Venturing into the literal wild, new staff leave the safety of their monkey-less roads and tackle the great unknown we call Woodstock. The Woodstocker caught up with some of them to chronicle the first chapter of their adventures.
Born in Logroño, Spain, Dr. Carlos, Spanish and film teacher has come to Mussoorie, magnetized by the mountains and nature after his thirteen-year stay in Delhi.
During his studies, Dr. Carlos had a lot of opportunities to explore the world through travel. He did his master’s in Universidad de Granada in southern Spain and went to Humboldt Universitaet in Berlin as an Erasmus student where he finished his master’s between there and Universidad de Granada.
In India, he came to Delhi to lecture, first at Jamia Millia Islamia, then at Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication. During this period, he was also writing his Ph.D. in Film Studies at the School of Art and Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
After finishing his doctorate, he worked for a year at Instituto Cervantes in Delhi, the Spanish Cultural Centre, which wrapped up his term of over a decade in India’s noisy capital and he decided to move on to the quiet mountain home that is Woodstock.
He first heard about the school through his friends, a puppeteer and a filmmaker who held short courses and open workshops over the years at this school. He also heard about the school through previous Spanish teachers Mr. Juan and Mrs. Daniela whom he met when he visited Landour three years ago.
He said “film is my passion,” and even said that he was part of many productions, which was “really fun” and “a wonderful experience” though “it is a headache, and a little bit of a torture.”
Other than film, his interest and care in students was made apparent when he took a step further to pronounce his Korean students’ names right. He said that he has started to attend the Korean Language PASSAGE “because [he] can’t pronounce the names of [his] students.”
As he introduced himself in the UY assembly with his special way of greeting; a snap, and a point. He said that one of the reasons he’d greet people that way was to present himself as an approachable person and have a rather relaxed relationship with students.
He considers himself accessible and said that any student or staff member can feel free to talk to him. He thinks that it is important for him to have that image of “an approachable person” as a teacher.
Dr. Carlos is notably eager and has a great curiosity about the world, saying that “wherever I am, I like to feel that I am growing.” Viewing ‘learning’ as a serious path for growth, he hopes that other staff and students will show a similar interest in growing too.
Photo by Mikko Akimitsu Xiaoquan Aoki Liu
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