Merry Christmas!

2 days ago, we were able to visit a hill station in the Western Ghat region outside Kottayam. This hill station is a hike up a hill that represents the 15 stations of the crusifixtion (see photo above). It was a beautiful place and it was nice to walk after being coupped up the previous day! The view from the top was amazing.


Christmas Eve was rough. We are experiencing some difficulty again with the purpose of the trip, and also, within the team. When I agreed to come on this trip, I was told I would be focusing on 3 things- to learn about my profession in another country, to experience the culture, and to participate and learn about what Rotary is doing in Kerala. Sadly, I do not feel that I have truly accomplished any of these. There has been a lot of trouble with orginization and focus as to why we are here. What we were told prior to coming is not what we have experienced. For that reason, the 4 teachers on the trip have initiated a break for Christmas. Tomorrow we will resume activities with the Rotary Club, and will attend the district conference.

I am looking forward to coming home because I miss my family and friends! I have definitely had positive moments on this trip. The school visits we managed to get were interesting, and I have enjoyed meeting the host families. I like this part of India and am glad I got to visit. However, I have a lot of concerns that I hope will be addressed when I return.

Allepy and Kochin

We spent much of last week in Alleppy, with day visits to surrounding areas. I enjoyed Alleppy, as Cheryl and I stayed with a family who was a lot of fun. They enjoyed music, so we got to hear a lot of it during our stay. While in Alleppy, we took a ride on a houseboat, which was wonderful. These boats are rugged looking on the outside, but on the interior, they are very nice. The boat we were on had a TV, stereo, 3 bedrooms, and a dining table. We enjoyed the breeze and relaxed on the front deck for about 2 hours (I fell asleep...). We also had a quick breakfast on board. I would say the houseboat ride was one of my favorite experiences here in Kerala; because it was a time for quiet and relaxation without anyone watching us or taking photographs.

We also took a day trip to Kochin, which is an old Portuguese shipping town on the water. We visited the Jewish synagogue there and walked around the streets, which had a very European feel to them. We had a nice lunch in a hotel, and we saw a snake charmer! This was the first snake charmer I have ever seen, and it was very cool.

Currently, we are near Kottayam. Tomorrow is Christmas eve and I am missing my family very much! So if they are reading this, I love and miss you all!

Last School Visit

Today we visited what I think will be our last school. The Christmas holidays are about to start and most kids get 10 days off. We visited Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School. This was an interesting lower primary school as I met 3 male teachers. They seemed very interested in hearing about education in America. I am learning that teaching is not a career that most kids want to go into, as it is not high paying. Most students want to be an engineer or a doctor.

Mallappally

Today we moved on to Mallappally. We visited a church and 2 temples. One of the temples was dated BC. It was built into a rock, which showed how the early Hindus worshiped in this area (see above).

We also visited an orphanage and school, St. Philominas. The orphanage is raising money to build a new building for housing 40 students. I am posting 2 pictures that make me very sad. The first is the dormitory for the orphanage.


The second picture is of the "library" for the school. It is 1 cabinet of books for 350 students to share. This school needs money to build a new bathroom facility. There is 1 toilet for all the students and teachers. It is a government run school, and it is in need of assistance.

Pathanamthitta

Yesterday we visited Konni Training Center for elephants. It was an interesting place, but I always feel bad for animals in captivity. I've attached a picture of one of the elephants.




Today we visited S.A.M. school which follows the KPM model for teaching. There is a sister school in Austin, Texas. We met American teachers and students attending this school, which was the first we've seen foreign students attending school here in Kerala. Imagine Montessori times 10. Students pick their own activities for the day. It was play and game based. The classes are very small, only 14 Kindergarteners total. I don't think we could manage this in our public schools in America, due to the number of students. I've attached a picture above of a student building a lighthouse (his choice).

Time for a break...

We have had some setbacks these past 2 days. Several of us have been ill and there seems to be a miscommunication between what we came here to do and what we are actually spending our time doing. We decided to take a day and check ourselves into a hotel to reassess. We have been in contact with Rotary here and back in the US, and hopefully when we move on to the next area, we will have a clearer picture.


The most enjoyable part of this time in Kollam has been spent with my host family- Usha and Sukumaran. They hosted Kathleen and I, and they were wonderful! They helped us with everything and when I got sick, they took good care of me. We had to leave them this morning, and I was sad to go.

Trinity Catholic School Visit

On Friday, we visited a Catholic school from LKG (lower kindergarten) through 8th standard (8th grade). When we arrived, we got to watch the Kinergarten Christmas pagent. Many of the students are Hindu, but because the school is Catholic, they are celebrating Christmas. We also had the opportunity to speak with the teachers in a Q and A format, which is the first time we actually had sit down time with a group of teachers. The teachers asked me how I taught nursery rhymes and when I was talking about my pocket chart, they had never heard of one. There are 40 students in each Kindergarten classroom, so the teaching methods of reading groups and learning centers would be difficult. The classrooms are too small to break into groups, and supervision would be a problem. Their lessons are taught whole group in lecture style. The students practice a lot with oral recitation in order to learn English.

The teachers were very interested in learning new teaching methods. I think if they could get an American teacher to spend a year at this school, it would be a great learning opportunity for all involved, though I'm not volunteering, as I miss my students back in Virginia! I am attaching a picture of their library as well. The teachers do not have "classroom libraries." The students share books from one room. I noticed that there were not books for Kindergarten age students to check out. I wish I could give these Kindergarten classes some of my picture books.