First off, my apologies for not updating the blog sooner! Finding wifi has been more challenging than I anticipated, and I have settled for using an internet cafe now. Unfortunately that means no pictures for the time being, but I am still taking lots of them and will add photos as soon as I can.
On April 13th I arrived in Kolkata. My flight was painless and I made it to Kolkata right on time. I was met by a driver at the airport and taken to my accommodation. There I met Ranu, the coordinator from Gap Guru, and Sudha, the mother of my host family. In the last 2 weeks I have lots of adventures, so I thought I'd break it down.
The City
If the British did anything right in India, it's Kolkata. It is hands down my favorite city of my trip. Somewhere between conservative Jaipur and modern Delhi, Kolkata feels like how I imagine turn of the century Europe. The streets are lined with trees and there are tons of old-fashioned Ambassador cabs. It is a much better city for walking than Delhi. There are real sidewalks, and even the occasional crosswalk! Drivers here are slightly less homicidal than I've encountered elsewhere. The city is less sprawling than Delhi, and I have got a grasp of the layout very quickly. The architecture is also fascinating. There are more tall buildings there than in Delhi, but there are also lots of lovely, old Colonial style buildings as well. Kolkata has a rich colonial history, as it was the British capital for the majority of their time in India. During my first few days I visited Victoria Memorial (more on that later) where I saw an exhibit about the history of Colonial Kolkata. That history is visible even in the street names: all in a row are Mahatma Gandhi Street, Shakespeare Street, JLN Nehru Street, Lenin Street, Lord Curzon Street and Ho Chi Minh Street! (Kolkata was ruled by a communist government following Independence and up until only a few years ago. In fact, I have May Day off for work thanks to the Communists.)
My Accomodation
I am staying on the fifth floor of a small apartment building with Sudha, her mother-in-law and her two grown children, Risham (22) and Megnah (27). The whole family is absolutely lovely. Sudha is a brilliant cook. At night Megnah and I watch One Tree Hill, and Risham and I discuss cricket scores. Dadi, the mother-in-law, doesn't speak much English, but we manage to communicate through her broken English and my very broken Hindi. My room is simple but private, and because we are on the fifth floor we get great breezes, which is such an asset considering the EXTREME heat. Which is a nice segue to...
The Weather
I have never been so hot in my entire life. Within a minute of stepping outside I am drenched in sweat, and I remain so all day. It is 100 degrees at night, and regularly 110 during the day. It has become noticeably hotter even in the two weeks I've been here. And the humidity! Sometimes I think about my friends whose hair is particularly affected by humidity (not going to name names but you know who you are) and I have to laugh, because they would simply lose all hope here. It feels like being in a sauna. There have been a few thunderstorms at night that bring the temperature down, but within a day it climbs back up again. I have resigned myself to the inevitability of a red face and sweat stains.
My Work
I am working at the Bustee Welfare Center (BWC), an organization that assists slum children. However, I learned upon arrival that they do much more than that. BWC runs a nursery school, two grade schools (up through class 7), a literacy program for mothers of the students and a vocational training (VT) center. The whole thing is managed by a wonderful, efficient woman named Rita who has been extraordinarily helpful. Typically, I go to the nursery school in the morning, where I work with the kids on very basic songs, colors and phrases. In the afternoon, I go the school where I teach a whole range of classes. My favorite classes are 1 and 2, but I enjoy all of them. I have been telling them stories and having them act it out, as well as learn vocabulary. Everyone's favorite story was The Three Little Pigs, because the whole class got to say out loud "Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!" and then when the wolf huffed and puffed we all blew together. Even the Class 6 kids enjoyed it, which I was pleased about because I worried it might be too juvenile for them. The school is a Bengali medium school, so their English is not that strong, but we can still communicate. I have had such a blast getting to know them. Today (4/30) I visited the VT Center for the first time. There, I saw women crocheting, cooking, and sewing: all learning practical skills they can use to generate income. The women were very friendly, and I had a wonderful time; I hope to go back on Saturday to attend a cooking class! Another good segue to...
The Food
As I mentioned, Sudha is an excellent cook. She makes everything from dal to pasta, and it is all sublime. I don't know how she and her children are not all 300 lbs (in fact they are all quite thin). The real reason, however, that food gets its own section is because I have found a slice of heaven in the Kolkata Egg Chicken rolls. There are food stands on every street, and many of them sell these absolutely divine dishes. It is essentially a wrap consisting of egg, chicken, onion, peppers, all sorts of spicy sauces and who knows what else, fried in oil and simply delicious. One roll is 30 rupees (60 cents) and can suffice as a whole meal. Someone mentioned that there is a place in NYC that sells these, and if this is true I will hunt it down.(although I can tell you right now I'll be paying more than 60 cents!)
Before I write a new entry on the sightseeing I have been doing, I need to make a small announcement. As much fun as I have been having in Kolkata, I decided to come home 2 weeks early, on the 11th instead of the 24th. The kids in school have exams and then their summer break starting this week, which gives me very little work, and I think those 2 weeks will be better spent at home than here. However, this just gives me more incentives to do blog-worthy things, so keep reading!
