A trip to India

According to what people say, Nepalgunj is the hottest place in Nepal, but the last few weeks it has not been warm at all, I have to say. I can't remember when I last felt so cold. The cold is due to the mist that comes down like a wet sheet over the Terai, the flat land on the southern border of Nepal, and not even in the middle of the day do the skies clear. Day after day has passed without the sun coming out once and that makes it very cold and damp, both outside and, and especially, inside the houses. You have to wear a lot of layers and make sure you have a good down cover in your bed!


I had a most wlecome break from the cold and the mist when I went to Jaigaon in West Bengal, India in January. I have been there once before, to conduct a training for the the teachers at Ebenezer Academy. That was back in January 2005 and now they had asked me to come back to do a follow-up, and to conduct a new training or workshop.


The school is in the same compound as a small church and the director of the school, Mr Lama and his family, are actively involved in both the school and the church. The Headmistress, Mrs Sharma, is a Hindu from Nepal, living in Bhutan (Jaigaon is right on the border to Bhutan) The staff at the school is a great mixture of people of Nepali, Indian and Bhutanese origin, Hindus and Christians. Actually the whole town is a fantastic blend of old and new, different nationalities and religions. The most amazing thing is that, though the town is at least four hours drive from the Nepali border, Nepali language is understood and used almost everywhere, and that makes it ever so much easier for someone like me!




The training was mainly on Maths and "Values", i.e how can we make the children talk about what they think and feel, and make them discuss values and ethics. The school had sent me a list of subjects they wanted me to cover already in October and I found it could be summarized into two questions or issues: "How to make Maths teaching fun and interesting?" and "How to you handle kids that are different". Well, the actual wording was "How to handle unruly kids?" and I realized fairly soon that what they meant by "unruly kids" was not exactly what I understood it to be!

I'm not sure what the teachers really made out of my "Value activities" or whether they will be able to use them in their work with the "unruly kids", but I do know that the teachers thoroughly enjoyed the Maths games that we played. Even the games that involved using playing cards they liked and thought were good- but if they are brave enough to use them with the students, I don't know. Parents can be fairly conservative and cards games are definitely not counted as something good in any subculture here!




Although I felt well prepared before I left for India I had to spend most of my free time preparing for the next session of the training. Most of the time I did that at the hotel were I was staying. I think the staff there found me a bit "particular" as I was spending so much time in my room, at the computer. Maybe they thought I was some kind of spy?


I ate a whole lot as well. Every day Mrs Lama prepared and served a great meal at lunch time. It was Nepali and Bhutanese food, and very tasty! I had as much as I possibly could and I really enjoyed it. Last time a was in Jaigaon I was not well and I couldn't appreciate the food so this time I was trying to make up for that!


Also at the hotel I had a lot of good food. One night I ordered a "thali" and got all this. I must admit I couldn't finish it all. Some of it was pretty hot, or "piro", as well, and not at all adapted for foreign "tourists"!


The flight home was something extra! On the way down to the border I had seen Everest from the plane but it was not at all as exciting as the flight back to Nepalgunj from Kathmandu. What a country this is! I took more photos during that than I had done during the whole week in Jaigaon. Even if some of them are not that good, they were shot through the rather greasy window after all, they tell you something of the beauty - and the hardship- of Nepal.