The Wedding Crashers

The Wedding Crashers is a bad 2005 movie that details the exploits of a couple of deadbeats who crash wedding parties for their own ulterior motives.  Well after observing the preparations for the wedding at the hotel here for the last three days, Debbie and I couldn't resist playing the part and so we crashed the wedding.  I must admit this is the second wedding I've crashed in my lifetime, but the first I've crashed on another continent!  We tried to blend in as best we could (to no avail) but none the less enjoyed the color, the sights and sounds completely.  I'm sure we stuck out like sore thumbs, but we stuck around long enough to take a few pictures and then exit rapidly. 

 

As you may know from Ian's earlier blog entry, we had the opportunity to attend the wedding of one of the local teachers' daughters.  That experience was amazing, but the preparations occurring at our hotel are absolutely over the top.  This has been the third day of setting up so we asked someone who appeared to be providing directions for the others what the cost of this wedding likely was going to be.  He estimated the cost would be about 25 million rupees or about $550,000!  Families will often begin saving money for the wedding as soon as a child is born.  Clearly this was a wedding from a family of considerable means!!

  

The bride and groom were all decked out as one might expect, but somewhere between the laser light show and the final pyrotechnics display a fire broke out (likely either due to the pyrotechnics or an overload on the electrical cables).  The fire department was called and people were running this way and that.  The estimated three or four thousand guests eventually did depart although a few hours later another three or four thousand more uninvited guests arrived just as dawn broke.  These guests were particularly noisy and black.  The crows descended to pick over the leftovers and it was Alfred Hitchcock-like in appearance.

Yesterday was the last day off before the start of the next five day training session with a new group of participants.  The teachers in the northeast requested a Monday to Friday training format so we had the luxury of a few days off this last week as we wrapped up Bhubaneswar and travelled to Guwahati.  Most of the local shops were closed so the day was spent at the coffee shop, strolling down by the river and watching the wedding preparations progress at the hotel.

We found these kids playing a pickup game of cricket down by the river.  After a couple of photos I handed out a few Canada pins I had in my pocket and pretty soon I had a crowd.  We also discovered there are some families living just behind the hotel along the river.  Their homes certainly stand in contrast to the wedding scene just a stone throws away.

On Monday morning the training sessions got started with the usual ceremonies, speeches and exchange of gifts.  This should prove to be another exciting week as we work with another group of eager teachers.

Bhubaneswar to Guwahati

After bidding Ian and Tish farewell yesterday as they travel back to Canada, Debbie and I set out for Guwahati, Assam in the northeast of the country.  India has a number of states that are actually northeast of Bangladesh and are joined to the rest of the country by a relatively narrow piece of land that is bordered by Bangladesh to the south and Bhutan to the north.

Our travel was uneventful and despite changing planes and airlines in Kolkata (Calcutta) our luggage arrived safe and sound, as we did in Guwahati.  In Guwahati we were welcomed by officials from the state teachers’ federation bearing gifts including traditional decorative hats and scarves.  From there an hour long drive through traffic got us to our hotel.   You can tell the city of Guwahati isn’t the size of Delhi or Bhubaneshwar as the traffic isn’t nearly as congested.  Our hosts confirmed this by telling us that Guwahati has a population of a mere 2.5 million. 

A welcome from old friends!

Traditional hat and scarf

Our hotel sits on the edge of the Brahmaputra River that has its’ headwaters in China, flows through Assam and Bangladesh finally exiting into the Bay of Bengal through a wide flat delta zone.  China is planning to create a dam on the Brahmaputra for power purposes which has Assam quite concerned as the river serves as both a significant water source as well as a transportation thoroughfare.

View from the rooms

A wedding is to occur tomorrow in the open area behind the hotel and there have been dozens of workers setting up yesterday and today.  It is interesting watching some major construction occur without the benefit of power tools.  Hand saws, awls, chisels, hammers and nails are the order of the day.  We have also seen porters lugging hundreds of chairs, couches, carpets, propane tanks for the food vendors, cooking equipment and food.  What a difference a skill saw and a half ton truck would make to their labor!

Progress so far - stay tuned!!

