Week Without Walls

Part of our curriculum at the American School of Bombay is that 6th -12th graders go on a trip outside of Mumbai.  It is a chance to learn outside of school.  I have 6th grade advisory so I go on the 6th grade tip to Matheran.  Our trip is only for 3 nights - the older kids go for 4 nights.  Matheran is a hill station about a 3 hour drive from here.  here are some images of Matheran.  It is one of the only pedestrian hill stations left in the world.  No vehicles are allowed past the car park.  It is a far cry from Mumbai - it is clean and quiet (due to the no vehicle rule).

Large vehicles cannot make it up the windy hilly terrain so we take a huge caravan of Innovas.  Each car has a driver, an ASB or Trail Blazer adult and 4 kids.  Trail Blazers are the outdoor education group that helps us plan the trip.  They arrange adventure activites etc.  Some 6th grade parents are wary of sending their kids - lots of reasons - snakes, monkeys, falling, getting sick, getting lost etc.  The getting lost part cracks me up - the student to adult ratio is amazing.  The 6th grade core teachers (math, Social studies, Language arts, science) the french teacher, the spanish teacher, the librarian, a PE teacher, a life guard,  the counselor, a nurse, 4 trail blazers, and 4 security guards went all for 55 6th graders.

We left on Tuesday morning. we loaded up their luggage in two cars and made our way to Matheran.  I had an Indian, an Israeli, an American, and a sri Lankan student in my car.  We chatted about a lot of things and they had fun waving to every car and scaring the locals :)  The big luggage is carried by porters and the kids carry their day packs the 45 minute walk up.  Since there are no vehicles, every single item used by the hotels or townspeople is hauled up by carts pulled by humans or horses.

The first day we split the kids in 3 groups and they rotated through them- learning about the locals, nature hike, and making chipattis.  At nights we played team building games and on Wednesday and Thursday they rotated through 4 activities.  1) rock climbing and rapelling  2) valley crossing and jumarring 3) pond study 4) interviewing local businesses and visiting a school.  It is so much fun watching them conquer their fears and doing the adventure activities.

Last year i started vomiting on the way up the hill.  thought it was just carsickness from the drive up.  But I puked for two days and missed some of the activities with the kids.  This year I made it through the first day and had a blast, but during the first night I was violently ill.  Had to call a doctor the next day to give me a shot to help me stop vomiting.  So I missed the valley crossing and Jumarring last year and this year.  I am convinced that I am allergic to some spice or oil that Indians cook with.  I wish I could figure out what it is.  I eat the same food as everyone else and I start puking during the night :(  It's random - I'm fine and then wham!  and I can't figure out what it causing, but it disrupts my life.

The kids had a great time!  It reminds me a little of my counselor days at Tapawingo - loud crazy kids, homesickness, teen drama, lights out problems, etc.  One huge difference - Monkeys!!  holy cow the monkeys are far worse than raccoons ever were!  They are so aggressive!!! They hiss, snarl, jump, steal things, break into kids' rooms etc.  It doesn't help that they kids scream and act ridiculous which just infuriates the monkeys!

We made it back quickly - this year I had no flat tire leaving me and my carload of kids stranded on an Indian highway.  :)   The parents met us at the school and were excited to see happy, tired kids :)

Nilendra and Week Without Walls

I was working out at F2  - where I did kickboxing, body balance etc.  but the classes were only offered at certain times and it was hard to go when those classes were offered.  And with all the back trouble I've had, I didn't think kickboxing was a good idea.

so I went to go check out a few gyms and I picked one that is about a 20 minute walk away, but it is a nice gym that is clean and more spacious than some of the other cramped, crowded ones.  There are also a little more women there than at some of the others.  Gym memberships for a whole year are a little less than $400.  Trainers are a lot more expensive, but I figured if a trainer was waiting for me, I would show up.  I got paired up with Nilendra.  He's been training people for a long time and he is an ex-runner.  He is helping me strengthen my back etc.  On the first day we did only arms and I just kept laughing at how little weight was on it.  Ha!!  but I told him that is what he is there for - to make me stronger!  The second day I went and did cardio - the eliptical.  The third day I did legs.  While I was doing legs I saw a man in a handstand position doing push ups and I pointed him out to Nilendra and he asked me if I wanted to try!!!!  ha!!  only if he wanted to fix my broken head when I fell!!!

