Things you never consider before living in a place that has monsoons: after 8 months or so with no precipitation, the rains have a curious – though utterly predictable – effect on the roads here. That first little bit of moisture ‘brings up’ all the accumulated engine oil, axle grease, tire bits, and other assorted [...]
Through our first year here, we’ve posted a number of pages centered around things that we see in our daily life. As the school year is almost over, and we will be in the US for most of the break, this is the last page of pictures from India that we plan on uploading until [...]
India is a vegetarian’s heaven. Besides all the fresh fruits and veggies that are available in the markets, at roadside stands, and in neighborhood carts, the idea of vegetarianism permeates the culture. Religiously, it makes sense. Since India welcomes all sorts of different faiths, including those that won’t eat beef (Hinduism), those that won’t eat [...]
This week was the fifth graders’ PYP exhibition, a culminating project incorporating all sorts of learning that took place over their elementary school years. The class focuses on a student selected topic for the last 8 weeks of the school year and then presents what they learned to parents, teachers, and peers. This year’s theme [...]
One of my new favoritest foods here is lollipop chicken (or chicken lollipops, depending on which particular menu you are using). They’re just like a chicken wing, except that they have the bone with just a big blob of meat at the end. None of that pesky double boned wing stuff to get in the [...]
We had a Kiara roof coffeehouse evening last Saturday night called CAF-ASB (pronounced Café – S – B). People shared food and showed off their talents in the arts: poetry recitation, singing, music, painting, etc. It was a beautiful evening accented by flickering candles, providing the perfect setting for such an artsy get together.
One of [...]
The sun has been coming up earlier and earlier these days, as we move out of winter (or what passed as winter here) into summer. This morning, however, it actually seemed darker than it had in days past. Looking out the window, we figured out what it was - there were CLOUDS in the sky!!
Now, [...]
I had a fascinating afternoon with some girls from school yesterday. We are hosting a middle school volleyball tournament this weekend, and part of the activity schedule was to go to a mall and go bowling. When the big bus showed up to take everyone, there wasn’t enough room for all the players, so I [...]
As the year winds down, nothing around the school seems to slow down. The weeks and weekends are full of sports, student awards, socials, speeches, and all sorts of other “S” worded events.
Let’s see, today is Wednesday. Today there is volleyball practice and Susan’s after school activity, Tuesday were schoolwide meetings and a speech by [...]
April 30, 2008 – 10:38 pm
One of the toughest things for the kids to get used to is the poverty. Mumbai is an enormous city, and India is still a very poor country, and people from all over head to the big metropolis in the hopes of building a better life. Unfortunately for them, most end up in the sort [...]
April 24, 2008 – 10:00 pm
We are in a foreign land filled with mystery and wonder. There is much to learn here.
Take for example the fact that, according to our landlady, people who are working in the fields in the hot weather will put onions in their ears and wrap them into place, along with an extra piece on the [...]
Who says Mumbai has no wildlife? In addition to the rats we’ve seen running along the sidewalks (for which there are official city jobs dedicated to killing them) and the raven/crows that eat everything the rats miss, Bombay is home to tons of different kinds of animals. Our experiences this weekend centered around 3 specific [...]
April 15, 2008 – 10:15 pm
Now, the biggest religion in India is Hinduism. And people who practice that faith are Hindus. And the ‘unifying’ language of India is Hindi. So there really is nothing wrong with a company adopting a prefix that refers back to the glory of the region, right?
Well, I’m sorry, but I do have to chuckle every [...]
I love the news that runs in the papers here. Not necessarily because it is fun to read or ‘uplifting’ in any way, but because the headlines and stories serve as a constant reminder that Toto is no longer in Kansas. Just as a taste, here are a couple of snippets from recent articles (besides [...]
…must all have name tags on them. We’ve found this out as we’ve traveled around the country, and it is kind of a fun little routine for us. When you check in, you have to fill out a name tag and put it on your bag. Then when you go through security (which involves a [...]
We have returned from the sunny south of India, after 10 days of backwater boat rides and the four s’s - sun, sand, salt, and seafood!!
Our trip was a great success; 3 nights in Fort Cochin, a ride through the famed backwaters and an overnight in Alleppey, 8 hours on a ferry down the inland [...]
Today is the big Parade of Nations (PON), not to be confused with yesterday’s Festival of Nations (FON). As a huge international school, we make quite a big deal over celebrating the national diversity roaming our halls. Looking at the setup statistics for the events today, there are students from 51 different countries walking the halls [...]
Obviously a bit different than in years past!
While some things are pretty consistent from year to year (like my NCAA brackets falling apart before the end of the second round), our holiday patterns are wonderfully varied. This year we got to experience a true mashup of cultures, as a big Hindu celebration coincided with the [...]
What a rookie mistake. You’d think that after 38 years of life and more than 6 months in Mumbai I would have learned my lesson.
I made the number one error that expats living in India simply cannot afford to make: I left the house without a camera. Inexcusable, especially given that I knew it was [...]
Tomorrow, March 22, is World Water Day, something that we have never seen or heard of before. In India, water is a very big issue for several reasons. There are millions and millions of people in this country who don’t have access to water, rural water projects are increasingly having trouble distributing water for industry, [...]
With all the racket and traffic, the city fathers have decided that a day of quiet is just what the doctor ordered. April 7th is being orchestrated as No Horn Day in Mumbai. I’ll believe it when I see (hear) it. There is no way typical Indian drivers are going to lay off the horn [...]
March 16, 2008 – 11:43 am
Of course we celebrated Pi Day this year at school and at home. Breck and Alea have been singing all the Pi Songs they can remember. For those of you who might have forgotten, March 14th - 3.14 - is Pi Day (get it?). And of course, as a middle school math teacher, I do [...]
March 10, 2008 – 10:55 am
So in a country where the majority of people don’t have running water, most of them are used to squatting in an open field and ‘wiping’ with water. If they do have access to a toilet, it is usually a “Squatty” with two foot places and a hole in the middle with a bucket of [...]
The highlight of the school’s social calendar is a huge gala dinner, dance, and PTA fundraising party. This year it was held at the Grand Hyatt hotel, and gave Dave and Susan a chance to dress up and spend a night out.
Of course, there were those who were far better dressed than Dave - tuxedos [...]
The pictures and travelogue from our most recent weekend trip are now posted. Visit the city of Aurangabad, climb to the top of the Daulatabad Fort, marvel at the mini Taj Mahal at the Bibi ka Maqbara, hike the Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain caves at Ellora (and scramble around gigantic elephant statues at the Kailasa temple there), [...]
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