From Kindergarten Singer to Music Maestro

Night two - the final performance

Previously you read about IW and AM's exciting adventures in teaching songs to Kindergarten children. About 5 weeks ago IW was approached by the teacher in charge of the orchestra (Hereafter known as TIC) who has absolutely no musical knowledge, to assist in the preparation of the orchestra for the school Awards Night on 28 July. IW accepted this offer not really knowing what it involved.

We will now relate how this kind offer from TIC turned into an immense challenge for IW. You see in India, assist means - you do all the work, but TIC steps in when she wants to and arbitrarily changes things. The basic request was for 30 minutes (or 6 songs) singing prior to the commencement of the evening program and 2 items during the program.

TIC sent 2 of the "orchestra" girls to work with IW to select the songs for the evening. At this point in time perhaps we should define the word "orchestra". In actual fact this was a group of 16 girls, ranging in age from 12 - 16, with minimal musical experience. There were 3 keyboard players. 2 violinists, 2 guitarists, 2 drummers (but only one drum set) and 5 vocalists. It was what we in Oz would call a school band.

IW worked with the 2 girls and sorted out a range of songs that would be suitable and relatively easy to perform given the short time available to practice before the performance. The girls took this list to TIC to inform her of what the orchestra would be performing.

As stated above TIC decided that she didn't like our selection and suggested some others. Most of you know IW fairly well and can imagine her "frustration" at this point, having spent a couple of hours in the selection process with the girls. IW was fairly outspoken in her objections to TIC's request. It was at this point that we think TIC realised that IW was a force to be reckoned with.

IW, the girls and TIC resolved the song list and practice began. At our first practice it became obvious that we needed to separate singers from instrumentalists as there was a lot of work to be done with both groups. Another interesting point surfaced at our first practice - TIC informed us that the Awards Night would be on the 22nd not the 28th and that we would also being doing a dress rehearsal on the 21st which was a minor presentation evening.

WOW! With a short statement from TIC, one week of practice just vanished before our eyes. This left us two weeks preparation to learn 8 songs with children with minimal singing and instrumental experience. Fortunately, "nothing is impossible for God" which is what IW kept reinforcing to the girls.

The first part of God's provision was the presence of IW's sister Kath (Hereafter known as GMP - God's Magnificent Provision). The decision was made that GMP would work with the singers which she did brilliantly and IW would use all of her "orchestra experience" to turn the novices into a well oiled machine.

The orchestra

Practice continued with GMP working with the singers and IW with the musos for the first half of the practice, then all coming together for the second half. For the first week we practiced every afternoon for about 3 hours and in the week prior to the performance about 4 -5 hours (mostly during school time). As there was no place on the school premises for them to practice our lounge room was transformed into the orchestra "pit".

Another thing to note about Indian schools is that the Principal is the final arbiter on all things that occur. This is especially important to note when talking about Awards Night which is the premier event in the school calendar. What we discovered was that every item that was to be performed on the night had to be critiqued and approved by the Principal beforehand.

For the orchestra this meant that she visited the orchestra pit (AKA our lounge room) to listen to the two item songs. She approved them and "encouraged" the girls with the words "I'm sure you'll be better on the night" and then left. IW was flabbergasted!! but the girls didn't seem to mind so we just went with the flow.

Having thought we were over the critiquing hurdle we continued to practice. Much to our surprise TIC informed us that we had to be critiqued, along with all the other items, by the Principal, on the stage that was constructed in the dirt, for the Awards Night. This was an ordeal! We had to carry, 3 keyboards and stands, 1 drum kit, 2 guitars, 2 violins down to set up on the stage in the midday sun and stand for at least an hour being berated by the Principal for taking so long to set up when in actual fact the sound people were holding up the proceeds because they were still sorting out microphones.

The result of this "practice" was demoralising for the girls, with the Principal telling them their performance was substandard. IW was very angry. The sound quality was pathetic - all sound unbalanced - singers were made to stand behind the band because there is an unwritten requirement in India that all girls' parents must be able to see their children.

Did we say before that IW was angry! Yes she was! and made it very clear that it was impossible for the singers to stand behind the band as they couldn't hear any music. Drr! The Deputy Principal who was running the "show" knew by one look at IW's face that this was not going to be an acceptable solution to the "girls not being seen" problem and promptly suggested that we put desks on the dirt in front of the stage for the singers to stand on, which is what we did.

