sim card drama

I’ve been here in Varanasi an entire week as of yesterday. The city hasn’t changed much, aside from some of the buildings under construction growing taller and more complete. I made an interesting observation though, which was that my experiences here are like a relationship – I forgot most of the bad stuff I didn’t like about it last year, but remember it all now that I’m back in the middle of things.

For example, when people would ask what I liked most about being in India, I always mentioned the fact that when I’m here, everything is a challenge, so accomplishing an errand or task feels extra rewarding. These challenges are taking some adjustment, mostly because I forgot how frustrating it can be in moments when I just want to get something done and it doesn’t feel like anyone’s being helpful.

Trying to get a sim card for my cell phone last week is a prime example of such frustration. On Wednesday, the day after I arrived, I was walking back from Lanka and decided to stop by a phone recharge shop to find out whether I could just reactivate my old sim, which I still have from last year. The man said no, but that I could just get a new one from him. In India, you’re required to submit several documents in order to register with the highly regulated phone companies and to receive a sim card. I asked the man whether he needed my documents, and he said no. We chatted pleasantly while he set up my phone number, and I paid him for the sim as well as a 444 rupee recharge on my talk time.

When I went back to NIRMAN, I explained what had happened to Jay (the new manager…Amit’s job) and he told me that I still needed to submit my documents or else Airtel would deactivate my number within a week. He also explained that it shouldn’t be a problem, because whenever this happens, Indians are able to take their documents into the Airtel store post facto and get everything squared away.

Later that day, I went to the Airtel store to find out exactly what I’d need to bring them. When I explained the situation to the men working there, they laughed at me and told me I’d been stupid to trust the shopkeeper. I was absolutely livid. I stormed back to NIRMAN, and Ankur (class 6 – son of the guard, Tiwari) asked what happened. I explained, and he and his father promptly accompanied me to the shop, where I yelled at the shopkeeper for cheating me. He didn’t seem to know that he’d messed up or that I was going to be penalized, and he gave me my money back. He appeared to feel really bad, which made me feel guilty for assuming so quickly that he’d been dishonest. When I told the story to Jay the next day, he told me not to feel bad, that the man probably wouldn’t have given my money back if I hadn’t taken Tiwari ji with me.

Later that day (Thursday), I took all of my documents to Airtel in order to get a sim, and told them that the man had given my money back. They were amazed – one said that it was the first time he’d ever heard of something like that. I felt pretty smug, until the woman processing my documents told me that I’d need to bring a darker copy of my passport. Seriously? Frustrating.

I went back Friday morning. The people there told me to come back in an hour. At that point, I’d been there three times and was fed up with their poor customer service and seeming unwillingness to be even remotely helpful. I went back after an hour, and finally got my sim card.

The reason I didn’t post about this before was because it took some time for me to be able to talk about it without getting severely irritated and irrationally frustrated with the general experience of being here.

I’m hoping I have the energy to write another post about my adventures on Sunday before I leave tomorrow evening. I’ll be staying in the Hotel Radisson with Sunita and her sisters, Anita and Prema, until Saturday morning. WEDDING TIME!! So excited. I have a different sari for each of the three parts/ceremonies that Mitali has arranged for me to attend. I’ve also painted my nails, which I don’t bite while I’m in India. I’ll be sure to share at least a photo or two from the wedding!

My favorite mural in Varanasi

i've tried three times to upload the rotated version, to no avail. this will have to do!

My projects

Yesterday morning (Wednesday), I met with Nandini to discuss my work for the upcoming weeks. My first project is to create children’s storybooks using math concepts. I’m to focus on preschool-first grade lessons like counting, simple addition, shapes, and patterns. Nandini told me I could take photos and use them in place of drawings. We’re meeting again Friday to discuss my planning and progress. My other task, which I can complete concurrently with the first, is to research Indian mathematicians and their accomplishments. Finally, I’ll be working with Sunita and Ramesh on their English.

After meeting with Nandini, I went upstairs to the centre to start brainstorming for the books. I didn’t get much work done, though, because the summer session students were up there and Prema came over to chat. We talked for a while about my return to India, Indian weddings, and our families. She told me, “You are a good family member. I love you Pyper ma’am.” I fought off tears. Later, I showed her a photo of my mom and Hadley, and looking at my mom, she said, “She is my mother now, too. We are family, no?”

