Learning to learn (part 2)

ECD is considered by some here, to be a time when children are "Learning to learn"

This week I am involved in discussions and proposals re radically increasing enrolment for ECD to be closer to reaching the EFA targets. There is also some understanding that enrolment is not enough and it is the quality of experiences that is important! This was certainly brought home to me when I went to visit a class yesterday. The eight/ ten day training for facilitators does include some making of materials from local, low cost but none in evidence here. The room had roof and walls, a barred window space, too high for the children to see through, common to most schools I visit here, a new (rare even for a new class) piece of carpet, 10 x 3year olds, one new facilitator, a small shelf unit with 1 ball , I pen and a water bottle, some of the children's tiffin (these lunch snacks varied from a bag of dry beaten rice, a packet of biscuits to share with a sibling and for one little girl a white radish about the size of a big carrot )The children are in ECD from 10 am -3 pm!


And the children are in ECD from 10 am -3 pm! The facilitator did try using singing and stories and a game with a ball but for 5 hours!!??

Learning to learn?

Later when walking back to the office I passed a child who I see quite often sitting on a step outside his/her (?) family home/workplace (?)

Low cost no cost resource, included one old plastic bottle, 1 piece of stick, a tiny stone, I rupee coin and a small shiny sphere, possibly a ball bearing which unlike the other objects rolled every-time it was dropped and the small hand had to be very quick to catch it.



Holding the bottle like this meant the contents could be seen as each new piece dropped down and did not fall out.


When enough, or all available contents were in the bottle shaking it meant it made a good sound, the pieces went up and down, but held this way up didn’t fall out either…

Involvement and concentration levels high. Learning explored; materials have different properties, objects move in different ways e.g. some roll, gravity, volume, sound, and, and, and...

So learning lots!

Although sadly no adult interaction to help take the learning any further (and if ever I get close he/she runs inside).

Last time I saw them studying a 5 rupee note, turning it over and over and folding it in different ways for several minutes, but then this strange foreign woman was spotted watching and vanish!

Learning to learn? Yes!

More news soon, Sheila x

Road safety

The roads round Darjeeling are pretty hairy yet there were no obvious signs of crashes (or mishaps as we call them here). Could this be because of the wonderful signs they have painted on the road side?

Hurry Burry spoils the curry

If you are married, divorce speed

Donate blood at blood bank not on this road

Don't be rash, avoid a crash

roads are hilly, don't be silly

on my curves, don't lose your nerves

As I write, things not looking good for the South Africans. It would mean staying up to until 4am so I won't be watching it to the end. Shame the Kiwis went out last night but at least Sri Lanka keeps a bit of South Asian interest.

Cheers

Roshan

The trip back

Saturday, 21 April

We woke to a torrential downpour, hope it has helped top-up the water supply. As promised, we'd hired a car to take us back to Siliguri – not a jeep but Sonam in his trusty Maruti 800. About half way down he forked off Hill Cart Road and the railway route to take us on a short cut. The reason it was shorter was because it had less zig-zags, i.e. the road was steeper! I'm sure the views would have been great but probably a good thing that most of the trip we were in clouds so couldn't see the drop on the corners. We stopped off at a tea estate on the way down and saw real Darjeeling tea being processed. The smell is fantastic and it was amazing to watch the machinery, most of which is over a hundred years old, in action.

Our tea stop on the way down – part of the estate we visited

In Siliguri we switched to the car the travel agent had organised to take us to the airport across the border. Or at least that was the plan. I had seen in the papers that the Madhesi Forum (a political group from southern Nepal) had called a strike and thought this might create some delays. It did, they had closed the bridge at the border by having a mass meeting on it. Having cleared the Indian border post, our driver informed us that he could go no further. So off we go on foot following everyone (only 1 other, quite nervous, tourist who was rethinking her plan to get a bus in Nepal) else and then discovered that they were avoiding the bridge by going under it and fording the river! Fortunately this is the driest time of year so the river bed which was about 200 metres across only had a couple of little streams running down it and at the deepest these were only 2 ft so, shoes off, trousers rolled up and bags on our back we waded through them to get to the Nepal border post on the other side. Hot though it was, even climbing up the steep bank the other side was not too bad and made me realise how much thinner the air had been in Darjeeling (elevation 2,000m) where we had been puffed out walking up the smallest of slopes. Another confirmation that I don't want to go to Everest or Annapurna Base Camp and discover how thin the air is there.

