Mrs. Maitreyi Basu led me through the halls to the classroom.  She placed my chair under a fan-- a very thoughtful gesture since the weather is 95 degrees with 90 humidity and no airconditioning! As I was dressed in traditional clothing the heat can seem especially oppressive.  Mrs. Basu told the girls to listen carefully to me, she cautioned me to speak slowly and then she closed the door as she left the room.

 

About fifty girls looked at me from their desks.  How to begin?!  "Okay everybody stand up for Simon Says!"  I told them.  A few minutes later there was loud laughter as the girls touched their heads, ankles, elbows, noses and quickly caught on to the idea of moving only when "Simon Says." 

 

Next I told them I woiuld answer three questions.  Slowly I had three questioners.  Each stood as they asked their question and I wrote it on the chalkboard.  "Please, Miss, would you tell a bit about your family?  Please, Miss, would you tell about your likes and dislikes?  Please, Miss, would you tell about your school? "  So I tried to draw on the board symbols to represent my family, the Sinagua High School schedule, and extra-curricular activities, the dress code policy, and my hobbies!  It was fun and funny-- especially explaining the midriff policy to a nation where sari's are the national attire!   

 

But I really wanted to know about them.  So on to another game.

"I am thinking of a number between 1-10," I said.  The winner would stand, spell her name for me (which takes quite an effort for me to get it right!) and then the girl would  answer one of the three questions about herself that they had asked me. The girls were delightful; their English and vocabulary were excellent.

 

Last I asked them to write two lines of a poem about friendship.  Since many seem puzzled, I wrote-- Friendship is like a flower that blossoms when strangers become known to one another.   I told them they could use any language they wanted-- Hindi, Bengali, or English. 

 

Two read very fine poems that combined languages, popular culture and ancient allusions.  It was very nice.  Then a bell rang and no one moved so, silly me, I just kept enjoying the moment.  Until one student said, "Please Miss, may I be excused."  I planned to stay and write down the names and poems, but no one leaves before me-- so they all stood and two escorted me out of the class. 

 

The experience was charming and I know it will be different when I actually start teaching content, but I love the beautiful, kind, peaceful women.  And when they laugh they are as full of mischief and fun as students everywhere.  In the classroom I feel completely at ease.