The End

Here in the hills of Hong Kong (where my blog has actually been hijacked by Chinese characters--ah!) I finally get to catch you up on school with an end-of-semester picture tour. Here's to the grades in the book, the monkeys OUT of my classroom, and my body off of that mountain for a few venturesome weeks. :)




In this class exercise, as you can see, we were studying the ancient Egyptian practice of mummific.....just kidding, your eyes deceive you. While a great sculpture project idea was going tediously too long, I resolved to mix things up for a day. We were working on an animorphs wire project in which students blended the human skeleton with an animal skeleton, and to give the plodding new pizzazz, I had my students turn themselves into the animorphs they were creating. With toilet paper. I told these non-Americans that in the States, women do this exact activity at bridal showers and then have someone judge the best "dress." They thought it was pretty crazy...just like their teacher...
















Welcome to Woodstock culture. These ninth graders had the blissful opportunity of dressing as cartoon characters and corpse brides for school, but not of their own accord. On a doleful day in September, the current seniors with lipstick and face paint in hand, got to dress up the freshman, tie a bow on it and call it Friendship Day. You call it hazing, we call it friendship, and it all starts with a parade at morning assembly in front of the 7-12 grades. Besides, who ever got hurt wearing a cardboard box covered in tinfoil on their head?


Just like at Hogwarts, our school has Sports Day, too!


On a cross-curricular field trip with the ninth graders, a Religious Education teacher and myself took 56 students + chaperones to a place called Happy Valley on the other side of Mussoorie. This haven is home to some 5,000 Tibetan refugees who have escaped through the mountains from Tibet, one of whom (for a time) was the 14th Dalai Lama back in the late '50s early '60s. We got to visit their exquisite painting center and Buddhist temple where one of the monks there answered questions and taught us about right living.



















What do you get with a handful of Indian kids, two Americans, one Australian, and a ripe-and-ready pigskin? Let me tell you, it is not a game of cricket! On a retreat for the 7-9 graders, an American student decided to bring his football (American that is) out to play, and boy did he decide right. I had not touched one of those things since powderpuff in college so I was pretty excited to run for a few downs. After playing catch for a bit we kicked off a small game of 2-hand-touch by first explaining the rules to the outsiders. It was a grand ole nostalgic time.

Close Communion with Critters and Things

communion--

3. association; fellowship.

4. interchange or sharing of thoughts or emotions; intimate communication: communion with nature.

5. the act of sharing, or holding in common; participation.


Mussoorie is looking quite pretty these days. We have lots of sun and the temperature bumpers between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the daytime. It is the gift northern India is given after the swamping rains. October is a month of partying for Indians and it all culminates to today, October 26, which happens to be Diwali. Comparable to Christmas in the West, kids get presents, homes are dressed with lights, and crackers (FIRE crackers) go off anytime day OR night.

In the spirit of celebration, I decided to dress up in my finest silky Arabic pants that just scream, "PAAARTTYYYY!!" They are too much fun to wear due to their numerous variations of display. A person almost must walk around all day like she is a high-stepping militia woman while enthusiastically doing star jumps at random. This all comes on the tag above the washing instructions.



















Our furry little friends the monkeys have only gotten crazier, bolder, and friskier as the seasons have changed. When is the mating season? Who knows!! But there seem to be quite a few moms with babies clinging to their chests around our campus. These pictures tell the story of my mornings, ripe with monkey-sightings while I change in the girls vistor's locker room at our gymnasium. In this instance the little baby was hanging on to mama's belly as she lazily made her way along the ridge 5 meters directly across from my window. They were a cute pair. However, the couple I did not take a photo of were the ones getting busy in plain sight at 8 in the morning. They certainly were not photo worthy and most definitely NOT cute.



"You want to make a run to JUNK STATION??? Man, I wonder what they sell there!!" Literally. This is one of the local shops in the bazaar.

Just in case you were wondering, we do have a pet that shows up at our house infrequently, but especially at nighttime. His name is Sting and, well, doesn't this photo just say it all?! He's a scorpion. I don't even flinch at happenings like this anymore. Although he's not illegal to eat (as cows are thus the beef run to Delhi...which actually only leads to more questions; in reality it's not illegal, just unfavorable in the Hindu faith) he definitely would not be substantial enough to satisfy. Rats. My encounters with creatures of all kinds have increased by 250% by living in India. As the monkeys swinging above my head and across my path can attest, sometimes I wonder if I am not living in a zoo.

