Indian Museum

Today we went into Kolkata and went to the Indian Museum. Its massive. I didn't go through even half of it, but I did go through the archeology, geogolgy, anthropology, painting, coin, and carving sections. The first two were not really my thing, but the rest was really kool. I imagine I'll go back a few times to look at the rest of the museum. There isn't very much information, just lots to look at. Compared to museums in the US, it isn't very well put together, but its supposed to be one of India's best museums. More for the collection than the presentation, I imagine. The carvings were really amazing, they ranged back to like 500 AD. India has so much more history than the US.
After the museum, we went to the Oxford Bookstore for awhile. I love that place. Then we went to a really nice restaraunt on Park Street and had a delicious lunch. After that, I headed back to Khardah and read for awhile before coming here.
Back to school tomorrow. Next week we have off because of Durga Puja.

~m

one month mark

Today Trina and I went into Kolkata to get train tickets to go to Darjeeling. First we went to Sealdah, and, with considerable difficulty, found the booking area. We waiting in line for a long time, to find out that there were no seats available on the day we wanted to go. We were discussing our options when the man told us to move out of line. A wasted hour. Trina called a travel agent she'd talked to to see about getting help booking our tickets. He told us to go to the West Bengal Tourist Center. So we took a cab there and waited in line for nearly two hours. While waiting, we talked to a guy from the states who's here studying sitar and yoga. He is a pure hippie. He was interesting to talk to though. We exchanged e-mails and we might meet up with him sometime during Durga Puja (which starts next week). We got our tickets (for the day we wanted). However, we only get to within a few hours of Darjeeling, then we have to hire a driver. It shouldn't be a problem though. We're going at the beginning of November and we're gonna spend two full days (with half days on either end) and then head back. I'm excited! I getta see the Himalayas!
At this point, Trina and I parted ways. She went to meet a lady from the orphanage from which she was adopted. I took a taxi to Park Street and had a delicious Indian lunch. I then stopped in at the Oxford Book Store and got The God of Small Things and had tea, and then headed back to Khardah.
I worked on that drawing of Zach for awhile (hair now 2/3 done) and then came here. Tomorrow we're going to the Indian Museum. Should be interesting.

~m

rain, rain go away

Yup, thats right. Rain. Yesterday it was POURING when we got up to go to Sealdah. Despite my umbrella, I was pretty thoroughly soaked by the time we got on the train. When we got to Sealdah, Rita informed us that Kakoli and Babai weren't coming because of the rain and that we would only do food distribution, no wound care or coloring. This made sense because we usually set up outside, but because of the rain we were forced indoors, and the space is very limited. There are already few people because of Durga Puja, and there were even less because of the rain. We only gave food to like 30 kids. We gave them hard-boiled eggs and plain bread. I was really surprised to see some kids throw away their crust. These kids can barely afford food and they don't eat crust. Amazing.
So anyway, we were only at the station for like half an hour because there were so few people. Back at the flat, I went to sleep then finished The Book Theif and had lunch. The kids didn't show up for computer class. Later they told me they didn't come because it was raining. We made our way through the rain to school, only to find that it had been cancelled, again because of the rain. Bobby had tried to call us, but I had my volume down low. So we went back to the flat for awhile and I attempted to work on Bengali, but was utterly perplexed. Something about inherent vowels and only writing them part of the time, and two ways to pronounce them... pure jargon. So I came to the Iway and talked to some folks on Skype for awhile. I was about to write my blog when my computer just turned off. It does that sometimes. So I just left, and went and bought a few random food items before heading home.

When I got up this morning, it still hadn't stopped raining (yes, it rained for over 24 hours straight). We were getting ready to go to Sealdah when we got a call from Kakoli. The program was cancelled due to rain. Back to bed for me. It was only 5:30 at the time.
When I got up, I read and played cards and did other things to entertain myself (including laundry) until the girls showed up for computer class. We had them doing a computer game where you put scrambled words into order to make a sentence. Then the power went out, so we played BINGO for the rest of the time. At school the kids painted plastic things to hang in wondows. Think stained glass. They came in all sorts of shapes, including butterflies, monkeys, and flowers. I took my camera with me, so I got lots of cute pics of the kids with their masterpieces.

~m

four week mark

Alot more kids were at school today. This made them a little harder to handle, but whatever. Everything went fine. After school I took a nap like always, then got up and had lunch like always, then read, like always. Haha. We went to Sealdah, and its still really empty because of Durga Puja. The kids were extra rowdy though, they kept running into my legs and almost knocking me down while I was trying to make the sandwiches. A woman named Mez (I really have no idea how to spell it) who volunteered in July met us there. She's from Holland and she's back in Kolkata for a month doing research. She was really nice and you tell how much she enjoyed interacting with the kids.
On the train ride home, it was really crowded and a few people gave up their seats so we could sit down. We have had especially uncomfortable looking facial expressions or something. I felt kind of guilty, but there was no arguing with them. I was forced into that seat, haha. I talked with the young woman who gave up her seat for me. She's studying film at West Bengal University. She asked what I thought of the Indian people. "Are they good or bad?" she asked. I said they are very good and that everyone is really friendly. She said "Indians are very frank." I guess she's right. It was interesting that she was so concerned about how I perceive their hospitality. Obviously that's why she gave up her seat.
Jen, Trina and I are gonna watch a movie tonight. And of course we have Sealdah bright and early tomorrow.

