Show Me The Money

Today, I got my first pay envelope. It's not much, but it's huge for a complete novice tutor like me. And the kid is totally bright and curious and intelligent. Snippets from our conversations go like.....


Sadiya (the ten-year-old kid in question): Achha, Trisha di, who is the Dalai Lama?

I do a simplified, comically-acted-out one-woman skit about Asian power-relations and religion in politics. We are studying Mowgli being adopted by a family of wolves. By the end of the explanation, she is able to find an analogy between the big bad tiger and China in context to Asia and also partially to the British colonists pre-WWI, which I explained last week when we went from a discussion of how dhotis aren't really skirts for men to a brief overview of the life and career of Gandhiji.

Sadiya : This panther looks skinny. I can see his ribs. I saw a picture of a model. Why are models so skinny?

We talk about perceptions of body sizes through the ages for a bit, touching on the media and Oprah Winfrey and then digress to how chocolate is related to increasing hip measurements. I explain everything in two-to-three syllable words and throw in lots of dry humor and patience, but the concepts are tough to grasp. Hence, I am amazed when once again, she GETS it.

Me: Sadiya! We'll talk about wildlife conservation later. Finish the paragraph on how the wolves want the lion to keep to his own territory.

Sadiya: But if the forests were better organized.....

Me: You have a good point. I'll show you pictures of the savannah and the rainforests and all the amazing animals on the Internet if you finish reading this chapter in ten minutes.

She doesn't, because we get sidetracked discussing the similarities between Tarzan and Mowgli, and then we talk about plagiarism. We do not use these big words, however. The conversation is like......

Sadiya: Is Tarzan and Mowgli the same story?

Me: Huh? Oh, no. Well, similiar, but see, the authors lived years apart and.....*another discussion ensues*

Sadiya: Maybe this one cheated from the other one?

Me: I don't think so. Tarzan's battle-cry is all him. (This may be wrong. I haven't cross-referenced it yet, but it was a safe guess.)

We practice Tarzan howls for a while. My mother looks in, vaguely concerned, then withdraws hastily when Sadiya shows signs of swinging across the room using my bedroom curtains. We return to the text. Soon, the chapter is done.

Me: Ok, so write the questions, and-

Sadiya (sunnily):I'll write the questions from this chapter and bring them next day?

I give her a lemon lollipop as a reward. We talk about an ad for McDonald's party reservations that she brought to show me and progress, perhaps inevitably, to an intense and deep discussion about how unfair parents can be and how to handle it. She looks me in the eye and goes, at her most adorable, 'I've never been in a movie theatre.' Tragically, 'EVER!!'

I instantly resolve to take her to see Ice-Age 3. She knows the first two movies better than I do anyway, plus I can't wait to see how she'll analyze the return of the dinosaurs and compare it to neo-Nazism, which will inevitably come up because her next chapter is a short poem by a Jewish refugee post-Holocaust,I think. Ooohh fun.



And now a shout out to Pal, for the excellent treats and the baby pictures and the parting gift (te amo) and particularly the Cult of the Lollipop, which Titas and Ankana assure me lives on in Bhavan's.

In related news, a certain RGD and Shahana Yasmin are excellent people to go blow big bucks (I meant shopping!) with. I like, but we need the Spanish fourth member to make up the Sisterhood of the 'Oh, no, you did NOT' Bitchslap. Applications at front desk of this blog, please.

And finally, if you couldn't tell already, I is having a very good time, despite the pressure (because of the pressure?) Many, many good things going on for me lately; academic, professional and social fronts aside, I've found some great new people who are honestly like the new books in a discount store (and bookworms will know exactly how much that means) and damn, I'm working and having fun like never before. Been a long time since I blogged seriously like this (well, half) but if you've been here before, you know what I mean. Summer fun, people. See you all soon! And te quiero, *A*n*i*.