SPITTLE!

I am paranoid about walking anywhere close to the windows of a stationary bus. The reason-I am afraid that someone from inside the bus will spit on me!

Why is it that we Indians have this awful habit of spitting just about anywhere? The other day I was walking through the market and a blob of betel juice misses my shoe by an inch! That’s the reason I keep away from stationary buses, it is very likely that somebody will spit out of the bus without even glancing out of the window.

Almost every road in our good ole’ country bears the mark of betel juice on its tarred surface. Anywhere that you go, there are these characters who are spitting away here and there and everywhere.

You may be walking along, lost in your thoughts, thinking pleasantly of the day ahead when suddenly, a huge blob of spit lands right in front of you, all your pleasant thoughts vanish in an instant and for the rest of the day all you are thinking about is how disgusting that blob of spit was! I do wish people would stop spitting!!!

BOARDING SCHOOLS

A common misconception- most kids are sent to boarding school either because they are too naughty or because the parents want to get rid of their children (having their children home only for the holidays is so much less trouble.)

Being a boarding school product myself, I think people are plain ignorant of the fact that most parents put their kids in boarding not because they have to see their kids only during the holidays but because they believe that their kids are going to get a better education, not only academics but in other ways that matter too.

I have been in boarding school all my life and I strongly feel that sending me to a boarding school is one of the best things my parents have done for me. Of course I was scared about going into boarding and of course I hated it at first and yes, I did cry the first few times my parents called (but a friend of mine started singing ‘Rudolph the red nosed reindeer’ every time she saw me because she claimed I had a red nose whenever I cried which instantly put an end to my tears because I was extremely embarrassed by the song) , a new place is always scary but once I made friends and got used to the place I LOVED it!! I know a lot of people who hated being in a boarding school, but the majority of people I have met swear by boarding schools and most of them talk about the amazing times they have had there.

Some of my best and most memorable times have been in the boarding. Whether it was the bullying seniors, the various punishments, the midnight feasts, the late night chats, the silly fights, the irritating juniors- all this and much more are things that I will never be able to forget. Cribbing was one thing everyone loved doing but it’s not until I left that I realized just how lucky I have been.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t like going home, in fact I love going home and I love spending time yapping away with my mother in the kitchen and bonding with my dad over Animal planet but its just that being in a boarding school is an experience, maybe bad, maybe good, but in my case it’s the latter and I loved every single minute of it.