Today we went to the location of the training to assess the setup and do some planning.   After that we were treated to a tour of the local sights, a cultural museum and of course lunch.  We rounded out the day by finding an outlet of Ian’s favorite coffee shop.  Guwahati is a clean, beautiful city stretched along the banks of the river and nestled in between the lush high hills.  The city is a university community and there are lots of young people about.  There appears to be greater prosperity in general as evidenced by many newer cars and large, new retail buildings.  There also seems to be a greater number of parks in the city and it is nice to enjoy some greenery and quiet space.   This is appreciated as the next two weeks of sessions will be spent here.  

Farewell for now….

Our All Day Two Hour Meeting

Today was our day to see the commissioner of education (similar to deputy minister) and to go to Pipli to select our gift from the local teachers’ association.  We were promptly downstairs at 10:15 waiting for our driver.  After a good while of waiting, we decided to call to see where he was.  Turns out we were now being picked up at 12:15, as the meeting had been moved later.

At 12:30 two cars arrived and we were off to the All Utkal Primary Teachers’ Federation office.  We met Ram Pal Singh there and had tea.  While we were having tea, they told us that the ministry of education was planning to paint all 70,000 elementry schools in the state the same colour scheme, so they could easily be identified.  They had a binder of pictures with different colour schemes and asked Deborah to pick the scheme they should suggest to the minster – no pressure!  Deb tried to pass the ball back to them and in the end I think she and Murray chose the colours.  So, next time you are driving the Orissa countryside, looks for the schools coloured by Murray and Deb!

At 1:00ish we headed for the ministry of education building.  We had to check in first and receive passes to see her.  We then had to take a ministry sanctioned car to the building where she worked.  We then got to sit in a small waiting room and finally got to see her.  We had an excellent meeting.  This was an important meeting to help raise the status of the teachers in the state and we were glad to do our part to help our colleagues.  She talked to us about the initiatives the state was engaged in such as repainting all schools, ensuring that teaching and learning materials are available and the 20 days a year teachers are given for professional development.  I think we may want to bring her to Saskatchewan!  She seemed to be a very action oriented person.  She was certainly very articulate.  Here we are in her office:

Following the meeting we headed back to our hotel for lunch (it was now about 3:00).  After lunch (it was now about 4:00) our host Kumlau took us to Pipli to pick up our gifts.  We stopped at his house on the way.  The house is under extensive renovations and is beautiful.  It has three or four storeys and houses his family and that of his four brothers.  About 50 people live there.  We met about 15 of them today.  Somehow our driver from yesterday got his wires crossed and took us straight out of town.  We were to actually spend the day with Kumlau and be received by his family.  He had the entire day planned out and it didn’t get to happen.  Both he and we were very disappointed.  He is an incredibly gracious man and worked very hard to ensure we were well taken care of.  Here is a shot of the house and some of the ladies of the family:

After a brief visit with Kumlau’s family we headed to Pipli to pick up our gifts.  We then dropped Kumlau off at his office and ended our brief visit to the commissioner and a trip to Pipli at 7:00 p.m.  It was all fascinating and fun and just another day in India!

After that, we found Tish and she, Deb and I went off to a department store so they could shop (they were having a sale) and buy an extra bag to take home.  When we got back we had our last supper together as a team of four.  Murray and Deb will be going on to Assam and Tish and I begin the journey home tomorrow.

Now for the fun news – Murray has decided to continue the blog during his time in Assam!  So, please stay tuned for more great stories and photos from India over the next two weeks!

Thanks to all of you for reading and sharing in my part of the adventure.  I have lots of stories and photos that couldn’t fit in the blog to share.  See you all soon!

Sun Gods, Surf and Shopping

Today was Republic Day in India, so we decided to head out of town to lay low and stay away from the parades.  As I was going down for breakfast, I could hear yelling.  When I got to the lobby the entire staff was outside lined up in military fashion (they had even spray painted lines in the parking lot, so everyone was lined up in military precision) and they had a military looking official barking orders for the raising of the flag.  As soon as the flag was raised the staff came running in and got back to work!  I commented on our server’s India flag sticker on his vest and within moments we were all given an Indian flag pin to wear for the day.