However, one of the things this practice did highlight for IW was that a couple of the singers couldn't sing in tune and as each of the singers had a microphone this was highlighted fairly badly. This was another problem IW had to think about. She decided that although GMP had taught harmony parts to these girls, in the open air with individual microphones, this would not work and tactfully suggested this to the girls involved. They understood the wisdom of this and we think were a little relieved. Their only concern was that GMP would be disappointed but IW pointed out that GMP would understand.

Needless to say we regrouped in the orchestra pit and went about rectifying the damage done to the girls' self-esteem. IW worked hard to try to remain positive and focussed.

We have noticed that all events staged in the school grounds (ie capping, weddings, etc) the rule of sound is that everything is turned up as loud as possible. We had a hurdle to overcome with the sound people to enable the individual instruments and vocalists to be balanced. IW worked hard with them to help them understand the needs of the orchestra and by the time of the second performce the sound was reasonable and the girls did a great job. However even on this night there was no foldback for the singers no matter how many times IW explained how difficult this was for them.

The girls at prayer before night one

There were a lot of positive comments from the hostel girls and parents and Bishop gave IW the "thumbs up". The girls were all happy and we celebrated with them on the following Sunday at our favourite coffee haunt.

Again it was reinforced to IW and AM that delegation is non-existent in India and when you think you are asked to manage a task, you need to understand that the person who delegates the task still exercises their right to change things as they see fit.

The grounds after the event - but this is another story!

Question 11

agr's question: "What is the nicest thing we have seen in Australia?"

This is a repeat of Question 9 but referring to Australia rather than India.

For the first part, the beaches and the bush. It is a very relaxing place and very easy to get away and find space to think.

The second part is the opportunity there is to discover what to do with the riches that we have been given. If you put your mind to it you can do whatever you want. Mixing that opportunity into your life is a fantastic thing.

Question 10

agr's question: "Describe your life before you accepted Jesus and after - what changed?"

Before I accepted Jesus I was rich, famous, had lots of friends and could do what I wanted. Now I am living in the dirt in India a million miles from my friends.

OOPS sorry, mind wandered - getting ready to come home in a few weeks.

From my perspective the change has been in my thoughts and understanding of my purpose. I think of others a lot more now. I try to see how I fit into the bigger picture of life rather than think about my own situation alone.

In a nutshell, I still do much the same things but it is the reason that I do things now that is different.

Discoveries in Sport

Being a keen sports observer only now days AM is always on the lookout for new sports to watch. During our time here we have discovered three worth commenting on. They are

1. Kho Kho
2. Kabaddi
3. Ball Badminton

AM will leave it up to you to discover video footage of these games but will offer some of his thoughts. The first two games are played with no equipment except the players and a marked court and the third is played with rackets and a small woollen ball. We saw all three games played in actual competition over the last two days at the Zone Sports.

Seeing them played in competition stirred all sorts of emotions in AM as he saw the 'real Indian parent' in action plus a magnificent performance by a 'cheating coach'.

Kho Kho

We first saw this being played by the girls of the hostel and all three age group teams of the school are made up exclusively by hostel girls. It is basically a tag and chase game and our girls are exceptional at it and AM loves it. You must be fit and be able to think strategically to be good at it. Basically it is a game of two halves with your team having to chase and catch for one and be chased in the other.

The strategies involved are great so watching is most enjoyable. Naturally it is played on dirt so blisters and gravel rash are predominant for the participants. AM likes it because when you get your strategies right you can completely frustrate the opposition.

Our Senior team was so dominant that in the final they chased first and caught all twelve girls on the opposition team then when they ran they used up all the allotted time with not one runner being caught.

Our Intermediate team was 'robbed' by the opposing cheating coach. We chased first and caught four, then they chased and also caught four. I have no idea what the tie breaker is as 'the cheat' engaged in an angry debate with the umpire saying that we only caught three. We all knew we caught four, his girls knew that four were caught, the score book (a piece of paper filled out by two independent scorers) confirmed that we caught four but his 15 minute tirade of shouting somehow convinced all umpires to award his team the match. Our girls were devastated and so was AM who told 'the cheat' so in his best Aussie accent.

Our poor teacher tried to engage in some sensible discussion referring to the score sheet but 'the cheat' was not letting any facts get in the way. I believe that in true Indian fashion the umpire just gave in to stop his outburst.