Delhi or Death!

It's fall break.
The monsoon's done and cabin fever is pandemic.
IT'S TIME TO GET OUT.

Below are shots from the adventures of four Americans
and Anwar,
the best Indian friend we girls could ask for.

With our packs on our backs, we were ready to burst this Woodstock bubble and take on the capital city. With my new shades from Mom and Dad, I was not only looking fly but my game face was fixed and focused. After our pre-planned taxi decided to take another group instead, I bargained 100 rupees off the next driver's price and it was smooth riding down the mountain to the train station.




Hello Taj Mahal. Here, Indians tend to call it the "Taj Mahale." After reaching Delhi around 10:30 at night, we woke bright and early to catch a train to Agra where we would behold one of the 7 wonders of the world. It is named so in good reason.













On the right we have one of those classic photos of a few of my friends and the average Indian guy who wants a picture with some white girls. Sure I'll pose with you, hold your baby, and be in your holiday card.



To the left, the five of us are reenacting the event of our lives which happened right before reaching the Taj Mahal. We were riding the train to Agra and it was making its normal stops. One was particularly long and there was some confusion in our group as to where we were. Was this our stop? Should we get off here? I was along for the ride, thus took no part in finding an answer. When we finally figured out we were at our stop, the train was beginning to move. Time for action. We grabbed our things, bolted down the aisle, and were standing in the open doorway of the train, contemplating our next move. Acting on instincts, we followed each other over the edge like little sheep, thankfully not plummeting to our stony deaths. Never thought I'd live in India; never thought I'd jump off a moving train on vacation. And NEVER thought I'd live to tell.



Takin it down at Hard Rock Cafe! Living up on a mountain there are many things you cannot get simply because of your location. Living in India, beef is almost nonexistent... except in the Western hubs.
So when we went to Delhi we knew one place we were going to and just WHAT we were getting. One was sushi, the other a hamburger. It. Was. Glorious.








Who wouldn't want to shop at Awesome??? Anything you could buy there would most definitely be nothing less than the store's namesake. I got to buy beautiful fabrics for all sorts of projects for about $2.50 a yard. Not bad, not bad.

Profile of a Student

Girls wearing their home country's traditional dress on Indian Independence Day

Students in Model UN

I think it's time you entered into the life of a student here at Woodstock. Here's a glimpse (by no means comprehensive!) at the student you may find hiking to school or playing their satyr on campus.

1. Profile of a student. So what kind of a student attends Woodstock?
Students who want (or whose parents want) top education for their child. Most students that go to Woodstock are Indian nationals or from nearby countries. All over SE Asia (not to mention the world, modestly) this school is known for its caliber in education. Take a look at these accolades:

• Top International School in India, 2011

Woodstock website's article
Education World Online's article

• Top 10 International Schools in the World, 2010 (according to the Asian Correspondent)

Asian Correspondent's article

These stats would make me want to send my child to this school.

Students whose parent or aunt or grandma have all gone here. They want this family member to experience the magic as well. Or maybe she just wants them to understand WHAT she means when she says, "Back when I lived through the monsoon......."

Students on scholarship, like a tenth grade girl I just met from Afghanistan. She won an award that gave her the opportunity to go to school at Woodstock. She firmly believes and understands her purpose is to get an education so she can go back and help in the healing work of her country.

Exchange students. SAGEs as they are called (Studies Abroad for Global Education). Students hear about this place through this program. Plus, Woodstock alumni are all over the world; thus the connections are simply endless.


2. A day in their life...a day in mine.

• This school takes Marie Antoinette's rumored comment from the 18th century seriously: "Let them eat cake." Since these students LIVE here (most of them), there are snacks provided twice in the school day. I would have to say the snack that makes an appearance in the cafeteria bins most frequently is CAKE. No frosting on top, just cake. Chocolate, chocolate orange, pink, white, pineapple, no birthday, just CAKE.
  
• In my 9th grade art class we just finished a unit on photography. Naturally we also learned how to edit our photos and had to work on computers. I'm walking around answering questions and solving the problems of the world when I look over at a few of my students and see them participating in an activity far from cropping and exposure alterations. Students, sitting RIGHT NEXT to each other, were SKYPING each other in my class. Right in front of me. During class time. Skyping. EXCUSE ME???!! I walk over and stand in front of one of their computers, being caught by the camera, and it's all over their screen. Needless to say, they didn't need to turn around to know who was looking sternly over their shoulder, VERY unamused.
• All, let me tell you, ALL of their life is directed by bells. I can hear the slightly out of pitch sound of music "sol, mi, do" around 8:30 every night, probably signifying some sort of "last call to freedom" before the students are wrangled for bed.
  
