1st post since January!

Wow, it's been a long time. As many writers know, one can only really write when so motivated. I haven't been up until now. This semester, my schedule is as follows:

9th grade RE (world religions)

10th grade RE (philosophy)

11th grade RE (Intro to Christianity)

10th grade world history

11/12th grade Indian history

So much stuff! It's been fun teaching about such a huge variety of things. Once every 8 school days, I teach all five classes. One day I taught about topics like early Indian nationalism, circumcision, atonement, Aristotle, and Evita (the person, not the musical). Such a variety! But, next year should be easier. Assuming it doesn't change, the plan for next year is that I'll be teaching all of grade 9 RE, all of US history, my Intro to Christianity class 1st semester and philosophy second semester. Only 3 classes to prep for instead of 5. Sooo nice...

As one may imagine, this semester has been long and tiring, but eventful. I got to go to Italy for MUN, marking my first visit to Europe. I enjoyed it (although I will say that taking care of 10 high schoolers takes quite a bit of the magic out of Italy), but I don't think I'll go back. It's marked off my list and I'd rather go visit other places.

I'm also getting ready to say goodbye to some people who I care about- some of my coworkers and students. Last year, I didn't really care about the seniors; part of this was because I didn't get to know them, part of this was because getting to know people during the second semester of their senior year is not the best time to do so. Being so isolated on a hillside like this, we become family. The students are an odd mix of younger siblings and sons/daughters, while coworkers become brothers, sisters, aunties, uncles, and parental figures.

But, why start writing again now? One main reason: I am inspired. The source of this inspiration? I like to think I have this in common with the great Urdu poet of the court of the Mughals, Mirza Ghalib...

We both love mangoes. No joke, I ate one of the first mangoes of the season and I wanted to blog. I wish I could follow the mango around the world, it is so delicious. The way the skin gives way to the knife, the slight trickle of juice that runs down the outside to my hand, the sound of the flesh tearing away as the pit gives way... I love it all.

Go and find a good mango and eat it. If you can't find a good mango, pity yourself for you are missing out on one of the most enjoyable things God has created on this earth.

I'll try to be more regular in blogging, or I will for as long as my fruit supply keeps up.

Been a while...

I'm at the point where it's embarrassing to come back. Like skipping church for three weeks, it's more of a hassle to come back. Yeah, I haven't written for a while. The past few weeks have been busy. Some highlights:

• School ended, 1.5 month break started. Excellent.
• Christmas happened. Showing off my amazing coordination skills (is that the right word?) a bunch of us got together for a nice Christmas Eve dinner and an almost-midnight almost mass. It was Anglican and it started at 11:30, but close enough.
• Christmas Day potluck. I love potlucks, because I can experiment then nervously ask everyone what they thought. I'd be crushed if anyone didn't like my food, and I always suspect people are lying to me. I semi-succeeded at making peppermint marshmallows, failed at vanilla marshmallows and made my onion soup which is hard to mess up.
• My house fell apart. A fuse needed to be flipped, then I found my fusebox behind a locked door outside my house. After that, my gas ran out (the reason for the failed vanilla marshmallows) leaving me with no ability to heat anything. Yikes.
• Vacation! I headed to Lucknow then Varanasi where I met up with a bunch of people I know from MN. So nice to see faces of people I've known for over a year. Lucknow was decent (the Residency was impressive) and Varanasi was the same attractive pit it was when I was there last time. A timeless city, if that's a good thing. Plenty of fun and feces for all...
• 28 hour train ride to Hyderabad wasn't actually that bad. I was surprised.
• Hyderabad was mixed. Hussain Sagar, a big lake in the middle of the city was great. Perfect weather and a walk by there after a nice meal was a great mix. Golconda Fort and a few tours of former palaces were nice too. Rickshaw drivers seemed especially out to get me though.
• A taste of the West- Subway, KFC, and an IMAX theatre playing Avatar in 3D for Rs. 200 (around $4)

So, I just got into Chennai today. I'm staying with my friends from MN, Taylor and Ann for the next few days. I'm then off to Madurai, Cape Comorin, Trivadunum, Varkala, Kumily, Munnar, and finally Cochin. From there, I'm flying to Delhi (need my passport renewed) and then back to Mussoorie for a ton of work for the next semester (a trip to Italy and a new Indian history class await!). I'll be sure to write another update of my vacation later.

