So on the 4th I spent all day hanging out at the beach, and the stayed the night at a hotel on a beach closer to the airport. I got up early to catch my flight. Flying in India had the expected amount of red tape, but flying Kingfisher was lovely. I flew from Goa to Mumbai, and from Mumbai to Bhubaneswar. To get on my first flight I had to get in and out of the same line several times because of a simple lack of signage, explanation or logic. Since I was expecting it to be hard, this did not upset me. The flight attendants were friendly, quick and knowledgeable and I left the two quick connecting flights thinking that perhaps flying could be relaxing. It was a pleasant contrast to the typical domestic flight in the U.S. I guess they're not trying to screw you out of that extra 30 cents every where you look, and it adds up.
The Bhubaneswar airport is tiny and lovely. It has artwork from the surrounding areas and has many signs welcoming you. I took a taxi from the airport to the Inside Orissa office. Raj and San met me in my taxi. That was nice. So they took me to meet Aruna Mohanty, my guru, at her house, took me to their office, where we discussed the details of my stay, and then took me to a hotel for the night. The deal is pretty simple, M-S at 5 am Yoga, Group Practice at 8:30, Individual Theory Practice at 11:30, Lunch, Rest/ Ayurveda (2x week), Individual Class 4:30, dinner, rinse and repeat. On the weekends we would travel to see all the major local sites.
That first night we went to a place called Big Bazaar, which is about as close to an Indian Walmart as I've seen. Well, kind of, it takes up about 2/3 of a four story shopping center. The first two floors are clothes, the next is food and the top is appliances. The atmosphere of the store is set by the incessant screeching of some manager into an intercom, urging shoppers to take advantage of some deal or another. The shouting literally never stops, and whoever's job it is to shout clearly does not benefit from practice. He shouts in highly questionable English, broken by random Oriya, stutters and general confusion. Despite the auditory onslaught, the store is so full of people that it seems impossible that anyone would ever actually be able to buy anything there. It is constantly like black Friday, only louder. We got some basics, or what I consider basics- oatmeal, honey, eggs, apples, mangoes, shampoo, and conditioner.
We bought a yoga mat at another store, which sold bed sheets, rugs and other textiles. By yoga mat I mean a multicolored blanket, which I folded and did yoga on for the next month. We also bought a blanket for my bed. By blanket I mean bed sheet. These purchases were worried over the way I considered buying a new computer. Serious deliberation about the qualities of my 'blanket' passed at least thirty minutes before something was decided on.
I had a 'chicken roll' for dinner. In India a roll is what I would consider a wrap. A puff is what I would consider a roll. A biscuit is either a cookie or a cracker and a chocolate is anything sweet. At the time I didn't know this, so when he asked if I'd like to try a chicken roll I figured I'd be getting a chicken sandwich. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised with spicy cubed chicken wrapped in a roti (read flour tortilla) with some onion. It was yummy. :-) I went to bed early, hoping to recover from my Goa/ travel exhaustion in time to wake up at 4:30.
I left for yoga in a not-so-bright-eyed manner (I woke up to them knocking insistently on my door, oops). In yoga class that day there was meditation and chanting for 45 minutes: first the guy leads us through a meditation, then there is a call and response with a guy playing a harmonium, a box shaped accordion thing. Then I have individual lessons which were about first part wind releasing or something like that. We did isolations of almost every joint and some pranams, or breathing exercises. My 'English Speaking' yoga teacher, for which the program is paying extra informs me to put my "hourness in my novel" daily during meditation. I can't tell the difference between 'fish' and 'peace' when he says them, and I often have NO idea what he means.
Let me explain here that yoga instructors, and students, look completely different than in the west. My yoga class in New York is lead by a thirty something man with a rock hard body, tingling massage oil, hands on technique and the desire to help each student take their bodies to the next step of flexibility and control. At the end of class he often encourages us to reflect on Hindu concepts and challenges us to live cleaner lives. Walking down the street that man turns heads, and in class he quickly makes friends and followers of his students. The students are all looking to get slimmer, stronger, more flexible, and most of them look great in spandex. Our regular practice includes mild contortions, back bends, headstands, headstands and a sweat inducing practice of Sun Salutation.
Here, the swami (swami literally means husband, here it means yogic monk), is an enormous man. He has a gigantic stomach which hangs over his orange dhoti (long cloth tied around the wast like a skirt) and breasts so large that I feel embarrassed by them- a fact which may partially be due to his enormous black nipples . I constantly have to ignore the thought that he should probably wear a bra. His enormous bald head and his narrow almost slightly cross eyed stare is disconcerting and unwelcoming. On good days he wears an orange t-shirt or a dhoti covering his top half too. He always wears a collection of beaded necklaces which would be the envy of any small girl, especially if she had a penchant for orange and brown. Most of the things he says are in Oriya, although he certainly uses Sanskrit and English mixed in. Unlike the lisping S in my might-be-gay yoga instructor's speech, when the swami ends a word on an s he sounds like a tire slowly deflating. His favorite word, bas (enough), goes on for five seconds. No exaggeration. He stares at us, seemingly disdainful while we meditate, then leads us on the harmonium in a chant. "Bas. Practice," he says, taking a full ten to fifteen seconds.
Then the hundred or so students stand up on their blankets. Let me tell you, athletic gear, as do most clothes, have a different definition in India. A woman may wear anything from ill-fitting cotton stretch pants and a t-shirt to a salwar kamiz. Often you see some odd combination of the two. Women in India may have small bone structures, but they are not small. I've yet to meet a woman of even middle means that would not be described as husky or outright fat. Only people who can't afford food are skinny, apparently. The men tend to work out in khakis and polos or t-shirts. The men all look pregnant. Their huge stomachs protrude from their centers like they were snakes digesting beach balls. A few of these mustachioed and shawl sporting wonders are so fat that they can't actually participate, so they do the few things they can do from a seated position, then lay on their backs in rest position. Everyone else is clearly hindered by their ill-fitting clothes. Only about ten percent are fit enough to do Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutation), and only four or five people actually make it all the way through the six rounds. Meanwhile, instead of helping us as we go, the teachers let the students do something incorrectly for the entire practice, then tell them after that it was incorrect. After resting to lower our heart rates (wouldn't want to burn fat!) we practice a few more asanas, then do pranayams. They are more or less breathing techniques. The sounds that come out of people at this point are truly revolting. I struggle not to laugh or be disconcerted by the various snorts, belches, farts, vocal sounds and other rumblings produced by nearly every one in the hall. There is a final chant and class ends.
By the second week of class a guy (who wore normal work out pants and gap t-shirts) and I were the only ones completing all the asanas. In fact, we were doing advanced versions of the asanas while most of the people were struggling with the simplified versions of them. It was kind of fun and kind of sad. In the last week I finally got the nerve to tell the swami that most of the poses didn't stretch me in any way. It was almost like being in the circus performing the series of contortions he sent me through trying to find a stretch. The entire rest of the class just watched me. One of the men living at the ashram asked me if my spine is made of rubber. I'd like to remind the reader that I'm the inflexible one in my dance classes in New York. For real, this is a nation that can't touch its toes.
Over the course of the first week I developed a habit of having an apple, mango and egg for breakfast, the same for midmorning snack, lentils for lunch and tandoori chicken for dinner. This habit remained unchanged until I left with the exception that some days I had oatmeal with honey for breakfast, and toward the end I just had one apple for breakfast and added coffee before my second dance class. On Saturdays I ate whatever fell in my path and went to pizza hut at night. It was so funny because the people actually remembered my order, and greeted me by name when I came in.
