Yeah yeah... not a pity blog here. I just back from dinner which I spent with Jane, a 75 year old volunteer from Canada who's just a peach. Real fun gal and great to talk to over your rice and daal. Anywho, we had our conversation and were drinking our tea and coffee when another staff member came in to have some coffee with us.
Somehow it came up that he was Tibetan and he proceeded to give us his life story. Fleeing over the Himalayas at the age of four. Not seeing his parents for 40 some years. Trying to visit his family only to be turned away at the border. Finally getting to see his family and then bring a niece back only to be caught and thrown in jail for it. Finally getting her here and only to have tragedy strike. Getting threatened to have the Chinese police sent to him and then running into an old classmate who takes him and his family in. Saving a drowning man in a raging mountain river and getting dragged for kilometers. Then he sings a Thai song to a homesick Thai boy.
Cripes...
He just blew me away.
--------
On a different note, sign up for google talk. Add niftysunburn and we can chat. Free computer to computer calls.
11 August, 2008
09 August, 2008
How I spent my Saturday
So, today was a gorgeous day. I got to sleep in a bit. Raji, my ayah, came over to do my laundry and clean up a bit and once again got out the bleach water to clean mold off of the ceiling and some of my personal effects. Around noon I went up to school to have some lunch. I sat with Jane, our 75 year old counselor who is also new staff. We had a good conversation over some tea and coffee. Afterwards I made a trip over to the bazaar because I needed some lightbulbs and Nutella.
This is what my trip looks like. We start off at the top of the stairs at Suncliff and go all the way into Mussoorie.
The top of the stairs at Suncliff. It can be quite treacherous some mornings when they have not put bleach down to kill the slickery mold and moss.
After the stairs comes a fairly steep path. It scares the hell out of me only because rather than lay something like woodchips, they lay bits of broken brick, bathroom tile, and glass.
View of the road from above mentioned path.
Finally on the road. There are no sidewalks or anything of the sort around here. You walk on the side of the road near the cud (the drop off) and hope you don't get knocked over the rail by a truck or motorbike. I've had a few close calls. You stay on that side so that if worse does indeed come to worse you knocked down the side of the cliff and not painted on the side of the hill.
The view down into the cud.
Some Tibetan prayer flags.
It's a tree, did I really need to explain that?
The ramp up to school.
Coming in the back way, behind the kitchens.
Through a corridor or two and you come to the quad. This is where the elementary and middle schools meet. The dining hall here is also where we have our meals.
The ramp up to the high school. It's quite steep and gets steeper as you go up. And you wouldn't believe how slippery campus is. Between the bricks and flagstones you are lucky if you stay on two feet.
Woodstock front gate.
A view of lower campus. Those are some of the dorms.
Mussoorie.
Flowers.
Crickets exist in India.
More flowers.
More of Mussoorie.
More prayer flags. These ones still have color to them.
And yet more flowers.
The view of Woodstock from near the entrance to the bazaar.
Just some majesty.
Stellar eh?
And down into the valley. Hell of a drop off into the cud if you ask me.
On my way back I ran into some friends and we stopped by the Cozy Corner (a local shack that sells snacks and cigarettes), this languor decided to join us.
More monkey. Just for Mike.
View of the hills from Cozy.
The lower dorms again from Cozy.
Mussoorie from Cozy.
This is what my trip looks like. We start off at the top of the stairs at Suncliff and go all the way into Mussoorie.
The top of the stairs at Suncliff. It can be quite treacherous some mornings when they have not put bleach down to kill the slickery mold and moss.
After the stairs comes a fairly steep path. It scares the hell out of me only because rather than lay something like woodchips, they lay bits of broken brick, bathroom tile, and glass.
View of the road from above mentioned path.
Finally on the road. There are no sidewalks or anything of the sort around here. You walk on the side of the road near the cud (the drop off) and hope you don't get knocked over the rail by a truck or motorbike. I've had a few close calls. You stay on that side so that if worse does indeed come to worse you knocked down the side of the cliff and not painted on the side of the hill.
The view down into the cud.
Some Tibetan prayer flags.
It's a tree, did I really need to explain that?
