Sorry for my silence.
I am settled in the hostel and my classes are starting to trickle in. Vice Chancellor Maharaj has set me up with good teachers and slowly I should develop a nice class schedule. For now though I could almost be chasing butterflies all over West Bengal and as long as I came to meals noone would bat an eye. But by the end of the week I should have three legitamate classes and my ongoing Sanskrit studies, directed and observed lightly by Nischal Maharaj.
The three classes are,
1. "Indian Spiritual Heritage" with Ramakrishna Maharaj. He's a published author in India who wrote a best-selling novel "Tiya", a Vedantic fable about a parrot.
2. "Vivekachudamani (Crest Jewel of Discrimination)" with Swami Durgananda.
3. "God Knows What" with Ayon Maharaj. Ayon MJ was born and raised in the USA, his parents are from Bengal. He has a PHD in English from Berkley, he's a Sanskrit scholar knows like 6 languages and is teaching himself 2 more. He specialised in German philosophy, so he'll be teaching me English, critical thinking, philosophy, and god knows what else in god knows what order.
I'm learning a lot already, I enjoy my studies and I'm very happy here. I'm only hoping my program becomes more developed soon, but I know it will. This school can give it's own degrees, and VC Maharaj seems to have a grand plan behind my education. I have excellent teachers here, and with the private tutoring I think I have a great opportunity for intellectual growth.
The Bengalis in the Hostel are all sweet hearts. They all speak some English I think, but only a few of them can really converse. So I've taken up learning Bengali and am picking up words fast. Everyday the kids teach me something, and in turn their English is being improved by my presence there. My room-mate Paloush speaks pretty good English. We talked for almost an hour last night about stuff. He tells me to correct his pronunciation and told me his English is going to be improved by my presence there.
These kids are from a different universe than I am. For instance Paloush is from a rural West Bengali village and his father is a farmer. The Brahman (Priest-Caste) boys walk around wearing their sacred threads (a thread worn around the shoulder to mark a Brahman) and never take them off. But what really comes across with them is their simplicity and innocence, I don't recall seeing boys like these anywhere in the US. They typically know 3 or 4 languages and have really good habits. We don't sleep much in the hostel, 51/2 or 6 hours a night, and the boys study pretty much all day round all year round. One was shocked to learn that we get 3 months off of school in the USA.
I am settled in the hostel and my classes are starting to trickle in. Vice Chancellor Maharaj has set me up with good teachers and slowly I should develop a nice class schedule. For now though I could almost be chasing butterflies all over West Bengal and as long as I came to meals noone would bat an eye. But by the end of the week I should have three legitamate classes and my ongoing Sanskrit studies, directed and observed lightly by Nischal Maharaj.
The three classes are,
1. "Indian Spiritual Heritage" with Ramakrishna Maharaj. He's a published author in India who wrote a best-selling novel "Tiya", a Vedantic fable about a parrot.
2. "Vivekachudamani (Crest Jewel of Discrimination)" with Swami Durgananda.
3. "God Knows What" with Ayon Maharaj. Ayon MJ was born and raised in the USA, his parents are from Bengal. He has a PHD in English from Berkley, he's a Sanskrit scholar knows like 6 languages and is teaching himself 2 more. He specialised in German philosophy, so he'll be teaching me English, critical thinking, philosophy, and god knows what else in god knows what order.
I'm learning a lot already, I enjoy my studies and I'm very happy here. I'm only hoping my program becomes more developed soon, but I know it will. This school can give it's own degrees, and VC Maharaj seems to have a grand plan behind my education. I have excellent teachers here, and with the private tutoring I think I have a great opportunity for intellectual growth.
The Bengalis in the Hostel are all sweet hearts. They all speak some English I think, but only a few of them can really converse. So I've taken up learning Bengali and am picking up words fast. Everyday the kids teach me something, and in turn their English is being improved by my presence there. My room-mate Paloush speaks pretty good English. We talked for almost an hour last night about stuff. He tells me to correct his pronunciation and told me his English is going to be improved by my presence there.
These kids are from a different universe than I am. For instance Paloush is from a rural West Bengali village and his father is a farmer. The Brahman (Priest-Caste) boys walk around wearing their sacred threads (a thread worn around the shoulder to mark a Brahman) and never take them off. But what really comes across with them is their simplicity and innocence, I don't recall seeing boys like these anywhere in the US. They typically know 3 or 4 languages and have really good habits. We don't sleep much in the hostel, 51/2 or 6 hours a night, and the boys study pretty much all day round all year round. One was shocked to learn that we get 3 months off of school in the USA.
You're you're so funny Ripkamal! Chasing butterflies all over West Bengal!!! I laughed out loud :) thanks for sharing with us. It's a real joy to read about your experience!
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