Everywhere I went it was simultaneously like I was a freak and a celebrity. People stared. They asked the people with me all kinds of questions. They took pictures of me on their cells when they thought I didn't notice. It was strange.
On the weekends Raj and San took me all over Bhubaneswar and the surrounding areas to see all the major sites. I went to Konark, Puri, Rajarani Temple, Botanicle Gardens, a tribal museum, the local market, Chilika Lake, a water park, a Hindi movie: Stop, several dance shows, two craft villages, a Goti Pua dance performance, 64 yogini temple, Megeswar temple, Brameshwar temple, and some excavated Buddhist sites. I'm pretty sure that list isn't complete.
During the week I'd get ayurveda and beauty care. I had several full body massages with steam baths, two facials, a foot treatment, a 'manicure', several eyebrow waxing appointments, I got my hair dyed black, and I had a starch massage. The ayurveda is funny because the people doing it speak little English. The first time I got a service I was always unsure how much to undress. For massages they give you a loin cloth to wear, but I didn't know how to put one on. The first time they told me to take a bath she started running water in a bucket, and it took ten minutes to explain that I'd be much more efficient bathing using the shower. I think she was about to wash me herself. Ayurveda is also interesting because they use all natural products, so when you get a facial then stand up, the table where you've been on looks like somebody threw up. Seriously, globs of orange, brown, green and yellow are all over the table. The best part about the place where I went is that two women always worked on me at the same time, so during a massage I'd have four hands pressing on me. The way they massage was in a pattern so they'd be doing the same things at the same time.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Shanti Bhavan to Goa...
Nikki and I left Shanti Bhavan, went to Jayashree's club for swimming and dinner, and ventured out into India. Sitting at the Whitefield train station waiting to catch our ride to Cochin, I was definitely excited.
We took the train overnight, ate breakfast on the train (nifty!) and arrived in Cochin around ten in the morning. We checked into a hotel, and that first night we ended up making friends with the hotel owners. After a day of running errands, sight seeing and taking care of necessities, we hung out with them for a few hours before bed.
The next day we went into Ernakalum via a ferry to buy some dress materials. We went to see Kathakali dance, which is FREAKY, and not at all what attracts me to dance personally. However I really enjoyed the music. We did a little shopping and a lot of walking. That night a room full of Welsh boys moved in next door to us and we hung out with them, just sitting and talking after dinner. The next morning we got up early to go on the backwaters tour. It was lovely. In the morning we went out on a huge houseboat fashioned to resemble a fish, and we had lunch on the boat, sampled local cuisine and went on tours of some islands. After lunch we went to a smaller boat, where we took canoes down narrow canals into the small villages. We stopped for tea at one end, then came back. It was pretty nice to be pushed down the water by a stick and to be waved at by smiling Indian children. It was also fun to know that just in that area, a great novel takes place. We were in Kerela, can you guess which one?
That night we caught the overnight train to Mangalore. From Mangalore we took a bus to a bus to Jog Falls. In between we almost stayed in a really crappy hotel and waited until morning to head to our destination, but we decided to move on, after quite a harrowing ordeal with the hotel. Jog Falls are the highest falls in India. We got in late at night, and stayed in an ENORMOUS hotel room with a great view of the falls. We were the only people there. In the morning we got up and hiked down. Even being low on water, the falls were beautiful. Not in the way that Niagra Falls staggers you with volume, more in the natural grace of the place. After getting cleaned up, we checked out of our hotel and headed for the bus stop. There we befriend some people from Gana. They were very friendly, and obsessed with my sunglasses. Next we made friends with an ex-yoga instructor from Chennai, who helped up catch the right bus to get to Gokarna.
Gokarna is a beautiful temple city. There we feasted on great food and saw beautiful temples and people. We went swimming at an almost empty beach. It was lovely. At dinner we made friends with a man from France, who works for a packaged food company in Bangalore. We walked all over and stumbled upon a quiet forest, where we disturbed some monkeys, sending us running. It was pretty funny.
Nikki and I parted ways at the bus station, she was heading for Hampi then Chennai and Thailand. I'm pretty sure her trip will be amazing.
I left Gokarna by bus and caught another bus, then another bus to get to Goa. It was a long trip by hot, crowded bus, though if I had found a way to go directly it would have only taken about 45 min. The bus to Goa took me all the way to Margao, then I took an auto back to Palolem. Usually I would have chosen a less crowded beach but because I was traveling on the off season I wanted to be ensured of running into other travelers. So I arrived in early evening, rented a beach hut ($4/ night) and went to the local bookstore. It is a beautiful little bookshop catering to the massive influx of westerners and has tons of info on India, novels that take place in India and various other random crap. I bought the Namesake, went next door and had CHICKEN TACOS AND A MARGARITA! It was so flipping good I couldn't begin to tell you. On that high I walked back towards my hut and noticed there was refrigerated diet coke in a can available! When I asked how much and they told me RS25 I basically died and went to heaven. I bought one and a Snickers and holed up in my room for some much needed Amanda-stays-up-all-night-with-a-book time. I took a nap around 5 am and got up at 8. I got a diet coke and laid on the beach and read until 10:30, when I got cleaned up, found internet, got a very unhealthy (see a pattern?) lunch of fries and a pineapple juice. Then I took a nap, got up, went to the beach to try and even out my TERRIBLE tan lines. I took another shower, took back The Namesake and got half off of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I went to the internet again, then went to dinner and had fries and butter chicken masala. I was having a rum and diet when six guys came in and started talking to me. I quickly made friends with them and literally stayed up to watch the sunrise from our soft chairs with a view of the beach. It. Was. Heaven. :)
More to come. I'm lazy with this whole blog thing, now that I'm not at Shanti Bhavan, sorry.
We took the train overnight, ate breakfast on the train (nifty!) and arrived in Cochin around ten in the morning. We checked into a hotel, and that first night we ended up making friends with the hotel owners. After a day of running errands, sight seeing and taking care of necessities, we hung out with them for a few hours before bed.
The next day we went into Ernakalum via a ferry to buy some dress materials. We went to see Kathakali dance, which is FREAKY, and not at all what attracts me to dance personally. However I really enjoyed the music. We did a little shopping and a lot of walking. That night a room full of Welsh boys moved in next door to us and we hung out with them, just sitting and talking after dinner. The next morning we got up early to go on the backwaters tour. It was lovely. In the morning we went out on a huge houseboat fashioned to resemble a fish, and we had lunch on the boat, sampled local cuisine and went on tours of some islands. After lunch we went to a smaller boat, where we took canoes down narrow canals into the small villages. We stopped for tea at one end, then came back. It was pretty nice to be pushed down the water by a stick and to be waved at by smiling Indian children. It was also fun to know that just in that area, a great novel takes place. We were in Kerela, can you guess which one?
That night we caught the overnight train to Mangalore. From Mangalore we took a bus to a bus to Jog Falls. In between we almost stayed in a really crappy hotel and waited until morning to head to our destination, but we decided to move on, after quite a harrowing ordeal with the hotel. Jog Falls are the highest falls in India. We got in late at night, and stayed in an ENORMOUS hotel room with a great view of the falls. We were the only people there. In the morning we got up and hiked down. Even being low on water, the falls were beautiful. Not in the way that Niagra Falls staggers you with volume, more in the natural grace of the place. After getting cleaned up, we checked out of our hotel and headed for the bus stop. There we befriend some people from Gana. They were very friendly, and obsessed with my sunglasses. Next we made friends with an ex-yoga instructor from Chennai, who helped up catch the right bus to get to Gokarna.
