Somewhere under the Mango tree!

As a volunteer teaching Upper Kindergarten class or (UKG) you normally know at least as much as the children do. Well normally. The subject of the lesson today was to name some leaves. The teacher asked me if I can draw some leaves on the board so that the kids can name them. “Start with a mango leaf” she says. There I was with no clue what a Mango leaf looked like, standing in front of 50 kids all around the age of 4, waiting for me to show them the light draw this wonderful Mango leaf, but I can’t for the life of me think of what a mango leaf looks like. So I turn to the teacher “sorry I can’t, can I do another leaf?” I said trying to find a compromise. She says “Yes do a Papaya leaf then”, that’s a simple request right! These are Kindergarten kids I’m working with and I have no idea what to do. “I don’t know a Papaya leaf either”, I tell her, starting to feel a little silly. “Oh then draw a lotus leaf”. She says this like it’s something I should know instinctively, like putting one foot in front of the other to walk.

At the end of this all, we had agreed upon a banana leaf and the teacher handed me a book so that I can study and draw some other leaves in the next lesson.

You are learning a lot as a volunteer with GVI. For instance never leave your eraser unattended or you will find it another day being used by a girl in the first row with her name on it. When I asked her who did the eraser belong too, she sat on it and smiled at me. In the afternoon I found her a smaller one wrote her name on it and gave it to her and she was just as happy.

I am so happy that I have had the two weeks in Kerala with GVI, although would recommend anybody coming out to stay longer than two weeks.

The Upper kindergarten kids are ready to meet some new male volunteers. I managed to teach them the difference between Madam and Sir so they won’t call you ma’am when you’re actually a man.

Lukas x

Somewhere under the Mango tree!