assigning weekly "journals." For these, I usually ask one essay question such as "compare/contrast villages and cities" and also ask them to make a comment on class = anything, suggestions/criticisms of class to any question for me. The questions are really fun, ie - why do tourists come to Nepal? My 5 & 6 classes are not on the 8 level yet. Perhaps its because I have more time to prepare in the morning than afternoon, but most likely it's the age difference I'm finding difficult to negotiate. Increasingly, I am trying to extend 5 & 6 lessons outside of the textbook. I find that I'm more lazy and less creative with lesson plans when I depend on the book.
Most excitingly, as I just told my parents in an email, I think I have found my career. I could very easily see myself do this for many years to come. And the great thing I'm realizing is that it will always be different, this year Nepali kids, and then what's next? Where are teachers not needed?
In the wake of the US attacks, the political scene is active. For once though, people are not focused on the Maoists, but rather America and what's next? People ask us what Bush will do - sorry, I say, I know no better than anyone else who watches CNN and BBC. As for the Maoists, things are good, I thinkâ¦. Round two of government-Maoist talks produced no solid agreements, except agreeing to meet again. The Maoists have agreed to free prisoners, upwards of 200 policeman and other gov. officials who have been held since June. In direct relevance to LMV, the Maoist student union has promised to stop school bandhas, closures of all schools in Nepal, something they pulled just two weeks ago giving us a 3day weekend.
The weather is a dream: cool at night and morning, making the warm blooded Nepalis come to school in sweaters and jackets and wondering if Molly and I are crazy to wear our nothing additional, and warm during the day. Extra bonus: occasional mountain views on cloudless mornings and evenings! Oh, they are calling us: come trekking!!!!
