India from Kel's Perspective

So... what can I say about India that sums it all up in one small phrase? Chaos? Sensory overload? Anus of the Globe? Home of simplicity, peace, beauty and love? They all seem to fit for some odd reason!
We arrived in Delhi to experience the culture shock that we thought we would get in Kuwait but didn't. People EVERYWHERE.... but it's not the people that are the biggest source of chaos. There are cows, donkeys, goats, dogs, people, sewage, bonfires, bicycles, rickshaws, cars, trucks, motorbikes, pedestrians and a large amount of poor people selling things on any given street here. Horns are constant and the choas is undescribable but yet amoungst it all thepeople are calm and happy.
The poverty is like nothing I have ever seen. On our night tour of Delhi there were people everywhere. If you are white they gather around you like you are a celebrity. We took our shoes off to go into this Hindu temple where people were gathered and when we entered all eyes were on us... the kids gathered around us and just watched and said hello. Harmless... but couldn't help but grab my purse a bit tighter. White people mean money and many of the people have obviously never seen a white person before.
Many sleep in the streets on ragged mats and obviously live there. There are people lining the boulevards and meridians of the streets all sleeping on mats. It's amazing to view from the outside but can be very uncomfortable as soon as you step from your cab. We are getting used to the attention, however, and the shock is not as great now. We took the train from Delhi to Agra Yesterday (another interesting experience) and arrived in the late afternoon. We woke up at 5:30 this morning to go to the Taj Mahal and see the sunrise from it. A truly amazing sight. GORGEOUS monument... truly breathtaking. Our driver took us to the Agra fort and we saw where the old town of Agra used to be enclosed. Lots of forts here from the Anicent Indus Civilization... very interesting for a history buff like me!
Our first stop after the fort was a carpet factory which ended up being the coolest experience we have had here. The man taught us how they make tradtional Indian Carpets and we even got to help make them by tying a few pieces of yarn on with the workers who were very nice. We ended up buying some beautfiul carpets for the house at a very low price. In India, everything is cheap. Our average dinner bill (for a really nice dinner) is $7!
I keep my leftovers and give then to the women in the street who live in tents along the side of the road. The women today was sitting quietly with her little baby and wasn't even begging... she just looked exhausted. I gave her my lunch leftovers and her eyes went wide as she looked at me in a misture of shock and disbelief. Hopefully she enojoyed the meal as much as I did! We are thinking of buying some groceries and bottled water and giving it to her and her family. We haven't exchanged words... just a look of understanding. I feel horrible for her and can't believe that so many people live like her here in India. We have no idea just how lucky EVERYONE in Canada is. We don't have this... even if people live on the street their is somewhere to go and get food. People here have no toilets and no food. There children are forced to sell things to tourists just to get money. It's heartbreaking yet so oddly beautiful.
Amoungst the garbage and tragedy is something undesribably wonderful. I can't put it into words... it just is.
That's a recap of the trip so far. We leave for Umaria and Bandhavgar National Park tomorrow to go on the Tiger safari. Hopefully we get better at aiming for the hole in the bottom of the train floor that serves as a toilet because our train ride is 12 hours... no AC. We are roughing it... but it makes you stronger. Not a trip for the faint of heart or weak of the mind... Ryan's a good candidate to travel with. It's easy to get lost in the poverty but it's nice to have a husband alongside you who sees the beauty in the people and the land as well. It very lush and green... something we don't see in Kuwait!
Til next time!

Greetings from Taj Mahal

We just spent the day here in Agra and visited the Taj Mahal at 5:30am then went to see the Agra Fort. This is a very different place(India). The most extremely poor living conditions on the planet that I have ever seen (even in National Geographic). There are 15 Million people in New Delhi and about 14.5 Million live on the streets, and sleep on the streets. Well maybe I am over-exagerating but it is an absolutley discustingly amazing experience to be here and see this! buffalo, cattle, horses, donkey, camel all living amoungst the people. Animals everywhere, in homes actually living with them. We were out driving around Delhi late at night and there were people (thousands of people) sleeping on the sidewalks, meridians, etc with buffalo, donkey, and horses amoungst them all. To sum it up, Pukatawagan would look like Vegas compared to what I have seen so far. Of course we have only travelled from New Delhi to Agra, and I am sure there are some places in India that are very nice. We are enjoying every minute of our time here and have been very well taken care of by our hotels. It is definitely a life experience and we are both happy we got to see it. We are off tomorrow to the National Park for 3 days, which we are very excited about. We board the train at 4pm, which is 5:30am MB time. It will be nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of the urban sprawl. 15 Million in Delhi and 1 Million in Agra we are ready to go to the bush for some peace and quiet. They say there's almost 1.5 Billion people in India and after being here and only traveled 200km so far, I believe it!

