Rakshabandan

 

August and September are very special months in the Hindu religion. Many holidays take place and people fast a lot. This week there was the holiday called Rakshabandan where the sister gives her brothers a bracelet and also prays for them. She wishes good luck, health, wealth etc. This procedure doesn’t take long, but families in India are big, so all the cousin-sisters have to come, that means be at their own home, but also go to others. Thus the whole day can be used for giving the blessings. Generally the sister arrives at ones house, ties the bracelet round her brother’s arm, gives sweets to everybody and that are it. The brother or his family in return gives a little bit of money, also as a sign of good luck.

Rakhis in a shop

For me it was the first time to see this festival. The students were all very excited about it, especially because they were given nearly 4 days of holidays when most of them went home to stay with their families. This also meant some free days for me which I used to see some places and do some writing. On 24th, Rakshabandan, itself I first stayed at the school where some students from another school had arrived and have the Rakis (bracelets) and some sweets to all students. Because I happened to be there I also had to tie the Rakis around some boys’ arms and give sweets to them. Afterwards I was also given 5 Rakis. For the girls from the other school was it like an honour to do that. In the area of the schools are hardly ever people from abroad that don’t have an Indian background and do thus look at least a little bit Indian. Thus I’m always special and interesting for them.

After the short program in school I went to a friend’s house and stayed there for some time. Because the proper celebration of Rakshabandan does not take that much time actually we also went to see some other places such as two temples and a fair that was around one of them. For Indians this is always very special, but for me it is sometimes very tiring because it is generally fairly crowded and then the stalls are sometimes right at the side of the road which means that there is on-going traffic, which is always chaotic in India, and hardly any space to walk, not to mention the time for relaxed looking around or shopping. Indians don’t mind that because they are used to it, but for me it will probably always be a bit strange and uncomfortable.

Rakhis - they occur in many different shapes, colours etc... a huge variety is available.

Presents

Days are passing very quickly and I’m always busy with something. Whenever possible I try to help where help is needed and have already learned and gained good experiences in Chapatti making and others.

I finally also got the chance to buy some toys for the kids with the funds I raised in Germany. I got balls for all the blind students and staff. Unfortunately there were no sound making toys available, but it was probably one of the first times that all of the students got a toy for themselves. They really enjoyed playing with it and I hope they will manage to keep the ball for a while.

Because they were quite cheap I have decided to make them even happier by giving everybody a photo of themselves. People in India are very keen in taking and watching pictures, even when can hardly see anything. All the time I’m asked to take more photos of them and because they don’t have a camera they don’t have many photos of themselves. Because of that we spend nearly half a day with taking photos of all the students and staff in the blind school. I can’t wait now to see their joy and surprise when they will get their own photo.

Some experiences of Indian timings

To see something different I went with one of the staff members to a nearby city to buy some things for her and the students. We went by bus and although it was only about 35km away it took us about 1 ½ hours to get there. Due to the monsoon the roads are quite bad and traffic in India is generally very chaotic and much slower than what we are used to. The average speed on a highway is probably around 70km/h for cars and a lot slower for trucks and other vehicles. Although it is supposed to be a road for fast locomotion one can find anything that moves on a highway, whether they are cars and buses, bikes, scooters or rickshaws, sometimes camel carts, bicycles, or even people and all sorts of animals. And although it seems as if there were no rules at all the system somehow works.

Of course there are certain bus times, but unfortunately they are wrong most of the time. Thus it happens that people wait for hours for one bus to come, and so did we when we wanted to go back to school. The bus came 1 ½ hours later than it was supposed to and due to this delay it was quickly overcrowded. Overcrowded (in India) means that there is absolutely no space left for another person. We had a journey of about 10 to 15 minutes when suddenly a fizzling sound could be heard. How else could it be, it happened to be a puncture and everybody had to get off the bus. There was no chance of going any further in it and thus we had no other choice than waiting for the next bus to come. It was supposed to be only half an hour later and all of us were standing and sitting at the side of the road, staring hopefully down the road. But nothing happened. One bus passed and picked up a few people but it was the wrong direction for us. Another one came by, but did not take any more passengers because it was already very full and people told us that it did also have a puncture. Nobody knew when the bus would finally come and thus we did not do anything else than sitting and standing around, getting very, very bored and tired. Some jeeps passed and would have taken a few of us, but nobody wanted to go in there because they had already paid the bus fare and a jeep was a lot more expensive and they would have had to pay that in addition.

