Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Haji Ali
On Monday afternoon Anna and I visited Haji Ali, commonly referred to in Bombay as "the mosque in the sea." To get to the mosque one must walk down about a half-mile long walkway that lies right on top of the water. During the mosoon it can be very dangerous since the high tide can cover the entire walkway, and often does, making the mosque its own island. It is a scary place to be alone because there are a lot of beggers and con-artists at work but Anna and I chose an afternoon because it we figured it was worth the trip. The tide was pretty high and we were both soaking wet when we got there because of the waves that would fly up and cover the walkway. When it started to rain we had to book it out to escape the tide covering the walkway. Here are some pics of our awesome journey!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Haters Wanna Fight Me
Anna and I spend most of our days in the Teacher's Resource Room (that's TRC to the in-crowd). This very nice room is run my this old woman that sits in the corner of the room. I am pretty sure that she hates us when we try to bring kids in there and such. She has no respect for our property and threw away a bunch of student papers because she was trying to re-organize these books. Today, I opened a room to dry some student artwork and she bit my head off because there were so many boys in their messing around and she didn't want to get up and go try to control them. I walked over to these "terrible children" and all I saw through the window of the room were two boys thoughtfully looking at a physics textbook...absolutely terrifying I am sure. I really love the kids but I am getting continually more annoyed by the terrible administration in this place. They don't really pay attention to us or take anything that we do with the kids seriously. I KNOW that I am trying to teach them something valuable that they Will probably never again have the opportunity to learn but the teachers think it is an absolute joke. I cannot believe how terrible some of...
*Evil TRC lady just reached across me and grabbed my mouse so she could flick it aimlessly across my page only to ask, "What are you doing?" I replied, "It is private and I would appreciate you not looking over my shoulder." Doesn't really matter I 'spouse since she can barely speak English let alone read it...
anyhow...the teachers are. They seemed so immersed in standardized test scores that they really haven't stopped to think about the fact that what they are giving this kids isn't education. These kids are extremely bright but all they know are facts and all the correct multiple choice questions in the world can't prepare you to be the type of articulate individuals often associated with success. Seriously?!
I have less than two weeks now and it feels strange to think that I will be going soon. I really feel like I haven't been here that long and that I am only REALLY settling in now. Bombay feels like home since I grew comfortable with its crammed roads and ocean landscapes. I am trying my hardest to capture as many pictures as I can before I leave since my camera seems to have a thing for deleting them when I need them most.
*Evil TRC lady just reached across me and grabbed my mouse so she could flick it aimlessly across my page only to ask, "What are you doing?" I replied, "It is private and I would appreciate you not looking over my shoulder." Doesn't really matter I 'spouse since she can barely speak English let alone read it...
anyhow...the teachers are. They seemed so immersed in standardized test scores that they really haven't stopped to think about the fact that what they are giving this kids isn't education. These kids are extremely bright but all they know are facts and all the correct multiple choice questions in the world can't prepare you to be the type of articulate individuals often associated with success. Seriously?!
I have less than two weeks now and it feels strange to think that I will be going soon. I really feel like I haven't been here that long and that I am only REALLY settling in now. Bombay feels like home since I grew comfortable with its crammed roads and ocean landscapes. I am trying my hardest to capture as many pictures as I can before I leave since my camera seems to have a thing for deleting them when I need them most.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Happy Friendship Day!!!
Today is Friendship Day in India. What happends is all the kids bring these brightly-colored bracelets made of ribbon to school and tie them on all their friends' wrists. I now have a ton of bright bracelets on my wrists and a lot of kids asked me to be their "best friends" today. It was really cute and I feel that they have really grown on me.
One of the 7th grade classes had a free period today and we went to their classes to hang out and learned that they have become REALLY obsessed with "hangman" since I first taught it to them in June. They tried to make me guess all the things they were writing. One of the kids was writing other kids' names and then coming up with adjectives to describe them based off of the letters in their names (most of them mean things). He then did his own name, Faisal, and write Aristotle with one of the As in his name. Immediately after, he SCREAMED "LOOK I AM ARISTOTLE, I INVENTED MATHEMATICS!" They are pretty funny. One boy today told me that he had three girlfriends and 7 gold medals in dancing- I had to laugh.
