Independence Day at Diocesan... pictures to come!

Note: As I mentioned in my "I'm back... again" post, I am still waiting on some pictures of my school's program. Definitely check back when they're up because the students and teachers put on a fantastic and beautiful performance. They'll be worth the wait!

From the moment I joined Diocesan, I was immersed in the Independence Day excitement. Since we're not full-time teachers, ETAs are left with a lot of downtime. Fortunately for me, the Independence Day program preparations didn't leave any time for a dull moment. Whenever I had a free period, or had an off, as the other teachers say, I would walk down to the giant field and watch the girls practice their dances, marching, and other performances. This was also great because I had a lot of time to talk with the students who were involved. When you're teaching classes of more than sixty five students, this time is precious. 

My friend, coordinating teacher, fellow teacher and me

Two weeks later, the day finally came. I went over to my friend Esha's house, a girl about my age who was teaching in place of a teacher on leave for a month, early in the morning so her mom could drape a sari on me. I told the teachers and students who asked that I wouldn't wear a sari as a surprise. Needless to say they were all so excited to see me wearing one. On Independence Day, teachers are supposed to wear white saris with orange borders. 

This is where all the performances took place.

My school's Independence Day performance was absolutely beautiful. The campus field transformed into a giant stage. The bamboo structures I had seen emerging around the field were now beautiful awnings covered in orange, yellow, and green fabric to protect spectators from the sun and possibly rain. Apparently it has rained every Independence Day for the past few years, but this never stops the performance. The girls rehearsed in the hot August heat and rain, and the performance would be no different. I had so much respect for these girls giving the rehearsals their all already, and I can't even describe how proud I was watching the actual performance. Pictures will come once I get the CD.

The girls' costumes were absolutely gorgeous. They were elaborately dressed, and their acting/marching/dancing matched it perfectly. There were certainly some mistakes during the rehearsals, but by this point, if there were any I didn't see them. By the end of the performance, I was so happy to be part of the Diocesan family.

A picture I managed to take of some of the students in costume.

Some of our little performers. They danced!

The marchers from my perspective. This is why I decided not to take photos myself and use the school's photographers' pictures instead. I'm sure they came out much nicer.

Simurali: First Trip Out of Kolkata!

Back in July, one of the Fulbright Researchers invited all five of us to accompany him to Simurali, a suburban town Kolkata. We were all excited because it was our first trip outside of Kolkata and our first experience using the trains. The trains were indeed an adventure. It was so crowded that most of us didn't get a seat. The experience would be much easier to handle now, but then it was pretty exhausting. Speaking as one of the women on the trip, I can say that at least for me, you're more aware of staring and leering on public transportation. My first experiences on the metro and the buses were a bit traumatizing for that reason, especially since you're essentially a sardine in a can, but that can is full of many, many men. Apparently there's a woman's car if I remember correctly, but we weren't on it. At some point, someone offered me half a seat. I honestly couldn't decide if the half seat was more comfortable than standing since I was struggling to avoid falling off the bench. Later when I was offered an "actual" seat between two people, I decided to leave the whole notion of "comfort" behind on the train. 

A picture from the rooftop.

When our stop came, we were greeted with something I think most of us had forgotten: fresh air. Kolkata, like many cities in and outside of India, is very polluted. However, Kolkata is notorious for it's pollution, so this was quite refreshing. We walked off of the platform and into this beautiful town. Kolkata has a lot of green for a city, but it obviously couldn't compare to this.

We arrived at the house the researcher and his crew were working with after a quick cha break. Tea is called cha in West Bengal. It's a bit different than the chai served in the rest of India. Personally, I think it tastes better, but perhaps I'm a bit biased.) The family was a pleasure to talk to and spend time with. We spent the whole day there. I hung out on the roof with some of the other Fulbrighters for the majority of the time. It was nice to be able to relax in the fresh air and nature surrounding us.

The train ride back was much more pleasant. It was far less crowded, and I was able to sit pretty close to the window. I saw the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen in my life there. I didn't feel comfortable taking my camera out since I was surrounded by people, but maybe it's better that way. Some images are better kept as memories, and the picture would not have done it any justice. I was virtually every color behind silhouettes of villages, people, and different kinds of trees. Once the sun had set, a family with a small baby sat across from me. I played peek-a-boo with the baby for like an hour, so that was awesome. Her family was on board with it and thought it was sweet, which really added to it. The whole day was fantastic and full of many new experiences. 

