Saturday, August 21, 2010, Chennai
9:32 a.m. India Time
I am feeling a little moody and cranky today. It is hot, and I never know how to turn the fan on in this room. Uncle usually comes in after a time, and says, "Don't you want the fan on?" and turns it on for me.
I had parathas for breakfast today. I sure am going to miss having my food cooked and served for me. I feel a little guilty about it, but Aunty insists on it. She will barely let me take my own dishes to the sink. When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house (especially when I wasn't getting along with my dad, which was a lot of the time.) My grandma used to make breakfast for me and serve me at the table. She made the best scrambled eggs in the world. I miss her and my grandpa so much. My grandpa Frank died when I was 18. He was my hero, and as far as I'm concerned, the best man who ever lived. He and my grandma fell in love when they were only 15 and 16. They didn't get married until they were older (like 21 and 22), but they were in love all the rest of their lives. My grandma died when I was about 22. She was a wonderful, smart lady. She was orphaned when she was 14 and was taken care of by her older sisters and brothers. She worked all her life, and in many ways was quite an independent woman, although she was also very sweet and domestic. Being with Aunty and Uncle is like being with my grandparents (although my grandparents would be 87 and 88 if they were alive today and Aunty and Uncle are much younger.) They are so caring, and love to spoil us with love and kindness.
The Man Cub is feeling a little better, but his stomach is acting up, so Raja went to get him more medicine. We're hoping he feels well enough to go to Bangalore with us. We'll decide this afternoon. Raja and I plan to go out a little bit to see more sights, as I haven't been out in a while, and there are still things on my list to see. Of course, we will likely visit again next year, so I'll have another chance, but I am getting squirrelly, and want to roam about a bit more.
Today I am wearing the other outfit I brought from home. It is actually the outfit I wore to my brother Conor's wedding: blue salwar pants with gold flowers on them (my absolutely favorite pair. Raja bought them for me last Christmas) and a bright, silky kameez that I bought on our trip to California last spring.
This morning the kids were watching "Kick [Robot]owski" on T.V. I love that Indian kids get to be exposed to the greatest facets of our American culture. NOT. Man Cub says I am very sarcastic. I don't mean to be.
Last night I read some magazines that Anni left me. Some were fashion magazines, and some were political magazines. I can't pretend to understand all of the politics of India (especially since they have totally different names for political groups, political titles, and organizations, many of which are reduced to initials...very confusing) but there were some very fascinating articles on terrorism and corruption. There has been a lot of controversy in the news regarding corporal punishment in schools (spanking, hitting, and beating children who are "bad" in school) because it is still legal here. Some children have died. Some people think it is okay because it happened to them, and they turned out okay (one person even said he enjoyed it!) but other people said they had been hurt and humiliated, or that they were beaten for no reason. I know what my opinion is, and I bet it's similar to yours! Luckily, in some schools, a teacher will be fired for hurting kids or for punishing them for no good reason. I don't think it's ever okay to harm anyone or anything (especially a child) unless your life (or the life of another helpless person) is in immediate danger. I can't tell you in which scenario it would be alright. You just have to make a decision in the moment, then live with the consequences for the rest of your life. I don't even believe in spanking, and think it's avoidable in almost every circumstance. I was spanked, but not very often. In Kindergarten, I was once spanked by a teacher!
The other day I bought 4 cds, and I am uploading them to my iTunes right now. I really love Indian music, whether classical, religious, or popular. It's very soothing to me to listen to music with words I don't understand. However, when I start learning a language, I can begin to understand the words in songs, and that's exciting, too. It's a natural way to learn a language, through songs. It's partly how I learned to talk when I was a baby learning English, and a teenager learning French. I still remember songs in French.
Anyway, Monkey comes in and says "You've been working on that for two hours!" Really, it's only been about 45 minutes, but I take it I'm being summoned. I have to pack, anyway. I'll write more later.
Until then, be good.
