what do we want...FAIR PAY...when do we want it...NOW!!

http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/3984

http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2275986,00.html


Above are only 2 articles I randomly picked from Thursday 24th NUT teachers' strike. I went on the rally in central London. To fully appreciate my part let me take you back to the beginning…

At school on Monday 21^st onwards it felt what was like there was mass hysteria: people not striking, people getting annoyed about the solidarity of unions, myths and lies spreading about breaking service if you go on strike and it made me more confused then ever about what I would be doing on Thursday . People kept talking to me with their differing views and it got incredulous.

It forced me to think about some serious things! I spoke to lots of people, one of whom was my mum who was in the strike 21 years prior to this, the first Teachers’ strike since. Which got me thinking back to a few years ago when I was in America where I was wondering about what career path I’d choose, and someone once said I’d make a brilliant business to business sales person. I believed this for ages, even attempted to join the industry: the money, the power the stature. I was 21 at the time and all I wanted was to be loaded and buy stuff! Whilst having one of many whingy conversations on the phone from USA, Dhara once said to me after id gone on about having all the money, that she and the fam would completely support whatever decision I’d make for my future, but that I should just spend a few minutes to think about what kind of person I am, what I want and how I want to live. Our family gene pool comes from a succession of public sector workers, from grandparents who were teachers, to lawyers trained in London but work in family law in Bradford to a political lobbyist who stands up for the charity sector! Basically I stopped denying to myself that I was never going to be happy making money for myself and that eventually id have to grow up and realise that I’d never be happy unless I was working to give back. (FYI I went home after USA and worked for the Fostering Network..which led to the teaching..!!)

I went to the rally in the end. It was absolutely brilliant! I met up with some friends/colleagues from work who have similar beliefs, with parents who were trade unionists, to having immigration socialist links or simply really believe in the cause. We met outside Holborn tube station which was incredibly packed with the most decorous bunch of protestors u ever saw with Marks and Spencers cardigans and kindly faces! We sang (in my case shouted!) chants in the intermittent sun, hail and rain, held placards and talked with fellow teachers whilst on the march. The atmosphere was electric, despite the weather, despite the fact we WONT get fair pay to meet inflation we were all there shouting ‘solidarity for unions’ ‘fair pay for teachers’. I spoke with this one teacher who had come alone from Slough, who offered to buy younger staff train tickets (we didn’t get paid for the day) but who were scare mongered into simply staying at home on Thursday. She had on the full regalia, a leaflet-hat, a billboard and several flyers and postcards. She said she was so pleased to see us all, young, having fun and working hard to stand up for each other!

I don’t regret having gone, but what I did do was refuse to go on the picket line outside school, apparently a few years before there was some trouble where some peoples actions had been taken personally at the people who had to, for whatever reason, go into school. Anyway, not having many friends in London I wanted to keep the ones I’d made at school and for it not to get personal I stayed away. I don’t blame them either, some people have very different circumstances. After the fuss, it was fine for the people who did picket and fine for the people that came in!

roopa- rebel with a cause and a new piercing!
xxxx

France

right then, ditto, the apologies from dhara apply to me more so, its been a LONG while since ive had any blog action time. Theres no excuse for my behaviour an i plan to change it! i have some targets, write more blogs and spend more time calling and emailing friends and family!

i went to South of France for a week with friends a few weeks ago. i had a wonderful time, lots of histerical giggling, adventurous rammbles, and translation hell for some people. (sorry..im learning...) but the best bit was the food and booze. We've been a few times now, an we visit family and friends of one of our friends. We avoid the touristy parts and because of this i feel i have a really 'authentic' taste of french life. Tomatoes an herbs that taste like nothing ive ever tasted, nut wine made from nuts fallen from a tree in real provincial garden, olive oil made by hand. Just simply delicious!

