Mathru School for the Differently-AbledThursday, 12/26/2013

I'm better today, but  woke up tired.  Night-time coughing jags are not conducive to restful sleep.  Even so, I do feel a bit more chipper.  

One of the things that made me feel better this morning was an email from Andy, from Changi Airport in Singapore.  He was waiting for his connecting flight to Hong Kong, and wrote some of his last impressions of Bangalore:

Am in Changi Airport waiting for connection. … Was interesting that  at Bengaluru Airport in Bangalore, one cannot even get through the terminal front doors to the ticket counter without showing passport and proof of travel (printed itinerary ok).  Had about 20 min wait at counter but then went quickly. Interestingly at security, they have separate lines for men and women.  

I saw a two-story McDonald's on the way to Bengaluru Airport - first one I've ever seen.  Route to airport is a hodgepodge of going on and off the new flyway in sections where it is done and not done, but at least I got to the right terminal. It really is an embarrassing highway for a city as large as Bangalore. Love ya and will be back in touch soon.

Mary here again … now Linda and I will know what to expect when we catch our flights to Sri Lanka and Hong Kong out of Bangalore.

I can't complain about the care they are giving me here.  Kamashi wanted to give me another all-over Vick's VapoRub treatment but I was obstinate (albeit pleasantly so) that I will get that stuff ONLY on my throat during the day.  It felt wonderful last night and helped me drop right off to sleep, but I hate the way it makes me feel sticky all over.    And they've assigned a kid --  I think it's Muktha's son but not sure --  to pop in every few hours.   

"Ma'am??" he tugs my sleeve and holds up  the little jar with his other hand.  "Vick's."  It's amazing how assertive a seven-year-old kid can be with a jar of Vick's VapoRub.  They oughta hire him.

He won't leave until he sees me rub it on my throat, and wants me to rub it across my forehead and cheeks too, but I laugh and tell him "No no, only night-time on face!"  It's a good thing I'm bigger than he is because otherwise I'm not sure I'd win this argument.

The VapoRub, the meds and the naps all seem to be working,  as I really am feeling better this afternoon.  

In between naps I've been busy cleaning and organizing my living space.  God love the guy, and I sure do too, but Andy is a clutter-monger.    I've always said that if he croaks before I do, I'll be devastated, but I'll also be delighted to throw a whole bunch of stuff away.

I didn't throw anything away,  I just put it all away.  Without all of Andy's stuff around, all of a sudden I have lots of space and room for everything.  I moved one of the twin beds into the other room,  and now my little bedroom is almost too big.  Before there was barely  room to walk between the beds and the wall to the bathroom.  Now there's room for a little table next to my bed, and even an easy chair.  I organized my suitcases and have them stashed under the bed and out of the way. 

The "guest room" now has a bed, an easy chair,  and a table with some neatly organized mosaic materials on it.  Before Linda gets here  in February I'll get some window coverings and maybe even a nice little rug for her.

The front room is transformed.  You can actually see the tabletop now with only one computer on it, and none of all of Andy's little papers and stamps and stashes of fruits and sweets.  I have room to spare on the shelves, too, and everything is neatly organized and contained in little boxes.  When Divya came in to check up on me this afternoon, she laughed.  "So clean!"  she said.

"Yah, I miss Andy but I don't miss his mess!" I told her, and she laughed even more.  

OK, some tidbits...

Today is Laura Rosten's birthday. Happy birthday, Laura!

Things I am grateful for:

Masking tape.  Again.  I wish I'd packed two rolls of it.  I used it today to transform  the beat-up shoe boxes that our sandals came in  into sturdy little containers to organize and de-clutter around here.  I made myself a couple toolboxes for mosaic work, too.

My little Pebble hand-held CCTV.   My vision has taken a major dive since I left San Francisco --  in fact, I've been going through a significant deterioration phase for the last month before I left, and the loss is even more noticeable in an unfamiliar environment.  Still, it was disconcerting to be able to see the email I wrote before I went to bed one night, and then not be able to read my emails  the next day. 

But the Pebble and VoiceOver have come to the rescue. I'm using VoiceOver a lot now, and with the Pebble I'm doing OK.  If you're noticing more typos than usual, now you know why.

