So far things are great with my new host family, but of course I miss my old host family, but I get to see my host siblings at school sometimes, and for everyone else I will just have to go visit. My new host family is very kind, and they are a very jolly and happy bunch.
Last night I went to a Rotarian's house to celebrate the Full Moon. The farmhouse was on the outkirts of a village looking right over the Narmada River. The moon just lit everything up, and with the combination of good company, good food, and the eating of the special sweet and sweet milk (I didn't realy care for either) everything was really fun.
In a couple weeks my schoo has Diwali vacation, and then right after I am going on a Gujarat tour with Rotary, and then right after that is the North tour of India with Rotary, and then right after that is the Disrict Conference. Basically I will be out of station (out of town) for the next two months. Should be super fun, but I am going to miss my school friends a ton.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
New Family and Good luck future Exchangers
Thought I should mention that on Thursday I am moving to a new family. They have one daughter (around my age) and one son who is older. The daughter was in France last year on Rotary Exchange. I have met them once, but it was on my first day in India and it was at a birthday party. I keep everyone updated, and when I know my new address I will let everyone know.
I have also heard that the selection process for the new Outbounds has begun! Good luck to all of you! I cannot beleive that this whole process started a year ago! As they say in India " All the best!"
I have also heard that the selection process for the new Outbounds has begun! Good luck to all of you! I cannot beleive that this whole process started a year ago! As they say in India " All the best!"
Navratri
Wow! Wow! Wow! Words cannot describe how amazing Navratri is (so this will be a long blog entry) !! Nine nights of dancing from about 11:00 till about 2 or 3 in the morning (on the last night of Navratri I didn’t get home until 5:00 am), can’t get much better than that. Of course the downside was that every morning I had to get up again at 6:00 to go to school, but let’s not talk about that.
Each night around 9:00 families and children would gather to give Puja to the Goddess Durga who the festival is celebrating. The festival celebrates the nine incarnations of her, her defeat of a demon (defeat of good over evil), and just plain having a good time. For Puja everyone gathers around her stature which is surrounded by flowers, incense, sweets, and burning candles, to wave their own pans holding oil and burning cotton. The fire-filled pans are waved up, then down the way they came, and then back up again, and then this is repeated over and over again while singing a special song.
After Puja the younger kids with their mini chania choli’s and pajama suits (boys traditional costume) dance around a huge tree covered in lights, swishing their skirts, and attempting to copy the precise movements that the adults have perfected (the adult dancing doesn’t start until 11:00). At around 11:00 my family normally takes me to a different place to play (that is what they call dancing garba here in India).
The place where I spent almost everynight swirling and twirling was in the Patel Society. On the into the Patel society a huge fence dripping with lights encompasses the dancing grounds, and lights aren’t the only thing dripping on the fences each end is surrounded by people trying to catch a glimpse of those dancing inside. Before even seeing the society you can hear the rhythmic beats and shrill voices sung and played by the tablas (drums), snares, the casio (keyboard), harmoniums, and many singers that make up the Navratri band.
When you first walk in the loudspeakers covered in bright lights lies in the middle of the garba circle. On the outskirts of the wide cicle lie seats for spectating, the stage for the garba band, and the platform holding Durga. Eveyone goes to Navratri whether you are a hard core dancer or spectator. I think I would go more in the category of the hard core dancer (or atleast the wannabe hard core dancer).
The festival of Navratri is a feast for the senses allowing you to know immediately that you are at the garba grounds. You nose is in seventh heaven taking in the smells of sand, fast food, incense, flowers, sweat, burning wax, and if your lucky the occasional whiff of perfume. The senses of touch and taste aren’t quite so pleasing, but part of the experience none the less. Every night my feet were worn raw from the sand that grinds down the skin on the soles of your feet (twirling is a rigorous activity), your hands are raw from clapping, your mind is spinning (as well as your body), your throat is dry from whooping and all in all you are about to collapse from fatigue, but somehow you keep dancing.
I think one of the best parts of Navratri (besides the dancing of course) is the feast for the eyes. With all of the colors, textures, and moving. The circle of twirling dancers looks like a human kaleidoscope. Everyone is wearing bright colors covered in decorative mirrors, beads, shells, and jewelry that catch the light as well as your eye as the spin past you. Also the mirrors, beads, shells, and jewelry help to add a soft background tinkle along with the swishing of fabric made by the skirts.