So finally we got to the airport only to discover that having rushed to make it in time, the plane was late due to bad weather in Kathmandu. And when an hour and a half later we did take off we quickly discovered that it was very bad weather. It was easily the most unpleasant flight I've had, a small (19 seater) airplane is pretty uncomfortable in a thunderstorm and we were pitching and yawing all over the place – though not needed I felt better having checked there was a sick bag in the pocket in front of me. It was good to finally land at Kathmandu even if it was in a huge downpour with torrents of water flowing across the car park.

Back home and glad to have one day to get sorted out before we are back to work on Monday. According to the newspapers we should have another day off on Tuesday to celebrate the first anniversary of Loktantra (democracy) when the King handed over power following the people's revolution. Seems a long time ago now.

Cheers

Roshan

P.S. Hope you've spotted the neat little widget from Justgiving that links to our fundraising site. If you haven't donated already, please feel free to do so – it will make me feel that writing this and the pain of uploading the pictures over a slow dial-up connection is all worth while :-)

Darjeeling Zoo

Friday, 20 April

Last day so we thought we would take a tour with Sonam, our friendly Tibetan taxi driver, starting with the zoo.

The zoo was very well maintained and rather than cram it full of every species concentrated on those indigenous to the region.

Red Panda – never knew there was such a thing

Leopard – gave everyone a fright by rushing at the fence and snarling

Behind the very clear picture of a chain link fence you might spot a tiger

Black bear – seemed to very happy posing for the cameras

Attached to the zoo is the Himalayan Mountain Institute, an Indian Army owned climbing school. Although of Nepali origin, India considers Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who with Edmund Hillary was the first to climb Everest, as Indian and to cement this claim the HMI was founded very soon after his ascent and he was made the Chief Instructor. He spent most of the rest of his life in Darjeeling, his ashes are buried here and his son runs a local tour operator. As one might expect of a tourist attraction owned by the Indian Army, it is was pretty dull. The museum could definitely do with a makeover.
Other stops on the tour, a tea garden (factory was closed so we couldn't see the tea being processed)

Happy Valley Tea Estate

and a Buddhist monastery

Leaving for Siliguri tomorrow morning.

Cheers
Roshan

Kalimpong - flowers and a shared jeep ride

Thursday, 19 April

Kalimpong is another hill station about 3 hours drive east of Darjeeling. Its main claim to fame seems to be that they grow lots of flowers there, in particular orchids. We were lucky enough to have our first clear day in Darjeeling and could look out at the hills of Sikkim and beyond them to the Himalayas

imHimalayas

The drive to Kalimpong also gave us some amazing views as the road descends down to the river Teesta before crossing it and climbing back up to the town.

Having checked out a budget hotel and not been too impressed with it, we went to a very nice one where Sheila managed to haggle them down to a reasonable room rate. Unfortunately a combination of guilt about the water shortage and the lack of a plug meant we could not indulge in its greatest luxury – a long soak in the bath.

In case you were not impressed by pictures of the train here are some of flowers and cacti:

We (all right, me) decided that having blown the budget on the car up and the hotel, we should economise on the return journey back to Darjeeling and take a shared jeep like the locals do. I hesitate to mention actual prices otherwise you would think I was plain stingy so best just to say that a car/jeep to ourselves would have cost more than our joint daily income whereas seats on a shared jeep were a fifth of this. Anyway it was an experience, shame I didn't think to take some photos.

