Rikshaw Ride and Gandhi Museum

Thursday, September 3rd

That afternoon, I picked up my saris from the Hauz Khas market. I'm going to miss the elderly tailors, all men, who sew on the street with the antique Singers run by a foot pedal.

Our goal that afternoon, was to head to the Gandhi museum, and we struggled reading a map to find its location. We flagged down a rikshaw in the market and piled in. Usually a rikshaw is comfortable enough for 2-3 passengers in the back. But we've seen groups of 4 travel with the drivers, so I sat next to the rikshaw driver himself.

Normally a ride on a rikshaw is somewhat dangerous.... as we dodge the motorbikes, cars, trucks, cows, pedestrians, etc. on the road. However, sitting in the front seat with half a buttock clinging for safety and driving over countless potholes, the back seat doesn't seem all that dangerous. We even managed to hit a fuel truck, and I began to miss my American seatbelts.

This was the ultimate rikshaw ride as we drove past a parade for Ganesh, the Remover of Obstacles. There were musicians playing, people covered in colored paint, children dancing, and it was all led by an elephant!

I was finally getting somewhat comfortable, although I told the girls "We're getting 2 rikshaws on the way back," when the driver pulled over and told me to get on the right side so that I would drive. Reluctantly, I made my way to the wheel, or rather, handlebars as he explained the gears, 1st, 2nd, up till 4th, the accelerator, and floor brake (which he was in charge of). The 2 Brits in the back knew my American self never drove a non-automatic vehicle, and all of us feared for our safety (except the laughing driver). I accelerated, grinding the gears the entire way, and said just about every curse word I knew during the drive. The driver enjoyed putting his arm around my shoulder, as I told him we should take over. I even had to drive through a round-a-bout, unaware of what vehicles would cut me off. Fortunately, we made it to the museum unscathed.

http://www.eternalgandhi.org/

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Day 20:

When we arrived at work today, we discovered that we were to have class with the women's sewing group, and the women's English class. Although Indu has rented our little classroom for the last 2 years, the landlord told her to be out by Monday, Sept. 7th. However, the room was taken over by workers on Thursday so we had to cram all together and try to teach, which was a challenge. Chantelle and I had a discussion about the restaurant trip, but then decided to move outside to have some more space. We played freeze tag to the students' favorite, "Jai Ho," and danced and sang to "Who Let the Dogs Out?" We also managed to gather a group of onlookers. We finished a bit early so that the children could return to their homes to have lunch, because there was no room to be fed. Indu is searching for a replacement classroom and told us her wish to have a building one day so that the students could be taught in a permanent location. She also dreams to have computers oneday, although right now that wish seems distant.

Henna Party

Monday night at Dilli Haat (the Bazaar) I came across women doing henna, and ended up booking them to come to our apartment (quite a wonderful idea so we wouldn't have to rikshaw it back and mess up our designs). Jyoti and Rekha arrived this evening, along with their parents who chaperoned! Although I would chaperone my kids as well if they said they were going to some strange American's flat.

For over 4 hours they applied henna to our hands and feet, as we ate a dinner of veg. tikka and garlic naan (my favorite). The Dharamsala crew was in town as well, so its been a fun night of talking about our travels, volunteering, etc. as we inhale the fumes from the Tiger balm (meant to make the henna a dark color).

Restaurant Trip

Day 19:

The morning began with gathering the students for the trip to the restaurant. They arrived today extra polished, ready for their outing. Pingoo made 2 trips to transport the 15 of us to the South Indian restaurant, and the boys were thrilled to pile into the Bolero and requested music as well.

The students were so respectful once we arrived and behaved wonderfully. They sat down and began naming the English words we reviewed for utensils and pointed out the airconditioning. Indu asked the crew what they would like to eat, and ordered dosa, daal, and palau (not sure the spelling). They really were excited to eat and we all had a great time at the table as we "cheers"-ed to a fantastic 3 weeks. The students were even more excited to use our cameras to take pictures of the restaurant.... they have turned into hams and love to be photographed.