We hired a driver to take us to the sun temple at Konark, Puri, Raghurajpur and Pipli.  He is young and likes to drive fast.  The drive to Konark was fast and heart stopping.  They drive on the highways like they do in town – pass whenever you can, beep often and don’t worry about oncoming traffic so long as you have about one second to swing back into your lane.  The drive wasn’t too bad if you didn’t look out the front window!

It was nice to get out of the city and drive through the countryside.  We say rice paddies, banana trees, palm trees, water buffalo, small villages with people living in houses with thatched roofs, roadside goat butchers, a million little shops and people everywhere.  We drove over 100 km today and I don’t think there was ever a 100 metre stretch where there wasn’t another person on the road.

When we arrived at Konark our driver found us a guide and we were off.  The temple was built in 1250 and took 12 000 craftsmen 12 years.  It is made out of three different kinds of stone.  In 1906 the temple was filled with sand to keep it from collapsing.  There are 700 year old iron beams holding up some parts of the temple.  The temple faces east and the rising sun shines through one temple to the doors of the main temple.  It’s amazing how accurately they placed everything.  The base of the main temple is a huge chariot with 12 wheels (think time) pulled by 7 horses (think days of the week).  Each wheel is a sun dial and our guide accurately told us what time it was to the minute using one of the wheels.  There are bumps around the edge of the wheel for each minute, just like a watch face.  Amazing.  The architecture was quite stimulating.  Here are some photos:

It was very hot during our time at the sun temple (who knew?) and the sun gods laid a good burn on all of us.  Murray was prudent enough to wear a hat.  I burned my entire head, neck and arms.  At least I’m not a translucent blue anymore!  Murray and Tish took the opportunity to belly up to a coconut bar for a drink and some fresh coconut to eat.

After Konark, we drove to Puri, which is a resort village on the Bay of Bengal.  Because it is Republic Day, there were people all along the treed areas of the coast having picnics with family.  At Puri we went to the beach and stuck our feet in the Bay of Bengal.  The water was beautiful – clear and warm!  We walked the beach for a while and just enjoyed the sun, the waves and all the very friendly people along the beach.  There were people selling all sorts of goodies, camel rides, and these great lifeguards:

After lunch in Puri (which was awesome) we headed to a little artist village called Raghurajpur that Tish wanted to visit.  Well, village it was.  The road into the village was barely one lane with a steep drop into a river below.  Our vehicle just fit.  Once there we were met by the locals who took us into a house.  The fellow we met said he was a teacher and master artist and was teaching the students how to do palm leaf etchings and paintings.  We had the opportunity to watch one young man do the cutting into the palm leaf.  After that, it was off to the sales room and the very well rehearsed pitch began.  They began by showing us a 500 year old (really, I’m sure of it) example of palm leaf etching, followed by a demonstration of the process, followed by example after example being pulled from trunks.  We looked at many of them and finally Tish bought a palm leaf etching and I bought a painting in tribal style that is painted on silk.  When we went back downstairs, other little shops suddenly opened and it was then I realized we should have shopped around a bit.  The stuff we got is excellent quality and it was a great adventure.  Coming out of the village we met a big truck that had to back up to let us pass and then we drove through a market not designed for a vehicle our size and the thousands of people there.  It was pretty cozy squeezing through the street!

We ended our day in Pipli, another artisan village.  The Pipli are known for their needle work, palm leaf etching and painting and silver filigree.  Our gift from the workshop is going to be something we would like from Pipli.  We scouted the place out and all found something to buy when we return tomorrow.

We then raced (literally) back to the city and returned to our hotel.  We had a great day!

Tomorrow, we meet with the commissioner of education, go to Pipli to purchase our gifts and we’re still tossing ideas around for the remainder of the afternoon.

Last post tomorrow!

Bhubaneswar State Training Days 4 and 5

Today we completed the five day state level training program in Bhubaneswar.  The last two days of the workshop were very successful and we were able to see our participants in action.

