An update on the situation

Of course, it's been so long since my previous update that I forgot blogger uploads pictures in reverse order. I'm too lazy to reorder all of them so let's just do this reverse chronologically. The majority of this post has to do with the seniors graduating in just a few days. My advisees are seniors so I've got a little of the mother hen letting the babes out of the nest syndrome going on here. Let's just get on with the pictures and I'll wax philosophically later.

The advisor group together for the last time (during advisor group anyway). I have to give credit where it's due here. Notice that each kid holds an animal. Well, I had been considering some sort of gift to give the kids when they leave. Buying gifts in Mussoorie sucks because a lot of the shops sell a lot of the same things and once you've been in one you've seen all the others. So when I was visiting the cousins in Malaysia this winter Jess really wanted me to make stuffed toys with her and the girls. I've been out of it for a while but she motivated me enough to do it and I was inspired to make one for each of my kids when I got back to India in February.

M with her "cuddle"-fish. The others were remarking how the tentacles remind them of her hair. I told them she was mysterious and intelligent like the cuttlefish. And, like the cuttlefish can change colours (see pics below) M takes on various different roles in and out of school.

N receiving her long-legged fox. She's sly and clever much like the animal. Little does she know though that the legs are made from a pair of underpants gifted to me this Christmas.

D with her bear. A quiet, studious and fashionable bear (I mean c'mon, it's wearing argyle).

A with his striped tiger. A noble creature able to blend in and fade into the background but when it stands out it can really take your breath away. A has been seen around school three days after the fact still carrying the tiger to each class.

True to form J shows up ten minutes late to the meeting to get his sloth.

Which of my advisees is calloused, scaly and mean but still manages to be undeniably cuddly? T of course.

B was very perplexed by the event in general and especially by the fact that I made him a bunny wearing skinny pants and suspenders.

Other N got a cowboy frog inspired by her rowdy and rambunctious personality. Little did I know that she would choose to go to Nevada in the coming months.

Easily the most obvious animal. M got a panda wearing a pink dress. There is little I can say to describe M to you if you don't already know her. Suffice to say that she is a personable, caring and wonderful person. A panda in a pink dress suits her perfectly.

The kids were very confused as to why there was a bunch of animals on my desk that morning until Other N counted out 9 of the toys and 9 of them. I teach for those kinds of "A-ha!" moments.

On to some other close ups:

Rawr!

T's t-rex.

The colour-changing process.

With graduation looming on us the class flag was unveiled on Saturday at a special tea. The class name 'Luminescence' is on the bottom and the class animal, the phoenix, is in the foreground. It looks a little wrinkled only because the whole thing was quilted in a sort of fiery pattern.

From my last advisor night. I told the kids to get dressed up and meet me for dinner. I did not tell them where we were going and I ended up taking them to one of the more posh places in town where you (usuallly) don't run into other Woodstockers, Kasmanda Palace. I say 'usually' because it was the school chaplain and his wife's anniversary the same day. I remarked when we saw them leave for dinner that it would be embarrassing if we ended up in the same place. Lo and behold that when we stepped into the dining room there they were and I certainly got red (how unlike me). It was fine though. We went out onto the terrace and they got our group buffet rate.

I also did a reprise of my chemistry lab with the wee ones. Less explosive than last time I had more hands on activities for the kids this time. We made slime, oobleck and watched a few science videos. Fun was had by all.

And so thus my time at Woodstock is slowly winding to an end. My AP kids took their exam and I'm fairly certain a majority of them will do well on them. Since I still have them for a few weeks I've decided to do labs and I think I may now be regretting it. An entire day of labs is more stressful, I dare say, than being locked in a cage with a bear on rollerskates (wait, am I on rollerskates or the bear?). Now do that for a whole week. Let's just say that I think some of these kids are more suitable for online simulations and thought experiments. I can only deal with so much broken glass on a daily basis.

So yeah, don't expect me to get emotional about leaving. I'll miss the kids and I've learned a lot of things in my time here but it is time for me to personally and professionally move on to new things but I will not forget where it was I got my start.

A quick update

I realise that it has been a very long time since I have updated the blog. I would say that it's been because nothing new is happening but that's a lie. Really, there's just been a lot of stuff going on that I'm still working through. Let's give a quick rundown on the major things from the past few months:

Winter break was fabu. I traveled to Malaysia to visit cousins. Kuala Lumpur is a wonderful city as is the remainder of the country (what I saw of it anyway). I stayed with Mark and Jessica for the majority of the time. There was plenty of reading, eating, snoozing, swimming, toy-making, and school-searching. Here are the three toys I made whilst there.

Guillermo the Spanish Clown.

Harvey the Beatnik Lizard.

Lester the Lion.

Pretty cool huh?

Well, after about a month in the tropics being lazy I traveled to Kathmandu for a week. It was quite cold there but we made fun. I met a lot of really cool people there and really had a blast.

After I came back to Mussoorie I had a phone interview with the MEF International School - Istanbul. A few days later they offered me a job teaching science to 7-10 graders which I gladly accepted. Istanbul has been a place I have wanted to go to for years and it was at the top of my list of places to go. I'll be teaching IGCSE chemistry and physics which will be a nice change of pace from the AP curriculum I've been doing.

As part of my going to Turkey I had to get a medical check-up. Everything was pretty standard but I wanted to go ahead and talk to the doctor about my blood pressure. It's been high for as long as I can remember. The doc back home just told me to keep ignoring it but I figured that now was probably my best shot. The doc here was definitely concerned about it especially since there's a family history. My bloodwork and ECG (EKG) came back fine so they think it's just genetics. I've been put on some meds and it seems like it's slowly coming down into a good range.

I think that covers the major stuff. I'm pushing the kids harder than ever to prepare them for the AP exam. They complain and moan about how difficult things are (especially the tests) but if it's anything like that past two years they'll thank me after the exam and say it was actually easier than what I had been giving them in class. My advisor group is graduating this year. Remember, these were the kids I decided to stay on one more year for. It's amazing how much they grow up in just three years. They really are great kids and I know that I have been spoiled teaching them. At least I'm not going back to the states to teach. The public school systems were in a state as it was without all the hoopla that's been going on recently. Yikes. At this rate, I'm not sure when I'll ever be able to go back.

Ten on Tuesday

So I had said I would post a more detailed blog post over quarter break. Well, I have about 2.25 hours left to do that. I was reading through Maggie's blog and realised I hadn't done a Ten on Tuesday (or some derivative thereof) for quite a while. I'll see what I can come up with:

1 - This was by far the longest monsoon since I've been here. Heck, several locals say it's been the longest, rainiest monsoon in 30-40 years. It finally let up about two weeks ago or so but was just torrents of rain until then. It hailed yesterday but I wouldn't put much into that.

2 - This quarter I got the Woodstock Outdoor Club started. We're refraining from calling it Scouting any time soon because there's a lot of red tape regarding the issue. There's been a healthy amount of interest from the kids and we're thinking of expanding it down to some of the lower grades soon. Our first campout was about a month ago and, of course, it rained like the dickens. The kids didn't set their tents up correctly and got wet but we had a back up and they had a warm, dry night. I was cozy and warm all night long. Overall, I think the kids really had a great time and, to me, that's what matters. The main thing that's hindering any progress to the club is scheduling. We haven't met since the campout because we meet on Friday nights and since then we've had the Staff Talent Show and now it's quarter break. Wish us luck in the coming quarter.

3 - I made tacos with a friend last night. God, I love tacos. They were so good and really hit the spot that we're thinking of making it a weekly occurrence. Since dad visited last year and brought, literally, an entire box of seasoning I think we can do it.

