"Here we suffer from English"

No, this picture is not a joke. This is one of the certificates that a prospective English teacher handed me during his interview this week. I finagled a way into having him wait in the library while I snapped a quick shot.

One of my major challenges is finding proper teachers for our school. All of the interviewees so far have been, let's say, a one out of ten. My favorite was the proud holder of an MA in English who was incapable of reading and explaining to me a page from Arthur and D.W. (that's what I happened to have handy).

We then struck the brilliant idea of visiting a local teachers' college and asking for the names of the top students. When I explained to the staff that I was seeking an excellent English speaker, I was told, "Madam, this is rural. Here we suffer from English."

Just me hugging Gandhi's leg

Just me not hugging Lakshmi the elephant's trunk. I considered it, but in real life those things are hairy, slimy, and smelly!

Thank you, Justin and Dina!

Old Delhi

I tagged along with two other volunteers on a quick weekend trip to Delhi.

It actually began here (see picture below), where I spent the night before the trip. Yes, Virginia, there is a swimming pool in India! Although I was slightly weirded out by the drastic, to say the least, socioeconomic contrast with my usual surroundings. A friend of a friend's house in Chennai; they weren't there so it was just me, the guards, and the maids. 

My travel companions in the autorickshaw:

Not my travel companions:

Scenes from the Spice Market:

I wonder how his mother sends him off to school in the morning. "Good-bye, son, and remember not to fall off the bus!"??

And finally, the one and only, breathtaking, awe-inspiring, knock-your-socks-off Taj Mahal.