7/16/10 - 4pm
This morning I wore my sari to school. A lot of the teachers at school were surprised to know that I had a sari and they encouraged me to wear it today so I did. I put it on the best I could and figured that if I had made a mistake the women would fix it. Well, I got to school and they immediately went into a frenzy around me. First, they were excited to see me wearing a sari and then they not-so-gently broke the news that I was wearing it all wrong. So right in the middle of the ladies' staff lounge they took the entire sari off and put it on for me correctly. I was given a bindi to wear and my cooperating teacher lent me her necklace… and there was some confusion about why I wasn't wearing earrings… I am guessing jewelry is a mandatory accessory in India!
In India, schools have something called morning assembly. It is approximately 15 minutes long, and during that time the students have prayer, the teacher takes attendance, everybody sings the national anthem, and announcements are made, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Yesterday I was supposed to have my official welcome during morning assembly, but unfortunately our taxi driver got completely lost and I was about 45 minutes late to school. So today, I got my official welcome. It was very exciting! I got some lovely flowers and I made a short speech to all the students- there are a couple thousand!- and everybody afterwards said I did a great job.
Now that my presence is known at my school, I am in high demand. All day I had groups of kids coming up to me and saying "Good morning ma'am, are you free now to come to visit our class?" And if I am, I go along… and if not I tell them to keep trying to find me. It is very sweet and heartwarming that they are so curious and excited to get to know me. I feel very lucky to be put in a position where I am treated so nicely, and for no real reason other than I'm a guest and I’m American. It really makes me feel very optimistic about the fate of the human race, the kindness that people are showing towards me in India.
I spent quite a long time today answering questions about America and my school. Kind of like what I did yesterday, but way more of it. The main point I am trying to drive home to the students is that when comparing India and America, neither is "better" or "worse," we are just different. And if one person prefers India to America, or has a preference for certain aspects of either culture, that is just their personal opinion.
Now it's the weekend- in a little while we're going over to Connaught Place, one of the big commerce areas of New Delhi. There, we'll pick up copies of the KV textbooks to use while we're here and take home to show our home schools. Of course there will be other shopping as well, and then we'll probably have dinner over there before… who knows? But the best part of the weekend will surely be sleeping in and having breakfast at the hotel. I've been having takeout breakfast, which is a few pieces of fruit and a croissant, but NO COFFEE! I don't know how I'm surviving! (OH WAIT- THE CHAI!!)
Also, I'm looking forward to seeing more of Delhi this weekend- we're going to a bunch of sites tomorrow on a tour that's being arranged for us so I will be taking lots of pictures! There are lots of places I'd love to see- Delhi is such a fascinating city with so much history, tracing its roots back to Ancient Indian mythology and encompassing so many different cultures- I am so excited to actually see these places that I've read so much about.
The good times keep on coming!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Monkeys!
7/15/10 - 4:30pm
Last night, we went to the Delhi interpretation of a hip and cool bar/restaurant, known as a Resto-Bar. It was a blast, and would have been way more fun had I not been COMPLETELY exhausted. I had a delicious meal and a Diet Coke (Diet Coke is never as good abroad as it is in the States, unfortunately) for about US $8. Then, for the first time since arriving here in India, I got a good night's sleep! Success!
So, today was my second day at KV No. 2, and it was another set of interesting and enlightening experiences.
Socializing is a big part of life in India. I am finding that people like to sit and talk and get to know you before getting down to business. It is very roundabout, but highly enjoyable, and while I can understand that it would be frustrating for some people, I have embraced it wholeheartedly! The first question everybody asks you is, "Did you have breakfast?" and the second is "Would you like some tea?". The correct answer to both of these questions is always "yes" because even if you've eaten, they will give you more food, and the tea is utterly delicious! Complete food overload- luckily for me, I have enough time to get in a good workout each afternoon- otherwise I would probably end up needing a seatbelt extender on the flight home.
In getting to know me, teachers have a lot of questions about my life and what it's like to teach in the U.S. and they also want to know whether I like India and if I think it's too hot here. The smartest thing I did to prepare for the trip was to bring a small photo album along with me. It contains pictures of SOTF, my learners, my neighborhood, my house, and a couple other randoms, like a picture of my family and a picture of Jason's niece Sarah, a picture I took of Citizens Bank Park and a picture of me and Jason with the World Series trophy.