Aside from how much I believe in the work of NIRMAN, that, right there, is why I came back.

Happy to be back!

After flying Seattle to Paris, Paris to Delhi, spending the night in Delhi with fellow former Berger resident Damini Yarra Marwaha, and flying Delhi to Varanasi, I am finally back at NIRMAN.

I really, really couldn’t be happier.

When I arrived, I exchanged enthusiastic handshakes with Tiwari ji, his son Ankur, who is a rising sixth grader, and Sunil. Moments later, Sunita emerged, and I got my backpack off as quickly as possible and we hugged. Twice :) Everyone was smiling; it was wonderful to receive such a warm welcome from so many familiar faces! After putting my things in my room (the one next door to the one I stayed in last year), I went to chat with Mitali Sengupta (not Mitali Gupta – the one with whom I taught math last summer) in the shop. She was also here last summer, and works in the office. I also saw a couple of teachers I know from last year, but most exciting was seeing Mitali (Gupta). She was my closest friend among the teachers last year, and I am lucky enough to be here for her wedding, the festivities for which begin on the 9th. Mitali, Sunita, and I sat in the guesthouse for 20 minutes or so, chatting about Mitali’s husband-to-be and about the plans for the wedding. The sangeet is the evening of the 9th, followed by some ceremonial procedures during the morning of the 10th, followed by the reception in the evening, which begins at 7:30 and will go until 4am, according to Mitali. I am SO excited. Mitali said she made accommodations for Sunita and me to stay in the hotel from the night of the ninth until after the festivities have ended. I can’t wait. I’ve since eaten lunch and unpacked, and have otherwise been resting and sending emails.

Now I’d like to backtrack, and share a couple things that I noted down with the intent to blog about them once I was settled.

- When I arrived in Delhi, I went to arrange a prepaid taxi to Damini’s house once I had my bags. As I was walking towards the stand, a man pushed hastily past me so he could get in line before I could. I was taken aback, and my first instinctive thought was “Wow, where’s the ‘ladies first’ courtesy?” I didn’t think anything more of it at the time, but looking back on it this morning, I thought my “ladies first” instinct was slightly archaic. In hindsight, I think it would have been more progressive and meaningful if I had wondered about his common courtesy from a person-to-person standpoint, rather than such a traditional, gendered way of thinking. Oh yeah, by the way, in the year since I last visited India, I decided to pick up CMC’s Gender and Women’s Studies sequence after having an inspirational and view-altering intellectual experience in my Feminist Theory class last fall. While I was taking the class, much of my perspective was shaped by my comparative experiences of living as a woman in the United States and in India. This month, I think that the classes I’ve had on gender studies will shape my awareness of my womanhood in light of cultural norms. Just something interesting that I’ll be keeping in mind…

- Staying with Damini was such a treat. Her family has a beautiful home – I honestly think it might have been the most architecturally striking home I’ve ever slept in. There were a lot of glass walls, which help make the house feel open, while still permitting each room’s air-conditioning to best work its magic. Her mom was particularly kind and welcoming, and even made sure I had breakfast (paratha!! – my choice and favorite!) before she and Damini drove me to the airport.

That’s all for now. Right now I’m hanging out in my room and waiting for dinner. After having eaten lunch, I can officially say that I am back on the daal/chapatti express. Wahoo!

I’ll do a better job keeping up with my blog this time. SO EXCITED TO BE BACK!

GOING BACK

Hi everyone! I just wanted to make a quick post to say that i am going back to India!!

For those of you who don't know, I'm going to be studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina this coming fall. While I'm studying there for the fall semester, my program actually begins in July, so my ability to make plans for the summer was rather limited. Instead of completing a shortened internship which would have taken up all of my time prior to leaving for Argentina, I decided to go back and work at NIRMAN. I will be there for the month of June - and be back home for the 4th of July!

At NIRMAN, I will be working more on my curriculum planning project from last summer and will help at the teacher training sessions. Unfortunately, the first day of school is July 1, which means I won't be around when all of the students come back. Disappointing! However, their summer session wraps up in the middle of June, so I will have the chance to see the students who chose to attend the summer session.

