So here I am, back in Delhi, my home away from home. When I first got here after leaving the village, Raju (their help) came into my room in the morning and looked at me with concern, asking, "Sick?" Well I did have a cold but was surprised that it showed so much. Then he motioned to my face to indicate that it was thinner. "Oh! I lost weight Raju," I said, thinking this was a good thing. "Hmmm," he said disapprovingly, and left my room. Later he expressed concern to Ankur that I was too skinny, and since then he's been bringing me sweets and giving me extra servings of food even when I say no thank you. Bless him. I'll miss the appreciation they have for round people here. I got on the scale today to find out I've lost about 10 pounds since getting to India. This is a side effect of a mixture of things: being pretty bad at cooking Indian food, having a limited selection of groceries to buy, not having a fridge (which means no cheese, butter, and limited milk), and just a generally healthier culture. I've also rarely eaten meat since India is a vegetarian's paradise. Don't get me wrong, there are some overweight people since access to deep fried everything is by no means limited, but more commonly they are just pleasantly plump. But I've gotten used to eating healthier- less carbs, cheese, and butter. I've learned to make do with vegetables and grains I'm not used to and I'm pretty grateful for that. Once Olivia arrived, she taught me some creative combinations of certain foods and I really hope to continue with this kind of mentality when I get home.
Another positive I've noticed is a distinct change in my approach to challenges. This realization came upon me on a day close to my departure from the village. A cheap purse I bought when I first got here got a rip along the seam of the handle. I sat down and started sewing it (something I quickly found out I'm really bad at) back together. I think the last time I sewed was in brownies when I was 6... it's been a while. It was a painstaking, oddly frustrating process with pretty shoddy results but I did it. That's when I realized I've changed. If I'd been at home, I would've just tossed it, disregarding it as cheap and easily replaceable. But I think I subconsciously learned the "waste not want not" mentality while being in Janauri. Also, I was isolated, didn't know the language, and my work was challenging and often draining every day (often due to LACK of activity). There were so many times when I wanted to give up and go home, but the only option I had was to go to bed, and get up in the morning and try again. And as the moment of departure grew nearer I discovered that I had more perseverance in some of the things I did and more appreciation for the few things I had with me. I really don't think I could've done it without the loving, supportive phone calls from home. I also rediscovered the value of prayer. Though I have mixed feelings about the religion I was raised on and am still figuring what exactly my path to God is, basic prayer was something I found myself doing more and more. I found it interesting that that minor experience of sewing a purse revealed all of that to me. It really is the little things. If nothing else this trip has shown me how adaptable we really are when we're faced with something which we can't easily run away from. I'm intensely grateful for this lesson.
Now I'll tell you about Diwali, the festival of lights. The lighting of candles (and in modern times it includes decorating your house with electric lights and setting off fireworks) signifies the triumph of good over evil. More specifically, it celebrates the return of one of their gods, Lord Ram, from his 14 year exile and his vanquishing of a major demon. This eradication of the demon basically freed the people from evil. I participated in a couple of Pujas (which is basically a prayer where you request something from the Gods) and it was a really cool thing to be a part of. It starts by setting up a kind of alter with the goddess Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) and Ganesh (the elephant God of prosperity or luck). During Diwali people pray for prosperity in the coming year. Side note: I found out that gambling is very auspicious during this time, and the more you lose, the luckier you'll be in monetary areas of life in the next year- so there are a lot of card parties during this week. Anyway, after setting up the alter you drape the the statues with flowers, particularly marigolds, and set up offerings (in the ones I was present for it was fruit and sweets- Ganesh has a favorite sweet that he likes to be offered :). Then we get the cermonial red dot between the eyes on the forehead. Then the puja really begins- candles and incense are lit and one candle in particular is set on a tray that you move in a circle while everyone sings particular prayers and ring bells. I believe the bells are meant to draw the gods to your prayers- it alerts them that the Puja is taking place. I was told to make a wish for the next year and throw flowers on the statues. I also took a turn with moving the tray with the candle on it in a circle. At the end everyone stands in front of that same candle and in one smooth motion gathers the smoke in their hands and washes it over their heads. It kind of looks like what you do when you're washing your face in the morning. After that candles are set in all of the corners of the house for purification. THEN, the fun begins. Or for me it was really more that the terror began. Remember the fireworks that almost hit us in Amristar? Ok well now multiply that by ten and add my nervousness from it. By midnight Delhi was a fog of smoke. EVERYONE is setting of fireworks and crackers. I ended up getting used to it after a couple of hours and was forced to set off a few myself. But I'm not gonna lie, I found every excuse to hide inside while this was going on.
So that's Diwali!
One more week! I go to the Taj Mahal tomorrow- maybe I'll run into Obama!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Goa
Well I finished up my internship last week. It was a strange feeling. As soon as I got on the bus in Janauri with all of my bags, I looked out the window at the EduCARE office and suddenly felt alone. Without realizing it I’d developed a home there- a network of people I could ask for help when I needed it and some actual friends. By the time I got to the train station in Chandigarh (the nearest big city- about 5 hours from my village), Janauri almost seemed like a dream that I had once. All the sudden, only five hours later, it felt less familiar. I don’t know exactly what caused that. Maybe it’s just what happens mentally when you know you’re leaving a place for the last time. I think I’ll come back to India, but I seriously doubt I’ll make it out to the village again. A bittersweet ending- I'm looking forward to being home, but I'll miss the simplicity of life out there.
I’ve now transferred to the mindset of a traveler. I mean, I was a traveler the whole time but with Janauri always waiting for me I felt a little more grounded in the country. I’m currently in Goa- the most popular beach state. I’ve seen more foreigners here than anywhere else I’ve been and quite a few westerners who’ve settled in the area. At first, the idea of traveling alone really depressed me since I’m a naturally social person, but after the first couple I got used to and am now really starting to enjoy doing exactly what I want, when I want. The beach where I'm staying, Baga, is crowded but during the mornings it’s a pleasant place to be. In this area there are very few houses on the beach- beach front property is primarily owned by restaurants. There are countless rambling little beach shacks that set up lounge chairs and umbrellas and your payment for using them is ordering food or about a fifty cents an hour. It’s also more expensive to travel here than it was when I traveled in the north. The food and taxis are about twice the price. While still cheaper than taxis and food in the U.S., I’d arranged my budget based on prices I’d paid earlier in the trip, so I’ve gone over budget- sometimes when I try to bargain I'm basing it on northern prices and the drivers tell me I've lost my mind. My real splurge was my hotel. I’m staying in a really cute boutique hotel and my room has a gorgeous four poster bed- complete with mosquito nets and a towering, intricately carved foot board. I also have a balcony and the bathroom has beautiful mosaic walls.
Yesterday I went to Old Goa. I went on Navin’s insistence- I didn’t really want to go that much but once I got there I was glad he pushed me. My inner history nerd got really excited to see the place on the river where Vasco De Gama landed and set up camp when he first came to India- I guess it was the same place Columbus was trying to reach. In that same area sits the largest cathedral in Asia, a really cool little 500 year old chapel- the first church in the area, and another cathedral which houses St. Xavier’s remains. What struck me the most about Old Goa was how beautifully landscaped it was. The gardens were gorgeous- it explained why Old Goa was once referred to as the Paris of the east.
Today was my favorite day though. I went to the largest, most interesting flea market I’ve ever been to. Beautiful hand crafted bed covers, clothes, and rugs made it a cornucopia of colors and patterns while the various handicrafts kept me busy perusing for hours. I chose 4 different bags of incredible smelling tea leaves- mango, chocolate, Indian black, and Jasmin- I can’t wait to try them when I get home. But maybe the most impressive part was where it was situated- it was on one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen- Anjuna beach. I really regretted not staying here- it was only about 4 miles away from Baga (my beach) and five times more beautiful and peaceful. After completing my shopping I sat on the beach and had a pina colada. I don’t think I could’ve been more peaceful.
To finish I’ll make a list of firsts I’ve experienced on this trip to Goa
1.First time riding side saddle on a motorcyle (no helmet of course)- I’d been really nervous to try this but it ended up being way easier than I thought
2.First elephant sighting! Very exciting
3.First time I've taken a walk on the beach with a cow. We watched the sunset together- it was beautiful.
4.First time someone tried to sell me a karma sutra book. I was very amused.
5.Best haggling I’ve done on the entire trip.
6.Tried Goan food- DELICIOUS. I had Chicken Cafreal- chicken with a green masala curry served with green rice. I plan on eating another Goan specialty
Back to Delhi tomorrow to celebrate Diwali (I promise to write about that), the I go on a day trip to the Taj Mahal, a few days in Jaipur, and then I come home!
I’ve now transferred to the mindset of a traveler. I mean, I was a traveler the whole time but with Janauri always waiting for me I felt a little more grounded in the country. I’m currently in Goa- the most popular beach state. I’ve seen more foreigners here than anywhere else I’ve been and quite a few westerners who’ve settled in the area. At first, the idea of traveling alone really depressed me since I’m a naturally social person, but after the first couple I got used to and am now really starting to enjoy doing exactly what I want, when I want. The beach where I'm staying, Baga, is crowded but during the mornings it’s a pleasant place to be. In this area there are very few houses on the beach- beach front property is primarily owned by restaurants. There are countless rambling little beach shacks that set up lounge chairs and umbrellas and your payment for using them is ordering food or about a fifty cents an hour. It’s also more expensive to travel here than it was when I traveled in the north. The food and taxis are about twice the price. While still cheaper than taxis and food in the U.S., I’d arranged my budget based on prices I’d paid earlier in the trip, so I’ve gone over budget- sometimes when I try to bargain I'm basing it on northern prices and the drivers tell me I've lost my mind. My real splurge was my hotel. I’m staying in a really cute boutique hotel and my room has a gorgeous four poster bed- complete with mosquito nets and a towering, intricately carved foot board. I also have a balcony and the bathroom has beautiful mosaic walls.
