Week 7: February 16-22
Monday, February 16:
Starting this Monday, we are in the old DPS for a while. Accordingly, we had to wake up a bit earlier to catch the school bus, which arrived at 8 AM to pick us up. As a result, we took almost an hour for a journey we usually complete in 20 minutes by car, but who’s counting? At least we saw a few new streets and alleys and the kids are really excited when we ride on their bus. When we arrived at school, we learned only there that we were supposed to substitute. Each of us had to do it individually... in 5 classes/periods. However, right at the beginning, this plan turned out to be a miscalculation, because when we arrive at 9 AM to then have breakfast, we cannot stand in front of the class at 9:25 AM. By the time everything was clarified and it was time for food, it was already 9:20 AM. Therefore, we were replaced (it was practically a substitution of the substitution), but in a school with about 200 teachers, that shouldn’t generally be too problematic. Anyway, we had breakfast until Tina had to substitute in the second period while I had a free period. Then came the long break, so my day didn’t really begin until around 11:00 AM and that was in 5c (primary school in India goes from 1st to 5th grade), where everything worked really well. The children were happy I was there and behaved excellently. When it got too loud, I gave a clap signal which everyone had to respond to, and then it was quiet again. Normally, they are forced to be quiet with a loud voice, but firstly, I can't manage that with 30 kids vocally, and secondly, I don’t want to, so another method was needed and voila: a clap signal was the answer (in the end, much healthier for me and also for the class, which surely doesn’t like to be yelled at). In any case, the students asked some questions, and then I taught them a lot of German. This included greetings and farewells, as well as introducing themselves, the days of the week, and the numbers up to 10. After that, I went to class 2f. There was an EVS revision of some chapters in the pipeline. Normally they would have to write a small assessment test in the form of a revision test, but I couldn’t just whip something up quickly and besides, repetition can also be more fun. Accordingly, we did a quiz. Then there was time for a fruit break before I went to 1d in the 5th period. This class was quite restless, and I found it difficult to calm them down. Of course, they are excited when we are there, but that can quickly become tiring. At some point, I also taught this class some small German things, but then just before half past two, another teacher suddenly came and asked if she should relieve me. That confused me because we still had 20 minutes, but it was right, as our lunchtime was meant to be from 1:30 PM to 2 PM. So, I was substituted again and my 5 planned periods turned into 2.5 in no time, because my last period was also taken over due to the eating time. The four teachers of the Nursery (3-4 year-olds) kindly prepared us a delicious lunch and chatted with us. After that, we took the bus home and laid down for a bit because we were later than we were used to from Nava Raipur. Subsequently, we did some Duolingo before it was time for the evening routine. This began with our late afternoon chai, and then we went to the gym. Afterward, we went home, where Yashoda made us pasta with broccoli, which perfectly rounded off my whole week because I am 75% pasta. So, I dug in hearty. Later, I wrote this part of the blog post, took a shower, and read a bit. After that, we booked cheap flights, which made Tina hear a short beep in her ear, which must have been the ringing penny-pincher. Our flight back to Germany was the bargain of the year!🍝
Tuesday, February 17:
After the daily morning routine, we took the bus to school, where Poonam (Ma'am) picked us up to first inform us about our substitutions and then take us to breakfast. After that, I was taken to KG 2 and observed the children as they repeated some things before they took a test. In between, they had their breakfast break and from 11 AM it was time for me to substitute in a 5th grade class, in front of which three teachers warned me while standing outside. However, when I entered the room, none of that was true, as it was the quietest and sweetest class I had so far (note from editing aka a week full of substituting later: 5e is still my secret favorite, and I openly admit: I miss them). To relieve the pressure (as it is the review time and they will soon write their exams), I let the children play Hangman with the rule that only words they use in school could be used. In other words: no swear words. I then managed the game, but let the class play and call out. It worked really well and was so much fun. Unfortunately, not everyone got a turn, so I hope that I can substitute for them in Hindi class again. After my hour, in which I practiced so-called 'threshold pedagogy' because no one learned anything, I went to Tina in a 4th grade class because for some reason I was only supposed to do one substitution hour while she was to do two. So, I thought: instead of sitting idly until she finishes, I might as well be useful. There it went semi-well. The class unfortunately couldn't calm down at all. At first, it was fine and we taught the children 'Happy Birthday to You', but after that, the focus was completely gone even when we wanted to only play games. Consequently, we were mainly busy admonishing the children, which was really a shame. After that, we went to the library to borrow some thin books to do 'storytelling', and with the help of the librarian, we found some. At 1 PM, the Nursery teachers were already expecting us and gave us mandalas to color. This was a very calming activity and was a lot of fun. Shortly thereafter, we had lunch and chatted a lot with the teachers, which was really nice. Our bus then took us home, and after lunch, there was chai and the gym, as usual. Then in the evening, we took care of some bookings and administrative tasks. We wish you a happy Chinese New Year. The Year of the Horse has begun, so go forth and gallop into a year full of changes and transformations.🐎