Kabaddi

AM had heard about this game in our first week here but could not understand it until yesterday when we witnessed our first game. It can be best described as a brutal version of 'murder ball' surrounded by a small scaffold of rules. It is great. AM saw girls playing it and it was vicious. Cannot possibly imagine what it would be like to witness a game involving grown men. We do not play it at Jessie Moses and even our hostel girls say it is too rough.

Basically it involves two teams of seven facing each other on a dirt (of course) court. One team sends a raider down the court who attempts to tag one of the seven opponents and get back to their half while the team of seven try to 'capture' the raider.

A few definitions to give you an idea:

• Tag - means tag. This can be by touching, hitting, kicking, slapping etc
• Capture - means bring the raider to ground by tackling them, grabbing their hair, scratching and generally involves the whole seven ending up on top of the raider inflicting as much pain as possible. Catching by the hair was a feature of the game AM witnessed.

You get a point for a tag and return and a point for a capture and people are eliminated as they are tagged or captured and it is also played to a time limit.

It is simple but there is also a lot of strategy involved and was very enjoyable to watch especially as the seven 'capture' girls climbed off the poor girl they had nearly trampled to death, dusted her off, all smiled and returned to their lines to try again.

Ball Badminton

You might wonder how this fits in with the other two sports. AM would like to state quite categorically that it does not fit at all.

We went today to the Ball Badminton. Our girls, being last year's champions had a first round bye. It was a three team competition (because only three appeared) so a first round bye means that you are playing in the grand final later in the day - good start.

We settled in to watch the game to see who our opposition were. After 1.5 hours had elapsed AM suggested to IW that they should do something exciting like go to the dentist and get some teeth pulled without any anaesthetic.

It was terrible - mainly because the girls were not very good. The game dragged on to three sets and 2 hours and ten minutes. To give them a rest before the grand final our Junior team played another team.

Ball Badminton is best of three sets with each set the first to 29 points. Five players in each team. When you serve if you win the point you keep serving. If you lose the serve passes to your number 2 player and proceeds until all 5 players have lost a serve. You can only win points when you are serving so all the time the opposition is winning points on your serve they get no points until they have won on all five players then they get to win the right to serve and win points. Understand?

Our Juniors lost the toss so received - with no chance of winning a point until all five opposition players had served. AM settled back to 'enjoy' the spectacle. Well wham bam and five serves occurred and we won all five and with it the serve and the score still nil all.

Our player number one served, it was quite a spectacle, 29 serves, about 10 minutes, we won 29 points and the first set was over. Unfortunately the opposition refused to play the second set and so conceded the game.

So with about 20 minutes rest the poor opponents of the Seniors returned to play our girls. Now I want to say that our girls were very good and our opponents, at very best, were poor. Unfortunately for them we won the toss and elected to serve.

Did we mention that our girls were very very good. They did concede a couple of points along the way but won two sets to nil. It would be good to see two good teams play but at this point in time Ball Badminton has been crossed off AM's list of sports.

Ground Conditions

The story would not be complete without a comment and some pictures of the ground staff preparing the Ball Badminton court. Our bus arrived at about 9:00 am and we were shown where the game was to occur. From a distance it looked promising with two men marking out the boundary of the court with rope.

As we got nearer it seemed that the court was not very flat. AM's initial comment was that it looked more like a moto-cross venue - it was bad. AM has played on a lot of bad football fields in his youth but what we witnessed over the next thirty minutes was priceless.

As usual because our skin is white we have an inability to stand so chairs were found and positioned on the side line. We dutifully sat and watched the final stages of the line marking with the rope being secured by four tent pegs being banged in by rocks at the four corners of the court. Looked good, the tent pegs sticking up about four inches in the air might be a problem for players in Australia but in India all was OK.

As the clock crawled on to 10:00 am we were assured that the game would start soon. Have I mentioned the undulations on the field - they are severe. One near us is so big it could be used to hide in and no one would ever find you. The ground is rough, uneven and of course dirt with a splattering of dead grass in places. Our girls are tough though so they will cope.

What happened next even made AM's jaw drop. All of a sudden a small Indian man appears with a crow-bar and starts digging. As he digs, four young school girls kneel at his feet, perilously close to the flailing crow-bar and start scratching in the holes that he is digging. AM goes for the camera to record this. The girls are actually pulling out large stones, half bricks, boulders etc from the holes being dug and carrying them to the side line. This is doing nothing for the already uneven field. AM claims he saw the girls pull a motor bike out of one of the holes but IW disputes this.

