Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Leaving Ladakh
25 Oct
Four days left in Leh before the next leg of the journey. Today my traveling companion, Katarina, left to meet her Parents in Delhi.
Yesterday morning I had to say goodbye to my little buddy, Smanla. Since there is no school for Jim after the exams until next Thursday, he and his father (a bus driver for the school) went back to the village where his mother is. Got a huge hug and thank you,for the cricket bat I gave him and for helping him study for the exams. It's already noticeably quieter around here and no stupid cartoons, and I miss him. Today his older cousin Dalex will be coming after co pelting his exams.
After school took a long hike up the mountains behind the school in nice weather. Tns of chukkars and grouse. Unfortunately I overdressed and got pretty sweaty. Luckily, the water in the shower thawed out and the power came on so I could shower.
Last night we were surprised by a last minute invitation to a going away dinner by the principal at the boy's hostel. A jimpo (delicious) dinner of a variety of dishes (including my 3rd helping of momos in a day), some bought from Andu's restaurant. We were joined by the principal,and three French donors who I had met previously. One is a big donor to the school who is a retired science teacher and now a documentary filmmaker doing films about the effect of global warming on the Himalayas. The other couple are from the ski area of La Grave, where we now have a place to stay.... Besides being a great dinner, the principal was very outgoing and appreciative of all. He gave us all kathas and made little speeches about each one. This was probably a good thing for,Katarina, since previously she had been pretty sure that he did not even know her name.
This morning Dorjay and Andu tried to light the gas heater, but it did not work. He will get it prepared today.
Right now I am sitting in the "greenhouse" and it must be in the 80s in here- almost too hot!
After school and lunch today I played a little cricket with some of the students and teachers. And, now I have been invited to play on a teachers' team on Sunday against teachers from the Tibetan School! I think mainly for comic relief!
Dorjay(from school) just Invited me to a wedding tonight. This is the wedding season and there seems to be one going on in the neighborhood almost every night. You can tell when the drums start beating in the early evening and continue until late into the night. Very interested to see what it is like.
Suddenly things are getting a bit busier for me these last few days- good because I really am ready to go and this will make it quicker for me.
Wedding: first, it wasn't actually the wedding. The wedding was last year and this was the party for it. Apparently it isn't unusual to have the party up to five years after the actual wedding. However, I do think the wedding on Sunday is both together.
The venue was in a crowded neighborhood below the market and near the house of the family. The party was in a large tent made of colorful cloths in a vacant lot between lots,of houses. Everyone in the neighborhood is invited, which is good since as you approach it is easy to find due to the loud Indian pop music blasting from speakers. Under the tent, the entire ground is covered with carpets and lots of small tables (enough for 500 guests), all from the neighbors. People in traditional dress (I wore Dorjay's wool, winter Goncha) and many women pouring butter tea and bottles of Chang (traditional barley beer). Eventually the place fills up and begins to warm from the human heat, music (traditional drums and horns) and Ladakhi dancing. Trays filled with glasses of rum, brandy and whiskey start coming around and a few snacks. Everytime you take a sip of anything there seems to be someone there to top it off. There is a giant pile of gifts in the center of the tent. Mostly useful items like carpets, cooking pots and even many bags of rice and containers of butter! People who don't bring actually gifts bring money and everything seems to be cataloged by a series of people at a table by the entry. By around 10PM after too many refills of whiskey and chang, it seems the meal is served- down the street in another empty lot. Tables full of various foods (all vege) and lots of people lined up. After the meal, Dorjay drove. Me home and then returned to help clean up. Fun night for me!
On his way home, Dorjay saw 8 hostel boys from the school who had snuck out and were dunk in town. Ended up being a late night for him and the Principal and a bad one for the boys. Some with multiple offenses will be sent home to their parents in the villages, others get second/third chances. According to the principal these are new occurrences this year and there are more each month. So much for the grateful, respectful student image.....
26 Oct
Monasteries
People are always asking have you been to ......? Always one of the nearby villages with another beautiful and amazing monastery or Gompa. Usually, the answer is no. I have been to the monasteries and stupas, of course and they are great. Today, as I walked up the valley above Leh I realized, however, that I've seen enough Buddhas, scary deities, butter sculptures, mani walls, chortens, stupas and bald monks in red robes and Oakleys already! I much prefer wandering outside of town on the small roads and trails that wind into the hills talking with children, past farmers plowing the field with their Tzo, old ladies walking the cows and donkeys home and then beyond them into the hills along clean mountain streams to see what birds and other wildlife show up.
27 Oct:Eid
Today is the first day of the Muslim celebration of Eid. During the last week there has been tension and fighting between Muslims and Buddhist in Kargill in the Zanskar region- halfway between here and Srinigar. Apparently over some,issues with some Buddhists who converted to Islam... Dorjay tells me the news says it is now peaceful, but there is tension over today's celebrations. The local celebration is apparently just down the road this morning and I plan to skip out and head down around 10:30 to see. Yangchan and Dorjay keep talking about all the goats and "sheeps" that are being "cut" this morning in Muslim houses for the feast. (arrived at 10:44 and it was already over....)
I don't understand the Buddhist thoughts on vegetarianism... They (note: when I say they I am referring to the ones I am familiar with and there definitely seems to be lots of variability) are not vegetarians, or at least not the ones in Ladakh. They eat chicken, goat and mutton, but not cow, camel or pork. They seem to find the idea of killing "too many" animals bad. They also, apparently, do not eat any fish or other wild animals and seem to find the idea of killing non domestic animals very bad. I know the wild animals like Ibex and blue sheep are endangered and protected here but I am pretty sure that is not the reason for their feelings about killing them.
Grading: teachers are busily completing the grading of exams and preparation of report card for the k-8 students. It is a laborious, time consuming process all done by hand on large sheets for recording. The teachers have 5 days without students to complete this tedious process, and will need it all! It would be so easy for a spreadsheet expert to convert the papers into an exel spreadsheet and with the computers available in the lab and staff room, cut out days of work and allow more days of actual teaching. (just found out that they actually do have a program for doing this but it has bugs and it is expensive for them to use, but hopefully will be ready for next year......?)
Apparently accuracy is also an issue and simple mistakes in recording grades could mean not getting a raise! Hard to imagine my colleagues putting up with this.
Electricity: the school runs on it's own solar array and something has not been working for most of this week, so no power in most of the areas of the school that are supposed to have power. Also, hard to imagine a large school in the US continuing on without power!
Had a very good and productive meeting with the Principal late this afternoon and finished up the volunteer packet. New insights into the school and some of the issues from his perspective. I think we came up with some more productive ways to use volunteers and some potential workshops that would help move the school away from the traditional Indian style. Now just need to find qualified and willing people to come do them.
Also had a short but good discussion with Stanzin Nurbu about the school. He is the same teacher who originally spoke to me about corporal punishment at the school and seems to be one of the most outspoken and progressive teachers here.
28 Oct
Last free day here. Tomorrow will be busy finishing up things at the school, saying goodbyes and packing.
The cricket match was called off because the teachers are so busy getting grades ready and since I went to the wedding party the other night decided not to go again.
Instead, I took off early to trek back up the road where I had been earlier this week, but cut off up the canyon I saw to the left. Cold morning (below freezing), but warmed up quickly once the sun came up. After leaving the road did not see any other people and headed up over a pass, down a slot steep slot canyon and out into the next canyon. Sat in the sun just above the army post at the village of Phyong for awhile. Was a bit worried about being mistaken for a Pakistani spy as I scanned the post with my binoculars and talked on the mobile, but not a problem. As I sat there a kestrel sized-falcon flew 2' over my head chasing a smaller LGB. Scared the shit out of me, but cool.
On the way back, I walked right past the large rock I had stuck in the middle of the trail to mark where the trail headed out of the slot canyon and had to backtrack about 10 min. Nice lunch (packed by Yangchan) of chapati, egg and garden apples in the sun on the ridge. Two nice Blue Sheep ( ram and ewe) walked just below as I was eating and watched them for a long time before heading down and home. Nice last "trek".
When I returned home YC. And Dorjay's oldest daughter, Llamo and her friend (male) CJ had arrived from Delhi for the weekend.
29 Oct
Last day at school. Took pictures of me with my classes and finished up some last minute tasks and good-byes to teachers. Eshey stopped by the house with a present (Tsampa pot) and also T and Llamo.
So, my comment to the IT guy, Gyaelson, about an exel spreadsheet got things going and he spent the weekend making it. Now the teachers are busy entering scores. Impressive to see such a quick change that has huge impact in terms of teacher workload.
30 Oct
Typical cold, clear Ladakh fall morning with mountains sparkling in sun and snow. Very different than the weather in New England right now. Have been watching BBC and trying to imagine the storm and what is happening at the Cape. Hope the roof stayed on and wondering what flotsam will wash into the yard.
Goodbyes to Yangchan, Dorjey, and Dalex- will miss them. They keep asking when I will come back with my family. I keep saying not next year, maybe two....I wonder....hope so.
Four rounds of security to get to the waiting room, but they did take both of my bags and no excess fees. And after 4 more security checks and pushing and shoving with all the Indians to get through the gate I am on plane to Delhi and glad it is only an hour flight since there is less than 12" between my seat and the one in front.
Flying out of Leh and over the mountains was an amazing view today. We first headed west towards Chilling and over the confluence of the Zanskar and Indus, where Shannon, Will, Ian and I rated last year then banked east and eventually south over amazing peaks and glaciers and what I assume was Tso Moriri, the high saline lake south of Pangong Lake. So many crazy high, steep and I assume unnamed peaks. Eventually we started coming out of the high mountains, the snow disappeared and the shining reflections off of many scattered metal roofs became more and more concentrated as we flew further south towards the planes of India. To the east 4-5 gigantic white peaks towered over the other mountains in China. And then we hit the planes and the clear blue skies, and the ground slowly disappeared as we approached the smoke and smog of the plains and Delhi.
I am now holed up in a small hotel somewhere near the International terminal where I will fly out of the noise, smell and traffic of Delhi tomorrow morning. Did get a beer and biryiani chicken but must wait until 8 tonight for hot water in the shower. The advertised wifi is only off and on and don't know if it will work for skypeing later. Also, the satellite TV has no international news, so I can't find out about Sandy. In fact only English channel is Comedy Central. At least it is warm.
Four days left in Leh before the next leg of the journey. Today my traveling companion, Katarina, left to meet her Parents in Delhi.
Yesterday morning I had to say goodbye to my little buddy, Smanla. Since there is no school for Jim after the exams until next Thursday, he and his father (a bus driver for the school) went back to the village where his mother is. Got a huge hug and thank you,for the cricket bat I gave him and for helping him study for the exams. It's already noticeably quieter around here and no stupid cartoons, and I miss him. Today his older cousin Dalex will be coming after co pelting his exams.
After school took a long hike up the mountains behind the school in nice weather. Tns of chukkars and grouse. Unfortunately I overdressed and got pretty sweaty. Luckily, the water in the shower thawed out and the power came on so I could shower.
Last night we were surprised by a last minute invitation to a going away dinner by the principal at the boy's hostel. A jimpo (delicious) dinner of a variety of dishes (including my 3rd helping of momos in a day), some bought from Andu's restaurant. We were joined by the principal,and three French donors who I had met previously. One is a big donor to the school who is a retired science teacher and now a documentary filmmaker doing films about the effect of global warming on the Himalayas. The other couple are from the ski area of La Grave, where we now have a place to stay.... Besides being a great dinner, the principal was very outgoing and appreciative of all. He gave us all kathas and made little speeches about each one. This was probably a good thing for,Katarina, since previously she had been pretty sure that he did not even know her name.
This morning Dorjay and Andu tried to light the gas heater, but it did not work. He will get it prepared today.
Right now I am sitting in the "greenhouse" and it must be in the 80s in here- almost too hot!
After school and lunch today I played a little cricket with some of the students and teachers. And, now I have been invited to play on a teachers' team on Sunday against teachers from the Tibetan School! I think mainly for comic relief!
Dorjay(from school) just Invited me to a wedding tonight. This is the wedding season and there seems to be one going on in the neighborhood almost every night. You can tell when the drums start beating in the early evening and continue until late into the night. Very interested to see what it is like.
