The end of the trip…

After getting over my cold, we flew back to Delhi. It is too bad that my cold prevented me from really exploring the city of Mumbai more because it seemed like a very interesting place. I also had to forego the Bollywood film excursion because I needed the rest.

In addition to meeting with our partner teachers, we also had a few hours of free time this week to explore and shop. (In spite of my stories about the purchases I have made, we have not had much free time to shop and explore on our own so this break was greatly needed and appreciated.) Yesterday we drove to Agra (home of the Taj Mahal). Considering the bus accident earlier in the month, I wasn’t too excited about the ride but it turned out to be very nice (although I still could not stand to look out the front window and see the cars in multiple lanes.)

Last night in Agra we saw one elephant (Hurray! I saw an Indian/Asian Elephant in India!), several camels and a variety of other animals we had previously seen (monkeys, pigs, goats, cows, water buffalo, etc). The strange thing about seeing these animals is that they were not in the open areas but in the heart of the city…and sometimes blocking our path. (Or perhaps the strange part of the story is that we no longer are surprised to see various animals causing traffic jams…)

This morning we woke up early and arrived at the Taj Mahal around 6am. I have to say that the pictures of it do not do it justice. It is truly amazing. The other buildings around the Taj Mahal are also very impressive and incredibly balanced with the things on one side of the main building mirrored on the other side. If you come all the way to India, don’t let the 4-6 hour drive to Agra prevent you from seeing it. I also recommend getting there early in the morning before other people wake (unfortunately the peddlers seem to never sleep but at least they cannot go on the actual property.) As more people file into the grounds, it becomes more challenging to get a clear view of the buildings - especially for pictures. (Although since I forgot to charge my camera battery, it wasn’t something I had to really worry about after my camera died shortly after taking only one shot of it…at least it gave me the opportunity to not stress about photos and to just enjoy the beauty of the building.) Anyway, go see it! It is no wonder why it made the new list of the 7 Wonders of the World.


In less than 24 hours I will be heading home. It is certainly a rush of emotions...excited to get back to my normal life (and my comfortable bed) but sad to leave this surreal experience. As I fill out my evaluation forms for this trip, I am sure I will remember other interesting tidbits about the trip so check back this weekend for other stories/random thoughts. =)

Alas, I'm sick

Mumbai seems to be a very happening city but I have spent my day in my hotel room sick with a cold. I must say, however, that this hotel room is the coolest of the rooms we've had so far (and has an amazing shower that I have already used a couple of times today...I'm sure it is helping me to recover.) At the suggestion of one of the Fulbright leaders, I had a doctor check me out this morning. It cost Rs 800 for the hotel room visit...about $20. He also gave me medicine for my stuffy nose, cough, aches, etc, etc which totaled about Rs 350 (less than $10). Although it was more expensive than when one of my roommates got sick in another city, the fact that I got a "house call" and small arsenol of medicine for less than $30 is totally amazing to me.

Last night we visited one of the local teacher's colleges. The various pre-service teachers put on a great show linking various topics (environmental awareness, unity & diversity, health, etc) to music and dance. Some of the music they used was adapted from different Bollywood films (and based on the enthusiastic clapping and singing from audience members, they were very popular songs). I don't know if I have visited a country that has had so many links to music and dance. Every city we have visited has had at least 1 (in most cases, many more) dance performance. I think all of us in the group have played around with some of hand movements or eye movements that we have seen repeated in various performances.

As a group of Americans, we attract a lot of attention everywhere we go. We often see people staring at us and taking pictures of us. It is certainly a unique experience and an interesting glimpse into what famous people experience non-stop (at least we will get to go home in about a week and blend in with everyone else again unlike celebrities.) When we go to a school as a group, I am sure we disrupt the learning process for the rest of the day. Even though the teachers and students try to continue with their lessons, it is obvious that the students are more curious about the strange looking visitors. The private schools usually have more success than the government schools at keeping their students focused. At the government schools in particular, I am sure the teachers are glad when we leave because the students get very excited when they see our cameras and all try to be in every photo - it is like a magnet for the students.

Yesterday we added to the list of ways we have been disruptive for school kids. On our drive to Mumbai from the airport, we passed two buses filled with students on a school trip. Their first bus pulled up next to us and they saw we were not Indians and started waving. We waved back and then the whole group of students then seemed to rush towards the side of the bus closest to us and eagerly start waving. A couple of teachers wrote on a piece of paper with a marker that we were from the US and a group of teachers. We watched as the students gathered around one of the girls as she whipped out a pen and paper and wrote that they were from India and loved the US (too cute!) When they saw us react positively to it, they wrote something back to us but we couldn't read it (Where are their Sharpies?). They were totally adorable and I am sure their bus drivers and sponsors were happy when their lane picked up pace and they could get away from us.

