Today we went on an Unhurried Walk through the Botanical Gardens of Bangalore. Throughout the walk we learned about different trees that are native to India. We then traveled to the Bull Temple, which is a well-known Hindu temple in Bangalore. Walking up to the temple are small temples for people’s personal gods and goddesses. People were worshiping in these small temples. When we reached the Bull Temple, we saw the bull which is supposedly carved out of only one single rock. The bull has a plate on its head to stop the bull from growing too large. When entering the temple we had to remove our shoes. There was then a priest at the entrance with a candle and Kumkuma powder. The candle is there for you to cup your hand and pull the warmth of the candle to your eyes, after this you dip your right finger into the Kumkuma powder and place this on your forehead near the shakra. I’ve attached a picture of me with my Kumkuma dot. As we walked around the temple we saw shrines to Shiva and other gods and goddesses. Since 80% of Indians are Hindu, we also see quite a few statues around the city honoring particular gods and goddesses. The three main gods are: Vishnu (the creator), Brahman (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer). The idea is that Vishnu creates, Brahman preserves what has been created, and Shiva destroys for the purpose of having Vishnu create again. Through these three gods we can see the concept of reincarnation. |
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A sari is the traditional clothing for Indian women. It consists of a long piece of beautiful silk, cotton, or other material and is wrapped around the body in an intricate way so that no pins are needed to keep it secured on the body throughout the day.
Jen and I, with our cohort, went into the market (picture below) at Bangalore to buy a sari. When we entered the shop there were lots of people and rolls of sari material in every corner. I picked a color and pattern I liked and then the sales woman draped it on me so I could see if I liked it (picture below). After buying the material, we went to a store that sews the shirts that go underneath the sari. These shirts are cut to expose the stomach area (although the sari will cover this once it is wrapped) and then we went to another store to buy the petticoat that goes underneath the sari. Lots of work, but it will be worth it! I hope I can learn how to wrap it correctly!
This morning we visited the Muslim Orphanage School in Bangalore. The school is quite large and houses an orphanage on the property. Most of the students who attend school here are from single parent households and live in the orphanage. This school is for boys and girls, but once the boys reach high school age they attend different schools. The school has desks for students to sit in, but not enough for each child, so two desks are pushed together and three or four children (depending on their age) sit at these two desks to do their class work.
I visited three classrooms today: a math class, a Kannada language class, and a history class. The students in all the classes enjoyed showing off for us U.S. teachers! In the history class the teacher asked me to get up in front of the students and teach an English lesson (not all the students know English since it would be taught as a third language). I wrote on the board "My name is Janna. I'm from Chicago, Illinois." The students read off the sentence out loud while I was writing it! We then talked about what they knew of Chicago: the Meat Packing Industry and then the teacher told me they had just been studying a John Keats poem entitled "The Dove". I discussed the Romanticism in poetry a bit. It was fun! The lessons were mostly lectures and no group work, which was different from the school from yesterday. The teachers seemed to really want the students to do well, though. I've attached some pictures below. (This evening we went to the city center and bought saris...I'll write another post about that later).
Today after breakfast, Jen Koszyk and I walked around our hotel's neighborhood with a group of other women. We saw 5 cows hanging out in the neighborhood streets! Along the streets there are many food vendors selling coconuts, watermelon, and mangos! Yum :)
After walking around and lunch, we had a special lesson on Indian History & Culture by Dr. Chirajavi Singh. Here are some of the things I have learned:
Below are some pictures of the day: breakfast, our cohort, our hotel, the neighborhood around the hotel, and our history/culture lesson. Enjoy! It's 4:45 in the morning and we have now arrived at our hotel (The Lemon Tree Hotel) in Bangalore! I'm going to take a quick 3 hour nap and then our day begins! I have already done some unpacking so my room feels comfortable and I washed my face -- I was nervous about getting water in my eyes, nose, and mouth so I was very careful! I'm excited to take some pictures and post them to show you all what Bangalore looks like and what I learn...I'll update you later today (Thursday). I did take a picture at the airport though. Signs were in English and another language -- perhaps Arabic??? People drive on the other side of the road, just like in England. I have a lecture on Indian History and Culture later today, so I'll let you know some of the things I learn!! Cheers! |
AuthorHi! My name is Janna Nobleza and I'm a high school English teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. This blog records my TGC India preparation, journey, and reflections. Archives
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