So there we were, with 12 kids yelling and jumping around the classroom, and oh yea, they don‘t really understand any form of order, let alone English! The first day was quite hectic needless to say, but for day two we were armed with some more creative teaching methods and really, things have been going pretty well since then. We do a lot of repeating words that we write or draw on the chalkboard and there has been a lot of charades and hokey pokey, but the kids at least are quieting down when we raise our hands now, and they seem to be having fun and learning some vocabulary in the process! I have taken to showing up to school at 8:30 or 9 and just sort of helping in the classroom, but sometimes that can be a little frustrating because the teachers just really don’t seem to do anything during school. When I came in yesterday morning one teacher was sleeping face down on the desk in front of the classroom! Another time during an English class the teacher walked all the way to the classroom I was in to ask me how to spell zebra and elephant. I was just a little discouraged at these moments because it is really hard to help the kids and think that education and school is worthwhile and meaningful for them when the teachers who are supposed to be leading them are so lost in the whole system. Math class consists of the teacher writing some problems on the board and the kids copying down the problem…including the answer! I mean, there is some memorization to any learning I guess, but they clearly don’t understand and some of the kids can’t even write the numbers so another classmate just takes their paper and writes for them!
As frustrating as watching some of that has been, I really really enjoy my time with the kids that do come to English and observing the classes, teachers meetings, and operation of the school has been really educational and guiding for me as I seek out my place in the non-profit and development world!
In a moment of homesickness, we ventured to the IP Mall. Another volunteer at the school had mentioned there was a Domino’s and McDonalds there so we decided to head over for a taste of America! The mall was crazy! There was a movie theater (Hindi only unfortunately) and indeed Domino’s and McDonalds, as well as Baskin Robins, Adidas, and several other chain stores mixed in with some very sophisticated Indian shops and restaurants.
It was wild to see the Western influence and the thriving middle class hanging out at the mall especially when you can just look out the window and see the enormous contradictions of chaos and poverty literally right outside. We even noticed a date happening, which is a very recent addition to Indian culture according to some of our local guides! I had a delicious cone from Baskin Robins where the waffle cone was actually hot off the griddle! Dare I say, it was even better than Baskin Robins in America?! It was interesting too that the supply in a lot of the stores was tailored to more Indian fashion trends. The workout clothes for women in the Adidas store (strange since I haven’t ever seen a woman working out here!) were more sweater-like than anything I’d seen back home. The prices were, in general, the same as American prices for shoes and clothes (even though the knock-offs are available at stands right outside), although our ice cream and also the food at McDonalds and Dominos was definitely Indian cheap. One main difference though? This mall, while huge and surprisingly western with many of the corporate brand names from America, was only about one twentieth the size of any mall in America! It is crazy to see how corporations prevail in any society regardless of the poverty knocking on the door and as soon as we opened the door, the honking and dusty streets resumed and the rickshaw drivers immediately started following us asking for a ride…oh India!
Another day this week we checked out the main university here in Varanasi: Banaras Hindu University. (There are quite a few universities here in Varanasi and we also checked out the art university here in town this week where we saw a snake charmer with three different kinds of snakes!) Banaras Hindu University has a huge campus with green grass and well-kempt gardens. There is even a sports complex and field space there! It was really nice to be on a campus again and the student life felt so much like Boulder in the strange way that college campuses always seem to feel linked: Young people everywhere, event posters informing of all the upcoming happenings, tons of students studying on the lawns! In Varanasi style though, BHU’s campus also had an amazing temple on the grounds. It was one of our favorites we’ve seen so far with beautifully-colored mandalas painted everywhere and a mix of red and white architecture. Seeming very progressive and active in the green movement, there was even a vegetable garden on the temple grounds and statues of some of India’s leading education reformists. Again though, it is so interesting how here people continuously just drop trash on the ground in most places and then when you step onto the campus or into the mall, all of this pollution and chaos disappears.
After checking out the campus, we headed toward Ramnagar Fort, one of Varanasi’s other attractions housing another old ruler. Entry was closed when we got there, but the cool part of this little trip was getting there. A cycle rickshaw weaved through the streets to a little bridge built on large barrels. He dropped us here and we walked across with the rest of the pedestrians, cyclists, and of course occasional motorists honking madly! The rickety little bridge held up well crossing over the Ganges and offered some great views of the Fort at sunset.
We finally took a boat ride back to Meer Ghat from the Fort this evening, too. Our rowing wala (that is the term for a worker here) paddled us right in between the giant barrels under the walking bridge and back as the sun was setting on busy Varanasi. Later in the week we did the classic toursit-y sunrise boat ride as well. We hit the ghats at 5am along with what seemed like every other foreigner in Varanasi that day. We all flowed along the banks in almost a traffic jam since there were so many boaters at that time- really all tourists though. It was a beautiful sunrise complete with people bathing, swimming, doing laundry, worshiping, and brushing teeth in the mirky waters!
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