I got lost in a slum today

It was quite an adventure...

My friends went to teach to the people that live there. I went to take pictures :)

A slum here is just how it sounds; large communities assembled under bridges or along river banks or anywhere where no one would actually pay to live there. Some call them squatters, but neighborhoods are very permanent and many generations live in these squalid conditions. The small tent-like houses are made from concrete slabs or woven palm tree branches or large scraps or sheet metal (or some combination of the three).

I went with two teaching groups who met with the children first, then only the women. We met at a small brick building that they called the schoolhouse and brought posters to aid in teaching that had been carefully and meticulously translated in Tamil. Little did we know that most people in the slums are illiterate in their own native language...Just one more of those little things we didn't predict.

[our translator Priya, Sarah W., Briana talking to the women about common STI's. And yes, that is a poster of the female anatomy.]

At one point I wandered off by myself to look around the complex maze that is a slum. There are so many little tents on so many small roads all squished together and literally living on top of one another. The children there are adorable. They aren’t like the gypsy children that hang around the bus stations and ask for money. These children just want to say hi and ask your name and hold your hand. There are goats and chickens running around everywhere and lots of stray dogs. I saw many children playing in the small puddles of murky water and lots of men lounge around on straw mats. Almost all of the women I saw were either plucking chickens or scrubbing buckets full of clothes. This guy was hard at work making shoes and offered to sell me some. He also told me that it takes around three hours to make one pair of shoes.

I started walking around amongst the houses and before I knew it I was totally lost. The slums are not logically laid out, after all. I assumed that if I made four lefts turns I would eventually end up back where I started but of course that is not the case. I got so turned around and all the rows of houses start to look the same. I had to find my way back to the brick schoolhouse where my friends were before it got dark, because then I would be totally screwed. --The last thing I needed was to be wandering around a slum by myself at night...

So, I would talk to some people and try and explain in English that I was lost and that I needed to get back to the brick schoolhouse. Unlike the rest of the city, very few people speak English there by the way. And if they do, it is limited to “hi” and “what’s your name?”

Anyway, I was asking around to try and figure out if I had gone two streets past the smelly river or three, when a lady recognized my English and her eyes lit up in recognition. She motioned for me to wait here and she ran in her shack. I was relieved because I thought she was going to bring out one of her relatives who could converse with me and tell me how to get back. I was a little disappointed when she brought out her granddaughter who looked like she could be about seven. Unfortunately this girl's English was pretty limited as well but still better than other residents. When I asked her which way was the school, she told me there is no school here. She is correct in that, because what the children learn in is no more than four brick walls with no roof. Not a school by any standards, but I had to find my way back before dark.

She tried to tell me a little bit about directions but i think she could tell by the confused look on my face that navigating that place was out of the question. Finally she just took my hand and led me around for a little while until I saw a cluster of goats that I recognized and found the building.

Moral of the story is, I successfully maneuvered my way around an Indian slum. I felt pretty good about myself. Which leads me to my next point. Even though I am only here for a few more weeks, I am learning more Tamil just in case I get the inclination to explore on my own again.

Today’s lesson in Tamil grammar: subject of the sentence always comes first.

How do I get to Spencers Plaza? = Spencers Plaza ku eppadi porathu?

How much is this? = (object) evalavu?

Directions for rickshaw drivers:

Stop here = nertingay

Let’s go = Purem

Go left/right/straight = left le ponga, right le ponga, straight le ponga

Verbs:

To go = ponga (most often used when arguing with rickshaw drivers, to ensure they know where we want to go)

To give = kodu (also used when talking with rickshaw drivers, “give me my change!”)

To need something = veenum (usually used with the Tamil word for water, tani, which then requires the Tamil word for ‘bottled’, which is just pronouncing bottle with an Indian accent. No joke).

More later.

-S