Suddenly things are getting a bit busier for me these last few days- good because I really am ready to go and this will make it quicker for me.
Wedding: first, it wasn't actually the wedding. The wedding was last year and this was the party for it. Apparently it isn't unusual to have the party up to five years after the actual wedding. However, I do think the wedding on Sunday is both together.
The venue was in a crowded neighborhood below the market and near the house of the family. The party was in a large tent made of colorful cloths in a vacant lot between lots,of houses. Everyone in the neighborhood is invited, which is good since as you approach it is easy to find due to the loud Indian pop music blasting from speakers. Under the tent, the entire ground is covered with carpets and lots of small tables (enough for 500 guests), all from the neighbors. People in traditional dress (I wore Dorjay's wool, winter Goncha) and many women pouring butter tea and bottles of Chang (traditional barley beer). Eventually the place fills up and begins to warm from the human heat, music (traditional drums and horns) and Ladakhi dancing. Trays filled with glasses of rum, brandy and whiskey start coming around and a few snacks. Everytime you take a sip of anything there seems to be someone there to top it off. There is a giant pile of gifts in the center of the tent. Mostly useful items like carpets, cooking pots and even many bags of rice and containers of butter! People who don't bring actually gifts bring money and everything seems to be cataloged by a series of people at a table by the entry. By around 10PM after too many refills of whiskey and chang, it seems the meal is served- down the street in another empty lot. Tables full of various foods (all vege) and lots of people lined up. After the meal, Dorjay drove. Me home and then returned to help clean up. Fun night for me!
On his way home, Dorjay saw 8 hostel boys from the school who had snuck out and were dunk in town. Ended up being a late night for him and the Principal and a bad one for the boys. Some with multiple offenses will be sent home to their parents in the villages, others get second/third chances. According to the principal these are new occurrences this year and there are more each month. So much for the grateful, respectful student image.....
26 Oct
Monasteries
People are always asking have you been to ......? Always one of the nearby villages with another beautiful and amazing monastery or Gompa. Usually, the answer is no. I have been to the monasteries and stupas, of course and they are great. Today, as I walked up the valley above Leh I realized, however, that I've seen enough Buddhas, scary deities, butter sculptures, mani walls, chortens, stupas and bald monks in red robes and Oakleys already! I much prefer wandering outside of town on the small roads and trails that wind into the hills talking with children, past farmers plowing the field with their Tzo, old ladies walking the cows and donkeys home and then beyond them into the hills along clean mountain streams to see what birds and other wildlife show up.
27 Oct:Eid
Today is the first day of the Muslim celebration of Eid. During the last week there has been tension and fighting between Muslims and Buddhist in Kargill in the Zanskar region- halfway between here and Srinigar. Apparently over some,issues with some Buddhists who converted to Islam... Dorjay tells me the news says it is now peaceful, but there is tension over today's celebrations. The local celebration is apparently just down the road this morning and I plan to skip out and head down around 10:30 to see. Yangchan and Dorjay keep talking about all the goats and "sheeps" that are being "cut" this morning in Muslim houses for the feast. (arrived at 10:44 and it was already over....)
I don't understand the Buddhist thoughts on vegetarianism... They (note: when I say they I am referring to the ones I am familiar with and there definitely seems to be lots of variability) are not vegetarians, or at least not the ones in Ladakh. They eat chicken, goat and mutton, but not cow, camel or pork. They seem to find the idea of killing "too many" animals bad. They also, apparently, do not eat any fish or other wild animals and seem to find the idea of killing non domestic animals very bad. I know the wild animals like Ibex and blue sheep are endangered and protected here but I am pretty sure that is not the reason for their feelings about killing them.
Grading: teachers are busily completing the grading of exams and preparation of report card for the k-8 students. It is a laborious, time consuming process all done by hand on large sheets for recording. The teachers have 5 days without students to complete this tedious process, and will need it all! It would be so easy for a spreadsheet expert to convert the papers into an exel spreadsheet and with the computers available in the lab and staff room, cut out days of work and allow more days of actual teaching. (just found out that they actually do have a program for doing this but it has bugs and it is expensive for them to use, but hopefully will be ready for next year......?)
Apparently accuracy is also an issue and simple mistakes in recording grades could mean not getting a raise! Hard to imagine my colleagues putting up with this.
Electricity: the school runs on it's own solar array and something has not been working for most of this week, so no power in most of the areas of the school that are supposed to have power. Also, hard to imagine a large school in the US continuing on without power!
Had a very good and productive meeting with the Principal late this afternoon and finished up the volunteer packet. New insights into the school and some of the issues from his perspective. I think we came up with some more productive ways to use volunteers and some potential workshops that would help move the school away from the traditional Indian style. Now just need to find qualified and willing people to come do them.
Also had a short but good discussion with Stanzin Nurbu about the school. He is the same teacher who originally spoke to me about corporal punishment at the school and seems to be one of the most outspoken and progressive teachers here.
28 Oct
Last free day here. Tomorrow will be busy finishing up things at the school, saying goodbyes and packing.
The cricket match was called off because the teachers are so busy getting grades ready and since I went to the wedding party the other night decided not to go again.
Instead, I took off early to trek back up the road where I had been earlier this week, but cut off up the canyon I saw to the left. Cold morning (below freezing), but warmed up quickly once the sun came up. After leaving the road did not see any other people and headed up over a pass, down a slot steep slot canyon and out into the next canyon. Sat in the sun just above the army post at the village of Phyong for awhile. Was a bit worried about being mistaken for a Pakistani spy as I scanned the post with my binoculars and talked on the mobile, but not a problem. As I sat there a kestrel sized-falcon flew 2' over my head chasing a smaller LGB. Scared the shit out of me, but cool.
On the way back, I walked right past the large rock I had stuck in the middle of the trail to mark where the trail headed out of the slot canyon and had to backtrack about 10 min. Nice lunch (packed by Yangchan) of chapati, egg and garden apples in the sun on the ridge. Two nice Blue Sheep ( ram and ewe) walked just below as I was eating and watched them for a long time before heading down and home. Nice last "trek".
When I returned home YC. And Dorjay's oldest daughter, Llamo and her friend (male) CJ had arrived from Delhi for the weekend.
29 Oct
Last day at school. Took pictures of me with my classes and finished up some last minute tasks and good-byes to teachers. Eshey stopped by the house with a present (Tsampa pot) and also T and Llamo.
So, my comment to the IT guy, Gyaelson, about an exel spreadsheet got things going and he spent the weekend making it. Now the teachers are busy entering scores. Impressive to see such a quick change that has huge impact in terms of teacher workload.
30 Oct
Typical cold, clear Ladakh fall morning with mountains sparkling in sun and snow. Very different than the weather in New England right now. Have been watching BBC and trying to imagine the storm and what is happening at the Cape. Hope the roof stayed on and wondering what flotsam will wash into the yard.
Goodbyes to Yangchan, Dorjey, and Dalex- will miss them. They keep asking when I will come back with my family. I keep saying not next year, maybe two....I wonder....hope so.
Four rounds of security to get to the waiting room, but they did take both of my bags and no excess fees. And after 4 more security checks and pushing and shoving with all the Indians to get through the gate I am on plane to Delhi and glad it is only an hour flight since there is less than 12" between my seat and the one in front.
Flying out of Leh and over the mountains was an amazing view today. We first headed west towards Chilling and over the confluence of the Zanskar and Indus, where Shannon, Will, Ian and I rated last year then banked east and eventually south over amazing peaks and glaciers and what I assume was Tso Moriri, the high saline lake south of Pangong Lake. So many crazy high, steep and I assume unnamed peaks. Eventually we started coming out of the high mountains, the snow disappeared and the shining reflections off of many scattered metal roofs became more and more concentrated as we flew further south towards the planes of India. To the east 4-5 gigantic white peaks towered over the other mountains in China. And then we hit the planes and the clear blue skies, and the ground slowly disappeared as we approached the smoke and smog of the plains and Delhi.
I am now holed up in a small hotel somewhere near the International terminal where I will fly out of the noise, smell and traffic of Delhi tomorrow morning. Did get a beer and biryiani chicken but must wait until 8 tonight for hot water in the shower. The advertised wifi is only off and on and don't know if it will work for skypeing later. Also, the satellite TV has no international news, so I can't find out about Sandy. In fact only English channel is Comedy Central. At least it is warm.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
22 Oct
Shave and a haircut two bits.
Well actually, beard trim, haircut, neck shave with a straight razor and head and face massage 50 Ruppees ($.94) ( Dorjey tells me I should have only paid 30). Went to town to recharge the phone and a few other items and ended up in an alley with barbers. Had been feeling a bit shaggy (especially the beard) and starting to look like a crazy mountain man, so decided why not.... Looks as good(better?) as I get in Bend for $20! I'll have to see what Ron says when I give him a buck next time.....
Should hold me until I get home.
Was thinking it was my first Indian haircut, but realized in Kanpur the barber used to come to the house. But, it was my first in a barbershop.
23 Oct
Power on from 7-8 this morning! I got to watch a couple of innings of the Giants/Cards.
Along with the cold, the mice are starting to come into the house. Every morning there is a little mouse in the trap. Since they are Buddhists, the traps are live traps and the mice are carried out into the garden and released. I don't have the heart to tell them it's probably the same mice coming back into the house everyday. Would be interesting to tag them and see if I am correct.
Tonight Katarina stayed at the house and we made momos for her going away. She leaves Thursday to meet her parents in Delhi.
24 Oct: First snow!
Woke up early this morning to a cold cloudy day with snow all the way down the hills to town and a definite white skiff of snow covering the ground around the house. This is apparently early. I wonder if this will be the impetuous to bring the heater into the family/dining/TV room......
Shave and a haircut two bits.
Well actually, beard trim, haircut, neck shave with a straight razor and head and face massage 50 Ruppees ($.94) ( Dorjey tells me I should have only paid 30). Went to town to recharge the phone and a few other items and ended up in an alley with barbers. Had been feeling a bit shaggy (especially the beard) and starting to look like a crazy mountain man, so decided why not.... Looks as good(better?) as I get in Bend for $20! I'll have to see what Ron says when I give him a buck next time.....
Should hold me until I get home.
23 Oct
Power on from 7-8 this morning! I got to watch a couple of innings of the Giants/Cards.
Along with the cold, the mice are starting to come into the house. Every morning there is a little mouse in the trap. Since they are Buddhists, the traps are live traps and the mice are carried out into the garden and released. I don't have the heart to tell them it's probably the same mice coming back into the house everyday. Would be interesting to tag them and see if I am correct.
Tonight Katarina stayed at the house and we made momos for her going away. She leaves Thursday to meet her parents in Delhi.
24 Oct: First snow!
Woke up early this morning to a cold cloudy day with snow all the way down the hills to town and a definite white skiff of snow covering the ground around the house. This is apparently early. I wonder if this will be the impetuous to bring the heater into the family/dining/TV room......
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Getting cold
17 Oct
Another cold morning (5*C in my room, colder outside; at 9 it is up to 6 in my room but 14 in the "greenhouse" -- much nicer!, 4PM: 25 in greenhouse, 9 in my room). Khardung La covered with snow coming in and out of the clouds and mostly blue sky overhead.
Yesterday I made my last financial donation (required by HELP) by purchasing a B&W HP Laserjet printer for the teachers to use in the staff room. I also went to town and purchased the futbols that Ian wanted me to donate to various schools. I think the 10 are all that we're left in town. I will start distributing the today. Will give some to the children in the boy and girl hostel at LMSS and a couple to the small poorer government middle school across the street.
Also bought myself a pair of warm yak wool socks and a wool balaclava type hat. Right now all my warm socks Lycra hat are drying on the line.
Yesterday morning as I was checking email in the staff room before assembly the 11 nonmed students came and asked me to " do an extra class" during the assembly. Extra classes at this time seem to be common, especially with formal assessments coming and teachers trying to finish the syllabus. I said sure, even thought I had nothing planned and headed down to the class. On the way I ran into Mam Rigzen (chem teacher) on her way to teach the extra class. She said she wanted to, so I said sure and took a seat in the back. There was a discussion in Ladakhi between the students and her and she said, " you teach it". OK. Turns out they wanted me to teach about hybrid orbitals and pi and sigma bonding- something way beyond anything we teach in chem, even in SL IB. So, I had to think quickly. Ended up having the students teach each other while I asked questions to push things along (they did a great job and I was amazed at the bonding diagrams they drew-obviously memorized) and Mam Rigzen watched. Turned out well and I did not come across looking too dumb! I feel as if being asked was a big step though- obviously there is something the students like about the different approach to teaching.
