Teacher Conference in Nepal!

 

NAMASKAR!

...were you expecting "namaste"? Did I throw you off? I suppose I'm feeling exceptionally formal, so I greeted you accordingly. {Or really, I just wanted to use that word.}

 

This is the second installment of my Nepal adventure series! This post focuses on the TEACHING CONFERENCE that we led-- the whole REASON we traveled to Nepal! 

This banner hung in our conference facility :)

BUT FIRST! Let me introduce you to the area that we traveled to in order to give the conference. The region, Kailali, is in "far-west" Nepal. If you read my previous post about Kathmandu, you'll know that Kathmandu is the most "developed" city in Nepal, according to Western standards. And by Western standards I mean: Western toilet. A/C. A tad of electricity...and wifi please. And maybe a hot shower. Those comforts make our world go 'round in the US!! Those things were lacking in Kailali -- Except at our hotel!

 I had mixed feelings about staying at our hotel. Not that there was much of an alternative. On one hand, I was very thankful for all the Western amenities that we enjoyed! The hotel was about a La Quinta level, if you compared it to US hotels -- although the view of the river and mountains was beautiful! The part that made me feel uncomfortable was the stark comparison between the standard of living we experienced at the hotel, compared to the standard of living of people who ACTUALLY live in the town. The people lived in shack-like homes constructed out of a variety of materials -- metal, brick, wood, etc. Goats, pigs, chickens, and dogs ran rampant :) Actually, the animals were very chill, compared to my dog, who looses his mind when he sees something alive that is not human. (I wonder if he would adjust in Nepal..) Anyway, we were at least glad that we could support an excellent business in a country where the economy is suffering. For what it's worth!

The town surrounding our hotel.

 

Walking down the street behind our hotel made us the center of attention. We were stared at by people young and old -- and the young ones would shout "hello!" repeatedly and follow us down the street :P At one point, a tourist from India even stopped us to take our picture. Seriously, my photo is on SO many Nepali or Indian cell phones. -_- The number of times our pictures were taken at the teaching conference itself was ENDLESS! We saw a few children on their patios completing their homework -- a sight to warm any teacher's heart!

Walking down the road behind our hotel. Need an umbrella? No really, it's monsoon season. Get an umbrella.

View of the road on the way to our teaching conference.

AND SO we dove right into our long-anticipated teaching conference. Only two of us on our team had been to Nepal before (not me). We honestly had no idea what to expect from the country itself, much less the teachers, classrooms, or state of education in the country. AKA We were NOT EXPERTS! Any of those things would have been SUPER to know beforehand, but it didn't work out that way. However, the conference topics that we chose came directly from what the teachers requested in previous months. The Children's Director of the girls & boys homes I mentioned in my previous post was able to ask the teachers what they wanted to learn about, and also spread the word for the conference. If it wasn't for him, we would have had only the ducks and resident dog in attendance.

Selfie at one of our presentations!

I relied on the little information that we got from the teachers about what they wanted to learn -- and hoped, prayed that I was planning appropriately for the topic: "how to prepare teaching-wise and subject-wise," and the session I was collaborating with a team-mate on, "Montessori methods." {I am not experienced in Montessori, but my team mate is! Luckily I am capable of using Google to find resources, however.} Since I felt like my topic was vague enough to cover a huge variety of points, I focused on -- 1. Teaching to different learning styles  2.  Setting up a lesson/block structure  3. Daily 5 Stations! My team mates had topics like classroom management, psychology of children, stuff related to being a principal, etc. :P

 The posters and handouts that I made paid off when it was confirmed that there was no wifi, projector, or white/black boards available! Wahoo! The venue for our convention was called Moon Boon Villa, and it was a bar/restaurant/pool facility. We ate the traditional Nepali Thali for lunch each day- it's good! Clearly they have a sense of humor, if not perfect command of English spelling.

Inspiration.

"As you can see..."

