big city livin' at its finest in mumbai

We somehow finished our first semester at the beginning of December—it was a mad dash to the finish—and then, like most all Woodstockers—promptly ditched the chilly mountain climes for warmer digs.

We kicked things off in Mumbai, the world’s fourth-largest city that has been rated the world’s least-livable city. (Seriously, here’s the link.) 

Most of the time we got around by riding the Mumbai Commuter Railway. It’s a far leap from Delhi’s easy, clean, efficient metro system. Instead, it reflects the city in general—insanely crowded, dirty, chaotic, pushy. 

Stuffed to the gills, indeed.

But it’s only 14 rupees a ride and an interesting way to tour the city’s many neighborhoods.

And there was an elephant at our home station, Sanpada.  

  

Elephant at a train station? Heck yes! This is India, bitches.

Speaking of transportation, one thing Mel and I love about India is auto rickshaws. As Mel said, “They’re cheap and you don’t have to mess around with doors.”

For whatever reason, every Indian city has a different rickshaw style. Delhi has green and yellow rickshaws. 

And yes, they usually have about this many people riding...

Mumbai’s are black and yellow. 

Jodhpur’s are a bit bigger and have a lot of ornamentation. Regardless of where you are, these tiny vehicles dart around every narrow street and wide boulevard for a very negotiable price. 

Blingtastic Jodhpur.

One of the best decisions we made was to go on the Bombay Heritage Walk tour. Our guide told us a bit about the city’s history and a lot about its architecture. Originally, Mumbai was seven separate islands; the British filled in the space between them to create the city. In comparison with other Indian cities, Mumbai has a distinctly colonial feel. The streets of Colaba and the area around the train station reflect Victorian and Gothic architecture, though often mixed with Indian architecture. An excellent example of this is the Taj Mahal Hotel, built by Jamsedji Tata.

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel: Super Swanky

 

Gateway of India (+ sunshine) -- neighbor of the Taj

CST Train Station: The trains may suck, but the station's kick-ass.

We also got to do Westernish things we hadn’t done in a while. Coffee that isn’t Nescafe! Beer that isn’t Kingfisher! These are glorious things indeed.

Chris chose a Stella...

And Melanie, a Hoegaarden. 

And if you ever find yourself there, you must, must, must go to Theobroma. Not only is it the first excellent bakery I’ve been to in India, but the eggs Benedict are cardiac-arrest-inducingly delicious.

semester one: check

We survived one semester of teaching!! Our bodies had given out by the end. For nearly a month, Chris and I were sick at overlapping points. But now that the storm of the last week is far behind, the sun is out and we can relax a bit and look back on what we’ve accomplished.

In August, I posted a short (and early!) reflection on teaching, and those ideas still hold true. It’s exhausting, exhausting work – but I have found a career I truly love. Though I have a tendency to whinge* about my work, it’s usually about how much time I spend working rather than the nature of the work. I dislike grading, true, but planning units is like unraveling some mysterious, enjoyable puzzle. And then I get to take those creations and work them through with so many interesting – sometimes infuriating, but always interesting – young people.

I also look forward to the next few years, when I can learn how to balance teaching with actual living. Each semester should get easier – or so our colleagues tell us. Right now it’s just a rush of getting to know the students, the school, and the curriculum.

Other than teaching, a lot has happened in the past month and a half. Highlights:

--Activity Week. Tiring, yes, but I got a chance to meet some new students and experience the mountains like I never had before. Our family was never much of a hiking/camping troupe, so I had no idea what to expect on a 6 day trek. What I found are that it’s really, really cold; that I need not bring any extra changes of clothes (just embrace the dirt/funk);  that the right shoes are really important; and that your body will push on, push on until you have nothing left. It was a lovely trip, though I was certainly not ready to teach only two days after returning.

--Thanksgiving. I haven’t been home in Rochester for Thanksgiving for quite a while (L), but we’d been used to our Iowa tradition of a huge potluck with friends. Anne and I would work on the turkey at someone’s larger ovens, I’d make stuffing and Chris’s grandma’s spice cookies (a favorite of everyone’s), and then we’d converge, eat, and chill. So being in a completely new environment this year was kind of depressing. But we did have much to be thankful for, including a Woodstock potluck with nearly 50 attendees! I tried my hand at stuffing without celery and sausage, and it turned out so-so… (I still haven’t figured out how to cook here.) We didn’t have a turkey, but it felt good to gather with others over fabulous eats on my favorite holiday.