4 - Winter plans are still somewhat up in the air. I am for sure going to Kuala Lumpur to visit some cousins. I'll be there for Christmas and probably well into January. I'm looking into visiting Thailand too but need to look into places to stay/people to go with. I have some friends in Bangkok I could almost surely crash with for a week or so but let's also see how much it's going to be to fly there. There are plenty of things to do and see in Malaysia so I may just travel around there.

5 - Speaking of those cousins, they really want me to move to KL next year to teach and stay with them. I talk with them almost nightly and I tell ya, KL sounds more and more like some place I'd like to be. I'm keeping my options open though. As one of my colleagues told me, I'm the perfect candidate. I'm young, no dependents, 3 years of experience international and science. I would still really love to go to Europe or Turkey (or just about anywhere really) so I'm not committing to anywhere just yet.

6 - So, if that last point wasn't blunt enough for you let me just flat out say that this will be my last year at Woodstock. I've unofficially told my head of department and will officially submit my letter this week. It's nothing to do with the school really. Just time for me to move on. I've learned a lot here (and still am learning every day) but there's a big toll for coming to a relatively secluded area and cloistered environment.

7 - I just want to say that I have some super friends both here and across the water. The past few weeks have been particularly rough for me but they've been there to help me talk through things and try to understand things better. I just hope they know that I appreciate everything they've done.

8 - I love hot TANG.

9 - I love the weather right now. It's crisp and cool. Perfect for going out for a walk in a sweater and cap. Honestly, I think autumn has become my favourite season. Summer is nice and warm but more often than not, wherever I am it's ungodly hot and humid. Spring is good too because everything is new and you get the whole rejuvenated/twitterpated vibe going on but it feels like things have lost the edge that autumn has. I'd say winter would be the second best for me. Again, it's cold and crisp but also perfect for lighting a fire. Nothing says cozy like lighting the fire, putting on Bing and lighting some candles to watch them burn. Throw in some hot cocoa with some Baileys (*nudge* *nudge* *wink* *wink*) and you have a contender that easily could tip the scales in its own favour.

10 - Do you think Mick Jagger realises "Cherry Red" is a colour not a flavour? He's right though, you don't always get what you want but sometimes you get what you need.

I guess it really does work

So, today I had gone up to school for lunch like I typically do. While eating I took off my glasses, also like I typically do. Happily I sat as I ate my chicken burgers and rice and daal when one of my colleagues came in. I was sitting at a table along with one of the junior school teachers finishing up my meal when he (the one that came in) walked up to see what was on the menu. He said hello to the other teacher and called her by name but merely said hello to me. He looked at me quizzically and asked if we had met before and I said yes (in fact, we had several conversations of relatively decent length). I told him my name and said I was from the senior school. He proceeded to ask if I was working in Hostel (the boys' dorm) and I told him no, I teach chemistry. I could see that he was painfully confused. One could see that he knew the chemistry teacher but was certain I was not he. I started getting a little embarrassed and reached for my glass or water when suddenly it hit me. Rather than picking up my glass I picked up my glasses and put them on. His entire expression suddenly changed. You can tell he felt a little silly for not recognising me but we had a good laugh about it.


I guess it really does work as a good enough disguise for Superman/Clark Kent.


In other news, I know that I've not been very good about updating at all lately. Let's just say that it has been a hectic and stressful first quarter. Cripes... The first quarter is almost finished (one more week) ! It has been busy (mostly in a good way) and I'll be sure to put up a full report this coming weekend. Between now and then I need to plan what I'm teaching this week, finish grading, and write comments for each of my 60+ students. After Friday I'm free until Wednesday. Nothing but relaxing for me. There has been talk of some hot-tubbing, movie watching, letter of recommendation writing, comic reading, story plotting, and tacos. God, I love tacos. I'm also hoping to get to a little bit of work on some comics. I have a few ideas I've been tossing around so it might be nice to just put thought to paper and see what comes up. I'll be sure and post it here if I come up with anything good.

2010 National Jamboree

The International Hosting Staff.

All of the leaders at their social.

Myself and one of the other staffers hanging with the leaders from Hong Kong.