Yesterday I went to Old Goa. I went on Navin’s insistence- I didn’t really want to go that much but once I got there I was glad he pushed me. My inner history nerd got really excited to see the place on the river where Vasco De Gama landed and set up camp when he first came to India- I guess it was the same place Columbus was trying to reach. In that same area sits the largest cathedral in Asia, a really cool little 500 year old chapel- the first church in the area, and another cathedral which houses St. Xavier’s remains. What struck me the most about Old Goa was how beautifully landscaped it was. The gardens were gorgeous- it explained why Old Goa was once referred to as the Paris of the east.
Today was my favorite day though. I went to the largest, most interesting flea market I’ve ever been to. Beautiful hand crafted bed covers, clothes, and rugs made it a cornucopia of colors and patterns while the various handicrafts kept me busy perusing for hours. I chose 4 different bags of incredible smelling tea leaves- mango, chocolate, Indian black, and Jasmin- I can’t wait to try them when I get home. But maybe the most impressive part was where it was situated- it was on one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen- Anjuna beach. I really regretted not staying here- it was only about 4 miles away from Baga (my beach) and five times more beautiful and peaceful. After completing my shopping I sat on the beach and had a pina colada. I don’t think I could’ve been more peaceful.
To finish I’ll make a list of firsts I’ve experienced on this trip to Goa
1.First time riding side saddle on a motorcyle (no helmet of course)- I’d been really nervous to try this but it ended up being way easier than I thought
2.First elephant sighting! Very exciting
3.First time I've taken a walk on the beach with a cow. We watched the sunset together- it was beautiful.
4.First time someone tried to sell me a karma sutra book. I was very amused.
5.Best haggling I’ve done on the entire trip.
6.Tried Goan food- DELICIOUS. I had Chicken Cafreal- chicken with a green masala curry served with green rice. I plan on eating another Goan specialty
Back to Delhi tomorrow to celebrate Diwali (I promise to write about that), the I go on a day trip to the Taj Mahal, a few days in Jaipur, and then I come home!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Fred the Ant
So yeah, I failed on the whole “update on Monday” deadline. Surprised? Probably not. This week we made a couple of presentations to schools in the area. The first school was pretty small and we kind of used it as a demo, the next day (yesterday) was better. Yesterday we changed the presentation around a little to get the kids more involved and the school was also much larger. We went from presenting to a group of 30 kids to at least 100. This second school was also much more excited about our coming. They had a few kids prepare speeches in English about the environment in our honor and they also prepared a Sikh religious song. Their excitement and preparation was very touching and they all seemed interested in what we had to say. It felt good to really reach people. We’re hoping to work with the school to put recycling bins in their yard as a drop off point for the community in their part of the village- they’re in a more central location than our center. They say they’ll have the bins by the beginning of next month. And the bins for the front of our center should be arriving any day now.
However, I’m leaving in a week. I wondered if staying longer would make much of a difference but I came to the conclusion that in order to see the recycling project really take hold I’d have to be here at least 6 months, which isn’t really an option for me. I’m glad I at least got see the ball start rolling on my project and got to talk to about 200 people total in the area about the issues. I feel that I’ve inspired some people enough so that after I leave, what we’ve done won’t be wasted. Besides, more interns will be coming to continue the project and Olivia will be here for another month. I’ve also learned a lot about aid work since I’ve been here and if I decide to do it again, I’ll be much more prepared. Though I definitely have some disappointments about how little we were able to accomplish, I don’t feel like it was all in vain, which is a big relief.
Today after our English class we’re heading to Dharamsala- home to the exiled Tibetan government. I’ve been waiting for 2 months to go here so I’m pretty excited. We’ve given ourselves 3 full days there since there’s a lot to see. It’s also going to be cooollldddd (the low is in the 40s)- which right now I think I want since it still gets up to 100 here in the village but I’ll probably regret it when I’m shivering in bed due to no heat. But this place is a must see in India and there’s no way I’m gonna miss it! After that I’m back for a week to say goodbye and write up a report for the next interns and then it’s back to delhi next Friday for two weeks of traveling. Though many of my days here inched by, I’m amazed that my trip is almost over. 3 more weeks! I’m going to try and eat up every little bit of it- living in the present here has been a struggle for me and I’m afraid I may have wasted some precious moments because of it. No more of that I hope.
You may be wondering what Fred the Ant has to do with all of this. Well, one thing I’ve embraced are the formerly less appealing aspects of nature- particularly insects. Ants run rampant here, along with cockroaches, lizards, spiders, and slugs. While taking a shower it’s not uncommon for a small beetle to land on me or have a spider fall from the ceiling on to my unsuspecting head. It took me a while to get used to these things. But a few of weeks ago I went to the kitchen sink (which is outside) to find that our sponges were incredibly clean. I figured that Olivia must have cleaned them. Then a couple of weeks ago I discovered the real culprits- ants. I remembered from our 3rd grade ant farm study, that ants are incredibly clean bugs, and I’ve gained a huge amount of respect for these tiny creatures since I’ve been here. Not only do they keep our sponges clean, but they are seriously the hardest working living beings I’ve ever seen. I’m even a little inspired sometimes when I see one struggling with carrying a piece of food way to big for it. I’ve also heard that they have burial grounds in their ant hills- it’s amazing how their tiny brains can create such an efficient organized world while our larger, much more advanced minds can’t find a way to live in harmony with ours. After the sponge incident, I developed much more of a fondness for ants and thereby named them all Fred in an effort to apologize for my former hatred. Now in the morning I see Fred (or Freds) on the sink and thank them for their excellent cleaning job before flicking them off the sink so I can make breakfast (I don’t feel bad about the flicking though, these ants are like ninjas). In addition to the ants, I’ve begun to accept the purpose of the lizards and spiders, though I haven’t named the spiders yet… I’m working on getting that comfortable with their presence. I've really been able to observe their contributions to the balance of the environment- we're taught these things but seeing them in action over the past few months has been good for me. Cockroaches and slugs… eh, not so friendly with them. Especially since that night when stumbling half asleep to the bathroom I stepped on a slug and it exploded on me. Prettttyyyy gross.
Anyway, that’s all for now!
However, I’m leaving in a week. I wondered if staying longer would make much of a difference but I came to the conclusion that in order to see the recycling project really take hold I’d have to be here at least 6 months, which isn’t really an option for me. I’m glad I at least got see the ball start rolling on my project and got to talk to about 200 people total in the area about the issues. I feel that I’ve inspired some people enough so that after I leave, what we’ve done won’t be wasted. Besides, more interns will be coming to continue the project and Olivia will be here for another month. I’ve also learned a lot about aid work since I’ve been here and if I decide to do it again, I’ll be much more prepared. Though I definitely have some disappointments about how little we were able to accomplish, I don’t feel like it was all in vain, which is a big relief.
Today after our English class we’re heading to Dharamsala- home to the exiled Tibetan government. I’ve been waiting for 2 months to go here so I’m pretty excited. We’ve given ourselves 3 full days there since there’s a lot to see. It’s also going to be cooollldddd (the low is in the 40s)- which right now I think I want since it still gets up to 100 here in the village but I’ll probably regret it when I’m shivering in bed due to no heat. But this place is a must see in India and there’s no way I’m gonna miss it! After that I’m back for a week to say goodbye and write up a report for the next interns and then it’s back to delhi next Friday for two weeks of traveling. Though many of my days here inched by, I’m amazed that my trip is almost over. 3 more weeks! I’m going to try and eat up every little bit of it- living in the present here has been a struggle for me and I’m afraid I may have wasted some precious moments because of it. No more of that I hope.
You may be wondering what Fred the Ant has to do with all of this. Well, one thing I’ve embraced are the formerly less appealing aspects of nature- particularly insects. Ants run rampant here, along with cockroaches, lizards, spiders, and slugs. While taking a shower it’s not uncommon for a small beetle to land on me or have a spider fall from the ceiling on to my unsuspecting head. It took me a while to get used to these things. But a few of weeks ago I went to the kitchen sink (which is outside) to find that our sponges were incredibly clean. I figured that Olivia must have cleaned them. Then a couple of weeks ago I discovered the real culprits- ants. I remembered from our 3rd grade ant farm study, that ants are incredibly clean bugs, and I’ve gained a huge amount of respect for these tiny creatures since I’ve been here. Not only do they keep our sponges clean, but they are seriously the hardest working living beings I’ve ever seen. I’m even a little inspired sometimes when I see one struggling with carrying a piece of food way to big for it. I’ve also heard that they have burial grounds in their ant hills- it’s amazing how their tiny brains can create such an efficient organized world while our larger, much more advanced minds can’t find a way to live in harmony with ours. After the sponge incident, I developed much more of a fondness for ants and thereby named them all Fred in an effort to apologize for my former hatred. Now in the morning I see Fred (or Freds) on the sink and thank them for their excellent cleaning job before flicking them off the sink so I can make breakfast (I don’t feel bad about the flicking though, these ants are like ninjas). In addition to the ants, I’ve begun to accept the purpose of the lizards and spiders, though I haven’t named the spiders yet… I’m working on getting that comfortable with their presence. I've really been able to observe their contributions to the balance of the environment- we're taught these things but seeing them in action over the past few months has been good for me. Cockroaches and slugs… eh, not so friendly with them. Especially since that night when stumbling half asleep to the bathroom I stepped on a slug and it exploded on me. Prettttyyyy gross.
Anyway, that’s all for now!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Dodging Fireworks
Sorry again this is so late. I promise to give another update by Monday. :)
Last weekend Olivia and I went to Amritsar- some of you may have seen the pictures on facebook. It’s a pretty cool place. It’s the holy city for the Sikh religion, kind of like Mecca for Muslims. The day we got there we saw the Pakistan/India border closing ceremony. I won’t go into detail but here’s a link to a video of it- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ0ue-XGl9c . It was definitely a fun experience.
