Now you can see why our celebrations for Teacher's Day and Janamashtmi were literally flooded out! :)
The boys that ride in my jeep often stop at the little stands to buy chips and things on the way home. 
Bharuch 
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
More Janamashtami
My eleven Science stream friends all dolled up for TEacher's Day.
The school Janamashtami Puja (worship, not my host sister :)
The Puja band
Some of my 12 stadard friends and the exchangers (l-r Pooja, morie, mitali, shruti, mayara, and I)School Fun!
This is actually a kind of funny story. Being different is a kind of odd comodity here, and some of the boys wanted to have their pictures taken with the three of us exchangers. Well, since the association between boys and girls isn't really encouraged in school one of the teachers saw the picture, made them erase it, and yelled at them!!! They were into so much trouble, and all over taking their picture with us! Luckily I still have the picture to laugh at. 
My host siblings and I all dressed up for Teacher's day and Janamashtami.
Morie, Mayara, and I posing with Mayara's scarf trying to be modest Indian girls. 
My classroomReligious Puja (worship)
The anniversary of the opening of my family's Hotel Shalimar (the best place to stay in both Ankleshwar and Bharuch, and the best food not that I am prejudice or anything)
The baby Lord Krishna in his cradle. Notice the chocolates and goodies on the outside of the frame.
After welcoming Lord Krishna into the world. As you can see I was the only one that actually got hit with powder. (Morie and I)
A baby Lord Krishna in the house of a family friend.Friday, September 21, 2007
The Golden Bridge
This is a picture taken from the car of the entry to the Golden Bridge going over the Narmada River. I go over this bridge atleast two times a day. Notice the donkeys walking in the middle of the road. 
This is a temple right before the Golden bridge
Kind of hard to see, but this is on the bridge supports where a man is sitting to take a rest from life. Food!
Several times while in India I have had people ask me, “what are the differences you notice between the US and India?” This has got to be one of the most difficult questions. Besides EVERYTHING the US and India are very similar. It would take me a whole day to really explain all of the similarities and differences, but I am going to try my best to touch on some of the main things.
I’ll start with food because all of the activities you do in India revolve around food. You wake up and then you eat. You go to school, and the period you look forward to the most is break where you eat. After coming home from school you always eat a HUGE meal, and then after or during any activity there is always eating. Even after and during religious ceremonies you always have the holy fruit/trail mix or sweets, and often times after the ceremony you have a full out feast.
For the most part in India you eat Asian food, occasionally there will be India pasta (very sweet) or US pizza (last time I checked Italy was famous for it’s Pizza), but on a regular basis Indian food is eaten.
Breakfast: weekdays: biscuits, bread, and tea, masala, or just plain milk
Weekends: same, but with dhokra
Break (at school): often times I will have dhokra, pori, craker like things with seasoning,
Rotli and veggies, pakra, potato tasting things with onions and garlic, or whatever
Else ends up in my tiffin (metal lunch pail)
Lunch: rotli and curry, salad (onion and tomato), curried veggies, okra, always with rice
And dhal.
Tea Time: tea or Masala (milk with ginger root, tulsi leaves, green tea leaves, and tea
Masala, but without the actual tea mixture) Normally at this time I have a little
Cracker snack thing, biscuits, or a banana.
Dinner: This varies between huge and small meals. When my family is at home by
Themselves we eat a small meal of grilled sandwiches, noodles a lot like top
Ramen, omlets on occasion, or something cooked in a pressure cooker
Like Kitchree (very yummy seasoned rice) dumplings, or different kinds of rice .
Also we eat a lot of curried veggies and then dip bread in it (soo good)
If it is out of the house it is similar to lunch, but with more food and choices.
I have asked a lot of my school friends what there eating habits are, and it sounds quite similar to the eating habits of my family, but my family has Kitchree every Sunday as a tradition. Also most of my friends are pure veg, and don’t even eat eggs. If they are jain then they don’t eat much of anything that is eaten under the ground like garlic, onions, potatoes ect. When my family is just eating alone, everyone eats when they have time with maybe one or two people eating together. When the extended family and friends come the children eat first at the table, the men eat in another room, and the women cooking eat last.
