First Impressions, Last Impressions

Well, the crazy adventure of teaching ended yesterday. I had a wonderful last day, full of beautiful cards made by my kids, plenty of hugs and even a few tears (but surprisingly not from me! I already had my cry at school on Monday). In cleaning out my locker, I found the notepad I used for my initial Hindi classes and in the beginning of the school year. Inside were some of the first impressions that I jotted down after my first few weeks:

• Teachers expertly pouring water in their mouths without touching the bottle
• Newspaper laid under shiny tiffins filled with yellow, orange and green curries with okra ("lady fingers"), potato and eggplant. In a second tiffin, rotis, torn gracefully apart, fingertips touched with yellow from the turmeric
• Brightly colored clothes, all in matching suits, flowing saris and dupattas, bangles on wrists, bells on ankles, rings on toes, and jewels in ears and noses. Hands with mehndi and foreheads with sindoor and bindis
• Empty bulletin boards, white walls and partner desks meant for two but crammed with four
• Children smiling, desperate for my attention, shoving papers and hands in my face, calling my name when I'm mid-sentence
• Children wanting to sing and perform, knowing which children are good singers and dancers
• Flooded halls during rain, chaotic arrival and departure via any and every means of transport short of camels and elephants
• Hot chai in the morning, burning my fingers and tasting of spice
• Laughter at my foolish attempts to say their names, blushing when I call on them, always standing and sitting and standing again, so EAGER to please, to tell me about themselves, to be in my favor
• Signing the attendance book, everyone cutting in line with no regard or awareness of my presence
• Children always waiting for permission to enter, serving and fetching for teachers
• Wet footprints when it rains, dusty footprints when it doesn't

As a thank you and farewell to my students, I edited a video from the several hundred photographs and dozens of videos I've taken over the past year. Below is a slightly edited version of the video I showed to my students during the last week of classes. It's a little long, but I recommend watching the whole thing...Enjoy!

And it's on to bigger and brighter things! Namaste, Navyug School.