This is a much overdue post!!! I apologize for the lack of updates but there is almost never a working internet connection available to me at Sevalaya. I am currently in the beach town of Mamallapuran with a few of the other volunteers for a couple of relaxing days before classes start on the 10th. We have been enjoying eating some different foods, seeing monuments, and relaxing (in full dress) on the beach! Here is the third blog post I prepared:
Things have begun to feel much more familiar around Sevalaya since my last entry. The summer camp schedule, hanging out with the resident kids at the hostel from 8:20-1:00 and then again later in the afternoon, is tiring with all the little hands tugging at me and calls-out of "sister" or "akka" (Tamil for sister), but it has been very fun and rewarding. I've gotten the chance to practice English letters with a few of the children and even read them storybooks, though their comprehension based on the looks and questions that I get at the end of a tale. Reading and writing are my favorite things to teach in America so I am excited to get the chance to practice teaching them (to whatever extent I can) in an environment unlike any other I will likely ever teach in again. The other volunteers and I pass evenings by going into town to go shopping some nights and have gotten to take a couple fun adventures to neighboring areas of Tamil Nadu, such as to an Indian wedding and to another school/small monastery several hours away (where we visited a 2,000 year old temple and feed monkeys at the top of a mountain!).
Mealtimes are sometimes the most exciting and interesting parts of my days because they give me a chance to do some observing and also to talk with some people I usually don't get the chance to interact with much (i.e., tall people). During mealtimes, there is not much familiar but much of it is tasty. Every meal is based around rice, which is the staple here, with some sort of vegetable sauce. Usually, it is very thin and watery (samba) but on my lucky days it is creamier and a little less spicy (these are called chutney). There will sometimes also be some sort of rice-bread and a sweet, usually mango paste or dates. I find that my palate has the most luck at breakfast, when the sauce is least spicy and more filling. We eat with our right hands here, and specifically our righthand fingers. I like this part very much. Before each meal, everyone picks out a large metal plate and small metal cup from the drying rack and rinses them in the faucets along the outside of the dining hall, which trickle out ground water. The "aunties" come around with big metal pails and shovel each ingredient for that particular meal onto your plate. When you are finished, you dump any leftovers into a bucket next to the faucets outside which will be fed to the animals, and rinse your plate and cup once again. Sevalaya offers the chance for families or individuals to sponsor meals any day of the year, and occasionally a sponsor will come in on a certain day (often the birthday of someone in their family) and bring extra foods to share. These have been such treats as bananas, little chocolate candies, birthday cake, and even ice cream cups! I am a big fan of these days, as are the children. I also try to seek out the coffee that adults partake in throughout the day as much as I can, which is tasty despite its hot temperature in the blistering heat of the day. It is concerning that the diets here contain next to no protein and the visiting doctor is helping to teach us some of the most common sicknesses in the area.
Even though they are cute, the children can be hard to deal with at times. During the summer, when the resident kids only have their "summer class," all of them are in one room all morning. They pay attention to their main teacher, a young local guy, for about 30 minutes but then things can start to get out of hand. The other volunteers and I lead the later half of the morning and teach cultural things like songs and then mostly play with the children. It is very hard to communicate ideas like "one at a time," "raise your hand," or even "wait" when such phrases are often idiomatic or simply not a part of classroom culture here as they are in the US. It can be very overwhelming, especially during the largely unstructured summer weeks when all the children are seeking as much attention from us as possible anyway.
I feel very lucky to be doing what I am doing though, even when things are difficult to process as they often are in a culture so different and a society made up of largely extremely poor and underprivileged children and adults. During my daily duties at Sevalaya, I am able to lend my hands and my mind to do a little bit of good. I feel even luckier at the end of the day when I say "okay, see you tomorrow, bye-bye" and little Sati exclaims, "noooo, seeeeestaaaa!" A few days ago, I couldn't leave her at that, so I taught her the farewell that I teach to all the children I babysit in the US. When I see her at breakfast now, I hold up one fist and say "pound it," and she smiles and bumps me back.
