New Delhi - A Tale of Two Cities

The train ride from Jaisalmer to New Delhi, that I expecting to take 17 hours, took 19 instead.  Flying was not an option because there is no airport in this town.  Believe me when I say, I was a tired momma when I got off that puppy.

There was a communication snafu, and I was not met at the station, and had to get a taxi to the hotel. Then, the hotel didn't have a record of my reservation.  I was tired and my patience - short, but thankfully it all got sorted out pretty quickly.

After that incredibly long ride, the shower I took when I arrived at the hotel, was heavenly.  The hotel was booked for one day, an afternoon really, just long enough to shower and change.  This arrangement reminded me of hookers and the hotel rooms many use by the hour, or so I hear.  Of course, there was no "hooking up" or entertaining "johns" in my world.

I promise, you'll be the first to know if there ever is a "hook up" with my name on it, or is this considered "to much information?"

OK.

OK.

Moving on - 

Allow me to step back for a minute -

When I arrived in New Delhi by air, I saw the glitzy part of town.  Coming into the city via the train, I saw the real, extraordinary poverty that was portrayed in the movie, Slumdog Millionaire."

The difference was striking.

Shangri-La Hotel, was next door to the one where I stayed.
I couldn't find a picture of that one,
but this is a good representation of how swanky they are.

A view of the lobby.

The posh part of town looks like any other big city in the world.  There is a heavy British influence, with driving on the left and the presence of roundabouts, but go across town, and it's a totally different story.

What is fascinating is that the locals know what kind of accommodations the Western folks are used to, and it appears they strive to cater to this clientele.  The hotels catering to us, have all of the amenities you would expect.

At the swanky hotels that I visited, when we drove up, we were greeted by armed guards who scanned the cars for bombs.  I asked about why they felt the need to do this, but never got a straight answer.

Changing gears, again -

Getting though the airport took way more effort than it should have.  First, there are armed guards (again!) at every entrance and you have to present your ticket and passport or airport ID, before you were allowed entrance.

Then, it took forever an a day to be waited on at the ticket counter.  There were only four people ahead of me and they were traveling together, but their papers were checked, rechecked, and checked again.

I moved over to another counter and that helped.

I was handed name tags to put on my carry ons, although my things were already tagged.  When I asked why they needed these, I was told they were a part of the security check.

The metal detector I had to go through was for women only.  We went behind closed doors and we were padded down.  The guys weren't subjected to this, not sure why.

Side note - There was a guy waiting for the same flight as me, who reminded me of Pat Boone. If you don't know who Pat Boone is, stop reading now.  This means I really am old, and there really is such a thing as a "generation gap."  Anyway, my guy was dressed in a white shirt, with white slacks, and white shoes, and for good measure, he had on sunglasses trimmed - yep - in white, too.  He was a very brown Pat Boone lookalike.

Now, some more random thoughts -

Babies heads, both boys' and girls', are shaved when they are about a year old, and again when they are three.  It has something to do with cleansing them from the birth canal.  I think this practice is derived from the Hindu religion.

Another thing -

I have never seen so many brown teeth, as I have since moving here, and in all of my travels, since this move.  Dental care around the parts of the world that I've seen, is incredibly poor.  One of my guides this time stood out because his smile was white, and by contrast to all the others, beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful, India has some of the most attractive people I've encountered, bad teeth notwithstanding.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip.

Thanks for taking it with me.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Cows.

Yes.

Cows.

Jaisalmer is a desert area and there is no grass for the cows to eat, so for the families who own a cow, they cook as if there was another person to feed, with the extra meals going to the cow.  These are milk cows, that provide the milk that the family needs, wants, or sells.

Cows chillin' in the street.

The cows are fat here, so clearly they're enjoying the grub.

I stumbled upon the act that this nation is a nation of vegetarians.  I inquired about it at the first hotel, and asked one of my guides for more details. Interestingly, he said that neither meat or fish of any kind, was eaten.  He had tasted chicken, but his mother and wife had never had.

Fascinating.

I saw wild pigs several times.  They don't eat these either, but I'm not sure what the benefit was for having them around.

Here's another cow resting.

Here are the pigs resting in squalor.

There is a canal in this desert, and there were schools of catfish, but people just feed them bread and the Hindu Priests give them brightly wrapped spices in balls. These looked like part favors.

The canal is to the left.

Another view of the canal.

Every doorway to homes and business had two chili peppers tied to a lemon, with five more peppers below that.  Every Sunday the folks put these in their doorways for good luck.  They throw the old ones in the street, and replace them with fresh ones.  It's a Hindu practice for good luck.

There are people under these sheds that
are shaping hot iron into knifes and tools - blacksmiths.

I slept like a rock last night.  The hotel is small and sparse, but it's clean and the folks are friendly.

I went to bed really early because I was really tired.  I woke up early, but went right back to sleep.  Besides taking a walk to a fruit stand, I've stayed inside all day.  I'll leave the hotel at about 4:00 heading for the train station.

This is a palace.

This is a view of the palace
where the royal family currently live.

I'm writing every day, but can't post because there's no Internet service.  This is a real rural area.  I saw a woman ironing with a coal iron.  There was a large area, about two inches, from the handle section to the iron plates.  In the middle there were holes for the coals to be placed and burned.

In many ways, it's like walking back in time.

This is a cool display of rifles.
This is at the palace, too.

Final note - I needed to make a local call, and my guide took me to an S. T. D.  Not sure what that stands for, but it was a telephone booth.  The room was the size of a booth as you might remember, but this one had a dirty plastic chair, and a regular looking desk phone sitting on a small shelf.  My guide placed the call, and a LCD sign above the phone lit up showing the number that we were calling and then a meter replaced the number and it was tallying the total due.  It cost less than five rupees (about 9 cents), to make a 10 minute call.

