25 Sept - My first tiddly Indian

I met my first drunk Indian today. Verbose, repetitive, honest, open and humble in varying shades of hilarious. "I feel inferior when I see you teach." Sarah's face said it all: one of modesty and tainted with a touch of sadness. But, and this is, in the tiny microcosm which is Kids' Castle School, Dhobi Dhara, in Lower Pedong, Darjeeling district, a big but, we are making progress.

My hot air balloon model has failed two days in a row: ridiculed by eleven year olds I was as black smoke billowed from the top of the bag, and the plastic melted to itself. Anmol, one of the teachers, seized the opportunity quick as a flash: "I will bring one tomorrow. You need lighter materials." He is right of course, and with his enthusiastic partner in crime, Parsuman, I am sure that they will conduct their first demonstration of their teaching careers tomorrow... (I can't forget his amusement at informing us "Anmol is a bachelor!" while walking with us at the weekend. Transpires though that he might be wrong... Watch this space for some gossip)

... Sarah and I have amazing dialogue. I savour and look forward to our afternoon tea on the terrace above the school with my best friend and partner in this little escapade. Observations are discussed, ideas developed, plans made. The blog/website idea to create a lasting resource for the teachers of KCS and further afield has momentum, and support from the charity we are working with, and our evolving role beyond the politics endemic to it all is exciting. So stimulating is it all that I suspect that our fatigue is in no small part a consequence of this rather than our increasingly demanding jogs up and down the surrounding hills.

Sarah and I came here to teach English. I had always hoped that it might be a little more than that. I think we knew just as soon as we started chatting to Santa, our coordinator and biggest advocate, that this would be the case. This project really has no limit: set up lasting lesson resources, train the teachers at KCS, perhaps even extend this to a teacher training roadshow throughout West Bengal and beyond. It is so exciting.