~m

Let's see... Yesterday, very few kids were in class because they have exams this week in their other school. Basically same story today. We did the usual order of operations, flash cards and story problems.
I've been spending a fair amount of my time reading The Book Theif, which I like so far. Its written in a very interesting way.
I've also begun working on trying to learn Bengali. I spent a few hours on it today and yesterday. So far I can read and write Bengali r, l, m, n, b, u, i, and a. That doesn't sound very impressive, but learning the letters, which look nothing like the alphabet, is difficult. I'm picking up a little vocab too. For instance, ma is mother, and am is mango. I can write both of those in Bengali too. It'll be a slow process, but hopefully I'll get to the point where I can get my point across and generally understand people when they talk to me.
Today and yesterday one kid came for computer class. (This is progress, as its the first time anyone has come at all on Wed or Thurs) Yesterday Suraj came and today Prativa came. The computer is acting up again, so I had them read out loud and then we played a game. Suraj and I played bingo, and I attempted to teach Prative speed. I somehow convinced myself that speed would be a simple game to teach. Wrong. She was gracious about it though, and pretended she was interested. Cards just aren't the thing here. Oh well.
Last night Jen, Trina and I went to the Penguine Inn for dinner (Khardah's only sit down restaraunt, as far as I can tell), which is why I didn't write. It was pretty delicious.
I think I may be getting a cold, which I am NOT happy about.
I think thats pretty much it on the news.

~m

Mother Theresa's mission house and the zoo

Today has been really good so far, and I don't forsee anything terrible happening between now and when I go to bed. Walking home, watching a movie, having dinner, taking a shower, reading, writing in my journal, turning out the light... none of it is too risky. So, I think its safe to say that today will end as a good day. (And the "so far" part won't be necissary)
So I got up at 7:15 (that was the worst part of the whole day, though setting my alarm for 5:30 for tomorrow will be worse) and got ready to go into Kolkata. Breakfast was Wheaties (yum!) and banana (with milk). Trina and I caught a relatively un-crowded train. The pushing was minimal, and I actually had a little space to move. The metro was also fine.
When we got into Kolkata, we began walking toward Mother Theresa's mission house. I thought it was within walking distance, but Trina said it wasn't, so after several blocks we decided to hail a cab. The quizzical look on the driver's face was explained when he only drove about two blocks away from where he picked us up. Humorously embarassing, but whatever.
The motherhouse was pretty neat. Mass was going on when we got there, so we were being serenaded as we walked through the exhibit that narrated her life story and work. It was really interesting; I honestly didn't know very much about her. We got to see the room she lived in for most of the years she was in Calcutta (its also where she died). Lastly, we visited her tomb, which was decorated with flowers. Being there made me feel the closest to Catholic that I've felt since the first or second grade. Mother Theresa was an amazing person; she's extremely inspirational.
Before I came to India, when I would tell people what I was going to do, they would often say something linking me to Mother Theresa. I would usually give some kind of nervous laugh or smile while thinking, "Don't put that kind of expectation on me. I won't make a fraction of the difference she made." I have to say I agree with myself. I guess its an honor to be compared to her, but an undeserved one. She gave her entire life, I'm giving a few months. And she was a devout Catholic, which was extremely important to her. I really don't know why I'm rambling on this. What I mean to say is she was an amazing person and I look up to her, but I do not strive to be her. I am awed by her work though.
The humbling, awing experinece of the Motherhouse was sharply contrasted with the emotions evoked at the zoo. If I were to walk through the zoo and not look at the animals and cages, I would say that it is a nice park, though not very well maintained. The buildings, like most in Kolkata, once had great splendor, but are now crumbling. The cages were depresssingly small. A large majority of the animals were birds, but they also had giraffes, tigers, lions, elephants, deer, rhinos, hippos, monkeys, a bear (possibly the saddest sight), crocodiles, snakes, etc. The water for all of the water-borne animals was green with algae. The chimp was sad to watch: someone would throw a package of food to it, it would eat it and then extend its hand in a way that was all too remeniscent of the beggars on the other side of the wall.
After the zoo, we went to grocery store, where I bought peanut butter (you'd be amazed at how much PB I consume here), cheese, and some kind of indian-italian herb seasoning.
Then we had lunch at a pretty nice restaraunt with an all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet. It was pretty good, though I must say the place where we ate last week was better.
We ran into the Oxford Book Shop and I bought a "teach yourself Bengali" book. To our disappointment, they didn't have Time Magazines or Newsweeks, but it was ok because we found a Time at a news stand outside of the metro station.
The metro was really uncrowded, and the train was quite bearable. When we got back, I read for a little while before coming here.
I am quite tired, but, as I said before, it was a good day.

~m

Today was a day off and I spent it quite lazily, but I will nonetheless provide you with an obligatory post:

I slept in, though not quite as late as I expected. I was disappointed to find that the milk in the fridge has spoiled, which meant I couldn't have a bowl of the Wheaties which I recieved yesterday in a package from my mom that took three weeks to make it from her hands to mine. Instead I had a PB&J. After I ate, I read the remainder of a Newsweek I bought a few weeks ago, and then started on the NY Times Week in Review that came in the same package as the Wheaties. Trina and I took a rickshaw to the ATM to find that the power was out in that part of Khardah, causing the ATM to be closed. I bought more milk, eggs and bananas on the way back to the flat.
There is a dog that a previous volunteer had asked us to feed (she even sends money for us to do so) that we call Baby Dog. He looks so much better than he did when I got here because now he has consistent food. His fur is much thicker, his ears aren't slimy, and he's putting on weight. Trina let him inside the gate to feed him, and then came into the flat to get his food. When she went back out, our landlord was chasing him away with a big stick, and he actually hit him a few times. When we saw him later, he had blood on his foot. People don't have pets here (though probably some wealthy folks do) because that's an extra mouth to feed. But the street animals are regarded with disdain and hostility; some PETA folks would be horrified.
So anyway, I had lunch and Trina and I watched Kung Fu Panda, which was cute. Last night we watched The Count of Monte Cristo, which was also good. After the movie, I read a little more, then went back to the ATM, and then came here. Quite an eventful day for me.
Tomorrow Trina and I will go into Kolkata, though I don't yet know what we'll do or where we'll go.

