Sunday, June 7, 2009
Death Defying Delhi (By Justyna)
Well, what can I say about today, especially following our very eventful first day and flight! Neither of us slept particularly well at the hotel Vivek - the heat is stifling and incredibly uncomfortable and even though our room has AC of sorts, it is very third world. But we wanted to make the most of our day here, so got up and went out at about 7AM. Triston needed a haircut so we decided to kill two birds and had breakfast next to a barber shop. Breakfast was great - chapatis with cauliflower and potato on the street, and as I sat and watched Triston being pummelled by the hairdressers, who with each new 'treatment' seemed to be raking in the cash (price of original haircut 50 rupees, price of haircut, blackhead removing face mask, rose water treatment, massage, creaming - 450 rupees - but how can you say no?!) We had decided to see Humayun's tomb which is the predecessor to the Taj Mahal and had to take a Tuk-Tuk there. Our driver pretty much as soon as we got in, started to tell us what we ought to see and that he would show us the 'creme de la creme' of Delhi. Politely we were able to decline everything bar from his insistence on taking us the the most prominent Sikh temple en route. We felt a bit weird, like VIP's but slightly out of place as we were taken by our guide through all the rituals in this beautiful, white marble building. No tourists ever go there but actually it was pretty cool - best of which was the visit to the voluntary kitchen which feeds about 20'000 people per day for free. I even got to roll a couple of chapatis with the locals. Following this diversion, the tomb was stunning, well worth the trip and it will be interesting comparing it to the Taj in afew weeks time. From here we took another death defying drive by Tuk-tuk to Chadni Chowk - the main bazaar area of Delhi, and having navigated 1000's of stalls, people, beggars, dogs in the intense 45 degree heat, we were both losing our cool. Thankfully our efforts were yet again rewarded by stumbling at the 11hour (prior to my biting off someone's, probably Triston's, head) upon a really lovely restauarant which had a very good punjabi menu. The frozen daiquiri and gin and tonic worked a treat as well, and even though on the way home we were witness to our 7th prodding beggar, a naked man with balls the size of a football, yet another impertinent indian man who somehow bumped into my breast, and a bag full of skinned rats, we got back to the hotel full of joie de vivre, though very very tired and in need of some calm. Delhi is mad: certainly the most manic, smelly, dodgy, weird city I have ever been to and I won't lie to say I am really looking forward to flying out to nepal tomorrow to a much more cool and calm environment. But it has been a huge adventure and I am truly blessed with the most perfect travelling companion, who is my protector when i need protection and my sense of humour, when i have none.
Air India and Paharganj (By Triston)
I haven't blogged for a few weeks. Blogging started feeling a bit too solipsistic and I got really busy with the end of the school year. The guys turned in all their Witness to War interviews and final papers and now I find myself on vacation with nothing to do but enjoy! Teaching does have its perks!
Justyna and I were worried about "Air India" being our carrier to Delhi, as my past experience with Indian airlines has been a bit crazy (see previous blog from 4 years back: ). But once on board, the free beers and tasty indian food gave us the impression that we were in good hands.....that is....until we went to the bathroom. Unlike most airplane toilets, Air India's were on a separate floor, you had to go down the stairs. Also, unlike any other airline, there was a constant line of at least 6-7 people at any given time on the 8-hour flight. But the kicker was not the structure of the bathrooms, it was the human excrement that was within (and without) them. Granted, I only went down there twice, but each time I did, the stalls that weren't overflowing with waste (which formed a thin layer on the floor outside the 6bathrooms) were covered in urine. Believe it or not, this was tolerable. I have been to some shady places and done my business in some derelict locations. What wasn't tolerable was what I saw the second time I went down into the pit. Justyna had just finished and had tip-toed up the stairs on the few remaining dry patches of floor outside the stalls. I came out and saw three piles of human feces just sitting there in the hall outside the bathroom! Someone one (or three someones?) had squatted right there and gone to the bathroom right outside the very place where it was supposed to be done! It was at that point that I knew our adventure to Nepal via India had truly begun.