Last thing - about half of the town lives in a fort that dates back 1100 years.  It began with the people who served the royal family living along side them, and they stayed after the big wigs left.

I guess I'm living the black version of Eat, Pray, Love, minus the love part.

As always, thanks for taking this ride with me.

All Aboard for Jaisalmer

The train station and the train itself were clean, relatively speaking.

Yeah, this sink is crusty,
and if you don't count the grim, it wasn't so bad.
It was right outside the restroom
for your viewing/cleaning up pleasure.

The station worker who was asked to get me to the right train, did a great job and as we were on our way, I was surprised to see my driver and the coordinator of this portion of the trip, were there as well.

I kept asking what the sleeping arrangements were like, and got a clearer picture then.  Thank God I didn't ask ahead of time because I probably would have freaked out.

It all turned out fine, just me and my guys.

Think about everything you know about long distance train travel, and throw it out the window.

Step back in time about 50 years, and that is what the train looked like.  I was assigned the bottom bunk of three beds on top of each other.  There were three more right across, making six of us in pretty close quarters.  There were five guys and me.  The man directly above me was a pediatrician.  The man above him showed up with two 13 year old boys who took the top two beds across from me. The bottom bed directly across from me had an old, Santa Claus looking dude, without the cheery face.

The bottom bunk is mine.
The seat back is the 2nd bunk.
The 3rd one is overhead.

This is a view looking down the aisle,
with curtains on both sides.

We chatted for about 15 minutes of so, then we had to get up because the back of our seat was the second bed.  It was held up by heavy chains, with little chance of falling.

Once we were settled in with sheets and blankets - God only knows how many people had already used them - it was lights out.

Almost immediately, the old guy next to me started to snore so loudly, his whole body was convulsing.  It was a nasally, snotty, wet snore.  He was seriously congested.  I'm sure his snoring could be heard at the Taj Mahal, 300 miles away.

Speaking of 300 miles - you'd expect that to take about five hours to drive.  Well, it took 12 hours by this train.  Yep, 12 hours.  The return ride is 450 miles and it is expected to take 17 hours.

Note to self - avoid trips that have the words "adventure and camp," in the description.

Tonight I'm supposed to be in the dessert, sleeping under the stars.

Uh, no thanks.  I live in the desert, have ridden a camel, and been entertained by a belly dancer, so no tent sleeping for me, especially after that long train ride.  I begged off, citing the need for a hotel with Internet connection.

Back to the train for a second.

What was fascinating is that each time I turned over, there were new people sleeping alongside me.  At least three different people were sleeping in each of the other beds throughout the night.  The bed was fine, but the Internet didn't work.

It was a case of musical beds, for sure.

Side note - I arrived home late last night, so these posting are after the fact, but I didn't have Internet service for most of this trip.

More soon.

Jaipur

Jaipur was a fascinating city.

There is a section of it where all of the buildings are painted pink.  It was considered a welcoming color by one of the rulers.

This is a magnificent building, but it's a facade.
It was built for the ladies to view the street,
so that their faces would be hidden.

Side note - There were very informative history lessons at each stop, but I forgot most of the names almost immediately.

I'm sitting in the train station waiting for a train that leaves at midnight.  When my driver picked me up, it was clear he had been drinking.  Thankfully, the ride was only about five minutes.  He was a nice guy though.  He bought me snacks to take on the ride.  A really sweet gesture.

There are lots of people sitting on the curbs and sidewalks outside, and plenty inside, too.  My driver negotiated a deal for me to wait in a special place for the sleep car folks, and so I waited with older, calmer passengers, who looked like me, just wanting to go to bed.

This is the only part of the trip where I am not with an escort or driver.

It was full day of seeing magnificent sun dials, forts and palaces.

This is a sun dial, with a 20 second margin of error.

Another sun dial.
These were fascinating because they were built in 1716!

This one represents my Zodiac sign - Leo.
There were 12 of these, one for each sign.

By 3:00, I was done.  We headed back to the hotel, and I checked out.  There was still eight hours to wait before boarding the train, so I was dropped off at another swanky hotel to hang out there for a while.  If I'd been thinking clearly, I would have just gotten another room to wait in comfort.  Hindsight is 20:20, of course.

Since I arrived in India, here are some things I've seen.  There're in no particular order.

---Heavy duty work trucks painted with bright and colorful flowers and designs everywhere.  They almost all have "blow horn" written across the back of them.

---Elephants with painted faces, in celebration of the ongoing festivals

---Roads that are shared by cars, trucks, tuk tuks, roaming cows, goats, sheep, elephants, bicycle taxis, motorcycles, people walking, school kids, cow-drawn carts, and all kinds of buses.  One of the buses had as many people riding on top, probably at least 75, as were riding inside.  It was a precarious sight to see.

City Palace

Amber Palace

But this seemingly reckless behavior was not the exception, but rather, the rule. There were people crowded tight as could be in whatever the mode of transportation they were on, and those that couldn't fit inside, held on to something and hung out the moving vehicle.

The most precarious sight was a family of five on a motorcycle.  There was the dad driving with a toddler in front of him. Directly behind him was a younger toddler, with the mother riding sideways holding an infant.

Mercy me!

Mirrored Wall

Closeup of wall

---Like in Egypt, it is extremely rare to see a traffic light.  Folks just govern themselves on the road.

---Monkeys with the red bottoms were hanging out along the roads and on the grounds of the monuments

---Little squirrels that fit in the palms of your hands, including their tails.  They were brown with light strips, looking very much like skunks.