It was also really nice because i got to meet and spend lots of time with a good friends' family and mates. As most people who read our blogs know if you know one Vyas sister then your likely to know all of them and i love that! Not only because of the massive social network but also because I have learnt so many things from the wide circle of people across all ages, races, occupations etc who i might not ordinarily have met. It becomes ever apparent to me how lucky I am to have the relationships I have and have had with people throughout my life and it was so lovely to be on the other end of that in France. I was introduced to so many different people and it was bloody brilliant!

love roopa

Adventures in Costa Rica...(I have finally managed to write this)

First of all, apologies for how long its taken for me to get round to doing a post on the last 2 weeks of my holiday - since I've been back I have felt alternately lethargic/listless and busy busy. Finally got a minute now so here goes.We left San Fran after having had a fabulous time. it was so good to see them and we did so much, it was particularly nice to spend time with Devon and am pleased we planned it so the week we were there he was on spring break - the little man really is growing up so fast I feel privileged that despite the distance we all have such a good bond with our cousin (and our uncle and aunt) it is very special.

We got to Costa Rica and were met and given our vouchers for hotels and transfers - and that was it! we were off to our first hotel, the gran hotel costa rica it was a beautiful old colonial building in the cultural square, right next to the national theatre. We hit the bar and had a good nights sleep. The next day we went and explored San José – its not a particularly nice city – with a few parks, the nicest is the parque nacional, although really, its not large or particularly exciting. The city is very loud, not quite sprawling and has a billion fast food places, which is a bit of a shame really. The national theatre - teatro nacional is a beautiful colonial building, and after looking around it we found that there was a piano recital on that night (which funnily enough was cheaper then what we paid to just look around!) – we bought tickets and later that night went along – lovely recital by an amazing 17 year old musician. We had a great dinner and the next day we rose early for our ride to Volcan Arenal – the Arenal volcano.

We arrived at the hotel arenal paraiso, and were of course shocked at how lovely the hotel was. Our cabaña had an awesome view of the volcano, and on the day we arrived the sky was beautiful and clear - we could see the top of the volcano, and both craters. We spent a brilliant afternoon hanging by the pool, drinking cocktails and experiencing the chain of natural thermal spa pool thingies at the hotel – and as dada had given us both $50 we both treated ourselves to a swedish massage in the beauty rooms. Bliss. The next day we woke early and wait on the volcano trail – it was really amazing, I clambered over the lava rocks caused by the 1992 eruption. Walking through the forest there were lots of animals, bugs and birds to see and learn about - monkeys too, and the guide was great so we all learnt a lot about the natural eco systems associated with so many different plants. Then we went to the la fortuna waterfall – this time it was just me and stef and the guide who was very nice. We swam by the waterfall – the rocks were slimy and the force of the waterfall pretty magnificent, but it was also nice to hang out and paddle in the calmer water too.

The next day we rose early and got a ride to the Monteverde cloud forest. Our hotel was the cloud forest lodge, and once again we loved our little cabaña., the lodge is based in section of cloud forest and that afternoon we went ziplining. It was brilliant! It was the one thing I was really super keen on trying and I really enjoyed it – you are so high above the canopy of the cloud forest and you go so fast sometimes, and at other times you go slow enough to actually look around – brilliant experience. It was awesome and we had 2 fantastic guides and just us so it was even more special. At night you can see so many stars and constellations. The next day we went to the Monteverdi Cloud Forest, which is a biological reserve – it was amazing. We spent a great morning walking around with a guide, and then spent the afternoon by ourselves – took some very difficult routes, quite steep and not always clear which way to go. The reserve only lets in 600 people a day, and it’s so big you just don’t really pass anyone on your rambles. After that we went on a shorter walk and saw so many monkeys! That night we went to Johnny’s pizzeria which was highly rated in the guidebook – amazing cocktails and great food. The next morning we left early to get to the beach at Manuel Antonio.

