I have arrived safely in India. I started school on June 13th, and school here is very different than in America. We have eight periods and one 25 minute lunch break. Between each period we have a few minutes of free time. Each period, we have a different teacher teaching a different subject. The teachers are very strict and one of them yelled " If you have left your brains at home, then don't come to my class". !!
The soccer field has absolutely no grass, just dirt. It is very hard to play soccer as many kids slip, slide and get hurt, as I have done 3 times.
The basketball court serves as an assembly place also.
During the few minutes between periods, everyone in the classroom goes absolutely crazy, yelling and hooting, hollering and pounding on the table. There is no classroom library, just the school library, which we visit once a week.
At school, I have made 4 friends: 2 Americans, 1 Dutch and 1 Indian. I ahve also made one enemy, who calls me "Dirty American Brat".
The roads are terribly bumpy and half of them are made of DIRT. I take the bus to school everyday, and we bounce up and down on the roads. There are few traffic lights, just on the main intersection roads, and we DO NOT wear seat belts.
I have gotten sick already on the 21st, and stayed home all day and skipped school. My mother was clever enough to get some medicines from the local doctor to have on hand, because she knew we would fall sick sometime or the other.
Everyday, at 5:30 p.m., all kids in the complex go to the clubhouse and play soccer for about 1 hour. Now, this field has grass.
I live with my cousin, but we will soon move to our own house. It is really cool, having a spiral staircase that goes to the roof. A lot of houses here have that, including my cousin's house.
P.S. The tome here is different from the American time, because of the time zones.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
June 24th - A Salute to my coffee mates And a broken arm in the family!
This is the street we live on. And these are a couple of women laborers working on a nearby house.
We live away from the city, so it is very quiet and peaceful here. We do not hear any of the city noise. Not all houses have been built here, so there are a lot of vacant lots, which makes it even nicer. I am sure it won't be long before it becomes all engulfed into the city, and becomes as noisy as ever.
On Friday, a storm was threatening. The sky was cloudy, the winds were strong swaying the trees, and a slight drizzle. It was a gorgeous day. I was reminded of Java City Coffee and my coffeemates. How I missed them! Bangalore has very good coffee, many coffee plantations nearby. And coffee shops selling all kinds of coffee concoctations have sprung up. Only problem is that I just can't jump in a car and drive and be somewhere in 5 mins. It will take me a whole half hour going bumpity bump to reach the nearest coffee place. By that time, my appetite would have disappeared.
I do miss living close to all amenities. But, if I lived downtown, the children would have no place to play. The children are very happy in the complex, plenty of place to run around and play.
Anyway, later in the day, it was on this very same street that C fell and broke his arm while juggling a ball with R. We took him to the nearest hospital where he was diagnosed to have a chipped bone that would need plates to fix. I wanted a second opinion. So we took him to Columbia Asia hospital, where he was again given the same diagnosis.
What an irony! The first surgery in C's life had to happen in India!! So far, it has been a very pleasant experience. Very efficient administration, very professional doctors, smiling nurses, good care, and so on. The results of the surgery has yet to be seen. C will come home today.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
real life is starting - June 20th
C likes to take pictures of cows on the streets.
It will take us 2 months to get an internet connection. Apparently, the servers are all full, so they are configuring a new server to accommodate new requests. We use the internet in my brother's house, where the connection is sometimes good, but mostly of very low capacity. Voice over IP connection is really bad from our place. The cell phone signals are not very strong where we live, so data cards have modem speed. That is our biggest disappointment so far. We need to have a good Internet connection. Obviously, our US phone lines are not hooked up to any equipment yet, but we can receive messages on them.
Email is still the best way to contact me.
Other than that, life has been good. The weather has cooled down, because the monsoons are threatening, I feel cold enough in the mornings and nights to want to wear a sweatshirt. R has started school, he takes the schoolbus along with his cousin. The school has a Hindi-B program, where they take the "returning children" separately, and teach them Hindi right from the alphabets. In one year time, they will be brought up to speed. SO far, R says the academics are quite easy - he doesn't yet feel intimidated by it.
We live in a nice gated community, away from the main road, so it is very quiet and peaceful here. The children get all their entertainment by hanging out with the tons of neighborhood kids of every age that live here. R looks forward to playing soccer every evening.
Email is still the best way to contact me.
Other than that, life has been good. The weather has cooled down, because the monsoons are threatening, I feel cold enough in the mornings and nights to want to wear a sweatshirt. R has started school, he takes the schoolbus along with his cousin. The school has a Hindi-B program, where they take the "returning children" separately, and teach them Hindi right from the alphabets. In one year time, they will be brought up to speed. SO far, R says the academics are quite easy - he doesn't yet feel intimidated by it.
