At the Hindu Temple

Today, our RE class went to a Hindu temple here in CT, having learned more about Hinduism last week from our RE director, who had majored in East Asian religions and lived in India for a year (his mother had been in the Peace Corps in India for 2 1/2 years; he was in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica, I believe.)

He had told us several stories from Hinduism, about the four faces of Brahma, and the three main deities Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva; about both the oneness and multifaceted aspects of God (which are either believed to really exist or to be symbols of life, nature, etc.); about Rama and his story in the Ramayana; about Krishna and his incarnations when life on earth is out of balance between good and bad; about the elephant-headed god Ganesh; pooja, the ritual offerings; the animal spirits associated with the gods (and so there are many vegetarians); Sanskrit; samsara, or the wheel of suffering; reincarnation; karma, which is not some kind of universal scale of justice, but is more about the sum total of your actions (I've heard it described as intention)--so not "karma is a bitch."

So today was our field trip.  We removed our shoes, saw the shrine to Ganesh, entered the main sanctuary, and did the prayer walk around the room, seeing each shrine and statues to the deities.  The kids asked questions, as did the adults, as we went.  The statues were from India, but the elaborate, gleaming white architectural niches were made here (no pictures allowed inside this area.)  We saw several people praying and making offerings at various shrines--Rama, Shiva, the Jains, the planets, and several others.  There was the sweet smell of incense and lots of ringing bells, plus chanting.  Also, another member demonstrated how ashes at the shrine of Shiva were put across the forehead, left to right; he compared it to Catholic Ash Wednesday.

Then we went downstairs to the Hindu school for the common prayers; we sat on mats or in chairs along the wall.  Led by students, we chanted OM , and other chants (shanti, shanti, shanti), plus two cycles of yoga forms (essentially what we would call salutation of the sun, downward facing dog, and others, each presented with their Hindu name and a short instruction, but I had the strong feeling that this was yoga as it was meant to be--within its spiritual tradition.  i just looked it up--it was a progression called the Surya Namaskara), and more chanting.  There were two presentations on temples by students--one in Tamil Nadu to Shiva and one KaliSa (I think.)  After the kids presented, they asked the gathered children and adults 4 questions--right answers were rewarded with candy!  Everybody liked this part and a couple of our students had a right answer.

Then we went upstairs where there was more chanting and an increasing number of people.  We watched for awhile, looked over a book they had on the temple and its prayer walk.  The curtain in front of the main deity was drawn because the statue was being washed (butter, milk, juice, honey etc., which is later offered as a blessing) and dressed; we hoped to see the curtain opened but think it happened later than we were there.  As we left, I did buy some laddu, a sweet yellow ball with (usually) chickpea flour, ghee, sugar, nuts (almonds or pistachios), cardamom, and this one had raisins.  I shared it around outside but the kids pretty much didn't like it, neither did the adults (well, I did, but I remember having it at my Hindu neighbor's house when I was a child.)

I think we have one major field trip left, to an African American Baptist church.  I've really loved this class.

Fall Fun: A Mystical, Magical Weekend, Part 2

Our evening at Mystic Seaport began in the parking lot across from the main entrance at 5:45 as we gathered together 13 girls, 2 brothers, 4 moms (Mama and I included), and 2 dads for an overnight program on a 19th-century sailing ship, the Joseph Conrad.

We walked into the Seaport, carrying all of our gear, which we stow on the ship.  You'll notice that the photos are all cloudy and dark--it was a very overcast fall day, but not windy and not too chilly.  The bunks were stacked three high, with a few smaller cabins available for adults only.  I nabbed the cabin because it was the best bed for my back.  More on the night later.  We practiced our fire drill first and then began our adventure:  the girls were going to play detective for a uniquely nautical mystery.

  

My cabin!

 



Divided into two groups (Mama and Bud were in the other group), the girls were presented with the conundrum of the Morgan's captain's daughter's lost tooth.  They were given a list of suspects who had access to the captain's quarters and began their search . . . . They went to the scene of the crime first--where the daughter slept in the captain's quarters.  Then . . . .

to the quarters of the cabin boy . . . 

to the cooper's workshop. . . . 