Time to get some more rest. I know, I think I'll take a shower. ;)

Cochin

Cochin has seemed to be a very short visit. We arrived late on Sunday after a delayed flight and we leave early tomorrow morning for Mumbai so we have really only had 2 days here. The city seems to have more of a suburban feel to it than other places we have been to in India but it is still a very busy city.

We had an incredible welcome at one of the schools yesterday. Although many schools have had amazing receptions for us, the one in Cochin had all their students involved. There was a group of drummers that met us as we got off the bus and then they backed up and we followed them through a corridor lined with about 100 girls in white saris with pans of flowers. We were dotted on the forehead again (sorry, I still don’t know what the official terminology is for that ceremony) and were lead through another set of girls with flowers (in colorful saris) to a stage to face the hundreds of students lined up for their morning assembly. (Side note, if you are considering applying for the program next year, realize that when they ask you for a bio it will be sent to all the schools and it is not just for the other people in the program. We each put info in our bio that other Americans would understand but not necessarily those from other countries. The school person that introduced us to the assembly misunderstood what my Ed.D. was and thought I was still working on my bachelors. I didn’t correct him…I figured that it would mean that I wouldn’t get asked too many questions. As it was, my face still ended up in the newspaper the next day. Horrible picture…so no, I am not telling you which paper.)

Pet peeve –(warning…bathroom-related discussion ahead) Except for the hotel in Dehli, all the places we have stayed so far in India have had tiny toilet paper rolls. They only have about a third of the amount of paper on them as they would in the US. I don’t like having to get my “travel toilet paper” (thanks, REI) out in my own hotel room (although I guess that they don’t always have people that use toilet paper judging from the strange cup we have found in each hotel’s bathroom along with an extra drain on the floor.) On the plus side, I have still successfully been able to find western toilets. There have been a few close calls, however, that have had me worried. I am very thankful that some strangers in the last couple of days have recognized my look of panic when they have led me to the Indian toilet and realized that I might need to use the western toilets that were hidden away in different parts of the establishment. (“Happy faces” to those people!)

No more room in luggage

In addition to some great school visits this week, we also went to Mahabalipuram and saw some incredible monoliths and rock carvings. Eventually I will put some of the photos up. We also visited a heritage center that had some reconstructed traditional homes (kinda like our Jamestown or Plymouth area). Although the homes were interesting, the big hit of the day was the artists that were selling their handicrafts at the center. Finally, they were not following us around like everywhere else we went. I got a nifty carving/drawing made out of palm tree leaves.

After we returned back to the hotel, a couple of us made the mistake (or brilliant choice...depending on your point of view) to go back to a shop in the mall next door and look some more. The shop keeper was glad to see the 2 of us who had been before plus another person from our group. (I think it is a bad sign when they close the curtain to the store...like they know we are easy targets for purchasing lots of items.) Anyway, I bought a couple of unique blankets with hand-woven beads/mirrors/etc and I am now trying to fit them into my luggage. One well go well with my furniture from Target and the other one...well, I just liked the way it looked even though it won't go with anything.

We head to Cochin in a couple of hours but so far I think Chennai is my favorite city...but perhaps that is because of the mall next to the hotel on one side and a cute little bookstore named Giggles on the other side. (Look it up if you can. Words can't describe the bookstore the size of a walk-in closet crammed with so many books that the owners sits outside of it and is still somehow able to reach in a grab books that they think the person will enjoy. The books are on shelves...just stacked one on top of each other in a series of pillars that fill the space.)

Time to finish squeezing all my purchases in my luggage!

Just a quick note...

Greetings from Chennai! This trip has been interesting since we have been alternating between large cities and smaller ones. Chennai is the 4th largest city in India and it seems to be a very happening area. I am looking forward to exploring the modern-looking mall near the hotel.

Today we broke into smaller groups of 4 to visit different schools. These smaller groups allowed us to talk with the teachers one-on-one, blend in with classes, and get a better feel of the school environment. (When all 16 of us go to a school, we tend to disrupt the learning taking place.) I think all of us really felt the experiences we had today were very special.