Flat Stanley in India

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Day 18:

Stanley has had a fantastic time in India. He toured Jaipur, Rajasthan, and rode on elephants (even though I forgot to take him out from my bag). A shop owner offered to purchase him for 100 rupees.... even though he's just laminated paper, I refused. Danced with traditional dancers at a carnival. Enjoyed Agra until he was confiscated by the Taj Mahal guards, because they thought he was a toy. Visited the Golden Temple, although I should have covered his paper head. And was a conversation piece for many of my encounters in this country... the pictures with him and people are quite amusing and I will have to post them. I'm sure many wondered what kind of crazy woman I am to be taking photos with a paper doll... but I've never seen so many people smile in bewilderment.

This week in the slums, I told the story of Stanley (essentially he was a boy who became flat when a bulletin board fell on him, and thus was able to have many adventures around town... such as flying as a kite and being mailed to California). We created our own Stanleys, but the students drew traditional clothes (kurtas and pyjamas) and named him Bharat (it means India). Flat Bharat toured the neighborhood with the kids and took photos in Papankalan. The students seem excited about their creation, and even "fed" him during lunch time. Wednesday, he is accompanying the students to a restaurant, which will be their first experience. The end of the week I'll be taking some of the Flat Bharats back to New York, for some pictures of the city and will then send them back to Papankalan. I was thinking about making a snapfish book with all the pictures I take.... I think the students and teachers would appreciate it.

Helping the Economy

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Day 16:

Today was my first lazy day in Delhi, as I'm trying to avoid getting burnt out. I woke up late and headed out with the girls to Select City Center, a western type mall in Delhi. If anyone is ever feeling homesick in India, this would be the place to retreat to. The 3 expansive floors were filled with shops... and again, I helped the economy here. I bought some Indian tops to wear back at my school, so the kids can possibly relate to me a bit more.

We had a great meal at an Italian restaurant. My grandma said I would be able to eat pizza here, and she was right! I realize that I did need a dose of back home, and am looking forward to returning to New York.

Day 17

Monday, August 31, 2009

Day 17:
I've picked up some idiosyncracies during these past 3 weeks:

1. One is that I know when not to make eye contact and look directly ahead when a child or person selling something approaches the car or me on the street. It may sound heartless, but its easier to not pay attention to the children... there are so many poor people and the children generally work the same street corner everyday. I do wonder where the money people give goes, because there is an affiliation with street gangs.

2. I don't look at men at all (I'm sure you love that Neil) and try to avoid eye contact with them on the street as well. In the slum where I work, I only say hi / namaste to the women.

3. Indians are warm and like to ask a lot of personal questions.... I'm picking up this habit as well, which is kind of fun. I've asked drivers how many children do they have, learned more about their religion, questioned why they are single, or asked about their wives. Also, if you don't like a question that is asked, you can throw another one back. Feng still wins this act of getting personal with the people of this country. On our trip to Agra we were awakened by her asking our driver if he believes in birth control! She still defends that it was appropriate for the conversation, but I doubt it.

4. I started doing the head nod, which looks like you're nodding "no," but actually means "yes" or "ok."

Amritsar and the Indian - Pakistani Border

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Day 15:

Although I do plan things in life, such as this experience to India, I'm sometimes not so keen on the details. Friday evening, I booked a flight to Amritsar for myself and Rosie... a kind of fly by your seat trip, as we would arrive Saturday by 9am and depart 12 hours later. Of course this was a last resort since trains were already booked for the weekend, and I considered hiring a driver, but the thought of 18+ hours in the car was unbearable. So for only 6,000 rupees, we would have an adventure and save tons of time on the commute. I was slightly worried about how well this would work out since I heard that India is notorious for cancelling domestic travel. However, after departing the Delhi airport promptly at 7:45, we already booked a driver for the day (1,500 rupees) and were off in Amritsar.

Amritsar is the head city in the Punjab region of India, full of over 1.5 million people. OUr first stop was to go to Jallianwala Bagh, the site of the 1919 massacre under British rule. For 10-15 minutes, soldiers opened fire on unarmed men, women, and children. The bullet holes remain to be seen within the walls.

Right down the road is the Golden Temple, which is the spiritual center of the Sikh religion. Our driver, Deepak, was wonderful and led us through the area. Women and men must cover their head, and we had to wash our hands and feet before stepping within the holy grounds. It was such a beautiful experience to walk around the temple, although I sweated more than I ever had in my life. Deepak showed us the rituals, such as drinking the holy pinkish water, which I skeptically sipped and prayed that the water was truly holy (or that the cipro would kill whatever bacteria may be). We shuffled through the lines, not really knowing what was proper protocol, and ended up with a hot tray of halva, a sugary / flour concoction that was covered with banana leaves. Music and a chanting prayer fills the air as we waited on line with our tray about 20 minutes until the we got to the center of the temple. Next we handed our tray to these men, who dumped the halva into a central dished, mixed it around, and scooped us a mini portion in our banana leaf to eat. I definitely need to find out more about this custom, because we were really lost at what to do, and what the significance of it meant.

