Exciting England

Hadrian's Wall and the Roman Ruins

York
Warwick Castle
Stratford-upon-Avon
Oxford Dining Hall
Oxford University and the gardens

Trafalgar Square in London



"London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years." -----Oscar Wilde

I tried my best to be part of London society and act younger than thirty-five on this June trip to London! The young company of Molly and Natalie and my younger co-worker Amy made it very easy to feel young and free in London. Highlights of our visit June 21-23 included the tour of the Tower of London with the crown jewels and Beefeaters, Trafalgar Square with fountains, street performers, statues, plus the Olympic countdown clock, the National Gallery of Art to see Van Gogh, Degas, Michelangelo, Botticelli, da Vinci and El Greco masterpieces, the British Museum with the Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummy exhibits, and an evening in the West End Theatre District to see The Phantom of the Opera in Her Majesty’s Theatre. We mastered the London Tube system, ate Shepherd’s Pie and Fish and Chips at the Sherlock Holmes Restaurant and were up close for the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Westminster Cathedral still had some Will and Kate souvenirs to purchase too. I know I felt like mini-royalty on this whirlwind visit.

June 24th we traveled to Oxford to visit the university campus. The gardens, chapel and the dining hall were spectacular. The dining hall was used in two Harry Potter films and is so full of history and portraits of great men. Our next stop was Stratford-upon-Avon to honor the Bard: William Shakespeare. We visited his childhood home and the Hathaway Cottage; so many beautiful English gardens in both places. We ate at a Baguette Barge on the River Avon and then Amy and I walked to Holy Trinity Church (1465AD) to visit the grave of Shakespeare. This visit was one more check on my to-do-list in life.

June 25th was spent at Warwick Castle (1356 AD) roaming Caesar’s Tower at 147 feet and Guy’s Tower at 128 feet tall plus the dungeons (that’s over 500 steps to climb). Madame Toussaud’s wax figures made the castle years of 1471 and 1898 come alive for us. The Terrible History Torture Tour was a great learning experience on the plague, torture, court system and early medical practice of medieval times and provided some comic relief: “No refunds for sniveling wimps!” One special event we experienced was the Ghost Tour of Warwick Castle- all the tales of the ghosts of the place and why they haunt the castle.

The tour of the north of England included York with The Shambles and a Cornish pasty of meat and cheese along with Clifford’s Tower and a tumble on the stones for me- ouch-the ankle is a black and blue mess! The time in historic Yorkminster Cathedral inspired awe especially when one realized the spot is associated with the Roman Emperor Constantine. The next stop was magnificent wind-swept Hadrian’s Wall and the moors and heather stretching into the distance. The Roman fortification ruins along the Wall were covered with frolicking sheep too!

Global Perspective on Teacher Exchange with India

Tea planatation workers
Student art depicting Mother Theresa




Bust of Gandhi in Assam State Museum

“This blog is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and information presented are the grantee’s own and do not represent the Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program, the International Leaders in Education Program or the U.S Department of State.” (required disclaimer)

The TEA and IREX Programs under the sponsorship of the United States Department of State have allowed me the opportunity to grow professionally and learn in a very unique environment. I must confess that I am a “culture junkie.” As a child growing up in a small town in Alabama I read of far off places and dreamed of travel and experiences. I traveled to India and other exotic locations in my dreams and through literature only. On my business card I have this quote from St. Francis of Assisi: “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” As a teaching professional I have been so fortunate to have the opportunity to live the seemingly impossible dream.

In my opinion exchange programs between educators are essential in the modern world. Isolation and ignorance must be overcome if we are to work together for peace and the mutual benefit of the students of the world. In my travels I have learned that we share so much more in common than we realize most of the time. Parents everywhere want their children to succeed in life and know that education is the path to improve their lives and circumstances. People want truth, justice and fairness in their daily lives and worry about the environment and the future of their countries. Foreign students have preconceived ideas of American life that are based on television coverage. I did my best to answer student and teacher questions and let them know that the media and reality TV programming does not represent the vast majority of American citizens. The streets of America are not paved in gold and we must all work to earn a living no matter where we happen to reside.

I use my travel experiences almost daily in the classroom. Students immediately pay closer attention when a personal story or anecdote is given in class. We all love a good story and to hear of personal experiences from people around us. This adds interest and complexity to the presentation of world literature and stimulates students to read more and travel themselves.

