I wrote a paper for my english class as a reflection about my trip, and I'm going to post it on here shortly. Please stay tuned! And I'm sorry about the long wait... things have been crazy getting back into the swing of things.
:]
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
One Month Later...
Well. It's been one month since my last blog post. Holi, I believe it was. Let me tell you - I've been around a bit more since then. Traveling to the far south and far north, my family and I covered a pretty large chunk of the Indian country (lots via plane, though). We traveled to Hyderabad, where we stayed in the Tollywood (yes, rhymes with Bollywood and Hollywood :] Third largest film industry? Or maybe 2nd largest in India) region, aka Banjara Hills. From there, we traveled down to Chennai, where we spent 4 days in the nearby society of Auroville. It was a pretty good 10 day trip. The highlight? Our daily swims in the Bay of Bengal. Warm water galore, I say. After our trip south, we flew home and spent a couple of days in our homestead. The following week, we embarked on yet another trip - this time, up north to Rajasthan. Udaipur, specifically. In Udaipur, we got a taste for a completely different place and culture than we'd experienced yet - huge noserings, elaborate jewelry, hills, and cooler weather. The highlight for me was the discovery of a tack shop and then the travel, 60 km out and back, to a small horse village. These horses, known as the Marwaris, are a native breed that have been around for centuries. They used to fight, they race, they jump, the works. The specific ones that we saw in the village danced - if you've heard of the lipizzaner stallions, yes. They danced just the same. The only difference was, these horses were not classically trained as the lipizzaners were. How they were trained? Who knows!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Printed fame?
Yeah... we were put into the newspaper again. The second time around, we all look a tad more weathered than my brother and I did the first time back in January. Note the fellow in the sunglasses. This is Gregg, a fellow Fulbrighter who is living in Baroda, as well.
The caption to the newspaper clipping says, "Happy Holi".
It wasn't even Holi! Regardless of the annoyance of the colorful powder being thrust at you, though, it was cool to share the experience with the locals. Worth the odor, dirt, and consumption? Definitely.
~ Special thanks to my own father for allowing me to steal the image off of his blog - Thanks, Dad! Love you! ~
Mhmmmm. Mmmmmmm.
If someone asked me about the food here, I'd have a multitude of responses. I suppose my initial response would be somewhat bleak; the constant stomach pain, diarrhea, potential for food poisoning, and the everpresent quantity of hair found in my lamb really turns me off the chow. The constant fear of a foodbourne illness is there, too.
At the same time, though, the last two months have probably been my best eating months in my last 15 years of living. The mutton, the chicken, the fish (on occasion), the dal, the roti, the soup, THE ICE CREAM. It's been a complete party. The highlight of my day is the delectible feast that happens. The fear of dying from consumption of some bacteria is instantly stun-gunned as soon as the food hits the table. I devour, and I like it.
Through all of the completely amazing food, though, is the FRUIT. I swear, if I could share with you the quality, quantity, price, and general amazingness of the fruit, and even the produce in general, I would do it in a heartbeat. The most expensive fruit at home is still expensive here - well, "expensive". A kilo of mango can be purchased for $1.20. That's about what we pay for one mango at home. So... 5 to 6 mangos for the price of one. And not only the price. Though the fruit is still hit and miss, if you pick your oranges right, the fruit fulfills all expectations. I myself ate some 4 mangos yesterday and saved the last one for today. Let me tell you - it was DEFINITELY worth the wait. I'd have to say the first mango of the bunch that I ate yesterday was THE BEST mango I've ever had. By a landslide.
On an average day, I pride myself on consuming some 8 - 12 or more oranges, bananas, and mangoes. I know my bowels thank me :]
At the same time, though, the last two months have probably been my best eating months in my last 15 years of living. The mutton, the chicken, the fish (on occasion), the dal, the roti, the soup, THE ICE CREAM. It's been a complete party. The highlight of my day is the delectible feast that happens. The fear of dying from consumption of some bacteria is instantly stun-gunned as soon as the food hits the table. I devour, and I like it.
Through all of the completely amazing food, though, is the FRUIT. I swear, if I could share with you the quality, quantity, price, and general amazingness of the fruit, and even the produce in general, I would do it in a heartbeat. The most expensive fruit at home is still expensive here - well, "expensive". A kilo of mango can be purchased for $1.20. That's about what we pay for one mango at home. So... 5 to 6 mangos for the price of one. And not only the price. Though the fruit is still hit and miss, if you pick your oranges right, the fruit fulfills all expectations. I myself ate some 4 mangos yesterday and saved the last one for today. Let me tell you - it was DEFINITELY worth the wait. I'd have to say the first mango of the bunch that I ate yesterday was THE BEST mango I've ever had. By a landslide.
On an average day, I pride myself on consuming some 8 - 12 or more oranges, bananas, and mangoes. I know my bowels thank me :]
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Hello Holi.
Tomorrow marks the date of a rather festive Hindu holiday, Holi. Apparently the main goal of the date is to rid one's self of demons and bad things. Tonight, Tuesday night, is when the tradition of many large bonfires takes place. Then, the crazy festivities begin tomorrow. The object: color. Little children run around with squirt guns filled with liquid color and squirt passersby. Others jump in mud pits, get covered with mud, cover themselves completely from head to toe with color (which can be powder, paint, who knows what else), and then proceed to become unrecognizable. You've got two options, really. You stay inside and hide, or go out and get completely rainbow-ified. I'm still weighing the pros and cons.
The image above shows Wendy and I with only a sample of what's to come - and we were clobbered a couple of days before the holiday. At the university, I think being colored by other students is expected, just like getting valentines at school before valentine's day. When we were walking home, though, some people on a motorbike were covered with the stuff abruptly stopped and colored us some more. I think we'll be targets, because we stand out so much (being foreigners and what not!). Yay for Holi... :]
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Much since last time
It's been a few weeks since I've last posted!