And . . .

---Women in the most beautiful, bright clothes, brighten the already colorful landscape

The adventure continues with more soon.

The Tantalizing Taj - Part 2

Once inside the Taj Mahal, which is a glorious mausoleum from a king to his wife, it is striking how small it is.  I was expecting a large open space like the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, but instead there were small walkways for viewing the tomb.

It was dark inside as there is no light, except for one fixture that hangs over the queen's tomb.

It was hot and stuffy because of the mass crowds inside.  The cooling relief came when we stood on the back side - the back porch, if you will - overlooking a river. Then there was a marvelous breeze.

Thousands of Indians waiting to enter.
They have a different entry.

Again, comparing it to the Grand Mosque, I was expecting the exterior marble to be snow white.  It's not.  It's speckled tan, made from translucent marble that shows variation of color when the sun hits hit. I was there at sunset, when at first it seemed beige, then it had an orange tint, followed by a reddish tint.

Just beautiful!

There is an ornate symbol on the top that represents the three dominant religions in the region - Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.

Switching gears -

Every local person I have met has been kind, gracious, and welcoming.  There were teenagers hanging out at one of the monuments, they were on holiday from school because of the festival, and they were horsing around, like kids everywhere.  The guide kept admonishing them to behave in front of guests (mostly me).

After visiting the Taj, I went home and sleep hard.  A bed has never felt so good.

The next day, we visited Agra Fort, which is really a walled city.  It was massive, and pristinely kept.  It sits on 94 acres and its walls are 70 feet high.  It is surrounded by a moat that was filled with alligators, as their first line of defense from invaders.

View of top of fort

Landscape view of entryway

Colonnade where the king held court

Landscaping in one of the courtyards that looks like a puzzle

It was extraordinary!

We left there and visited craftsmen, whose ancestors worked on the Taj.  One place worked with inlaying marble - incredible work, and the other with intricate embroidery. In the later, I saw a hand-embroidered rug that was inlayed with precious stones that was on display at the New York Metropolitan Museum in 1987.  At that time, it was worth 1.5 million dollars!

75 year old craftsman.
It was his father who made the priceless rug.
He has 11 children and all of them  are craftsmen.

Hand-embroidered picture of the Taj.
It is layered and textured and absolutely beautiful!

This is a closeup of the piece above.
The pictures don't do it justice.

I know these posts from India have been longer than usual.  Thanks for hanging in there with me.  I'm having a wonderful time, and like a kid at Christmas with a new toy, I want you all to see and share these experiences with me.

I'm in Jaipur today for a city tour, and then I'll board a train at midnight tonight for Jaisalmer which is a 12 hour train ride!

More soon!

The Tantalizing Taj!

The Taj Mahal is . . .

Majestic!
Magnificent!
Extraordinary!
Transcendental!
Grandiose!

Yes.  I had to pull out the thesaurus to help me try to convey just our incredible this monument is.

Before I get into more detail, let me set the scene.

I boarded the plane in Dubai at midnight Tuesday/Wednesday morning.  Yes. Another redeye.

I have never been able to sleep while flying until I bought one of those neck pillows. Thank God, now I can.

The plane was full.  About 300 folks.  I was in an aisle seat in the back, sitting by a pleasant couple.  I went to sleep immediately, but kept waking myself up with the jerk of my head when it fell forward.  So the rhythm was sleep-jerk-sleep-jerk-sleep-jerk.

No problem.  The flight was only three hours.  I knew very soon after landing, I'm be in bed.

Note to self.  Read the itinerary carefully in the future.

Side note - The airport in New Delhi is beautiful!  There is a striking display that greets you that is some kind of sign language.  It's simply gorgeous!  Slumdog Millionaire must have been a serious exaggeration by the folks in Hollywood because so far, India is beautiful.

Although you can't tell, this display is huge.
The explanation of the symbols can be found in this link:
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/DIALmudras.pdf

I got through customs, the passport check, and met the man who would be driving me to the hotel.  As an aside, just making conversation, I asked how long the drive would be.  He said four, YES, f-o-u-r hours!

OK.  No problem, I was so tired, I'd sleep the whole way.

No so.

The driver was fierce!  This dude could be driving for any racing organization.  He was weaving in and out of traffic at full throttle, only to brake real hard when he got to speed bumps, which occurred about every two miles.

So he was driving like a bat out of hell, then braking hard, on bumpy, uneven pavement.  Driving, braking.  Driving, braking.  And blowing the horn incessantly. We slowed down in traffic and it looked and sounded like this.

I loved this guy.

Side note 2 - I've never been car sick, but came very close during this trek.

The slums started to appear as we were leaving New Delhi, and they continued off and on for the next three hours.

We stopped about halfway to eat at a place that called itself a hotel/restaurant.  It was larger than a whole in the wall, but it had that rustic, dusty look and feel about it.  There were three or four other tourists eating, so I figured it was OK.  I was hungry and needed the coffee for my (pounding because of a lack of sleep) headache.

At this point, my expectations for the hotel I'd be staying in dropped way down.  It was supposed to be a 5-star, but I'm thinking stars don't necessarily mean the same worldwide.

Then, after driving forever, we turned the corner and I see this . . .

Wyndham Grand Agra - Photo from online

It was unbelievably beautiful!

Photo I took

What a treat!

My tour guide met me at the hotel.  I explained that I'm exhausted and I had to get some sleep, so we arrange to see that afternoon Taj Mahal at sunset.

The complex sits about a mile from the road, and we could hire a tuk yuk or walk. We decide to walk. There were some merchants along the way, but you can't take any of that stuff inside, so it was a great excuse not to partake.