Ciao.

I had a pretty hefty post written when the Internet broke.  Much like an ant must think the world is ending when it rains, when I can't access the internet in the middle of a blog post, the entire information superhighway must be under construction.  

In the interest of laziness, I will summarize what I wrote:

The MUN conference we attended was not the best I've ever been to.  It was the second, but I can tell these things.  A few of the doozies:

• Syria signed on to a Middle East peace agreement written by the USA and Israel.
  
• Non-nuclear countries will help nuclear ones get rid of their nukes.
  
• The UN is invading Somalia.
  

After the conference fifteen students, my co-worker and I traveled around Chennai and Pondicherry for a few days.  Activity week was going on last week, when many students go on insane hikes or live in a local village for a week.  I got to do the following:

• Go to the beach and swim for the first time in a long time.
• Eat French food
• Eat beef almost every day at Sparky's
• Visit the second largest courthouse in the world and sit in on a court case
• Visit one of the first British forts built in India

All in all a good week.  Upon landing in Delhi, we heard via a parent that our school was in the newspaper!  Apparently, the FBI caught a guy who said that a terrorist group may be planning some kind of attacks on high-profile schools in North India.  So, in addition to a general high alert, we have 40 armed police roaming around campus.  You can read about it here.  Another interesting note, the principal addressed the school about this issue.  He mentioned that these men are "rough" and girls should avoid inappropriate dress.  Really?  We have rapists guarding us?  I guess nobody wants to mess with a rapist...

Happy Chanukah!

Yesterday was Diwali, which is a Hindu holiday celebrating the homecoming of Lord Ram after rescuing his wife Sita from the arms of the king of Lanka.  With the help of his faithful monkey-servant Hanuman, good triumphed over evil.

I read they're making a movie with Keanu Reeves.

The past few days have had me pondering a lot.  I'm a Christian who works at a Christian school where a majority of students are not Christian in a predominantly Hindu part of a predominantly Hindu country with a Sikh prime minister.  There are Muslims, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians in there too...

So, I'm trying to think of analogies to what I've seen the past few days.  The school had a fireworks display last night in honor of Diwali (the tradition is to set out diyas or lamps for Ram to find his way home- as if he'd get so lost to come by Mussorie).  I love fireworks, but isn't this kind of like a Jewish school having a Christmas pageant?  I mean, cool in the way of diversity and all, but kind of a contradiction.  But, considering how many Hindu kids are at the school and we don't allow them to go to the temple (the decision based I think on the fact they will buy fireworks and/or get limbs blown off in the bazaar), maybe it's only right that we do some fireworks.  I mean, if a bunch of Christians were a minority at a boarding school and they weren't allowed to go to church on Easter, it'd be only fair to have a celebration at school.

So, I guess the question I've been pondering is more about what is appropriate for Christians to do regarding devotion ceremonies to Hindu gods.  Or, regarding a long-standing fun cultural event.  WHICH ONE IS IT?!?  Some Christian staff participate in the explosive festivities without a second thought.  They'll also happily do yoga (another post, another post) along the Ganga and feel "spiritual."  Other Christian staff grumble that the school does anything for a Hindu holiday.  

I... observe.

A dinner of onions

I have to admit, I get bored just writing about what happens in my life.  It just reminds me too much of Doogie Howser or some 12 year old girl confiding in her secret journal with a too-easily-broken lock.  The past few weeks have had sports day, quarter break, and the student talent show.  Each of those things have fun stories to go with it.  I won a medal for the staff relay, I bought some kind of bronze star globe with Farsi script, and heard a pretty decent cover of a Blur song.  If you're really interested, ask me.

