Northern-ish Delights

Everyone loves a long weekend, right? Last week, eight of us Tare took a vacation from our "vacation" (working in India) and capitalized on Shiva's birthday, heading further north to explore the wonders of India. We touched down the first night in the super fancy New Delhi airport, however didn't stay long as our mini bus was waiting for us just outside. Hiring a car and driver is a fairly common way to travel here and surprisingly cost efficient. It also makes for an entertaining ride -- the Bollywood tunes were pumping into the night as we made the four hour journey to Agra. Even in the dark, the sights along the way were amazing. Sleepy little villages right next to massive, lit up temples and industrial parks or colleges. At about one o'clock in the morning we pulled over at a random little stand, that was not much more than a tin shed on the side of the road, and had freshly made chai while someone slept bundled up on a cot in another tin shed. Despite arriving at our hotel in the wee hours of the morning, we still managed to get up early enough to enjoy breakfast in the roof top restaurant and have a full day exploring the Taj Mahal and Red Fort. It's hard to put into words what the Taj is like, so I'll show you a photo instead:

It's a pretty amazing building from far away and the closer you get the more you are able to appreciate the details and craftsmanship that went into this marble monument to love. The story goes that after the Taj Mahal was completed, Shah Jahan had the hands of all the workers cut off so that they could never build anything as spectacular again. I don't know, maybe that's just an urban legend... Either way, it's size and solidity are indeed remarkable.

Our drive back to Delhi was more eventful than expected -- about an hour into the drive something blew in the engine preventing us from going any faster than 40km/hr. Now, many people might be frustrated at the slow pace (the rickshaws and horse-driven carts behind us for example) but I found it to be a great blessing. Instead of whirring past things at crazy Indian speed, we were able to have a leisurely, scenic tour of the villages and countryside we'd passed only two nights before. Rural India is something to treasure and I wish we'd had the opportunity to spend more time exploring this laid back part of the country. The tranquility was gone as we approached Delhi late in the afternoon...

Exploring the Main Bazaar in the Paharganj area of the city on a Friday night was an adrenaline rush and gave me many opportunities to fine tune my bartering skills. :) Another early morning departure for the first of three long train journeys and my introduction to the Indian Railway system. We're on our way to the deserts of Rajasthan! I love riding trains and wish I had the opportunity to ride them more often; it was one of my favourite things about living in England and travelling through Europe. Indian trains are quite different, especially if you go the way of the regulars and experience Sleeper Class. Despite the steady flow of people getting on and off, and lack of closed compartments, I had a decent amount of sleep on the overnight journey from Jaipur to Jaisalmer.

I attribute this mainly to the lovely pashmina blanket I bought at a shop in Jaipur which shielded me from the wind. I am also thankful for Bec and her jasmine oil which, when dabbed on a scarf, helps to diffuse the horrid smells at the stations. Sadly, I can never use this scent again...

The excitement was building as we arrived in Jaisalmer, ready to begin our desert safari and camel trek. At this point, I'd like to give a shout out to Trotters Independent Travels, the best place in Rajasthan for authentic non-touristy camel trekking ("Unique Safaris from Half Day to 21 Days). The only other people we saw on our whole trek were across the sand dunes at least 5km away.

By far, the camel trek was the best part of this trip. I have done a lot of camping in my life but nothing compares to waking up in the desert to fresh chai after being tucked into bed the night before by your desert guides, with a vast sky of stars to put you to sleep.

Two hours of riding on a camel is more than enough at a time. I think I may still have some bruising. But, my camel Lilyia and my young guide Rohit were pleasant company. If it weren't for the occasional ring of a mobile phone, it was like I'd travelled back in time 2,000 years.

Our three Rajasthani desert men were fantastic guides. Their campfire chapatis and dal were the best I've had to date and we were all mesmerized by their traditional stories and songs.

But alas, all great holidays must come to an end. After 6 crazy days it was time to come home to Sangam.