Finished the day with an arrangement to teach the 11 med physics and used it to go back to the kinesiology lesson that was interrupted by the tea party Thursday. Started talking about endoskeletons and ended up mostly talking (with lots of questions) about my various knee surgeries and cartilage, ligaments, etc.
After school today took a walk in the cool fall air and fall colors 30 min up to the gompa above Gompa village on the roads and paths above the house. Following students in school uniforms walking their cows and ztos (cow/yak mix) home from the fields for the night. On the way home, ran into one of my students washing his school uniform in the stream by his house- of course had to stop in for a cup of tea. On the way home, watched the spectacular pastel sunset over Stok Kangri and other peaks to the south.
Have been trying to get in touch with my friend, Nuri Sherpa-a trekking guide in Nepal, for 2 weeks by email to see if he received Pandie and my passport copies for getting our trek permits. Finally, after about 10 attempts, was able to call today. Although the connection was pretty poor I was able to verify that permits are taken care of and that we will be able to get a ride to the start of the trek. A bit of a relief, and now I will just need to get in touch when I arrive in Kathmandu in 12 days!
Actually, I think I now have almost all of my reservations and accommodations taken care of for the rest of the trip. The only ones not done are what I will do after Annapurna-probably find a guesthouse and hang out in Pokhara- and reservations for the Tiger Sanctuary, but the sanctuary is closed until Nov 15 and Karam (naturalist and motel owner in Ramnagar) will take care of those for me.
18 Oct
Another last minute scheduling idiosyncrasy: this week (actually, I think until I leave) is Formal Assessments for K-8 students and as I understood a half day test every other day with a day to study in between. I also was led to believe that 9-12 would be normal schedule, especially since the 11-12 teachers are all trying to complete. The syllabus before their exams. Got to school this morning to discover no assembly and a half day schedule for everyone (apparently due to the buses). I have been told that there is an alternative "timetable" for 9-12, with shorter classes, but have not seen it..... I'm not really certain if I have anymore classes to teach because the classes I was teaching were the "extra" science classes and I think they may not be happening anymore. Hopefully someone will fill me in before too long....?
Today is a beautiful cold clear morning with the Stok mountains glistening in their new snow and sun. Last night was cold enough to freeze the water in some of the pipes. Luckily, my bathroom stayed working. As soon as the sun came out they thawed, which is good because I really don't want to have to start using the outhouse at night. I did my duty (dooty?) in AK!
19 Oct
Full acclimation to Leh altitude today (according to the calculations)
3*C in room: Brrrr
Yesterday, Dorjay wrapped the pipes with some insulation so nothing froze last night.
But, the power was on and I found ESPN on the cable and watched one inning of Giants/Cards before it went off at 8:15. Nice hearing some familiar voices and fun trying to explain baseball to Smulla. Was actually hoping I might be able to see the Yankees getting swept by el Tigres, or see the Ducks football game, but it was probably too early for them.
BTW: since this week is exams for K-8, Smulla has had me helping him study for 30 min each night: 2 nights ago maths, last night social studies (a tiny bit of ancient Egypt and then Indian history and gov't) and tonight an hour of English.
This afternoon Katarina and I took the school bus about 10 km east of town to visit the Maha Bhodi Meditation Center complex and our friend Katherine from Singapore who is volunteering at the school there (Prasad and Rupa were there but left). We got left off on the road and had to walk about 2 km up and into the mtns. Could not see anything up there but eventually came to the gate and large complex which includes the: meditation center with caves for meditating (for tourists and closed for the season), school with hostels (like Lamdon but smaller), a school for the visually impaired, a hospital with no patients or doctors or nurses(?), and an old folks home ( very unusual for India where the elderly are almost always taken care of by their families). Walked around with Katherine and had tea before catching their school bus back to Leh. Katarina had wanted to see the Amchi (traditional Tibetan doctor) who visits the old folks home once a week, but he did not come today.
In Leh we had a late snack/ lunch of Samosas at the Punjabi baker and brought home Gulab Jamon for Dorjay.
Another head scratcher about the school schedule here. The K-8 students are taking their exams now ( and yes, even the kindergarten kids take a 1 hr exam each day!) and will be done next Wedensday. After that there is a 5 day holiday and when they come back they will go into the next grade for 6 weeks and then school ends for the year until March. Those students will come back and continue in that grade again. The 9 and 10 grades took their exams already and the 11/12 will have theirs in November sometime but continue on in the same grade until the 3 month break in December. They get promoted and move to the next class in March......?
21 Oct
Sunday, no school and no plans.....
Last night the water in my bathroom froze. Hopefully it will thaw as the sun warms the pipes today.
Last night for the first time I slept in my sleeping bag with the blanket and quilt on top and was toasty warm, but hard to get out of it I the morning. Also hard to read in bed because the hands holding the book outside the covers get really cold! It is hard to believe in 9 days I will be where it is 80*F! And I won't need to wear all these heavy, multilayers of winter clothes anymore. Even in Nepal it will be MUCH warmer.
I am ready to be done here, especially since with this weird testing schedule with only half days I don't have my classes to teach anymore and most of the time there is little to do anymore. I have almost finished the volunteer information packet I am putting together and will just need to meet with Eshey and the VP this week to get the last bits of data. Hopefully after Smulla's exams finish on Wednesday we can go to visit Yangchan's parents in her village. Otherwise I should really figure out a final trip to take....
New revelation about the school: last year was the first year that there was an 11th grade and this year was the first for 12th. Just seems so funny that it took so long to find out.
22 Oct
3*C (37F) in my room today!
Another cold morning (5*C in my room, colder outside; at 9 it is up to 6 in my room but 14 in the "greenhouse" -- much nicer!, 4PM: 25 in greenhouse, 9 in my room). Khardung La covered with snow coming in and out of the clouds and mostly blue sky overhead.
Yesterday I made my last financial donation (required by HELP) by purchasing a B&W HP Laserjet printer for the teachers to use in the staff room. I also went to town and purchased the futbols that Ian wanted me to donate to various schools. I think the 10 are all that we're left in town. I will start distributing the today. Will give some to the children in the boy and girl hostel at LMSS and a couple to the small poorer government middle school across the street.
Also bought myself a pair of warm yak wool socks and a wool balaclava type hat. Right now all my warm socks Lycra hat are drying on the line.
Yesterday morning as I was checking email in the staff room before assembly the 11 nonmed students came and asked me to " do an extra class" during the assembly. Extra classes at this time seem to be common, especially with formal assessments coming and teachers trying to finish the syllabus. I said sure, even thought I had nothing planned and headed down to the class. On the way I ran into Mam Rigzen (chem teacher) on her way to teach the extra class. She said she wanted to, so I said sure and took a seat in the back. There was a discussion in Ladakhi between the students and her and she said, " you teach it". OK. Turns out they wanted me to teach about hybrid orbitals and pi and sigma bonding- something way beyond anything we teach in chem, even in SL IB. So, I had to think quickly. Ended up having the students teach each other while I asked questions to push things along (they did a great job and I was amazed at the bonding diagrams they drew-obviously memorized) and Mam Rigzen watched. Turned out well and I did not come across looking too dumb! I feel as if being asked was a big step though- obviously there is something the students like about the different approach to teaching.
Finished the day with an arrangement to teach the 11 med physics and used it to go back to the kinesiology lesson that was interrupted by the tea party Thursday. Started talking about endoskeletons and ended up mostly talking (with lots of questions) about my various knee surgeries and cartilage, ligaments, etc.
After school today took a walk in the cool fall air and fall colors 30 min up to the gompa above Gompa village on the roads and paths above the house. Following students in school uniforms walking their cows and ztos (cow/yak mix) home from the fields for the night. On the way home, ran into one of my students washing his school uniform in the stream by his house- of course had to stop in for a cup of tea. On the way home, watched the spectacular pastel sunset over Stok Kangri and other peaks to the south.
Have been trying to get in touch with my friend, Nuri Sherpa-a trekking guide in Nepal, for 2 weeks by email to see if he received Pandie and my passport copies for getting our trek permits. Finally, after about 10 attempts, was able to call today. Although the connection was pretty poor I was able to verify that permits are taken care of and that we will be able to get a ride to the start of the trek. A bit of a relief, and now I will just need to get in touch when I arrive in Kathmandu in 12 days!
Actually, I think I now have almost all of my reservations and accommodations taken care of for the rest of the trip. The only ones not done are what I will do after Annapurna-probably find a guesthouse and hang out in Pokhara- and reservations for the Tiger Sanctuary, but the sanctuary is closed until Nov 15 and Karam (naturalist and motel owner in Ramnagar) will take care of those for me.
18 Oct
Another last minute scheduling idiosyncrasy: this week (actually, I think until I leave) is Formal Assessments for K-8 students and as I understood a half day test every other day with a day to study in between. I also was led to believe that 9-12 would be normal schedule, especially since the 11-12 teachers are all trying to complete. The syllabus before their exams. Got to school this morning to discover no assembly and a half day schedule for everyone (apparently due to the buses). I have been told that there is an alternative "timetable" for 9-12, with shorter classes, but have not seen it..... I'm not really certain if I have anymore classes to teach because the classes I was teaching were the "extra" science classes and I think they may not be happening anymore. Hopefully someone will fill me in before too long....?
Today is a beautiful cold clear morning with the Stok mountains glistening in their new snow and sun. Last night was cold enough to freeze the water in some of the pipes. Luckily, my bathroom stayed working. As soon as the sun came out they thawed, which is good because I really don't want to have to start using the outhouse at night. I did my duty (dooty?) in AK!
19 Oct
Full acclimation to Leh altitude today (according to the calculations)
3*C in room: Brrrr
Yesterday, Dorjay wrapped the pipes with some insulation so nothing froze last night.
But, the power was on and I found ESPN on the cable and watched one inning of Giants/Cards before it went off at 8:15. Nice hearing some familiar voices and fun trying to explain baseball to Smulla. Was actually hoping I might be able to see the Yankees getting swept by el Tigres, or see the Ducks football game, but it was probably too early for them.
BTW: since this week is exams for K-8, Smulla has had me helping him study for 30 min each night: 2 nights ago maths, last night social studies (a tiny bit of ancient Egypt and then Indian history and gov't) and tonight an hour of English.
This afternoon Katarina and I took the school bus about 10 km east of town to visit the Maha Bhodi Meditation Center complex and our friend Katherine from Singapore who is volunteering at the school there (Prasad and Rupa were there but left). We got left off on the road and had to walk about 2 km up and into the mtns. Could not see anything up there but eventually came to the gate and large complex which includes the: meditation center with caves for meditating (for tourists and closed for the season), school with hostels (like Lamdon but smaller), a school for the visually impaired, a hospital with no patients or doctors or nurses(?), and an old folks home ( very unusual for India where the elderly are almost always taken care of by their families). Walked around with Katherine and had tea before catching their school bus back to Leh. Katarina had wanted to see the Amchi (traditional Tibetan doctor) who visits the old folks home once a week, but he did not come today.
In Leh we had a late snack/ lunch of Samosas at the Punjabi baker and brought home Gulab Jamon for Dorjay.
Another head scratcher about the school schedule here. The K-8 students are taking their exams now ( and yes, even the kindergarten kids take a 1 hr exam each day!) and will be done next Wedensday. After that there is a 5 day holiday and when they come back they will go into the next grade for 6 weeks and then school ends for the year until March. Those students will come back and continue in that grade again. The 9 and 10 grades took their exams already and the 11/12 will have theirs in November sometime but continue on in the same grade until the 3 month break in December. They get promoted and move to the next class in March......?
21 Oct
Sunday, no school and no plans.....
Last night the water in my bathroom froze. Hopefully it will thaw as the sun warms the pipes today.