Wednesday, February 18:
Tired, we opened our eyes and started the day, so everything was as usual. At school, there was breakfast and no substitutions were scheduled, so starting from the second period, we visited KG 2. There, we made friendship cards, where each child was to receive one from someone else and we created one another’s. Relaxation music was played so that the class could integrate a calm phase into their exciting day. Afterward, the little ones had their food, which gave us a short break as well. After that, the children wrote down their homework and exchanged friendship cards with each other. The day ended with two movement games. In one of them, the children had to play in pairs. While one person held a box, the other had to throw and hit a small ball. Tina and I demonstrated this. We got, unlike the children, who could only throw 5 times per team, 10 chances and we used every single one, so no ball went astray. Game number 2 is called 'Musical Chairs' here and we know it in Germany as 'Chair Dance'. Everyone had a lot of fun and it really lightened the mood. Unfortunately, we two ladies were out relatively quickly, but you have to imagine: the kids are very small and the probability of accidentally sitting on one in a hurry is unfortunately quite high, so we preferred to give up quickly. After that, the little ones were allowed to go home while we watched a dance lesson from our favorite icon Harish before we met at 1 PM with the preschool and nursery teachers for lunch. It tasted wonderful, but then the chaos broke out. There was a traffic jam in the city, which caused the buses (which have to run multiple times in the morning and afternoon with so many students) to get stuck. This naturally meant they were not on time back at school to bring the next bunch of kids home, and so it became a long day for the little ones. We were a bit worried since their lunch break ended at 11. After that, they only had a short fruit break, and now it was already 3 PM. Normally, the buses leave at 2:30 PM. Gradually, however, the buses managed to return, and the traffic chaos resolved, so at 3:30 PM, all the children whose parents had not yet come to pick them up could finally go home. That day we rode home with Yashoda and Raghunath, as the bus would still take at least 45 minutes. On the way home, we bought some groceries and had a delicious ice cream. Then, I took a break because I always go to the gym for two days and take a day off afterward (that’s the plan). Later, the others were working out, so I had a quiet conversation with Radhika and we had chai. I also did Duolingo and shortly thereafter cricket began (India was playing). So you know how this day ended.🪑
Thursday, February 19:
Thursday also started like any other day, which is why I’ll skip the morning routine here. After breakfast, we separated and I visited a KG 2 group. There, the children were presented with English sight word flashcards and were supposed to create meaningful sentences with them. This was done as group work, but I believe the little ones hadn’t really grasped the concept of group work yet. The activity itself, however, went quite well. After that, the class received pre-made cards which they had to decorate and label. Since both Tina Ma'am and Yashoda and Raghunath had received a card from me the day before, Radhika was next in line that day. Then it was time for the substitution. It went from zero (the day before) to a hundred (that day) aka we had three hours lined up. Spoiler alert: My voice and throat were completely wrecked and Tina’s throat was also scratchy afterward (another voice from off with an addendum: I've got a cold now). Well, but first back to the moment. The first substitution took place in 4th grade. In Germany, I enjoy taking over the 1st and 2nd grades more, while I notice here in India that I have more fun in the higher grades, so 4th and 5th. I can’t yet give an assessment for the 3rd grade as I haven’t been in one yet. Instead of doing math with the kids, I taught them some German. This class was very eager to learn, but also quite loud and scattered. Sometimes it's hardly possible to calm the students down since they are so used to not raising their hands quietly and standing up for every little thing to come up to the teacher. Personally, that really wears me out, as I constantly have to ensure calmness and thus can’t provide proper instruction. After a guided relaxation exercise, however, the hour went quite well. After that came the death blow for my throat, better known as a 2nd grade. We got nowhere because the children were so hyper. This hour was literally horrible. The movement song didn’t work, teaching German didn’t function, and playing games was impossible. The clap signal was ignored, glances weren’t acknowledged, and thus I had to resort to my voice, which wasn’t oiled for such purposes. In the end, someone even cried because of a game where only 2 out of 30 kids got a turn. But despite all explanations of why silence is necessary, it just didn’t work in this class, which also bothered me until I went to bed at night because you naturally wonder if you were the problem yourself. However, the 3rd substitution hour should somewhat restore my self-esteem, as I also had to go into a different 2nd grade. There, the atmosphere was completely different with much more silence. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t need 40 minutes of absolute silence, and I am also aware that it is something extraordinarily special for the students when we stand in front of them and take over the class, but when nothing works, it’s frustrating. I can only answer questions if I even hear them acoustically. Well, back to the quieter 2nd grade. We also learned a little German there before doing an English quiz and afterwards, the children were permitted to ask questions. This was the most pleasant hour of the day and thus at least a positive ending. Still, I was really done with the day afterward, so I evaluated it with Tina and the teachers who brought us lunch in the Nursery. After that, we took the bus home for a nap before having chai. While the others went to the gym, I volunteered to study with Disha (the cook’s daughter) for her English exam the next day. That also went only semi-well to not at all, but that is not Disha’s fault. However, this matter is too private for me to evaluate here. The rest of the day after dinner I read a lot and hoped the next day would be better.😕
