Tour de White Teacher

This past weekend was my busiest one yet in India.  Life in the village is most often lacking entertainment, so it was nice to be out and about and busy for a change.  From Saturday morning until Sunday night, I was out visiting various teachers and students and enjoying some of the most incredible food I have ever tasted!

Saturday morning, Felicia and I set off on a chukra to visit Amitaben, my co-teacher.  She has been inviting me for weeks because she really wanted me to meet her family, so I finally agreed to make the trip to her village for lunch.  One stuff chukra and a short motorcycle ride later, we arrived in the most beautiful village I have seen yet.  Amita lives with her parents, brothers, cousins and grandmother so it was fun to be in a full house. Her six year old cousin, Paat, ran from one end of the house to the other for the entire length of our visit. He was so energetic and a little trouble-maker.  Amita prepared a delicious traditional Indian meal for us, with rice, okra, eggplant, chipati, and daal (sauce/soup).

Just when I had stuffed myself full and sank into the couch to relax and watch a Bollywood movie on TV, Amita told us we had more of her family to visit.  So, went outside into the Indian sun and began walking to her uncle's house.  On our way, we recognized some of our students who then insisted we come to their houses and meet their families.  So once again, we went through the process of removing our shoes, greeting their parents with "Namastes" and the other few Hindi phrases we know and sitting quietly on the couch or swing waiting for the snack they would prepare for us.  It is customary to make some food and drink for any visitor you have, here in India.  And if you don't have something to make, then you send your child out to buy something.  My student, Preet, ran to the market and bought me a chocolate bar and on his way back picked some wild flowers for me.  When we finally made it to Amita's uncle's house, we were served big bowls of ice cream!  It was a rough trip home on the bumpy, stuffy chukra with enough food for a family of four in my stomach.

After a super fast trip to Bardoli, the nearest town, it was time for the next visit. Every evening I go for a run, just as the sun is setting.  I usually take the same path and I run and walk for about 5 miles, 5-6 days per week.  It's a great stress reliever and it's nice to get out of the house for an hour or so.  Well now that I have been running for about 5 weeks, I have gotten to know the same people who are on the road every day.  There is a man with neon orange hair, there is a man and his wife who have matching outfits and a plethora of other people who are out and about between 6 and 7 pm, herding their cows or enjoying the cool breeze.  Last week, I started talking with this group of older men who have a little walking club every day.  They speak good English and after a week, one of them, Ashokbhai, invited us over for dinner. His wife cooks pizza and let's just say it didn't take much convincing because he knew his audience.  So on Saturday night, even though we were still full from our 4 lunches, we went to his house for some really delicious pizza.  His family speaks English very well, so it was so fun to talk, eat our pizza and drink Pepsi.

Sunday morning, I woke up still full from Saturday, but it was time to go again, to Bajipura, a village about 45 minutes away to visit Hemlathaben, the teacher who offered me meat under the table. When we got there, a feast of chicken curry was awaiting us. Her son, Dhaval, a  chef who studied in Australia for three years, cooked our lunch.  I had no self control and continued to eat for a straight hour.  The chicken was indescribable and for once the curry wasn't too spicy.  After lunch, Hemlathaben sensed our food coma and took us to her guest bedroom so we could lie down.  She sat with us and pulled out about 25 photo albums and told us stories about her life. It seems my visits to her house are going to be more frequent.

A few hours later, again after a long trip home, I cozied up on my rock-hard bed and watched a Bollywood movie. It's now 9:30 pm on Monday and I am still full from this weekend.  My run tonight was more of casual stroll.  And my walking friends asked why I didn't walk on Saturday or Sunday night. I wouldn't have been able to even if I tried.

Cooking Lesson 1: Pakora

On Sunday, after resting from a long day in Surat on Saturday, I went to our friend Vilmalbhai's to learn how to cook pakora, with his wife. Pakora is my new obsession.  The novelty of Indian village food has has worn off and now I am taking every opportunity to learn to cook different dishes so I can escape the same chapati, rice and vegetable mixture.

Recipe: Pakora
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves four, or two very hungry people

Ingredients:

2 medium sized onions
1.5 cups of besan (chickpea flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
1-1.5 cups water
2 tablespoons minced green chili
1-2 cups vegetable oil (amount varies with size of pot)

Instructions:

1. Finely chop onions and mince chillis
2. In a bowl, sift the flour (or break up large clumps)
3. Combine flour, onion, chillis, baking soda, and water
4. Knead with hands until batter becomes thick and smooth

5. Add salt
6. In a deep fryer or deep pan, heat oil at medium heat.  Allow oil to be 2 inches deep.
7. When oil is boiled, place 1 tablespoon of batter in the oil.  You can use your hands or two spoons.

8. Allow batter to cook for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.  Occasionally flip over to allow all sides to cook.
9. Remove pakora from oil and allow to cool.
10. Serve with ketchup or any sauce you think would complement.  Enjoy!

Village-isms

I have officially been in India for a month.  I am settled, mostly, and into a routine with work and free time.  I am getting back into teaching, which I temporarily forgot how much I missed.  Life is good.  I feel healthier than ever because I am taking long runs every day, eating only fruits and veggies, except for the occasional trip to the ice cream shop, and I am completely unable to access meat and alcohol.  However, my sources of entertainment are limited so I am doing my best to entertain myself!

This week was an interesting one, to say the least.  Monday morning we woke up and began getting ready for school. I put on my salwar kameez, chugged my chai and sat on the porch waiting for Hareshbai, who drives me to school every day.  After a few minutes, I got a call that said school was cancelled because India was on strike.  That's right, the entire country, with a population of over 1 billion people was on strike.  The purpose of the strike was to protest the rising costs of fuel.  This was a highly organized strike with set rules, such as it would only last for 12 hours and simply everything would shut down.  Thus, I spent the day reading and listening to the monsoon rains.

