It is the little things

It is the little things that make me stop and realize I really am in another country, even though from day to day it doesn't always hit me. But one thing that has shaken me out of the bubble, has been watching some of the motorcycles that go by. One long weekend, the most interesting thing I saw was  a couple of motorcycle gangs that were out enjoying the roads - complete with some additions to their helmets - inflatable dreadlocks flapping in the wind, and the extra addition of spikes for some of them.

Then a week or so later, I was stopped at the corner waiting to cross the street,  and almost missed my chance when a mini motorcycle gang rolled up. No, I don't mean a small number of riders, but that they were riding mini motorcycles. Small enough their feet, or even their knees, could touch the ground. I had to wonder how they were actually riding something that looked like a toy. And then I saw them playing around, and realized that the small ride had the distinct advantage of making it easy to pop a wheelie when they were stopped.

Just goes to show, that you never know what you will see when you are paying attention.

Unexpected Art

This week for me, when not at school, has been all about finding unexpected art in my neighborhood. Last weekend I was enjoying some of the murals near the coffee shop where I had gone to grade.

On Thursday I noticed a little upset Snow White at the bottom of a light post. I don't know what it is all about, but it made my walk to school that much happier.

Today I headed over to do some more shopping (that seems to be what the first few months is all about when you move overseas) at one of the near by malls (seriously - two blocks away) and came across Manilart - an exhibit that was done completely by all Filipino artists. It was so much more interesting than shopping, and felt like a reward for getting myself out of my apartment. The pamplet says the goal of the fair is to "create more awareness and appreciation for Filipino Art," and I must say that I definitely have more of both. The large variety of styles - from movable art, glass pieces, statues and a variety of paintings - meant that everyone could find something that they appreciated.

It is days like this that I'm happy to be living in a neighborhood that offers so much within walking distance. 

Moving to Manila

Jeepney!

I have to admit my first two months here in Manila haven't quite ended up the way I expected. Don't get me wrong, I'm settled into my apartment (on the 32nd floor! I've never been so high before) with a view over the American Cemetery on one side and other high rise apartment buildings out of the other. Classes are in full swing and I like my students (even if I'm still struggling to learn names - my worst year ever in that attempt) and they work hard. Of course starting at a different school is always a bit like your first year of teaching all over again, and I've felt that even more this time around since I actually stayed in Delhi for so long (for me).

View out my window, looking at the American Cemetery

That being said, my "first" impression of Manila, or more specifically, BGC (Bonafacio Global City) where I'm living is one of development. Full of malls, high rise buildings, traffic and restaurants it is still an extremely walkable area of metro Manila. The only reason I know for sure I'm in Manila on a daily basis are the jeepneys that drive by on my walk to school. I think this may be the easiest place I've lived since I moved overseas. Of course it doesn't hurt that English is so widely spoken.

Just one interesting apartment building

So why then, the rough unexpected start? That would be because I contracted Dengue less than a month after arriving, a little over one full week into the school year. It meant I missed 6 days of classes, was struggling for energy for another two weeks in addition to that, and had my first hospital stay in the Philippines. I'm still trying to figure out how I got Dengue here in a month, when I managed to avoid it in Delhi for five years. I guess you could say I've learned at least one lesson - be religious about putting on bug spray! I finally feel like I've recovered, and so am now ready to get myself into a routine that will help me find some balance in my life. Things can only improve, right?

Good-bye India

Endings are just another way of saying a new beginning awaits. And yet, I think it is important to take the time at an ending to reflect and appreciate what a specific time period in my life has brought. Five years in India comes to a close today (well technically tomorrow morning EARLY...those night flights out of Delhi) and I know that I have changed because of my time here.

Traditional meal out with the department
David, Tom, Liz, me, Laura and Scott

To start with I have had the opportunity to work with a department of individuals dedicated to improving their own teaching practices, always considering what they believe to best for students in the long run despite what at times was significant parent push back. Having colleagues who were always bringing up new ideas to think about, who constantly questioned their practice and were thinking about what else we could do to improve pushed me to grow in my own teaching practice. I can honestly say that I'm a better teacher for that. Keir, Dave, Dan, David, Scott, Liz, Laura, Tiffany and Tom - thanks for the constant collaboration and encouragement. You have not only impacted me, but also every student I will teach from here on out.

