Water balloon fight!

Tuesday, February 13, 2007



This is the way we kept the water balloons safe. :)

It was great to not worry about classes on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, I had other stuff to worry about, for example PACKING, plus tonnes of other things (including the farewell cards I'd been working on for the hostel kids for at least 2 weeks already). But, being naughty, I decided I'd give myself a break from 2 weeks non-stop work, and I'd join Cristy and the hostel kids in school in the afternoon for some water-balloon fun. The kids were excited from the moment they saw us coming to school with 2 buckets, and they were eager to help us fill the balloons at the taps. Of course, some balloons broke accidentally, while others were stolen by naughty kids...and then broke. :) Finally, we'd filled all the balloons, and went over to the big field (with no grass) to play a game.
The kids were almost impossible to control because they were excited, so we kept the balloons away from them until they'd paired up and were all standing in a line. Then, we explained how to play the game: they would throw the balloon to each other, and each time they caught it, they'd each take a step back. The pair that managed to throw the balloon the farthest distance without it breaking would win.
Naturally, mayhem broke out the minute we grabbed the buckets filled with balloons and started handing them out, and within minutes there were broken balloons everywhere, plus kids rushing up to us to tell us they needed another one because theirs broke. In the end, 2 girls managed to keep their balloon 'alive' the longest. Then, we played another round, but again the game was over pretty soon because the balloons didn't survive very long.

In the end, we had 2 balloons left, so we all formed a circle, and started passing the balloons in opposite directions, to see which balloon would reach its starting point (Cristy) again first. The kids thought it exhiting to arrange for the balloons to reach me at the same time, so while the boy to my left would hold the balloon in his hands, the girls to my right would be cheering each other on to pass the balloon on as fast as possible. Then, I got ballons at the same time, and the kids squealed with laughter, having succeeded in their mission, and watching me trying to hold the balloons without dropping them.
Of course, these last 2 balloons didn't survive forever either, and soon all that was left was bits of balloon all over the field, plus big splotches of water everywhere.

After the clean-up mission, the girls, Cristy and I decided to play a game, while the boys played football and volleyball. Cristy taught us how to play 'I'm sorry baby, I just can't laugh.' We all stood in a circle, with one person in the middle. This person had to go up to someone else, and ask them to laugh. The other person would have to reply 'I'm sorry baby, I just can't laugh,' while keeping a straight face. Afterwards, the person in the middle would have to ask 2 more times, and if the other person managed to reply twice without smiling or laughing, they'd have won. However, if they did laugh, then they'd have to be the person in the middle, and they'd have to ask someone else.



The girls just couldn't keep a straight face!

It was such a funny game! The girls couldn't keep straight faces for anything, so someone else was in the middle all the time. One little girl was better than everyone else in getting people to laugh. If you even so much as glanced at Rajeswari, you'd end up rolling on the floor laughing (well, almost). Fortunately, it was also easy to get her to laugh. :)



Rajeswari in action! She was a Standard VI student (and is now in Standard VII! What a strange thought), and she always has a smile on her face (like pretty much all the students).





Of course, Rajeswari had a hard time keeping a straight face, too. Those kids just can't stop smiling. (Notice how 'I'm sorry baby, I just can't smile' turned into 'No smile.') :)

We all had so much fun together, and I really savoured every minute of being with the girls, but eventually I had to leave them and go back to making farewell cards, and everything else I was planning on doing.
I had a really special and memorable afternoon, though!

Annual Day

Monday, February 12, 2007




This is the sign we worked on several nights: after the guys cut out the letters, I helped get them in order and put glitter on them. At the end of one of these nights, it wasn't just my hands that were full of glitter...

Monday was the big day! They'd planned the Annual Day so I could be a part of the big celebration, so it was held before I left. I appreciated that very much.
Many weeks before Anuual Day, Cristy and I decided we'd surprise the kids by singing a song they always asked us to sing. Remember their favourite song? Yep, that's right, we decided to sing 'My Heart will go on,' the theme song from Titanic. Fortunately I'd asked my parents to photocopy the piano score when they visited in October, so I kidnapped the keyboard on a regular basis; whenever I didn't need it in school for lessons, I'd take it home and we'd practise. We also came up with a little skit to do before the song, to make everyone laugh. We worked hard, and even got some props ready. It was going to be fun!
...As long as I'd get my voice back. The cold weather in Ooty hadn't been great for my body, because soon after I lost my voice. The week before Annual Day (my second-last week teaching) had been a nightmare in terms of teaching because I couldn't speak louder than the kids. The older classes were alright, but I distinctly remember having problems with Standard IV. I was very frustrated not being able to sing with some of my students in our last Moral lesson together, and I was also very upset that I couldn't sing on the weekend. Cristy and I were supposed to do 2 special music items in church, so I ended up playing the piano, while Cristy sang. I was really disappointed, and was very worried that I wouldn't be able to sing on Annual Day. Fortunately, by Monday, my voice was ok again!