~m

Trina and I had dinner at Joy's last night. They did not eat with us, as I thought might be the case. They served us rice bryani (I have no idea how to spell that) that they bought from a vendor or restaraunt or somewhere. I know they didn't make it though, because they had it in little to-go boxes. It was very good, but I felt bad because it meant that feeding us was a big expense for them. I would have rather eaten whatever they usually eat, even if its only plain rice and chapathi. I had been looking forward to trying some Indian home cooking, but that wasn't to be. They gave us huge portions, so we each only ate half of what they gave us, in hopes that they'd eat the rest after we left. I hope we didn't offend them by doing this. I honestly wouldn't have eaten as much as they gave me anyway. We bought them a variety of cakes to share with their extended family. They didn't understand why we were giving them something when we were the guests (guests are held in very high esteem in India; being a host is an honor) We told them that in America, it is customary to bring gifts. (Once again, we didn't want to offend them). So the dinner was yummy, but I don't think I'll accept a similar offer again because is it such a big expense for the family. I am interested in seeing the other students' houses though.

Today we went to Sealdah and it was pretty empty again, though not to the extent that it was yesterday. The kids colored and then we passed out food. I didn't help with the first aid at all, instead I just played with the kids. This one little boy was a freakin' monkey, he would climb all over me and he wouldn't let me put him down. They all want to be held. They're so cute! Trina and Jen took some pictures, so I may put a few up soon.
After Sealdah, I showered and took a nap and then had lunch while watching the Godfather 2. The girls came for computer class and we looked through pictures of Subhamita's wedding. At school, the kids made clay ice cream cones. (I made a chalice). After school I came here. Now I'm ready to go have dinner! (though it doesn't come for two more hours...) Tomorrow is a day off, but I think I'll be staying in Khardah because Trina doesn't want to go to Kolkata twice a week after the train incidents last week. Oh well, I'll sleep in and spend some time doing art.

~m

I didn't go to Joy's last night, I think he was in trouble. Instead we're going tonight, he's actually waiting to take us right now. I don't know if we're having dinner or not though. I'll let ya know.

Today we went to Sealdah bright and early. It was once again surprisingly un-busy. Only 45 kids came for food, probably less than half of what we usually have. Kakoli said this is because Durga Puja, the biggest holiday in Hinduism, is coming up in a few weeks. The kids at Sealdah come with their parents from rural India. They come to Kolkata to find work, but they don't make enough money to afford housing. The parents work all day, and so the kids stay at the station unsupervised. At night, I guess their parents join them at the station to sleep. But many of them have returned to their villages for the Puja, which is a many-day festival. So I guess Sealdah will be less busy for the next few weeks.
After Sealdah, I went back to the flat and slept for a good three or four hours. I had lunch and read Time magazine until it was time for school. The craft we did today was paper cutouts where a bunch of shapes are connected. Most of the kids did people, but some did boats, butterflies, or random shapes. After school I bought an Indian cell phone. Then I came here. Now I'm going to Joy's.

~m

three weeks in India so far...

Yesterday, one of the CRAWL students, Joy, invited Trina and me to his house for tea after we left the Iway. So Trina and I went with him to his "house", which I guess I should call a dwelling. The whole place is smaller than my bathroom at home. I'd guess it to be about 5'x6' or so, though I'm not that great at estimating dimensions. It had a concrete floor, the roof was metal and the walls were woven. It didn't stand alone; it was in a complex so other people lived on the other side of one of the walls. There was a lone light bulb dangling from the ceiling, but no other electricity that I could make out. They didn't have running water, instead they fill bottles at a nearby pump. There was no furniture, just a cloth on the floor to sit (and sleep, I assume) on.
Joy's mom made tea for us on a kerosene stove. It was the best tasting tea I've had since I've been here; she ground fresh ginger into it. Joy asked if we wanted biscuits (sweet biscuits are cookies, salty biscuits are crackers) and we said sure. When his mom gave him money to go buy some, we protested but they insisted. Joy came back with a package of two cookies. So Trina and I drank the tea and cookies while they watched; they didn't eat too. Joy invited us back for dinner tonight, so I'll be going there after I leave the Iway. However, Trina is feeling sick so I'll be the only one going. I hope that they eat with me this time, because I will feel uncomfortable eating in front of them, especially if I'm the only one eating since Trina isn't coming. I am going to buy a few pieces of cake to take with me as a gift. I hope that it doesn't seem to extravagant and embarrass them, but I figure it will be a nice treat for them since the cake is something they obviously can't afford.
After tea, Joy took us to the next dwelling over, which shared a wall with his place. I think its his aunt's house, but they call everyone "auntie" and "uncle" here, so I'm not sure. This place was a little bigger; two rooms instead of one. The first room was like an entryway/storage room and it was teeny. The second room was probably 6'x6' or a little bigger (once again, I'm not the best with dimensions) and it had a bed and a table with a TV on it. There were six people in the room, all watching the TV (though when we came, they were watching us, not the TV). This house had a ceiling fan too. So it was still very meager, but a step up from what Joy has.

Today I got up early for school. The intermediate kids did story problems, and the advanced kids did order of operations, big surprise. It went smoothly though. After school, I went back to sleep for a little while, though I kept waking up. I finished Malcolm X and had lunch, and then we went to Sealdah. Sealdah wasn't busy at all. Hardly anyone showed up for wound care and all of the regular kids were nowhere to be found. On the train back to Khardah, I talked to a woman who, like everyone, was curious about me and why I'm here. When I told her about CRAWL, she said this was a good reason to be here and that at first she hadn't understood why I would leave "the comfort" of my home. She was the first Indian to talk to me about America like that. She asked if I spoke any Bengali or Hindi and I told that I regret that I don't, but that hopefully I will know some by the time I leave.
Thats basically it for today. After this I'm going to Joy's and tomorrow is Sealdah at the crack of dawn and school in the afternoon.