Gokarna is a beautiful temple city. There we feasted on great food and saw beautiful temples and people. We went swimming at an almost empty beach. It was lovely. At dinner we made friends with a man from France, who works for a packaged food company in Bangalore. We walked all over and stumbled upon a quiet forest, where we disturbed some monkeys, sending us running. It was pretty funny.
Nikki and I parted ways at the bus station, she was heading for Hampi then Chennai and Thailand. I'm pretty sure her trip will be amazing.
I left Gokarna by bus and caught another bus, then another bus to get to Goa. It was a long trip by hot, crowded bus, though if I had found a way to go directly it would have only taken about 45 min. The bus to Goa took me all the way to Margao, then I took an auto back to Palolem. Usually I would have chosen a less crowded beach but because I was traveling on the off season I wanted to be ensured of running into other travelers. So I arrived in early evening, rented a beach hut ($4/ night) and went to the local bookstore. It is a beautiful little bookshop catering to the massive influx of westerners and has tons of info on India, novels that take place in India and various other random crap. I bought the Namesake, went next door and had CHICKEN TACOS AND A MARGARITA! It was so flipping good I couldn't begin to tell you. On that high I walked back towards my hut and noticed there was refrigerated diet coke in a can available! When I asked how much and they told me RS25 I basically died and went to heaven. I bought one and a Snickers and holed up in my room for some much needed Amanda-stays-up-all-night-with-a-book time. I took a nap around 5 am and got up at 8. I got a diet coke and laid on the beach and read until 10:30, when I got cleaned up, found internet, got a very unhealthy (see a pattern?) lunch of fries and a pineapple juice. Then I took a nap, got up, went to the beach to try and even out my TERRIBLE tan lines. I took another shower, took back The Namesake and got half off of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I went to the internet again, then went to dinner and had fries and butter chicken masala. I was having a rum and diet when six guys came in and started talking to me. I quickly made friends with them and literally stayed up to watch the sunrise from our soft chairs with a view of the beach. It. Was. Heaven. :)
More to come. I'm lazy with this whole blog thing, now that I'm not at Shanti Bhavan, sorry.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
On the Road (again)
When all the kids left Shanti Bhavan is was so strange. We all knew it was going to happen, but I don't think you can be quite prepared for it. I talked to their parents with the help of a translator, then I waved goodbye to them as they left on busses. :( We all ate thali for lunch then headed to whitefield for a luxurious swim and dinner excursion. That was lovely. Jayashree's family took great care of Nikki and I and even drove us to the train station. What a sweet bunch they are. Sitting at the station in the dark (the power was out) and leaning on my bags made me feel like I was on a real adventure. We took the train overnight to Cochin, which was really convenient. It was fun to order our breakfast at one station and have it arrive hot at the next one. Big fluffy rotis and a pea and potato curry was fun to eat.
More tomorrow, I'm in a lactic acid haze. :) Miss you all!
More tomorrow, I'm in a lactic acid haze. :) Miss you all!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Last week at Shanti Bhavan
Sunday morning all the volunteers and Veena went to Hosur and used the internet etc. I bought some fruit, got my stuff from the tailor, got a dvd and bought a head scarf to keep me from getting heat stroke. We went to Janani and had lunch in the air conditioned room, it was delightful. As soon as we got back I had to hurry and shower and get ready for the wedding reception. Ms Ruth's daughter got married to Chitra and she invited 25 people from Shanti Bhavan. Jacques, Arjun and I were the lucky volunteers to go. We've been here the longest I guess. It was nice, a great meal and music. The happy couple sat up on a stage on ornate chairs to receive congratulations. She looked like she was having a quinziniara or whatever. The decorations behind them were a huge yellow fabric with big daisies stapled to it and glittery letters which read "RICHARD WEDS CHITRA". Apparently the custom is for the mother of the son the pass out flowers to the guests and then we give them to the blushing bride. It was fun. The best part was definitely that we had both gulab jamun and ice cream with dinner!
On the way home there were ten students, three aunties, a teacher, a maintenance staff, me and a driver all on a van intended to seat twelve. It was really windy and there was a little lightning. So we just turned up the music really loud, and half the kids stood up and danced the whole way home. Everyone was squished together and people fell over constantly, generally onto people sitting on each other. It was so crazy. The idea of an overfilled vehicle blasting music flying down the highway with music blasting and people dancing in the US is completely incomprehensible.
55 students from Dr. George's journalism school came to see Shanti Bhavan. We had an extended assembly at which the children performed and all the journalism students introduced themselves. It was cool. After lunch most of them came to see my tap class. That was fun. I ended up spending more time teaching Nirmala and playing with the kids after we finished, and I was pretty wiped out. It was good that we had a full class after lunch because at around six the sky opened and the downpour was INTENSE. Nikki and I ran out in the rain. It was amazing.
I used most of my classes this week as vehicles to distribute candy and to get autographs from the kids. We still had choir and dance classes because I had the show on Thursday. This was made more interesting by the fact that I wore a sari or salwar kamiz every day. Indian clothes were not designed for ease of movement.
Nikki, Arjun, Tony and I went on a tour of Odapalli, Deveerapalli and Baldev Medical Center. It was really interesting. It was sad to see all the kids in little clothing and following us around, bored, but I can happily report that we saw no one who was really sick or deformed. I suppose that has a lot to do with the George Foundation. We visited some school and learned a little more what life is like in the small villages. The thing that struck me most was that most houses had cable television, but there were no plans for toilets or outhouse. There was no well. The government doesn't work very well here. At all.
Thursday after snack was my show. The KG and 1st grade did a dance to I Just Can't Wait to Be King from the Lion King. Then I got KG-2nd to shake their sillies out. It was adorable. Then the 2nd grade did a dance to Two Worlds from Tarzan. This dance was really cool. I think I'd like to teach it to kids who are just a little older and see how it goes. Then Nirmala had a group of kids dance to the Taxi Song from some Tamil movie. It was cute, the kids were all dressed like Michael Jackson. Then it was the fourth grade's turn. They did a puppet show which they wrote themselves. It culminated in them singing Oomplucka. Third grade did a dance to "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story. It was cute, it had little vignettes about being friends. They were cute. There are a few tap steps in there and mostly little cutesy showy things. Then was Nirmala's dance for a second and third grader. Then the fifth grade did a dance to Life's a Dance by Garth Brooks. It was great. I combined a little modern with a line dance and they really hit it. They were really good and looked so cute in their home dress. Next was Beena's tap dance to Try Again by Aliyah. Then came the choir who sang one round mixed and a harder round in groups, then "Hey Jude". Nikki had a parade of all the masks the kids have made since she's been here. That was cool. Then it was the tap kids' turn. They did a dance to Trashin' the Camp from Tarzan. I was really proud of them. They've learned a lot. If they keep practicing most of them have a chance of being pretty good.
Friday the volunteers chipped in for a magician to come to the school. It was great. Jacques spent a huge amount of time getting it set up and the suspense built all day! The kids were so excited by the time they got to see the show. The guy did a great job. He did all the standard tricks with slight of hand and props, played games with the whole school and kept up a good patter. The kids LOVED it.
On the way home there were ten students, three aunties, a teacher, a maintenance staff, me and a driver all on a van intended to seat twelve. It was really windy and there was a little lightning. So we just turned up the music really loud, and half the kids stood up and danced the whole way home. Everyone was squished together and people fell over constantly, generally onto people sitting on each other. It was so crazy. The idea of an overfilled vehicle blasting music flying down the highway with music blasting and people dancing in the US is completely incomprehensible.
