Day 24 – Wednesday, March 26
To start off, the stomach issues
continue. As soon as I got out of bed around 7:30, I had to go the
bathroom really quick. Same thing as earlier. I had to get the
clothes I had washed last night off the clothesline before the water
container overflows. Two things to clarify here . . .
While I take my pants and some shirts
to the laundry ladies across the street, I usually wash my two other
shirts I tend to wear all the time and my underwear, in a bucket in
the bathroom. Yes, in a bucket. Actually the same bucket we use to
take showers with. Yes, we live a simple life – definitely no
frills here. Then you hang them on a make shift line overnight, and
they are dry long before morning. I wouldn't dare hang them out in
the daytime to collect dirt and dust and exhaust fumes. The
volunteer apartment Jose and I live in is right on a traffic circle,
surrounded by all matter of small businesses and any other kind of
shop and street-side eatery you can imagine.
And, oh yes, the water container. I
believe there is large water somewhere on the roof of this building.
All water leading to the apartments works on a downward pressure
system. Each individual apartment has an on/off lever for the water
to shut it off at your apartment. While water isn't rationed, it is
a very protected commodity. Around 8:15 or so each morning, the
water must be turned on. Each apartment has its own plastic water
retention system on the small outdoor space. If you have opened the
valve and the water starts to collect in the morning, it will
overflow when it is full. You have to run out and close the valve
till the overflow gets to a manageable level. It's a crazy system
from a “western” perspective; but this is India, and it works
here.
Anyway I figured I would eat some toast
this morning to see if I could start to absorb some of the fluid
inside of me. Turn on the butane gas tank, light the portable stove
top cooker and get the pan hot before laying on the bread. We have
no oven or toaster. You make due with what you have. Add a little
honey and breakfast is made.
Jose and I have been trying to
determine why both of us have this same intestinal bug. I work out
at Naroda, Jose has been at the house all day for the last two weeks
remodeling the place. So that eliminates me getting it from the food
at Naroda. Lately, I have been cooking at home for the both of us,
but I wash everything, and either boil potatoes or eggplant. So it's
not that. We have just recently been drinking water directly out of
the water filtration system that sits above the sink. I had emptied
all of the water previously there, and refilled it. Then we bottle
it and put it in the fridge to get cold. All indications are that
that is where we got sick. I mention this to Ajay later this
evening and he said he would get someone to check it out. When I
said it was kind of important, he said he would get someone out
tomorrow. That could mean tomorrow, but when in India, tomorrow
could be next week. We shall see.
Nora, Jose and I have been planning a
weekend trip to Palitana for either this weekend or next. This
little bug has already done it's part in making sure it will not be
this weekend. More on Palitana later.
Back to Naroda . . . today is
Wednesday, so it's time for Standards 2 and 3 – no doubt the
largest and wildest of all. These little terrors, around 40 in
total, have a lot of energy to burn and though for the most part
don't speak any English, they understand how to say “NO”. On our
shopping spree last week, Nora had bought some threads for the kids
to make bracelets. Now imagine, Nora and I both having around 20
kids each. We didn't plan this activity ahead of time, so we had to
cut 4 threads for each. These are little kids, most around 7 or 8
years old. By the time I was cutting threads on the 5th
kid, their attention span had worn off. They would just mob me. I
gave up on this project; there was absolutely no way I would be able
to cut threads for 15 more kids and have them all patiently waiting
for me to show them anything. So I send out one little monkey to
find me some chalk. I start drawing a face and told them to get out
their assignment books. Finally, they start drawing what I had
drawn. One or two come up to the board on their own and ask if they
can draw there too. Then it was four of them, while most of the
others concentrated on their paper. A few came up to show me their
work and they were doing well. Finally, for a few moments I thought
I was in control again. Alas, I was only dreaming as they began to
mob me at the chalkboard. Remember, we have no individual rooms, no
desks; everyone sits on the floor. Mayhem ensues, with pleas for
“bool, bool” the Indian accented ball. I was determined that
today they would continue drawing. It was nearly time for Nora and I
to go eat, and I wanted them to focus on drawing, not “ bool”. I
looked and Nora had a better handle on her girls, but not by much.
Not even hungry in this heat, Nora and I were counting the seconds
until we were told our lunch was ready.
