my first day at work

today was my first working day at idiscoveri. a week ago i had visited their office to understand what they do and what my responsibilities would entail. a day before that i had talked to shweta (a founder) about what i could potentially work on at the organization.

although i had started work - designing language curriculum for grade 4 students - last week already, today was my first day as an employee (of sorts). in a matter of minutes i had a desk, a chair, an internet connection, and a friendly neighbor. another few minutes and i had a notebook and a pen (a reynolds ball-point, mind you... not just any old pen). the atmosphere there is perfect. people are friendly, smiling. they are chics all over the windows to make the sunlight a lot milder and a lot more beautiful. there is water, tea, coffee whenever you want it. a cafeteria that rocks - the food is no richer than food made at home, and everyone washes their own dishes. water was bisleri and chilled, so i had no qualms drinking it. there is a library downstairs that has the most amazing children's fiction. it's a good thing i'm such a fan. i have borrowed a book for my own reading this weekend - ruskin bond's "treasury of stories for children".

at 3 there was a farewell (cake and all) for someone who was moving and therefore quitting. that was nice. i didn't get introduced to everyone today, but that's alright. as long as they are all smiling faces, i don't care much for their names.

the downside is that the office is a good distance from home - it takes me 50 minutes when traffic is good. possibly double that when traffic is bad. but i won't be doing the commute for another 10 days or so, so not a big deal. i'm almost sad about that now...

as for the work - there is something oddly fulfilling about creating curriculum that is to be used in schools to teach 9-year olds. it is by no means a daunting task, nor challenging, to create something. but it does mean a fair amount of work to create something that would work - from the perspective of the teacher as well as that of the students. it is also very meditative in some respects to be working on english. i get to read the poem/short-story/book etc. and really think about it, about the reading process, the comprehension process, how the work can be extended by the students, etc. yes, it is a very fulfilling experience.

and this when just two days ago i was whining about how much work there was to do, and how i was just completely unable to get myself tuned to it. now, i'm very tuned. i also love my supervisor, my workplace, and the food :). as well as the abundant presence of people everywhere that gives me so many many opportunities to interact with humans - the chowkidaar, the receptionist, the librarian, the cooks, the chai-wala, the tech assistant, and all the people who work there.

i'm done.