We finally got out of the city. Our first venture out in more than a
month.

Just north of the city (actually, surrounded by the city) is Sanjay
Ghandi National Park, a 104-square kilometer protected area of
jungle. It is the dry season, so it was pretty dry and hot (they
haven't had rain here since probably September). However, we're keen
to go back once the rains come, because you can tell it gets filled
in with greenery.

We rode the local trains about 1 1/2 hours to get there, and then
took a short "van" ride to the caves. They are part of a Buddhist
monastery that is 1,900 years old. They are a bunch of homes and
temples that were carved out of a giant rock outcropping at the top
of a hill in the jungle. It was quite impressive - kind of reminded
me of the Anasazi cliff-dwellings.

We found one old monk's cave and sat on the steps of his "porch". We
had a view of the city way off in the distance. The air was
surprisingly clear, even in the city. But out at the park, we
actually saw blue sky and clouds - another first in India. Sitting
on the steps, with no one around, I actually had 15 minutes of peace
- nothing but birds and cicadas. No horns, traffic, motors, people,
etc. It was literally the first time we've had peace since early
February when we went camping north of San Francisco.

Today (Monday) was even clearer - so I snapped a couple of photos
from our apartment so you can see the difference. I also got a photo
from the other side of our apartment, looking out over the bay (which
is usually lost in the smog).

Work is busy for both of us, and I am now helping out at a center
twice a week with some 11-14 year old kids. They are pretty well-
behaved; I think I lucked out. It's nice to get out of the office
and help someone that can really use some help. Plus my work said I
didn't have to make up the hours...my job is pretty much just get the
work done and who cares how many hours it takes you. Most of my co-
workers take naps at their desk, and half of them don't even show up
2 days out of the week.

Click on the Flickr link to see the photos.

--Will (& Serenity)

I went to one of the educational centers on Monday to meet the teachers there so I can start going twice a week to help out. 

The kids were  8 and 9 years old, unruly and out of control, but for the most part good natured. I'm taking Will there tomorrow (Friday) so he can start going on Thursdays and Fridays in the afternoons also.  You should have seen the look on the one teacher's face when I said there would be two of us coming to help out -- she really needs the help! Apparently the particular class hasn't had a steady teacher EVER, so no wonder they have no concept of consistency or good behavior! 

Basically the 'centers' are two apartments in a large apartment complex. The complex was built by the government to house a community whose legal slums were demolished last year by government-permitted construction projects. So, the complex is run-down, there's dirty kids and chickens running around, and who knows what else. 

The whole neighborhood in general is a very poor area -- bad road conditions, lots of slum housing, trash and dirty water, etc. It's amazing to think about what the kids deal with on a daily basis, not to mention what their family lives are probably like.  

Also, there is a large Muslim population in the area, so that means it's common to see women in the full black burqa, green flags flying from rooftops (green is the color of Islam), and the call to prayer was blasting over loudspeakers when I left around 5:30 in the afternoon. -- Makes for some sights that we certainly don't see at home! 

I wonder if other Americans living in places like this are equally curious about Muslim culture? It seems like since 9/11 it has been an 'us versus them' conception between 'east and west'. I feel privileged to be able to experience 'the east' for what it really is here... whatever that is! 

So I'm staying busy. I'm trying to be out of the office as much as possible - I'm teaching two classes on Thursday afternoons across town, will be visiting the centers twice a week in the afternoons, and next week I'm starting a language course in the mornings for teachers-in-training... to boost their English skills. 

Hope everyone is doing great! 

I drew this picture after watching this lovely woman go by on the back of a motorcycle the other day. I didn't have my camera with me, and probably couldn't have gotten a photo anyway, but I'm intrigued for some reason by Muslim women here - the ways in which they are the same and different from their Hindu counterparts. For instance, they both wear bright colors, but when in public, the Muslim woman covers up... only the jingles of her foot jewelry and the bright colors at the bottom of her pants give her away.

This woman and man were laughing and talking while in a traffic jam. The woman's eyes showed laughter and joy, and she was obviously comfortable on the bike. She was young, and her small figure was just barely visible under her black cover. The invisibility of her body except for her eyes, which were laughing, and the way in which she sat with ease, lended a mystery to her character that I wish I could know more about... and who is this young man driving the motorcycle? Her husband? Her secret boyfriend? A classmate? Her brother? When does she get to take off the chador? At work? Only at home? Is this a special occasion or does she get a ride on the back of a motorcycle every day? (I have seen this same scene at other times). Anyway, go ahead, ponder.


