Questions from Mrs. Dana's 8th grade Spanish class

We had a lively Facetime discussion last Thursday night until we lost our internet connection. Five days later we are back on! Here are answers to CEMS students' questions put together by Maria and myself. Thanks for following us and all the good questions!

Questions from Mrs. Dana's class

1. What exactly is dal?  

Dal is a bean "gravy" that is usually made from lentils or other similar beans.  It is often somewhat soupy. It can be yellow or brown. It often has green peppers and onions in it. 

2. What is the currency? What could you buy with the equivalent of $10? 

The currency is rupees. If you have 100,000 rupees it is called 1 Lakh.  $10 is worth about 600 rupees.  We went out to an "American" style cafe last weekend and had 2 pizzas nachos, dessert, coffee and bottled water and it cost 1000 rupees.  A taxi ride from our flat to Gangtok is about 30 minutes and costs 200 rupees for 4 people or 50 per person.  A coke costs 40 rupees and a small bag of chips is 10 rupees.  There is a separate symbol for the rupee like $ but I can't find it on the keyboard!

3. What are some different sports played there that aren't popular here? 

Cricket is very popular. 

4. How close to China are you? 

We are less than 50 miles from Tibet, China, Nepal and Bhutan. However the area is so mountainous it can take three times as long to cover the same number of km as if we were on flat terrain.  For example, it took us 6 hours to go to West Sikkim last weekend where if it had been flat it would have taken about 1.5-2 hours. 

5. How far from New Delhi are you? 

We are a 2 hour plane ride plus 6 hours in the car. If we took a train it would take about 17 hours plus a 6 hour car ride.   By car it would take 26 hours so it is kind of like driving from Portland, Maine to Miami. 

6. Has the heat wave impacted you? 

Here in Sikkim it is cool and rainy. The humidity hovers around 95%. If we get sun, which is rare, it can be quite nice in the 70's.  Jeans and a light shirt are usually the right attire for the weather.  In Delhi it was so hot it is hard to describe. It felt like an oven. Dara got heat exhaustion bordering on heat stroke. She almost fainted and threw up twice. We were lucky we did not have to take her to the hospital. The temperature was 112 degrees (about 44 Celsius). I read that a human can "boil" in their own skin at 48 Celsius. 

7. What questions do Maria's friends have for us about school or teenage life in U.S.? 

What are lockers for and why do student use them?  The students were very surprised at how much talking was going on when we Skyped. It is not like that here! Respect for the teacher and quiet is a huge issue.  This is so much the case that I think the students were hesitant to offer any questions. 

8. What has been hard for you to adjust to?  Not enough toilet paper and no way to do laundry. The school laundry service takes 3 days. Even if we wash our own clothes by hand, it takes 3 days for them to dry due to the humid wet weather! Also we are always worried about having clean bottled water to drink. I have started "making" my own water by boiling it and using a camping UV light to sterilize it. 

9. What's one thing that you like in India that's different from our typical life / culture?  Everything is cheaper here! (says Maria)

In school penmanship is very important and students who don't have neat handwriting are looked down on. Also students are taught typing skills and can type very quickly and accurately by 8th grade. This has been surprising to Maria and Dara. 

10. Does everyone have a smartphone? 

All adults have one and many of the older kids. Younger kids (6th grade and younger) don't have phones. 

11. Do students use digital devices for schoolwork? In school? Does everyone have access to a computer? 

All the classrooms are completely digital-free. All work is handwritten and a chalk board is used.  There is a computer lab with about 18 IBM computers that students use. Upper school students -- 9th grade and older-- often have their own computers they use in the library. 

12. Is it hard for you not having a reliable internet connection? 

Is it difficult in your apartment with no internet? YES I am dying without internet (says Maria).

13. Is there recess at the school? What are some typical games? 

Yes three times a day. Younger kids play a game coco and wall touch at recess. A lot of games are made up.  Older kids play basketball or volleyball or just talk to each other at recess.  

Off internet for 5 days!

We have been off the internet for five days due to heavy rain and landslides. We are back on so I will post an update quickly before we lose it again!

Workshop

Cultural Transitions

Grit. Self-control. Zest. Curiosity. Optimism. Gratitude. Social intelligence. 

These are the characteristics that research tells us are most associated with academic success and happiness (Duckworth). 

Lack of respect. Talking out of turn. Giggling. Not "giving the teacher eyes". 

These are some of the behaviors teachers are telling me are getting in the way of teaching.

Tomorrow, Saturday, I will present a workshop on student behavior for 30-40 teachers. As I began creating the workshop, I started out with a straightforward explanation of behavioral principles.  But then I realized the huge cultural shift I was asking from teachers. 

For instance the idea that:

• Every student comes to school with a different set of skills.
• Instruction must be differentiated. 
• Creativity and independence require space from hierarchy and rules.
• Social and emotional learning (SEL) has an important, even critical place in supporting academics.
• If academic performance is expected, teachers must also teach SEL.
• As students mature, teaching becomes more of a collaboration than a dissemination of information.
• Some degree of "rebellion" is normal for adolescents. 