Hindi 101

मेरा नाम नदिया है मई हिंदी बाल्टी हूँ मई कनाडियन हूँ मई संगम जाती हु अप हिंदी बोलती है

One of the great things about being a part of the Community Program at Sangam is all the extra cultural activities we participate in on our Wednesdays 'off'. A big selling point for me, when researching the program, was that we would get Hindi lessons. I love languages and wish I could be fluent in all but I will settle for knowing bits and pieces of a few.

So, that script above should say (if the 'type in Hindi' button was accurate) "Mera nam Nadia hai, mai hindi balti hun. mai Canadian hun, mai Sangam jaati hun. ap hindi bolti hai" which means "My name is Nadia and I speak Hindi. I am Canadian and I stay at Sangam. Do you speak Hindi?". I can also say a few other things and will now attempt to give you a quick lesson in key Hindi words:

• jaldi -- fast
• basa -- sit
• kitna? -- How much?
• ha (with a nasal sound -- yes
• nahee -- no

Now for some important sentences:

• mujhe _____ pasand hai.
• I like....

For example: mujhe chai pasand hai. I like chai. or mujhe imli pasand nahee hai. I do not like tamarind.

I really could go on an on about all the great things we're learning to say but what I love most is that I'm starting to use it a bit with the students at Anand Gram as well as rickshaw drivers. We learned a whole rickshaw conversation -- provided the driver follows the script, I'll be good to go.

When I get home, I'd be more than happy to share with you my new knowledge... :)

School Days

It has been about three weeks since Elly and I started our volunteer work at Anand Gram and each day it seems there is something new for us to learn as we try to understand how this school is run.
School officially starts at 11:30 (although sometimes it is 11:15...) with a morning assembly on the outside stage which provides some relief from the heat in the summer. Here, the students are led in some quick calisthenics, they sing their national anthem (which I am slowly catching onto in Hindi!), and recite the Pledge of India. This is followed by Hindu chanting and meditation. Every now and again, a student or two will recite something in front of the whole school, and then we all clap for them. Did I mention that there are about 350 students at this school, only 8 teachers, and each class has anywhere between 40 and 65 students? Yikes! These numbers fluctuate daily it seems. Attendance is .... varied. :) Many of the students come from the villages that have sprouted up around the site as well as those that live at the orphanage there. (Check Anand Gram to get more information about this Society).

After this the students file back into the school and to their respective classrooms and the teachers go off into the staff room for bit. Around noon, the teachers make their way into class. As for our schedule, the teachers have asked Elly and I to teach English to three different classes a day for one hour each, covering Standards 3 to 6 (and now they would like us to do 7 as well). That's a lot of prep!! We've discovered that there are great variations in the English abilities between the Standards (as to be expected) but also huge differences within each class. Schooling in India seems to be mainly rote and the teacher in me struggles with that method, especially in light of recent coursework. However, given the class sizes, I can appreciate the need to teach this way although I suspect that it is easy for kids to slip through the cracks...

There are some other aspects of this school that I have found much more challenging than their methodology. Corporal punishment has been illegal in India for about five years now, but it seems that things are slow to change in this little school way on the outskirts of Pune.
The other week, as the children arrived and lined up in their class groups, if they were not in uniform (or the new one the had just been given) they were either slapped across the face, smacked repeatedly on the back, or (if they were lucky) sent home to change. I found this really hard to watch and it left us both very unsettled. I'm sure my gasp was audible to the students nearest to me. Despite this horrible start, the time with the kids that day was really great, we left feeling enthusiastic about what our impact on the students could be. Conversations were had when we got back to Sangam that day, in an effort to understand this discrepancy in punishment style.

The following Monday, the teacher who had been implementing most of the abuse, made a point of initiating conversation at lunch time about the reasons for this kind of punishment (a term that he used) at Anand Gram. While I do not agree, I a) appreciate his willingness to help us understand, despite broken English and b) recognize that this is part of the culture at Anand Gram particularly and that our Western 'punishment' (discipline, consequences...) wouldn't work immediately. There would need to be a huge shift in belief and practice. Elly and I felt more comfortable after this conversation, knowing that they were aware of our feelings towards such punishments. Conversations around this continued on Tuesday as well. Some of the teachers are curious about how we manage students in Canada and England without hitting them...

