Mussoorie has some of the funniest and most interesting signs in English we have ever seen. Here are some photos we took last time we had our camera in the buzzar, you’ll have to click and enlarge the photos to read them.
This Guy is halarious.
Click Here to See Larger Image
We see really weird things on the roads of India - especially on motor bikes. It is not un-common to see families of five people on one motorbike traveling across town. One kid on the gas tank, the dad driving, a kid wedged between dad and mom, mom on the back and an infant in her arms. No helmets, no break lights or blinkers, and cruising through the most dangerous traffic on earth. We have gotten used to it. But this guy in the photo, we had to stop and take a shot. I call him the mobile animal guy.
See Photos of High School Girls Dorm
Hey, Rachel here! Many of you have asked us what it is exactly that we do as dorm parents. So I thought a blog about what a typical day is like for us might give you all a better idea.
Adam works in the high school boy�s dorm called �Hostel� and I work in the high school girls dorm called �Midlands�. The dorms are only about a five minute walk away from each other. We also work every Monday at the ninth grade boy�s dorm called Community Center. This is a small dorm of about thirty boys that normally has another married american couple as Dorm Parents. They get every Monday off, so Adam and I come up and fill in for them. It is a nice change from working in the bigger dorms of a hundred and fifty kids! It also gives us a chance to work together which is nice.
One great thing about the scheduling here is although Adam and I work in different dorms (except on Monday�s) our schedules are the same. So we have the same work hours and get our free time off together!
About three times a week we have what is called, �Morning duty�. This duty starts at 7:00 a.m. and ends around 8:30 a.m.
Morning duty is probably the easiest time to work because the kids are busy getting ready for school. In the girls dorm I have to monitor their dress, making sure none of the girls are sneaking out with short skirts or tops. They are so tricky! You really have to watch them, a lot of the girls will pull their skirts down as they walk by you and then once they get to school they roll it up at the waist so it�s half the length it was!
The most challenging part about morning duty is getting the kids out of the dorm on time. There are always a couple students who are late getting out no matter how much you threaten them. This means they miss breakfast and have to run up the hill to school so they aren�t late. Which I cannot imagine doing, I think I would pass out!
Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings we have to do room checks. Making sure their rooms are clean, neat and smelling nice! After the students leave, at 8:00 a.m. and room checks are completed, the dorm is locked up for the day.
After morning duty is over, Adam and I have until 4:00 p.m. to do whatever we want. We usually hang around our apartment until lunch time. Then go up to school for lunch. We check out how the lunch that day is looking�if it�s rice and daal, (a staple food of India) or wai-wai again (think Raman Noodles Indian style) we will opt to go out to eat.
We have a few favorite restaurants here; one is called �Kalsangs,� it is a yummy Tibetan restaurant where we usually order Wonton soup, steamed Cheese & Vegetable Mo-Mo�s (Mo-Mo�s are similar to our �potsickers�) and �Tingmo� which is a Tibetan bread. There menu is also good entertainment while you are waiting for your food. They have fun spelling mistakes like �spanish momo’s� instead of �spinach momo’s�.
We also go to a restaurant called �Four Seasons� which has great garlic Naan (delicious tandoor cooked bread), Chowmien, spring rolls and Sweet Lassi�s (my personal favorite, kind of like a sweet yogurt drink). Four Seasons also plays Kenny G. Christmas music all the time, which is funny to listen to and oddly soothing even off season.
After lunch we almost always go for a ride on our motor bike. The scenery is beautiful and it�s nice to get away and explore. We usually just pick a rode and start driving to see where it will lead. I love driving into the mountains away from the bazaar. Within an hour you feel like you�re in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mountains. There�s not much traffic on the roads either, mostly cows, monkeys and donkeys or the occasional goat herd (See Photo of Roadside Monkeys). There are small villages, mostly farming communities spread out in the valleys. They all stop their work to stare as you drive by, and the children all yell hello and wave frantically at you. Now we know what celebrities must feel like.
After our daily drive we usually loop back through the bazaar, and purchase anything we need. Last week I carried groceries in my backpack and a fish tank with all the supplies for it in my arms. You would be amazed at what I�ve carried on that motor bike! Pillows, mops, umbrellas, bags of live fish, eggs; however one egg did end up breaking. Adam always turns around and laughs at me, I look ridiculous. After getting back from the bazaar we usually have an hour to relax before �Evening Duty�.