9:32 a.m. India Time
I am feeling a little moody and cranky today. It is hot, and I never know how to turn the fan on in this room. Uncle usually comes in after a time, and says, "Don't you want the fan on?" and turns it on for me.
I had parathas for breakfast today. I sure am going to miss having my food cooked and served for me. I feel a little guilty about it, but Aunty insists on it. She will barely let me take my own dishes to the sink. When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house (especially when I wasn't getting along with my dad, which was a lot of the time.) My grandma used to make breakfast for me and serve me at the table. She made the best scrambled eggs in the world. I miss her and my grandpa so much. My grandpa Frank died when I was 18. He was my hero, and as far as I'm concerned, the best man who ever lived. He and my grandma fell in love when they were only 15 and 16. They didn't get married until they were older (like 21 and 22), but they were in love all the rest of their lives. My grandma died when I was about 22. She was a wonderful, smart lady. She was orphaned when she was 14 and was taken care of by her older sisters and brothers. She worked all her life, and in many ways was quite an independent woman, although she was also very sweet and domestic. Being with Aunty and Uncle is like being with my grandparents (although my grandparents would be 87 and 88 if they were alive today and Aunty and Uncle are much younger.) They are so caring, and love to spoil us with love and kindness.
The Man Cub is feeling a little better, but his stomach is acting up, so Raja went to get him more medicine. We're hoping he feels well enough to go to Bangalore with us. We'll decide this afternoon. Raja and I plan to go out a little bit to see more sights, as I haven't been out in a while, and there are still things on my list to see. Of course, we will likely visit again next year, so I'll have another chance, but I am getting squirrelly, and want to roam about a bit more.
Today I am wearing the other outfit I brought from home. It is actually the outfit I wore to my brother Conor's wedding: blue salwar pants with gold flowers on them (my absolutely favorite pair. Raja bought them for me last Christmas) and a bright, silky kameez that I bought on our trip to California last spring.
This morning the kids were watching "Kick [Robot]owski" on T.V. I love that Indian kids get to be exposed to the greatest facets of our American culture. NOT. Man Cub says I am very sarcastic. I don't mean to be.
Last night I read some magazines that Anni left me. Some were fashion magazines, and some were political magazines. I can't pretend to understand all of the politics of India (especially since they have totally different names for political groups, political titles, and organizations, many of which are reduced to initials...very confusing) but there were some very fascinating articles on terrorism and corruption. There has been a lot of controversy in the news regarding corporal punishment in schools (spanking, hitting, and beating children who are "bad" in school) because it is still legal here. Some children have died. Some people think it is okay because it happened to them, and they turned out okay (one person even said he enjoyed it!) but other people said they had been hurt and humiliated, or that they were beaten for no reason. I know what my opinion is, and I bet it's similar to yours! Luckily, in some schools, a teacher will be fired for hurting kids or for punishing them for no good reason. I don't think it's ever okay to harm anyone or anything (especially a child) unless your life (or the life of another helpless person) is in immediate danger. I can't tell you in which scenario it would be alright. You just have to make a decision in the moment, then live with the consequences for the rest of your life. I don't even believe in spanking, and think it's avoidable in almost every circumstance. I was spanked, but not very often. In Kindergarten, I was once spanked by a teacher!
The other day I bought 4 cds, and I am uploading them to my iTunes right now. I really love Indian music, whether classical, religious, or popular. It's very soothing to me to listen to music with words I don't understand. However, when I start learning a language, I can begin to understand the words in songs, and that's exciting, too. It's a natural way to learn a language, through songs. It's partly how I learned to talk when I was a baby learning English, and a teenager learning French. I still remember songs in French.
Anyway, Monkey comes in and says "You've been working on that for two hours!" Really, it's only been about 45 minutes, but I take it I'm being summoned. I have to pack, anyway. I'll write more later.
Until then, be good.
No comments:
Post a Comment