55 students from Dr. George's journalism school came to see Shanti Bhavan. We had an extended assembly at which the children performed and all the journalism students introduced themselves. It was cool. After lunch most of them came to see my tap class. That was fun. I ended up spending more time teaching Nirmala and playing with the kids after we finished, and I was pretty wiped out. It was good that we had a full class after lunch because at around six the sky opened and the downpour was INTENSE. Nikki and I ran out in the rain. It was amazing.
I used most of my classes this week as vehicles to distribute candy and to get autographs from the kids. We still had choir and dance classes because I had the show on Thursday. This was made more interesting by the fact that I wore a sari or salwar kamiz every day. Indian clothes were not designed for ease of movement.
Nikki, Arjun, Tony and I went on a tour of Odapalli, Deveerapalli and Baldev Medical Center. It was really interesting. It was sad to see all the kids in little clothing and following us around, bored, but I can happily report that we saw no one who was really sick or deformed. I suppose that has a lot to do with the George Foundation. We visited some school and learned a little more what life is like in the small villages. The thing that struck me most was that most houses had cable television, but there were no plans for toilets or outhouse. There was no well. The government doesn't work very well here. At all.
Thursday after snack was my show. The KG and 1st grade did a dance to I Just Can't Wait to Be King from the Lion King. Then I got KG-2nd to shake their sillies out. It was adorable. Then the 2nd grade did a dance to Two Worlds from Tarzan. This dance was really cool. I think I'd like to teach it to kids who are just a little older and see how it goes. Then Nirmala had a group of kids dance to the Taxi Song from some Tamil movie. It was cute, the kids were all dressed like Michael Jackson. Then it was the fourth grade's turn. They did a puppet show which they wrote themselves. It culminated in them singing Oomplucka. Third grade did a dance to "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story. It was cute, it had little vignettes about being friends. They were cute. There are a few tap steps in there and mostly little cutesy showy things. Then was Nirmala's dance for a second and third grader. Then the fifth grade did a dance to Life's a Dance by Garth Brooks. It was great. I combined a little modern with a line dance and they really hit it. They were really good and looked so cute in their home dress. Next was Beena's tap dance to Try Again by Aliyah. Then came the choir who sang one round mixed and a harder round in groups, then "Hey Jude". Nikki had a parade of all the masks the kids have made since she's been here. That was cool. Then it was the tap kids' turn. They did a dance to Trashin' the Camp from Tarzan. I was really proud of them. They've learned a lot. If they keep practicing most of them have a chance of being pretty good.
Friday the volunteers chipped in for a magician to come to the school. It was great. Jacques spent a huge amount of time getting it set up and the suspense built all day! The kids were so excited by the time they got to see the show. The guy did a great job. He did all the standard tricks with slight of hand and props, played games with the whole school and kept up a good patter. The kids LOVED it.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
At long last
As I type this, I'm sitting in the fourth grade class room. Playing Eve 6 on my laptop and watching them complete their work. I'm actually amazed at their ability to work independently and quietly. You wouldn't believe it. At least not the difference between how they are now and how they were when I got here. Seriously. All I do is write their work on the board, sit down with a book or my laptop and let them go. I may have to define a word or clarify my handwriting, but that's about it. They are really good. They tried pushing around the new volunteer, but I gave her my full support, and today she's already giving out prizes.
This weekend is Easter weekend. It will be weird not to be at church. I'm really missing those little munchkins! I'm planning to take the bus to Bangalore with Nikki on Friday. We'll be home Saturday night, so we can celebrate Easter with our babies. I'm pretty excited about it. Nikki is a lot of fun. Last night we sat in the lounge laughing hysterically at silly add on stories and playing stupid camp games and singing stupid camp songs. Yesterday she sketched me sitting in a chair.
I henna-ed Nikki and my feet the other day. It was fun. I think she's going to henna a robotic foot onto my other foot soon. How cool is that? Almost as cool as driven, intelligent, sweet and talented children. Almost.
I started reading "Born Standing Up" by Steve Martin today. It promises to be a fun read. I'm debating if I'll read "Stuart Little" or "The Last Unicorn" to the kids next. Or something else altogether. Hmm...
This weekend was so fun. Thursday we left right after lunch, the car was packed so tight that I had to sit on Nikki. There were three people in the front, four in the middle and two in the back with a massive amount of luggage. It wasn't too far though, only to Whitefield. There Arjun, Nikki, Jacques and I went to Jayashree's house. It was fun. She lives in a fabulous gated community that looks like it belongs more in Florida than India. We went to her club house to swim. It was great- there are five beautifully designed inter-connected pools. I felt so strange being in a bathing suit, not to mention seeing other people's skin. Seriously, it weirded me out. Then we ordered food from their entirely western menu, I had a BLT! So good! Then we went to Jayashree's sister's shop. It's a beautiful boutique. I bought a few presents there... I was relieved because there were a few people I was really struggling to buy something for.
After that Nikki and I caught a bus (all by ourselves, aren't you proud?) to Bangalore. It was really crowded, we got the last seat. By the end we got crammed in by tons of people, mostly women who were trying to get home from work. The brightly colored sea of salwar kamiz and saris was dizzying to look up at. It was so hot on the bus, and we were pretty tired after our busy day. We finally managed to get off the bus in Bangalore, but the traffic was so bad that we decided against trying to get to the hotel we planned to stay at, and just stayed at the first one we found. It ended up being a fun decision. We found a place for $10 with a clean bed, running water and HBO! Our room was full of lovely decorations: teal, white and gold leaf moulding, which towering over chipping tan paint coated in mud, which was above fake marble tiles that went about six feet high. On our wall was hung a poster which said "It is buxomnessof nature supports up man not "COMPUTER" " Really. We laughed endlessly about that. After we ditched our stuff we went out in search of provisions and felt very travel-capable, buying treats, getting water, etc navigating in a foreign city where people don't speak English. When we got back we had a little picnic, watched tv, and passed out.
We woke up in the morning and watched that movie with Kate Winslet, Jack Black and Cameron Diaz about trading houses. That was fun. Then we checked out and took an auto to commercial street and found our hotel. We checked in there and headed out for coffee. One machiatto and muffin later, I felt ready to face the day in the hot neon city of Bangalore. We met up with one of the teachers, Veena and had a day of fantastic girly shopping. I bought a bathing suit, which I needed, and Nikki and I bought some beautiful Indian outfits and Veena bought some clothes. We went to an amazing lunch. It was at this great restaurant called Three Quarters Chinese. It was an Indian-Chinese fusion restaurant, that really hit the spot. I loaded up on chicken and desert, especially watermelon. That was fun. Veena and I got our hair cut. I was a nervous wreck, don't ask me why, they did a great job. We ran into Elizabeth and Jack while we were wandering around shopping. Veena left to meet her friends and we set a time to meet Jack and Liz for drinks. So Nikki and I went back, got cleaned up and met them at their hotel. We went to a place called Fuga, where we each had one EXCELLENT cocktail, but since the drinks were a little pricey and no one was there, we decided to look for this place called NASA, where the inside is supposed to look like a rocket. In asking for directions, we a acquired a guide, Lucky Khan. He is a photographer from Bangalore. We offered to buy him a drink, and he ended up staying. We drank pitchers of Kingfisher, laughed and ate fries. Suddenly it was time for Elizabeth to go, and Jack took her to the airport. Since Nikki and I hadn't had dinner, we took Lucky's suggestion on a restaurant and ended up eating at an extremely non-touristy restaurant on the top of a building with a tree growing on the roof! It was amazing, open air and delicious.