The state I’m interning in (Punjab) is famous for its food and for the large population of Sikhs. The man who started the religion, Ram Das, was born a Hindu. He resented the inequality of the caste system and started Sikhism, which is based on the idea of equality and service. I’ve gotten to know many Sikhs while I’ve been here and have found them to be fun loving (if a little crazy) and kind people. Though one criticism of Sikhs that some tend to be pretty exclusive even though the teachings of the religion preach openness (By the way, many of the things I’m stating are based on conversations I’ve had with people here and some Wikipedia research during my free time… so not super reliable). I’ve seen some hints of exclusiveness that I’ll reference later on but in general they seem to be welcoming people. There are some controversial events in Sikh history, but I figure there’s really no religion without some controversial stories and/or beliefs. One thing I really like is that they (mostly men but I’ve also seen some women) often carry around small, beautifully engraved knives that they sling across their fronts. We saw it more in Amritsar because it was a more formal place for them so they all dressed up. I found out that the purpose of these knives is to defend the helpless. The religion is offended referred to as a warrior religion and now I understand that it’s a defensive warrior stance. Actually, their values really remind me of medieval knights- honor, service, defense of the helpless, and equality. I’m diggin it.
The physical epicenter of their spiritual world is the Golden Temple. It’s a magnificent place enclosed by a marble palace of sorts and the temple itself is surrounded by water that the pilgrims bath in. When visiting the temple we were asked not to touch the holy water. We arrived at the Golden Temple to find out that it was a big day- Ram Das’s (remember the man who started the religion- it’s first guru) birthday. We were told by some locals to go back at night for the birthday ceremony. So we returned just before dark to a scene of about 15000 Sikhs jostling for a spot to sit in the massive enclosure. We sat down and were stared at for the next two hours. Recently what I’ve tried to do is give people bright smiles whenever I’m severely stared at. The result is usually pretty fun as most of them give me shining grins back but the two women in front of us were not amused- especially when my phone rang during the chanting. I felt a little guilty about that. I’ve heard religious chanting many times since I’ve been here but this was the first time I’ve been truly moved by it. I could probably even describe its effect as meditative. That also explains why I jumped out of my skin when fireworks suddenly went off right behind us… and I literally mean right behind us. One second I was sitting peacefully thinking I could really get into this and then there was an earth shattering boom followed by heat and ashes falling from the sky. In fact the skeleton of a firework promptly fell right into my lap. Olivia and I looked at each other, both silently deciding if it was time to leave. Around us the others were apparently loving the showers of hot ash and clapping excitedly as enormous fireworks exploded over our heads. Then something happened that made up our minds. One firework, instead of going up, came down to land 2 meters away from us and exploded. A crowd of men then ran up to the flaming mass to beat it with cloth until the fire went out, while others pulled the people away who were sitting in that spot- I couldn’t see if any one was hurt or not. Olivia and I looked at each other again. Time to go! We got up as quickly as we could without panicking and began to push our way to the exit. Unfortunately for us it looked like thousands of other Sikhs had also decided it was time to leave so we got swept up in a suffocating pushing battle. I got pushed up against a banister and no one would let me move to go around it and were instead pressing me up against it, making it hard for me to breath. That’s when I’d really had enough. I started screaming many inappropriate words and that was enough to shock enough people so that I could scoot around the banister and up the stairs to the door. My work was done and my reputation as a vulgar American confirmed. A shaken Olivia and I then made our way to the twilight zone- A real coffee shop which played country music and served us delicious chocolate cake with ice cream. This shop couldn’t have been more out of place but at that moment it was my refuge. We stayed there until the crowds died down a bit and until we quit shaking and then made our way back to our hotel. Just another adventure in India I suppose!
Last weekend Olivia and I went to Amritsar- some of you may have seen the pictures on facebook. It’s a pretty cool place. It’s the holy city for the Sikh religion, kind of like Mecca for Muslims. The day we got there we saw the Pakistan/India border closing ceremony. I won’t go into detail but here’s a link to a video of it- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ0ue-XGl9c . It was definitely a fun experience.
The state I’m interning in (Punjab) is famous for its food and for the large population of Sikhs. The man who started the religion, Ram Das, was born a Hindu. He resented the inequality of the caste system and started Sikhism, which is based on the idea of equality and service. I’ve gotten to know many Sikhs while I’ve been here and have found them to be fun loving (if a little crazy) and kind people. Though one criticism of Sikhs that some tend to be pretty exclusive even though the teachings of the religion preach openness (By the way, many of the things I’m stating are based on conversations I’ve had with people here and some Wikipedia research during my free time… so not super reliable). I’ve seen some hints of exclusiveness that I’ll reference later on but in general they seem to be welcoming people. There are some controversial events in Sikh history, but I figure there’s really no religion without some controversial stories and/or beliefs. One thing I really like is that they (mostly men but I’ve also seen some women) often carry around small, beautifully engraved knives that they sling across their fronts. We saw it more in Amritsar because it was a more formal place for them so they all dressed up. I found out that the purpose of these knives is to defend the helpless. The religion is offended referred to as a warrior religion and now I understand that it’s a defensive warrior stance. Actually, their values really remind me of medieval knights- honor, service, defense of the helpless, and equality. I’m diggin it.
The physical epicenter of their spiritual world is the Golden Temple. It’s a magnificent place enclosed by a marble palace of sorts and the temple itself is surrounded by water that the pilgrims bath in. When visiting the temple we were asked not to touch the holy water. We arrived at the Golden Temple to find out that it was a big day- Ram Das’s (remember the man who started the religion- it’s first guru) birthday. We were told by some locals to go back at night for the birthday ceremony. So we returned just before dark to a scene of about 15000 Sikhs jostling for a spot to sit in the massive enclosure. We sat down and were stared at for the next two hours. Recently what I’ve tried to do is give people bright smiles whenever I’m severely stared at. The result is usually pretty fun as most of them give me shining grins back but the two women in front of us were not amused- especially when my phone rang during the chanting. I felt a little guilty about that. I’ve heard religious chanting many times since I’ve been here but this was the first time I’ve been truly moved by it. I could probably even describe its effect as meditative. That also explains why I jumped out of my skin when fireworks suddenly went off right behind us… and I literally mean right behind us. One second I was sitting peacefully thinking I could really get into this and then there was an earth shattering boom followed by heat and ashes falling from the sky. In fact the skeleton of a firework promptly fell right into my lap. Olivia and I looked at each other, both silently deciding if it was time to leave. Around us the others were apparently loving the showers of hot ash and clapping excitedly as enormous fireworks exploded over our heads. Then something happened that made up our minds. One firework, instead of going up, came down to land 2 meters away from us and exploded. A crowd of men then ran up to the flaming mass to beat it with cloth until the fire went out, while others pulled the people away who were sitting in that spot- I couldn’t see if any one was hurt or not. Olivia and I looked at each other again. Time to go! We got up as quickly as we could without panicking and began to push our way to the exit. Unfortunately for us it looked like thousands of other Sikhs had also decided it was time to leave so we got swept up in a suffocating pushing battle. I got pushed up against a banister and no one would let me move to go around it and were instead pressing me up against it, making it hard for me to breath. That’s when I’d really had enough. I started screaming many inappropriate words and that was enough to shock enough people so that I could scoot around the banister and up the stairs to the door. My work was done and my reputation as a vulgar American confirmed. A shaken Olivia and I then made our way to the twilight zone- A real coffee shop which played country music and served us delicious chocolate cake with ice cream. This shop couldn’t have been more out of place but at that moment it was my refuge. We stayed there until the crowds died down a bit and until we quit shaking and then made our way back to our hotel. Just another adventure in India I suppose!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
The inch worm known as EduCARE
So here’s a wee update about my working situation. Things are beginning to crawl along. We’ve visited schools to arrange dates to make presentations about global warming in general and also more specifically about plastic waste. The way plastic is handled here is really bad. If I’ve written about all of this already please excuse me (I feel like I may have just because I talk about it so much here). People toss the toxic plastic bags and bottles on the ground, into streams and rivers, or they burn it which releases harmful fumes into the air. Not only are the fumes bad for the atmosphere, they’re also terrible for the human body and have been proven to cause cancer. So, we’re trying to educate the kids about the various problems associated with waste (we’re going to briefly mention other types) and what they can do. We’re also talking with the schools to see if they can get trash bins by the day of the presentation that we can take the kids too after the presentation and have a little “pick up the trash” activity. It’s pretty exciting. The principals and teachers at the schools are so excited to have us making these presentations and are eager to do whatever they can to help. It’s really shown me how arrogant many people are in the U.S. I mean I always knew that people were, but it’s thrown in to sharp relief now that I’m here with these amazingly humble people. And it’s not even that these teachers are uneducated- they knew about many of the issues we were discussing and taught us about some other issues in India, but even at the age of 50 or 60, they were eager to hear about the information we had to offer.
We’re also dealing with the local politics here. I hate that I can’t be more involved because of the language barrier but it’s still interesting to hear about. In order to establish any kind of waste collection system a resolution must be passed by the local council and the politics here are pretty intense so this is quite a process. Our boss claims that he’s writing the resolution but he frequently gets annoyed when we follow up on something he’s said he’d do and tells us we need to rely on ourselves… sigh. If nothing else we’re hoping to do some kind of announcement at the temple when they bring in the beginning of the Indian month (around the 14th of October I believe) so I’m currently working on organizing that.
Next Tuesday is our first presentation to an elementary school. The various presentations are going to be pretty spread out- the last one for me will be at the end of October. Then I’ll travel for a couple of weeks and come home. In those two weeks I plan on going to GOA- the Florida of India, Jaipur- a desert city with a floating palace, the Taj Mahal, and my home base will be Delhi, where I’ll be celebrating Diwali (the festival of lights) with my wonderful hosts there. Sometimes my five weeks left in India feels like an eternity and then other times it feels like a millisecond. I’m trying to make the most of my last weeks in the village and the fact that I’m running out of time is helping me be more motivated. The idleness we experience here sometimes is just downright depressing. There are good days and bad days no matter where you are I suppose. I actually shortened my trip. I was originally supposed to stay until December. But after seeing the situation with EduCARE and how little I’d be able to accomplish, I decided I couldn’t just sit around for 4 months- it would’ve driven me insane. So I shortened my trip to 3 months and plan on writing a paper about aid work in developing countries to make up for the lost time if needed (in order to get academic credit for the internship). We’ll see later if I made the right decision or not- it’ll be interesting to see if I regret it later on. But I’m trying to live day by day and so far today is a much better, more productive day. ☺ Gotta hang on to the little things.
