The Annual Enrichment Seminar for English Teaching Assistant’s in South and Central Asia

One great perk about working abroad is the endless possibility of trips to and from amazing places. On the first week of December, The Fulbright Commission/U.S. Department of State flew us ETAs to Kathmandu, Nepal to attend the annual Enrichment Seminar hosted for Fulbright English Teaching Assistant’s (ETA's) in the South and Central Asia regions. This seminar lasted from 3^rd to the 6^th of December. Traveling to Nepal was a remarkable experience. The weather was much cooler than in India. Not surprisingly, we were placed in a top notch hotel called Hotel Manaslu. For the duration of this seminar, our schedule was packed!

Our Schedule:

December 2, 2012

At the opening ceremony,

Susan Parker Burns (left; U.S. Embassy in Nepal) 

and Sue Borja (right; U.S. Department of State)

12:00 - 5:00 pm Arrivals and Registration

6:00 - 9:00 pm Dinner

December 3, 2012

7:00 - 8:30 am Breakfast

8:30 - 9:30 am Opening Ceremony

9:30 - 10:00 am Tea Break

10:00 - 11:30 am Session I: “Meeting Challenges” - Teaching English as a Second Language

11:30 - 12:30 pm Lunch
**Throughout the week, Sue Borja, a representative from U.S. Dept of State, met with the ETAs from each country to discuss their experiences and any concerns.

 

12:30 - 3:15 pm Session II: Panel Presentation: The ETA Program across the Region

ETAs in Kazakstan

**The ETAs presented on our experiences in our respective cities/countries and schools. Considering the great differences between the cities in India, New Delhi, Madurai, and Kolkata ETAs presented separately. 

      12:30 - 12:45 pm Nepal (Gorkha)

      12:45 - 1:00 pm Nepal (Lalitpur)

      1:00 - 1:15 pm India (Delhi)

      1:15 - 1:30 pm India (Kolkata)

      1:30 - 1:45 pm India (Madurai)

      1:45 - 2:00 pm Bangladesh

ETAs in New Delhi, India

      2:00 - 2:15 pm Sri Lanka

      2:15 - 2:30 pm Kazakhstan
      2:30 - 2:45 pm Tajikistan
      2:45 - 3:00 pm Kyrgyzstan

3:15 - 3:30 pm Tea Break

3:30 - 6:00 pm Session III: ETA Group Activity

6:00 - 9:00 pm Welcome Reception and Dinner

Ian & Ayumi (ETAs in Nepal) present on "Lyrics and Language:
Utilizing Song to Encourage Spoken English"

December 4, 2012

7:00 - 8:30 am Breakfast

9:00 - 10:30 am Session IV: ETAs Share Teaching Experiences and Tips

10:30 - 10:45 am Tea Break

10:45 - 12:15 pm Session V: ETAs Share Teaching Experiences &  Tips

12:15 - 1:15 pm Lunch 

1:15 - 4:00 pm Session VI: “Overcoming Obstacles and Having Fun”

6:00 - 9:00 pm Dinner

(left) Fay, ETA in Kolkata, India gives a presentation on "Breaking Barriers to Access: Inclusive and Human Rights Education"

(right) I also represented Kolkata, India and gave a video presentation on a movie I made with my 6th graders: "Our Dream For Our School







December 5, 2012

7:00 - 8:30 am Breakfast

8:30 - 11:00 am Session VII: “Best Practices: Going Beyond the Curriculum”  

Christine Stone from the Kathmandu International Study Center  presents in Session VII--she was wonderful!

 11:30 - 5:30 pm   AFTERNOON FREE

*OPTION 1: Hike from Telkot to Changu Narayan. (Packed lunches will be made available)

 OPTION 2: Visit Lalitpur ETA placements. (Lunch at Godavari Village Resort)

      *--I chose to participate in this activity     

Myself and Maisoon (ETA in Bangladesh) before the hike

And the hiking begins!

I am so Extra!

Such beautiful scenery in Kathmandu, Nepal

We head back to our next destination...

At the entrance of an old temple, I saw this sign

Ancient and beautiful

7:00-9:00 pm Dinner at Tukche Thakali Kitchen

Traditional Nepali dish...hmm so good!!

