The Toothbrush Fairy

It’s been a busy morning here at Pardada. Mike and I worked on our lesson plan for class this afternoon, teaching English. We have been teaching shapes, colors and numbers to grade 3. The children we are working with know more English than others in the school. They may be able to say words, but not know what the words actually mean.The kids love having us here because we do make it fun- colored paper, stickers, markers! Each class has approx. 40 children, who sit on the floor for hours at a time. The only classroom furniture is an old teachers desk. The kids are are enthusiastic and pretty well behaved.

Each day girls in the school are assigned, on a rotating basis,  to either clean for the day, or work in the kitchen for day. I am now waiting for one to come sweep our room(of the bugs and heavy dust that needs to be swept up daily). It's fascinating to watch them "clean", as they use the dirtiest rags and water to wash the floors, after sweeping with brooms that are about 2' in length, requiring them to bend over as they sweep.  They do not have much in the way of cleaning products here in the village, though we have found some that we do use. In the school, they use just water to clean. We were given a black glass bottle, with red printing, and a skull and crossbone, as a cleaning product to mix with water. I'm not going to even consider opening it!!!

We  launched a new project last Monday, in honor of my dad, who died of cancer in July. He was a children's dentist for 54 years, and had been looking forward to his retirement in August.  I brought 175 toothbrushes here, from his office, for the kids. The 150 children who are in the prep school(means they are learning how to be in school), which holds classes on the first floor of the teachers colony(75 in each room!) are learning to brush their teeth. This will become a part of their morning routine.  For most of them, it is the first time they've ever brushed their teeth. They are so adorable to watch, as they are gettting the hang of it and love the taste of Colgate, so some brush for a long time!  A few aren't so fond of this activity... There is resistance and some tears. They stand at a water trough(similar to what is used for cattle) lined with 40 faucets. The kids either stretch to reach for the water, or jump up and squat on the edge.  I love asking them to smile and show me their shiny, white teeth.  Thanks dad for giving these kids something so important- the gift of healthy teeth.

These young children(who we fondly refer to as either urchins or gremlins) were discovered in April in a village close to the school. No one at the school knew the village existed. Life there is more than primitive, so tooth brushing has never been on their radar screen. It’s more impoverished than the most impoverished villages. These children are learning to eat with a spoon, off of a plate, stand in line, sit and use bathrooms for the first time.  The teachers go to the village to collect them from their houses each morning, often having to get them up and dressed. They are progressing well, though the numbers have gone from 210 to 150(or 135) since April. It‘s hard to keep them in school here, so many incentives are offered- shoes, uniforms, food, transport. What going to school means to the mothers is that they lose their primary source of labor, or child care for siblings when they go to work in the fields. The value of educating a daughter? None, from what they know, so the school works hard to improve attendance with these little ones.  

Corporal punishment, either smacking or beating the kids is still being used at the school, and it’s OK! The volunteers are pushing hard to change many things , including that policy. They justify that parents do it and that it has always been done like that. There is great resistance to change, and they've not been introduced to another way. We volunteers are working to change that, and hope to teach the teachers alternatives to disciplining through corporal punishment.

An incident this morning…The wagon goes to pick up the kids from above village. A girl hadn’t been to school for awhile and when the teacher asked parents why, it was because she had been beaten by a teacher. They dragged her off crying, kicking ad screaming and brought her to school. She refused to stay, so she walked home, a long way, by herself. Turns out her brother had died of typhoid last week. Would they consider that her behavior had anything to do with that? No....

We have 3 house guests that are with us most nights. They happen to be lizards. They are welcome as long as they stay up high(we don't have much choice!). Our ceilings are 10’ so that is good. They eat the bugs! The creatures I have an issue with is the rats. Yes, the rats. Though I've yet to see any, we do see what they leave behind. I am struggling to accept them, big time! Rats are sacred in the Hindu culture, and have always been there. It's only westerners that have an issue!!! Ugh!!!!