Navratri is such a wonderful celebration that despite all puja for Durga I asked a lot of my classmates (most of who are hindu), and everyone said it is all about having fun! Oh my goodness yes! Each night was so much fun, and despite you body’s fatigue you still want to keep dancing, and twirling, and enjoying yourself. Your mouth hurts from smiling (I wish I had some Vaseline to make it easier), and yet you don’t want to stop. A lot of the fun is that you can feel the aura of happiness and joy about you, and you remember why it is so wonderful to be alive.
Each night around 9:00 families and children would gather to give Puja to the Goddess Durga who the festival is celebrating. The festival celebrates the nine incarnations of her, her defeat of a demon (defeat of good over evil), and just plain having a good time. For Puja everyone gathers around her stature which is surrounded by flowers, incense, sweets, and burning candles, to wave their own pans holding oil and burning cotton. The fire-filled pans are waved up, then down the way they came, and then back up again, and then this is repeated over and over again while singing a special song.
After Puja the younger kids with their mini chania choli’s and pajama suits (boys traditional costume) dance around a huge tree covered in lights, swishing their skirts, and attempting to copy the precise movements that the adults have perfected (the adult dancing doesn’t start until 11:00). At around 11:00 my family normally takes me to a different place to play (that is what they call dancing garba here in India).
The place where I spent almost everynight swirling and twirling was in the Patel Society. On the into the Patel society a huge fence dripping with lights encompasses the dancing grounds, and lights aren’t the only thing dripping on the fences each end is surrounded by people trying to catch a glimpse of those dancing inside. Before even seeing the society you can hear the rhythmic beats and shrill voices sung and played by the tablas (drums), snares, the casio (keyboard), harmoniums, and many singers that make up the Navratri band.
When you first walk in the loudspeakers covered in bright lights lies in the middle of the garba circle. On the outskirts of the wide cicle lie seats for spectating, the stage for the garba band, and the platform holding Durga. Eveyone goes to Navratri whether you are a hard core dancer or spectator. I think I would go more in the category of the hard core dancer (or atleast the wannabe hard core dancer).
The festival of Navratri is a feast for the senses allowing you to know immediately that you are at the garba grounds. You nose is in seventh heaven taking in the smells of sand, fast food, incense, flowers, sweat, burning wax, and if your lucky the occasional whiff of perfume. The senses of touch and taste aren’t quite so pleasing, but part of the experience none the less. Every night my feet were worn raw from the sand that grinds down the skin on the soles of your feet (twirling is a rigorous activity), your hands are raw from clapping, your mind is spinning (as well as your body), your throat is dry from whooping and all in all you are about to collapse from fatigue, but somehow you keep dancing.
I think one of the best parts of Navratri (besides the dancing of course) is the feast for the eyes. With all of the colors, textures, and moving. The circle of twirling dancers looks like a human kaleidoscope. Everyone is wearing bright colors covered in decorative mirrors, beads, shells, and jewelry that catch the light as well as your eye as the spin past you. Also the mirrors, beads, shells, and jewelry help to add a soft background tinkle along with the swishing of fabric made by the skirts.
Navratri is such a wonderful celebration that despite all puja for Durga I asked a lot of my classmates (most of who are hindu), and everyone said it is all about having fun! Oh my goodness yes! Each night was so much fun, and despite you body’s fatigue you still want to keep dancing, and twirling, and enjoying yourself. Your mouth hurts from smiling (I wish I had some Vaseline to make it easier), and yet you don’t want to stop. A lot of the fun is that you can feel the aura of happiness and joy about you, and you remember why it is so wonderful to be alive.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
skit
Hey everyone! On the 12th Navratri started! On the very first night I went with one of the Rotarians from my city, and he drove the three exchange students from my town to a Rotary Navratri celebration in Mahemnabad (about 30 min from Ahemnabad). I found out that part of the celebration is for the Goddess Durga (one of the better known incarnations is Pavarti), the consort of Shiva (the god of dance, destroyer, creator, and many other things).
