Post # 7

The last week has been excellent. I love it here, other than maybe the temperature. As a Vermonter, I have been brought up to think that 80 degrees Fahrenheit is sweltering hot, and 60 is just about the right climate to live in during the summer… 88 here is normal. After about two weeks here I am almost used to it, but I have realized that unfortunately it is something that I will never fully become acclimated to.

Time here is strange, as days are slow, I feel like I have been here for years, but also I feel like Mother dropped me off yesterday. Maybe that has to do with the heat, too? This week was fun. In the art class we started and finished our unit on shape and sculpture. We learned about proportions, shapes, size, distance, vanishing points, and how to apply all of this to our own work. The kids seemed bored with it at first, and stared at me with blank faces. I was worried. Maybe I was speaking in English too fast. After me asking them what was wrong about, one of the boys in 8th grade, Vignesh, informed me that half of the words I was using were ones that they had never heard of. Words like scheme, and proportion. 3-D. 2-D. I decided to steal something from my 2nd grade learning experience, and created a word wall. We now have all of the new English words that we are learning on a poster board hanging front and center in the classroom.

Their favorite class this week was inevitably the one where I introduced them to model magic. I couldn’t use clay with them, as there is no kiln, and plaster was just a messy idea. Needless to say, they loved it. I loved it. Together the class produced snowmen, cobras, cakes, little men, houses, hearts, and much more. We used all of the six huge containers, and they still asked for more. Crayola should start selling in India.

In addition to my art class each day, I teach swimming, help in the special education department, and help out in other classes. I basically offer to do whatever they need me to do. I’m here to help!