The next morning we got up, bought blue cheese, ritz crackers and grapes and had them for breakfast- divine. We had a little picnic in the social area of our hotel. It was really funny. Then we found internet via wandering into serious non-tourist area and asking a rickshaw. It was kind of funny to be in the middle of non-tourist Bangalore, but it was really frustrating because the connection sucked, there were no USB ports and we didn't get much done. We went to the train station and bought train tickets for our trip to Cochin and Jog Falls. That's kind of cool. We only have to get ourselves to Whitefield the night the kids leave to get on the train. Should be fine.
After booking our tickets we got some lunch and caught a bus to Hosur (we're so proud of ourselves) and then we took an auto to Shanti Bhavan. I felt like a regular navigator.
Monday I had tap class. It was fun to play with the kids. Beena came, and she was really fun to have in class because she'd never done most of the stuff the other kids do.
Tuesday during choir we did all sorts of rounds. The choir really needs work on blending and intonation. Especially with all the fourth graders I added to the choir.
Wednesday during choir I let the kids watch parts of Sister Act I and II (just the singing parts). After watching that, they sang really well.
We're reading Stuart Little in class. It's really fun. The kids are learning a lot from it I think. They really need more time spent on reading. Just quiet reading and reading out loud will make a big difference I think.
Last night we watched a movie with Brad Pitt about the IRA, it was good. I'm a little under the weather though. I am taking Sudafed and Ibuprofen just to stay afloat. Nonetheless, I'm having fun.
This week I read Black Unicorn by Tanith Lee and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury this week. I'm going to read Sense and Sensability over the next couple days. I don't know if we're going to read The Indian in the Cupboard, Labyrinth or something else entirely next. I haven't decided.
I burnt my popcorn this afternoon. Every time I turn my head I can smell it. It was the only popcorn I've bought since I've been here. I hate the smell of burnt popcorn. Ugh.
Ugh. They cut all the girl's hair today. It looks so bad.
Yesterday a three young women came to visit. One of those was a girl who graduated a year after me from Solon. Apparently she came to Shanti Bhavan a few years ago and was bringing her friends for a visit. It was all kinds of weird. She recognized me, but I hadn't the slightest idea, until she mentioned her sister, who graduated with me, and was in most of my AP's.
I was weirded out about it all day. Before dinner Nikki and I thought we were supposed to meet Nirmala, but she wasn't there. Instead there was a big group of children looking for her. Since we didn't find her, Nikki opened the art room and we ended up playing. It was amazing. The kids were being so creative. They were using objects props, drawing on chalk boards, playing together and laughing. I haven't had so much fun in a long time. After dinner we tried to practice for dance Nirmala wants us to learn, but most of us were not really into it, and I for one didn't do anything but laugh until I cried.
Saturday was fun. I slept in and went to watch a movie in Hindi with the third through fifth graders. Then I went through my belongings to sort between what I'm keeping, what I'm taking on my trip and what I'm giving to Shanti Bhavan. I talked to my mom, it's her birthday. She's going to the Melting Pot. What I wouldn't do for fresh vegetables and cheese. Mmmmm.
This weekend is Easter weekend. It will be weird not to be at church. I'm really missing those little munchkins! I'm planning to take the bus to Bangalore with Nikki on Friday. We'll be home Saturday night, so we can celebrate Easter with our babies. I'm pretty excited about it. Nikki is a lot of fun. Last night we sat in the lounge laughing hysterically at silly add on stories and playing stupid camp games and singing stupid camp songs. Yesterday she sketched me sitting in a chair.
I henna-ed Nikki and my feet the other day. It was fun. I think she's going to henna a robotic foot onto my other foot soon. How cool is that? Almost as cool as driven, intelligent, sweet and talented children. Almost.
I started reading "Born Standing Up" by Steve Martin today. It promises to be a fun read. I'm debating if I'll read "Stuart Little" or "The Last Unicorn" to the kids next. Or something else altogether. Hmm...
This weekend was so fun. Thursday we left right after lunch, the car was packed so tight that I had to sit on Nikki. There were three people in the front, four in the middle and two in the back with a massive amount of luggage. It wasn't too far though, only to Whitefield. There Arjun, Nikki, Jacques and I went to Jayashree's house. It was fun. She lives in a fabulous gated community that looks like it belongs more in Florida than India. We went to her club house to swim. It was great- there are five beautifully designed inter-connected pools. I felt so strange being in a bathing suit, not to mention seeing other people's skin. Seriously, it weirded me out. Then we ordered food from their entirely western menu, I had a BLT! So good! Then we went to Jayashree's sister's shop. It's a beautiful boutique. I bought a few presents there... I was relieved because there were a few people I was really struggling to buy something for.
After that Nikki and I caught a bus (all by ourselves, aren't you proud?) to Bangalore. It was really crowded, we got the last seat. By the end we got crammed in by tons of people, mostly women who were trying to get home from work. The brightly colored sea of salwar kamiz and saris was dizzying to look up at. It was so hot on the bus, and we were pretty tired after our busy day. We finally managed to get off the bus in Bangalore, but the traffic was so bad that we decided against trying to get to the hotel we planned to stay at, and just stayed at the first one we found. It ended up being a fun decision. We found a place for $10 with a clean bed, running water and HBO! Our room was full of lovely decorations: teal, white and gold leaf moulding, which towering over chipping tan paint coated in mud, which was above fake marble tiles that went about six feet high. On our wall was hung a poster which said "It is buxomnessof nature supports up man not "COMPUTER" " Really. We laughed endlessly about that. After we ditched our stuff we went out in search of provisions and felt very travel-capable, buying treats, getting water, etc navigating in a foreign city where people don't speak English. When we got back we had a little picnic, watched tv, and passed out.
We woke up in the morning and watched that movie with Kate Winslet, Jack Black and Cameron Diaz about trading houses. That was fun. Then we checked out and took an auto to commercial street and found our hotel. We checked in there and headed out for coffee. One machiatto and muffin later, I felt ready to face the day in the hot neon city of Bangalore. We met up with one of the teachers, Veena and had a day of fantastic girly shopping. I bought a bathing suit, which I needed, and Nikki and I bought some beautiful Indian outfits and Veena bought some clothes. We went to an amazing lunch. It was at this great restaurant called Three Quarters Chinese. It was an Indian-Chinese fusion restaurant, that really hit the spot. I loaded up on chicken and desert, especially watermelon. That was fun. Veena and I got our hair cut. I was a nervous wreck, don't ask me why, they did a great job. We ran into Elizabeth and Jack while we were wandering around shopping. Veena left to meet her friends and we set a time to meet Jack and Liz for drinks. So Nikki and I went back, got cleaned up and met them at their hotel. We went to a place called Fuga, where we each had one EXCELLENT cocktail, but since the drinks were a little pricey and no one was there, we decided to look for this place called NASA, where the inside is supposed to look like a rocket. In asking for directions, we a acquired a guide, Lucky Khan. He is a photographer from Bangalore. We offered to buy him a drink, and he ended up staying. We drank pitchers of Kingfisher, laughed and ate fries. Suddenly it was time for Elizabeth to go, and Jack took her to the airport. Since Nikki and I hadn't had dinner, we took Lucky's suggestion on a restaurant and ended up eating at an extremely non-touristy restaurant on the top of a building with a tree growing on the roof! It was amazing, open air and delicious.
