Metaphorical Dental Work

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: getting things done in India is tough. Like nutrition lessons.

After about two weeks of delays, I finally got around to starting my nutrition lessons at KLB today. They were delayed mostly because students were still busy doing exams and didn’t want to be bothered by new material to learn, even though it wouldn’t be on any exam or anything like they. They just had to show up and pay attention. Today, exams were finished, so Principal Ramdev told me to start by teaching two classes. Now that’s another problem. These are students that don’t have class normally, so rounding them up from wherever they are and getting them to the teaching hall took some time. I started a half hour later than planned for the first lesson, but that’s okay. At least it started at all.

I began with nutrition basics: sources of energy, energy balance, and dietary recommendations. I didn’t want to get too much into the science behind it, and I couldn’t tell them exactly what they should be eating on a daily basis. Rather, general education is the goal. In order to eat properly and be healthy, you must understand what it is that you eat, and that’s knowledge that so many people in the area lack. They don’t think about their food; they just eat. I’m hoping to change that.

Easier said than done. Engaging with the students was like pulling teeth. For the most part, they just sat there and didn’t say a word or make any reaction to what I said. I would ask them a question and try to get them to respond, and I would wait for a full minute before answering my own question and moving on to the next topic. How was I supposed to get them to think about their food if they wouldn’t even think about thinking about their food?

The good thing about pulling teeth, however, is that if you try hard enough, it will eventually come out. The first lecture was an hour long, and by the second half, I was making some progress. This came as a result of me making a few fat jokes, but hey, anything I can do to get some interaction is okay by me. By the end of the lecture, they were actively asking and answering questions and even using some reasoning to figure out dietary requirements. Even I didn’t expect them to make so much progress so fast.

This will probably jinx myself, but if I can keep it up, the rest of the lessons should be a breeze.