Vising the Museum of Math with Dave, Liz, Laura and Keir 

India herself has offered me amazing opportunities for travel, discovery and exploration. I can't even list all of the things I've seen. The small snapshots that will forever be a part of my mental image of this country with all its color, noise, crowds and uniqueness. I thought it might be fun to do a roll call of my favorite trip (so hard to pick) from each year I was here.

• 2011: Watching the border closing ceremony outside of Amritsar
• 2012: Walking across the Ganges in Rishikesh
• 2013: Visiting the world's oldest zero (but also the camel fair in Pushkar)
• 2014: Taking a boat ride on the Ganges in Varanasi
• 2015: Checking out the living root bridges in Meghalya with my mom
• 2016: Heading to Kaziranga National Park to se the one horn rhinos

Holy cow in Jaipur

And yet, the trips are not what it is all about, even if I did seem to travel almost every month I was here. It is more about the small experiences that all combined together for my understanding of what New Delhi and India are. What are the snapshots that combined together make the rich, diverse culture that has in some ways infused my being? And so another list from each year.

• 2011: Learning that I love just about any paneer dish, daal and Kashmiri kawa 
• 2012: Appreciating the wide color range that saris come in as well as the unexpected experience of taking my volleyball to a local school for a match where we welcomed like royalty
• 2013: Developing some true habits here, including walking in the biodiversity park, using the same taxi and tuktuk drivers, and wondering about peoples' stories as I pass them.
• 2014: Having a consultation with a Tibetan doctor whose recommendation that I need to "calm my monkey mind" has stayed with me along with being impressed by a friend's artistry in Indian dance.
• 2015: Continuing to be amazed by the cows in the road and wondering what the real story is.
• 2016: Taking advantage of some of the amazing people that AES brings in to interact with our students including the monks who made a sand mandala and then later His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Photo credit: Tim Steadman

I can't quite believe how much I've been exposed to while here. I might be leaving India, but India will never truly leave me.

Gir National Forest

As I was trying to figure out what to do with the last two weekends I had to spend with my mom, I had to go against warnings that it would be too hot and head to the state of Gujarat to try to see the Asiatic lions. I had heard from other teachers who had made the trip out, that it would be a toss up as to if we'd actually find a lion or not. For the most part they either saw one on every safari they took or  didn't see one at all. I decided it was still worth a try, especially as these lions are restricted to such a small area of India (about 7,700 square miles) and have only reached an estimated population of 523 in May 2015. Needless to say I wasn't holding out high hopes of seeing a lion, but I figured the trip would be worth it anyways, to check out one last nature reserve in this country before I left. We scheduled just two safaris, due to flight times and a 3 or 4 hour drive from the airport to Gir National Forest, and I could only hope that would be enough.

We told our naturalist that we were interested in birds and weren't just there for the lions. (although I have to admit as I said that, I had to wonder how true that was....I really wanted to see a lion). The unexpected advantage of that statement was that the he allowed the other jeeps to tear off ahead of us, and we took our time to go through the part on our designated route. I found out that I really do like owls (and owlets) and could watch them for a long time. The variety of birds was fascinating - from eagles to small woodpeckers the it was a colorful and plentiful mix.

With about an hour left in our safari, all of a sudden our guide said, no more slow....they might be a lion at the end. Let's go! So off we headed at what at times felt like a break neck pace (literally, when you hit the dips of the dirt road) to come to a halt by about 6 other cars. Climb up on the seats, and there, under the tree (as mom said, where the shadow moved) sat a lioness resting. To be honest I would have been happy with that. An honest lion sighting. Then a couple of the forest walkers hopped out of jeeps and circled around so that as the lioness began to walk she headed towards the road. Then...there....there are two of them! And they climbed up to the edge of the road, walking along as if they owned the space (well, I guess they do here) And so we got half an hour of following the lionesses at a slow pace. Taking breaks to breathe hard until they had had enough, and sat down to rest while we were chased out of the park as our time was up. We saw lionessssssesssss!