And then -- there's this delightful dish that we discovered accidentally from the place where we eat so many of our meals...

Behold,

Kashmiri Naan.


This is a soft slice of naan bread, filled with Indian cottage cheese and cilantro, then topped with candied beets, fresh sliced apples, cashew nuts, fruit jam, cilantro, and a cherry.

Like Will says -- "If this is what they eat in Kashmir, no wonder India and Pakistan fight over it!!!"

This afternoon I watched as two teenage boys were reprimanded by a
woman for being on the ladies-only train car. In a car full of women,
one raised her voice to let the teenage boys know it's not okay to be
on the ladies' car.

Henna-covered arms waved through the air as the woman let her
thoughts be known, while the rest of us looked on... the boys of
course got off quickly at the next station.

Riding the train can sometimes be a pain, but it is nonetheless a fascinating experience here in Mumbai...

Today, as I gazed out at the slums and the poverty that is so much of this city, I got a soundtrack to the sites.

Coming from somewhere in a nearby 2nd class car, loud bells, drums, and boisterous singing filled the air as the Indian city swept by.

There is something about the ringing, chanting, and festivity-like quality to the sounds of acoustic, tribal or religious music that turn an otherwise drab morning into a colorful experience for the ears.

Twice now, I have hopped off the train and strained to catch a glimpse of these musicians, as the train leaves the station, wondering how in the world they find space in the train cars to play their music, and twice now, I have seen not even the slightest trace of this band of men. They are swallowed up by the masses, hidden away from sight among the throngs of people -- only their music permeates the crowds.

Will says: "I don't know, that laundry is pretty cheap... Seems too cheap". 

He's been taking his shirts and pants to a young man just around the corner to be washed and ironed. He drops them off one day, and picks them up about a day or two later. 2 shirts and 2 pants -- 10 rupees he's charged. (That's about $0.25). 

Getting ready to leave the house on Sunday morning, Will starts to think about the clothes he's been getting back from the launders. They just don't smell that fresh. 

Come to think of it, that dirt around the collar hasn't gotten any lighter either. 

A conversation with the man next door, out in the hallway, brings more light to that increasingly funky smell... 10 rupees happens to be about what the neighbor pays to have his clothes ironed - only. 

"Just a local boy" our neighbor says of the young man with our laundry.

Then Will and I think back to what that young man around the corner is doing every time we stop by -- he's ironing. 

Do you know what that means? 

That means that Will has not worn a clean shirt since we arrived in India - over a month ago. 

Let's just say the colors of India I saw as I poured the soapy water out while washing those shirts in our big laundry bucket was not bright blue, orange or red -- it was black.

Had a good day at work - did a lot of brainstorming and am helping coordinate the how the new school will operate on a daily basis.

I left at the same time as a co-worker so took a train home with her. She gets off at the stop before mine, so we rode together, which was really nice, although I went on the 2nd class train with her instead of 1st class like I usually go by myself, and we had nice conversation, but while crowded like sardines - oh well! I always take the ladies' car, so at least it's just other women I'm crowded in with.

The price difference: 2nd class -- 7 rupees // 1st class -- 87 rupees. Pretty significant!

The only difference in 1st class is that people have to pay a lot more, so there's not as many people -- otherwise it's the same train car.

Today in the train car I was squished with, among many, many others, women in every color of sari and salwar kameez you can imagine, and some you've never imagined, a woman holding a large drum, and old woman trying to sit on the floor, business-like women, muslim women in full black cover, little school boys (they're allowed to ride the ladies' car until 12 years old).... and the list goes on.

Always someone or something to look at!

I uploaded a few photos from my walk to work this morning, right before the batteries died in my camera.

It's an interesting walk from the train station to the office. Once I cross the busy road with traffic coming, never stopping, from 6 directions, I walk through a few streets filled with vendors, kids, oxen, trucks blaring hindi music, the list goes on.

When I cross through the gates into the office complex, I give a big sigh... phew!

I think what bothered me the most about the drunk lady in the restaurant is two-fold:

1) In a city of 20 million people, the first obnoxious, irresponsible drunk person we came across was NOT Indian. I don't understand why that is.

2) Here was a woman with the ability to provide her children with the greatest gift - an education. She obviously had the financial means to afford her children some education and, therefore, a future. But she didn't.

