6-23-07, Saturday
I've been watching Indian music videos for the past hour. Gee, I love Bolly-MTV! It's so entertaining; the dance moves involve a lot of shoulders and head movements. Commercials too...there was one of a Christian funeral and burial where they threw the coffin in the hole and ran off. The commercial was (I think) for internet service: "fast and simple dot com". I may not have fully understood the commercial's sentiment had it not been for something we saw yesterday. We were looking over the railing of a Hindu temple, down onto the river below. There were six or seven people filling buckets with river water and walking up a small hill. Lalit explained that they had just cremated someone and they were pouring water over the ashes to cool them down. Later they would take the ashes in a box to the Ganges river. They have to walk the whole way, they can't stop, and they can't let the box touch the ground. They may stay there for many days, and of course the time it takes to walk there makes the funeral ceremonies for Hindus a long and laborious process. Far from fast and simple.
6-24-07, Sunday
Just returned from Mcleod Ganj in Upper Dharamsala, where our group went for the day. The town is known for the place in which the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government-in-exile has been since (I think) 1949. We didn't see the Dalai Lama, but we did shop around a lot and ate a Tibetan dinner. We plan to return for his birthday next weekend. He travels a lot, which I benefitted from a few years ago when I saw him speak in Irvine.
Dharamsala is a little over an hour away. Most memorable is the drive. The road is long, bumpy, and on a steep mountainside. Looking out the window provided not only fresh air (thank goodness), but a remarkable scenic view. When I got here on the 16th, I noticed that they drive on the left side of the road. Now I know that's not true. They'll drive wherever they can find room between the cows and cars, dogs, donkeys and children, motorcycles and monkeys.
6-25-07, Monday
As fun as yesterday was, today was my favorite day yet. First of all, school went very well. Megan and I have learned how to adjust our lessons based on the energy levels of the kids. We practiced counting in Hindi and English, everyone said their ages (at the beginning, when there were just five kids there, we found that they were 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 years old, which made for a fun with numbers game), flashcards with objects and songs like "head and shoulders", and "ring around the rosy". They were responsive, happy, attentive, and a bit misbehaved, but what can you expect of pre-schoolers?
Then, after class we went to Abhilasha's house for lunch. She is the niece of the teacher at our aanganwadi. We first had tea with Abhi's sister, mom and cousins in what seemed like a family room. They put out a long rug on the kitchen floor with two embroidered pillows on top. I asked where they were sitting and they replied that it's Indian custom to let the guests eat first. Apparently it's also Indian custom to inquire about the food after nearly every bite! It was a little uncomfortable at first, but understanding that it's their culture and that eating with guests would make them equally uncomfortable, somehow made it less akward. I told them I felt like a queen and that made them all laugh. The food was delicious! Americans are warned not to eat raw food (sorry L.A. & Nichole) and we politely asked if we could just have cooked, hot food. I did try a pickled olive, though. It tasted kind of like li hing mui (Hawaiian dried and flavored plum) but the flavor was even more potent, if those of you who have tried li hing can believe it! The rest of the meal consisted of home-made chapati (similar to naan, unleavened bread made of wholewheat flour and baked on the griddle), dal, rice, eggplant, potatoes, and zucchini. All this was followed by an amazing pastry (they called it "pasta") that tasted like a mix between a flaky palm leaf and halvah (Jeffy, I know what you're thinking...yes, I'll try to find some to bring home to you!)
After lunch we were led into Abhilasha's room, and all of us (6 women and 2 kids) piled onto her bed. We were told to "make feel like home." They asked us about Shakira and Tom Cruise. We asked them about Indian music (I got three CD's today...maybe I'll try out for Indian Idol while I'm here ;) When the adults left to eat, Abhilasha's sister (or cousin??? Siblings and cousins are called the same word in Hindi) brought out her diary. In it was a numbers game. We counted, they said stop, we said our number and they calculated the meanings. My result revealed that my boyfriend wants to give me a red rose. Adam? Hint, hint... :)
These two girls are some of the first people I've met here that speak any English, even though it's currently the nation's language. But with 18 official languages and 800-1000 regional languages, having one national language clearly presents a challenge. They aren't fluent, but if I spoke slowly, they could understand. Their English is certainly better than my Hindi, that's for sure!
Today Jaggi and Lalit (our program directors) came by the school. I had them ask the teacher (who doesn't speak English) if she thought what we're doing with the kids is okay and if she wants us to do anything differently. She told them that it's great and she's so happy we're there. She is observing us to get ideas that she'll continue with down the road. The good news is, I can keep singing "head, shoulders, knees and toes" over and over and over. And over. And over again...
After lunch we had a planned excursion to a Tibetan monastery. The building's colors were vibrant - reds, yellows, greens, blues. We first entered a courtyard where the monks in the red and orange robes were "debating" about what they had studied earlier in the day. Most were in pairs. Every other moment they twisted at the waist, raised one arm high over their heads and then brought it down to clap with the other hand. Usually they clapped right in the face of the monk they were debating with. I've never been to a Tibetan monastery before, but it seemed surprisingly loud! Inside, were statues of Buddha, photos of the head of the monastery (who is at a conference in Argentina at the moment), the first monastery head, and the Dalai Lama. Later, we sat down with a monk to hear him talk about meditation and the monks' studies.
On another note, not only is this my summer of adventures, it's apparently also my summer of showering with spiders. At Camp Lotus I showered a few times while keeping an eye on a spider on the opposite wall. As long as he was in my sight and remained on the other side, I was okay with his company. Here, we have a bathroom spider too. Again, as long as he's visible, I don't mind. In fact, I am comfortable with it. To be honest, showering WITHOUT a spider may be strange in the future. Shower neccessities: soap, towel...and spider.
