Week 5 (and a bit of 6): Days 30 - 37
Goodbye, Mussoorie . . . Hello Delhi – we are finally part of the “real world” of India. Oh my, New Delhi is indeed a different place from Mussoorie and now that we have left the alternate universe known as the Taj Mahal Hotel, we are experiencing New Delhi for all its worth – people EVERYWHERE (literally); cars cars and more cars; plenty of noise; lots of trash; tons of restaurants and markets; trees with the most colorful and gorgeous blossoms; and of course, street vendors selling anything from fruit & veggies to clothes to bike parts to tupperware and pretty much anything you can imagine. While I know that things will take some getting used to, I am happy to report that I am indeed enjoying my time.
We have moved into our apartment and we are trying to get used to Delhi these days. We live in a neighborhood called Malviya Nagar and I am growing to enjoy my surroundings. Our landlord Munish is a wonderful man with a great family – complete with his warmhearted wife (Reena), his two beautiful daughters (Maanvi and Chithali), and his sweet spirited Father (Mr. Satish). The apartment is lovely and we consider ourselves quite lucky to live in a good neighborhood, complete with multiple parks (score!), plenty of restaurants, a nearby metro station, and a market where we can service most of our daily needs. As time goes on and I get used to things, I look forward to knowing my neighbors and finding my way around this place.
I’ve had my initial introduction to my school and I am simply humbled by this opportunity. I serve as an English teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Andrews Ganj in New Delhi – for general information about my school check out the website http://www.kvandrewsganj.edu.in/. FYI, my kids and my school rock ;-) My head spins a bit each day as I am surrounded by students who want to speak to me – it kind of feels like I am an exhibit at a museum or something. They are just eager and excited to meet me – a living and breathing American. I will say that it feels nice to be received so warmly and I hope to visit as many classes as possible while I am here.
I will teach four different classes of students, with a total of 12 sessions per week. My students are in Classes VIII C, VIII D, IX B, IX D (they’re between the ages of 12-15 overall). And between the four classes, I have roughly 150 kids of my own to get to know, love & teach over the next 8 months. Whew – my work is cut out for me ;-) I am excited though and I am sincerely looking forward to the highs and lows that teaching will bring me here. Truth – I just want to do a good job and I don’t want to disappoint them. It is my hope that when I leave here they not only have improved written and oral English skills, but that my students also feel as if they are connected to someone in America. I want this school year to be a good memory for them, one that they won’t forget. I’m just hoping that God works in and through me to accomplish such a daunting task.
The 1st student that I’ll highlight from my time at Kendriya Vidyala –Andrews Ganj is Angely [not sure if I spelled that right] – she is such a precious little girl in Class VI and I think she’s about 10 years old. Although she is not in my class, she came up to me and introduced herself to me on my 2nd day of school. She asked me to help her speak English well and I asked her to help me with my Hindi. We both agreed :-) I think that we will have a wonderful relationship. She even looked around for me on Monday morning to give me a friendship bracelet (Friendship day is a pretty big deal around here and it is celebrated on August 7th). My heart literally melted when she said “Jessica ma’am, I like you very much” – oh these are the moments I’m living for while I’m here :-D I’m so excited to see what else God has in store for me here . . .
P.S. This is a bit out of order – a post saying goodbye to Mussoorie for Week 4 will soon follow ;-)
Goodbye, Mussoorie . . . Hello Delhi – we are finally part of the “real world” of India. Oh my, New Delhi is indeed a different place from Mussoorie and now that we have left the alternate universe known as the Taj Mahal Hotel, we are experiencing New Delhi for all its worth – people EVERYWHERE (literally); cars cars and more cars; plenty of noise; lots of trash; tons of restaurants and markets; trees with the most colorful and gorgeous blossoms; and of course, street vendors selling anything from fruit & veggies to clothes to bike parts to tupperware and pretty much anything you can imagine. While I know that things will take some getting used to, I am happy to report that I am indeed enjoying my time.
We have moved into our apartment and we are trying to get used to Delhi these days. We live in a neighborhood called Malviya Nagar and I am growing to enjoy my surroundings. Our landlord Munish is a wonderful man with a great family – complete with his warmhearted wife (Reena), his two beautiful daughters (Maanvi and Chithali), and his sweet spirited Father (Mr. Satish). The apartment is lovely and we consider ourselves quite lucky to live in a good neighborhood, complete with multiple parks (score!), plenty of restaurants, a nearby metro station, and a market where we can service most of our daily needs. As time goes on and I get used to things, I look forward to knowing my neighbors and finding my way around this place.
I’ve had my initial introduction to my school and I am simply humbled by this opportunity. I serve as an English teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Andrews Ganj in New Delhi – for general information about my school check out the website http://www.kvandrewsganj.edu.in/. FYI, my kids and my school rock ;-) My head spins a bit each day as I am surrounded by students who want to speak to me – it kind of feels like I am an exhibit at a museum or something. They are just eager and excited to meet me – a living and breathing American. I will say that it feels nice to be received so warmly and I hope to visit as many classes as possible while I am here.
I will teach four different classes of students, with a total of 12 sessions per week. My students are in Classes VIII C, VIII D, IX B, IX D (they’re between the ages of 12-15 overall). And between the four classes, I have roughly 150 kids of my own to get to know, love & teach over the next 8 months. Whew – my work is cut out for me ;-) I am excited though and I am sincerely looking forward to the highs and lows that teaching will bring me here. Truth – I just want to do a good job and I don’t want to disappoint them. It is my hope that when I leave here they not only have improved written and oral English skills, but that my students also feel as if they are connected to someone in America. I want this school year to be a good memory for them, one that they won’t forget. I’m just hoping that God works in and through me to accomplish such a daunting task.
The 1st student that I’ll highlight from my time at Kendriya Vidyala –Andrews Ganj is Angely [not sure if I spelled that right] – she is such a precious little girl in Class VI and I think she’s about 10 years old. Although she is not in my class, she came up to me and introduced herself to me on my 2nd day of school. She asked me to help her speak English well and I asked her to help me with my Hindi. We both agreed :-) I think that we will have a wonderful relationship. She even looked around for me on Monday morning to give me a friendship bracelet (Friendship day is a pretty big deal around here and it is celebrated on August 7th). My heart literally melted when she said “Jessica ma’am, I like you very much” – oh these are the moments I’m living for while I’m here :-D I’m so excited to see what else God has in store for me here . . .
P.S. This is a bit out of order – a post saying goodbye to Mussoorie for Week 4 will soon follow ;-)
Wow this sounds great, you are truly blessed :-)
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