My landlady has also been a source of aggrevation and she yells at us over everything whether we are doing it or not. When we leave our room in the morning she says that we ALWAYS leave our fan on, which is simply not at all true and blames us for her high electricity bills. She also comes into our room when we are not there to take record of everything that she thinks is misplaced so she can tell us after we get back. These are not large things that are misplaces, this morning she told me that my bedsheet was not tucked in tight enough...I seriously am fighting back all urges to slap her. She also allows her male servant to use our bathroom, which I hear is a really insulting and disgusting thing by Indian standards. I also saw his go into the bathroom and take my soap off of the rack...I think I need to buy new soap now :/... We are now plotting to tell her that we are leaving later than we are so we can slip out early since I am pretty sure she is determined to make us replace everything in that room because we are American and of course she can cheat us, like I said...I am at the end of my tolerance and WILL NOT take her shit much longer...
Anyway, I only have two more weeks left and am getting pretty sad because India has really grown on me and my kids have really grown on me. I love them all so much and don't know how I am going to be able to leave them. The city is also becomming home and I am sad to leave it too since it isn't a place I will be able to visit on a whim!
One of the 7th grade classes had a free period today and we went to their classes to hang out and learned that they have become REALLY obsessed with "hangman" since I first taught it to them in June. They tried to make me guess all the things they were writing. One of the kids was writing other kids' names and then coming up with adjectives to describe them based off of the letters in their names (most of them mean things). He then did his own name, Faisal, and write Aristotle with one of the As in his name. Immediately after, he SCREAMED "LOOK I AM ARISTOTLE, I INVENTED MATHEMATICS!" They are pretty funny. One boy today told me that he had three girlfriends and 7 gold medals in dancing- I had to laugh.
My landlady has also been a source of aggrevation and she yells at us over everything whether we are doing it or not. When we leave our room in the morning she says that we ALWAYS leave our fan on, which is simply not at all true and blames us for her high electricity bills. She also comes into our room when we are not there to take record of everything that she thinks is misplaced so she can tell us after we get back. These are not large things that are misplaces, this morning she told me that my bedsheet was not tucked in tight enough...I seriously am fighting back all urges to slap her. She also allows her male servant to use our bathroom, which I hear is a really insulting and disgusting thing by Indian standards. I also saw his go into the bathroom and take my soap off of the rack...I think I need to buy new soap now :/... We are now plotting to tell her that we are leaving later than we are so we can slip out early since I am pretty sure she is determined to make us replace everything in that room because we are American and of course she can cheat us, like I said...I am at the end of my tolerance and WILL NOT take her shit much longer...
Anyway, I only have two more weeks left and am getting pretty sad because India has really grown on me and my kids have really grown on me. I love them all so much and don't know how I am going to be able to leave them. The city is also becomming home and I am sad to leave it too since it isn't a place I will be able to visit on a whim!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
High Tide
Sometime last week, Mumbikers (yes, that is really what they call themselves) experienced the worst high-tide of the CENTURY.
^
^viewing marine drive in safe building
^viewing marine drive in safe building
< Looking down the coast at the fisherman's colony
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Miss, we cannot control ourselves...
We started making the kids' homework into something of a competition and that has really inspired them since they discovered the rewards were beautifully shiny, ice-cold Coca-Cola bottles. We waited a week to announce the winners (the ones that got the highest grades on the test we gave them) and every day we got asked who was the winner. On Monday, a kid told me, "Miss we cannot control ourselves-no suspense Miss no hiding secrets."
Although some of these kids are the reason I will probably grow gray hairs at way too young of an age-some of them have really grown on me. We have three 7th grade classes that we teach and in one of them is this boy named Abu (yes, like the monkey in Aladdin!). He is really chubby and has a squishy face with a little bald head and is very sweet. When we announced that his score was one of the winners he put his hands up for a traditional, Indian victory dance!