Finally, two hours later, the long-awaited bus came and we could continue our journey. We reached school with a delay of nearly 5 hours in which we had done nothing else than waiting for a bus to come. But that is something that happens in India fairly often. In rural areas people that can afford it stand at the side of the road, waiting for a bus of jeep to come that goes in their direction. And sometimes one has to wait for several hours until the journey begins.

August 14, 2010

It has been a very mixed week with many extracurricular happenings during school timings. There were quite a few rehearsals for a presentation of how to handle different dangerous situations or accidents. We also prepared special requisites like an ambulance. The performance itself took place yesterday afternoon. It was very funny to watch all the different situationsthe boys and girls acted and the students, teachers and guests really enjoyed it. During the rehearsals I had already realized that deaf students were very good actors and more self-supporting than others. And because everybody had put a lot of effort in it, it was very successful.

It is really great that I got the chance to go back to India. I’m very much enjoying my time here and the students also love my presence. I can’t walk anywhere without being greeted happily and usually a few start talking immediately, want to shake my hand, give me a hug or show me something. It is attention one hardly ever gets like this and the impressing and moving aspect is that it really comes from the student’s heart. They already tell me that they will be very sad when I go back and ask me to stay here as a teacher.

August 10, 2010

Today I was lucky and could attend two English classes and also teach myself twice. Because the arts teacher had to leave for some other work I decided to take over the next period. I had no idea what to teach them, but was told I could tell them to draw some Henna designs. Usually he draws something in the board which the students have to copy. I think that is not very supportive and not very good for their creativity. Thus I told them to draw their hand and then think about a design themselves. I also took care about little details like finger nails etc., because I thought they could thus also learn something about how to draw something real/natural. For some of them it seemed to be quite difficult, but they finally managed with my help and I think we got good results.

Thinking of a design themselves was quite hard for some of the students. Thus I decided to draw something on the board myself, although I do have far less practice then they have and have far not seen as many designs as they have. But I think it was good for some to get some inspiration. One thing I definitely have to improve is the time management. Whereas some students had come quite far, some of them had done very little and not gone far beyond the drawing of their hand.

I have realized that this often happens in this subject, but also in others. The students pace is very different and if you are fast, you might get quite some time off in class. There has to be different solution, but at the moment I’m not quite aware of how that could be.

After the little break I went to see an English class. It was standard 5a. I watched the teacher who taught a lesson from a book, but also did some revising of old words. It was interesting how he taught, because it was the first time I understood their way of teaching. He wrote a dialogue on the board which the students had to copy. Later he explained the meaning of the sentences by asking the students for the meaning of some words. He told me after asking that he would later do an exam with the students so that it would be easier for them in their final exam. And I think that is the method here: teachers teach a lesson from a book by writing the content on the board (usually exactly the same what is in the book)which the students have to copy. He/she then explains the meaning and the students have to remember it. Later on, when one unit is completed the teacher will do an exam and does thus force/encourage the students to study. Some teachers take this kind of teaching very easily and write something, sit down, wait and then explain. So there is no preparation, nothing…

After the big break I went to standard 5b to watch the next class. But because the teacher didn’t appear I decided to teach myself the same unit he had taught in the 5a. I got a book and taught in a similar way he had done it, writing down the sentences, letting the students copy it and then explained it. I was not able to write down the Gujarati word, but got one student after every part who had to come to the front and explain the meaning again. It went really well. The student were happy and understood what I was telling them, all of them and everything. I really glad about this because for me it is not so easy to teach in sign language.

Afterwards I got really good response from the students. They told me I had done well explaining the content/meaning and that my sign language was good. Now I feel that I can say a lot in sign language and also in Gujarati. It is a good base for further studies and they are definitely necessary.

What is so difficult about teaching a foreign language to deaf students that only use sign language is that there are many words they don’t have and that the grammar structure is totally different. They are not able to connect anything with the word immediately due to some sound and thus especially the spelling is very difficult for them.