On April 13th I arrived in Kolkata. My flight was painless and I made it to Kolkata right on time. I was met by a driver at the airport and taken to my accommodation. There I met Ranu, the coordinator from Gap Guru, and Sudha, the mother of my host family. In the last 2 weeks I have lots of adventures, so I thought I'd break it down.
The City
If the British did anything right in India, it's Kolkata. It is hands down my favorite city of my trip. Somewhere between conservative Jaipur and modern Delhi, Kolkata feels like how I imagine turn of the century Europe. The streets are lined with trees and there are tons of old-fashioned Ambassador cabs. It is a much better city for walking than Delhi. There are real sidewalks, and even the occasional crosswalk! Drivers here are slightly less homicidal than I've encountered elsewhere. The city is less sprawling than Delhi, and I have got a grasp of the layout very quickly. The architecture is also fascinating. There are more tall buildings there than in Delhi, but there are also lots of lovely, old Colonial style buildings as well. Kolkata has a rich colonial history, as it was the British capital for the majority of their time in India. During my first few days I visited Victoria Memorial (more on that later) where I saw an exhibit about the history of Colonial Kolkata. That history is visible even in the street names: all in a row are Mahatma Gandhi Street, Shakespeare Street, JLN Nehru Street, Lenin Street, Lord Curzon Street and Ho Chi Minh Street! (Kolkata was ruled by a communist government following Independence and up until only a few years ago. In fact, I have May Day off for work thanks to the Communists.)
My Accomodation
I am staying on the fifth floor of a small apartment building with Sudha, her mother-in-law and her two grown children, Risham (22) and Megnah (27). The whole family is absolutely lovely. Sudha is a brilliant cook. At night Megnah and I watch One Tree Hill, and Risham and I discuss cricket scores. Dadi, the mother-in-law, doesn't speak much English, but we manage to communicate through her broken English and my very broken Hindi. My room is simple but private, and because we are on the fifth floor we get great breezes, which is such an asset considering the EXTREME heat. Which is a nice segue to...
The Weather
I have never been so hot in my entire life. Within a minute of stepping outside I am drenched in sweat, and I remain so all day. It is 100 degrees at night, and regularly 110 during the day. It has become noticeably hotter even in the two weeks I've been here. And the humidity! Sometimes I think about my friends whose hair is particularly affected by humidity (not going to name names but you know who you are) and I have to laugh, because they would simply lose all hope here. It feels like being in a sauna. There have been a few thunderstorms at night that bring the temperature down, but within a day it climbs back up again. I have resigned myself to the inevitability of a red face and sweat stains.
My Work
I am working at the Bustee Welfare Center (BWC), an organization that assists slum children. However, I learned upon arrival that they do much more than that. BWC runs a nursery school, two grade schools (up through class 7), a literacy program for mothers of the students and a vocational training (VT) center. The whole thing is managed by a wonderful, efficient woman named Rita who has been extraordinarily helpful. Typically, I go to the nursery school in the morning, where I work with the kids on very basic songs, colors and phrases. In the afternoon, I go the school where I teach a whole range of classes. My favorite classes are 1 and 2, but I enjoy all of them. I have been telling them stories and having them act it out, as well as learn vocabulary. Everyone's favorite story was The Three Little Pigs, because the whole class got to say out loud "Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!" and then when the wolf huffed and puffed we all blew together. Even the Class 6 kids enjoyed it, which I was pleased about because I worried it might be too juvenile for them. The school is a Bengali medium school, so their English is not that strong, but we can still communicate. I have had such a blast getting to know them. Today (4/30) I visited the VT Center for the first time. There, I saw women crocheting, cooking, and sewing: all learning practical skills they can use to generate income. The women were very friendly, and I had a wonderful time; I hope to go back on Saturday to attend a cooking class! Another good segue to...
The Food
As I mentioned, Sudha is an excellent cook. She makes everything from dal to pasta, and it is all sublime. I don't know how she and her children are not all 300 lbs (in fact they are all quite thin). The real reason, however, that food gets its own section is because I have found a slice of heaven in the Kolkata Egg Chicken rolls. There are food stands on every street, and many of them sell these absolutely divine dishes. It is essentially a wrap consisting of egg, chicken, onion, peppers, all sorts of spicy sauces and who knows what else, fried in oil and simply delicious. One roll is 30 rupees (60 cents) and can suffice as a whole meal. Someone mentioned that there is a place in NYC that sells these, and if this is true I will hunt it down.(although I can tell you right now I'll be paying more than 60 cents!)
Before I write a new entry on the sightseeing I have been doing, I need to make a small announcement. As much fun as I have been having in Kolkata, I decided to come home 2 weeks early, on the 11th instead of the 24th. The kids in school have exams and then their summer break starting this week, which gives me very little work, and I think those 2 weeks will be better spent at home than here. However, this just gives me more incentives to do blog-worthy things, so keep reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment