T double I

Monday, October 25
10:30 am

    Apologies for the large gap between blogs.  Colleen and I have been fully immersed into the chaotic lives of teachers abroad.  The past week we have felt the most emotionally and physically drained, overwhelmed, ill, sensitive, and… well, bitchy.  A culmination of chaos and disorder at school, infinite interpersonal interaction, montessori children ripping buttons off our shirts,  constant language barriers, men standing a body length away from us at the beach to stare, spiciest food of my life, and new living situation thrust Colleen and I into a swirling, hostile vortex, leaving us disoriented, unbalanced, and helplessly grasping for familiarity.  I believe this past week was our TRUE initiation into India, and here we are walking out into the next week with our chests puffed and heads held high, ready to take on anything.  I would consider myself a "ride the wave" or "rolling with the punches"  type person; however, never underestimate what new emotions an unfamiliar culture can conjure.  We'll just say my 'wing it' trait has increased by ten fold even within this past week.  Colleen's and my friendship/roommate-ship/ colleagueship/ and every other 'ship' has been shifted, smacked, and rolled around in the back of some metaphoric cement truck.  We have come out this fine Monday as Sumleen, I'd say---a single unit of American chicks trying to make a difference and survive in another hemisphere.   Sumleen has invented a new word in our ever-growing, multilingual dictionary: 
    TII; also written T double I--- an acronym standing for This Is India, derived from the movie Blood Diamond where one says TIA, or This Is Africa.  Word is used in any sensory contact with a situation that would occur only in India.  Such situations would most likely to bewilder, upset, or terrify one from the West.  Word may be used in any context ranging from confusion, fury, or hilarity.
   
    While on the subject of words, Sumleen has vowed (regardless of whether we are speaking English, Spanish, Malayalam, Hindi, etc) to use the Malayalam word "bakshanam" whenever referring to "food", as it translates to English as "meal" or "food" and it is probably the funnest word to say.  Try it!  Bakshanam, bakshanam, bakshanam, BAK-SHA-NAM!
    Now back to these dazzling past seven days…..
    After almost a month working at RIMS, Sumleen was supposed to finally receive a time table (you get looked at like a deer in headlights if you say 'schedule') for our classes at school.  The past weeks we have simply been assigned random classes and sent to them with 2 minute notice, forced to rack our brains and rummage thru notebooks for lessons and games for any age under 13.  This I don't mind because I like to wing it with my lessons anyways; as I think the energy of the kids and classroom will determine what lesson will suit that day.  However, I have also been assigned the task of teaching art and volleyball (YAY!), but still have not been informed what age level and the frequency of my classes.  Again, this is not a huge deal but it can be a bit stressful when someone runs up to you and says "can you go teach art to 5th and 6th standard right now?" "Sure!"… I am forced to develop a lesson plan and collect my materials in the 30 second walk to the classroom around back.  "Ok class, today we are going to illustrate our haikus and they will be put on display on November 14th for all the parents and students"….hey, I only had computer paper and 30 minutes.  Or the "can you do English with 2nd standard for the next hour?" ..:::head wobble:::… I speed walk to the classroom (god knows these kids are spastic little buggers) and whip out a dialogue and/or game from my lesson stash.  Colleen has been assigned drama with the kids, and she has worked painfully hard in trying to come up with feasible and acceptable (don't forget, conservative Muslim school) songs and plays for the students to perform on November 14.  Poor Colleen has been trapped inside a pinball machine, being shot about from teacher to teacher, to ideas encouraged and shot down, plans made and erased, "boys and girls must be separate" "the older girls can't be in the play now" "oh!  we would rather you teach them a song rather than a play"…all input threatening to hospitalize poor Colleen with an imminent panic attack.  Head-honcho-drama-leen has braved thru this week and was finally able to settle on three performances:  a play for the older boys, a song for the younger kids, and song for the older girls.   I played the assistant role, helping decide appropriate plays/songs, advising/encouraging, and helping with auditions and rehearsals.   We work well together :-)  When she starts to panic,  I assert a spiraling Colleen ma'am back to feasible reality.  When I'm burning up in frustration, Colleen will look at me knowingly and turn me around to see a pudgy-cheeked montessori nugget*--- a remedy that always melts my steaming hot face to a warm smile inside.  Kids have that effect on me.
    Sumleen had pretty much assumed at this point that we would probably not get a Montessori training teacher to stay at our flat.  We were told when we first arrived that we would receive permanent company, none of which ever arrived.  We were getting quite comfy with our own spacious rooms, walking around in our underwear, watching LOST in the common room while eating obscene amounts of chocolate (don't judge, we need comfort food), and experimenting with indian ingredients (yielding both failure and success).  On Friday, we were informed that one of the montessori teachers, Noor (a hilarious and bubbly 20-year-old doing a two year internship at RIMS to become Montessori certified) and her mother would come to live with us this weekend.  Hey, its India, who doesn't love company?   Sumleen was more than happy to welcome them to our flat on Saturday (we were told Sunday but they rolled up Saturday instead…T double I) but couldn't resist giggling at the whole situation and the inevitable awkwardness to come. 

Cultural Experiment

Exhibit A: Summer and Colleen
    Variables--   liberal, fairly naked, American, un-defined religion, speak English, Spanish, bits of Malayalam

Exhibit B: Noor and Mama
    Variables--  conservative, burka-wearing, Indian, Muslim, speak limited English (Noor only), speak Malayalam, Kannada, Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, Tamil

Constants: roof, female, arms, legs, speaking in native language in hopes other will magically understand, smiling

Observations:
    1.  I have never felt so naked in a t-shirt and capris.
    2.  The Indian conspiracy to fatten up the Americans continues.  Hovering loaded spoon situation lives on.  Mama makes good food, but I'm not a panda bear….don't they eat their body weight in bamboo?
    3.  Mama and Sumleen can communicate efficiently enough with hand motions, dictionaries, and smiles.  Any 'conversation' is always left with a healthy laugh and understanding of not understanding.
    4.  Americans' Malayalam improves, Indians' English improves.
    4.  Noor and Sumleen had a great conversation on Islam and "Sumleenism."**  Exhibits display signs of success in cultural exchange.

If you are not grasping the hilarity of my life right now, then …. well…. just grasp it people. 


*nugget--a word derived from Charlyn Dahilig referring to a small child and/or human, typically adorable in appearance
**A small note on Sumleenism.  I may try and explain this more later but by some crazy world twist, Colleen and I have been put together on this earth and we have found that we believe pretty much the exact same thing.  Explaining to people here that we are not Christian, but very familiar with it, alone is complicated enough.   Everyone at RIMS has assumed that as Americans, we must be Christian. (Don't forget Rule #1)  Anyways, its been difficult to explain a nutshell of our beliefs in the wadded up combo of truth in all religions, presence of good/bad energies, throw in some Eat, Pray, Love philosophy, and law of attraction.  However, I think we have gotten the idea across to Asiya, Aaliya, and Noor. 

P.S.  I forgot to mention that there is no school today because there is another strike.  T double I.