new routine; hanging out with some littles

Our days are fuller now and we think we're okay with that.

We still eat toast and boiled eggs in the hotel restaurant daily and we still enjoy that. This is a two-fold blessing: we appreciate having breakfast included in our hotel costs and we appreciate continuing to enjoy the same breakfast.

We still hop on one of the same three buses/routes. We have learned that we like one more than the others. Teresa prefers the one that seems to be the fastest. I prefer the one that, I think, has the greatest variety of things to observe. We're true to our personalities. Teresa likes efficiency. I like context, detail and variety even at the expense of time.

We still walk by Kali temple. We still walk by a bajillion stands all seemingly trying to sell the same things: sound-making shells, various flowers, brightly coloured powder, incense, bracelets, various icons and other paraphernalia to offer to the god(s) at the altars and temples.

We still walk by parades of men dressed in bright orange, displaying their Hindu affiliations. They are often seen at the stalls buying offerings and adornments. Sometimes they have long, decorated bamboo sticks with bells that announce the pack's comings and goings.

(Not a parade, I realize that but it's the only relevant picture I have)

I still feel a dark emptiness as we walk this street. Evangelism through words is not my mission here.

We are still invited daily to see the Kali temple. We daily decline the offer.

We are still struck by the wall of humidity when we exit each morning. This hasn't gotten easier. We are still glisteningly drenched.

What is different is how we're serving. We now spend our mornings with the littles, those just beginning their Indian lives. We now spend our afternoons with the elderly, those closer to the end of their Indian lives. The routine of the day seems fitting. Each day is its own story.

For the first two days Teresa and I were at the same school, Syamatara (New Light runs two in the Kalighat neighbourhood). There were a handful of kids each day, 5 or 6. Both schools are trying to a) give the little people a solid foundation so they can be successful in future schooling and b) teach them solid life values c) providing a safe and loving alternate environment to their home-life.

The children at these schools are children of people in the sex industry. Their homes and neighbourhoods aren't safe.

Part of New Light building (not my school, the main meeting area).

Looking into the alley from New Light. Many of the children at my school live here. Women are regularly waiting at the opening to this alley as they're waiting for work. Got it?

I wrote in the previous blog about a 7 year old girl who attends a third pre-school (one we visited but don't regularly volunteer at) who was raped by a 16 year old neighbour. When these little people get frustrating, I remind myself of their story/ies. People make sense when you know their story.

At both schools they start with meditation. It is quite a beautiful thing to see, actually. I say this as one who isn't overly comfortable with things of this sort. The children sit cross legged with their backs straight, arms resting on their knees with palms up and eyes closed. Teachers walk around ensuring this position. Music is played and these little people (some as young as 1) do a very good job of being still and quiet for minutes (at least 5). Those that take it "seriously" are the absolute cutest. Just picture it for a second. This morning one of the super littles fell forward and hit her head on the ground: she meditated herself to sleep.

The children also stand "at attention" (feet together, arms at their sides) and sing the national anthem. Again it is adorable to hear them belt out whatever words these littles know. At my school, Jhinuk, even passers-by and neighbours will stand and sing when the anthem is played from the CD player. I like that the anthem is sung rather than Canadianly absorbed.

Quick context: the rooms we're in are tiny. Teresa's room (her, 2 teachers and 5 or 6 littles) is long and relatively narrow, about the size of an North American master bathroom. But, here, that is a decent size that works. My classroom may be slightly larger and is more of a square. It is smaller than any other classroom I've ever set foot in. It is smaller than an average size single bedroom. At my school there are 2 teachers and 18-20 children; it's pretty tight quarters.

At some point in the morning there is exercise. At Teresa's school they will actually do warm-up exercises and stretching, right after meditation and the anthem. At my school the exercise portion comes later in the morning, around 11 when it is time to learn dance. We have been working on 2 different dances so far. Again, it is super cute to see the littles following along and thinking and figuring how to have their bodies copy the movements their eyes take in. It seems to be extra entertaining as I learn along with the little people. First of all, I am a downright huge female in India. Second, I only wear two different shirts here: orange and neon pink. Third, I'm huge. Third point five, remember the classroom size. I stand out like the Jesus statue in Brazil. (Don't read too deeply into this, I am not comparing myself to Jesus). Fourth, I'm Dutch and from a non-dancing family so I'm not gifted with natural rhythm. However, I'm not atrocious. I follow along and do quite well, until we get to the hip circle/hula hoop movement; that is not my forte. But I work it. I make faces and I have fun. I keep some kids on track and make many others feel good about themselves when they clue in that they can dance better than I can. We have been working on a dance to a song I have no information on but the dance I'm extra excited about learning is our second one, "Jai Ho": it's at the end of 'Slumdog Millionaire". This is a fun dance, especially watching the littles do it. All in all, the dance part of the day is a fun party. Teresa loves to dance so we're making arrangements for her to join my school for a "Jai Ho" party.

The first day we learned "Jai Ho" I excitedly brought my new-found learning to Kalighat that afternoon. First I showed my moves to the massi's and then even got some ladies to join in on the fun.

In addition to dance and exercise the little people get snacks etc...bananas, bread, sweets, chips and, at my school, they get lime slices. It's neat to watch the Indian littles eat lime slices like Canadian littles eat orange slices at soccer half time.

There is also book learning. At both schools the little people are exposed to English letters, numbers and colours (they also learn Hindi and Bengali). They each have their own notebooks and as we work through them I fondly return to the nostalgia of my elementary learning. We work with the littles on capital letters, which direction the lines need to be written, going from red line to red line, stopping at the appropriate blue lines in between, and high-fiving after letters and numbers are completed correctly. When entire rows are complete, they get a hand-drawn happy face of some sort. In addition to copying numbers we'll draw multiple little diagrams to help them with their counting (ie we'll draw 6 umbrellas). Who needs pre-printed work sheets? Each morning, for each student, the numbers or letters they are working on that day are hand-written at the top of the page. Every morning. Every student. Teresa and I have also made a letter and number memory game with paper, pencil crayons and art skills taught to me by the infamous Mr. Groen.

We're managing. Actually, I daresay we're excelling. This is not very different than previous teaching experiences I've had in Haiti, South Africa, Belize, Dominican Republic, Mexico and other countries and teresa is a Kindergarten teacher so she's good to go. I am falling in love with the kids (teresa probably is too) and I have quickly been drawn to some as "favourites". There are some who piss me off temporarily and, so far, I've been able to find grace in dealing with them. People makes sense when you know their story/ies. Mornings are fun. Kids are fun. If I ever get fired as a high school teacher, I could make a living teaching little people.