Day four was devoted to presentations.  Groups of participants were to present a strategy to the group, explain how the strategy works and demonstrate how they might use it in their class.  We spent a great deal of time at the end of day three on what preparations they needed to make and the criteria for their presentations.  Happily, our efforts paid off and we were treated to very good presentations from every group.  Everyone had chosen a strategy and many had detailed descriptions of how they would use the strategy in their classroom.  The fun part of the day was the introduction of a feedback model that focused on encouragement rather than telling the presenters what they should have done.  After the first presentation was over I asked the participants what they thought they had done well and when I asked the audience to tell them what the presenters had done well I felt like I was playing whack-a-mole as I stopped person after person who popped up with their opinion of how the presentation might be improved or what they would have done differently.  Soon they caught on and once they were in the groove of giving feedback on success it became more frequent and detailed.  It’s amazing what happens when you shift a group of people from searching for deficits to searching for positives.  This is not just an Indian thing – a deficit focus and mindset is alive and well in North America as well.

Our presentations finished early so we had time to teach a few more strategies.  We successfully pulled off an inside outside circle (Murray feels vindicated – you can ask him when you see him) and the participants really enjoyed the strategy.  We ended our day with a 3-2-1 exit pass and took the participants questions back to the hotel for answering the following day.  It is interesting to note that their questions are the same as those being asked by Saskatchewan teachers – do these strategies work for all ages? Are these strategies the latest and best?  How do I ask better questions?  How can I best help students that struggle?  What classroom management strategies are required for these strategies?  How can I use these strategies with a multi-grade classroom?  Many of their questions were about differentiated instruction as they have students of all ability levels in their classroom.  These teachers believe that all students can learn and like all teachers are looking for ways to ensure that all students can grow.

Today we answered the questions from day four and then taught the group synectics, carousel brainstorm and did some future planning.  The group did great with the synectics activities!  They came up with wonderfully creative and funny comparisons and seemed to really enjoy the strategy.  After a few tries, they also created some examples they would use in their classes.  After that we used a carousel brainstorm to consolidate the week’s learning.  It was a tad chaotic and Murray lost an entire group for a period of time, but in the end they did a great job of recalling the important points of what they had learned over the course of the week.  The last activity was to have participants reflect on what they had learned and how they might take leadership roles in taking this information forward to their colleagues.  It was heartening to see that almost all of them had detailed plans for how they were going to take this information forward.  One fellow had written he was going to go back and run a five day program.  I encouraged him to start with a half day.  Five days for a beginning facilitator would be a disaster!  Below, Dr. Singh and Murray are listening to a participant share his plan for how he will take this training back to his colleagues:

Just in case you wondering, I was working as well:

After the session was done the closing ceremonies began.  We gave each participant a card and a postcard of Saskatoon in the winter.  Then the speeches began – we all had to sit at the front and the Kumlau (general secretary), Dr. Singh, Murray, Tish, Deb, me, the president of the local, a teacher just back from an Education International conference, and Ram Pal Singh all spoke.  Gifts were exchanged and certificates were distributed to the participants.  The national news sent a camera to film us – I’ve never done a workshop that was worthy of national news!  The closing ceremonies lasted about two hours, as they always do.  It all just unfolds organically once the event is set in motion.

After the ceremonies we learned that the commissioner (minister) of education would like to meet with us, which we will do Thursday morning.  She is very supportive of the work AIPTF is doing and seemed quite interested in the materials we had brought to share.  It is good to know that we work we are doing is helping to raise the status of teachers in Orissa.

Lastly, here is a photo of a motorcycle repair shop that is directly behind the hotel where we were working.  Basically, if you can secure about 100 square feet, you’re in business.  There are little shops everywhere.  The next photo is of a set of huts attached to the side of the motorcycle shop.  If you look carefully, you can see people in the courtyard.  These are people’s homes.  In our terms, this would be like living in a hut in the alley behind one of our downtown hotels.  We’ve seen at least three shanty villages in Bhubaneswar, where the poor are living in huts covered in corrugated steel.  Thankfully, it does not get cold here.

Tomorrow, we’ve arranged for a driver to take us to Puri, the sun temple and Pipli.  We’ll see the Bay of Bengal and have an opportunity to drive through the countryside.  This will also get us out of town for Republic Day, which is a day of military parades.  I hope to have some great stories and photos for you tomorrow!

Saris, Successes and Surprises!

Today was a day filled with saris, successes and surprises!  Our content for the workshop today was quite heavy and included participant presentations demonstrating four learning styles.  The participants worked very hard all day.  They really engaged with the girls education discussion and did presentations the included a play, exuberant singing, posters and a brief to the minister.  It was all great fun!