But what I really like about the past few weeks is how settled I have felt living and working here.  Most of the things on my mind are not really blogworthy.  I am now accepting that I cannot get any white or yellow onions.  I will be dealing with students giggling as I mention the Abrahamic covenant (look it up if you don't know what I'm talking about).  I'm okay with that.  Seniors will think they are God's gift to the earth and make up privileges as they see fit.  Yup.

Does anybody besides me really care about the color of onions?  No, probably not.  So I won't write too much about it.  However, if anyone cares, I do make a mean French-style onion soup (no crouton or broiled Provolone).  Add a few globules of yak cheese and that's a dinner, buddy!

A dinner of onions.  Besides pretentious book club books, what else should I write about?

Woodstock has a new dance floor. And gym.

Yesterday, we had our gym dedication.  The old gym was knocked down 11 years ago and the new gym went through permit hell (purgatory maybe?) before being built.  Eleven years of basketball up at dorms and gym teachers screaming at teams outside of classrooms in session.

But no more!  Woodstock now has a gym FAR better than any I've ever seen in a school.  In addition to the standard brown wood on the floor and blue pads on the wall, we have the following:

A gymnastics room

A climbing wall

A squash court

A proper weight room (the treadmills have tvs on them)

REALLY nice scoreboards

Basically, it's an awesome gym.  If I were a PE teacher, I would feel like I could never live up to the standards of the gym.  Let's hope they don't build an RE complex.

In addition to the speeches given by some of the donors and family members of the guy the gym is named after, we had a special dinner and dance.  After filling up on chicken burgers, dosa and hot cocoa, we went up to the gym to enjoy a REAL DJ (not a grade 12 student with an ipod and a tick in his/her thumb, changing the song every 25 seconds).  They also had brought in a guy to do some laser thing.  We were told he did lasers for both Michael Jackson and Elton John.  How can I get to be a big laser guy?

The dance was fun.  I like to limit my dancing to a few times a year, or else it gets old.  It was a great time, watching groups of grade six students flailing wildly, younger staff getting down, awkward sophomore boys jumping and cheering for each other, and older staff couples dancing with each other.  A few of the junior boys took to creating coreography with each other, a few shy middle school students ran off to avoid embarrassment, and a few teachers sought out embarrassment by showing off moves to the students.

I am proud to say that I outlasted most other staff and quite a few students.  By the time the music ended, I was exhausted.  The day began at 7 am with Friday morning Bible study, I taught five classes in the day, ushered my advisory to the gym, sat through speeches, stuffed myself with free food, and danced for three hours.  I got home at 10:50.  Despite all the busyness, it was a great time.  I hope we can open some new building like this every semester.

Hodgepodge

I know, it's been a bit.  The past few weeks have been full and exhausting, which is not necessarily a bad combination.  Last weekend was the RE retreat, which needs a better name.  It's the high school voluntary Christian retreat, which I helped lead a bit.  The theme was "no fear" and we looked at faith, hope and love as the opposites of fear.  I teamed up with another adult to talk about faith.  My main part was to reason out with the kids what we have faith in and why.  The second part was looking at the Christmas story and the crucifixion to see when Mary's faith was tested.  That weekend, we also went on a short short hike to Flag Hill, a hill closeby where lots of local Buddhists hang their prayer flags. 

Maybe the most interesting part of the weekend was what happened after lights out.  The RE retreat has a bit of notoriety for being a weekend with less supervision for couples.  I've heard stories... As everyone was settling down, I noticed a few guys and girls desperately trying to talk and whisper with each other before bed.  When I stopped this, they got clever.  A few girls came over to the guys' side to "get water," one guy gave me a hug and mouthed things over my shoulder as I tried to push him away, and finally, things were yelled in Korean for another student to pass the message on.  Unable to see any other resolution, I grabbed a blanket and posted myself on the floor outside of the guys' room until about 2AM.  They felt guilty, as they should have, but I don't THINK anything happened.  I told the guys that I can stay up later and wake up earlier than they can.  Probably not the truth, but intimidation is important on Christian retreats...

Another thing I've been working on is the student talent show.  I did this last year, so I'm trying to impart my meager wisdom on the students in charge.  My main role is auditions, being the moral monitor and making sure we don't have a bloated show.  It's going alright- we had a few good acts, and no horrible acts so far.

