Hello 2015! – 1/1/15

            Our group decided to bring in the New Year on a camel safari out in the Indian desert. Camels are super talk and riding them was fun, but not particularly comfortable for an extended period of time. Originally we were going to sleep out under the stars, but then it was freezing outside and the moon was so bright that we couldn’t actually see that many stars so we ended up sleeping in a mud hut with a thatched roof. The company we did the safari with was really nice and the food we ate was delicious. Also at the rural compound with us (but not with us on the camels) was a group of three really sweet Japanese women on vacation. At night we played sardines (sort of like reverse hide-and-seek) and sat around a fire listening to the uncle tell us stories from when he was in the Indian Army. Only a few people stayed up until midnight since we were all really tired, but the very first food all of us ate for 2015 was Oreos, so I think I can say with confidence that 2015 is gonna be great!

Polo with the King – 12/30/14

            Our first stop on our trip to Rajasthan is Jodhpur, also known as the Blue City. The Brahmin houses used to be identified by their blue color, but now anyone can paint their houses blue. At the top of the city is a giant fort that has never been conquered (if you see pictures of it you’ll understand why) and off in the distance is a huge palace where the king of Jodhpur still lives. Ben P and I befriended an art professor at BHU who used to be the museum director at the fort and is also a personal friend of the king. With this connection we were able to get a free tour of the fort, a tour of the conservation lab there, and be invited to the finals of the Royal Salute Maharaja’s Golden Jubilee Cup polo tournament. After the match, we got to see the King’s collection of vintage cars and even meet the king himself! Although we didn’t talk for long, he invited us to also come and see the water conservation lab that he funds here in Jodhpur. The whole day was a pretty surreal experience and now I understand how the game of polo works! Interesting fact: the riding pants worn in polo are named after the city of Jodhpur.

Hanukkah and Christmas in India – 12/25/14

                Ben P and I decided that we would make a surprise Hanukkah celebration for the group on the first night of Hanukkah which included latkes, applesauce, dreidle, and chocolate gelt. One day after school, we bought potatoes, onion, and apples and then went to the program house to start on the batter for the latkes and cut up the apples for the sauce. I had never made latkes before and we didn’t have exact measurements to use for a recipe, so I just went with my instincts with some commentary from Ben, the relative latke expert (turns out my instincts wanted to make the batter thicker than it’s supposed to be). After Hindi class we invited everyone to come to the program house and I cooked the applesauce and lakes while Ben explained how to play dreidle. Then, we lit the menorah while Ben said a prayer in Hebrew and afterwards feasted on all the food we had made (plus the chocolate coins). Although we were never at the program house in the evening to light the menorah after that, every morning we would ceremoniously put another candle in and on the last night of Hanukkah we made jelly doughnuts!

            As for Christmas celebrations, they were fairly low key. On Christmas Eve we made fudge, rice crispy treats, key lime pie, and no-bake peanut butter chocolate cookies for desserts and had pizza for lunch and Japanese food for dinner (both were take-out – cooking in India is a struggle for people used to all the cooking amenities in the US). We went out caroling to our host families’ houses, the dhobi, the pakorawala, our Hindi teacher’s house, and to Dolly-ji’s house. We got back close to 11 pm from that and then all got snuggled up in our sleeping bags to watch A Christmas Story.

            The following morning, Christmas Day, we made gingerbread pancakes and an egg scramble for breakfast, after which we exchanged our secret Santa gifts. All of the gifts were well-thought out and wonderful, but Stephen definitely takes the cake for most involved secret Santa because he made Jenny a huge scavenger hunt in which everyone in the group participated in some form or another. I won’t describe the whole extent of it here, but basically it included riddles, anagrams, and puzzles that were actually pretty difficult to figure out. The rest of the day we mostly lounged about, made more fudge, watched It’s a Wonderful Life, and talked with friends and family in the US thanks to skype. We ended the day, however, with a Christmas party for our Banarasi friends and family with paneer, chola, and puri and then assorted sweets that were leftover from the day before. Overall, it was a very enjoyable time even if very different from how our families at home celebrate Christmas.

Life is 2 Good – 12/21/14

                A little while ago, Connor Johnson (a BYPer in Brazil) posted a picture of a coconut on the beach with the caption “Life is good” on Facebook. In retaliation, Chase and Stephen ran outside our program house to the piles of trash at the corner and took pictures to post as passive-aggressive comments on the picture. This sort of stemmed a light-hearted rant session on the generally disgusting state of Banaras with fecal matter every half foot and piles of trash that are sometimes burned to create plumes of noxious smoke in the streets. Hearing our complaints, Caleb decided that a beach day was long overdue.

The bank of the Ganges River opposite of the city is basically this giant, sandy flood plane for the monsoon season. We took a boat across the river (the dhobi’s dog, Jenny, following us all the way from the dhobi and onto the boat with us) with tons of sports and picnicking equipment, ready to spend a day out in the sun and sand. Girls from the hostel at Little Stars School came, along with Deep (my host brother), Shiv and Anandi (Dolly-ji’s kids), and several other kids who were host siblings/friends of other group members. We played Frisbee, wiffle ball, soccer, kabaddi, cricket, and football and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with bananas and oranges. To top off the day, we got coconuts and carved holes into them to have fresh coconut water and then broke them open to have fresh coconut meat. The icing on the cake was posting a picture online of two coconuts in the sand with the caption “Life is 2 good” for all to see.