A lot of the last two weeks was simply living in Baroda, going to my sewing class at the university, and working on my independent studies from school. Since last Thursday or Friday, though, we've pretty much been traveling.
Last Thursday our family embarked on an overnight trip up to Patan, a smaller city of 110,000 people that is known for its weaving. Believe it or not (heh. LUCKY US) the town had only one hotel. And boy. What a gem it was. My brother and I had no air conditioning in our room, only ceiling fans. Now, don't get me wrong. We're not completely wimpy foreigners who have to stay in the Plaza every where we go. Our standards are pretty modest - clean sheets, clean towels, a shower, running water. Unfortunately... that didn't exactly play out. The clean towel situation was pretty good. Other than that, though, the hotel needed some help. The sheets had darker dirt spots on them, along with a few various other stains. There was no shower, only a bucket and an outlet from the wall. And... yeah. The sink didn't produce a flow of water. It was very charming. I myself witnessed multiple bugs crawling across my bad at one point, and flicked them off. I didn't think too much of it. That night as I slept, I was drenched in sweat and felt like a million small teeny bugs were crawling over me. It was the worst night of sleep I've had here.
We visited a few landmarks and a few weavers, the normal expedition for us. One especially interesting event came up this time, however. As we were driving to a specific weaver's home, we came across a jam in the narrow road - a wedding procession. Somehow or other, they convinced us to get out of our car and join in the event. At first, I was hesitant. Soon, after watching the excitement from afar, Wendy and I were pulled into the front portion - the dancing circle. It was very much like a rip tide, in that once you were in, you couldn't leave. I started off my first few seconds as awkwardly standing there, and then I just danced. I didn't exactly have an option, the other dancing folks in their nice shirts and saris pretty much pushed me into it. Soon, I thought nothing of it. They didn't speak English, and I didn't know Hindi. I hadn't a clue what the music was saying - I wasn't positive what was going on. But, the experience in and of itself was incredible. To share a special moment such as a marriage ceremony witht these people was really great. It was definitely a trip highlight for me thus far (even though it lasted only 5 minutes). It was brilliant :]
We then returned home later that day, Friday, and hung around Baroda for a day and a half. On Sunday, we departed for Kulkata (Calcutta... both spellings are used) for a Fulbright conference. A large chunk of time (ok, most all of the time) in Kulkata was devoted to the conference. We didn't get out too much. Once a day or so, we'd get out for a few hours. The time for exploration was greatly savored. On the first night, my family and a couple Fulbright friends embarked on a trip to a neighboring bar from the hotel in attempt to find cheaper beer (Gujarat is a dry state, and so the beer drinkers decided to take full advantage of the available liquor while they could). The bar we ended up at was extremely odd. Odd, in fact, to the point of making me a bit scared and uncomfortable. As we first entered, there was a door on the left with a fellowing blocking the enterance and loud music coming from within. We were quickly escorted away to the back room. (When we were leaving later, we saw this first door briefly open and we noticed that all of the people were a) men, b) facing the same direction, and c) had a plastered face of amusement. We pretty much concluded it was a stripper room.) In this back room, there was a small band and a group of girls who sang for the band - each, one by one. At first, the scene appeared to be your regular bar and entertainment. Then, we started to notice some peculiar tidbits. For one, staff members and bar partrons alike continuously brought money up to the girls who were singing. For another, after each girl would sing, she'd go sit down. Then, after a bit, we'd look back to where she was and she'd be gone. There was a side door off to the right of the stage there, and you could see men coming and going. On occasion if you looked at the exact moment, you could see one of the girls coming or going (adjusting their clothes and hair) or peeking our the door. Then, they'd come back. The men in the bar (the girls in our group, including myself, were the only women in the place besides the singing girls) continuously flirted with the girls sitting up there. The whole scene was completely crazy. This second room... we pretty much concluded to be working girls (aka prostitutes, whatever one wants to call them).
That was definitely the highlight of Kulkata.
Being at the conference itself was just odd because here we were, a group of Americans doing research in southern Asia, and we were staying at an expensive (and I mean expensive, fancy) five star hotel with free bar and 3 meals a day. It didn't add up. I felt (as I have every day since I've arrived, but in a much different way) like I was living a dream. Not exactly a good feeling, I can tell you that.
A lot of the last two weeks was simply living in Baroda, going to my sewing class at the university, and working on my independent studies from school. Since last Thursday or Friday, though, we've pretty much been traveling.
Last Thursday our family embarked on an overnight trip up to Patan, a smaller city of 110,000 people that is known for its weaving. Believe it or not (heh. LUCKY US) the town had only one hotel. And boy. What a gem it was. My brother and I had no air conditioning in our room, only ceiling fans. Now, don't get me wrong. We're not completely wimpy foreigners who have to stay in the Plaza every where we go. Our standards are pretty modest - clean sheets, clean towels, a shower, running water. Unfortunately... that didn't exactly play out. The clean towel situation was pretty good. Other than that, though, the hotel needed some help. The sheets had darker dirt spots on them, along with a few various other stains. There was no shower, only a bucket and an outlet from the wall. And... yeah. The sink didn't produce a flow of water. It was very charming. I myself witnessed multiple bugs crawling across my bad at one point, and flicked them off. I didn't think too much of it. That night as I slept, I was drenched in sweat and felt like a million small teeny bugs were crawling over me. It was the worst night of sleep I've had here.