December 6, 2012

7:00 - 9:00 am Breakfast

9:00 - 10:30 am Session VIII: “Co-teaching: Problems and Practices”

10:30 – 10:45 am Tea break

10:45 - 12:15 pm Session IX: Beyond Being an ETA: Future Career Possibilities

12:15 - 1:15 pm Lunch
1:30- 5:30 pm  AFTERNOON FREE

OPTION 1: Kathmandu Durbar Square - Swayambhunath Tour.

*OPTION 2: Pashupati - Boudanath Stupa Tour.

      *--I chose to participate in this activity

On this trip, we first went to the Pashupati Temple, which is one of the most significant Hindu temples of Lord Shiva in the world, located on the banks of the Bagmati River. The temple itself is listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites list. Near the Pashupatinath Temple, we walked alongside the Bagmati River. Similar to how Varanasi is the holiest city in India, is considered a holy river both by Hindus and Buddhists living in Nepal. The Bagmati is also important because it is the only river Hindus in Nepal deem as holy enough to cremate.  Fortunately for us all the cremations are public and we were able to witness a cremation. 

According to the Nepalese Hindu tradition, the dead body must be dipped three times into the Bagmati river before cremation. The chief mourner (usually the first son) who lights the funeral pyre must take a holy river-water bath immediately after cremation. Many relatives who join the funeral procession also take a bath in the Bagmati River or sprinkle the holy water on their bodies at the end of cremation. The Bagmati River is considered to purify the people spiritually.

Bagmati River

'Chief mourner' of that family dips the deceased body in the river

Family members now saying their last goodbyes (via giving flowers) before the deceased gets cremated

After being dipped and the farewells, the men of the deceased place the deceased on this structure to be cremated.
This is not the same individual being cremated..this person was cremated right next to the person above.

Beautiful structure alongside the Bagmati rive (opposite to where people are cremated)

Another place we visited was the Boudhanath stupa. The Boudhanath Stupa is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Kathmandu, Nepal. Considering the influx of large populations of refugees from Tibet living in Nepal, there has been over 50 Tibetan Monasteries including the Boudhanath in Nepal. As of 1979, Boudhanath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

a shop selling traditional Tibetan wear for women

6:30-9:00 pm Farewell Reception

I decided to wear a sari (traditional Indian dress--same one from Teacher's Day in Sep.) to the reception

Traditional Nepali performance--very cool!!

Their facial expressions and the dance tell a story of the Nepali people back then

Me and my Program Advisor, Sumanta--the best boss ever!!

9:00- Onwards ETAs relocate to a club nearby to party & celebrate my 23rd birthday (I was born on 12/7)

December 7, 2012---IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!

7:00 -8:30 am Breakfast

9:00 – 1:00 pm   Departures to Airport from Hotel

**Thanks to God, India ETAs got to stay an extra day because there were not flights to India on 12/7 :)

That only meant more shopping and sightseeing!!!

Mexican food in Nepal!--who would have thought?

Lol, 'Wal-Mart' in Nepal?

All over the streets we saw prayer flags--so beautiful

Later that night, I had a nice birthday dinner with the India ETAs at a pizza restaurant called Fire and Ice (there's only 2 worldwide--India & Nepal). The Kolkata ETAs were so sweet and surprised me with a birthday dessert. I <3 them!!

All in all, I much enjoyed the annual Enrichment Seminar. I loved meeting the ETAs from the other regions and learning about their experiences as well as challenges they've had while teaching English and living in their respective countries. I also appreciated the presentations performed because they offered great ideas to help my students. Aside from the great information and networking, I loved the sightseeing trips. Of them all, the Boudhanath stupa, one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Kathmandu, was my favorite!!

Now, back to the good ol' India.

Things I Do and Do Not Miss About America (mainly South Florida)

Both of my parents grew up —and suffered— in Haiti. Fortunately, they were blessed enough to immigrate to the United States to meet one another and raise my sister and I. Growing up and even now when I travel somewhere, I am always re-reminded of how grateful I am for my parents in risking their lives for me to live the 'American dream.' I have been living in India since June 2012—it feels like I have been away for much longer. Since I have been here for almost five months now, I thought about making this post and writing the things I miss and don’t miss about home.