At school, I teach 8th grade and 9th grade English.  Every day, I start my morning with a Spoken English class.  This is my class and I write the curriculum.  It's smaller than my other classes so I can get to know my students and really work on their English.  I love the students and they are so eager to be there and see what activities and games I have prepared for them.  In fact, they are so ardent about my presence here that after class I am swarmed with students asking for my autograph.  Yes, I have my own paparazzi.  They shove their notebooks in my face, begging for my signature.  This morning, I got a paper cut on my cheek.  I have tried to ask why and I cannot begin to understand their reasoning.  No matter what I say, it's the same thing every morning.  I have finally just accepted it and embraced it.  "I only do one autograph a day," I tell them.

In between classes, I spend my time chatting with the other female teachers.  As I mentioned earlier, the staff room is divided by gender so I am at the far end of the women's side.  We talk about our families, their husbands and their plans for finding me a husband.  Apparently, I have sweat off a few pounds and the women are worried I am not eating enough.  India has the highest vegetarian population in the world.  Hinduism, the main religion of India does not permit eating beef as cows are sacred.  My village is completely vegetarian and I haven't seen meat since that amazing burger I had at JFK Airport, moments before my plane took off. But what I am slowly learning is that people actually do eat meat, they just don't talk about it.

Yesterday, one of my favorite teachers, Hemalthaben whispers to me, "Emilyben, do you eat meat?" I explained to her that in America I do eat it but here I don't because I am living here and I feel I should observe the same cultural practices.  Then, she looked around the mostly empty staff room, cupped her hand around her mouth and said in a hush tone, "I know a guy. I can get you some chicken.  I'll arrange it and stop by my house next weekend. I'll make you a meal."

I could not help but laugh and appreciate her concern and offer.  I did make plans to go to her house next weekend for what I can only imagine to be an incredibly delicious dish.  I am looking forward to it.  I have also arranged some cooking lessons for this Sunday.  As for my Saturday plans, I am taking a bus back to Surat and making a trip to McDonald's India to give the McCurry a try!

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!

Chukras, Chai and Chipati

Namaste! (Hello in Hindi)

I am nearing the end of my first week in India and I thought I'd give you all a brief update. After over 30 hours of traveling across three continents, Eric, Zach (my two co-teachers) and I arrived in Mumbai (Bombay) at 2 am on Sunday. From there, our director and roommate, Priya, had a van waiting to drive us another seven hours to our village. Finally, late Sunday morning, we made it to our village, Kadod, and got to take a much needed shower and sleep for a while.

Later in the afternoon, we explored the village for a while and I even had the opportunity to have some Indian attire made, so I could impress the staff at school on Monday. We found a great tailor and with a lot of gestures and the help of a translator, I had two Indian dresses, called salwar kameez, made. Later that night, we enjoyed dinner and some Bollywood soap operas at an elderly couple's house. It was delicious!

After a much needed night of sleep, we woke on Monday and headed to our respective schools. Zach and Eric are teaching at Kadod High School, while I am teaching at Madhi High School. The first day was quite an experience. Priya, Felicia, the summer intern and I departed for the 15 kilometer journey to Madhi. The commonly used form of transportation for short distances is called a chukra, a very small, open-aired vehicle that should fit 5-7 people comfortably, but here fits 10-18 uncomfortably. We found one going and jumped in, but the only way we'd all fit was if Felicia hung out the back. Needless to say, it was not the safest trip.

On the first day of school, we met the principal, Modi Sir, and the other staff members. No one really speaks English, including the English teachers. Luckily, the head of the English department, Veejaybhai speaks English, so he took me around to his classes. At his first class, he introduced me and allowed the students to ask questions. The questions I received were: "What is your favourite (Bollywood) actor?", "Who wrote the American national anthem?" and "Who made the American flag?" Well, I have only seen Slumdog Millionaire, which is not technically Bollywood, I do know the anthem writer and I do not know who made our flag, so I was a little embarrassed. Five minutes later, I used the Indian toilet, which is a glorified hole in the ground and walked out with my dress tucked in my pants!

The last few days, I have been observing more classes and just figuring everything out. I am teaching myself Hindi so I can communicate with everyone since English is not spoken by the majority of the villagers. I am now capable of speaking Hindi when the colours, animals and modes of transportation are involved! Yesterday, I observed at an English medium school, where the students are "taught" all subjects in English, supposedly. Contrary to the name of the school, not all of the teachers can even speak English. I did have a cool ride home on the back of a motorcycle, weaving in and out of traffic. Good thing I decided to go with the insurance that covers extreme sports!

The food is AMAZING! Every meal consists of 2-3 chipati (soft tortillas), a raw onion/tomato mixture, and daal, which is a sauce or soup made of lentils and other vegetables and potatoes. I have liked everything so far, which is good, because the meals are pretty much the same on a daily basis. Alcohol and meat are not permitted in the state of Gujarat, so I will only have them if I visit big cities, like Mumbai. I am already looking forward to that weekend away.

I am addicted to chai (tea). It's sugary and I think caffeinated and it's excellent! We have it in the morning and mid-afternoon, too. The other day I three glasses in one sitting, which definitely gave me a chai high.

All in all, the week has been good. It has definitely been an adjustment and I know it will take me a while to figure out what I am doing, but I am optimistic. And thankfully, it's cooling down because the monsoon arrived on Tuesday. Unfortunately, with the daily rains come a plethora of insects. This morning we woke to an insect massacre... 70-100 dead crickets, flies, mosquitoes and foreign insects outside our door. This is India, I guess.