What I'm most looking forward to:

-seeing my friends and students again!
-attending Mitali's wedding in Varanasi (how fortuitous that it is taking place in June!!)
-(buying a new saree for Mitali's wedding) :)
-exploring the city and visiting my favorite shops (and shopkeepers!)
-the simplicity of living there and the slow pace at which life operates

Hopefully I'll do a better job on updating my blog this time!

photos link

Yeah...so I've been horrible about updating. It's been a month...I've had a lot on my plate with planning, teaching, and finalizing the materials I came here to introduce to the math curriculum.

I come home in 6 days. Yes, I'm counting. Being here has been an amazing and valuable experience, but I'd be lying if I said there was never a moment I wished I could be home. I have lots of stories...sorry for failing in blog upkeep. I'm quite certain that my time at home before returning to Claremont will be full of introspection. Here's the link to the photo album I just posted on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=198479&id=683917610&l=7b9556a1a5

If you see a photo and want the story to go with it (there probably will be one) just write in a comment and I'll check back to see. I think that's the best way to address my lack of blogging. Sorry, again. I'm afraid that my English articulation skills have gotten rusty; we've all gotten in the habit of speaking simplified, broken English in order to communicate with many of the primarily Hindi speaking people we're spending our time with. "I go." "You stay." "I take breakfast at 8:30." "I come, five minutes." ...yeah.

Saturday

While I was very much looking forward to seeing the Taj Mahal, especially at sunrise, getting up at 4 was brutal. We had to meet at the bus at 4:30. Two people in our group, for whatever reason, hadn’t been informed of our plan to leave so early, so at 4:45 Amit had to go wake up Taylor and Maira, who joined us about ten minutes later. It wasn’t their fault they hadn’t been told, but it was still frustrating to have to wait at such an early hour. It didn’t take very long to get to the place where the bus dropped us off, and when we went inside, around 5:10, there were only two other people there. We discovered that entry to the Taj Mahal would be free after 2pm, so Nita ma’am proposed that we change plans and begin the day at the Agra Fort instead, and return later. When we voted, that idea got totally shut down. We all bought our tickets, and then got on little tram things (like at Disneyland) to take us from the parking lot to the entrance. When we got to the entrance, the east gate, we were some of the first people of the day inside the site. Andrew and Cameron promptly took off toward the royal gate, through which the Taj would be visible. When Miya and I tried to follow, the tour guide Nita ma’am had hired told us we couldn’t go, because he needed to tell us some things first. Aggravating! It turned out he wanted to tell us about the royal gate, which was actually kind of interesting, but he made a serious mistake when he said that the Arabic on the gate could only be read by Arabians and Muslims. Irfana and I caught each other’s eye with a look of amused perplexity, and Nita ma’am actually corrected him, saying that non-Muslim people can also read Arabic. He apologized, and then said it again. After a few more minutes of telling us unnecessary facts which we could easily have read in a book, he finally told us we could go in. By that time, I was extremely irritated, and kept trying, unsuccessfully, to convince myself that it was worth hearing what the guide had to say. When we went through the gate, tourists had already gathered in the way of the Taj, so we missed the chance to take a picture without anyone in it, even though we totally could have had he not stopped us. UGH! I was tired and cranky to begin with, and my frustration was augmented by the idea that this lazy-eyed Indian man was spoiling my Taj Mahal experience. After a few pictures by the gate, we walked further in, and when we were walking by the fountains, I smiled at the idea of pushing him into one. We continued toward the Taj, and the guide, who had already told us about the perfect symmetry of the structure, explained that the two buildings facing the Taj itself were the guesthouse and the mosque. Facing the Taj, the guesthouse was on the right, and the mosque on the left. Strategic placement: the mosque faces east. A few of us circled the monument; I was pleased to get away from the guide. We went around clockwise, as