We had a great driver on the way who really wanted to be a tour guide – he stopped on numerous occasions to show us the national bird of Nicaragua, the national tree of Costa Rica and a river with crocodiles – it was soo fun. Our hotel in Manuel Antonio was really nice, the Hotel Villa Teca and we stayed for 4 days, we relaxed by the beach on the first day and the next day we went to the Manuel Antonio national park – its really something, it used to be an island but the sediment built up and joined it to the main land, and it really is an area of natural beauty. The trails we followed in the park were very steep and the sun was ferociously hot – we ended up on one of the private beaches and stayed there for the day – again so many animals and a huge iguana was right next to us whilst we lay reading in the sun – here the water was much calmer with big but gentle waves, so I enjoyed the swimming there a lot – but stef preferred the rougher and more powerful surf of the larger public beach that we had visited the day before. We spent the next few days going alternately into the port town of Quepos to hang out and drink amazing iced coffees then to Manuel Antonio to hang out by the beach – on our last but one night we went out on a catamaran and drank lots of rum and snorkeled (coming to the conclusion that us Brits can definitely drink more then the yanks). the next afternoon we left for San Jose and the long journey home.

NB: For any foodies out there, Costa Rican food is not particularly exciting but the drinks and the cocktails were great!! - you definitely dont go there for the food.

In all, I would recommend a long break to everyone: the bliss of having four weeks off work to recharge and relax is awesome and the number of amazing things I saw and experienced in Texas, California, Nevada and Costa Rica were just phenomenal. From SXSW to the LBJ library and the DMA, from Lake Tahoe and snowboarding to learning to gamble in Reno and wine tasting in California, and from a volcano to cloud forests, ziplining, hiking and going on a catamaran, everything was just phenomenal.

And of course, I am happy and thankful that I experienced all of these things with people I love so much – soppy as it sounds but the company you are with also helps to make the places you visit and experience: seeing and spending time with, sharing experiences and making memories with Motiben, Das, Mama, Mami, Devon and even the grandparents (I know, shocking (!) ) and of course, the lovely Stefan of course.

All photos are on stefs flikr and I hope to be able to link to youtube clips of video footage soon (just call me daisy steiner)

Part time dogs

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7354547.stm

I agree with most of the comments, this is just a sad reflection of the society we live in, where folks want all the fun and none of the responsibilities, they want it and can pay for it, and they don't think about the consequences. Consumerism gone mad. Jigna

More SATC news and girl power despite the Spice Girls

The good news is:


"you can be a feminist and like Sex and the City. Not least because if you're about to start letting political doctrine arbitrarily dictate which bits of the culture you respond to you may as well give up now and submit to the patriarchy. But mainly because the programme is funny and clever and it thinks women are important"

Article in the Guardian:

http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/women/story/0,,2273785,00.html

Book group was interesting last night we discussed Edith Wharton's, The House of Mirth, it was interesting to discuss with the Well Read Women of Dallas how generations later many women still let their roles and society define them. It was also interesting to discuss how women treat other women, that's the other reason I love SATC the great female friendships. I so miss my female friends at home and I do think that female friendships are so underrated in today's society but they really are so very important in so many ways for all women everywhere, the compassion, empathy, support etc you get from female friends is the BEST and irreplaceable.

Jigna

Immigration story in the Guardian

Really interesting article/interviews in the Guardian about immigration in the UK throughout the decades since the 1940's, overall positive and really interesting comments. The Australian woman comments: "Having lived in Britain for half her life, she finds herself defending it to her friends. "Australians are really nice when you first meet them, all 'Hi, how are you?' but it can stay on that level for ever. Whereas English people, when they do let you in, and my theory is it takes three years, are really lovely. Friendship is more deep and genuine here because it's harder to have relationships - you can't just go and sit out in the sunshine and watch the harbour and have a few beers." Really does about sum up my view so far regarding the difference in friendships here in the USA and home. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/apr/07/britishidentity.immigration
Jigna

Dharas visit and AFI Dallas

Sorry Dhara I have been so busy have not even had time to blog! I will just repeat and add a little from Dhara's blog. So Dhara visited us in Dallas in March and we had a great time, although it was over so quickly. We checked out SXSW, we stayed over with Wooleys friend's fiance in Pflugerville, Austin (great name!) they were fantastic, another friend of Wooleys came down with us and we all had a great time, great food, great drinks and great company! The rest of the visit was fab and I was also very glad that Dhara was able to come along to the book group meeting, I am hoping it may motivate her to start her own maybe with Roopa when she gets home? Dhara gave you further details about her visit, so I wont bother with any more except to say, it was great hanging out with her and I was very sad when she left :(

Moving on though, we have been very stimulated entertainment wise in the last few weeks since Dhara left, a friend and I went to see a play, THE BLONDE, THE BRUNETTE AND THE VENGEFUL REDHEAD , a very interesting play at the Dallas Theatre Center. A story told over a few years by the different characters involved, all played by just the one actor, she was amazing and it was a very powerful play concerning the roles people play in our lives and how one event/action can impact those around us, sometimes in ways unknown, the whole "butterfly affect" theory.

