Namaste: The Angregi

Oh, the perils of teaching! I really do not understand how people can fly to another country and do this for a year +. I barely lasted a month. My first assignment was at a government-funded public school near my village, Padam Pokhari in Chitwan. It held about 600 students from many surrounding villages, and you could tell it was a public school versus the more well-funded private schools. Of course, being a product of public school myself, I would be biased enough to say that these kids are so much tighter than the rest.

Shree Laxmi Higher Secondary School

Each class had between 60-100 students, and I taught from 3-5 periods/day, longest days of my life btw. Basically, from the time my bike rode up on school grounds until the moment I left, I was barraged with an overwhelming number of kids tugging at my clothes, asking for pictures, and shoving pens and paper in my face for autographs. At first, it was adorable, but after about 5 min, I couldn't deal anymore. I could barely teach in the classroom because the kids would shout my name the whole 45min period (not exaggerating). I understand it was exciting for them to see a foreigner, but their constant rowdiness and energy just made my job so indescribably frustrating.

After getting over the initial culture shock, I pulled myself together and learned how to handle my new challenge. I feel like I was able to channel all their energy into a bunch of English games I invented/innovated to their tastes. Now, they know how to make fortune tellers with English phrases, numbers, and colors, play hangman, and sing the Hokey Pokey! YEAH!

Gym