Hopefully my life can slow down a bit over the next couple weeks.  I'm almost caught up on grading, auditions are almost over, and I don't think I have any big events coming up.  I might even get a whole weekend to relax!  I don't think I've had one so far this year.

Ciao.

My adwisory

Last night was the high school advisor night.  Almost all the high school teachers are assigned a group of 8-12 students who you take care of now and then until you leave or they graduate.  I have a group of ten grade 11 students who are a pretty diverse bunch.  To give you a picture, I have two staff kids, three Koreans, an Afgani, a few Americans, a few Indians, and a Thai girl. One student was practically born at Woodstock, while two just arrived a few weeks ago.  Last night, all high school advisors had to entertain their students for a few hours.  Some teachers had the students over to their house and some went out to eat.  

I took my group to Rice Bowl, a local restaurant.  I ordered some pork thukpa and momos.  To translate, I ordered a bowl of noodle soup and dumplings, both Tibetan.  The school gave me Rs 1350 plus I get Rs 240 for the kids not eating in dorms.  The bill came to about 1850.  Somehow, despite me telling the kids that I got money AND taking into account my own food, when I paid the whole thing, they flipped out.  "You shouldn't have done that!" they yelled.  I'm not sure if I said this before, but the students are easily bought.  I know, it sounds bad.  But for kids in a boarding school, taking the kids out to eat now and then will buy their affection.  After Rice Bowl, we went to Cafe Coffee Day (next door) for dessert and beverages.  Most of us ordered a sizzling brownie, and I think it's necessary to have a separate paragraph for this next point.

People like sizzling stuff.  Seriously, who doesn't want to squeal with glee when your hot food is making noises at you?  Back home we have fajitas and maple blonde brownies.  Here in India, a lot of the more upscale restaurants (for Woodstock staff) have "sizzlers" where the food comes out on a hot skillet, choking everyone with its smoke.  The brownie I had last night had smoke created from burning chocolate sauce.  It tasted a little carbonized, but was otherwise a tasty dessert.

Now that I've taken my kids out to eat all together, my plan is to have them over in groups of 3 or 4 for breakfast-for-dinner.  I've been perfecting my chocolate-chip pancakes and I can make some great greasy diner-style hashed browns.  I'm excited for it myself.

Ciao.

Wisdom

School started this past Wednesday, about two weeks earlier than I was ready for. Everything is going fairly well so far. I now teach 9th grade RE (same as last semester), 10 grade RE (general Western philosophy and the philosophy of religion), Old Testament Survey, and 10th grade world history. All around, pretty fun.

So far, having only seen each of my minor classes twice, I'd say my favorite is the 10th grade class.

Today in class, we talked briefly about what they take for granted and how they find out what is real and true. When I asked how they know tectonic plates cause earthquakes, one student confidently said, "textbooks." It got me thinking, and, being my style, I thought aloud, that for these students, the textbook is everything. Their lives depend on them knowing what the textbooks say in all their classes and being able to vomit that information on their APs, SATs, ACTs, and IGCSEs. We followed it up with talking about how we use our senses and reason to figure out many things, but the idea of textbooks stuck with me. How much do I believe based on textbooks, or what a teacher said, or what I read on some blurb online? I certainly know that I have said things wrong in class, and I've seen some poorly written textbooks...

I stick with Socrates' saying: "Wisest is he who knows he knows not." Or, the similar proverb: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." I don't think that would fly if I said it in my class to a question I don't know how to answer, but... I'll still sick with ol' So-crates.

All things new

We had our first day of meetings at the school today.  I do have to say that despite the way we ended the year (tired and tearful), people seem rather energized and happy to be back.

It's an odd thing.  It's been 3 1/2 years since I've graduated with a teaching license and this is the first time I'm not going to be the new guy.  Working in Mexico and Spring Lake Park I was the new guy, but those jobs only lasted one year.  For the first time ever, there are people newer than I am at a school.