--Fall Concerts. November was a flurry of activity for the music students here at WS! All of the ensembles put on their fall concerts, and boy was it a treat. It’s great to see a totally different side of my students, and to see all their hard work pay off in recital format. And I even got to perform with the staff choir!! It’s been a long time since I’ve done a choir performance, and it was loads of fun to get up there and share what I love to do.

--Adopting our dog. Sadie (formally Saddy) has been a lovely addition to our household. Though having a pet again is kind of a pain – think three walks per day and many stray dogs annoying us – the benefits easily outweigh the annoyance. We love coming home to Sadie’s excited welcome and affection. She’s a sweet girl, though she is not good with little kids or coolies. We were really sad to leave her for the break, but she’s with our ayah and her kids, who clearly love the dog too.

We’ll check in soon about our recent trip to Mumbai (with pictures!). In the meantime, Merry Christmas to all of our loved ones back home – we miss you! 

*whinge (v) - to complain persistently and in an annoying manner. Thanks for teaching us new words, Commonwealth people!!!

we are bad bloggers: quarter break in delhi

We began this blog with good intentions -- and a goal to publish once every week or so. Clearly, the whirlwind of teaching has thwarted our efforts... We'll get caught up soon, though. First stop: quarter break in Delhi.

If you've seen our pictures on facebook, you're already aware that we split our time between historical treasures and modern conveniences. We did it all, it seemed, though we really did next to nothing if you consider what Delhi has to offer. 

A lot of people around Woodstock think of Delhi nothing special, just another nearby city. But we found the visit overwhelming and exciting. The streets, the noise, the smells, the architecture, the chaos. It was a blast, but definitely didn't feel like a "vacation" -- traveling was confusing and somewhat stressful, though worth every bit of trouble. Some highlights follow.

1) The Red Fort

Wandering around this huge complex (with the help of an audio tour) was quite the experience. The architecture was beautiful, though many Indian visitors seemed more interested in snapping photos of our group of white people... another common theme of our travels around Delhi. 

2) Jama Masjid

Just a few kilometers away from the Red Fort is the Jama Masjid, India's biggest mosque, and it was certainly impressive! The photo above doesn't do it justice. We enjoyed wandering through the marble structures and around the huge courtyard. 

But my favorite part of our explorations involved climbing up into the turret, from which we could see all of Old Delhi. On the way up I snapped a photo of the streets nearby, momentarily freezing the chaos.

3) Taj Mahal

We took a day trip to Agra to see the Taj. Though it was many hours of driving, it was worth it. Facebook includes most of the many, many pictures we and our friend Ritika took at the site. This is a classic shot that again fails to capture the building's grace.

4) Qutb Minar

One of the historical sites closest to our B&B is Qutb Minar, the oldest and tallest minaret in India. Though all the other sites were amazing, I think this was my favorite. It was less crowded than the others, and the ruins were just plain interesting. You could wander around peacefully and soak it all in. Unfortunately, our camera battery died after only a few pictures... 

5) Malls!

We don't have any pictures of the malls, as they were pretty much just like American malls. Our mall tours were bland, but it was relaxing to wander around somewhere that felt like home. And of course we gained access to some western brands that we've been missing:

6) India's Broadway: Kingdom of Dreams... "a spectacle so grand it can fit only in your dreams"

Gypsy prince! Seductive gypsy woman! Evil king! Underwater sequences! Real snow! LED backdrops! Actors flying through the air! Vigorous dancing and pounding music!

We didn't understand Hindi, but I'm pretty sure all four of us understood the plot of this show. And it would have been just as much fun even if we hadn't. The theater's tagline is right -- this show was almost completely spectacle. And it was one of the most entertaining things we've ever witnessed. Thumbs up, India!

***

This post leaves out much of our journey.... Karim's amazing curries, death-defying street crossings, Delhi's superb subway system, our lovely B&B, autorickshaws, Dilli haat, etc. But we've been rambling for far too long. See you soon, with an update about activity week!

love, mel and chris

time is not on our side

Much to say and no time to say it -- that's how life goes in India. Therefore, even after nearly a month, we can only offer one paltry entry that summarizes everything. Poorly. Enjoy! ;)

Dalai Lama Fun Time

Though His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited in mid-September, my preparation began much earlier. Woodstock students and staff were encouraged to wear formal national dress for the event, and this time I wanted to go Tibetan. 

