Well, last I posted, I was discouraged and worn out from teaching the monklets and them not paying attention. Boy have things changed!
Friday I planned a sort of art game. I divided each blank piece of paper into 6 areas, and then came up with 6 instructions for them to draw.
1. Draw a picture of your family
2. Draw a picture of your favourite food
3. Draw a picture of an animal that starts with the letter D, and one that starts with M.
4. Draw a picture of your favourite sport
5. Draw a picture of you and your best friend/s
6. Draw a picture of your favourite movie/cartoon
It went really well. Not only did I get to see the differences in each boy, I also had them practice understanding english instructions and have fun! To make it fair, I also did the exercise and they LOVED my drawings. (I chose mouse and deer for my animals!)
Saturday is only a half day, making life so much easier. Also on Saturday, other volunteers arrived! And small world, one of the girls had volunteered two years previous when Simon's brother was here!
All three are from England, the two girls are best friends and the guy is a new friend of theirs. Rachel and Ellie (Ellie had been here previously) are university students on a break, travelling together. Both are smart, funny, and really pretty. And nice! I am always slightly nervous when meeting new people, but we seem to get along quite well.
The guy's name is Naz, and he is of Pakistan heritage. I only mention it because he is constantly thought to be a local, he looks very Nepali. He is funny and smart as well, a handsome (but young) man.
It is wonderful to have other english speakers to talk to, even though we sometimes have to explain our slang to each other.
On Saturday, after they arrived, we played with the kids. Sunday morning was more play time, spent braiding bracelets and necklaces out of embroidery floss and letting the monklets take pictures with my spare camera. (Don't worry, Mom, your camera is safe!) There are some fantastic pictures from their perspective, check them out on my facebook. After lunch we walked into Lakeside together, and I bid them adieu. They were going boating and swimming and I completely spaced and didn't bring a suit. Plus, it was so hot and sunny I didn't want to sit in a boat for 2 hours. I went shopping instead, finding some new markers and toys for the boys, as well as some snacks to get me through the next week.
Sunday evening we played cards, and planned what to do for Monday's teaching. Sunday evening was also another big event: the older monklets arrived from Mustang! These boys range from 12-17, and boy, I was intimidated when I thought about teaching them. Monday there were only classes for the younger monklets, as the older ones were still tired from their incredible journey.
Having extra volunteers was wonderful, as the girls taught Monday morning and I took over and taught Monday afternoon. Having only 3 classes to teach is much easier than 6; and only dealing with the 2nd years one class instead of 2 was wonderful.
Monday evening was more cards with the other volunteers, and speculation about what the new schedule would be. We didn't know what we would be teaching until about 30 minutes before classes began Tuesday morning!
Yet Tuesday was when the teaching tide turned. I started with the 1st years and had four classes in the morning, 1 then 2 then 3 then 4. After lunch I had the older boys, 6 then 5 then 7 then another class with 6. No more kindergarten class, which I was surprisingly OK with. I read to the 1-4 classes from a book about the human body, then taught the 5-7 years about the inner workings of a mammal cell. They are so smart and so respectful! The older boys paid attention as I drew a cell on the board, labelled the organelles and explained their purpose. I explained that although almost all the mammalian cells are generally similar in shape and 'contents', red blood cells do not have a nucleus so are flatter than others. One of the 6th years asked 'are there white blood cells?' and so I got to explain the difference. Smart boys!
I felt so good by the end of the day, like I hadn't wasted time but had instead really taught something and had students who listened and learned. It was wonderful, such a different feeling than my previous teaching experiences.
Wednesday I drew pictures of the human body and its parts with the students, because they had paid such good attention on Wednesday. Thursday was my horseback tour, so I didn't teach, but today, (Friday) was my last day of classes before I travel to Kathmandu. I had prepared some cute little heart shaped Canada flags, and wrote thank you's to all the monklets on the back. I handed them out with markers, stickers, candies and whatnot to the boys in each class. I apologized to the older boys that we only had 1 day of actual teaching, and watched an episode of Venture Bros with them (Dia De Los Dangereaux, not racy or offensive). They were pretty happy, and so was I.
Now I am relaxing, sore from my day of horseback riding (will update about that in a separate post), and still worn out from the past few day's activities. I am just waiting to find out when I am catching a bus on Sunday, as my Pokhara adventure comes to a close.
But so much awaits me in the bustling capital city of Kathmandu. My first week is somewhat relaxed, with me trying to visit as many temples and tourist sites as possible. Included in my plans is a visit to the zoo, which is apparently quite a treat! My second week is assisting at the Koseli school, the place that inspired this whole trip, then my third and final week is sent learning yoga, tai chi and meditation as well as attending lectures at my hotel (the Hotel Himalaya Yoga) as well as visiting anything I missed.
It will be a completely different experience than my stay here at Pal Ewam school; making my own schedule, finding my own meals, not seeing the same faces day after day. I am excited, but also nervous. I am pushing myself out of my comfort zone, however, one of the big reasons I chose a trip like this.
Also, you may notice I only accounted for 3 weeks. Well, plans have changed, and I'll be flying home July 21st instead of August 1. It means I arrive home July 22nd, not August 3rd like originally planned. I am not saddened by this. I still get to experience everything I wanted to before, but without spending an extra 2 weeks spending money I just don't really have. I don't miss out on anything, and I miss home a lot. I can't wait to see my big fat kitty! He doesn't even miss me, it seems, but I sure miss him.
So things are looking bright, friends. I will miss my little monklets, but I have promised I will come back in 2 years and visit them again.
