Thanksgiving

Damn, time flies. I can't believe its Thanksgiving already. I guess part of the shock comes from the lack of clues building up to it. No cold weather (though it is cooling down) no turkeys and pumpkins everywhere I look. It will be ok with me if Christmas sneaks up in a similar way, because then hopefully I can avoid the nostalgia of not being home for the holidays.
Today was an odd day. I felt really sick when it was time for me to get up for school, so I decided I wouldn't go. I got up to write out some math problems for Lauren to give to the kids. When I was heading back to bed, I began feeling especially woozy. I was holding onto my door for support and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor. It was the first time in my life that I legitimately passed out. Lauren didn't go to school so she could stay with me in case something else happened. Subhamita came over and a doctor came, but by then I was feeling mostly better. I got prescribed some antibiotics and went back to sleep.
Maybe 30 minutes after the doctor and Subhamita left, the doorbell rang. Lauren went to answer it and I heard someone yell, "Auntie!!" "Shhh! She's asleep!" Lauren says. I got out of bed to see what was going on. Three of my students had come to see if I was ok. Lauren let them in and they began feeling my forehead and stuff. It was really sweet. We sent them home and I went back to bed. The only other major event of the day is when I got up for lunch had some soup. Exciting, huh? I actually am feeling much better now though (otherwise I wouldn't be here at the Iway typing this) Hopefully tomorrow everything will be back to normal.

But the real reason I wanted to write today is to address the fact that it's Thanksgiving. Though I'm doing nothing to celebrate (no turkey and pumpkin pie for me), I feel like this is the year where I have most fully observed the holiday. I have never been more thankful in my life than I am now. I guess there's nothing like spending months in a developing country to make one realize just how much one has.
My other thoughts on Thanksgiving are more on the nature of the holiday itself. It is thanks-giving, the one day of the year that Americans set aside to be thankful for all they have. And how do we choose to show thanks? By consuming even more of the world's resources which are unfairly alotted to us.
Don't get me wrong. I love Thanksgiving. Its a nice time when families get together and enjoy each others' company. And the family aspect is of course more important than the food. I know I'll be thinking about mine as I eat my turkey-less dinner tonight.

~m

Let's see... this past week hasn't been too out of the ordinary. On Friday Anna left, which made the flat seem empty and quiet. Then on Sunday Ellenoor left, which made the flat seem even emptier and quieter. This is the first time there's only been one other person with me at the flat since a few weeks after I got here. I really was sad to see both of them go, because things tend to be more fun with more people and because I really liked both of them alot. Hopefully I'll get to see them again sometime. Ellenoor told me that if I go to school in New York, she'll come visit me. That wold be neat!
Lauren has been really sick since one or two days after she got here. She seems to be on the mend today though, so that's good. Major culture shock plus physical sickness make for a miserable existence.
School, computer class, and football playing have all been going along as usual. Some of the kids' English has improved alot since I've been here, I think mostly because they're talking to me so much. Its really neat to see that.
Sealdah was pretty normal on Friday and Saturday, but on Sunday wound care was worse than usual. We treated two people with really nasty, infected wounds on their feet and legs. There was also a guy who had a big gash at the back of his knee and a woman with a finger which appeared to be broken. These were along with the usual cuts and scrapes we treat on the kids.
I got two salwars made and they look pretty nice. I will wear one of them to school tomorrow. The kids are pretty excited about that. I can't remember if I've described what a salwar is before, so here's a brief description: they are outfits for women that consist of a long tunic worn over pants (usually really baggy, but sometime skin tight) and a matching scarf (called a dupatta) which is draped over the chest and thrown backwards over the shoulders. I got a blue one and an orangey-browney-green one. I'll post pictures some time.
Today Lauren and I went to Bobby for a sari lesson. Usually I just wrap the sari over my clothes, but after I did this today Bobby decided I should go ahead and do it the right way too. She got out a really nice sari for me to wear and I changed out of my clothes on and put on her petticoat and blouse thing. The shirt was too loose so she had me take it off and she proceeded to stitch it up the sides so it fit. She did the wrapping so that it looked right. Then she told me I should wear it home and for the rest of the day. I couldn't say no. Next she got out jewelery and had me put on makeup and a bindi (the red dot on the forehead). She called her husband home from work to take a picture.
I thought that my walk back to the flat would be the most humiliating ten minutes of my life, but it was actually ok. People definitely looked harder than usual, but they were very approving. Some people even stopped to tell me I looked nice. I wore the sari around the house for about four hours, but then I changed out of it to go play football with the kids. I was surprised to find that saris are really quite comfortable.

~m

The pictures, from the top are: the lizard in the light switch, Mount Kangchenjunga, kids coloring at Sealdah, me and a few kids at Sealdah, what I saw instead of Mount Everest because it was cloudy, the Japanese Peace Pagoda, and the inside of a gompa.