The next morning we got up, bought blue cheese, ritz crackers and grapes and had them for breakfast- divine. We had a little picnic in the social area of our hotel. It was really funny. Then we found internet via wandering into serious non-tourist area and asking a rickshaw. It was kind of funny to be in the middle of non-tourist Bangalore, but it was really frustrating because the connection sucked, there were no USB ports and we didn't get much done. We went to the train station and bought train tickets for our trip to Cochin and Jog Falls. That's kind of cool. We only have to get ourselves to Whitefield the night the kids leave to get on the train. Should be fine.
After booking our tickets we got some lunch and caught a bus to Hosur (we're so proud of ourselves) and then we took an auto to Shanti Bhavan. I felt like a regular navigator.
Monday I had tap class. It was fun to play with the kids. Beena came, and she was really fun to have in class because she'd never done most of the stuff the other kids do.
Tuesday during choir we did all sorts of rounds. The choir really needs work on blending and intonation. Especially with all the fourth graders I added to the choir.
Wednesday during choir I let the kids watch parts of Sister Act I and II (just the singing parts). After watching that, they sang really well.
We're reading Stuart Little in class. It's really fun. The kids are learning a lot from it I think. They really need more time spent on reading. Just quiet reading and reading out loud will make a big difference I think.
Last night we watched a movie with Brad Pitt about the IRA, it was good. I'm a little under the weather though. I am taking Sudafed and Ibuprofen just to stay afloat. Nonetheless, I'm having fun.
This week I read Black Unicorn by Tanith Lee and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury this week. I'm going to read Sense and Sensability over the next couple days. I don't know if we're going to read The Indian in the Cupboard, Labyrinth or something else entirely next. I haven't decided.
I burnt my popcorn this afternoon. Every time I turn my head I can smell it. It was the only popcorn I've bought since I've been here. I hate the smell of burnt popcorn. Ugh.
Ugh. They cut all the girl's hair today. It looks so bad.
Yesterday a three young women came to visit. One of those was a girl who graduated a year after me from Solon. Apparently she came to Shanti Bhavan a few years ago and was bringing her friends for a visit. It was all kinds of weird. She recognized me, but I hadn't the slightest idea, until she mentioned her sister, who graduated with me, and was in most of my AP's.
I was weirded out about it all day. Before dinner Nikki and I thought we were supposed to meet Nirmala, but she wasn't there. Instead there was a big group of children looking for her. Since we didn't find her, Nikki opened the art room and we ended up playing. It was amazing. The kids were being so creative. They were using objects props, drawing on chalk boards, playing together and laughing. I haven't had so much fun in a long time. After dinner we tried to practice for dance Nirmala wants us to learn, but most of us were not really into it, and I for one didn't do anything but laugh until I cried.
Saturday was fun. I slept in and went to watch a movie in Hindi with the third through fifth graders. Then I went through my belongings to sort between what I'm keeping, what I'm taking on my trip and what I'm giving to Shanti Bhavan. I talked to my mom, it's her birthday. She's going to the Melting Pot. What I wouldn't do for fresh vegetables and cheese. Mmmmm.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Whatever we want time
Hosur was fun. Nikki, Molly and I took an auto into town. We internet-ed, sari shopped, fruit shopped, unsuccessfully looked for a tailor, grocery shopped and ate lunch. Then we headed back to S.B. We weren't gone for long and it was nice to be so efficient. The town was decorated for some holiday. They had erected decorative ceilings for the roads and they were cool. Huge white thatched banners featuring brightly colored symbols of peace and love. I've grown accustomed to seeing the swastika everywhere. I have to say, my favorite was the swastika circumscribed by the star of David on the side of one of the huts at our hotel in Hampi. Neither of those symbols mean the same thing here.
After we got back I broke open the box of fruit loops (!!!) I bought and ate them until my tongue bled. I watched a little Tamil TV, what I like to think of as TamirVision, with Nirmala. Then I went in my room and just read and slept from afternoon until morning. I needed the break from people.
Sunday was nice. No one was around, since almost everyone else went to Bangalore. I went to breakfast, read, relaxed, danced with Nirmala and Nikki and generally enjoyed my holiday.
I'm pretty pumped to get my stuff together for my trip. I've settled on going to Kochin, Jog Falls, Goa, Yoga Study, Mumbai, Bangalore, Dance Study, Shanti Bhavan, Bangalore, London and NYC!!!!! It's a pretty laid back itinerary. Generally I get up in the morning and take a bus where I'm going or I take an overnight train where I'm going. I will have, except for the first week, mostly several days in one place. I'm planning to go to Kochin for two days, Jog Falls overnight, then get to Goa and play on the beaches until my Yoga study starts there. After my yoga intensive I'll train up to Mumbai. I want to do a ton of touristy stuff there. I plan to stay for five days. Then I'll train to Bangalore, where I'm planning a study of Bharatanatyum dance. Then I'll go back to Shanti Bhavan for a week and fly to London. I won't see the Taj Mahal, but I also won't be too stressed out and I'll get to do a lot of what I came here to do.
There's a new volunteer named Nicky. She's really cool. She's 20, from London and she's studying visual art.
Monday brought an impromptu performance for "important" visitors. The visitors turned out to be Siva Something-or-other, inventor of email and proud recipient of four MIT degrees, and his wife a model-turned-classic-Indian-dancer. He's currently working on integrating classical Indian medicine and Western medicine. After our performance, at which the choir sang a song in Tamil, Memory from Cats and Hey Jude by the Beetles, the KG performed Rubber Ducky and the fourth and sixth grades did a dance; the guy gave a great speech, but offended our British volunteer by calling Memory and Hey Jude 'American' songs. His wife said she plans to return to teach dance workshops at the school.
In the KG class I started teaching them a dance to "I Just Can't Wait to be King." It's going to be cute. I'm trying to encourage them to move creatively, by telling them things like "the next step is to fly like a parrot." I think it's more important to foster a comfort in their own skins and a sense of rhythm than to give them perfect form. My tap class is doing so well. They're really learning quickly. I am constantly surprised at how good at learning dances these kids are. In fact, the children who seem slow to me, are probably actually still better than average. There are two kids in my tap class I keep getting frustrated by because their tap sounds aren't clear and I have to explain a step five or six times for them to learn it. In the real world that still put them way ahead of the learning curve. It's just hard to remember when you're surrounded by so much talent.
I was both excited to finally have my own space and really sad about Elizabeth leaving. She really helped me, we got along great, I learned a lot by watching her journey, but I think it was both time for her to get back to her life and time for me to try out what I've learned on my own.
Tuesday was Elizabeth's last day. While the fourth grade and I played denial, I spent most of my day trying to make sure Elizabeth knew how much everyone came to love her here at Shanti Bhavan. I got some really cute videos of the kids saying they love her. I taught the first grade some of their part of "I Just Can't Wait to be King". They're so cute and funny.
At assembly Elizabeth and Jack performed some songs. Elizabeth sang a song to the kids about them being in her heart, then they sang a song Jack wrote the music for after a tenth grader gave him a poem to work with. Then they sang a song Jack wrote about two lizards and an enormous spider living in his bedroom. The kids loved it. Arjun, Molly, Tony and Joe rapped while Steve beat boxed and Jack played a baseline. It was so funny. The Shanti Bhavan rap was a big hit for novelty and enthusiasm if not for perfection. I say Shanti you say Bhavan. Shanti. BHAVAN. Shanti. BHAVAN. Doctor. GEORGE. Doctor. GEORGE. Mrs. LAW. Mrs. LAW. Then we sang "Whatever You Want Time" which Jack and Steve wrote right after the last volunteer show. We'd been singing it the lounge quite often and eventually ended up all writing our own verses. We all sang on the repetitious parts in harmony. It's quite cute. It went something like this:
(Jack)
It's not time for P.T.
