Swine flu -feverish reflections

Parent's Night last night. It's scary enough to have Edina parents who could buy your job or even you, but here there are parents who are ambassadors and WHO or UNICEF leaders. One parent in Model UN said that he had a couple of friends who could come and speak, but his wife pointed out that the school wouldn't let them in because the friends have armed bodyguards.

The news came out that our "Independence (India's) Day Assembly," scheduled for today, was being canceled because the Times of India had reported our school as "affected by" swine flu. Apparently a new student has swine flu, but he has not yet even been to school! Actually, now that I think of it, I have a student who hasn't shown up yet . . . . Anyway, the official memo, which I'm assuming was written to placate hysterical parents, said that this was an effort to keep large groups of students from congregating. More like let's keep the elementary school kids away from those germ-spreading high schoolers. So I took a look around school to make sure that no large groups were congregating. I just wanted to make sure that no one was out there contracting swine flu. It was lunchtime, and the students can eat outside here, in the "Breezeway," or in the cafeteria (inside and upstairs) or in the "Open Hand" coffeehouse, complete with computers and great (new) books to read on the shelves, or by the athletic fields.
It looked pretty bad in the breezeway. Those crazy teenagers; don't they know what's at stake here? Schools are closed in Mumbai, and in fact our "neighbor" school is closed this week! Personally, I think closing school is stupid - when will you open it again? Next Spring? Anyway, the school design, as one of my sophomores pointed out today, is "great for stalking," as you can see multiple floors at once.





Check it out - groups were congregating everywhere! This was getting out of control. I thought about pulling the school fire alarm, but fortunately nature intervened - our first heavy rain during school hours in this new building. Monsoon rains come suddenly and it rains HARD.

Did I mention that there were a few design issues when they were planning the building? Like the fact that the floor tiles get slippery when wet?
Yes, it got a bit wet. But at least it saved the students from themselves. No more congregating - it's time for class. Wait - class - still in groups, but at least there's no heavy breathing or laughter. But there were some falls down stairs and in the "hallways" that are exposed to the skies. Don't wear flipflops if you come here during monsoon season. And don't lean too far over the balcony, either.


Here are a couple of students determined to fight Mother Nature, or maybe to avoid going to class. (By the way, students here are in their seats staring at you expectantly right after the 5-minute warning bell - I can't handle it.)
"Is it raining? . . . or are we in the pool?"

So the swine flu risk passed for another day. But what comes with rain, Minnesotans? Our friend the mosquito! Now all we have to worry about here is a touch of malaria.
Actually, to be honest, malaria is rare in Delhi - most people don't worry about it unless they go into the wild. (Not "Into the Wild" kind of going into the wild, just stuff like hiking in the rainforest - no eating poisonous mushrooms.)

OK, for those of you who like this blog feature, here it is - the random picture of the day!
This was taken from a vehicle on a main road heading out of the city. This guy was talking on a cell phone as he rode.
If you had a 360-degree view, you would see all kinds of vehicles: bikes, auto-rickshaws, cabs, private cars, pull carts, trucks loaded with people or goods or both. You would also see all kinds of people: the begging "regulars" at any particular intersection, the people with large loads of sticks or construction debris on their backs or in a basket on their heads, the groups of men coming or going from or to work, walking purposefully, the people who live or are just napping on any grassy areas by the road (no matter how busy or large the road), the crowds that congregate around snack stands and bus stops in the mornings and evenings - there are so many people that many of them are actually standing in the street, and of course you hear constant honking of horns, just as a casual thing - like there's a parade going on. The traffic never moves very fast, which is good, because everyone would be dead within minutes. Defensive driving? No way - it's more like "Close your eyes and make a wish." Teachers can borrow cars (nice ones, too) from the school for a weekend or even longer, but I can't imagine driving here. I just sit in the cabs or auto rickshaws or someone else's car and hope that there is a God. And of course the wealthier folks stare at each other through taxi windows or look straight ahead if beggars approach, while the not-so-wealthy or cheapskates like me sit in the auto-rickshaws watching the beggars approach the "real" cars.