Books

I was tagged by my friend Zen in September. Here's my attempt at filling this out:

Book that changed your life - As a young impressionable 16 year old, I read a whole lot. The one book that really made me think, however, was in fact a play, The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare. I know Shakespearean plays make a lot of people cringe, but they truly delight me.

Book(s) you've read more than once - Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. The more I read it, the more I find it new. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I wish I could read Spanish so I could get a taste of the original.

Book you'd take to a deserted island - How to Survive on a Deserted Island ;) Seriously, though, I think I'd be lost without my books.

Book(s) that made you laugh - White Teeth by Zadie Smith, The Inscrutable American by Anurag Mathur and The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Book that made you cry - Thomas Hardy novels: The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the D'Urbervilles,and Jude the Obscure. Also, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, and The Kite Runner by Kahled Hosseini

Book(s) you wish you had written - Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

Book you wish had never been written - A true English teacher response (sorry): None; all books add something to our existence.

Book you're currently reading - No one Writes to the Colonel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Book you've been meaning to read - Too many, but specifically: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Book you've been meaning to finish - The Life of Pi by Yann Martel; I just can't do it!

Oh God!

I live 40kms from Pune; campus is on a hill. You'd think that would mean a lot of peace and quiet, right? Wrong. After the festivities of the Nav Ratras when every popular bollywood song was played to the goddesses, the joys (read noise) of diwali begin. Please don't get me wrong, I LOVE diwali; I'm so happy I'm in India for it after so many years. However, it is a festival of LIGHTS not SOUNDS.

Every morning at 4:30a.m. I can hear people from the local village on a loud-speaker, no less, chanting and singing God's praises. I suppose it wouldn't be so bad if they could actually carry a note...but alas, God denied them that talent. With all due respect (although this post appears to be laden with disrespect), my grandfather stated, "God isn't deaf. He can hear your thoughts." I wish more people believed that.

If the people in the village want others to think of God early in the morning, guess what? They've succeeded. When I hear the music, I take my pillow and put it over my head and whisper, "Oh God! Not again!"

Pink Martini

I was at a co-worker's place the other night. We were drinking some wine and telling drunk stories so he appropriately played, "Hey Eugene" by Pink Martini for me. The song tickled me pink (hahaha, pun totally intended).

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaack!!!

God I missed the Internet. I'm in India, but not completely settled in because my stuff arrives by ship mid-September. I've been on the lovely campus now for almost a month. I've traveled to the Ajanta and Ellora caves, Nasik, and seen a lot in Pune itself.

I went on a waterfall hike. I'm such a city girl! I was bruised and unable to move for days! It was hilarious. I've attended two yoga sessions. I've been invited over by returning faculty. The students are friendly too.

However, all said and done I miss my friends and family. I miss nightlife. Note to self: must make friends to hang out with in the city.

I'm so used to moving, that I don't really miss NYC per se or the town that I lived in. I miss my network. It gets harder and harder to make friends the older I get. There are a few new faculty members here and as in all situations, new people bond. So that's great.

I'll try and update regularly.

Leave of Absence

My parents arrive a week from today. I am so excited about their visit. The school year is coming to an end and I couldn't be busier! I will not have much time to post becasue I will be packing for my upcoming move to India. There is so much that needs to be taken care of. You may hear from me before I am in India...but if not, I'll be saying namaste very soon.

It is still so unreal to me...the time is approaching so quickly.

I'll post when I can.

Thank you for reading!

Take care!

"Speare" 4eva

Like a lot of other people, I think Shakespeare will always be relevant. The Bard discusses basic human desires, needs, and experiences. No matter how technologically savvy we get as a species, we are still basically the same inside.

I came across this article and would like to archive it for my reference.

I'll also cut and paste it, just in case the link no longer works in the future!

Video game aims to hook children on Shakespeare
By Martin Roberts
Mon Apr 30, 8:41 AM ET

TORONTO (Reuters Life!) - Children typically spend hours in front of a computer so a Canadian university has decided to introduce them to Shakespeare with a video game.

While zapping enemy spaceships players have to help recover the stolen text of Romeo and Juliet by memorizing lines from the famous play, learning facts about Shakespeare's life and devising synonyms and homonyms for parts of the text.

