Thursday, July 31, 2008

A Very Special Place






In the tiny town of Patan, located north of Ahmedabad we were transformed into another world. Our local tour guide arranged for us to visti a Jain Temple in this sleepy little village. It was a question of who was more in awe, the 16 teachers from the U.S., or the people of the village who rarely, if ever, see a bus of tourists pull down their streets. They were the most gracious and kind people. They took great pleasure in posing for pictures and wanted us to pose with them. A few, who had cell phones took our pictures. They didn’t mind that we were intruding in their lives. They proudly showed us their homes, their children and their work. They won our hearts!

Sun Temple






Built in 1026 AD, this temple is located exactly on the Tropic of Cancer so that the rays of the sun would fall on the image of Surya at the time of the equinoxes. This is one of the finest examples of Indian temple architecture of its period.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi







“You must become the change you want to see.” – Mahatma Ghandi 1869-1948

We are in Ahmedabad, India. We have arrived here only four days after 18 bombs killed more than 50 people at the busy markets of the old city. It is a sobering fact that our world is full of sin and hatred, which is played out everyday at the expense of the innocent. We tread carefully here and understand that life is fragile and not to be taken for granted. Today we visited Sabarmati Ashram where Ghandi lived for part of his life.

“In a century in which virtues of western culture and civilization have more or less been taken for granted, the ideas of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi offer a radical alternative. He considered a society based on industrialism to be violent and therefore satanic. He located the strength of India in the villages and in the long tradition of ahimsa. In an age torn by violence and destruction, Gandhi’s creed of non-violence is a message for survival. His message was utopian; however, without dreams there can be no responsibilities.” -The Little Book of Gandhi

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Answer to Friday's Quiz

It's a lunch container called a "tippin" . Each compartment holds a different course of your meal. You can bring it from home or stop at one of the carts on the street where they will fill it for you. Hot lunch never tasted so good. Did you guess right?

Friday, July 25, 2008

Why can’t the chick cross the street?

Subway in Pune

Yellow light means hurry up to make the light!

Six kids in a rickshaw

Just try to cross the street

Mom picking up her son from school


The traffic is a nightmare here in Pune, as it is in every city we have been to. Most of the people ride motor skooters or have tiny cars. It is not uncommon to see entire families riding on one bike. The motorized three-wheeled rickshaws beep their horns as they carry passengers to their destinations. It is crazy driving! First of all they ride on the right side of the road. You might not even know this because everyone ignores all rules of the road including which lane to drive in. You ride just inches from the vehicle next to you. And forget walking! Crossing the street is an Olympic event here. No one slows down including the walkers. If you want to cross the street you just walk right into the traffic and weave through to the other side. Traffic comes at you from ten different directions. Throw a cow in the middle of the road, dogs walking down the street and carts carring fruit and you might understand why driving in India is not for the timid and faint of heart.

Tonight, I ventured out by myself for a walk to get something to eat. I managed to get onto a road that led me to a Subway restaurant. I ordered my veggie sub (the works, hold the chili peppers), took the picture, and left. The problem was I had to cross the street to get home. I kept walking down the street but the traffic never stopped. There weren’t any crosswalks or traffic lights. I was in traffic jail! I gave serious thought to hiring a rickshaw to take me across. It was scary but eventually I had to make a break for it. I just closed my eyes and hoped for the best. I decided just to go back to my room and eat, it was too stressful going for a walk.

From Hot and Dry to Cool and Green


We have left the city of Chennai (Chin I) on the East Coast of South India where it was extremely hot and dry. We flew north to the town of Pune (Poona), in the state of Maharashtra. Pune is the second busiest IT center (Information Technology). When you call India for technical support you may be calling here. If you have been following the news you saw that Bangalore India (the busiest IT center) was hit with 8 bomb blasts yesterday. IT centers are being targeted because of their affiliation with the U.S. . Kinda scarey. Our sister group of teachers is presently staying in that city, they were uneffected by the event but a little shook up.
In Pune, the weather is much cooler, it has been raining and it is green! Notice the contrast in the landscape. Even though it is cloudy and sprinkling the monsoons haven’t hit yet. Everyone is getting anxious because they are late, many livelihoods depend on the rain. On Sunday we are heading to the mountains to escape the bustle of the city and do some hiking.