We live in a nice gated community, away from the main road, so it is very quiet and peaceful here. The children get all their entertainment by hanging out with the tons of neighborhood kids of every age that live here. R looks forward to playing soccer every evening.
(I am trying to upload some more pics, but doing that has been difficult.)
But as soon as we step out of our complex, the view changes dramatically. The road is dirt road, the main road is very bumpy and full of holes. The tolerance level is so high here, you would think there should be a mass uprising against the local government. But people just accept it, just like they accept so many other things in life.
Most people have Water filtration system at home, because the water that otherwise comes in is full of bacteria. We have a borewell system, from which the water is electrically pumped up to a rooftop tank once a day, and then that water is taken thru a water filtration system. Apparently, that is not enough. The high calcium content in the inderground water has caused kidney stones in many people. So, we will have to install a Reverse Osmosis system also.
This is all for those who can afford it. The costs of clean living are high here, afforded probably by only 400 million of the total billion people population of India. The rest 600 million have it very hard.
The income difference between the middle class and the poor is terribly high.
Primary education is free in the public schools, but the catch is that there are not enough public school s to accommodate all the poor children. So the poor parents who still aspire have to send their children to private schools, where they have to pay fees. Often it is a tug between putting food on the table and paying school fees. A child going to school also means that he/she can't work during the day to supplement the family income. As a result, many parents may not be too eager to send their children to school. Without even a primary education, how much even a fast growing economy can pull them up, I don't know.
One of the frequent discussions of people here is "maid problem". Either the maid does not do a good cleaning job, or they simply take off without notice, or something or the other. I sometimes look at the maids and wonder if they have any aspirations in life. What do they aspire for their children? Or do they look at the high standards of living of the houses they work in and feel doomed for the rest of their lives?
The maid who works in my brother's house saw the house I will be renting here and asked me how come I need such a big house for just 2 adults and 2 children? It made me cringe. At least she feels the freedom to ask me such a question. She is from Nepal, the whole clan came all the way from Nepal to Bangalore to find work as security guards and maids. She probably lives in one room with her husband and 6 children. Yes, 6 children!! I asked her why so many? She got married at 12, had her first one 16, and it went on from there.
But as soon as we step out of our complex, the view changes dramatically. The road is dirt road, the main road is very bumpy and full of holes. The tolerance level is so high here, you would think there should be a mass uprising against the local government. But people just accept it, just like they accept so many other things in life.
Most people have Water filtration system at home, because the water that otherwise comes in is full of bacteria. We have a borewell system, from which the water is electrically pumped up to a rooftop tank once a day, and then that water is taken thru a water filtration system. Apparently, that is not enough. The high calcium content in the inderground water has caused kidney stones in many people. So, we will have to install a Reverse Osmosis system also.
This is all for those who can afford it. The costs of clean living are high here, afforded probably by only 400 million of the total billion people population of India. The rest 600 million have it very hard.
The income difference between the middle class and the poor is terribly high.
Primary education is free in the public schools, but the catch is that there are not enough public school s to accommodate all the poor children. So the poor parents who still aspire have to send their children to private schools, where they have to pay fees. Often it is a tug between putting food on the table and paying school fees. A child going to school also means that he/she can't work during the day to supplement the family income. As a result, many parents may not be too eager to send their children to school. Without even a primary education, how much even a fast growing economy can pull them up, I don't know.
One of the frequent discussions of people here is "maid problem". Either the maid does not do a good cleaning job, or they simply take off without notice, or something or the other. I sometimes look at the maids and wonder if they have any aspirations in life. What do they aspire for their children? Or do they look at the high standards of living of the houses they work in and feel doomed for the rest of their lives?
The maid who works in my brother's house saw the house I will be renting here and asked me how come I need such a big house for just 2 adults and 2 children? It made me cringe. At least she feels the freedom to ask me such a question. She is from Nepal, the whole clan came all the way from Nepal to Bangalore to find work as security guards and maids. She probably lives in one room with her husband and 6 children. Yes, 6 children!! I asked her why so many? She got married at 12, had her first one 16, and it went on from there.
India struggles under the crush of its own poor people, yet everyday thousands cross the border from the neighboring poor countries to find work in India. The Government discourages it, but there are no laws barring businesses from hiring them. "Illegal immigrant" is not even a term here.