 

There I am, giving my presentation in the half-constructed building! Missing a few walls was actually a PLUS when there is no A/C in the buildings with all of their walls!! When we first arrived, we listened to several prominent speakers (local politicians and school leaders) speak to the audience. As they spoke, (in Nepali -- did I mention Nepali is not my first language?) we sat at the front of the room, on display, and sweating like crazy. We then took questions from the audience and answered them briefly, in order to get an updated understanding of what the teachers expected from our conference topics. Yay for on-the-spot impromptu questioning with a large audience!!

Before starting my session, I was NERVOUS! What if the audience hates my presentation and begins a rebellion? What if they think my American suggestions aren't applicable in Nepal? OR what if all my points are old news to them? SNORE. Plus, I had 55 participants in the audience!
Thankfully none of those fears became a reality! The participants seemed to both understand my points and find them valuable. I spoke through an interpreter to ensure understanding! I used a lot of "turn & talks" and "think, pair, shares" to model to them a simple way of getting kids talking. When I asked them, "who uses group work in your classroom?" ONE PERSON out of 55 raised their hand. So I felt very justified in my discussion of stations!! But... I do know that ONE session on stations doesn't mean that they will be implemented or embraced. Luckily the teacher training trip will be an annual event. :)

CHEESE!!

 After we presented, we were invited by the teachers of Kailali Public School to visit their campus! I was very grateful to finally visit a Nepali school and get a better idea of what resources they have available! (I made a point in my sessions to make sure everything was applicable no matter what resources they have!) The teachers were very kind and enthusiastic. Some of the children from Servlife homes attend this school, so they actually tagged along with us! That's them in the picture!

A student in her classroom!

 Isn't she adorable?? The kids were excited to show us their classrooms! Coming from big classrooms that are full of materials, seeing the Nepali classrooms was a bit of a shock to us. The classroom where the little girl is standing is about 10'x10,' and their class sizes are between 20-30. There was a medium sized white board on the wall for the teacher, and wooden benches. The size of the classrooms really gave us questions about how to do stations effectively! The school building itself wasn't that small, so we wondered why they made the classrooms so small. One possible answer was explained to us by someone later. She said that sometimes since principals are using their own money to start the school, they construct the school building dimensions with the thought that they can rent out the rooms if the school goes bankrupt.

Kindergarten classroom.

The school above is another school that we were lucky enough to visit. This is a kindergarten classroom, but all of the classrooms looked the same. I'm not sure if it's helpful or hurtful to compare these classrooms with United States classrooms. I really don't know. I shared this picture on the Encouraging Teachers Facebook page, and I had someone asking to donate posters. If that happens, I hope that they can go to good use in a classroom like this. Personally, I'd like to get in there with a bucket of paint. No matter what, I was thankful that I was able to see a little bit of what teachers and students experience everyday in rural Nepal, and meet the people that give these students the opportunity to be educated!

Teaching Adventure in Nepal- Kathmandu!

Namaste! I wish I could tell you everything about my experience in Nepal-- down to the last detail, so that you could experience it with me. But, instead of writing "the post that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend," I'll share with you the highlights of our adventure.

 

*In this post, I'll tell you about KATHMANDU.

*The NEXT post will be specifically about the TEACHING CONFERENCE :)

*Lastly, I'll have a post about the Servlife children's homes and the adorable children and inspiring leaders!
 

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SO here we go-- First of all, the 5 W's.

 

1. WHO: A small, Christian organization called Servlife works in Nepal. They run several girls & boys homes, and sponsor those children to receive an education and care. They also help Nepali pastors plant churches around the country, and now they are involved in relief work post-earthquake.

Our team consisted of the Servlife assistant director, the communications director, 2 teachers, a college student, a principal, my husband the engineer, and me.
 

2. WHAT: Our team's purpose was to run a 3-day teaching conference for rural Nepali teachers.
 

3. WHERE: We flew into Kathmandu and were able to stay there a few days. The teaching conference was in the "far-western region" of Nepal, in the Kailali District, in the town of Lamki. Our hotel was in nearby Chisapani. HA! I think all of those names are accurate! Thanks, Google Maps. Don't quote me.
 

4. WHEN: 11 days in July. Whew that was an easy one.
 

5. WHY: My husband and I sponsor a middle school girl through Servlife who lives in the girl's home in Kailali. We exchange letters a couple times per year :) When I heard that Servlife was hosting a teacher training event in Kailali, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to do 3 awesome things: serve as a teacher + visit Nepal + visit our sponsored child. I wasn't disappointed!!