The area is enclosed and is entered through huge gates.  Below is a shot of the main gate as seen from the Taj Mahal.

My back is to the Taj.

I'm in one of the garden areas.

There were thousands of people waiting to see the Taj.
Most were Indians because it was a national holiday.

A closeup of the Taj

It was incredible!

I'll leave you with a video of some of the festival festivities going on in the street, followed by one showing some of the fruits and vegetables and the way they are sold.

India Here I Come!

I'm headed to India tonight for a six day trip to see the Taj Mahal.  My prayer, besides being safe, is that I don't see much of the country that was portrayed in "Slumdog Millionaire.

More after I arrive.

Another Great Article

This one is from the New York Times.

It reminds me of the integration of schools in the South, where it was realized (too late, maybe?) that just because you were in class with students of different ethnic backgrounds, didn't mean you got the same education as everyone else in that class.

It's long, but worth the read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/nyregion/for-minority-students-at-elite-new-york-private-schools-admittance-doesnt-bring-acceptance.html?src=me&ref=general

Summer School

When Ben and Frankie were in elementary school, every summer they would work on the school curriculum that would be taught the following year.  I wanted to be sure that they were solid academically.

As black boys growing up in America, I knew they would be labeled, and as much as I could, I wanted to control those labels.

As a concerned parent, I once shared with an administrator that if three boys walked into a school - one Asian, one White and the other Black - the assumptions would be the Asian kid is above average, the White one at least average, and the Black one, below average and a behavior issue.

I was not going to let those assumptions describe my boys.

So, the journey began of preparing them.

Let me stop now and say, I screwed up in many ways over the years, in my role as parent.  So please don't see this as bragging or boasting.  It's just I believe this is one area I got right.

I was reminded of this yesterday, when I briefly took over a class of 5th grade boys. They were rowdy and energetic, but the thing that was most apparent, was how low they were academically.

Yes, the school, and the school system, have a responsibility to provide a sound educational experience, but the role of the parent is crucial.  It is a rare kid who wants to learn for the sake of learning.  The importance of getting an education has to be affirmed and drilled into kids by their parents or other significant adults in their lives.

Although there are exceptions throughout the ages of students defying the odds and excelling without a strong parental framework, but it is rare.

As much as I, too, believe that education is in need of reform, those necessary changes must include the role of parental responsibility.

Students with active, involved parents, attending to the academic achievement of their kids, do better in school.

That's a fact.

So, if you're an educator in a situation where parental support is not there, do you throw up your hands and give up?  Of course not.  You do the best you can and hope it's enough to thrust the kids forward.

To all of you out there who are not teachers, let me share something that every teacher knows - this is one of the hardest jobs on the planet.

So take a moment to salute teachers.

They deserve it.

A Sacramento Kid

A genius among us and the argument against acceleration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSYCwxt78jY

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/against-accelerating-the-gifted-child/?src=rechp

Thoughts?

What If Money Was No Object?

Fascinating!

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/10/what-do-you-desire.html

Agree?

Surfing in the UAE!

Surfing in the UAE!

I love this picture!

Although the UAE coastline has to be one of the most beautiful in the world, you rarely see nationals taking advantage of its beauty.  There is a huge issue of modesty in dress at all times while in the public, but these ladies are not letting their clothes prevent them from having fun in the sun.  One of them is a 31 year old mother of four.  Two of her kids were paddle boarding with her.  Below is the whole article from today's paper.

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/surfing-in-an-abaya-its-a-swell-idea-for-dubai

Enjoy!

Tidbits

Things you won't find here -

Hardware stores.

There's an Ace in one of the malls, but it should be against the law for them to call themselves a hardware store.  If you have something that needs fixing, you call someone and they take care of it.  I'm guessing these folks have to buy supplies, but where they get them from is a deep, dark secret.

You won't find -

Beauty supply stores.

Like a Sally's or the many storefront beauty supply stores in the US that sells hair and nail products.  Again, there are many salons that provide these services, so there are few folks who do it themselves.

You won't find -

Bluetooth devices for cell phones.  Somehow having the wire hang down out of your ear is cool.

You won't find -

Monthly rent.

Rent payments for housing and commercial property are paid up front once, or if you're lucky, twice a year.  One of the property managers in Dubai just ran off with the checks for 7000 tenants!  Yes, Interpol is looking for him.

Housing for all teaching staff is provided.

You will find -

Starbucks.

They're in the malls, but we have one that is a stand alone with a real drive thru. YEAH!  The only other drive thru places have employees who hang around outside to take orders and deliver the food.

You will find -

McDonalds.

With added Arabian choices on the menu.

Burger King.

Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Pizza Hut.

Appleby's.  

TGIF.

And . . .

You will find -

Movie theaters.

They're in the malls and some of the hotels.  And they have assigned seating, even if you're the only one there.

Speaking of movies, there's a film festival going on in Abu Dhabi this week, and Richard Gere was there promoting his new film, "Arbitrage."  It is available to rent on iTunes, so I watched it.  It was better than expected, and it gets my recommendation, for all that's worth.

Anyway . . .

These, my dear blogging buddies, are the tidbits for today.

More soon.

Motivation

I want one of these!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=yEH4Yum4nN4

Helping to save a life or doing this?

I don't know.

Kidding!  Kidding!

Hat tip to AB.

Saving Lives

Saving lives one video at a time.

Huge thanks to Ann, once again, for sharing these lifesaving videos.  This one is on what to do when someone is suspected of having a heart attack.

http://www.heartrescuenow.com

In case you missed the earlier video one on the new cpr techniques, it follows.

http://ahsc.arizona.edu/node/730

School Supplies

A fixture among supplies for the US school is crayons.  They are a rare find here. I'm guessing it's because it's so hot, they would melt.  Instead the students use colored pencils.