Pictures aren't allowed to be taken in the temple, and I will be unable to describe the beauty of the different rooms and floors. Also, in each room there is a person singing / chanting. On the way out, you are to drink from the water that surrounds the temple, and I wet my lips to the water (again, slightly fearful that belly issues may arise).

As non-planners, I happened to rip a few pages about Amritsar from my India travel book (thanks again Ash!). In the car ride to see what to do next, I read about the Mata Temple. Deepak drove us and again, was kind enough to give us the tour, although it was only in hindi. We had to drop our shoes off and wash our hands and dip our feet in a bath before entering. This temple was psychadelic, in every bold color you could imagine, and we had to climb up steps, crawl into a cave like structure, and wade our ankles in water during our visit. Below is a link to some photos I found online about this temple. http://www.goldentemplephotos.com/golden-temple-photographs.asp?CategoryID=12&CategoryName=Mata%20Mandir

Since it was relatively early we stopped for some shopping along the way, although it rained briefly, which flooded the street. Rosie and I weren't brave enough to wade through the water so we stopped at another bazaar and I purchased a sari, pretty much because the man was really nice and it looked like a poor area, so I did my best to help the economy.

At 4pm, we began the drive to the Indian - Pakistan border. It was a straight drive, and actually quite lush, which was surprising. There were the usual cows along the road... we were both a bit nervous, because we weren't sure of what to expect, and didn't want to be the example of 2 women being kidnapped along the way. Deepak parked in a lot and told us to leave our bags. Again, the skeptical New Yorker was thankful I was wearing my cargo pants and loaded up my pockets with our passports and any cash I had, took my big bottle of water, vitamin C candies, and tissues, God forbid I would have to use a public toilet. Although the city was so hot, I ended up drinking 2 large bottles of water and didn't have that issue.

We lined up on the women's line and walked through security, feeling a little better that bags are not allowed through the gates. We walked along the road with throngs on people and ended up at a semi-stadium like area. When we entered on the women's side, we were told to go to the foreigners area. As a white gal, I kind of stick out like a sore thumb in India, and have just gotten used to getting looked at and having people blatantly take photos of me, even though I do wear my kurta, cover my legs, and wear my dupatta. We headed to the foreigner area and showed our passports to enter. We saw in the distance the Pakistani flag waving in the area. Strangely enough, we ran into 5 other volunteers from the Dharamsala site, which was comforting, sat down and waited for the festivities to begin.

The area was packed and the foreigner section eventually overflowed with Hindustanis who were in the nearby section. It was not possibly to move and the heat was intense as the sun was getting ready to set. I have to say it was a bit concerning to wonder, if I need an escape route or have to faint, it would be quite difficult. One Sikh father with his son tried to rush him out, but was not in time as his son vomitted on the steps. Yep, it was a hot day.

This nightly ceremony is definitely one of the strangest experiences I've ever witnessed. It's almost a battle of whose stereo equipment is better as the Indians and Pakistanis blare there music. The crowd was getting into Punjabi hits and dancing, and they even played Jai Ho. It was like a block party, but only certain people were allowed on the street area, and the Pakistanis weren't invited. Children ran to the gates with the Indian flag, again the crowd cheered. There really weren't too many people on the Pakistani side, although it was difficult to see behind the gate what was happening. Since many of my students in the U.S. come from Pakistan, I was rooting them on as well.

The guards on both sides of the border say something similar to "Goooooooaaaaalllllllll !!!" over the microphone and its almost like who can use their breath to say it the longest. Again the crowd cheered. The high point is the guards do a high-kick walk to the gate.... I equate it with a type of dance-off. Actually a straight out dance off might be more entertaining. They did open the gates for some time and we could see the Pakistani guards dressed in black, and the Indians (Hindustanis) dressed in tan with red ornate hats.