Also something that is part of the Indian hospitality as well as food; whenever you go to someone’s house it is a kind of unsaid rule that you can’t leave until you have eaten something, or at the very least had a glass of water. I enjoy the hospitality, but if you go visiting to several peoples houses you become full in a hurry, and they always want you to eat more
I’ll start with food because all of the activities you do in India revolve around food. You wake up and then you eat. You go to school, and the period you look forward to the most is break where you eat. After coming home from school you always eat a HUGE meal, and then after or during any activity there is always eating. Even after and during religious ceremonies you always have the holy fruit/trail mix or sweets, and often times after the ceremony you have a full out feast.
For the most part in India you eat Asian food, occasionally there will be India pasta (very sweet) or US pizza (last time I checked Italy was famous for it’s Pizza), but on a regular basis Indian food is eaten.
Breakfast: weekdays: biscuits, bread, and tea, masala, or just plain milk
Weekends: same, but with dhokra
Break (at school): often times I will have dhokra, pori, craker like things with seasoning,
Rotli and veggies, pakra, potato tasting things with onions and garlic, or whatever
Else ends up in my tiffin (metal lunch pail)
Lunch: rotli and curry, salad (onion and tomato), curried veggies, okra, always with rice
And dhal.
Tea Time: tea or Masala (milk with ginger root, tulsi leaves, green tea leaves, and tea
Masala, but without the actual tea mixture) Normally at this time I have a little
Cracker snack thing, biscuits, or a banana.
Dinner: This varies between huge and small meals. When my family is at home by
Themselves we eat a small meal of grilled sandwiches, noodles a lot like top
Ramen, omlets on occasion, or something cooked in a pressure cooker
Like Kitchree (very yummy seasoned rice) dumplings, or different kinds of rice .
Also we eat a lot of curried veggies and then dip bread in it (soo good)
If it is out of the house it is similar to lunch, but with more food and choices.
I have asked a lot of my school friends what there eating habits are, and it sounds quite similar to the eating habits of my family, but my family has Kitchree every Sunday as a tradition. Also most of my friends are pure veg, and don’t even eat eggs. If they are jain then they don’t eat much of anything that is eaten under the ground like garlic, onions, potatoes ect. When my family is just eating alone, everyone eats when they have time with maybe one or two people eating together. When the extended family and friends come the children eat first at the table, the men eat in another room, and the women cooking eat last.
Also something that is part of the Indian hospitality as well as food; whenever you go to someone’s house it is a kind of unsaid rule that you can’t leave until you have eaten something, or at the very least had a glass of water. I enjoy the hospitality, but if you go visiting to several peoples houses you become full in a hurry, and they always want you to eat more
Friday, September 14, 2007
A Bike Ride Alone
One of the things that has been somewhat frustrating here is my lack of freedom to get out and about as I like. I understand why I am not allowed to go out by myself, but it just takes some getting used to. Last night however it changed a bit. My friend from Japan was over practicing Mendhi with me, and she had ridden her bike to my house (something which I am not allowed to do unless it is with my host mother or right in front of my house). At 6:00 pm we both had Yoga class, and my mother allowed me to ride my bike both to and from yoga class, which is several miles from my house.
On the way to yoga was an adventure by itself, with lots of dodging donkeys, rickshaws, other bicycles, pedestrians ect. There is so much to see in India, and I am so used to just gaping out the window of a car. On the bike ride I was often gazing on the other side of the road where a camel was pulling a cart, and then I had to slam on the breaks because a rickshaw was heading straight for me going the wrong direction on the road!! One thing I should mention about India is that there are road rules, but no one follows them, and it is very common to have people driving on the wrong side of the road. After a few close calls of just barely missing getting hit we both made it to yoga safely without a scratch.
All through yoga I was trying to keep my mind off of the bike ride back. Since I have not been allowed to go anywhere by myself until now, riding my bike for fifteen minutes home, alone, in the dark, during rush hour, was going to be a huge feat for me. Of course during yoga I got a cramp my calf muscle doing on of the moves. After yoga I hobbled down the steps, and made my way to my bike. By this time my calf had loosened up a bit, and a bike ride was going to do it some good. Crossing the road was an adventure, but don’t worry mom I looked both ways. Yelling Av-jo to my fellow yoga friends I took off down the road. Amazingly enough I made it home safely with only a couple of “oh my goodness” moments. I hit a couple of potholes (the dark isn’t very revealing), almost hit a donkey, but other than that I have never felt so empowered by something so simple.