August 9, 2010

As so often in India nothing goes as usual. This time it happened that some doctors had decided to go to the blindschool and do an eyecamp there. Thus I left the deaf school for two days and went there to see it and especially meet the students and staff again.

When I arrived the students were already waiting for me and I got a great welcoming. My name was repeated again and again, everybody wanted to see me, to touch me and I had to shake many hands and give hugs. The students welcoming really came from their heart and it was very moving and also amazing for me. I had not expected so much attachment. For quite a while I was surrounded by most of the girls, being asked questions and again and again touched so they could get a better impression of me.

The next day the eye camp took place and all the students were examined by the doctors. Wherever possible they are going to do an operation to improve the children’s vision or at least give them glasses; all free of charge.

with some blind students

I had only been there for one night and one day and it was already hard to leave again. The girls did not want to let me go and begged me to stay although I promised to come back.

August 6, 2010

What is interesting to see, is that all the lessons continue more or less in the same way. Teachers write something on the board, students copy it and afterwards the teacher explains the sentences. Sometimes they ask for words, for special meanings, and generally most of the students answer at once. The teacher then explains the words again.

Because the working moral in India is far below the German one and the one I’m used to, it is very strange for me to see that often there are classes without teachers. Thus it has already happened that I got the chance to teach several times. Sometimes teachers reappeared later, sometimes not. But even if they did, they did not want to take over and let me continue. Because I didn’t expect to receive classes like this I wasn’t able to prepare anything and simply started to teach some English words.

Beside the school day I’m trying to do as much with the students as possible. Thus I use the time to play with them for 1-2 hours until they have to go for their dinner and sometimes we even meet afterwards to talk etc.. Because I’m the only one that has come over from far abroad and because the students already know me, I always get a lot of attention.

August 5, 2010

It was only my second day, but things were different already. Some people had come to teach the students and staff some first aid tricks and medical and safety issues. Thus, right after prayer they started to show films and showed the students an ambulance. The whole school day was mixed up and not many classes took place. After lunch I gave the maps I had brought to the older classes and explained them where different countries in the world are. They were quite happy about it and as I had thought, had no idea where places in the world actually are. So I hope they will continue to talk about it and thus learn more. Because there were no teachers in some classes, due to the continuing medical program, I decided to do something good and teach some English words. I started with different vehicles, by writing them on the board and explaining them. Actually I was planning to play hangman, which I had taught them the year before. I did put a few lines and the first letter on the board and asked for the rest. Because they were not able to guess the meaning, I told them the word in sign language, but it was still difficult for them. Due to the fact that they don’t hear the pronunciation it is very hard for them to distinguish between the different letters, especially to put them in the right order.

After we had collected a few words, I asked the students to repeat the meaning of them and it was then that I could easily see how little they connect with the written words. Although there were not many words and letters, they already started to mix them up. Nevertheless we managed to get through the list. I then erased the words and asked the students to tell me the letters for a vehicle I signed to them. Most of the time it worked well, but to make sure that they don’t forget the words I am planning to go to the same class tomorrow and ask them for the letters.

in the girls hostel

First experiences back in India

It has already been a week since I left Germany and so far I have had a very great time in India. To give you a slight impression of what I have been doing so far I decided to post some notes I took over the last few days.




August 4, 2010

After a very long journey of about 27 hours I finally arrived in Navsari, the town where the schools are. But because it was already evening time I did not get the chance to meet many people. I could only hear and see their happy voices, smiles and waving. It was great to be welcomed so warmly. In the morning though, it was even nicer when I really got to meet the kids and other staff members and teachers. Everybody was so happy to see me again and also quite surprised. Being the third time for me, it already feels like coming back to an old home, a place I really know and consider as my own. People treat me like a family member and are asking whether I would marry in India and stay.

some deaf students

Because the time here is part of my studies and I have basically come to get experiences and do research, I immediately started to go to classes, watch teacher and teach myself a little bit. Because the working moral in India is not always very high, it happens quite often that there are classes without teachers. The students already know me very well and are always happy to have my company. Thus it is quite difficult to actually get some free time. But on the other hand it is great because they are very motivated to learn something new which makes it a lot easier for me.