And lunch it was . . . the spicy
vegetable stew we normally get was there, with the delicious bread (I
will remember the name of it one day – but not roti), was
supplemented with a creamy, cold mango puree. Yes, I said cold. I
assumed it would be the worst thing for my stomach today (as much as
another hot chilli pepper that I ate yesterday), but I didn't really
care. It was cold, sweet and delicious. One cup, two, three. This
was better than any ice cream. Mangos are in season here now; you
can get them at all the fruit and vegetable stands – so many
varieties to choose from, any you pick will delight your senses.
Everything grown locally. If water was taken away in the city and no
one could bathe or drink, as long as it was diverted to the local
farms, I wouldn't care in slightest (as long as bottled water was
still around).
Then back to our little monsters, who
mysteriously while we were away, had transformed themselves into
little groups and were all working on their bracelets, the girls AND
the boys. One little girl shyly came over to me and pointed to my
wrist where I was wearing one of the bracelets someone had made for
me the previous day. She took the bracelet she had made – it
definitely would have slipped right off of her little hand – and
tied it around my wrist. I bent down and gave her a little hug. She
was so shy; if she had been less brown toned, I am sure I would have
seen her blush. It wasn't long before I got another one. So now I
have three. I will wear them everyday and take them with me on my
upcoming trip, hopefully getting a photo of them in front of
different places.
As soon as we got there, things changed
– and thus the pattern reveals itself. We have met the culprit,
and it is US. “Bools, bools” rings out from both the boys and
the girls. Their lunch time was nearing and as we tell them every
day, “after they eat and clean up – which is normally around 2pm.
It just reinforces the fact that we are their friends, NOT their
teachers. This is Naroda, we make our own rules. We make the rule
that we are there to teach, but also to be their friend. And we are
their only friends, outside of each other that they live, work, fight
and play with 24/7 for ten months of the year.
Nora says she has a bad headache and
asks if we can leave a bit early – it's around 2:30. We say our
goodbyes to the kids which can be a drawn out affair each day. The
long walk starts with a stop at the little shop on the corner.
Neither of us have any water all day. I usually take 2 or 3 bottles
from home, but not today with water being our determined cause of our
intestinal problems. And Nora forget her cold water bottle at home.
That is most likely why we were both pretty much drained today –
thank God for the cold mango puree at lunch. The 20 minute walk went
mostly in silence as we walked the busy road bustling with rickshas
and shops and people; the heat intensifies every day and it's only
March 26. I later talked to Mary who was here last year, she said it
wasn't this hot until mid-April last year – so we have a lot to
look forward to. We finally trudge along to the bus station and see
the red 202 bus sitting at the front of the que. We get on the empty
bus and drink the last of the quickly warmed water. The bus is cool,
at least not under the direct sun. It's nearing 3 and other people
start to get on; the ticket man makes his rounds, 13 rupees each to
Subash Bridge. Ahh, 13 rupees, life is good. Three o'clock and the
bus takes off. In India, buses and trains are known for running on
time. The windows are slid open as air rushes in. The day may be
hot, but the circulating air is it's own air conditioning. The bus
has it's own rhythm; close your eyes and you could easily fall
asleep. Many people do, you see heads tilting, eyes closed. The 3
o'clock bus is full yet emptier than the 4; I can only imagine the
6pm bus during rush hour.
The bus is a far cry from a ricksha
ride. The Subash Circle ricksha “station” is an interesting
place to hang out in the morning. I sit on the marble step
surrounding a statue of three dolphins not far from where I live,
while I wait for Nora to show up around 10. People come, people go –
mostly go – to other parts of the city. This time of the morning,
you will never ride a ricksha alone. The idea is to cram as many
people as possible into the back seat without falling off. Then they
try two add to more on the single driver seat. When I got here four
weeks ago, I saw no traffic police. Over the last few weeks there
must be some campaign going on. Traffic police are out all over,
especially at the traffic circles of which there are many. They are
actually pulling rickshas over and giving citations for all sorts of
infractions. Today, our guy was pulled over – just before he saw
the police, he had guy crammed onto the seat next to him jump. The
police had seen it, and pulled him over to hand out a citation. He
will have a small fine to pay. Seconds after pulling away upon
getting the citation, he stopped and picked up another guy, that
proceeded to sit where the other guy had been. It was the funniest
highlight of the day. Always something to laugh at in India.