"The game is a way to capitalize on the time that kids spend on computers," said Professor Daniel Fischlin who headed the team at the University of Guelph in Ontario that developed the game called "Speare."

"I don't know of another medium that has seven-year-olds spouting Shakespeare," Fischlin added in response to charges the game might trivialize learning.

The game was launched earlier this week to coincide with the anniversary of Shakespeare's death after two years and C$50,000 ($44,800) spent developing it.

Fischlin, who tested it on more than 100 grade 6 students, plans to publish his findings in an academic journal. The game is currently available online from a company set up by the university.

"Speare" contains a link to a database about Shakespeare called Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare that was developed by the university as an educational resource.

The site has lesson plans for teachers, video interviews and e-books of the Bard's plays. It provided the inspiration for the game when professors realized the site's multimedia features were accessed mainly by young people.

Fischlin, who is applying for a patent, said he knows of no other video game linked to a similar online resource.

Ieva Mikelsons, a 12-year-old student at the King George Public School in Guelph, tested the game while it was being developed. She said it taught her more about Shakespeare than books used by her older sister.

"Some of my grade 8 friends have just been learning from a book, and they say this is a more hands-on approach, and they learn more because it's fun," she said.


Image from: www.zencast.com

Where are you from?

It is such a banal question. Yet whenever I meet new people I cringe at the inquiry. Where do I come from? Funny answer: my mother. Simple answer: India. But I feel the response is inadequate. It does not define me as I think the answer should. Where someone is from, is supposed to help other people understand a new acquaintance. Trying to find a succinct definition of myself leaves me struggling.

I was born in India, lived there for a few years, lived in England for a few, lived in Hong Kong for several years, moved back to India for a few, and I've lived in the States now for a few years. This is the background that defines me and to some extent (minus the US part, defines my sisters). We have friends all over the world. We have travelled through most of the world too. We're not afraid to move to another country. We're able to adapt to different cultures and lifestyles. My sisters, friends, and I fall under a category termed 'TCK'. This stands for "Third Culture Kids" (Yes. I do realise I am not a child anymore!). TCK "refers to someone who [as a child] has spent a significant period of time in one or more culture(s) other than his or her own, thus integrating elements of those cultures and his or her own birth culture, into a third culture."

TCKs are amalgamations of various cultures. They can speak many languages, (curse in several), understand the customs of people that do not belong to their culture, religion, or race. TCKs have also, generally, tried food from all over the world. TCKs are able to break the boundaries that nation states form.

Why do people fight or go to war? The main reason is fear of the unknown. When people from all over the world live and learn together, understanding is created. So if Indians and Pakistanis, Israelis and Palestinians, Hutus and Tutsis, Catholics and Protestants, North Koreans and South Koreans, White Americans and Black Americans, Spaniards and Basques and so on and so forth around the world, went to school together, the globe would be a better and more peaceful place to live. It is so cliche, hippie, bleeding-heart liberal, and beauty pageantesqe, but my most fervent desire is for world peace and the end of discrimination.

From all my travels I've discovered that although our food, language, music, and religion may be different, we're all basically the same. Please, hold back that stunned emotion! This is why my favorite Shakespearean plays are Othello and The Merchant of Venice. Is our world drastically different from Othello’s or Shylock’s? Sadly, it’s not. Something needs to be done to change the discrimination, hatred, and violence that has occurred around the world since the beginning of time and continues to date.

Help change the world. You don’t have to save a cheerleader but you do have to travel. (People are trying to make flying less damaging to the environment). Explore the world for yourself. You won’t regret it (even if you do get Delhi belly). Get off the tourist-beaten path, absorb the culture of the country you're visiting. If you can afford to, help others experience the privilege. When people from all walks of life can travel all around the world, the global village will no longer be virtual, it will be real.

At my current school if someone has been there for ten or more years one is dubbed a 'lifer'. I can't even imagine what that is like. I think I will always have this need to travel and discover. I may not be a "lifer" or a Jersey girl, but my time in NJ is now an indelible part of my life. It is a new ingredient to add to the "where are you from?" answer. I will cherish the friendships I've formed here and I hope I'll see you during your travels.