It's not time for drinking tea
It's just time for being me
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Nikki)
It's not time for working
It's not time for playing
It's not time for sitting 'round in one place
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Steve)
It's not time for poetry
It's not time for those pesky short stories
It's just time to (...)
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Elizabeth)
It's not time for sleeping
It's not time for weeping
It's just time to sing my blues away
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Joe harmonica solo)
(Amanda)
It's not time to teach math
and it's not time to have a bath
it's sure not time for writing lots of stuff on the board
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Arjun)
It's not time for music
It's not time for bruisin'
It's not time for chemistry, gasses and all-a-that jazz
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Jacques)
It's not time for Janani
It's not time for triple five chick-y
It's just time for balls of ragi
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Jack and Steve guitar solo)
(Elizabeth)
Now it's time for leavin'
and I'll soon be grievin'
but for now (...)
It's whatever I want time, whatever we want time
(All)
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
And we can do whatever we want
I went to P.T. to spend some time with the kids and actually ended up watching the fourth and fifth grade boys play basket ball. It was so cute and funny. They all wanted to impress me. After about twenty minutes I went up to sit on our sunset rocks, write in my journal, watch the kids and read my book. I finished reading A Language Older Than Words, which Kleveland lent me before I came here. I taught the choir a round called Zum Gulli Gulli. It's a traditional Hebrew song. It's a great teaching round.
Wednesday was my first day back to "taking fully the fourth grade." I taught 2nd grade beginning of "Two Worlds", Taught third grade beginning of "You've Got a Friend in Me" it's sweet, they're doing little vignettes in front of the dance. I ended up staying up really late my first night alone. I couldn't sleep. I was restless. Stuff was strewn about the room in a chaotic manner left over over from the shock of half of the room's occupants leaving. I sorted through clothes. I made a pile of outfits. I started to pack my back pack for my travels. I put souvenirs in my suitcase that will stay at Shanti Bhavan while I'm away. I'm already feeling emotional about it. I watched The Last Unicorn twice and started Spirit before I finally got sleepy enough to fall asleep.
Thursday Kleveland's package arrived. A neighboring village was having a chariot festival and one of the maintenance crew took some of us volunteers. It was so cool. We arrived and the whole village was out, throwing bananas at the top of this enormous stone chariot, decorated in colorful fabric soaring 40 feet into the air and sporting a statue of some Hindu deity. After trying to hit the top of it with our bananas, we went to a local temple to be personally blessed. They did a special service just for us, including our names and blessing us with garlands. Well, blessing the boys with garlands, they handed the garlands to us girls, if they had put them on us, they'd have been marrying us. The priest also wouldn't touch us to put dots on our foreheads, whereas in most major cities they did. It was really cool, we were blessed with coconut water, flame, ringing bells, rice and chandan (the dots). The village leader made a speech about Dr. George "He is very helping my village." We were invited back to his house, where they fed us popol, yummy crunchy deep fried bread, SomethingIdidn'tcatchthenameof, a bread filled with sweet crumbly goodness, and Pakora, deep fried vegetables.
When we got back I watched the Ramayana in Hindi with the fourth grade. It was funny because they were so amused by what I looked like. That evening we had an end of tenth grade exams party. It was really fun. We danced and laughed and ate western food. The kids had their first cokes. It was so funny to watch! I made the mistake of having diet coke AND green tea close to bed time. I stayed up all night watching Top Chef.
Reading "The Giver" to the fourth grade is really great, we'll finish it Tuesday, no doubt. The kids are really getting into the library books I picked out for them. The turn over rate on those books is getting better. I think they're starting to realize how cool a good story can be.
On Thursday I had fourth grade for theatre games, we selected puppets, learned about characterization and the basic hand movement for puppet. In choir we did "Zum Gali Gali" in three sections, "One Bottle of Pop" starting on different sections, learned "The Goose Round" and did exercises on listening and singing as a choir as a whole. We did "Hey Jude" standing in a circle holding hands with our eyes closed singing quietly as possible. It really worked.
Friday I finished Top Chef between classes and started Three Cups of Tea during quiet work during class. We started writing the plot of our fourth grade puppet show. I started teaching the fifth grade a lyrical/ line dance piece to "Life's a Dance". (thanks Kleveland) The CD is great. That care package was like a little shot in the arm of home. It's working wonders.
After we got back I broke open the box of fruit loops (!!!) I bought and ate them until my tongue bled. I watched a little Tamil TV, what I like to think of as TamirVision, with Nirmala. Then I went in my room and just read and slept from afternoon until morning. I needed the break from people.
Sunday was nice. No one was around, since almost everyone else went to Bangalore. I went to breakfast, read, relaxed, danced with Nirmala and Nikki and generally enjoyed my holiday.
I'm pretty pumped to get my stuff together for my trip. I've settled on going to Kochin, Jog Falls, Goa, Yoga Study, Mumbai, Bangalore, Dance Study, Shanti Bhavan, Bangalore, London and NYC!!!!! It's a pretty laid back itinerary. Generally I get up in the morning and take a bus where I'm going or I take an overnight train where I'm going. I will have, except for the first week, mostly several days in one place. I'm planning to go to Kochin for two days, Jog Falls overnight, then get to Goa and play on the beaches until my Yoga study starts there. After my yoga intensive I'll train up to Mumbai. I want to do a ton of touristy stuff there. I plan to stay for five days. Then I'll train to Bangalore, where I'm planning a study of Bharatanatyum dance. Then I'll go back to Shanti Bhavan for a week and fly to London. I won't see the Taj Mahal, but I also won't be too stressed out and I'll get to do a lot of what I came here to do.
There's a new volunteer named Nicky. She's really cool. She's 20, from London and she's studying visual art.
Monday brought an impromptu performance for "important" visitors. The visitors turned out to be Siva Something-or-other, inventor of email and proud recipient of four MIT degrees, and his wife a model-turned-classic-Indian-dancer. He's currently working on integrating classical Indian medicine and Western medicine. After our performance, at which the choir sang a song in Tamil, Memory from Cats and Hey Jude by the Beetles, the KG performed Rubber Ducky and the fourth and sixth grades did a dance; the guy gave a great speech, but offended our British volunteer by calling Memory and Hey Jude 'American' songs. His wife said she plans to return to teach dance workshops at the school.
In the KG class I started teaching them a dance to "I Just Can't Wait to be King." It's going to be cute. I'm trying to encourage them to move creatively, by telling them things like "the next step is to fly like a parrot." I think it's more important to foster a comfort in their own skins and a sense of rhythm than to give them perfect form. My tap class is doing so well. They're really learning quickly. I am constantly surprised at how good at learning dances these kids are. In fact, the children who seem slow to me, are probably actually still better than average. There are two kids in my tap class I keep getting frustrated by because their tap sounds aren't clear and I have to explain a step five or six times for them to learn it. In the real world that still put them way ahead of the learning curve. It's just hard to remember when you're surrounded by so much talent.
I was both excited to finally have my own space and really sad about Elizabeth leaving. She really helped me, we got along great, I learned a lot by watching her journey, but I think it was both time for her to get back to her life and time for me to try out what I've learned on my own.
Tuesday was Elizabeth's last day. While the fourth grade and I played denial, I spent most of my day trying to make sure Elizabeth knew how much everyone came to love her here at Shanti Bhavan. I got some really cute videos of the kids saying they love her. I taught the first grade some of their part of "I Just Can't Wait to be King". They're so cute and funny.