Things have begun to feel much more familiar around Sevalaya since my last entry. The summer camp schedule, hanging out with the resident kids at the hostel from 8:20-1:00 and then again later in the afternoon, is tiring with all the little hands tugging at me and calls-out of "sister" or "akka" (Tamil for sister), but it has been very fun and rewarding. I've gotten the chance to practice English letters with a few of the children and even read them storybooks, though their comprehension based on the looks and questions that I get at the end of a tale. Reading and writing are my favorite things to teach in America so I am excited to get the chance to practice teaching them (to whatever extent I can) in an environment unlike any other I will likely ever teach in again. The other volunteers and I pass evenings by going into town to go shopping some nights and have gotten to take a couple fun adventures to neighboring areas of Tamil Nadu, such as to an Indian wedding and to another school/small monastery several hours away (where we visited a 2,000 year old temple and feed monkeys at the top of a mountain!).
Mealtimes are sometimes the most exciting and interesting parts of my days because they give me a chance to do some observing and also to talk with some people I usually don't get the chance to interact with much (i.e., tall people). During mealtimes, there is not much familiar but much of it is tasty. Every meal is based around rice, which is the staple here, with some sort of vegetable sauce. Usually, it is very thin and watery (samba) but on my lucky days it is creamier and a little less spicy (these are called chutney). There will sometimes also be some sort of rice-bread and a sweet, usually mango paste or dates. I find that my palate has the most luck at breakfast, when the sauce is least spicy and more filling. We eat with our right hands here, and specifically our righthand fingers. I like this part very much. Before each meal, everyone picks out a large metal plate and small metal cup from the drying rack and rinses them in the faucets along the outside of the dining hall, which trickle out ground water. The "aunties" come around with big metal pails and shovel each ingredient for that particular meal onto your plate. When you are finished, you dump any leftovers into a bucket next to the faucets outside which will be fed to the animals, and rinse your plate and cup once again. Sevalaya offers the chance for families or individuals to sponsor meals any day of the year, and occasionally a sponsor will come in on a certain day (often the birthday of someone in their family) and bring extra foods to share. These have been such treats as bananas, little chocolate candies, birthday cake, and even ice cream cups! I am a big fan of these days, as are the children. I also try to seek out the coffee that adults partake in throughout the day as much as I can, which is tasty despite its hot temperature in the blistering heat of the day. It is concerning that the diets here contain next to no protein and the visiting doctor is helping to teach us some of the most common sicknesses in the area.
Even though they are cute, the children can be hard to deal with at times. During the summer, when the resident kids only have their "summer class," all of them are in one room all morning. They pay attention to their main teacher, a young local guy, for about 30 minutes but then things can start to get out of hand. The other volunteers and I lead the later half of the morning and teach cultural things like songs and then mostly play with the children. It is very hard to communicate ideas like "one at a time," "raise your hand," or even "wait" when such phrases are often idiomatic or simply not a part of classroom culture here as they are in the US. It can be very overwhelming, especially during the largely unstructured summer weeks when all the children are seeking as much attention from us as possible anyway.
I feel very lucky to be doing what I am doing though, even when things are difficult to process as they often are in a culture so different and a society made up of largely extremely poor and underprivileged children and adults. During my daily duties at Sevalaya, I am able to lend my hands and my mind to do a little bit of good. I feel even luckier at the end of the day when I say "okay, see you tomorrow, bye-bye" and little Sati exclaims, "noooo, seeeeestaaaa!" A few days ago, I couldn't leave her at that, so I taught her the farewell that I teach to all the children I babysit in the US. When I see her at breakfast now, I hold up one fist and say "pound it," and she smiles and bumps me back.
Great photos and reflections! No problem about the erratic internet connections, just post as often as you can. Anne should be joining you very soon--to be followed in a few weeks by Adline. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteSo happy to hear about your time. Sounds like you are bringing some joy to these young children's lives. Keep us posted as internet connections permit. There are a lot of us who are very much enjoying hearing about what you are doing :-)
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