The ramp up to school.
Coming in the back way, behind the kitchens.
Through a corridor or two and you come to the quad. This is where the elementary and middle schools meet. The dining hall here is also where we have our meals.
The ramp up to the high school. It's quite steep and gets steeper as you go up. And you wouldn't believe how slippery campus is. Between the bricks and flagstones you are lucky if you stay on two feet.
Woodstock front gate.
A view of lower campus. Those are some of the dorms.
Mussoorie.
Flowers.
Crickets exist in India.
More flowers.
More of Mussoorie.
More prayer flags. These ones still have color to them.
And yet more flowers.
The view of Woodstock from near the entrance to the bazaar.
Just some majesty.
Stellar eh?
And down into the valley. Hell of a drop off into the cud if you ask me.
On my way back I ran into some friends and we stopped by the Cozy Corner (a local shack that sells snacks and cigarettes), this languor decided to join us.
More monkey. Just for Mike.
View of the hills from Cozy.
The lower dorms again from Cozy.
Mussoorie from Cozy.So, there you are. I didn't take any pictures while in the bazaar because it just makes me feel like too much of a tourist. I promise some day I'll overcome that show you what it's like. Really, it's ridiculous. You're always looking over your shoulder because the streets are so narrow and there are always cars, trucks, buses, bikes and people trying to get through. Tonight a few of us are going to order Dominoes just to get away from the monotony of rice and daal. Afterwards we're going to another staff home for a bonfire.
One of the places I stopped by was the Cambridge Book Shop. I was absolutely wowed by it. It's stacked floor to ceiling with lots and lots of books. He even has some comics. I was tempted to pick up some of the Tintin hardback three-in-ones that I read so fondly in my youth. I resisted, however, only because I bought a book on Hindu myths and another about Buddhism. The next time I go down to the bazaar (or the "buzz") I'll stop by again and check out what actual issues he has. They looked pretty old. Maybe a good gift for Mike?
Oh, and as an aside, in the comics here, Snoopy is colored brown and so is Calvin's hair.
One of the places I stopped by was the Cambridge Book Shop. I was absolutely wowed by it. It's stacked floor to ceiling with lots and lots of books. He even has some comics. I was tempted to pick up some of the Tintin hardback three-in-ones that I read so fondly in my youth. I resisted, however, only because I bought a book on Hindu myths and another about Buddhism. The next time I go down to the bazaar (or the "buzz") I'll stop by again and check out what actual issues he has. They looked pretty old. Maybe a good gift for Mike?
Oh, and as an aside, in the comics here, Snoopy is colored brown and so is Calvin's hair.
06 August, 2008
For Jill
Because she wanted to see pics of the kids.*
This one shows some of my kids. They're having a lot of fun in chemistry class as you can tell.
*Laws and general rules about creepiness prohibit me from actually posting pics of my kids. But she kept begging. You know the deal. Two way street.
This one shows some of my kids. They're having a lot of fun in chemistry class as you can tell.*Laws and general rules about creepiness prohibit me from actually posting pics of my kids. But she kept begging. You know the deal. Two way street.
For Maggie
Here's the PV=nRT derivation from HY=EY. I thought about typing it all out nice and neat but figured that would waste TOO much time. So, here are the scans dad or Cindy or some elf/dwarf/pixie sent me. It made a lot more sense when I was in the class. Oh PChem...
KKKKT!
Page 1
Page 2
(just a little but it is important)
Page 3
The end.
PV=nRT, isn't it beautiful when something comes together?
Lordy, I hate PChem. They try to fit EVERYTHING into a straight line of y=mx+b.
KKKKT!
Page 1Page 2(just a little but it is important)
Page 3The end.PV=nRT, isn't it beautiful when something comes together?
Lordy, I hate PChem. They try to fit EVERYTHING into a straight line of y=mx+b.
OK, let's procrastinate...
It occurred to me that I really haven't mentioned a lot about what I actually do aside from being a chem teacher. Kinda vague isn't it? The thought crossed my mind that I should just leave this post at that and leave you all to wonder. I'm not that big of a jerk though.