~m

School was back on again today. I had the intermediate kids do more multiplication and division, and then we started working on story problems. Story problems are difficult for them because their spoken english is so much better than their written english. This way, they'll practice their math and their english skills at the same time. I returned the order of operations tests to the advanced kids, and I think some of them were a little shocked at how poorly they did. We decided we'll review and re-test before moving on. Its the whole working from left to right thing that kills them...
After school I went back to sleep for about three hours. When I got up, I began drawing my friend Zach, copying a picture that I have of him from my grad open house. I spent two or three hours on his face and then had lunch. After lunch I spent another two hours on his hair (its curly), and got about 1/3 of the way done, if that. I finished the main part of Malcolm X, now I just have like thirty pages of epilogue to go. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it to anyone who has not yet read it. Even though it was written almost fifty years ago, I find much of the content to still be quite relevant. Its amazing how much has changed and at the same time how much has stayed the same since that time.
Besides e-mailing and talking on Skype, that's all I've done today. I know it sounds pertty dull, but the drawing made today so much more interesting for me than yesteday was.
~m

Went into Kolkata yesterday. It was the first time I felt like I'm living in a monsoon area. Trina and I got completely drenched walking from the metro. We went to a cafe' with WiFi and had lunch and Jen and Trina uploaded some photos and did some other stuff online. After that we went to the New Market, which is this maze of shops. Its like buildings with lots of shops and then alleys of stalls between them. We found a place that sold all of these DVDs with like five movies on one disc. Jen and Trina both bought a bunch of them. I bought one with a bunch of war movies on it, but idr what they are haha.
Today was a holiday so there was no school. I really didn't do anything, I was just bored. Hopefully tomorrow is more eventful.

~m

train madness

The Penguin Inn is pretty nice. There are no descriptions for anything on the menu, so I asked the waiter what like six things were, and then of course by the time he told me, I had forgotten which was which, so I just chose one at random. It was called Aloo something or other, and it was potatoes and peas in a red sauce. I also had "cheese butter naan". It was a pretty good meal.
After dinner, we finished watching Erin Brokovich. I like it.
Today I slept in until about nine, then Trina and I got up to go into Khardah. We went back to the Chowringhee area, though a little North of where we've been going, to Park Street. Park Street is really nice, it has lots of restaraunts and its pretty clean (relatively speaking). We went to the Oxford Book Store, which has a huge selection of books and a little cafe' and reading area. The only thing that I didn't like about it is, as far as I can tell, their fiction section stops at P. I bought The Book Theif, which I've heard is pretty good. At some point I'll start buying Indian literature, but at this point, reading is like a little escape; refuge from teh intensity of being here. I was a little disappointed that they didn't sell any newspapers there. I thought that was my best bet for finding a New York Times. I can't find it anywhere...
After the book store, we went to a restaraunt that I had chosen out of the Lonely Planet because it had some European offerings. Trina go chicken cordon bleu, but I ended up choosing Vegetable Korma and garlic naan. It was absolutely delicious. This was a pretty high-end restaraunt; a place where in the States you might expect to pay upwards of twenty dollars for your meal. The exchange rate is a beautiful thing, and my lunch cost about five bucks.
After lunch, we walked around Park Street a little more and stopped in at a cafe' called Frosty's. We left the area early so we could beat the rush and get back to Khardah relatively unruffled.
No such luck.
We made it to Dum Dum on the metro no problem, but for some reason they changed what platform a train was coming on, and it came on the platform that usually has the trains that go to Khardah. We unkowingly got on. The fourth stop, which should have been Khardah, was quite obviously not Khardah. We got off and ended up waiting for at least 15 minutes to catch the train coming back in the other direction. It was a more rural, less hectic place. When we did get back on the train, a lady gave me a slice of guava, which was nice. She continually tried to speak to me in Bengali, even though I told her I didn't understand. Trina and I got off a stop early, at Dum Dum Something, instead of Dum Dum junction. We then had to wait another 15 minutes for the next train going South. When we finally made it to Dum Dum junction and had made sure that the train we would get on would take us to Khardah, we had not beaten the rush. It began pouring rain, another damper on our spirits. We huddled under a staircase as neither of us had an umbrella. The train arrived and we fought to get on. I was barely on, and Trina was behind me. Her body was hanging out of the train, I think. I pushed as HARD as I could, angering a few people, to get Trina more room to stand. I was unhappy with the situation, but I think she was really shaken up. I have never been as happy to see Khardah as I was when we got off that time. Its a shame that in order to get to a place where we can relax and have a good time, we have to go through such a high-stress situation. It defeats the purpose in a way, though I am definitely still willing to go through it. I just can't stay in Khardah for that long. Thats India, I guess. More people than you know how to deal with.
~m

I feel like I should title these, but I can't ever think of anything...

