I have been so unmotivated to write about vacation, perhaps because it was so perfect and beautiful - it almost seems unreal!
So I will just tell you this about my vacation:
Jonathan and I had so much fun! We spent a few days at Jonathan's placement. It was fun. His children are very lovely and are in a highly structured educational setting. Their dedication is due largely to the dedication that the teachers give to them. It was nice to see since the environment where I work lacks any structure and dedication from teachers. During this time we also got to visit Chandra at her house and her parents farm. Her house is very nice. She has a little garden area out in the back where several different fruits and vegetables grow. Her family's farm was also beautiful. The land and the house are so quiet and the pace of life is much different from the dirty shuffle of Trichy. Chandra's cooking is also very impressive. I wish my hostel workers cooked like her!! We stayed over one night in Coimbatore, the third largest city in Tamil Nadu. We drank a cup of filter coffee, had some beer, and slept a full night in ac! We then moved on to Kerala, which was an adventure all on its own. I recommend you read Jonathan's blog about the pleasant bus ride to Kerala. The views were beautiful and it was interesting to zoom in and out of all these small cities and towns. We spent the a few days in Kerala where it was cool and had power full time! It was absolutely delightful. Jonathan and I drank masala tea, ate Italian food, ate eggs and toast, watched nature, and relaxed. It truly was the perfect little getaway. We visited a tea plantation and a spice garden. They were both absolutely breath taking!
I have come back and started to get back in the swing of things here in Trichy. I felt so refreshed to be back at school. It was obvious upon arriving back at school that my teachers did not have the same refreshed attitude. Most of my children were beaten the first few days back because they did not make marks. Meaning they did not pass the quarterly exams. This was extremely difficult for me besides for the obvious reasons. The teachers at my school do not teach and are not in the classroom the majority of the time. To me it is quite obvious that the children did not pass their quarterly marks because of the lack of instruction from the teachers. This however, was not an idea which crossed the mind of the headmistress as she beat all the kids that did not pass. Government schools in Tamil Nadu have a lot of progress to make. Tamil Nadu definitely needs more teachers like those at Jonathan's school.
Yesterday, I spent my whole afternoon with Durqa. It was her birthday. She brought Laura and I chicken gravy and an egg to eat with rice. It was so delicious! I gave her a new saree for her birthday. She seemed to really like the colors and material. I just wish that I could fully describe how beautiful Durqa is. Durqa and I then walked to the principal of the Pharmacy College's house. Durqa does some work there to make a little extra money. She has talked about us to the principal and she wanted to meet us so I went with her, just her and I walking there was nice. We ran into some of my students on the way. They always get shy when they see me outside of class and forget all English that I have taught them. But Durqa yelled at them to say hello to me in Tamil. It was very funny and cute. She pinched their cheeks and we moved on. We got to the principals house and I visited with her daughter while I waited for her to come home. Durqa got to her cleaning. The principal and her other daughter came home and visited with me. I had so much fun. They all speak English very well and are very nice. Durqa finished cleaning and joined us. We then all had a piece of cake and some snacks for Durqa's birthday. We all four sat talking for about two hours. It was a great evening. Durqa and I then walked home in the dark. She held my hand nearly the whole way. I love her and what she adds to my life.
Today I went to visit Athiya. She is another woman whom I have become friends with. Today she made me biriyani with chicken gravy and onion with curd. It was soooo good. Except for the fact that she made me eat what felt like 1 kilo of rice. I sat eating in her hair salon with her two friends and Jenna. It was so nice. She then insisted, after I ate more rice than I ate in the past decade, that we eat sweets to help cool the spice feeling in our mouths. It was a fun time. Tomorrow her and I are going shopping on her scooty. I am looking forward to it.
So I will just tell you this about my vacation:
Jonathan and I had so much fun! We spent a few days at Jonathan's placement. It was fun. His children are very lovely and are in a highly structured educational setting. Their dedication is due largely to the dedication that the teachers give to them. It was nice to see since the environment where I work lacks any structure and dedication from teachers. During this time we also got to visit Chandra at her house and her parents farm. Her house is very nice. She has a little garden area out in the back where several different fruits and vegetables grow. Her family's farm was also beautiful. The land and the house are so quiet and the pace of life is much different from the dirty shuffle of Trichy. Chandra's cooking is also very impressive. I wish my hostel workers cooked like her!! We stayed over one night in Coimbatore, the third largest city in Tamil Nadu. We drank a cup of filter coffee, had some beer, and slept a full night in ac! We then moved on to Kerala, which was an adventure all on its own. I recommend you read Jonathan's blog about the pleasant bus ride to Kerala. The views were beautiful and it was interesting to zoom in and out of all these small cities and towns. We spent the a few days in Kerala where it was cool and had power full time! It was absolutely delightful. Jonathan and I drank masala tea, ate Italian food, ate eggs and toast, watched nature, and relaxed. It truly was the perfect little getaway. We visited a tea plantation and a spice garden. They were both absolutely breath taking!
I have come back and started to get back in the swing of things here in Trichy. I felt so refreshed to be back at school. It was obvious upon arriving back at school that my teachers did not have the same refreshed attitude. Most of my children were beaten the first few days back because they did not make marks. Meaning they did not pass the quarterly exams. This was extremely difficult for me besides for the obvious reasons. The teachers at my school do not teach and are not in the classroom the majority of the time. To me it is quite obvious that the children did not pass their quarterly marks because of the lack of instruction from the teachers. This however, was not an idea which crossed the mind of the headmistress as she beat all the kids that did not pass. Government schools in Tamil Nadu have a lot of progress to make. Tamil Nadu definitely needs more teachers like those at Jonathan's school.
Yesterday, I spent my whole afternoon with Durqa. It was her birthday. She brought Laura and I chicken gravy and an egg to eat with rice. It was so delicious! I gave her a new saree for her birthday. She seemed to really like the colors and material. I just wish that I could fully describe how beautiful Durqa is. Durqa and I then walked to the principal of the Pharmacy College's house. Durqa does some work there to make a little extra money. She has talked about us to the principal and she wanted to meet us so I went with her, just her and I walking there was nice. We ran into some of my students on the way. They always get shy when they see me outside of class and forget all English that I have taught them. But Durqa yelled at them to say hello to me in Tamil. It was very funny and cute. She pinched their cheeks and we moved on. We got to the principals house and I visited with her daughter while I waited for her to come home. Durqa got to her cleaning. The principal and her other daughter came home and visited with me. I had so much fun. They all speak English very well and are very nice. Durqa finished cleaning and joined us. We then all had a piece of cake and some snacks for Durqa's birthday. We all four sat talking for about two hours. It was a great evening. Durqa and I then walked home in the dark. She held my hand nearly the whole way. I love her and what she adds to my life.
Today I went to visit Athiya. She is another woman whom I have become friends with. Today she made me biriyani with chicken gravy and onion with curd. It was soooo good. Except for the fact that she made me eat what felt like 1 kilo of rice. I sat eating in her hair salon with her two friends and Jenna. It was so nice. She then insisted, after I ate more rice than I ate in the past decade, that we eat sweets to help cool the spice feeling in our mouths. It was a fun time. Tomorrow her and I are going shopping on her scooty. I am looking forward to it.
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