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.
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