Phir Milenge, India!

Phir Milenge= See you later

Viren, Jane and I

I have officially left India. I was a little sadder than I thought I would be, mostly because I had an incredible final 10 days in my home for the last year.  I am now in Bangkok, Thailand, sipping fresh dragon fruit juice and I just can't complain.  I figured I'd take a few minutes while I hide from the afternoon showers to update you on my final Indian travels.


On my final night in the village, Priya, Zach and I celebrated with a stealth whiskey party in my house.  It was really fun to bring the year to a close this way, although I felt much differently the next morning when I boarded a local bus with all of my luggage and a seriously intense headache.  However, it faded and I arrived in Bombay to my great friends Viren and Jane who took me out for a delicious dinner and drinks.  The rest of the weekend, we celebrated the beautiful weather at some of Bombay's best kept secrets, including an upscale A-list club, Trilogy.  Viren is a sports marketing exec so he got us in and we wined and danced with some Bollywood stars and cricket players visiting India for the World Cup.  In fact, I was personally invited to some matches by a couple Canadian cricketers, which totally made my night. 

Slum school in Bangalore

After a few days eating and drinking well, I took a short flight to the south to visit the Marianist brothers in Bangalore, India.  I was welcomed by Brother Delmar, a 75 year old 5'3'' American brother from St. Louis.  He showed me the city, the Marianists various projects including REDS (Ragpickers Education and Development Scheme), their mission to clean up the city and help those most in need. I visited these tiny schools right in the slums of Bangalore, which try to keep children off the streets during the day.

Marianist chapel with an Indian influence:
home to my daily meditations

Brother Delmar lives with two other Indian brothers in a small bungalow right in the city.  In the three days I stayed with him, I awoke at 6:00 am to meditate and pray with the brothers, something I'm definitely NOT used to. There was also an afternoon and evening meditation and prayer which I  participated in each day. On the first day, I could not sit still with my legs crossed on a mat on the floor.  My mind jumped from one thought to the next and I literally counted the seconds.  But after a few days, I started to get the hang of it and actually really enjoyed it.  What a way to unwind and reflect on my crazy year abroad.

Cricket match! 

Another one of the brother's most time-consuming activities is their nightly ritual of watching cricket.  I have tried to understand this sport the whole year I've been here, but to no avail.  However, with nothing else to do, and thanks to Brother Delmar's careful and detailed explanations, I finally grasped the game.  To celebrate, after a beautiful Indian Catholic mass on Sunday, Brother Delmar took me to a World Cup Cricket game- Kenya vs. Australia!  There is a stadium not far from his house and we were able to get last minute tickets for this Asian-popular sports' tournament. It was so fun to go and see in person how this game is played.  It's quite different from a baseball game.  For instance, cricket matches last on average 8 hours, and some of them last 5 days.  There are 100 innings in a match.  Hitting the ball into the stadium is worth 6 runs and no matter where the ball goes, the fans HAVE to return it.  And instead of an ice cold beer and a hotdog, I snacked on samosas and sugar cane juice! Still, it was such a cool afternoon.


After a couple days in the city, I then proceeded to Deepahali, about 30 km out side of Bangalore, to visit the other Marianist community.  Here, I ran into and visited with some of the brothers I'd met in Africa or at UD.  Out here, it was bliss. So quiet and green and far from the noise of India's busiest city, home to the call centers we use around the world.  Again, I participated in their meditation and prayer, I took long runs in the evenings and enjoyed talking to the young Indian men who are studying to become brothers. My time in Bangalore was utterly relaxing.  I really enjoyed the Indian spin on a Catholic mass. 

Dinner in Bombay with Jane
Viren, Avinash and other friends

After leaving Bangalore, I returned to Bombay on St. Patrick's Day.  Jane and I celebrated with a couple drinks.  The rest of the weekend we continued our exploration of the city, eating and drinking at different fun restaurants.  It was so refreshing to go out and not be stared at and enjoy good conversation with some fantastic people who've lived all over the world.

Zach and I at Holi

On my very last day, Zach came into Bombay to see me off and celebrate Holi Festival with me.  It was amazing. We dressed in our whitest clothing and headed to Juhu Beach to join in the "festival of colors" and throw colored powder at each other.  We were the only foreigners in the area, which was fun because we were adopted into the local celebrations.  After a few hours we were completely dyed and celebrated over a few ice-cold Kingfisher beers.  That evening, still dyed from the day, I boarded my flight to Bangkok.  

Holi! 

It really was an unbelievable end to an unbelievable year- spent with good friends.  Now, I'm in Thailand, on my own, with no hotel reservations and no guide book.  I got a little busy relaxing and couldn't find time to make any plans, but so far, at the end of my second day here, I'm enjoying this personal adventure and I've made some travel buddies to go exploring with.  Now, I'm off to get some fresh street pad thai and have a couple Thai beers. Picture and an update to come soon! 