We visited a few landmarks and a few weavers, the normal expedition for us. One especially interesting event came up this time, however. As we were driving to a specific weaver's home, we came across a jam in the narrow road - a wedding procession. Somehow or other, they convinced us to get out of our car and join in the event. At first, I was hesitant. Soon, after watching the excitement from afar, Wendy and I were pulled into the front portion - the dancing circle. It was very much like a rip tide, in that once you were in, you couldn't leave. I started off my first few seconds as awkwardly standing there, and then I just danced. I didn't exactly have an option, the other dancing folks in their nice shirts and saris pretty much pushed me into it. Soon, I thought nothing of it. They didn't speak English, and I didn't know Hindi. I hadn't a clue what the music was saying - I wasn't positive what was going on. But, the experience in and of itself was incredible. To share a special moment such as a marriage ceremony witht these people was really great. It was definitely a trip highlight for me thus far (even though it lasted only 5 minutes). It was brilliant :]
We then returned home later that day, Friday, and hung around Baroda for a day and a half. On Sunday, we departed for Kulkata (Calcutta... both spellings are used) for a Fulbright conference. A large chunk of time (ok, most all of the time) in Kulkata was devoted to the conference. We didn't get out too much. Once a day or so, we'd get out for a few hours. The time for exploration was greatly savored. On the first night, my family and a couple Fulbright friends embarked on a trip to a neighboring bar from the hotel in attempt to find cheaper beer (Gujarat is a dry state, and so the beer drinkers decided to take full advantage of the available liquor while they could). The bar we ended up at was extremely odd. Odd, in fact, to the point of making me a bit scared and uncomfortable. As we first entered, there was a door on the left with a fellowing blocking the enterance and loud music coming from within. We were quickly escorted away to the back room. (When we were leaving later, we saw this first door briefly open and we noticed that all of the people were a) men, b) facing the same direction, and c) had a plastered face of amusement. We pretty much concluded it was a stripper room.) In this back room, there was a small band and a group of girls who sang for the band - each, one by one. At first, the scene appeared to be your regular bar and entertainment. Then, we started to notice some peculiar tidbits. For one, staff members and bar partrons alike continuously brought money up to the girls who were singing. For another, after each girl would sing, she'd go sit down. Then, after a bit, we'd look back to where she was and she'd be gone. There was a side door off to the right of the stage there, and you could see men coming and going. On occasion if you looked at the exact moment, you could see one of the girls coming or going (adjusting their clothes and hair) or peeking our the door. Then, they'd come back. The men in the bar (the girls in our group, including myself, were the only women in the place besides the singing girls) continuously flirted with the girls sitting up there. The whole scene was completely crazy. This second room... we pretty much concluded to be working girls (aka prostitutes, whatever one wants to call them).
That was definitely the highlight of Kulkata.
Being at the conference itself was just odd because here we were, a group of Americans doing research in southern Asia, and we were staying at an expensive (and I mean expensive, fancy) five star hotel with free bar and 3 meals a day. It didn't add up. I felt (as I have every day since I've arrived, but in a much different way) like I was living a dream. Not exactly a good feeling, I can tell you that.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Please Conceal From View. Thanks...
Coming to a completely different culture, one expects different social norms, different values, different standards of personal space, etc. Differences make visiting these cultures interesting.
RIGHT?
Well, I can give you one example when NO, it's not. It's somewhat disturbing, really. (There's a possibility, a good chance even, that this is not a "norm". But, the characteristic of folks here to be on the streets so much does seem to increase the chances :/)
Being aware of the tendencies of the natives to be outside so much, one can assume that such individuals do many things outside. Some things... would be better if they were restricted from view.
Walking back from class today, I had the pleasure of witnessing a rickshaw driver masturbating in the back of his vehicle, sitting out the side. He was totally casual about it, and the specific region was quite exposed.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am a strong supporter of relieving one's desires in such a way. But... for god's sake, man! Don't show everybody else. {if anything, the guy's got to work on his business tactics}
Please take a gander at the posted picture, an APPROPRIATE location for such a task.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Yep. Been there.
Beginning on Friday Morning, we embarked on a 5 day journey to explore the depths of our home state, Gujarat.
We started off by waking up at 6:30 on Friday and loading up in the car for a 3 - 4 hour car ride. We began our trip with a visit to some small villages, and we looked at the weaving sights there. That was quite interesting. The bathrooms were remarkably clean... Even though the sit down toilet was replaced by a ceramic hole (with surprisingly helpful gravity technology to properly relieve one's self. A nice added component.). In fact, most of the villages themselves were clean. The villages seemed to be more sanitary than the cities. This surprised me.
After that, we stayed in Rajkot for the night. Nice, cheap hotel (maybe $15 a room?). Rajkot reminded me a lot of Baroda. It had a similar feel, and a similar size.
The next day, we went to a temple/holy town and explored a little bit. We toured an old fort, where apparently centuries of abandonment and siege took place. To top it off, it even had a several hundred foot drop hole, completely unprotected! We also visited an old temple site where kids were playing cricket, and there were these really tall spiral staircase towers made of marble/stone. They were gorgeous. The precision on all of the structures on the property as a whole was amazing. The craftsmanship and fine detailing on the main temples was brilliant.
The next morning, we got up at 5:45 and climbed Mount Gir Nar (approximate spelling) along with hundreds, thousands? of other Indians. It's a holy mountain, and supposedly many people climbed it for pilgrimage. Who knows. Regardless, the thing was a good 10,000 steps up. Very steep in parts. Extensive cardio. I felt my legs turn to noodles as we continued the climb. Wendy's achilles heel was hurting her. On the way down (which was MUCH more pleasent but stupendously boring), dad's good knee nearly gave out. It was bloody torture! On the flip side, though, the views that the mountain delivered were absolutely beautiful. You could see the nearby city of Junagadh with much ease. With the rising sun, you could see the tips of the mountains beginning the light up. Even the birds flying in the valleys were beautiful.
Then, we went to a temple town on the coast of the Arabian Sea, not sure the name. The hotel smelled like feces, which we later figured out to be dead fish odor. Icky. We had yet another experience with an interesting teenage fellow, though this time we're pretty convinced he was just excited. At one point I was using the restroom (with the door unlocked, stupid me) and he walked in as he had been doing countless times bringing things, and he was trying to talk in English but, as usual, was nearly indecipherable. All through the talking I could see him and he could see me through the mirror on the wall, and that was it. It was reflection communication. He didn't seem at all phased by the fact that I was urinating.