I've been watching Indian music videos for the past hour. Gee, I love Bolly-MTV! It's so entertaining; the dance moves involve a lot of shoulders and head movements. Commercials too...there was one of a Christian funeral and burial where they threw the coffin in the hole and ran off. The commercial was (I think) for internet service: "fast and simple dot com". I may not have fully understood the commercial's sentiment had it not been for something we saw yesterday. We were looking over the railing of a Hindu temple, down onto the river below. There were six or seven people filling buckets with river water and walking up a small hill. Lalit explained that they had just cremated someone and they were pouring water over the ashes to cool them down. Later they would take the ashes in a box to the Ganges river. They have to walk the whole way, they can't stop, and they can't let the box touch the ground. They may stay there for many days, and of course the time it takes to walk there makes the funeral ceremonies for Hindus a long and laborious process. Far from fast and simple.
6-24-07, Sunday
Just returned from Mcleod Ganj in Upper Dharamsala, where our group went for the day. The town is known for the place in which the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government-in-exile has been since (I think) 1949. We didn't see the Dalai Lama, but we did shop around a lot and ate a Tibetan dinner. We plan to return for his birthday next weekend. He travels a lot, which I benefitted from a few years ago when I saw him speak in Irvine.
Dharamsala is a little over an hour away. Most memorable is the drive. The road is long, bumpy, and on a steep mountainside. Looking out the window provided not only fresh air (thank goodness), but a remarkable scenic view. When I got here on the 16th, I noticed that they drive on the left side of the road. Now I know that's not true. They'll drive wherever they can find room between the cows and cars, dogs, donkeys and children, motorcycles and monkeys.
6-25-07, Monday
As fun as yesterday was, today was my favorite day yet. First of all, school went very well. Megan and I have learned how to adjust our lessons based on the energy levels of the kids. We practiced counting in Hindi and English, everyone said their ages (at the beginning, when there were just five kids there, we found that they were 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 years old, which made for a fun with numbers game), flashcards with objects and songs like "head and shoulders", and "ring around the rosy". They were responsive, happy, attentive, and a bit misbehaved, but what can you expect of pre-schoolers?
Then, after class we went to Abhilasha's house for lunch. She is the niece of the teacher at our aanganwadi. We first had tea with Abhi's sister, mom and cousins in what seemed like a family room. They put out a long rug on the kitchen floor with two embroidered pillows on top. I asked where they were sitting and they replied that it's Indian custom to let the guests eat first. Apparently it's also Indian custom to inquire about the food after nearly every bite! It was a little uncomfortable at first, but understanding that it's their culture and that eating with guests would make them equally uncomfortable, somehow made it less akward. I told them I felt like a queen and that made them all laugh. The food was delicious! Americans are warned not to eat raw food (sorry L.A. & Nichole) and we politely asked if we could just have cooked, hot food. I did try a pickled olive, though. It tasted kind of like li hing mui (Hawaiian dried and flavored plum) but the flavor was even more potent, if those of you who have tried li hing can believe it! The rest of the meal consisted of home-made chapati (similar to naan, unleavened bread made of wholewheat flour and baked on the griddle), dal, rice, eggplant, potatoes, and zucchini. All this was followed by an amazing pastry (they called it "pasta") that tasted like a mix between a flaky palm leaf and halvah (Jeffy, I know what you're thinking...yes, I'll try to find some to bring home to you!)
After lunch we were led into Abhilasha's room, and all of us (6 women and 2 kids) piled onto her bed. We were told to "make feel like home." They asked us about Shakira and Tom Cruise. We asked them about Indian music (I got three CD's today...maybe I'll try out for Indian Idol while I'm here ;) When the adults left to eat, Abhilasha's sister (or cousin??? Siblings and cousins are called the same word in Hindi) brought out her diary. In it was a numbers game. We counted, they said stop, we said our number and they calculated the meanings. My result revealed that my boyfriend wants to give me a red rose. Adam? Hint, hint... :)
These two girls are some of the first people I've met here that speak any English, even though it's currently the nation's language. But with 18 official languages and 800-1000 regional languages, having one national language clearly presents a challenge. They aren't fluent, but if I spoke slowly, they could understand. Their English is certainly better than my Hindi, that's for sure!
Today Jaggi and Lalit (our program directors) came by the school. I had them ask the teacher (who doesn't speak English) if she thought what we're doing with the kids is okay and if she wants us to do anything differently. She told them that it's great and she's so happy we're there. She is observing us to get ideas that she'll continue with down the road. The good news is, I can keep singing "head, shoulders, knees and toes" over and over and over. And over. And over again...
After lunch we had a planned excursion to a Tibetan monastery. The building's colors were vibrant - reds, yellows, greens, blues. We first entered a courtyard where the monks in the red and orange robes were "debating" about what they had studied earlier in the day. Most were in pairs. Every other moment they twisted at the waist, raised one arm high over their heads and then brought it down to clap with the other hand. Usually they clapped right in the face of the monk they were debating with. I've never been to a Tibetan monastery before, but it seemed surprisingly loud! Inside, were statues of Buddha, photos of the head of the monastery (who is at a conference in Argentina at the moment), the first monastery head, and the Dalai Lama. Later, we sat down with a monk to hear him talk about meditation and the monks' studies.
On another note, not only is this my summer of adventures, it's apparently also my summer of showering with spiders. At Camp Lotus I showered a few times while keeping an eye on a spider on the opposite wall. As long as he was in my sight and remained on the other side, I was okay with his company. Here, we have a bathroom spider too. Again, as long as he's visible, I don't mind. In fact, I am comfortable with it. To be honest, showering WITHOUT a spider may be strange in the future. Shower neccessities: soap, towel...and spider.
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