 

 

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AFTER APPROXIMATELY A MILLION HOURS OF TRAVELING {including an overnight layover in Qatar} we arrived in Kathmandu! My brain tortured me with the Bob Seger song for about 5 days. {But after all, that's really really where I was going to.} My first impression upon being taxied from the airport to the hotel was: I'm glad I don't have to drive in this country. If you've ever been to a non-western country then you're probably way ahead of me. Stop lights & stop signs are replaced with honking your horn and playing chicken with oncoming traffic. Oh, and btw, don't hit that animal that's inevitably laying in the middle of the road. If it's a cow, and you kill it, you may be facing jail time. If you're familiar with Hinduism, you know that cows are sacred. About 80% of Nepal is Hindu-- but if some members of government get their way, Nepal may become a Hindu state once again. At the moment, it's legal to embrace another religion, but you can't evangelize.

 

Don't...turn...around...
I have no words for this shrine to Shiva that we walked by.

YOU MAY KNOW Nepal for it's world-renown attraction: Mount Everest! Sorry, this post has nothing to do with Mt. Everest. But Kathmandu is in a valley surrounded by the Himalayas, which made for pretty, Instagram-worthy views!

Nepal is a developing country, and Kathmandu is the most "developed" city in the country. Electricity exists, but don't count on having it all the time. Don't be *too* sad if your phone or camera can't charge overnight. It doesn't matter where you are - a restaurant, hotel, THE AIRPORT - the electricity WILL go out. They may or may not have back-up generators. C'est la vie. Also, give a kitty high five if you get to take a warm shower.
{"kitty high five" - GoNoodle reference}. FYI.

The view from the roof of our hotel in Kathmandu. You can see the foothills of the Himalayas, but the Himalayas themselves are hidden by clouds! It was hit or miss to see them!

Pants & long sleeves + 90 degree weather + actually using my legs for walking = lots of sweat. I often wondered why I felt like I had just gotten out of the shower. (In other news, if you are ever out for a stroll in Qatar at 9:30PM, it will actually be over 100 degrees with very little humidity. PURE HEAT!)

A view of a neighborhood in Kathmandu.

One of the BEST walks on our trip was to the Top of the World Coffee shop! It was started by a westerner, so it felt familiar. Wifi score = 100.

My favorite coffee and wifi spot in Kathmandu.
http://www.topoftheworldcoffee.com/

Because Top of the World Cofee is a Christian coffee shop, unfortunately experienced the Chick-fil-A Sunday Phenomenon in Nepal. :(


                

On our "tourist day," we ventured out to see some of the historic sites in Kathmandu. I was excited to see the alleged "Monkey Temple," after hearing about how the monkeys will steal your stuff if they feel so inclined. (Real name of temple: Swayambhunath. Say that 5x fast. Really, just try saying it once.) We experienced no monkey thievery, but did enjoy the view as well as the old religious monuments.

Los monkeys

On the way up to the temple. The flags that you see are actually prayer flags. If you hang them, when they wave, they pray on your behalf. THANKS FLAG-FRIENDS!

Buddha at the Monkey Temple!

There was a sign under this Buddha saying "Please do not sit on statue" -- That flat hand though! So perfect for photos!
In Nepal (and maybe other places) Buddhism and Hinduism do a little overlapping with regards to reverence for Buddha.... I'm not hearing anyone asking to explain, so, moving on!

THE one and only Monkey Temple... relics from Buddha's personal library are housed underneath this monument.

Prayer wheels at the Monkey Temple. And a lovely face. If you spin the prayer wheels, the prayers that are written on them will be prayed for you.

View from the Monkey Temple.

