Hurrah for our home in the mountains!
Hurrah for the monarchs of snow!
For the land of the forests and fountains,
And the torrents that ever flow!
Toil up from the valley below;
Lift your hearts to the breeze and the glow;
And our school on the hill
Here a cheer for it still, Hurrah!
As onward through life we go!
-NP School Song
I moved into school number two on Friday- St. Joseph's School, or as it is more commonly known here, "North Point." This school is like another world. I swear it could be taken right out of an old novel or film. I wish I could describe to you the majesty of this place. It is something else.
North Point was built by British Colonizers in the late 1800's and remained a boarding schools for the Brits until India's independence when it gradually began serving local boys and boys from Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, and the rest of India. Today there are about 1500 students, half of which are boarders, and half of which are day students.
I arrived on Friday and had a nice breakfast (the food for the staff here is quite delicious, not sure about for the boys) and was given a quick tour of the grounds. Later the in the morning the head of the primary division told me I would be given a welcoming by the elementary school kids and could teach a short lesson if i wanted. So, only about an hour into my time at North Point, I was in front of 320 primary school students. The head of the primary school gave me a very glowing introduction, saying I had travelled from a far away land just to work with the students here and that God had blessed me with a most great gift- the gift of music! He then draped me with a white shawl while describing the Tibetan symbols embroidered in the fabric saying it was a traditional way to honor guests. The fifth grade students then sang "We Are The World" as a welcoming. The power went off during the song, but they kept on going strong.
The whole time all of this was going on I was thinking, "this little lesson I'm about to give better not be a let down." I've never been given a welcoming quite like that. So I got up on stage and got the kids clapping some rhythms and singing some notes and laughing a bit. It was all good and I think they enjoyed it, but I couldn't help but think, here I am, just some random young guy, what the heck am I doing here?! It was surreal.
Later on Friday I played some songs for a class of high schoolers and answered some questions. It was much more laid back than the morning session. I played a couple songs, talked about myself, and they asked me some questions. They should be fun to work with.
I encourage you to read more about North Point on Wikipedia. It's a quite a place. A secluded little sanctuary in the foothills of the highest mountains in the world. Insanity.
There is much more to say, but my time is up for now.
-T
I arrived on Friday and had a nice breakfast (the food for the staff here is quite delicious, not sure about for the boys) and was given a quick tour of the grounds. Later the in the morning the head of the primary division told me I would be given a welcoming by the elementary school kids and could teach a short lesson if i wanted. So, only about an hour into my time at North Point, I was in front of 320 primary school students. The head of the primary school gave me a very glowing introduction, saying I had travelled from a far away land just to work with the students here and that God had blessed me with a most great gift- the gift of music! He then draped me with a white shawl while describing the Tibetan symbols embroidered in the fabric saying it was a traditional way to honor guests. The fifth grade students then sang "We Are The World" as a welcoming. The power went off during the song, but they kept on going strong.
The whole time all of this was going on I was thinking, "this little lesson I'm about to give better not be a let down." I've never been given a welcoming quite like that. So I got up on stage and got the kids clapping some rhythms and singing some notes and laughing a bit. It was all good and I think they enjoyed it, but I couldn't help but think, here I am, just some random young guy, what the heck am I doing here?! It was surreal.
Later on Friday I played some songs for a class of high schoolers and answered some questions. It was much more laid back than the morning session. I played a couple songs, talked about myself, and they asked me some questions. They should be fun to work with.
I encourage you to read more about North Point on Wikipedia. It's a quite a place. A secluded little sanctuary in the foothills of the highest mountains in the world. Insanity.
There is much more to say, but my time is up for now.
-T