We then went to visit an active Hindu temple next the setting sun and the Arabian Sea. The place was heavily secured; we're talking no bags, pat downs, metal detectors, and then armed guards. Apparently the place was one of only ten or fifteen of this particular temple in India. A rare... place. I was scared, excited, and nervous all at the same time. It was so exciting to feel the energy in there, it was so new. And yet, gah. The armed guards and the security scares me.
After visiting the temple, while searching for a restaurant, we were walking along a board to escape a big wet, brown puddle, and a member of our party had a, ehem, WET AND WILD! interaction with the open sewer system. This individual's leg, up to the mid calf region, slid into exposed, brown, heavenly sludge. It was SICK, and I eventually got past being modest and respectful and laughed hysterically. At one point, a little black lab looking puppy came up and licked the calf area (minutes after it had been doused in water). I began laughing hysterically again.
We went to bed, and then got up at 5:15 Monday morning and went on a lion safari - a safari with lions that only exist in the Gir forest in our state, and the second and only other place in the world besides Africa where lions reside. We drove for a good two, three hours before one of the local tribesman gestured to our driver. There, it was communicated up the line that a lion pair had just been spotted. Our guide and driver hopped out and ran into the savanna. The tribesman ran to help. Soon, our driver ran back. We then began off roading onto an unused trail. After my heart started pounding, the excitement began. We ended up only seeing the backside of the courting pair. But, it was awesome! Apparently going off of the jeep road is against the law, and our driver and guide were taking extreme risk. Also, the fact that they got out of the jeep to go check was crazy. Mating pairs are especially moody and dangerous. All of those components to the ride made it one of my favorite moments on the trip thus far.
Since leaving the forest, we've driven to Diu (a known coastal drinking town that's absolutely beautiful), and then to Lothal. Lothal was particularly interesting, with its technological advances seeming to rival that of Rome (or so I hear). The harappans developed an incredible civilization that still mirrors modern India in many ways to now (their accuracy with regards to weighing particularly comes to mind). The similarities between then and now are amazing.
We started off by waking up at 6:30 on Friday and loading up in the car for a 3 - 4 hour car ride. We began our trip with a visit to some small villages, and we looked at the weaving sights there. That was quite interesting. The bathrooms were remarkably clean... Even though the sit down toilet was replaced by a ceramic hole (with surprisingly helpful gravity technology to properly relieve one's self. A nice added component.). In fact, most of the villages themselves were clean. The villages seemed to be more sanitary than the cities. This surprised me.
After that, we stayed in Rajkot for the night. Nice, cheap hotel (maybe $15 a room?). Rajkot reminded me a lot of Baroda. It had a similar feel, and a similar size.
The next day, we went to a temple/holy town and explored a little bit. We toured an old fort, where apparently centuries of abandonment and siege took place. To top it off, it even had a several hundred foot drop hole, completely unprotected! We also visited an old temple site where kids were playing cricket, and there were these really tall spiral staircase towers made of marble/stone. They were gorgeous. The precision on all of the structures on the property as a whole was amazing. The craftsmanship and fine detailing on the main temples was brilliant.
The next morning, we got up at 5:45 and climbed Mount Gir Nar (approximate spelling) along with hundreds, thousands? of other Indians. It's a holy mountain, and supposedly many people climbed it for pilgrimage. Who knows. Regardless, the thing was a good 10,000 steps up. Very steep in parts. Extensive cardio. I felt my legs turn to noodles as we continued the climb. Wendy's achilles heel was hurting her. On the way down (which was MUCH more pleasent but stupendously boring), dad's good knee nearly gave out. It was bloody torture! On the flip side, though, the views that the mountain delivered were absolutely beautiful. You could see the nearby city of Junagadh with much ease. With the rising sun, you could see the tips of the mountains beginning the light up. Even the birds flying in the valleys were beautiful.
Then, we went to a temple town on the coast of the Arabian Sea, not sure the name. The hotel smelled like feces, which we later figured out to be dead fish odor. Icky. We had yet another experience with an interesting teenage fellow, though this time we're pretty convinced he was just excited. At one point I was using the restroom (with the door unlocked, stupid me) and he walked in as he had been doing countless times bringing things, and he was trying to talk in English but, as usual, was nearly indecipherable. All through the talking I could see him and he could see me through the mirror on the wall, and that was it. It was reflection communication. He didn't seem at all phased by the fact that I was urinating.
We then went to visit an active Hindu temple next the setting sun and the Arabian Sea. The place was heavily secured; we're talking no bags, pat downs, metal detectors, and then armed guards. Apparently the place was one of only ten or fifteen of this particular temple in India. A rare... place. I was scared, excited, and nervous all at the same time. It was so exciting to feel the energy in there, it was so new. And yet, gah. The armed guards and the security scares me.
After visiting the temple, while searching for a restaurant, we were walking along a board to escape a big wet, brown puddle, and a member of our party had a, ehem, WET AND WILD! interaction with the open sewer system. This individual's leg, up to the mid calf region, slid into exposed, brown, heavenly sludge. It was SICK, and I eventually got past being modest and respectful and laughed hysterically. At one point, a little black lab looking puppy came up and licked the calf area (minutes after it had been doused in water). I began laughing hysterically again.
We went to bed, and then got up at 5:15 Monday morning and went on a lion safari - a safari with lions that only exist in the Gir forest in our state, and the second and only other place in the world besides Africa where lions reside. We drove for a good two, three hours before one of the local tribesman gestured to our driver. There, it was communicated up the line that a lion pair had just been spotted. Our guide and driver hopped out and ran into the savanna. The tribesman ran to help. Soon, our driver ran back. We then began off roading onto an unused trail. After my heart started pounding, the excitement began. We ended up only seeing the backside of the courting pair. But, it was awesome! Apparently going off of the jeep road is against the law, and our driver and guide were taking extreme risk. Also, the fact that they got out of the jeep to go check was crazy. Mating pairs are especially moody and dangerous. All of those components to the ride made it one of my favorite moments on the trip thus far.
