With a week to go before my departure for India I feel both anxious and nervous. No matter how much I read about India and Dharamsala there seems to be an unknown factor. I guess that’s the interesting part of traveling.
My son Chris, has drawn sad faces on my departure date on the family calendar and he is counting down for me. It is beginning to hit me that I will be away from my children and my husband for 11 weeks. For sure I am going to miss them. So, in preparation for this void I borrowed a web cam, bought a headset and learned how to use Skype. However, due to limited access to cybercafés I might be communicating to them only once a week.
One huge dilemma for me in the last month has been whether to take Malaria pills or not. Many travel doctors are recommending them according to the malaria risk map. But after reading the possible side effects and talking to some people who have taken them made it difficult for my decision to take them. Some possible side effects are stomach pain, depression, psychosis, difficulty with night vision and they appear to affect many people. With the passing of the monsoon season in India and Dharamsala being at high altitude the risk of malaria is greatly reduced. After discussing this further with another doctor and my Faculty Associate I have decided not to take malaria pills. To further reduce the risk I am bringing lots of natural insect repellant with citronella (extract from lemon grass roots) for application directly on my skin and insect repellant with Deet (quite a harmful chemical) on my clothes. I will also bring a mosquito net for my sleeping quarter and hopefully will keep mosquitoes away from me.
The temperature at Delhi this week averages about 37°C, but to avoid being inappropriately touched by strangers it is advised to wear clothes that do not show too much skin. Dressing with good coverage is also a way to respect the Tibetan and Indian culture. While working in schools long pants, long sleeve tops and exercise shorts with knee length are required. My problem is that I will not be comfortable wearing my long sleeve tops and pants from Canada in such heat. One way to solve this problem is to wear local attire. So, my strategy is not to bring too many clothes and I plan to buy local outfits as soon as I get there. Apparently I can get a custom made outfit with cool fabric for ~ $5 Cdn!
Indian cuisine varies from region to region, which means the variety and the amount of spices may be quite different. Although I enjoy India cuisine in Vancouver, however I plan to ease my stomach into India’s spicy cooking. I will be packing some bottled water and some comfort foods (peanut butter, granola bars and some dried fruits and nuts) in my luggage. I have also begun to take probiotic supplement to increase the healthy bacteria load in my stomach. In addition, I will bring some electrolyte in case I do get diaharrea, but I really hope that I will not get sick!
My next entry will be from India! Seven more sleeps…
Friday, September 25, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Anticipation
The first day of school for my Professional Development Program (PDP) at SFU has finally arrived! On October 3, I will be leaving for Dharamsala (pronounced Da-ram-sa-la), India with 15 other students and one faculty associate as part of the International Teacher Education Module. We’ll be there for a little over two months.
Dharamsala is in a district called Kangra and is located in a northern state of India called Himachal Pradesh which borders Pakistan to the west and Tibet to the east. It is about a 12-hour drive north from Delhi and is perched across the lower ridges of the Dhauladar Range, which is the part of the southern spur of the Himalayas.
Dharamsala is the home of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and approximately 9,000 Tibetan refugees. We will be working in a Tibetan refugee settlement and will be teaching in one of three schools. Two schools are K-12 with most children boarding because they are orphans either due to the death of their parents or because their parents are still stuck in Tibet.
We will be mainly teaching English and doing extracurricular activities with the students. Some of us will also be working in an adult school of mostly women, many of them still suffering from the psychological shock of a dangerous five-month escape from Tibet to India over the Himalayas on foot.
Over the summer, our faculty associate gave us reading and writing assignments to prepare our minds for this extraordinary experience. I read several novels about the lives and the cultures of people in India (by Rohinton Mistry) as well as several books written/translated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I also watched many documentaries on India and about the Dalai Lama.
We have already started bonding with one another with an overnight retreat. I think we will have lots of fun learning and experiencing challenges together in India. The FA has traveled to many places in India and has a wealth of knowledge and has many close friends in the region. I feel very safe traveling with her! Just 16 more days to go.
Dharamsala is in a district called Kangra and is located in a northern state of India called Himachal Pradesh which borders Pakistan to the west and Tibet to the east. It is about a 12-hour drive north from Delhi and is perched across the lower ridges of the Dhauladar Range, which is the part of the southern spur of the Himalayas.
Dharamsala is the home of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and approximately 9,000 Tibetan refugees. We will be working in a Tibetan refugee settlement and will be teaching in one of three schools. Two schools are K-12 with most children boarding because they are orphans either due to the death of their parents or because their parents are still stuck in Tibet.We will be mainly teaching English and doing extracurricular activities with the students. Some of us will also be working in an adult school of mostly women, many of them still suffering from the psychological shock of a dangerous five-month escape from Tibet to India over the Himalayas on foot.
Over the summer, our faculty associate gave us reading and writing assignments to prepare our minds for this extraordinary experience. I read several novels about the lives and the cultures of people in India (by Rohinton Mistry) as well as several books written/translated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I also watched many documentaries on India and about the Dalai Lama.
We have already started bonding with one another with an overnight retreat. I think we will have lots of fun learning and experiencing challenges together in India. The FA has traveled to many places in India and has a wealth of knowledge and has many close friends in the region. I feel very safe traveling with her! Just 16 more days to go.
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