I think I only had 2 cups of tea today (on the low side for the typical amount of tea consumed by all of us in this program.) I can't remember when I've had so much tea! In the last city, I think we had one day that we had 4 or 5 different places to vist that each offered us tea. Although I can appreciate a good cup of tea (and some of the tea we have had has been very good), I don't think I am as fond of it as the people in India.

Bhubaneswar

Greetings from Bhubaneswar! This stop in India is our half-way point of the trip and I think we are all feeling tired from the busy schedule. I decided I should forego the shopping excursion this evening and instead relax so I am not grumpy for school visits and the flight to Chennai tomorrow. (Hmmm, perhaps I should make sure I haven't lost my replacement air tickets...)

There are too many things to talk about related to the educational system in India. It will take me some time to process everything and put it in some sort of coherent form. In fact, I will have to do that for my project that is required for the trip. Fortunately, they are giving us time after we return home to work on our project before the due date. So, ask me in November what I learned from this trip and I should be able to explain everything very well. ;)

Instead of talking about education, I will tell you that I am afraid to cross streets here. It didn't take too long in India to realize that it was important to look the opposite way before crossing the street since they drive on the left. However, I am still not used to looking for cars coming in both direction in any lanes - regardless of the official direction of the lane. I have come to accept that I am not comfortable crossing the streets on my own. In Calcutta, I went ahead and went with one of the persistant peddlers when he prevented me from getting hit by a motorbike. I figured that if he prevented me from being run over, I should at least see his shop. So I followed him around the corner...down the alley...up the stairs...Did I mention it was getting dark? Although I wouldn't do that in the US, many of us have followed the salesmen and found some great purchases. The funny thing was that when I arrived at his shop, a couple other people from my group were there...and apparently others from our group had also followed him the previous day because he was able to recap all the places we had been to so far and all the places we were headed. (Yes, I bought some things but it will be a surprise...just be nice to me when you see me and maybe I will show you.) =) Anyway, I don't like crossing streets here. (Strange paragraph...Feel free to edit it in your own free time.)

Now to look for my airline tickets...

Some educational info (and other info)

We have had some incredible experiences at schools in Calcutta. One of the private schools was in a beautiful new building and was extremely well organized. I was able to observe a chemistry lesson where the teacher quickly explained bonding and then went into depth on different amounts of electronegativity in various molecules. The highlight of the school was a whole wing devoted to various types of fine arts: western music, Indian music, Indian dance, drums, sitar, tae kwan do, choir, etc. Although the rooms had bare walls, the walls of the hallways were covered with student projects...not individual projects but huge class-wide murals and mosaics. The day was spent in a tightly organized schedule to ensure that we saw all the things the school offered for (what we would call) elementary though high school.

In contrast to the private school, we went to a "suburban" school the next day. I think it was the highlight for many of us. The suburban area turned out to be a village with thatched roofs, lots of cows, and first generation of students attending school. The students were adorable. A few of them even sang some songs for us (not planned) while we waited for the tea. It was very touching when one of the songs a student sang was "We shall overcome". One of our group members brought a polaroid camera and gave the copies she took of the children to the director which was a big hit. She also made big friends with some of the village people (Isn't that a group?) when she took a few pictures and gave it to the families.

There were many other great experiences as well but my computer is running out of charge. (There were also "exciting" adventures that I had related to misplacing (probably mailing home with some of the books I purchased) my airline tickets for the rest of the trip and having to buy new ones at the airport when we were headed to Bhubaneswar today...but I won't bother you with those details.) ;)

Still more random thoughts...

In case you were wondering, apparently there are a few other people in India that wanted to see the new Harry Potter film since the concierge could not even get through to the theater to purchase tickets. From what I understand the movie theater experience is very unique in India. Although we won’t be able to see HP, we have a Bollywood film scheduled for Mumbai later this month.

We had one person from our group that did take a dip in the Ganges. I will let you decide if you think she got sick from the river or from something that she ate…

For the American Idol fans out there, I have “Indian Idol” on the TV right now. It is mostly in Hindi but occasionally they switch and speak in English. Among the 4 judges, one appears to be “Simon-ish”…currently getting into an argument with the other judges over one of the singers.

We’ve been in a couple of newspapers since being in Calcutta. Every school or educational organization we have visited her has had photographers and/or video cameras. I don’t know if our group or the people taking pictures of us have used more film. (I have new sympathy for celebrities that have to put up with people following them around everywhere they go.) Our group has also been approached to have pictures with random people off the street. (Apparently they can tell we aren’t Indian – those of us who burn, peel, and freckle in the group are suddenly exotic looking, I guess.)