And I should  make this an ode  to  the Helen Keller National Center and the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind,  not only for the Pebble but also  for my MacBook too.  Special thanks to Cathy Kirscher, HKNC's southwest regrional rep based in San Diego, and Kathy Abramson of the San Francisco Lighthouse, for expediting my application so that I could have the MacBook  and Pebble with me here.  

My Vick's kid is here, and so is my afternoon tea.  I shall aumit to the Vick's, take my meds, enjoy my tea, and get in a little snooze before dinner.

Mary

Mathru School for the Differently-Abled 
Christmas Day, 12/25/2013

Andy writes:

As the song goes here “It’s beginning to feel it’s not like Christmas.”  Mary was up often Christmas eve night coughing despite liberal cups of tea and cough medicine.  This morning she said she wanted to see a doctor as it seemed to be settling in her chest. She was also uninterested in eating anything. 

It was a bit disconcerting considering that she seemed to be on the mend late yesterday. She was even up to going shopping last night for a few items (tea, napkins, etc). It was a general store that also carried kitchenware which we wanted to buy a couple new kitchen knives and steel skillets for the cook here, who has been using ancient cookware.  When we get to the checkout, they run up all the items and give you a receipt which is actually a bill which you then go over to a cashier to pay and get the receipt stamped and then return to obtain your groceries.


Anyway, this morning Muktha arranged for a taxi and found one of the few doctors working today even though it isn’t really a holiday here. The doctor’s office was just around the corner from the other Mathru school, which is about a 30 min drive away.

The doctor's office consisted of 3 rooms, two being small examination/waiting rooms about 4x10 with no windows, a couple small chairs and a padded inclined examination table. The first room is basically part of the front entrance and after passing through it, one enters the second one.  That one opens into the  doctor's back office (about 10x10)  that had a desk and chair, a few other chairs and also no window. 

The woman doctor was middle aged and began by asking Mary what was happening to her and when it started. After a brief stethoscope exam of Mary’s chest and back and looking at the back of her mouth, she wrote a prescription for 4 different medications and some cough syrup along with verbal instructions on how to take them. She also said to stay away from “cold” foods such as cucumbers and yogurt and to eat mostly vegetables, rice and bread. She also recommended Vicks rub on the chest, neck and face.  Her bill was 100 rupees or less than $2 USD.  The meds   were dispensed next door at the pharmacy. All of the meds  here are prepackaged in blister packs (no bottles or loose pills) and often are partially cut packages – depending on how many are needed. No leftover drugs need to lie around or have to be disposed of.  All of the  meds totaled about $4  USD so I guess Indians need not worry about medical insurance here.

When we got back, some of the staff here said the same thing about avoiding “cold” foods and that the only fruits that were ok to eat were bananas, papaya, chickoo and apples.  They also said that Mary should gargle with salt water and put cotton in her ears at night to keep out the cold. 

Lunch consisted of a soup that was the spiciest hot food we’ve ever had but we both finished it off and hopefully it obliterated anything bad that was in Mary’s system. Also the usual chappati bread and white rice along with another spicy bean and lentil dish. 

Mary here ... That was Andy's last post from Bangalore, and as I write he's on his way home, via Hong Kong.  I'm a sad puppy but everyone here is taking very good care of me.  The meds seem already to be working, whatever they are, and Muktha personally cooked dinner for us.  She made sure I ate one whole chapati.  She also smeared Vick's VapoRub all over my forehead and cheeks, neck, throat and upper back, and has arranged for one of the staff to come give me a massage.  


Who is here now.  More tomorrow.

Mathru School for the Differently-Abled
Christmas Eve, 12/24/1213

The good news is that I'm back up and functioning, to some extent anyway, after almost forty hours being down and out for the count.  I woke up Sunday with laryngitis and felt lousy all over, but still had a good time shopping with Muktha and Andy. 

She took us to Bangalore's version of a big shopping mall.  Lots of small shops and vendors, but in an environment much easier for me to handle (the floors  were all smooth and level, for one thing).  We found a shop that sold salwi kamezes -- traditional everyday women's garb of tunic and ankle-hugging pants -- and fabric sets to have outfits custom made.  Andy and Muktha helped me pick out two sets; one a three-piece set in the deepest turquoise, emerald green and purple colors, all printed with a light overall pattern.  The other is combination of ruby red and bright indigo navy colors.  I can hardly wait to have them sewn up.  Both sets of fabric were good-quality silk-cotton blends, and together cost about $25 USD.  I don't think it will cost more than that to have them sewn up for me.