• WORK WORK WORK. Students here can be involved in SO many things without their mothers saying, "NO. You are NOT taking part in the de-worming stray dogs programme." So much of their life is filled with studying, being involved on campus, FILLING OUT COLLEGE APPS (everyone FREAK OUT!!), and being an all-around cool kid. Seriously, these students are pretty amazing and classroom management is almost nil. But I think it's extreme when your child is waking up at 4 am to finish h/w.
  

3. Stats. Here are some stats from 2 years ago (2009-10). I believe last year they had about 523 students total.

Student Body Breakdown:
Elementary (PreK-5) 59
Middle School (6-8) 125
High School (9-12) 280
Students out on Exchange 4
Total 468
Boarders 401
Day Scholars 67
Boys 255
Girls 213

Passport Nationality:
SAARC Countries (256)
Afghanistan 1
Bhutan 12
India 193
Nepal 50

Rest of Asia (117)
Japan 11
Myanmar 1
South Korea 68
Taiwan, ROC 2
Thailand 23
Tibet 3
Vietnam 9

Rest of the World (95)
Australia 3
Canada 7
France 3
Germany 2
Italy 1
Mexico 1
Netherlands 1
Russia 1
South Africa 3
UK 5
USA 68

Religious Affiliation:
Christian 197
Buddhist 69
Hindu 121
Jain 2
Muslim 4
Sikh 11
Zoroastrian 1
Mixed 32
None stated 31

Lessons Learned

Here in Mussoorie, and in India in general, there are some things one should know about the culture or the habitat to be able to avert unfortunate events and live a boisterous life.

Lesson #1--the meaning of the head bobble. In Indian culture, instead of nodding your head up and down to signify your agreement, a person tilts his head side-to-side. Almost like a bobble head doll. In the States, if a student was to nod her head to the side once after I asked her to complete a task or do this differently, I would think that she would be begrudgingly saying, "Ughh, if I have to..." Not so here. That side head tilt or bobble of the head from side-to-side means, "Yes, of course!" or "Sure thing. No problem." I think I am starting to pick up the side head tilt but also find myself doing the standard up and down gesture in affirmation.

Lesson #2--they're climbing in your windows...snatchin your crackers up. I entered my classroom a couple Mondays ago to find something amiss. As I walked around my desk, I discovered what appeared to be cracker crumbs all over the floor, a torn wrapper, and crumbs covering my chair accompanied by a nice divot where someone (or SOMETHING) had quite obviously enjoyed his snack.

"MONKEYS," I thought as I surveyed the crime scene.

The detective in me searched the room for a lead in the investigation. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together:
What: trespassing and stealing
Where: Studio 51
When: sometime between the period of Friday afternoon and Monday morning
Method of entry: potentially one of windows positioned slightly ajar due to the increased moisture of monsoon
Consumed: my crackers
Who: presumably, a monkey

My furious fingers typed up a maintenance request for the full closure of my windows. It came out something like this: "A monkey got into my room and ate my crackers." Nope, that won't do. I decided to change it to the more serious-sounding and imperative words of "A monkey got into my room and made a mess."

Lesson #3--even YOU can be a culinary artist! Let's face it: life outside of college is tough. Especially in a foreign country. Not only are you away from the great community of friends and teachers who shaped you for the last four years of life, but for some graduates you are also learning how to live on your OWN. Because Woodstockers are far-removed from cinemas and other forms of entertainment, much of our excitement and energies get to be focused on one thing: FOOD. Now, cooking for me only became an interest within the past couple years. I took a stab at granola bars and then a peanut sauce Thai dish, all the while learning which spices I liked and if I put this with that it could really be tasty. Up here, far far away from foods we Americans are used to eating, a good ole heaping of 'Merica can be just what a person needs to keep spirits high and your GI problems at an all-time low. Maybe it's because of talent, maybe it's because of the LACK of comfort foods here in India, but I have become Chief Chef Katie Extraordinaire. "Katie, will you make those no-bake peanut butter granola bar thingies..." (we have yet to purchase an oven) and "WHENEVER you want to make those banana pancakes again..." (exquisite tastes, I know...and we eat them with the LOG CABIN SYRUP sent from my wonderful aunt and cousins!!!) can all be heard coming from the mouths of my friends and roommates. When times get tough, even amateurs can be acclaimed culinary artists.