Open House – 12/19/14

                Starting a month ago, everyone at the South Point School started focusing on Open House. When Ben and I asked if other schools also have Open House, the other teachers would always reply that Open House is a strictly Nirman thing here in India, but that schools in the US also have it (probably a residual of Nita Ma’am having very Western ideals for schooling). The thing is, Open House at South Point is so different from any Open House that I’ve experienced in the US.

                The first week of December was the monthly exam week (also when a minimum of 2 projects were due for each class) and the two weeks following that were basically academic-free for the students (of course, all in the name of Open House decorating). The week immediately after exam week I could sometimes get my students focused enough to do something academically productive, but the week of Open House was pretty much just time for students and teachers to make decorations and projects for the looming Open House. One day I walked into the third grade classroom ready to teach a lesson on homophones, only to find that the board had been replaced with a replica of a waterfall made out of all of the desks and chairs in the classroom and a blue sari. I really didn’t know what to do with the kids considering they had no desks or chairs to sit in and ¾ of their classroom was dominated by this display, so we went to the library and read story books. This was on Monday and meant that I still had to figure out what to do with my third graders without any classroom for 3 more days (we ended up doing a lot of charades and drawing). The whole ordeal was organized chaos and I was so confused as to what my responsibilities as a teacher were supposed to be.

                Originally, Ben and I were in charge of a game stall for the event and we spent a fair amount of our planning times thinking of games, making posters, and figuring out prizes, only to be told 4 days before Open House that there wasn’t actually going to be a game stall (such is the nature of the school). Sometimes Ben and I would walk into class to find that that grade’s “class teacher” was standing in and that we had a free period. Equally likely, however, was that we would have to randomly sub a class for a class teacher who wasn’t going to show up to another grade’s class. The result was a really random schedule that sometimes left me wondering what to do with myself and sometimes rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off.

                The actual event of Open House was really fun. Since Ben and I didn’t have as many responsibilities as the official class teachers (class teachers are kind of like homeroom teachers), we got to walk around and see all of the work that the students had done, as well as eat and play at the food stalls and game stalls that the kids had made. In fact, open house was more like an annual carnival than an open house, except that everything going on at the carnival was at least partially created by the kids. I got to meet parents of some of my students which was really fun, and I even found out that one of my fifth graders is from Spain and speaks fluent Spanish! The whole school was decked out in decorations and all of the students were so excited to show off their work and take pictures with me.

                The Monday following Open House, I was kind of expecting another academic-free day for the students since the entire school was still unusable from all of the Open House exhibits. In addition to that, school would be out that Wednesday anyway and there’s not a whole lot that you can do in two random days before a long break. The first half of the day I didn’t even get a chance to go to any of my classes since the whole school first took a tour of the different classrooms to see the different displays and then went to clean everything up. Right before lunch, a notice went out to the teachers that we had to give holiday homework to all of the students, which I started doing from 4^th period on, and that class teachers had to make plans for Christmas parties in their classes for the next day. I wasn’t too concerned about the periods that I had missed giving holiday homework to because I would have a chance to give the classes I homework the following day. At least that’s what I thought before I got a notice three-quarters of the way through the second to last period of the day that said the following day would actually be a holiday for the students (teachers would still come in to submit final grades).  This random holiday-granting has happened on multiple occasions and I just do not understand how a school can run like that, especially since it would seem that later in the year there aren’t days that make up for the other days off (and that teachers still always have to come in because otherwise they wouldn’t be working enough hours to make their salary).

Krishnamurti Center – 12/14/14

                As a mini stay-cation in Banaras, our group decided to go to the Krishnamurti Center, an education center dedicated to the life and works of a man named, you guessed it, Krishnamurti. It was pitched to us a place of peace and quiet removed from the hustle, bustle, and grime of the rest of the city. The center is located in Raj Ghat, the first ghat of Banaras, which is about as far away as you can get from Assi Ghat, the last ghat of Banaras, while still being in the city. When we arrived we were certainly happy to see grass and trees, but, unfortunately, there was a wedding going on right next door that was blasting music late into the night. Luckily, the wedding only lasted one day and the rest of our time at the center was really pleasant.

The first evening (Friday) we all had time to just chill in our rooms and read or write or sleep. After breakfast the next morning, we had a lecture of sorts on the philosophy of Krishnamurti and saw an hour long movie about his life. Fundamentally I share a lot of the same values as the philosophy of Krishnamurti who says that you should look at and listen to things with as little prejudice as possible, but the other people who we met there seemed to take it to a whole new level with metaphysical discussion on thought and mind. After that meeting we had lunch and then Alex and I went to see the archeological site of the old city (it was burned to the ground when the Moguls invaded) as well as the giant bridge that passes over the Ganges. Upon returning from that, we had even more time to read and write or whatever before six when we met as a group to have a check-in about our feelings/thoughts/aspirations/etc. now that 40% of the program has passed (the halfway mark happens either during our trip to Rajasthan or soon after). Next, dinner and then group bonding where we went through all of our pictures and showed everyone the particularly ugly ones (and a few nice ones). Finally, the last day was dedicated to more writing (people in our group really need a lot of time to write their group updates for Princeton) and relaxing.