So now, I look to the next 7 weeks with mixed emotions. It's hard to feel like you can make a positive impact in a situation that seems to be stuck in the past. I am hopeful that between the two of us we can model some other teaching strategies that promote classroom environments based on trust and respect, not fear. For example, today I showed the teachers another use for a stick -- I made a star pointer to use in our vocabulary lessons. :-) Both the kids and the teachers loved it. Small steps....

All this uncomfortable stuff aside, the kids are generally really lovely and super keen to learn English. Naturally, every class has their clowns, hard workers, helpers, and mischief-makers -- just like at home. But, seeing their smiling faces and hearing echoes of "Good afternoon, Madam. Namaste." every time we walk into the classroom sure makes it all a little better. We've got some real characters that we're teaching and I can't wait to get to know them better.

Busin' About

An exceptionally empty bus!?!

When I was preparing to come to India, it never really occured to me that I would have to take the bus anywhere. But, as it turns out, Elly and I are the two Tare who ride the bus each day to our Partner site, Anand Gram. Perhaps many of you have an idea in your head of bus travel in India. If it looks anything like this, you're on the right track.

Fortunately, this type of scenario seems rare in Pune, although it is very common to find 4 or so people holding on in the rear stairwell because there isn't room elsewhere on the bus. Why, just last week that was me! Thankfully, it wasn't for very long -- after a minute or so things shuffled enough that I could push through the crowd and actually be standing in the bus. My general rule when I'm riding on the stairs of the bus (yes, I have a general rule for this now) is to hold on tight and don't look behind me at everything we're zooming past.

Somethings to note about riding buses here:

Everything is written in Marathi. I don't read Marathi, so this is a challenge. Our typical tactics are to flag down any public bus that is coming and as it slows down (they don't really stop) we shout "Alandi?!?" to the conductor at the back and if he bobbles his head in that lovely Indian fashion we run and hop on. Yes, run. The other day, I still had one foot 'on the ground' (mid-air) when the bus picked up speed. After successfully boarding a moving vehicle, it is then time to communicate with the conductor our destination. Me: "Kate Vashti, 2." "Kaste Vashti?" "Ha." (This means yes in Hindi) Money is exchanged and we hold on for a wild ride. Of the 20 or so bus trips we've had to date we've been able to sit for about half. A few times some courteous locals have given up their seats for us. This is because they want to talk to foreigners. :) There is definite crowding, although nothing like 'super-dense-crush-mode' which, believe it or not, is a form of measurement for train carriages in Mumbai. I await, with trepidation, the summer season when things really start to heat up. What will the buses be like then??

So, as our stop approaches, we begin to make our way (if possible) to the front of the bus where exiting is meant to occur. Thankfully, the conductor rings the bell to let the driver know he should slow down -- just a bit -- because two people want to get off. The cool thing is that this bell is really a bell, on a yellow rope, that hangs the length of the bus and jingles just above the driver's head. Truthfully, I'm not sure how he hears it over the roar of the engine, grinding of gears and squealing of breaks... We brace ourselves for the hasty exit, fearful of getting left hanging mid leap.

This is Elly and I on our first bus ride. It's blurry because it was fast and bumpy --going over speed bumps it felt a bit like the downward motion on a roller coaster where you're kind of hanging and gravity hasn't kicked in yet. But hey, at least we're sitting.

Another thing to note about Pune buses, is that most don't have doors. On Friday afternoon's bus, some of the vertical bars weren't attached to the ceilings anymore... that made for an interesting ride.

I wish I could share some more photos of our bus rides but, quite frankly, I need to hold on with both hands. :) The good news is that I am starting to enjoy this daily routine and it gets easier each day. We've yet to get on the wrong bus, so that's always a bonus. I have conquered rickshaws and buses; next on the list is trains...