I guess this event is nationalism to its utmost. I contemplated what if the U.S. and Canada engaged in this type of pissing contest. We would be subjected to Celine Dion's voice blasting from the soundsystem... so I definitely wouldn't want to partake in that event :) The U.S. and Mexico would have a more entertaining border party... maybe there would be who can break the pinata the fastest and gather the most goodies contest.

At 6:45ish we ran back to the car, and fortunately Deepak was still there with our bags (I feel bad for even doubting him). He drove us back along the dusty road, became flustered and then said a prayer because he drove over some snakes, and dropped us off at the airport with plenty of time to catch our 8:45 flight back to Delhi.

Women's Issues

August 29, 2009
Day 14:

One lesson I will take back from this experience is that no matter how bad your problems may seem, it's not as bad as it could be. In Thursday's women tea / chat session, we learned that a woman's husband died about 3 months ago. This woman looks younger than myself, but has 7 children... yes, SEVEN children and the oldest one is 13. She was married when she was about 12 or so. I happened to ask if her brothers in law were helping her out, but she said she lived with her mother in law (which is typical) but expressed that her in law was of no help.

Friday, there was a lot of commotion among the women in Hindi. Rosie translated what she could gather and it turns out that the young widow has been propositioned by her brother-in-law to become his second wife (they are Muslim). I wasn't too surprised by this news, because this tends to happen in certain cultures as a way of helping out family. However, it is shocking that the proposal occurred so soon after the death. Also, we gathered that the brother-in-law is somewhat sketchy and doesn't have her interests, nor her children's, in the best mind. I couldn't imagine having to take on the responsibility of raising 7 kids alone, especially in this country.

Later that night, I met with a former colleague who teaches at an international school in Delhi. I had a fantastic evening meeting his friends, who are a couple of ex-pats, and a Sikh friend. His apartment in Vasant Vihar is incredible, definitely different from slumming it up in the morning. We had a fantastic dinner and I enjoyed a much needed glass of wine. It was really a great night to get away and engage in discussions about travels, culture, and teaching.

Exploring Delhi...

Day 13:

Luckily I was able to enjoy the rest of yesterday evening after battling the Delhi Belly (I truly was fortunate to have a mild case though!). I went out with Meena to the markets on the search for eyeglasses, which are super cheap here... we ended up buying a few pairs, one was $50 including lenses!

Today was a good day in the slums. A magician came to town to entertain the children as we had our "Women's Meeting." The women are opening up a bit, but are still quiet. I do enjoy our everyday tea sessions with them though. They also were amused by our Delhi Belly stories.

After lunch, I spoke with the director of the program about missing the lectures that they have scheduled throughout the program. As someone who hates and avoids confrontation, I was pleased that I spoke up for myself and tried to do so as respectfully as possible. She really runs the roost here and seems to enjoy having the control, so this was an interesting discussion. We left off with me explaining that I am not at all interested in wasting hours of my life stuck in the apartment, when I have not seen Delhi (of course I said it in a more diplomatic way that this). Neil knows that I can barely sit through programs on the History channel, and a 2 hour lecture on economics when I have to fein interest is not my idea of a good time. I explained that if the lectures were at a museum itself, I would have no problem attending. Probably sounds like I'm a Thirty Year old throwing a temper tantrum, but we are scheduled to the max and the program promised our evenings would be free to explore. However, I am proud that I was able to put aside my people pleasing, Catholic school rule abiding ways and stand up for what I think is right. I'm here to volunteer, which I do in the mornings, but want to really explore the culture in my limited free time. I got the best Indian economics lesson straight from the markets.

Anyways, I agreed to disagree and headed off with Rosie and Meena to the Red Fort. Quite expansive and beautiful.... but with my lack of attention span, I took many pictures and will read about its significance later.

Next, we went to Chodi Chak, an intense market place. I do mean INTENSE!!! As soon as we were dropped off we were harrassed by every sari shop to come on in. We walked into the market itself, which is a narrow maze of colors... sequins and saris all over, with bicyclists and motorbike riders nearly knocking you down as they fly by. I tried on a sari, but think I insulted the owner when I asked for a better price. So we left and had to figure out our way out of the maze of shops. Interestingly, whenever it rains in certain sections of Delhi, the power goes out. When we headed out of the sari shop and looked up all you can see is a tangle of wires, which looks like an electricution accident just waiting to happen.

