Third Week in Gaunshahar: Teaching Classes and Gettting to Know the Children

The kids at Heaven Hill live in a totally different place than I did when I was growing up, and yet in many ways I was able to relate to them. I had to really learn how to channel frustration at things not working as I planned into coming up with creative solutions. Over this third week, I ended up connecting with the children in ways I never would have imagined. The highlight of this week was developing a special workshop for kids that takes a semiotic approach, which I dubbed "Animal Empathy Empowerment." By now, I had really started to get into the swing of things, and boy did the time fly by.

October 21st

Charlotte, one of the volunteers, holding the cute kitty cat.

She has really come to adore sitting in people's laps.

I am constantly amazed by the unreal sunsets in this place.

October 22nd

The rising sun glimmering across the mist appears like a horizontal spear of light.

My favorite kitty!

Sohan, one of the fifth graders, loves hugs!

This is what happens when you let the fifth greaders play with your phone. They sure do love Snapchat filters! I am including the fun pictures they took because it gives you a bit of a glimpse into the personalities of my wonderful students.

I thought they were just taking normal pictures of me or a video, but by the time I saw what they were doing, it was too late!

A great halloween costume idea.

The kitty was a wild one when I first met her. With a little love, she has found a great place to relax when she is tired. I wish I could take her home. Instead, I made sure the incoming volunteers know to take care of her and always make sure she has a safe place at the Heaven Hill Homestay.

The white snow that permanently covers the Himalayan peaks makes a perfect canvas for the sun to paint its light onto.

October 23rd

While in Nepal, I have noticed a lot of stray dogs and cats. Many of the dogs are hungry and sick, and many people are cruel or unkind to them. I had originally hoped to work for an environmental activism or animal welfare nonprofit in Nepal, but I ended up helping at Heaven Hill. I realized that I have a unique opportunity here, though. I can influence the children to think more compassionately about how they relate to the animals.

Having some experience with teaching semiotics workshops, I thought I would try my hand at making one more suitable for kids. I called it Animal Empathy Empowerment, and the idea is to pose some questions to the kids in a way that gets them to think more deeply about how they are relating to the animals--to evaluate their own beliefs and consider how the animals feel. I thought that it is not my place to tell them what their values should be, but what I certainly could do is give them some food for thought. So I outlined a set of questions and went with it. For the older kids, I planned to share my knowledge on dog communication skills, which I called "how to talk to dogs."

I observed the Swiss volunteer (and now good friend of mine), Mario, teaching English, and then I provided some critical feedback to help him in the completion of his thesis work for his Master in Psychology, where he was testing out some special methods for teaching English to children in a foreign country.

The kids gave us a sweet goodbye.

The first round of trying out the Animal Empathy Empowerment did not go well with the 2nd Graders. It's not that the questons were too hard for them. It's just that for their library time, they didn't want to answer any questions at all. These kids are so packed with energy that they will barely listen to any kind of direction, let alone focus on philosophical questions. They only wanted to play or make art. So I improvised. I had them make masks of their favorite Tihar animals! The upcoming Tihar Holiday celebrates a different animal every day. It is a time when the people give back to crows, dogs, cows, and oxes.

This girl insisted on making a butterfly, even though that is not a Tihar animal. I was learning that with young kids, sometimes you just have to let them do their own thing.

The second graders pose together with their great Tihar masks! Sophia, the volunteer in the back right, was a great help with this project.

Once the first group of second graders went back to class with their Tihar masks, making masks is what every kid wanted to do for their library time.

The 5th Graders listened quite a bit better. On one day, I was able to teach them how to talk to dogs (by giving a lesson in the dog body language I have been trained on in the past). On the other, I got them working on their Tihar masks, and while they were in this focused and creative mindset, I asked my animal empathy questions. I realized that when these kids were focused on making art, they were more relaxed and open to questions about animals and how they feel. I also learned that, at least in the case of kids for whom English is not a first language, a workshop like this is best done with older kids (at least 10-11 years old). I think this time the workshop was a great success. I felt like I really reached them and got them to think about how they can respect and care for the animals, both pets and strays, that they encounter, and why this is important. And they were feeling ready for Tihar with their cool new masks! I will do a more in-depth write-up of this workshop in my other blog, Philosophizing with a Hammer, so stay tuned for that.

Sohan

Parvati (left) and Samita (right).

The fifth grade class all posing together with their Tihar masks! (Pabrita in the back is... a comedian.)

A funny candid video where I am settting them up for the shot.

One of the projects we came up with was to paint the walls of the Principal's newly constructed office. We all contributed something to this beautiful idea.

 

 

This is the work in progress of this wall. The finished version can be seen later in this post.

As it was the last day for Mario, and the two German girls were leaving us, we all posed for a group picture.

As the sun began to set on this day, most of us volunteers rushed out because it was truly temendous.

Somehow a stip of red landed just perfectly along the mountain peaks this day.

A panorama shot from the cliffside.

A candid shot of me and a couple others, taken from behind by another volunteer.

October 24th

Today began with a ride down to town on the back of the jeep. It felt like surfing or longboarding when I was standing up, but for safety's sake I could only take short videos. I had promised to bring the kids chocolates, and I needed to get down to Besisahar to purchase them.

From the back of the Jeep, sitting down and viewing nature around me, I felt like I was in the beginning of the video game, The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.

In the town of Besisahar, I enjoyed some Veggie Pakoda.... Fried deliciousness! Along with some aloo paratha (potato-based bread).

My ingenius combination.

The walk up from Besisahar is truly beautiful. But wow was it hot--especially with needing to hurry up the mountain to get back in time for afternoon classes.

Back in the homestay, one of the volunteers was doing Henna on those who wanted it. At first, I couldn't decide if I wanted a long-lasting design on me... Then I realized the perfect thing. The artist, a girl from Iran, speaks Persian, so I asked her to do a stylized version of my favorite Persian expression: این نیز بگذرد‎, pronounced īn nīz bogzarad. It means "This, too, shall pass." It seemed fitting for something as ephemeral as Henna.

October 25th

I decided to check out another spectacular sunrise. This time, I was alone.

Here is the finished version of our mural.

Today, it was optional to come to class. But I chose to go, as it would be my last day, and I wanted to say goodbye to the students. Tihar was beginning soon, and the kids would be starting their holiday. They invited all of us to join in their Tihar celebrations!

First, the girls came around and put flowers on me.

Next, girls gave boys long red tikka on their foreheads, and "mala," which are flower necklaces. Sisters celebrate their brothers on Tihar, and this is how it is done. At the school, all the girls gave the boys "brother tikka."

Lucky me! The male volunteers and I got to be a part of the wonderful festivites, with tikka and mala! I was beaming at this point from all the love the kids were showering upon me.

High-five!

Soon the dancing began.

This cute girl was showering the flower petals!

A gift received.

Richard, another volunteer from the USA, was quite elated as well.

Marketa, the Czech volunteer, looks great with her hair full of flower petals!

We were all smiling at this point.

Me and tha boiz.

Next, the girls' dance began.

After the Tihar party, some of us were invited to the Teachers' party, where we enjoyed some home-cooked food.

As the sun set over this beautiful day, I bid goodbye to the students of Heaven Hill who I had grown to love. As the students grew on me, Nepal was really growing on me as well. But this was not the end of my time in Nepal. The next five days would be the time of Tihar, and that requires a whole separate blog post.