With the guidance of some friends, the Wunkers, a few of us travelled down to Clement Town, a Tibetan section of Dehradun. We stopped at a Tibetan temple there, which was beautiful on the outside but seemed closed to visitors that day. 

From afar, with Darcey in the foreground.

Up close and personal.

Some sage advice.

After the temple, we made our way to a tailor, and picked out the fabric for our "chubas," traditional Tibetan outfits. Then, after a quick stop at KFC (yup!), we were back home. About a week later, our outfits were delivered to WS. The end result of the trip: a beautiful and comfortable outfit I can wear on special occasions and for teaching!

All dressed up.

Then, it was the big day. We got all gussied up and headed to the gym. The DL was a rather hilarious figure; he regularly cracked himself up with his own jokes. And his laughter was infectious, spreading through the gym like a wave each time. Though he was rather hard to understand at times, he delivered a heartfelt speech about ethics, arguing that divisions like nationality and race should disappear against the larger human connection we feel with each other. I was particularly interested in his focus on secular ethics, this idea that all humans -- no matter what religion they practice -- are driven to feel compassion. 

We get to experience some pretty cool stuff over here.

Yup, I was pretty far away. But there he is!

Born to Run

Running was a huge part of life at WS during September, mostly because of the "inter-house" competition WS holds between Eagles, Condors, and (the best!) Merlins. Chris and I are both part of the mighty Merlins group, which has lost the competition many years in a row. But not now!

The first installment of the competition happens on the annual "Inter-house XC Day." Classes are shortened, and the whole school treks up to the chakkar, a road on top of the mountain. Running is compulsory for students through grade 10, optional for 11/12. There's some sort of complex points system, and I ran two races (that's dedication!) so I could earn double points for our team.

The stands are full!

Grade 7/8 girls taking off, with staff pulling up the rear.

The day was a mess of whining and sweating, but also full of cheering. It was great fun to shout for my students or fellow Merlins. It reminded me of how much I love to root on people as they challenge themselves. And...... MERLINS ENDED UP WINNING. WHAAAAAT?!?!?!

Our next big running day was just last weekend. The top finishers of the Inter-house runs are pulled onto the XC "team" and run against other schools. We had some great finishes by men, but the women really swept the competition. Below is a snapshot from the medal ceremony -- our Grade 11/12 girls took all three spots! (The one in third is my student, Sarah!)

Amid all these races, I've been trying to keep up my running. I was doing well until last week -- busy, busy, busy! But I'm trying to stick to it because the first annual Mussoorie half-marathon is coming up in early November. Not sure how that will go, but it will certainly have interesting scenery, whether mountains or our lovely bazaar.

Well, I think I've written too much at this point, but I'll do another instalment soon. We head to Delhi on Friday, and we'll have much to share...

love, mel

after a hiatus

So... it's been a while... Sorry 'bout that. Chris and I have been busy, busy bees since Independence Day, but let me take a quick break from work to fill you in on the happenings. I'll try to stick to bullet points for this one.

--Advisor Night (8/17): Us, 10 tenth-graders, one haunted house, one Pixar flick, and lots of delivery food. That pretty much sums it up. Once a semester, advisors entertain advisees in an "out-of-boarding" situation. (Read: no sad dorm food for one night.) Our students -- or at least one loud boy -- were set on going to the local "haunted house," a ramshackle abandoned structure about 2 miles from campus. So we started our night with a hike, told ghost stories at the house, and then returned to campus for a movie and Domino's/Kelsang's delivery. Our advisees are usually shy, so it was fun to see them in a more relaxed and vibrant mode. They're a good bunch!

Priam, Pranit, and their "ghost" friend.

Exploring the house.

Of course, everyone needed pictures. Shivi said the dead trees really added to the haunted vibe.

A little picture of its disrepair.

Telling ghost stories. Something about monkeys attacking a woman? Guards being murdered? It was hard to tell what was real and what was a legend...

