I had always thought that because I loved India and felt 100% comfortable in the land of curry, that Shaun would too. What I had chosen to forget, was that the cultural shock of moving to Jaipur in 2006 had provoked a week of tears and lengthy phone-calls home whilst trying desperately to change my Australia-bound flights to an earlier date...
And so, four years later, whilst I donned my kurtas and chapels and congratulated myself on my cunning plan (so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a fox...), Shaun attempted to control India, it’s bureaucracy and even the curry. But the fact is, you can't be a control freak in India...things don’t always go to plan.
To re-phrase that...things NEVER go to plan. Take Monday for example. It was supposed to be the day that we moved into our new place and I started at my new job.
Instead, it was a Bundh.
A Bundh is a strike. Which means you take Bangalore, remove it of all it’s people, close all it’s shops and settle down for a day of rioting in the streets. Because Monday’s Bundh was Government Sponsored, any type of public transport, rickshaw or office that happened to be on the road/open for business was pelted with government sponsored stones (that’s right. Half the country is starving, but rest assured, all tax-payers rupees go toward a good cause: funding the stones thrown by rioters).
The result of the Bundh was a ghost city. Shaun and I went for a walk and were the only people on the street – we could cross a road without fear of death and even hold hands without disgruntled masses spitting in our general direction. Shaun declared he loved India after all – but only if there are no people (which kind of defeats the purpose: why have a school without students, or a shop without customers?).
Another thing that hasn't quite gone to plan is my work.
Originally, I was hired as a general teacher for primary school students. My fear of being caught in a situation without resources meant I had packed my bag with kilos and kilos of children’s books, pipe cleaners and flash cards (actually, all I packed for India was my judo suit and teaching resources...)
When my school’s principal arrived to pick me up on my first day of school, however, I realised I wasn’t quite in for what I’d expected.
So. Are you good at computers? she asked, after introducing herself. Not really. I replied But I can turn them off and on...
GREAT! she enthused, We have started a new program in conjunction with HP, where we bring students in to learn life skills, computers and English. We’ve installed you as program manager.
Interview over.
And so, instead of in a classroom, I found myself in a corporate office, discussing mission statements, yearly goals, curriculum structure and resources required to equip a couple of hundred children with the sorts of skills our kids take for granted. Not exactly a situation made for pipe cleaners, Possum Magic or my judosuit.
Thankfully that’s just my weekend job. During the week I am still the regular teacher I signed up to be (not that “regular” really describes the situation...but that is a whole other post.)
Rest assured, even though we haven’t quite moved in, Shaun has had a chance to have his two minute noodles. After the 200rs umbrella, the second best investment of our married life is a kettle. It means Shaun can have 2 minute noodles EVERY night and I can drink as much chai as I please...Now that’s what I call marital bliss.
[this is good] Love it. Love you both.
Posted by: zahraiandco | 07/27/2010 at 06:44 AM