Back to school tomorrow

Well we are back to work again tomorrow for our final week of school before a 10 day holiday and trip to India.  Yes we work on Sunday to Thursday.  Our weekend was once again fun filled.  Kelly and I were invited to a party across the city at fellow teachers apartment.  A group of about 15 of us headed over at about 11:30 last night and partied until around 3am.  Of course we went through McDonald's drive-thru on the way home.  Woke up this morning at 7am with one heck of a McDonald's belly ache then managed to fall back asleep until 11.  We gathered up another heavty size group of people and headed over to a friends apartment complex for a pool party.  Ahhhh... a day around the pool with 25 friends and 46 degree weather is an alright way to spend a day.  After a few hours of sun we all went up to her apartment and had a BBQ.  I'm starting to get used to this life.  We have purchased a car here (1997 Honda Accord) and are doing all the transfering of documents tomorrow so we should be on the road very soon.  It will be so nice to have mobility and not have to depend on friends or taxi's every time we step out of the apartment.  Here are some pictures of the party last night and pool party today.  With the balcony on the 10th floor we had an awesome view of the gulf.  Remember you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Yes those are houses, average size houses

You can see a tanker ship docked in the far background

There it is zoomed in 9x

The holiday "Gergeon" has come to Kuwait this past week.  Gergeon is like our Halloween.  Students, mainly younger grades, dress up in traditional clothing and come to school with heaps of candy for their classroom and teachers.  It is a bigger deal with the little kids but a lot of the middle school girls take it quite serious as well.  To make a long story short Kelly and I came home from school last wednesday and between the two of us had a ton of candy.  It is kind of like Halloween and Easter put together.  Here are pictures of Kelly's pile and my pile respectfully...

Well done Kelly!

Booooo

Good Weekend

Well we are through our first day of school for this week so I thought I would let you all know what we did on the weekend.  Friday night we went to Iftar (breaking of the fast) at the Palms Hotel & Beach Club.  It was $44.00/plate and an all you can eat buffet.  Very good meal.  Goat roasting over an open flame outside and all kinds of food stations to try.  Inside the dinning tent was a massive salad and dessert buffet.  So we indulged with some friends of ours from Manitoba and L.A.  

After returning home kelly accepted an invite to go to our friends place for some partying.  The night was filled with Dance Dance Revolution, Karaoke, and some card games.  We ended up shutting it down at 4am.  Well all is well that ends well.  I just got back from snapping some pictures from the roof of our apartment. Enjoy the sights.

                                         Dinning tent at the Iftar

Party time!

Oh Geez who's this guy?

Kuwait Towers zoomed in 9x

That needle is Liberation Tower

Isn't that illegal in Canada?

So I had my first Learning Quiz with my girls on Thursday. They were stressed regardless of the fact that this is not a big deal. All they have to do is write down 10 things that they have learned in Social Studies this week. Well... one poor girl was ready to vomit she was so nervous. She came into the classroom early and was green. 

"Ms. Kelly... Good morning. I don't feel well. I must got to the nurse but I want to make sure I write my Learning Quiz first"

I told this poor kid that if she was sick that she should go and see the nurse and go home. She can write her Learning quiz next week. 

"But Ms. it is very important to write the quiz because I don't want to fail" She replied. "I studied for 3 hours last night!" I have NEVER heard that from a grade 7 student and I don't think I ever will again. 3 hours? I've never even studied for 3 hours!

So the students are all asking a million questions. Can I put this on my learning quiz? What about this? And this? They are so desperate to do well that they get very intense. They are so young to be so nervous about grades but it is very endearing.

I start handing out the papers and then it's starts.

In unison, sounding like a kindergarten class greeting the teacher in the morning, they begin chanting in Arabic. A few of them snuck in a couple giggles upon looking at me. Apparently I had a look of disbelief on my face. I had no idea what was happening because: a. I don't speak Arabic and b.Who chants in unison before a test?

The one little girl says to me:

"Ms. Kelly, do you know what we were doing?" She giggled quietly. Apparently the look on my face was still there.

"We pray before our test so Allah (god) will help us to get good grades." 

Makes sense now.  Just not something you expect to happen in class. After all, prayer in schools is illegal in Canada.

Every single assignment has been handed in. Everyone works incredibly hard in class. They listen and are desperate to understand everything. It's like teaching keen university students but in 12 year old bodies.

Usually, you give students an assignment and that's when you have to crack down on managing everyone in the room. Here, you give an assignment and you could hear a pin drop for 45 minutes. The managing only comes when they sit with nothing to do.  It's truly incredible. 

