The Imambaras

Lucknow impressed us overall with its wonderful, old architecture.  Much older than Pune.  We visited both the Bara (big) Imambara and Chotta (little) Imambara.

 

As I understand it and that is probably not well, Imambargah are Shia congregation halls for ceremonies associated with the Remembrance of Muharram.  This is a time of mourning over Ashura, the martyrdom of Muhammad's grandson, Husayn ibn Ali, on the tenth (ashura) day of Muharram (the first month of the islamic calendar).

Mystery Produce Episode 3 - Bottle Gourd

Shama has been giving me some cooking lessons.  Today we made the dish she served when I visited her home, white pumpkin dal.  It's good that she is doing the shopping for these sessions, because I never would have guessed that this was 'white pumpkin'.

 

 The flesh is indeed bright white and makes about the tastiest dal I've had so far.  (I'm not exactly a fan of dal.)

It's evening in Pune

And it smells like rain.  It has only rained once, and very briefly at that, since I've been in India.  I expected it to be humid, but the humidity hasn't been above maybe 10% so far.  Probably a very good thing in this 100 degree weather.  Quite the change from Seattle, which is at 81% today.  My palms and fingertips haven't looked this old and papery and alien since taking Accutane.  But it's awful pleasant out right now and I am looking forward to the monsoon.

Uh oh!

I am pretty sure our little kitty friend is now pregnant.  I was thinking I would take her to a vet for shots and to be fixed and get flea treatments, etc.  It seems I'll have to wait until the kittens are born to do most of that.  I wish a little kitty abortion was an option, but I don't think that's a thing.

So now I'm struggling with whether or not to bring her into the house until the kittens are born and then have them all fixed.  I do love kittens.  Who doesn't love kittens?  But no, I don't want a whole brood of indoor cats.  I miss my pets, but I don't miss dealing with their poo and fur and damage to the furniture and fleas (okay, mine didn't really have fleas, but there was a day a month that they were covered in toxic chemicals to achieve flea-freedom). 

How can I bring these cats in, only to cast them out again?  Or do I just leave them to their own devices?  Nothing feels quite right, but maybe that is life.

Mosquitos: the epic battle

Okay, it's not so dramatic.  I did try geranium oil in a lotion medium today and it worked fantastically for maybe 3 hours.  It smells better, is less likely to give me cancer, and is cheaper than anything with DEET.  Soon I may even find empty spray bottles and try it in an alcohol medium.  Lavender is also on the list.  I'll keep you posted, 'cause I know you're dying to know the best naturopathic mosquito remedy.

South Africa

Just for fun, I grabbed a smattering of photos that Boaz took in South Africa.

(Click the link to see them all)

First family visit and domestic travel

 

(At a south Indian restaurant in Lucknow, Brij's sister Rashmi; my mom, Ann; my stepdad, Brij; Brij's brother, Ajesh; his wife, Jyoti; Rashmi's husband, Arun; me; and behind the camera, Boaz.)

My parents had planned a trip to visit Brij's family before we moved.  So Mom spent a couple nights with us in Pune, before we all headed to Lucknow for a few days and then Delhi for a few days.  It was a great trip.  We visited a number of historic sights, ate far too much good food (Jyoti's cooking in particular is fantastic), and I got to meet the rest of Brij's wonderful family.  Many, many, many thanks to them all and Push for inviting us into their homes and showing us around!

Many more pictures to follow shortly.

In case you hadn't noticed

I've made some additions to the blog.  At the top of the page, under the big title, there is now a 'Blogs I Dig' page.  Go check it out.  It includes AIC's newish blog and the recently relaunched Celebrities Eating, both highly recommended.

Optometry

After my post on subtle challenges teaching at AIC, I talked to Eric.  They do handle optometry.  In fact, they had an 'optometry camp' just two months ago and all the kids at the Education Center were checked out.  Probably the girl in my 9th standard class just missed that day.

I know she had been out of school for some time and only recently returned.  It was in the previous volunteer's report.  And she is very shy/quiet, but her English and reading skills are about as good as the other kids in the class.  I actually hope nearsightedness is a problem for her and that glasses will help her level of engagement/confidence in both our sessions and the rest of her classes.  (And not provide another source of self-consciousness.)

Why am I so uncomfortable?

I'm actually not at all uncomfortable with Shama (our maid-cum-savior) anymore.  I was uncomfortable with maids even back home.  Maybe out of being such a slob or mostly feeling weird about not doing anything while somebody else deals with my mess or knowing that it's not like I have more education than this person, but I make at least 4 times what they do an hour, if not significantly more and there's more variety and I hate doing what they are doing right now and how the hell is that fair?  This commonly applied while traveling for work and staying in hotels or even staying at my parents'.

Shama is college educated in hotel management and now works as a private maid largely because her mother can no longer manage the household, her daughter is now at college, and her husband has passed.  It gives her the flexibility she needs and working for foreigners affords her a pretty good wage here.  She's been a great help to me in getting more involved errands done and translating flashcard words for class.  She takes pride in what she does, and I do too now.  Whew!

I've run into a sort of similar problem with one of my lessons for the kids:  What do you want to be when you grow up?  I prepared flashcards in advance.  (I prepare everything in advance and make almost all of my stuff from scratch - from flashcards and bingo boards to worksheets - 'cause I'm obsessed.)  And here's where I struggled.  I want to encourage them to be anything and everything they want.  I also want to be realistic.  The word 'realistic' just used, right there, even sounds patronizing, bourgeois, classist - oh my god, I am the devil.  But I still want to be realistic.  So I am using a mix of occupations from tailor and driver and maid to scientist and teacher and pilot and actor.  Oh please, let me not be an asshole.