Butcher paper is nonexistent.

Same with construction paper.

I searched high and low for filler paper, and finally found some.

The binders are two-hole instead of three.  I'm not a fan.

Students use notebooks that are about 8" X 6".  They buy their own.

There are no electric pencil sharpeners.  The manual crank ones are available, but the small hand-held ones are what's used the most.

A standard size piece of paper is referred to as A4.  The large 12" X 18" size is called A3.  The smaller size I referred to earlier is A5.

Finding whistles was a real chore.  When I did finally find a store that sold them, I bought them all.  A whistle is a must in school crowd control.  We issued them to all staff at my schools in the US.

We're still waiting for textbooks.  We have whole classes without them.

There is no book or set curriculum to teach English.  This makes for interesting living.  Our current Western staff comes from Houston, Phoenix, Detroit, San Diego, Omaha, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Sacramento (me), Huntsville (AL), Columbia (SC), the U.S.Virgin Islands, South Africa, Ireland, Haiti, Canada, and Australia. We all speak English, but the way we approach teaching and learning is as varied as the places we come from.

The folks who are over curriculum for the government schools are from New Zealand, where this methodology of no set curriculum is used.  Apparently teachers utilize whatever books/curriculum they want, with no evidence of whether they were successful in reaching their students or not, apart from their records. They don't give country-wide exams until 10th grade, whereas we begin state-wide testing in 2nd.

Different way of doing things, for sure.

It's only 6:30, but I'm tired and headed to bed.

There were eight teachers absent on my side alone, with one sub.

Crazy day.

We have a break in a couple of weeks, and I'll be on the road again.

I'm looking forward to it.

Good morning to you.

Good night to me.

This and That

It has cooled down to a high of 102, with lows in the low 70's.  While shopping today, I noticed all the heavy winter gear - sweaters, coats, boots, etc. for sale.  I'm guessing any temperature below 70 is cause for alarm and plenty of winter clothes.

The kids have been complaining that it's cold in the building, but for all of us Western folks, it's just right.

I also noticed that lawn furniture is on sale now.  It's way too hot to consider sitting outside in the summer, so now that it's cooling off, it lounging time.

Finally . . .

Yesterday I had to leave work early and followed one of the busses from our school. It stopped right in front of the building to let a kid off.  This child could have been home a half hour earlier, if he had simply walked home.  In fact, it was a longer distance to walk through the building to the designated area to catch the bus, than to walk to his home across the street from the entrance of the school.

Remember, living across the street or not, every student rides the bus.

OK.  These really are my parting words . . .

At the end of last year, all eleven busses continued to run their routes four times a day, even though there were no kids the last four weeks of school.

Amazing.

Tempering Enthusiasm

How do you temper enthusiasm without dousing someone's flame altogether?

How do you say, "Whoa.  Slow down.  Everyone is not where you are."

How do you deal with people who think they have to ride folks to get the best out of them?

How do you teach people to recognize and appreciate the gifts and talents of those around them?

How do you teach folks to "walk a mile in other people's shoes."

How do you teach people that leaders are in service to those they lead?

How do you teach folks that their job is to support, not pile on with unnecessary and meaningless work, so that they can check a box off somewhere.

Another day with lots of questions, and few answers.

Up, Up, and Away - Part 2

This is a quick video of my balloon ride.  I'm on the left dressed in black with the hat.

Up, Up, and Away . . . in My Beautiful Balloon

I have always been fascinated with hot air balloons.  There is an annual hot air balloon festival in Lake Tahoe or Reno that I always wanted to go to, but the date was always Labor Day Weekend, and I was preparing for another school year that began the day after Labor Day, so I never made it.

Well, today I made up for those lost opportunities.

I was with 15 other people flying high over the desert in a hot air balloon.

What a sight!

This is the buddy balloon.
I'm in the basket of our balloon
as we're flying next to it.

I met the group at 5:00 this morning, about an hour from home.  We then drove deep into the desert where the balloons were laying flat on the ground.  A controlled blast of fire/heat was used to inflate the balloon and there were ropes that formed the framework of the balloon that were used to steer it once we were airborne.  Mostly, the altitude and direction was controlled by the frequent blast of blistering heat.

The crew is inflating our balloon.

The basket holding us was divided into five parts, two on either side, with the captain housed in the center.  Each part held 3-4 people.  There were 16 folks in our balloon, including the captain.

There was a second balloon that had about the same number as ours.  It was on its maiden voyage.  I was fine riding in the older one.  It had a proven track record.

Once we were all inside, the ropes keeping the balloon tethered to the ground were unfastened, and off we went.  Regular blast of the intense flame kept us high and on track.

Buddy balloon as it's taking off.

It was such a serene experience.  Very calming, almost mystical.  The ride lasted about an hour, but I could have stayed in that ballon all day . . . just floating around.

View of a camel farm.
The camels didn't like the noise that the blast of fire caused.

We had a briefing before we boarded the ballon, demonstrating the position we needed to be in when landing.  We had to face in the opposite direction of the way we were landing.  So, with our backs to the target, we held on tight to the ropes that lined the inside of the basket.

Great view of the thousands of sand dunes.

Buddy Ballon sailing away.

And down we went.

One bounce.

Two bounces.

Three bounces.

And we're on the ground, then . . .

We're tossed on our backs.

Although this position was a little disconcerting, it ended up being great because it made climbing out of the basket a breeze.

This was so much . . . fun!

I loved every minute of it

And

I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Cocktail Trees

Have you heard of this?  A tree that bears four different kinds of fruit?

