Just a few odds and ends. There is a Barrista Coffe shop just around the corner from us where we can get a very nice Cappuccino - see attached. So far we've avoided the Swiss Hot Chocolate . . .
Harpreet (CIIS Academic Principal and good friend) took us to visit the Banda Singh Bahadur memorial on the way home from work last week (same day we saw the peacocks). This commemorates a fierce warrior and leader from the 1700s who fought the Mughals - see Google for the complete story. It is beautiful, new (opened 2013 and still not quite complete) and very peaceful. As usual (seems so to us), a few groups of school girls arrived just as we did and they followed us around screwing up the courage to ask for a photograph (we're in 100s of photographs from all over India by now). Cute kids and why they us in their pictures . . . ?
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| Hansi & Rob in the obligatory "school girl" photo |
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| Hansi and Harpreet at Banda Singh Bahadur Memorial |
School term is winding down (December 8 is the last day of classes) and I'm looking forward to the time when I do not have any classroom prep work (I'd forgotten how much work is involved). Teaching classes of Indian students is an experience second to none and I've enjoyed both great joy and major frustration. The "kids" area delight (they stand when you enter the classroom and thank you on the way out), often funny, always sociable and frequently having a laugh at me in Punjabi. Their work habits are all over the place ranging from studious "keeners" to major "slackers" (not too different than Canada). But, given their school experience until now (lots of rote memorization, very little faculty interaction other than punitive and berating, a lot of "nannying" to keep them focussed on their work, little or no independent work expectations, family intervention at school to get them "off the hook" etc etc), the road to our way of teaching/learning is a tough one.
It is gratifying to see the positive changes in attitude and English proficiency that have taken place since we all started last August - makes it all worthwhile. This model (first year in India and then transfer to Canada to complete degree/diploma at Canadian partner institution) works and I only wish there were more Canadian faculty over here.
Hansi and I are off (by auto rickshaw, of course) to a big outdoor craft show or mela which is on the other side of Chandigarh from us. Sounds like fun - it's cool and sunny and maybe we'll get a little nosh to boot!
Rob
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