The jeep was a Mahindra (Indian make) semi-soft top (i.e. no side windows) slightly bigger than a Land Rover short wheel base but definitely smaller than a long wheel base. It had 3 rows of bench seats, shiny rear tyres and a roof rack for luggage (and the odd passenger). Sounds OK? Now fill it with 11 adult passengers, 1 toddler, the driver plus up to 2 on the roof or hanging on the back. It was our luck to be on the same seat as a large bottomed lady (no, not Sheila) and her matching husband so it was a bit cozy in our row. The 2.5 hour journey was pretty uneventful, the only moment of concern was rolling back down the hill after we stalled on a very steep, very tight bend. The weather could have been kinder, having been 25' in Kalimpong, it got progressively colder and then a real monsoon downpour. The short sleeved shirt I had on was appropriate at the start but by the end, my left arm (remember, no side windows) was pretty wet and cold.

We'll hire a car to ourselves for the trip back to Siliguri on Saturday.

More from Darjeeling later.

Roshan

Toy Train

Tuesday, 17 April

Having missed out on travelling up to Darjeeling on the Toy Train, we went for a short local trip on it. This is very tourist orientated and uses the old steam engines rather than the diesel ones they use on the long trips. Apart from being more powerful, these are more reliable, our trip was slightly delayed whilst they carried out some repairs

and 10 minutes after departure we had to park in a siding for some more

You can see from the picture above how the track runs along the road (yes, this is the main/only road into Darjeeling).

A quick stop at the Gurkha War Memorial which is at the top of a loop (the track goes round and over itself to climb without doing zig-zags)

and off again to our destination, Ghum, all of 8km from Darjeeling. This is about 200m higher than Darjeeling and for much of the time is enveloped in cloud, hence it was nick-named Gloomy Ghum.

A 30 min stop here to visit the Railway Museum, not much in it but well presented

Map showing how windy the route from Siliguri (bottom left) to Darjeeling (top right) is

And back to Darjeeling.

Our afternoon outing was down a steep winding path to the Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre. This was started in 1957 when Tibetan refugees from the Chinese invasion first started arriving in India. Two generations on, most younger Tibetans who were born and educated in India are integrated into the local community leaving the carpet, wool and leather workshops to their parents and grandparents. Darjeeling is probably the second largest home for Tibetans in India, the first being Dharamsala (to the west of Nepal) where the Dalai Lama is based. It is sad seeing how many of the older generation cling onto the hope that they will be able to return to a free Tibet. After 50 years, this seems increasingly unlikely despite high profile campaigns by Hollywood celebs and others. The harsh reality is that relations with China are too important for any government to take a real stand. Best hope is that China improves its human rights so that Tibetans don't feel the need to escape and those in exile are able to visit their homeland.

Tomorrow, Kalimpong.
Cheers
Roshan

Nepali politics

A quick change of subject to give you and me a break from Darjeeling.

 

Last week the inevitable happened and the Government announced that Constituent Assembly elections will not take place on 20 June. Probably because by now most people had worked this out for themselves, there was little fuss. The Maoists were very relaxed about it and are now focussing on Plan B (which was probably their Plan A all along) – to scrap the monarchy and declare a republic before any elections. Who knows what happens now but at least it gives more time for elections to be planned properly (not to say that they will be and no matter how well planned they are, some groups are going to be unhappy).

 

Keep tuned (might be a day or 2) for the next instalment of the Darjeeling trip – the Toy Train!