When we drove back we briefly stopped by Ghandi's tomb. There is a beautiful statue of him in front of a building. There were also a ton of rats in the front garden of it, running around. Before we retruned, our driver drove us around the Indian Gate, as it glowed in front of the setting sun. This experience is flying by.

There's No Escaping Delhi Belly!!!

Day 12:
Woke up today and was struck by the dreaded Delhi Belly! I did manage to make it through my yoga class, since Eske Chodri (our instructor) arrived at 6:30 am and I was the only yogi participant today. At least I have a mild case and began my cipro medication, which will last till I return to NY. I was unable to make it to the slums today, because the thought of having to deal with Delhi Belly and no real toilet sounds like a disaster. I ended up napping till noon, not sure if it was because I'm exhausted, the effects of cipro medication, or due to the smell of chemical cleansers in the apartment (they finally cleaned well!!!!).

Hopefully will not have any more belly issues.

Trying to Avoid Delhi Belly

Day 10 and 11:
Yesterday Delhi Belly hit our group. Laura was sick and had to be taken to the hospital Monday morning. Rosie and I visited her there today. Laura's hanging in there hooked up to an IV, but will be staying over another night. Hopefully she'll return by Wednesday. Today Chantelle was hit with the belly, and was diagnosed with an intestinal infection, so I had to teach in the slums solo. She'll be out for a few more days, but at least won't have to go to the hospital.

After visiting the hospital, Rosie and I had Pingoo (a nickname meaning penguin, and yes, he kind of resembles one... cause I tower over him), our driver, dropped us off at the Lotus temple. It was nice, but not too impressive inside. We had fun with Stanley taking pictures outside by the water pools and had an exciting rikshaw ride back to the compound.

I chloroxed the 2 bathrooms and kitchen area... hopefully no one else gets the dreaded Delhi Belly!

Sunday, August 23, 2009 - Taj Mahal, Agra

Day 9:

We departed the pink city at an early 2am, barely got any sleep but excited to see the Taj Mahal. The drive took 3 1/2 hours but was well worth it. We purchased our tickets for 750 rupees, went through security, and headed to see the Taj just before sunrise. It was completely worth the trip and words can't describe how beautiful this architectual masterpiece is, as it changed colors with the coming of day. Of course we took many many photos from a distance, but truly enjoyed the experience. When you get closer, the details are incredible... individual stones cut into ornate flowers line the tomb from the outside on up to the 4 spires. I led the girls in an informal yoga session on the top of the Taj Mahal, focusing on the sun salutation as the sun rose in the distance. Afterwards, I layed down on the marble and just tried to take in the whole experience, examining the details of the building and reflecting on everything that brought me to this destination...

Saturday, August 21, 2009 - Jaipur, Rajastan

Day 8:
The six us of headed out early to make the most of our fast paced trip as the Jal Mahal Water Palace glistened in the distance. The main destination was the Amber fort. The hike up the fort is about 10 minutes... however, we chose to head up by elephant in the sweltering heat. The view was spectacular, with an immense courtyard, gardens, and green hills and valleys along with "The Great Wall of India" as dubbed by Chantelle. We explored the bathhouse, bat cave, and even meditated in a hindu temple.

Next we headed to the Shri Jagat Siromani Temple decorated with elephants and different god and goddesses. It was nice to meditate here and Meena showed us to ring the bell in the altar area and then a priest applied the red bindi.

Rajastan is quite different from Delhi as the streets are filled not only with pedestrians, bikes, cars, etc., but also camels, goats, and many many cows. There are cows everywhere and they don't move for anything. It's incredible to see the coexistence of all of these animals and transportation system mingling about.

Laura and I forged on to see the City Palace. She is more the historian, but I kept her paced at this site since I am sometimes like a kid with ADD... I just like to see the important stuff and not read about it (especially in the intense heat). But there was a beautiful courtyard which I now read represented the 4 seasons and pictures of the Maharajas.

In the evening we headed to the Choki Dhani carnival so see dancers, magicians, and you could even take a camel ride for 30 cents! We each met with a psychic (for only 10 rupees) who only spoke hindi and used a parrot to choose our fortune and Meena translated for the group. We really enjoyed our time here, but headed back to the hotel to get a few hours sleep for our trip to Agra.

Then the Floodgates Opened!!!