It seems like a really great group so far.  They seem really diverse, friendly and full of energy.  I really hope that keeps up and encourages everyone else.

In other news, my new house had its first break-in.  Last night a mouse found a small hole in the outer door followed by a big slant in my inner door followed by my kitchen.  I saw the whole thing and those who know me know that I am not exactly a manly man.  I yelped a bit and avoided the kitchen.  When I moved to my computer, I heard it banging around a little bit, then the sounds got closer.  I swear, it charged at me.  Well, I yelled, and it skreeked and ran out the hole.  Right now the door is lined with fire wood, which will hopefully keep further intruders out.

In related news, I purchased my first handgun today.  It was really a spur of the moment thing, with two of my coworkers and I talking about monkeys and mice.  It turns out that our dearly departed (from India) former Hindi teacher used to chase mice under his refrigerator and shoot them dead with his BB gun.  So, I trekked up with a co-worker from Chicago to the grocery store that also sells BB guns.  The way up we were lamenting that where we come from, only the bad guys have guns.  For him, gangsters and whatnot, for me Republicans and rednecks.  We got a chance to test them out on some monkeys on the way back.  It turns out the monkeys know what these guns are and what they do and took off running.  If they ever get aggressive though, I only get one shot then that thing turns into a club...

I'll let y'all know how the year starts off after more than one day later!

What I did on my summer vacation

Good things about my vacation:

• I ate really good Japanese food in Nepal.
  
• I rode an elephant.
• I read/finished reading the following books:  The White Tiger (worth a read), The Satanic Verses (very well written), The History of the World in 10 1/2 chapters (some parts were better than others) and The Children of Men (the movie was better)
• I learned a few more Hindi/Nepalese words
• I got to knock another country off my list
• I had a baby elephant's trunk feeling my hand for food and I squealed with delight (imagine this scene)
• I saw a lot of cool pagodas
• I saw a "living goddess"- a 4-year old girl who has that title until she loses an adult tooth or menstruates.  Yup.
• I got to see one of my students in his home town.
• I saw some traditional Nepali dances
• I saw a procession of coolies in training.  Maybe the most fun memory.
• I got my kitchen fully set up and baked, roasted, broiled and cooked to my heart's content.
• I made hashed browns for the first time.
• I lied about having symptoms of swine flu to the Indian health people (what- I had a fever for a day in Nepal.  I don't have swine flu, dangit!)
• I am rested and relaxed and ready for the school year to start next week!

Donezorz

I don't really like mixed feelings.  I'd rather be swinging with volatility between emotions than have mixed ones.

The end of the year brings such feelings.  Thankfully (as I've already pointed out), I don't teach seniors so there's none of that sadness or hopefulness about them leaving.  Instead, here's a rundown of the past few days, hopefully explaining my mixed emotions.

After a long weekend of grading exams, I went off to Delhi on an 11-hour bus ride with students.  The students were great, but ANY period of sitting/laying awkwardly for 11 hours is tiring.  Upon arrival in Delhi, many of us got a few hours of sleep before heading to the airport.  I got a light schedule but I had to bring a group of students to the airport at 4:30 AM, and then at 8:00 AM before taking a break.  Bad emotions.

After my break, a few of us decided to haul our tired selves over to the US Embassy.  Within its walls is the American Club, a Shangri-La of beef, beer, and bowling for those who miss those things.  There's a pool too, but it didn't start with B.  Four of us sat around, eating gorgeous cow flesh until we were content.  A humorous note:  The hamburger at the club is called the "Illegal Alien."  Funny on so many levels.  They also had the Fox News morning show on in the lounge, and I realized I did NOT miss American news shows.  Good emotions.

Upon arrival back in Mussoorie after an early-morning train ride and trip up the hill, I was ready to relax, have a few days of simple meetings, and go for vacation.  I quickly realized that was not going to happen.  I had a letter delivered to my door that I won't get in to in-depth.  It informed me, if I may summarize, that one of my colleagues was dismissed, and, ahem, people were not happy.