Agrasen ki Baoli

Step wells have recently been "rediscovered" in India. Or perhaps it is more fair to say brought back to the awareness of locals and tourists alike. There are several scattered around Delhi, and while my family was visiting we took the opportunity to stop at Agrasen ki Baoli in central Delhi, in the middle of the modern city. Originally dug down to allow residents access to water (after a descent of 108 steps) it is now mostly dry (just a bit of damp at the very bottom) although a residence for a bat colony. It is a popular spot for the locals, where they hang out, use it as a backdrop for photo shoots or just relax on the steps.

Originally thought to be built somewhere between 1320-1520 due to its architectural style, it actually was full of water until at least the 1970s, when Delhi's growth and development resulted in drastically lowering the underground water levels. Buried in mud and silt it took work on the part of the Archeological Survey of India to restore the site. However, this unique spot seems well worth the work.

You can read more about it here, and even find directions.

Kaziranga National Park

My mom's month visit gave me the opportunity to check a few more places off of my India travel bucket list. I'm down to a month left in the country, so that doesn't really leave much time for travel. In fact, I'd have to say that I've done my last trips in India (yes, it is getting to the season of lasts). One of those trips was to Kaziranga National Park in the northeast, on a trip to search out the one horned rhinoceros, a unicorn of sorts. The Indian rhinoceros have been restricted to this one location, as well as a single park in Nepal. In my mind, I thought that this might mean that sightings of these prehistoric looking beasts might be rare. Luckily for us that turned out not to be true, with rhinos taking the key role on each of our safaris. A morning safari on elephant back brought us up close to these animals, close enough to see the amour like plating that make up their think leather skin.

In addition to this up close and personal view of the rhinos we also saw a mix of other animals. Most notably, a pair of great hornbills feeding their baby. A smattering of eagles. Water buffalo, cooling off in the river. Elephants, boar, deer, frightening red ant nests in the trees, and a smorgasbord of birds. There is something about seeing animals in a natural location that is so much more like discovery. A way of making yourself feel that you have truly seen something special.

Street art walking tour

My favorite mural of the day

The same festival that took me out to the dry port to see the murals painted on shipping containers also picks one neighborhood a year to get painted with murals by artists that are both Indian and from other countries. When one of the teachers at a school organized a walking tour of the street art in Shahpurjaat (site of the 2014 ST+ART festival) and Lodhi Colony (site of the 2016 ST+ART festival) I couldn't resist putting on good walking shoes and joining in.

The fun thing about art is you never
know what will speak to you

Shahpurjaat is a bit of a windy neighborhood, where you can turn a corner and be surprised at what lays before you....or as was often the case for me, turn around from taking one picture and be surprised at what else laid behind me. A couple of my favorites there included the giant slingshot boy, the black and white huddled person, a piece from the Bollywood Art Project (which I was informed anyone who watched Bollywood would recognize...that isn't me!), as well as a woman protecting herself with her voodoo pins.

Hard to not love some more trees!

In Lodhi Colony the wall spaces were more spacious, and it was evident when you were approaching a mural. I was most drawn to a colorful geometric depiction of birds, but also stunned at the detail in a two story mural of one of the street food vendors that feeds hundreds of people each day in the neighborhood (the fact that we actually got to tell the artist how much we appreciated it as he was taking pictures of his work that he had just finished the day before just made it that much more special). A geometric Gandhi was immediately recognizable. An astronaut on top of a meteor a bit confusing. A piece done by a traditional India artist who had never before worked beyond a canvas was all the more charming for his realizing he'd have to incorporate some typical street art methods (using stencils to add birds to the grown out tusks of his elephant).

There was a lot of variety in the murals.
This one is of a dead Dahlia

The timing might have been difficult with a 4 am departure the next morning for Minicourse, but I'm glad I took the opportunity to see some more of the street art that has come out of this festival.

Our guide was Himanshu of 1100 walks in Delhi. 

A week with the kids

View from close to camp

I've spent the last week out of Delhi in the foothills of the Himalayas with 19 students (and thankfully two other teachers) on our annual Minicourse trip. This year I headed to a region called Sattal or 7 lakes (although I think we only saw 3 maybe 4 of the seven lakes). It is a pretty spot, and our camp up on the side of a hill had a spectacular view down on the lakes. One that might have been more appreciated if we hadn't had to climb back up that hill almost every day....