We also picked up a couple of cotton shirts -- the Indian version of the Hawaiian shirt -- for Andy, and a couple pairs of sandals for each of us.  The prices were very inexpensive.  

There were jewelry shops, sweet shops, table linen shops, shops of nothing but purses and valises, rug shops, and lots of little stands hawking local art.  There was one ink drawing and painting of a goddess in beautiful intense jewel colors that I loved, but I hesitate to buy big pieces because they are had to pack.  Plus, framed pieces are breakable and heavy to pack, and it can be a  risk buying art as gifts for people unless you really know their tastes.  I held off on getting anything, but Andy picked up a few small framed pieces that he really liked.

It was a nice little mall, and  now I know just where I'm going to take Linds when she gets here in February.

Muktha took us to a nice Indian-Chinese restaurant for lunch.  I just had a bowl of  hot and sour soup, which was excellent, very hot, and absolutely sinus-clearing.  

Even so, my head was aching and as soon as we got home I went to bed and stayed there until this morning.  I tried getting up yesterday but Andy told me I was in no shape to teach, and I really wasn't.   I'm way better today but still shaky, and will taketomorrow off too.  I would anyway because Andy will leave tomorrow evening shortly after dinner, and we want a relaxed day together  before he leaves.

There is one big plus, though.  My LLBean capris were almost too snug when I left California, and now they're comfortably loose.  I am VERY pleased about this.

We went to Bangalore's version of Lee Chong's Grocery Store out of Steinbeck's Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday today.   Picked up some  Americsn-sized mugs, napkins, green teabags and other treats for me to keep in my suite.  And some good steel pans, knives and potato peelers for the cook here,  Andy's noticed she's using some really beat-up stuff in her kitchen so we decided to give her a little Christmas present.


OK … some miscellaneous things Andy wants me to mention:

Andy  has noticed how, during any thoughtful conversation or serious exchange of information (when negotiating the price of a few dozen cut plywood boards, for example), the listener will "bobble" his or her head.   I don't see it, but I'm going to start looking to see if I can pick it up in the future.


The "first floor" here is really the first floor above the garage on the ground floor.  The ground floor is the "zero floor."  This is how it is for Sribi's house, and now I have a better picture of Mayu's "First Floor" on Carmichael Road address in Mumbai. 

Another thing Andy comments on when we go to Srini's house is the size of the elevator from the garage to the upper floors.  It's got to  be the smallest one we've ever been in, about three by five feet.

Calendars here are vertical, not horizontal.  That is, instead of the days of the week going across the top of the page from left to right, and the dates the same way underneath, calendars here have the days of the week listed in a vertical column on the left, and the  dates listed accordingly in columns to the right.  So the first day  of the month is in the top left corner and the last day in the bottom right corner.

Finally, Andy wants to mention a story he read in a local newspaper, about a woman who's been working as a typist for the last forty years in a small building next to the courthouse.  She types 120 words per minute using one fngerr, and types legal forms that cannot be submitted in handwriting.  She charges 10 rupees (16 cents USD) per page.  Definitely an inspiration for Otis in the RPSupport chatroom!!


Some things we wish we had packed:

More handkerchiefs.  I threw in a few of my dad's old handkerchiefs at the last minute, not sure why, and now I know.  Kleenex and other tissues do not exist here, and Andy and I have been going through the paper napkins and toilet paper like there is no tomorrow.

More mosaic tools.  We have not been able to find the kind of wheeled glass nippers and tile nippers I use in my mosaic work.  I'lll make do with the three sets I brought, and Andy will give  Linda more sets to bring with her in February.


Things I sm glad I brought with me:


My LLBean Trail Comfort capris.  Now that I've taken off a few pounds and am wearing them, I love them.  They're light and cool  but still substantial enough for comfort in the early morning chill, hand wash like a dream and dry in a flash, and the zippered pockets are handy for eye drops, CI batteries, rubber bands, allen wrenches, sore throat lozenges  and whatever.

Masking tape.  It's been highly useful transforming small boxwa into little organizer containers for me here.  Andy and I used it to mark off the quadrants on the mosaic I made to test different grout formulas.  I also used it to seal my shampoo and other liquid bottles so they wouldn't leak during the flight, and I'm sure I'll find at least one other  use for it before I'm done here.