Now here come the mixed emotions!  I kind of agree to a point with the dismissal.  I do think dismissing a teacher with kids right after graduation is wrong as they don't have time to say goodbye.  But... wait.  This is all a moot point.  My opinion doesn't matter.  I realize this and accept it.  I realize that I am tired, emotional, uninformed, and I have accepted my place lower on the ladder.  Other people disagree.  To them, their opinion does matter, they don't realize how tired, emotional or uninformed they are and don't realize their place is not to deal with hiring or firing.  

So, with this mix of people like me and people not like me, our all-staff meeting descended into crying, screaming, and impassioned speeches pretending that the speaker spoke for me.  Many people simply walked out.

So, my mixed emotions.  I love this school.  The kids are great, even when they're little turds.  The education is excellent and I am proud of my work.  I enjoy what I teach and my department is helpful and caring.  The view, although nature is still overrated, is great and I live in a clean, peaceful section of the world.  On the other hand, I hate politics.  I hate the politics of power-grabbing, emotional wrecks who think they know what's best.  I hate being told what to think and do.  I hate debate over if this is a Christian school (people are Christians, not organizations, and yes, a Christian school can fire somebody).

So, I have mixed emotions about being done for the year.  We didn't end on the best terms, and there may be some guerillas about next year in addition to the monkeys on the school campus.  But, is there ever a match for the joy a teacher (or student) feels when the school year is out? 

I'll be moving house and heading to Nepal over the next few weeks.  I'm not sure how much I'll be posting until I get back towards the end of July.  Don't expect daily updates or anything.

Peace.

Where to?

I know, I know.  I still have work to do.  I'm proctoring/invigilating (neither words I've used before) a few exams and I have 89 finals coming in on Thursday and Friday to grade before Monday before heading to Delhi with the kids on Tuesday and coming back in time for the banquet and final meetings next Friday and Saturday.  

...I'll keep in mind to watch my schedule next semester- if I make it there.

But, despite all the work ahead of me, I'm excited for a vacation.  I received a few more details about my trip to Nepal.  Everything is apparently set up for us except my train tickets that need to be purchased.

I'm still figuring out exactly what to do between June 20th and July 5th, though.  Some of that time will be taken up by moving and settling into my new house, of course.  I'm also looking into excursions to places not that far away.  There are so many, though and I just can't decide.  It would seem, however, that unless I go farther away than I want to, I will be stuck in the monsoon conditions.  I might just make a pilgrimmage to a place known for its apple cider...

I'll let y'all know.  If I don't write in the next two weeks, it means the exams have killed me.

Viva Nepal.

Today, as we do almost every Tuesday and Thursday, we started the day off with a high-school assembly.  After a devotion by the art teacher about the story of her getting married, a blurb about change in our lives, and announcing her pregnancy to the kids (go Guenthers!), one of the Nepali students got up on stage.  The Nepali students are possibly the most patriotic students we have at our school, with the Bhutanese right behind them.  Wait, you've never met a Nepali or Bhutanese person before?  What's that?  Where's Bhutan?  Never mind.  

The Nepali girl described how eight years ago today almost the entire Nepali royal family was killed by one of the princes.  It's an engaging true story, so if you haven't heard about it... hear about it.  The video that followed was a tribute to the royal family comprised of a bunch of pictures and videos set to a Nepali rock song.  What?  You don't know Nepali rock music?  Whysoever not?

Anyways, after it was over, the Nepali flag went up on the screen and the national anthem started.  Instantly, every Nepali student sprung to their feet.  I noticed a few other students do so as well.  I watched one of my colleagues, an Indian Christian woman who I knew would be doing what I should be doing.  As I saw her rise to her feet, so did I.  Within seconds, the entire student body was on its feet.  It wasn't about politics- most of our Nepali students are Royalists, in the minority in Nepal.  Most citizens of other countries just don't care.  It wasn't about national identity- students and staff from all over the world were standing.  It was just a moment of solidarity.  Standing with those young people whose country has been suffering and unstable for eight years.  I wouldn't normally stand for a national anthem from a country I've never been to.  I don't even stand for the American national anthem that often.  But, I stood, I realized, because I like my Nepali students and wanted to support them.  