I’ve observed is the correct way to go around temples and religious altars here. I’m not sure though, whether it’s just a Hindu thing. Finally, we went up the stairs onto the marble itself. Because it was so early in the morning, and the sun hadn’t broken through the clouds, we were able to manage going barefoot. I love being barefoot, especially on marble, plus I was happy not to have to wear the awkward tourist shoe-covering bootie things. I think those are excessively silly-looking. When we were up there, I still took my time on going into the Taj. Miya and I walked around it again, going slowly, appreciating the beautiful designs on the outside. We took a few pictures; when we got back to the front, Nita ma’am was still sitting on the steps, intently reading the script on the outside. We sat with her for a few minutes, and then the three of us finally decided to go inside. Free of the guide, I was relieved to find that my disposition had greatly improved; earlier, I had been disappointed to be in a sour mood while fulfilling such a life dream. When we went inside, Nita ma’am explained to us that the reason entrance would be free later that day was because it was Shah Jahan’s urs – the anniversary of his death. (Shah Jahan was the one who constructed the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife, Mamta, who died giving birth to their fourteenth (?!) child.) She also told us that, because it was his urs, the real tomb was open to be viewed, rather than the replicas which sit in the main chamber of the Taj. She commented that it was extremely lucky that we had the chance to see the real tombs, because she hadn’t before, and because we hadn’t even planned to be there on that day. The real tombs lay beneath the replicas; we went down the marble staircase to the room, which was very bare except for the festive sheets adorning the tombs. Nita ma’am identified the tomb in the middle as Mamta’s, explaining that the person for which a monument is built gets buried in the middle of the room, directly in front of the door. The adjacent tomb, then, belonged to Shah Jahan. I got goosebumps thinking about how special it was to be seeing the real thing! So exciting! We stood there for a minute or two, appreciating the significance of our opportunity. There were a few men there who were praying. I turned the flash off on my camera and took a picture. Though there was no sign prohibiting photos, I still felt uneasy doing so, which was why I turned off my flash. We went back up, and walked around the building. Miya and I quietly agreed that we greatly preferred Nita ma’am’s stories and facts to those of our guides. We looked at the replica tombs, which didn’t feel very worthwhile after having visited the real ones moments before. We walked around a bit more, through a few chambers. We sat down in one near the back of the building, on a ledge near a window (intricate marble grate through which you can see). To my dismay, our guide found us there. He was with Cathy, who I suppose had been humoring him by listening to him after the rest of us had abandoned ship. Pleased to find us again, he began rattling off some useless facts. I was amused to find out, though, that the room we’d stopped to rest in had coincidentally been a ladies’ chamber. We stood up and continued to the exit, where the rest of our group was sitting on the ledge. We joined them, and we all sat and chatted for about an hour. There was a cool breeze (!!!!) blowing through, and it was pretty incredible to be literally sitting on the Taj Mahal, chatting casually about things like culture at CMC. We took a few pictures, and finally decided to start heading out. The rest of the group was ahead of us, and went back down the stairs to retrieve their shoes long before we joined them. Miya, Nita ma’am, Irfana, Amit, and I stood there in front of the Taj (still up on the marble) for quite a few minutes. At one point, our guide was waving madly at us, gesturing that we join them. Irfana commented that we were probably stressing him out, that he was probably worried about keeping the group together for the sake of a tip. We laughed, and continued to torture him by pretending not to understand his evident dismay. Finally, we went back down, got our shoes, and began walking toward the gate. We stopped though, several times, for more touristy pictures. I didn’t mind; I kind of wanted to drag out our time there as much as possible. By that point, I was extremely happy to be there, and was also grateful that the guide wasn’t getting to me anymore.