Last night for the first time I slept in my sleeping bag with the blanket and quilt on top and was toasty warm, but hard to get out of it I the morning. Also hard to read in bed because the hands holding the book outside the covers get really cold! It is hard to believe in 9 days I will be where it is 80*F! And I won't need to wear all these heavy, multilayers of winter clothes anymore. Even in Nepal it will be MUCH warmer.
I am ready to be done here, especially since with this weird testing schedule with only half days I don't have my classes to teach anymore and most of the time there is little to do anymore. I have almost finished the volunteer information packet I am putting together and will just need to meet with Eshey and the VP this week to get the last bits of data. Hopefully after Smulla's exams finish on Wednesday we can go to visit Yangchan's parents in her village. Otherwise I should really figure out a final trip to take....
New revelation about the school: last year was the first year that there was an 11th grade and this year was the first for 12th. Just seems so funny that it took so long to find out.
22 Oct
3*C (37F) in my room today!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Eleven days left in Ladakh
17 Oct
Another cold morning (5*C in my room, colder outside; at 9 it is up to 6 in my room but 14 in the "greenhouse" -- much nicer!, 4PM: 25 in greenhouse, 9 in my room). Khardung La covered with snow coming in and out of the clouds and mostly blue sky overhead.
Yesterday I made my last financial donation (required by HELP) by purchasing a B&W HP Laserjet printer for the teachers to use in the staff room. I also went to town and purchased the futbols that Ian wanted me to donate to various schools. I think the 10 are all that we're left in town. I will start distributing the today. Will give some to the children in the boy and girl hostel at LMSS and a couple to the small poorer government middle school across the street.
Also bought myself a pair of warm yak wool socks and a wool balaclava type hat. Right now all my warm socks Lycra hat are drying on the line.
Yesterday morning as I was checking email in the staff room before assembly the 11 nonmed students came and asked me to " do an extra class" during the assembly. Extra classes at this time seem to be common, especially with formal assessments coming and teachers trying to finish the syllabus. I said sure, even thought I had nothing planned and headed down to the class. On the way I ran into Mam Rigzen (chem teacher) on her way to teach the extra class. She said she wanted to, so I said sure and took a seat in the back. There was a discussion in Ladakhi between the students and her and she said, " you teach it". OK. Turns out they wanted me to teach about hybrid orbitals and pi and sigma bonding- something way beyond anything we teach in chem, even in SL IB. So, I had to think quickly. Ended up having the students teach each other while I asked questions to push things along (they did a great job and I was amazed at the bonding diagrams they drew-obviously memorized) and Mam Rigzen watched. Turned out well and I did not come across looking too dumb! I feel as if being asked was a big step though- obviously there is something the students like about the different approach to teaching.
Finished the day with an arrangement to teach the 11 med physics and used it to go back to the kinesiology lesson that was interrupted by the tea party Thursday. Started talking about endoskeletons and ended up mostly talking (with lots of questions) about my various knee surgeries and cartilage, ligaments, etc.
After school today took a walk in the cool fall air and fall colors 30 min up to the gompa above Gompa village on the roads and paths above the house. Following students in school uniforms walking their cows and ztos (cow/yak mix) home from the fields for the night. On the way home, ran into one of my students washing his school uniform in the stream by his house- of course had to stop in for a cup of tea. On the way home, watched the spectacular pastel sunset over Stok Kangri and other peaks to the south.
Have been trying to get in touch with my friend, Nuri Sherpa-a trekking guide in Nepal, for 2 weeks by email to see if he received Pandie and my passport copies for getting our trek permits. Finally, after about 10 attempts, was able to call today. Although the connection was pretty poor I was able to verify that permits are taken care of and that we will be able to get a ride to the start of the trek. A bit of a relief, and now I will just need to get in touch when I arrive in Kathmandu in 12 days!
Actually, I think I now have almost all of my reservations and accommodations taken care of for the rest of the trip. The only ones not done are what I will do after Annapurna-probably find a guesthouse and hang out in Pokhara- and reservations for the Tiger Sanctuary, but the sanctuary is closed until Nov 15 and Karam (naturalist and motel owner in Ramnagar) will take care of those for me.
18 Oct
Another last minute scheduling idiosyncrasy: this week (actually, I think until I leave) is Formal Assessments for K-8 students and as I understood a half day test every other day with a day to study in between. I also was led to believe that 9-12 would be normal schedule, especially since the 11-12 teachers are all trying to complete. The syllabus before their exams. Got to school this morning to discover no assembly and a half day schedule for everyone (apparently due to the buses). I have been told that there is an alternative "timetable" for 9-12, with shorter classes, but have not seen it..... I'm not really certain if I have anymore classes to teach because the classes I was teaching were the "extra" science classes and I think they may not be happening anymore. Hopefully someone will fill me in before too long....?
Today is a beautiful cold clear morning with the Stok mountains glistening in their new snow and sun. Last night was cold enough to freeze the water in some of the pipes. Luckily, my bathroom stayed working. As soon as the sun came out they thawed, which is good because I really don't want to have to start using the outhouse at night. I did my duty (dooty?) in AK!
Another cold morning (5*C in my room, colder outside; at 9 it is up to 6 in my room but 14 in the "greenhouse" -- much nicer!, 4PM: 25 in greenhouse, 9 in my room). Khardung La covered with snow coming in and out of the clouds and mostly blue sky overhead.
Yesterday I made my last financial donation (required by HELP) by purchasing a B&W HP Laserjet printer for the teachers to use in the staff room. I also went to town and purchased the futbols that Ian wanted me to donate to various schools. I think the 10 are all that we're left in town. I will start distributing the today. Will give some to the children in the boy and girl hostel at LMSS and a couple to the small poorer government middle school across the street.
Also bought myself a pair of warm yak wool socks and a wool balaclava type hat. Right now all my warm socks Lycra hat are drying on the line.
Yesterday morning as I was checking email in the staff room before assembly the 11 nonmed students came and asked me to " do an extra class" during the assembly. Extra classes at this time seem to be common, especially with formal assessments coming and teachers trying to finish the syllabus. I said sure, even thought I had nothing planned and headed down to the class. On the way I ran into Mam Rigzen (chem teacher) on her way to teach the extra class. She said she wanted to, so I said sure and took a seat in the back. There was a discussion in Ladakhi between the students and her and she said, " you teach it". OK. Turns out they wanted me to teach about hybrid orbitals and pi and sigma bonding- something way beyond anything we teach in chem, even in SL IB. So, I had to think quickly. Ended up having the students teach each other while I asked questions to push things along (they did a great job and I was amazed at the bonding diagrams they drew-obviously memorized) and Mam Rigzen watched. Turned out well and I did not come across looking too dumb! I feel as if being asked was a big step though- obviously there is something the students like about the different approach to teaching.
Finished the day with an arrangement to teach the 11 med physics and used it to go back to the kinesiology lesson that was interrupted by the tea party Thursday. Started talking about endoskeletons and ended up mostly talking (with lots of questions) about my various knee surgeries and cartilage, ligaments, etc.
After school today took a walk in the cool fall air and fall colors 30 min up to the gompa above Gompa village on the roads and paths above the house. Following students in school uniforms walking their cows and ztos (cow/yak mix) home from the fields for the night. On the way home, ran into one of my students washing his school uniform in the stream by his house- of course had to stop in for a cup of tea. On the way home, watched the spectacular pastel sunset over Stok Kangri and other peaks to the south.
Have been trying to get in touch with my friend, Nuri Sherpa-a trekking guide in Nepal, for 2 weeks by email to see if he received Pandie and my passport copies for getting our trek permits. Finally, after about 10 attempts, was able to call today. Although the connection was pretty poor I was able to verify that permits are taken care of and that we will be able to get a ride to the start of the trek. A bit of a relief, and now I will just need to get in touch when I arrive in Kathmandu in 12 days!
Actually, I think I now have almost all of my reservations and accommodations taken care of for the rest of the trip. The only ones not done are what I will do after Annapurna-probably find a guesthouse and hang out in Pokhara- and reservations for the Tiger Sanctuary, but the sanctuary is closed until Nov 15 and Karam (naturalist and motel owner in Ramnagar) will take care of those for me.
18 Oct
Another last minute scheduling idiosyncrasy: this week (actually, I think until I leave) is Formal Assessments for K-8 students and as I understood a half day test every other day with a day to study in between. I also was led to believe that 9-12 would be normal schedule, especially since the 11-12 teachers are all trying to complete. The syllabus before their exams. Got to school this morning to discover no assembly and a half day schedule for everyone (apparently due to the buses). I have been told that there is an alternative "timetable" for 9-12, with shorter classes, but have not seen it..... I'm not really certain if I have anymore classes to teach because the classes I was teaching were the "extra" science classes and I think they may not be happening anymore. Hopefully someone will fill me in before too long....?
Today is a beautiful cold clear morning with the Stok mountains glistening in their new snow and sun. Last night was cold enough to freeze the water in some of the pipes. Luckily, my bathroom stayed working. As soon as the sun came out they thawed, which is good because I really don't want to have to start using the outhouse at night. I did my duty (dooty?) in AK!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Nubra Valley
12 Oct
Nubra Valley
Katarina, Prasad and Rupa and a friend of P and R from the Mahobhodi center, Katherine a headhunter/Buddhist instructor from Singapore.
Originally, the plan was for them to pick us up at the house (Katarina stayed over) at 8 which was changed to 8:30 last night and of course they arrived at 9 in a 7seater 2WD mahindra SUV and we headed up into the clouds on Kardung La for what turned into an epic day! Everything was fine for the first 20k and the first military checkpoint at S Pollu (15,900') where we hit the snow and the road was shut. Lots (30 ish) of cars of tourists and locals hanging out waiting to see if we would get through and many putting chains on (not the modern easy mounts we have)- a long process involving raising the wheel on a rock and eventually lacing them tight with webbing.
The groups included a bunch of brand new VWs and test crews ( including the German boss) being driven up to do altitude tests and a convoy of 8 SUVs filled with Chinese tourists. We hung around for almost 2 hrs with all the others and the slew of Army guys.
We heard various stories from, it will open in an hour, to maybe not at all today- it's snowing hard on top and over the other side. Watched three Himalayan Buzzards soaring overhead in the clouds. Suddenly a few cars, including the convoy takes off and we hear they are letting locals go and some tourists are just going to the top. We decided to go for it, hopped in and took off. Very quickly the convoy (no chains) stopped and decided to just play in the 4" of snow. We continued to follow the 2 local vans (no chains either). Soon there was a lot of noise from our left rear and it turned out the rubber on the end of the running board was binding in the chain. I offered to,cut it off but our driver didn't want to be responsible for that. Instead, he took off that chain. I was a bit concerned because I remember something about that imbalance being bad for the differential, but decided it wasn't my car and held my tongue. This is also when I noticed the completely bald left front tire- hell it's rear wheel drive, so off we went again.
Eventually caught up to the 2 locals who were stuck in the snow on the steeper section and backing down. We went around them (this road is mostly one car wide with steep and long drop offs) and continued on until a very narrow steep section where we were spinning out. We all got out and the driver tried a number of times unsuccessfully. We convinced him we needed the other chain and used the pliers on my knife to remove the bolts on the offending piece. Luckily one of the guys from the local car had walked up and the 3 of us got the chain back on. Off we went in the growing snow but with pretty solid traction now.
Suddenly Katarina said, "fox" and sure enough there was a Himalayan fox right next to us on the road! Stopped, got out to take pictures and suddenly a huge golden eagle took off right next to us! The 2 of them had been eating road kill in the snow- it looked 2-3 white vultures of some sort-not sure, maybe they had been eating some other road kill and been hit by a car...... I think I got a good picture of the fox, but missed the eagle.
Continued on with little trouble and were the first vehicle to make it to the top (worlds highest motor-able pass, etc). The worlds highest cafeteria was closed, so we took a few pictures of the pass in snow got very cold and headed down the other side. In the meantime one of the local cars without chains made it up and we could see the long line of cars waiting at Pollu had disappeared and we could see some following us up way below.
The trip down to N Pollu on the other side ( where the snow ended and the pavement began was pretty uneventful (amazing scenery) except that cars and lorries from the other side were also coming up and there wasn't a lot of passing room. Made it. Stopped for lunch I'm a freezing cold restaurant- all they had was chai, one plate of momos to share and Maggi (spicy top ramen). By now it was 2:30 and we were quite hungry!
