Namaste,
I returned yesterday from Bharatpur, Rajasthan home to the Ghana Keoleodo Bird Sanctuary. I went with two other girls from my program and we spent a whole morning biking through the sanctuary meeting deer, monkeys, jackals, huge lizards, cows, egrets, storks, parrots, and one injured turtle.
The rest of the journey however, was not as relaxing as the Sanctuary. We ended up getting tickets for a bus that went through Bharatpur, but did not stop there, even though the person who sold us the tickets told us that the bus would make a stop there. We ended up in Agra and enlisted the help of a hotel-owner/French-Indian man to help us get a taxi back to Bharatpur. Because we didn't know anything about the man or the hotel, Nancy made up a story saying that Whitney and I were married to her older Indian brothers who would pick us up in Bharatpur.
Lying has become a really fun part of being an outsider. You never really want to give your information out, so you make things up. Right now I am Dizzy from Nova Scotia. But I think that I will research Tasmania to see if I could pull off being from there. Overall, it's best not to say you're American, because everyone wants an American contact. Nova Scotia not so popular.
The Hindi is coming slowly and I miss Spanish. Granted I was never good at Spanish, but I could make myself understood. Now, I have about 4 sentences that people understand. After that I just string vocab together. It is a little isolating to not have the language skills that you want. I feel very much like an American who is just spending a lot of time in Jaipur. I don't feel like I understand Jaipur or the culture here as well as I would like to. I am going to try to get a library pass to Rajasthan University's library. I figure that "Raj U" students will probably be safer to talk to than rickshaw wallas or the boys who sell puppets outside of the Raj Mandir Theatre on M.I. Road. Most of all I wish I did not look so physically different. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a zoo.
Although it seems from the post that things aren't going well, they really are. It is just difficult to go from being a mostly-independent college student in Minnesota to asking your Indian host family for permission each time you leave the house.
There are some things that I do love about India and I already know that I will miss. The first two are Chair and Aloo (potato.) My Mamaji's chai is the best that I've had here, especially the ginger chai. Potatoes are also amazing. I can't exactly explain what makes them so good, but I think that they're just very good comfort food.
India has challenged a lot of my rituals. For example, I'm used to working out about 5 days a week at home. Here, I'm lucky if I have time to go. If I do have time then I am followed around by a trainer. I'm used to just going where I want to go regardless of the time, but now my Mamaji gets worried if I'm out in the dark. It's just hard for me to be intimidated by a block-long walk in the dark after I've walked block after block in New York in the dark. The difference is that most Indians stay at home at night, so there aren't the crowds that NYC has.
Well for now I have to write a paper before the Internet cafe closes. I just found out that my grades will not be seen on my Carleton transcript and cannot go into my GPA. This will be an interesting paper.
Love,
Erica
Monday, September 24, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
So You Have a Camel Probelm?
For those who are enticed by my title, I will get straight to the point. Rajasthan has a camel problem! Their camel population has decreased by 50%, which is 60% of the total camel population of India. If I knew how to say Ay Dios Mio! in Hindi I would, but my host mother just says "Oh My God." So, I think it in Spanish to make me feel less like a stupid American. Actually, the camel situation is pretty sad. People don't know how to take care of their camels and massive camel deaths ensue. Animal care is one of the fields that I might intern in, so I could be saving the camels. Fortunately, the camels don't seem too upset at the current situation.
Things are starting to be a little more normal here. I've gotten more Indian clothing, which cuts down on harassment's. My Hindi, although horrible is beginning to get responses in Hindi instead of just laughter and responses in English. I've joined a gym, which is really great because I'm starting to go crazy from eating so much of my Mamaji's cooking and then not moving. My Mamaji (host mom) is a great cook, and loves to feed Emily and I.
The gym was actually really funny because I'm definitely not their average customer. There seemed to be a lot of people there who did not start working out until their doctor said, "Please start moving." The gym has a heavy emphasis on trainers telling you what to do. I really confused one poor trainer when I told him that I was not going to do a warm up with him. I then walked over the the treadmill to start my run, he followed me and said "Quick warm up." So I did a warm up that consisted of head rolls, finger stretches and marching in place. I then returned to the treadmill and was the only person running, everyone else was power walking. After the treadmill, the insistent trainer came up to me and told me to do the elliptical. I said no and he said "You come back tomorrow?" Yes, trainer-man, I will do the elliptical tomorrow. So far, the gym and cell phone services here have been the only time when I've thought, "The US is better." God bless the USA, where people who work at gyms won't even give you the time of day.
