35°C? Let's climb!

Like much of the world it seems, the weather here has been baking the last couple of weeks. Moving around has taken some real effort and it has somehow made the hanging chicken carcasses a little bit less attractive as they sweat out in store fronts in the relentless heat. It has certainly been paddling pool weather, with an ice-cream and maybe a cheeky G&T. Last weekend we embarked on a 5 hour round trip to go and see the hot springs. On the way, Wanlang insisted we made the most of the swealtering circumtances and climb what must be the largest mountain before you hit the Himalayas... nice. Ironically, when we were well on our way up to the top and well on our way to a cardiac issue, we turned around to see Jop sat at the bottom with a can of Budweiser in his hand. He ain't daft.

Upon decent, Jop was nowehere to be seen. Wanlang asked various locals who seemingly pointed in different directions. This was another occasion of a language barrier within the Khasi Hills: only two and a half hours in the car from Nongkrem and they were struggling to understand eachother. We entered into one of the wooden hut shops for some food. The very next moment, Wanlang had displaced the shopkeeper, lit a fire and was cutting potatoes for some chips. What an absolute hero he is. After some time Jop reappeared with a 'long lost friend'. We continued on to the hot spring. I won't comment on them but I will leave a picture - it will convey what I felt much better than words.

On the Sunday we attended a Unitarian Church Service - full of singing, it was a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon. We spoke to an honoury member of the church who was the Principal of a large college in Shillong. He shared how as part of his research in zoology he had travelled into the largest caves in India (situated here in Meghalaya) and discovered a new specie of fish - the Schistura larketensis. This fish, found 17km into the cave adapts over time to become blind, redirecting its cells to become better predators in the pitch black caves. Fascinating really. In school, we have continued to fine tune the delivery of LBQ as a tool. In the three schools with WiFi there is now no faff of connecting to hotspots - the children have the devices out of the boxes and are engrossed in a question set within seconds. Culturally this is a big shift. On our visit last year, it was common for children not to complete any work - with teachers turning up late or simply not turning up. Whilst not the intention, there is a certain accountability using LBQ - it's there for all to see. When you started, when you finished, which questions you completed and which did you not. It is something both students and teachers have responded positively to. This year's venture has seen us revisit what was put in place last year - making sure everything is as straightforward, impactful and long-lasting as possible. Everything from auditing processes, reporting, onboarding schools and the staff training programme has been looked at. Having time to do this has been invaluable and will hopefully give LBQ here in Meghalaya some serious longevity. We received some really positive news from Pahsyntiew following on from their examinations. 80% of their children passed their English examination. Previously unheard of at Pahsyntiew. What have Pahsyntiew been doing for the last year in English then? Answer: Using LBQ.