Before we began the dancing we gave puja for Durga, which consisted of some waving of holy fire, singing, clapping, and the eating of sweets. The live Indian band began to play, and everyone started dancing in a big circle around the statue of the goddess. In the Indian band there were about 8 singers, some tabla players (drums), a casio player (keyboard), and some more instruments. We danced, and danced until about 2:00, and then at the break we went home. (the dancing was only half way done).
Of course before we left we were told that we would be back that evening, and to just bring a chania choli to wear for dancing. Well, at 2:00 am we didn’t drive home so we made do with what we had, but all three of us decided you need to be prepared for anything and everything at all times in India because you normally don’t really know what your doing.
Last weekend I went with the Inner Wheel club of Ankleshwar for a picnic. We didn’t really go for a picnic , but we visited a temple, and then went to see an animal shelter. The next day we were helping set up for the Inner Wheeel district Rally, and at about 9:00 pm the night before we the Rally Morie and I were told we had to perform a skit or sing a song in Japanese and Enlgish together. Together we complied a skit making fun of some American, Japanese, and Indian stereotypes.
Scene: On an airplane with both of us sitting together. Morie is dressed in a Japanese Komona, and I have on a bright pink flowy shirt with purses all over it, hair down, with sunglasses, jeans, and high heelsMorie enters doing a Japanes fan dance and sits down.I come on the intercom of the plane as the flight attendant saying:
Flight 246 Bombay please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff.
Enter Katie: Cheering: All the fans in the stands let me hear you clap your hands (clap clap clap clap clap clap), Now that you’ve got the beat let me hear you stomp your feet(stomp stomp stomp stomps stomp stomp), Now that you’ve got the groove let me see your body move (awooo ah ah ah awoo ah ah ah). (MOrie looks bewildered, and tries to fill the seat next to her to prevent me from siting down_
Katie: Hey my name is Katie from America? What’s yours?
Morie: Tanaka Morie from Japan
Katie; Tankaka, Tanka cool name!
Morie: Can you please call me by my name not my surname?
Kaite: But you said your name was Tanaka?
Morie: NO it is MOrie
Katie: Whatev. I am going to go use the little girls room (exit)
Morie: bye (bow)
In the mean time I am throwing on a scarf to be a stewardess, and MOrie is taking pictures of everything in sight with her camera
Flight attendant (me): Can I offer you something to eat?
MOrie: Lice please (rice, Japanese can’t say their r’s)
FA: Lice, Lice, hmmmmm
Morie: Yes Yes lice
FA: Do you mean Rice??!!
Morie: Yes Yes Lice lIce!!!!FA: Ok one minute (exit(Moreie exite to put be the stuaress. I strut in and flip through a TEEn Vogue Magazine
FA (MOrie): Can I offer you something to eat?
Katie: Can I get a burger and fries?
FA: Head bobble ( Indians often wobble their head back and forth as an answer to questions think bobble head)
Kaite: Yes?
FA: head bobble
Katie: NO?
FA: head bobble
Katie: Which One?
FA: Veg. Ok?
Exit and enter Morie back into her seatAnnouncement comes on saying:
Warning Warning Culture Crash! Please Brace yourself for the future!Morie and Katie look at each other and scream, and put their heads between their legs
That is the skit! I don’t think everyone actually got all of our jokes, but the both of us sure were roaring writing it.
Before we began the dancing we gave puja for Durga, which consisted of some waving of holy fire, singing, clapping, and the eating of sweets. The live Indian band began to play, and everyone started dancing in a big circle around the statue of the goddess. In the Indian band there were about 8 singers, some tabla players (drums), a casio player (keyboard), and some more instruments. We danced, and danced until about 2:00, and then at the break we went home. (the dancing was only half way done).
Of course before we left we were told that we would be back that evening, and to just bring a chania choli to wear for dancing. Well, at 2:00 am we didn’t drive home so we made do with what we had, but all three of us decided you need to be prepared for anything and everything at all times in India because you normally don’t really know what your doing.
Last weekend I went with the Inner Wheel club of Ankleshwar for a picnic. We didn’t really go for a picnic , but we visited a temple, and then went to see an animal shelter. The next day we were helping set up for the Inner Wheeel district Rally, and at about 9:00 pm the night before we the Rally Morie and I were told we had to perform a skit or sing a song in Japanese and Enlgish together. Together we complied a skit making fun of some American, Japanese, and Indian stereotypes.