We’re also dealing with the local politics here. I hate that I can’t be more involved because of the language barrier but it’s still interesting to hear about. In order to establish any kind of waste collection system a resolution must be passed by the local council and the politics here are pretty intense so this is quite a process. Our boss claims that he’s writing the resolution but he frequently gets annoyed when we follow up on something he’s said he’d do and tells us we need to rely on ourselves… sigh. If nothing else we’re hoping to do some kind of announcement at the temple when they bring in the beginning of the Indian month (around the 14th of October I believe) so I’m currently working on organizing that.
Next Tuesday is our first presentation to an elementary school. The various presentations are going to be pretty spread out- the last one for me will be at the end of October. Then I’ll travel for a couple of weeks and come home. In those two weeks I plan on going to GOA- the Florida of India, Jaipur- a desert city with a floating palace, the Taj Mahal, and my home base will be Delhi, where I’ll be celebrating Diwali (the festival of lights) with my wonderful hosts there. Sometimes my five weeks left in India feels like an eternity and then other times it feels like a millisecond. I’m trying to make the most of my last weeks in the village and the fact that I’m running out of time is helping me be more motivated. The idleness we experience here sometimes is just downright depressing. There are good days and bad days no matter where you are I suppose. I actually shortened my trip. I was originally supposed to stay until December. But after seeing the situation with EduCARE and how little I’d be able to accomplish, I decided I couldn’t just sit around for 4 months- it would’ve driven me insane. So I shortened my trip to 3 months and plan on writing a paper about aid work in developing countries to make up for the lost time if needed (in order to get academic credit for the internship). We’ll see later if I made the right decision or not- it’ll be interesting to see if I regret it later on. But I’m trying to live day by day and so far today is a much better, more productive day. ☺ Gotta hang on to the little things.
Friday, October 1, 2010
The Mystery of the Broom
This a tale that can’t be swept under the rug, so to speak... cough. Recently there have been 2 encounters involving various brooms that I’m determined to get to the bottom of. A couple of nights ago a group of women came to the house to ask for some pictures I took while at a temple celebration. While we spent 10 minutes actually getting to the point where I understood what they were asking for, one woman peeked inside my bedroom and pointed at my broom, which was propped against the wall. She got my attention and while still pointing at the broom, began jabbering in Punjabi. I gave her my usual response when people speak to me in either Hindi or Punjabi- “Uhhhhhh.” She shrugged and then walked over grabbed the broom, laid it on the floor, and then pushed it under the bed. I was confused. But I’m confused a lot here so I just let it go. I figured it was just another random misunderstanding with a local. But random it was not. This morning while I was teaching my advanced English student, Aj, there was an old man who walked by the center on his way to do probably nothing. Then he stopped suddenly, staring at our two brooms propped up against the wall in the center. He started yelling at AJ and eventually AJ sighed, got up, and went to lay the brooms flat on the floor. I now knew this was no coincidence. The old man, placated, then shuffled of smiling serenely to sit with the group of men who hang around at the shop next door to us all day, drinking chai, gossiping, and spitting. I haven’t mentioned Indian spitting yet- spitting is a very common occurrence here. But I don’t mean just a little saliva, I mean the spitting that Leonardo Dicaprio taught Kate Winslet to do in Titanic. They hock a big one up, then let it loose wherever they feel like. The other day on the bus, a man leaned over Olivia to spit out the window- she was mortified. If you come to india, look out for flying lugis. From what I’ve heard and read, it seems like they see it as a healthy thing to do, which I guess makes sense- better out than in I suppose! Only the men do it in public but don’t think for a second the women don’t behind closed doors- our landlady has let loose some impressive ones. Anyway, after the offending brooms were laid on their sides, I was able to ask AJ what in the world was going on. He shrugged and said, “Old people like to have brooms laying down.” After seeing how completely non-plussed I was by this explanation, he promised to ask his parents. I wonder how many idiosyncracies there are in our culture that we never think to ask about... hm. He’s invited Olivia and I over to his house on Sunday for some good home cooking so I have resolved to get to the bottom of this mystery then.
Side note: Our land lady told us to call her Maharani, which we of course have been doing. But after wondering why people start giggling every time we call her that we discovered that Maharani means “Great Queen.” I think we’ve been duped here…
Side note: Our land lady told us to call her Maharani, which we of course have been doing. But after wondering why people start giggling every time we call her that we discovered that Maharani means “Great Queen.” I think we’ve been duped here…
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Shimla
Sorry for the delay friends. It’s been a troublesome week not to mention one with very limited internet. I went to Delhi last weekend and though I was hosted yet again by my wonderful friends I felt terrible for most of the time. I had 3 days of headaches- literally woke up and went to bed with them, and by the time I was back in Janauri (after a pretty rough 11 hour trip) I was sick. Sore throat, exhaustion, aches, and stomach problems. I was frustrated because I was ready to get the ball rolling with our recycling project and ended up having to sleep and rest for a large portion of the week. Though I ended up getting in touch with a couple of NGOs about partnering with us on our project. What I’m currently trying to figure out is 1. Which recycling plant to partner with and 2. How to actually get the waste to the plant. I’m trying to see if we can figure out a way to partner with migrant workers here to give them some income or if we could actually make a little money from this project (which we desperately need) by partnering directly with the companies. Olivia, the new god-sent intern, has basically finished our presentation (she’s the powerpoint queen) for the villagers and various schools and we’re aiming to make our first presentation on October 4th. So hopefully this next week will be a productive one where we’ll create some real partnerships and get this thing movin!
I’ve reached a new stage in my adjustment here. I feel much more relaxed. Even when, for instance, our bus broke down the other day, leaving us semi stranded. At the beginning of my trip, a situation like that would’ve resulted in a major stress out for me but this time I was able to shrug my shoulders and say, “eh, the adventure continues.” I’ve had enough challenging experiences now to know that things really will be ok. There’s always someone here willing to help and even if there’s not, you can use basic words to get what you need. It’s really been an exercise in letting go of control. The more I leave things to fate, the better things seem to go for me. The key seems to be making sure I have back up plans.
This weekend we’re in another mountain town, Shimla. I’m so incredibly happy to be back in the mountains. Shimla is especially interesting because it was a haven for the British during the raj and still has a lot of the colonial architecture/layout they established. Recently I’ve been trying to imagine what these towns and cities must’ve been when the paint was fresh and cars were few. Globalization has brought so many evils to this country. Of course without it, I very well could not have been here, not to mention a myriad of other benefits we've all gained from it. But still, what an incredibly exotic and natural place this must’ve been. Even 30 years ago it was probably a different world. I wish I could’ve seen it. Anyway, our hotel is pretty funny. The first night we stayed in a damp but relatively comfortable place. It was a little too expensive for what we were getting so we were on the lookout for a better option as we meandered through the city yesterday. We were approached by less obnoxious touts (as far as touts go) who showed us a different hotel in a more central location. Some of you may already know this but for those that don’t (cause I didn’t before I came here) touts are people who try and get you to stay at certain hotels or use certain tour companies and get a commission from the hotel for taking you there, which is often actually tacked on to your rate. In general I’ve avoided them but now that I’m beginning to gain a better understanding of what prices should and should not be here and also because they gave off a better vibe than most I’ve met, I listened to them. The guy who talked to me of course pulled out the Indian charm in the process, “You know, I love your accent and your smile, so you get a good price.” Sure buddy. Yeah that’s right, I’m sure you get the best rates in town. Mmmmhm. But we looked at the first hotel they wanted us to stay in, declined because it was overpriced and crappy, and then they showed us the good stuff. We managed to get a hotel that, listed in my lonely planet for 2500 rupees a night (around 60 dollars) for 1000 rupees a night (about 24 dollars). There’s three of us in the room so split three ways it’s not so bad. But man, we are in the LOVE room. Mirrors everywhere. I’m trying not to think about it so much. I’ll try and post pictures if I can figure out this whole blog thing. My fellow bloggers are really putting me to shame. Alright, well I think that pretty much sums it up!! Hopefully I’ll have some positive updates about the project in my next post. Cross your fingers for us out here!
I’ve reached a new stage in my adjustment here. I feel much more relaxed. Even when, for instance, our bus broke down the other day, leaving us semi stranded. At the beginning of my trip, a situation like that would’ve resulted in a major stress out for me but this time I was able to shrug my shoulders and say, “eh, the adventure continues.” I’ve had enough challenging experiences now to know that things really will be ok. There’s always someone here willing to help and even if there’s not, you can use basic words to get what you need. It’s really been an exercise in letting go of control. The more I leave things to fate, the better things seem to go for me. The key seems to be making sure I have back up plans.
This weekend we’re in another mountain town, Shimla. I’m so incredibly happy to be back in the mountains. Shimla is especially interesting because it was a haven for the British during the raj and still has a lot of the colonial architecture/layout they established. Recently I’ve been trying to imagine what these towns and cities must’ve been when the paint was fresh and cars were few. Globalization has brought so many evils to this country. Of course without it, I very well could not have been here, not to mention a myriad of other benefits we've all gained from it. But still, what an incredibly exotic and natural place this must’ve been. Even 30 years ago it was probably a different world. I wish I could’ve seen it. Anyway, our hotel is pretty funny. The first night we stayed in a damp but relatively comfortable place. It was a little too expensive for what we were getting so we were on the lookout for a better option as we meandered through the city yesterday. We were approached by less obnoxious touts (as far as touts go) who showed us a different hotel in a more central location. Some of you may already know this but for those that don’t (cause I didn’t before I came here) touts are people who try and get you to stay at certain hotels or use certain tour companies and get a commission from the hotel for taking you there, which is often actually tacked on to your rate. In general I’ve avoided them but now that I’m beginning to gain a better understanding of what prices should and should not be here and also because they gave off a better vibe than most I’ve met, I listened to them. The guy who talked to me of course pulled out the Indian charm in the process, “You know, I love your accent and your smile, so you get a good price.” Sure buddy. Yeah that’s right, I’m sure you get the best rates in town. Mmmmhm. But we looked at the first hotel they wanted us to stay in, declined because it was overpriced and crappy, and then they showed us the good stuff. We managed to get a hotel that, listed in my lonely planet for 2500 rupees a night (around 60 dollars) for 1000 rupees a night (about 24 dollars). There’s three of us in the room so split three ways it’s not so bad. But man, we are in the LOVE room. Mirrors everywhere. I’m trying not to think about it so much. I’ll try and post pictures if I can figure out this whole blog thing. My fellow bloggers are really putting me to shame. Alright, well I think that pretty much sums it up!! Hopefully I’ll have some positive updates about the project in my next post. Cross your fingers for us out here!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
My silver lining
Even on my worst days, or maybe especially on them, I find inspiration in the kindness of people here. I’ll discover that as I’m about to break down, just give up for the day, turn around and go get in bed, someone will amaze me. This post is simply to list the random acts of kindness I’ve received. I started jotting these experiences down and realized yall might like to see an example since my more recent post was pretty depressed. So here it is!
