WOW! Is internet fast in Delhi! I arrived here after over three months in Leh, and have answered all the poll questions, read responses to my other postings and got onto this page in only 2 minutes. That would have been close to a half hour (at $2.50 an hour)up in Ladakh. I arrived today anticipating my first hot shower in 3 months. This last month of showering out of a cold water bucket with a pitcher has been more and more painful every day. Well, my hotel here has only cool water. But, even that felt good in this humidty. Delhi is a lot cooler than in July, though! This post is directly from a letter I just emailed to all my students in Colorado in America. It tells about the school here, which I hope you'll find interesting.

Hello Again Students from India,
Many of you have asked what classes I teach here. I have 5 types of classes here. First of all, I teach guitar, which I have never taught before because I don't play guitar. But, it was requested of me, and I am teaching myself also. Secondly, I teach keyboard, which I have done before. But the problem with that are the 2 1/2 octave electric keyboards available here that have small-sized keys. I also teach recorders, like I do in America. Those classes are going very well. Kids actually come to schoo before and after school for these classes. My fourth class is a singing choir of 45 children, which is similar to Gunnison's "Singing Stars" choir. This choir meets during lunch 3 periods a week. The problem is getting the kids to sing out without shouting! They either sing/shout the words, or are so quiet you can't hear them. But, they are having fun! Our concert was Friday, and was the first time ever in this city that there was a music concert like this in a school. Finally, I teach 9 classes of music appreciation twice a week. These classes are like the ones I teach for grades 3, 4 and 5 in Colorado. But, the problem here is that music has NEVER been taught before in this city, and the children do not know ANYTHING about music. I've been making it fun, and just finished talking about rock music and playing cassettes I brought along here. Out of over 300 children that are in these classes, only 3 or 4 had heard of the Beatles or Elvis Presley or AC/DC or any of the names I mentioned.

I'd like to tell you about the children here. This is a Christian school, but the majority of students here are Buddhist, with others being Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Sikh. But, morals and responsibility are stressed here, and my principal once told me that he'd rather have a strong Muslim or Buddhist teacher than a weak Christian one. Children here all wear the same uniform. That is a white collared shirt with buttons, a maroon necktie, a matcthing maroon sweater, gray pants and socks, and black shoes. That is our uniform, but ALL schools in the city have some kind of uniform. Children are very polite here, and will stand and greet me with "Good morning, sir." Even when not in school, if they see me downtown they will say "Good evening, sir." They greet all their teachers this way. When I enter a classroom, they stand and greet me, and remain standing until told to sit. At the end of class, they will thank me for that class. And, I have not heard one swear word since arriving here. Best friends are often seen holding hands or with a hand on the shoulder of their friend. But, in India it is always 2 boys or 2 girls; never one of each. This is true all the way up to old adults. In fact, it now seems strange to me to see tourists with a guy and girl holding hands, because this just is not done in India. The kids here are mostly Ladakhi, Tibetan or Kashmiri. Their skin is slightly darker than yours, but not by as much as you'd expect. Their faces are similar to yours, but they all have very dark hair. They like to have fun, as you do, and enjoy the new playground equipment (swings for the first time ever last month). Many are interested in having penpals in Gunnison, so if you are one who asked for a penpal, I will give them your address in November.

You would not like the classrooms here. They are half the size of yours in Colorado, and have 33-40 students in each room (including high school age). The students share one narrow bench with a narrow desktop to write on. There is barely enough space to walk between the rows. All teaching is done from the chalkboard in the front of the room. Students have to copy everything down in notebooks, which the teacher then checks for spelling and grammar (even me). Students have to take tests 3 times a year, and how well they do decides whether they get to go to the next grade level. Smart students may skip a grade, but students who do not study stay in the same grade. As a result, it is common for me to see students' 4 years apart in the same classroom. In grade 5, for example, there are 13 year olds, and in grade 6, there are 10 year olds. That is good, because students get what they earn. But, as I found out during the music exam I gave this week, they do try to cheat and look at a neighbor's paper. And, that is after I took them outside and had them sit in rows 4 feet apart!!!!!

