Holy Matrimony and Pharmaceutical Drugs

~Indian Wedding

Our driver's son is getting married and today we were given an invitation to attend the wedding on September 16. I don't know who was more excited. Was it us for receiving an invite or was it George, our driver, for accepting his offering? Either way it will be an experience.

~Pharmacy

The pharmacies here are all over the place and the medication is extremely cheap. Since there doesn't seem to be a need for prescriptions we have been self-diagnosing. The spoken language is a bit of a barrior so I write the name of the medication on a piece of paper.....show it to the chemist and wait my turn in line!

Ta Ta Indica

My new car was delivered to the school on Tuesday and the timing couldn't have been better because the monsoon rain was coming down. It was one of the easiest (and fastest) purchases I've made. I asked George, the head of security at AISC, if he would help me decide on a model. My parameters were simple---small, new, and durable. Once we decided on the Indica, he called the dealership, had them deliver a model to the school the following day, negotiated the specifics, and helped me find a driver. One a price was agreed upon, I walked over to the financing department at school, they issued a check to the car company and that was that. The loan through the school is for 3 months only. The good news is my car will be paid for in full by the end of October but until then it's like a mortgage payment.

It's really a luxury to have someone escort you around. Parking is hard to come by so getting dropped off is great and the traffic here is a mess. Imagine the worst bottle neck traffic but instead of only seeing cars and buses merging you will also see: auto rickshaws, motorcycles with families piled on them (babies and all), bicycles, food carts, men, women, children of all ages, cows, dogs, and scooters. When the rain comes the streets are flooded and the horns are always blasting. It's just one continuous HONK. We have been informed that the rules of the road are simple---the bigger vehicle always has the right away and if an accident occurs the bigger vehicle is always at fault. From what I can gather that is dead on, but with one exception---cows always have the right away and they know it! It's great. I love it here.

The Week at a Glance

The first week of school really flew by and tomorrow we get to do it all over again!I have a lively class (par for the course) but I sure love them. Domenic had a successful first week of school as well. He really likes his teacher and classes and has managed to make a few connections. Domenic has several specialist classes throughout the week: art, music, PE, Indian Studies, Library, Foreign Language (French/Spanish). This Wednesday is the big kick-off for the after school activities so he will be plenty busy. Friday after school, while Domenic was at a friend's house, some of us were taken shopping for clothing, household items, and food. Priya, the elementary technology teacher (native to India), was kind enough to show us the way. I have never enjoyed shopping (food, clothing, or otherwise) back at home, but here it's an adventure and I'm loving it! Saturday we headed to the school for some time in the pool and then headed over to some fellow teacher's home where we ate, drank, and watched the kids run free. Today, Sunday, was a bit of a rest day. We really enjoyed the monsoon rain and the booming thunder and managed to walk through our neighborhood for more groceries and later an evening stroll to the beach.

Domenic's Smilebox

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My Two Week Anniversary (Domenic's entry)

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Today I went to a new catholic church with my mom and her friend Dorcy. It was very crowded and hot. Church started at 12:00 and ended at 1:00. I will definitely go there next week. We went into an underground tomb of St. Thomas and there were a lot of broken bones and old furniture under the church. It was really fun.

~dedicated to Marianne

Back to School

Tomorrow is the first day of school and our 14th day in Chennai. Needless to say my room was whipped into shape at record speed! I take comfort knowing my constituents are only 6 and 7. Perfect!

I am one of 5 teachers on the first grade team. First grade at AISC is 70% ESL... yep you read it right! I have 16 students and the breakdown of the class is as follows:

Italian--1
Korean--6
Swedish--1
French--1
French/Mexican--1
American--2
Japanese--1
English--1
Dutch--1
Chinese--1

Domenic is very excited to be entering 3rd grade. Domenic has 14 students in his class and he is one of the TWO American students. He has already gotten to know his teacher, Mr. Scott. Scott is new to the school but not new to teaching. He moved to Chennai after teaching for 6 years in Thailand. As far as Domenic is concerned he won the lottery. I agree!

Chennai and Bay of Bengal

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My New Friends

(by Domenic)
I made new friends and I go over to their house everyday. Their names are Kristopher and Liam and I met them at dinner. They are the principal's kids and their mom teaches 4th grade. When I go to their house I play legos and computer games. Their parents are at work so Preea and Preesha come over to clean and sometimes play with us. The driver delivers lunch to us everyday.

School starts on August 9. I already know who my teacher is. His name is Scott Stier and he moved here from Thailand where he was teaching. He is very nice. My classroom is on the second floor. I have 14 kids in my class. I am excited about my Indian studies class so I can learn a lot about India.

I will definitely write another entry soon.

THE END

On Saturday the school arranged to take us to Ideal Beach, a resort about 45 minutes south of Chennai. We spent more time getting to know staff members. The principal is new to this school and Domenic made friends with his boys. While we are working all next week Domenic will be hanging out with the boys at their house where supervision is already in place. I will spend the coming week preparing for school and making further arrangements for Domenic. Tomorrow I will hit the ground running and most likely keep running for the next few months. We will be putting in some long hours but I'm looking forward to it!

IDEAL BEACH

CARLINA AND DORCY

DOMENIC AND HIS NEW FRIEND LIAM

MY FIRST GRADE TEACHING PARTNER!!!