Last night I really enjoyed talking to people on skype, gettin the update from back home. I do miss everyone, but luckily things are picking up here and I'm not as homesick as I was. I'm beginning to really appreciate being here.
Anyways, after I was here talking to people last night, I went back to the flat and Jen Trina and I began watching Erin Brokovich. It had been playing for about 10 minutes when the power went out. We moved into my room where the generator will power my light and fan (only from 7 to 11 pm) and began playing cards. Dinner arrived and we ate, and continued to play cards. Finally the power came back on, and we watched about half of the movie before decided to go to sleep.
Today started quite early. Too early, for my taste. My alarm clock went off at 4:50 am. I got up and did the usual to get ready to go and make the 5:45 train. When we got to Sealdah, we waited for at least twenty minutes for Babai to show up, but he finally did. We set up like usual by spreading news paper on the ground outside the station. A bunch of little kids came and we passed out pages from coloring books and crayons. CRAWL coming probably is the high light of their day. They get food, they get to draw, and perhaps most significantly, they get attention. We play hand-clap games and pick them up and talk to them (even though we don't speak the same language) and smile at them. We look at their boo-boos (sometimes they're really serious, sometimes not. Today a boy showed me a hang nail he had as if he might die from it. Just as dramatic as a four year old American) Those kids are so dirty. I just try not to think about it. At first I didn't want them to touch me, but now I let them climb all over me. We are the only people who even look at them, they have to be longing for contact. And you can't say that you hold yourself as equal to every other person if you aren't willing to let someone hold your hand. In UUism, and in mainstream American thought, we say we consider all people to be equal, and most people probably think they do a pretty good job of not holding themselves above others. But I don't think most Americans would let a kid who doesn't wash, who runs around naked and lives in a dirty train station touch them. But that is a form of internalized superiority. Don't get me wrong, I scrub like hell when I get back to the flat, but playing with these kids has been quite a humbling experience. I had to let go of some of my... not pride, but personal concern, I guess is the best way I can describe it. Anyway, the kids colored, then we gave them cups of cereal and crackers. Most of them left after that, and our attention shifted to wound care. Almost all of the people who come for wound care are adults, and most of them are male. We see lots of infected cuts on legs and feet, and then some crazier stuff besides that. There is one man who was there on Friday and again this morning who got shot in the thigh. He has a huge open wound, but he won't go to a hospital. It needs to be seriously washed and have stitches put in, but I guess he can't afford the hospital fees. Babai rinses it with water, sprays antiseptic spray on it (the bottle says, "for minor cuts and abrasions" and gunshot wounds? haha.) and then loads iodine ointment and antibacterial cream on gauze that he ties around the man's leg. I am quite sure that that man will die if he doesn't get real medical attention. He'll probably wait for so long that he'll have to get his leg removed or something, i don't know. Its pretty gruesome.
We spent basically four hours at Sealdah. When i got back to the flat, I took a shower and then went back to sleep. I only slept for about an hour before the delivery boy came with Jen's lunch. No one else seemed to be waking up from the door bell, so I got up to get it, and I couldn't get back to sleep after that. So I got up and read and had lunch and then talked with Jen (she got about half and hour after me) and later Trina until the girls came for the computer class. The computer is fixed now, P.S. I had them work on typing, then I had them read out loud. My mom suggested that I read out loud to them and have them follow along because this would help their reading and speaking skills in English. I got about four pages into a picture book and they were so bored that I just stopped and let them play with Microsoft Paint instead. I was really tired and didn't have the energy to try to educationally entertain them, so Trina took over and I went back to playing fifteen and talking with Jen.
At school, the kids drew pictures of Durga Puja, a huge festival that's coming up next month.
After school we came here, to the cafe', and right after this, we're going to the Penguin Inn, which is, as far as I can tell, Khardah's only sit down restaraunt.
After that we'll finish watching Erin Brokovich. Pray for the power to stay on!
Tomorrow and Tuesday are our weekend, so we'll be going into Kolkata.
~m

I really haven't done much today, but I enjoyed being lazy. The heat really takes it out of ya, I find I have way less energy here than at home. Anyway, I slept in pretty late today, then I got up and did some chore-type things like laundry and boiling the milk so we can drink it. Jen, Trina and I just kinda sat around and chilled until it was time for school. Jen did a general knowledge lesson on the lungs, though I really don't know how much of it the kids actually comprehended. The craft we did was "wiggly worms". Its basically folded paper that the kids colored and then tied to a string so they could pull it around. They were pretty cute. Tomorrow morning I'll get up and go to Sealdah, and we'll have school in the afternoon.
Let me clarify something I wrote yesterday: I talked about a fifteen year old girl who told me she had an eight year old baby. I did not believe this. I was telling the story to give an example of the language barrier. She didn't have her kid with her, so I have no idea how old it actually is...

Big plans for tonight! I'm going to the stationary store (think general store) to buy jam and juice, and then I'll have dinner and watch a DVD with Trina and Jen!!! Haha. I actually am looking forward to the movie though.

~m

I gave the advanced kids a test on order of operations today. Most of them bombed it. One part asked them to write the order of the steps. Not only did they not understand the question, once I explained it to them, I found they can't spell worth anything. So their spoken english is WAY ahead of their written english. The intermediate kids just worked on simple multiplication and division. They just need to memorize.
After school I took a nap, then chilled around the flat for awhile. We went to Sealdah station and gave out sandwiches. The Indian CRAWL folks were being really protective of me because of how I blacked out last time, and they wouldn't let me go anywhere near the wound care. I've told them that I had problems because I hadn't had anything to eat or drink, not because I saw blood, but they didn't believe me I guess. So because of this, I spent alot of time just standing around after we'd given out all the food and they were still working on wound care. I talked to some of the people who live at the station. One girl was 15, married, and had a kid. I asked her how old her kid was and she told me eight. Her english wasn't very good. I was surprised that she knew as much as she did. The smaller kids would hang on my arms and legs and want to play clap games. They all kept asking for more food, but we were out. None of the smaller ones speak english. Some of them run around naked.
It was pretty late when we got back to Khardah. We went to the flat to clean up, then to Bobby's to pick up some hard boiled eggs to take to the station tomorrow (though I'm not going, I'm sleeping in instead). Then we came here, to the cafe'. Trina and Jen didn't stay for very long. They're both getting up at 5. I'm looking forward to dinner though; I'm hungry!