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/10/an-orchard-in-a-single-tree.html

Amazing!

Driving Blindfolded

In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that there are no addresses in this country. This fact makes it really colorful trying to find places.

I was in Abu Dhabi today looking for a conference hall.  I searched the internet for more than two hours last night trying to find GPS Coordinates of the building or something nearby.

No luck.

As a last resort, I got directions from Google Maps.  Because of all of the building in the area, they were useless.

Another challenge to finding places is remembering street names.  Below are examples of some.

Sheikh Zayed Bin Zayed Street
Khaled Bin Sultan Street
Zayed the First Street
Hazza Bin Sultan Street
Nhayyan Al Awwal Street

Stopping for directions is pretty pointless.  Folks assume you know your surroundings and rattle off landmarks and names that mean nothing in isolation.

I wonder if the lack of addresses has something to do with the desert.  There are no landmarks in the desert.  Just mounds and mountains of sand that shift with the blowing wind.  Somehow the locals had to figure out where they were and where they were going.  I'm guessing, when they starting building the cities, creating a way to find them for outsiders wasn't considered.

So, round and round we go.

It just occurred to me (ding dong, ding dong) to search for a gps app for my phone.  I found several. I'm hopeful that my days of driving blindly are over.

While driving around, I saw some amazing sights though.

The bluest water I've ever seen.

Yas Island.

The Port of Abu Dhabi.

And Ferrari World.

So, all was not lost.

Excuse the pun.

Now that I have these handy apps, I hope to spend less time sightseeing and more time efficiently getting from point A to point B.

Have a great day!

Overcoming Lies

Have you ever been taken aback by lies.  Out of the blue.  Totally unexpected, uncalled for lies?  Lies told to save face?

My Mom used to say, you tell one lie, you have to tell a whole lot more to keep that one covered up.   And before you know it, you've spun a web of lies.

One of the things that I think folks respect - maybe not like because the truth can be hard to face - is the fact that I'm honest.  When given a choice, I will tell the truth. Whether it puts me in a bad light or not.

And of course, I expect honesty in return.

At 56, I shouldn't be surprised when people lie and hurt or disappoint me, but I am.

Yes, I will forgive and shake it off, but the level of respect I had for these folks has diminished greatly.

And life goes on.

Could I, Would I - Part 2

For those of you didn't tackle the long article that I referred to a few posts ago, below please find a video clip that gets to the heart of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhnvB4KJbo4

Huge thanks to Shana for sharing this.

Giving Thanks

Have you ever been around folks who were skeptical about giving thanks for a job well done for fear the folks receiving the gratitude would slack off?

In my experience, the exact opposite almost always happens.  The more gratitude and appreciation a person gets, the more they want to do and the better they perform.

Conversely, when fault is always found, no matter how good the work is, it's not long before discouragement takes root and the desire to do anything diminishes rapidly.

Everyone needs encouragement, and just by nature, some more than others.  I pride myself on striving to do a good job in whatever I'm doing, and will do it anyway, but thanks would go a long way in keeping my wheels turning.

I know I've been guilty of not recognizing and appreciating folks like I should have. I'm learning to make a conscious effort to do so.

"Thank you" are two little words that mean so much.  My goal is to never miss an opportunity to use them.

Revamping Systems

It is very much a part of the culture to "bum rush" the counter when buying/needing something.  The concept of standing in line and waiting your return is foreign at all level of this society.

And so the kids at school were doing what they do - rushing to the front counter by the hundreds to purchase their lunch.  It was maddening!

The biggest issue besides them being at the counter en masse, was that there were only four folks selling to these hundreds of kids, and that just wasn't enough.  We asked for more help, but that didn't happen.

So, we assigned tables, and requested that the folks selling the food to prepare baskets of sandwiches and drinks to put on each table and the teacher accompanying her students would be in charge of selling the items to her students.

Thank God, it's working great!  The kids come in and sit down at their assigned tables and receive their food in a fraction of the time.  Now they actually have time to eat in their twenty minute break.  The clean-up is a 1000 times better/faster, and there is plenty of time to get ready for the succeeding lunch periods.  We have a total of four - boys, girls, boys, girls.  Remember, there are over 1100 students, with a staff of more than 75 teachers.

On those days when I get frustrated with the way things are happening, I remind myself that this country is only 40 YEARS OLD!  It was founded in December 1971! I was a sophomore in high school - wasn't that just yesterday?

When I think of how young this country is, the strides that have been made are nothing short of miraculous.

More soon.

New CPR

A dear friend forwarded this video clip to me explaining the new, and easier CPR.  It eliminates mouth-to-mouth in aiding adults, and you don't have to be certified to help someone.

Watching this could save a life.

Thanks Ann!

http://ahsc.arizona.edu/node/730

Toilets, Part 2

Remember how I've described toilets as "real" like the ones we're used to (thank God), and the other kind being the hole in the floor?  Well, all rooms that have water - restrooms, kitchens, etc., all have large round drains in the floor, and all the toilets have the magic hoses.

I think our Arab sisters use the drain instead of the toilet.  Here's the hint.  The floor is always wet in the restrooms.  And in public toilets, there is usually someone in there to squeegee the floor after each use.

This makes for interesting living because we all wear long skirts, dresses, and abayas.  So we have to remember to pull up our clothes from the floor so they don't get wet, while also pulling them down to take care of business.

Going to the toilet here takes forethought and dexterity.  Think about this the next time you race in and out.

Cautiously Optimistic

There is a God.

Just when I thought a bad situation could only get worse, there was a breakthrough.

A powerful, unexpected force that turned the situation around, and help arrived from an equally unexpected place.

I hope the temporary relief seen now, will in fact, become permanent.