Ok, back. Just made some dinner –
bought some basmati rice and cooked it according to the instructions.
Took onions and some imitation butter (like I Can't Believe It's Not
Butter) and sauteed on the side. Big pot of water on the burner and
the rice cooking for 15 minutes after bringing to a good boil. I
didn't have any measuring cup so I just estimated the amount of
water. Came out really good, sucked up almost all of the water.
Looks creamy. Put a little over half into the sautee pan with the
onions and butter. Wham, without even thinking about it, I just made
one of the best onion risottos I have ever made. Deeelicious.
Didn't even have to make anything to go with it. I just sat back and
ate it all by myself.
Jose had gone to Seva Cafe, but I
passed, and luckily so because I wound up in the bathroom twice so
far this evening. But better now than having that quick urge come
while I'm on a ricksha. This is my first week of missing since I've
been here so I don't feel any real sense of obligation at this point.
I took the time to cut my hair this
evening; it was starting to get hot as my hair has been growing. And
I've been wearing my ball cap all the time now with this sun beating
down on my bald spot. I didn't wear it the first week and regretted
it; so now I wear it as though I was born with it.
Back to the bus ride. Like I said in a
previous post, Nora and I always stop at either the ice cream shop or
the juice joint. The last two days we have gotten off at the Subash
stop, so it's the juice joint. The lassi's there have a lot more
curd, more like a thick cream cheese shake; a little sour, a little
sweet. But always cold. They have a really good mango shake which I
got today. They are used to us stopping by every day now. This is a
new shop, probably a month old and glad to see us. I take out my
laptop and work on my photos, Nora reads her book. Later we both
walk back to Gandhi Ashram, she goes home and I go to Manav Sadhna to
get some solid wifi connection till around 6pm. I fill up my water
bottles there as I won't drink what is at home till they fix that
problem. Then I walk back and stop off at the little grocery shop to
buy stuff for dinner, then the rest of the way home back on Subash
Circle.
So I was on wifi today. I really have
to start looking at getting a general feel for what I am going to be
doing in late April through early June. I haven't got the dates for
the Rishikesh trip, so I am making general plans on where I want to
go after that. I made a contact in New Delhi from my Facebook page
when I was selling my things on there. She has been keeping track of
my adventures and is really impressed with my photos. I have asked
her for contacts in Darjeeling and Varnasi that might let me stay
with them for a week each so I can have a place to stay. For a
little gift, I would hope to get a place with a family so I won't
have to dip too deep into my funds, especially in Darjeeling.
Currently, she knows no one in those areas, but told me to hold on
and she will see what she can do. It's all about making contacts.
On a good note, I had mentioned that I would really like to visit
Amritsar, but wasn't sure about it being safe. She was kind enough
to let me know there are currently no problems there. I plan on
contacting the American Citizen Bureau at the US Consulate in Mumbia
via email tomorrow to see if it is ok for US citizens to visit there.
If I can go, I would be willing to sacrifice the Darjeeling visit to
go to Amritsar. Ever since I was a kid and I saw the golden Sikh
temple there, it has always been on my list of places to visit. As
always, we shall see.
So now I am waiting on the dates for
the Himalayas trip. The closest airport to Rishikesh is in Dehradun.
I can fly from there to Kolkata, via Delhi. If I go to Darjeeling,
I would most likely take the train, then return train to Kolkata.
Flight from Kolkata to Varnasi. Next, if I was going to Amritsar, I
would fly there from Varnasi. Then a flight to Chandigarh, and a two
hour bus trip to Simla to cool down before bussing back to Chandigarh
and a flight to Ahmedabad.
Flight from Dehradun to Kolkata - $87
Flight from Kolkata to Varnasi - $75Flight from Varnasi to Chandigarh - $84
Flight from Chandigarh Ahmedabad - $94
Still need to check the flights from Varnasi to Amritsar
Still need to check the flights from Amritsar to Chandigarh
Still need to check the trains from Kolkata to Darjeeling
Have I mentioned that I'm having a
really good time here? Feels like home, not Texas home, but India
home. Even with the heat, the dirt, and the dust, it just feels
right. At least for right now.
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