Rock climbing was just one of the activities

So what does a week out with students entail? Thankfully not a lot of thought on my process. Our trips are all run by local companies. This one was a combination of outdoor activity - rock climbing, kayaking, river crossing, flying fox, hiking, camping out, bird watching and jumaring (a process of hauling oneself up a rope with the help of a special device) - and service - we dug some holes for a fence and painted a wall at a local school, interacted with some of the village families and hosted the children for an evening of entertainment.

We are very proud of the hole we dug...you would be too if
you saw the tools we had to use.

I spent a lot of time braiding hair (I think the last day I did approximately 20 braids on 11 of the 13 girls who were on the trip), took at least one nap every day, and all in all relaxed....well as much as you can with 19 high school students around the entire time. I feel lucky this year that I ended up with a group that were pretty chill, caused no problems and had very little for me to deal with beyond a couple cuts and scrapes.

No wonder it took me an hour and a half.

Street Art (ST+ART) in Delhi

I saw a notice sometime last weekend about a street art festival, WIP (works in progress) that was going on this month and sponsored by the ST+ART foundation which strives to "create an art-hub in an unexpected space to offer diverse sectors of society newer experiences, especially to people who are usually excluded from the reach of art" according to their website. Today was the last day of their temporary exhibit at a dry dock in Okhala, where artists had been painting on shipping containers to create their works. When the show closes, these shipping containers will then continue their normal lives in transit, bringing a bit of art across the country, and maybe even the world. 

As we got to the space we saw that often these works were across multiple containers stacked 3-4 high or across. In addition as we walked around I realized that some artists had chosen to decorate the inside of a container, a special surprise for workers I would guess. I particularly liked the one of a face made of faces.  

Wandering around each corner revealed something new, given me new appreciation of how the artists were able to wrap their work around corners or buildings, using space in somewhat unusual ways. It was a definitely a different way to enjoy an afternoon out and about in Delhi. 

Surajkund Craft Mela

Shopping at the mela

Just one of the many decorations

Last weekend I went about an hour away to Haryana to experience the Surajkund Craft Mela. The mela, which claims to be the largest in the world, is only open for two weeks. During that time it draws in nearly a million visitors. You might think that would mean that there are so many people you can't really shop or appreciate the work on offer, but if you arrive early, and head further off the main thoroughfare you can actually take the time to wander and admire the crafts for sale. What surprised me was that it is actually more than just a craft sale. Around every new section there were stages set up with a variety of performances going on - a drum circle one place, a sample of dancing at another...it is a celebration of the variety of culture in India. I was equally surprised by the large displays set up ranging from replica gates to carvings, to flower covered structures to self proclaimed "selfie spots" the couple of hours we spent there was about much more than shopping.

Music box player

Sacred geometry

Completed madala

This past week the elementary school has been celebrating India week. Each year the school brings in a variety of craftspeople, performers, and other individuals that are just samples of what make India such a varied and fascinating country. This year we were particularly lucky to have 3 Tibetan monks stay for a few days and create a sand peace mandala. A symbolic form of prayer, where each individual element has meaning, it is also a work of art made all the more impressive by its impermanence. The monks spent a day and half carefully allowing sand to fall out of specially made metal cones, creating a design that not only had great detail but also had a three dimensional aspect to it. How they can create such a thing with sand is still beyond my comprehension despite watching them work for about half an hour with only each other and their mental plan to reference. Then to watch them sweep it up at the end of the second day releasing the work as prayer for peace and the happiness of all things sent home the message of impermanence.

Laying down sand carefully

Each piece of the mandala has its own meaning. The middle with the lotus flower is a symbol of purifying passion into awareness. In each direction from there are seated the retinue of Avalokiteshvara (who represents freedom from attachment), purified aspects of hatred (blue), misery (yellow), ignorance (white) and jealousy (green).  The outermost circle with its burning flames are for protection and to burn away the delusion and darkness of ignorance. The process of visualizing and meditating on the different meanings embedded in the mandala brings about change in the psyche of each individual as it helps to lead them to a more purified state. In fact it is believed that just a glimpse of the mandala can create a positive impression on an individual, touching them for a moment with the potential for perfect enlightenment.

Detail of the mandala

And so I wish you a week filled with peace and happiness as symbolized in this mandala for so short a time period.