The American education system should be our number one export. It may have some shortcomings on the K-12 level, and we be able to learn something from Japan on that, but considering the outstanding University system, America is above the rest by far. And that education system, with all it's faults, is the number one reason why we (and myself, specifically) have the ability to sit around and think about reasons why things are they way they are - and also, we can think about how to make them better.

What was so disappointing to me, is that this woman had the chance to afford her children that gift...and wasn't going to take it. Apparently, because of alcohol.

But my question still remains - why does it seem that alcohol is not a serious problem like it is elsewhere?? (meaning Europe, North America and perhaps, Africa - I don't know, I've never been to Africa.).

I thought affluence might have something to do with it, but the Japanese are extremely affluent and don't have the social problems America does with alcohol, so that doesn't explain it.

Anyone have any ideas?

First of all, I have to address the road "work" and the Indian policy of hiring as many people for one job as possible.

I'm convinced that if there is a 100 foot section of sidewalk or road anywhere in this city, someone will dig it up.  I think it's a form of job creation. 

This country seems to have a knack for providing a ton of jobs, but they probably all pay crap.  Every restaurant, no matter how busy, has at least 10 guys standing around watching you eat, one waiting to take your glasses when you're done, one waiting to wipe the table, one waiting to take your order, etc.  And then when you order your meal, the waiter turns around and repeats it to another waiter who then goes to the kitchen and repeats it to the cook.  And most waiters, busboys, etc. are barefoot.  Can you imagine?  You can't even get service in McDonalds in the States without shoes...much less having the people serving your food sans shoes.

We walked past a jewelry store last night that had three small counters, each with 5 employees behind them, for all of 7-10 customers.

Yet trying to get someone to come to your house to do some work is a pain in the ass.  The gas guy was supposed to come before noon on Saturday, and when I called the office at 1 p.m., after being hung up on TWICE, finally some woman got on the line and told me he would be there by 6 p.m.  Right.  Conveniently, 6 p.m. was when the office closed, hence I couldn't keep calling and complaining.  We'll see when we get the gas stove.

Walking on the sidewalk is like going through an obstacle course.  If you aren't dodging open manholes, you're avoiding the bricks that are piled up, or the curb that has been removed and laid to rest on the sidewalk, or a pile of one-foot diameter concrete water mains that someone has left there...or the occasional dead rat.  Given how many dogs there are wandering around, it's a wonder avoiding dog shit isn't a huge problem.  I haven't figured out where the dogs are all going, but maybe they have taken on cat like qualities and are digging holes and covering it up.

By the way, today qualifies as a "toxic" air quality day.  I cant see more than a half-mile.

However, I don't think I would like to be anywhere else.  The people here are laid back and friendly, and I'm amazed at how hard everyone works. 

Even the beggars...they are determined folk, and are out there everyday, in the heat, pollution, dust, scrambling for a few rupees.  I've watched the locals and realized saying "no" doesn't work - instead you give a little click with your mouth and shake your head to the side once...miraculously, I've turned beggar kids back from ten feet away with a preemptive "click."  And if they are really persistent, you just have to get over your western-culture barrier of avoiding physical contact.  It seems mean, but if push comes to shove, and they won't let you walk freely down the sidewalk, you just have to push them away.  But here in Mumbai, there aren't many tourists and the beggars aren't really much of a nusiance. In Delhi the beggars were much more persistent and annoying.  And here in Vashi, there are NO tourists whatsoever, so you don't get targeted anymore really than locals do.

However, walking past a woman sitting in the dirt, with her baby laying naked in the dirt and trash next to her, is tough.  It's happened a couple of times, where I've seriously wondered if the kid was dead.  If not dead yet, it was only a matter of time.  But there's not much you can do, especially now that we are on an Indian salary.  Our money doesn't go that far to be able to afford even giving a couple of rupees...and since we do kind of stand out as white folk, we have to be careful not to get a reputation as the "foreigners that hand out money" in the neighborhood.

At work, I've noticed a big difference in how women act.  They are aggressive, outspoken, assertive and NOT intimidated by men.  It's quite a change from Japan.  I had a meeting at work, and the women dominated it.  They feel free to interrupt, speak their mind, and NEVER apologize for anything. 

My work week is slow on thursday and Friday, so I think soon I can start volunteering at one of the centers from the NGO Serenity is working at.  There is one just a short train ride away, and I can spend a couple of hours in the afternoon with the kids.  I think that is the only way to really help anyone, cause handing out spare change seems only to solve the problem temporarily and really probably only serves to ease your own conscience. 