Monday rolled around, and so many last-minute details kept us busy. Of course, the whole school community was busy preparing. The kids had spent weeks practising their dances, and of course they always tried to get out of Moral lessons by telling me it was absolutely necessary for them to practise an extra 40 min. Sometimes I consented, and that lead me to learning a couple dances with the students. Of course, I was never as good at them as they were, but I'd jump in for fun, and the kids were always eager to teach me. Watching them prepare was so much fun! You could feel the excitement in the air.
The programme was going to be held in the afternoon, so we had the morning to prepare. Unfortunately, we weren't as productive as we could have been because we'd always get distracted (our own fault completely). But we managed to get ready in time, and I headed down to the school as soon as I'd made my saree look presentable, so I could set up the keyboard (or at least tell someone to set it up).



L to R: Naveen, Mohammedameen, Nikhil, Mohammedameersha (his face is somewhat covered by his own hand), Rahul (in the orange shirt), and Asif (at the very front). Asif is the only one who's a Std 1 boy; all the others are Std 4 boys.

Well, as soon as I got there (of course I was greeted by dozens of my excited students who wanted my full attention), I felt a slipping sensation. This sensation is one only green-horn saree-wearers know (because it never happens to experienced saree-wearers like Pratheeba or any of the other teachers). :) Yep, I felt that somehow, my saree was falling off me. Time to panic! I figured I should get out of sight (the flat area the kids usually play volleyball after school was transformed by the hundreds of blue chairs that had been placed for all the people that were expected), so I slipped into the kitchen. Fortunately, Lalitha Auntie was there to save me. Despite our terrible communication (we can't speak each other's languages), she somehow managed to read the anxiety in my eyes, so she took me into the storage room (filled with chilis and vegetables), closed the door, and began 'unwrapping' me. She fixed the saree really well so I could move about with ease again (of course, I couldn't do that completely - deep in my subconscious there was still a fear of my losing my saree on stage, so I took small steps the rest of the evening). :)



The stage!



The audience! Of course, there were more people there when the program started. Mainly parents and siblings (plus former students of the school) attended the program. Of course, there were several distinguished guests that had been invited (they each had a speech) - a very long speech!), but they left after the opening ceremony.

The programme began almost an hour late (surprise, surprise). It started out with speeches that I felt were not so interesting (because I couldn't understand most of them - the ones that were in Malayalam). The highlights, though, was Benet's welcoming speech (which he delivered excellently!) and Agila's song. Of course, even during this opening part of the programme did I have to stay on my toes. About half an hour before I headed to the school, Monisha (a Standard X student) came to our apartment and asked us for help. She didn't know what song to sing for the opening ceremony. She'd planned on singing 'My Heart will go on,' but we had to break the news to her that we were singing that song (and swear her to secrecy). So, she was at a loss. The song she'd wanted to perform instead didn't work out because she couldn't get the soundtrack ready. So, she came to us for help. Eventually she decided on singing 'Nearer, my God, to Thee' (the hymn played by the string quartet in Titanic), and asked us to accompany her. I played the accompaniment on the piano from the sheet music I had, but it was too high for her, so she wanted me to play it lower. Unfortunately, I'm not a virtuoso, and I didn't have the nerve to figure out how to transpose the whole piece in my head. So I was a bit annoyed at the request (of course she probably didn't understand that it was a hard thing to do; I made that clear to myself and tried to hide my dismay). Fortunately, Cristy had taught me how to play the most important guitar chords, and though I'm not great, it seemed like the only way to help Monisha perform (I can figure out chords by ear; Cristy's working on it, but she's getting the hang of it, too). So, we practised a couple of times before she left and I finished getting ready.

...Back to the opening ceremony. After a couple of speeches, it was our turn. Monisha was really, really nervous, and even though I was nervous too, I managed to help her relax a little before we got on stage. Fortunately, I don't have any proof of that performance; it took me a while to get the hang of her tempo because she sang much slower than we'd practised (or maybe I imagined that because I was nervous). Either way, it took me a couple of tries until I finally got a strumming pattern that matched her tempo. On the whole, it went pretty well (though I have to work on my chords, and especially my strumming!), and Monisha was so relieved when it was over. I was proud of her because she overcame so much fear in order to perform on that stage alone!