Overall, the entire weekend was a really nice retreat (even if we still couldn’t fully escape the noises of the city). I got to take two baths with hot water in a row, used toilet paper, and slept more soundly than I have in months. I am really excited for the coming weeks with Open House at the South Point School (I’ll write a blog about that later) and Christmas and Rajasthan. It’s weird being here and not really feeling the same holiday spirit that grips the U.S. following Thanksgiving, but I still get happy butterflies in my stomach when I think of the coming holiday (especially since our group is doing a Secret Santa exchange).

Wedding Craziness – 12/8/14

                I have always heard about crazy Indian weddings and going to one was fairly high up on my bucket list when I came to India. So naturally I was extremely excited when Jenny told the group that her host brother would be getting married in early December. Even though our group only went to two days of the wedding affair (here, weddings last an entire week), I was still blown away by the opulence of the affair - all of the food, dancers, DJs, decorations, etc. The group attended the actual wedding ceremony as well as the wedding reception.
                When we went to the wedding ceremony I was impressed by the scale of the event. Before the ceremony we went on a parade through the streets with the groom at the back on a white horse. The parade was contained within two lines of children holding huge light displays on their heads and at the front of the line was a marching band clothed in baby blue suits. Next came a drumline and a few trumpets who provided the dance beat for the guests to dance through the streets. I am sure we really messed up the already awful traffic and during the whole procession we were being assaulted with irritated honks and bell rings from motorcycles, cars, and bicycles passing by us. Once we arrived at the actual wedding location, we found a huge tent with cushioned chairs and small sofas for guests to sit in and a stage decked out with hundreds of flowers and two thrones for the soon-to-be-weds. Bordering the perimeter of the grassy field where the wedding was being held, there was a huge buffet of Indian food and drink. In one corner was a dance floor that lit up and was flanked by huge speakers blasting music. Technically we didn’t even stay for the ceremony (which starts at midnight), but we did get to see the bride and groom exchange garlands and take pictures with them. Perhaps my favorite part of the night (besides the fresh butter naan and cream sauce pasta) was dancing to the latest and greatest Yo Yo Honey Singh songs with the other BYPers and a bunch of the other Indian wedding guests. Even though we had a great time jamming out to Indian pop music, our group really went crazy when Justin Bieber’s “Baby” came on the DJ mix. Here in India, people really like Justin Bieber and Enrique Iglesias and seem to think that everyone in America is obsessed with them too. Whenever people ask me who my favorite American singer is, they always interject that theirs is either Justin Bieber, Enrique Iglesias, or Pitbull (Indians also have a habit of interrupting a lot when you are speaking). In any event, I was blown away by the scale and pomp of the first day, but I had no idea what was to come a few days later for the wedding reception.
                The wedding reception was held in Cantonment, a rather wealthy and touristy part of Banaras, in the Hotel Paris. We pulled up in our car to the weddings to find a huge golden Ganesh statue under garlanded arches with a red carpet path. Following the carpet, we were led to an enormous area roughly divided into two sections. One was a place with tables and chairs for guests to sit and watch the goings-on of the stage, the other was an area just dedicated to food. On the table/chair side, there was a stage with hired dancers from Calcutta and a professional singer and next to this an even bigger stage with a kingly couch for the newlyweds. Waiters came around with drinks and hors de vors before the dinner feast was served and we happily munched away while watching the dancers and singer. Then, the announcer spotted us, the sole videshi (foreign) guests, and called us up on the stage to dance. Luckily, the Bens had previously learned a Bollywood dance for Dolly-ji’s birthday and we could perform that without looking too much like total fools, but I’m sure we looked hilarious and I’m glad that both Stephen and my host brother got it on film. Afterwards we each said a simple sentence in Hindi to impress the crowd and then returned to our seats. Once we gave the bride and groom a bouquet of flowers and took pictures, we headed off to see what food was being offered (or more correctly, what food wasn’t being offered). There was a Chinese (spelled Chinees) food tent, a Punjabi food tent, a street food tent, a pasta food tent, a dessert tent, a fruit tent, etc. etc. etc. My goal was to try a little bit of all the food, but I soon found that to be impossible. After going up about three times for plates of food, we were all stuffed and a little cold from the nighttime chill. There was a hookah bar and a paan (chewing tobacco) station that was garnering a lot of attention from the other Indian guests, so we decided to go check it out. I tried sweet paan (one without any tobacco) for the first time and had to spit it out in about three seconds it was still so disgusting (making my host mother laugh considerably). It was about eleven at that point and we all still had work the next day, so after the paan (and then wolfing down some naan to get the bad taste out of my mouth) I left for home still a little giddy from all of the fun.