Or am I?...
eh
Ok, so I'm a chemistry teacher here at Woodstock School. Originally, I think I was supposed to be the low man on the totem pole taking the lower level courses and maybe even a general science or lower level bio. As luck would have it, the entire science department is new this year. The other chem teacher, Gayitri, has been teaching for a lot longer than I have but has been mainly 9th and 10th grades IGCSE and no upper level courses, especially not AP. So, that leaves me stuck with the AP 12 kids (two sections), a section of AP 11, and two sections of IGCSE 10.
oi
I can't complain though, we're all stretched pretty thin in the science dept this year.
Ok, so the schedule is kinda screwy. I only see 3-4 of the classes on a given day. MWF are extended periods of 65min and TR are shortened periods of 45min. T and R we have whole school assemblies in the mornings. Fridays have a bonus block at the end (in which I am doing campfire skits and songs). Mondays I have advisor group. I have 10 kids from grade 10 whom I'm supposed to get to know, take to dinner, have activities with etc etc. Wednesdays are homeroom where we get all the grade 10s together so they can do whole class things (like vote on officers). No two days during the week are the same for me. Luckily I'm in the same room for all but my AP 11 class. My AP 12 classes each have a double period once a week on M or F. That's two 65min periods back to back. It's supposed to be for labs and whatnot. Luckily we have our tea break between the classes. Which reminds me, we have tea breaks throughout the day. One mid morning and another after school. It's quite nice. Breaks up the craziness. I'll probably end up working through most of them though. That's another thing. We have a lot of random duties. I have lunch duty every W. I'm supposed to let the kids go every so often from the high school down to the cafeteria so that things don't get too crazy. Every now and then I'm supposed to supervise the tea break. Twice a semester I have to chaperon some weekend event. In November I have to take a group of kids somewhere on Activity Week. I really hope I get to go on a hike rather than go to Delhi. Umm... oh, if someone calls in sick I may have to substitute for them during my free period. Subs are hard to come by in the Himalayas (him-all-yas, who knew we were pronouncing it wrong this entire time?).
I'm sure there are other things that I'm forgetting at the moment. I don't care much. This has kept me from planning for a good long time.
Or am I?...
eh
Ok, so I'm a chemistry teacher here at Woodstock School. Originally, I think I was supposed to be the low man on the totem pole taking the lower level courses and maybe even a general science or lower level bio. As luck would have it, the entire science department is new this year. The other chem teacher, Gayitri, has been teaching for a lot longer than I have but has been mainly 9th and 10th grades IGCSE and no upper level courses, especially not AP. So, that leaves me stuck with the AP 12 kids (two sections), a section of AP 11, and two sections of IGCSE 10.
oi
I can't complain though, we're all stretched pretty thin in the science dept this year.
Ok, so the schedule is kinda screwy. I only see 3-4 of the classes on a given day. MWF are extended periods of 65min and TR are shortened periods of 45min. T and R we have whole school assemblies in the mornings. Fridays have a bonus block at the end (in which I am doing campfire skits and songs). Mondays I have advisor group. I have 10 kids from grade 10 whom I'm supposed to get to know, take to dinner, have activities with etc etc. Wednesdays are homeroom where we get all the grade 10s together so they can do whole class things (like vote on officers). No two days during the week are the same for me. Luckily I'm in the same room for all but my AP 11 class. My AP 12 classes each have a double period once a week on M or F. That's two 65min periods back to back. It's supposed to be for labs and whatnot. Luckily we have our tea break between the classes. Which reminds me, we have tea breaks throughout the day. One mid morning and another after school. It's quite nice. Breaks up the craziness. I'll probably end up working through most of them though. That's another thing. We have a lot of random duties. I have lunch duty every W. I'm supposed to let the kids go every so often from the high school down to the cafeteria so that things don't get too crazy. Every now and then I'm supposed to supervise the tea break. Twice a semester I have to chaperon some weekend event. In November I have to take a group of kids somewhere on Activity Week. I really hope I get to go on a hike rather than go to Delhi. Umm... oh, if someone calls in sick I may have to substitute for them during my free period. Subs are hard to come by in the Himalayas (him-all-yas, who knew we were pronouncing it wrong this entire time?).
