Posted on November 27, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with 5 comments

First time holding a guitar. Priceless

 

Fingernails. I never realized that I had ten of them.

While typing the other day, I looked down at my hands and was quite surprised to see actual fingernails. How did this happen? Confession. I have been a habitual nail biter.

I have pondered this for days now and I’ve come up with a theory… a few , actually. Retirement is certainly not as stressful as my working days. And not owning a home has been a huge stress reducer. But I have been homeless and jobless for a year and a half and my fingernails only reappeared a few weeks ago so I am going to rule those two items out.

My travel to India hasn’t been without its share of nail biting activity ( more on this later ). I have documented the pollution, the traffic, the noise and the total change of diet.

So, if it’s none of these things that has brought a certain sense of serenity,  then what could it be?

Media.

Over my lifetime , I have been a huge consumer of information through newspapers, radio and television. I am an admitted sports and politics junkie. Prior to coming to India in late October, I spent an inordinate amount of time watching the U.S. Election. And like many of you, I was captivated by watching this train wreck. But from the moment I touched down in Asia, all that changed. There was virtually no coverage of the Presidential race in the U.S. in the newspapers. I can’t get any English language news on television… just Animal Planet. And local radio over here is music all of the time. At least that’s all I hear in my travels.

Of course, I could go looking for news if I really wanted to.

Unshackled from all of the bad news in the world, my fingernails decided to come out of hibernation. I have come to realize just how much negativism that we are exposed to in North America and I’m thinking that this is not good for a person’s health. I’m not suggesting that ignoring the serious problems in the world is desirable, but there are so many things that are way beyond our control. I have taken to listening to NPR radio in the States and CBC in Canada… mainly podcasts . I am also purchasing and reading books on line. Might even get a manicure!

Coming soon, my first “Faces in the Crowd” story in well over a month. It was the most challenging interview that I’ve ever done. I knew going in, that language would be a challenge. My subject spoke no English and my translators spoke very little English. That in itself made things tough. But the interview was conducted in a grade one classroom in the village elementary school. Even though it was lunch period and the children were outdoors, there was a steady stream of kids in and out of the room and as the interview went on, more of them were inside than out! You get the picture.

I had my first ride in an auto rickshaw the other day. Check out the video! I swear to god that the motorcycles come so close that you can smell the breath of the drivers!

I have documented the problems ( serious problems ) with garbage in this city. There is no central garbage pickup. Everything ends up on the sides of the road. I walk to McDonald’s every morning for coffee and often , I end up walking, carrying the coffee. So what do I do when I’m finished? Exactly. I am too well trained to throw the empty cup on the ground so I walk it all of the way back to my residence. It is my silent protest.

You are receiving this a day earlier than usual as I will be on a long train ride Sunday night/Monday  with no way to post this.

Have a great week.

P.S. Turn off the t.v. for a week and watch your toenails grow!!!

Posted on November 24, 2016 under Thursday Tidbits with one comment

The women of the world. Doing the heavy lifting.

“ What is the biggest problem facing Canada? “

This question was posed by a grade 10 student from a high school in a rural Indian village. After being lobbed some really easy questions about where I was from and how was I adapting to the food, this young man at the back of the room caught me off guard. If I would have been quicker I would have responded, “ The United States,” just to see if they would understand the nuance of a remark like this.

My answer?

Canada’s shameful treatment of its First Nations people. I didn’t go into a great amount of detail nor will I expound in this space. Those who read my articles regularly know that my purpose in writing is primarily to entertain. There are enough other forums for people to express their opinion on weighty matters. I’m sure if I polled 100 people, I would likely get 100 different answers.

I promise (?!) that this will be my last comment on the demonetization crisis here in India. If you haven’t been following this, here’s a quick primer. Approximately 85% of all the cash in India ( and this is still a predominantly cash economy ) was held in two rupee notes: the 500 rs and the 1000rs. Our equivalent in Canada would be a $10. and $20 dollar bill. There are billions upon billions of rupees that people stash away ( including the Black Market – the primary target of this move ) avoiding the eyes of the tax man. On November 8^th. the Indian government declared these currencies worthless… overnight. You could swap them for newly minted notes but only in small quantities and for a set amount of time.

I will give you one concrete example of the magnitude of the problem. The bank machines will only dispense the new 2000 rs note ( $40 ) on a daily basis…. if you are prepared to stand in lineups for 3-5 hours ( in 30 + degree heat ) with NO Guarantee  that the ATM will have any notes left when you get there.

So, you finally get your first 2000 rs note and for lack of a better example, you want to buy some bananas from a street vendor who deals in small rs notes ( 10 rs is common ). So, he gives you 10 bananas for 50 rupees ( $1.00 ) and he is expected to give you back 1950 rupees in small bills? Not happening. These small merchants can’t sell their product. And the big guys are feeling it too.  Can you imagine going to Tim’s with every customer handing the clerk a $50. billl? They would run out of small bills very quickly…. which is exactly what’s happening at the local McDonald’s where I go for coffee. They have been turning away customers in droves although they are luckier than most because they take debit and credit cards, but only a fraction of the population has these.