~m

Today hasn't been bad.
School was much better than yesterday. I had the kids working in groups, so that kept their attention.
After school I took a nap, as always.
After my nap, I had lunch and sat around and chilled with Jen and Trina. We played cards and talked. It was nice to get to know them better. Even though we're living together and we know eachother's stories, we don't really know all that much about each other. So that was nice.
Trina and I walked around Khardah a little bit, specifically to look for the noodle shop. I think we found it, though we didn't stop. The sanitation there looked a little iffy. Its funny because Bobby warned us against eating things from street vendors, but she suggested this place to us. Its a little stand, and though its attached to a building, it doesn't look any cleaner than the rest of the street vendors, so idk. I don't want to ingest some kind of terrible bacteria or anything. Trina was telling me that two of the girls she was with when she did a semester in Equador had to be hospitalized after eating food from street vendors...
After this, Trina and I are gonna go to Bobby's house. She invited us to come visit her. I have no idea what we're gonna do there, but I guess I'll let ya know tomorrow.
Thats all for now, folks.

~m

Today was pretty uneventful. I got up at the crack of dawn (5 am) to get to school by 6. The kids were frustrating because they had absolutely no will to do their work. After school I took a nap and then sat around and read. I made lunch and worked on a puzzle in The Times of India, which is a daily paper here. I bought today's issue on the way home from school, but for the most part I had no idea what the articles were talking about, and they weren't that well written. I waited for the kids to come for computer class, but when they didn't show up I came here to the cafe'. Thats honestly all I've done today. Eat, sleep, read, and attempt to teach uninterested students. Hopefully tomorrow will be more interesting.
~m

another day in the cty

Today Trina and I returned to the same area of Kolkata that we were in yesterday. We went back to the Victoria Memorial and walked around the grounds before going in. Its very pretty and actually quite peaceful (except for a few horns off in the distance). It seems to be a favorite place for couple to go and snag a bench or a place under a tree and enjoy eachothers' company. Thats the first and only time I've seen any public displays of affection in India. Anyway, the outside of the Victoria Memorial is completely stunning. I know I'll be going back, and sometime I'll take my camera, but as of yet, I've opted to leave it at the flat until I get more comfortable with the trains and such. If you're dying to see the VM (which you should be) then you can look it up on google pictures until I supply a photo of my own, haha.
The inside of the VM is not quite what I expected. It isn't the best maintained, but its obvious that efforts are being made to improve it. The inside functions of a museum of sorts - many painting of places all over India, a b&w photo collection of places around Kolkata, an exhibit of restored oil paintings by British artists done during the Raj, and an exhibit that has all sorts of art and artifacts to illustrate the history of Kolkata. I would have gone through at a much slower, more careful pace had I not known that I will be going through with my parents in a few months, and they'll both be reading every single word. It was really interesting though. The main hall inside is as spectacular as the outside, with intricately carved columns and dome.
After we left the VM, we walked back to the same grocery store that we visited yesterday. I bought peanut butter, pasta, cheddar cheese, cereal, and a box of oreos. I didn't bring enough money to buy the granola bars and spaghetti sauce I wanted though. Then we went to coffee shop of which I spoke yesterday, and I got a blended ice mocha. It was delcious!
After that, we caught a taxi back the metro station, and came back to Khardah. We beat the rush and had a fair amount of space on the metro and train - Trina even got to sit down. I got offered a seat, but only one stop before Khardah, so I let a man take it instead.
When we got back to the flat, I dipped into my stash of American food to supplement my PB&J with some Chex mix. Yum!
I can't remember if I wrote about the crazy autorickshaw driver who drove us from the mall to the metro yesterday, so bare with me if this is my second telling. This guy was honestly insane. Drivers in India are nerve-racking at best, but I was sure that we were either going to kill or be killed. We were weaving in and out of traffic (not that unusual) when we came up to a red light. We pulled up behind a truck to squeeze between it and a taxi in the next "lane". When we didn't fit, the driver got out and told the taxi driver to back up. Much yelling ensued, but eventually the taxi did back up and we were on our way. The light turned green and we cut off about six vehicles in a row as we weaved through the traffic. There was a bus pulled over on the side of the road, with a line of people filing into it. Deciding it would take to much time to go around the bus on the road side, our driver cut through the line of people getting on the bus, waving his arms for them to move. We nearly hit three people. When we got going again, we almost hit a man crossing the street. If the driver hadn't slammed on his brakes for us to skid to a halt, we surely would have hit him. If you've ever seen the N64 version of Mario Kart, thats what this guy reminded me of. He had his elbows up by his head so he could turn faster, conjuring up images of Wario precariously seated on the kart half his size. We did make it to the metro safely, but by now our driver has probably killed someone.
Well, thats all for now, I guess. Tomorrow I will take it easy and just relax at the flat between school and computer class. I'll probably go back to Kolkata on Saturday. It wears me out.
~m