Although everybody speaks English, there is definitely a language barrier. I have a hard time understanding them, they have a hard time understanding me. I have taken to speaking very slowly and very clearly, and that helps a ton, and the folks I am talking to are happy to repeat or rephrase if I tell them I don't understand. (Related: many American movies and TV shows that air here in India have English subtitles.)
I got to teach a couple classes today, which was great. The KV schools have a class called "Spoken English" to improve their students' speaking skills, as very few families speak English at home. At my school, most students speak Hindi at home, but in other parts of India families speak other languages. Anyway, I have been given free reign over the Spoken English class for the time I am here, and there is no set curriculum. Today I had the kids ask me questions: they wanted to know what my hobbies are, whether I saw "Paranormal Activity," what TV shows I like, how old I am, whether I am married, what kinds of foods I like, what I hope to gain by spending time in India, etc. All great questions!
But you might be wondering why I titled this entry "monkeys" and that is because there was a MONKEY IN MY SCHOOL TODAY. And it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I assumed this was a regular occurrence, but it's not- if I'd known that I would have gotten out my camera to take some video. Anyway- this monkey showed up in the hallway (the hallways are open-air so it had probably gotten in by climbing up a tree or something) and everybody totally went into a tizzy. The monkey was going here and there, it climbed down the stairs and into an area where there were some display cases of student projects and it started eating somebody's paper project! Monkeys are quite dangerous, so nobody could get that close to it, but somehow it eventually climbed over the edge of the hallway and into the courtyard, and up over the roof. For the life of me I could not stop laughing because I don't really think of monkeys as animals so much as I see them as little mischievous people, and this monkey was just like, "Oh! A geometry project! I think I'll eat it! And now I think I'll climb around and let these stupid humans chase me!"
I should also mention the fact that drivers in Delhi are totally insane compared to Americans. The overall speed is much slower- but although there are lane lines painted on the road, the concept of a "lane" is totally foreign. There are the buses and trucks, there are the cars and taxis, and there are auto rickshaws ("autos") and motorbikes that squeeze through small spaces. Spaces so small that I'm pretty sure that auto drivers must have the ability to bend the laws of physics because I'm sitting in an auto thinking "There is no way he can fit between those two buses" and then… he does. Riding in an auto is like the best adventure you will ever have.
So, monkeys… magic autos… delicious food… the "Indian way" of doing business… custom-made clothes… excellent hospitality… helpful, friendly, wonderful, kind people everywhere… I love it all!
Last night, we went to the Delhi interpretation of a hip and cool bar/restaurant, known as a Resto-Bar. It was a blast, and would have been way more fun had I not been COMPLETELY exhausted. I had a delicious meal and a Diet Coke (Diet Coke is never as good abroad as it is in the States, unfortunately) for about US $8. Then, for the first time since arriving here in India, I got a good night's sleep! Success!
So, today was my second day at KV No. 2, and it was another set of interesting and enlightening experiences.
Socializing is a big part of life in India. I am finding that people like to sit and talk and get to know you before getting down to business. It is very roundabout, but highly enjoyable, and while I can understand that it would be frustrating for some people, I have embraced it wholeheartedly! The first question everybody asks you is, "Did you have breakfast?" and the second is "Would you like some tea?". The correct answer to both of these questions is always "yes" because even if you've eaten, they will give you more food, and the tea is utterly delicious! Complete food overload- luckily for me, I have enough time to get in a good workout each afternoon- otherwise I would probably end up needing a seatbelt extender on the flight home.
In getting to know me, teachers have a lot of questions about my life and what it's like to teach in the U.S. and they also want to know whether I like India and if I think it's too hot here. The smartest thing I did to prepare for the trip was to bring a small photo album along with me. It contains pictures of SOTF, my learners, my neighborhood, my house, and a couple other randoms, like a picture of my family and a picture of Jason's niece Sarah, a picture I took of Citizens Bank Park and a picture of me and Jason with the World Series trophy.
Although everybody speaks English, there is definitely a language barrier. I have a hard time understanding them, they have a hard time understanding me. I have taken to speaking very slowly and very clearly, and that helps a ton, and the folks I am talking to are happy to repeat or rephrase if I tell them I don't understand. (Related: many American movies and TV shows that air here in India have English subtitles.)