This is my closing IREX post, but I want to ask you to take the time to read the other six or seven entries under the IREX label. Because I am a “culture junkie” my best writing and reflections are on the culture of India: the food, the street life, fashion, religion and the Rhinos of Kaziranga National Park. I had such a rich experience and met so many wonderful people on this trip. I can honestly and sincerely report that the hospitality of the Assamese people of India is unparalleled in the WORLD!

Thank you to all the teachers, students and administration of Maharishi Vidya Mandir School for their hospitality and sharing of the Assamese and Indian culture. Thank you IREX for selecting me for this prestigious program and also special thanks to the U.S. Department of State for their foresight in sponsoring this teaching exchange.
Please read on………..

Educational System Observations on Indian Schools: Guwahati, State of Assam, India

Student work at Maharishi Vidya Mandir School

Staff at the Autism, CP and Mental Retardation School I visited

Tell me and I will forget, Show me and I will learn, Involve me and I will understand-------Teton Lakota (American Indian saying)

The teachers of Maharishi Vidya Mandir School in Guwahati and other regional schools I visited the past two weeks are doing a wonderful job of engaging and involving students in learning. Our educational systems are very different in many respects, but as I told the Indian students in question and answer sessions, there is little difference in teaching styles- a teacher is a teacher wherever you go no matter what the circumstances.

I have witnessed some very fine teaching and learning taking place in the schools in India. In an English class I observed a student skit on a story they had just completed: The Nightingale and the Frog. The students had created simple head pieces and body attachments for costumes and each assumed a character in the piece. The speech was clear and the actions were staged well for the space allowed in the crowded classroom. The skit was well designed and the actors had equal parts that they performed with relish. They opened the floor for questions after the skit finished. The students conducted the class under the supervision of their teacher. The next class was a 9th grade section and they were conducting a review in English in the form of a team competition. A student recorder kept score on the board and each team posed student generated questions to the other team on Mutiny on the Bounty and the poems and life of Wordsworth. The students really tried to stump each other and asked difficult and detailed questions. The feeling in the room was intensely competitive! Another excellent class I observed was a 6th grade science lab for 39 students on mixtures. The teacher placed key words on the board and page references and students stood in front of the class and demonstrated portions of the lesson using different easily obtainable everyday items like lentils, pebbles, flour, rice and soil to demonstrate components of mixtures, pure substances and separation techniques. When the students completed their presentations, the teacher followed up with a recap of the lesson and a homework assignment.

My urban host school set up visits to other educational institutions so I could have a better picture of schools in the northeastern states of India. I visited the Modern English School in a more suburban part of Guwahati. This school is expanding and has built a new multistoried building with some smart boards in the classrooms and a computer lab. The class numbers are still high, but this school has focused on improving technology. The school has 1800 students on a secure and gated campus. The campus has some beautiful plantings and a very tropical feel. As in the other schools I visited, classrooms are not air-conditioned. There are numerous ceiling fans to help move the air in very hot classrooms- everyone seems acclimated and no one complains. Here in Memphis, Tennessee we have air-conditioned all the schools in the belief that extreme heat compromises learning. This does not seem to be the case in India because learning is on-going even in extreme heat and humidity!

Special education students are not educated in the general population in India. This is one major difference in our educational systems. I visited a very special non-profit private school that serves students with Autism, Cerebral Palsy and Mental Retardation. The school has a section for out-patient services and evaluation with physical therapists and a special education teacher to evaluate children. The physical therapist on duty showed us a special room he has put together to test young patients’ sensory development. The PT room was in use with an evaluation of a baby who has not started speaking or walking yet. The staff of two physical therapists was working with the child as the mother sat and watched. The room colors were bright and inviting throughout this school with wall murals and ceiling paints to stimulate students to look up and strengthen neck muscles. The manager and business director of this school who is wheelchair bound himself is especially proud of the newly renovated computer lab which is nearing completion. There will be ten specially adapted computers with head controls instead of hand operated mouse controls, special chairs with neck rests and special software to support speech and other needed skills for the school students enrolled in this unique day school facility. The ratio of staff to student is 1:3. We toured at lunchtime so students were self-feeding if they could or receiving assistance from the staff. Some inclusion does occur with community outreach events like talent shows, environmental walks, etc. In the more advanced age group we met a couple of students and visited with them. Victor has CP but normal intelligence and will graduate from school in a couple of weeks. The two talented young men in this classroom sang us a Christian hymn so beautifully tears ran down my face. This song was totally unexpected and the sweetest moment! This school is truly an educational oasis for the students it serves.

