Day 3- Happy Women's Day

Today was national women's day in India. To all of you women, happy day.

I went with Dwarakimama and Ratna Aunty to school in the morning. When we arrived, the 1st - 5th graders were outside on the ground (dirt) in rows. They were doing breathing exercises. 'Breathe in class', 'Breathe out class', 'Breathe in and hold class', etc. When they opened their eyes and saw me, about a foot taller than anyone else they had ever seen and whiter than anyone they had ever seen, they couldn't help but stare. To avoid any distraction, Dwarakimama led me to the front and we sat down. A song was sung by one of the teacher in Kannada which was very good. I was tempted to get out my camera and take a video but figured I would probably be seen by one of the two-hundred kids looking at me. Dwarakimama then presented me to the school and built me up way more than I deserve talking about my education and future education. He then promised them that I would return to teach them to play tennis because I am an 'excellent tennis player'. I am glad he has confidence in me. I will really enjoy it though. The 'pledge of allegiance' was then said after 'Class rise!' 'Class at ease!' 'Class at attention!'. All of the kids stood with their heels together, toes apart, hands behind their head and looked straight forward.

Ratna Aunty and I then returned home to pick up Suhasani to go to the train station to purchase my INDRAIL pass. Lakshmipati, the driver, did an exceptional job. The road was very congested, ok congested doesn't do it justice. The road was a complete madhouse. I thought that Argentine driving was rough. I had found that the rule for driving in India is if you can get there first, do it. If you can fit, do it. Upon arriving at the train station, my 'mother' and 'sister' took care of me.
[When I decided to come to India, I was expecting it to be similar to my other travels, I go somewhere and then figure out what to do. I would be fending for myself and it would be quite an adventure. It has been pretty much the opposite. I like it though, it is refreshing. I really mean that everything is done for me, including serving food onto my plate. I am trying to learn how to allow others to serve me and the discomfort I feel when they do this is subsiding fairly rapidly.]
It took some time to figure out how to arrange the INDRAIL pass but with US Dollars and a Passport, I was able to get a 21 day pass to ride the trains as much as I want I get priority for seating (all of the trains I will be going on are already wait-listed. That is what you get for going to a country with 1.2BILLION people).

Upon arriving home, Suhasani began preparing us lunch (Aunty returned to school) and I took advantage to watch her cook and ask her a plethora of questions. Our 3 hour conversation (more a question and answering session) was filled with questions of India culture. I learned more about the Hindu religion and also about arranged marriages. Thank you Suhasani for your patience.

When Aprameya arrived home we lego-ed it up again and played ball. For something new, we went to the park a couple blocks down. While he played on the toys, the 6'4" wonder received some attention. It is quite comical really. I walked up with Aprameya to where other parents were watching their kids and he jumped on one of the toys with the other kids. Some parents looked at me and then turned away quickly while others just plain stared. The comedic event is what the kids do. There are usually 4 or so that group together and start talking about the huge white guy standing over there. They slowly move closer. Faster when I am watching the neighborhood kids play cricket on the field next to us. Soon, one of them gets the courage to ask me, "something something kannada something". My response, "No I don't speak Kannada" in slow English sparks more conversation. The others start moving closer as they see their comrade already interacting with the spectacle. One musters, "Inglisch?" During our touch and go conversation, one of them boldly walks to my side and moving his hand from the top of his head to my elbow takes a step away to the laughter of all the kids and parents watching. A line then forms and one by one, each kid measures themselves against the giant. By this time Aprameya is tired of sharing his show and tell so we return home. I don't think I will ever grow tired of this reaction by the kids, it is just so funny.
I am learning a lot about Indian culture. Some of it is very surprising to me. Akshay and family live in a nice home. In my experience, nice homes are grouped together. What surprised me was that just down the street, about 5 houses down is a group of families living in tents. They appear to have been there for some time. Upper class and lower class seem to interact with each other on a regular basis. I like that.

I already feel like a part of the family. This family has shown me so much love and accepts me as one of their own. They take care of me as one of theirs. It is different only because I have grown very accustomed to being independent that this inclusion feels somewhat foreign now. Don't worry Mom, I know that you love me and I appreciate the space you have given me to grow.

Due to traffic, it took us 1:15 to get the 8 kilometers to the train station. I wouldn't call it stop and go but rather go, squeeze, stop, repeat. When stopped, you really try and fit as many vehicles to the front as possible. This includes, compact cars, large buses, huge trucks, motorcycles and scooters, oxen pulled carts, and of course three-wheeled rickshaws. I got settled down on the train and had a nice conversation with the man that was to be sleeping on the bed below me. I climbed to my bed after our conversation arranged my sheets fell asleep rather quickly. I was woken several times from someone walking in the hallway and hitting my feet. They hung off the bed by about 8 inches.