I got to teach a couple classes today, which was great. The KV schools have a class called "Spoken English" to improve their students' speaking skills, as very few families speak English at home. At my school, most students speak Hindi at home, but in other parts of India families speak other languages. Anyway, I have been given free reign over the Spoken English class for the time I am here, and there is no set curriculum. Today I had the kids ask me questions: they wanted to know what my hobbies are, whether I saw "Paranormal Activity," what TV shows I like, how old I am, whether I am married, what kinds of foods I like, what I hope to gain by spending time in India, etc. All great questions!
But you might be wondering why I titled this entry "monkeys" and that is because there was a MONKEY IN MY SCHOOL TODAY. And it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I assumed this was a regular occurrence, but it's not- if I'd known that I would have gotten out my camera to take some video. Anyway- this monkey showed up in the hallway (the hallways are open-air so it had probably gotten in by climbing up a tree or something) and everybody totally went into a tizzy. The monkey was going here and there, it climbed down the stairs and into an area where there were some display cases of student projects and it started eating somebody's paper project! Monkeys are quite dangerous, so nobody could get that close to it, but somehow it eventually climbed over the edge of the hallway and into the courtyard, and up over the roof. For the life of me I could not stop laughing because I don't really think of monkeys as animals so much as I see them as little mischievous people, and this monkey was just like, "Oh! A geometry project! I think I'll eat it! And now I think I'll climb around and let these stupid humans chase me!"
I should also mention the fact that drivers in Delhi are totally insane compared to Americans. The overall speed is much slower- but although there are lane lines painted on the road, the concept of a "lane" is totally foreign. There are the buses and trucks, there are the cars and taxis, and there are auto rickshaws ("autos") and motorbikes that squeeze through small spaces. Spaces so small that I'm pretty sure that auto drivers must have the ability to bend the laws of physics because I'm sitting in an auto thinking "There is no way he can fit between those two buses" and then… he does. Riding in an auto is like the best adventure you will ever have.
So, monkeys… magic autos… delicious food… the "Indian way" of doing business… custom-made clothes… excellent hospitality… helpful, friendly, wonderful, kind people everywhere… I love it all!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
First day at my host school!
7/14/2010 - 5:30pm
Today was the first day for me at KV no. 2, Delhi Cantt, which is located a pretty far distance from the hotel (luckily there are others working at schools nearby, so we can share transportation!) and it was A GREAT DAY!
First of all, in case you were wondering, Indian schools are VERY DIFFERENT from American schools! I could give you a chronological summary of how my day went, but it makes more sense to just focus on the differences between the schools I am used to learning/teaching at, and the school where I'll be spending the next month.
Difference #1: Gender segregation
-Just after picking me up from the principal's office, Mrs. Kumar took me into the Ladies' Staff Lounge and introduced me to some of the other female teachers and explained how my day would go.
-Boys and girls sit on either side of the room, at double-desks. Boys do NOT share the double desks with girls!
Difference #2: Snacks
-There's a kid at the school whose sole job seems to be to bring samosas and other snacks, as well as piping hot delicious chai, to any teacher who asks. And the teachers ask a lot. Whenever I was taken into a sit-down with faculty, chai and samosas were offered to me. I had to end up turning down the samosas because I was too full! And anybody who knows me knows I could eat samosas all day long.
-After students were dismissed, teachers had to stick around to do grading or other duties. The ladies all have lunch in the staff room and I was offered some of everybody's food. A cracker here, a cookie there, dal, etc. Again, I was TOO FULL!
Difference #3: Setup
-There are several classes of kids who stay in the same room all day while the teachers rotate. There is a science room and a computer lab for the older kids, so they get to see some movement, but the vast majority stay in the same spot all day.
-The school is NOT air conditioned. There is plenty of ventilation due to the open plan of the school, and in a normal size room there are 6-8 ceiling fans running. So although I was hot, I was not totally uncomfortable.
-The classes are very short: 30-35min long. As is the school day: 7am-noonish.
-The classes are very big: about 40 students per class.
Difference #4: Manners
-Students stand whenever a teacher enters or leaves a room, and say "Good morning sir/ma'am" or "Thank you sir/ma'am" to the teacher as well.
-Students are incredibly well-behaved and polite otherwise!
Difference #5: Planning
-KV schools have a centralized curriculum which is pretty much scripted but nobody seems to complain about the scriptedness of it. There are standardized exams every few weeks, containing material that is covered in the curriculum.
-Teachers aren't expected to really create their own instructional materials. There's a textbook, a copybook where they respond to reading comprehension questions and take notes, and some classes have a secondary resource textbook. Every so often the teachers collect copybooks and grade the work, then hand the copybooks back.