They also went to the chandler's, where they learned more about whaling voyages (3-5 years!) and the crew (who was paid what) and supplies ("baggy wrinkle" protects sails from rope burns.)  They received a message recorded in Morse Code, which they raced to translate, working in groups.  They also compared handwriting samples of the various people involved.  And then they examined a fingerprint of the person whodunit!  I won't spoil that part, but I will answer one question:  why would someone take the girl's tooth?

Because it wasn't her tooth, but a whale tooth with scrimshaw!!!

As a bonus, the program leader let the girls try their hand at scrimshaw, albeit on plastic tokens, not real bone.  The girls loved sketching and then carving their own scrimshaw; we all realized how hard it was to see where you'd worked the token.  I can't imagine doing it on a rocking ship!

A few examples.  Bud's is the lighthouse (#2) and mine is the compass rose (#3.)

It was around 9:15 p.m. when we returned to the ship, supposedly to go to bed.  Eventually.  First, we all explored the deck and downstairs.  One of the educators gave us a lot of great information about life aboard a ship--who became a sailor (2nd- and 3rd-born sons and those without trade or prospect, plus anyone press-ganged), how they traded for supplies on their long voyages (with beads and things), the different parts of the ship (bow, stern, forecastle, bowsprit) etc.  We couldn't do any star-gazing because of the clouds and no one was ready to sing any sea chanteys on deck.  The kids were more interested in running around, squealing, and climbing on things (not riggings, thankfully.)   They also enjoyed peeping over the deck rail to watch the various groups of visitors on the scary Nautical Nightmare tour--the scary ghost lady was not to far from us and would frighten the visitors.  The girls enjoyed scaring themselves and imagining things (later the next day, the educator told Mama there are rumored to be 23 ghosts on the ship; glad he didn't tell the girls that!)  I won't dwell on how long it took for the kids to get ready and then settle down for bed, except to say it was after 1 a.m. (and after many adult interventions--they were particularly keyed up and not listening to instructions by this point.)

I slept separately in the cabin, where it was colder than I expected, and more comfortable, too.  The boat is sunk into the mud of the shallow port and so doesn't move at all, except with the shaking of running kids!  Still, once I fell sound asleep (after 3 a.m.--just unused to the bed, the sounds, etc.), I had crazy dreams of ships, Titanic, danger, rescuing kids and Mama, blah.  I woke up a couple of hours later at 5 a.m. and decided that sleeping was too much work!  I went and sat on deck in the pre-dawn hours, thinking about the age of masted ships, the uniqueness of sleeping onboard an old wooden vessel, waxing historical and philosophical  . . . . and listening to Mama snore gently, before she woke up, too.  Yep, Mama slept on the deck of a 19th-century masted ship!  It was the main reason she and Bud came on the overnight, to have this rare experience.  And she made the most of it by sleeping up top.  The high sides protected her from most of the wind and she had a mattress to cushion the hardness of the wooden deck.  She loved it.  We sat chatting as the sun rose, watching the sky change from black to blue to overcast gray.  It was supposed to rain.

Because of the threat of rain, our program leaders let us do our rigging climb first.  This is what most of the kids had been looking forward to.  They donned pelvic harnesses and then, one at a time, in a "code of silence," they scampered up the riggings to the first platform.  There were three gold bars strung across there, which were good luck if you touched them.  Both Sis and Bud made it up to the lucky bars.  And so did Mama!  I watched from below (and even that was hard.)

Bud

Sis

  

Mama even took a picture of the view on her way up!

After breakfast, the program was essentially done.  Most of the girls headed off with their parents, but some stayed around, like us, and wandered then now-open seaport.  We saw the exhibition on longitude, complete with replicas of Harrison's four machines.  We also saw the planetarium show on the night's sky.  We saw the baking demonstration in the Buckingham house.  And we showed the kids some of the pictures of them as babies and toddlers exploring the place.  We've been going to Mystic for years, even before they were born.

After lunch at the Galley restaurant and a quick detour to the shop, we headed home exhausted, exhilarated, and with lots of new stories to tell.

Fabulous Field Trip!

Today, I was a chaperone on the children's first school field trip to a local historic farm.