Sealdah was busy as usual today. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, though it was Anna's last day, so we took an extra-lot of pictures. Cereal and biscuits were on the menu. Babai asked me if I'm married because he saw pictures of me at prom on facebook. Lauren and I tried to explain prom to him, but I'm not if he really got why I was wearing a really nice dress and taking lots of pictures with a boy who wasn't my husband...

The lizard was still in the light switch at school today (and still alive, which was the more surprising part). We unscrewed the cover and tried to get him out. I pulled him from behind because his front is smaller than his back and we thought it'd be easier to get him out that way. So I began pulling and his tail came off!! I dropped it on the ground and it lay there wiggling for a few minutes. Lauren thought he's probably the kind of lizard whose tail comes off if it gets stuck. I didn't know those exist, but that makes sense. Bobby ended up pulling him out the front. I thought we'd go let him outside, but no. She walked up to the roof and chucked him into the little stream that goes by the school. (the one we throw the trash at school into) I thought it was quite cruel, but his arm was broken so he probably wouldn't have survived anyway...

I forgot to mention that yesterday Bobby had a man come to her house to show us salwar kits. Ellenoor bought one and Lauren and I each bought two. The kits have the three pieces of fabric necessary for a salwar in them (one for the tunic, one for the pants, and one for the scarf) later that day we went to the seamstress to get measured for them. They will be ready on Friday. I payed almost exactly $15 for the whole thing: the kits and the tailoring. That's two complete (hand made) outfits for fifteen dollars. Amazing.

~m

Thursday at school, the kids were perfect. Seven kids came in the advanced group, which is really rare. There are usually only three or four there on any given day. When the group gets large like that, they're usually hard to handle because they talk to each other and copy uncontrollaby. But they all listened, genuinely learned the material, and did their own work. If someone didn't understand, they'd ask me or another student would explain it to them in Bengali. It felt like a real, well-run class room. Not that they're bad most of the time, but on Thursday they were just exceptionally good. The more they get to know me and like me, the more inclined they are to do what I ask. It was really fabulous. Friday morning they were back to more normal behavior (not as perfectly behaved) but it was still nice to have them be so good for one day.
A little later on Thursday morning, a new volunteer named Lauren arrived. She's 20, from MO, and will be staying for six months. I'd talked to her on facebook and stuff before she got here. She will be here for all of the rest of the time that I'm here, except for my last few weeks. (She goes home at the beginning of May, and I go back at the end) She has a really bubbly personality; I think we'll have lots of fun together.
Thursday was our first day back to playing football (and frisbee and badminton) after we cancelled because the kids were being too rowdy. They were on their best behavior and there was no fighting whatsoever. I was releived.
Sealdah was slow on Friday as usual, but it was quite busy today. The kids are so cute. I've gotten used to seeing the despair there, but for some reason today I was affected more than usual. When we walked up to begin setting up, people were still sleeping on tarps on the ground. Those poor little kids; what a terrible life. Like I said, I've seen it all before, but for some reason today it just hit me again.
The kids continued working on the mural today. Its turning out really well. When we got to school, someone went to turn on the lights and I heard a scream. I thought some one had gotten electricuted. I went to investigate and found that there was a lizard stuck in an empty light switch. I'll put a picture of it tomorrow. It was hilarious! (unfortunately the poor thing is going to die)
The power's out so we're running on generator power, so I have to go.
Pictures tomorrow!

