When I write life update posts, I am used to filling those up with places I went, food I ate, things I shopped for, read, and watched. Unless I am doing something, it seems it’s not worth writing here.
But the past few months have been lovely, even if there hasn’t been much doing. It’s been a daily mundane routine – school and college in full flow for the kids, so they have been busy with homework and weekend activities. But also, the weather has been quite miserable. Probably just one or two days where we headed outside for the pleasure of it, not for boring old grocery shopping, or library visits, or other such errands.
But I have been loving the pleasure of the slow, cold days of going out into brisk weather and coming back to a cozy, warm house. But there’s been nothing of note as such to write here.
So, I will make this post more of a gratitude journal. I am grateful for a number of things, so this is going to be a long one.
My son’s amazing school
Back home in India, he was in a good school, a CBSE school, but he wasn’t really interested in academics or anything like that. The studying was rote, the syllabus taxing, and the teaching methods kind of dull. Here, the turnaround has been amazing.
Here, he is in the public (free) school system, but the quality of the education has been outstanding. The school has different levels of teaching, and so he’s put in a study class that’s right for his level. The classes themselves are very interesting and practical, so he actually gets to see the theory in action (science).
His maths classes and homework are structured in a very game-ified manner. Without feeling any pressure, the boy comes home and eagerly does his maths homework on his online portal and checks every day to make sure he’s on top of the leaderboard. The leaderboard is anonymous, so he doesn’t have the pressure that a ranking system does. Also, the maths homework starts with simple problems and builds up to complex ones. And every maths sum comes with an accompanying video to help him recall the methodology. This has made him so independent, I can’t even.
In India, I was struggling to keep up with his maths syllabus, trying to help him. I had eventually given up and had started relying on a tuition teacher, but the speed of the curriculum was so much that even though he did ok in his exams, I knew he wasn’t really registering and absorbing the concepts. Here, the speed is slower, but he’s actually getting it without having to rely on a tuition teacher or me to help him.
His English is all that I had hoped for and more. He’s progressed so much since moving here. He’s doing some really advanced reading (current deep read in school is Purple Hibiscus). His school really pushes him to think analytically and to present his ideas more clearly. Back home, his essay writing skills were abysmal. Sure, his grammar was fine, and he did the basic 500 word essay decently. But here, he needs to write convincing proposals, argumentative essays, and so much more. He’s had to learn how to correctly quote sources. Snubnose has looked at some of his work and admits it’s a lot of stuff she never learnt in school.
He’s had to be much more comfortable with ambiguity and with deducing from implied text than with the straightforward reading and learning he did back home. I know that children in international schools in India get such an education, but for me as a parent from a CBSE/ICSE background, this method of learning has been an eye-opener.
One surprising thing here, and I really appreciate it, is the focus on religious and moral education. I am still very surprised and bemused when he comes back home spouting verses from the Bible, the Quran, and the Bhagavad Gita. This is very uncomfortable for me to say, but back home, he was starting to turn into a bit of a bhakt, without actually knowing any religion at all. Here, he’s become so much more inclusive and accepting of other religious beliefs, now that he’s actively learning them ALL in school.
My fears that schools here would be wildly sexual environments (Thanks Euphoria) and children would just run loose and not learn anything have turned out to be unfounded. While I know that this is probably because of this specific school, and not every school would have the same high standards, I am still grateful to be able to get my son a fantastic education without selling a kidney or two.
The fresh air
Again, something I had no thought of until I moved here. The AQI here is in the low single digits, and the difference is like night and day. I definitely feel like the clean air makes such a big difference in our well-being. My skin has been so clear, and even though it’s cold, my daughter’s allergic rhinitis and the kids’ constant sniffs and snuffles have practically disappeared.
Nature and the changing seasons
There’s one thing we all keep saying to each other. If you don’t like the weather right now, just wait a couple of days, or even minutes, and it’s going to change.
I have loved watching the seasons change. Every season has something different to appreciate.
I love the joyous colors, the flowering, and the longer days of spring. The heat of summer is a pleasant excuse to shake out all my light linens and just feel the brilliant sunshine on my body. The fall colors are magnificent, and it’s quite possibly my favorite season. It’s quieter, less crowded, and the days are cold, crisp, and sunny. Winter is possibly my least favorite time of year, with short days and persistent rain. I might have enjoyed winter a bit more if there had been some snow, but so far, it’s just been light flurries that melted away almost as soon as they landed.
The greenery again has been unexpected. Where I was expecting concrete blocks, high-rises, and general greyness (and, to be fair, there is a lot of that), it’s offset by miles and miles of green spaces (even in city centres). This is quite my favorite memory – bang in the middle of the city, just a hop, skip, and jump away from South Kensington tube station, such beauty.
I found I got tired of the buildings and monuments and shops fairly quickly, but I don’t think (going by my Insta feed) that I”ll ever get bored of the beautiful parks, lakes, and rivers that I encounter on my daily walks. Which brings me to the next thing I am grateful for.
Walk and commuter-friendly
Unlike the US and Bangalore, where we have to rely on our own transport or Uber, here the city is so walk-friendly. In Bangalore, I hated going for walks; it just seemed so monotonous, the same rounds around the familiar buildings. But here, it doesn’t feel that way. There are plenty of walking tracks, the scenery makes it all worth it, and I find I enjoy walking for exercise here.
Being commuter-friendly is amazing for everyone. Not being as reliant on a car brings so much independence. Snubnose has benefited the most from this – she’s traveled all over the city and even outside, and just enjoyed not having to be picked up or dropped off, or being stranded somewhere remote or unsafe because the Uber driver canceled yet again.
My mum lives a pretty sedentary life back home – too afraid of falls to attempt walking on our busy streets and non-existent pavements. But encouraged by the even footpaths, the lack of crowds, and the organized traffic, she has moved around a lot more than she normally does. She explored the city spaces a lot over the summer, and 🤞we can get her visa organized for a trip this summer as well.
Slower pace of life
I hadn’t realized how much the constant traffic jams in Bangalore had affected our quality of life. We lived a little outside the city in the suburbs, and we had to drive for even the smallest errand. So much of our time just got eaten up sitting in traffic. The boy would come home exhausted from his school bus ride, and every small outing seemed like such a chore.
Here, every neighborhood has a doctor, hospital, school, and grocery stores attached to it, and we still can’t believe it when our son is back from school in 5 mins, or we finish a doctor’s appointment in 20 mins (because people are so time-conscious). On the flip side, we can no longer hide behind traffic excuses for being late for everything, and we have had to relearn our Bangalore Standard Time way of life, where even being an hour late was acceptable. Here, we are learning to be a lot more disciplined.
The good side of all this efficiency is that we have a lot more time on our hands – to travel, to spend time amongst the four of us, to really slow down the always go-go-go life that we had at home.
Do I miss aspects of my old life? For sure, the steady weather, the friendship and companionship, the steadiness of life, but overall, I am super grateful that we (especially the kids) get to experience another way of living.
