Since coming to Bangalore I haven’t seen it rain. I never had a desire for rain until I saw how the long dry air erodes the children’s skin into a chalky ash. Just by looking at their skin one can tell if they live in the semi-open air or a fully partitioned dwelling. I want it to rain so that the dusty will stick to … Continue reading December 18th & 19th: Rain, Nightclubs, Family

Today at school I was called by the principal to show a new volunteer around the campus. My promotion is solid. When people are absent they tell me and I tell the teachers. In a gang of Europeans it isn’t surprising that the American has to rise to leadership. A lot of my day is spent comically playing devil’s advocate for the Devil himself Uncle … Continue reading December 16th: Abby’s Birthday

Now that Mats has arrived the children living at the Parikrma Home, semi-orphanage, have discovered that it is open game to come over and visit us. The Parikrma Home is only for girls. Boys who are aggrieved or displaced stay at the Home until nighttime and then go to privately run troubled youth hostels to sleep. Those places are not really fitting for daytime activities. … Continue reading December 15th: Look Who is Coming to Dinner

On Saturday I woke up and quickly woke up Mats. He and I did out morning workout. Mats and I are now doing Insanity rather seriously. He is an really good sportsman. Not that he is in spectacular shape, but that he isn’t afraid to encourage me. Even though I have been doing insanity for years, he still has to shout out at my laziness. … Continue reading December 14th: A Motorcyle Crash

Today was Friday and I was merrily busy. I taught my issue classes with now include a Manipuri boy who I mentor. Our mentoring is disguised as Chess class. I’m a bit sorry for the boy because he certainly will not pass tenth grade if he doesn’t shape up. He will have to go to vocational training if he doesn’t pass. The sad thing is … Continue reading December 13th: Ambition & Toilets

School was wonderful as ever. I spent some time with my main man Chandon and had my usual pleasant tea party with princess Akshaya. I learned that my student Harsha’s real name is Auto Raja. This means King of the Auto (rickshaws). He is named after the pen name of a Good Samaritan in Bangalore. Auto Raja was a reformed criminal who, once released from … Continue reading December 11th: The Girls’ Home

Today was my first dinner with my housemates Turin and Barbs. After a sleepy day at work running around preparing audio files. We came back via auto. The apartment was being thoroughly cleaned by the maids. They did a much more through job of cleaning then when I arrived. I had spent the yesterday, Sunday moving my furniture, doing laundry, and screwing in light bulbs. … Continue reading December 9th: Turin and Barbs

Please click here for the link to the PDF of US Judge Sentenced to Culture Clash !  The story of a US Judges provocative clothing during a school visit. US Judge Sentenced to Culture Clash ! Continue reading US Judge Sentenced to Culture Clash !

The entry December 7th: Flowers in the Slums: the wonderful girls who live in the slums is available for download at this link. December 7th: Flowers in the Slums Continue reading December 7th: Flowers in the Slums

Please click the link to download a PDF file of December 6th: Blankets for the Homeless the story of my new housemates and a powerful experience giving blankets to street sleepers. December 6th: Blankets for the Homeless Continue reading December 6th: Blankets for the Homeless

Today I went with Sasha and her parents to Jainagar to listen as Sasha gathered information on how to fund raise for Parikrma. Sasha works in investment banking as her profession. She has a strong social conscious. She left her big banking job to volunteer. She has turned into a champion for the school. She uses videos and photos of her experience to raise money … Continue reading December 5th: After Dinner Games

These days I can recognize a part of my character that was reshaped in/by Japan. Consideration for harmony. Since coming to India I have put a lot of attention on social harmony. I try not to do anything that separates me from a larger group. Although I wanted to use sunglasses, I recognized that in my slum-burb no one wears them. I am paying attention … Continue reading Who I have Become

I woke up and went to Hennur (slightly North-East) to meet with Shenelle and Anaka’s family for their Advent breakfast. I discovered my haggling trump card. It takes a hard-nosed person to pull the auto prices down. The drivers have all sorts of wild stories to “justify” inflating the price by 5x. When I speak Kannada the auto-drivers are so delighted by my cute attempt … Continue reading Dec. 1st: The First Day of Advent

I woke up this morning and I went to school early to get on the bus to ride to the Bosch Sports ground to have the annual Sports Day event. The ride on the bus was my first time out of the suburb and into the city. I was delighted to see how green Bangalore was. All Indian cities are relatively green because they don’t … Continue reading Nov.30th: Out in the City

Today I woke up to discover that the local auto-stand was having a Karnataka Pride day. Karnataka is the state that Bengaluru is the capital of.  The Autos were dressed up in flowers, finger paints, and flags. The driver from yesterday remembered my name and came up to me with, “ Hello Deren” and an open double palmed handshake. He showed all his friends that … Continue reading Nov.29th: Playground Justice

Today I learned Indian Standard Time (IST). I woke up an hour and a half before work. I waited for the waterman to come. He came one hour late. When he was in my apartment he asked to have one of my dishtowels and a few Malaysian coins. Given. He didn’t have proper change so I paid him in advance for ten deliveries of water. … Continue reading Nov. 28th: Indian Standard Time