School

Today we woke up early as the sun peeked through the mesh walls of the tent. I didn’t sleep too well because I was pretty damn cold. In the morning I sat in the hammock reading Unshakeable by Tony Robbins and thinking. By 7:30 the rest of the gang was awake and Sam, Avi, Louise, and I rolled dough balls, passing them to a local woman next to us to be fried into Pouri, a crispy flatbread. We dipped the flaky starch into chickpea curry and sipped black tea for breakfast.

After eating we walked uphill to a government school Ganga Ghar helped to rebuild following the 2015 earthquake. The small blue building houses five elementary level classes (the highest level of schooling in this village). Our group divided and launched into impromptu English classes. Despite the fact that English is a priority in the federal curriculum, the kids English level was abysmal. It didn’t matter. Louise and I led a 1st grade class through a game where we learned the colors, and then had to identify the colors around the room by racing to touch them. Afterwards, Sam Avi and I belted out “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”… first at normally, then whispering, then shouting, then super slow, then super fast. The kids geeked.

Back at the newer school a shipment of carpet and foam was delivered by truck. It became our job to transform the cement room into a foamy floored kindergarten. Our learning curve was steep, and we struggled to place the stretchy foam down evenly. After a ramen lunch and a brief cat nap we returned to the job with more oomph.

We finally glued the last piece of carpet in place at 6 pm. The sun was a large, ominous orange disk shrouded by misty clouds. I sat in the hammock until the light disappeared entirely.