Paharganj
There were many students of our on our flight. Actually, at times it seemed that the entire Indian community of St. Mary's was on our flight. It was funny because every time we told them where we were staying in Delhi, they gave us the same reaction. First disbelief, then concerned silence, and then a grave statement: "Take care....Please...Take Care...." J and I weren't sure what this meant, but after braving the blasting afternoon heat in our taxi from the airport, we knew why they had reacted this way. Paharganj makes Gary look like a philanthropist convention. Dogs, cows, lepers, human waste, potholes the size of a small car, every single person grabbing at you to try and get your business, a donation, your wallet, etc..... It was crazy! And the whole time we were walking towards our hotel, we were trying to dodge the constant insane traffic of the bicycle rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, mopeds, and cows. Strangely, though, we like our temporary neighborhood and are glad we chose this place. The incredible vividness of the colors, sounds, smells of the place make you feel very alive.
After taking our stuff up to the room, Justyna and I went out on the town to look at some sitars and get a bite to eat. Sitars are hard to judge when you can't play them. The last time I was in India, I thought I was getting a good deal on a wooden drum, but the drum disintegrated when I took it back to the States, it was made out of cardboard painted like wood. The sitars were the same. They all look the same and I'm not quite sure what they should sound like. After leaving the sitar shop empty handed, we grabbed some roti and various curries. At first it was tough trying to figure out to what extent you were allowed to use your left hand to tear the bread and spoon the curry, but it ended up working out and being quite delicious too.
There were some shady moments of course. There were a few allies where there seemed-all of a sudden- to no longer be any women around. Not sure why, but in these allies, the dudes were more aggressive in every way and would bump into J's boobs as so many times that it was obvious that it was an intentional "cop-a-feel" move. We left that alley pretty quick, as it was getting narrower and there were shadier and shadier characters appearing. After dodging some sacred cows and stopping to see a few fabric stalls, we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. Lets just say that after last night, temperature and discomfort for us are relative concepts. Now, a lukewarm shower feels like an ice-cold Andean waterfall and a kick in the pants feels like a nice, cool butt-massage. Outside the temperature feels like you are a human bun in an angry oven. In our room it felt like some nice person tossed us buns a few ice cubes just before turning on the oven. We survived though, although today I feel I have sun-stroke. (Pictures to come)
Justyna and I were worried about "Air India" being our carrier to Delhi, as my past experience with Indian airlines has been a bit crazy (see previous blog from 4 years back: ). But once on board, the free beers and tasty indian food gave us the impression that we were in good hands.....that is....until we went to the bathroom. Unlike most airplane toilets, Air India's were on a separate floor, you had to go down the stairs. Also, unlike any other airline, there was a constant line of at least 6-7 people at any given time on the 8-hour flight. But the kicker was not the structure of the bathrooms, it was the human excrement that was within (and without) them. Granted, I only went down there twice, but each time I did, the stalls that weren't overflowing with waste (which formed a thin layer on the floor outside the 6bathrooms) were covered in urine. Believe it or not, this was tolerable. I have been to some shady places and done my business in some derelict locations. What wasn't tolerable was what I saw the second time I went down into the pit. Justyna had just finished and had tip-toed up the stairs on the few remaining dry patches of floor outside the stalls. I came out and saw three piles of human feces just sitting there in the hall outside the bathroom! Someone one (or three someones?) had squatted right there and gone to the bathroom right outside the very place where it was supposed to be done! It was at that point that I knew our adventure to Nepal via India had truly begun.
Paharganj
There were many students of our on our flight. Actually, at times it seemed that the entire Indian community of St. Mary's was on our flight. It was funny because every time we told them where we were staying in Delhi, they gave us the same reaction. First disbelief, then concerned silence, and then a grave statement: "Take care....Please...Take Care...." J and I weren't sure what this meant, but after braving the blasting afternoon heat in our taxi from the airport, we knew why they had reacted this way. Paharganj makes Gary look like a philanthropist convention. Dogs, cows, lepers, human waste, potholes the size of a small car, every single person grabbing at you to try and get your business, a donation, your wallet, etc..... It was crazy! And the whole time we were walking towards our hotel, we were trying to dodge the constant insane traffic of the bicycle rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, mopeds, and cows. Strangely, though, we like our temporary neighborhood and are glad we chose this place. The incredible vividness of the colors, sounds, smells of the place make you feel very alive.