 

Cheers

Roshan

Darjeeling

Monday, 16 April

For those of you who don't have a Rough Guide for India handy, it says "Part Victorian holiday resort, part major tea-growing centre, Darjeeling (from Dorje Ling, "place of the thunderbolt") straddles a ridge 2,200m up in the Himalayan foothills and 600 km north of Kolkata (Calcutta)". I guess the original attraction of developing the town was that it has a much cooler climate than Calcutta and enabled the British sahibs and mem-sahibs to escape the heat in the summer. It also gave the tea planters a place to meet other chaps and sink a peg or 2 of whisky over a game of billiards or cards. The climate still draws holiday makers as do the spectacular views of Kanchenjunga and other ice-capped peaks. However it seems that for most foreigners it is mainly a staging post for the more glamorous tourist destination of Sikkim(with even better views, its own culture and trekking) a couple of hours drive north.

View of Darjeeling as you approach looking west

Looking back eastwards

The disadvantage of being built on quite a narrow ridge is that it gives little scope for horizontal development. Not that this has stopped expansion and the infrastructure is now creaking, not least water and roads. 60 years ago water came from a couple of mountain spring fed tanks (reservoirs) up the hill and these were adequate for the population of about 20,000; the population is now more like 200,000 and additional reservoirs are still (as they have been for 30 odd years) only at the planning stage. Water is therefore scarce and the limited piped supply is topped up by tankers bringing water from mountain springs to sell to the hotels. For domestic use, porters push carts up the hill with containers to fill – even with empty containers, it looks hard work on the way up and on the way down with a full load difficult to keep the cart from running away.

Cart with water containers (and a taster of the Toy Train, more pics to come in a later posting)

Surprisingly our hotel had no notices pointing out the water shortage so I'm sure many tourists blithely continue to take their daily shower and flush the toilet after every use. More positively ecologically, the council banned plastic bags from last month as they were blocking drains and impossible to dispose of in a town that appears to burn most of its rubbish in the street – land fill not really an option here. The roads were built for horses and pony carts, and although vehicles are banned from a couple of streets the rest are clogged with large jeeps and buses which are the main form of transport here. Although not always apparent, there is a one way system and Traffic Police, who do an amazing job avoiding complete gridlock, are everywhere. Freight and luggage is moved around the town by porters – we are used to seeing these in Kathmandu but here everything is on a steep slope, they really are tough.

Off on a short trip on the Toy Train tomorrow.

Cheers
Roshan

Tea time

Monday, 16 April

Sorry for the lack of news in the last few weeks. After a hectic time at Blue Diamond last week, we are having a weeks leave in Darjeeling (north India, close to Nepal's eastern border).

Darjeeling is famous for its tea although apparently most of what you buy in packets described as Darjeeling is grown elsewhere. It is a hill station in the sliver of IndiaNepal and Bhutan and was where the British Raj used to escape to when it got too hot in Calcutta. Although it is part of West Bengal state, it is ethnically Nepali and that's the language they speak. We got great views of the eastern Himalayas including I guess Everest and Kanchenjunga that lies between

on our flight to Bhadrapur, just inside Nepal and crossed the border to Siliguri in India by car. From there, our original plan was to take the "Toy Train" to Darjeeling but for one reason or another (3 different excuses given by the travel agent why it wasn't possible) we ended up going by car. The Toy Train (proper name – Darjeeling Himalayan Railway) is a good name, it is just like the train in (is it still running?) Hotham Park (that's in Bognor for any foreigners reading this) running on 2 foot gauge track. We are going to get out the anoraks and take a joy ride on it in the next couple of days so I'll do a trainspotter's piece with pictures.

Although we couldn't put the train in the log book, we still had much the same views as the road follows the same route up (strictly the other way round, Hill Cart Road as its called was built before the railway) with frequent crisscrossing (all unmanned crossings because you can easily see and hear if a trains coming and it only travels at about 10mph) to allow the rails to take the outside of the more severe bends. Despite having got used to hill climb roads in Nepal, the views are amazing although if you are of a nerdish inclination (what, me?) you spend more time marvelling at the crazy engineers who originally decided they could build a road and then a railway. Probably Scottish.

I'm writing this and the rest of the Darjeeling travelogue long hand ready to type up when we get home so to keep this manageable I'll take a break now with more to come later.

Cheers
Roshan