After fifteen minutes of digging and stamping another amazing thing happened. The girls started digging a hole in the dirt about 20 metres from the side line and transported that dirt and rock and sticks to the court and threw it randomly over the court. By 10:20 am the court was somehow declared fit for play and the start of the marathon Ball Badminton game mentioned above began.

Another small anecdote from the dullest game in the world. This occurred after the two teams had waited over an hour for the game to start, the court to be 'levelled" etc.

After the serving team won the first point and in doing so leaping to a commanding 1-0 lead, one of their girls raced to the umpire for a conversation. All of a sudden the game is stopped and off she races across the paddock. We see her stop where their team bags were about 200 metres from where the game is. AM grabs his binoculars and sees that from her bag she has pulled a white skirt. She then asks a question to someone standing nearby who points to a building even further away.

She emerges a few minutes later with her white skirt on and runs back to the game and it resumes. We have no idea why this was important as the rest of the team are clad in skirts, track suit bottoms, shorts etc all of different colours but she for some reason wanted to have her white skirt on to look the part.

AM had a serious memory flashback to a conversation he had with his father some 51 years ago. On a Friday night in the Wallis household during football season you sat and cleaned your boots, put clean, starched, white laces in them and packed your bag making sure that everything was there that you needed for the game.

As a six year old AM asked why it was necessary to have everything clean. The reply was a swift, even if you cannot play football you can at least look like a footballer - you will fool some of the opposition. AM does not know if this was true for this girl or why she decided to change after waiting for 1 1/2 hours while the ground was being "prepared".

Rocks removed from the field prior to start of play

An 'action shot' of our neatly uniformed girls

plus the ground staff hard at work

Question 9

agr's question: "What is the nicest thing we have seen in India?"

Two answers, thing as in place or object and thing as in event.

During our two weeks off in May we visited the north of India and were eagerly looking forward to seeing the Taj Mahal. It did not dissapoint us. It rekindled our memory of our visit to the Grand Canyon in America in 2000. We had seen lots of photos but when the actual thing burst into sight it took your breath away.

The Taj Mahal was magnificent and we sat for quite a while just looking - as it is often said - impossible to describe.

The second part of the answer for us is the people. Wherever you go they stop you and want to talk to you. They express a genuine interest in where you are from and what you are doing and what you think of their country. They have an immense pride in their country and want to make sure everything is OK.

Question 8

agr's question: "What is one thing you would change in India?"

The thing that first springs to mind is the way people dispose of rubbish. Although the grounds of the Jessie Moses school are just dirt, when it is raked it looks quite nice.

At the end of a school day and particularly after a function the ground is just covered with garbage. People here do not even make an attempt to put rubbish in a bin it is just dropped where you are.

For me, it gives the appearance that no one cares and with a little bit of effort it could look nice all the time.

This is not a major issue but with a tiny amount of effort it would change the way people perceived things.

Question 7

agr's question: "According to you, what would defile my soul?"

We chatted about our soul and spirit but eventually the real meaning of agr's question was "What is the most horrible thing I can do that God could not possibly forgive?"

When we reached this point it was clear to me that the thought was that we had to try and avoid doing things just in case we stumbled across something that was unforgivable. This is not a very helpful way to live - it is living in fear whereas God calls us to live a life of victory.

God's forgiveness is unconditional, I seek His forgiveness, repent and He forgives. God is in the forgiveness business, dispensing it with joy when we come to Him. That does not mean that we go through life doing what we like but instead our life is that journey of being Christ-like to those we meet.

So what happens if in this journey I stumble on this act that is unforgivable? Have I already committed it so my cause is lost?

It seems to me that I have a free will to do whatever I want so I can choose to seek forgiveness or I can reject God's forgiveness. Therefore for me the unforgivable thing is to reject God's offer of forgiveness. If I do that then there is nothing God can do about it as I have free will and He cannot forgive me unless I want to be forgiven.

Seeking God's forgiveness also means that I have to seek the forgiveness of those I have wronged. For me the God bit is so much easier than confessing to another person.

Question 6

agr's question: "What is your point of view on fasting?"

Fasting is a personal voluntary experience. It is a private thing not a secret thing.

For me it changes the focus from self to God and is mentioned in the Bible as an aid to my prayer life.

Fasting is abstaining from something, it is physical self-denial and preparation - time apart to let God exercise His way. We should fast sacrificially - it should cost us something.

Fasting and prayer went together in the early church. Guidance, power and authority were expected after prayer and fasting.

Jesus said WHEN you fast - it was a normal part of His life.