First monkey sighting! It was on the move so I didn't have much time, but he's there alright.

Front entrance from the rooftop.

My first official cow picture in India! It took way too long for this to happen.

The first dog in India I pet! As a dog lover, this was hugely exciting

A cute little boy I met who lives across the road

One of many cow pictures that followed.

I love the use of bamboo in India.

Bamboo being used in construction.

The walk to and from the house was full of beautiful surprises, this lake being one!

On the walk back to the train.

Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk

Way back in early July in the beginning of our adventures in Kolkata, all of the ETAs were invited to march in Kolkata's Rainbow Pride Walk. The Pride Walk has been around in Kolkata for twelve years, and it's the oldest one in India. It serves as a protest to all forms of violence, including girls born or unborn, women of any sexual orientation, and any sexually marginalized people like trans men/women, gay/bisexual people, Hijras, and Kothis.

This was such an exciting experience to have in the beginning of our adventures in India for so many reasons. This was my, and I believe a majority of the ETAs' also, first pride march. I never would have guessed that my first march would have taken place in India! Also, it was so nice to be in such an accepting environment. Up until this point, we were used to being constantly stared at on the street. Any one of us would have merited a stare on his or her own, but put us all together and we're quite a sight. In the march, we were certainly stared at because of course we're foreigners, but it was less frequent and far less threatening. All of the people we talked to were nice and really interesting. We even managed to make some of our first local friends, besides our facilitators of course. (The ETAs in every city have a group of facilitators who help us get around and get things done. They helped us go apartment hunting, took us shopping for Indian dress the first time, etc. If you're a prospective ETA, rest assured that these guys are very helpful.)

It was still extremely hot in Kolkata, which I'm sure is apparent from the pictures featuring my extra layer of sweat, but it was absolutely worth it. This is still one of my favorite memories in Kolkata and was absolutely my favorite at the time. It was so exciting to see my new city come to life in a way I hadn't before. It was also one of the first times I felt completely comfortable surrounded by a bunch of strangers. If you're a prospective ETA coming to Kolkata, you must attend the next pride walk! It's only getting bigger, after all. 

Unfortunately blogspot isn't the greatest site for displaying many photographs in an aesthetically pleasing way, but I can display them larger this way. Here are some of my favorite photos I took for your viewing pleasure.

Me and another Fulbrighter who taught at Diocesan

Some nice guys with awesome face paint

The coolest umbrella I've ever seen.

Making new friends

In case you can't read: "Roses are red/ violets are blue/ homophones, can we vote on your civil rights too??"

This group put on a wedding ceremony during the walk. It received a lot of attention.

"I am out hence I am"

Two of the other ETAs and me close to the end of the march

Did I mention the Communist Rally the walk accidentally interrupted?

Dance party at the end of the walk

I'm back... again!

But, unlike last time, nothing directly prevented me from posting (in case you forgot, last time I went a while without posting it was because the dongle we use in Kolkata for internet access corrupted my hard drive and it took airtel, the service provider most of the Fulbrighters in India use, roughly a month to grant me internet access). This time I was waiting for my school to give me the CD with pictures from our Independence Day celebration to post. I said once I received the disk I would finally catch up on all the events that came to pass, but of course it's publication is running on India time. Now, I'm the only ETA in Kolkata and my weekend plans have been canceled because of my cold and newly sprained ankle, so I figure now's as good a time as any to catch up. This includes any looming e-mails that I may or may not have forgotten to answer.

A quick shout-out to my family and friends who read this blog, and an extra shout out to those of you who so thoughtfully reminded me that it's time to update it. Thanks!

Kite-Flying, Chocolate, and Cake, Oh My!: Celebrating My Birthday In India.

My birthday cake! Fun fact: the man  who decorated it is
apparently "the best of the best"... he was very proud.
Photo: Rachel G.