On this trip I learned about the class structure of the school systems in India. After completion of 10th grade, students test in various subject areas to begin to specialize and move on to pre-college and university courses. The math and science areas are the most competitive. The class structure is called 10+1 and 10+2 not 11th grade or 12th grade. The students begin to prepare for the SAT so they can enter a university. We stress education for the masses in the United States while the Indian system is much more selective due to the population of India.

I did not visit a public school on this trip. I do know that every parent that can afford to pay tuition enrolls their child in a private school. There are thousands of schools to consider with different focuses for a grammar school/high school experience and even more special colleges and universities. I have NEVER seen so many educational institutions in such a compressed geographic area. Education is of the utmost importance to Indian parents. They work very hard to provide the best education money can buy for their children.

Student Life in Guwahati, State of Assam, India

Student art examples at MVM School

Assamese dance performed in the music classroom-permission to use photo granted

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. Michelangelo

The students at Maharishi Vidya Mandir School are reaching for the stars each day. The work load is considerable during the school day and extra demands are frequently placed upon students. This private school is selective in admission and the students know the academic bar is set high.

The academic school day is roughly the same in length as the United States school day with one notable difference. Students attend school six days a week. The students study a core curriculum through grade ten that includes meditation and Assamese language classes. Class is conducted in English and students are expected to have adequate English verbal skills to stand and address their peers or conduct an assembly. Tests scores are the name of the game in India and the top scores are posted with the students’ names prominently in the schools. The newspapers publish individual and school scores on exams so the pressure is really on students to study and perform.

The students of grades 1-10 at Maharishi put on a school exhibition June 3rd for parents and the visiting international teachers. Some selected students were holding the ribbon to open the exhibition and we were asked to cut the ribbon and start the room tours. There were hundreds of projects to view and the students were standing by the projects ready to explain and orally defend their work. All school age groups were represented in the rooms and the crush of interested viewers plus students made the temperature rise. The regional director of the local Maharishi schools in Guwahati and the school principal toured the exhibits along with us and really questioned some of the older students on project design and outcomes. This dialogue was conducted in English and so were the abstracts students displayed along with their projects.

Most impressive to me as I toured the exhibition was the creative use of easily obtainable and inexpensive or free materials to produce the projects. Great artistry was shown and cultural aspects of Assamese Indian life were selected by the students to create their projects along with math and science based projects. Many students chose environmental science projects to highlight the need to preserve and protect the natural environment of India and the world. Some students chose current event topics to present in poster or graphic displays so the variety of projects was wide and very interesting. The students were all so eager to explain and show their projects.

Students gave the international teachers a farewell celebration the night of June 7th before we left Guwahati. We were treated to Assamese songs and dances with exceptional performances by students. These performing students were beautifully costumed in regional attire and well rehearsed. The vocals and drums were truly exceptional. I do not know how long they spent in after school rehearsals to produce this cultural extravaganza, but one student told me they really only rehearsed about two weeks to produce this program. AMAZING! Hold on America- India’s got talent!

The students I met on this trip are highly motivated and value education. The love and pursuit of knowledge and excellence is obvious. I know these students will lead India into the future with creativity and pride. India’s hope and future is in the excellence of their students. India is in good hands!

I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty: Fashion and Attire in India

Mugar silk from Assam
Sari experience- a beautiful moment!

Mehendi : henna artwork on my arms

Guwahati, State of Assam, India

The people of this region of India have a strong sense of style, fashion and appropriateness when dressing for daily, business or school events. I love the fact that everything worn here is not casual. I think I have seen every type of clothing possible since I have come to this region of India.

All students here seem to dress in uniform for school. These uniforms are crisp and truly uniform. I do not see students trying to get around the dress codes of their institutions. This observation does not mean they do not try small liberties at times, but I certainly have not seen a non-uniform shoe or missing belt on a student. The sports uniforms are really nice too and not just a pair of stretch shorts and a t-shirt.

Teachers dress at Maharishi Vidya Mandir School in beautiful cotton saris. These lovely garments are modest and timeless too. The prints are detailed and decorative borders on the edge of the fabric are eyecatching. This is a lovely tradition here and clearly defines the professional teachers from their students. The meditation teacher wears white tunics and loose fitting pants that make him easily identifiable on campus. The men teachers wear western style slacks and cotton shirts to work.

