Teacher, Sister, Guardian... You name it, I do it!

October 5, 2009
I like hats. Baseball caps, those cool French ones, winter beanies, my trademark “Anneliese” hats, etc. Colorful, simple, whatever. Well, today I started teaching. Which meant that overnight I went from one hat- being the kids sister and friend- to 3 hats-still their sister and friend, but also their guardian in terms of school (until Krishna returns), and their teacher! My days are suddenly very full!

Today was my first day teaching. As I went through my devotional this morning, I just had to give it to God! Which was definitely where I needed to be. You see, 2 of the 3 books the principal had given me weren’t the right ones, and I still have a hoarse voice and the remnants of a cold. But, I arrived at school, all dressed up in my Kotessera, feeling calm. I was definitely sure that Jesus was holding me up :). And the principal gave me a roll book and told me to copy the names, and then took it and had me sign in. He gave me a dry erase marker and sent me to my first classroom. Nothing like a good leap off a cliff to start the day!

In Nepal, we start the day every day with a short assembly, basically, their anthem, stretches, etc. And all the kids are lined up, with their homeroom teacher in front of them. Imagine a time when everyone stopped and stared at you. Maybe you dropped your tray in the cafeteria, maybe you tripped and feel in front of the boss, whatever. Now in your imagination, make EVERYONE else Nepali, dark haired, brown skinned, shorter. Now, everyone’s staring intently because you have blond hair, light brown skin (we’re really all different shades of brown, but try explaining that to a Nepali kid!), and you’re pretty tall for a woman. Yep, that was the assembly. Pretty great, right?! And I had no clue what was going on... which I think was rather obvious to everyone :).

But then I went up to my first class, and my kids here at the home had told me that all of their classes were horrible, so I had no idea what to expect! But, to my ecstatic surprise, the kids were incredibly well behaved (probably because I’m white. and new. but maybe it will last?!). So I asked one to show me what page they were on before the break, and off we went! I think they’re not used to my “Why is this true? What do we do next? Why?” method of teaching, but I think they enjoyed the fact that they could answer as many questions as they could! I guess I’m not one for a silent classroom :).

In Nepal, the teacher’s move classrooms, and not the students, so after 45 minutes, this rapid fire banging happens and the teachers are supposed to move. I had no idea where to go, and thankfully the principal came up to show me my next class. My next 2 classes were very similar to my first, except they were much smaller. The students all take notes in one notebook, and do all their homework in another. I collect the homework notebooks at the start of each class, take them with me and grade them after 3rd period. Then, before I leave, I go back to each classroom and return them. I guess it’s nice that I’ll never have to take home papers to grade! Oh, and I don’t record any of the grades. I just check if it’s right or wrong. Pretty great, right?! And my kids from home were so funny. They’d accidentally call me “sister” and then turn as red as a Nepali can, and quickly say “I mean Miss!” I really wasn’t too concerned; their classmates found it rather humorous!

So, then we go home, and it’s back to the sister hat, which is fun. We hang out, play guitar, play cards, throw shoes at each other from the roof balconies (it might not be safe or nice, but it really is fun! I promise!), etc. Raju runs off with my camera, taking hundreds of photos, knowing if he takes the wristband off I’ll cut off his hand. The girls and many of the boys flock to watch some “fantastic” Nepali tv show. It’s our relaxed time :).

But now, I have to put on the “mother” hat. Around 4:30, I run around saying over and over, “Ok, homework and studies! You’ve got till I get back here to have out your books! Do I need to move you to another room?! Quit taking his pens!” Quite a task when you’re talking about 15 kids (some of the older girls have moved back home to finish school). But I get them settled, and threaten to move some more of them, but most are working diligently. Well, I think they are. I actually can’t read a lot of what they have to write, but the characters look pretty! And they’re quietly working, for the most part :). Then comes the frantic running around as kids need help with math. “sister. Sister. SISTER!” “Ajure?! Ajure?!” Which means, “What?! What?!” At one point Rupa asked me if she was allowed to use the toilet. And I burst out laughing, realized that my threats had worked, and told her that of course she could use the toilet! And as we finish homework, one by one, I slowly go back to being sister, chasing after Darson and Rajkumar, talking with Rami and Manisha, trudging through very very very broken conversation with Didi. A good way to end the day .