A couple of days ago I was in Chandigarh I decided to venture out on my own for lunch. This is still a pretty nerve racking thing for me to do in a city because it requires that I get a taxi, explain where to go when neither of us understand the others’ language, and then I experience the sensation of being a foreigner alone in a bustling metropolis where I can’t have a real conversation with anyone. Maybe I have no reason to be nervous but oh well, I am. The other day I went to KFC (which is a weirdly big deal here by the way) just so I could avoid having to figure out what different things on the menu were and so I could order easily in English and pay in a way so that it was easy to avoid much contact/translating/sign language with others. But this day I was determined to take a step forward and go to an Indian restaurant. Partially due to the fact that I just wanted some good, healthy, and vegetarian Indian food. So I found a restaurant that was recommended to me and walked to the counter which more difficult than it sounds- depending on where you go, lines are just a nice idea. Here people were crowded around the counter, trying to edge their way in to the front. My immediate thought was it’s not worth it, I'll go to a place with no lines. But then I decided, when in India… do as Indians do. So, much to surprise of the people around me who I’m sure disregarded me as an amateur- definitely not a threat to their retrieval of lunch- a tall freckled foreigner barged into the mass of waving hands. I got to the front relatively quickly and was all smug about it until I realized that I didn’t know how to describe what I wanted and then I just felt like an idiot with all of them looking impatiently and expectantly at me. I quickly ordered my old (and delicious) standby- a thali. If you’ve never had one of these, try it next time you go to an Indian restaurant. It’s the best way to get small portions of a few different delicious dishes- for someone who doesn’t really know Indian food like a native- it’s a good way to sample. So after my food was ordered I was given a ticket and verbal directions in Hindi about what to do with it. Great. I turned around looking I’m sure like a deer in the headlights and found a kind looking old man who worked there smiling at me. I smiled back. He tilted his head to the side and asked “where you sit? “ I looked around at the packed restaurant, “ehhhhh.” He just smiled and said “ok ok aek minat (one minute).” Thankfully he returned quickly and led me to a small, recently vacated table where he’d placed a reserved sign for me. A relief. Though I still needed to go get my food- “no worry” he said and grabbed my ticket from my hand and bustled off. A few minutes later he was back with my steaming thali. I thanked him as much as I could while he was still in ear shot, "Shookriya shookriya shookriya-" one of the like 20 words I know in hindi. After my scrumptious meal I walked out of the restaurant and soon heard “hanji hanji (yes yes) miss miss!” Having been catcalled at a few times already that day I ignored it. Then eventually I sneaked a peak over my shoulder to see who was yelling at me and saw that same sweet old man running after me, holding my water bottle that I had apparently forgotten as I meandered out of the restaurant in a food coma. I was so grateful (and embarrassed/ashamed for ignoring him)- he was not required to do any of this. But that’s how people work here. I mean yeah I’ve met some rude people who I think wish I would just go home. But around the corner there’s always someone with a smile on their face and a desire to help me, just because.
That’s just one of the many experiences I’ve had with random acts of kindness here. Mabye you had to be there, but I find what this little old man did for me so amazing- just because in a country where people have every reason to be desperate and mean to each other, they often unconsciously go out of their way not to be.
Anyway, this week has been an improvement. The operations manager who has come to stay with until the new intern arrives has been determined to make the Janauri center a proper home… or at least a livable one. We’ve been cleaning for hours during the day- My job today was scrubbing one of the bedrooms clean and before I did that there was a layer of dirt on the ground, trash everywhere, and cobwebs covering the walls. Doing this has really helped me feel more at home. And now I have internet on my computer here so I can really get moving on my project. The new intern arrives tomorrow so hopefully things will finally settle down and I’ll be able to develop a solid schedule. And this weekend I'm of to Amristar, the holy city of the Sikhs- home to the Golden Temple. I've been looking forward to seeing this since long before I came. Planning on taking lots of pictures!
A couple of days ago I was in Chandigarh I decided to venture out on my own for lunch. This is still a pretty nerve racking thing for me to do in a city because it requires that I get a taxi, explain where to go when neither of us understand the others’ language, and then I experience the sensation of being a foreigner alone in a bustling metropolis where I can’t have a real conversation with anyone. Maybe I have no reason to be nervous but oh well, I am. The other day I went to KFC (which is a weirdly big deal here by the way) just so I could avoid having to figure out what different things on the menu were and so I could order easily in English and pay in a way so that it was easy to avoid much contact/translating/sign language with others. But this day I was determined to take a step forward and go to an Indian restaurant. Partially due to the fact that I just wanted some good, healthy, and vegetarian Indian food. So I found a restaurant that was recommended to me and walked to the counter which more difficult than it sounds- depending on where you go, lines are just a nice idea. Here people were crowded around the counter, trying to edge their way in to the front. My immediate thought was it’s not worth it, I'll go to a place with no lines. But then I decided, when in India… do as Indians do. So, much to surprise of the people around me who I’m sure disregarded me as an amateur- definitely not a threat to their retrieval of lunch- a tall freckled foreigner barged into the mass of waving hands. I got to the front relatively quickly and was all smug about it until I realized that I didn’t know how to describe what I wanted and then I just felt like an idiot with all of them looking impatiently and expectantly at me. I quickly ordered my old (and delicious) standby- a thali. If you’ve never had one of these, try it next time you go to an Indian restaurant. It’s the best way to get small portions of a few different delicious dishes- for someone who doesn’t really know Indian food like a native- it’s a good way to sample. So after my food was ordered I was given a ticket and verbal directions in Hindi about what to do with it. Great. I turned around looking I’m sure like a deer in the headlights and found a kind looking old man who worked there smiling at me. I smiled back. He tilted his head to the side and asked “where you sit? “ I looked around at the packed restaurant, “ehhhhh.” He just smiled and said “ok ok aek minat (one minute).” Thankfully he returned quickly and led me to a small, recently vacated table where he’d placed a reserved sign for me. A relief. Though I still needed to go get my food- “no worry” he said and grabbed my ticket from my hand and bustled off. A few minutes later he was back with my steaming thali. I thanked him as much as I could while he was still in ear shot, "Shookriya shookriya shookriya-" one of the like 20 words I know in hindi. After my scrumptious meal I walked out of the restaurant and soon heard “hanji hanji (yes yes) miss miss!” Having been catcalled at a few times already that day I ignored it. Then eventually I sneaked a peak over my shoulder to see who was yelling at me and saw that same sweet old man running after me, holding my water bottle that I had apparently forgotten as I meandered out of the restaurant in a food coma. I was so grateful (and embarrassed/ashamed for ignoring him)- he was not required to do any of this. But that’s how people work here. I mean yeah I’ve met some rude people who I think wish I would just go home. But around the corner there’s always someone with a smile on their face and a desire to help me, just because.
That’s just one of the many experiences I’ve had with random acts of kindness here. Mabye you had to be there, but I find what this little old man did for me so amazing- just because in a country where people have every reason to be desperate and mean to each other, they often unconsciously go out of their way not to be.
Anyway, this week has been an improvement. The operations manager who has come to stay with until the new intern arrives has been determined to make the Janauri center a proper home… or at least a livable one. We’ve been cleaning for hours during the day- My job today was scrubbing one of the bedrooms clean and before I did that there was a layer of dirt on the ground, trash everywhere, and cobwebs covering the walls. Doing this has really helped me feel more at home. And now I have internet on my computer here so I can really get moving on my project. The new intern arrives tomorrow so hopefully things will finally settle down and I’ll be able to develop a solid schedule. And this weekend I'm of to Amristar, the holy city of the Sikhs- home to the Golden Temple. I've been looking forward to seeing this since long before I came. Planning on taking lots of pictures!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Frustrated
So I've been avoiding writing this blog. In regards to my work, many things have been building up that have led to my intense frustration with my internship. I'll start with my return from Manali though my issues began on day one.
It was hard to leave Manali and return to the heat. Though it's beginning to cool down a bit, the weather channel still reported it "feels like 100 degrees" I got stuck in Chandigarh on my way back due to a bus strike in the city. But I actually used that opportunity to stay in a nice hotel and get some good sleep on western mattress in a room with air conditioning. I didn't leave the hotel for the whole day. It was a little mini vacation. : ) Of course, the next day buses were up and running again so back to Janauri I went.
I realized when I got to Janauri I was avoiding really trying to start my project because I was beginning to have doubts that I would be able to do it. I'd already discovered that some of the things my organization promised me were not delivered (they said food was provided and the accommodation would be decent- by indian standards the place we live isn't even very decent) and I'd found out that all of the interns were summer interns and they were leaving, which could potentially leave me in the village alone. Of course I made it clear I would not stay there alone and they said an intern from another village would be staying with me until the next intern arrived. I'm still bothered that there will be only two of use. BUT. Before coming I made it clear that I did not want to teach English. What I have discovered is that EduCARE's source of income is their english program. If you can even really call it a program. Sometimes I'll have ten students, only one english book, and no blackboard of any kind. I also have no training in teaching ESL so this whole situation is stressful and depressing for me. They started the center I'm at- Janauri about a month and a half ago because they incorrectly believe that a huge amount of new interns would be arriving. So what they've done is spread us really thin across the three centers. They're determined to make me stay at this center simply because they need someone to teach English. I was pretty upset by this- it puts me in a really bad position because basically, I can either leave or I can try and do some waste management (by myself now) while teaching English and running the girls club. It sounds like one other girl is coming to Janauri and we're going to have to juggle all of the responsiblities between us while still trying to get our own projects accomplished. I feel like I was tricked into this. I was also told when I came that there was a waste management center already established that I could base my project off of. After talking to the other intern who was "managing" the waste mangement center in the other village, it became clear to me that this was also a creative twist on the reality of the situation. There is no waste management center. During our conversation the intern said, "Waste management center? What waste management center? I tried to get them to use cotton bags instead of plastic in the shops and it worked for a week or so but then they quit." I was furious by this point. I looked into going back to Chandigarh to do another internship through AIESEC but it turns out they're kind of a sham as well. By the end of the evening on Thursday, I was miserable, feeling like I'd flown around 9000 miles and spent a lot of money to sit around in a village to try and work with a shady english program.
