Children are children

This morning I did my usual 3 kilometer walk with Monoj. Monoj cooks and cleans for the family. He only knows a few words in English and I only know a few words in Hindi. Fortunately for us, smiles, pointing, and drawings are universal. Walking at 7a.m. is bearable since it is only 25°C – by 1p.m. it is 40°C. At 9a.m. I began my yoga session with Mr. Yogi. He has taught me that I should conserve energy while doing Yoga, and I “should feel calm, comfortable, happiness, and bliss”. My views on Yoga have completely changed – my old mentality was “no pain, no gain”. Mr. Yogi is extremely therapeutic and I am very lucky to have him as my Shikshak (teacher). By 10:30a.m. I arrived at school. I don’t even bother showering before I go to school since I sit on the dusty buggy floor with the students. By the end of the academic day, 2p.m., I am covered in sweat, dirt, and kiddy germs. The children are SO wonderful and things are going extremely well. During the last three days, they have adapted to my teaching style and no longer write/read their ONE book. They finally feel comfortable actively participating! “The Hokey Pokey”, “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, and “Head and Shoulders knees and toes” was a complete hit. They left the classroom smiling and singing away – my ultimate goal. When I got home from school, the poor bare footed children were running around in front of Nitya’s home. I asked them “photo (picture), Thikhai (alright)?” The children quickly rocked their heads to one side (meaning yes). As soon as other kids realized that I was taking their friends’ picture they ran forward. I took their picture and they were SO happy! It was probably one of the few times, if ever, that someone took their picture. I showed them the picture on the back of the digital camera and they jumped up and down pointing to their picture. They couldn’t believe it.