First Day at the Slum - October 1st, 2008

“So this is Krupa, SeoYeun,” said Brooke, as she introduced me to her host family’s maid.
“Hi,” she said in a friendly way and this made me comfortable about going to her village. I responded courteously, with a smile on my face.

We walked out of the apartment and strolled down the street to get to the main street where Vinis is. Krupa kept on stopping autos to negotiate the price but it didn’t seem to work out well for she had two foreigners with her; one tall white girl and an Asian girl that everyone in India mistakes as Chinese. Krupa finally found an auto driver that semi-satisfied her – we were on the auto for 25 minutes or so to get to the slum.

We had to walk for another 3 or 5 minutes when we got off the auto. We had to go through an ally way underneath a bridge; I saw sick people lying down and was a little intimidated because it was so dark. All kinds of ridiculous thoughts dashed through my head; these people could have AIDS or could be dying at the moment... but no one was taking care of them. I managed to suppress my fear by holding onto Brooke’s shirt and finally got to where Krupa lives.

Yes, the hut was small, as Brooke told me. The first thing that I noticed was thirty or so metal cups; what were they for? It tickled my imagination. But soon I noticed the horrible living condition of the hut. I don’t know how many people live in the hut, but I saw a couple of suitcases that were full of clothes and dusted, old dolls in corners of the hut. There was one fan hanging up on the ceiling and it looked quite dangerous. I spent five or ten minutes inspecting the hut, and became overwhelmed. My eyes started to water a little; I've only seen this on the TV, but I was actually there, in a real slum. I held in my tears.. crying on the first day of visiting? Hmm… I don’t know about that. It will give kids a false impression such as “oh she pities us because we’re poor.” I didn’t want that. I did not look down upon them; I just felt really sorry that they had to live in such conditions.

One by one, the kids walked in. There were about seven kids; Brooke taught 7th standard, and I taught 3rd standard. I was a little lost in the beginning because I’ve never taught English in such a way; I’ve taught Korean kids (that live with single parents or grandparents and have pretty much no access to additional English education) English over the summer but I don’t speak any common language with these kids. They speak Telugu and know a little bit of English; I speak Korean and English. We went over ABC’s and the difference between capitals and lower cases – Brooke wanted me to simply call them BIG A’s and SMALL a’s.

I was more than overwhelmed when Krupa brought in two bottles of 7-ups. They were the small ones that cost 9 or 10 rupees each. To me and my American friends, they’re considered as “nothing,” but not here in Krupa’s home- I'm learning to appreciate the small things in life, like a bottle of 7-up, because these kids that I met are always happy in such a condition. It’s probably one of the luxuries that kids long for; I felt really bad taking them. The kids' eyes sparkled as they saw the bottles; and they kept on urging us to drink the soda. I kind of wanted to tell the kids that they can have it but knew that such an offer would create a chaos. Krupa’s hospitality, also made me think my English teacher, who went to India over the summer break of 2007. She told me about her visits to the slums in Mumbai; families lived in small clustered rooms and had NOTHING. But when she and the rest of the group came, they got out all of the money they had and told their children to get Coca-Colas; I had 7-up but it was the same exact situation.

After half an hour or so had passed, I realized that I forgot to ask them their names. I knew that I was disrupting the “class” but I just had to ask them their names. In my opinion, getting to know others’ names is the first step in establishing friendly relationships. I got quite a few names down on the first day; Amrutha, the smartest and the prettiest girl; SriLakshimi, a little girl that seemed to love me and my pens; Arvin and Teza, two boys that seem to space out a lot; and Sai Kanakavali (ahh her name was too hard) that did a great job clarifying my directions to kids; and three or four others that I didn’t really get to speak to.

On the way back, one of the fathers walked us to negotiate the auto price; 20 rupees this time. Thanks local Telugu speaker! I wish I could do that. Since I take autos all the time, I would save so much money! Ehh.. but I should wake up. Haha.

I told Brooke about how I was really overwhelmed by the family’s living condition. She told me that it was even worse before; when Mrs. Kuriyan, her host mother, met Krupa for the first time, she carried water jugs and got paid ONE rupee for each heavy jug. The family had one meal a day, and it was only rice; the worst quality rice with sticks and rocks in them.

Now they have three meals every day, and have good-quality rice. Oh, I forgot to mention how Krupa started to support her family. So her husband died of tuberculosis last year, and she was left with her mother in law and three children to take care of. In addition, her husband’s brother also died so she had to take his child as well. So four children and a senior mother in law. And herself. It must be so hard for her; I understand that she’s thankful for Mrs. Kuriyan’s hospitality but still, when I think about her parents it makes me sad. It probably sounds absurd that I mention her parents, but all the parents wish the best for their children. I’m sure that when her parents got her married to a man they didn’t expect her to live such a hard life. It’s so heart breaking.

Brooke then mentioned how the gender inequality is so prevalent in India; even in slums, where gender doesn’t seem to matter when it comes to making a living – as long as you earn money and eat to sustain your life gender doesn’t seem to matter... but that’s not the case. Apparently the mother in law showed Brooke some pictures of her son and how great he is (that’s what Brooke guessed, since she doesn’t speak Telugu) although Krupa is the one that takes care of the family.

It was eye-opening for me since I haven’t really noticed the gender inequality in my host family although later I found out about how my host parents expect more from Priyesh.





I’ve been in India for more than a month but as I learn more about the culture, it leaves me more and more confused, yearning for more to actually understand the culture. I’m leaving tomorrow to go to Rajasthan, or the “real India.” We’ll see how my experience in Delhi and Rajasthan shapes my overall experience in India.

Namaste!