Evening Duty starts at 4:00 p.m. and ends around 11:00 p.m. for me and 11:45 p.m. for Adam. Usually the first hour on duty is slow, since the kids are just getting back from school. But by 6:15 they all have to be back from school and in the dorm for �Check In�. During this time we take roll call and making sure every student is accounted for and then make any announcements. After this it is off to the dining hall for supper. I really like supper time because you get to sit and relax with the students and ask them how their day has been. After dinner the students have �free time� until 7:30, they usually spend this time cooking in the kitchen if they don�t like what�s for supper, socializing with friends or spending time with their boy/girl friends. During this time we will often play basketball, bat mitten or soccer with the students or just hang out in there rooms and talk.
At 7:30 they all have to be back in the dorm for study hall, which lasts until 9:00. They have to be quietly studying and doing their homework.
One night during study hall I was walking around the dorm making sure everyone was studying when a rat ran down the stairs in front of me. Another dorm parent had seen the rat a few nights ago and traps had been set, but to no avail. The rat had run into a corner and was hiding there. So I grabbed a nearby bucket and moved towards it trying to capture the rat. Luckily it ran onto a balcony in the dorm, so I quickly closed the doors to the balcony and it was trapped! Now all I had to do was catch it. Easier said than done! The problem was study hall was going on, so the whole dorm was dead quiet and the area where the rat was trapped was in plain view of about thirty students diligently studying away.
I tried to quietly chase the rat around in an attempt to capture it. This however, got the attention of about ten girls who all just sat there quietly watching me run around in circles with a bucket chasing a rat. Finally I cornered the rat, and his little beady eyes met mine. I knew his time was over, but as I started to lower the bucket, the rat jumped over the balcony and onto a small light fixture on the wall. I was stunned, the rat had foiled me. If I tried to catch him now he would probably jump to his death below, right where the students where studying. It was time to call in reinforcements. I rounded up some of my fellow dorm parents and we devised a plan. Two would go below the balcony, one holding up a large trash can and the other would be armed with the lid. Another dorm parent and I would be at top armed with brooms and push the rat into the trash can. This worked pretty well, yet the rat held on to the light fixture with amazing agility. Eventually he lost his balance and dropped to the trash can. But as he fell he grabbed on to the side of the trash can and pulled himself up onto the edge. Many of the girls let out a gasp at this point as we all waited for him to jump off. But Jessica, the dorm parent holding the trash can gave it a good shake and into the bucket our fuzzy friend dropped. He was then placed outside to wait until morning for our janitors to dispose of him.
Anyway, back to our daily schedule. After study hall they have free time again until 9:30, then the dorm is locked up for the night and roll is taken again to make sure they are all accounted for. Their bedtime depends on which grade they are in. But I work specifically with ninth & tenth grade who go to bed at 10:00 on a school night. Bedtime is my favorite time of evening duty, because you get to go around to each room and turn their lights off. Many of them ask for a story, or to say something �nice� to them before bed. Even though it takes a long time to go around to each room, they all leave their light on waiting for you to come and say goodnight. After putting them to bed, we stay an hour in the dorm to make sure they aren�t throwing any midnight parties, then we lock up and head home.
This is a very typical day in the lives of Adam and Rachel. In our schedule we get two day�s off a week and one weekend off a month. Working on the weekend is a little more tiring because often you have to work from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. We are really enjoying working here and getting to know the students. Hope this helps you understand what we are doing better!
- Rachel
We decided it was time to get out the old Dig. Camera and take some local snap shots from the motorbike and also of our home. Our town is called “Musoorie” and the place where we go to buy food and groceries is called the “Buzzar” or “Bazar” if you prefer. So here are a few photos for your viewing pleasure. Just click on the photo to see a larger view, although I have significantly resized the photos to load faster, you can still enlarge them a few times if you want to get detail.
Here is the Photo Link: Around Town and Home
Or see them in a: SlideShow Not Recommended for Dial-Up
Aw, Yes. The first of many blogs to come.
I thought if I am going to blog for the first time after being so lazy and waiting so long, then I might as well make it useful. So for the sake of our family, friends and supporters here is our summer traveling schedule:
June 11th - Arrive Indiana after officially leaving Minnesota
June 15th - Travel to Michigan to visit family.
June 17th - Leave Indiana for Maine
June 19th - Arrive Maine
June 25th - Leave Maine
June 26th - Arrive North Carolina
June 29th - Travel to Myrtle Beach, SC
July 3rd - Arrive back in NC
July 7th - Leave NC for India
July 9th - Arrive in Delhi India
July 10th - Arrive in Mussoorie India (Our new Home)
As always, I’m sure a few dates may change as we travel. Rachel wants to stop and see Washington DC on our way to NC so this may cause us to either leave early or arrive later than planned.
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