Kolkata

We leave Kolkata in the morning and I can hardly believe it. It has been action packed as usual. The highlight for me was spending time at a rural Muslim minority school , Sishu Bikash Academy, which was only one hour from the border with Bangladesh. The humidity was so intense there and several of us were very dehydrated. As I stood teaching in the classrooms I could not help but wonder why none of the children seemed bothered by the heat yet I was perspiring profusely to the point I thought I was going to melt! The students all ran to the bus as we pulled up outside and were so excited and keen to show us what they had learned. I spent time in an English classroom and they were reading the Bremen Town Musicians. I knew this book from my third grade class so I was able to have a conversation about the content. Two boys volunteered to read aloud for me and they did a great job. The children asked for my autograph and I felt like a rock star!!

I also visited a social studies class and did a mini lesson on USA and in particular, San Diego. The teacher asked me to tell them about the history of the USA but I did not think I had time☺ I decided to do an overview of California and its geographical position. Unlike the school in Varanasi, no one knew about Mickey Mouse. They did get the concept of where the USA was in the world by a super map I drew on the blackboard. However, I felt embarrassed as I kept breaking the new chalk with my heavy handedness.

We also walked around the village, guided by the principal and Dr Sunrit Mulllick and found that everyone was really happy and greeted us well. They obviously respected the principal of the school too. We came across a girl’s school and they were fantastic. They asked me to go into their classroom and I showed them my San Diego book and photos of my family on my laptop. They loved this a lot and I was sad to leave them. I promised to send them photos by mail that I took while I was there.

The time went too quickly and the guide had to come in to the school and get me as everyone was on the bus ready to leave and I was still having fun inside. On our return we observed the worst slums we have seen so far. The government is pushing these slums out into the suburbs of town. In the USA the suburbs are the place to live but not here!

Later that day we visited Victoria Monument and St Paul’s Cathedral which were very British in their architecture. They had a great historical timeline which helped cement some of the dates in place. What a great day!