I have decided not to be dependent on maids, and instead do the cleaning myself. My husband is promising to help out. But is that a good decision? I often get irritated about the middle class dependency on the underclass, but this dependence also provides employment. Just like, when roads or houses are being built, there is tons of manual labor involved. Men dig with shovels, instead of using a digger truck. Women carry the dug out dirt in a pan placed on top of their heads. Bricks are handed out from one person to another standing in line. The absence of every digger truck provides employment to 100 men, the absence of every loader truck provides employment to 100 women. Helps both the economy and the environment. That is why such constructions take forever, but everyone is acceptable of the time imvolved. I guess everything comes with a price.
I have decided not to be dependent on maids, and instead do the cleaning myself. My husband is promising to help out. But is that a good decision? I often get irritated about the middle class dependency on the underclass, but this dependence also provides employment. Just like, when roads or houses are being built, there is tons of manual labor involved. Men dig with shovels, instead of using a digger truck. Women carry the dug out dirt in a pan placed on top of their heads. Bricks are handed out from one person to another standing in line. The absence of every digger truck provides employment to 100 men, the absence of every loader truck provides employment to 100 women. Helps both the economy and the environment. That is why such constructions take forever, but everyone is acceptable of the time imvolved. I guess everything comes with a price.
Here is a picture of a house being constructed in the neighborhood. Totally manual labor:
And, Here is a picture of a fallen motorbike that our autorickshwa ran into. C was in the other one, he was quick to take a picture, then he came and asked me if I was OK. No one was hurt, and life went on.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Admission tests in school - June 9th
June 10, 2007
Today the children had their admission exams in Delhi Public School. They got a waiver on their second language (Hindi) and were tested only for English and Math. R said it was very easy. We will know when we see the results. For S, however, we were told that she reversed her numbers and did not write her alphabets in cursive. I got to work on that at home. I also need to teach her to read small words. The teachers said they will help us along. The teachers seemed confident, I am not. We will see. Next week they will start school.
Today the children had their admission exams in Delhi Public School. They got a waiver on their second language (Hindi) and were tested only for English and Math. R said it was very easy. We will know when we see the results. For S, however, we were told that she reversed her numbers and did not write her alphabets in cursive. I got to work on that at home. I also need to teach her to read small words. The teachers said they will help us along. The teachers seemed confident, I am not. We will see. Next week they will start school.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Initial days - June 7
June 7, 2007
This is what I wrote to some of my girlfriends soon after I arrived in Bangalore 5 days ago:
"I am back online, the days are hot in Bangalore, nights are cooler, this is summertime here, expecting monsoons soon. Last Saturday, the neighborhood kids planted trees along the road outside the complex, hoping the monsoons will provide the necessary water. We are staying in my brother’s house, am busy trying to get our rental house set up with furniture, appliances, broadband , etc. Drinking a lot of Indian “Chai”.
Hoping to wear my Indian sarees, but probably would feel out of place in the midst of tight pants and tights shirts the women are sporting here. Simone’s body is totally jetlagged, she sleeps all day and stays awake all night, meaning I hardly get any night time sleep. Not a real problem, these hot afternoons are perfect for the afternoon “siesta”, during which I make up my sleep."
Few more days have gone by since, the children seem very happy. I had thought R would be miserable, and be missing his father, but that has not been the case. Both the kids have been playing with their cousin and other kids in the neighborhood. R is also enjoying the "Bengali" foods. Insists on eating with his hands - the authentic "Indian" way.
The last two night had strong winds, thunder, lightning and rain, bringing down the temperatures considerably.
Next week, we have to deal with school, studies, the "real life".....
This is what I wrote to some of my girlfriends soon after I arrived in Bangalore 5 days ago:
"I am back online, the days are hot in Bangalore, nights are cooler, this is summertime here, expecting monsoons soon. Last Saturday, the neighborhood kids planted trees along the road outside the complex, hoping the monsoons will provide the necessary water. We are staying in my brother’s house, am busy trying to get our rental house set up with furniture, appliances, broadband , etc. Drinking a lot of Indian “Chai”.
Hoping to wear my Indian sarees, but probably would feel out of place in the midst of tight pants and tights shirts the women are sporting here. Simone’s body is totally jetlagged, she sleeps all day and stays awake all night, meaning I hardly get any night time sleep. Not a real problem, these hot afternoons are perfect for the afternoon “siesta”, during which I make up my sleep."
Few more days have gone by since, the children seem very happy. I had thought R would be miserable, and be missing his father, but that has not been the case. Both the kids have been playing with their cousin and other kids in the neighborhood. R is also enjoying the "Bengali" foods. Insists on eating with his hands - the authentic "Indian" way.
The last two night had strong winds, thunder, lightning and rain, bringing down the temperatures considerably.
Next week, we have to deal with school, studies, the "real life".....