Here's some things I have forgotten to mention in my previous posts so far:
We met Bella yesterday, the director of the India program/Queen Bee, and I love her to bits. She's so fun. Unfortunately, I think she's leaving today or very soon to Morocco. :( But at least we got to see her before she left. The rest of the staff here is awesome though, so we will still have them.
The cooks make the best eggs ever. The toast here is amazing. Of course the chai is to die for.
Cricket is on pretty much every day in the office. I tend to sit at the end of the table so I can see the TV. I'm convinced that if I watch it enough times I'll eventually figure out how the hell the scoring works.
We make friends while we're being driven around by our magic driver. (He does things that would injure me or others if attempted by me.) Since you are rarely more than a few inches from a car/rickshaw full of people you can clearly see who is traveling around you. We pack 7 people in this little jeepy looking thing, which would be entirely illegal in the US. Anyway...if you get close enough to folks that are interested in a car full of white women then it's sort of fun. Children, and sometimes women, will wave or smile. Men sort of....stare, sometimes smile. More often than not they either look amused or quizzical.
The downside to being stopped in traffic on the road (aside from being squished in the car longer, the fumes, the heat, etc.) is that you see the people begging or selling things, most often children with dirty little faces and pitiful puppy eyes. The other day a little tiny surly looking child comes out to the middle of the road with a little mustache and other things painted on his or her face, and is wearing a hat with a little bobble on a string on the top. He or she twirls the bobble around and it's freakin adorable. Then the mum comes out and asks for rupees. There's a lot of aaaaws happening and wanting to give them money or something, but I don't feel this. I think they are adorable, and I don't like that they have to beg, or feel that they have to sell things because their parents want them to. However, it's all they know and it's not generally as desperate as it seems. It's a racket. Obviously you will feel bad for them and want to give them things. But giving them money simply gives them reason to continue. If this should ever happen to you and you feel bad looking away or ignoring them, which is the only thing you can do, then I recommend wearing sunglasses. They will still come up to the cars but it's easier to avoid eye contact which only gives them hope. Thus the "terrible person" bit in my title...
There was a dead pigeon on the roof of a car all day.
I have no idea where I am or where I'm going most of the time.
It feels weird to take money out of the ATM with so many digits.
I made a doggy friend in the courtyard. He's a talker. I scratched him, barely touching his dirty little head, for all of 30 seconds at the most and you would have thought he was the happiest dog in the history of all the world. However, then he wouldn't stop his overjoyed jumping and got paw prints on my outfit. Oh well.
On the way to visit Earth Saviors this morning there was a little gang of kids selling flowers for those last minute gifts. I'll talk more about that visit later.
Happy Valentine's Day <3
We met Bella yesterday, the director of the India program/Queen Bee, and I love her to bits. She's so fun. Unfortunately, I think she's leaving today or very soon to Morocco. :( But at least we got to see her before she left. The rest of the staff here is awesome though, so we will still have them.
The cooks make the best eggs ever. The toast here is amazing. Of course the chai is to die for.
Cricket is on pretty much every day in the office. I tend to sit at the end of the table so I can see the TV. I'm convinced that if I watch it enough times I'll eventually figure out how the hell the scoring works.
We make friends while we're being driven around by our magic driver. (He does things that would injure me or others if attempted by me.) Since you are rarely more than a few inches from a car/rickshaw full of people you can clearly see who is traveling around you. We pack 7 people in this little jeepy looking thing, which would be entirely illegal in the US. Anyway...if you get close enough to folks that are interested in a car full of white women then it's sort of fun. Children, and sometimes women, will wave or smile. Men sort of....stare, sometimes smile. More often than not they either look amused or quizzical.
The downside to being stopped in traffic on the road (aside from being squished in the car longer, the fumes, the heat, etc.) is that you see the people begging or selling things, most often children with dirty little faces and pitiful puppy eyes. The other day a little tiny surly looking child comes out to the middle of the road with a little mustache and other things painted on his or her face, and is wearing a hat with a little bobble on a string on the top. He or she twirls the bobble around and it's freakin adorable. Then the mum comes out and asks for rupees. There's a lot of aaaaws happening and wanting to give them money or something, but I don't feel this. I think they are adorable, and I don't like that they have to beg, or feel that they have to sell things because their parents want them to. However, it's all they know and it's not generally as desperate as it seems. It's a racket. Obviously you will feel bad for them and want to give them things. But giving them money simply gives them reason to continue. If this should ever happen to you and you feel bad looking away or ignoring them, which is the only thing you can do, then I recommend wearing sunglasses. They will still come up to the cars but it's easier to avoid eye contact which only gives them hope. Thus the "terrible person" bit in my title...
There was a dead pigeon on the roof of a car all day.
I have no idea where I am or where I'm going most of the time.
It feels weird to take money out of the ATM with so many digits.
I made a doggy friend in the courtyard. He's a talker. I scratched him, barely touching his dirty little head, for all of 30 seconds at the most and you would have thought he was the happiest dog in the history of all the world. However, then he wouldn't stop his overjoyed jumping and got paw prints on my outfit. Oh well.
On the way to visit Earth Saviors this morning there was a little gang of kids selling flowers for those last minute gifts. I'll talk more about that visit later.
Happy Valentine's Day <3
Awesome entry. You are such a good writer. And, you are such a compassionate person. The kids will love the attention you give them as they don't generally get it.
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