After taking our stuff up to the room, Justyna and I went out on the town to look at some sitars and get a bite to eat. Sitars are hard to judge when you can't play them. The last time I was in India, I thought I was getting a good deal on a wooden drum, but the drum disintegrated when I took it back to the States, it was made out of cardboard painted like wood. The sitars were the same. They all look the same and I'm not quite sure what they should sound like. After leaving the sitar shop empty handed, we grabbed some roti and various curries. At first it was tough trying to figure out to what extent you were allowed to use your left hand to tear the bread and spoon the curry, but it ended up working out and being quite delicious too.
There were some shady moments of course. There were a few allies where there seemed-all of a sudden- to no longer be any women around. Not sure why, but in these allies, the dudes were more aggressive in every way and would bump into J's boobs as so many times that it was obvious that it was an intentional "cop-a-feel" move. We left that alley pretty quick, as it was getting narrower and there were shadier and shadier characters appearing. After dodging some sacred cows and stopping to see a few fabric stalls, we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. Lets just say that after last night, temperature and discomfort for us are relative concepts. Now, a lukewarm shower feels like an ice-cold Andean waterfall and a kick in the pants feels like a nice, cool butt-massage. Outside the temperature feels like you are a human bun in an angry oven. In our room it felt like some nice person tossed us buns a few ice cubes just before turning on the oven. We survived though, although today I feel I have sun-stroke. (Pictures to come)
Monday, April 27, 2009
The New Apartment
We have made the big move. We said goodbye to Futako Tamagawa and hello to Futako Shinchi. It was only a ten minute walk across the Tama River but things are very different in our new hood, all in a good way of course. One of the first things we noticed when we moved in was that there are many kinds of vending machines in Kawasaki that they don't have on the other side fo the river in Tokyo. The most popular vending machine in our neighborhood is the fresh egg machine. Every time we head to the station we see at least one or two people getting fresh eggs out of it. Local farmers keep it well-stocked and the fact that they are so fresh means that no refrigeration is required. We cooked some of them up the other day and we very impressed. The other type of vending machine on the Kawasaki side of the river is the beer machine. These used to be ubiquitous on the Tokyo side but naughty gaijin teens (guilty as charged) took advantage of this and soon the authorities got rid of them. The Kawasaki side did not get rid of theirs although they are a bit more complicated than the ones I remember. The machine takes a picture of you (can it tell how old you are that way? still not sure...) and then asks you to put your driver's license into a slot. At first I thought this might be so that they can compare you picture on the license with the picture it just took of you, but I was able to buy an ice-cold asahi with J's license even though the machine took a picture of my face and not her's!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
River BBQ
The baseball season is heating up. In fact, today I got hit in the mouth whilst I was pitching to a kid in the cage. I was stunned at first and brushed it off quite easily but it actually caused a pretty fat lip. Anyways, for all of the above reasons, I can't be bothered to write a blog entry right now. So tonight I will take the extreme low road in the blogosphere and mooch off of the not-so-lazily constructed blog of my friend Rachel White. Her and her husband Brad live across the river from us, (the river featured in the picture above and pictures you will soon see) and they actually live quite close to the house we are moving in to (which is also across the river).
http://tokyoterrace.blogspot.com/2009/04/bloody-marys-deviled-eggs-and-little.html
*A note to confused relatives: Enjoy this site by highlighting the text of the webpage above, copying it, and then pasting it in your browser window.
