I suppose the first day of the week - whether it is Monday or Sunday - is not too different wherever you go.
Having arrived in India late Saturday night to teach a class on Monday I had to come into the office on Sunday to prepare, as did a local vendor. I did not ask him if he was happy to be working on what is normally a day off.
To look out of the window at the Microsoft office in Mumbai is to see a construction zone in preparation right next door - possibly Windsor Building Two, or else just a new complex. They are digging the foundation and all you can really see is a hole right now, but one roughly the size and depth of a building foundation.
On the opposite side of the construction zone there are two huge lots - I suppose that one day there will be buildings there too but for now I counted six cricket matches being played on these lots. I have often made a half-hearted effort to understand cricket, but these youngsters (and many not so young) obviously had a clear grasp of it. In Canada they would likely have been playing baseball or football or soccer or hockey; in India and indeed everywhere I have been on this trip cricket is the rage.
I made note of it yesterday and was curious to see what that same lot would look like today. Indeed there is no cricket being played; the construction crews are hard at work as they were yesterday, but I assume the youngsters are at school, the others at work. This is all speculation, it is of course possible that they are all at a movie.
One other difference I noticed - yesterday there were a number of people walking what appeared to be their goats along the periphery of the field. Now that is something you don't see every day!
I have noticed several stray dogs since arriving. A number of them sat under cars to take shelter from the hot sun as I left the office yesterday - it was still above 30C at 5pm. I will not make the effort to get to know any of these because as much as I love dogs I have to remember that these dogs are wild animals, and probably unfamiliar with human kindness.
My class is going well, or seems to be... Until recently I was relatively confident that when I felt the class was going well then so did the students, but that was shattered. I feel good about the class, have good interaction with the group, and hope that when they fill out their evaluation forms they demonstrate that I was once again right.
Lunch was a traditional Indian lunch... I think. Whereas yesterday there were three of us and we ordered a pizza, today there are nearly forty of us and a more local flavour was picked... It wasn't bad whatever it was... but aside from the rice I could not really identify anything. There was no curry and although it was a bit spicy it was nothing that I couldn't handle. Now it's time to go back to work, and pray that I have not been deceived by the spices!
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I am now certain that my class is going well... I am in a groove, I am answering their questions completely and honestly and hopefully to their satisfaction; I have them laughing, participating, and it feels great! As stated above I hope the Evals bear this feeling out.
The only thing that does not feel good right now is lunch. Oh dear, my stomach is reminding me 'Hey Mitch, remember you don't like Indian food?' I am sure it will pass... by next Thursday I am sure my insides will be back to normal if not sooner.
I am on the fence about the evenings... I have three left, tonight and tomorrow when I will go back to the hotel, and Wednesday when I will sleep until it is time to go to the airport. I am tempted to ask my driver to take me to see a bit of the city, but I am sure that my good sense will get the better of me. Aside from it being a very depressing city - all of the beautiful landscapes and architecture are marred by the homeless who are everywhere, I am also trying to minimize the time I spend on or near the roads here. I am beginning to think that the local equivalent to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) in India administers a sanity test to all candidates, and if you pass that you are denied your driver's permit.
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So the day ended and I am back in my hotel... I am confident that the class is going well because the attendee feedback has been positive. We shall see. I don't want to influence my evals so I will set this article to publish after the course is done... Sorry for making you wait!
I suppose I did not learn my lesson from lunch... and am going to have Indian food for dinner... I cannot be here and eat Chinese food... it just would not be me. I'll let you know!