What is It?


Do you know what this is? Answer will be posted on Sunday. Leave your guesses in the comment section. Luv U BAD

Thursday, July 24, 2008

So you think you hate to do the wash…


Where does all the garbage go?



The cities in India are congested and full of people and all the things that they need to sustain human life. Everywhere we have traveled we see litter lining the streets. So what happens at the end of the day with all the garbage? We took a ride to the outside of Kolkata to the Dhapa Dumping Ground to find out how this city is handling their trash in a unique way.

Long before the trucks arrive at the dump, garbage is collected in various ways. Private homes may arrange for pick-up at their house. Small rickshaws take the trash down narrow streets to a common dumping ground. Since many people live in slums there is no regular pick-up of trash for them. City garbage goes to a common collection area. Here, people meticulously go through the refuge looking for reusable items, recyclables and for some, they search for their next meal. This is how the poorest of the poor exist.

Once the garbage has been picked through and sorted it is loaded onto open trucks. A continuous stream of trucks brings the refuge from this enormous city to a privately owned expanse of earth at the edge of town. A mountain of refuge is picked over by workers who further sort the garbage. Eventually what is left will be made into compost.

The compost fields have become farmland for the poor. They live on the land and grow crops here. It has become a way to recycle the old, and feed the ever-increasing population of Kolkata. It is a win-win situation for the people of this city but how much longer this will last is a question often asked. As the city expands the real estate values have increased. The land, which once was filled with garbage, will most likely become a modern neighbor for expanding enterprises and housing for the rich.

Kolkata is unique in this recycling project. In most cities the garbage is simple dumped in a landfill and is turned over to begin the long process of returning to the earth. Most Indians have little concern for recycling. When you struggle to get a full meal and clean water every day, recycling is not a high priority.
The pictures show how the mountain of trash (bottom picture) turns into organic compost that is farmed on by people in the area.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Heritage Tour Chennai - South India




Today we visited 7th century shrines carved during the reign of King Mamalla, (B.C. 630-670). Each temple is a monolith carved whole from an outcropping of rock. A walk out to the Bay of Bengal took us to the Shore Temple, maintained as a world heritage site. On December 26, 2004 it was violently hit by the waves of the deadly tsunami. The doorway above was from a restored home typical of southern India one hundred years ago.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation




“We have the science, the agri-technology to give the world. It’s only by sharing each other’s sorrow, by caring for each other, by sharing our surplus wealth, can we become a great country, a great nation.” -Dr. Swaminathan

Since we are all math and science teachers we are invited to visit places of interest in each city that we visit. Chennai is a city in the south of India on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. It is one of the leading cities in India today from the point of view of trade and commerce, with the fourth largest port in the country.

The Swaminathan Research Foundation is a “non-profit trust with the basic mandate to impart a pro-nature, pro-poor and pro-woman orientation to a job-led economic growth strategy in rural areas through harnessing science and technology for environmental sustainable and socially equitable development. It is doing research in coastal systems research, biodiversity and biotechnology, eco-technology and sustainable agriculture, reaching the un-reached through education, communication and training.”

Some highlights for me were the children’s camp they run throughout the year to teach children about the environment and their responsibility to preserve our planet for future generations. I talked to the teacher who runs the program and we are going to be sharing some ideas. On the grounds is a touch and smell garden for the visually impaired. I am particularly interested in this because part of the project for my students at school will be to create a garden based on ideas from my trip to India.