In Varanasi we learned quickly to not look at the cute little kids that came up to the bus or the cars. Once you look at one, a huge group of them would suddenly appear. Often running across the street and banging on the windows saying “hello, hello, hello” very quickly. Although many of them seemed to know how to avoid the vehicles on the street, it was troubling to see them run through the street following us. In some cases we could see the parents sitting nearby on the street watching their kids weaving between the vehicles. These students were not being reached by the typical school settings since we would run into them day and night. I think we will be meeting with an organization that is trying to reach these children later on this month.

The number of people in India is still hard to comprehend. Since engineering and medicine is highly respected, even if a small percentage of the Indian population pursues those fields, those numbers are still going to outnumber the amount of people going into those fields from the US. We’ve had people share statistics about religion and society in India and it really is amazing to think how “10%”, a small section of the Indian population, still means 100,000,000 people…or a third of the size of the US population!!!

Parts of Calcutta and Varanasi could be picked up and placed in Hawaii. We were even offered coconut water today direct from coconuts at one of the schools! (Although I did not notice the dead bat behind the chair next to me in one of the schools until someone showed me the picture of it later…I don’t remember bats in Hawaii.)

the bus accident and first day in Calcutta

Okay, now that I have stressed my mom out over not explaining the bus accident, I guess I have a few minutes to write a little about it.

For the second half of our time in Varanasi, the group was split into smaller cars instead of the large bus. After the first day in them, I realized that my jaw and neck were stiff from the tension of watching all the cars, rickshaws, cows, bikes, etc coming straight towards us. One of the drivers apparently said, “To drive in Varanasi you need three things: a good driver, a good horn, and a good sense of humor.” (If he didn’t say it, he should have.) The second day, I selected the car towards the rear of the group and found that I was much more relaxed since the other cars had already paved the way for us.

Anyway, it was still very common to see vehicles (and other things) coming straight towards us. When we were finally in our bus headed towards the train station, we ended up on a straight path on a divided highway with everyone going the same way. I actually leaned forward to the person in front of me and said, “I feel strangely uncomfortable that everyone is going the same way.” (Note: I am not saying that people were in their own “lane”…they were still making 3 or 4 lanes out of the 2 that were drawn on the road.) A bit later, a truck cut us off and our bus slammed on the break. I did see one of our leaders get flung against the barrier that divided the passengers from the driver area (a plexiglass wall) but everyone was fine. I waited to move (and was glad I did) because I figured that we might have someone hit us. Sure enough, another truck smacked into the back of the bus. You can definitely tell this was not the US. We didn’t stop and we did not exchange insurance. (And, we didn’t have lawyers flagging us down to choose them to represent us…not to mention random people trying to hop on the bus to pretend they were injured.) Instead, our leaders convinced the driver that he should not pull the trucker over to have a fistfight and we kept moving. At the train station, the bus driver had to pry open the luggage compartment with a crowbar but aside from a few dents, the bus was fine. All of us were fine as well…just felt like we had been in some bumper cars.

The train ride was delayed for a couple of hours. We waited in the bus for some of the time and then stood around the train station for the rest of the wait. Standing in the heat was miserable…and it was around 10pm! I can’t imagine waiting there when it was light. (Although, I admit I am a baby when it comes to heat.) We saw many trains come and go. Each train had 1 or 2 air-conditioned sleeper cars but the rest of the trains were packed with people crammed into the economy cars to the point where some of the doors were not closing.

Our sleeper car (and the rest of the train) finally arrived and we got into our bunks (three high) for our ride. I actually got a couple hours of sleep before some additional people came in and woke me up from their talking. I even faced the toilet on the train -- although I avoided the two Indian toilets and found the western one on the other end of the car…it seemed to be opened directly to the outdoors and was a bit drafty. The ride itself was really, really bumpy but at least our car was cool and had only the number of people in it that it was supposed to hold. I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it must have been in the rest of the train.

Calcutta itself is really an interesting city and very intellectual. It was a great contrast to Varansi which is much more traditional but both of the cities have their own appeal. All of us are glad that the cities we have visited have been on our itinerary because they have each provided a different glimpse of India. One thing that was noticeable right away was the replacement of the auto-rickshaws with taxis! (Cute yellow taxis that have a more old-fashion look to them.) Although you can still find the rickshaws, there are yellow taxis everywhere. Apparently you are supposed to double the charges on the meter because the meters cannot be updated to handle the new rates.