At home for casual dinners and to entertain friends clothing styles for women are salwaars. These are decorative longer tunics with matching pants that are loose at the waist and tightly fitted at the ankles. The finishing touch is always a matching scarf so the look is very “put together” even at home. Most females wear their beautiful dark hair long enough to wear up or braided. More traditional fathers wear the longer tunics and pants at home. Shoes are usually removed to enter the house so everyone is barefooted.

On the streets and in the hotels of Guwahati I have seen businessmen in western style suits and sport coats. Most men wear conservative slacks and collared shirts with leather sandals. The working class men wear a type of sarong style pant that looks difficult to tie properly which is cotton and loose fitting. They sport the woven distinctly regional Assam scarf tied around their heads to protect the face from the sun and dry their faces (much like we would use a handkerchief or bandanna, but much more colorful).

As evening falls and people go out to restaurants to meet and eat with friends the clothing style changes to more western types of dresses/tunics worn with tights for the younger ladies and name brand fashion labels for the men like Izod, etc. No great show of legs or chests for ladies- they are appropriately covered but stylishly dressed with a little bling and lots of jewelry.
Regional costumes are proudly worn for special occasions and school or community functions. These are very ornate and costly items of dress. Mugar silk woven with gold or silver thread is highly prized and very expensive to purchase. It is from a silk weaving district in Assam that I visited on this trip. The fabric is delicate, intricately woven and absolutely brilliantly colored- truly a regional treasure.

I absolutely could not resist buying and wearing a sari while on this dream visit to Assam. Of course it took three people to help me dress in my sari and I may never be able to wrap and pleat it properly again. My host family gave me a salwaar to wear also. The color is black and a vibrant emerald green. I have decided to wear this comfortable outfit for the long journey home to the United States. I have learned to wear a little bling on this trip so my sense of style will never be the same.

When someone asked me of my image of India before coming here on this exchange program, I immediately answered beautiful women in saris with lovely silhouettes. I certainly was correct with this impression.

Thank you to the beautiful people of Assam!

Caution!! Rhino Crossing Ahead!

Member of my host family wearing a T-shirt from my state- looking good Sanjeev! That elephant thinks so too.

My best Rhino picture from the wilds of Kaziranga National Park

World Heritage Site

NE States of India

"The only way to save a rhinoceros is to save the environment in which it lives, because there's a mutual dependency between it and millions of other species of both animals and plants."
David Attenborough

Kaziranga Wildlife Preserve is listed as a World Heritage Site. The park is about a five hour drive from Guwahati in the northeastern states of India. The jungle environment and biodiversity makes this place unique in the entire world and spectacularly beautiful. Special arrangements had been made to allow us to enter the now closed park. The park must close for the monsoon season due to widespread flooding of the low grasslands which the animals graze on and then must abandon for higher ground. This is monsoon season, but the animals are still on the savannah sections of the park and the roads are passable so we are really getting to experience something special with our solo visit to this park. We will not share the viewing with other tourist so I feel like the luckiest tourist ever!

Down a narrow dirt access road we rounded a curve and there standing in the road was a Rhino! He was crossing from one grassland field to another and stopped to stare at us. I was very glad we had the park ranger with his Rhino rifle in the car to protect us if necessary. After the Rhino moved on we pulled up to a viewing tower and jumped out to scamper up above the animal dangers and view the wildlife. Looking out over the vast lowlands of the Brahmaputra River basin I saw 25 to 30 Rhinos moving along and grazing peacefully- what a sight! We saw one Rhino in the water swimming and bellowing to his neighbors as he moved across. They are so huge and armor-plated for protection.

From the viewing tower we saw the smaller red Asian deer resting in the shade and grazing. In the water a Siberian Pelican was floating along near a Rhino. This pelican is snow white, but much like our brown pelicans. We could hear the cuckoo birds calling as evening approached. The breeze sprang up and the feeling of the park was peaceful and eternal too. It is hard to imagine this place in the 21st Century because it is truly timeless- a land time forgot.
We were so lucky to experience the park and witness the steps that are ongoing to protect the exotic species that inhabit this region. On our elephant safari ride we had the chance to see a little of Indian village life. Villagers are right up against park lands and conflict must take place when the animals are forced to move to higher ground and invade their garden plots. These park rangers have a difficult balancing act to perform in protecting the animals from poaching and the villagers struggle too, but the commitment is there locally and nationally to preserve and defend this beautiful natural resource unique to India.