Headed off on the dry pavement down the twisty mountain road to Diskit, 3 hrs away. Driver suddenly turned into AJ Foyt and it was a bit of a scary ride. A couple of our crew got sick or fought to hold it down and we switched seats around a bit. I ended up in the back and had a few collisions with the roof. He turned out to be very skilled and we made it to Diskit by a little after 5, and even were able to marvel at the incredible views of the confluence of the Shyok and Nubra Rivers and the huge alluvial plains below.
Found a very nice guest house and got 3 nice rooms with own baths for Rs500(total= less than$10)) and dinner for 90each! After some tea with a little rum in it, I am now in my sleeping bag in my room waiting for dinner.
Turns out the mask festival we planned to see at the monastery tomorrow is best on Sunday, so we will head to Turtuk (right ON the Pakistani border) tomorrow and come back for the festival.
13 Oct
Just woke up back at the Sun Rise Guest House in Diskit. I am supposed to be in Turtuk, so what happened?
We did get up, had early breakfast and we're on the road to Turtuk by a little after 8 as planned. Everything was fine and another beautiful ride along the river past the sandy desert near Hundar for about an hour and a half until the first checkpoint. Turns out Katharine (from Singapore) was not on the P&Rs permit (as she was supposed to be- hell if we know how she got past the first 2 checkpoints on Friday.....?). AND, during the 30 min negotiations with the guards it turned out she did not even have a passport with her! If she had her passport there is a chance she might have been let through, but without either- no way. Rupa decided to stay with her at the tent/checkpoint while Prasad, Katarina and I went the rest of the way to Turtuk ( about an hour more) and would visit and come and pick them up on the way back to Hundar. So, off we went.
All this border stuff brought back memories of Ron and me and the black helicopter over San Juan Island as well as the family trek to Pindaric Glacier on the Chinese border in ''66 when Louie forgot the permit at the car (and got sunstroke the first day, so couldn't go on) and I got as the guide's sign after a small bribe and a well placed raspberry/tantrum! 8 entertained Prasad and Katarina with these stories for a while.
More great scenery and winding roads and finally arrived in Turtuk, drove through on the road to the little bridge at the end where we were not aloud past, where P through up again. From here Amed (driver) told us to cross the wooden bridge over the clear mtn stream and walk a few minutes into the village center/market area. We were looking for some lunch and some stone carving of Ibex we had heard about and I wanted to possibly buy one. Off we went, K taking R place as guide and doing an admirable job. We wandered up to a level area with houses and fields and started strolling along a narrow concrete path that wound through the fields and sometimes into narrow tight spaces between typical Himalayan houses. Occasionally P would ask directions to the market or a guesthouse where we could get chai and lunch. We kept getting vague directions to keep going. We did pass a couple of guesthouses with signs on them but they seemed closed for the season (we were the only tourists in the area), so we kept going. The village was beautiful, a Shangri La! Very attractive people in in different clothes (older men I traditional Muslim wear with long beards and the women and girls in head scarves). All the women and small children ( who weren't carrying heavy loads of sand to the new mosque construction site) were working on finishing the harvesting the wheat and barley in the vast fields. We passed many chickens (not common in Ladakhi villages) and the remains of many gardens with some tomatoes, squashes and other wegetables (I am training K to say a proper V) still growing, but the most impressive things were the huge poplar and walnut trees in glorious yellow fall colors interspersed with the seven varieties of apricot trees.
Turtuk is famous for its apricots, walnuts ( which are dried and exported and in the summer amazing harvests of strawberries, cherries and other fresh fruits and veggies.
Finally, we found a large group of people outside a house and P asked if there was a guesthouse nearby (useful having P for the language, except sometimes it was too easy to let him do the talking and wait for the translation). One man took us to a house large where a young (30) man (Hussein) came out to meet us and would serve us some chai and make us a traditional Balti meal for Lu ch if we would wait an hour. OK. Went inside and waited and visited with Hussein and a variety of others (the local census was going on there also) while we waited. Eventually we were served Kisser ( a delicious buckwheat pancake) with a tangy green vegetable sauce, bought a kilo each ofdried apricots and walnuts. Hussein had his 10 yr old son and nephew (Nasir and Nassim) take us on a tour to the old Buddhist Gompa. A beautiful walk through the huge trees along a winding mountain path, past the middle school and polo ground to a small lookout above the cemetery and upper village. As we walked the kids had a sling shot which we played with and they were quite curious about P and why K had to lead him. Their English was pretty decent (the literacy rate I the village is almost 100%, there is k-12 school and besides the unwritten Balti language the kids all learn English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhodi and Arabic). When we returned to the guesthouse (Rangyoul Guesthouse) Hussein took us on a one hour walking tour of the the rest of the village, including the 16th century mosque, "village center" ( a small meeting place where the old men gather in a wide point in the winding path near the mosque), the King's house( yes their still is a king with no power- u fortunately he was not home so we only got to go ( only look) inside and did not get to meet him or see the small museum). Finally we went to the stone carver at his little restaurant and met him. Unfortunately, he only makes them to order ( next time). He also apparently makes stone pressure cookers with Ibex carved into them! But we did not see them either. Then he took us back to the bridge and the Amed patiently waiting at the car and headed back to pick up Rand K patiently waiting at the tent. What we expected to be maybe a couple of hours max turned into a delightful and unexpected five hour trip!
Turtuk: A 3 part village (upper, lower and middle) 10K from the disputed Indo/Pak border of Baltistan. The only Balti village in India and became part of India in the 1971 war. The people in the village are all much happier to be in India (democracy and lots of govt support compared to their relatives in Pakistan). They are almost all Sufi Muslims ( according to Hussein, the most peaceful sect) with a few Wahabi and Sunnis and apparently a very few Buddhists. They have their own unwritten language (Balti) and their own cuisine and everyone was very friendly and quite attractive (also, noticeably just different features from the Ladakhis 15-20km to the east). The village, besides being incredibly green and lovely, is perched above the glacial Shyok R ( which does have some large fish and the Baltis do catch and eat them in the summer) with incredible views of the Himalayan peaks, ridges and glaciers on all sides. Population 2500, almost 100% literacy with K-12 school and almost no poverty. The women work in the fields and the men seem to take care of the livestock in the mountains.
Hussein: 30 yrs old, 5 kids (Yangchan tells me there is no family planning aloud there), married at 16(wife was 14, he told me that now the average age for men getting married is in the 30s, not sure about girls). Educated to 10th class but seems well educated and speaks very good English. Quite successful. Has a large, clean, inexpensive guest house which he is expanding to 9 guest rooms this year, with a huge garden where they raise all their foods. Serves a wide variety of meals including 9 Balti dishes. He owns 2 horses, 2 donkeys, 1 yak, 4 cows, 15 each sheep and goats and chickens. Incredibly friendly and welcoming. Anyone gong to Turtuk ( and definitely a must if in the Nubra Valley) should stay at his guest house!
After picking up R and K at the checkpoint the plan was to head to Hundar, find a guesthouse to eat and sleep and spend the morning seeing/riding the camels and then head back to Diskit for the festival. After driving around in the dark in Hundar, we discovered that there were more tourists there and it is the high end place to stay. A single room everywhere coat more than our 3 rooms at the SunRise. So, back to Diskit and luckily our 3 rooms were waiting for us. After some tea with rum (lots of stories about life in Mumbai from Prasad ), late but delicious meal and off to bed.
Great day!
14 Oct
Lazy start to the day. Breakfast at 9 and then started the climb up to the giant Buddha (Bubba Buddha) 500 meters above our guest house for the masked festival which began at 11. We had a front row seat on the ground around the prayer flag pole in front of the Gompa. Mostly locals (3-400?) and maybe 20-30 foreigners. We watched three hours of the monks dancing in amazing masks of the Buddhist deities and various spirits. They were accompanied mostly by drumming and cymbals and sometimes the large brass horns. It was hard to tell the story, if there really was one, but usually the dancers had knives or swords that I assume we're being used to scare of fight off the evil spirits. The odd thing is that most of the deities are very frightening themselves. We also had fun playing with various kids sitting around us. The ceremony ended up with the monks giving out bags of saffron rice and potatoes, which we ate local style with our hand (most of the time in Ladakh so far I have been given utensils- different than other parts of India).
After the dancing we left (after locating the driver of the car that had blocked us in) for the camel safari in Hundar. Arrived there during lunch and waited in the sand dunes for about 30 min until the camels were brought back and them we all took 15 min rides. I was initially thinking about riding one back to Diskit but decided an hour was too long and 700 Rs not worth it.
These camels are Bactrian (2-hump, thick furred) descendants of the mongolian camels used by the nomads plying the silk trade route between china and Indian until China closed the border and trade route after the revolution in 1949. After the trade route was closed many of the camels became feral. Now there is a camel ranch run by the locals where they raise them for the tourist safaris and butcher 1-2 per year for the Muslims in the community (Rs200/kilo) and also used the wool for making various items.
Returned to the guesthouse around 5 and I walked into the old main market- mostly closed on a Sunday afternoon. Met a man who invited me in for tea and introduced me to his friends including a singer from Delhi who could not speak......?
Another awesome dinner, partly by the guesthouse owners (both the couple are also,nurses in the hospital) and partly by Rupa and Katrina, and lots of fun and laughter. We listened to the music on the iPad and people seemed to enjoy most of it-some classic rock and roll (Grateful Dead, Simon and Garfunkel, Dylan, James Taylor, Neil Young), some new (Jack Johnson) some familiar to the crew and some new.
Tomorrow morning we will leave at 8 to head for home. Hopefully the snow has melted and the roads are clear.
15 Oct
Easy trip back after a brief stop at the Diskit monastery. There was still snow over the top but a lot had melted and we made it over without chains. Did put on one chain at the top for a short time on the descent.
Lots of tracks in the snow, but no mammals, only one very large eagle (golden?).
Made it to town by about 1, had a nice lunch at Gezmo's, negotiated the car price and then home. Luckily the power came on a short time after I got here and got to take a much wished for hot shower!
Total trip cost for 4 days: Rs 3600 ($68!) per person. (3 nights lodging plus board, car and driver plus gas for 260 miles and various other touristy things)
Future Trip: apparently nobody rafts the Shyok R. Not sure if it is because it is not exciting or why? (just found out that the Army will not give permits, but maybe if they actually do allow trekking in the future-see below- they will also open the river). The section we drove along is a beautiful clear, green glacial river. Mostly easy floating with occasional short sections of class 2/3. Nothing challenging but a beautiful float and relaxing way to see the valley. I'd love to float from upriver of Diskit someplace to Turtuk (4-7 days? Depending on where you start). Camp, fish, look for ibex, blue sheep, snow leopards, eagles?...Spend a couple of days enjoying the summer harvest of Turtuk and then (Hussein says he thinks the govt will open the area for trekking in a year) trek over the pass from Turtuk to the village of Da Hanu, about 60 Km (not sure how the pass would be over the mountains). The Da Hanu are another unique people with their own language, religion and culture- they are actually blond, blue-eyed Aryan descendants of Alexander the Great's army and wear strange floral headdresses.
Who is in?
Nubra Valley
Katarina, Prasad and Rupa and a friend of P and R from the Mahobhodi center, Katherine a headhunter/Buddhist instructor from Singapore.
Originally, the plan was for them to pick us up at the house (Katarina stayed over) at 8 which was changed to 8:30 last night and of course they arrived at 9 in a 7seater 2WD mahindra SUV and we headed up into the clouds on Kardung La for what turned into an epic day! Everything was fine for the first 20k and the first military checkpoint at S Pollu (15,900') where we hit the snow and the road was shut. Lots (30 ish) of cars of tourists and locals hanging out waiting to see if we would get through and many putting chains on (not the modern easy mounts we have)- a long process involving raising the wheel on a rock and eventually lacing them tight with webbing.