And you can't break a promise to monklets.
Namaste
Friday I planned a sort of art game. I divided each blank piece of paper into 6 areas, and then came up with 6 instructions for them to draw.
1. Draw a picture of your family
2. Draw a picture of your favourite food
3. Draw a picture of an animal that starts with the letter D, and one that starts with M.
4. Draw a picture of your favourite sport
5. Draw a picture of you and your best friend/s
6. Draw a picture of your favourite movie/cartoon
It went really well. Not only did I get to see the differences in each boy, I also had them practice understanding english instructions and have fun! To make it fair, I also did the exercise and they LOVED my drawings. (I chose mouse and deer for my animals!)
Saturday is only a half day, making life so much easier. Also on Saturday, other volunteers arrived! And small world, one of the girls had volunteered two years previous when Simon's brother was here!
All three are from England, the two girls are best friends and the guy is a new friend of theirs. Rachel and Ellie (Ellie had been here previously) are university students on a break, travelling together. Both are smart, funny, and really pretty. And nice! I am always slightly nervous when meeting new people, but we seem to get along quite well.
The guy's name is Naz, and he is of Pakistan heritage. I only mention it because he is constantly thought to be a local, he looks very Nepali. He is funny and smart as well, a handsome (but young) man.
It is wonderful to have other english speakers to talk to, even though we sometimes have to explain our slang to each other.
On Saturday, after they arrived, we played with the kids. Sunday morning was more play time, spent braiding bracelets and necklaces out of embroidery floss and letting the monklets take pictures with my spare camera. (Don't worry, Mom, your camera is safe!) There are some fantastic pictures from their perspective, check them out on my facebook. After lunch we walked into Lakeside together, and I bid them adieu. They were going boating and swimming and I completely spaced and didn't bring a suit. Plus, it was so hot and sunny I didn't want to sit in a boat for 2 hours. I went shopping instead, finding some new markers and toys for the boys, as well as some snacks to get me through the next week.
Sunday evening we played cards, and planned what to do for Monday's teaching. Sunday evening was also another big event: the older monklets arrived from Mustang! These boys range from 12-17, and boy, I was intimidated when I thought about teaching them. Monday there were only classes for the younger monklets, as the older ones were still tired from their incredible journey.
Having extra volunteers was wonderful, as the girls taught Monday morning and I took over and taught Monday afternoon. Having only 3 classes to teach is much easier than 6; and only dealing with the 2nd years one class instead of 2 was wonderful.
Monday evening was more cards with the other volunteers, and speculation about what the new schedule would be. We didn't know what we would be teaching until about 30 minutes before classes began Tuesday morning!
Yet Tuesday was when the teaching tide turned. I started with the 1st years and had four classes in the morning, 1 then 2 then 3 then 4. After lunch I had the older boys, 6 then 5 then 7 then another class with 6. No more kindergarten class, which I was surprisingly OK with. I read to the 1-4 classes from a book about the human body, then taught the 5-7 years about the inner workings of a mammal cell. They are so smart and so respectful! The older boys paid attention as I drew a cell on the board, labelled the organelles and explained their purpose. I explained that although almost all the mammalian cells are generally similar in shape and 'contents', red blood cells do not have a nucleus so are flatter than others. One of the 6th years asked 'are there white blood cells?' and so I got to explain the difference. Smart boys!
I felt so good by the end of the day, like I hadn't wasted time but had instead really taught something and had students who listened and learned. It was wonderful, such a different feeling than my previous teaching experiences.
Wednesday I drew pictures of the human body and its parts with the students, because they had paid such good attention on Wednesday. Thursday was my horseback tour, so I didn't teach, but today, (Friday) was my last day of classes before I travel to Kathmandu. I had prepared some cute little heart shaped Canada flags, and wrote thank you's to all the monklets on the back. I handed them out with markers, stickers, candies and whatnot to the boys in each class. I apologized to the older boys that we only had 1 day of actual teaching, and watched an episode of Venture Bros with them (Dia De Los Dangereaux, not racy or offensive). They were pretty happy, and so was I.
Now I am relaxing, sore from my day of horseback riding (will update about that in a separate post), and still worn out from the past few day's activities. I am just waiting to find out when I am catching a bus on Sunday, as my Pokhara adventure comes to a close.
But so much awaits me in the bustling capital city of Kathmandu. My first week is somewhat relaxed, with me trying to visit as many temples and tourist sites as possible. Included in my plans is a visit to the zoo, which is apparently quite a treat! My second week is assisting at the Koseli school, the place that inspired this whole trip, then my third and final week is sent learning yoga, tai chi and meditation as well as attending lectures at my hotel (the Hotel Himalaya Yoga) as well as visiting anything I missed.
It will be a completely different experience than my stay here at Pal Ewam school; making my own schedule, finding my own meals, not seeing the same faces day after day. I am excited, but also nervous. I am pushing myself out of my comfort zone, however, one of the big reasons I chose a trip like this.
Also, you may notice I only accounted for 3 weeks. Well, plans have changed, and I'll be flying home July 21st instead of August 1. It means I arrive home July 22nd, not August 3rd like originally planned. I am not saddened by this. I still get to experience everything I wanted to before, but without spending an extra 2 weeks spending money I just don't really have. I don't miss out on anything, and I miss home a lot. I can't wait to see my big fat kitty! He doesn't even miss me, it seems, but I sure miss him.
So things are looking bright, friends. I will miss my little monklets, but I have promised I will come back in 2 years and visit them again.
And you can't break a promise to monklets.
Namaste
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