Day 7: (Aug. 21st continued)
Rosie and I got a taste of what was to come on our way to the market. There was a traffic jam, quite typical, but a small sandstorm. We covered our heads and faces in our dupatta (scarf) and forged through. It was definitely the calm before the storm as I purchased the necesseties for the weekend, water, crackers, and NUTELLA!!!

After work we made preparations for our weekend Adventure to Jaipur (in Rajastan) and Agra. For 10,000 rupee Chantelle hired us a taxi (but think really nice SUV that fits 6 + driver) for the ENTIRE weekend. I'll let you do the conversion, but it was really cheap.

Waiting for the taxi the storm began... intense winds and rains that knocked over trees in our apartment complex. We rushed into the taxi and met our driver, Nermil Singh, who expertly drove us through the floods. Traffic continued through rushing water. Bikers, motorcyclists, cars, and even a horse were on the road dodging stalled out cars and pedestrians. It was quite a scene. The next day I learned that the monsoon lasted 45 minutes and took off part of the New Delhi airport's roof.

We journeyed 5 hours to the Trident hotel in Jaipur, then comforably settled in to the posh hotel, where even toilet paper could be flushed and you could take a shower without flooding the entire bathroom. What luxuries!

Friday, Aug. 20th

Day 7:
Had a fantastic day teaching! Chantelle started the mornign class with the basic routines. We found that most students here only memorize the writing and do not actually decode words when reading, so we'll have to continue building phonics skills.

I read "If You Go Walking in Tiger Wood" channeling Lucy Calkins' Teachers College Method... actually a much better version utilizing TPR (total physical response.. ie acting out and repeating vocab.) and asking q's. The students were actively engaged in the story.

We ended class by highliting vocab of directions (front, back, left, right) and taught the students the Cha-Cha Slide. Sweated about 10 pounds off during this class.

Also, I failed to mention this week of teaching we've been bringing music to the hood! The students have lunch at 11 and I attached my nano to portable speakers (Thanks Ash!!!). Thereby bringing sounds such as "Who Let the Dogs Out?," "I Like to Move it Move it," the Pussycat Doll version of "Jai Ho," and even Jay-Z and Punjabi MC's collaborated song to the students. They like listening to the songs (I think:) and are in awe of the small technology. Wish I could leave it for them (and wish I uploaded more kid appropriate tunes, as well).

Out and About

Day 6:
India marches to its own schedule, quite unlike New York. This morning we were in traffic for an hour and a half getting to Pappankalan. Traffic was dead stopped at points, and just when we thought we made it to our site, a road was suddenly under construction and cut in half... forcing our driver to drive within the slum street that are usually set for pedestrians and then off road it over a pile of rubble.

Team teaching with Chantelle is really nice, as we sweat it out in our mini-room with the children. At the end of class, I did voice my frustrations to the director (about the lack of resources and her desire that we teach straight out of worksheets), but doubt much will happen to change her and my expectations. I just know that students from this area greatly struggle with listening and speaking skills and want to focus on building this area; however the east favors copying writing straight from the board (even though many of the children cannot read what they wrote, nor can answer a simple question). Oh, well... I will try to do my best.

The girls and I escaped from the compound today, since the afternoon was free. We explored Delhi... although we need to revisit the Lotus Temple because it was closed. Later we drove to Humayan's Tomb, which was extremely beautiful despite the sweltering heat. We drove around the Delhi Gate, which is a fantastic sight to see. We ended our evening at the Delhi Hut, a large outside market place where I tested my bargaining skills by channeling Neil's thriftyness :) I do wish he was here for this, but he has taught me when, and its been so hot that I couldn't be bothered to buy much (although the prices are really cheap).

Tomorrow evening 6 of us are off to Jaipur (for Fri. night and Sat.) and then Agra (on Sunday to hopefully see the Taj Mahal). It's going to be a worldwind tour, but we hired a cab to guide us for the weekend. Hope to have time to write about more adventure on Monday.

Day 5: August 19th

Yesterday was a nice day at the program, but it did take a lot of work to prepare for the lesson. Chantelle and I prepared Tues. night many different math activities for our class yesterday (and figured we were over prepared). After the initial shock of the first day, arriving at the slum was much easier than the day before. Our car was greeted by a few waving children in the street, who then ran along side the vehicle till our drop-off point. The children were adorable, poorly dressed (if clothed at all), but were generally excited to say the few English words they knew "Hello," "How are you." It was nice to shake all of there hands and then head off to the small room.

