February 1 marked the halfway mark of this amazing Watson year. It's hard to believe how quickly time is moving and simultaneously how packed my time has been with activity and adventure. Below are the contents of my second Quarterly Report, submitted to Watson HQ. It was challenging to write about everything that I've seen and done since November, but hopefully I struck a balance between not writing too much and also not oversimplifying my experiences.
Part I: Nepal
I intended to
write the first half of this quarterly report six weeks ago, when I first
arrived in South Africa and my thoughts and reflections of my time in Nepal
were fresh. I knew that if I waited to write about my time in Nepal until now,
that challenging and intensely rewarding eight weeks would fade and become
smaller and less significant in my memory. Alas, with the Watson as it is, I
broke this promise to myself and must report on my time in Nepal as I recall it
now.
When I last checked in, I was about
to start working with a volunteer program teaching young kids in a Buddhist
monastery. I debated whether or not volunteering was the best course of action
for realizing my project in Nepal. On the one hand, this kind of organization
and structure would give me access to kids for my project without the delay of
building contacts. But, on the other hand, the volunteer program was much more
expensive than the cost of living in Nepal, and it wasn’t too clear to me where
the money would go. After a lot of thought, I decided to go for it. I was in
Nepal to engage with kids from very different religious backgrounds than my
own, and I felt that I could gain something special by living and working in a
Buddhist monastery. Luckily, the organization I went through, Volunteer
Initiatives Nepal, proved to be a wonderful organization, and I was happy to
support them.
This did not mean that my time in
Nepal went smoothly and as planned, of course. I’m embarrassed to admit this,
but my vision of life in a monastery was of stereotypical peacefulness and
tranquillity. I assumed the kids that lived there would be shy and
introspective, with mentors who helped them to become composed and self-aware. This
could not have been further from the truth. With about 80 boys ages 3 to 16,
and only a few older men to supervise them, these kids turned out to be quite a
handful.
It was my job to teach four classes of English every morning.
My plan was to incorporate themes of astronomy into my lessons during my 3-4
weeks there and then to speak with kids about astronomy during mealtimes or
other casual settings that would naturally arise from living together. Language
barrier and lack of interest prevented this from happening, and I quickly had to
change my plan and find different ways to accomplish my larger project goals
elsewhere in Kathmandu and Nepal.
Connecting with astronomer, educator and founder of the Nepal
Astronomical Society, Sudeep Neupane, almost instantly changed my life in
Kathmandu for the better. After meeting him, my new routine consisted of
teaching in the monastery every morning, and going to schools around Kathmandu
with him every afternoon. At the monastery, while I wasn’t able to focus on
astronomy, I was, without a doubt, becoming a much better educator. Teaching
those kids six days a week gave me a crash course in classroom management,
lesson planning, improvisation, and resourcefulness. I learned to let
conversations of astronomy arise less frequently, but more organically, usually
triggered by my space-themed accessories or from the growing rumour of my being
a scientist. Meanwhile, my afternoons in schools allowed me to engage with the
original goals of my project. In less than a month, I visited almost a dozen
schools and interacted with hundreds of kids.
From my time in the monastery and my time in schools, I feel
like I got a good understanding of kids’ general ideas about astronomy as well
as the educational culture in Nepal. Here are a few observations I made (again,
I do not aim to generalize about all of Nepal, but these are rather patterns I
observed):
1. I found an emphasis on repetition and
memorization in most Nepali classrooms. Students were mostly being taught to
regurgitate answers as opposed to being encouraged to ask questions or work
through problems. This meant that I often got cookie-cutter answers to my
questions (e.g. “A star is a heavenly body made of gas”).
2. No matter which school I went to,
there seemed to always be at least one student, regardless of grade level, location
or school ranking, who was obsessed with astronomy. These students
would ask questions about black holes, the curvature of space-time, dark
matter, quasars, and the Big Bang – topics I didn’t learn about until college.
While these enthusiasts were from various backgrounds and geographical areas,
the one commonality I did notice between them was their gender. I don’t doubt
that there were girls who were interested in astronomy, but I think the
historically patriarchal culture in Nepal made it such that girls remained
quiet. These astro-loving boys tended to dominate the conversation, answering
every question, raising their hand constantly. Later on, I learned to ask
students for written responses so I could gauge the interest and knowledge of
an entire class, not just the few enthusiasts.