Seeing a country by bike has to be one of the best ways to really get a feel for the country. If you ride in the car you can see everything, but you miss the smells and sounds. While riding my bike home I could smell the burning garbage (which actually smells a lot like burnt macaroni and cheese), the garbage heaps, the spices, the wet vegetation, everything more magnificent by night. When you are out at night I always find that your senses are magnified, and you are ten times more alert, and aware of your surroundings. It was so fun to see the things that I drive by everyday in a new light, or in this case dark. All of the shacks by the road were in the process of making dinner over their small stoves, the donkeys and cows were just settling down for the night, and one carload of people sounded like they were just beginning their night banging drums, and singing on the top of a truck. I know feel much more confident, and comfortable in my new surroundings, and all because of one little bike ride home, alone.
On the way to yoga was an adventure by itself, with lots of dodging donkeys, rickshaws, other bicycles, pedestrians ect. There is so much to see in India, and I am so used to just gaping out the window of a car. On the bike ride I was often gazing on the other side of the road where a camel was pulling a cart, and then I had to slam on the breaks because a rickshaw was heading straight for me going the wrong direction on the road!! One thing I should mention about India is that there are road rules, but no one follows them, and it is very common to have people driving on the wrong side of the road. After a few close calls of just barely missing getting hit we both made it to yoga safely without a scratch.
All through yoga I was trying to keep my mind off of the bike ride back. Since I have not been allowed to go anywhere by myself until now, riding my bike for fifteen minutes home, alone, in the dark, during rush hour, was going to be a huge feat for me. Of course during yoga I got a cramp my calf muscle doing on of the moves. After yoga I hobbled down the steps, and made my way to my bike. By this time my calf had loosened up a bit, and a bike ride was going to do it some good. Crossing the road was an adventure, but don’t worry mom I looked both ways. Yelling Av-jo to my fellow yoga friends I took off down the road. Amazingly enough I made it home safely with only a couple of “oh my goodness” moments. I hit a couple of potholes (the dark isn’t very revealing), almost hit a donkey, but other than that I have never felt so empowered by something so simple.
Seeing a country by bike has to be one of the best ways to really get a feel for the country. If you ride in the car you can see everything, but you miss the smells and sounds. While riding my bike home I could smell the burning garbage (which actually smells a lot like burnt macaroni and cheese), the garbage heaps, the spices, the wet vegetation, everything more magnificent by night. When you are out at night I always find that your senses are magnified, and you are ten times more alert, and aware of your surroundings. It was so fun to see the things that I drive by everyday in a new light, or in this case dark. All of the shacks by the road were in the process of making dinner over their small stoves, the donkeys and cows were just settling down for the night, and one carload of people sounded like they were just beginning their night banging drums, and singing on the top of a truck. I know feel much more confident, and comfortable in my new surroundings, and all because of one little bike ride home, alone.
Rotary in India
One thing that is really cool about my town is that we have both a Rotary and an Interwheel club. The Rotary is your typical Rotary club, but with an Indian twist, and with projects that are appropriate for the area. The Interwheel club is all women, and primarily concentrates on only local needs. My host mother is in the Interwheel club, and she often takes me to their meetings and project viewings.
A couple of weeks ago they had their district chairman come out to view the progress of their club, and I received an opportunity to see most of their projects. My favorite one was the school for mentally disabled children that the Interwheel club helped to fund. The school was very impressive, with 64 students some of which had participated in the special Olympics, and played on the Cricket team. Other ways that the school was funded was through craft projects that the students had made, bowls made from recycled goods that the students had made, and inside the school there was a physical therapy center (low cost for the local residents).
The particular day we went to visit the school was the day before Raksha Bandhan, and all of the Interwheel club tied Rakhis on the students. I had so much fun interacting with the students, and it was very special to see what the Interwheel club had done. The next weekend I was invited to attend a polio vaccination outing, but my family had other plans. My host mother said there would be lots of other opportunities to be involved in the Interwheel projects.
The Rotary club also has some very interesting projects, which include helping fund local schools, a hospital for low (or no) income residents, an athletic club, and a bunch more that I haven’t seen yet. I had an interesting conversation with my counselor about community rotary projects, and how much they vary around the world according to need. In a place like India, the need is very great, and all of the rotary projects are very impressive, and make a HUGE difference in the community. In other areas of the world the projects might not sound as impressive, but they are just as important as projects anywhere else. Go Rotary!!! Also thank you to all of the Rotarians who have been sending me such wonderful postcards!!