Us performing! By the way, the matching sarees are our uniform sarees. All the teachers were wearing them that day (at least all the ladies). :)

Towards the end of the opening ceremony (I think!), it was Cristy's and my turn. We asked the boys who were in charge of the microphones to set up 2 microphones with stands at the front of the stage. However, when I got up there, there wasn't any microphone ready, so I had to shout at the top of my voice. Fortunately, my first lines were just 'Cristy,' so it wasn't all that hard to make myself heard. :) The rest went sort of like this:

N is standing on stage holding a plate on her head, shouting 'Cristy.' C runs on stage with her guitar.
C (out of breath): I'm so sorry I'm late!
N: Where have you been? I've been practising our plate dance for the last hour! Look, I've gotten pretty good at it. (N starts 'dancing.' She isn't holding her plate anymore, but it miraculously stays on her head. Then she stops and grabs hold of it again.) Wait, where's your plate?
C: That's what I was trying to tell you! While I was practising, it fell and broke.
N: Ayoh! (N puts her hand to her face and lets her head sink. She isn't holding her plate anymore, but it still stays on her head.)
C: Noemi... (She goes over to N and pushes back her hair to reveal the headband to which the plate is glued. She laughs and takes it off)
N: Well, what are we going to do now?
C: Well, I was thinking, how about we sing a song? I brought my guitar, so I can play along.
N: OK! But what are we going to sing?
C: How about 'Ende khalbile'? (NB: That's a much-loved film song from a recent Malayalam film)
N: Sure! (They both start singing while C accompanies on the guitar. They sing really high, and it doesn't sound all that great, but surprisingly, the whole audience starts clapping the rhythm. Unfortunately, C and N didn't know more than the first 5 lines of the song, so they had to stop. Besides, C couldn't find the right chord anymore.) This isn't working.
C: No, it isn't. What are we going to do now?
N: Wait! I have an idea! I know this song about a boat.
C: A boat? Oh, you mean... (she starts singing the 'Arky Arky' song.)
N: Cristy...Cristy! (C stops singing.) That's the wrong boat.
C: Oops.
N: I think I have the music with me... (They go over to the piano, N starts playing, and they both sing.)

Strangely enough, everyone was quiet while we sang all 3 verses of the song (we had been told by Ammini Teacher that the Principal wanted us to sing a long song, so everyone could enjoy it), and at the end, the kids didn't look all that enthusiastic.
Later, we were congratulated, but it always went something like this: 'Your "Ende khalbile" was great! I should have sung the whole thing.' Not a word about the Titanic song. Nope. The whole town was talking about our 5-second Malayalam singing (because they'd set up speakers in town, too! We were shocked when we heard!!!).

We thought we could relax after our performance, but within 5 minutes of the opening ceremony being over, we were rushed behind a microphone by Ammini Teacher to make announcements. She thought it especially funny to have us announce all the dances with Malayalam names. :) It was fun, though. Plus I could wish my students all the best while they were setting up behind the curtain (announcements were always done behind the curtain - fortunately!).
I really enjoyed the second half of the program. It was just the kids' performances. They were so great! They had prepared for so long, and they really did a good job. I tried to videotape as much as I could, but I was down to my last tape, and I wanted a bit left over in case of any funny scenes arising at home, so I filmed a segment of each performance (though I'd have loved to film more).



My Std 4 students dancing to 'I'm a barbie girl.' The song is very popular with the older girls of the school, who helped my students prepare. The kids looked fantastic in their costumes, and did a good job dancing, too!



A traditional dance, called the Bharatanatyam, performed by Midhu, a Std 8 girl. I had to check the program to see who she was, because I can't recognise her with all that make-up on! But the dance was great! It's amazing what she could do with her arms and neck! Absolutely fascinating!

By the end of the night, I was so tired, I could hardly keep myself standing on my feet. All the teachers had to go through a photo-shoot (I don't want to know how exhausted I looked on them!), and afterwards, I carried a chair 2 metres (my contribution to the clean-up effort), before I made Benet carry the keyboard home and dragged myself the 50 metres home. I was so glad we didn't have any school the next day!
Exhausted, but happy, I fell onto my bed (after unwrapping myself) and fell asleep.