-Teachers don't have to produce weekly lesson plans (as far as I can tell) and are responsible for making sure the material is covered in the time given before an exam.
Overall, a huge learning experience and a great day. I am really looking forward to working more with the kids and getting to know them better. I will be taking an 8th grade English class, a 9th grade English class, and a spoken English class. The spoken English doesn't have a curriculum I have to follow, so I'll get to do what I want; the other 2 classes will be taught from the curriculum but I hope to do some other fun activities too, to give the kids an experience of what American teaching is like (while still preparing them for their standardized exams!)
Tomorrow morning I will be addressing the school during their morning assembly. I am introducing myself and saying a little bit about what I'll be doing at the school. I'll be speaking to a few hundred kids, maybe even 1,000 (the school is huge!) so I am a little nervous.
So right now I'm exhausted… I'm going to play around on the internet for a bit before dinner and then hopefully get to bed nice and early. I'll be getting up very early here in India- the upside to this is that I'll have afternoons basically free to do what I want.
But before I wind up this entry, some funny things from today:
-I got asked for my autograph by a student, and then THE ENTIRE CLASS wanted my autograph in their notebooks. Or on a hand. Or on both hands.
-I asked the kids to guess my age and they guessed right :(
-A student asked me to sing a song (in case you were wondering, I chose "Happy Birthday" because it was the first song that came to mind)
-A teacher came in and yelled at one of the classes for chewing gum and leaving it under the desks… some things are global, right?
Today was the first day for me at KV no. 2, Delhi Cantt, which is located a pretty far distance from the hotel (luckily there are others working at schools nearby, so we can share transportation!) and it was A GREAT DAY!
First of all, in case you were wondering, Indian schools are VERY DIFFERENT from American schools! I could give you a chronological summary of how my day went, but it makes more sense to just focus on the differences between the schools I am used to learning/teaching at, and the school where I'll be spending the next month.
Difference #1: Gender segregation
-Just after picking me up from the principal's office, Mrs. Kumar took me into the Ladies' Staff Lounge and introduced me to some of the other female teachers and explained how my day would go.
-Boys and girls sit on either side of the room, at double-desks. Boys do NOT share the double desks with girls!
Difference #2: Snacks
-There's a kid at the school whose sole job seems to be to bring samosas and other snacks, as well as piping hot delicious chai, to any teacher who asks. And the teachers ask a lot. Whenever I was taken into a sit-down with faculty, chai and samosas were offered to me. I had to end up turning down the samosas because I was too full! And anybody who knows me knows I could eat samosas all day long.
-After students were dismissed, teachers had to stick around to do grading or other duties. The ladies all have lunch in the staff room and I was offered some of everybody's food. A cracker here, a cookie there, dal, etc. Again, I was TOO FULL!
Difference #3: Setup
-There are several classes of kids who stay in the same room all day while the teachers rotate. There is a science room and a computer lab for the older kids, so they get to see some movement, but the vast majority stay in the same spot all day.
-The school is NOT air conditioned. There is plenty of ventilation due to the open plan of the school, and in a normal size room there are 6-8 ceiling fans running. So although I was hot, I was not totally uncomfortable.
-The classes are very short: 30-35min long. As is the school day: 7am-noonish.
-The classes are very big: about 40 students per class.
Difference #4: Manners
-Students stand whenever a teacher enters or leaves a room, and say "Good morning sir/ma'am" or "Thank you sir/ma'am" to the teacher as well.
-Students are incredibly well-behaved and polite otherwise!
Difference #5: Planning
-KV schools have a centralized curriculum which is pretty much scripted but nobody seems to complain about the scriptedness of it. There are standardized exams every few weeks, containing material that is covered in the curriculum.
-Teachers aren't expected to really create their own instructional materials. There's a textbook, a copybook where they respond to reading comprehension questions and take notes, and some classes have a secondary resource textbook. Every so often the teachers collect copybooks and grade the work, then hand the copybooks back.
-Teachers don't have to produce weekly lesson plans (as far as I can tell) and are responsible for making sure the material is covered in the time given before an exam.
Overall, a huge learning experience and a great day. I am really looking forward to working more with the kids and getting to know them better. I will be taking an 8th grade English class, a 9th grade English class, and a spoken English class. The spoken English doesn't have a curriculum I have to follow, so I'll get to do what I want; the other 2 classes will be taught from the curriculum but I hope to do some other fun activities too, to give the kids an experience of what American teaching is like (while still preparing them for their standardized exams!)