Friday, April 10, 2009
New School Sakura
Last week was our first week in the new school. It is pristinely white and has lots of windows. It will be sad to see the old school go but this new building is very inspiring, kind of like a blank canvass full of possibilities. The administration couldn't have timed the move any better because the sakura were in bloom at the exact time of the move. I was jogging home from baseball practise later on in the week and I stumbled upon a pink river. The sakura blossoms down stream had started to fall into the river and by the time they reached our neighborhood they had become so concentrated that the river was pink! Now there are pink petals in all the gutters on the way to school. Very surreal.
Monday, March 30, 2009
In Search of Rafflesia...and other adventures
Malaysia was a true adventure. J and I really had the best of both worlds there. Gorgeous hotels and great food on one hand and some great experiences with the local people and wilderness on the other. Here are some of the highlights:
We inadvertently caught the bloody tail end of a cock fight on our way through the slums of Sandakan...Only one bird left the ring.....
searched fantastic mountains and valleys for the world's biggest/smelliest flower: (rafflesia)....It uses flies as pollinators so I guess it has to smell funky or it wouldn't be able to breed....
tasted "the hottest" flavor ever in the spicy papaya snack we bought from a street vendor (honestly this mixture of fresh papaya, soy sauce, hot pepper and fish flakes was the hottest thing either of us had ever experienced!)...
Snorkeled on a great beach, although the Chinese people who stood on the coral were really getting on our nerves! I mean, it is pretty obvious that the thing will die if you stand on its food-gathering apparatus guys! If you are reading this blog, 10,000 shames on you!
saw an orangutan in the wild. We had expected many more! At first we thought it was a small child in a suit, but when Justyna smelled it's rafflesia-esque musk she knew it was fo' real!
...and walked through some fabulous rain forest canopies!
The conference was also great. I met up with some history teachers who are compiling their students' interviews with people (mostly grandparents) who had experienced WWII. Most of the teachers I met taught in countries whose children were decendents of WWII victims, so I think that my students (having many Japanese and half-Japanese kids) could contribute to the other side of this compilation, namely the Japanese agressors. First I have to get to WWII in my syllabus, but once I do, I plan to have my kids contribute as their final project. It could be tricky, as many Japanese veterans don't want to "lose face" by admitting their actions, but I think that the reality of the "history" in the students lives could really make the whole concept of history seem much more practicle and real to them. The project also tries to get Universities interested in putting the oral histories we will create in their archives so that could be a real experience as well!
Overall it was wonderful to have a break and the time away really made us appreciate the life we have back in Japan.
We inadvertently caught the bloody tail end of a cock fight on our way through the slums of Sandakan...Only one bird left the ring.....
searched fantastic mountains and valleys for the world's biggest/smelliest flower: (rafflesia)....It uses flies as pollinators so I guess it has to smell funky or it wouldn't be able to breed....
tasted "the hottest" flavor ever in the spicy papaya snack we bought from a street vendor (honestly this mixture of fresh papaya, soy sauce, hot pepper and fish flakes was the hottest thing either of us had ever experienced!)...
Snorkeled on a great beach, although the Chinese people who stood on the coral were really getting on our nerves! I mean, it is pretty obvious that the thing will die if you stand on its food-gathering apparatus guys! If you are reading this blog, 10,000 shames on you!
saw an orangutan in the wild. We had expected many more! At first we thought it was a small child in a suit, but when Justyna smelled it's rafflesia-esque musk she knew it was fo' real!
...and walked through some fabulous rain forest canopies!
The conference was also great. I met up with some history teachers who are compiling their students' interviews with people (mostly grandparents) who had experienced WWII. Most of the teachers I met taught in countries whose children were decendents of WWII victims, so I think that my students (having many Japanese and half-Japanese kids) could contribute to the other side of this compilation, namely the Japanese agressors. First I have to get to WWII in my syllabus, but once I do, I plan to have my kids contribute as their final project. It could be tricky, as many Japanese veterans don't want to "lose face" by admitting their actions, but I think that the reality of the "history" in the students lives could really make the whole concept of history seem much more practicle and real to them. The project also tries to get Universities interested in putting the oral histories we will create in their archives so that could be a real experience as well!
Overall it was wonderful to have a break and the time away really made us appreciate the life we have back in Japan.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
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