Question 5

agr's question: "What is the most successful moment in your life?"

This question begs another - "What is success?"

After our discussion on that question my response was along the line that what I consider successful will look completely different from other people's perspectives.

On pondering further I would consider my major success was learning to love those around me a bit better. To move the focus from me to others. This is very much two steps forward, one step back. This is also the title of a blog that I follow written by a friend of mine. It is well worth reading.

Success is not something that I strive for but a label that others might bestow sometimes on some of my actions that makes me feel good about myself. I do not do things to be successful, I do things because I believe that is what I should do.

Living is not an exact science but an ongoing experience that at times I do better at than other times. What has been the most successful moment in my life? I pray that lots of people will tell me lots of different things because success is generally noticed by those watching the game rather than those participating in the game.

Question 4

agr's question: "What do I think about atheists?"

My answer was the same as I think about Christians or Muslims or Jews or an Indian auto driver.

Please Note: Indian auto driver is a fictitious position and is not meant to refer to any Indian auto driver in particular, living or dead.

We are all people on a journey searching for meaning and purpose and to be loved and to love. I encounter all sorts of people in my life, some I like and others that I don't, some that care for me and others that seem to ignore me.

My faith journey is one of seeking to follow Jesus so those I love I need to love better, those I don't like I need to discover how Jesus would have loved them and then attempt to move in that direction. So for me the question of an atheist or a Muslim or a Jew or an Indian auto driver (see note above re Indian auto driver) is irrelevant. The real question is about people who are on a journey and how I, on my journey can also become part of theirs.

Just as there are some people who call themselves Muslims or Jews and commit terrible deeds that I would not want to associate with there are also some people who call themselves Christians who commit acts that I would not like to identify with either.

(Please insert your own Indian auto driver story here)

The label is not really that important and in my life I have found it more of a hinderance. Lets get to know people then see what God would have us do through the relationship that develops.

I crave for people to forgive me when I do the wrong thing so what right do I have to withhold my forgiveness from anyone.

Question 3

agr's question: "Who is the Holy Spirit and have you ever experienced Him?"

Suffice to say agr and AM spent a considerable time talking about this question. agr's main point was how does she know the Holy Spirit. We talked about how does she know God the father and Jesus. We shared some experiences and how the Holy Spirit manifests himself in people's lives.

As usual the best help I could give her was to refer her to a book I had just finished. Just up the road there is a Catholic Church with a bookstore attached. Books are so cheap here that we do not know how we will bring all our purchases home.

Rush out and buy 'The Mystery of Pentecost' by Raniero Cantalamessa O.F.M.Cap. It is a series of four meditations starting with the interpretation given the mystery of Pentecost by Luke in Acts, John in his Gospel, and Paul in his letters (to quote the back page). I found it very enlightening and now agr is reading it. In Chennai it sells for 40 Rupees (AU$1.10). It is 80 pages and great reading. If you cannot get it let me know and I will bring a few extra copies home.

My apology for this short answer on such a great question but I don't want to turn these answers into long involved blogs. Get the book and read it - it is great.

Question 2

agr's question: "What is the thing in your life that you have been most afraid of?"

Another tough one. I don't know about the word afraid. In my life I don't want to be afraid and as I look back on what we would call major incidents like IW's breast cancer 'afraid' was not a word we used. We were angry (AM), frustrated, confused but not afraid.

We are called to live life as best we can and to play with the cards we are dealt. Like in most card games I do not like the cards I get sometimes and want to change them or sometimes wonder why others seem to get all the good cards.

None of this changes the cards in my hand so I have learnt (sometimes better than others) to play the cards I have and to do the best I can with them.

Question 1

This question comes from my many comments about Indian time and how things here happen 'when they do'.

agr's question: "Why is it so important for you to be on time and for things to start on time?"

Good first question agr. Can I pass and wait for question 2?

It is well documented that I like to be on time, actually I like to be early. IW can recount many stories about my efforts to get the family to things on time. Even when our three girls were very little we still managed to get to events prior to the starting time.

There were exceptions of course, caused by things out of our control and also when there were unexpected emergencies to assist with.

The main point of my response to agr was that, for me, being on time was a sign of respect for the person hosting the event. If they say they want to start at 7:30 pm then why should I turn up when I like. If I am delayed I would offer my apologies.