We are next to a field that is currently being plowed, which really stirs up the dust here. Behind us are sugar cane fields, where harvesting begins soon. The people must grow what they eat, so there are fields everywhere, along with oxen that pull the carts, pigs that slop in the mud and open sewers, and lots of cows and buffalo that provide dung patties people burn to heat their houses, as well as build many of their homes. Nothing goes to waste here! People travel the roads, collecting the patties, so the roads are semi “clean”, in comparison to what they would otherwise be.

Tomorrow begins another week, with more experiences to share. Will keep you posted! Mary

Life in Anupshahur, India

Some how the word got out before our arrival at Pardada Pardadi School that I knew something about computers.  I must hve mentioned to Sam (the school's founder) that I had worked for Oracle.  So I've been tasked with "upgrading" the computer lab, establishing the teaching cirriculum and training the new computer teacher.  Currently the computer lab consists of 20 ancient desktops covered in rat poop and layers of dirt.  Oh, those pesky rats have eaten through the network cables so only the teacher's computer has access to the Internet.  The biggest problem, however, is the power keeps going out and all of the computers need to be re-booted.  This happen 3 times in the first 15 minutes of class today.  We have new batteries on order, but the will be here on "India time" - promised today but who knows when they will arrive.

Other creatures we encounter daily are the 4 lizards that live in our apartment.  We were a little apprehensive the first night about sharing our apartment with them but now they are just part of the wall decor.  Peacocks, the national bird of India, are also quite common.  We see them in the morning in the field next door. 

Yesterday was the Annual Assembly for the School and the girls put on a wonderful show with many dances and skits. The guest of honor was the British Ambassador's wife and a large donor to the school from the Xerox foundation. With great fanfare they laid a cornerstone for a new grade school which will be the 4th one built here! After a school tour and big lunch we went for a boat ride on the Ganges River. It was awe inspiring being out on this famous and holy river as the sun set slowly on the horizon! Also, believe it or not Mary and I now have our names carved in marble into our own (what we refer to as our tombstones) monument for being volunteers...things here are just too funny, or just too unbelievable!

Punting on the Ganga!

If you look closely you can see Mary's face right to the right of Sam Singh in the yellow shirt.

The other day Mary and I ventured into town on foot to have some photos printed of the girls to hang on the wall in the entryway of the school.  If you saw the village you, as us, could not imagine that you could get photos printed here.  As we left the print shop (shack) we heard a commotion across the road.  There a group of large monkey's were chasing a another group of teenage boys.  It was apparent that the boys had provoked the monkeys and some had a little fear in their eyes.  Later that night at dinner, Bethany, a 22 year old American volunteer here, told about one a teacher's son who are recently died.  Children's death here is a common occurence. Her 16 year old son had thrown a rock a juvenile monkey.  The adult monkeys chased the boy down to the Ganges where the boy jumped in the river to escape.  The river was swollen from the heavy monsoon rains and swept the boy, who did not know how to swim, away.

Arrival at Pardada Pardadi School in Annupshur, India

Arriving anywhere for the first time in India is always a body and mind boggling experience, filled with disbelief and incomprehension, even after a month in this country. After a typical 6 hour drive from Delhi to Annuphshur, where the roads go from bad to non-existent, complete with a stop out in the middle of nowhere at a brick kiln for the driver to deliver 6 cases of clandestine Bagpiper whiskey and collect his fee, we arrive at Pardada Pardada where we plan to live for the next 2-3 months.

Upper School Girls

The school has the highest passing grade in the UP state, but is appalling by Western standards. As expected, everyone, without exception, is welcoming and friendly. We go about settling in to our apartment at the teacher’s colony and getting to know our way around the school. I (Mike) have a small note pad, purchased along with school supplies in at a Delhi market, and ask everyone to write their name down so I can try and recall it the next time I see them. The children are just incredible, so open and friendly and curious and lively. The look in their eyes is penetrating. They arrive by bike, by bus, by oxcart, by tractor, and on foot. From our balcony we can see the small ones arrive early and play on the swings and slides starting at 7:30. Mary and I go out to give them jump ropes to play with, which is met with great excitement

These children are the first in their families to ever go to school. They are from the poorest families in the region. They first have to be taught how to stand in line, how to wash their hands and how to eat with a spoon. Even though there are toilets in the main school (not the grade school), most prefer to go in the sugar cane field that surrounds the building.

