Dhire Dhire (Slowly Slowly)

It is now the end of my third week in India. I am slowly adjusting to the weather, the food, the people and my job. I finally started teaching this past Monday and so far it is going well. I have a co-teacher, named Amita, who will be shadowing me and helping me translate my classes. Throughout the year, I will be mentoring her and eventually she will take over the class. I really like her and every day she brings me new Indian snacks.

Sadly, I have taken a step back in my love for Indian food. After my first week here, I started feeling nauseous for 90% of the day. I tried drinking more water, eating more dairy, and even taking all the various antibiotics I brought with me, but no luck. Then, this past Tuesday, I woke up very sick, so I stayed home from school. The principal called a doctor and requested that he visit me at home. Around lunch time, I was laying in bed and the doctor walked in. He spoke little English, but asked me about my symptoms. Then he proceeded to poke and prod continuously at my stomach. He finished the exam with listening to my breathing for one second. He sat down on my bed, jotted down some notes, and looked at me very seriously and said, "I'm sorry Miss, but I believe you have....... an upset stomach." He left and returned to his clinic and sent me some medication about 3o minutes later. In tiny pieces of folded up newspaper were an assortment of pills of all different colors and shapes. I was take 8 every day until I felt better. With a lot of hesitation, I tried the unlabelled, oddly shaped pills and after two days, I felt significantly better. Sickness #1 is over thanks to a very thorough diagnosis!

I have learned a few other important lessons in my first few weeks here:

1. Hindi is CONFUSING. The sentence order is reversed! For instance, we say "The book is on the table." In Hindi, it is translated to "Book table on is" I have a long way to go.

2. It is in fact possible to sweat while you are taking a cold shower.

3. I am considered a spinster for not being married at 25. Next month, I am strongly encouraged to fast for one week so that God will grant me a husband.

4. Indian mosquitoes are far more clever than any other mosquito I've met. They know exactly how to find the miniscule spot on your skin where you may have forgotten to spray Off.

5. Rural Indians don't exercise for pleasure. Why would they? The first time we went running, people thought we didn't have money to get on the bus and several drivers stopped and offered us a ride.

6. Traffic jams and accidents are caused by cows. The cows mill around wherever they please enjoying their sacred status. They will stand firm in the middle of the road, just to prove to you they are holy and there is nothing you can do about it.

This weekend we are going to celebrate the 4th of July! We found a place where you can buy fireworks. It'll be a little different from US celebrations as we cannot drink in Gujarat, the only dry state in India and we cannot have any animal products, but we'll make the best of it and have fun I'm sure!