A couple of weeks ago they had their district chairman come out to view the progress of their club, and I received an opportunity to see most of their projects. My favorite one was the school for mentally disabled children that the Interwheel club helped to fund. The school was very impressive, with 64 students some of which had participated in the special Olympics, and played on the Cricket team. Other ways that the school was funded was through craft projects that the students had made, bowls made from recycled goods that the students had made, and inside the school there was a physical therapy center (low cost for the local residents).
The particular day we went to visit the school was the day before Raksha Bandhan, and all of the Interwheel club tied Rakhis on the students. I had so much fun interacting with the students, and it was very special to see what the Interwheel club had done. The next weekend I was invited to attend a polio vaccination outing, but my family had other plans. My host mother said there would be lots of other opportunities to be involved in the Interwheel projects.
The Rotary club also has some very interesting projects, which include helping fund local schools, a hospital for low (or no) income residents, an athletic club, and a bunch more that I haven’t seen yet. I had an interesting conversation with my counselor about community rotary projects, and how much they vary around the world according to need. In a place like India, the need is very great, and all of the rotary projects are very impressive, and make a HUGE difference in the community. In other areas of the world the projects might not sound as impressive, but they are just as important as projects anywhere else. Go Rotary!!! Also thank you to all of the Rotarians who have been sending me such wonderful postcards!!
Interwheel Project
Me tying a Rakhi on one of the students.
The students of the school waiting patiently for their turn for Rakhis and sweets.
The Interwheel club with some of the students.
The students singing us a song of farewell. 
Friday, September 7, 2007
Celebrations
Wow! This has been the month of celebrations. Over the past two weeks, each week has had at least one special day, and for the most part it is celebrated several days before and after. Last week was Raksha Bandhan, and this week was Janamashtmi.
Raksha Bandhan is the celebration of brothers. Each sister (which can be biological or otherwise) gives a Rakhi (bracelet) to her brother, and in return he promises to protect her. My family actually celebrated two Raksha Bandhan one with my father’s side of the family, and on with my mother’s side of the family. For my host fathers side there were about 40 people all dressed to the nines to have lots of eating, talking (in Gujarati of course), and tying Rakhis.
There is actually quite a process to undergo; first you dab you ring finger in red dye and put it on the center of your brother’s forehead. Then you place rice in the middle of the red dot. After that you tie the Rakhi on your brother’s wrist, feed each other sweets, and then your brother gives you a gift (normally money). Uncles, Fathers, Cousins, and Brothers all sat in a row, and the girls made a Rakhi tying assembly line. The whole concept of Raksha Bandhan is really great, but being an only child, and in a family of all girl cousins the holiday wouldn’t ever occur in my actual family.
The next big holiday was Janamashtmi, which is the day of Lord Krishna’s birth. For the days before, and on the day of his birth my host family played cards, pranks, and tricks like Krishna because he was very much a trickster. The night before, and of the celebration my host father and all of his friends played Flush for hours. One night he had people at our house until 4:00 in the morning. Before 12:00 am on the 5th we went to my cousins to play some more cards, and then the festivities began.
At around 11:45 pm everyone in my family went to one temple to watch the unveiling of the baby Krishna in his cradle. A huge sheet was put around his statue until the exact moment of his birth, and then they tear it down, pop balloons, throw colored powder on everyone (being tall I was covered in powder, where as everyone else wasn’t so bad), holy water, and chant some happy chants. After Baby Krishna is unveiled, blessed by holy fire, and celebrated, everyone crowds in to rock the cradle. The amazing thing about the cradle is that it is totally covered with packages of cookies, chocolates, and other things that a young child might like. Up until this day the temple people change the decorations on the cradles. After the first temple my family all went to a second temple to be blessed again. We then went to a friend’s house to eat holy fruit, and laugh at how much powder I had on my face.