That is my hope and my prayer.

Could I? Would I?

This is a story of forgiveness with a Sacramento connection.  It's long, but worth the read.

http://www.readability.com/read?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsportsillustrated.cnn.com%2Fvault%2Farticle%2Fmagazine%2FMAG1206007%2Findex.htm

Switch to the readability view for easier reading.  That link is at the top of the page.

Cooling Off

It was a cool 106 at 5:00pm today.

No really.  It felt much cooler.  Probably because of the breeze and the sprinkling of rain.  I hear when it rains the kids are so excited - like our kids are when it snows - because it is such a rare occurrence.  Typically, we get four days of rain a YEAR! I've seen it sprinkle three times.  I'm wondering if that counts as three of the four days.

Thankfully, the uprisings all around us seem to be cooling off and calming down, too.

Things are coming along nicely at work.

We have a new crop of Western teachers.  Most have arrived and are adjusting to the culture shock.  What's amazing is that in the short time I've been here (10 months), I've seen lots of changes and improvements in the systems.

Our perspectives are all relative to our experiences.

Still dealing with crazy kin folks, but even that is relative.

Isn't it funny - rich or poor, black or white - chances are we all have somebody who's crazy or a little off kilter, in our world.

Crazy knows no bounds.

Here's wishing you a wonderfully sane day!

Book Ban?

This is another interesting article.  It's about how the UAE is dealing with the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/a-book-ban-raises-the-requirement-of-cultural-sensitivity?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Daily%2BNewsletter%2B18-09-2012#full

Side note - I still haven't finished the first book in the series yet.  I'm seriously struggling with the bondage.  Maybe I should skip that part.  Then I could finish it really fast.

Forgot to Mention . . .

An interesting blog from an Arab perspective.  It's

http://www.arabist.net

Death Up Close

One of our students was killed in a traffic accident over the weekend. She was a 5th grader, probably 10 years old.  We found out about it when the teacher took roll.  A social worker was called in to talk to the girls, and did so for about 10 minutes.  That was it.  We weren't allowed to spend any more time discussing it.

The thinking is, it was God's will and it shouldn't be questioned.  Chances are very good, she was buried within 24 hours of her death, as is the custom.

If this happened in the US, we would have had grief counselors, and we would have spent a good part of the day remembering the student.  There would have been writing and/or drawing opportunities, to help the students deal with, and try to understand, what happened.

Not saying which one is right or wrong, but noting the distinct differences in the way death is handled.

Side note - Fatal accidents happen often here because it is rare to see folks wearing seat belts.  This student was ejected from the car on impact.  Her brother is also a student at our school and was thrown from the car and is in critical condition. The same thing happened to one of our teachers the day before school started.  She was hit and thrown from the vehicle.  She suffered serious injuries, but is expected to survive.

In other news -

I received an advisory from the US Embassy today, warning US citizens to be vigilant and mindful when traveling during these turbulent times.  They were not expecting any issues here in the UAE, but warned of travel outside the country.  I received this information because I registered with the embassy when I arrived.

As I end this -

Here's hoping your day is filled with good things.

And don't forget to . . . forgive.

I know.  I know.  I'm preaching to the choir, but mostly I'm preaching to myself.

All is Well . . . Thank God!

There is violent protesting all around us, but all is well here.  Thank God!

Questions -

Why create something, or say something, or do something, that you know will incite folks?  Isn't that the MO of bullies?

What did they hope to gain by doing this?

And to those who are offended - must the offense, whatever it is, be met with violence?  Is that the only way they believe their voices will be heard and the offense registered?

Just like this offensive video doesn't speak for the masses of Americans, I'm sure that these outbursts of violence don't speak for or represent the masses of Arabs.

And yet, we're all being touched by this.

Like in the segregated South when I was growing up, there were folks in white hoods wrecking all manner of havoc in many Black neighborhoods.  That was our introduction to terrorism.  There were many whites who stood against them, but there were also many who remained silent.  And because of their silence, they were with them by default.

Likewise, I'm guessing there are many Arabs who see these riots as wrong, but until they speak out against them, they appear to be with the rioters, and those folks are likely to continue this madness.

It takes courage to stand up in the face opposition, especially if that opposition is made up of family and friends fighting for a cause.

As much as I appreciate our First Amendment, the Freedom of Speech, the right to say anything you want to say should also come with some responsibilities to deal with any blowback this free speech might bring.

Personally, I'm not interested in protecting the fools who created this film that was the tipping point of these recent violent acts.  They should have to pay the piper themselves, and not drag the rest of us in the dirt with them.

Voting

Like an idiot, I was 40 before I cast my first vote . . . for anything.  I was one of those folks who didn't think my vote/voice counted in making a difference.

Never mind the multitude of folks who fought and died so that I could enjoy the right to vote.

I was so STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!!

Thank God, I came to my senses, though late, and have voted every since.

However, once I arrived here, I realized that when I left California, I forgot to change my status to "absentee."  This meant I would have missed the opportunity to vote this fall.  I spent months waiting to get here, and could have taken care of it during that time, but I had tunnel vision . . . only thinking about when I would be leaving.

Anyway, I went online and figured out how to change my voting status, and I WILL be able to vote in this presidential election!

YES!  YES!  YES!

Let me encourage you all to step up and caste your ballot.  Don't be like me and live a lifetime before you exercise your right.  No matter who you support, let your voice be heard, by taking advantage of this right to vote that we as Americans so richly enjoy.

Calm in the Midst of the Storm

I'm grateful for two things tonight.