I must admit that, 'when things happen in India', is still a mystery to me. I am not frustrated anymore and just go with the flow. The 'It is cultural' answer has for me as many holes as a well used Indian mosquito net. One of the puzzling things at CSI Jessie Moses School is that school starts at 8:25 am and out of the 2000+ students there are less than ten on average who are late. They have obviously learnt through experience that school starts on time and that they should be there before that time. When lunch is over they return promptly to their classes.

Alongside respect is the thought that if the event is something that is important to me I don't want to be late and risk missing something.

Questions - An Introduction

Anne Grace Ruth and her Grandmother on a visit last Sunday

We have four weeks to go and last Sunday night at Prayer we introduced the countdown to help the Hostel girls understand the reality of our leaving. We plan to use Sunday nights as a focal point to help with the parting.

At the end of prayer I was approached by Anne Grace Ruth. In true Australian fashion I call her agr as her name is far too long to use in conversation. agr is the top Year 12 student in the Hostel and one of the top girls in the school. She is a delightful girl, very diligent and organised, and has offered great insight to us about the workings of the Hostel. She is also a good sounding board for us in our struggle with Indian culture and habits.

agr's request was a simple one. At the end of prayer every night she wants to ask me a question. She assured me that she could come up with 28 questions that would help her. I was not as sure I could come up with 28 answers that would help but agreed to her request.

I hope to publish her questions and my attempted answers. I have also told her that I will get IW to help me answer as there is much more wisdom when we both answer.

Stay tuned for Question 1.

A Day at an Indian Theme Park

Welcome to Queens Land the 'best amusement park in Chennai'. This was the venue for the Year 10 excursion. It was an all day affair, leaving by bus from the school at 8:30 am and arriving back at 6:30 pm. In true Indian style we finally departed at 9:25 am and arrived back at the school at 7:10 pm. It was a day full of fun, disappointments and new adventures for IW and AM that left us both exhausted. We will attempt to give you the highlights of this day.

The Year 10 girls had been talking about this for ages and were so happy. The event was supposed to be a few weeks ago but was cancelled when one of the former teachers at the school died and the school was closed for the original day of the excursion. The girls thought it was going to be cancelled again as two days prior to our going the owner of Queens Land died.

This did not happen so IW, AM and the 12 intrepid girls eagerly looked forward to spending the day together with the rest of the Year 10 day girls plus four teachers.

Despite strong protests from IW, AM made sure we were outside on the dirt at 8:25. Much to our surprise the girls started to come over from their classrooms ready to assemble for the bus boarding. When they were about halfway across the dirt, Mrs Wesley, the Deputy Principal, with the loudest voice and gentlest heart in the world, sprang into action.

"You girls get back to your classrooms" she bellowed across the dirt. Apparently they had committed the most heinous (my favourite word) sin of walking in a group rather than in two ordered lines. We do not know what happened in the classrooms but we stood there for another twenty minutes until the ordered lines of children we have come to know and love proceeded out the door and across the dirt, accompanied by their teachers.

When they reached us they stood in their lines and were again counted. AM wondered why - how many children had been lost previously walking across the dirt quadrangle? After counting was complete, Mrs Wesley appeared from her Office and noticed that a lot of girls did not have the required maroon ribbons in their hair and instead had secured their long hair with elastic or even worse, different coloured ribbon.

I don't know if Mrs Wesley is a part owner of the little shop over the road but girls were ordered to go and purchase maroon ribbon to tie their hair back. No one was moving until the hair ribbons were correct. This was a sllooowwww process but eventually Mrs Wesley was happy. She did not seem to care about the variety of socks and shoes that were not part of the school uniform but those ribbons were important. Another count was done then the Principal was summonsed to wish the girls well and prayed for the day out.

We were not using the school buses as they would be required in the afternoon for transport so the school had hired transport for us. One of the things we have learned over the years when organising excursions is to know how many people you are transporting and then order the buses with enough seats for everyone.

This does not happen in India as they have an incredible ability to travel long distances with three or four people in a normal bus seat designed for two. We had 124 people all up and two buses with a capacity of 40 seats in each. Is this a problem? Not at all! We were allocated the front seat, as is usual, and then the amazing metamorphosis from individual people to clumps of Indian humanity occurred. It was an incredible experience - not a whine or a whinge just the sight of laughing four headed, eight armed contorted bodies enjoying the trip.

As soon as the bus departed, most girls removed the mandatory maroon hair ribbons. None of the teachers on board seemed to worry so neither did we. The trip took about 40 minutes and we arrived at Queens Land to an empty car park.