One thing that is amazing about the statuses of the Gods is that everyday the caretakers of the temple bath and change the little clothes of the God statues 5-6 times a day!! I was watching my host mother change the clothes and ornaments of the gods that are in our household, and it was quite a process. First they bath the gods with holy water, then they change their clothes and ornaments, then they reapply the red dot on their forehead, offer food, burn incense, and bless with the holy fires. Also to be allowed to touch the god you have to be clean. For this reason it is compulsory for me to take a bath (not that it bothers me with India being so hot).
The next day my school was supposed to have a Janamashtmi celebration with Garba (dancing with clicking sticks), and a type of tower made out of bodies to gather a pot full of goodies. Kind of like a piñata, but the boys have a make a tower with their bodies to reach the pot hung high in the air. Of course it’s India so guess what happened? It rained, and rained, so much that our assembly patio was flooded. That day was also teacher’s Day, and the upper class students were supposed to play the role of teachers for a day, but also due to rain it was cancelled. The fun thing about the day was that everyone dresses in traditional clothing, and the whole school was a very colorful place to be.
Raksha Bandhan is the celebration of brothers. Each sister (which can be biological or otherwise) gives a Rakhi (bracelet) to her brother, and in return he promises to protect her. My family actually celebrated two Raksha Bandhan one with my father’s side of the family, and on with my mother’s side of the family. For my host fathers side there were about 40 people all dressed to the nines to have lots of eating, talking (in Gujarati of course), and tying Rakhis.
There is actually quite a process to undergo; first you dab you ring finger in red dye and put it on the center of your brother’s forehead. Then you place rice in the middle of the red dot. After that you tie the Rakhi on your brother’s wrist, feed each other sweets, and then your brother gives you a gift (normally money). Uncles, Fathers, Cousins, and Brothers all sat in a row, and the girls made a Rakhi tying assembly line. The whole concept of Raksha Bandhan is really great, but being an only child, and in a family of all girl cousins the holiday wouldn’t ever occur in my actual family.
The next big holiday was Janamashtmi, which is the day of Lord Krishna’s birth. For the days before, and on the day of his birth my host family played cards, pranks, and tricks like Krishna because he was very much a trickster. The night before, and of the celebration my host father and all of his friends played Flush for hours. One night he had people at our house until 4:00 in the morning. Before 12:00 am on the 5th we went to my cousins to play some more cards, and then the festivities began.
At around 11:45 pm everyone in my family went to one temple to watch the unveiling of the baby Krishna in his cradle. A huge sheet was put around his statue until the exact moment of his birth, and then they tear it down, pop balloons, throw colored powder on everyone (being tall I was covered in powder, where as everyone else wasn’t so bad), holy water, and chant some happy chants. After Baby Krishna is unveiled, blessed by holy fire, and celebrated, everyone crowds in to rock the cradle. The amazing thing about the cradle is that it is totally covered with packages of cookies, chocolates, and other things that a young child might like. Up until this day the temple people change the decorations on the cradles. After the first temple my family all went to a second temple to be blessed again. We then went to a friend’s house to eat holy fruit, and laugh at how much powder I had on my face.
One thing that is amazing about the statuses of the Gods is that everyday the caretakers of the temple bath and change the little clothes of the God statues 5-6 times a day!! I was watching my host mother change the clothes and ornaments of the gods that are in our household, and it was quite a process. First they bath the gods with holy water, then they change their clothes and ornaments, then they reapply the red dot on their forehead, offer food, burn incense, and bless with the holy fires. Also to be allowed to touch the god you have to be clean. For this reason it is compulsory for me to take a bath (not that it bothers me with India being so hot).
The next day my school was supposed to have a Janamashtmi celebration with Garba (dancing with clicking sticks), and a type of tower made out of bodies to gather a pot full of goodies. Kind of like a piñata, but the boys have a make a tower with their bodies to reach the pot hung high in the air. Of course it’s India so guess what happened? It rained, and rained, so much that our assembly patio was flooded. That day was also teacher’s Day, and the upper class students were supposed to play the role of teachers for a day, but also due to rain it was cancelled. The fun thing about the day was that everyone dresses in traditional clothing, and the whole school was a very colorful place to be.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
School doing drills on independence day (15th of August) The school is split into houses Yellow- Tagore, Green- Nehru, White- Ghandi, Red- Raman
(l-r) Bagmita, Foram, Anjali, Akriti: Friends of mine sitting during the Freedom Cup (interschool Debate)
Freedom Cup Topic: The status of women remains unchanged in a poised India
My School
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