I felt much more comfortable in the room... but it is small, hot, and by the end the heat makes teaching quite draining. It's a challenge to prepare lessons because the children vary in age and ability. Also, in India they focus on rote learning. When we arrived the children were writing their multiplication tables (even a 6 year old). We started our lesson by trying to establish a morning routine with greetings, calendar, days of the week (song as well), and alphabet (establishing letter sounds). Next, we played a multiplication card game, used manipulatives to show higher values (7x7), etc. At 11 am, the students have lunch in the room. A woman brings a pot and the students take out their mats and plastic containers to be filled. Although we overplanned for the lesson, we used everything we brought (even a worksheet on colors).

The organizer was in the room the whole time with us translating for the children, but requested that we bring worksheets so that the teachers can use the lessons later on. This is a bit frustrating because I don't have any resources in India for this. I wish I packed my Flat Stanley book, but I thought I was going to be teaching high school children. Chantelle talks about a book she is reading, that discusses bringing wireless internet to the slums to bridge the learning gap. A little Wifi would be fantastic right now...but doubt that vision will take place in the near future.

At noon, we finished our lesson with them and head off to have tea and somewhat awkward casual conversation with the women (a group of 6 to 7). The women are extremely shy, and some don't seem like they want to chat, even when our questions are translated to Hindi. We'll see if they can overcome this.

After lunch, I skipped the Hindi lesson to go with Meena to purchase a cell phone on the street. It was extremely hot yesterday and we went at prime time, dodging motorcycles, bicycles, and school busses that were dropping off students. At 4, we had a speaker talk to us about Indian politics for a drawn out 2 hours... my attention span is unfortunately not long (an hour would have been plenty).

Dinner was a fantastic tandoori chicken, barbequed in a vat outside the headquarters. We had fresh naan and stuffed ourselves, even though we weren't really hungry. We had a venting session in our apt. just because we are all stressed preparing for the next days lessons at 9pm. In the U.S. we teach through literacy, and try to engage students in the language and I am frustrated because there are no books here to read to them, and I don't have worksheets (nor want to spend what little free time I have creating them), nor is there a copier in our apt.

My idea for next weeks lesson would be to create a unit on "Flat Stanley" and try to engage the children in writing, speaking, and listening activities. The final project would be to create a letter and send the letter to my NY school. I will suggest this to the program leader, because it's ridiculous to be stressed like this in India.

Despite the frustration, I have to say, I haven't laughed so much in a long time. The day started with a yoga class, that I will have to describe at a later point. Pretty much a man showed up dressed in a long sleeve collared shirt, pants, and dress shoes, and directed us to some poses. We started cracking up during the session, and he ended the session with "laughing yoga" .... needless to say my abdominals are working. Also, we stayed up late talking, and then Meena dressed me up in a sari and she and Rosie made-me up. I'm sure pictures will be posted at some point.

Hope all is well... sorry for any spelling / grammar errors but am too tired to read after I write :)

Volunteering in the Slums

Day 4: Today we met Lalit and our driver at 9:15 to take us to Papakalan. The drive took about an hour, even though we were just traveling to the west side of Delhi. Driving in Delhi is an experience all itself. Cars are on the left side, British style, filled with the excitement an experienced New York taxi driver can provide, with tons of horn honking, near misses of cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and the ever present pedestrian. It's quite an art.

When we arrived at the slum, I wasn't sure what to expect. In a way, it wasn't as bad as I pictured it would be, however I think you have to be a bit numb to take it all in. Buildings are falling apart, children are poorly dressed, some covered with flies and ailments. The people were all very nice and we greeted the children with "Namaste." At this point, I really can't describe this better because the whole day was overwhelming. But as much as it would be easiest to just throw up your arms, cry, and say there's no way to fix this one little slum in India, so why bother... you have to realize that the people are not miserable as Americans in this situation would be. The children are happy, the women lovely, and its just the way it is. These 3 weeks will fly by, but as long as I show I care and try to give a little bit of knowledge, that will be enough.