When any mass transport system (plane, bus etc) here stops, there is no orderly departure of the people in the front getting off first. This was no different and it took all of AM's old football skills to block the aisle to allow IW to alight before the mass exodus occurred. Once outside the girls gathered in two lines to be counted, yet again. As we were all counted getting on, I can only assume this was in case someone jumped out the window or the de-morphing process did not work for some girls.

We stood and waited while the four teachers met and discussed something. This discussion took about twenty minutes while the girls waited patiently. We decided to move through the entry portal and see what laid ahead of us. There were ticket booths and the entry turnstiles and inside we could see the obligatory 'greeting creatures'.

We were soon issued with our 'wrist band' entry passes and proceeded through the gates to make friends with our new pals. I got the bull/pig cross and IW took the indescribable moving Garden Gnomes.

Overall the place was nice and clean on the paths but again the Indian penchant for throwing everything they don't want away was evident behind the shrubs and fences that lined the paths. Beside us the only ones present were a small group of boys from a local Engineering College so movement was easy and there was no waiting. As we strolled down the path from the entrance we saw the 'Free Fall Tower' rise before us.

A number of the girls were terrified so IW and AM felt they had to show the way and strode forward taking several fearful girls with them. We were soon locked in and being hoisted skyward. At the half-way point, the ride drops to the bottom and then goes all the way to the top for the big fall. We knew this by watching the ride before but the girls in their excitement missed this small point so the halfway drop caused quite a few problems for them.

There were multiple cries of 'Sthothiram, Sthothiram' (pronounced "soltrum") from the girls when we reached the bottom. This is Tamil for 'Praise the Lord'. AM muttered a few things as well but 'Sthothiram' was not one of them.

The entrance wrist band serves to record which rides you have been on. One of the disappointing things about the park was that everyone is only allowed on a ride once. This really limits what you can do as not all rides are open at once and there is often announcements as to what is open. i.e. Wave Pool will open at 3:00 pm for 30 minutes. We found this really useless.

We believe it is used to limit the number of staff required, because as the crowd passes from one ride to the next they close the ride and move the staff on to a different one. So if you think you are smart and skip a couple of rides to avoid waiting at all, you will find either no one at the ride two down the line to operate it or when you double back to get the one you bypassed there will be no one there to operate it.

Under the raining umbrella

We proceeded through the rides with IW leading the girls. Unfortunately AM could not go on a lot of the rides as he had to guard the backpack and take the photos - great reason!! AM also withstood the strong pressure to go on several wildly spinning, gyrating, back-breaking rides because he was sure he would have caused some breach of cross-cultural etiquette.

By 2:30 pm we were finished all the rides and were hoping that it would mean an early departure. This thought process was heightened by the physical exhaustion suffered by both IW and AM in trying to keep up with 14 yo girls. Perhaps we are getting old??!!

This was not to be the case and we wandered back and forward looking at the empty rides but not being able to go on them because we had already partaken of our 'one ride'. One of our girls had not gone on the 'Dark House' ride (aka in OZ as the Ghost Train). She now wanted to go but not by herself. There was no one on the ride and no line up so we confidently approached the operator and explained the situation and asked if IW could accompany her. This was met with a stern refusal and it was quickly pointed out that IW had already ridden. No amount of pleading would change his mind so we moved on.

At about 4:00 pm a loudspeaker announcement called us to assemble at the train station. When we got there we were informed that the teachers were going to buy everyone an ice cream and we were to meet back at the station at 5:00 pm to catch the train to the entrance to go home.

Unfortunately the ice cream station was a 10 minute walk from the train station. We walked, had our ice creams then came the announcement that the chair lift was open. Great excitement - enquiries were made. Two answers came back with one teacher saying yes go and another saying no stay.

Mass confusion reigned. Some of the girls headed off and others stayed. IW and AM went with some of the girls towards the Chair Lift which was a good 20 minute walk away. We knew it was about a 20 minute ride so a quick bit of maths involving walk time plus ride time plus walk back to the meeting point would have had us at the 5:00 pm meeting time at about 5:40 pm.

At this moment there was a complete role reversal for IW and AM. For AM this was not a problem as he was in India and that seemed close enough. IW had reverted to all the good time principles about being on time that AM had taught her so was in great distress. When we finally reached the Chair Lift two very exhausted girls caught us and informed us that we did not have time for the ride and had to return to the station immediately.