For anyone who's interested, whether it be because you're family, a friend, or you may celebrate your birthday in India as well, here are a few pictures from my birthday. My birthday, although it was still early on in our travels, was the second one celebrated. Another ETA Rachel had celebrated hers around ten days earlier. It was challenging for either of us to plan or request anything since a. we didn't know the city well and b. we were very busy finding apartments or attending our intensive Bangla classes. Still, we managed to make it work. Hopefully this isn't because of how seriously I take chocolate/cake/chocolate cake. I am a fan of all of these things.

Walking into the park. The Victorian Memorial is above my
head. Photo: Rachel G.

On my birthday, we were in Bangla classes until four pm, leaving us little time to do anything. The others asked me what I wanted to do, and I honestly wasn't sure. Ryan suggested, because of my affinity for animals that we go to the zoo. On our way over to try and find it-which was unsuccessful-, we stumbled upon a huge park. There was a beautiful view of several points of interest, such as the Second Hoogly Bridge and the Victorian Memorial. Most important at the time were the kites in the air. Despite celebrating my twenty second birthday, I was determined to fly some kites. We strategically stood by some kite flyers and waited to be approached so we could bargain for a better deal. One did approach, but he ended up not requesting any money. This took us all by surprise and surely added to the excitement!

Kite Flying! Photo: Rachel G.

The group and the kite flyers. Photo: Rachel G.

Me and the cake!
Photo: Rachel G.

After that, we had dinner at a restaurant on Park Street, a fun area with a ton of restaurants and interesting places, like the Oxford Bookstore. In search for excessive amounts of chocolate cake, we stopped at Flurries, a popular and very westernized bakery. My friends had me sit down as they "surprised" me with a cake, which was cute. Thanks guys! Adizah read in the paper the next day that apparently some Bollywood star had the same cake decorated by the same man for his birthday, so solid decision making guys. Especially because of the chocolate. Have I mentioned I like chocolate?

We have two more birthdays to celebrate... on in September and two in October. These will certainly be memorable since we'll know the city and the October ones are during Durga Puja, a festival you will be hearing a lot about since it's the most important one in Kolkata.

"Good Morning, Miss!": My First Few Days Teaching

Part of me is regretting not writing a "first day of school" post because I feel like so much has happened that I'm not sure how to tackle this. But, with each passing day it seems more and more daunting, so let's just jump in!

Semi-awkward selfie of my snazzy salwar kameez
before I rushed out the door. Apparently I looked
like a "girl from Punjab!"

My first day was particularly stressful. I tend to overthink/worry about essentially everything, and teaching in a foreign country for the first time without knowing what to expect is certainly included. I woke up early and did everything I could to start the day right: I woke up early, did a quick workout, practiced (emphasis on practice) some yoga moves, and got ready for the day (which took a while--salwar kameez can be difficult to put on!). Still, no matter how productive I was, I couldn't shake my nerves. My mom, dad, sister (Ashley), and two of my closest friends (Effie and Christos) all called me to wish me luck and share in what they thought would be excitement. They could not have been more wrong. Even so, I really appreciated their call--it meant a lot!

I was lucky that my coordinating teacher offered to pick me up and take me to school since I didn't know the way yet. On the way there I was finally able to hear a little information about what to expect/what was expected of me. Previous to this moment, I only knew I was teaching in this school, I would be teaching classes 5 & 6 (5th and 6th grade) predominantly, and that she wanted me to help run the school's Literary Club. Now I knew that for today I was only expected to introduce myself and talk generally about American culture while getting to know the students. It helped calm my nerves a bit, especially since I was anticipating being tossed into a classroom and teach a random lesson cold.

When I arrived on the school's campus, my mind was blown. I had visited the school once before, but

My school's campus. How beautiful is that color?
Note: this isn't my picture. I'll get around to it eventually.

school wasn't in session. Now, the beautiful campus I had previously admired was saturated with students! I walked with my teacher and fiddled with my dupatta, which I could *not* get to stay on my shoulders, as students ran to approach me and sing "good morning miss!" Needless to say, it was absolutely adorable. Now that I experience this every day, it can be a bit overwhelming, especially since the campus is usually swarming with literally thousands of enthusiastic students, but I still enjoy it.

We stepped into the main office to meet another American teacher before going to the principal's office. She was a Fulbrighter on a different grant (one that sends American teachers to another country for a month), and it was her last day. It was strange to experience my first day as she was experiencing her last. My coordinating teacher joked that it was a very philosophical day because I was getting a glimpse into the future. She pointed out that my experience would be even more intense because I'd be there for far longer. I'm happy I have the opportunity to stay for so long, but it was a bit much at times to think about that.