Morning Assembly at Sayta Bharti Grade School

After 3 days of cleaning and sprucing up our apartment it is now pretty comfortable. It's almost a takoff of college days. Today we took a bicycle rickshaw taxi to town though the market street to the end and walked down to the Ganges River. Even this far North, the river is huge, milky brown and moving fast still from the monsoon rain. Trash is freely thrown into it. A man offers to take us on a ride in his wood carved canoe. We politely decline waiting for the waters to recede further. We walk back through the market with hundreds of vendors selling fresh produce, bright fabrics, grains, snacks, rope, chairs, shoes, clothes, bike wheels, haircuts, medicines and who knows what else. The street is narrow and utter chaos with huge bulls, bicyclists, speeding motorcycles, ox drawn carts, women stacking bricks, barefooted young ones, piles of trash and gravel and wood, pigs and goats running loose….and too much more to remember. People stare at us and gather wherever we go. After making a purchase we turn around and are surrounded by a group of boys and men. We are the only white people in the village, so they are mesmerized by us.

The view from our room is the school, a sugar cane field, the outskirts of the town, trees and a field that is being plowed. In the distance I can make out an ox and two women walking both carrying huge bundles of green vegetation on their heads. The music and sounds come from loudspeakers into the wee hours of the morning. We're learning to ignore it.

Everyday is at least 90 F as we try and stay cool, looking forward to the arrival of fall in Nov or Dec. On our first night here we were invited to a Naming Ceremony at a local family’s home. The baby was 1 week old and we were welcomed as honored guests receiving the only chairs in the home. The dwelling can only be described as an old garage from say the 1930’s and we ate food on the roof that was cooked out back. We were served first, and after we finished the men and boys ate. We did not see the women eat but were told they ate after we left. They always eat after the men finish.

Sunday, our day off, Mary and I take a walk on a side road away from town. We encounter many families riding on flat wooden carts pulled by ox. Where they are going we do not know. An old man is lying on a hemp bed by the side of the road talking on a cell in front of a shit-shack, built from sun dried cow pies for walls and grass for the roof. Because of the monsoons, the huts are leaning.  Some families are living on rope beds under a thatched roof on poles with no walls at all right beside the road.

Last night we were invited to go to Sam’s(started the school) house for dinner. Its was about 20 minutes out of town and is a large compound and an impressive manor house built by Sam’s grandfather. Behind the house is a small structure where the women and children lived when Sam was growing up. Women were not allowed in the main house.

Before the 9 pm dinner we watch the first half of the Indian movie “Water”. Sam’s explanation of the cultural context and what was going on in the move was fascinating. You should watch it. This is still going on in India today. At dinner we learn that a 12 year old girl who was is a student at the school was recently wed to a 45 year old man. This was with the blessing of her mother, who was dying, as apparently the man offer a tidy sum of money to her to obtain there daughter. Shortly thereafter the school learned she was being abused by her “husband”. The school stepped in and paid off the abusive man in the same amount he had paid the parents to get rid of him. Now that the girl is a “widow” she is an outcast for life. When a women becomes a widow here she has only 3 options; to throw herself on her husband’s funeral pyre, shave her head and go live as an untouchable with other widows, or with the consent of her husband’s family marry his younger brother.

Last Days in Nepal

Our last days in Nepal were wonderful.  We finished our trek walking through gorgeous hillsides of terraced rice paddies and small villages.

Himalayan rice paddy terraces

Satellite TV comes to the Himalayas

Funeral pyre along the river

Back to Pokara we recuperated at the massive Fulbari Resort (rated one of the greatest hotels in the world which we found quite humorous )  As soon as checked in the power went out and no Internet.  So we relaxed by the pool and enjoyed the cliffside views. 