Friday, February 20:
Let’s just skip the morning from now on unless something extraordinary happens. After breakfast, I spent an hour in the Nursery (with the 3-4 year-olds) and that was SO cute! Unfortunately, we can only communicate with hands and feet because the little ones don’t speak English yet and I don’t have much Hindi yet either. But we started off with a few dances and movement games that we could all easily do together. That was very sweet! Afterward, I was allowed to create a sponge painting at each group table while the children watched and used their little English to say, 'Wow, very nice Ma'am!', which was quite adorable. After the break, I taught German in a 5th grade class and answered questions. I repeated this later in a 2nd grade. The constant standing up of the students is really a challenge, just like the ongoing 'Ma'am', as they can’t raise their hands quietly. To put it mildly, it really gets on my nerves, but you can’t prevent it and you can’t really blame the children here as they just haven’t learned any differently. In the fourth hour, Tina and I met in the library to recharge a bit before I went into the 2nd grade. After the fruit break, we finished for the day and were served lunch, this time from the KG 1 teachers. With an Indian ritual, we were welcomed and even received a small gift. The Nursery and KG 2 teachers also joined us, creating a lovely gathering. Shortly thereafter, it was time for the bus. This afternoon and evening went smoothly. We slept, drank chai, went to the gym, combined Tina's favorite Indian dish (Chapati - bread) with oven cheese, which is her comfort food in Germany (thanks to Tina's parents for that), read, did Duolingo, and I watched an episode of my series. In fact, I also finished my book that day, which meant I was looking forward to a new one the next day.
Saturday, February 21:
First of all, I ask myself at this point: How can it already be the end of February? That’s crazy! We have about two months left in India of the original 3.5 months. Furthermore, I note here that we still haven't gotten used to the 6-day week. Getting up at around 7 on a Saturday is just no fun. But we still went to school. Meanwhile, I developed a cold that specifically manifested as a stuffy nose, which appeared out of nowhere. After breakfast at school (again a huge portion, of which I managed only half), the concluding program of the clubs took place here too, but without any additional exhibition, so not all clubs could present something, which I found a bit unfortunate for the children. Nevertheless, the program was very presentable and beautiful. Not only the dances and music as well as singing but also the outfits of the performers were, as always, incredible. Afterwards, I spent the rest of my 'half' day in the nursery group from the previous day, where the little ones enjoyed their food while watching Tom and Jerry before they could go home. Tina and I then waited for a while in the conference room until it was time for lunch for all of us. After that, we went to run some errands and finally reached our apartment around 4 PM. There I slept for 1.5 hours because the cold knocked me out quite a bit and took a hot lemon and some chocolate cake after waking up. Tina did a little hand laundry and ironing while I finally started going through the paintings and letters from the kids after seven weeks. We simply can’t keep everything even though it is very unfortunate. I pasted the rest into a notebook so that I could take it as a souvenir. Essentially, I didn’t sort out much. In the evening, we went to a restaurant and we were on the rooftop terrace, which was wonderful because there was even live music, although that made it more difficult to converse. The food was excellent. After another hot lemon in the evening, we fell into bed very happy about being able to sleep in the next day.🍋
Sunday, February 22:
IT WAS SUNDAY! That meant we slept in. I started the day with a soothing shower and scrolled a bit through Instagram. Afterwards, we got up and treated ourselves to watermelon, almonds, chai, and cookies while we solved crosswords and Sudoku puzzles. It was a lot of fun and completely relaxing. After that, we took care of a few administrative tasks, for which Tina called her parents (who have arrived back safely in Germany after their round trip through Delhi and Agra). I wrote on my blog, listened to music, and kept puzzling until lunch. Afterwards, we did this and that before heading to the ice cream shop. There, I treated myself to a scoop of chocolate with chunks and a scoop of raspberry, which is also my favorite combination in Germany. After this delicious short outing, there was chai and cricket at home, where England won against Sri Lanka. After I had finally prepared the new blog update from the previous week, it was dinner time, during which we got creative with leftovers and put together our own subs (like at Subway). In the evening, it was finally time: India played against
South Africa (aka my two favorites in the World Cup faced each other) and India lost its first game, so the mood suddenly became gloomy. This had to happen, as during the game we were attacked by an army of mosquitoes (let's say around 30). Yashoda fought them off with her electric racket to roast them, and I swung around with my shoe. Later, Tina also helped us, squashing the mosquitoes with her hands. So you see that India would surely have won if we had been there, but we had to play cricket with mosquitoes. At least we went to bed looking forward to being able to sleep in a bit longer the next day as the children’s exams were gradually starting.🪰
➡️ See you next week!✨