Since leaving the forest, we've driven to Diu (a known coastal drinking town that's absolutely beautiful), and then to Lothal. Lothal was particularly interesting, with its technological advances seeming to rival that of Rome (or so I hear). The harappans developed an incredible civilization that still mirrors modern India in many ways to now (their accuracy with regards to weighing particularly comes to mind). The similarities between then and now are amazing.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
A Beautiful Sight
When I was walking to my sewing class earlier today, I turned the corner from our apartment building and came across a cow standing particularly protectively over a small lump of a calf laying on the quite empty dirt road. Upon walking closer, I realized just how precious the little event was. The little calf had JUST been born; it was still shiny and wet from the sac and other birthing materials. It hadn't even gotten up yet. Knowing that cows are regarded as holy and they have free roam of the streets, I had mixed feelings of hope and excitement for the little one. To be born into such a hectic place where surely cows aren't adapted to live, with a main diet of garbage and a habitat of cement floor and people, was a mixed omen. It would be on the plus side to be off limits for consumption, so that part was definitely on his side.
The most beautiful part was just the contrast of such a small, beautiful creature, so new and clean, untouched by this place yet, and about to enter this new world. Away from it's mama, roaming the streets, a hard and yet very safe at the same time type of life.
I wished him luck as I passed.
The most beautiful part was just the contrast of such a small, beautiful creature, so new and clean, untouched by this place yet, and about to enter this new world. Away from it's mama, roaming the streets, a hard and yet very safe at the same time type of life.
I wished him luck as I passed.
Monday, February 2, 2009
And the bugs
I have to say, the getting sick aspect of travel is becoming less and less exciting as time goes on. After the first bout of diarrhea, I was overjoyed that it was over and looking forward to the endless foods I could eat without worry of being sick. After the second bout of diarrhea and a fever of 102 degrees F, I was relieved that FINALLY, I would be free of traveler's disease. And then, yet again, I must get sick. Food poisoning is the worst, though. Of all of them. The cranking stomach, and then the off balance push as you feel like you're going to die. Then, for a brief amount of time, you feel fine again. And then you get this rush a good 5, 10 times again before it's over. How exciting. I enjoyed it, let me tell you.
And so, after this third event of becoming sick here, I have decided to now watch what I eat. I'm envious of Wendy and Ben, who seem to eat without much problem (Jay, on the other hand, gets to enjoy the sick business with me nearly every time!).
All I can say is, those American health standards and the oh so delightful American bacteria are looking pretty nice right now.
And so, after this third event of becoming sick here, I have decided to now watch what I eat. I'm envious of Wendy and Ben, who seem to eat without much problem (Jay, on the other hand, gets to enjoy the sick business with me nearly every time!).
All I can say is, those American health standards and the oh so delightful American bacteria are looking pretty nice right now.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Those less tidy ones
Over the last few days and weeks, we've gotten to know some of our local beggar families quite well (not on a level playing field type of way; it's more... we're their "frequent customers"). The whole concept of the beggars themselves is a touchy one, in that it's complicated. Quite complicated. Some, many? of the people who live on the streets could in fact get a job and work to get money for their families. Many of those who choose to beg have decided that it's a better way to achieve what they need, and it takes less work. It's laziness. That makes me mad. The fact that they would also peg us fairer skinned folks as rich or with money to spare - which may be true, comparatively, but still - angers me as well (I've been struggling with feeling as though the way money works out, who has it and who doesn't, is just not fair). On the other hand, though, some people who live on the streets have almost no other option but to beg - they're illiterate, they have no education, and they have mouths to feed. It's really complicated.
Regardless of how complex the begging situation is, there is a right way and a wrong way - and this we have come to learn. There is a family of beggars over by the Hotel Aditi and the Hotel Apex here and Baroda, and they're touchy. The mother, if she doesn't do the same as her kids, tells them to get us. And they do. They run up, and they touch us. The pull at our clothes, dig at our pockets, and they DO NOT LEAVE. I myself have come to dread going to the Hotel Aditi neighborhood, because, think about it. These kids live on the streets. They're obscenely dirty. And they don't understand no in the context of touching other people. It's bothersome. So, that the lord my trusty father has developed an efficient technique for ridding us of these clinging, begging children. He raises himself very tall, turns, glares at them, yells "NO" quite scarily (I myself would be scared if I were 5 and someone did that to me), and if it comes to the last resort, he slaps his hands inches from their face to know we're serious. It takes direct and straightforward energy. For the first time, we've not been touched! Thank you daddy :]
Now, please note. I don't want to sound insensitive, and it's not like that. It's all complicated, the poverty is. Regardless, though, when it comes to the point where you touch without permission, YEAH! That's a problem.
Regardless of how complex the begging situation is, there is a right way and a wrong way - and this we have come to learn. There is a family of beggars over by the Hotel Aditi and the Hotel Apex here and Baroda, and they're touchy. The mother, if she doesn't do the same as her kids, tells them to get us. And they do. They run up, and they touch us. The pull at our clothes, dig at our pockets, and they DO NOT LEAVE. I myself have come to dread going to the Hotel Aditi neighborhood, because, think about it. These kids live on the streets. They're obscenely dirty. And they don't understand no in the context of touching other people. It's bothersome. So, that the lord my trusty father has developed an efficient technique for ridding us of these clinging, begging children. He raises himself very tall, turns, glares at them, yells "NO" quite scarily (I myself would be scared if I were 5 and someone did that to me), and if it comes to the last resort, he slaps his hands inches from their face to know we're serious. It takes direct and straightforward energy. For the first time, we've not been touched! Thank you daddy :]
Now, please note. I don't want to sound insensitive, and it's not like that. It's all complicated, the poverty is. Regardless, though, when it comes to the point where you touch without permission, YEAH! That's a problem.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Our apartment
We're on the second floor of a tall (ok, not that tall. I'm not even sure how many floors there are) building. We're lucky, because it's somewhat isolated (for urban India :]) and surrounded by plants. Once in a while, you can see little monkeys hopping across our neighbors' roofs, playing and what not (because of the monkeys, we have bars on our windows to prevent them from coming in and stealing things :]).