Roughing it at the Fulbari Resort pool in Pokara

While Mary got a massage at the Spa, I tried my hand at Nepali golf!  First the clubs were vintage 1920s and only 3 balls could be found. My caddy was a bright eager lad giving me suggestions on which club to use.  The first hole was straight at the clif dropping off hundreds of feet to the Seti River.  You hit it over the green and it's gone!  Hole 2 was unbelievable. Shooting from one cliff to another...needless to say my ball did not make it. Hole 4 was even worse having to shoot and land on 2 cliffs.  With 3 balls gone an enterprising young soon appeared an offered 3 more at 300 rupees apiece.  After some back and forth we settled on 50 rupees.  At hole 6 a family of monkeys appeared on the green but didnot linger long.  By now I had 4 caddies, all helping and hoping for a grand tip at the end of 9 holes.  At every tee the smallest one stood no more than 25 yards in front of me with both arms raised straight over head indicating where I should hit the ball.   Finally at the 9th hole I landed on the green from the tee and tapped it in with one additional stroke, both to loud clapping by my entourage.

The following day we flew to Kathmandu rested further at the Yak and Yeti hotel before heading to Delhi for the 4th tiem so far.

Nepal Primer and Fairwell (again) to Delhi

Nepal October 3, 2010

We have been in Nepal for several days now, and continue to having fascinating experiences on a daily basis. We are learning so much about these countries and their people, as well as each other. Travel days are long and hard, always with delays. Once we settle into a new place (14, to date!), we tend to fall in love with the area.
Before I get to Nepal, just a few thoughts on India. It has been a most interesting time to be in India, as the Commonwealth games begin today, causing so many changes for Delhi. The difference in the roads was incredible from our earlier flights and road trips through Delhi. It’s now or never for this country to show its best side to the world with these games, which involve 54 countries of the British Commonwealth. They’ve had 7 years to prepare for the games, and the debacle they have created has been absolutely unbelievable. From the sites not being ready, to building dorms in flood zones(monsoons ended last week, so this is a big deal!), to the collapse of the main pedestrian bridge to the stadium, cleaning up the filth in the atheletes dorms, removing snakes from tennis stadium, and getting rids of thousands of homeless surrounding the games area.

By now, people know that the roads and byways are filthy, littered with everything, both living and nonliving that one can possibly imagine. From the time we left the airport terminals, which are both new and very nice (completed in time for the games), the highway is congested, with cows, people and dogs living roadside, with trash scattered solidly along the way. Every imaginable vehicle, both old and running way beyond their years, packed with goods, people, and who knows what else, travel along without regard for lanes, who they are cutting off, nor speed limits.

When we arrived back into Delhi last week, the roads were clean. The people, cows and the rest of the trash were all gone. It is unbelievable that the army(who they used for much of the cleanup) made this happen. We felt like we were in a different city! Due to threats of terrorism, security is top notch. We want to keep up with what goes on with these games, as we now feel a connection to India we didn’t feel a month ago.
Our trip through Nepal, to date, included Kathmandu and Chitwan National Park. We just arrived today in Pokara, having sat through a road shutdown in a village where the locals were holding a protest about the roads not being redone. When the road blockages occur, you sit and wait. And read, and accept there is nothing that can be done until they reopen them. At home there would be riots as people would have no patience for having to wait for such an inconvenience. Here, waiting is the name of the game. Nobody gets upset, they just wait. After the road was opened allowing the massive traffic jam to move we came to a bridge on the main road between Kathmandu and Pokara that is broken. The Nepali solution? Just allow one vehicle at a time to cross the bridge to keep it from crashing down into the river far below! We held our breath…and made it to the other side! Tonight we are in a the Fishtail Resort that can be reached only by boat. It’s in the middle of a lake, peaceful, beautiful! Tomorrow we fly out from here to do several days of trekking.

Main Street, Swartha, Chitwan, Nepal

Chitwan National Park was great. Staying in a lodge that reminded me of my days at Girl Scout camp, we were in the middle of the jungle, in a village of indigenous people. Our guide told us that 46% of the women who give birth there don’t know who the father of their babies are, as rape and sexual violations are rampant, between trafficking and police and military abuse! The Army is there to protect the tigers and rhinos from poachers. The lives these women live is unimaginable!