Today was sari day for Deb.  The ladies had gone out and purchased a sari and all the accompanying jewelry for her.  At tea time, they whisked her away to their hotel room and dressed her in her new red sari with matching bangles, chain and earrings.  She looked great.  Everyone applauded when she entered and then the endless picture taking began!  Deb was overwhelmed with their kindness.  She was also told they expected her to wear her sari to the wedding tonight, which she did.  Here she is:

Due to the wedding, presidents of local teacher associations from all over Orissa are in town and of course they all had to pop in to our workshop to see Ram Pal Singh and Dr. Singh.  We had a constant stream of people and media folk wandering through the workshop today.  At one point, we stopped everything and asked the new folks to please sit down and stay out of our way.  Coincidentally, every one of them showed up just before lunch - true politicians and media folk in every way!

After work we checked into a new hotel.  It is in a better part of town, has a real coffee shop and is a bit newer.  It certainly isn’t much cleaner or well built.  The bonuses include wifi in our rooms and endless hot water.  We noticed on the way over that our old hotel was about 200 yards from a shanty village.  I also had an opportunity to get a shot of an average home on the way over.

At 7:30 a car showed up and we were on our way to the wedding.   This is wedding season and everywhere we drove there was a wedding reception under way.  We were met at the entrance to the wedding by the bride’s father, Kumlau, who is the president of the local teachers’ association.  They brought us in and proceeded to treat us like royalty.  There were pictures with the bride and groom and then we were seated at a table with Ram Pal and Dr. Singh.  Different presidents of teacher associations and other teachers were coming to meet us and get pictures taken.  I’m sure most of them will look at those pictures a few years from now and wonder who we were.  All of the participants from the workshop were there as well as some from the Delhi training.  It was fun to bump into people we knew from somewhere else in India!  Because all of our participants were there, we had about 30 people bringing us food, drink and escorting us around the wedding site.  They sort of took turns mother henning us through the crowds.  The area was the size of two small soccer fields.  All around the outside were stalls serving different food items – fresh cooked naan, mutton, vegetable curries, daal, paneer, chicken skewers, various deep fried wonders and a dessert like timbits in sugar sauce.  There were about 85 different thinks to eat.  Murray and I managed to sample most of it.  Because we were guests of honour, we were shepherded to the front of every food line. It was a very odd feeling.  There was a live band, a platform for the bride and groom and about 2000 people milling about.  It was loud, joyful and a great time.  They really know how to throw a party in India!  We were there for about two hours and it felt like 20 minutes.  Everyone is incredibly friendly and we chatted with many people we didn’t know.  Everyone we met asked, “How do you feel in India?”  The response they expect is, “It is very pleasant”, and it is!  I still marvel at their generosity, kindness and how they watch over us so carefully.  Here are some shots from the wedding:

Kumlau, the bride's father

The Bride and Groom

Each white gate is a food stall with 2 - 3 items

These people were wrapping anise, spices and sugar in leaves for breath mints

Great outfit!

Tish and me and a few thousand new friends!

As we left the wedding, we encountered a wedding procession that was bringing the bride and groom to their reception.  All of the processions are the same.  There is a band at the front, followed by a large group of people dancing with cars holding the wedding party at the end.  Penning them all in are people with bright lights on either side.  There are lights like you see on floats at either end.  I have a great video of one we passed on the way home.  When they saw our cameras, they danced all around our vehicle!  It was hilarious.

As I type this I can hear fireworks going off at intervals from all of the weddings being held.

It was a great day in every way.  Tomorrow, our participants are to begin their presentations.  Hopefully, they’ve done their homework, but we’re not too hopeful given the wedding festivities.

Bhubaneswar Training Day One and Two

Bhubaneswar Training Day One

We began our state level training on January 21^st.  There are teachers from 30 districts within the state of Orissa.  They speak a different language here called Odia.  Students in this state learn 4 languages – Odia, English, Hindi and Sanscrit.  Each has their own different alphabet to boot.  I thought high school French was hard!