IW took off at a cracking pace leading the breakaway while the peleton followed. AM used his team skills and dropped back to help those who were caught napping by the sudden change of pace. IW scored maximum points for the hill climb and also won the sprint finish with AM losing over 5 minutes on this stage.

We assembled at the station about 5 minutes late and surprisingly no one else was there. After a few minutes some girls arrived telling us we were to assemble at the place where we had ice creams. This made no sense as we would then have to turn around and walk back. IW took control of the peleton and we headed off. Eight minutes into the 10 minute stage we met the other group plus teachers walking back to the station. We wheeled around joined the pack and returned to where we started.

A few things were obvious at this stage (this was apart from IW's extreme frustration at the lack of order).

• How were 124 people plus the general public that was there going to fit on the 60 seater train. AM immediately thought of the bus trip and could not see any reason to be concerned.
• It was ages since a count was done - was everyone here?

We assembled in the 'cattle grid' to board the train. This was the girls, the general public, a couple of the 'stuffed people' from the entrance and a stuffed IW and AM. Soon afterwards the call went out for all girls to exit the 'cattle grid' and get into their classes in two lines to be counted. Once the count was done it was identified that about ten girls were missing.

At this point several major events collided in time. The train pulled into the station, the missing girls came running into view and about five girls realised they had left their bags back at the ice cream station and started to run off to collect them. The only peaceful thing that happened was IW and AM standing in 'the grid' ready to board.

Although the Station Master(hereafter known as SM) looked Indian he had this strange desire to only allow 60 people on the train. Most of the general public plus IW and AM were on board when the charge of the school girls occured. The 'cattle grid' stood no chance as the girls climbed over, under and through it. The teachers stood politely outside as the sight of the SM being overrun by the girls bought a wry smile to AM's face.

As SM picked himself up from the platform and dusted himself off there was no panic in his eyes or his actions. He gently retrieved his whistle which was dangling from its cord and placed it in his mouth. It should be noted here that in India the whistle is the 'chosen weapon' of people in power. AM had seen its skilful use by the Police, Traffic Wardens and School Teachers and now SM is added to the list of adept whistle users.

A few shrill blasts and the girls not already on the train froze in their place and with some deft hand movements SM ushered them back to the 'cattle grid'. He then proceeded to check the seating and remove any overcrowding - how unIndian!! As our train pulled out, the ejected children and teachers stood quietly and were rejoined by the five who had run to retrieve their bags.

We proceeded back to the entrance, alighted and waited for the train to return with the rest of the group. While we waited we were entertained by the resident 'stuffed things'.

The bus ride home involved the usual morphing of bodies but was considerably quieter. IW slept and AM pondered how tired the girls were. Perhaps he was not getting old after all.

Electricity

We live in the Principal's residence. When the new principal started in 2008 she decided to live off site so the residence was vacant. It is on the first floor above a classroom. The photo above is in the corner of the classroom and our electricity is delivered via the black cable in the top left of the photo.

The electricity supply to the school is reasonably stable - generally one to two outages a day, but from the photo above up the black cable to our house magical things happen. We have many outages where the switch on our board upstairs 'trips' due to low or high voltage.

The problem with our switchboard when we arrived was that it had 250 chairs, a full drum kit an electric rhythm and a bass guitar stacked in front of it so when the power went off AM morphs into Spiderman and clambers over the top of everything to reset the switch. It did not take AM too long to realise that this was hazardous to his health so the chairs were restacked to enable a passage to the switchboard (photo above).

There are times when the power goes off in our house but is on everywhere else and no matter how many resets we do the electrician inevitably needs to come. When you call for the electrician you always get two people. The leader comes and looks wisely at things but never does anything and his offsider always carries a pair of pliers and a screwdriver. These are the only tools required apart from your teeth when wires are required to be stripped.

I have witnessed all their work and now cannot work out why my father-in-law (a retired electrician) requires so many tools when he visits to repair things although I must admit his teeth are not what they used to be.

The general reason given for loss of power is "There was a loose wire". How the wires work their way loose I do not know. The last major outage was caused by 'something missing from the switchboard in the classroom'. Nobody could explain how the power was working then. If something was missing how could it have worked in the first place? It remains an Indian mystery that we live with.

In our wanderings around the streets we marvel at the state of the wires hanging, threaded through trees, exposed to the weather - yet things still work. Below is a small collection of photos from our neighbourhood.

The feeder for our house from the classroom below

Although I'm not an electrician, I fail to understand the continued loss of power in our house after about 10 electrician call-ins, when everything else in the school and surrounding areas work.