As I think I mentioned last time, this trip has felt "hard" in some ways, while being great in others. One tricky aspect has been learning to live with three kids all in one room. Initially here at bagayam we were given a family guest room with three single beds. That room was only available briefly, however, so we are now in a different guest room with 1 bed. We ere able to again rent mattresses for the girls, and this is totally fine (and yes, believe me, I recognize that many, many, many people live in one room with more children and adults than we have, and fewer beds, and no running water' flushing toilet, etc). But, it is still an adjustment, and for me, because I am not that great at parenting to begin with (ie, I am not particularly patient), it has seemed to amplify the difficulties of parenting significantly--in part because the conditions are different, and probably also in part because the kids have been acting out to some extent.
Other tricky things here have included the lack of a kitchen (although now that we've moved to Bergen House we do have a community fridge and microwave, so we can microwave frozen veggies from the college store), and simply having the kids home more with fewer of our usual places to go. They are currently off school for Pongal, and were previously off for Christmas, such that in the past month they have gone to school 4 days. In Cincinnati, I tend to get very antsy if I spend too much time physically at our house with them SO we end up going somewhere most days--the library, park, museum, a bike ride, etc, even on school days. Here we have definitely spent a lot of time at the playground, but that is mostly it, aside from some sight-seeing of various Hindu temples. And since we packed very light' we did not bring a ton of indoor things to do in our guest room when we are not at the playground. I have been at the hospital a fair amount, and Matt has spent more time with them than I have, but we are all together quite a bit, and I am discovering that, for instance, I really, really rely on the local library for sanity as a parent back home. All in all other things have worked out well--Nora seems to be doing well at daycare, and Naomi apparently loves her school, while Sage has more mixed feelings, but is doing ok. The hardest thing for Sage is that PreK here is much, much more structured than in the US, and since the kids all speak Tamil (for the most part) at home, and learn English in school, which is sort of new to them in PreK, Sage doesn't feel like she can understand any of the kids in her class, or her teacher much of the time.
So there are some hard things. On the up side nobody has gotten sick yet. I am sure we will eventually. And it is really interesting to learn about the hospital here, and some of the things that they often see. The doctors here are amazingly knowledgeable, resourceful, and kind. They work longer hours than we do in the US, with greater demands and fewer resources. They are truly top notch. And each of the things that I have found difficult here says much more about me than about India, or Vellore, or whatever. But I would be lying if I claimed to be a better, less spoiled person, and so, it is what it is.
Other tricky things here have included the lack of a kitchen (although now that we've moved to Bergen House we do have a community fridge and microwave, so we can microwave frozen veggies from the college store), and simply having the kids home more with fewer of our usual places to go. They are currently off school for Pongal, and were previously off for Christmas, such that in the past month they have gone to school 4 days. In Cincinnati, I tend to get very antsy if I spend too much time physically at our house with them SO we end up going somewhere most days--the library, park, museum, a bike ride, etc, even on school days. Here we have definitely spent a lot of time at the playground, but that is mostly it, aside from some sight-seeing of various Hindu temples. And since we packed very light' we did not bring a ton of indoor things to do in our guest room when we are not at the playground. I have been at the hospital a fair amount, and Matt has spent more time with them than I have, but we are all together quite a bit, and I am discovering that, for instance, I really, really rely on the local library for sanity as a parent back home. All in all other things have worked out well--Nora seems to be doing well at daycare, and Naomi apparently loves her school, while Sage has more mixed feelings, but is doing ok. The hardest thing for Sage is that PreK here is much, much more structured than in the US, and since the kids all speak Tamil (for the most part) at home, and learn English in school, which is sort of new to them in PreK, Sage doesn't feel like she can understand any of the kids in her class, or her teacher much of the time.
So there are some hard things. On the up side nobody has gotten sick yet. I am sure we will eventually. And it is really interesting to learn about the hospital here, and some of the things that they often see. The doctors here are amazingly knowledgeable, resourceful, and kind. They work longer hours than we do in the US, with greater demands and fewer resources. They are truly top notch. And each of the things that I have found difficult here says much more about me than about India, or Vellore, or whatever. But I would be lying if I claimed to be a better, less spoiled person, and so, it is what it is.
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