Indian Essence

What's the date today? I can't believe it's the 22nd of January and I've been here almost one month. The time has just flown by in a whirlwind of activity, so I thought I'd take a moment to reflect upon some of the highlights of my time in India so far. Pictures included, of course. The Tare (pronounced Tar-ay, in case you were wondering like I was at the beginning) had the benefit of participating in the Essence of India event as part of our orientation, and what a great event it was. (Thanks SVs!!)

Here are just a few of my favourite things we did:

1) Sari, bangle, and bindi shopping on Laxmi Road

2) Exploring Phule Nagar, the neighbourhood across the road from Sangam

3) The Pune Challenge -- a bit like The Amazing Race (minus the whole "last team to check in may be eliminated" thing), where we had to navigate our way to specific locations via Rickshaws. Everytime I get in a rickshaw I feel like I'm on The Amazing Race a) because I'm never completely sure they've understood/know where I want them to take me and b) I have this crazy urge to shout "Jaldi! Jaldi!" which means "Fast!Fast!" in Hindi.

4) Visiting an Indian Family for dinner and having spicy food. The food at Sangam is farely tame, due to the 'international flavour' of the place.

5) Our Indian Afternoon, complete with a lesson in tying our saris (and then wearing them), chai (yum!), mehendi, and a traditional Maharastrian Wedding Feast -- and I mean feast! There is no end to the food. Oh yes, and playing badminton in our saris. I realize this is not particularly Indian, but it's really worth trying.

6) Learning about some of the WAGGGS initiatives to do with gender equality and the other UN MDGs.

7) Bollywood Dance lessons and a Bollywood movie night. We watched an Aamir Khan movie which in English is called "Every Child is Special". Not your typical bollywood flick, but sooo great. To all my teacher friends: you need to see this film.

At the end of the two weeks it was hard to say good-bye to Maxine, Anne, and Christine; they felt like part of the Tare team. But, the great thing about Guiding is that our paths could very well cross again.

Onto the next part of the adventure...the Community Program!

Childrens' Camps Continued

Days two and three of our Children's Camp were indeed much more successful! We rearranged the schedule to accommodate the heat and energy levels of the children and things ran much more smoothly... The children from Tara Mobile Creche were amazing! During our biscuits and juice two of the older girls sang a beautiful (albeit long!) song for us in Marathi. Then, it was on to the games. At our Sports station we decided to finish with playing on the playground and this was definitely the highlight for me. Their shouts of 'Didi, Didi!', which means Auntie in Marathi, filled me with joy as we all played together. The children from Mobile Creche rarely leave the construction sites where they live and go to school; so a playground, something which we may take for granted, was a real treat for them.

Adri joining in the see saw fun.

The merry-go-round was a popular choice -- even for Alison!

I enjoyed hanging out on the monkey bars with this character!

On our last day we welcome the children from Door Step School and Deep Griha. Door Step School provides non formal education and study classes for children who would otherwise miss this opportunity. Deep Griha is an organization that provides various programs from health to education for adults and children living in the slums of Pune.

This day was much different from our day with both Anand Gram and Tara Mobile Creche -- it was easy to notice that these children had had less exposure to structured activities. However, despite the challenges of organizing this group and maintaining some sense of order it was still a great day. These children, too, were experiencing many things for the first time and the smiles they left with were even bigger than the ones they arrived with.

Bollywood dancing was a fantastic end to each day!

Children's Camp --Day 1

Today we had the first of three Children's Camps with some of our Community Partner Organizations. This morning 40 kids arrived from Anand Gram (my placement) for a day of games, songs, and crafts.

It's been awhile since I've helped lead a day camp and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a challenge! The language barrier also added to the challenge of the whole day. Here are some photos of the kids and what they did at our "Sports" station. Boy, do they LOVE cricket -- I actually learned a thing or two from them, when they were willing to let me have a turn, of course.

All in all, it was a great day. Some kinks were ironed out during our debrief this afternoon and tomorrow we get ready to welcome 40 more kids from Tara Mobile Creche.

Parachute Games -- they loved playing Cat and Mouse!

Cricket!!

Washing up for lunch

Enjoying a delicious meal together...it was spicier than usual today.