A new day starts

It is 4:50 in the morning but I can't really sleep, too much thoughts in my head. Lots of things are going on around here in the teacher's residence, sharing accommodation with people from different places, backgrounds and habits sometimes it is very rewarding, but sometimes as well difficult.
Last Sunday I was talking with a South African woman in her mid thirties called Devrani Moopanar who lives here, her family background is Indian, from the city of Madras. Her grandfather was already born in South Africa, but return to his parents' country to find a bride, so he married Devrani's grandmother when she was fifteen years old. Miss Moopanar follows the Hindi religion, more exactly the Shiva branch of the faith. We were talking in the kitchen about many issues, world economics, fate and free will, the Baghavad Gita, the many levels of meanings in the sacred books of the world's religions. At some point I mentioned about the Saints and that for example Catholic religious people when there is a thunderstorm they pray for their protection through Saint Barbara. She told me that when she was a child they would repeat Arjuna's name, the friend and personal archer of God's avatar Krishna, till the thunderstorm was over.
In the other hand there is an English woman that share as well kitchen with us, that is unbelievably unfriendly, always ignoring people when they greet her, and the only words that she will have with the rest are to complain about some cutlery left on “her” space, you really can feel her anger and frustration anytime she is around. Why is this that always have to be somebody that spoils the harmony of the places?
Yesterday in the school, I was doing different tasks, I try to summarize some of them:

1. Reading support for some children

2. Meanwhile they were in P.E. (Physical Education) I was cutting some laminated words and numbers related to clocks, time. E.g. “Quarter past”, “Half past”, 1 , 2, 3, ..., 11, 12 and 5, 10, 15, ..., 45, 55

3. Math support, working with a “virtual” abacus all about Hundreds, Tens and Units

The teacher was using the computer and OHP (overhead projector) to explain different concepts, for maths she was using a program called “Multi e-Maths. Primary maths Toolbox”.
After lunch break (12:15 – 13:15) the children were learning about what Britain was like before the Roman invasion. The main activity was developed through the website http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/celts. It was a entertaining and a very visual way to learn about it. After they did a drama-role play of life in the time of celts, groups were playing as if they were different settlements.
The last 45 minutes of the day were dedicated to watch a video about the Roman invasion of Britannia and some questions related to it. For those of you that may be interested about the issue, I give a wee bibliography (just one book): Invaders and Settlers, ISBN 060225146X, it includes the story of Boudicca, A celtic queen who fought the Romans around the year 150 C.E.
I spent the evening cooking falafel and chapatti bread, with the help of Ines and Maria, for around eleven people, It was quite nice and informal (we were expecting a dinner for just four or five people). To finish the day we had a film session with Jackie Chang and his film “Rush Hour”... What a day!
This evening we are invited to go to a party in Barking organised by a (or may I say “The”) teacher's trade union. See what comes.
Take care, all the best!