waking up in India

the sound of what I'd compare to crickets, dogs barking, and the sounds of children in the distance... I don't hear or notice the honking horns anymore.

I never imagined my life to be like this when I moved to India. I'm still not even sure I'm in India.

There are plenty of things about my life that are nearly the same as my American life:
I depend heavily on the internet, and I manage to waste plenty of time on it.
I get to eat ice cream and cheese to a slightly excessive extent.
I hang out with friends, eat out, and watch an illegally downloaded movie from time to time.
I walk around wearing Under Armour wishing they would sponsor me and my Physically Educating lifestyle.

Things that are so very different from my previous life:
I spent my Saturday hiking around the mountains with 5th/6th graders. The car ride back was radioless but filled with 6th grade boys belting out Justin Beiber hits.
I have to put my favorite things in a closet with a light bulb so they don't get moldy.
I have to pretend to pick up and throw rocks at monkeys on walks to school and hope they don't call my bluff.
I have to teach kids of all ages how the classic game of kickball works.
I keep my short-shorts in a drawer and only wear them in the comforts of my own home.
I can't avoid running uphill.
People stare at me (and not just in the oh my god, what is Shannon wearing today kind of staring). Some want to take my picture. Some want to hold my hand in said picture.
I live about 800 meters from many of my students. I get all of my groceries delivered to my home.
I also have a nice woman who cleans my house and cooks for me a couple times a week.
I live and work in a place that is more gossipy and small town than my hometown of Silver Lake, MN (pop. 761).
I go out to the bazaar and am guaranteed to see students, staff, employees, and be recognized by the local tailor who is dying for my business. The grocer knows my name, where I live, and the cornflakes I like.

trying to stay afloat in a monsoon

Sometimes, I talk about India like it's my arch-nemesis. The final straw was when I was walking home from a slightly unpleasant dept meeting that lasted from 6-about 8pm on a Thursday night. I was minding my business, listening to my ipod, and out of nowhere, my ankle rolls on the footpath. I wanted to scream out, "F*** YOU INDIA!"

A few weekends ago, I was looking for a different outfit to head out to the bazaar in. As I was rummaging, I started to find moldy clothes. A moldy cardigan, a moldy bra, and my black boots were even growing cultures. FU India.

Just yesterday, my roommate pointed out that my graduation photo album was also growing mold. FU India.

Anytime I'm out walking in the bazaar, and I keep hearing endless honking... FU India.

When did this become normal?

Last night I was walking home from the bazaar with Linds and Ingrid, and I was like, hold the phone. We were walking on a single lane road on the side of a mountain with no lights of any kind. Never in my life would I advise this to anyone, yet alone a pack of white girls in India. When did this become normal?

Things have been going. I find joy and happiness in many things here, but I wouldn't say that it's how I imagined my life in India to be.

Here's how most of my mornings start-This is the Junior School lining up in the quad before assembly. You'll notice me in the back looking incredibly enthused.

We also recently had interhouse cross country. On this day, all the kids in the school race to represent their houses. I am a Merlin, and despite us coming in last place, I am still proud to be a Merlin. After IH cross country, we have interschool cross country, which is comparable to the conference cc meet. Since we have no season and no state competition, this is it. While some kids train and enjoy running, most of the kids on the team had the unfortunate luck of finishing in the top ten at interhouse and were forced on the team.


Here are a few borrow pictures from interhouse cross country-Go Merlins (red t-shirts)!

Merlins, Condors, and Eagles awaiting their races...

Officials, looking official

Look how fast those little legs can go!

some of my favorite students

The 6th grade boys with minimal false starts

big deal

I was heading out my door this morning to come open the gym at 6:30 am, and I look out the door and see a monkey party on my porch. If I had to say, there were probably about 15 monkeys just hanging out. Big ones, little ones, red ones, green ones. Monkeys everywhere. I just made sure to open the door extra loudly, and they carried on with their lives.

A friend of mine had his house trashed by monkeys one afternoon. They had a nice time destroying his kitchen and eating anything they could get their hands on.

One evening, I was eating dinner with the cross country team near the top of the mountain. We were all relaxing and having a good time. Then we saw this huge monkey going in the window of someone's house above one of the restaurants. We all started gesturing wildy and tried to communicate with anyone who would listen. Moments later we heard some screams, and the monkey hopped back out the window as an Indian woman followed behind waving her arms. She closed the window.

I try to take the attitude that they can sense fear-like dogs. I go about my business. I don't act afraid. I don't scream or run. This works most of the time... One time I was walking with one of my friends, and I saw a gang of monkeys ahead. No worries, be cool. I keep walking, but this time the monkeys aren't running. This was a narrow dirt path on the side of a cliff, by the way. As I got closer, the mama came at me and was making some weird hissing noises. I was like-oh shit. Scream. Run. My friend, being logical, picked up a rock, and the monkeys scattered.

I've seen monkeys destroying bulletin boards, sneaking into offices, and trapping tourists to get food. I knew there would be monkeys when I came, but I didn't know there would be such clever monkeys that are up to no good running around.