Which will be in about 7 more weeks after tomorrow.  Then I'll have a week to go home on, via Hong Kong and Msnila, with Linda.   I'm probably going to go to bed early and have a good cry when Andy leaves, but the next couple months are going to be busy and full and I will make the best of them.

In the meantime, the best of Christmas blessings and joy to everyone.

Mathru School for the Differently-Abled 
Monday 12/23/2013

Andy writes:

Only 2 days before I head back. Time has passed quickly even though things appear to move slowly here.  

While others often describe India as being so poor, it needs to be taken in context of what they have here rather than what they don’t have.  So far here, we haven't seen what’s described in the US as “homelessness,” and  few if any street beggars. Granted, many homes here would be considered  uninhabitable in the US because of the high housing standards.  On the other hand,  people here are generally happy and friendly.  There does not appear to be much violent crime, and drug problems seem almost nonexistent.  Pickpocketing is more common here, though, and we were advised to  use credit cards only at the airport or 5 star hotels, because of the prevalence of identity theft elsewhere.A better way to describe India would be that it is very basic, possibly primitive compared to Western standards, in many ways of life.  The infrastructure is the most obvious.   Running water is not pressurized burt is propelled by gravity from large black water tanks  on rooftops everywhere. Hot water is often supplied by a small electric water heater that is switched on as needed in a bath, or water is boiled  in a large pot over a cooktop that is heated using liquid propane gas (there is no piped gas either). Electricity is normally backed up with battery storage to provide uninterrupted service when the power goes down, as it often does. Sometimes our bedroom power goes off while the battery powers up the rest of the suite, and then when the power comes back on we get lights in the bedroom again.    

Sewage is handled, well, we don’treally want to know. We’re not even sure there are septic tanks here.


Clothes dryers don't  seem to exist here .but they do have washing machines  Laundry  is hung out to dry on  on lines above the flat roofs. 


No microwaves, either. and ovens are rare -- so much for baking.  We were told that until recently, the small refrigerators found in most homes today did not exist either. When they are used, it isn’t for long-term storage.  Food is rarely kept longer than two days, as it’s not considered healthy  to keep it longer.  So most everything is made fresh,

Restaurant “doggie bags” are unheard of.  We have yet to find ice anywhere, and the cold drinks we have had are real treats.  You can get cold  nut or fruit shakes from a local stand or restaurant.  

Most adultss, but not teens or kids, seem to own cell phone (no smart ones yet) – which  Srini told us,  have revolutionized the country far more than almost anything else including the internet, which is mostly used at businesses. This is because cell phones  aren’t simply replacing and expanding land lines, which are still mostly non-existent here, but have in one big jump introduced Indians to instant long-range communication..
So far we haven't seen people go hungry here.   The predominant diet is vegetarian.  We don't know why but we’ve yet to be served fresh fruit at Mathru with our meals  although we have been given fresh fruit to keep in oursuite.   We wonder about this, because fruit is cheap and prevalent at roadside stands.  The stands are a godsend for me and my to feed my fruit addiction.  I've been going out almost everyday to get my 15 rupee (25 cents US)) small pineapples or 60 rupee large ones, or to get Mary’s favorite papaya. The 1 rupee (6 cent) Ladyfinger bananas are far better than any bananas we can get at home and seem to keep for days on the shelf without getting over-ripe or drawing fruit flies. I'm surprised not to find many of the more exotic fruits we saw in Singapore. Other than Chickoo, which looks a little like a large kiwi, has black seeds and tastes a little like pear, we  mostly see oranges (not very good), apples, seeded grapes, pomegranates, watermelon and coconuts – which are typically sold with the top whacked off with a machete and a straw inserted to drink the milk.  Fruit is sold by the kilo and is weighed on an old style balance scale using lead weights. Some stands sell sugar canes that can be run through a manually operated grinder. The stands and most other businesses often are not open before 9 am  or later, as in  Singapore.
Cars are mostly small and typically Asian or Indian (Tata) make with an occasional Fiat or American make. (Luxury ones probably exist in the richer areas but we never saw any on the highway.) Those who can’t afford a basic  car(which start at $5000) or one like our 4 seat taxi (which costs about $10,000), usually own a motorcycle (no Harleys) or scooter. Others usually use an autoricksha (those open 3 wheeled taxis) or the bus, which is 25 cents to get most anywhere. The autorickshas are powered by compressed liquid natural gas, probably to keep down smog.