I'm sure there are other things that I'm forgetting at the moment. I don't care much. This has kept me from planning for a good long time.
First Day of School
Piece of cake. And boy, did I look sharp. Sweater, tie, nice shoes, the whole bit.
Can't believe I forgot to put up the derivation for PV=nRT from HY=EY. Oh well, there's two classes I've yet to have met.
The thing that sucks though is that today was the easy day.
And aside from 15.August (Indian Independence Day) I don't get any days off until winter break. Well, there's activity week but then I'm stuck hiking in the mountains or going to Delhi with the kids. Hiking would be great... Delhi not so much. Even that though isn't until November.
*sigh*
I've signed my life away to the land of perpetual wet for a good part of the year. Eh, that last sentence just has poor phrasing. I'm here for two years. It's wet here for a good part of the year. Workin' for the weekend right?
Highlights from today:
-The look of fear in every kids eye as I told them we were having a test today. (Just to see what they already know.
-I got asked if I'm Scottish (he said it was the beard) right after I said I'm from the states.
-Totally skipped my lunch duty. (On accident)
-We had momos for dinner. Quite a nice change from rice and daal and mutton curry. Ice cream cones for dessert too!
-It's over! (almost, need to do some more planning)
-I butchered almost every kid's name and they laugh when I tell them my name is Mr Rice.
---
Oh, and sorry, looks like AIM is a no go for the time being (except AIM express, which sucks). I was told that google messenger isn't blocked (they have a messenger?) so I think I'll try downloading that and seeing how it works. SKYPE is also another option they said.
Talked to the HS art teacher yesterday and she hooked me up with a sketch pad and some graphites. Funny thing is, I did draw last night but it was with a ballpoint pen on lined paper (my favourite media).
Last thing, maybe, apparently some of the staff had arts and crafts nights last year where they got together and sewed and whatnots. I emailed one of the gals and asked if she knew where I could get some supplies for stuffed animals. So the girls may not be neglected this Christmas. They may get stuffed leeches though.
Edit: Yep, Google Talk works. niftysunburn Doesn't look like you can video chat but at least it would be real time chat and I wouldn't have to go through AIM Express. Get a Gmail account.
Can't believe I forgot to put up the derivation for PV=nRT from HY=EY. Oh well, there's two classes I've yet to have met.
The thing that sucks though is that today was the easy day.
And aside from 15.August (Indian Independence Day) I don't get any days off until winter break. Well, there's activity week but then I'm stuck hiking in the mountains or going to Delhi with the kids. Hiking would be great... Delhi not so much. Even that though isn't until November.
*sigh*
I've signed my life away to the land of perpetual wet for a good part of the year. Eh, that last sentence just has poor phrasing. I'm here for two years. It's wet here for a good part of the year. Workin' for the weekend right?
Highlights from today:
-The look of fear in every kids eye as I told them we were having a test today. (Just to see what they already know.
-I got asked if I'm Scottish (he said it was the beard) right after I said I'm from the states.
-Totally skipped my lunch duty. (On accident)
-We had momos for dinner. Quite a nice change from rice and daal and mutton curry. Ice cream cones for dessert too!
-It's over! (almost, need to do some more planning)
-I butchered almost every kid's name and they laugh when I tell them my name is Mr Rice.
---
Oh, and sorry, looks like AIM is a no go for the time being (except AIM express, which sucks). I was told that google messenger isn't blocked (they have a messenger?) so I think I'll try downloading that and seeing how it works. SKYPE is also another option they said.
Talked to the HS art teacher yesterday and she hooked me up with a sketch pad and some graphites. Funny thing is, I did draw last night but it was with a ballpoint pen on lined paper (my favourite media).
Last thing, maybe, apparently some of the staff had arts and crafts nights last year where they got together and sewed and whatnots. I emailed one of the gals and asked if she knew where I could get some supplies for stuffed animals. So the girls may not be neglected this Christmas. They may get stuffed leeches though.
Edit: Yep, Google Talk works. niftysunburn Doesn't look like you can video chat but at least it would be real time chat and I wouldn't have to go through AIM Express. Get a Gmail account.
04 August, 2008
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