The first night here we had a few teachers and students share some information with us about schools in Calcutta. The three students they had join us were all brilliant. One of them is off to Harvard next year to study microbiology, another one is interested in physics, and the third loves mathematics. They really sound like they are “global citizens” in that they all want to do something to help humanity and will pursue opportunities in any part of the world that will support their goals. I would not be at all surprised to hear about the three of them in the future having important breakthroughs in their chosen fields. (I was also relieved that I had just watched a video on “the theory of everything” so that I knew what one of the students was talking about.)

More to come later….

A quick update...

So much to talk about...
-The bus accident (Don't worry Mom. I'm fine.)
-The train ride (bumby, long, and a huge difference between the car we were on and the rest of the train)
-Calcutta (almost seems like NYC a few decade ago)
-Meeting some students who I am sure we will be hearing that they have made significant contributions to science in the future (these kids were incredible...the type that makes you realize that you are more than twice their age and haven't done half as many things.)
-Making the news paper (the whole group mentioned in "The Times" of Calcutta)
-and other misc. things

Alas, I am running late for meeting the group and don't want to be left behind.
(Thanks for the comments!)

Here is a picture of the flowers floating an indoor reflection pool:

More Random thoughts...

Now for some random disconnected thoughts and observations (not related to the educational component of the trip):

*The people in India don’t nod and shake their heads like we do in the US. Instead it is more of a side-to-side motion (kind of move your head like you want to touch your ears to your shoulders but in a quick, subtle way). In the US we would think that it is an “I don’t know” or a “maybe” signal but here is can mean yes or no….which I have found very confusing especially in my pitiful attempts to bargain. Anyway, I have found myself moving my head that way a couple of times.

*Apparently right now is the “off season” for selling rugs. (I wonder if they say that year-round?) Three of us went across the street from the hotel and found an incredible rug in colors that two of us really liked. They kept lowering the price for the 6’ by 8’ rug until it was around half their original offer and included free shipping to the US. I am sure it would go great with my furniture from Target. ;) Alas, my colleagues and I are still rug-less, if only I could buy it in installments...

*This city is supposed to be the place to get a particular type of silk. One of the workers gave us some tips about where to get ripped off for only 15-25% more than the locals instead of the other places where it would be 200-500%. I’ll let you know if I find anything. I must say that in Delhi, there was a shop my cooperating teacher took me to after one of our meetings (where the locals buy their material) and the choices were amazing. Since nothing is stitched ahead of time, any fabric you liked will “fit” because the clothes are made to order. That particular shop had much better prices than other places in Delhi but I hope that the place the hotel guy suggested will have better bargains.

*I am really enjoying India food. However, I have to admit that I was really excited that we did not have a buffet for lunch and could order off the hotel menu. I had spaghetti! Wow! I have to say that it was so cool to have food that I actually knew the name and that tasted familiar.

Varanasi part 2

We are currently still in Varanasi. Today we took a sunrise boat ride (in a huge rowboat) along the Ganges River. There are a series of Ghats or step-like platforms that go down to the river. Above the Ghats are the various old buildings of the town that have been around for hundreds of years. It was very interesting to compare/contrast what our tour books said about the river with what the tour guide was saying.

Our tour book reported that the Ganges had 1.5million ppm of fecal coliform bacteria in it when the max for bathing should be 500 ppm. Part of the contamination was due to several sewage tubes dumping directly into the river. It also said that the river was so contaminated that it was depleted of oxygen and fish couldn’t survive.

Our tour guide explained the religious aspects of “Mother Ganges” and how important it was for the Hindu religion. According to their beliefs, it was promised that the Ganges would not meander (it would stay on the same path), there would be no dangerous animals in it, and ….something else. (I promise I was paying attention but it was around 5am in the morning and there are no Starbucks in India to help me focus.) In addition, the Ganges is seen to be an important place to wash away one’s sins and it is a highly desired place to die and/or be cremated. The tour guide said that the people using it to drink, bathe, and even wash their teeth never get sick. He admitted there was pollution but it was mainly coming from industries along the river. (I’m not sure which industries he meant.)

