Update from Mar - May19

Max and Milo

We are so proud of our boys. After all the changes they had and how nervous they were in the beginning when we arrived, the transformation in their confidence is amazing.
Max is now going out to his friends' houses for parties or the cinema in different parts of the city or to the shopping malls for pizza (Arjun takes him so that makes it much easier ) and Milo danced a solo dance in front of the whole school accompanied by a young man playing the piano.

Both of them love their school and have a set of friends that are kind and considerate.

One of Milo's best friends and his family left recently and it was so sad. We were all good friends with the whole family and we have been away with them too. We virtually had to prise the boys apart as they left for the airport. (that is the downside of the expat life as people come and go as they move on) Milo found it hard going to school, looking his friend's empty seat but he's recovered and has spoken to his pal and his brother on the internet so all is not doom and gloom. It just means that we are increasing the places that we can go for holidays that we wouldn't have considered before to keep in contact.

Max has his exams next week and face times his friends in the evenings so they can "study" together even though they have been at school all day. He's decided that he likes chemistry best and has studied hard in that subject. He was rather put out when I explained that you can't go to university with just one subject and that he needs to study hard in them all! The curriculum both the boys  follow is the IB curriculum and it involves in depth investigation on many different subjects. Its quite tough on homework levels and constant assessments but it seems just as good as the British system.

Mala and Arjun

Mala was very giddy yesterday. Usually she has a set routine for cleaning and ironing etc and nothing stops her. But yesterday she kept getting phone calls and she had various projects started all over the house that were haphazard, mats up , dishwasher half emptied, beds half made, cleaning cloths abandoned everywhere. It was very strange.

 I even found myself having to get the dinner ready as she sat outside on the patio chatting on the phone! This was strange too as she NEVER sits on a proper chair preferring a small stool in the kitchen or even the floor.

Arjun came to have his dinner and he was excited too.

The reason ?

 The election results were out. The BJP had won and they were both so happy.


Andrew and I have tried to watch the election on the local TV ( we have numerous channels in English but the news is hard to follow because they have a picture of one topic that they're reporting on, newsflash titles going across the bottom, then other headlines at the side and a different video sequence on the other side of the screen. The reporters also shout the news in an excitable manner.  So watching the news leaves you feeling quite worn out and anxious.) We do have BBC World news and watch that too ( it leaves us feeling much calmer ).

The election seemed very confusing and hard to follow but Mala and Arjun are happy with the results.
Mala was back to normal the next day...if you watch the Durrells on ITV, just think about their helper Lugretzia ... they're very similar in temperament!

 Nursery school

  Since April, I have been helping to set up a nursery-preschool, as a volunteer. I had no intention of "working" but I am really enjoying it. I go for two days a week.

The school is a brand new set up run by a lovely Indian couple, Sindhu and Satish, who have lived in the United States for 15 years. They decided to come back to Bangalore and to set up a school run along the British play based curriculum. At one of my morning clubs (zentangle - Japanese drawing) I was saying about my teaching experience. Then I got a call from Sindhu asking if I could meet her to help and guide her in how to go about putting a curriculum in place, train the teachers etc.

To cut a long story short, I loved their ideas, loved the building and what they were trying to do and decided I would help them. We have quite a few on the intake roll so its very exciting and the official school starts in August.

At the moment the school is being used a summer camp for children on their school holidays. Milo has been with me when he was mildly unwell one day and he loves it, he also gets on well with Sindhu and Satish's children, their son is the same age. He will be going in June to join in with all the fun. Max is going to help the younger ones. There's pottery, lego, hip hop dancing and lots of things to do.

All the staff are kind and friendly and so the atmosphere is so relaxed and happy. They speak English and Hindi. The children are very amused when I practise my simple sentences on them. The staff are good at correcting me. ( I am determined to speak Hindi fluently and it's still slow going but I can hear and speak more. I can also read the script now)

Mosquitoes

We each have an electric bat, and have several of them positioned carefully around the house for quick access. We seem to spend a lot of time fighting off the mosquitoes inside and out. We think that we would be better if we could have a harness, like you see on the television ,where there is sword that you carry on your back and then you quickly pull out your weapon and attack.

We have given up going outside after 7pm at the moment as it so bad. At about 6:30 pm the noise from the mosquitoes is so loud that it's like a high pitched humming, buzzing and can be heard from inside the house.

The mosquitoes buzz around your head, feet, legs and arms and it's difficult to sweep them all away in one go.

It's a real shame as its so warm outside but it's just not a wise decision to sit outside.
The monsoon is on its way so hopefully that will reduce the amount of the pesky things.

Luckily the bats have spotlights on them which helps when we have the power cuts as the thunderstorms roll in the evenings ( mango rains)
The rains helps to cool things down and is quite a relief from the high temperatures of the Indian 'Summer' period.