Next week is Week Without Walls so I'm going to be gone most of the week in Matheran with my 6th graders.  so I won't get to work out too much!

Matheran is a couple hour drive from Mumbai and we take all the 6th graders there from Tues - Friday. It is a fun time for them to learn more about India and to be away from their parents.  I am fortunate that the teachers that go on my trip all get along well and are fun!  Hopefully I can avoid a monkey attack and rabies shots this year!  

Jaipur - the pink city

The inn actually had omelets so that made me happy!

We got to explore Jaipur all day.  Our driver was quiet, but nice.  We went to Amber Fort - the drive up to it was amazing!


We drove past the water palace - where the emperor would stay when it was really hot.

We explored the area around the city palace but couldn't actually get in.  We went to Jantar Mantar - It is an astrological observatory.  there are 5 of them in India - I've been to the one in Delhi and now the one in Jaipur.  They are pretty amazing!

Hawa mahal - It has over 300 windows.  Royal women couldn't be seen by public so they could see what was going on in the city through the windows. 

We got to see how block painting is done.

We got to see some wonderful views from Narhargarh fort. 

Agra - the Taj Mahal

We got up super early to get on the 6am train to Agra.  We were told the trains were crowded and unreliable, but it takes less than half the time of driving.  We got to the train station and this guy told us we had to go to international travel office.  We got up there and a guy told us the 6 am train was cancelled, but there was a 7:30 train at another station.  He sent us off with this taxi and told us it was going to be 300 rupees for the guy to take us to a tourism office then to the train station.  He drove us about 5 minutes to the tourism office and we were trying to get it straightened out.  the guy demanded his money.  I told him there was no way I was going to pay 300 rupees for that ride and that he was supposed to take us all the way to the train station.  I argued and argued with him.  He obviously did not know that we live in India and aren't normal tourists!  I finally gave him 100 and took our stuff out of the car.  We were trying to find another way to Agra when a second guy came in a asked if we had looked at the boards in the train station to see if the train was actually cancelled.  He said sometimes they lie about it being cancelled to scam people out of taxi fare.  He got a guy to take us back to the train station for free.  We were stuck in traffic and Hannah ran into the building to check the board.  She came across another guy trying to pull the same scam!!  but she pushed her way to the board and called us - luckily we had already gotten out of the car and were running towards the train.  I had to pull an Indian move at security and push my way to the front and bypass this woman who was taking too long to put her suitcase on the belt.  We BARELY made the train!  not a peaceful start to the day!  augh!  I wonder about all those people who told us that trains were unreliable and cancelled a lot - are they really?(which seems reasonable for India :)  or were they scammed like us.

It was a short 2 hour ride to Agra - our guide for the day was Benjamin.  He was awesome!  He told us the Taj Mahal was so magnificent that no person's life is complete without seeing it in person.  It sounds cliche but as we went through the gate and saw it for the first time - it took our breath away!  amazing!!! He said the original plan was to build an identical black Taj with a black and white bridge connecting them.  It didn't get finished but that. would. have. been. breathtaking.

All of the color on the Taj Mahal is engraved and inlayed - not painted.  Our guide took us to a place to see how it was done.

The Taj Mahal was the only place that wouldn't let me in for the price of an Indian.  :(  Every other place let me in, but every time I showed my ticket to another guy they gave me a weird look and asked if I was Indian :)

Our guide took us to Agra fort and told us how one of the emperors had 300 wives and 3000 concubines and never had a child that lived!!  They said he was very short and his arms were so long that his hands went to his knees so it is assumed that he had a genetic disorder.  He needed an heir so he went to a spiritual leader guy who told him to leave a wife with him for a year and magically he'd have a son.  lo and behold a year later she came back with a baby!
Our guide told us lots of history and when he talked about the British he said if India had stayed with Britain they'd only be 25 years behind the US instead of 150!  ha!!