And after my experiences a week or so ago with poorly behaved teachers and chaperones on my own historic house tour--the teacher talked through the whole tour, not noticing when her kids misbehaved and not stopping when I privately requested she do so (besides that, we've had chaperones talk and text on their phones, teachers and chaperones abandon their classes and wander off, and more)--I wanted to be a model chaperone.  And I think I was--helped the kids follow instructions, kept them all together, and never distracted from the docents.  Though, perhaps, I spoke up a couple of times enthusiastically--"oooh, kids, you won't get to touch a 200 year-old loom again!" or "wow, just imagine cooking on that stove!"  But I didn't dominate or ask too many questions (only  one or two, on the side) and I never answered them.  (Yes, I wanted to.  But I didn't find any fault with any of the tour.)

We had a wonderful time!  The kids learned about blacksmiths and "jobbing", getting to try their hands with "frog-lip" tongs and "duck-billed" tongs.  They planted green bean seeds in containers to take home.  They fed sheep and chickens.  They helped weave a floor rug with fabric scraps on the aforementioned loom.  They made and ate cornmeal pancakes, after looking at an old wood-burning stove, and got to touch ice in a real icebox.  They carded and then spun by hand yarn from the sheep, tying it into a bracelet to take home.  It really was a fabulous tour--well-paced, well-structured, well-timed, with a diversity of information and hands-on activities with enthusiastic and engaged docents.  As a fellow museum educator, I was impressed; as a mom, I was grateful.  Because I know how much effort went into the tour.

-=-=-=-=-

Cornmeal Pancakes

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground cornmeal
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup melted shortening or vegetable oil
1 egg, well beaten

Add together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Then mix in boiling water.  Stir milk, shortening, and egg into batter.

Drop large tablespoonful onto a hot, well-greased frying pan or griddle.  Turn the heat down and cook the cakes until they are brown (and begin to bubble.)  Then flip them over and brown on the other side.  Eat and enjoy!

Spring Break: Not All Bad

Sure, influenza isn't great and it is greatly affecting the week, but the news from today isn't all dire.  First, Gommie and Pop had their flu shots (and the doc thinks Bud's strain was probably covered in the vaccine) and also probably have some natural immunities because of their ages (the ped said that people born before 1950 even have some swine flu resistance!).  I had my flu shot, too.  Not sure about Mama, though I'm afraid she didn't.  Sis didn't and so we will be watching her for up to 72 hours after Bud is fever-free, which is awhile yet. So, yeah, we cancelled our overnight trip and other things, but we got some Legos and an art kit to distract us all.

But before all that, we were doing pretty well.  Bud woke up happy and low fever, after 12 hours asleep.  He and Sis played SW figures, Legos, and Squinkies, specifically building Lego houses for the little critters.

Then Sis and I made delicious sourdough biscuits (coincidentally, on the day that KAF posted their new sourdough post.)  She mixed, rolled out dough, and cut biscuits, which she likes best warm with honey.

Midday, while Pop played with a seemingly improving Bud (at the pool--hope the chlorine is strong!  And I think at the beach.  Then for ice cream.  He seemed better earlier today.  And was definitely better today than yesterday), Gommie drove Sis and I to our Daisy horseback riding field trip.  Horseback riding is a common, casual hobby up here, like soccer and ballet are elsewhere.  There are lots of stables in the state and many people ride occasionally or even more regularly; girls down the street took lessons for a few years. (It's not rodeo but equestrian-type events and riding, I think.)  In fact, my co-leaders had both taken lessons and ridden competitively for this very stable 25-ish years ago!  People always think I know horses--that Texas stereotype (and I do have cousins who are experienced horsewomen who have been in rodeos)--but it's just not true.  I sat on my cousin Wendy's horse (without a saddle, with a few others, with me on the very back, as I recall) for a minute or so one Family Christmas and immediately begged to get down.  That's been it. No Black Beauty/horse-crazy phase for me.

At first, I thought Sis was similarly hesitant when she refused to help groom the horses beforehand.  But she got right up on a tall bay (that's dark brown for us non-horse people) named "Cow" (or something like that), helmet firmly in place, and rode him around the ring a dozen or so times, holding the reins in her left hand, kicking him to speed up, shouting "ho" and pulling to stop, pulling left or right to turn, and even trotting quickly.  Of course, there was a stable hand nearby the whole time, one for each mounted girl (a few at a time), but a few times she was ostensibly all on her own.  Except these retired racehorses were so docile and used to lessons that they pretty much went where they were supposed to go.  I think she's caught the horse fever now and was begging to have her birthday party at the stables, to take lessons, to ride again soon.

It was definitely a high point of the day, especially in contrast to the low points.  That, and pizza for dinner!