The floors are all marble, and all of the ceilings are really high. For an apartment, especially here, it's really spacious. Our kitchen has a little gas stove, running water, and a small fridge. The bathrooms all have sit down toilets (thank god, as compared to the little hole option), showers, and sinks. Not that there is no shower curtain in the bathroom. In many of the showers here, the floors are slightly slanted so the water will run into the drain at the corner of the bathroom. It is a more efficient use of space, if I do say so myself. Also, people here don't use toilet paper. They either use a stream of water directed at the rectum from the back of the toilet seat, or they use their hand (the second option, though it sounds revolting, really isn't as bad as it's made out to be. We're just scared of germs :]). Our bedrooms all have mosquito nets over the beds because of the mosquito infestation. Even though we're inside and we have screens over our windows, we are still somehow eaten alive. At least we can sleep now that we're covered.
Our living room has a not quite functional tv, a newly purchased stereo system from the Big Bazaar (a walmart type store with surprisingly good clothing), and a table. The furniture that came with the place is quite nice.
Over all, the apartment beats the hotel we were staying at, the ginger, by a LANDSLIDE.
The Rickshaw
I suppose for me, one of the most fun and yet most frustrating aspects of the trip thus far has been the rickshaws - interacting with and dealing with their drivers... and riding in them :]
The above image shows the standard Indian auto rickshaw, though many of them are green with yellow tops. A standard ride in an auto rickshaw can cost from 10 rupees to 30 rupees - the equivalent of 20 to 60 cents USD. Now, looking at it face value, if you get charged 80 cents for a ride, it's not too bad. BUT. The most frustrating part is when these drivers try to overcharge you or they don't charge fairly because of categorization. Many times, rickshaw drivers assume that you are a) a tourist or b) you have lots of money or c) you're ignorant of what a fair charge would be or d) all of the above. Because we've been traveling in and out throughout india for the last two weeks, well, we pretty much have the rickshaw concept down. My family is quite a bit more relaxed about getting messed with by them. I, on the other hand, find it to be extremely rude and so have coincidentally taken the job of rickshaw business into my own hands. I enjoy getting angry when they refuse to be fair, and then dramatically leave the little auto in search of another. It's helped me learn how to say no, and how to be direct about something. It's fun :]
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Vadodara!
Since my last post, we have arrived at our host city of Vadodara. It's "small", with 1.4 million people, and it's home to the M.S.U., of whom is sponsoring my stepmother in her work. We stayed in this oddly business quaint hotel, as titled The Ginger, for five some nights, only after attempting to get an apartment days before we got to leave. We were all sick of that place - it had an obscenely strong odor of bug pesticide, mixed with indian food spices, mixed with flower deodorizer. What a horrid combination :D
After moving out of the ginger, we moved into our apartment (of which is conveniently located right next to the University). It's got three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, and a large living room. All of the ceilings are really high and all of the floors are marble. It's quite nice. In our surrounding area we have trees on nearly all sides of the building with countless, sometimes more than 8, monkeys roaming around in the trees and on top of buildings. It's rad, I gotta say.
We conveniently hack onto our neighbor's wireless internet, so thank the lord we're still wired here :] My brother is the one with the window air conditioner and flipping king sized bed (I actually found this royal treatment to be quite funny - it's his loss of the rustic life :/)
During the days, I've taken to working on my online Spanish course, reading, and attending a twice weekly sewing class at the college. I've met several girls, all in sewing or textiles majors, and all of them are 21 or 22. The shocker for me was, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how they got into college because they looked the EXACT same age as me. And I kid you not, it was wild. They were all shocked when they found out I was my age... The feeling was mutual all around.
We're probably going to stay here for a few weeks before traveling a bit. Hopefully it will start to feel a little less strange here pretty soon (not like it hasn't already; don't get me wrong. It just feels like a complete and utter foreign world. It's quite different).
After moving out of the ginger, we moved into our apartment (of which is conveniently located right next to the University). It's got three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, and a large living room. All of the ceilings are really high and all of the floors are marble. It's quite nice. In our surrounding area we have trees on nearly all sides of the building with countless, sometimes more than 8, monkeys roaming around in the trees and on top of buildings. It's rad, I gotta say.
We conveniently hack onto our neighbor's wireless internet, so thank the lord we're still wired here :] My brother is the one with the window air conditioner and flipping king sized bed (I actually found this royal treatment to be quite funny - it's his loss of the rustic life :/)
During the days, I've taken to working on my online Spanish course, reading, and attending a twice weekly sewing class at the college. I've met several girls, all in sewing or textiles majors, and all of them are 21 or 22. The shocker for me was, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how they got into college because they looked the EXACT same age as me. And I kid you not, it was wild. They were all shocked when they found out I was my age... The feeling was mutual all around.
We're probably going to stay here for a few weeks before traveling a bit. Hopefully it will start to feel a little less strange here pretty soon (not like it hasn't already; don't get me wrong. It just feels like a complete and utter foreign world. It's quite different).
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The ruins! And a zoo.
We did a bit more sightseeing today, as we visited the local zoo and a tomb. The tomb was our first stop of the morning, and it started out brilliantly. It was THE QUIETEST place I had been in days. It was amazing. The place itself was a brick-walled, dome building'd paradise for the fellow whose tomb it surrounds. In the sky above the large grassed ancient ground, there were many, many birds circling and hunting overhead. Some of the hawks were hunting these really cute little green parrots that were about the size of a cockatiel. They were beautiful little birds.
After a while, a large (and by large, I mean a few hundred) group of school children ran in. We heard them coming - there was mass cheering from a distance. About two minutes after the yelling began, we saw a steady stream of little boys sprinting to the large tomb structure. It was crazy! They RAN. I wish I got that excited... :] After a short bit, we climbed down from the top of the building where we were sitting and followed the stream of mayhem.