Rhino Sighting

Things always look better in the A.M. than they do when we arrive in the evening. We’re learning! Our day started with an elephant safari, where we followed a rhino through the jungle, on the back of an elephant. We saw some other wildlife, including monkeys, deer and peacocks. After, as we strolled through the village, elephants and water buffalo passed us by. We then went on a river safari, in wooden dugout canoes made from Sal trees - a wood like mahogany but much harder, in search of crocodiles. It was so hot, so I sheltered myself with an umbrella. The sun was more than hot for that to happen. We THEN went on a jungle walk- which almost put me (Mary) over the edge.

Our guide tells us, after we get out of the canoe, observing fresh tiger and elephant footprints as we walked up the bank, that we needed to be quiet, stick together(us and 2 guides), and watch out for 3 dangerous animals- sloth bears, Bengal tigers and rhinos. He wanted us to wait until dusk came close so our chances were increased at seeing these guys! This wasn’t sitting well with me, especially when we were told that if we saw them, we were to run “zig zag”, hide behind a tree if the rhino charged us, and climb 6 feet up a tree for safety. At this point, they about lost me. I have always wanted to go on safari, but this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. We were ½ hour into the jungle when Crocodile Dundee decided that we would traipse through deep mud, bugs, and tiger tracks to see if we could spot any! That’s when I knew I wasn’t going any further. My idea of safari was to ride in a jeep, surrounded by at least some protection from tigers, rhinos and bears! As we continued to the hike, we went to an elephant breeding ground, where we saw the 2nd set of twins born to an elephant. Turned out to be a cool day!

As we headed from Kathmandu to Chitwan, we traveled on what was to be a 5 hour drive, turning out to be 7, I reflected on what life is like for the Nepalese(could be Indian, too) people. We were on the main highway from Kathmandu to India. This road is less than 2 lanes wide, windy, with steep ascents(or descent, depending on the direction you are headed), bumpy, dusty, heavy diesel fumes from trucks, people and young children on foot, horns honking, motorcycles, with more trucks than I95 has on the entire east coast. We had the opportunity to be part of a traffic jam like we‘ve never experienced in America. We were fortunate to be in air conditioning, with each other, and with food and water.

This is a normal part of life in these countries, so plans and schedules really don’t mean much of anything. The people aren’t reacting in anger and road rage. It just is what it is. And they deal with it. I can’t imagine, as a mother, letting my young children walk these roads, or letting my babies play 5 feet off the road with their friends, unattended; living in a shack sitting on the road with the dust and fumes being breathed daily. I can’t imagine having a store(shack), with the food stuff(both fresh and packaged) covered with dust and black soot. I can’t imagine being a woman, carrying a load of stones on my head that weigh more than they do, being a child begging for money for food, a truck driver who has to earn a living driving to and from India with no front windshield on their truck to be protected from the elements, or being so physically deformed that a piece of wood with wheels on it is what you sit on to beg for food. How blessed we are, and how we can take what we have for granted, or worse yet, complain about what we don’t have or what we think we “need”.

The most intense experience we’ve encountered so far was our visit to the Monkey Temple in Kathmandu. I was overwhelmed with the many mothers with babies and young children, who were desperately begging from tourists. You have to ignore them, as there are too many of them. There is no assistance of any sort available to the people of Nepal. None, no food stamps, no welfare no WIC, no housing. Nothing! What is the answer?

That is one big prayer wheel!

Another experience, encountered that same day, was a visit to the Basmati River, a holy river, where they cremate their dead. That was all pretty surreal. We arrived early in the day, so the wrapped bodies were being carried to the site, to be cremated. Other bodies were being carried out immediately after death, to have their feet placed in the river and a ritual of makeup painted on their faces. After their feet are washed, they too, are taken to be placed on the funeral pyre, with the eldest son starting the fire for cremation. Because we were there early, the fires had yet to be started, which was fine by me. Across the river, we were, lots of families were sitting together, performing rituals done on the 13th day after death. School children milled about the area, which was somewhat bizarre to us. There were lots of Holy men around, whose photos we captured. Teenagers were in the river, barefooted, cleaning up the trash and remains of the cremations. The Hindis do death quite differently than we do in the western world. The experience will stay with me a lifetime.

We’re off tomorrow for several days of trekking, heading to village for 3 nights where only transportation mode is the tractor that will pick us up at the airport to take us to the hotel.