A Day In the Life

Lindsay, me, Rebecca, Shannon, and Ingrid on Independence Day

1. A day in the life...Well, friends, this is a look at what a typical day may look like for me at Woodstock School.

6:15 AM--wake up for school...maybe. If it is heaping buckets of rain, I'll take the large umbrella today.
7:15--after breakfast and trying to orientate myself to being vertical (feeling well is a PLUS), I trek my way up the 1,000 feet to our state-of-the-art Win Mumby athletic complex to take my shower. I've decided to cut my losses, and a day of teaching in a damp WS polo, by hoofing it up the hill so I can clean up in a well-pressured, always-a-warm-shower locker room. Pack carefully or you may be pantsless for classes.
8:30--morning assembly for the 7-12 grades every other day. I am the advisor for 7 seventh graders so I sit up in the balcony and try to figure out this community just as much as the nubes I am advising. :) I love it.
8:55--first class of the day. We are on a 7-day cycle of classes, so each day is different. I teach 3rd and 4th grade art at the Junior School as well as 9th grade art, Drawing/Painting, and Sculpture in the Senior School.
A second class
10:40--TEA TIME! Morning snack, which has been known to have CREME PUFFS for the students every so often...
2 classes
12:45--Lunch. When it's a good day at the cafeteria, it is oftentimes a GOOD DAY at the cafeteria. The same is true for the contrary.
2 more class periods
3:45--Afternoon tea. Yes, you may actually have tea 3 times a day if you wish: morning, lunch and afternoon.

2. Retrieval of the vacuum. So this past weekend I was supposed to make it out to Rishikesh with friends, the spot famed as the birthplace of about 48 songs by The Beatles in the late '60s including many that made up The White Album. (You say you want a revolution...) Instead of embarking upon my own self-actualization journey, I was meditating in my bedroom, hoping to transcend the bout of stomach sickness I was wallowing in. By the afternoon on Saturday, I felt I could gather some gumption to venture outside to enjoy one of the sunny days we had been gifted with that week. Maybe some exercise would do a body good. I decided I would go and pick up the vacuum belonging to another staff member for obvious reasons and encountered two fantastic experiences on my daytrip to nowhere.

Experience #1: Off on my trek around campus (they are ALWAYS treks...) I hit one of the main roads and headed east. I'm just walking along, watching the motorcycles pass me on their way to some higher ground, when I hear what sounds like a couple of vehicles approaching behind. The first cycle passes me with two men on it, man on the back unashamedly craning to look back at me, and they continue on just fine over the encroaching gravelly speed bump. The guy on the motorcycle following them decides he will do the same, except in his case, he's the driver as well. He passes me, craning his neck immediately in the overtake, but is on his way up the speed bump without a straight shot. Gottcha! The man realizes only too late that he has succumbed to the clutches of the gravelly speed bump with white girl on the side and loses his balance, not to mention his pride, over the edge of the round. Ungracefully, his cycle careens into the fence 5 meters before me, forcing I'm sure some choice Hindi expletives from his mouth. His friends up ahead take a knee while the man recovers his bike and his dignity from the rock pile.

Experience #2: I've got that vacuum now, been told how to care for it as if it is a child, and am ready to make my way back home. Who would have thought there would be wildlife on the route back?! The wildlife was me. I'm walking back down the main road, carrying a vacuum, ya know, living the Indian life. A set of bikers decide to take the safer way as compared to the aforementioned male and pass me on the left, stop about 25 meters later, and simply park it in the middle of the road...watching the local game do its thang on a day in the life of India.

3. Indian Independence Day was on Monday, August 15th. The school prepared for the occasion by readying nationally made textiles and crafters for the week's theme of "Fabric of a Nation" while the new staff especially made sure they had someone to wrap their saris for the big day. Feeling like prom all over again, we new staff white girls were draped, tucked, and sinched by regular "Good Indian Girls." (We did our research beforehand but were well aware of the importance of making everything look as perfect as possible...this is a big deal people!) Below are the outcomes--quite a success in the forgiving eyes of our Indian colleagues. :)

Living In the Clouds

1. Life in the clouds. Because it is monsoon season and because we live over 6,000 feet above sea level, most of our days in Mussoorie right now are lived like this. You walk outside your door and enter into this fairyland that drops off just beyond the ledge in front of you. We really cannot fathom WHERE we live because we cannot SEE it most of the time.

Let me explain.