The man who runs EduCARE, Baljinder Bhullar, says that EduCARE is about education and sustainability, yet the only sustainable effort they have is the one that makes them money (english). Apart from that, he tells the interns to create their own project, do the research, and take care of it themselves- that he'll help when he can. Is this the reality of aid work in developing nations? Is this why so little progress is made? The fact that he's expecting me to do so much while knowing no Hindi and having relatively little education is very upsetting. He said not knowing Hindi wouldn't be a problem. It's a huge one. No one in the village speaks English except the limited amount spoken by our english students. My other job role was supposed to be female empowerment. But due to the language barrier the girls club is little more than physical activities like drawing and games. I've tried to be creative as possible but I'm running out of ideas. The translators provided by the organization are local staff who have other responsibilities and limited time to help. In my anger and hopelessness, the only thing I really felt like doing was going home. I felt like a failure. However, after a few pep talks from my annoyingly optimistic family :) and after talking with the other interns, I have developed a plan-
My goal is to, instead of making a landfill of sorts (which is just not possible for me to do in the time I have), implement a recycling program in the village. I've done a little research and it seems doable. It'll consist of local education, working with a recycling plant, and working with the villagers to set up bins around the area. I'll hopefully have to teach English only once a day and run the girls club twice a week which I hope will leave enough time to get this project done. If it doesn't work due to lack of support or something like that, I plan on writing a research paper about aid work in developing nations and what's going wrong. I may do that anyway. I'll interview interns, Mr. Bhullar, AIESEC members, and other NGOs while also doing research back in the U.S.
I hope to find a silver lining in all of this. I know that if nothing else, coming to India has been extremely educational and has shown me a lot about myself- pushed me to my limits and made me realize that limits are relative. I hope my project will be successful, but I'm preparing myself for the eventuality that I'll have to regard any failure from an academic perspective so that this continues to be a learning experience.
It was hard to leave Manali and return to the heat. Though it's beginning to cool down a bit, the weather channel still reported it "feels like 100 degrees" I got stuck in Chandigarh on my way back due to a bus strike in the city. But I actually used that opportunity to stay in a nice hotel and get some good sleep on western mattress in a room with air conditioning. I didn't leave the hotel for the whole day. It was a little mini vacation. : ) Of course, the next day buses were up and running again so back to Janauri I went.
I realized when I got to Janauri I was avoiding really trying to start my project because I was beginning to have doubts that I would be able to do it. I'd already discovered that some of the things my organization promised me were not delivered (they said food was provided and the accommodation would be decent- by indian standards the place we live isn't even very decent) and I'd found out that all of the interns were summer interns and they were leaving, which could potentially leave me in the village alone. Of course I made it clear I would not stay there alone and they said an intern from another village would be staying with me until the next intern arrived. I'm still bothered that there will be only two of use. BUT. Before coming I made it clear that I did not want to teach English. What I have discovered is that EduCARE's source of income is their english program. If you can even really call it a program. Sometimes I'll have ten students, only one english book, and no blackboard of any kind. I also have no training in teaching ESL so this whole situation is stressful and depressing for me. They started the center I'm at- Janauri about a month and a half ago because they incorrectly believe that a huge amount of new interns would be arriving. So what they've done is spread us really thin across the three centers. They're determined to make me stay at this center simply because they need someone to teach English. I was pretty upset by this- it puts me in a really bad position because basically, I can either leave or I can try and do some waste management (by myself now) while teaching English and running the girls club. It sounds like one other girl is coming to Janauri and we're going to have to juggle all of the responsiblities between us while still trying to get our own projects accomplished. I feel like I was tricked into this. I was also told when I came that there was a waste management center already established that I could base my project off of. After talking to the other intern who was "managing" the waste mangement center in the other village, it became clear to me that this was also a creative twist on the reality of the situation. There is no waste management center. During our conversation the intern said, "Waste management center? What waste management center? I tried to get them to use cotton bags instead of plastic in the shops and it worked for a week or so but then they quit." I was furious by this point. I looked into going back to Chandigarh to do another internship through AIESEC but it turns out they're kind of a sham as well. By the end of the evening on Thursday, I was miserable, feeling like I'd flown around 9000 miles and spent a lot of money to sit around in a village to try and work with a shady english program.
The man who runs EduCARE, Baljinder Bhullar, says that EduCARE is about education and sustainability, yet the only sustainable effort they have is the one that makes them money (english). Apart from that, he tells the interns to create their own project, do the research, and take care of it themselves- that he'll help when he can. Is this the reality of aid work in developing nations? Is this why so little progress is made? The fact that he's expecting me to do so much while knowing no Hindi and having relatively little education is very upsetting. He said not knowing Hindi wouldn't be a problem. It's a huge one. No one in the village speaks English except the limited amount spoken by our english students. My other job role was supposed to be female empowerment. But due to the language barrier the girls club is little more than physical activities like drawing and games. I've tried to be creative as possible but I'm running out of ideas. The translators provided by the organization are local staff who have other responsibilities and limited time to help. In my anger and hopelessness, the only thing I really felt like doing was going home. I felt like a failure. However, after a few pep talks from my annoyingly optimistic family :) and after talking with the other interns, I have developed a plan-
My goal is to, instead of making a landfill of sorts (which is just not possible for me to do in the time I have), implement a recycling program in the village. I've done a little research and it seems doable. It'll consist of local education, working with a recycling plant, and working with the villagers to set up bins around the area. I'll hopefully have to teach English only once a day and run the girls club twice a week which I hope will leave enough time to get this project done. If it doesn't work due to lack of support or something like that, I plan on writing a research paper about aid work in developing nations and what's going wrong. I may do that anyway. I'll interview interns, Mr. Bhullar, AIESEC members, and other NGOs while also doing research back in the U.S.
I hope to find a silver lining in all of this. I know that if nothing else, coming to India has been extremely educational and has shown me a lot about myself- pushed me to my limits and made me realize that limits are relative. I hope my project will be successful, but I'm preparing myself for the eventuality that I'll have to regard any failure from an academic perspective so that this continues to be a learning experience.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Jumping off a mountain in Manali
Coming to the mountains this weekend was therapeutic. Once I was out of the heat, tucked away in Old Manali- a wonderful little town in the foothills of the Himalayas, I was able to relax and take in my whole trip here. We've been staying in an adorable guest house situated at the top of a steep hill with an incredible view of the surrounding mountains. Despite the steep climb, it's a great place to stay that we're getting for 200 rupees a night (around $4.50). I love India. It's going to be so hard to come back to the U.S. and pay 10 dollars for a meal. Today my lunch cost around $1.50. And the pace of life here is so relaxed and content- if I were to live abroad for an extended period of time, I could actually see myself coming here.
I head back to my village Monday night on an overnight bus and when I get back I really start working on my waste management project. I'm looking forward to getting started but I'm dreading returning to the exhausting heat. Maybe I'll just hide out in the mountains on the weekends until it starts cooling down.
Today I had an experience that I think is representative of my trip to India. I went Paragliding. We had to hike up a painfully steep trail for about 45 minutes before reaching our take off point. On the nerve racking car ride up to the area where we did it, the driver (one of the paragliding pilots) admitted how dangerous paragliding was, that around 100 people broke their legs here a year and even occasionally there was a fatality. Though it's still statistically much safer than driving a car, I was still terrified. But when we got to the take off point and I got all strapped in there was no going back. Then the scariest part- running full speed and jumping off the side of a mountain. My trip in the sky was beautiful and thankfully the landing was very easy. One of my friends didn't have that luck though. Landing depends on the wind, and right as they were getting ready to touch down, the wind dropped off and she crashed into the ground. Thankfully she folded her legs underneath her or else she probably would've broken one. But looking back, jumping off that mountain reminds me of how I approached my trip here- I just had to bite back my fear and forget all of the unknowns and do it. And like with my trip, I'm glad I did. I'm going to take this to a disgustingly corny finish, using a quote I just came across when I was looking at Ms. Samantha Hiner's facebook- The world may be falling out from under my feet, but at least I'm getting a chance to fly. Thanks Sam. :)
I head back to my village Monday night on an overnight bus and when I get back I really start working on my waste management project. I'm looking forward to getting started but I'm dreading returning to the exhausting heat. Maybe I'll just hide out in the mountains on the weekends until it starts cooling down.
Today I had an experience that I think is representative of my trip to India. I went Paragliding. We had to hike up a painfully steep trail for about 45 minutes before reaching our take off point. On the nerve racking car ride up to the area where we did it, the driver (one of the paragliding pilots) admitted how dangerous paragliding was, that around 100 people broke their legs here a year and even occasionally there was a fatality. Though it's still statistically much safer than driving a car, I was still terrified. But when we got to the take off point and I got all strapped in there was no going back. Then the scariest part- running full speed and jumping off the side of a mountain. My trip in the sky was beautiful and thankfully the landing was very easy. One of my friends didn't have that luck though. Landing depends on the wind, and right as they were getting ready to touch down, the wind dropped off and she crashed into the ground. Thankfully she folded her legs underneath her or else she probably would've broken one. But looking back, jumping off that mountain reminds me of how I approached my trip here- I just had to bite back my fear and forget all of the unknowns and do it. And like with my trip, I'm glad I did. I'm going to take this to a disgustingly corny finish, using a quote I just came across when I was looking at Ms. Samantha Hiner's facebook- The world may be falling out from under my feet, but at least I'm getting a chance to fly. Thanks Sam. :)
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
My name is Khushi
I'm writing this with Henna covered hands. Though here it's called Mahani. I found this a little odd seeing as didn't henna originate here? I feel like it should've kept its original name. One of my English students came over one night to do it and apparently she's the best, when the other villagers saw it, they all asked if it was her.
