Bangle-Wallah

7/22/10- 5:15pm

If clothes and jewelry were as fun to shop for (and as inexpensive) in the U.S. as they are in India, I would be in huge trouble. Today in less than two hours I did some major damage (although not to my wallet) and ended up with aching arms from carrying it all around. Some things were for myself, but many will be given as gifts once I get home.

I did buy a few dozen sets of bangles, making me (un?)-officially a bangle-wallah. ("-Wallah" is the Hindi suffix added to someone who sells or is an expert regarding something: for example, our school has a couple chai-wallahs who sell chai to the staff; people who know their way around Delhi are Delhi-wallahs; and being that I now own a few pounds of glass and metal sparkly bangles, I dub myself a bangle-wallah.)

School was, as usual, great today. I spent most of the day teaching the KV schools curriculum, which is highly standardized and possible to implement as-is without any "extras." I thought it would be all lectures and rote exercises, but I was pleased to see a variety of activities that involve group discussion and independent thinking, along with the fill-in-the-blank grammar exercises I had assumed would be there. I like that my host teachers trust my abilities enough to be able to leave me alone in the classroom to help prepare the kids for their "benchmark" exams- which are next week!

Anyway, I am trying to teach the Indian curriculum in the way that I would teach content in the States (without all the technology of course!) and I'm enjoying the feeling of having a break from the laptops and getting back to the basics. Of course, I miss choosing my own materials, planning my own projects, and trying to push the boundaries of what can or cannot be done in a classroom… but this is a really nice change of pace. The kids are open to trying new things, though they are a tad reluctant to think outside the box in some instances- but it's cute, as soon as I say "So this is how we do things in America…" their little ears prick up!

But like I was saying to Jason today, every time I pick up on a difference between American and Indian schools, I also notice a similarity. I expected to find more differences than similarities, but I'm finding out that they're about equal. I only wish I understood Hindi so I knew what the teachers are saying in the staff room!

Indian hospitality is still a wonderful thing to experience, and considering the dust and chaos of New Delhi the hotel has become a welcome oasis. Last night the hotel manager had invited us all to cocktails at the hotel bar (which I plan to frequent) which ended up being cocktails AND fabulous finger foods, meaning I didn't have to worry about getting dinner. Corey Flintoff from NPR was also there, but as he was talking shop with our resident journalism teacher, I didn't want to intrude with my questions about Afghanistan! The red carpet that has been laid out for us is wonderful and I have to say, I'm getting used to having my room straightened up twice a day and having fresh fruit brought to me every afternoon- these things will be hard to give up, but one cannot live like royalty forever, alas...