I have also found something Indian that I really like to eat, like everyday. For 10 rupees one can enjoy the state food of Maharashtra (the state I am in right now). It is a bun with two different types of chutney on it with a fat patty of potato inside-it is amazing and will change your life. Anna has started going to the gym, but I don't see much of a need to pay so much for weekly memberships (since after this week we only have two left). Amelia is coming tonight, which is exciting and I am hoping that out little bed won't be too cramped with all three of us in it (wishful thinking I know).
Although some of these kids are the reason I will probably grow gray hairs at way too young of an age-some of them have really grown on me. We have three 7th grade classes that we teach and in one of them is this boy named Abu (yes, like the monkey in Aladdin!). He is really chubby and has a squishy face with a little bald head and is very sweet. When we announced that his score was one of the winners he put his hands up for a traditional, Indian victory dance!
I have also found something Indian that I really like to eat, like everyday. For 10 rupees one can enjoy the state food of Maharashtra (the state I am in right now). It is a bun with two different types of chutney on it with a fat patty of potato inside-it is amazing and will change your life. Anna has started going to the gym, but I don't see much of a need to pay so much for weekly memberships (since after this week we only have two left). Amelia is coming tonight, which is exciting and I am hoping that out little bed won't be too cramped with all three of us in it (wishful thinking I know).
Sunday, July 26, 2009
If you don't like my attitude...
I was in a coffee shop and saw a middle-aged man wearing a t-shirt that said:
"If you don't like my attitude call 1-800-EAT SHIT"
I was a little dismayed that these are the types of exports that America has to be held responsible for :)
We are nearing the home stretch of our internship and it has been nothing short of incredible. We have about three weeks left and are currently doing a creative writing assignment with the kids and they have improved so much since we started (they now have a better idea of what it means to be creative). The principal of the school walked into one of our writing seminars and I could tell she was impressed with our kids and how they were all being quiet (amazing). One of my favorite kids is this boy named Sohail. He is known around school as "the artist" and has made a lot of the artwork on the 7th grade floor. Today he asked me when I was leaving and I said Aug. 17. He said, "No miss you stay until September." He looked so sad and was making a pretty big case as to why I should stay until September.
I thought that before I left I would write letters to some of my best students, the ones that I know well enough to write letters to. I am working out an all-girls lunch for hopefully tomorrow and really can't wait to talk to them all again. There are some very special girls that I hope can keep up their independent spirits that they have shown me.
Amelia is coming on Thurs. night and we are going to have to fit the three of us in one bed-should be interesting... I am excited to have an excuse to go to all of the touristy places again and take pictures. I really think that she will love it here as she has been spending a lot of her time in a more conservative part of India.
Oh- another funny thing, today one of my kids wrote the simile "his eyes were like two brown circles with black dots in the center." Oh, the creative young minds of India;)
"If you don't like my attitude call 1-800-EAT SHIT"
I was a little dismayed that these are the types of exports that America has to be held responsible for :)
We are nearing the home stretch of our internship and it has been nothing short of incredible. We have about three weeks left and are currently doing a creative writing assignment with the kids and they have improved so much since we started (they now have a better idea of what it means to be creative). The principal of the school walked into one of our writing seminars and I could tell she was impressed with our kids and how they were all being quiet (amazing). One of my favorite kids is this boy named Sohail. He is known around school as "the artist" and has made a lot of the artwork on the 7th grade floor. Today he asked me when I was leaving and I said Aug. 17. He said, "No miss you stay until September." He looked so sad and was making a pretty big case as to why I should stay until September.
I thought that before I left I would write letters to some of my best students, the ones that I know well enough to write letters to. I am working out an all-girls lunch for hopefully tomorrow and really can't wait to talk to them all again. There are some very special girls that I hope can keep up their independent spirits that they have shown me.
Amelia is coming on Thurs. night and we are going to have to fit the three of us in one bed-should be interesting... I am excited to have an excuse to go to all of the touristy places again and take pictures. I really think that she will love it here as she has been spending a lot of her time in a more conservative part of India.
Oh- another funny thing, today one of my kids wrote the simile "his eyes were like two brown circles with black dots in the center." Oh, the creative young minds of India;)
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