After we circled the top level of the taj mahal - looking building about half ways, we noticed this fellow about my age following at a close distance. We caught on, and soon started to be aware of his presence. After a bit we decided to move on to the next structure, and we left the domed building - the kid followed. My father caught on and decided the best approach for relieving us of the barnacle boy was to make him uncomfortable. For this, he walked extremely close to him (a couple of feet away at most) and we continued our regular conversations, with my father in this boy's extreme personal space. It worked for a bit, and the boy left our side and walked at a distance of about 30 feet. As soon as he could, he rejoined with a distance of about 10 feet. We all laughed, we me laughing hysterically. Apparently these folks haven't seen too many white females before, as I have been told. (It is important to note: the excessive staring that goes on by others is really NOT funny, and it drives me bonkers. I get extremely uncomfortable :/). As we neared the exit, he walked out as he was 10 feet ahead. We let him go and we decided to stay inside to see if he would leave. He didn't.
After a bit, we left. He continued to follow close behind. I briskly walked to our taxi and got in. At that point, I was feeling uncomfortable with the whole following by unknown teenage boy thing. It was odd. The rest of my family piled in. The boy walked across the street. As we pulled out of the parking lot, my dad waved to him and he waved back. We accelerated down the street and laughed.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
New Delhi
We arrived in New Delhi yesterday morning at 3:30 - it was a couple of hours left. Even at 3:30, the airport was crazy. People were everywhere and outside there were taxi drivers going bonkers. The whole environment was overwhelming. I myself got a bit of culture shock just on the drive home. Outside, there was an eerie bit of fog, and it made everything look quite creapy. Not to mention the in action construction going on at the very wee hours of the morning. That was a bit odd.
The section of housing that contained our guest house was guarded by a gate, which was raised and lowered by a rope and three men sitting by a fire. As we pulled up, we got out and were greeted by the fellow who owns the place. He was nice enough and showed us to our rooms. The rooms were small and had two twin beds and a tv. We also got two water bottle size containers for water. The bathroom had a toilet, a sink, and then an odd sort of shower into the wall that had no tub or anything around it - just a large plastic bucket and the tile floor. To this moment I'm still not sure how to use the thing (and have coincidentally not showered since Germany... yummy).
We slept for a good 5 hours after that, and then rose for breakfast. The guest house served a good meal of toast, an omelet, some soup, and good juice. Indian breakfasts seems almost as good as German ones.
After breakfast, we went for a little walk around the neighborhood, and headed over to a park where there were supposedly free roaming deer and flamingos. We saw neither, but there were countless dogs and birds. We saw a few ducks and geese in this drained little lake, and that was cool. A few of the dogs were the cutest puppies I'd ever seen, just running around and playing. I was trying to think of a way to keep one, but to no avail :]
Walking to the park, we saw a few men peeing on the big wall that surrounded the deer park. There were these wet spots on the brick every few meters, and I was quite careful not to step in any of them (EEEEWWWW). There were also, ehem, many turds on the ground. Apparently public sanitation standards are different in Delhi than Lincoln. You can potty where ever you like, and just leave it there. That's got to spread disease!
After walking for a bit, we all walked back to the guest house and got inside our first official taxi ride. It was pretty wild. The driving here is nuts. There aren't exactly any rules that are followed. Lanes don't seem to apply, and the speed limit is the pace the rest of the cars are going. They honk constantly. Honking is apparently a tool used by drivers to alert those in front and behind that they're about to do some obscene move, and it's to give them a split second to react before they do. There are surprisingly little accidents :/
Once we arrived at our destination (the fulbright house where Wendy had her meeting), we went in and took a brief glimpse. It was this large, beautiful house in the front with a green yard in front and back. It also had a cafe and an office building in back. It was really nice. After meeting the fulbright fellow and what not, my dad, my brother and I left to go walk around a bit. We went to this center with all of these shops and an assortment of people present. There were american shops and odd Indian shops combined, and it was a complete scene. Upon attempting to withdraw money from an atm (and still not knowing how much a bloody Rupee was), we discovered that the atm likely didn't even contain more than $50 in USD - we only withdrew 2000 Rupees.
After that we walked back and hooked up with Wendy again, and went to dinner with our family and a fellow fulbrighter. We went to this semi odd center of shops and restaurants and we walked around a bit first. All through our journeys there have been beggers everywhere of course, but there was this really tall creepy guy that was especially scary (he only bothered my dad and my brother though, thank god). That completely scared the crap out of me, and I was in a funk after witnessing him in action.
We soon decided on a restaurant and went in. We ordered our food - Indian, of course- and ate. Most of the meals were quite spicy, and I had a bit of a hard time. In America I have no problem but here, the spices are a tad high for my liking. Even my lamb curry was too much. I ended up drinking a LOT of water. At the end of the meal, they brought each of us a small dish of warm water with lemon and rose petals to freshen up. It was a nice touch, definitely :]
Upon leaving the restaurant, we went to look for transportation. We all ended up taking a rickshaw - Greg, the other fulbrighter, took one back to the fulbright house. My family, all four of us, boarded one ourselves. As the ride proceeded, my water that I drank at dinner had caught up with me pretty quick. I had to pee really really bad. Our driver pretty much ended up getting somewhat lost on his way to our guest house, and that made my potty situation much worse. After the third time of him asking directions, I jumped out and convinced my stepmother to come with me so I could go pee. I ended up going in this parking lot with only a handful of cars on the perimeter and a few little boys playing. That made things a bit odd... I felt very much relieved after the fact, and was very glad I took care of it (even though it required urinating in front of a few little children). Our driver finally got us somewhat close to our house, and we ended up walking the rest of the way.
Once we got home, my brother and my dad walked around outside a bit more, and my stepmother and I stayed at home. I went to bed :] Very very tired, as I only slept 5 hours the night before. Jet lag and what not.