Our day started with registration and then a scramble of opening ceremonies.  The commissioner of education was to be at the hall at 11:00 a.m.  When they first thought she was coming, flowers were handed out and people scambled around to get ready.  Then she wasn’t coming, so flowers were taken back and we started the day.  Then she was coming, so flowers were again handed out, chairs were put on the platform and the ceremonies began.  The speech my the commissioner of education was very good.  She spoke articulately and passionately about their goals for education in Orissa.  She was very positive about the work of the AIPTF and the program we are introducing to these teachers.

During the ceremonies there was a great deal of commotion going on.  They forgot to hang the banner, so the photographer and TV camera man had to reshoot their footage.  The commissioner of education took a cell phone call half way through her speech.  Murray was asked to talk and fill time so the TV guy could get enough footage.  I gave an interview for the local paper and other of the leaders present were giving interviews for TV.  Apparently this training is a big deal.  It is certainly important to raise the status of teachers and this seemed to be meeting that need. The most interesting question the young reporter asked me was, “What is wrong with the teachers in Orissa?”  I assured her that there was nothing wrong with the teachers and that all teachers are doing excellent work.  I explained that we were supporting their ministry of education’s goal of quality teaching.  It is interesting that the perception in every country is that there must be something wrong with the teachers, as if they work in a vacuum away from community, family and other social pressures.  So, if you’re watching the local Bhubaneswar news or get their paper, I’m sure you’ll see our smiling faces!

After that, we began our workshop.  As always, it takes a while to overcome the language barrier and find the groove that works for everyone.  After moving the tables closer and setting norms that silenced the cell phones and the conversations going on at the back of the room, we were really under way.  As the day progressed, the participants became more comfortable with us and the processes we were using and we made some good progress, actually finishing our agenda for the day!

We met Tish after work and she spirited us off to a restaurant she had found.  We had a very good meal and were entertained by a man and a woman and their synthesizer playing cheesy western type tunes with somewhat Indian singing over top.  Yikes.  We had the same thing in Delhi at the hotel restaurant.  I’m not sure why in a land with such a rich musical heritage they love, or think others love, this musak they are playing.  Afterwards we spotted a sweets shop and bought a few to sample when we got back to the hotel.  They were great!

 

Bhubaneswar Training Day Two

We’ve decided to move to a new hotel that is newer and more modern.  We all have a need for hot water 24/7 and we think our AC units are just spewing out mould.  Other than that, the hotel has been OK.  We’ll be staying at a new hotel chain called Ginger.  It is very modern and very clean, according to Tish.  It is also half the price!  About $40 a night.

Here are some shots of what is just out the front door of our hotel and on our walk to work each day:

Day two of our training went very well.  We covered a number of different instructional strategies today and both we and the participants were more comfortable working together.  They treat us wonderfully – the bring food, won’t let us stand, carry things and really work to ensure we are comfortable and happy.  It is quite something.

During the sessions today we taught instructional strategies and then had the participants demonstrate them for us.  They created great examples of placemat activities and concept attainment lessons.  Even better, they all did their homework from the previous night.  We have found a participant volunteer to do some translating, so it helps speed things along.  During the day I realized I needed some beads or something to do an activity.  I grabbed one of the food service staff and we set off across the street to the market.  I found a bulk bin area full of peas, lentils and such (cockroaches and all!) and bought some peas for the lesson.

All of the markers we distributed and now my pen have mysteriously disappeared during the workshop.  When I asked who had a marker from yesterday, no one had one.  Hmmmm . . . . We finally found a store that sold pens (no small feat) and I bought some pens and Murray bought two more boxes of markers, which I anticipate will also mysteriously vanish by day five.

Here are Debbie and Murray in action:

Here’s a shot of the types of businesses that surround the hotel where we are working:

After training today, we had our usual debrief/planning session, then went to see the treasures Tish managed to find in the market.  She had some great Pipli art, incredible silk, and other goodies for dirt cheap.  We set off together for the market as soon as we could.  The market is a huge area of small shops selling everything imaginable.  We cruised the shops for about an hour and a half then went to the Hare Krishna restaurant for supper.  It was very well decorated and the food was awesome!

Here is a shot of the market:

Tomorrow we begin day three of training when we will begin preparing the participants to make their own presentations on instructional strategies.

We are also off to the wedding tomorrow night!  We’re very excited to be able to participate in a once in a lifetime (unless you’re Murray) event.

More soon!