Hanne de Glas, 22 March 2007
The Netherlands
Today is my twelfth day in Santiniketan. The first week was mostly filled with meeting new
people and getting used to the culture, the food, the weather, the environment etc. etc.
There was no rush and I had enough time to get to know everything. It also gave me the
opportunity to gain knowledge about Prathom alo and the widespread ideals of Prathom alo
for the Santhal community. Almost everyday we went to the school and to the village of the
Santhal community. Unfortunately I don’t speak their language and they speak hardly
English. Most of the time Bishnu was speaking to them and I was just smiling. This made me
a little bit anxious about the communication with the children for the English classes.
Last Monday I could finally start with playing games with the children. I found out that the
language was absolute no problem. The children repeated everything I said, even when I
said “very good!”. They are smart and pick up games very quickly. First we set down on the
playing field and looked in some books. After that we did some active games to learn all body
parts while running and jumping. It was really funny and I hope the kids had as much fun as
I had.
When I came home in the evening I felt very excited and was looking forward to the next day
to go to the school. However, that night I found out that doing the active games in the
middle of the sun was not such a good idea. I became sick. I didn’t feel bad that I went sick,
but I felt bad that I couldn’t be with the children. I had to stay in bed for two days. Today I
feel much better and will go to the school in the afternoon, finally.
Hanne
Hanne de Glas, 22 March 2007
The Netherlands
Everyday the school is becoming more and more beautiful with all the paintings in wonderful
colors. People of the village are working hard to paint the walls, equalize the floor and finish
the gate. This work has to be finished before the big opening on Sunday the 8th of April. Till
that time I will play games with the children and try to get to know them. Playing games with
the children sounds easy, but it can be quite complicated. The games that I found boring turn
out to be very funny and exciting for the children. And games that I thought were funny turn
out to be boring or result in a complete chaos. Fortunately the children keep coming back. And
when I say “sit down” we sit down together and I have again the attention of all the children.
Life in Santiniketan is very peaceful. It amazes me everyday how beautiful the environment is.
Especially the trip to the school is always a pleasure. The trip takes 30 minutes and shows all
different landscapes. It starts with the shopping street of Santiniketan with the little shops
that seem to sell the exact same things as their neighbors. Then we enter an area without
houses. It shows endless rice fields, with palm trees and beautiful lakes. Then we have to
turn right and follow a road that leads us to a couple of villages. Most villages seem to be
without any facilities. But the people are very happy. Everyday when we pass the villages
children run towards us and start waving while screaming “bye bye”.
The temperature is rising everyday. We have to drink a lot of water and eat all kinds of heat-
absorbing food. It becomes exhausting to go outside during the day. Every movement ends
up in sweating. But when we arrive at the school all heat seems to be disappeared. The wind
is blowing and the children are impatiently waiting till they can start running, jumping and
learning new English words.
Hanne
Hanne de Glas, 26 March 2007
The Netherlands
Hanne de Glas, 2 April 2007
The Netherlands
The children are getting used to the fact that I am at the school everyday. When they see
my colorful cycle appear between the rice fields they run to the school and start waving and
shouting “Hello” and “bye bye”. The trip to the school can be exhausting, so I always need
some time to sit down and drink water. While I am recovering from my cycle trip, the
children look at me with hopeful eyes. They can’t wait to start with the English class. Last
week we learned to make a conversation. So everyday we start with:
“Hello, how are you?”
“I am fine”
“What is your name?”
“My name is…”
Since the group of children is increasing everyday, it takes some time before all the children
have said their names. But is it a good start of the class to get everybody’s attention and
to involve all the children. After every child has said his/her name we start with the picture
books. I point at a picture and spell the word. The children repeat everything I say. The
older children already memorize some English words, so I sometimes let them spell the
word. The little children just repeat everything I say, but I don’t think they understand
what I am saying, yet.
Then it is time for games. I get up and say “let’s go!”. This is a sign for all the children to
start jumping and laughing. Together we run to the playing field to play all different kind of
games. Mostly we play the same games everyday, since it is difficult to introduce a new
game. However every day we play the games a little bit different. One day we play cat-rat,
where the cat has to tag the rat. The next day two cats have to hold hands and try to tag
the rat. The following day two cats have to hold hands and two rats have to hold hands
and again the cats have to tag the rats. These little differences make the games interesting
and really funny.
At the end of the class we are all going to sit down. This is always the hard part, because it
is difficult to make clear that I have to go home. I say that the class is over, but they just
repeat what I have said without understanding. At the moment I say “bye bye” they
understand. We get up and we run to my cycle while singing “bye bye”. While I am cycling
back home the children keep on singing and waving. I am already looking forward to the
next day at the school….