Monday, July 21, 2008

A Day at the Beach





On our free day my new “roomie” Jessica and I set out to see the beaches of Chennai. Like all of the other cities we have visited in India there are hundreds of people. We hired a rickshaw driver to take us to the beach. We thought we were getting a good bargain, only 100 rupees (about $2.50).
Our driver took us through the winding streets filled with people doing whatever people do on a Sunday. We passed shantytowns off the side of the road. People were bathing and washing at public spickets. Most cities try to supply toilets within a close proximity to housing. Many families share one toilet. At least it is better than no facilities at all. The streets are very dirty and lined with trash. It is hard to see the way some children of this world have to live.

We finally arrived at the beach. The pictures speak for themselves. There were hundreds of people out for a Sunday afternoon. No one was swimming despite the temperatures that were well into the 90’s, apparently there is a strong undertow. So we stuck our feet in the Bay of Bengal, took the picture and decided NOT to hang out. By the way this is the same beach where 200 people were killed during the Tsunami a few years ago. It’s not exactly the Jersey shore.

We wanted to go back to our hotel to swim. Well, you get what you bargain for…our special price included two must see stops to the gift shop. “Best prices, you just look, you don’t have to buy”. Yea right! So somehow I don’t think our trip was worth the special price as we could hardly carry back our purchases. But then again it was just another day at the beach.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Tamil Nadu Dancers



One of the most beautiful art forms is dance. We have been treated to several demonstrations of traditional Indian dances. Each dance is exquisite. The girls train for years to achieve the fluid and graceful motions. To learn to dance in India is like learning a new language. Every gesture, posture, hand movement all have a special meaning. I am always drawn to the eyes, which express the emotions of the dance. It is a breathtaking experience.

Friday, July 18, 2008

A Visit to a Very Special School







Since our arrival I have been asking about special education in India. The bottom line is, it basically doesn’t exist for the child who falls in the higher functioning ranges. Children with mild to moderate learning disabilities are just assimilated into the classroom. If a problem is identified a counselor works with the family. All of the extra help comes from the parents at home. There may be a basic remedial class sometime during the day but that is about the extent of the help a child will receive. Most children get frustrated with the system and do not finish formal education.

There is a bright light in the darkness! Today I had a special treat. They had arranged for us to visit schools in the city of Hyderabad. Upon my request since a visit to a special education school was arranged just for me. A driver took me and our USEFI liaison (US Education Foundation in India) to the Sweekaar School for the Rehabilitation of the Handicapped. The experience was priceless.

This school is a non-profit school that relies on the generosity of donations and support from large organizations. The government of India does not fund any type of program for special needs children or the disabled. The school welcomed me with my name in lights…”Welcome Ms. Barbara Fulbright Teacher US Educational Foundation in India”.
After a power point presentation, we toured the school with a wonderful and gracious woman. We saw facilities for psychological testing, physical therapy, vocational training, elderly rehabilitation, training for the deaf, a library for research, a sensory playground and so much more.
In the early childhood program there were teachers working one-on-one with a child and a parent, these were children under 2 years old. Much of the care will be done at home after a parent is trained. I visited small classes for the severely learning disabled and down syndrome children. Every time I walked into a room the children and the teacher stood up to greet me. They were all so precious!

There is a great need for special education teachers here in India. The founder and principal shared his burdens with us. He spends much of his own money to fund the school. He took out a loan at 24% interest recently. He has started other schools here in the area but there is still a long way to go. While education in science and math is of the highest priority special needs children are at the bottom of the educational ladder.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Shopping for Pearls




Hyderabad is known as “A Place Of Pearls”. The pearl trade began here long ago. Today nine out of every ten pearls in the world pass through this city for stringing or piercing. While we were shopping for pearls in our hotel the salesmen showed us strand after strand of beautiful necklaces. They spent a lot of time teaching us how to tell if a pearl is real or fake (rub it against your front tooth). We looked at exquisite pieces and bought gifts for family and friends. At one point the salesmen left us all and were doting on a customer who had come into the shop. He had an entourage with him including several women, a bodyguard and his own press agent. The shop owner came over and whispered to us, “The King of Malaysia”. And f.y.i., he asked for a discount too.