visit to Kolkata take two

Today we got up and went into Kolkata. The train wasn't too crowded, which meant only a minimal amount of pushing, haha. We got off the metro and took a cab to the Victoria Memorial, but alas, it is closed on Mondays. The oustide is gorgeous though. Tomorrow we'll go back and tour around inside as well as walk around the Maidan (the park the VM is in, called Kolkata's Central Park). So we left the VM and the Maidan and walked around that part of Kolkata, called Chowringee or something like that. Its a pretty nice part of town; more tourist-oriented, I think, though there are like no tourists in Kolkata. Anyway, that was nice, and we found a little grocery store and a coffee shop, both of which we will re-visit tomorrow. I'm excited to buy peanut butter and things like that.
After walking around for a while, we took a cab down to the South City Mall and went to see What Happens in Vegas with Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz. We had wanted to see Dark Knight, but I guess last week was the last week it was showing. Oh well. What Happens in Vegas was cute. So here's something I'd never seen before: they didn't show any previews, but they had an intermission. They just stopped the movie in the middle, and vendors came in selling popcorn and coffee. Idk if thats a usual thing or if the reel broke and they had to fix it.
After the movie we made our way back to Khardah. We were able to get an autorickshaw to the metro station no problem, and the metro was fine too, but when we got to Dum Dum, it was rush hour and the local trains were packed. People were crazy trying to get onto those trains; hanging onto the outside of them. We decided to wait for it to calm down a little. Three times we didn't get on the train, we just watched the others in their mad scramble. It got a little better, but evetually we just decided to bite the bullet and squeeze. Trina almost didn't make it on. We made it alright, and it was QUITE as crowded as last time, but its still way more than most Americans, or maybe most people in general, would put up with. When we got back to Khardah, we stopped by the flat and then came here.
So it was a fun, eventful day, and tomorrow should follow suit! I'm finally getting over my culture shock, and I'm settling in much better.

~m

Once again, not much to report today. Jen got here last night. She's 26 and from Australia, though she's doing her masters on agricultural development in Denmark. She came to India to write her thesis in Hyderbad, which she'll be doing after CRAWL. I haven't really gotten to know her yet.
I slept in really late today, and never really seemed to wake up. I need to do some exercize, but I'm in no hurry to go running out in that heat. So I just lazed around the flat until four of the girls came for the computer and reading class. The computer still isn't working, so we just had them read out loud.
At school they made envelopes and drew, and Bobby passed out bananas and cookies. After that, I came here.
Tomorrow, we're going into Kolkata. I believe the plan is to go to the Maidan (Kolkata's version of Central Park) and then to go to a movie. Monday and Tuesday are our weekend, so no projects.
Thats all for now.
~m

Not much to report today. Babai ended up having something else he had to do, so he couldn't take us to the monkey temple. I opted out of Sealdah this morning, in favor of sleeping in. When Trina got home and told me we weren't going to the temple, we both went back to sleep for awhile. Then we got up, had lunch, and took a bicycle rickshaw to the ATM. When we got back, the kids arrived for their computer and reading class, but we couldn't get the computer to turn on. So they just read books aloud and we did a few puzzles. One boy who is in both the advanced math and english classes can't really read. He was struggling alot, and I realized that he doesn't know most letters, and he often doesn't know their sounds. He thinks a "W" makes a "d" sound because of the way your pronounce the letter. He can speak pretty well though.
After that, we went to the school for craft day. One of the boys showed everyone how to make paper frogs and then we played duck, duck, goose.
Tonight another volunteer arrives from Australia. Her name is Jennifer. I don't know how old she is, but I do know she'll be here for a month. I'm excited. The more the merrier.
Don't really have plans for tomorrow yet.
~maura

Adventure into Kolkata

I spent lots of time doing other things online today, so I'm gonna try to make this a quick one, even though I have lots to tell.

Today school was really good. My intermediate math class was cute as always. Some of the kids don't know theit times tables very well so we'll be working on that next week. My advanced class was the best they've been. I started out by being a hard ass and getting mad at the kids that were talking and sending one boy to the corner for a few minutes - that seemed to get their attention. The kids love writing on the board, so today (we're doing order of operations) I had them take turns writing the next step to each problem on the board, one step per line. This helped them understand the rules a little better too I think. But when they did the last problem on their own, no one got it right. But I was still happy though because they all got thier own wrong answers, as opposed to yesterday when they were copying eachother like crazy. Saturday and Sunday are craft days and Monday and Tuesday are days off, so we won't be resuming until next Wednesday, but hopefully that won't be a problem.