From the boat ride, the banks of the river were beautiful to see from the water and there was a gorgeous sunrise that we were able to see. The banks were crowded with men and women doing laundry, washing themselves, and meeting with priests. There were even cows and goats at random intervals along the ghats…apparently they enjoyed the view as well. The old buildings above the banks had a lot of character and charm. We did see a tower that was purifying the sewage coming from it but right next to it was sewage coming directly from the town into the river. I guess it takes time to retrofit an old city like Varanasi. The river itself looked pretty normal overall (aside from the dead body we saw…)

After the boat ride, we made our way through the old part of the town with extremely narrow roads lined with shops and temples. Unfortunately I was trying too hard to keep up with group while dodging various types of droppings on the ground (our tour guide jokingly called them “holy cow dung”) to soak in the atmosphere as much as I would have liked to have done. By the way, in case you were wondering, all the guards with big rifles are guarding the mosque…I don’t suggest you try to take its picture unless you want a lot of unwanted attention from the guards (as one member of our group learned.)

Journey to Varanasi

I am finally back on-line after a busy few days. Among other things, we went to an old mosque and walked around. Part of it was in ruins and really cool looking. (Yes, I am sure there are better ways to describe it aside from "cool looking" but I am still tired right now. I thought my mom and her scrapooking buddies might like this photo as a background.

Today we traveled to Varanasi. It has a very different feel to it than Delhi since it is very old...very, very old (especially compared to our "old" cities in the US.) Among ofther thngs, many of the streets are narrow. Driving to the hotel from the airport was quite an adventure since many times cars/buses/bikes/cows were coming strait towards us in our "lane". Somehow the people here know the local traffic patters and we were able to get to the hotel safely. (If I had to drive, I would still be at the airport, paralyzed wth fear from the traffic since I would be concerned I would hit something...or something would hit me.)

The hotel was hosting a wedding last night and it must have been quite the event. The elevators were crowded with men and women in incredible clothes with inricate stiching and beads. My roommate wanted to sneak and see what the ceremony was like but we didn't want to give Americans a bad name of being too snoopy. We were excited with we heard a band (complete with drums) outside the front of the hotel. From our window, we could see a crowd of people gathering to see off the newly married couple. Huge fireworks were set off for the celebration that appeared around right outside our window. We finally saw the crowd start to move and could tell the wedding videographer had a huge light shining on the couple but just as the couple came into view for us, they turned the light off and we could not see them any longer. It looked like the couple was on a camel from our window...but it could have been another animal - like a horse with a really long neck. Oh well, at least we got a small glimpse of the celebration without disturbing the newlyweds.

Other random observations

This picture is not a public safety notice about diseases. STDs are actually phone booths that offer a great bargain on international calls. (Although it still gets giggles from the group when people mention using one.)


Off to a meeting...more to come later

School visits

Yesterday and today we have been conducting some school visits. The students yesterday were so sweet. We actually divided into smaller groups of about 6-8 to get around to the classrooms easier and my group kept getting smaller and smaller as we lost teachers who wanted to stay and visit with the different groups of students along the way. Apparently one was able to participate in a basketball game, another was shown the "secret hiding place" for students wanting to talk out of sight of the teachers, and other one learned a great deal about reptiles from a pair of students. Although I wanted to find out the inside scope from the students, I figured I better make it to the science labs to see what was going on. One thing about the chemistry lab is that (if I understood it correctly) the students had purchased their own lab equipment and lab coats. It was quite impressive to see the 12 grade students all in lab coats doing an analytical chemistry. They were deeply engaged in their lab and didn't seem to mind us watching them in action.

Oops! I better head out to the next school....


Back again...

I just returned from another fabulous time observing a school. Since each of us went to separate schools – alone or in pairs, it was a chance to see a school under more normal conditions…although it was quite humbling when a group of students had prepared a special chant for the two of us that visited the one school. In addition, we were both presented flowers from the school. Apparently we were the first Americans that had visited the school (at least for this school year.) The students were just adorable and so polite. It was fascinating to see how many similarities there were between the schools in both countries (similar content, similar experiences, etc) but also some of the differences (their class sizes were almost twice the size of those in the US and they had some very different perspectives in one of the history classes we saw.) All in all it was a great day.

(Okay…now for the non-educational stuff...)
The other teacher from my program and I were offered some fruit, different breakfast items, and some lemonade. I loved the breakfast items we were served (a yummy fried cheese patty that was slightly sweet and a stuffed bread thing (sorry, I don’t remember the real names of either one of them) along with the spicey chutney. We have been told to not eat fresh fruit while we are in India but since they had cut it up especially for us, it seemed rude to not try it…and it was very good. After the spicey chutney, the lemonade or “lemon blast” was very refreshing. However, when reflecting on it later with my fellow participant we realized that it was most likely tap water when we passed by the room later on and saw only a sink (no signs of bottled water.) So, I have broken the two main rules we were told concerning food in India: I have had fresh fruit and I have had tap water. I am surprisingly calm for realizing that I will most likely have some restless days/nights ahead of me due to “Dehli Belly”. Perhaps I should figure out where I packed those antibiotics…

Misc. info and the cost of things...