This place, and especially the students, seem to be winning me over.

Senioritis

I've said a few times that if you want to get to know people and think they are decent human beings, meeting them the last semester of their senior year is not the way to do it.

I try my best to keep a good attitude about these guys, giving them the benefit of the doubt.  But this week was a little much.  Consider:

Tuesday was the senior skip day.  It was hastily organized and no teachers, advisors, or administrators were informed about it.  Basically a slap in the face.  One lone girl didn't go, which prompted all sorts of nasty comments about her by her "friends".  The principal went to where the students were and gave them the choice to come back with minor consequences or not come back with major consequences.  Half came back.  Some were indignant that they had their "right" to skip revoked.  Oh, the hubris.  I hate pride, unless it's me that is prideful.  Then I don't notice.

Okay, so the skip day was bad enough.  Maybe I just can't relate because I was really never a senior in high school.  Today, however, I was called into the principal's office (oooooooo!).  Apparently, some of the students claimed that I told them it was a mistake for them to come back.  Huh?  Me, who supported the administration a lot more than some other teachers did?  I said that?  The closest thing I can remember saying is a comment about how they think that if ALL the seniors skipped that they can't be punished.  I guess it's possible to misinterpret that...

My last episode just happened.  I've been working with a student to do an independent project for credit so they can graduate.  To make a long story short, that project has not yet appeared.  To top it all off, after hearing excuses about why it's not in my hand, I find this student with friends at char dukan, the closest thing to the Max these kids have (SBTB reference, YES!).  I was not pleased.

Oh, only four more teaching days and a little over a week of exams to go.  We all need a vacation at this point...

Who got the scoot?

I had never ridden a scooter. A part of that goes back to the blood oath my mom made me made about never getting a motorcycle. But, it's a scooter not a motorcycle and I only rode on it, not owning it. So good. As I zipped up to char dukan on the back of my Spanish student's (i have a student?) I noticed we were going about 15 kph. Still, SO much better than walking up that hill.
...
...
I want a scooter.

Very different questions

I had a lesson yesterday in my Intro to Christianity class about the differences between Catholics and Protestants.  Here are some questions I was asked:

"If a priest is giving last rites and the dying person chokes to death on the wafer, do they still go to Heaven?"

"So, let's say that a priest is hearing confession and someone confesses to murdering the priest's wife (I explained why this couldn't happen)-  Okay, his son then (I explained why this couldn't happen)- Okay, his sister.  Would he kick the guy's butt?"

"Is suicide the same sin as murder?"

Not only such a quick switch from the absurd to the serious, but pretty hard to answer all of them.  Five more classes to go before exams!  I'm going to miss this class.

sitcom

I am happy to say that I see my life like a comedy.  It's really the best genre for the way I see the world.  Also, since my other options are romance, horror, and tragedy, it's really the best option.  I have at times wondered aloud why there are never any sitcoms about teaching.  There is so much ripe material in the things that people say and do in this job.  Take this example from the past week:

On the test for Judaism, I asked, "When was the Jewish Temple destroyed?"  The answer, for those of you who don't know, is 70 AD.  Most students got this correct.  One student, however, answered "1780."  Get it?  Get it?

The students I teach are often the funniest people I come into contact with.  There's something that goes on in my head when I get into a battle of wits with my students that I can't describe, but I know I enjoy.  When they're trying to think of a way to push back a test date or raise their grades and I can outsmart them?  Amazing.  

What I enjoy even more is when the students outsmart me.  A while back, one of my students was trying to get a Starburst out of me.  Conventional asking and begging failed.  After class, she offered me a mint.  The second I put it in my mouth, she gleefully demanded a Starburst.  Dangit, I couldn't say no with that mint in my mouth.

Upon more thinking, I'm not sure a sitcom would work, really.  A teacher's cast of characters is so big, including students, co-workers, and administration, that there'd be no way to keep storylines going.  Teaching is more like a gigantic, middle school orchestra.  It's huge, messy, and chaotic on the outside.  But, every so often, that middle school orchestra surprises everybody with their harmonies and beautiful music.