The AFI Dallas, film festival started on March 27. Last year a few weeks after Wooley and I arrived in Dallas, the first ever AFI Dallas film festival started and it was brilliant! We had a great time and thought Dallas was so cool, it ended and we were introduced to the "real" Dallas! The second year of the festival so far has been great, we have seen a few films and we have become involved in the whole thing by volunteering, a truly great aspect of American culture is the way many people volunteer for various causes and events, its amazing! It's great for the community and great for the individual. The only scary thing is that relying upon volunteers cannot be the only answer when providing services, running events etc and I fear that in America so many services etc rely so heavily upon volunteers that in times of recession (which may be around the corner or now?) people have to re-arrange their priorities so such services suffer a huge loss. So at a time when the need is at it's greatest is exactly when the services are limited due to their reliance upon volunteers. Where I currently work is all about the volunteers providing a service to low income families, everyone and especially the volunteers are amazing and its a fantastic service. But you just cannot compare it to state funded services. However, as we have heard more than once in the recent weeks, we are Europeans and we are all socialist in Europe!

So the films we have seen so far are:

1. Fields of Fuel - a documentary about bio-fuels, very interesting and made us want to buy a car with a diesel engine! The reasonable thing about the film was that it did not pretend that bio-fuels would be the magic answer but that several answers were needed to end the US and the Western world's reliance upon oil, including building better public transport systems which is something Dallas desperately needs!
2. Shorts Programs - Documentaries: which included
a. The Frozen Capital - hilarious short documentary about Winnipeg Canada, being the winner of the "Slushee cup", the city where the most slushees are sold in the world, for the last 7 years!
b. Movement - a touching documentary by and about young man confronting a condition
c. Farewell Packets of Ten - a hilarious short film with two old Irish women talking about smoking
3. Split: A Divided America - an interesting documentary about how America is so divided politically along party lines, why this is so and are there any answers. Whilst the film was depressingly short of answers it was an interesting snapshot of the way in which Americans talk about, or rather don't talk about politics, the medias role etc. It confirmed many of the suspicions Wooley and I have developed about this issue over the last year and as we left Wooley felt that he would have been better prepared for the whole Texan adventure if he had watched this film before we arrived! It was particularly interesting in the way it discussed faith/morality and politics which possibly is one of the single most scariest thing to me about American politics. It also discussed how many people in America are of the opinion that you may as well not talk about politics if you disagree, thereby shutting down any hope of negotiation and compromise something that is lacking in many aspects of American political life. It also touched upon the lack of social interaction in the American lifestyle, someone in the film said, "everyone goes home and watches "Friends" and have no friends", and how many people develop friendships with only like minded people and they only watch and read stuff that will reinforce their views, so their views are never challenged.
4. Iron Ladies of Liberia - an interesting documentary following the first freely elected female leader of an African nation in her first year of power
5. The Guitar - a surprisingly positive story about dreams and the power of self, directed by Amy Redford
6. At the Death House Door - about a Reverend in Texas, who ministered to 95 inmates committed to death, he spent the last 12 hours with them, an interesting look at the death penalty and how it affects society.

We also went to the House of Blues Gospel brunch last weekend, which was fun, the buffet brunch included cheese grits and a bloody mary bar! We ate and drank to a live gospel music which was certainly a BIG sound! Jigna

PS: I forgot to metnion that I also had a very SATC night the other night, when I and friend went to fashion show at the posh mall, Dhara refers to, Custo Barcelona show, I felt very Dallas and very bling AND champagne!