We heard various stories from, it will open in an hour, to maybe not at all today- it's snowing hard on top and over the other side. Watched three Himalayan Buzzards soaring overhead in the clouds. Suddenly a few cars, including the convoy takes off and we hear they are letting locals go and some tourists are just going to the top. We decided to go for it, hopped in and took off. Very quickly the convoy (no chains) stopped and decided to just play in the 4" of snow. We continued to follow the 2 local vans (no chains either). Soon there was a lot of noise from our left rear and it turned out the rubber on the end of the running board was binding in the chain. I offered to,cut it off but our driver didn't want to be responsible for that. Instead, he took off that chain. I was a bit concerned because I remember something about that imbalance being bad for the differential, but decided it wasn't my car and held my tongue. This is also when I noticed the completely bald left front tire- hell it's rear wheel drive, so off we went again.
Eventually caught up to the 2 locals who were stuck in the snow on the steeper section and backing down. We went around them (this road is mostly one car wide with steep and long drop offs) and continued on until a very narrow steep section where we were spinning out. We all got out and the driver tried a number of times unsuccessfully. We convinced him we needed the other chain and used the pliers on my knife to remove the bolts on the offending piece. Luckily one of the guys from the local car had walked up and the 3 of us got the chain back on. Off we went in the growing snow but with pretty solid traction now.
Suddenly Katarina said, "fox" and sure enough there was a Himalayan fox right next to us on the road! Stopped, got out to take pictures and suddenly a huge golden eagle took off right next to us! The 2 of them had been eating road kill in the snow- it looked 2-3 white vultures of some sort-not sure, maybe they had been eating some other road kill and been hit by a car...... I think I got a good picture of the fox, but missed the eagle.
Continued on with little trouble and were the first vehicle to make it to the top (worlds highest motor-able pass, etc). The worlds highest cafeteria was closed, so we took a few pictures of the pass in snow got very cold and headed down the other side. In the meantime one of the local cars without chains made it up and we could see the long line of cars waiting at Pollu had disappeared and we could see some following us up way below.
The trip down to N Pollu on the other side ( where the snow ended and the pavement began was pretty uneventful (amazing scenery) except that cars and lorries from the other side were also coming up and there wasn't a lot of passing room. Made it. Stopped for lunch I'm a freezing cold restaurant- all they had was chai, one plate of momos to share and Maggi (spicy top ramen). By now it was 2:30 and we were quite hungry!
Headed off on the dry pavement down the twisty mountain road to Diskit, 3 hrs away. Driver suddenly turned into AJ Foyt and it was a bit of a scary ride. A couple of our crew got sick or fought to hold it down and we switched seats around a bit. I ended up in the back and had a few collisions with the roof. He turned out to be very skilled and we made it to Diskit by a little after 5, and even were able to marvel at the incredible views of the confluence of the Shyok and Nubra Rivers and the huge alluvial plains below.
Found a very nice guest house and got 3 nice rooms with own baths for Rs500(total= less than$10)) and dinner for 90each! After some tea with a little rum in it, I am now in my sleeping bag in my room waiting for dinner.
Turns out the mask festival we planned to see at the monastery tomorrow is best on Sunday, so we will head to Turtuk (right ON the Pakistani border) tomorrow and come back for the festival.
13 Oct
Just woke up back at the Sun Rise Guest House in Diskit. I am supposed to be in Turtuk, so what happened?
We did get up, had early breakfast and we're on the road to Turtuk by a little after 8 as planned. Everything was fine and another beautiful ride along the river past the sandy desert near Hundar for about an hour and a half until the first checkpoint. Turns out Katharine (from Singapore) was not on the P&Rs permit (as she was supposed to be- hell if we know how she got past the first 2 checkpoints on Friday.....?). AND, during the 30 min negotiations with the guards it turned out she did not even have a passport with her! If she had her passport there is a chance she might have been let through, but without either- no way. Rupa decided to stay with her at the tent/checkpoint while Prasad, Katarina and I went the rest of the way to Turtuk ( about an hour more) and would visit and come and pick them up on the way back to Hundar. So, off we went.
All this border stuff brought back memories of Ron and me and the black helicopter over San Juan Island as well as the family trek to Pindaric Glacier on the Chinese border in ''66 when Louie forgot the permit at the car (and got sunstroke the first day, so couldn't go on) and I got as the guide's sign after a small bribe and a well placed raspberry/tantrum! 8 entertained Prasad and Katarina with these stories for a while.
More great scenery and winding roads and finally arrived in Turtuk, drove through on the road to the little bridge at the end where we were not aloud past, where P through up again. From here Amed (driver) told us to cross the wooden bridge over the clear mtn stream and walk a few minutes into the village center/market area. We were looking for some lunch and some stone carving of Ibex we had heard about and I wanted to possibly buy one. Off we went, K taking R place as guide and doing an admirable job. We wandered up to a level area with houses and fields and started strolling along a narrow concrete path that wound through the fields and sometimes into narrow tight spaces between typical Himalayan houses. Occasionally P would ask directions to the market or a guesthouse where we could get chai and lunch. We kept getting vague directions to keep going. We did pass a couple of guesthouses with signs on them but they seemed closed for the season (we were the only tourists in the area), so we kept going. The village was beautiful, a Shangri La! Very attractive people in in different clothes (older men I traditional Muslim wear with long beards and the women and girls in head scarves). All the women and small children ( who weren't carrying heavy loads of sand to the new mosque construction site) were working on finishing the harvesting the wheat and barley in the vast fields. We passed many chickens (not common in Ladakhi villages) and the remains of many gardens with some tomatoes, squashes and other wegetables (I am training K to say a proper V) still growing, but the most impressive things were the huge poplar and walnut trees in glorious yellow fall colors interspersed with the seven varieties of apricot trees.
Turtuk is famous for its apricots, walnuts ( which are dried and exported and in the summer amazing harvests of strawberries, cherries and other fresh fruits and veggies.
Finally, we found a large group of people outside a house and P asked if there was a guesthouse nearby (useful having P for the language, except sometimes it was too easy to let him do the talking and wait for the translation). One man took us to a house large where a young (30) man (Hussein) came out to meet us and would serve us some chai and make us a traditional Balti meal for Lu ch if we would wait an hour. OK. Went inside and waited and visited with Hussein and a variety of others (the local census was going on there also) while we waited. Eventually we were served Kisser ( a delicious buckwheat pancake) with a tangy green vegetable sauce, bought a kilo each ofdried apricots and walnuts. Hussein had his 10 yr old son and nephew (Nasir and Nassim) take us on a tour to the old Buddhist Gompa. A beautiful walk through the huge trees along a winding mountain path, past the middle school and polo ground to a small lookout above the cemetery and upper village. As we walked the kids had a sling shot which we played with and they were quite curious about P and why K had to lead him. Their English was pretty decent (the literacy rate I the village is almost 100%, there is k-12 school and besides the unwritten Balti language the kids all learn English, Hindi, Urdu, Bhodi and Arabic). When we returned to the guesthouse (Rangyoul Guesthouse) Hussein took us on a one hour walking tour of the the rest of the village, including the 16th century mosque, "village center" ( a small meeting place where the old men gather in a wide point in the winding path near the mosque), the King's house( yes their still is a king with no power- u fortunately he was not home so we only got to go ( only look) inside and did not get to meet him or see the small museum). Finally we went to the stone carver at his little restaurant and met him. Unfortunately, he only makes them to order ( next time). He also apparently makes stone pressure cookers with Ibex carved into them! But we did not see them either. Then he took us back to the bridge and the Amed patiently waiting at the car and headed back to pick up Rand K patiently waiting at the tent. What we expected to be maybe a couple of hours max turned into a delightful and unexpected five hour trip!
Turtuk: A 3 part village (upper, lower and middle) 10K from the disputed Indo/Pak border of Baltistan. The only Balti village in India and became part of India in the 1971 war. The people in the village are all much happier to be in India (democracy and lots of govt support compared to their relatives in Pakistan). They are almost all Sufi Muslims ( according to Hussein, the most peaceful sect) with a few Wahabi and Sunnis and apparently a very few Buddhists. They have their own unwritten language (Balti) and their own cuisine and everyone was very friendly and quite attractive (also, noticeably just different features from the Ladakhis 15-20km to the east). The village, besides being incredibly green and lovely, is perched above the glacial Shyok R ( which does have some large fish and the Baltis do catch and eat them in the summer) with incredible views of the Himalayan peaks, ridges and glaciers on all sides. Population 2500, almost 100% literacy with K-12 school and almost no poverty. The women work in the fields and the men seem to take care of the livestock in the mountains.
Hussein: 30 yrs old, 5 kids (Yangchan tells me there is no family planning aloud there), married at 16(wife was 14, he told me that now the average age for men getting married is in the 30s, not sure about girls). Educated to 10th class but seems well educated and speaks very good English. Quite successful. Has a large, clean, inexpensive guest house which he is expanding to 9 guest rooms this year, with a huge garden where they raise all their foods. Serves a wide variety of meals including 9 Balti dishes. He owns 2 horses, 2 donkeys, 1 yak, 4 cows, 15 each sheep and goats and chickens. Incredibly friendly and welcoming. Anyone gong to Turtuk ( and definitely a must if in the Nubra Valley) should stay at his guest house!
After picking up R and K at the checkpoint the plan was to head to Hundar, find a guesthouse to eat and sleep and spend the morning seeing/riding the camels and then head back to Diskit for the festival. After driving around in the dark in Hundar, we discovered that there were more tourists there and it is the high end place to stay. A single room everywhere coat more than our 3 rooms at the SunRise. So, back to Diskit and luckily our 3 rooms were waiting for us. After some tea with rum (lots of stories about life in Mumbai from Prasad ), late but delicious meal and off to bed.
Great day!
14 Oct
Lazy start to the day. Breakfast at 9 and then started the climb up to the giant Buddha (Bubba Buddha) 500 meters above our guest house for the masked festival which began at 11. We had a front row seat on the ground around the prayer flag pole in front of the Gompa. Mostly locals (3-400?) and maybe 20-30 foreigners. We watched three hours of the monks dancing in amazing masks of the Buddhist deities and various spirits. They were accompanied mostly by drumming and cymbals and sometimes the large brass horns. It was hard to tell the story, if there really was one, but usually the dancers had knives or swords that I assume we're being used to scare of fight off the evil spirits. The odd thing is that most of the deities are very frightening themselves. We also had fun playing with various kids sitting around us. The ceremony ended up with the monks giving out bags of saffron rice and potatoes, which we ate local style with our hand (most of the time in Ladakh so far I have been given utensils- different than other parts of India).
After the dancing we left (after locating the driver of the car that had blocked us in) for the camel safari in Hundar. Arrived there during lunch and waited in the sand dunes for about 30 min until the camels were brought back and them we all took 15 min rides. I was initially thinking about riding one back to Diskit but decided an hour was too long and 700 Rs not worth it.
These camels are Bactrian (2-hump, thick furred) descendants of the mongolian camels used by the nomads plying the silk trade route between china and Indian until China closed the border and trade route after the revolution in 1949. After the trade route was closed many of the camels became feral. Now there is a camel ranch run by the locals where they raise them for the tourist safaris and butcher 1-2 per year for the Muslims in the community (Rs200/kilo) and also used the wool for making various items.
Returned to the guesthouse around 5 and I walked into the old main market- mostly closed on a Sunday afternoon. Met a man who invited me in for tea and introduced me to his friends including a singer from Delhi who could not speak......?
Another awesome dinner, partly by the guesthouse owners (both the couple are also,nurses in the hospital) and partly by Rupa and Katrina, and lots of fun and laughter. We listened to the music on the iPad and people seemed to enjoy most of it-some classic rock and roll (Grateful Dead, Simon and Garfunkel, Dylan, James Taylor, Neil Young), some new (Jack Johnson) some familiar to the crew and some new.
Tomorrow morning we will leave at 8 to head for home. Hopefully the snow has melted and the roads are clear.
15 Oct
Easy trip back after a brief stop at the Diskit monastery. There was still snow over the top but a lot had melted and we made it over without chains. Did put on one chain at the top for a short time on the descent.
Lots of tracks in the snow, but no mammals, only one very large eagle (golden?).
Made it to town by about 1, had a nice lunch at Gezmo's, negotiated the car price and then home. Luckily the power came on a short time after I got here and got to take a much wished for hot shower!
