Once Upon a Time in Hindi

8/2/10 3:30pm

I know everybody is talking about how great Inception is, and maybe I will see that when I'm here, but I am so glad Beth and I went to see Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai yesterday! As it happens, Bollywood films are actually fairly easy to follow without subtitles. The plot was chronological (for the most part) and straightforward, with really great music and when it comes out on DVD in America I would like to see it again (this time with subtitles of course)!

Going to the movies in India is a lot of fun. The theater we went to had assigned seats and a snack bar with actual food, no candy, and everything was actually affordable (we spent about $10 US each on our ticket plus a snack and soda). There's an intermission halfway through the movie, too. The picture quality and sound were both excellent. However, one thing remained essentially the same: people talking on their cell phones and texting during the movie! Other than those brief conversations, though, there wasn't really the kind of talking and yelling you can encounter sometimes at the movies in Philadelphia.

I've had incredible luck with the weather, specifically the rain. Last night as soon as we got into our auto it started pouring, and then by the time we got back to the hotel about 15 minutes later the rain had stopped. I got splashed a little bit because auto rickshaws are open on the sides, but it wasn't anything ridiculous.

The big story in the newspaper here is that the city of Delhi is not going to be ready to host the Commonwealth Games in October. It seems that nearly every construction project is behind schedule and all the agencies are blaming each other about whose fault that is. Today I woke up to read about yet another building that was leaking, showing pictures of water pouring down from the ceiling of some room- and the official who was questioned about it actually said that it wasn't actually a leak, it was a part of the building plan: a "rainwater collection system" that would make the building more eco-friendly! I thought this was pretty entertaining and worth sharing- it just goes to show that wherever you are in the world, when there is a problem everybody wants to cast blame on somebody else, and everybody wants to spin it their way.

Today at school, the monkey made another appearance. He was on the terrace during morning assembly and I couldn't stop laughing. I thought the principal was going to yell at me or something in front of all the students but maybe he gave me a reprieve because I'm a foreigner. When we got back into the building and the ladies' staff room, we noticed that he had knocked over a bunch of stuff and eaten some food. He made a couple small messes and luckily it wasn't a huge deal. Monkeys are so commonplace here that they are viewed as annoying pests, but like I wrote when I first got here, I can't help but see them as mischievous little people! I don't think that conception is going to change by the time I leave. But this monkey in particular has been kind of a problem at the school because he is always lurking around, and given that the school is all open-air, he can kind of get wherever he wants to get if he thinks hard enough about it.

Also, yesterday was Friendship Day, and I got friendship bracelets from some students, plus a card. I thought it was really sweet of these kids to give me presents that their friends had obviously given them. I am constantly amazed at the generosity of the people I meet here. Like all the small tokens of appreciation and affection I've received during my time here, I will certainly treasure these forever.

Going to a craft market in a bit, hopefully to pick up some nice gifts for people (including myself). I have a couple things on my list but of course, I'm open to all the possibilities that I'm sure to encounter! I've heard great things about this particular spot, and I love picking out presents for people so it's sure to be a great time.

This week will be a busy one. Wednesday we have our weekly meeting, and then Thursday I'll be sharing in an hour-long presentation to other KV teachers about education and teaching strategies in America. On Thursday night, we are attending a fancy dinner to honor a group of Fulbright Scholars, and then on Friday I'll be teaching a demonstration lesson at a magnet school. Mind you, I haven't started preparing for either presentation. And then it'll be our last weekend in India; I'll have two days off, which will surely be full of more shopping, sightseeing, and maybe some preliminary packing (so I can see how big of a second suitcase I need to buy). Hard to believe: the next week of my life is already all planned out and it's only Monday- I'm certainly not this busy most of the time when I'm in Philadelphia. But I'm glad to be given so many opportunities to interact with other teachers here, and well, I'll get to sleep on the plane.