After talking for a little about her future plans, we went into the principal's office. We were greeted with the principal and two students waiting with flower leis and a farewell gift to the other teacher, then posed for a photo. I know this is a tradition here because, as people have explained to me, God resides in your guests, so you offer flowers to them as you would any deity. Still, I couldn't help but be reminded of the somewhat hoaxy vibe I had when I received a flower lei at the Oberoi. I suppose that's just a cultural difference!

As I'm sure any American teacher who has stepped foot into an Indian classroom for the first time will tell you (or, at the very least, any of the Fulbright ETAs here), the students make you feel like a celebrity. Once I stepped foot into the classroom, all of the girls (I teach at an all girls' school) became wide-eyed and practically, if not actually, gasped. They then jumped up and sang "good morning miss!" and waited to be told to sit down. Many students failed to restrain their giggles and giddy smiles, but I can't say I blame them--if I were in that situation at their age, I'm sure I'd do the same. I talked to them for a while about myself and America before asking if they had any questions. I probably could have started off that way because there was no shortage of questions at all! When I left that classroom and said goodbye to them, the girls I made eye contact with squealed with excitement. That caught me off guard!

A sample assortment of some gifts from students. This includes
some "Friendship Day" bracelets, but students will offer them
any day. And, as you can see, they're pretty resourceful when
it comes to gift-making/giving.

Probably the biggest contribution to the whole "feeling-like-a-celebrity" thing is the students asking for your autograph. That's how they word it too--autograph. I made the mistake one class of obliging and was quite literally bombarded. As in physically bombarded. They even began pushing each other in an attempt to come closer! I screamed out that everyone needed to go to their seats immediately, and most of them complied, but at least 10 still stood there asking, "now?" I'm lucky that my classes have monitors (students in the class who have extra responsibilities such as discipline, helping the teacher, running errands, etc.) that help me enforce the rules at times.

Now that more time has gone on, I feel more comfortable with teaching in these classrooms. The only issue is that some of the actual classrooms are so difficult to teach in. Today my biggest struggle was teaching the Class 4 students. In this building, all of the classrooms on this floor were separated by half walls, so not only does your voice get lost in the room, but you're competing with the other screaming teachers and chatting students. I had to essentially yell at the students to be heard, and even so I'm not entirely convinced the students in the back of the classroom heard me. This was an extra challenge because the class 4 students have a more difficult time understanding my accent and, despite my best efforts at times, my vocabulary. To make matters more intense, I'm expected to teach these students poetry. That will be a huge challenge for me in this environment.

The Class 5 rooms I've taught in are shaped in ways that don't really make sense. Next to the teacher's desk, there are two pockets with 6 desks each, and the rest of the desks are at least 6 feet away. It's hard to project your voice to everyone in the room. Personally, I don't understand why they don't just push the desks forward, but I'll bring it up next time.

Anyway, as I'm sure you can see, I could talk for so much longer about my first experiences in my school! I'll have to leave some for later.

100 Years of Indian Cinema, Soumitra Chatterjee, and Street Food Festivals: Exploring Kolkata

Yesterday I went with two other Fulbrighters to an event held by my school. Every year, they hold a quiz contest. My coordinating teacher told me that although many schools hold large competitions like this quiz bowl, they're one of the only schools hold a themed event. It looks like I applied to this program the right year because this year's theme was "100 Years of Indian Cinema." Sounds perfect for the only cinema major in the program, right? Well, it gets even better (I know, you're probably wondering how could it get any better?!) The special guest was Soumitra Chatterjee, an actor who has been a presence in a large amount of Satyajit Ray's films. He was also a close friend of Ray's and spoke a bit about their relationship, though much of it was in Bangla. If you don't know who Satyajit Ray is, I implore you to do some research on him and his work. His films are absolutely remarkable and actually sparked my desire to live in India.

