On the 8Th of February we left for Pondicherry- 22 children and three teachers.This trip was part of a programme called 'Domains of Development' .
We had all types of kids with us- the studious types, the inquirers , thinkers and kinaesthically energetic ones and not to forget the Samurais from Korea.They were kids whose ages ranged from 11 to 13 years. I had strange feelings- anxiety and anticipation.
We boarded the Hyderabad- Chennai train in the evening.And the journey began. Little did I know that I was about to enter into a new chapter of my life as a teacher.
The journey was a hilarious one with kids crying one moment and smiling when the train sped leaving their anxious parents far behind.The girls excitedly hurdled together in a couple of berths.The boys quickly stuffing themselves with deliciously unhealthy food like chips and coke. The Korean Samurai exclaiming that they were hungry and demanded dinner right away(it was around 5 p.m).
I remember Min hopping from one berth to the other with aged co-passengers keeping their fingers crossed.Oh! not to forget the anxious Indian mother who actually feared that her two little kids might be killed by the Korean children- failing to understand that these giant like children are actually babies and innocent like one-year old.The funniest of all incidents was Yahiya turning in school uniform, asking every second where we were and then hopping on to the upper berth and constantly making his presence felt by dropping a variety of things from eatables to shoes. Joon , another Korean glopping his entire Korean food before Min could lay hands on it.
This is how we began our journey- heart filled with joy and anticipation.It was indeed one of the most beautiful trips I ever went on. Packed with rich educational experiences the children became aware of sustainable living, environmental concerns and responsibilities of global citizenship.I too learnt that education was a life long unending process.
But what did the trip do to improve me at a personal front? My children taught me that each of them were tiny diamonds waiting to be polished.I understood the meaning of love, empathy. Their laughter lightened my spirits. Yahiya taught me patience and tolerance and always doing things with a smile. I still remeber that little conversation I had with him - on our way back Yahiya came and sat next to me and asked if I could guess how much pocket money he had spent on the trip. I replied, 'some 3000' maybe. "No", he said," I had only 500 with me and spent 200 . Mom had advised me not to waste money so that she could give it to me for a second trip." I was speechless this child has the vision of a great man.
During our trip to the ravines we had to cross deep gorges in the canyon. I am terribly scared of depth or height.There my dear little Samurai warriors came to my rescue, they helped me cross and waited patiently for me till they were absolutely convinced I was safe. There was a time when I could not go to a certain point at all , Hoon and Seyeong actually brought back a piece of a 100 year old fossil for me saying "It is for you teachaar." Once while we were all rushing down to the dinning area for activities in the guest house, Jin Sil actually waited for me till I locked the door, it was dark and the floor was deserted. Look at the love filled heart that she has.All the other girls- Archana, Suchita, Ifra, Jyotsna were wonderful and filled the 7 odd days with fun and laughter. Charitha was perhaps the funniest of all , she would keep dropping things from her hand , but she always had that beautiful smile that she would helpless give whenever disaster struck- my heart would melt. Priyanka taught me how even silence speaks.Swetha was another happy soul. She had barely joined school a couple of day's back and it was as if I had known her for ages.The boys were fun too- Rohan and Anish the eternal inquirers, the mister 'whys'.Rahul our official photographer moving with camera. Ravikaanth with is ultra round eyes adding humour and Shim busy eating every type of food with his special Korean sauce.
I'll treasure these memories for the rest of my life.
During our trip to the ravines we had to cross deep gorges in the canyon. I am terribly scared of depth or height.There my dear little Samurai warriors came to my rescue, they helped me cross and waited patiently for me till they were absolutely convinced I was safe. There was a time when I could not go to a certain point at all , Hoon and Seyeong actually brought back a piece of a 100 year old fossil for me saying "It is for you teachaar." Once while we were all rushing down to the dinning area for activities in the guest house, Jin Sil actually waited for me till I locked the door, it was dark and the floor was deserted. Look at the love filled heart that she has.All the other girls- Archana, Suchita, Ifra, Jyotsna were wonderful and filled the 7 odd days with fun and laughter. Charitha was perhaps the funniest of all , she would keep dropping things from her hand , but she always had that beautiful smile that she would helpless give whenever disaster struck- my heart would melt. Priyanka taught me how even silence speaks.Swetha was another happy soul. She had barely joined school a couple of day's back and it was as if I had known her for ages.The boys were fun too- Rohan and Anish the eternal inquirers, the mister 'whys'.Rahul our official photographer moving with camera. Ravikaanth with is ultra round eyes adding humour and Shim busy eating every type of food with his special Korean sauce.
I'll treasure these memories for the rest of my life.
