The last week...

Hi there, we've just had a wonderfully sociable week which is a welcome change to the usual standard busy week.

On Monday we visited a friend who has a pool (we stayed with her in 2012 when we visited), it's a lovely place to relax. She also gave us a big bag of fresh coconuts harvested from her trees. They're so good, the coconut water sweet and the flesh still soft. Delicious.

 

 

On Wednesday afternoon we visited Transition School for their annual dress up parade. The school is the main school in AV for ages 7-16. The theme this year was 'A New World' which left it very open to different costumes.

 

Getting a better view.

 

Each grade had their own time to show off their outfits starting with the youngest...

 

...to the biggest. We have friends whose children go to this school so it was nice to cheer them on too. It was funny to think that we might well be here in a couple of years to cheer K on, all dressed up. C was also happy to see that some of the teachers that used to teach him were still there.

 

 

 

On Thursday evening we wert to a fundraising dinner for a small independant school known as TLC (The Learning Community). Here's a little info on the school:

 

'The Learning Community' (TLC) is an experiment in Integral Education that opened its doors in Auroville in July 2009. A core group of adult facilitators and other external teachers offering a variety of subjects to those interested and an increasing group of children aged 7-10 years form the basis of this steadily running project. 

The main aim of the school is to create a space where children and adults, by living and working together, can grow more conscious of their inner and outer being. The Aurovilian team endeavours to offer a space where children and adults have access to a great variety of different environments, each having a specific gift to share. They see the community of Auroville as a school in itself and by the exposure to these different environments (through the tool of a ‘moving classroom’), children will naturally engage in a process of learning, develop faculties, and will be able to create their own conditions for growth and happiness.

 

A friend of ours volunteers there as her eldest son goes there (the youngest going to Transition), it's great that such places are readily available here. If K doesn't find convential schooling works for him then I'd certainly consider letting him attend this school. Funny really as I'd always advocated convential schooling as it had worked well for me but the more I learn about my son and the environment we now live in, I see that we really have a great chance to support him with an educational style that suits him (homeschooling is just not for us). His kindergarten already follows a Montessori style of teaching which I find is much kinder and creative than his nursery in the UK.

 

Anyway, the dinner was lovely, lots of low tables on mats with candles out in the open with a meat, veg and vegan option The food cooked and donated by various parents, volunteers and restaurants. The childen from the school were the waiters, dressed in black and white with a red sash around their waists (a number of them had been into Nandini for white tops over the past week or two). There was a live group playing called Balkan Masala which created the perfect ambiance.

 

K met with some classmates and spent the evening running about and having great fun. After dinner the kids put on a play, a comedic whodunnit, written by one of the volunteers which was so lovely to see. There was also a circus display and a fire show. It was truly heartwarming to see so many like minded people and their beautiful smiling free spirited children coming together to help this tiny school of around 25 pupils build a new classroom. It's moments like this that I feel I am home. :)

 

On Sat it was the annual music festival at Solitude organic farm, was another chance to see the wider community come together to raise money and awareness at various stalls with some great music thrown in for good measure.

 

 

We got some new seeds, including cucumber and capsicum and flower seeds for the garden border.

 

Beautiful handpainted art, have my eye on a flower of life hanging but I know where they're based so it can wait for another time...

 

K and a classmate in their papa's chappals (flipflops)

 

Balkan Masala - just super music.

 

So needless to say, we had a nice quiet day yesterday. Today we awoke to the surprise sound of rain and it's still coming down hours later. It's so good for the plants as we had such a small amount during monsoon season.

 

Lastly I wanted to show you how K's papaya tree is getting on. Here it is in Oct last year:

 

 

And here it is now (well, a few weeks ago). It's just started flowering and we are pretty sure it's a female so should be blessed with fruit within a few months.

 

 

Here's a recent shot of our house, the garden is coming along nicely. More about that in my next post.

 

Speak soon, Laura ॐ