OH SIR

Living in Rajasthani heat is really taxing. It's about 110 degrees everyday and the nights aren't much cooler. Generally, there is no electricity during the days (what they refer to as "power cuts"); so that means no functioniong ceiling fan.

But I have to say, this has been absolutely wonderful so far. The teaching is frustrating in that, it's very difficult (or impossible) to teach a foreign language without any standardized materials. Most kids don't have anything more than a pencil and a notebooks---and the kids with books have so many different kinds: no one title. I've tried to jump that hurdle by creating a phonetics guide along with a bunch of vocabulary lists and diagrams. I get them photocopied while I'm here in Udaipur. It's pretty steep---1 rupee a page, so like, 2 cents a page in America. I feel like that's not so much cheaper.


There is this one boy in Neemdi, his name is Piyush. (Left) He is truly, the MOST adorable boy in the world. He's probably about five years old and has a sweet treble voice. And he follows in the tradition of people I like more because they've taken a liking to me. He's constantly clinging to my leg and hanging off the window bars during my other sections. When his section ends at 9:30am he always hugs my leg and says, "Mein na jayunga." (I won't go.) That makes me want to eat him. Or roll him down a hill. Or whatever people do with unlawfully cute things.

In my middle batch there is this girl named Sonu (on the right in the picture below, with friend Divya who is referred to as the peacock). If Rachel Dratch were a 12 year old Indian girl: she would be Sonu. When she started coming to school, she was very shy. So shy, that everytime I would look at her she would start to giggle. And (not in a mean way) Sonu just has a humorous face---so a giggling Sonu is, well, very humorous. When I'd reference Sonu or even reference something near Sonu, she would start giggling like shy 12 year old girls do. And her trademark would be covering her mouth---with everything. When she smiles or laughs out of shyness, she covers her mouth with her hands, her scarf, her pen, her book, the carpet, a window shutter, the girl next to her---I mean EVERYTHING. It has been so ridiculous that I burst out laughing in the middle of my lessons.

I had started to draw a picture of Sonu on the blackboard---one that depicted her eyes peeking over an open book. And when I did this, Sonu got extremely serious and screamed "NO SIR!".

I can't really explain how she screamed. But suffice to say, my ears literally hurt after she was done. Screaming like I've never heard before. Screaming that could shatter glass. I have fortunately captured MPEG video of this.

Since this incident Sonu has hidden her mouth with a well-pump, a pack of cards, a cow, and a bag of rice. She has also thrown rocks at me. Not pebbles. Big rocks.

So, village life has been wonderful and great and super. No problems.

I have unfortunately had some problems with the managing team of our organization. When we were in orientation I was stopped by some of the "executives" (as they're called) and told things like: "Niral, you don't have sincere eyes. You have to have bright eyes when you speak to people."

Really?

REALLY?

Are you kidding me? I made up bright eyes. I am the professor who forged the path to a Bright Eyes major in most universities. If bright eyes were a person, it would be me. Like seriously, I don't know anything about Microbiology or Art History (what I've studied) but I know a LOT about bright eyes.

The executives have a lot of resentment towards me because I'm an NRI. (Non Residential Indian, Non Returning Indian, Not Really Indian, etc.)

I didn't really think much about it at first but it escalated to a point where I was target of a lot of undeserved scrutiny and criticism. Tell me I'm not teaching well, but DON'T TELL ME I DON'T HAVE BRIGHT EYES.

It hurts on some level to think that they don't accept me as Indian. There used to be a part of me that felt foreign in America---which is understandable. And, naturally, there is a part of me now that feels foreign in India. However, I don't really have the feeling "I don't fit in anywhere." Quite contrarily, I'm feeling very much affirmed of my American identity. Haha, I don't know if that's a good thing that I'm feeling like MORE of an American while I'm abroad.

Anyhow, I again and in a rush to get back home to Neemdi from Udaipur. Until next week.