Tuesday: Class and a big Christmas celebration

Tuesday – Turns out I never got on the walk. Ran into the rest of the team, and we met over breakfast to plan the day. We’re still struggling to cope without the two team members who haven’t shown up. It’s been good for the student members of the team to see what happens to prepare for a class when you have to scramble to change. We switched things around so we split the class into two parts. Dr. Thorn took half the class and taught photography, followed by letting them go with cameras to photograph the church area. I taught a short lecture on interviewing for backpack, followed by an exercise where they interviewed each other. Then, in the afternoon, we switched the teams. I wasn’t happy with my morning lecture, where I wasn’t sure I really got the points across. Miriam made several suggestions that I incorporated in the afternoon session that made a big difference. She wants to be a teacher, and I’ll bet she’s a good one.
In the evening, the team was invited to share a supper and Christmas celebration by a family in the village of Bhumel. The meal was excellent, with the family watching as we ate. It was sort of disconcerting for us to eat while being watched by an entire family, but I am getting used to being treated deferentially. It’s the culture. In class yesterday, I was talking with one of the teams of Indian students. They were all sitting, so I knelt down so I would be at the same level. The students insisted I sit in a seat. We also, while walking through Bhumel, were the center of attention with little kids flocking around just to be with us. While I was walking in Ahmedabad, I had noticed that people would turn to look. I haven’t seen any non-Indian since I’ve been here so we really stand out. So I wasn’t too surprised to have the family watch us eat.
After eating, we were invited to join in dancing. Ashley and Vince agreed to dress in native garb. Vince was in a long off-white costume similar to the Nehru collar. Ashley was in a beautiful blue traditional outfit. It was great to watch as both of them joined in a simple ring consisting of men and women in age from toddlers to elderly. A band sang traditional songs while the ring revolved counterclockwise with simple steps. Ashley had a group of fans ranging in age from about three to ten. They rushed to cluster around her. When she took a short break, they stood near. When she returned to the dance ring, the children raced to be next to here. It was great to watch. Miriam and I were led to the stage at one end where we sat like royalty along with the band watching the dance. We left about 11:30, since it was an hour and a half back to the city. The dancing went on until a.m., according to Father Vinayak.