The most exciting development in my home stay is that Emily, my Mamaji and I made a cake. It turned out a little strange from converting all the measurements into metric, but overall it was good. We made a cream cheese frosting that impressed my Mamaji, because apparently she's been whipping whipped cream by hand to make frosting. I'm glad to spread the American principals of easy-to-make, fatty foods.
My most recent empowering moment is when a guy touched my butt on the street. I slapped him and he walked away like nothing ever happened. He honestly looked more mortified than I could ever be by him touching me. Fortunately, although groping happens and has happened to a couple people on my trip, it's not culturally accepted at all. So just drawing attention to someone for doing it can terrify them. Also, Rimaji (the program director) assured me that the police wouldn't care if I hit a man for touching me and would probably just hit him more with their sticks.
This weekend I want to go to a Bird Sanctuary with two friends (Nancy and Whitney.) It is about 5 hours outside of Jaipur and it would be great to just get away from the city. The pollution and noise is irritating me less, but being around birds in a jungle would be amazing. I'll probably need to use a bit of Hindi on this trip, which is intimidating. Learning a new language is really making me miss Spanish. I didn't realize how much I could say in another language until I had to learn a new one from scratch.
Namaste for now,
Erica
Things are starting to be a little more normal here. I've gotten more Indian clothing, which cuts down on harassment's. My Hindi, although horrible is beginning to get responses in Hindi instead of just laughter and responses in English. I've joined a gym, which is really great because I'm starting to go crazy from eating so much of my Mamaji's cooking and then not moving. My Mamaji (host mom) is a great cook, and loves to feed Emily and I.
The gym was actually really funny because I'm definitely not their average customer. There seemed to be a lot of people there who did not start working out until their doctor said, "Please start moving." The gym has a heavy emphasis on trainers telling you what to do. I really confused one poor trainer when I told him that I was not going to do a warm up with him. I then walked over the the treadmill to start my run, he followed me and said "Quick warm up." So I did a warm up that consisted of head rolls, finger stretches and marching in place. I then returned to the treadmill and was the only person running, everyone else was power walking. After the treadmill, the insistent trainer came up to me and told me to do the elliptical. I said no and he said "You come back tomorrow?" Yes, trainer-man, I will do the elliptical tomorrow. So far, the gym and cell phone services here have been the only time when I've thought, "The US is better." God bless the USA, where people who work at gyms won't even give you the time of day.
The most exciting development in my home stay is that Emily, my Mamaji and I made a cake. It turned out a little strange from converting all the measurements into metric, but overall it was good. We made a cream cheese frosting that impressed my Mamaji, because apparently she's been whipping whipped cream by hand to make frosting. I'm glad to spread the American principals of easy-to-make, fatty foods.
My most recent empowering moment is when a guy touched my butt on the street. I slapped him and he walked away like nothing ever happened. He honestly looked more mortified than I could ever be by him touching me. Fortunately, although groping happens and has happened to a couple people on my trip, it's not culturally accepted at all. So just drawing attention to someone for doing it can terrify them. Also, Rimaji (the program director) assured me that the police wouldn't care if I hit a man for touching me and would probably just hit him more with their sticks.
This weekend I want to go to a Bird Sanctuary with two friends (Nancy and Whitney.) It is about 5 hours outside of Jaipur and it would be great to just get away from the city. The pollution and noise is irritating me less, but being around birds in a jungle would be amazing. I'll probably need to use a bit of Hindi on this trip, which is intimidating. Learning a new language is really making me miss Spanish. I didn't realize how much I could say in another language until I had to learn a new one from scratch.
Namaste for now,
Erica
Friday, September 14, 2007
What exactly have you heard about Americans?
So I've been in Indian for about two weeks and I've already had amazing highs and lows. A low was getting into an auto rickshaw with a rickshawalla (driver) who did not know where he was going. A high was getting to participate in my host family's puja (prayer/ceremony) for Lord Ganesha. Also my host mom is an amazing cook, so just about every meal is a high. But just about every meal involves chapatis (thin, tortilla-like breads) and chai. Chai is made with just milk here and chapatis are wheat. I have sensitivities to dairy, wheat, and pollution, so I've had a head cold for the past couple of days. But I think that as long as I drink a lot of water and cover my face with a shawl while walking down buys roads I won't get too sick.
This Friday (I'm a day ahead of you Americans) my group went to two NGO sites in a more rural part of Rajasthan. One village has been planting trees, conserving water, and growing organic crops for the past twenty years. This system has increased their grain and milk production, and has kept their land greener than other villages who are still using pesticides, fertilizers, and cutting down trees. Rajasthan has a lot of water-shortage problems, so these people are really maximizing what they have.