DOWN THE MOUNTAIN back in some historic parts of town, we saw many temples, shrines, and architecture.
We even saw the "living goddess" (Kumari) who is revered by both Buddhists and Hindus. We entered an small, old courtyard built in the 17th century and looked up at the many windows, hoping the goddess would make an appearance. Our Nepali guide shouted something, and one of the Kumari's caretakers shouted something back-- and then the little 8 year old girl appeared in the window. She was completely done up with make up and a traditional, fancy (technical term) outfit. She made some kind of waving gesture to us, which wasn't exactly waving. Maybe she was giving us a blessing, I don't know. I waved at her, but she didn't acknowledge it. We all noticed that she looked extremely bored. The selection process for the girl who becomes the living goddess is interesting, and involves the girl sleeping in a room of decapitated, sacrificed animals. Our guide told us that the current girl was chosen at the age of 3. Once the girl reaches puberty, they return to a "normal" life.
Here's the Wikipedia article about the living goddess: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumari_(children)#Selection_process

Earthquake damage - the earthquake in April destroyed many historic sites.

The estimated number of Christians in Nepal is 3%, although the government says less. We were lucky enough to attend a church that is run by a Nepali man (& his family) who works with Servlife. He is also the Children's Director, who takes care of the children who live in the Servlife homes in Kathmandu! I heard that he was once put in jail for a month after being accused of evangelizing. He is an inspiration and a great force for change in Nepal.
 Since we were guests, people from our group were invited to give the sermon on both Sundays we attended :) You may notice that all the backs of heads in this picture are men. That is because it so happened that I ended up sitting on the men's side of the church, in the back. The women & children are on the right, outside of the picture!

Rob giving his sermon at a small church in Kathmandu!

The Children's Director and leader of the church :)

Thanks, Kathmandu, for everything -- and hope to see you in the future! NAMASTE!

Look for my next 2 posts about our Nepal journey soon! And feel free to ask any questions -- I would love to answer them!

TPT Vegas Family Reunion & Seller Tips!

The TPT family was SO pumped about our annual Vegas reunion! We came from all around the U.S. and even from around the world to learn from each other and make new friends! I have mentioned a few of my favorite Seller Tips near the bottom, without giving away too much! What happens in Vegas...well, you know! 

The conference was at the Venetian, which is pretty astounding on your first visit. 

The indoor "Venetian" canal!

The outside view of the hotel.

The Piazza!

A look up!!

This guy... {a gondolier}

And this totally realistic picture of when the hotel flooded... Ok I was getting a little crazy with my photo app.

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I was absolutely overwhelmed at the number of people who could fit in one conference room!! If you know me, you know that I am NOT an extrovert. So a room of 1,000 strangers was an interesting scenario for me! But, by day 3, I was feeling like I could do this more often! At least...once a year ;)

Me: so...many...females...

I was absolutely star-struck when I met Angela Watson of The Cornerstone for Teachers! She is such a down-to-earth, intelligent, business-like, Christian educator-- such an inspiration for the kind of person I would like to be.

Anddd....here are a few more moments in which I became the "selfie paparazzi" ..

Adam and Amy of TPT!

Sara of Lovin Lit!

Laine from A Little Peace of Africa -- who is so talented and will be re-doing my blog!

Who doesn't know who this is?? All your kids do... ;)

I totally waited 30 minutes and would have waited longer to go to Carlo's Bakery! I had no idea that this existed in the Venetian. My husband and I watched a ton of those episodes on Netflix. I really enjoyed the Napoleon :)

{The Napoleon is the square one.}

And finally... A few tips communicated throughout the convention. Trust me, the sellers gave way more information and specifics! Attend next year and benefit from all of their great tips. 

I didn't include another, more controversial tip that several sellers vocalized. But I'll put it here: 

~ Don't participate in "pinning parties" or "follow parties"! Sellers communicated that it is better to gain genuine followers through hard work and quality products rather than trying to do it the quick way, and inflating numbers. I would trust them! 

Other sellers reacted against the above ^ sentiments. What do YOU think? 

Blog link up: http://theelementaryentourage.blogspot.com/2015/07/viva-las-vegas-tpt-conference-linky.html

Blog Design Announcement!

Laine from A Little Peace of Africa will be designing my blog at the end of the month!! I love her portfolio on her website, and I CANT WAIT to have an awesome page! I'm leaving this to the professionals!! We both go to Vegas, and then...Blog Makeover Time!!