The two top pictures are of a pathway down the mountain. On a clear October day, one would receive a SPLENDID few of the foothills and their valleys from these vantage points. Not so in monsoon! We literally watch the clouds roll in and are enveloped by them 6/7 days per week.



2. Ferns grow on TREES??! Yes they do. This season doesn't only turn Mussoorie into a magical fairyland, but a wild, jungley one at that. Sidewalks get sprinkled with bleach every now and then to keep the slippery moss from taking out a student (make sure you roll your pants up...). The walk to school is beautiful due to a profusion of foliage growing out of EVERYTHING. Take a look at those ferns growing out of the bark on trees! I have heard that once the ferns start turning, monsoon will soon come to an end.



















3. On sunny days...On the rare occasion when there is a clear, sunny day, some of my friends here at Woodstock and I head out on the town to the bazaar. Well, actually, whether or not it is sunny, we still go, but on this day it happened to be pleasantly bright outside! So my roommate Shannon, Lindsay (the Senior School band teacher from Fargo, ND), and I trekked into town with the hopes of picking up my sari for Indian Independence Day which is this upcoming Monday, August 15. As a national holiday, we will celebrate by decking ourselves in Indian dress, attending a flag raising ceremony at 10:15 and then feasting on local chefs' food for lunch in the Quad, a school gathering area. More pictures to come!

Me, Lindsay, and Shannon at the Clocktower Cafe--
the local "American-food" dive.


Lindsay, me and the incredible mountains in back!

This is the way I live.

To the left and below are pictures from my walk to school. Click on them to see them larger.

1. Lights out. Just as I typed those first two words, our power in our house went out...for probably the n-teenth time since we have been here. Sometimes it is for a brief moment, other times it is spotty for hours. It's a part of normal life here--something to expect numerous times a week if not per day. We'll have all of the 7-12 graders gathered in Parker Hall for assembly in the mornings and our Head Principal Mr. Anderson will be up at the podium speaking and the power goes out. No microphone, no lights, nothin. We all sit there with whispers flying until the electrical symphony grants us permission to continue with our day. One can image that this could make it difficult to cook in the evenings, eating dinner most definitely after 7 or 8 pm on most days. If such an occurrence happens, you will find my roommates and I forging through draws to find our candles and matches, hastily lighting them, and bringing all three to the GAS cook-stove (still working!) where our dinners are just about burnt. Life ceases to lack excitement.

2. My home. The place that I settle into at night is called Midlands Duplex. It is just a little skip from three dorms up the hill from us. Myself, Shannon (PE teacher from Silver Lake, MN), and Rebecca (Art teacher like me from Texas/the east coast) live on the left side here in a nice, 4 bedroom, 1 bath home. It is more than enough space for us and two other women live next door. We have been nicknamed the sorority house...too many young women for one plex!

3. My Classroom. I can't leave you hangin after talking about my first day of class in the last post, so I thought I would put up some pictures of my classroom. It is quite lovely and has THE BEST windows ever. I have my own gate and nice wooden double doors to set the mood for "entering into the art world." You may notice a blaze orange hat resting in the bottom left photo. This was a necessary article packed in my luggage, as I need it for the first day of classes when I introduce myself to my students. I like to start off on the right beat by performing a rap about me with the students' help. It goes a like this...

Well I grew up in a town

in the south of Wisconsin

Didn’t have a lot of people but

man was it hoppin’

Mount Horeb was its name

it’s the home of the Vikings

Little Norwegian town

with lots of trolls and cheesy things

What’s my name? (Students: Miss E) (4x)

In my family it’s just my

mom, dad, and sis

And though we love each other

it hasn’t always been bliss

But we’ve had a lot of fun

adding extras to our fam

Like my cousins and the daycare kids

named Cody and Cam

What’s my name? (Miss E) (4x)

Growing up I was a kid who

kinda liked school

Enjoyed doing artsy stuff

and the golden rule

Basketball was my game

and I played in the band

Loved hanging with my friends

and giving others a hand

What’s my name? (Miss E) (4x)

Off to college I went

after my senior year

Leaving mom and dad behind

had me shedding a tear

But I’ve had a great experience and

come to find

That teaching students like you

would really blow my mind

What’s my name? (Miss E) (4x)

So here I am today

glad that you are all here

Hope you learned a bit about me

but man we got the whole year!

Can’t wait until I get to learn some

things about you

So I guess the first thing we should do is for you to tell me

WHAT’S YOUR NAME??