November 28, 2008 – 5:15 pm
Today is the day that we are celebrating Thanksgiving in Mumbai. Before the events of the last two days, our schedule was such that the kids had a half day on Thursday and we were all off on Friday. Obviously many plans for the holiday have been scrapped (such as the full-blown Thanksgiving dinner - [...]
November 27, 2008 – 6:00 pm
We’ve holed up today - among the residents of the apartments, there have been kid play sessions, board game marathons, movie screenings, bread baking-and-tasting exchanges, and swimming in the little pool outside. The news has been depressingly non-ending: over a hundred dead, with twice that number injured and an unknown number still being held.
As I [...]
November 27, 2008 – 3:11 am
Good morning - it is early here, and we just got the proverbial 3am call from one of the school principals about today’s attacks in Mumbai. We are fine, the events took place downtown - far away from us. School is cancelled tomorrow (today); at this point all we know is what we can read [...]
November 23, 2008 – 2:26 pm
As part of our school mission, ASB is in the process of developing relationships with various non-governmental agencies (NGOs) in Mumbai. There are certainly many areas where we have the opportunity to “enhance the lives of others” in this sprawling city, and in the middle school we’ve targeted three sectors for the different grade levels: [...]
November 6, 2008 – 8:54 am
As mentioned earlier, the mood around the school as the election returns came in was ecstatic, to say the least. Apparently this was not a localized feeling; because Breck is home sick this morning and I am staying with him (and he is still sleeping and I’m reading the paper) and I have a few [...]
November 4, 2008 – 9:46 pm
While not as extensively documented as our last visit to the beach state, our new Goa pages are now posted. In honor of the fact that today is an election day, we publish below a shocking photo of just the kind of crazy goings-on for which Goa is famous. As the lady on the right seems to [...]
November 3, 2008 – 7:40 am
Aaahh. Back from a splendid week in Udaipur - a great city that seems to have missed out on a lot of ‘buzz’ at our school. We will certainly be talking about it with colleagues from now on, and a future trip could certainly be in the cards.
Despite the travel traumas inflicted by Indian Airlines [...]
October 16, 2008 – 1:28 pm
Our school held its observation/celebration of Diwali yesterday, and the entire campus was decorated in colors, flowers, and streamers. Our family was no exception, as we put on our finest Indian gear and posed around the rangoli that graced the cafeteria floor.
The holiday itself is not for another few weeks, but with the middle and [...]
October 6, 2008 – 1:24 pm
Always a cause for celebration. We were so darn excited about the break - we packed ourselves off and headed to the beaches of Goa. It was a pretty funny sight at five o’clock in the morning in the airport: it seemed to us that 80% of the school’s population was doing the exact same [...]
September 24, 2008 – 10:26 am
Alea is getting ready for her first Week Without Walls trip, as the 6th graders gear up to visit Matheran. I went with them last year, but am accompanying the 7th grade to Durshet this time around, so she’ll be on her own (to mom’s chagrin).
When we were planning our school trip last year, a [...]
September 18, 2008 – 3:25 pm
No, not the Scooby Doo character, but rather the character of the post-monsoon growth. As the rains wind down, the city is pulling itself into the greenest hues of the entire year. Everywhere we look, grass is growing on fields that were dusty and rock-strewn last spring, the trees are full and hearty, and the [...]
September 14, 2008 – 10:27 pm
Ugh. Can you believe it? This is something that we’ve been dealing with since we arrived here, but have not gotten around to writing about - yet.
Talk about an inconvenient bureaucratic holdover, foisting moral decisions on an entire society. The different states in India, for whatever reason, have decided that certain days during the year [...]
September 14, 2008 – 12:44 pm
I write this on a soaking Sunday afternoon, as we hunker down under the onslaught of the monsoon. The rains should be finishing soon (in fact, they were done last year at this time), but today they are out in force. This evening is the final night in the Ganesh holiday, and I am curious [...]
September 10, 2008 – 1:15 pm
Since this is the time of year when the drums, firecrackers, pyrotechnics, and music all combine to give us a sleep-depriving evening cacophony, it is only fair to acknowledge that the visual feast rivals that of the aural treat.
For many of the 11 days between last Wednesday and next Sunday, worshippers of the Hindu god [...]
September 5, 2008 – 1:01 pm
Today is Teachers’ Day in India, and we were all welcomed with flower garlands (mala in Hindi) and little boxes of sweets as we entered the school grounds. Alea took a fun picture of Dave and Susan before the school day started!
The date for the holiday is actually derived from the birthday of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second [...]
September 4, 2008 – 6:03 pm
The idols are all over Mumbai again, as Lord Ganesha makes his yearly visit to homes everywhere. Our school librarian put together a great little summary of the Ganesh story and the symbolism of the holiday. It is the most popular holiday around town, so it is handy to know what all the excitement is [...]
August 27, 2008 – 9:28 pm
As the last two evenings have been “Curriculum Night” at the school, Susan and I have been busy hopping to and from the school, giving our presentations and then putting on our ‘parent hat’ to sit in on the kids’ teachers.
Tonight, I had to get the kids home from school, get them all homeworked, get [...]
I realize that we’ve been here for a few days, and many family members have already received emails, but this is just the official blogosphere notice that we got in safe and sound. It was a bit of a strenuous trip - that big ole 747 was really a big old 747, and the kids [...]
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 [...]
Finally got the Kerala trip webpages all finished up and posted. The last big trip of the year always seems to get rushed in at the end of everything. With all the stuff going on lately - the end of school and getting ready for summer - they kept getting put off…
But now they’re on [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