The other NGO is called "Barefoot College." It provides practical training and resources to nearby villages. For example, they train solar engineers regardless of the student's previous training. These students can then bring solar power to where they live. They also train doctors and teachers and educate people about their rights to water, land ect. It is a very impressive model that has been copied all over India and the rest of the world. I think a lot of people in my group would like to work their for their internship, but I'm not too sure.
Right now I'm trying to upload some pictures, but I can't seem to e-mail them to myself. This is frustrating because I can't just upload pictures onto the computer that I'm using at the Internet cafe. They have to upload them at a master computer and then I have to e-mail them to myself. Gar!
And now to explain the title of this piece...I've found that stereotypes about Americans are pretty strong here. Baywatch has not done wonders for the the reputation of American women. When one female student asked our professor what we could do to avoid attention from Indian men, our professors told us that most men who are making the comments think that they are being charming and that American women are a lot easier to date (and I guess have sex with) than other women. Thank you Pamela Anderson. I want to learn how to say, "I'm married and have six babies" in Hindi. But I have also been told that I "have the figure of a sixteen-year-old," so I don't know if that will work.
But all-in-all I've found the majority of Indians to be very polite and eager to practice their English on foreign students. It's just a shame that a few stupid guys have to be thrown into the mix. I'm hoping that the more Hindi I learn, the more I'll be able to show that I'm not just a tourist. I actually want to learn about India and not just take pictures.
That's about all for now, I love you all!
Erica
This Friday (I'm a day ahead of you Americans) my group went to two NGO sites in a more rural part of Rajasthan. One village has been planting trees, conserving water, and growing organic crops for the past twenty years. This system has increased their grain and milk production, and has kept their land greener than other villages who are still using pesticides, fertilizers, and cutting down trees. Rajasthan has a lot of water-shortage problems, so these people are really maximizing what they have.
The other NGO is called "Barefoot College." It provides practical training and resources to nearby villages. For example, they train solar engineers regardless of the student's previous training. These students can then bring solar power to where they live. They also train doctors and teachers and educate people about their rights to water, land ect. It is a very impressive model that has been copied all over India and the rest of the world. I think a lot of people in my group would like to work their for their internship, but I'm not too sure.
Right now I'm trying to upload some pictures, but I can't seem to e-mail them to myself. This is frustrating because I can't just upload pictures onto the computer that I'm using at the Internet cafe. They have to upload them at a master computer and then I have to e-mail them to myself. Gar!
And now to explain the title of this piece...I've found that stereotypes about Americans are pretty strong here. Baywatch has not done wonders for the the reputation of American women. When one female student asked our professor what we could do to avoid attention from Indian men, our professors told us that most men who are making the comments think that they are being charming and that American women are a lot easier to date (and I guess have sex with) than other women. Thank you Pamela Anderson. I want to learn how to say, "I'm married and have six babies" in Hindi. But I have also been told that I "have the figure of a sixteen-year-old," so I don't know if that will work.
But all-in-all I've found the majority of Indians to be very polite and eager to practice their English on foreign students. It's just a shame that a few stupid guys have to be thrown into the mix. I'm hoping that the more Hindi I learn, the more I'll be able to show that I'm not just a tourist. I actually want to learn about India and not just take pictures.
That's about all for now, I love you all!
Erica
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Mera nam Erica hai.
Hello all,
Sorry if anyone was waiting for my next exciting post, but this will be a short update. I'm right now recovering from a change-in-diet problem paired with a headcold from the pollution, and I don't feel too good at all.
So far Jaipur is both exciting and incredible frustrating. I am finding it to be like living in the deep south--where name and gender determine a lot more than it should. While I've never lived in the Deep South, I've lived in Rajasthan, and stories seem to match up a lot. I love my group, my professors, and the colors of Jaipur. I hate the pollution, the noise, the gross, creepy men, and the way that women are treated. I feel very lucky to have a great roommate and some very good friends who I can travel around with.
The highlight of Jaipur so far has been the Raj Mandir, which is a huge movie theater. My friends and I saw "Chakde," which is about a fictional Indian Women's (Field) Hockey Team. The movie was really good and I understood a lot of the plot without knowing the language that it was in.
The worst part of Jaipur has been trying to get a SIM card for my cell phone. You need a ton of ID here to do that, and as an international student I don't have a lot of what they require. I just want to call home, but so far I've been thwarted. I'm going to try again tomorrow, and I hope that I'm sucessful.
I miss you all and I hope that you're having a great time in the Midwest and other wise!
Love!
Erica
Sorry if anyone was waiting for my next exciting post, but this will be a short update. I'm right now recovering from a change-in-diet problem paired with a headcold from the pollution, and I don't feel too good at all.