I feel like this post has been very cliched and cheesy.  Forgive me.  I just don't have a ton to write about.

Right now, life is normal.  I'm teaching, scraping together something like a social life, and planning my summer and next year.  It'll be more exciting in a month or so, I swear.  New house, new experiences, new classes, new people, new season of my sitcom.

Spring has sprung

... and love is in the air.

Pretty much everyone under the age of 20 has noticed that with the warmer weather, comes more public displays of affection here at Woodstock.  I don't know if that's the best word to describe them, though.  They are IN public, but the kids would be horrified and offended if you call them on it.  Ask the teacher that decided to take a picture of a couple making out, much to the horror of the students involved (it was deleted).  They ARE displays, but with the word display, I think of manequins in a store window.  It's the word affection that I especially don't care for.  How many of these students are REALLY in love and truly have affection for each other.  So, my term that I'm sure won't catch on:  Public and oblivious showings of codependancy and/or saliva exchange, or PAOSOCADSE.  In Spanish, this is a reflexive verb meaning "to be codependant and/or swap spit."

Watch the dipthong.

Besides the average temperature of teenage bodies, other things are heating up around here as well.  The lack of rain, dead leaves, and winds have teamed up to create forest fires.  The hills have been in a perpetual state of haze from the smoke, and a few nights ago, I looked out to see that pretty much every hill surrounding us was on fire.  There was even a fire on the Woodstock hillside yesterday, not a 10 minute walk from my house.  Let's hope nothing gets worse!  Monsoon is just around the corner, from what I hear.

Culture

This weekend I got to attend a few different events (nothing ever stops here at Woodstock).  

First, we had the Indian music concert, which only happens once a year.  The kids who train on the sitar, tabla, santoor, and vocals all get to perform for the school.  It was an interesting experience, and again I realized how little I really know about this land I live in.  The way music is described is incomprehensable to me.  Songs were described to be played at 15 beats in raag teentaal.  Honestly, reading the program I thought I was reading the names of students (who is Raag Teentaal?).  The songs also go on for a few minutes longer than is comfortable for my inexperienced Western ears, but the songs are almost enchanting with the rhythms and repetition.  I'll have to go next year and really try to figure it out.

Saturday was the Woodstock Mela, which is the Indian term for fair or gathering.  There's a building on campus called the Hanifl Centre for Outdoor Education.  It has been vastly underused, mostly due to its location (the far edge of campus, but, hey, still closer to the school than my house).  Well, Mrs. Hanifl was in town, so heck, let's try and show her we use the place!  The Mela was held there, despite the old location working fine and dandy.  

Vendors from Mussoorie and from the smaller villages further into the mountains showed up to hawk their food and wares.  The Thai, Japanese, and Korean kids at the school organized to serve food (or shaved ice) to help with scholarships.  The 9th grade sold hot dogs (chicken kabobs on a bun), the 11th grade sold ice cream, and the 12th grade did nothing as far as I could tell.  My grade, 10th grade, was supposed to be in charge of the carnival.  Long story short, because of the location, we had no room for a carnival and we were reduced to face painting.  Overall, it was a good time for me.  First of all, I had the shortest walk to an event for the first time ever.  I ate a ton of good food and got my hands on some rare brown sugar (about a dollar at Walmart, where it is from, but I paid 300 rupees or about 6 dollars for it).  I also picked up a batik wall hanging of an Indian-looking Jesus.  Very cool.  

In addition to all the food and selling, there was a bit of entertainment.  A few Nepali kids did a dance, the elementary kids all dressed up and danced, and a few of the Woodstock employees did a dance.  But, the best was the group of kids from a local village.  They rocked the place with their Indian dance moves (screwing in the light bulb and all).  They had major stage presence and at one point a bunch of them jumped on each other's shoulders and danced like that.  I'm learning that for men, dancing is all in the shoulders around here.  I continue to use my hips when dancing, but I have been practicing the shoulder bounce.

Anyways, the weather has gotten nicer, it's almost May, and that spring lethargy has been creeping into student and staff alike.  Summer is almost here!