--Staff Hike to Rajpur (8/25). Chris was sick for this one, which was sad. But, bad wife that I am, I ditched him to walk down the mountain into Doon Valley, several thousand feet below. It was a rainy, slippery hike, but a lovely chance to catch up with other staff members and the misty mountainside. Once down in Rajpur, we visited an alum's shop, where I bought some cool coasters made of recycled newspaper. Then we visited a guitar studio and talked to a representative of JOYN India. JOYN (check out their website) helps Rajpur residents sell their hand-crafted wares to stores in the U.S., connecting the craftswomen to markets they might not have access to otherwise. It's just another small, innovative company -- something of a trend in India, a nation whose residents must innovate frequently to work against widespread infrastructure (and other) issues. It was a fabulous day, but I was sleeping by 9:30p.m... exhausted from the walk. The next day my calves and glutes were tender, tender, tender -- but it was worth it.

Staff!

I can only imagine how beautiful the view would be on a clear day. Even with clouds, it was stunning.

Lots of this cactus-type plant along the walk... Seems a bit out of place.

Our area has seen many landslides lately. 

My view out the window during lunch, until the clouds rolled in.

Part of the JOYN shop.

--Service-Learning Day (8/31). Flash forward through many teaching days, and we had today off from school! WS wanted kids to get out of the classroom and give back to local communities, so everyone was out and about. Chris and I led a group of 12 tenth-graders to Hill Bird School, a small Christian school down the hill from us. Our task: paint one of the cafeteria spaces and plaster part of the doorway. Anyone who knows Chris and I will realize immediately that this is a disaster waiting to happen. We are not the handy type... We had some challenges -- unstable electricity, not enough paint, no running water near us -- but by the end of our time at Hill Bird, we had accomplished our task to the best of our abilities. The highlight of the day actually came at lunch break, when we wandered over to the Hill Bird students and introduced ourselves. Many seemed terrified of us, but eventually we cajoled them into playing some weird form of tag. After a few minutes, some of the older kids were brave enough to shake hands and introduce us. They were charming! We lucked out with our group of tenth-graders too. They were a lot of fun and willing to get messy for the cause. On top of this, they were able to experience their own privilege; the sparse Hill Bird dorm stood in stark contrast to WS's cushy environment. We hope this realization sticks with them.

The beginning of the transformation...

And that's it for now... Thanks for tuning in.
love, mel

celebratin' in style

Last Wednesday 15 August was Indian Independence Day (65 years!!), a national holiday and big celebration for the whole school. We found out that it was also Korea's Independence Day, so the program gave a shout out to our Korean population too!

Everyone in the school wears national dress on Independence Day, which means the gym was filled with multicolored costumes from all over the world. One of my American students even wore traditional "American" garb, a cowboy-ish shirt and slacks.

Jackie asked about clothing, so here's a bit of info. Remember, though, that I'm still a novice at this stuff. Many, many, many female students and staff wore saris (which I've also seen spelled sarees). These are those beautiful outfits made of a midriff-showing shirt called a choli and a large piece of fabric that's draped into a dress...ish. It's hard to describe, so I'll repost a picture of some students, looking adorable:

Shivi and Raya

Shivi, Minhee, Parishma, Amy, and Natasha -- our colorful Grade 10 advisees!

Saris are just gorgeous, and even our tiny local bazaar offers every kind of fabric and color you could dream up. I wasn't brave enough to start with a sari -- I'm not into showing off my midriff! -- but the more I see them the more I want to try one. Our next big event for dressing up is when the Dalai Lama (YES, I did write that!) comes to visit in September. However, I might try to find a Tibetan outfit for that day. Anyway, I will eventually take the plunge and buy a sari...

Me and a few other staff members decided to go the more conservative route and wear a salwar kameez. This is perhaps the most comfortable outfit I've ever left the house in, though people who've bumped into me on late-night grocery shopping trips might disagree. However, this is certainly the nicest-looking comfy outfit I've worn:

Julia, me, Chris, and Ritika

As you can see, Julia and I went to the same tailor for our outfits -- Inam's! Basically, a salwar kameez is made up of a long shirt and loose pants. And I mean loose. I probably had about 20 extra inches of room in those pants, which really helped when we gorged ourselves at the Independence Day feast... :) 

Chris is wearing one traditional Indian piece -- the vest. I love these things. There's something so sharp about the collar, and I want Chris to get a bunch more this year. Other traditional men outfits include long shirts (kurtas), but I didn't get any good pictures of those -- sorry!