Of course you would expect the Scottish to bring some bagpipes.

Me with my Canadian leaders.

There's always a good fireworks show.

Mike Rowe addresses the scouts about being clean but not afraid to get dirty.

Seas of scouts.

The Bhutanese scouts had me over for dinner one night. Here I am with their leaders and another staff member from scuba.

I met up with Jeff, my former college roommate. He and I met at the jamboree back in 2001.

One of the exhibits had oobleck set up. It's a mixture of cornstarch and water that becomes a non-Newtonian fluid. Apply a force to it and it becomes like a solid. You can actually run on it if you take short, choppy steps.

Jeff's brother David and I were working together and met this fellow, Marty, one night. Marty's from New York and helped us do our laundry.

I had dinner with this gentleman, Dan, one night. He's from Chicago and had some pretty sweet badges that we swapped for. I don't mind the swapping if I get to chat and meet the person I'm doing the deal with.

International scouts together after the flag raising ceremony.

Scottish and Saudi Arabian scouts.

Australian Scouts

Teaching Chemistry merit badge.

Pioneering.

OK, so it was a bit more difficult getting the blog updated whilst out scouting. AT&T was one of the sponsors so there was excellent reception for cell phones and wi-fi. I just didn't really have the time to sit down and write a blog post. Let me explain why.

I pushed my arrival date early by two days so that I could get on to the army base at the same time as dad. It just so happened that I was the first person
from my staff (except for one guy, I think) to arrive. I was lost. I got dad all settled in and when I went back to my barracks to set up my things I met my boss. He was a real nice guy and as we got to chatting I found out that he is originally from U.P. (Uttar Pradesh) the state that Uttarakhand was split from a few years ago. He actually grew up in the states and made his Eagle there. Currently, he lives in Kuala Lumpur so I chatted to him about the cousins I have moving there shortly.

Well, the first few days were set up so there was a lot of heavy lifting, Wal-Mart/Lowes runs, and sitting in ridiculous Virginia humidity. The rest of the team started arriving and I was surprised to find that the majority of the staff members were younger than I. It was something to do about wanting to show off a more youthful face of scouting to the rest of the world. I think we achieved that quite well. The majority of staff was from the US but there were four scouts from Mexico and one from Canada as well. We had about 400 international participants come in from about 27 different countries including Canada, Austria, Australia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Barbados, Thailand, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Sweden, Egypt, Korea, England, Scotland, Wales, Trinidad & Tobago, Ireland, Brazil and one or two others that escape me at the moment.

When the jamboree actually began we started making trips out to the airports to pick up the patrols of internationals. I was tasked with picking up eight Bhutanese boys and two of their leaders. It was the first time out of the country for all but one of the leaders. Needless to say that all of them were very excited to be there. I had to get them all taken care of. Passports and flight information checked out, medicals taken care of, etc. I dropped them off to their troop and let them start to mingle. For the remainder of the jamboree my job was to check up twice a day on the Hong Kong scouts and a patrol from Canada. There was a hitch to this however. The only way to guarantee that I could catch them would be to get them in camp. That meant I had to get to their camps before 9.00 in the morning. Now, remember, the national jamboree is one of if not THE biggest scouting events in the world. It beats out the world jamboree by about 23,000 people. We're talking 50,000 participants plus about 10,000 guests a day. You need A LOT of space for that many people.

So my Canadians were up in camp 18 and my Hong Kong guys in 13. I'm down there at the bottom in the Longstreet Barracks. Each morning I got up at 5.30, showered and had breakfast by 7.00 so that I could jump on my bike and head off. The bikes we had were a bit of a mixed blessing. It was great being able to move around quickly and see my scouts but the bikes themselves left quite a bit to be desired. See, they gave us 1950s Schwinn-style street bikes. Single speed, backward break, the whole bit. Now, I don't know how many of you out there have ever been to Virginia but it certainly isn't flat. The first few days one just had to suck it up and walk the bike up a hill. By the end of it though I was able to get up most hills but my thighs were stiff and let's just say the seat could've been better padded.

