Friday, October 8, 2010

Hello, India.

Trying to do everything about this past week will be absolutely impossible. It doesn't feel like a week. It feels longer and shorter. Longer because it's so different. Shorter because it's been much less stressful and exhausting than a week at a Korean school. (Of course, back then... the weeks went fast at the beginning as well.)

On Sunday, my first day here, the volunteers and I went to Elephanta Island, an island that is known for its temple caves. They weren't spectacular, but they were pretty interesting--teeming with people in the heat, I was dripping sweat, and I had to take things in very slowly, because I was so exhausted. The walkway up was lined with trinket stalls. Some of the most beautiful carvings and works of art were barely ten dollars. The walkway was covered with a woven blue tarp, and everything under it had a blue glow to it.

At school, the kids are wild. I can deal with it, once I act patiently. It's a lot of energy, but it's not as demanding as it used to be, I think. This isn't my first time, and anyway, there are a few of us, so I don't have to teach every class of the day, and rarely do I have to do it alone.

We are right by the ocean. The buildings are squished together. Everything is dirty. Everything smells. Everything is colorful. Everything is exciting. Everything is busy. Autorickshaws are the best. They seat three people, and they are basically bikes--three wheeled motorcycles. And they run crazy through the streets. (Which are on the opposite side, by the way. That's hard to remember.)

Anyway... there's barely anything to say. I've been moseying along. Doing what I've been told to do--taking everything in and trying not to judge it. So far I'm enjoying things, but the heat takes the edge off of everything. Nothing is spectacular, nothing is miserable, because it's just too hot to really make a big deal out of anything.

:D

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