We ate lunch at this place and they totally shorted us on Naan and we had to argue our way out of the bill.  I don't know what was wrong with today and everyone trying to cheat us! We aren't normal tourists and are way more on top of things since we live in India.  It was a long day.  We got to the train station and we had a sleeper car - It was scary on top, but I took a nap :) It took almost 5 hours to get to Jaipur and we got in late at night.

We braced ourselves for people trying to take us to our hostel - Jaipur inn.  We were very cautious after the day we had.  This guy was trying to get us in his rickshaw and told us his friend would drive us too because we needed two rickshaws for us to fit.  He said it would be 50 rupees for both.  He laughed at us for being so wary and we told him what our day had been like and he appologized and said we needed to stay open.  He learned english from tourists and was trying to start a tour business and had a book of people that had written about tours he given.  He was really sweet  - we already had a car booked for the next day so we didn't use his services, but it was a good way to end the night.  a happy note after the way our day started!

This hostel was a lot better!  an actual shower curtain!  hot water!  clean sheets!  it didn't smell!  yay!

Delhi

After School on Friday I boarded a plane to Delhi with Evelyn, Kate, and Hannah.  We landed and got a cab to the Smyle inn.  The women I went with are student teachers and interns so we stayed in hostels.  This one was not that great.  The sheets were grey, the blankets scratchy, the place smelled, and the bathroom was tiny with no shower - which is fine - I don't have an actual shower in my flat - just a shower head in the middle of the bathroom so water goes everywhere.  At the smyle inn there was a shower head right by the door - probably contributing to the mold. The matress was softer than mine so that was good.

We got up early and headed to the Red Fort.  I used my Indian residency  card and got in for 10 rupees instead of 250! The fort is massive(the wall is several km long)  and construction started in 1638. I am queen of the audio tours so I listened and gave the others the shortened, interesting version :) Pictures are on facebook!

People ask me what I mean when I say there is garbage everywhere in India.  here is a typical garbage pile.  

Jama Masjid is a beautiful mosque - we didn't get to go in but the outside was gorgeous.

We tried to go to Raj Ghat where Ghandi was cremated but it was closed. :(

This is Humayuns tomb  - I also got in here for super cheap with my FRRO card!  Humayun is the second Mughal emperor and is buried in this tomb.

The US ambassador is an UNI graduate (University of Northern Iowa - where the students teachers are from)  They tried to make an appointment to meet with her, but she wasn't there.  They did get us in to see a financial person who works at the Embassy who is also a UNI grad.  She was wonderful!  She gave us a short tour of the Embassy. We weren't allowed to bring cameras or anything in so she took a picture of all of us in front of the building.   

India Gate - it commemorates the Indian and British soldiers who died in WWI, the North-West Frontier Province and the third Afghan War.

The Baha'i House of worship - Lotus temple

We tried to go to one last temple that we were told was great to see at night.  We got there and the security was crazy!!  So we just went back to the hotel.

It is was a long, HOT day.  I am thankful that I live in Mumbai, it is definitely cooler there!

a village visit and Ganesh immersions

I had an incredible day yesterday experiencing Indian culture.  Ganesha immersions are hard to enjoy in the city sometimes. It's loud and crazy and people are seriously intoxicated.  I went with a few friends on a village tour to experience rural immersions.  We got really early and met the tour guide at Bandra train station at 6:30 am.  The village was a 3 hour drive away through beautiful countryside.  The people in the village warmly welcomed us, gave us tea and invited us into their homes.  

preparing lunch

We had a great lunch!

We got to go on an amazing trekking trip.  It was wonderful to breathe in fresh air and not hear any horn honking.  At the top of the "mountain" there was a temple and some pretty friendly monkeys. 

We were supposed to participate in the immersion at the village, but they weren't going to start until late evening and we would get back into Mumbai around 11 or 12 and that would make it hard to go to school the next day.  so we decided to leave early even though that was the reason we had gone.  The guide had a plan B and said we would stop at a river on the way home and see some immersions there. I think plan B worked out better than plan A.  We saw some great immersions!

I have a lot more pictures on facebook and here is some information on the celebration. 

Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrations

Preparations for Ganesh Chaturthi- which marks the birth of the Lord Ganesh- begin up to ten days in advance, and sometimes even months in advance. In virtually every neighbourhood, a brightly decorated and painstakingly crafted Ganesh idol is made, to be illuminated and worshipped for all of the ten days leading up to Ganesh Chaturthi.

Grand pandals or stages are set up and filled with fresh flowers and the idols are dressed up in colourful clothes and glittering ornaments. There is keen competition to see which pandal has been most artistically decorated and sometimes there is even a prize for the best dressed idol!

On the day of the Ganesh festival itself, sweets - especially laddoos and sugary modaks, which are a favourite of the God's -- are distributed (and consumed) and Ganesh temples are crowded with devotees who participate in the worship of the deity.

When all the festivities are over, the idols which have been worshipped over the past ten days are taken out in a grand procession. During this procession the much-adored God is hoisted on willing shoulders, or rides in open trucks and carriages.

Accompanied by fireworks displays, beating drums and the sound of thousands of voices singing devotional songs, the idols are ritually immersed in a nearby sea, lake or river. The immersion ceremony, which is known as the 'visarjan', marks the end of the festivities. The people dance with great enthusiasm and singing rents the air, urging the god to return post haste the next year.

"Ganpati bapa, mouriya! Pudcha varshi, laukar ya!" Hail Lord Ganesha, please return soon next year.

The fervour with which devotees celebrate the birthday of their most loved deity – Lord Ganesha suggests the significance of Ganesh Chaturthi in their lives. According to the popular belief, Lord Ganesha descends on the earth on Ganesh Chaturthi to stay with his devotees for the course of ten days and clear all their obstacles. In return devotees pamper their beloved Lord Ganesha as an honoured guest and prepare his favourite sweets – modaks.

click here for more information

Lonely Rickshaw ride and Ganpati

Most days I am perfectly happy living here in Mumbai.  I love my job and opportunities here.  For the most part I have adapted the craziness of Mumbai.  I ride to school in a rickshaw every morning and evening and I am usually with someone so it isn't so bad.  It's when I am riding home from school that is the hardest.  First of all I have to walk to this busy street by my school and try to find a rickshaw willing to take me to Bandra West.  Today it took me three tries to find one that would take me at the meter rate and not charge me extra.  Rickshaws are 3 wheeled vehicles with no sides

Which means that you get the full force of the smelliness of Mumbai.  When they stop at signal lights (which is rare, but there are a few places where they do stop at lights) beggars reach in and touch you.  Yesterday I rode home by myself and it's hard not to think - "what am I doing here?"  It smelled horrible, vehicles were passing within inches of us, my driver was swerving all over, drivers of other rickshaws are spitting constantly and they are so close I'm always afraid the spit is going to land on me  (it has happened once) and beggars grab at me.  This woman with a baby harassed me the whole time I was stopped at this light.  My friend has a car and she carries small packages of crackers to hand out to beggars, but I don't have a place to put them.  I always feel bad about not giving anything even though I know it isn't practical.  Today I had to go home by myself again.  so I put a few rupees in my hand ready to pass them out at the light.  The same woman with the baby came up to me.  I gave her a coin and she still grabbed at me and begged for more.  I handed out coins to a few others.  That is going to be my strategy from now on I think.

it is Ganpati this week. Here is a very short version of the celebration of Ganesh's birth.  According to the popular belief, Lord Ganesha descends on the earth on Ganesh Chaturthi to stay with his devotees for the course of ten days and clear all their obstacles. In return devotees pamper their beloved Lord Ganesha as an honoured guest and prepare his favourite sweets – modaks.

Here is a link to more information Ganpati  What it boils down to is families have a Ganesh that they march down to the Sea.  It involves lots of drumming and dancing.  It is pretty cool to see even though it blocks streets etc.  I am going with some friends to a village about 100km outside of Mumbai to view a Ganesha celebration up close and personal.  Should be really interesting.  Christians are against idols, but here, they are the norm.  The people love their Ganeshas and are really proud of them and lovingly parade them to the sea.  Hopefully I will have some great pictures next week.