Here in Kanuari I have stepped back in time. Really only the occasional bus and a few motor bikes zooming around remind me we're in 2010. In the mornings I walk down a winding, sometimes dirt and sometimes cobbled path to work. The village is situated in the hills so it's a hike, but it's a beautiful one. Our living arrangements leave much to be desired but it looks like we'll be moving to a surprisingly nice apartment next week. At our current residence, we're renting a couple of rooms from an older woman- they set up a makeshift kitchen outside for us with no fridge and ants crawling everywhere and the western toilet often doesn't work so we resort to using the squat toilet. On the brighter side, we have a very private garden where monkeys come in the morning to steal guavas from the trees and where you can see every kind of bird and butterfly. After a difficult first night here, I woke up the next morning to the sound of crickets and the birds and realized that everything is going to be just fine.
I left Chandigarh on Monday morning and one 4 hour sweltering bus ride later I was in Hoshiarpur- a smaller district north of Chandigarh. There I was met by another intern, Anne-Claire (but we just call her Claire) from France. She took me onto another bus to the village. In order to get up to the house I had to have my first, and so far most nerve racking, motor bike experience. It consisted of putting my giant suitcase between myself and the driver, then holding onto him with the tips of my fingers as we sped through the sandy roads (no helmets). Since then I've ridden more and become more comfortable- but I think I'll always opt for a bus, car, or train when I can.
I've had multiple people come up to me and talk to me in Hindi, confused why I don't know the language. I recently found out why. Here in India, there's an uncommon skin condition that results in light skin with brown patches on it. Though I think normally it's only on the face (I may be wrong there) and the patches are much bigger than my freckles. Still, some people think I'm Indian with that condition. It's made for some pretttyyyy awwkkkwwarrd moments. But it's funny because even when I say "no no it's not a problem, it's fairly common in the U.S. and it comes from ireland," they said, "Problem? Why would it be problem? Just the way you are." I love that.
I'm waiting for another intern to return from Delhi to start my work- He and I will be starting the waste management center here. This EduCARE center is brand new- barely three weeks old- so I've walked into a total starter upper. But I don't mind that as long as I have guidance. In the meantime I've taught an english class (daunting and awkward) and helped out with the after school program. But boy is it HOT here. By the time I walk down to the center in the morning I'm dripping with sweat. And I'm pretty consistently covered with it all day. Yesterday I rinsed of twice AND took a shower. And I still felt hot. I'm looking forward to it cooling down in a few weeks.
During my English class my students gave me my official Hindi name-Khushi- meaning happy. I love it. I'm so glad that when they see me, they see happiness. By the next day my name had spread like a wild fire and at the after school program whenever the kids wanted me they yelled "khushi khushi khushi!!!" My naming is probably my favorite experience so far. Waste management here is really unheard of. As I walk along the beautiful path to my house, the greenery is often covered in piles of trash. Here there is no trash pick up or landfill- people throw there trash out the car window or out their back door. I'm hoping once we create another option for them that they'll come to believe that the extra effort of bring trash to a center is worth it. In the U.S. laws were implemented the 60s against littering but they don't exist here, and in the places where they do exist, there is no enforcement. So we have to count on the hearts and minds of the people here. Considering the warm and loving reception I've had from the people here, I'm hoping convincing them won't be too difficult.
I'm settling into my life here and have enjoyed the few days I've had to adjust but I'm ready to get to work! We will most likely start our environmental work next week and this weekend we're going to Manali- a mountain town in the state called Hamachal Pradesh- it's famous for it's beautiful scenery which are the foothills of the himalayas. Can't wait!
Here in Kanuari I have stepped back in time. Really only the occasional bus and a few motor bikes zooming around remind me we're in 2010. In the mornings I walk down a winding, sometimes dirt and sometimes cobbled path to work. The village is situated in the hills so it's a hike, but it's a beautiful one. Our living arrangements leave much to be desired but it looks like we'll be moving to a surprisingly nice apartment next week. At our current residence, we're renting a couple of rooms from an older woman- they set up a makeshift kitchen outside for us with no fridge and ants crawling everywhere and the western toilet often doesn't work so we resort to using the squat toilet. On the brighter side, we have a very private garden where monkeys come in the morning to steal guavas from the trees and where you can see every kind of bird and butterfly. After a difficult first night here, I woke up the next morning to the sound of crickets and the birds and realized that everything is going to be just fine.
I left Chandigarh on Monday morning and one 4 hour sweltering bus ride later I was in Hoshiarpur- a smaller district north of Chandigarh. There I was met by another intern, Anne-Claire (but we just call her Claire) from France. She took me onto another bus to the village. In order to get up to the house I had to have my first, and so far most nerve racking, motor bike experience. It consisted of putting my giant suitcase between myself and the driver, then holding onto him with the tips of my fingers as we sped through the sandy roads (no helmets). Since then I've ridden more and become more comfortable- but I think I'll always opt for a bus, car, or train when I can.
I've had multiple people come up to me and talk to me in Hindi, confused why I don't know the language. I recently found out why. Here in India, there's an uncommon skin condition that results in light skin with brown patches on it. Though I think normally it's only on the face (I may be wrong there) and the patches are much bigger than my freckles. Still, some people think I'm Indian with that condition. It's made for some pretttyyyy awwkkkwwarrd moments. But it's funny because even when I say "no no it's not a problem, it's fairly common in the U.S. and it comes from ireland," they said, "Problem? Why would it be problem? Just the way you are." I love that.
I'm waiting for another intern to return from Delhi to start my work- He and I will be starting the waste management center here. This EduCARE center is brand new- barely three weeks old- so I've walked into a total starter upper. But I don't mind that as long as I have guidance. In the meantime I've taught an english class (daunting and awkward) and helped out with the after school program. But boy is it HOT here. By the time I walk down to the center in the morning I'm dripping with sweat. And I'm pretty consistently covered with it all day. Yesterday I rinsed of twice AND took a shower. And I still felt hot. I'm looking forward to it cooling down in a few weeks.
During my English class my students gave me my official Hindi name-Khushi- meaning happy. I love it. I'm so glad that when they see me, they see happiness. By the next day my name had spread like a wild fire and at the after school program whenever the kids wanted me they yelled "khushi khushi khushi!!!" My naming is probably my favorite experience so far. Waste management here is really unheard of. As I walk along the beautiful path to my house, the greenery is often covered in piles of trash. Here there is no trash pick up or landfill- people throw there trash out the car window or out their back door. I'm hoping once we create another option for them that they'll come to believe that the extra effort of bring trash to a center is worth it. In the U.S. laws were implemented the 60s against littering but they don't exist here, and in the places where they do exist, there is no enforcement. So we have to count on the hearts and minds of the people here. Considering the warm and loving reception I've had from the people here, I'm hoping convincing them won't be too difficult.
I'm settling into my life here and have enjoyed the few days I've had to adjust but I'm ready to get to work! We will most likely start our environmental work next week and this weekend we're going to Manali- a mountain town in the state called Hamachal Pradesh- it's famous for it's beautiful scenery which are the foothills of the himalayas. Can't wait!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Wrapped up in the arms of India
So. Where to start. I've experienced more new and different things in the past few days then I have ever have. The only way I can think of explaining it is to list some of the things that stand out the most in order of what I experienced first
1. Indian architecture- gorgeous. It's amazing how long many of these impressive structures have been standing. I'm saving the Taj Mahal for a little later in my trip but I'm really excited to see that one.
2. Hospitality- I've never experienced anything close to this level of welcome and caring from people I don't know. Ankur devoted every spare second he had to my enjoyment and comfort and here in Chandigarh Gagan's family (my AIESEC friend) has been absolutely amazing. This has made this already challenging journey much easier. Like I said in the title of this post- it's like India is trying to cradle me and put my fears to rest. I'm trying to let it. :)
3. Food- all I can say is YUM. Though I'm not going to lie... I'm getting to the point where I'd enjoy a nice turkey sandwich from Leon's with a tasty cool cocktail. But I can't think about that. In general my food experiences have been interesting and delicious with only a few moments of discomfort for my taste buds. There was that one meal where I unknowingly ate a freshly picked thai chili. I was in midsentence, trying to make a point when I put food in my mouth without looking and was suddenly enveloped by this very strong burning sensation. And through blurry vision (it's hard for me not to tear up a little when something is that spicy) I asked my friends what I'd eaten and they said, "oh, there are thai chili's in that." Yeah... psh, thai chili's... easy. I can handle some spicy food. But THAT was spicy.
4. Delhi- I traversed all over that sprawling city in the company of my life-saving natives. Thank goodness I had them. Probably the most daunting area was old delhi. This is the land of cow pulled carts, bicycle taxis, and one of the oldest still functioning markets in the world, complete with the tiny alley ways everywhere packed with vendors. However, I was in love with it all- fascinated by everything.
5. My trip to Chandigarh- I was unprepared for the Indian countryside. Ankur and Nirnimesh (ankur is navin's cousin and nirnimesh is his friend who has been with us most of the time) and Nirnimesh's wife all drove me the 5 hours to my next city (they wouldn't hear it when I tried to tell them I would take a train or bus). In a place where lanes don't really exist and speed limits are more like suggestions, a 5 hour trip was pretty intense. It was also on this trip that all my fears, exhaustion (I've been getting around 4 hours a night for the past 5 nights), and homesickness took over me. Needless to say it has been a rough 24 hours. But I knew it was coming- I just wish it would've waited until I was settled into my house. But the family here has been very welcoming. This morning Gagan's mother found out I hadn't had a shower or sleep since I arrive in Chandigarh and insisted on me taking their room for the day to sleep. When I started refusing, she said, "No no. Here in India, I am mama and he (pointing to her husband), is Papa. You are welcome here." I was very touched.