Things I Miss About America:

1. Silence—the roads here in India are SUPER loud. People constantly honk their horns for no apparent reason. 
2. Electricity—I go to the gym everyday here. To reduce the electricity bill, clients are not allowed to use any of the machines for more than 20 minutes (i.e. elliptical and treadmill).  Nor are we allowed to run on the treadmill. Nevertheless, I learned to make the best of it via doing circuit training.
3. The Beach
4. Getting credit for trying—In many countries outside of America (including India), kids get reprimanded for coming home with anything less than a perfect A+ on all of their subjects/exams. While teaching in India, I have seen first hand how stressful it is for kids. So much pressure is put on them to succeed and excel. Parents abroad (especially in India) have this mentality that a child should not get credit for trying because at all times, that child should strive to be the best. I am very grateful that my parents adopted the American idea of 'it's okay as long as you tried and did your best' when raising my sister and I. 

5. My family/friends—I know that’s obvious but I just wanted to put it in.

6. Food—I have no idea where to start: Banana pudding, IHOP pancakes, Panera Bread’s broccoli cheddar soup, Einstein’s wheat bagel with cream cheese, Doritos chips, Applebees, macaroni & cheese, every Haitian dish, and many more.

6. Washing machines-while I loved Manju-di (the lady that does our laundry a few times a week), I missed the luxury of washing my own clothes.

7. Variety of Options--Whether it is hummus,1% milk vs. regular milk, or TV channels, I will never be amazed by the amount of options for pretty much EVERYTHING we, Americans, have. In some ways I think it's useful but after living abroad for a while now it can also be overwhelming. 

8. Not getting laughed/looked at weird—although I have gotten adjusted to this attention here in India, it can be a lot sometimes. Almost draining for me. Everywhere I go, I get looks and remarks from the locals. I appreciate America for people's acceptance of others no matter who they are, what they look like, or where they are from. 

Things I Don’t Miss From America:

1.  The “American Bubble”—while in the states it is very easy to be unaware of what is going on in other parts of the world. Except of course if a massacre took place or something else happened in the Middle East. All of our mainstream TV, movies, and music are all American. Most of the news is about American things. It's interesting how everyone else in the world knows about America and yet we could possibly know nothing about them.
2. Display of prices without the sales tax—In India and the other countries I've been to, the prices for everything always includes taxes. I would prefer to approach the register knowing exactly what I will spend. 
3. Dependency on a car—Ask anyone who knows me and they'd tell you that I don't drive much. While I understand the value of having a car especially if you have a family or want to take trips. It is just disheartening to know that unless you live in a major city in the states it really sucks not having a car. Even just going to the supermarket can be a pain as you could wind up having to walk on a major highway to get there. Most American cities lack decent public transportation systems. Especially for long distance travel in and out of Florida, one's only options are car, the greyhound(:/), or plane. I'm not saying that India's rail system is top of the notch but all honesty the US needs to revamp its rail infrastructure, especially Florida. Living in India helped me gain an appreciation for public transportation.I had many options to get me to and from somewhere in no time---bus, rickshaw, and the metro. 
4. American Politics— Need I say more?

5. The American 'Grand Life':Working 9 to 5 (plus 2 weeks off)— traveling and living abroad has made me appreciate life more and more. I cannot grasp why Americans typically believe that spending 40+ hours a week working (with the standard two weeks of vacation) is the 'way of life' because it is not. Yes, one may not have the time and effort to travel across the globe but going somewhere with close family and friends to spend quality time is memorable and fun. Not to mention, it increases one's happiness. There's more to life than working 40 hours a week and two weeks of vacation.

6D Presents: Our Dream For Our School, A Speech of Many Voices

With one of my classes: 6D, I had a lesson on Martin Luther King, Jr. and his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. His speech had a great impact on the history of America and it was remarkable because he took the courage to voice himself before millions of people. After reading and listening to his speech, I had the class write their own dream for their school (each student wrote a dream sentence). I had the idea to combine their dreams into a movie as a way for them to voice their dreams—just like Martin Luther King, Jr. I am extremely proud of my students.

Note: These kids NEVER have the chance to work with media or to really express themselves AT ALL. They had a blast doing this project. I know this movie is a bit long (about 13min) but trust me ---it is worth your time. Thanks in advance! 

Click below to watch 6D's Our Dream For Our School movie!