First, that I'm feeling better after spending most of the morning at the doctor's.  As I've mentioned several times before, we must have a doctor's note for all absences, or our pay will be docked.  More importantly, I want to document the fact that I am sick and not playing hooky.  I'm guessing some of the previous Western teaching staff took time off for fun things and got caught.  This is the system's way of preventing that.

Secondly, I'm grateful that the Libyan attack on the US Embassy was widely condemned in this area.  I've included a couple of links to headline stories in the paper today.

http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/africa/us-envoys-killing-causes-global-fallout?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Daily%2BNewsletter%2B13-09-2012

http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/us-ambassadors-death-first-blood-to-the-bigots-on-both-sides

It seems so cowardly to me that the folks responsible for the anti-Islam / anti-Muslim rhetoric, are now in hiding.  They are the ones who should be facing these angry mobs.

When we will learn to respect other people's right to believe what they want to believe?

When will we, as Americans, stop trying to impose our beliefs on others?

The violence in this area is the direct result of the stupidity of many, particularly the makers of this inflammatory film, to incite.  And of course, many of the folks on this end, who are looking for a reason to fight, think they are speaking for all of us.

It's a mess.

Don't worry about me though.  Things are fine here.  Inshalllah.

May God's peace surround those who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.

Another One Bites the Dust

Home sick.

More soon.

It's a Party!

The first day of school -

There was dancing and singing, popcorn and cotton candy.  There were archways made of festive balloons.  There were second grade students dressed in costumes to greet the first graders, who are new to the school.  They went from room to room along with music so loud the portable amplifier that was used could easily work in a stadium.

Loud doesn't begin to describe it.

Up and down the hallways, in classrooms and the lunchroom there was dancing and singing.

It was fascinating to witness the difference in the way we do things, particularly the first day of school.

I think the rationale for this party atmosphere is that they want the kids to see school as fun and social, so that is promoted to get them there.  Remember, just 40 years ago, they lived in the desert and there were no schools.  So really, they've come a long way.

Recently, I met someone on one of my flights who was an Emirati who was in college in Indiana.  His transition must have truly been an eye-opener.

In other news -

We needed twelve new Western teachers.  So far, six have arrived.  In addition, we have six local teachers who are out - car accident, surgery, babies, etc.  In other words, we have a serious shortage.  We're hopeful that this will be resolved soon.

Anyway, that's it from party central.

More soon.

Ready or Not . . . Here They Come!

Tomorrow is the first day of school with students.  I've got to get to bed early to be ready for them, so this post will be a quickie.

I'm guessing all the students will be there, but it might be a case of them trickling in. We'll see.

We needed twelve new teachers and six arrived.  It's my understanding that the support staff will help to cover those classes with missing teachers.  Here's hoping the other six arrive soon.

Side note -

The evil reference/circumstances in my last post hasn't changed, but I've let it go. There is nothing to do but ride it out and, hope for the best.

Side note 2 -

I just video chatted with little Zadie.  What a treat!  It's amazing how fast she's growing.  Ben and his wife are having a baby too, due in December, so we'll be starting the process all over again.  I can't wait!

OK.  It's bedtime.

To all you educators out there, here's wishing you the best school year . . . EVER!

Good morning to you.

Good night to me.

How Do You Deal With Evil?

How do you deal with people who go out of their way to hurt and inflict pain?

And who hurt the people you love?

Do you ignore them?

Strike back?

Turn the other cheek?

I know.  I know.

I've been preaching forgiveness no matter what, but . . .

This hurts.

I know what I should do, but I just want to pounce.

Then

Ask for forgiveness later.

Maybe.

Why is it so easy to give advice, and yet so hard to follow it yourself?

Post Script

I wished I'd watched Michelle's speech at the DNC before writing the last post.

She was simply . . . amazing!

Public Speaking

Some folks are great at public speaking.  Others not so much.

It's interesting to me how tone deaf some speakers can be.  That is, they are not in tune with their audience.

When you see people nodding off, that should be a great clue that you need to move things along or maybe change gears altogether.

Too often, that is not the case.

This is especially true if the speaker is someone of note.  It's as if those around him/her are careful not to offend, so they watch as if everything is OK.

I hope someone will always pull me aside and say, enough already.

And hopefully, I'll have sense enough to listen.

Back to School

Today was the first day back to school after our summer break.  This week the whole staff will be present getting ready for next week, when the students return.

We spent the abbreviated day greeting everyone and catching up with each other. Although there was lots to be done, and lots of decisions that needed to be made, not much happened.  This was in large part due to staff and visitors paying their respects to our principal, who lost her Mom a few weeks ago.  The decisions that needed to be made needed her approval.

Inshallah.

Everything that needs to happen will happen.

Tomorrow we have a state-wide meeting, so we're all trekking to Abu Dhabi for that.

In contrast, the administrative staff of schools in the US usually begins about four weeks before the kids return and about three weeks before the teaching and support staff.

By far, this has been the most stress-free summer I've had since I've been in education.  For once, I wasn't fixated on test scores.  Although standardized testing happens here, not nearly as much focus is put on the results.  Certainly, not like in the US.

Remarkably, most of my colleagues didn't sleep well last night.  There's something about the first day of school that causes excitement and anxiety, for the kids, teachers . . . everyone.

Teaching is one of those rare professions where we get to reboot every September, and to a lesser degree, every January.

Side note -

I purchased something yesterday that needed to be delivered.  I asked for same day delivery and it happened, at 11:00 at night!  I got the wakeup call at 10:30 asking to confirm my location.  I dared not suggest they come at a more convenient time. Heaven knows when that would have been.

Of course, it took a while to get back to sleep.

Surprisingly, and thankfully, I woke up refreshed and ready for the day and the year.

Here's wishing school staffs everywhere a wonderful year.