So far Jaipur is both exciting and incredible frustrating. I am finding it to be like living in the deep south--where name and gender determine a lot more than it should. While I've never lived in the Deep South, I've lived in Rajasthan, and stories seem to match up a lot. I love my group, my professors, and the colors of Jaipur. I hate the pollution, the noise, the gross, creepy men, and the way that women are treated. I feel very lucky to have a great roommate and some very good friends who I can travel around with.
The highlight of Jaipur so far has been the Raj Mandir, which is a huge movie theater. My friends and I saw "Chakde," which is about a fictional Indian Women's (Field) Hockey Team. The movie was really good and I understood a lot of the plot without knowing the language that it was in.
The worst part of Jaipur has been trying to get a SIM card for my cell phone. You need a ton of ID here to do that, and as an international student I don't have a lot of what they require. I just want to call home, but so far I've been thwarted. I'm going to try again tomorrow, and I hope that I'm sucessful.
I miss you all and I hope that you're having a great time in the Midwest and other wise!
Love!
Erica
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Namaste from Jaipur!
I am finally in Jaipur "The Pink City!" I have been doing about a week of orientation in various hotels. One in Delhi, the other just outside of Jaipur. I am moved in with my host family and my roommate. My roommate Emily and I get along really well. I see a lot of Jaipur adventures in our future. The host family is nice, but a little quiet. I think this will change as the kids get less shy. The oldest is their daughter Chetna (13) and then there's Prabble (10.) There is also a grandmother. They have a German Shepherd, but like most Indian pets, she stays outside all day.
My group is amazing. Everyone is very nice and interesting. There are a lot of different types of lifestyles and senses of humor, which is both a lot of fun and sometimes a little hard to absorb. I can't wait to get to know people better. I really want to travel, and I hope that I can get a group of people together to go to Dharmsala or Darjeeling (both up north.) I also want to see the nearby Monkey Temple (home to 5,000 monkeys) and a lot of other stuff that just seems incredible.
I'm beginning to wonder why I didn't go to a Spanish or English-speaking country though. Hindi is hard and I am not good a picking up new languages. I've learned accha (good,) nahi (no,) ruko (stop,) pani (water,) Sukriye (thank-you,) namaste (hello,) bargo (run,) and a few other kinda of useless-without-verbs words. But I'm hoping to strengthen my Hindi through forcing myself to just sound like an idiot for awhile. Oh I can also ask "Ap thik hai?" (Are you okay?)
Jaipur is a mini-metropolis according to my hostmom, and according to my homestay coordinator, my house in in the "poshest" area of Jaipur. This means that the streets are clean, big, and quiet. That is very unusual for India. My student center is close to a huge market, where I'm going to get a calling card and SIM card on Monday. Rajasthan is hot right now, but cools down in October. I feel like I'm in this akward period when I don't know my host family, where I am, and I'm always sweaty. People here do not sweat nearly as much as I do.
I am going to learn how to cook Indian food and I'm going to get some Indian outfits made, so maybe I'll eventually "blend," but probably not. I have taken pictures, but I'll post them later. I love you all and I hope that you are all have a great time whichever contient you're on.
Love!
Erica
My group is amazing. Everyone is very nice and interesting. There are a lot of different types of lifestyles and senses of humor, which is both a lot of fun and sometimes a little hard to absorb. I can't wait to get to know people better. I really want to travel, and I hope that I can get a group of people together to go to Dharmsala or Darjeeling (both up north.) I also want to see the nearby Monkey Temple (home to 5,000 monkeys) and a lot of other stuff that just seems incredible.
I'm beginning to wonder why I didn't go to a Spanish or English-speaking country though. Hindi is hard and I am not good a picking up new languages. I've learned accha (good,) nahi (no,) ruko (stop,) pani (water,) Sukriye (thank-you,) namaste (hello,) bargo (run,) and a few other kinda of useless-without-verbs words. But I'm hoping to strengthen my Hindi through forcing myself to just sound like an idiot for awhile. Oh I can also ask "Ap thik hai?" (Are you okay?)
Jaipur is a mini-metropolis according to my hostmom, and according to my homestay coordinator, my house in in the "poshest" area of Jaipur. This means that the streets are clean, big, and quiet. That is very unusual for India. My student center is close to a huge market, where I'm going to get a calling card and SIM card on Monday. Rajasthan is hot right now, but cools down in October. I feel like I'm in this akward period when I don't know my host family, where I am, and I'm always sweaty. People here do not sweat nearly as much as I do.
I am going to learn how to cook Indian food and I'm going to get some Indian outfits made, so maybe I'll eventually "blend," but probably not. I have taken pictures, but I'll post them later. I love you all and I hope that you are all have a great time whichever contient you're on.
Love!
Erica
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