Went to the IMAX last night at the Scientific Center and saw "Dinosaurs 3D".

Tonight we are meeting up with some people to go play soap soccer. Picture a blow up soccer field (like the old moonwalk "rides" they used to have at fairs) filled with dish soap, 10 people, 2 nets and a soccer ball. We are definitely ready to have some fun. You find interesting ways to have fun Friday nights when you don't have the options of drinks with friends. It's a nice change although I do miss having a glass of wine every once and awhile!  On Monday we are going to head to the Kuwait Aquarium and watch them feed the sharks.  Apparently this only happens on Mondays.  More to come.

Sandstorm... and not by Darude!

The Sandstorm... but it really doesn't do it justice with the flash off...

The flash on... lots of sand in the air. You may be able to tell by the large quantity of particles in front of the camera lens.

MMMM.... Cake

So... Ryan and I got home from a leisurely night at The Palms again. A nice workout and dip in the beautiful evening lit pool does the soul good.

So we managed to come home and eat some dinner when Ryan decides that he wants something sweet... so after a few phone calls Ryan has a few troops to join him on the walk to "Cake & Bake", a local desert paradise.  I, of course, was stuck at home marking. Which ends up being a good thing in this case.

Within about 15 minutes Ryan bursts into the door yelling "Holy crap babe! Have you looked outside?"

We looked outside to barely see the street from our window. Their is HUGE sandstorm going on and is it ever a sight! The wind is SO strong that you can barely see the street. Ryan and the Girls got pelted with sand and garbage flying everywhere as they walked home from the Cake & Bake. Thank god their was a bag to protect the cake!

The Chocolate mousse, Cheesecake and some kind of chocolate pastry cake thingy made it home good shape and although Ryan felt that he had a mouth filled with residue of sand and Mud, he happily enjoyed his arab desserts!

Last night I went to my first Iftar (breaking of the fast at sunset everyday).  The Arabic ladies at school designed the night for the middle school girls who are fasting to enjoy Iftar at School. I is also for us western staff members to enjoy Arabic food and learn how they traditionally Break fast here in Kuwait.

You always break the fast starting with dates. Date trees are everywhere here! Everything is made with them... even the moonshine!

Well.. we better get our laundry in order of the maid tomorrow. Nita is a MACHINE! She is awesome. We came home after she was here last wednesday and everything was gleaming it was so clean! All of our clothes were ironed and hung up neatly and it was like walking into a freshly cleaned hotel room. For $10 a week you can get your house cleaned, laundry done (bedding included), clothes ironed, walls and floors washed, dishes done, bathroom cleaned, toilet scrubbed, windows washed, and anything else you would like done! Did I mention I love Kuwait?

School today

Well I snapped a couple today while the kids were hard at work

This guy in the front had his hand chopped off last week for stealing.  You know; rules are tough in the Middle East.         

Last night I tried to get a good one of the lights.  I'll try again tonight.

Aren't you scared to move to the Middle East?

Yes we are very scared to move to the Middle East and get off work at 1:30 every day and spend our afternoons like this.  We cannot count how many people asked us if we were scared or nervous to move to the Middle East.  You tell me if this lifestyle would make you nervous or scared.

School Started

Well we have now completed our first week at school.  It is quite a different experience than we are used to.  First of all every student is dressed in the school uniform; basically black pants and any type of white shirt.  Secondly they have these backpacks that they don't have to carry; instead they are on wheels and they pull them around school.  Very much like stewardess do in the airports.  As we pulled up to the school it was swarmed with Mercedes, BMW's and Porsches all dropping of kids.  

They are grade 7 boys so they do talk, and especially after a very eventful summer they want to tell their friends all about it.  But if you give them a task to do, it is automatically silent and all heads are down on their page.  Awesome!  I had every boy in class tell me their name and what they did over summer break.  Well 95% of them spent time in Australia, Greece, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, America, Dubai, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Disney Worlds all over the place.  Yeah that must be nice to be 13 and going to the Chalet every summer at these destinations!  I don't even want to tell them where I am going on my break in fear of getting the response, "yeah I've been there 5 times".  I just finished calling all my students parents to let them know how the first week went and just to touch base with them.  They were all very very pleased with me phoning them and said if I ever have a problem with their son to call them right away.  Also they assured me there sons were all "A" students so they expect a lot out of them.  Very good experience thus far.  Here are some pictures of the school and my empty classroom.

                                                             

                                  Our school stretches all the way to the far left in this picture

                                                                       Front Lobby

                                                                       my classroom