Chantelle and I were directed to a small room that just had a single fan to ventillate it. The girls attend government school in the morning, so we were left with 9 boys mostly between the ages of 8 and 9, although there was one adorable 6 year old and a 13 year old. They wore uniforms and were provided with lunch at 11:30. There are no desks or tables in the room, so we sat all together on the floor (I'm so glad I'm used to this from NY public schools). We introduced ourselves to the teacher and the students, and got to learn there names. It was slightly awkward today, because I thought we had to follow the teacher's lead, but think now that we will just have to break up the students into 2 groups and prepare lessons for them. It's going to be a challenge due to limited resources of the facility and that the students really only know the alphabet, numbers, some nouns (trees, boy, etc.), but are true beginners of English.

It was quite hot in the small room, but at noon we met up with Rosie and her group of women. We will be spending 30 minutes practicing conversational English with this group. It was quite quiet in the beginning, but we shared a cup of tea (we generally have tea everywhere). Then I broke the silence by talking about the women's children and shared pictures of my brother and Emma, my hubby, and family. Family is a top priority in India, so this will be the basis for many conversations. Also, I showed the women some photos of my pre-k students (with my brother the firefighter), ESL students, and ESL parent class. The director was curious about class size and we spoke a little about the educational system.

I was feeling a little overwhelmed today from this emotional teaching experience and also from the lack of sleep (I think I've only been getting about 4 hrs or so a night), combined with the heat. We had a wonderful lunch back at our homebase (1:30pm) and then at 2:30 had our hindi class, which I uncontrollable laughed through the majority of the lesson. We are all feeling a bit overwhelmed, so its nice to have the support of the 6 others. It really is a fantastic experience and we are guided and taken care of completely.

Now I'm heading to dinner and will hopefully get a bit more sleep tonight. Hope all is well on the other side of the world!

Day 3: Today we woke up and got decked out in our salwar kameez outfits. It was nice to try to blend in slightly to the culture. It is proper to be covered, wear loose clothing. I actually am enjoying the pants, quite similar to MC Hammer pants that have a drawstring (would be quite wonderful to wear for Thanksgiving). And yes, I did do the Hammer dance today.

At 10 we were picked up to have orientation for our volunteer work. I will be working in the slums with Chantelle teaching children ages 3-11. Our neighborhood is middle class, so I wonder how poor the area will be and how much English the children may know. I am looking forward to sharing my pre-k and camp songs.

The program is extremely well organized. This afternoon we had a brief Hindi lesson, so I have much to study. We had a scavenger hunt and Rosie, Chantelle, and I were assigned to go to the market and purchase cucumbers, cheese, butter, bread, and tomatoes. It was fun running around trying to find the items, which are really really cheap (less than 150 rupees for everything).

We ran back to our apt., prepared the items into 10 sandwiches, and then had to walk through our neighborhood and pass them out. We must have been a sight! It took us awhile, but most people took the sandwiches and we were able to practice some hindi. Basically all I know is: do you speak english? (Kya app ungrazy somachti he? is the approximate phonetic)

Off to dinner at 7pm then hopefully an early night. Still jet lagged and keep waking up around 3 am.

Day 2: Woke up around 3am still a bit jetlagged. We had orientation today, discussing Indian traditions, values, expectations for our service. Lunch was at a wonderful restaurant. To me it seemed as if it could be a trendy NY place.

Later we purchased salwar kameez to wear for our working experience. My placement actually got switched due to a swine flu outbreak. My new placement will be working with slum kids ages 3-11. I'm really looking forward to this and hope to draw on my pre-k teaching experience.

The other volunteers are wonderful as well... we are pretty much like-minded and it's nice to have a mini-support system... figuring out everything from making tea in our flat, to how to turn on the shower and get hot water. We're all a bit exhausted from travel, but are staying awake to get a good rest for tomorrow's work. Highlight of the Day: Feng saying, "I don't mean to be rude, but look at the man riding the motorcycle with 2 monkeys on his back!"

Day 1: The flight from JFK to India was filled with cheers. The pilot announced that today, August 15th, was Independence day. He announced that for 20 cents you could purchase a kite to fly in honor of the country's freedom.

I was picked up at the airport around 5 and observed the many kites that filled the air. Truly beautiful, admist the hustle and bustle of India. We are told not to focus on the poverty, which there is much of. There is so much beauty to see though... the colorful saris adorned by women.

I hardly packed much on this trip, and am going to focus on being minimal.

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