At assembly Elizabeth and Jack performed some songs. Elizabeth sang a song to the kids about them being in her heart, then they sang a song Jack wrote the music for after a tenth grader gave him a poem to work with. Then they sang a song Jack wrote about two lizards and an enormous spider living in his bedroom. The kids loved it. Arjun, Molly, Tony and Joe rapped while Steve beat boxed and Jack played a baseline. It was so funny. The Shanti Bhavan rap was a big hit for novelty and enthusiasm if not for perfection. I say Shanti you say Bhavan. Shanti. BHAVAN. Shanti. BHAVAN. Doctor. GEORGE. Doctor. GEORGE. Mrs. LAW. Mrs. LAW. Then we sang "Whatever You Want Time" which Jack and Steve wrote right after the last volunteer show. We'd been singing it the lounge quite often and eventually ended up all writing our own verses. We all sang on the repetitious parts in harmony. It's quite cute. It went something like this:
(Jack)
It's not time for P.T.
It's not time for drinking tea
It's just time for being me
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Nikki)
It's not time for working
It's not time for playing
It's not time for sitting 'round in one place
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Steve)
It's not time for poetry
It's not time for those pesky short stories
It's just time to (...)
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Elizabeth)
It's not time for sleeping
It's not time for weeping
It's just time to sing my blues away
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Joe harmonica solo)
(Amanda)
It's not time to teach math
and it's not time to have a bath
it's sure not time for writing lots of stuff on the board
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Arjun)
It's not time for music
It's not time for bruisin'
It's not time for chemistry, gasses and all-a-that jazz
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Jacques)
It's not time for Janani
It's not time for triple five chick-y
It's just time for balls of ragi
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
(Jack and Steve guitar solo)
(Elizabeth)
Now it's time for leavin'
and I'll soon be grievin'
but for now (...)
It's whatever I want time, whatever we want time
(All)
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
It's whatever we want time, whatever we want time
And we can do whatever we want
I went to P.T. to spend some time with the kids and actually ended up watching the fourth and fifth grade boys play basket ball. It was so cute and funny. They all wanted to impress me. After about twenty minutes I went up to sit on our sunset rocks, write in my journal, watch the kids and read my book. I finished reading A Language Older Than Words, which Kleveland lent me before I came here. I taught the choir a round called Zum Gulli Gulli. It's a traditional Hebrew song. It's a great teaching round.
Wednesday was my first day back to "taking fully the fourth grade." I taught 2nd grade beginning of "Two Worlds", Taught third grade beginning of "You've Got a Friend in Me" it's sweet, they're doing little vignettes in front of the dance. I ended up staying up really late my first night alone. I couldn't sleep. I was restless. Stuff was strewn about the room in a chaotic manner left over over from the shock of half of the room's occupants leaving. I sorted through clothes. I made a pile of outfits. I started to pack my back pack for my travels. I put souvenirs in my suitcase that will stay at Shanti Bhavan while I'm away. I'm already feeling emotional about it. I watched The Last Unicorn twice and started Spirit before I finally got sleepy enough to fall asleep.
Thursday Kleveland's package arrived. A neighboring village was having a chariot festival and one of the maintenance crew took some of us volunteers. It was so cool. We arrived and the whole village was out, throwing bananas at the top of this enormous stone chariot, decorated in colorful fabric soaring 40 feet into the air and sporting a statue of some Hindu deity. After trying to hit the top of it with our bananas, we went to a local temple to be personally blessed. They did a special service just for us, including our names and blessing us with garlands. Well, blessing the boys with garlands, they handed the garlands to us girls, if they had put them on us, they'd have been marrying us. The priest also wouldn't touch us to put dots on our foreheads, whereas in most major cities they did. It was really cool, we were blessed with coconut water, flame, ringing bells, rice and chandan (the dots). The village leader made a speech about Dr. George "He is very helping my village." We were invited back to his house, where they fed us popol, yummy crunchy deep fried bread, SomethingIdidn'tcatchthenameof, a bread filled with sweet crumbly goodness, and Pakora, deep fried vegetables.
When we got back I watched the Ramayana in Hindi with the fourth grade. It was funny because they were so amused by what I looked like. That evening we had an end of tenth grade exams party. It was really fun. We danced and laughed and ate western food. The kids had their first cokes. It was so funny to watch! I made the mistake of having diet coke AND green tea close to bed time. I stayed up all night watching Top Chef.
Reading "The Giver" to the fourth grade is really great, we'll finish it Tuesday, no doubt. The kids are really getting into the library books I picked out for them. The turn over rate on those books is getting better. I think they're starting to realize how cool a good story can be.
On Thursday I had fourth grade for theatre games, we selected puppets, learned about characterization and the basic hand movement for puppet. In choir we did "Zum Gali Gali" in three sections, "One Bottle of Pop" starting on different sections, learned "The Goose Round" and did exercises on listening and singing as a choir as a whole. We did "Hey Jude" standing in a circle holding hands with our eyes closed singing quietly as possible. It really worked.
Friday I finished Top Chef between classes and started Three Cups of Tea during quiet work during class. We started writing the plot of our fourth grade puppet show. I started teaching the fifth grade a lyrical/ line dance piece to "Life's a Dance". (thanks Kleveland) The CD is great. That care package was like a little shot in the arm of home. It's working wonders.
Friday, March 27, 2009
How I Felt About the Volunteer Show by S. Yeshwini
How I Felt About the Volunteer's Show by Yeshwini 4th Grade
When we started the program I felt happy, excited and anxious. When Miss Amanda and Michelle started the song "Baby Shark" I saw the happiness in my friends' eyes and my heart filled with joy. Tony and Michelle danced like Indians. Even though it was Tony's first year dancing he was wonderful. He was bit nervous but he made the crowd fill with laughter. He was like a new actor in India.
Next Arjun was on the piano. When he played the piano. It was peaceful and melodious. I thought Shanti Bhavan was in heaven. For me Arjun was a star. It was a bit long. Arjun was rock piano player with his bushy black hair. He was wonderful.
When It was Barry's martial arts, the room filled with silence. It was something that was amazing. When Barry did it, it was good because he was flexible, concentrating on what he was doing. There was lot of hard work in it. When the guitar song named "Hey Jude" was going on I felt I wanted to dance. They sang so nicely.
When Liz, Amanda and Michelle sang I felt like crying. It made me dream about them.
The last dane was my favorite. It was like real Indians dancing. I loved the program. THE END
When we started the program I felt happy, excited and anxious. When Miss Amanda and Michelle started the song "Baby Shark" I saw the happiness in my friends' eyes and my heart filled with joy. Tony and Michelle danced like Indians. Even though it was Tony's first year dancing he was wonderful. He was bit nervous but he made the crowd fill with laughter. He was like a new actor in India.
Next Arjun was on the piano. When he played the piano. It was peaceful and melodious. I thought Shanti Bhavan was in heaven. For me Arjun was a star. It was a bit long. Arjun was rock piano player with his bushy black hair. He was wonderful.
When It was Barry's martial arts, the room filled with silence. It was something that was amazing. When Barry did it, it was good because he was flexible, concentrating on what he was doing. There was lot of hard work in it. When the guitar song named "Hey Jude" was going on I felt I wanted to dance. They sang so nicely.
When Liz, Amanda and Michelle sang I felt like crying. It made me dream about them.
The last dane was my favorite. It was like real Indians dancing. I loved the program. THE END
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