Tomorrow morning I will be addressing the school during their morning assembly. I am introducing myself and saying a little bit about what I'll be doing at the school. I'll be speaking to a few hundred kids, maybe even 1,000 (the school is huge!) so I am a little nervous.
So right now I'm exhausted… I'm going to play around on the internet for a bit before dinner and then hopefully get to bed nice and early. I'll be getting up very early here in India- the upside to this is that I'll have afternoons basically free to do what I want.
But before I wind up this entry, some funny things from today:
-I got asked for my autograph by a student, and then THE ENTIRE CLASS wanted my autograph in their notebooks. Or on a hand. Or on both hands.
-I asked the kids to guess my age and they guessed right :(
-A student asked me to sing a song (in case you were wondering, I chose "Happy Birthday" because it was the first song that came to mind)
-A teacher came in and yelled at one of the classes for chewing gum and leaving it under the desks… some things are global, right?
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
MOMOS!
7/13/10 - 5:45pm
I just got back from an awesome shopping experience! I'm normally not one who likes to shop for clothes because I hate trying them on, but in India it's different because you purchase an item and they alter it according to your measurements right on the spot. So I bought a Salwar Kameez (a three piece suit consisting of a long shirt/dress, loose fitting pants, and a scarf) to wear to our dinner tonight- it was only about $25 including the custom fit. In India, you walk into a sari shop and everything is on shelves folded up… the proprietors of the shop have you sit down and they pull everything out and overwhelm you with beautiful fabrics. It's hard to make a choice but there is such good variety around that there's something for every taste.
Walking around the market was quite an experience- way better than Khan Market because everything was out in the open and there was so much to see. In addition to the Salwar Kameez, I bought a couple other blouses and a scarf and some hankies to wipe off all the sweat.
Most important- I got to try Momos, something I've been hearing about since my DC orientation. They are basically, steamed dumplings with quasi-Indian seasoning. SO GOOD. They were everything I hoped for and more.
I can't wait to post all the pictures I took- I have to find out a way to do that!
Anyway, Prakash from the hotel just showed up with some lovely afternoon fruit… just as I was typing this entry!
I am having a blast- too bad I have to actually work tomorrow :(
I just got back from an awesome shopping experience! I'm normally not one who likes to shop for clothes because I hate trying them on, but in India it's different because you purchase an item and they alter it according to your measurements right on the spot. So I bought a Salwar Kameez (a three piece suit consisting of a long shirt/dress, loose fitting pants, and a scarf) to wear to our dinner tonight- it was only about $25 including the custom fit. In India, you walk into a sari shop and everything is on shelves folded up… the proprietors of the shop have you sit down and they pull everything out and overwhelm you with beautiful fabrics. It's hard to make a choice but there is such good variety around that there's something for every taste.
Walking around the market was quite an experience- way better than Khan Market because everything was out in the open and there was so much to see. In addition to the Salwar Kameez, I bought a couple other blouses and a scarf and some hankies to wipe off all the sweat.
Most important- I got to try Momos, something I've been hearing about since my DC orientation. They are basically, steamed dumplings with quasi-Indian seasoning. SO GOOD. They were everything I hoped for and more.
I can't wait to post all the pictures I took- I have to find out a way to do that!
Anyway, Prakash from the hotel just showed up with some lovely afternoon fruit… just as I was typing this entry!
I am having a blast- too bad I have to actually work tomorrow :(
FRRO: Not for the faint of heart
7/13/10 - noonish
Three of us just got back from registering as foreign visitors. It was a lot of waiting in line and there was some confusion/stress about some of the paperwork we needed, but we had Vikas from Fulbright there to help us get everything straightened out. We only spent about 2 1/2 hours there- which I know seems like a whole lot of time, but isn't by Indian bureaucracy standards.
The FRRO was actually kind of cool. There were all different types of people there: American missionaries, Afghan refugees, Iraqi students, Russian families… it definitely made for some great people-watching. Plus, the Ratha-Yatra parade was playing on the TV there for a few minutes! Great to see.
It seems like in the Indian government, there are a lot of rules, and these rules are heavily influenced by one's interpretation of them. Which explains why only three of us had to register as foreign visitors even though there are 8 of us here all doing the same thing and all on the same visa type. It's all very fascinating to me.