Total trip cost for 4 days: Rs 3600 ($68!) per person. (3 nights lodging plus board, car and driver plus gas for 260 miles and various other touristy things)
Future Trip: apparently nobody rafts the Shyok R. Not sure if it is because it is not exciting or why? (just found out that the Army will not give permits, but maybe if they actually do allow trekking in the future-see below- they will also open the river). The section we drove along is a beautiful clear, green glacial river. Mostly easy floating with occasional short sections of class 2/3. Nothing challenging but a beautiful float and relaxing way to see the valley. I'd love to float from upriver of Diskit someplace to Turtuk (4-7 days? Depending on where you start). Camp, fish, look for ibex, blue sheep, snow leopards, eagles?...Spend a couple of days enjoying the summer harvest of Turtuk and then (Hussein says he thinks the govt will open the area for trekking in a year) trek over the pass from Turtuk to the village of Da Hanu, about 60 Km (not sure how the pass would be over the mountains). The Da Hanu are another unique people with their own language, religion and culture- they are actually blond, blue-eyed Aryan descendants of Alexander the Great's army and wear strange floral headdresses.
Who is in?
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Finally making a contribution
8 Oct: 5 weeks gone
Somewhat frustrating day today. Apparently they did not need me to sub and Imdid not have any assigned classes. So, instead I decided to sit in on a chem class again and see what is happening ( and hopefully find ways to offer constructive suggestions if appropriate and also to plan an agenda for a meeting with the principal to discuss how to use me(specifically) and my skills more effectively and more generally how we can make a plan to use volunteers more effectively. I actually,ended up spending a lot of time trying to locate some useful chem resources on the web (that I thought I had brought with me).
Observations and new facts that I learned during the chem class
unexcused absences: Rs 60/day to school. Tardy= no consequence Not really certain who keeps track or how, but I imagine there is a large handwritten ledger book somewhere in the office.
Chem Lecture: all students have a textbook. Teacher "lectures" from text = reading word for word (including "full stop" when there is a period) and students copy exactly plus draw complicated 3-D examples (also exactly from text)
Asked student I was sitting next to questions about teachers/ teaching etc. in science (physics and chem)
Basic response: the maths is easy do not understand the material/ concepts.
Specific: physics teacher (Mingur- new) they do not understand at all what he is teaching.
I asked specifically to compare me with the chem teacher and how we teach (specifically said to be honest, but....): the answer was they learned and understood more from me. Not sure what that is worth.
Discussion with Chem teacher (Mam Rigzen):
Lab suggestion: build models with clay to visualize structures of molecules (VSEPR)
Her response ( somewhat expected, but indicating knowledge of best practice)"was that she planned that for next year, but because they started so late she has no time and needs to get through the syllabus, BUT is planning more labs and activities for next year. Didn't really seem to get my point that getting through the syllabus with little real understanding of the concept didn't bode well for passing "the test". One good thing about taking the same classes every year: you can get them later.
Other suggestions: Skip very complex structures (5 or 6 Bonding pairs) until later when they actually understand what she is presenting.
Borrowed an alcohol thermometer from the chem lab (most were mercury and seemed to be old hand me downs from somewhere. Most of them could not be read) to check temperature in my room. When I got home at 4 it was 10C (50) and now at 9 it is down to 8.
9 Oct
7:30 AM: 6*C (42.8)
Woke up with tutu karslag (sore throat), but not too bad and got better during the day. Lots of teachers sick today, but none absent, so no classes. But, it turned out to be a busy and productive day. I met with Eshey in the morning to 1) inform him of trips and changes in ETD, 2) discuss my Rs4000 donation (decided to purchase an inexpensive B&W printer for the staff room. Now there is Internet and teachers can find resources but can"t print) and most importantly 3) discuss why I am not feeling well used or productive here and what we could do to change that and what I can do to try and make future volunteers adjust more quickly.
I was a bit apprehensive about the last one, as I had heard he could be a bit sensitive to criticism, but it all went very smoothly and I have a much better feeling for how these last 3 weeks will go. He already set up a meeting with me and the two bio and chem 11 teachers to discuss a meeting for tomorrow morning where we will talk about how they might try to incorporate some inquiry into their classes. My guess is the actual implementation won't happen until next year because of the test crunch. (Ron, you will be pleased to know that I also spoke to the physics teacher/ popstar about your wind chime and marimba projects and he seemed very interested). In addition we decided that I would start to put together the outlines of an informational packet about the school to be given to incoming volunteers before they arrive to help answer the questions that we all have had to figure out on our own. I've already made the outline and need to get help with the basic facts.
I also went to watch Tsering Nyamgal's (the new teacher who was working on a PhD in chem/materials science) 10th grade science class and was pleasantly surprised- more interaction between him and students and students actually doing.
Blue Sheep: finally tracked down some better pictures and yes the ones we have seen are Blue Sheep (Tibetan Bharal) and not Ladakhi Ural. I should have learned long ago from my time in Pt. Hope- trust the natives when they tell you,something about wildlife.
10 Oct
Met with the Chem and Bio teachers this AM and things went well. It was only for 30 but they requested more meetings. We met at lunch and will do it again tomorrow. I explained about inquiry, the ideas behind why we think it is important and showed them how it is being incorporated into our new National Science Standards ( I happen to have an electronic version of the last draft of ours. I know it's supposed to be secret, but I'm in Himalayan India....). We,talked a little about the Oregon and IB work sample requirements and scoring and then I showed them an example of one I use In class where chem students have to use physical and chemical properties to Identify the materials in pennies per and post 1982. These test can include things as simple as finding densities and I was shocked when they didn't think they had sufficient materials to do this experiment! Well, that quickly determined the lunch session- how to easily find the density of rocks (the quickest thing I could round up in the school yard) using displacement and mass. Granted they don't have digital centigram balances: only 4- 2 pan balances with gram and mg weights, but those and 100 ml grad cylinders and WOW It worked! Tomorrow I will show them how to do calorimeter with simple pop can calorimeters- I know they will be amazed and it's applicable to both Bio ( energy content of various foods) and Chem (heats of combustion). Now that we start to interact in this way, I finally start to see the simple but valuable things I do have to offer.
Today I read Mike and Ann's (Shannon"s brother and sister in law) blog about their move to a small village in Kenya. Mike described it with an analogy about crossing a rover on a rope bridge. Leaving the security of everything you know to venture out into the unstable and scary rope section. Eventually coming to the new stability of the solid other side. Right now I finally am starting to feel like I am reaching that solid ground.
When I came home this afternoon I found Dorjay and Yangchan just finishing up erecting a large plastic tarp and log structure over the patio and garden on the south side of the house. Now there is a cozy little solarium that warms up quickly (warmer than the house) on the cold mornings where we have coffee/tea and breakfast. The other day I asked about when they start hearing the kitchen and TV room (making sure to be clear I was just curious and not asking them to do it for me). They don't usually bring I the stoves until sometime in mid November, mainly because the propane and kerosene are so expensive. During the summer a 40 L container of LPG last almost 3 months. In winter when they start heating: 10 days!
11Oct
Amazing how the simple lab activities we take for granted at home seem SO amazing here, and the fact that you can do labs with very simple materials is a foreign concept!
They loved the idea of pop-can calorimeters and it's applications to chem and bio. Now will they actually use them?
Really wish I had had a better understanding of what is available here before I came. It would have been so simple to bring a couple of rolls of the hundreds of dialysis tubing we had at RHS ( and will probably never use up). Doesn't exist here and such simple easy labs for diffusion.
Somewhat frustrating day today. Apparently they did not need me to sub and Imdid not have any assigned classes. So, instead I decided to sit in on a chem class again and see what is happening ( and hopefully find ways to offer constructive suggestions if appropriate and also to plan an agenda for a meeting with the principal to discuss how to use me(specifically) and my skills more effectively and more generally how we can make a plan to use volunteers more effectively. I actually,ended up spending a lot of time trying to locate some useful chem resources on the web (that I thought I had brought with me).
Observations and new facts that I learned during the chem class
unexcused absences: Rs 60/day to school. Tardy= no consequence Not really certain who keeps track or how, but I imagine there is a large handwritten ledger book somewhere in the office.
Chem Lecture: all students have a textbook. Teacher "lectures" from text = reading word for word (including "full stop" when there is a period) and students copy exactly plus draw complicated 3-D examples (also exactly from text)
Asked student I was sitting next to questions about teachers/ teaching etc. in science (physics and chem)
Basic response: the maths is easy do not understand the material/ concepts.
Specific: physics teacher (Mingur- new) they do not understand at all what he is teaching.
I asked specifically to compare me with the chem teacher and how we teach (specifically said to be honest, but....): the answer was they learned and understood more from me. Not sure what that is worth.
Discussion with Chem teacher (Mam Rigzen):
Lab suggestion: build models with clay to visualize structures of molecules (VSEPR)
Her response ( somewhat expected, but indicating knowledge of best practice)"was that she planned that for next year, but because they started so late she has no time and needs to get through the syllabus, BUT is planning more labs and activities for next year. Didn't really seem to get my point that getting through the syllabus with little real understanding of the concept didn't bode well for passing "the test". One good thing about taking the same classes every year: you can get them later.
Other suggestions: Skip very complex structures (5 or 6 Bonding pairs) until later when they actually understand what she is presenting.
Borrowed an alcohol thermometer from the chem lab (most were mercury and seemed to be old hand me downs from somewhere. Most of them could not be read) to check temperature in my room. When I got home at 4 it was 10C (50) and now at 9 it is down to 8.
9 Oct
7:30 AM: 6*C (42.8)
Woke up with tutu karslag (sore throat), but not too bad and got better during the day. Lots of teachers sick today, but none absent, so no classes. But, it turned out to be a busy and productive day. I met with Eshey in the morning to 1) inform him of trips and changes in ETD, 2) discuss my Rs4000 donation (decided to purchase an inexpensive B&W printer for the staff room. Now there is Internet and teachers can find resources but can"t print) and most importantly 3) discuss why I am not feeling well used or productive here and what we could do to change that and what I can do to try and make future volunteers adjust more quickly.
I was a bit apprehensive about the last one, as I had heard he could be a bit sensitive to criticism, but it all went very smoothly and I have a much better feeling for how these last 3 weeks will go. He already set up a meeting with me and the two bio and chem 11 teachers to discuss a meeting for tomorrow morning where we will talk about how they might try to incorporate some inquiry into their classes. My guess is the actual implementation won't happen until next year because of the test crunch. (Ron, you will be pleased to know that I also spoke to the physics teacher/ popstar about your wind chime and marimba projects and he seemed very interested). In addition we decided that I would start to put together the outlines of an informational packet about the school to be given to incoming volunteers before they arrive to help answer the questions that we all have had to figure out on our own. I've already made the outline and need to get help with the basic facts.
I also went to watch Tsering Nyamgal's (the new teacher who was working on a PhD in chem/materials science) 10th grade science class and was pleasantly surprised- more interaction between him and students and students actually doing.
Blue Sheep: finally tracked down some better pictures and yes the ones we have seen are Blue Sheep (Tibetan Bharal) and not Ladakhi Ural. I should have learned long ago from my time in Pt. Hope- trust the natives when they tell you,something about wildlife.
10 Oct
Met with the Chem and Bio teachers this AM and things went well. It was only for 30 but they requested more meetings. We met at lunch and will do it again tomorrow. I explained about inquiry, the ideas behind why we think it is important and showed them how it is being incorporated into our new National Science Standards ( I happen to have an electronic version of the last draft of ours. I know it's supposed to be secret, but I'm in Himalayan India....). We,talked a little about the Oregon and IB work sample requirements and scoring and then I showed them an example of one I use In class where chem students have to use physical and chemical properties to Identify the materials in pennies per and post 1982. These test can include things as simple as finding densities and I was shocked when they didn't think they had sufficient materials to do this experiment! Well, that quickly determined the lunch session- how to easily find the density of rocks (the quickest thing I could round up in the school yard) using displacement and mass. Granted they don't have digital centigram balances: only 4- 2 pan balances with gram and mg weights, but those and 100 ml grad cylinders and WOW It worked! Tomorrow I will show them how to do calorimeter with simple pop can calorimeters- I know they will be amazed and it's applicable to both Bio ( energy content of various foods) and Chem (heats of combustion). Now that we start to interact in this way, I finally start to see the simple but valuable things I do have to offer.