This is kind of just a rambling post, but lastly, I'd like to address an uncomfortable incident last night that reminded me of a problem that I can definitely now identify as "non-eastern."

Alcohol seems to be a curse upon largely western countries of the world.  Japanese love to drink, but as I've mentioned before, have a certain social responsibility that comes with it that deters aggressiveness, misbehavior, etc.  In Afghanistan and the UAE, alcohol was illegal (only consumed by the tourists in Dubai), so that area of the world doesn't seem to have a problem like in the States.  And here in India, alcohol is available, but not as popular (likely because of cost).  Even so, I haven't seen any evidence of any serious or chronic alcohol-related problems...no loud drunks, no aggressive, fighting drunks, etc.

But last night, while eating our dinner inside a restaurant, in walked a woman and her two kids.  I heard her talking to the kids as we walked past, telling them to "make it quick."  Obviously they were stopping just to use the toilet.  She had a slight African sounding accent, but appeared western in most respects.  She was well-dressed and was financially well-off. 

One of her kids, probably about seven or eight years old, came over to our table, and without saying a word, reached over and grabbed one of the little licorice candies they give you here after a meal.  Serenity told her to hold out her hand and she would give her some, but the girl didn't respond - didnt say a word, and acted like she didn't understand, though obviously her mother spoke to her in perfect English.

Then the mother came over to our table, and obviously drunk, started a conversation.  She didn't have much of an accent, and my guess would be she wasn't straight off the boat from Kenya, where she said she was from.  Anyway, the waiters were uncomfortably trying to usher her and her kids out of the restaurant, but she was to drunk and was oblivious to everything around her. 

Then her kid came back over, and again without saying a word, grabbed two huge handfuls of the candy from the tray.  meanwhile, her older brother was bouncing and hitting the back of Serenity's chair as hard and as fast as he could.  The mother was oblivious, continuing on with her drunken conversation that only she thought was appropriate. 

I realized that her kids didn't know how to communicate with anyone.  It wasnt the language, it was the complete lack of structure, attention, proper guidance, etc.  The little girl didnt know how to talk to someone normally.  It was sad.

Finally the waiter lost it and pushed the two kids out the door.  The mother still didn't notice.  She went over to another table and tried  another inappropriate conversation with another couple, while her kids were out on the street.  She was barely aware they were around.

I was bothered because here was someone who had the financial means to be able to provide for her kids, as opposed to the sea of poverty surrounding us.  And yet she couldn't.  Alcohol had taken that from her.

The beggars, the kids living on the street that probably bathe once a month, and live off of scraps and garbage, know how to communicate with others.  they may be poor, but at least their parents know how to instill some semblance of social conduct.  They don't grab what isn't theirs.  They respond when spoken to.  The difference seems to be alcohol.

I don't know why so many people have a hard time controlling alcohol.  And I don't know why it's something that we haven't seen inherent in Japanese, UAE, AFghan and now Indian society.  I'm not saying it isn't existent in any of those societies, but it doesn't seem as common.  And I think this is something many societies see in American society, and has something to do with their resisting any American-culture saturation of their own.  They are scared that it may become a problem.

Anyway, that was my rant.  It's 11:40 am on Sunday, and the gas guys just showed up.  Better late than never, and come on, it's a Sunday....where else can you get the gas company to do anything on a Sunday?  Like I said...hardworking.

Hi all ~

We purchased and assembled our first piece of furniture this week -
a desk!
Next is a stove with a gas tank, and finally, mother of all
appliances...

a fridge. We hope.

Then we can start grocery shopping at the colorful market nearby and
taking leftovers to work for lunches everyday.

We're also getting curtain rods put in today supposedly as well.

I say 'supposedly' because there is definitely a lack of timeliness
here. Guess people probably call it "Indian time".

Waiting 2, 3, 4 hours for something to happen that was supposed to
happen when you showed up is what it's all about here it seems.

Oh, and they're digging up the streets and side walks left and right.
We've been watching the very big main road in front of our apartment
get slowly, slowly laid with concrete. Then just the other day they
started digging up the little street on the other side of our
building. Then, this morning I watched as laborers were digging up
bricks from the entire sidewalk on the other side of the street.

No idea what it'll all look like when they're done... if they ever are!

Anyway, that's what's happening!