After we got back, Susan and I went to the Khan market, which is right around the corner. I had a delicious lunch for about $1, and then we looked in some clothing stores before deciding that it was too hot to be outside. I'm chilling at the hotel for the next hour, where I plan to use my daily internet hour- I need a fix!
Three of us just got back from registering as foreign visitors. It was a lot of waiting in line and there was some confusion/stress about some of the paperwork we needed, but we had Vikas from Fulbright there to help us get everything straightened out. We only spent about 2 1/2 hours there- which I know seems like a whole lot of time, but isn't by Indian bureaucracy standards.
The FRRO was actually kind of cool. There were all different types of people there: American missionaries, Afghan refugees, Iraqi students, Russian families… it definitely made for some great people-watching. Plus, the Ratha-Yatra parade was playing on the TV there for a few minutes! Great to see.
It seems like in the Indian government, there are a lot of rules, and these rules are heavily influenced by one's interpretation of them. Which explains why only three of us had to register as foreign visitors even though there are 8 of us here all doing the same thing and all on the same visa type. It's all very fascinating to me.
After we got back, Susan and I went to the Khan market, which is right around the corner. I had a delicious lunch for about $1, and then we looked in some clothing stores before deciding that it was too hot to be outside. I'm chilling at the hotel for the next hour, where I plan to use my daily internet hour- I need a fix!
A thought about waiting
7/13/10 - 6am
I think I spoke too soon when I made the statement that I would be adjusted to the time difference by today, because at 4:30am I was wide awake and could not for the life of me fall asleep! So I got up and wrote in my journal for a while, and now it's about 5:45 and I have some time to kill before I go to breakfast, which doesn't start until 7.
One thing I noticed about India is… you do a lot of waiting. I'm a very impatient person, even by East Coast standards, so waiting for several minutes for my change at the restaurant last night (to use one of many examples) was, I'll admit, annoying to me.
But like I was saying in my earlier entries, the level of hospitality here is second to none, so there has to be another explanation for the waiting. My hypothesis is that it's a different way of showing guests respect. To go with the example of waiting an eternity for my change, instead of thinking "What are these people doing taking so long, they are wasting my time, don't they know it's 10pm and I am exhausted and want to go to bed?" I should have realized that I was being shown respect because they were taking the time to make sure my change was correct and that I would be satisfied. I'm not sure if this is a correct interpretation, but given what I have experienced so far, it makes sense.
Speaking of waiting, I'm going to be doing a lot of it today when I go over to register as a foreigner. I'm not sure why this is necessary, considering I filled out paperwork and went through customs and immigration when I got here, but I have already learned not to question the intricacies of Indian bureaucracy. I'm just thankful that USIEF is sending someone along with us to help in the process. When I was having difficulties with my visa I remember how much of a difference it made when I had someone to help me out, so I am glad we will have that provided for us.
And speaking of being patient, I'm going to give myself another day to adjust to the time difference...
I think I spoke too soon when I made the statement that I would be adjusted to the time difference by today, because at 4:30am I was wide awake and could not for the life of me fall asleep! So I got up and wrote in my journal for a while, and now it's about 5:45 and I have some time to kill before I go to breakfast, which doesn't start until 7.
One thing I noticed about India is… you do a lot of waiting. I'm a very impatient person, even by East Coast standards, so waiting for several minutes for my change at the restaurant last night (to use one of many examples) was, I'll admit, annoying to me.
But like I was saying in my earlier entries, the level of hospitality here is second to none, so there has to be another explanation for the waiting. My hypothesis is that it's a different way of showing guests respect. To go with the example of waiting an eternity for my change, instead of thinking "What are these people doing taking so long, they are wasting my time, don't they know it's 10pm and I am exhausted and want to go to bed?" I should have realized that I was being shown respect because they were taking the time to make sure my change was correct and that I would be satisfied. I'm not sure if this is a correct interpretation, but given what I have experienced so far, it makes sense.
Speaking of waiting, I'm going to be doing a lot of it today when I go over to register as a foreigner. I'm not sure why this is necessary, considering I filled out paperwork and went through customs and immigration when I got here, but I have already learned not to question the intricacies of Indian bureaucracy. I'm just thankful that USIEF is sending someone along with us to help in the process. When I was having difficulties with my visa I remember how much of a difference it made when I had someone to help me out, so I am glad we will have that provided for us.
And speaking of being patient, I'm going to give myself another day to adjust to the time difference...
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