We are slowly making our way through the gifts we brought from US for the presenters. We nominated one of the guys to be the official gift giver (Go Kevin!) and to thank the people that have been sharing their time and knowledge with us. Before leaving Chicago we actually each took out the gifts we purchased, spread them out on the hotel lobby (I don't know if the hotel appreciate it), and ensured that all 68+ gift bags had equivalent types of things in them - depending on if they were for schools or presenters.

It is very strange to think about how much things cost here and how that amount would translate into dollars. For example, I turned down a rickshaw that was going to charge me 100R for a trip to the market...$1.50. He then came down to 30R and I still turned him down (75 cents). When he got to 20R, 50 cents, I accepted. On the other hand, I purchased some Gatorade (at a food import store) and it cost 275R...a large chunk of my evening meal allowance. (Many people have bought tunics/tops for less than my Gatorade...although they probably weren't as rehydrated afterwards.) And no, I am still not going to say how much I paid for my "bargain" of clothes earlier in the week especially after all the clothes people have purchased for so much less this week.

Another example of the difference in cost is in the price of textbooks. We visited the National Council of Education Research and Training this week. They are the organization that plans the national framework for all subjects, conducts research, and writes some of the textbooks. We had a session with their leaders that zoomed by because we all had so many questions about each other’s educational systems. We were given the opportunity to visit their bookstore land purchase some of their textbooks. I think all of us were surprised when we entered it. First, there were no books…something I have come to expect when I go to a bookstore…but perhaps that is just me. Instead, the parents go to a counter, tell the employees what books their student needs, and the employee goes back into the warehouse to retrieve the books. (Perhaps we should try this method here since I would save so much money at Barnes and Noble/Borders if I wasn’t tempted by the rest of the books.) The price was the other thing that surprised me. I purchased 6 science textbooks (soft-bound and in color). In the US, I would think that each of them would sell for about $20-25 bucks each based on size and content. However, I paid 445 R for all of them (about $11).

The first real day...

I liked my photo better in the other picture of the group but I figured this picture was better of the rest of the people. Sometimes I amaze myself with my consideration. ;)

After having an incredible breakfast of various types of Indian food (imagine...there is actually food that even *I* don't want to add hot sauce to...Yum!), we headed to UCIFE's headquarters for more background information on India's educational system and culture. Jet lag caught up with many of us again in the afternoon sessions but my notes are much more legible than the day before (I hope that is a good sign that I am getting more adjusted to the time difference.)

At the end of the day, our whole group visited a Sikh temple and a Hindu temple. Outside the temples, we encountered some beggars for the first time since landing in India (at least in that amount). Many people needed time to process that experience.

As for those of you wanting bathroom experiences updates...I have added one of the hotel restrooms to my list of those I don't want to use. However, it is not because of the facilities but because they have an attendant who turns on/off the water, puts the soap in your hands, and even dries your hands for you. I don't think I am ready to have that amount of attention in a restroom.

I'm in India!
After a 15 million hour flight, my group landed safely in India. My "folding footrest" came in handy by helping me to not be as uncomfortable as I might have been...although I imagine the poor guy setting next to me wouldn't realize the benefit of it since I was still very restless overall. (Setting directly in front of one of the bathrooms didn't help.)

Anyway, we loaded up on a bus from the airport and headed to the beautiful hotel. We were escorted to a nice seating area, given a lei (I don't know what the Indian term is for it), handed some refreshing fruit juice, and had a dot put on each of our foreheads.

Even though I was very tired, it was hard to sleep too long with the excitement of being in India. I think everyone was up early the next morning and wanted to take advantage of our "rest time" by going shopping. Although each group started out intending to walk, I believe we all eventually caved to the rickshaw drivers (little green and yellow golf-cart size 3-wheelers) that followed us offering to take us to markets. My group gaved in at the end of the block from the heat and humidity...and realizing the traffic patterns might be a bit different than in the US.

The drivers told us that they would take us to a market for only 10 Rs total...about 25 cents in US money. The market that we wanted to visit was closed so they took us to another one. From what we understand, they get something back from shops when we make purchases. After shopping that morning I realized I am horrible at bargaining! One of our local leaders said that she thought that even the best bargainer in our group still paid too much (needless to say, I didn't offer to share the story of my "deal" I got with her.)

