Teaching at the Pokhara Schools
By Lillian La Salle and Avery Monson
Day 9
The past few days in Pokhara, we SMC students have been working at the Shree Shramik Basic School with Nepalese children ranging from kindergarten to grade five. Located in the beautiful valley near the Pema Tsal Monastery, we walk down the steep steps to meet the kiddos as they come running over to show us what they drew in class the day before. Most of the teachers and students do not speak English, but after a week in Nepal, we learned that language is just a small barrier to overcome and you can still create meaningful connections with a simple authentic smile.
Kristima posing on their balcony overlooking the schoolyard. (Photo Credit: Lillian La Salle)
Lilly went into the grade five, grade four, and grade two classes, and in each one they danced to the Cupid Shuffle and Cotton Eyed Joe. After the students mastered the dance with ease, the students would teach us with so much energy their favorite Nepalese dances with a matching song. After dancing our hearts out, we took a rest break to learn about planets, calculating volume, and English grammar. We started to fold origami fortune tellers, and the kids started to show each other their past drawings and how to shade certain parts of their artwork. One boy even drew me a picture of an anime character from Naruto, which was spot on. At the end of the day we all hugged goodbye and we walked up the steps holding onto the hands of some of the students who lived nearby the school.
Lilly dancing with the students at Shree Shramik Basic School.
(Photo Credit: Christian Maas)
Like every place we have visited, these kids showered us with caring kindness, always making sure that we were included in their games. We recently learned about the concept of Bodhichitta from Pema Chödron’s article, or the potential for compassion in all things, and that is evident in the daily activities we do at the school. The students accept that all situations they are involved in, be it math, english, or even dancing at break, give them the opportunity to practice showing compassion to one another. It was wonderful to get to see this concept of Bodhichitta come to life, and we continued to see it upon leaving the school.
As we walk back up the steep steps from the Shree Shramik Basic School, we pass more friendly faces, always bowing their heads to say “Namaste”. It isn’t just the students that show us kindness wherever we go in Nepal, but instead it is everyone we pass -- willing to take a few seconds out of their day to say “I bow to the divine in you” or otherwise known as: “Namaste”.
Avery posing with children from Pokhara at the Pema Tsal Temple.
(Photo credit: Avery Monson)
Day 10
Compassion does not only apply to the religion of Buddhism, however compassion is one of the foundational lessons of Buddhism that kids are taught at a young age. Although the Shree Shamrik Basic School does not teach Buddhism to their students, we noticed the kids greeted everyone so kindly and hugged each other even if their classmate got the wrong answer.
Nitish, Prashanna, and Ankit solving volume equations at Shree Shramik Basic School.
(Photo Credits: Lillian La Salle)
Avery went to the nursery class. This class was full of laughing toddlers excited to spend the day with their friends. We started with rhyming songs in English that they already knew, my favorite being “Jelly on my head, jelly on my head, wibble wobble wibble wobble, jelly on my head.” I then went through the English alphabet with the students, pronouncing every letter and giving an example, which they repeated back. As the toddlers grew bored of learning, the teacher, Prava Lama, and I decided to draw large pictures in their notebooks which they would color in and excitedly show us their artwork. The kids soon got bored of drawing, and so we decided to play with their toys instead. Soon one of the Amalas brought us peeled oranges, and once again the kids showed me their compassion by having me pick the oranges first; it is in their small actions that you see their love for one another.
Lilly teaches the kids “COCONUT” during assembly at Shree Shramik School in Pokhara.
(Photo credit: Avery Monson)
When Lilly was completing her lesson in cubic volume with the fifth graders, she noticed how the students were all willing to help each other. After each example problem, one student would check the answer with Lilly to make sure it was correct and would then go to each of their classmates to make sure they were on the right track to getting the concept. When the students took a break from solving volume to play some Heads Up Seven Up, they made an effort to make sure everyone got a chance to play and even explained the rules to students who were confused. This kind of compassion has popped up everywhere on our trip from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Each time we leave the monastery or walk to the school, every person we see greets us with “namaste,” and we get to bow to one another.
I (Lillian) have never felt more connected to people I’ve never met before than on this trip, and I think this is because of the Nepalese culture of compassion, whether the individuals are Buddhist or not. I was even invited to the principal's home after the first day of classes to have coffee with her and her children. They were extremely welcoming, with the oldest son Kritan showing me how to spin tops and the youngest daughter Kristimas making silly faces with me. The principal Sonam Bastola shared much about her life in Nepal and working at the school, and I had such a wonderful time meeting this kind family.
We ended our day in the dining hall of the Pema Tsal guesthouse, but the 10th is no ordinary day: it’s our very own Sadie Ugoretz’s 20th birthday!!! We sang her happy birthday, gave her a birthday card and prayer flags. Happy birthday Sadie!
The group posing for a photo at Pema Tsal Monastery
(Photo credit: Tereza Kramer)
Until next time!
-Lilly and Avery