Hanne
The Netherlands
Today is my twelfth day in Santiniketan. The first week was mostly filled with meeting new
people and getting used to the culture, the food, the weather, the environment etc. etc.
There was no rush and I had enough time to get to know everything. It also gave me the
opportunity to gain knowledge about Prathom alo and the widespread ideals of Prathom alo
for the Santhal community. Almost everyday we went to the school and to the village of the
Santhal community. Unfortunately I don’t speak their language and they speak hardly
English. Most of the time Bishnu was speaking to them and I was just smiling. This made me
a little bit anxious about the communication with the children for the English classes.
Last Monday I could finally start with playing games with the children. I found out that the
language was absolute no problem. The children repeated everything I said, even when I
said “very good!”. They are smart and pick up games very quickly. First we set down on the
playing field and looked in some books. After that we did some active games to learn all body
parts while running and jumping. It was really funny and I hope the kids had as much fun as
I had.
When I came home in the evening I felt very excited and was looking forward to the next day
to go to the school. However, that night I found out that doing the active games in the
middle of the sun was not such a good idea. I became sick. I didn’t feel bad that I went sick,
but I felt bad that I couldn’t be with the children. I had to stay in bed for two days. Today I
feel much better and will go to the school in the afternoon, finally.
Hanne
Hanne de Glas, 22 March 2007
The Netherlands
Everyday the school is becoming more and more beautiful with all the paintings in wonderful
colors. People of the village are working hard to paint the walls, equalize the floor and finish
the gate. This work has to be finished before the big opening on Sunday the 8th of April. Till
that time I will play games with the children and try to get to know them. Playing games with
the children sounds easy, but it can be quite complicated. The games that I found boring turn
out to be very funny and exciting for the children. And games that I thought were funny turn
out to be boring or result in a complete chaos. Fortunately the children keep coming back. And
when I say “sit down” we sit down together and I have again the attention of all the children.
Life in Santiniketan is very peaceful. It amazes me everyday how beautiful the environment is.
Especially the trip to the school is always a pleasure. The trip takes 30 minutes and shows all
different landscapes. It starts with the shopping street of Santiniketan with the little shops
that seem to sell the exact same things as their neighbors. Then we enter an area without
houses. It shows endless rice fields, with palm trees and beautiful lakes. Then we have to
turn right and follow a road that leads us to a couple of villages. Most villages seem to be
without any facilities. But the people are very happy. Everyday when we pass the villages
children run towards us and start waving while screaming “bye bye”.
The temperature is rising everyday. We have to drink a lot of water and eat all kinds of heat-
absorbing food. It becomes exhausting to go outside during the day. Every movement ends
up in sweating. But when we arrive at the school all heat seems to be disappeared. The wind
is blowing and the children are impatiently waiting till they can start running, jumping and
learning new English words.
Hanne
Hanne de Glas, 26 March 2007
The Netherlands
Hanne de Glas, 2 April 2007
The Netherlands
The children are getting used to the fact that I am at the school everyday. When they see
my colorful cycle appear between the rice fields they run to the school and start waving and
shouting “Hello” and “bye bye”. The trip to the school can be exhausting, so I always need
some time to sit down and drink water. While I am recovering from my cycle trip, the
children look at me with hopeful eyes. They can’t wait to start with the English class. Last
week we learned to make a conversation. So everyday we start with:
“Hello, how are you?”
“I am fine”
“What is your name?”
“My name is…”
Since the group of children is increasing everyday, it takes some time before all the children
have said their names. But is it a good start of the class to get everybody’s attention and
to involve all the children. After every child has said his/her name we start with the picture
books. I point at a picture and spell the word. The children repeat everything I say. The
older children already memorize some English words, so I sometimes let them spell the
word. The little children just repeat everything I say, but I don’t think they understand
what I am saying, yet.
Then it is time for games. I get up and say “let’s go!”. This is a sign for all the children to
start jumping and laughing. Together we run to the playing field to play all different kind of
games. Mostly we play the same games everyday, since it is difficult to introduce a new
game. However every day we play the games a little bit different. One day we play cat-rat,
where the cat has to tag the rat. The next day two cats have to hold hands and try to tag
the rat. The following day two cats have to hold hands and two rats have to hold hands
and again the cats have to tag the rats. These little differences make the games interesting
and really funny.
At the end of the class we are all going to sit down. This is always the hard part, because it
is difficult to make clear that I have to go home. I say that the class is over, but they just
repeat what I have said without understanding. At the moment I say “bye bye” they
understand. We get up and we run to my cycle while singing “bye bye”. While I am cycling
back home the children keep on singing and waving. I am already looking forward to the
next day at the school….
Hanne
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