I can't remember if I've already talked about this, so sorry if I'm telling you twice that at craft class on Saturday, we started making a mural of life in Khardah. It isn't all that representative of Khardah, but its turning out pretty well and the kids love doing it. It has a market, a football field, a house, a shop, and a train station on it.
Sealdah has been quite busy but not too hectic recently. Lots of kids; we're finally back up to pre-Durga Puja numbers. I'm learning how to say some of the colors in Bengali from handing out crayons for coloring. Lal is red, Kalo is black, nul is blue. I knew yellow but now I forget...
On Monday, Ellenoor and Anna and I went into Kolkata. We had coffee at a little coffee shop that felt almost like being in the US except unlike at Starbucks, where they do everything in fastforward, at Barista, everything is painstakingly slow. It was nice though. After coffee we went to New Market. Anna bought some really nice marble, wood, and metal statues, and Ellenoor bought a beautiful shawl and a scarf. (Not that it's anywhere near cold here, but she'll put them to good use when she returns to Holland) I always have fun when we go to New Market. I just like shopping. All I bought, however, was cheese. Real cheddar cheese. The only "cheese" to be found in Khardah is disgustingly processed. Think American cheese but worse.
The kids asked us to bring these badminton rackets that we had at the flat to the field on Monday. Ellenoor played badminton with them, but I am horribly unskilled at all sports involving rackets, bats, and other tools of the extension-of-the-hand variety, so I brought a frisbee and played with that. It was quite fun. I absolutely love frisbee, so of couse I had a blast. Today we played all three: football, badminton, and frisbee. I swear the field looked like there was some kind of family reunion at a public park: lots of children brandishing all sorts of new, cheap plastic sports equipment. The kids have been increasingly aggressive with eachother recently. They chase, hit, kick and wrestle with eachother. Ellenoor and I are constantly telling them to stop fighting. Its not that they're truly angry, but they aren't quite "just playing", either. One of them could really get hurt, because they're quite rough with each other. Today I finally got fed up with it. I told them that if one of them hit another again, we wouldn't play tomorrow. Of course the madness continued. I let it go on for a little while, continuing to threaten. Then I'd had enough and I cancelled our plans of playing tomorrow. The kids were a little taken aback, and I think they were nervous that I was truly angry. I wasn't, I was just a little annoyed. Those kids need to respect my and Ellenoor's authority, and more importantly, they need to calm down and stop being so aggressive with eachother. They were instantly apologetic, and they swarmed around me, hugging me and begging to play tomorrow. I told them no, we'd play again on Thursday. Then they tried to tell me that none of them can play on Thursday. "Monday, then," I said. "No Monday" "Then I guess we won't play anymore. Playing finished" "You and Ellenoor Auntie will play all alone" Empty threats. They'll all be at the field, same as always, when we come bearing balls and rackets on Thursday. Some of them told they won't be at school tomorrow, clearly because they wanted to get back at me for not playing. I guarantee every one who said they won't be there will be.
Ellenoor and I have been continuing our sari lessons with Bobby. Today we used a silk sari, which is quite a bit more difficult to wrap than a cotton one, because its so slippery. Bobby arranged for a man to come to her house later this week so I can choose some material for a salwar. On Saturday we're going to order a sari. So soon I'll be all decked in Indian garb!
Photos are coming, I promise...

~m

Darjeeling and then some

On Saturday afternoon, Trina and I took an overnight train to Darjeeling. We were in AC three tier, which means there were three beds stacked where we could sleep. We met a guy from England who is travelling around Asia for a year. He was in the same compartment we were in.
When we got off the train, I could see the difference in the way people looked. Even though we were in the same state, it felt like a different country. People looked more stereotypically "Asian" and less stereotypically "Indian". We got a share jeep to Darjeeling (about a two or three hour drive up into the mountains from the train station).
I was surprised to find that Darjeeling is actually way more Westernized than Kolkata. I had thought that since Kolkata is such a large city, it would be more Westernized. But Darjeeling is way more tourist-oriented. Also, I think the weather had something to do with it. The locals (guys and girls) wore jeans and hoodies. It felt like walking around an American college campus...
Our first two days in Darjeeling, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We went around in jeans and a t-shirt and took pictures of the Beautiful mountains and of the tea plantations. The last two days weren't so nice; they were cold and overcast. We got up at 3 a.m. on the second morning to go to Tiger Hill to watch the sun rise over Everest. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy and we couldn't see anything... So I've seen the Himalayas, but not Everest. We did see Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest peak and India's highest mountain. It was pretty stunning. We also went to see gompas, Hindu and Buddhist places of worship. One of my favorite things we say was the Buddhist Japanese Peace Pagoda. They built about 300 of them around the world, including some in the US.
I'll try to put some pictures up tomorrow.
We left Darjeeling and had a painless trip back to Khardah.
Last night Trina and I went over to Piya and Kajals' houses. They live in the same little compound. They had us take lots of pictures of all the little kids who live in the compound. They gave us bananas and deep-fried cookie-type-things that were left over from a recent Puja. They also showed up photo albums from last year. Its crazy how young they look. Then Piya asked us if we'd take a picture of her in this black and red skirt she had. We said sure and she proceeded to spend at least 15 minutes putting on make up and getting all ready for the picture. Kajal dressed up as well, in these really tight white capris and a white t-shirt that said "Roxy" and a jean jacket. Trina and I were both amazed that they put so much effort into getting ready for one picture. They did look gorgeous though. We were joking with them that they look older than me. Kajal turned 15 today and Piya turns 15 in a couple weeks. They seriously did look a lot older though... Quite different from how they seem when we're out playing football and they're wrestling with the boys.
I was in Darjeeling when I got the news of Obama getting elected. I had just woken up (it was Nov 5 here) when my mom called me to let me know. The power came back on in the hotel in time for us to see Obama's speech - magnificent. I'm so glad!! When we got back to Khardah the next day, I bought six newspapers with front page coverage of the election - three in English and three in Bengali. I meant to get a Hindi one too, but when I looked later I realized I hadn't. The 6th was the first day the Indian press could cover the election because by the time the results came in, it was already 9 or 10 am here on the 5th. Anyway, I will keep those papers for the rest of my life so my kids and grand kids can see a primary source from when America elected its first Black president. It seemed a little unreal from Darjeeling, where there was no one to celebrate with. But I am so glad!
Today we had school, played football and went to Sealdah. Trina left for Goa. She's been here almost the whole time I have, so its weird to have her gone...

~m