I have reframed my workshop to begin with the importance of SEL in schools, knowing that this is the biggest shift teachers will have to make. I know the principal supports this too. I don't think they can buy into any system of behavioral management without also challenging their ideas how teachers affect and support to their students social and emotional development. 

Don't please don't misunderstand. I have been extremely impressed with the teaching skills and curriculum I have observed. The teachers are dedicated beyond anything we might expect in the US.  They leave their families to come and teach here for 9 months of the year. They live in small quarters, some even in the English style dormitory with students (essentially a large room with bunk beds).  They are eager to learn.  What I see as the biggest hurdle is the huge cultural shift which is required given their personal experiences in traditional Indian schools. 

Our "flat" in Nia Busti

This is for Mrs. Whipple's class who we spoke with today on Facetime. Lots of good questions! Keep 'em coming 4th graders!

We live in Nia Busti.  This means new village. We live down the hill from the school, about an 8 minute walk. We walk to school in the morning on a partially paved and curvy bumpy road.  In the afternoon we usually take the bus home because it is raining. At night a driver picks us up for dinner back at the school. There are a few small shops near our house that sell soda, chips and some home basics. One American-Swedish 2nd grade student lives in a building adjacent to us and there are many other children as well.

View from our balcony. Mt. Kanchenjunga is hidden behind the clouds most days. 

The stairs from the street to our "flat"

The door to our apartment

View from our balcony

Dara on her bed.

Dara and Alina's room

The living room and kitchen area

The bathroom. We also have a bathroom on the balcony that has a shower.  You have to turn on the water heater before and if there is not electricity, then no hot water! We lose electricity about every other day. 

Our entry hallway

Food!

Food. The all picture edition.

Dinner in Ravangla near the Buddha Park. Food here was a blend of Sikkimese and Chinese. Momos (dumplings) and fried rice and tea. 

Post dinner seeds are served to freshen your breath. Tasted like anise and fennel. 

Breakfast this morning. Oatmeal and a bun with shredded cheese.  I brought the coffee. 

The dining hall serving line. 

Lunch. Spicey pasta and french fries and fried bitter gourd. 

Sample menus. 

A local Sikkimese chew, doma. The men do it. Some kind of tobacco paste, bettle nuts and seeds. 

You can buy it at road side shops. It turns your mouth turns red. 

Fruit stand. Lady fingers (like green beans and ochra mixed), bitter gourd, thai eggplant, cukes etc. 

Lychee fruit.

Roadside shop. We have many in our naya basti (new village). 

Momos and lemon drink along our journey.

Alo paratha. So yummy. Like a tortilla with mashed potatoes and onions. Kids love it. 

Another favorite is puri, which is kind of like fried dough. We had it for breakfast on Tuesday with halwa, which is like a dry cinnamon cobler without the fruit. Delicious!

Rainy Trip to Gangtok

The kids finally got their uniforms on Monday.  We went to a busy and bustling tailor shop in Gangtok. The school buses took us on a bumpy 40 minute ride into the city, along with the other students who were going home. We got off at the city hospital. Unfortunately it was pouring! Imagine the hardest rain we get in Maine, where the gutters overflow and water rushes down the streets in rivers. Now make that rain last for 2 hours, with an additional 2 hours of moderate rain and a full day of mist, light rain and heavy fog.  This is the typical monsoon day here. We walked through rivers in the street!

Our reward? Clean DRY new school uniforms and a real American pizza dinner.

MG Marg -- Mahatma Ghandi Marginal, ironic as it is a shopping and commercial area. Also nearly the only flat spot in the town. The vertical rises on the roads are incredible. 

Right after this a Hindi family asked to have their picture taken with us. 

This has been happening a lot. 

Everyone was trying to buy umbrellas given the downpour.

Weekend Update

This past weekend we took an excursion to West Sikkim and saw some wonderful sights, including a monastery dating to 1645, ancient ruins of the former capital of Sikkim when it was under chogyal rule and a sacred lake.  Since returning I have been busy consulting with teachers, observing classrooms and preparing a workshop for Saturday for lower school teachers on behavioral expectations.  The school is training a prospective school counselor and I have been assigned to prepare her for her role, as she has not worked in a school before or with children.

I promise more pictures on our food adventures and our recent and very wet trip to Gangtok soon.

The school courtyard and library

Fourth grade hallway

Other view of courtyard. Kindergarten and Pre-K on top floor

Second grade morning meeting. 

Buddha Park en route to West Sikkim

Third grade student reading in the library

Breakfast in the dining hall. It was egg and toast day with a special treat of Tang!

Khecheopalri Lake, (meaning the heaven of Padmasambhava), is a sacred Lake for both Buddhists and Hindus. It is located in the mountains near Pelling, West Sikkim. 

Reflections in a prayer bowl in front of Buddha Park.