Category: Diversathon 2021

#Diverseathon2021: Only in India: Adventures of an International Educator by Jill Dobbe

Only in India: Adventures of an International Educator
Author:
Jill Dobbe

Published:  August 2, 2018
230 Pages

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: November 27- December 4, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars

Book Description:

“We’re moving to India!”

Travel along with two international educators who take the leap and move to Gurgaon, India, to become principals at an Indian/International school. Excited by the opulent marble hallways and the grandness of the school, they quickly learn it lacks even the most basic supplies, like chalkboard erasers. The couple, however, make a go of it and ultimately adjust to the dizzying day-to-day life of Indian society where sacred cows stop for red lights, women wear glittery saris while planting rice, and dreadlocked sadhus go about renouncing all their worldly pleasures.

Part memoir, part travelogue and part tragic comedy, readers will marvel at all the couple has to endure only to end up leaving the school and India abruptly, without even so much as a Namaste. Despite a catastrophe or two, their go-with-the-flow attitudes and kindred senses of humor help them to endure the overwhelming bustle of India, while recognizing and appreciating its distinctive allure.

Jessica’s Review:

I read Jill Dobbe’s previous memoir of living in Cairo, Egypt titled Kids, Camels, and Cairo several years ago. Having been to Egypt, her writing brought me right back to Cairo and those wonderful memories of my family trip I was on with my aunt, uncle, mother, and sister.  That was to be my final trip with my uncle as he passed from lung cancer just two months later.  Needless to say, I looked forward to reading Only in India and taking a trip without ever having left the house! 

Jill and her husband left Cairo and then India was their next destination in their teaching adventures.  India is not on my bucket list, but I have seen Bollywood movies, movies in general, and tv shows taking place in India and enjoy all the colors that are present.  I honestly do not know much about India, but reading Dobbe’s memoir I definitely learned about the country, culture, religions, and history.  I now definitely want to see the movie Gandhi that stars Sir Ben Kingsley, it is sad to say that this ignorant American did not know about the circumstances of his death.

The memoir actually starts at the end of their time in India when she and her husband had to suddenly leave due to visa issues.  As I read of her time in India, I enjoyed going on her journey of remembrance with her, as I ‘experienced’ India for the first time.  There are definitely huge culture differences and she shows us the culture shock experienced by her and her husband.

It is written similar to a diary, so the memoir is honest and full of their experiences, good and bad while also seeing how the Dobbe’s react to certain situations.  They are presently living in Honduras, so I look forward to a memoir that takes place there, so I can journey to another country I have never been to! 

I have had this memoir on my kindle for a few years, but just now picked it up.  I read it as a part of #Diverseathon2021, and this month’s prompt is a book set in India. December’s Host is Natalie @ One Sleepy Reader and she is hosting at Instagram and You Tube. She is also be having a giveaway: See her You Tube and Instagram pages for information on the giveaway.

For full details on this year long read-a-thon, please click here.
And don’t forget about the awesome GRAND PRIZE at the end of the year. Click the link here for that information.

If you are interested in travel memoirs or teaching in foreign countries, I definitely recommend looking into Dobbe’s books. I wish it had not taken me this long to read Only in India, but there are so many books and not enough time!  She has one more memoir written that I find myself wanting to read!

Only in India: Adventures of an International Educator is recommended!

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

#Diverseathon2021: December’s Host and Prompt

We are in the final countdown for #Diverseathon2021: Tomorrow is December 1st and that means our final host and prompt. This year really has gone by very quickly.

For December the prompt is: A book set in India

December’s Host is Natalie @ One Sleepy Reader
She will host at Instagram and You Tube.

**She will also be having a giveaway: See her You Tube and Instagram pages for information on the giveaway.

For full details on this year long read-a-thon, please click here.
And don’t forget about the awesome GRAND PRIZE at the end of the year. Click the link here for that information.

What am I reading in December for #Diverseathon2021?

Only in India: Adventures of an International Educator by Jill Dobbe

Book Description:

“We’re moving to India!”

Travel along with two international educators who take the leap and move to Gurgaon, India, to become principals at an Indian/International school. Excited by the opulent marble hallways and the grandness of the school, they quickly learn it lacks even the most basic supplies, like chalkboard erasers. The couple, however, make a go of it and ultimately adjust to the dizzying day-to-day life of Indian society where sacred cows stop for red lights, women wear glittery saris while planting rice, and dreadlocked sadhus go about renouncing all their worldly pleasures.

Part memoir, part travelogue and part tragic comedy, readers will marvel at all the couple has to endure only to end up leaving the school and India abruptly, without even so much as a Namaste. Despite a catastrophe or two, their go-with-the-flow attitudes and kindred senses of humor help them to endure the overwhelming bustle of India, while recognizing and appreciating its distinctive allure.

What are YOU reading for this final month of  #Diverseathon2021?

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#Diverseathon2021: Book Review: Lost Boys by Darcey Rosenblatt

Lost Boys
Author: Darcey Rosenblatt

Published: August 22, 2017
288 Pages

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: November 14-23, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars

Book Description:

It’s 1982, and twelve-year-old Reza has no interest in joining Iran’s war effort. But in the wake of a tragedy and at his mother’s urging, he decides to enlist, assured by the authorities that he will achieve paradise should he die in service to his country.

War does not bring the glory the boys of Iran have been promised, and Reza soon finds himself held in a prisoner-of-war camp in Iraq, where the guards not only threaten violence—they act upon it.

Will Reza make it out alive? And if he does, will he even have a home to return to?

Jessica’s Review:

Lost Boys  is based off the real-life Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.  The specific year is 1982 and Reza is 12 years old and Iran sends their young boys off to war.  If they die, then they will be considered a martyr and Reza’s mother is more than happy to see him off.  Reza is conflicted to go but his best friend Ebi is very excited.  In Iran they have no freedoms, they can’t even sing or let alone listen to music without punishment.

Reza finds out the grim reality of war and finds himself separated from Ebi and in a POW camp. The boys there are treated in a range of ways from friendly with a teacher whom Reza bonds with over their love of music to being treated terribly by some of the guards.

I liked Reza and was rooting for him the whole novel.  I was hoping that he and Ebi would be reunited.  Lost Boys gives you an idea of what life was like in an Iraq POW camp without being graphic. I enjoyed this quick and easy read as I saw Reza’s growth over his time at the camp, but the end of the novel left too many unanswered questions.  The novel needed at least an epilogue or a follow up novel for the reader to get the whole story: When you become invested in characters, you need the whole story!

Despite the lack of conclusion, I would recommend the novel as it gives a US reader an experience of unfamiliar events at a time in the past with an unfamiliar country. And that has been the point of #Diverseathon2021: Diversifiying your reading this year by reading books with a certain type of character or places you might not normally read. And I would not have normally read Lost Boys.

 I am the host for this month’s prompt which is a book set in Iran. I am hosting  here and also on my Facebook page and Instagram.

**I am having a giveaway: A $20 e-gift card to the bookstore of your choice. All you have to do is read a book set in Iran and share what you thought about it on social media. **Be sure to tag me in some way so I see it!**  Previous Diverseathon hosts are welcome to join in on this giveaway.  This giveaway will last for the entire month of November with the winner being announced on my Instagram on December 1st: If you read fast then you still have time to get a book read and reviewed!

For full details on this year long read-a-thon, please click here.
And don’t forget about the awesome GRAND PRIZE at the end of the year. Click the link here for that information.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

 

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