After we left the monument itself, our guide took us to a shop where people were demonstrating the process of inlaying designs into marble. At that point, most of us were ready to go back to the hotel and nap and also to get away from all of the people trying to sell us things. They were especially pushy there. Also, Amit had warned us against “pocket sniffers,” (haha) so I at least was tired of being especially wary of small children coming too close to my purse. When we got back to the hotel, most of us ate a delirious breakfast and then headed to bed for a short nap. At 10, 40 minutes later, we met in Nita ma’am/Irfana/Nandani’s room for a continuation of Nita’s lecture. She provided background history on the Mughal empire, and Shah Jahan specifically. A few years into the construction of the Taj Mahal, he was “arrested” by one of his sons, who imprisoned him in the Agra Fort for the rest of his life. She told us that he was able to see the Taj from his “prison,” which, ironically, he had built. She also told us about how the Mughals created a cultural synthesis in India, facilitated by generations of intermarriage, which ultimately resulted in emergence of a new language: Urdu. Overall, I thought the lecture was very interesting.

Once her lecture was finished, I went back to sleep for an hour. At 12:30, those of us who were interested met Nita ma’am, Irfana, Nandani, and Nawal in the lobby to go out and explore one of the markets and find lunch. When we got off the bus, we walked around for a bit before stopping for lunch at an average, cheap Indian restaurant. I sat with Miya, Katie, and Nita ma’am. I don’t remember much of what we talked about, but it was a pleasant meal. I had cumin potatoes, which were delicious. I remarked, as I have a few times, on how different it is to be eating from a cuisine in which it is entirely customary to eat carbs by picking them up with your hands using more carbs – bread. Not that I’m complaining. We had a few sweets after our meal; I really need to write down the names of these amazing desserts. Right now I can identify my two favorite ones by describing them to the Indians among us: one is really flakey, melts in your mouth, and has a softer, butterfinger-like consistency. The other is like a sticky donut hole with a really sweet, oozy inside. Delicious. After lunch, we went back through the same market, and, between all of us, made several shoe purchases. Hadley, you just keep getting bonus gifts; the least you could do is give me back my sunglasses when I come home.

Back at the hotel, we had an hour for more naptime before we left again to visit the Agra Fort. As has become customary, I woke up in the middle of my nap to Amit calling to tell us the plan, which I usually already know. When I went into the lobby, I told him he had a special talent for calling unnecessarily at times during which I’d really like to continue sleeping. After a couple of exchanges, I reiterated my initial sarcastic comment, to which he responded with a genuine and enthusiastic, “Thank you!” We all laughed, he’s such a character.

Agra Fort was impressive. As Nita ma’am told us (we didn’t get a guide this time, as none of us had enjoyed the one in the morning), Akbar had originally constructed the fort out of red stone. Then, Shah Jahan came in and, according to his own personal preference, redid part of it in white marble. We walked around, especially appreciating the architecture. We spent a lot of time looking around and sitting near Shah Jahan’s imprisonment area, which was of the white marble he preferred. It was an extremely posh “cell.” He had a verandah and several rooms, all of intricately decorated white marble. We saw the courtyard area where ladies attended him, fanning and such. From the balcony, it was fun to look out and see the Taj again, because by then, our morning visit totally felt like a dream. We spent an hour or two perusing the Agra Fort; I was intrigued and excited to notice more of Akbar’s integration of different religious symbols in a part of the fort which Shah Jahan hadn’t changed. When we left the Agra Fort, there were more extremely pushy men and children trying to sell things. As it was our last time visiting such a tourist destination, a few of us braved the chaos and began bargaining for things. I wanted postcards. One young man had two packets of postcards, one of the Taj Mahal and one of the Agra Fort. Bracing myself, I asked how much. He wanted 200 for both. I said I’d give him 50. He said, “Okay, 180.” I just gave him a look. “Okay, 160.” I gave him another look. He added a packet of Delhi postcards to the pile and said, “Okay, 150 for all three.” I asked Alex what he thought, and we both agreed I should ask for 70. The guy said, “Okay, 140.” When I continued to give him blank stares, he said, “Okay, 130.” Silence. “Okay, 120.” Silence. He added a packet of Jaipur postcards and said, “Okay, 100!” Because I’d originally been asking for two for 50, and he was now offering four for 100, I took it. Whatever. They were all places I’d been, and I ultimately just wanted the postcards, so I was content. We got back on the bus; Britta and Cameron had negotiated two marble boxes down from 1000 for both to 100 each. Impressive. When we got back to the hotel, the plan was that we’d wait to hear from Amit about going to dinner. When he finally called, after I’d showered and gotten ready to go out, the revised plan was to just stay in and eat the hotel’s crappy buffet food again. No thank you. I went upstairs to see what the other kids wanted to do. Cathy, Taylor, Britta, Cameron, Ben and I (the same group who went on the late night adventure in Jaipur) ended up deciding to leave the hotel and walk to a restaurant. As we were leaving, one of the security guards, who was headed home, offered to walk with us and show us where we should eat. We ended up walking pretty far, but he took us to a really nice, westerner-friendly restaurant. We told him he should join us, and he came in, but ended up going outside for a smoke and never came back. We ordered a couple of chicken dishes, a potato dish, and a variety of breads. When our food came, I have to say the best combo was the garlic naan and butter chicken. Amazing. It turned out that between the 6 of us, what we’d ordered was the perfect amount. Love it when that happens. After dinner, we went outside and caught an auto back to the hotel, where we went back to our rooms and packed and went to sleep.

That was Saturday. I have more to write about Sunday and today, but am tired and will leave this for now. I’ll just say that I’m really happy to be back in Varanasi – it feels like home!