The most difficult part about teaching is that I can't alphabetize my class lists. Students here go by two given names, and NOT their family name. So, I don't even know who are brothers and sisters. And, these 2 given names can be used as the 1st OR 2nd name, with most of the names being used for boys OR girls. And, there are only about a dozen or two names which are used. Names like Angmo, Tsering, Padma, Jigmet, Stanzin, Sonam, Deldan, Rinchan, Tsewang, Namgyal, Phuntchok, Dorjay and Deachen make up most of my attendance list. It is not uncommon for there to be 2 or 3 students with the same 2 names in the same class. The most extreme case of this is that in my 9 music appreciation classes, I have a total of 10 Deachen Angmo's.

The calendar here starts in November, after the 3rd exams. During that month, they are in their new classes. There is a 2 1/2 month winter break starting in December, when the unheated schoolrooms are too cold to hold class. Temperatures here are like Gunnison's, but with no central heat. And, there is a 2-week summer break. But, there are MANY holidays here from National Holidays to Buddhist to Hindi to Muslim to Christian. That is why we have school 5 1/2 days each week. Yes, I have to teach on Saturday mornings!! But, the 2nd Saturday of each month we have off, and we have only a half day on the last day of the month. It took me awhile to figure this all out, as everyone here just takes things like that for granted.

As many of you know, I do not like the early mornings when it is dark. The school day here starts at 10:00. That is the good news. The bad news is that the mosque here in Leh broadcasts its daily prayers for the benefit of the entire town, the first of which is at about 4:00 AM!!! Not to be outdone, the Buddhist temple answers with its prayer mantra cassette tape. I bought that particular tape in Delhi before arriving here, and know for a fact that that tape is 24 minutes and 22 seconds long! I do teach one or two hours before or after school each day, though. At 10:00 is an assembly where the students in their uniforms stand in even rows and columns and sing the national anthem and recite the Lord's Prayer. Classes range from 30 to 40 minutes long, and there are 4 classes before lunch, and 4 classes after lunch. School ends at 3:45.

Most teachers here yell at students to sit, quiet down, or whatever, and their voices are deep and hoarse as a result. And, beatings are allowed here. If students misbehave, they can expect to be swatted with a cane. This week, I saw a little lady with a half dozen students in a room giving them whacks on the hand or legs with a thick stick for forgetting their work too many times. Another time, students caught smoking had their faces blackened with charcoal and were put to stand in a visible place all afternoon feeling very uncomfortable and embarrassed. The "hands in the air" for 10 minutes is a popular technique for teachers here.

But, for most students, school is a fun place. Only those who deliberately misbehave are punished. Most classes are fun, and students do learn. Their learning is many times not as detailed as yours, as you at GCS have an excellent school, great teachers, larger space, more books and equipment, and a list of everything that has to be learned each year in each class. You should be proud of your school. This school is also very good, in fact a teacher from another school told me that it is the best one in this part of India. But, you have advantages there that we do not have here. This year is the first year that this school has had physics, chemistry or computers, and I am the first music teacher EVER in this city at a regular school! Take advantage of EVERY opportunity that you have there, as many of them are not available here (like band and many sports that you have). Don't get lazy with your studies, be grateful for every chance to learn, and if you sign up to do something in school or out of school, stay with it and don't quit. That way you will learn, even if it isn't always easy. I am in favor of holding back lazy children into the same grade if they don't study for their tests, because I have seen that work here.

Please email by reply to this email and tell me how you are doing. Or send me a letter or postcard! I will answer ALL mail. I miss all of you, and can't wait to see you again next September. I will be giving out your names for penpals from here. I will also email someone from each grade level in Gunnison with a list of addresses here in case you want to write first. But, don't be surprised by these addresses. Most are not street addresses or post office boxes. Many times you will see something like "near Dreamland Restaurant" or "behind Yak Tail Hotel" or something like that. I'll do the best I can. I have digital camera pictures of almost all of the students, which I will show you next year so that you can see your penpal. Have a good winter. Mine will be without much heat here.