Teaching, Kids and RICE in Nepal

Helen's latest update from Pokhara and the orphanage



After our very first exciting week of being lost and not knowing much about anything, things are now settling down. This week after our exciting Saturday trekking to the peace pagoda and boating across lake phewa, our work week began again on Sunday at 7.15am. We were thrown straight into teaching. This week some of the other volunteers have gone on a trek to Poon Hill which takes about 5 days so Leanne, Anoushka and I ,plus Harvey from the UK and Maggie from the USA are the only teachers meaning we have a class each, every lesson period. It's great to have our own set classes every time because now there is a bit more structure and we can plan better which in the end will be more beneficial for the kids.

The kids seem quite bright but they have been taught little bits of everything and there are huge gaps in what they can do. Most of them can read really well but ask them what it was about/summarise what they read most of them do not even know where to begin. Reading comprehension is now a very big part of most english lessons. Maths is another case altogether. The Nursery class are about 4 years old and can do Timetables! Leanne is teaching them. Anoushka is teaching the first floor class who are about eight years old and are just as impressive. They are well into fractions, BODMAS and advanced multiplication sums. And anyone that knows me (Helen) knows that I wasn't very confident with my Maths. However, I have had to get over that pretty quick because I am teaching the living room kids who are almost 11 or 12 but they are up to Algebra! This week I have managed to teach them to rearrange equations . On Friday we have testing so hopefully all our hard work and lesson planning will have helped the kids to some extent.

They continue to be very cheeky and do not have alot of discipline. Next week the plan is to do Manners in our social classes. But despite us telling them off occasionally they never stay mad and always try to do their best for us.

Our daily routine is now quite set. We wake up at 6:50 am and eat breakfast at 7:15am. After a week where we thought our stomachs would pop ,proper breakfast portion sizes have been negotiated so it no longer takes us about 30 minutes to eat. Breakfast consists of really yummy tibetan bread which Sonam our host Mother showed us how to make yesterday. At around 7:40 am we set off on our bikes to work and get to the Orphanage around 8.15am. Class begins at 8:30 am and concludes at 11:30. Lunch at 12:30 which I do not particularly like...I am really getting over rice. A free 2 hours till 2:30pm. Then homework help and playtime till 5.00pm. At 5.15pm we set off for home again. We always are greeted at home with our host family insisting we take a cup of tea. Dinner around 7/7.30pm which is when the power goes out and then we have been in bed before 9.00pm almost every night.

This weekend we plan to hike up to Sarangot. We will leave Friday after lunch because it is a half day so the kids have no classes after 11.30am. We will hike up and spend the night then get up early on saturday morning to see the sunrise over the Annapurna mountain range and Mt Fishtail. I am not sure if you heard but on Monday there was a very tragic bus crash on the way up to Sarangot. 6 died at the scene and 9 later in hospital. So we are walking. But due to that crash today after the lunch the WHOLE COUNTRY OF NEPAL is going on strike because the government did not pay one family that had someone injured or killed the correct compensation...go figure. Its really odd why they have so many strikes and how everyone just knows there is a strike. People just seem to find out by word of mouth. We got told to check the street before we left on our bike because sometimes a strike even means no bicycles. If we rode our bikes when that is the case, people can apparently push us off and let the air out of our tyres...??? :S

So there is still much to learn. We are starting to plan some activities to do next week for Christmas. We have also been invited by some American volunteers to the Christmas party they are hosting for the kids at the orphanage which sounds like lots of fun! Apparently the americans are doing the cooking which means there will be Christmas Cookies and NO RICE!!!