I want to thank my host family for arranging this very special glimpse of their beautiful country. We have an experience that will always remain a memory that draws us together. I love my American family and I love my Assamese family too!

Extreme Eating in India

After dinner traditions- fennel and sugar ---- immature coconuts

Assamese dinner cooked and served by my host principal : Mrs. Manika Goswami Barua

State of Assam, Guwahati, India
June 8, 2011

Green Eggs and Ham
Green Eggs and Ham
I do not like green eggs and ham!
I do not like that Sam-I-Am!
Dr. Seuss taught a lesson in his famous book concerning prejudging food and people: Try them and you might find you like them!

Oh I do so like the Assamese Indian people and their food! This region of India has food that is milder in flavor, but the garnishes and pickles pick up the slack and make a statement. The sweet corn soup here is wonderful! Chicken and fish are prepared in so many different ways. The food is prepared fresh at home and out in restaurants- no relying on anything canned. If you want to eat chicken for dinner, that chicken is purchased alive from a basket on the street and slaughtered while you wait. The fish is freshwater fish and locally caught. Individuals offer fish on the side of the road along with the local vegetable produce. I have seen pork cut fresh on the side of the road too. Mutton and lamb dishes are common here as well, but Hindus do not eat beef so it is not on the menu.
Assamese food is not about convenience, but about the subtle flavors. The roti (bread) is similar to flour tortillas and is torn into pieces to eat. White rice is a staple of the Assamese diet along with lentils, potatoes, mangoes and bananas. A sort of lentil soup is served on the side of the rice plate and the idea is to spoon the lentils over the rice and mix it all with your fingers. The Assamese eat this with the right hand using three fingers as a sort of spoon and the thumb pushes across the fingers to deliver the rice dish into the mouth. There is definitely a technique for accomplishing this method of eating that requires practice. One DOES NOT lick the fingers after eating- this is very bad manners.
Achar is the Assamese name for pickles. I have tasted three types of mango pickles that are very different. These pickles are explosions of flavor and texture in the mouth. Some pickles have more vinegar, sugar or spices than others. There are certain pickles that accompany certain meats offered on the table. These pickles are so interesting that I found a few in the department specialty shop and bought some samples to take home to my family. Madam Principal Monica is giving me some of her pickles to take home when I leave India. Common spices used to prepare pickles and other foods here are coriander, turmeric, garlic, curry and chilies of many different types. Onion is a primary seasoning agent too.
The hotel breakfast buffet at Brahmaputra Ashok Hotel has a number of Indian offerings that we finally got the courage to try. There is chole which is chickpeas in a savory sauce eaten with bhutora which is a type of fried bread. Beans for breakfast- highly seasoned beans- is a radical culinary step for this Southern girl. The hotel also offers fried vegetables that look like croquettes that taste pretty good and seem to vary from day to day.
The snack foods here in India are different and tasty. The chips or crisps are flavored much differently using chilies and tomatoes. Cashews and peanuts are big for snacks too. Roadside stands offer coconut water to drink as a snack which is very different from coconut milk and I have tasted a wonderful mango drink with fresh coconut and cashew nuts on top.
This region of India is a tropical paradise so of course the fruit is spectacular. Litchi fruit is in season now and so interesting to touch, peel and eat. Madam Principal Monica showed us the Jack fruit tree with the fruit growing on it and brought us Jack fruit to sample- not bad. Both of these exotic fruits have large pits to spit out and interesting flavors and smells. Of course there are mangoes, papayas, coconuts and smaller green colored bananas that are really good!
Now let’s talk about tea- Indian tea-black or green varieties. The state of Assam is famous for their wonderful tea. Tea is served and enjoyed here in the late afternoon and is part of the social niceties whenever one visits or conducts business. The host always offers tea and biscuits, crackers or cookies to the guest. It is important to accept this invitation and then sit back and relax and enjoy something timeless that Americans seem too busy to appreciate.
Tea time pushes dinner time here in India to much later in the evening. Dinner is served starting after 8pm here- certainly not 5:30 or 6:00pm like we do in the States. At times it seems that all one does in India is EAT! At the end of a meal there are two regional customs that are always seen. A small bowl of water with a lime slice floating in it is offered to each dinner guest to wash the fingers off. A crystallized white sugar and anise seeds are offered together for a guest to take a small amount and place in the mouth to use as a breath freshener. This is so very civilized and I love it!

In extreme eating there are so many foods and so little time! I wonder what’s for breakfast in the morning???? "I do so like green eggs and ham!"