Soumitra Chatterjee's signature

I wrote about Ray in my Fulbright essay, so my coordinating teacher told Soumitra Chatterjee about me and arranged a meeting. Our meeting was quite brief... he was late to something so as he walked over to his car, making his way past all the people taking pictures of him and asking for his autograph, I hesitantly wandered over to him. I couldn't stop nervously laughing, but eventually I stopped when I had his attention. It was clear he was somewhat intrigued and excited by my being the only starstruck bideshi (foreigner in Bangla) there. I heard my coordinating teacher yell out "tell him about yourself! Give him your notebook!" So I quickly told him my name, that I studied Ray's films in college with one of my favorite professors, and that he was an extremely talented actor. Something like that anyway. He smiled and carefully wrote out a brief message, signature, and date. His writing was very hesitant... I doubt he writes in English much. I really appreciated the time he spent on it... I'm lucky my coordinating teacher was so aggressive on my behalf! As he finished, trailing off on the '3' in '2013,' I thanked him and we said our goodbyes. I watched him walk off to his car, continuing to push through the small crowd around him. I stood there staring at his signature, then him and his signature again for what felt like a while. Stacia, an ETA with me, and my coordinating teacher started to lead the way, both of them clearly very excited for me.

Stage of the "100 Years of Cinema" Quiz Contest

After that, Adizah, another ETA, joined us at the event and it really picked up. My favorite part of the quiz bowl were the questions on music. They would sample parts of songs and virtually all of the students passionately clapped, screamed, sang, or even jumped to their feet and danced. The room was filled with so much energy! I'm sure that was also partially inspired by the chocolate bars (with glucose energy!) that were being tossed and thrown to the most enthusiastic. The competition was fierce by the end, but eventually, my school won! I was so proud, even though I haven't officially joined their ranks yet. The girls representing my school were very young too. There were 2 Class IIX girls and 1 in Class IX (so 2 in 8th grade and 1 9th grader).

Adizah had read in the newspaper about a Street Food Festival taking place on Park Street, a relatively "happening" (or whatever the kids are saying these days) area. At this point, we hadn't experimented too much with street food, but we'd had futchka. We all reasoned that futchka was a big enough leap and decided to try and find it. We walked around for what felt like an hour, maybe more. I had chugged my water already a few hours earlier because I didn't like how heavy my bag was, and was starting to feel lightheaded. Two of us were losing hope (not admittedly at the time), but Adizah powered on and eventually led us to the right place.

We ordered every veg option

Much to our surprise, it wasn't a bunch of food stands--it was a lunch special at a restaurant in a hotel. We really didn't mind at this point since two of us weren't feeling so hot (although in a literal sense we were). We ordered all of the vegetarian options and to share. It took the waiter a while to understand that we wanted to order 5 dishes for 3 people, but eventually he got it. Everything was delicious! It was pretty spicy, but we enjoyed it. At the end of our meal, the waiter asked to take a picture with all of us. It was sweet, especially since he had been so helpful.

We tried to find a market that one of our Bangla teachers had told us about. After some unsuccessful wandering, we asked a young woman dressed in western clothing and a backpack for help, assuming she was a student who knew the area and spoke English. She told us that she didn't know of a market in the area, but suggested we take an auto conveniently located right next to us to another huge market. The auto(rickshaw) ride over there and wandering around the market was exactly how we wanted to explore Kolkata. We were able to experience so much of the city. The market was packed and full of lots of interesting items. People seemed more surprised than usual to see westerners. Most of the attention was pretty harmless, meaning mostly "HI!"'s and comments like that. There was one young boy, maybe middle school aged, we passed twice who was really excited about us. Normally I don't respond to people talking to me because a. it's usually not a good idea to respond and b. usually it's kind of creepy, but this boy was very genuine and seemed to have good intentions. He really wanted to shake my hand, so I obliged. I don't mind indulging attention like that sometimes, but usually only with children (or genuinely friendly people who are just curious about where you're from/why you're in Kolkata). Unfortunately, you also find some older men that come off as a bit creepy... they either touch you/follow you/say strange things to you. All of these happened to us this trip to the market, but as long as you're smart about it, it's not a huge problem.

Taking the metro home was a bit of a hassle, but it would be naive to expect anything less on a Saturday. I'm still full from the street food festival even though it was 7 hours ago. All in all, it was a really great day! I really love exploring Kolkata. There's so much to see, we've barely tapped into what it has to offer.