Enough. It’s a complete mess and will take weeks if not months before the economy gets back on track. It is quite fascinating to watch it live. I was down to my last 90 rs ( $1.80 )  last Saturday before getting my hands on a fresh 2000 rs note. It was a very surreal feeling to not be able to get cash or buy anything at my local restaurants or from street vendors.

After considerable contemplation, I have decided to enter the convent. Now you stalwarts know that I never lie. Oh yes, I am a master of embellishment when telling a story but I refrain from outright lies. At the end of December, I will be relocating to a convent in the most southerly town in India called Kanyakumari. You old fogies can go look at your weather beaten atlases or an old globe (!) or simply Google it.

The pollution in Hyderabad has taken its toll and I’m going somewhere that has much better air quality… and it’s a five minute walk to the beach. I will be volunteering with a non profit organization run by an order of Catholic Sisters who still wear the traditional garb. I am hoping not to develop any bad habits. ( I can hear the collective groan! ). I expect that this will be a completely different experience. Hyderabad has been a wonderful education but my health comes first.

How many of you have ever watched Animal Planet? It is the only English language channel that I can get on my T.V. I am just about an expert on the animal kingdom!!!

Have a great day.

Posted on November 21, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with 3 comments

Grade X English class

“ What is the biggest problem facing your country?” ( Canada )

How would you have answered this question if you were engaged in a lively discussion with a Grade 10 class in rural India? Please, do tell, and I will give you my answer when I post Thursday Tidbits.

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “ You’re only as happy as your unhappiest child.” I’m not sure that I can draw a direct connection but I see something similar in India. The country is making giant strides economically but the government is very aware that the poor cannot be forgotten.

Last Friday, I spent another interesting and educational day in a small, rural Indian village. I travelled with colleagues from work to visit several sites where our group is doing field work. There is a concept in India called “ model villages.” With the Indian economy in transition, the government is trying to prevent small communities from getting lost in the shuffle. To that end, many towns and villages have been identified , where grassroots projects are being implemented. In many cases, the basics of life such as clean drinking water and proper sanitation, are top priorities. Partnerships are formed with government, the private sector and NGO’s , among others, in order to  empower local  people to take charge of their own destiny when the projects reach their conclusion.

I visited pre-schools, an elementary school and a high school. Our group also saw the new reverse osmosis water plant, the installation of solar street lights and a few of the 140 toilets under construction in villagers’ homes.

But it was in the schools where I felt most at home, having been a classroom teacher and principal in an earlier life. Of course, an aging , Caucasian from Canada is a curiosity so getting engaged with the students was hardly an issue. I had the distinct pleasure of spending about 20 minutes with a grade 10 class. I plan to go back there and spend a day. And yes, there were LOTS of selfies taken!

One more thing about the field visit. On our way home, we took a crossroads to pick up a colleague. It was quite densely forested. We came around a corner and there were a few monkeys on the side of the road. I have seen some before so this wasn’t that big a deal. But over the next 8 kilometers, there were thousands of them. I’m not exaggerating. I must find out why . Maybe they were looking for a cup of coffee too!

On Saturday, I was going about my business in the office ( they work 6 days a week and every other week, they get a two day respite ), when this distinguished looking woman was introduced to me. Caroline is a retired professor from the University of Vermont. She is here doing research on self help groups ( SHG’s ). We had a very spirited discussion, including her take on the U.S. election (!) and plan to get together ,as she plans to be here for several weeks. She thinks that she can find me a coffee maker,  in which case, I will immediately contact Rome and plead for sainthood.

Every day I learn something new. I was invited to attend a Satyanarayana Puja. It is a religious worship of the Hindu god, Vishnu. Satya means “truth” and Narayana means “ the highest being “ so Satyanarayana means “ the highest being who is an embodiment of truth.”  This was held at a private residence of some people I’ve met before. I took part in the worship which included the honor of receiving a red bindi on my forehead. This was followed by the most amazing assortment of Indian food… and a gift box of Indian sweets. I share most things in the office but I’m afraid that I will horde these!

And for those teachers out there, who may want to explore some post retirement options, I chatted at length with the owner of a private IB school. It is on the outskirts of the city, far from the pollution. Within a few years they expect to have several thousand students attend this brand new facility that opened last year. It will have everything,  including a 600 seat performing arts centre. They may start looking for foreign teachers in the near future. They will have a residence on campus for teachers from outside of the area, or indeed outside the country. I have been invited to come out for a day to share ideas and do a “ Canada class” including music from home. I’ll let you know what I observe in a future post.

Have a great week.

P.S. If you want to see history in the making, Google “ demonetization of the rupee in India.” ( or , putting the “demon in monetization”  ) It is a very chaotic place these days… and utterly fascinating. Donald Trump was page 14 news in the weekend papers, btw.