After school Trina and I went into Kolkata for the first time. This truly was an adventure. There is no way that I can describe to you just how packed the local train that we took to the metro station was. Just saying it was packed is a bigger understatement than saying the sun is hot. When the train pulled up, there was already no spare room in the compartments. Despite this, Trina and I along with at least twenty other women, muscled our way on. This involved using brute force - putting all of my body weight into the people who were already on board to push them far enough that I could fit. I held onto the handles that dangle down and used them to pull myself through the sea of bodies. Everyone was shoving and yelling. With my hand up to hold on, there was not enough room to get it down to my pocket even if I had wanted to. I honestly think that if someone had a baby with them, the pressure from all the bodies would be enough to squash and kill it. No joke. The women were relatively surprised and I think even impressed to see a little white girl toughing the trains with them. The ten people squished closest to me would smile at me understandingly and try to speak to me in Bengali. They had enough English to tell me when my stop was coming up. Its funny because when they train is stopped and people are getting on and off, the mood is quite hostile. But once we get going and people get situated - that is they give up trying to control where in the train they are going to stand - things calm down and thats when I would get the smiles. Then the train would stop and I'd get pushed all over again.
Indians make do. That is one thing that is the most striking to me. You wouldn't think the sad, tired trains could hold so many people, but they do. You wouldn't think you can mix large amounts of cement and then pour it on the third story of a building without heavy machinery, but people do. The other day I saw people mixing a huge tub of cement with their hands, then loading it into huge metal bowls on their heads and tottering up ladders with the load. And Indians are generally friendly. When Trina and I were waiting for the train, it began pouring rain unexpectedly. After standing there for a minute, on our way to getting drenched, a lady (speaking in Bengali) told two other women to get up from their seats so we could sit under the protection of the tree. They quickly obliged, and then the people around us immediately shared their umbrellas.
Back to the hectic train ride. By the time we were nearing Dum Dum, where we make the transfer to the metro, I was a good six feet away from the door. I was so sure that I would not be able to push through all of those people to make it off the train - or worse I would and Trina wouldn't, or vice versa. Luckily, Dum Dum is a big station and lots of people needed off. Not only did I get off in time, I could not have prevented myself from getting off if I had wanted to. The push towards the door was so strong that I was nearly running onto the platform. We both made it off.
The transfer to the metro went smoothly, and it wasn't nearly as packed. We stood next to a woman who lives in Khardah and was delighted to hear that we were staying there.
When we got off the metro, we wanted to take an autorickshaw to the mall. The only autorickshaw in sight refused to take us. Apparently we had come out on the wrong side of the station. We made our way around, to the other side, but couldn't find another autorickshaw, so we settled for a cab, which is more than six times as expensive - its about $1.10 The first cab we hailed, the driver was utterly confused when we asked about South City Mall, so we sent him on his way without us. The next guy looked similarly perplexed but told us to get in, and suceeded in getting us there.
The mall was huge. It looks like something in amovie, that doesn't exist in real life, like the mall in Juno. It had four stories and you could see all the way to the top from the bottom. We didn't have enough time to catcha movie because Trina needed to be back for the Sealdah project. We got some pizza. It was awesome. If I had been served it in the US, I would have been disgusted. But I was so happy to be eating pizza that it didn't matter. We walked around the mall and spent lots of time in a huge book store. I bought the first Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants book and the first Princess Diaries book - both of which I read when I was about 12. But they will help to lighten my mood, unlike Malcolm X. (I am enjoying Malcolm X though). I also bought a Newsweek.
The trip back was not nearly as crazy. In fact it couldn't have gone more smoothly. Trina made it to Sealdah in time, and I stayed at the flat, flipping through the Lonely Planet India guide and dozing a small amount. When she got back from Sealdah, we came here, stopping on the way to purchase some Corn Flakes. We expected the Indian kind, which I have been warned are quite waxy in texture and taste. But we asked the boy at the store for corn flakes, and he came back some with some Kellog's! So I'm excited for breakfast tomorrow.
It seems like the only things which I describe on here as pleasurable are American-like foods that I find. Its true that they do have so much sentimental value that they improve my mood greatly.
Oh, we didn't make it to the Kali Temple yesterday because we didn't feel ready to brave the trains. But tomorrow Babai is takin us to the Monkey Temple, which should be interesting. I hope that I'm able to get out into Kolkata at least three or four times a week. In general its no more aesthetically pleasing than Khardah, but it has much more to do. I just feel so stuck when I can't leave Khardah.
Its amazing, already I have become accustomed to the poverty here. It isn't that I'm not shocked when I think about it, but I'm able not to think about it. At Dum Dum there were people sleeping on newspaper in the middle of the floor, and hoardes of little children swarming us to beg. And I didn't even bat an eye. Maybe as I begin to feel more comfortable, I'll give these things more attention, but, as horrible as this sounds, most of the emotions I've been feeling are purely concerning me. Obviously I am reacting to the despair around me, but in self-protection rather than compassion. If I saw the same things in America, I would be gawking. I hope that didn't make me sound heartless.
So much for a short entry.

~maura

The cake was pretty good. Not the best I've ever had, but it was good. And I had granola this morning, which was like heaven. Cereal is my favorite. Today I went to school again, and mostly different kids came to class today. Some of the kids won't stop copying their friends, so I can't tell if they know how to do the work or not, which is kind of frustrating. The younger group is still really fun though.
I made the mistake of not takin Benedryl last night, so I didn't sleep very well. After school I took a nap though, and had an incredibly strange dream, thanks, I think, to my malaria meds.
In a little bit, Trina, Zahir and I are going to Kali temple, "Kolkata's holiest spot", which should be really kool. I just hope we don't get lost on the trains!

~maura

Lookin Up

I haven't been here a week and it would seem I'm already slacking at my blog. Let m explain. Two days ago, literally all I did that day was eat, read, play solitaire, talk to my mommy on the phone, and do laundry, so nothing blog-worthy.
Yesterday I hadn't been online for 10 minutes when this part of town lost power ( a frequent occurence, though it had never happened while I was at the Internet cafe' before) so I didn't get a chance to write. But Yesterday was basically as uneventful as the day before. The biggest difference with is and the previous days is that my mood had improved a great deal, mostly thanks to being able to talk to my rents on the phone at the flat whenever I needed it.

Today, however, was a big change. I got up early to go to school. I taught math, Bobby the school teacher taught the little kids the alphabet and such, and the other volunteer who's staying with his relatives in Kolkata taught English. The kids I teach are broken up into two groups: intermediate and advanced. The inermediate kids that were in attendance today (way less than usual) were Prativa, Manisha (both 12 yearold girls) and Jayanto (8 year old boy). They're working on division. The advanced kids (also today there were way less than usual) were Dulal and Aminesh (or Animesh, I can't remember. Its like little kids saying "aminal" or something) They're working on orders of operations. So that was fun to get to work with them, esp the intermediate kids because I think they liked me more and they were more willing to do their work.

After school, Trina arrived and Subhamita and Kakoli came to interview people to permanently work the Sealdah and Dum Dum (free food and first aid at train stations) projects. They had me sit in the inerviews so at the very end I could ask the prospective a question ("If some one had a cut on their finger, what medical treatment would you give them?") To make sure that they could communicate effectively in English with someone who doesn't speak Bengali and share their accent.

After that, Subhamita showed some useful places around Khardah, then Trina and I headed over here. On the way home, we're gonna stop a pastry shop. I'm excited!!

So things are finally picking up, and its getting easier!

~m