Today I read Mike and Ann's (Shannon"s brother and sister in law) blog about their move to a small village in Kenya. Mike described it with an analogy about crossing a rover on a rope bridge. Leaving the security of everything you know to venture out into the unstable and scary rope section. Eventually coming to the new stability of the solid other side. Right now I finally am starting to feel like I am reaching that solid ground.
When I came home this afternoon I found Dorjay and Yangchan just finishing up erecting a large plastic tarp and log structure over the patio and garden on the south side of the house. Now there is a cozy little solarium that warms up quickly (warmer than the house) on the cold mornings where we have coffee/tea and breakfast. The other day I asked about when they start hearing the kitchen and TV room (making sure to be clear I was just curious and not asking them to do it for me). They don't usually bring I the stoves until sometime in mid November, mainly because the propane and kerosene are so expensive. During the summer a 40 L container of LPG last almost 3 months. In winter when they start heating: 10 days!
11Oct
Amazing how the simple lab activities we take for granted at home seem SO amazing here, and the fact that you can do labs with very simple materials is a foreign concept!
They loved the idea of pop-can calorimeters and it's applications to chem and bio. Now will they actually use them?
Really wish I had had a better understanding of what is available here before I came. It would have been so simple to bring a couple of rolls of the hundreds of dialysis tubing we had at RHS ( and will probably never use up). Doesn't exist here and such simple easy labs for diffusion.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
3 Oct: been in Leh one month.
No skit at assembly today so the "wise principal" took advantage to lecture the students about behavior ( all in Hindi or Bodhi) and while this was going on the Games teacher walked through the seated students with a pair of scissors inspecting the boys hair and snipping off chunks if it was too long!
In addition to my 2 classes I was given 2 of Mingur's physics periods to teach (although one of them turned out to be someone else's). I used the time to teach extra chemistry and today used one of the "smart rooms" to present a lecture on gas laws using some of the electronic versions of power points and problem sets I brought with me. I think it went well. Would love to have the lab equipment I'm used to to do demos and labs. Unfortunately there isn't even any ice or a simple microwave available for doing demos of Charles' or Gay Lussac laws. We'll have to settle for problem sets.....
Spent about an hour trying to find an ATM that worked or had money this afternoon- success, so I can pay for my last month lodging. When I returned I was surprised to find 3 American women having tea at the house. They all live in Guatemala half the year and 2 of them on Lopez Is the other half- small world. They are on vacation in India and knew another volunteer who had lived here, came to say hi and are staying for dinner. We all made momo"s together (and I am getting much better!). It was fun evening and what a small world it is: one of the women from Lopez put on an art workshop at French Camp for Joseph and Connie this spring.
Today my new copy of Jo Nesbo new book arrived on the iPad and I will huddle under the covers for awhile with it.
4Oct
Woke up to colder, cloudy weather and some fresh dusting of snow a few hundred meters above the house- we were lucky on the climb, but I really wish I hadn't left my warm jacket at school yesterday and that my warm clothes were not still wet hanging on the line from the trip! Was hoping to hear some news on BBC World on TV this morning about the debate , but it is 9 AM and still no power.
Today I planned to continue lessons on Gas Laws using the Smart Class. Kalsang, the IT guy with the ONLY key is on leave this morning, so of course nobody can use the technology.....AAAARGGGHH! Silly little things like that make life frustrating.
5Oct
Sunny day and a bit warmer. Last night Yangchan invited Katarina for dinner and to stay over in one of the guest rooms. I think it was a good break for her to get out of the hostel and have some good food. Apparently the "Wardens" of the hostel live up to their name and are not very friendly.
This morning I wandered into the bottom floor of the Admin building and discovered the music room and met the music teacher. Their is a full set of donated brass instruments that apparently nobody wants to learn, guitars, keyboards and some traditional instruments. The amazing thing is a full recording studio! which only gets used when volunteers from United World College (IB?) come here because nobody here is trained to use it.
Assembly today: another 30 min haranguing of the students about behavior and dress by the vice principal (only about 15 had to run today). Apparently someone had broken into one of the school buses yesterday and stole some mobiles and money during the day. During the assembly one 7th grade girls collapsed and was taken to Yangchan. Apparently dehydration.
Had an interesting discussion with Dorjay (the teacher) about discipline. He is one of the teacher's who outwardly seems to be progressive and fun. However, it turns out he is also one who uses the switch a lot (I think more than most). according to him when he does use it he uses he hits the students hard and so they are frightened of it. He indicated that he does not like to use it and feels bad but thinks it is the only way to get respect and good behavior. I tried to offer some other suggestions, but he did not seem to think they would work.....
I admit it: I am beginning to figure out cricket (with the help of Dorjay and Andu) and have become a fan. Tonight we watched West Indies destroy The Aussies in the semifinals.
Drinking water: Clean water is always an issue in 3rd world countries, but so far here in Leh it has not been an issue for me. Our drinking water comes from a tap in the yard that comes from a mountain stream someplace (will be shut off soon as the weather cools more and then I think we get it from town and some other source) that Yangchan says is safe to drink. It is cold, clear and tasty and I have drunk it straight with no I'll effects that I am aware of. However, my normal routine is to fill 2 L every couple of days and sterilize with my steripen UB device( easy, quick and effective) and so far I am fine. Not sure it would be the same in other less clean parts of India.
6 Oct
Saturday half day of classes/last 3 periods this week with "games" after lunch (usually competitions between the 4 houses)
This morning at assembly I was sitting with Shabbbaz ( the local, young, new computer teacher) he asked me if I liked to fish. An unusual question since all of the Buddhists are totally opposed to any kind of killing wild animals, including fish. Turns out Shabbaz (should have realized from the name) is Muslim and loves to fly fish for trout in the spring and summer ( too bad it's out of season because I am sure we would have gone). He and is buddies have to keep it quiet for their Buddhist friends and sneak out to go.
Rather than the usual competition between houses today, games was a inter-school competition in basketball and volleyball between a team of 8 Lamdon boys and a team from another school in town. The same 8 boys played both complete games and matches while the rest of the students watched and cheered. Lamdon won the b-ball game ( close) but were pretty rough and I only watched one game of v-ball but they easily won that also.
While watching the games I sat next to one of the teachers I had not spoken to and it was very enlightening. Stanzin ( what else) is an english teacher about 50. He is one of 3 Tibetan teachers at the school ( apparently there are no Tibetan students....). I learned a lot about the Tibetan refugees here. Even though he was born in India and many refugees have lived in India for over 50 years, they are still refugees: can not become citizens, vote or hold any government jobs. There is one army special unit that allows Tibetans. Turns out there are numerous free Tibetan refugee children's schools, sponsored by the Dalai Lama, throughout India that almost all tibetan kids go to through 10th. The better students can continue on through 12th at a special school in Dharamsala ( where the DM lives). He went to the local TCS and to the continuation school and then onto an Indian University. He promised to take me to visit the local school before I leave (even though it sounds well sponsored and has numerous volunteers, I wonder if it might be a place that makes better use of volunteers). In addition to,learning about Tibetans, it turns out he seems to be the most progressive and far-thinking about education. He asked me a lot about my impressions of teaching at Lamdon and particularly about the science teachers. I was very honest. In light of my discussion with Dorjay yesterday he asked an interesting question: how did I feel about the corporal punishment at Lamdon School? Turns out he is totally opposed and has tried to convince (unsuccessfully) the principal and other teachers that they should be trying other means than discipline to help the students grow up! I eventually asked about TCS and he told me that they banned all corporal Punishment there 6 years ago.
Flights: on a whim today I decided to check my flight out of Leh on the 31st to see if I might be able to change to an earlier flight or to a direct one to Delhi (my original stopped in Jammu and my connection to Kathmandu was tight). Well, when I looked up flight to Delhi on GoAir on the 31st NONE were listed. Called the airlines and sure enough there are none on that day and mine was cancelled! (forgot to ask if they were going to tell me...?) I did get on a direct flight to Delhi on the 30th for no extra charge. Then I called Spice Jet to see if I could change my flight to Katmandu so I did not have to stay over in Delhi and sure I could but it would cost Rs 6000 (almost as much as the original RT). So, found an inexpensive hotel at the airport and will stay over.
Visa issue: so in reading online, I have discovered a little weirdness in the 6 month re-entry tourist visa I have for India. Turns out you are not supposed to be able to re-enter unless you stay out 60 days and I will only be in Nepal for 30-uh oh! After further research I think I am OK for 2 reasons
1: seems if you can convince your airline to let you on the Indians don't really seem to care
2: if you have an itinerary (that you can show) that has you transit through and out of India to go home(which I have) there is an exception. Hopefully it all works, but I guess if not I will just have to buy a ticket home from Nepal and skip the Tigers.
Same same but different:Ladakhi vs American students
Lamdon School students: As they say here, "same, same, but different". Been thinking a lot about the comparisons between the high school kids here and in the US/ Central Oregon. Some obvious differences are that most of these kids can speak and understand 2 or 3 languages ( English, Bodhi and Hindi), that they always address me as either Sir David or David, Sir and that during school they all wear their uniforms (pant, shirt, tie and sweater and school cap: Today at assembly teachers went through the students, picked out 30-40 who didn't have complete uniforms ( most I could not tell what was wrong) and made them go run for about 5-10 min as punishment). Another difference is the total lack of calculators. All calculations in class are done by hand, including square roots. They also have memorized the trig tables. Today in class, as they were working out gas law problems by hand, I asked if calculators were allowed ( yes they are), if they didn't have them because of cost (no). Turns out they don't use them because they are not allowed on the big tests and so they choose to practice and I assume are also encouraged to do so by the teachers.
However, beyond these obvious differences there are more similarities than I might have expected. Most obvious to me are the interactions between boys and girls. I would have expected more separation and shyness ( and maybe in other parts of India there is....?), but here there is lots of flirting, teasing and besides the absence of any PDA not much different than what you see at RHS. I am also pretty sure that if given the opportunity to wear there own clothes that there would not be much difference in dress- perhaps a little more modesty (probably no bare bellies), but similar jeans, b-ball jerseys, etc.
In the classroom, there seems to be a similar (to US students) distribution of students who are interested, tuned in, asking questions, taking notes, working problems, etc (10-30%) and those who are just there taking up space and using the limited oxygen because they have to be.
Their technical abilities at doing complex math problems and computations are far beyond those of our students of similar age. However, as I have mentioned before, manipulating and plugging numbers into equations does not necessarily translate to understanding. The need to plow through the syllabus and have students "prepared" for the FA is paramount ( not that different from the IB sciences....) and leaves little time for exploration or taking time to make sure of any understanding. It also gets in the way of taking anytime to experience doing science and an inquiry approach until after (or if) the syllabus is complete. Because of this emphasis teaching(in science and math at least) is exclusively lecture and copying of notes. Last week I had the opportunity to watch ( and try to help) the 11th classes prepare for a large chemistry test. What I witnessed was the serious students memorizing the most complex concepts and definitions and ignoring the actual problems and models that they were eventually tested on. I was surprised that the actual test was very reasonable and for the most part pretty simple. However, the students' struggled to do simple stoichiometric and concentration calculations, draw orbital diagrams,etc. The test consisted of about 10 questions and nobody was able to finish in the allotted class times. The majority of both classes needed the entire next period to finish ( or not). The teachers talk about the national reforms pushing away from rote learning, but it seems so ingrained in the culture that both the students and teachers find it hard to shift away.
The students get no exposure to the concept of inquiry and very little opportunity to work in the lab. I have only seen students in grades lower than 10 actually doing a lab and those are all cookbook types. When I ask about labs for the older kids, the response is always, "after we complete the syllabus". There does not seem to be any understanding that concrete exposure to real phenomenon can help in developing understanding. Granted, the science curriculum in the upper grades is new and they are behind, but still....
I find it interesting that when I teach classes here and present relevant side topics, ask probing questions and respond to their questions with deeper questions (rather than answers): the tuned in students respond positively,and seem to like the interactive approach. Unfortunately, except for one time, the teachers' whose classes I am taking are not there to witness these interactions and are off somewhere else.
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