Our first meeting was in the afternoon followed by a reception in the evening. Around 5pm, jetlag hit me like a ton of bricks. Apparently, most of our group had the same experience although I, unfortunately, ended up in the front row. The notes I took from that session are not really legible... After awhile I got a second wind and seemed to be fine with listening to the other sessions. We had a nice reception later that evening and met various educational leaders, Fulbrighters from various fields, and some people from the embassy.

Getting ready to go

Well, it has been a crazy couple of months since finding out I was going to India. All the trip information started coming at the beginning of April which started the excitement of preparing for the trip. There are 3 other people in the DC area that are on the trip as well and the 4 of us were able to meet last week to get our visas approved. It was nice to know a few people before joining the rest of the team (16 of us total) of educators in Chicago this week.

Orientation week has been wonderful - great presenters and a lot of new knowledge. The other educators are all fabulous with incredible backgrounds and experience. We head to the airport in a couple of hours to catch our direct flight (14 hrs and 55 mins) to India. Woohoo!

Here is the group prior to leaving Chicago. Can't you just feel the excitement in the air? =)

I still can't believe I am going to India! (I keep waiting for the coordinators of the trip to contact me and tell me it was a mistake.) ;)

Normally I would have had about 5 travel books about India by this time but finishing a doctorate degree has kept me busy. Even though I would love to focus on India right now, my graduation announcements arrive today so I will have to keep my excitement in check for a little bit longer.

On a positive note, I have been able to make contact with a past Fulbright-Hays summer seminar participant from last year and I will be meeting one of my fellow travelers on Monday! The past participant has been wonderful about sharing information about the trip and Bollywood films I might enjoy. (Thanks, Beth!) The person I am meeting Monday has also been in contact with past participants so we should have lots to share with each other.

Acceptance and random thoughts

This week I found out I was accepted to participate in a Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar in India! I was late getting home from work and found a big manila envelop in my mailbox from the US Department of Education. While I was opening it I realized it must be something about Fulbright and, just like college acceptance letters, I figured that the big envelop was probably a good sign. I ripped it open the rest of the way and saw the acceptance letter, information about my fellow travelers this summer and a copy of my application document with comments from the reviewers. I was actually very impressed with the critiques of my application from the reviewer. It showed that they had read it thoroughly and had very useful insights that I think will be valuable as I find out more about the expectations of the program and the curriculum products we will have to submit.

For any of you familiar with Moslov's hierarchy of needs, I am starting at the most basic level in my stressing about the trip..Will there be toilets I know how to use? I have a fear of public toilets in general so non-western toilets really stress me out. In spite of my previous experiences abroad (Japan, Malaysia, South Africa, etc), I have been very fortunate to avoid any unfamiliar territory in this delicate area but I am concerned that I might not be able to be as successful in India. (If you know the show "Monk", picture Monk dealing with the same situation and you will get a feeling of how stressed I am about this situation.) I found a "how to" website about this topic: http://www.pbase.com/jtodhunter/indian_toilet . I can't say it helps me to calm down at all. How long can one's body healthy-ly avoid going to the restroom? Is 5 weeks possible? ;)

I have a couple of travel books picked out for my trip but could not get to the store today to purchase them due to snow. I made it across the street for my decaf-Venti-white-chocolate-mocha-with-extra-white-mocha but the roads were too bad to go anywhere else. When I got back home, I searched Starbucks' website and was disappointed to see that they had not yet made it to India. Perhaps I should wean myself away from my beloved drink before I go. On the other hand, Starbucks might be in India by this summer considering how fast they continue to spread.

I celebrated last night by watching "Bride and Prejudice". I plan on purchasing some "Bollywood" films to get more in the mood as it gets closer to my trip. I have also started checking out the State department's website on travel advisories and the CDC's page on vaccines/medicines that I will need. I guess I will have to take Malaria medicine again. I took some on my trip to South African and when I returned I watched an hour long special about the complications some people have had with it. I am hoping that the medicine works well with me on this trip since it is a longer period of time.

I am thrilled about the trip and am sure it will be an incredible experience. It still seems too good to be true (in spite of my concerns about toilets) and I can hardly wait! Wow! I'm going to India!! (Now I just have to hope that the US Department of Education didn't make a mistake about giving me an acceptance letter.) ;)