So during the day there was a bit of down time so we got to go out and see the jamboree. I met up with dad a few times and we saw the sights. There was a lot of exhibits from the army, national guard, religions, sea scouts, the national park service, etc. The scouts were supposed to go around and visit these places (and things like BMX, shotguns, rappelling, fishing) and get stamps. If they get the right number of stamps for each station, then they get badges.



Speaking of badges... that's probably one thing about the jamboree that I disliked the most. Some kids only want to swap badges. Leaders can be even worse. When I brought the Bhutanese guys for their medical checkups we got bombarded by some scouts from South Carolina and they didn't even ask names or anything like that. The first thing out of their mouths was, "Do you got any patches?" I was excited to swap badges myself before I got out there but after witnessing countless scenes like that just on the first day I was turned off from it. I eventually went out the last day or so and got some sweet badges (the Dr McNinja ones I mentioned in an earlier post and a cool Captain America one) but although my intention was to obtain the badges I did make an effort to talk with whoever I was with and make more of a personal connection. The councils just encourage the madness though. Several put out multiple badges so that there can be more trading. It's cool and I don't necessarily not like the idea but for some people it takes over what the jamboree is about.

We had two arena shows where everyone attended. Being surrounded by 50,000 people is an odd feeling. Getting that many people there on time takes some planning too. Some of the troops further away had to start mobilizing about 4 hours or so before the show started. Sitting in the sun for that long can't be pleasant. Luckily I was able to go in when I wanted and so long as you can find a seat you're good to sit there. The shows were a lot more fun than the one's when I attended back in 2001. The speakers were good and the entertainment was bands that people (not me though) had actually heard of. One of my favourite parts to the shows was Mike Rowe of Discovery Channel's 'Dirty Jobs' fame. He is an Eagle Scout and came to share some thoughts with the kids. Overall it was a lot of fun. Working in International Hosting though I and several of my coworkers got rather red-faced at how pro-American the shows were. I understand that it is the national jamboree and all but even if I hadn't worked I.H. I would still feel uncomfortable with how in your face they were about it. It just felt cheesy if nothing else. Several of the international scouts and leaders approached me about it and felt it could have certainly had more of a 'scouting brotherhood' sort of feel to it rather than being like a week-long fourth of July.

Did I mention Sgt. Slaughter was there? Awesome!

We can fit about 30,000 more people in here...

Mobilising for the arena show.

All in all it was a great time and I am really glad that I went for the 100th year anniversary. It just so happens that the world jamboree is next summer in Sweden. Anyone want to help me get there? I'm not too proud to ask for donations. Needless to say, I have once again been bitten by the scouting bug. I am in talks with staff members to get something set up at Woodstock. We have some problems to deal with though. The biggest one is interest. I've really got to work on making it sound exciting for the kids. Other than that I have to do something about what programme to follow. I can't have Indian kids joining an American overseas troop and taking numbers away from their groups but I think I've got it figured out after talking with the head of the overseas programme for BSA. Hopefully, between the years of scouting experience we have here we can pull together to get something set up.

The only real complaint I have about the jamboree has to deal with the lack of recycling. One would think that with the Outdoor Code that scouts follow the BSA would have set up recycling. In some of the arena shows you can see packages of bottled water. Now imagine all of those plastic bottles in the hands of teenage boys. The morning after the evening show I biked by the area and it was trashed and where were all of those bottles going to go? I just think that the BSA could have been a bit more 'conservation minded' when considering things like that or all of the lunches being wrapped up in layers of plastic bags or all of the packaging at the trading posts that got strewn about.

Anywho, I'm back at Woodstock now and have made it successfully through a week of teaching. I was jet lagged for a few days but I think I'm over it now. It's good to see the kids again. Tomorrow is independence day so I'll have to make another post soon with all of the pictures and stories from that.