If you check out my facebook page, you can see more pictures of Independence Day fashion. I should probably say something about the actual celebration itself. The day started with a full-school assembly. We got to listen to traditional Indian music, sing the national anthem in Hindi (difficult!), and hear a great speech by one of Woodstock's alums and board members. She graduated in the class of 1950 and went on to be a successful lawyer in Delhi. It was a privilege to hear her reflect on what Independence means. By the by, if you don't know much about Indian history, I'd highly recommend the book Freedom at Midnight, which discusses Independence and Partition. It's a fabulous read about an intense history. 

After all the speeches, we took pictures for forever and then bumbled along to a real feast. Woodstock brought in food vendors from town who served us crazy amounts of food. We had the rest of the day off, so we talked and played games with friends. It was a wonderful holiday.

Well, I meant to discuss Advisor Night in this post, but I think I've reached my word limit for the day. I'll get to that in the next one. Have a wonderful week!! love, mel

a tour of the kitchen

I keep meaning to send some photos of our house, but it's hard because it doesn't feel like "home" yet. Lots of the items around the house are borrowed from the Woodstock hospitality office, and so we're slowly replacing them with things we find at the bazaar or in Dehra Dun. But perhaps we can give you all some idea of life in India by doing a room-by-room tour over several posts. Come on in to the kitchen!...

 As you can see, our space is small -- very narrow. When Chris and I are in there together, we're constantly jostling for space.

(Mom & Dad, you'll be happy to notice that there's a fire extinguisher above the fridge!)

 One of our most important kitchen friends is the Pureguard water filter. When we first got to WS, ours was broken -- a huge pain. Without it, we live on bottled water only, an expensive and environmentally unsound option.











WS also hooked us up with this sweet gas bottle stove. Cooking Thanksgiving dinner with only two burners would be a crazy challenge, but it's worked well so far... though we admittedly struggled to light it on the first several tries.

One of the most expensive things we bought our first week out is this tiny oven. (I put a bottle of oil next to it for scale.) We couldn't decide what would be better -- a microwave or an oven -- but I like to bake, so we sprang for this. I'm going to test out a high-altitude apple pie recipe later this week, my first real go at baking here. Fingers crossed, or our advisees will hate us. :)

Another grand India purchase: the electric kettle. Why did I not have this in the states?? Stupid girl. Of course, the awesomeness of an electric kettle might not make up for the fact that our coffee standards have dropped to a horrible new low. We have a french press, but it's such a pain to clean / dry that we often rely on instant coffee. Bleck! One thing I really miss from IC: Java Coolers, man. I could go for one of those. Anyway, I'm rambling. Needless to say, the electric kettle has been good to us thus far...

Just so you know we're not starving, here's a peek at our food pantry... Notice that we have lots of junk food -- nutella, pringles, and bags of cookies, fresh from the "Bread guy" who visits us twice a week with way too much food. I thought I might lose weight in India, but this evidence begs to differ. The only other thing worth mentioning is that we need to store all open packages in tupperware or plastic bags. It's monsoon, here, so anything left unsealed molds within a few days. The three tupperware on the right are full of spices and dal ingredients requested by our ayah (maid/cook), Shanti -- more on her in another post. 

And finally, I guess I'll mention washing dishes. India is certainly teaching us many lessons, one of which is patience. Things we took for granted in the U.S. take much longer here. The simple act of doing dishes is a full process -- below you can see Chris being an awesome husband and cleaning a load!

So that's our humble kitchen! I'm still learning how to cook successfully here. I've tried pancakes and stir fry -- classics at home -- but the results have been rather "meh." Not sure whether it's the ingredients or altitude or cooking  implements, but I'll figure it out sometime soon I'm sure. I like cooking too much to give up. :)

A final image: pizza from a local restaurant. Our first Indian pizza, and it wasn't bad! Certainly not Carbone's, Pagliai's, or Pepe's, but solidly better than Papa John's and some other typical U.S. delivery places. Oh, and we got to stare at the mountains while we ate... That improves things as well. 

Sorry this post is so long -- hope you all have a fantastic week!