However, I think what has stood out the most for me is the culture. I've never seen so many contradictions living in harmony. Here, people will swerve out of the way for a cow (I got really excited when I saw my first road cow by the way) but force their fellow human beings to dodge traffic while crossing the street. You can walk down the street and see a billionaire's home on the left side of the street, and then a makeshift tent propped up on the right. Then there's the practical/logical approach to life here mixed with the emotional and heavily relationship based social structure. This contradiction is harder to explain. But from what I've seen (which really isn't much yet) I've seen that Indian's tend to be very stubborn, proud, and aggressive people while also being some of the most caring and light hearted people in the world. But I still have so much to learn- I'm sure my opinions will change or at least alter some during the rest of my trip.
Today I will talk to the project manager in Hoshiarpur- the district where my NGO is- and will get my official assignment. Then tomorrow I'll hop on a bus for the four hour ride there. The reaction I'm getting from people when they find out what I'm doing is very different than in the U.S. Social work is much less common here it seems and with a corrupt government it's easy to see where the doubt I've received about my motives comes from. I'm not saying the U.S. doesn't experience corruption... but it's more prevalent here, especially on the lower levels. For example I saw a news story the other day about a government program that's supposed to be paying workers around 50 rupees (I think) a day- which comes to about one dollar. However, in actuality, the local officals are only paying them a couple of rupees (which doesn't really buy anything here) and pocketing the difference.
Alright that's all for now. It's time for me to pass out. More later!
1. Indian architecture- gorgeous. It's amazing how long many of these impressive structures have been standing. I'm saving the Taj Mahal for a little later in my trip but I'm really excited to see that one.
2. Hospitality- I've never experienced anything close to this level of welcome and caring from people I don't know. Ankur devoted every spare second he had to my enjoyment and comfort and here in Chandigarh Gagan's family (my AIESEC friend) has been absolutely amazing. This has made this already challenging journey much easier. Like I said in the title of this post- it's like India is trying to cradle me and put my fears to rest. I'm trying to let it. :)
3. Food- all I can say is YUM. Though I'm not going to lie... I'm getting to the point where I'd enjoy a nice turkey sandwich from Leon's with a tasty cool cocktail. But I can't think about that. In general my food experiences have been interesting and delicious with only a few moments of discomfort for my taste buds. There was that one meal where I unknowingly ate a freshly picked thai chili. I was in midsentence, trying to make a point when I put food in my mouth without looking and was suddenly enveloped by this very strong burning sensation. And through blurry vision (it's hard for me not to tear up a little when something is that spicy) I asked my friends what I'd eaten and they said, "oh, there are thai chili's in that." Yeah... psh, thai chili's... easy. I can handle some spicy food. But THAT was spicy.
4. Delhi- I traversed all over that sprawling city in the company of my life-saving natives. Thank goodness I had them. Probably the most daunting area was old delhi. This is the land of cow pulled carts, bicycle taxis, and one of the oldest still functioning markets in the world, complete with the tiny alley ways everywhere packed with vendors. However, I was in love with it all- fascinated by everything.
5. My trip to Chandigarh- I was unprepared for the Indian countryside. Ankur and Nirnimesh (ankur is navin's cousin and nirnimesh is his friend who has been with us most of the time) and Nirnimesh's wife all drove me the 5 hours to my next city (they wouldn't hear it when I tried to tell them I would take a train or bus). In a place where lanes don't really exist and speed limits are more like suggestions, a 5 hour trip was pretty intense. It was also on this trip that all my fears, exhaustion (I've been getting around 4 hours a night for the past 5 nights), and homesickness took over me. Needless to say it has been a rough 24 hours. But I knew it was coming- I just wish it would've waited until I was settled into my house. But the family here has been very welcoming. This morning Gagan's mother found out I hadn't had a shower or sleep since I arrive in Chandigarh and insisted on me taking their room for the day to sleep. When I started refusing, she said, "No no. Here in India, I am mama and he (pointing to her husband), is Papa. You are welcome here." I was very touched.
However, I think what has stood out the most for me is the culture. I've never seen so many contradictions living in harmony. Here, people will swerve out of the way for a cow (I got really excited when I saw my first road cow by the way) but force their fellow human beings to dodge traffic while crossing the street. You can walk down the street and see a billionaire's home on the left side of the street, and then a makeshift tent propped up on the right. Then there's the practical/logical approach to life here mixed with the emotional and heavily relationship based social structure. This contradiction is harder to explain. But from what I've seen (which really isn't much yet) I've seen that Indian's tend to be very stubborn, proud, and aggressive people while also being some of the most caring and light hearted people in the world. But I still have so much to learn- I'm sure my opinions will change or at least alter some during the rest of my trip.
Today I will talk to the project manager in Hoshiarpur- the district where my NGO is- and will get my official assignment. Then tomorrow I'll hop on a bus for the four hour ride there. The reaction I'm getting from people when they find out what I'm doing is very different than in the U.S. Social work is much less common here it seems and with a corrupt government it's easy to see where the doubt I've received about my motives comes from. I'm not saying the U.S. doesn't experience corruption... but it's more prevalent here, especially on the lower levels. For example I saw a news story the other day about a government program that's supposed to be paying workers around 50 rupees (I think) a day- which comes to about one dollar. However, in actuality, the local officals are only paying them a couple of rupees (which doesn't really buy anything here) and pocketing the difference.
Alright that's all for now. It's time for me to pass out. More later!
Friday, August 27, 2010
mind block
Hello all. I'm sorry it's taking me a while to put up a post. I've had a few people harass me about how I'm lacking in the blogging area. :) I've been so overwhelmed that it's hard to figure out what to write! I just wanted to let you know another one IS coming.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Delhi
So I'm here. And what a trip it was. The farthest I've ever flown before now has been to Paris and the trip to New Delhi was twice as long. First off, I would just like to say that Charles De Galles international airport is one of the most disfunctional places I've ever seen. Finding the way to my next gate was like going through an obstacle course. Maybe some of you can feel my pain. The flight from Atlanta to Paris was made much more relaxing by the free and delicious French wine that Air France provides. But as soon as I was on the plane to Delhi the reality of what I was doing really started hitting me... like with a giant baseball bat. Not being able to sleep much didn't help either.
However, it did help that I was sitting next to a very helpful Indian man who was chatting with me, giving me tips, and teaching me useful Hindi words. Then at one point he offered me a mint which I accepted. He THEN went on to say I should never accept food from strangers in India. He said that they befriend you and then offer you food that actually knocks you out so that they can rob you. Of course by this time I already had the mint in my mouth and was looking at him with wide eyed fear, wondering if this was a friendly way of him telling me I was about to be robbed. I actually almost spit it out but figured that might be a little offensive/gross and I'm glad I didn't- it turns out he was actually just a nice man giving me helpful advice. But still, lesson learned.
One fun thing (not) about flying for 16 hours is that you feel like you're still on the plane long after you've landed. I did not know this would happen so after I'd strapped on my 30 pound pack and exited the airplane I very nearly topple over multiple times. I think people thought I was drunk- I got some very strange looks. I was picked up from the airport by Navin's (my boyfriend) cousin who lives here with his father. He brought along a friend and they both were very friendly, making me relax a little. They're trying to convince me to stay in Delhi for longer than I planned- a week actually. I'm very tempted. This way I'd have a local guide that I know to introduce me to the customs and culture. I'll have to check in with my organization today and see what they have planned for me before I make my decision. I wanted to go out and about today but papa Ankur (the cousin) firmly suggested that i take this day to settle in and rest. Now that I'm doing it I think he's right. I'll spend today watching movies, arranging tours of delhi, making appointments with Yoga instructors, and reading my travel guides. Time to jump in!
However, it did help that I was sitting next to a very helpful Indian man who was chatting with me, giving me tips, and teaching me useful Hindi words. Then at one point he offered me a mint which I accepted. He THEN went on to say I should never accept food from strangers in India. He said that they befriend you and then offer you food that actually knocks you out so that they can rob you. Of course by this time I already had the mint in my mouth and was looking at him with wide eyed fear, wondering if this was a friendly way of him telling me I was about to be robbed. I actually almost spit it out but figured that might be a little offensive/gross and I'm glad I didn't- it turns out he was actually just a nice man giving me helpful advice. But still, lesson learned.
One fun thing (not) about flying for 16 hours is that you feel like you're still on the plane long after you've landed. I did not know this would happen so after I'd strapped on my 30 pound pack and exited the airplane I very nearly topple over multiple times. I think people thought I was drunk- I got some very strange looks. I was picked up from the airport by Navin's (my boyfriend) cousin who lives here with his father. He brought along a friend and they both were very friendly, making me relax a little. They're trying to convince me to stay in Delhi for longer than I planned- a week actually. I'm very tempted. This way I'd have a local guide that I know to introduce me to the customs and culture. I'll have to check in with my organization today and see what they have planned for me before I make my decision. I wanted to go out and about today but papa Ankur (the cousin) firmly suggested that i take this day to settle in and rest. Now that I'm doing it I think he's right. I'll spend today watching movies, arranging tours of delhi, making appointments with Yoga instructors, and reading my travel guides. Time to jump in!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
One week before take off
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
...I'm a little nervous. But also excited. And probably every other emotion.
...I'm a little nervous. But also excited. And probably every other emotion.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Choices
Two weeks ago I made the decision to go to India for four months. As someone who has lived in the same town for her entire life, the prospect of this trip is terrifying and exciting all at once. I've always been a person who has thought long and hard on "the big decisions." I've often analyzed so much that most of my ideas have come to nothing. I'm always waiting for a signal that says this is the path I'm supposed to take. This time, I saw an amazing opportunity that was in my grasp and decided it was time to make a choice. I'm still surprised by my decision- or really by the fact that I made one! I quickly bought my plane ticket so as to prevent myself from changing my mind like I often do. So here I am, applying for my visa and flipping through beginner Hindi books, wondering if I've lost my mind. But hey, when you get down to it, it's only four months right?
This will be my blog. The Hindi word yaatra means "journey." I thought it was a fitting title. :)
I'm honored by all of you who value me and my journey enough to take the time to read this.
Love,
Me.
This will be my blog. The Hindi word yaatra means "journey." I thought it was a fitting title. :)
I'm honored by all of you who value me and my journey enough to take the time to read this.
Love,
Me.
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