3. I went to Nepal specifically to
investigate how religion impacts children’s beliefs about astronomy. During my
time there, I learned not just about Buddhist religion in the monastery, but
also about Hindu traditions and Sanskrit astronomy. Regardless of the religion
itself, I observed that, for most kids, being religious was more ritualistic
and less spiritual. Going through the daily pujas
did not necessarily imply that they were thinking about their meanings. In
Sanskrit astronomy, celestial objects are worshipped and prayed to as gods, and
it is believed that the movement of these objects in the sky will have an
impact on your personal fortune. Children participate in these rituals, while
simultaneously learning in school that these same celestial objects are planets
and stars made of rock and gas. When I asked the students about this, they
didn’t seem too preoccupied with any possible contradiction. They mostly said
they didn’t think about it much, and just did as they were instructed, (again,
emphasizing point 1). Some students were naturally critical thinkers and told
me decisively that one or the other was correct, but this was rare.
After
finishing my month in the monastery, I had 3 weeks to explore and be a “free
agent” in Nepal. I took time to travel around the country, see different
landscapes and engage with students in different places. I did this either
independently or with Sudeep’s help and endless connections. Highlights from
that time include going to a traditional Nepali wedding in a tiny and remote
village, spending a week traveling and visiting schools in Pokhora, a lovely
lakeside town, and passing down my small telescope to a physics teacher in a
village school that was beginning to introduce science into the high school
curriculum.
I’m so grateful to have had the
opportunity to learn about Nepal and its rich history and culture, as well as
for the chance to do what I’m passionate about in a very different environment
than what I’m used to. However, by the end of my eight weeks there, I was tired
-- mostly physically tired from noise, pollution, regular food illness and the
general chaos of Kathmandu, but also emotionally and culturally tired from the
language barrier, clear gender inequalities, and idealization of me as a white
North American. These discomforts
challenged me and pushed me to grow and adapt more rapidly than I ever have, which
was simultaneously extremely rewarding and extremely exhausting. By
mid-December, I was ready to move on to South Africa for a change of pace,
change of weather, and change of schedule.
Part II: South Africa
By the time I arrived in South
Africa, I was craving summer, the ocean, the mountains, English speakers, and
some time with family. I was lucky enough to have my mom visit me for a week,
and with her, I got into the swing of things in Cape Town. It was nice, even
just for a short period of time, to have someone that knows me really well by
my side to help me process everything that was going on, both with my Watson
and with things back home.
South Africa is renowned for its astounding efforts in astronomy
education. There are many well-funded, well-established programs here that aim
to educate the public about astronomy. The South African government in
particular has made science education, and astronomy education especially, a
priority in this country. There are several major scientific institutions here,
including the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), home to the
Southern African Large Telescope, which is the largest telescope in the
Southern Hemisphere. South Africa will also soon be home to a majority of the
Square Kilometre Array, the world’s largest system of radio telescopes. The
difference, however, between these institutions and the large telescopes I
visited in Chile, is the clear emphasis on education and outreach. My goal in
South Africa is to see how astronomy is reaching children in a plurality of
communities in this very racially and socioeconomically diverse place.
I’m currently based at the SAAO in
Cape Town, visiting schools and tagging along to many outreach projects. I’m
also working with the International Astronomical Union’s Office of Astronomy
for Development, an office designed to “use astronomy to make the world a
better place.” With the OAD, I’m learning about many global astronomy education
projects, and developing resources both for myself, and for other educators who
may want them in the future.
I’m finding myself to feel
comfortable and at home in Cape Town, with a house at the observatory, a local
frisbee team, many friends and lots of time to explore and enjoy this lovely
city. I’m feeling settled, which I suppose means that it will soon be time for
me to move on.
I’m now in the process of planning a two-week, cross-country
trip across South Africa to science centres, schools and planetariums. It will hopefully be an action-packed,
astronomy-and-kid-filled adventure, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of
this country.
Part III: Looking ahead
Now that I’m at the halfway point, I
feel restricted only by time. There’s so much that I want to do, and I feel I
have the resources and the confidence to do it. Working with people here in
Cape Town has given me a global network of ideas and contacts that could help
facilitate my project anywhere I go. Now it’s just going to be about
decision-making and maximizing of time and resources.
I plan to add Ethiopia to my list of
countries, and go there for just a short, three-week visit to schools and small
observatories near the capital. It would be a less complete experience than in
the other countries I’ve been to, but I think if it’s well planned, I could get
a lot of out of it. Then I’ll come quickly back to Cape Town, gather my items,
say some inevitably difficult goodbyes, and head out to New Zealand by
mid-April. I’m looking forward to all of it and taking in the challenges and
adventures as they come.
As always, thank you Watson HQ for
this amazing opportunity and your endless support!
