Taking Snaps and Pushing Cars

So life definitely moves at a slower pace here. Today was our big start in volunteering and we were gone from the house approximately 3 hours (that includes 1 hour of harrowing driving experience). We showed up at the computer training center to be greeting with handmade flower necklaces and many smiling faces. Then we spent a couple hours trying to explain basic computer skills. We had no curriculum to work from so we just went at it. Brad was teaching typing skills, I was explaining how to set up and use an email account (on gmail), and Joe was explaining income statements in Microsoft Excel--which Brad and I find infinitely funny because it was so far advanced compared to what we were teaching. Joe rocks.

Teaching gmail was fun. Of the 8-10 guys I was teaching, only 1 had an email address or knew how it worked. (Technically the class I was in was the web browsing class) And the other teacher had an email. So I would show them something and the other teacher would translate/reexplain. That's not to say that no one spoke English, but the accents can be a challenging communication barrier. They find our accent as hard to understand as we find theirs. So communication looks something like this:

Brandon: How long have you been with the Hope Foundation?
Paneil: I know Ben. You know Ben?
Joe: No, how long have you been with Hope Foundation?
Paneil: Ben? You know Ben?
Brandon: No.


or

Joe: (as we pass a billboard with a pretty woman advertising fruit juice) She's a big movie star isn't she?
Paneil: No. Orange juice.

or

Brad: How long have these students been studying here?
Paneil: 2. There are 2 of us.

Now this works the other way around as well. The teacher in my class would speak to me so fast in English but I would only catch about one word in ten. Also, I never figured out his name--you can only ask so many times.

Teacher: How mumble mumble noise noise email mumble mumble know mumble mumble picture?
Brandon: (thinking rapidly) They want to know how to attach a picture?

I would then explain how to attach a picture, hoping that's what was asked. Joe also had trouble since Indians will shake their heads to say both yes and no, making closed ended questions quite exciting.

Overall, I think the biggest benefit is us explaining how important computer skills are in getting a good job. Tomorrow we are supposed to spend time teaching them about that rather than the how to of specific programs. And they also will get to keep the snaps (photos) they took of us.

So other than that we tried to go shopping and ran out of gas. Now over here, we get a lot of extra attention not being brown, so imagine how people on these crowded streets reacted when they saw Brad, Joe, and me pushing a car with an Indian driving. And not just a few feet. More like a few blocks. It was midday and we were sweating a lot and people were laughing and pointing and waving at us. It was great! I think Brad took a video of sorts so maybe he'll post it.

And tonight we saw Shrek 3--very Indian. :-) The other thing is that drving in India is a whole other experience. Brad and I have both tried video clips, but it is such a 360 degree experience. I mean, when the people driving past you are actually closer to you than the people sitting next to you--well, it's exciting. And lot's of honking. Joe was trying to count to three without hearing a car horn honking, unsuccessfully. And that was inside the house, not even driving! There are tons of small vehicles, no lane markings, and people on motorcycles, bicycles, and on foot are all over the streets. And most of all, the right-of-way is definitely taken, not given!

Here is one video clip I took today. I'd encourage you to search for India driving on youtube to see some more exciting footage.



Hopefully tomorrow will give us a better idea about a few things. We are starting to get a more definite plan for the coming weeks.