Unfortunate Luck

India is currently going through a transition as many of you know and is experiencing all kinds of upheaval.  I read in the paper yesterday of the tragedy of small Indian farmers, 250,000 of which have committed suicide over the last 15 years as they have seen their way of life completely change.  Power consumption also outstrips supply and a result is intermittent power access and weird surges.  One of these surges hit while I was recharging my computer and fried it.  So, the long and short of it is that I think this may be my last post (certainly my last with photos) as the business center I'm in leaves much to be desired in terms of its ambiance.  So, farewell for now and take care!

Murray & Tish

School Visits in Chennai!

Today was a day of school visits as Murray and I had an opportunity to visit a couple of schools in Chennai as well as have a look at the facility where we will be conducting the training for the next few days.  Similar to the renovations at AIPTF in  Delhi, the Tamil Nadu Elementary Teachers Federation has a new building and a wonderful air conditioned conference room………  We were very impressed with both facilities and the AIR CONDITIONING!

However the definite highlight of the day was a visit to a couple of schools in poverty stricken areas of Chennai.    With about 40 or so students in a classroom without desks, chairs, tables or much else in the class, the teachers were instructing students sitting on the concrete floor or on mats using instructional strategies they had learned through their state or block level training.  Mind mapping, place mats and cooperative learning strategies were demonstrated. 

  

As you can imagine a carefully balanced diet is required in order to sustain our energy levels.  We find a balance of east and west is best for our delicate innards, and having just finished a Domino’s pizza washed down with a coke we are ready for a home cooked meal at the Tamil Nadu Teachers Federation soup kitchen tomorrow.  We met the cook today as he was hanging out in his pantry and we have no doubt a fine vegetarian feast awaits us tomorrow.

Murray has begun his apprenticeship as a haggler of Kashmir rugs.  We can all be proud of him as he managed a 25% reduction in the original asking price in an emporium in Chennai……a truly special one of a kind discount which he very bravely walked away from. Upon our return to Delhi we will need to check our friend Fez’s rug prices to see if he can compete and Murray can travel home with a “special, one of a kind, quality, specially discounted rug”!!  The purchase of silk from a “silk” mall is equally daunting, but fun……………the colors are vibrant and the choices endless.

We had a chance to spend some time with the General Secretary of AIPTF, Eswaran, who is as charming a politician as one shall ever meet.  All of the men, except Murray were dressed in their crisp white shirts and dhotis, we can anticipate additional peer pressure will cause Murray to eventually succumb.

We are looking forward to meeting with our colleagues, the national resource persons tomorrow, many of whom we have worked with for the past 2 years.  Time to create some colorful charts that would make SPDU proud.  Until next time, take care!

Lost Luggage and Flying Tamils

So a return visit to India has begun with another opportunity to work with the National Resource Persons team as the professional development leaders from most of the various states in India.   Some funding cuts from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has meant that this year’s program will look different as there are not funds to support the state level training that has occurred in the previous years.  None the less, working with the national leaders will contribute towards building their capacity as leaders and facilitators and hopefully will enhance the quality of teaching in the country as well as raise the status of the All India Primary Teachers’ Federation (AIPTF) as an organization committed to the highest quality of teachers and teaching possible.  Tish Karpa and I are fortunate to be working with these colleagues over the course of the next few weeks.

The flights were long as usual with stops in Toronto, Zurich and then Delhi putting us in Delhi a full eleven and a half hours ahead of what our bodies thought the time should be.  Apparently my luggage was OK with the time change as it didn’t actually make the full trip which left me filling out a lost baggage claim at the Delhi airport at 3:00 a.m..  “No sir, this isn’t the line, you should be standing in that line over there”.  However we were greeted outside the airport by our friends from AIPTF and taken to the hotel for some rest.

The next day was mostly spent resting and orienting our bodies to the correct time including visiting a couple of historical sights in Delhi and stumbled upon this colorful coffee clatch. 

The following day we met with AIPTF leaders to discuss the training program for this year as well as begin to explore what the program might look like going into the future given that CIDA money will likely not be available for some time.  These discussions were at the AIPTF building and we were surprised to find out a major renovation, funded largely by Lararforbundet (the teacher organization in Sweden) was occurring to their boardroom.  Those of you who had seen it previously would hardly recognize it now!  Today my luggage also caught up to me, none the worse for wear, but leaving me greatly relieved.

At the end of our meeting we had expressed our desire to visit the market in old Delhi, but were not too sure how best to navigate it.  One of the accounting ladies in the office volunteered to take us and thank goodness she did!  The market was a seething mass of humanity that I had never experienced before.  Words and even photos just don’t do it justice.   Even the traffic to get there was beyond anything I have experienced even in India!  I think our driver was truly wondering about the sanity of the white folks in his car!!  Anyways, with assistance we navigated the streets and ally-ways all time trying to be sure we didn’t lose our guide who had a habit of blending in much better than either Tish or I.  A couple of shots in spots where there was actually room to stop and stand a moment.

The next day we were back to the airport for a two and a half hour flight south to Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu where we will begin our work with a group of the National Resource Persons.  We were greeted with wonderful flowered garlands made of roses which smelled wonderful. 

After a late lunch of rice and various sauces (which you mix in a large stainless steel plate and eat with your fingers – quite an art to that without creating a major mess, an art which I obviously don’t yet possess!).  From these we settled in our hotel – always a complicated procedure, and checked out our rooms.  This is the view towards the ocean from mine.

We had a bit of daylight left, so we did some heavy negotiating to get a $2.00 auto-rickshaw ride down to a nearby beach where the driver somewhat impatiently waited for us.  At the beach we met this family that badly wanted their picture taken with Tish (not so badly with me for some reason!)!!

At the beach as well we met these young Tamil guys who had set up a board on a tire, a bit like a springboard, and were doing flips and tricks off of it!  I managed to get this shot of one of them.  You can see the angled tire and board just below the young guy in flight.

Of course, once the camera was out, there was hamming up to be done!  You can see the springboard set up a bit better in this shot as well.

So, that was the first few days in country.  I will try and provide an update when possible and until then, take care everyone!!