Many of the women who ride with their husband/boyfriend on the motorbikes will sit behind sideways, often with their small child between them, which looks downright scary – especially on the expressway.

A new 20 mile elevated flyover (no exits) is being built between the city center and the international airport just north of here that is expected to open soon and relieve traffic on the crowded highway.  It will be a toll road of  4 rupees (7 cents). Land values in the area have skyrocketed in the [ast few years, from about 50 cents/sq ft to about $3/sq ft.
We went shopping Sunday with Muktha to a small mall to get some things we’ve been patiently waiting for. Mary got two sets of fabrics to have made into outfits for her,  because it is difficult to find the right size and shops rarely have fitting rooms. Some of the women at the school sew or know someone who does so it probably will cost the same in the end and certainly will be a better fit. Muktha did the traditional price negotiating so we wouldn’t get the tourist fleecing. We thought ticket prices were reasonable. I bought a couple nice cotton shirts for $4 each and we each got a couple pairs of sandals.  When we looked at some of the local craftwork, all of which is so intricate and colorful, it was hard for me to watch Muktha do the hard negotiating because it almost seemed like the artists were desperately defending themselves for their livelihoods.  Some stores have “fixed price” signs posted , yet we found that if you are buying more than one you often can ask for and get a discount.  All the shopping seemed to have drained Mary and once we got home, she crashed for most of the day and felt worse today.  So bad so that she had to cancel doing any more classes and slept through most of today, eating little.  


Next:  hopefully Mary will be up for posting.

Mathru School for the Differently-Abled 
Bangalore, India
Saturday 12/21/2013

Today was my first official teaching day, two classes of three students each, one from 9-11 a.m., the next from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Then from 3-5:30 I worked with some of the teachers.  They are really catching on and I am confident they'll be able to keep on teaching mosaics after I leave.

Of the six students, only one was old enough and strong enough to handle the tools.  He was 13.  The rest were aged 7 to 9.  As soon as I realized how young the students were I changed my lesson plan, and the first thing I did was show them the tile nippers and then have each one try to break a piece of tile.  They all could.  but only the oldest could do it one-handed and with any control.  The others strained two-handed to break their pieces.  So, the teachers and I broke up tiles for them.

I also decided to make the mirrors an advanced project.  For their first project I gave them a blank board and let them play with the tiles, to get them used to handling the broken pieces of tile and the adhesive.   I felt like I was scrambling at first when I changed my strategy st the last minute, but I was delightedly surprised and impressed with how well even the youngest handled the small pieces of tile and adhesive. 

Their designs were good, too.  The littlest one, who looked  to me like he was about 4 years old instead of 7, made a perfect red heart and an absolutely excellent dragonfly on his board.  When I showed the kids how I make little round pieces and leaf shapes, they caught on fast and put in orders for light and dark green leaf shapes, and all colors of round shapes.  

I am thinking that when these first projects are all done, we can make a mosaic mural of them  to mount on one of the walls here. 

Anyway, the kids had fun, the teachers were happy, and I am relieved it all went so well after all, even though I had to change my teaching plan on a dime.  I wish now that I had smaller boards to work with for the first projects, but the 12x12s will do for now.  I'll be here for eight more weeks, and I'll be seeing each class three times a week, so we'll get a lot done.

To get ready for today, I spent the previous two days making two mirror mosaics and another very simple basic piece to get used to the adhesive and experiment with the grout.  Andy sifted and washed the sand, and it looks like our best grout formula is one part sand to one part grout.  I want to try another sample using one part sand to two parts grout, because that one seemed to feel most like the texture I use at home.

Tonight I'm taking a break from mosaics and going to bed early.  I am today with my sore throat, congested cough and achey feeling where Andy was a couple days ago, and I'm wiped out.  I worry that I'm passing this on to everyone around here, but they don't seem to be the least bit concerned.  Andy says today he's feeling like he's on the mend, and I sure hope so because I don't like thought of him making that long flight home in four more days  with a bad head cold.  As it is we're both drinking lots of tea, and trying to get more sleep.

There's lots more I could write, of course, but it will have to wait until the next post.  Goodnight for now.