And so, here we are. Today I believe we're going to some craft museum with crafts from all over India, and maybe some shops again. We're leaving here on thursday to head to our home city of Baroda. I'm pretty excited for that - Delhi's a little too big for me.
The section of housing that contained our guest house was guarded by a gate, which was raised and lowered by a rope and three men sitting by a fire. As we pulled up, we got out and were greeted by the fellow who owns the place. He was nice enough and showed us to our rooms. The rooms were small and had two twin beds and a tv. We also got two water bottle size containers for water. The bathroom had a toilet, a sink, and then an odd sort of shower into the wall that had no tub or anything around it - just a large plastic bucket and the tile floor. To this moment I'm still not sure how to use the thing (and have coincidentally not showered since Germany... yummy).
We slept for a good 5 hours after that, and then rose for breakfast. The guest house served a good meal of toast, an omelet, some soup, and good juice. Indian breakfasts seems almost as good as German ones.
After breakfast, we went for a little walk around the neighborhood, and headed over to a park where there were supposedly free roaming deer and flamingos. We saw neither, but there were countless dogs and birds. We saw a few ducks and geese in this drained little lake, and that was cool. A few of the dogs were the cutest puppies I'd ever seen, just running around and playing. I was trying to think of a way to keep one, but to no avail :]
Walking to the park, we saw a few men peeing on the big wall that surrounded the deer park. There were these wet spots on the brick every few meters, and I was quite careful not to step in any of them (EEEEWWWW). There were also, ehem, many turds on the ground. Apparently public sanitation standards are different in Delhi than Lincoln. You can potty where ever you like, and just leave it there. That's got to spread disease!
After walking for a bit, we all walked back to the guest house and got inside our first official taxi ride. It was pretty wild. The driving here is nuts. There aren't exactly any rules that are followed. Lanes don't seem to apply, and the speed limit is the pace the rest of the cars are going. They honk constantly. Honking is apparently a tool used by drivers to alert those in front and behind that they're about to do some obscene move, and it's to give them a split second to react before they do. There are surprisingly little accidents :/
Once we arrived at our destination (the fulbright house where Wendy had her meeting), we went in and took a brief glimpse. It was this large, beautiful house in the front with a green yard in front and back. It also had a cafe and an office building in back. It was really nice. After meeting the fulbright fellow and what not, my dad, my brother and I left to go walk around a bit. We went to this center with all of these shops and an assortment of people present. There were american shops and odd Indian shops combined, and it was a complete scene. Upon attempting to withdraw money from an atm (and still not knowing how much a bloody Rupee was), we discovered that the atm likely didn't even contain more than $50 in USD - we only withdrew 2000 Rupees.
After that we walked back and hooked up with Wendy again, and went to dinner with our family and a fellow fulbrighter. We went to this semi odd center of shops and restaurants and we walked around a bit first. All through our journeys there have been beggers everywhere of course, but there was this really tall creepy guy that was especially scary (he only bothered my dad and my brother though, thank god). That completely scared the crap out of me, and I was in a funk after witnessing him in action.
We soon decided on a restaurant and went in. We ordered our food - Indian, of course- and ate. Most of the meals were quite spicy, and I had a bit of a hard time. In America I have no problem but here, the spices are a tad high for my liking. Even my lamb curry was too much. I ended up drinking a LOT of water. At the end of the meal, they brought each of us a small dish of warm water with lemon and rose petals to freshen up. It was a nice touch, definitely :]
Upon leaving the restaurant, we went to look for transportation. We all ended up taking a rickshaw - Greg, the other fulbrighter, took one back to the fulbright house. My family, all four of us, boarded one ourselves. As the ride proceeded, my water that I drank at dinner had caught up with me pretty quick. I had to pee really really bad. Our driver pretty much ended up getting somewhat lost on his way to our guest house, and that made my potty situation much worse. After the third time of him asking directions, I jumped out and convinced my stepmother to come with me so I could go pee. I ended up going in this parking lot with only a handful of cars on the perimeter and a few little boys playing. That made things a bit odd... I felt very much relieved after the fact, and was very glad I took care of it (even though it required urinating in front of a few little children). Our driver finally got us somewhat close to our house, and we ended up walking the rest of the way.
Once we got home, my brother and my dad walked around outside a bit more, and my stepmother and I stayed at home. I went to bed :] Very very tired, as I only slept 5 hours the night before. Jet lag and what not.
And so, here we are. Today I believe we're going to some craft museum with crafts from all over India, and maybe some shops again. We're leaving here on thursday to head to our home city of Baroda. I'm pretty excited for that - Delhi's a little too big for me.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Frankfurt!!!!!
We have finally accomplished the first official leg of our journey, that being to Frankfurt, Germany. After an extremely long, sleepless 8 hour flight with a good meal, we finally arrived. Upon arrival, the differences between the states and here were instantly visible. The bathroom had a separate place for the paper towels and toilet paper in the airport. People were speaking dialects that I'd never heard - and not just German. As soon as we boarded our train, my first real look at a bit of the German countryside was a good one. Lots of tall, thin trees and a thin layer of snow. And cold. As we began to enter Frankfurt, there were countless little plots of land with little structures on them. Possibly gardens? Not sure about that. There were acres to miles of many, many of them. The train station itself was this huge, tall building with dozens of open doored bakeries, older women with scarves on their heads begging for money, and pigeons :] It was a very active, moving place. DEFINITELY not like anything in America. As soon as we began to walk around the city a bit, we hit a section of street that seemed to be dominated largely by Turkish folks - complete with markets, restaurants, men-only coffee joints, the works. It was really interesting, and there were definitely some things I'd never seen before!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
One Week
New Years Day. January 1st. It's crazy hard to believe that in one week I'm going on a multiple month trip to somewhere I've never been. I'm nervous, scared, excited, worried, thrilled, and other. I don't really know what to expect at this moment. It's surely going to be something that I've never experienced before. I dunno! I think I really am excited. India looks like such a completely different lifestyle, it's really and truly going to be an adventure.
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