Incredible India!

Priya, Zach and I with the heads
of ELT@I after our workshop on Sunday.

Today is my last day in my village.  It really seems like it was yesterday when I was arriving in the 110+ degree weather.  Well, maybe that's because it's 110 once again.  Those breezy evenings are gone, the mosquitoes are bigger than ever and I'm back to sweating in the cold shower.  Nonetheless, it's been an incredible year and I'm sad to see it end. 

Ameeta and I with her
Certificate of Completion.

My last few weeks have been filled with completing my big projects, a major teachers' workshop we conducted on Sunday, a few awkward attendances at weddings and lots and lots of farewell dining.  Last week, we held a ceremony and gave our local co-teachers their certificates of completion for a year of training with us.  And Ameeta, my co-teacher improved so much that she was selected to be a trainer next year.  She'll be assigned recent local college graduates and she'll mentor them to become stronger English teachers.  I'm so proud of her and thankful that I had the opportunity to work with her this year! 

Farewell meal with my favorite family.

When moving away, it's considered very rude to leave without a meal with your friends, but I can't complain.  Coincidentally, I'm friends with a handful of people who do eat chicken on the sly, so my goodbye dinners have been nothing short of scrumptious! In fact, I've even sipped on some local whiskey or gin and fresh mango juice. Life's been pretty good these last few weeks.

Cheers to a good year training teachers!
It's Fanta Orange, not champagne.

My year in India has been an adventure, to say the very least. This country and its education system have thrown me challenges left and right.  I've dealt with being a woman in a place where men are far superior, I've handled being an American (white) woman in a rural village where the nearest foreigner resides 300 kilometers away, and I've attempted to tackle an English curriculum that promotes memorization and copying.  It's been a tough year.  But despite the days when I wished I could be anywhere but here, the days when my power's been gone for a full day or I'm warned that a leopard's prowling, I am really grateful for the experience.  I've met some fantastic individuals and I am more certain than ever of the career path I've chosen. And while I'm ready to return to the States and hopefully start grad school in the fall, I am really going to miss this place. 

This will be worth a lot someday!

To bring my blogging to a close, I came up with a list of the lessons I've learned and the things I've accomplished this year...

1. No matter how many hours I spend on Rosetta Stone or with my nose buried in a Hindi Phrase Book, everyone in India is going to think I'm speaking in English when I'm actually talking in what I think is pretty good Hindi.

My veggie scrambled eggs! 

2. I've perfected my signature and successfully signed 1-3 autographs every day. Why they want it so badly, I'll never really understand. 

3. I am a knowledgeable chef in all things egg and can prepare them anyway you like. I recommend my omelet or my veggie scrambled platter.

4. I can adequately mask my intolerance of the spiciness of food when eating at someone's house.  I just explain that Americans sip water after every bite of food. I mean, it's our "culture" and Indian's know not to mess with that. 

5. I am one accomplished mosquito assassin.  Barehanded or with an electric shock device, no mosquito can last more than one sting around me. 

Mosquito racket- resembles my
favorite sport equipment-
the badminton racket.

6. I can appreciate mocktails. As you know, alcohol is illegal in Gujarat, so at all restaurants, they serve mocktails.  I've discovered that they are so sweet and sugary, if you have enough, it gives you a sugar high, resembling a buzz from a couple beers. Sad, but true.

The mango lassi- my most
favorite non-alcoholic drink.

7. I can semi-gracefully run after and hop onto a moving bus or train.  Let's just say if I were an actor, no stunt double would be needed.

8. I'm a walking human Thesaurus.  After a year teaching English to students and teachers who don't speak it, I can now explain a word 500 different ways.  And if my explanations fail, I am also now a skilled stick-figure artist. 

9. I can run 6 miles in 110+ degree weather! Maybe that's why I sweat in the cold showers....

Principal Modi Sir and I on my last day
 at Madhi High School. Look at that saree!

10. Finally, after 1 year, I can wrap my own saree. It's been a long road and my neighbors and the other teachers at school still re-do it for me, but I can make it look decent. 

It's been one hell of a year and it's time to go. But since we live in a global village, and already over 50 of my students have requested my friendship on Facebook, I have no doubt I will remain in constant communication with my friends and family here. One day I hope to return to an English-speaking village! 

My Standard 9 boys on my last day at school.

Wedding Season in India: Part 2

This video shows a wedding procession after the groom has picked up his bride.  The parade was just outside my house.  You may want to reduce your volume before playing it...it was pretty loud!