Scene: On an airplane with both of us sitting together. Morie is dressed in a Japanese Komona, and I have on a bright pink flowy shirt with purses all over it, hair down, with sunglasses, jeans, and high heelsMorie enters doing a Japanes fan dance and sits down.I come on the intercom of the plane as the flight attendant saying:
Flight 246 Bombay please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff.
Enter Katie: Cheering: All the fans in the stands let me hear you clap your hands (clap clap clap clap clap clap), Now that you’ve got the beat let me hear you stomp your feet(stomp stomp stomp stomps stomp stomp), Now that you’ve got the groove let me see your body move (awooo ah ah ah awoo ah ah ah). (MOrie looks bewildered, and tries to fill the seat next to her to prevent me from siting down_
Katie: Hey my name is Katie from America? What’s yours?
Morie: Tanaka Morie from Japan
Katie; Tankaka, Tanka cool name!
Morie: Can you please call me by my name not my surname?
Kaite: But you said your name was Tanaka?
Morie: NO it is MOrie
Katie: Whatev. I am going to go use the little girls room (exit)
Morie: bye (bow)
In the mean time I am throwing on a scarf to be a stewardess, and MOrie is taking pictures of everything in sight with her camera
Flight attendant (me): Can I offer you something to eat?
MOrie: Lice please (rice, Japanese can’t say their r’s)
FA: Lice, Lice, hmmmmm
Morie: Yes Yes lice
FA: Do you mean Rice??!!
Morie: Yes Yes Lice lIce!!!!FA: Ok one minute (exit(Moreie exite to put be the stuaress. I strut in and flip through a TEEn Vogue Magazine
FA (MOrie): Can I offer you something to eat?
Katie: Can I get a burger and fries?
FA: Head bobble ( Indians often wobble their head back and forth as an answer to questions think bobble head)
Kaite: Yes?
FA: head bobble
Katie: NO?
FA: head bobble
Katie: Which One?
FA: Veg. Ok?
Exit and enter Morie back into her seatAnnouncement comes on saying:
Warning Warning Culture Crash! Please Brace yourself for the future!Morie and Katie look at each other and scream, and put their heads between their legs
That is the skit! I don’t think everyone actually got all of our jokes, but the both of us sure were roaring writing it.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
A week in Baroda
It has been a while since I have actually written blog entry, and I am sorry that it has taken so long to make a written update. A couple weeks ago my school had their assessment series (a week full of exams), but luckily I went to Baroda for a week of traditional dance lessons with the three exchangers from my town, and the three students from France living in Baroda.
Throughout the week we were kept busy with eating a lot in the morning, and then going to dance practice to learn a prayer dance for Ganesh and a folk dance. In the afternoons we ate some more, compiled a version of Hakuna Matata from The Lion King including Hindi, Portugues, Japanese, French, Spanish, and English, sometimes a little shopping, and then more dancing and yoga. In the evening we often made something, (I don’t know anyone who has an oven in Bharuch, and of course I brought five pounds of scone mix) like a cake, and ate some more normally ending the evening with a movie. Besides the cooking and fun we went to a Traditional Gujaratia and Rajastani dance program, visited the Gaekwad palace, and volunteered at a orphanage.
While in Baroda we did a little sightseeing around the town. One of my favorite places we went to go see was the EME Temple. The temple was built by the military out of air plane scrap metal (picture a round, open silver structure). Surrounding the temple are huge Banyan Trees, and statues from ancient temples, along with recent statues of Gods. The Banyan Trees with their roots hanging from their branches seem to be paying their respects to the gods (in Indian to pay respect to elders or gods you touch their feet with your hands and then touch your hand to your heart).
When you first walk into the vicinity of the temple you have a sensation of peace and serenity. One thing that is fascinating about the temple itself is although it holds the statue of the Hindu god Shiva (and also pictures of the other relevant Hindu gods and goddesses), the temple’s structure includes a Christian, Jain, and Muslim religious architecture as well. Walking in the temple any little move echoed, and when the little voice of Morie piped up, the whole temple was filled with her voice. All in all it was amazing.
The dances themselves were lots of fun, and one was a prayer dance to the elephant god Ganesh and once was a traditional gujarati folk dance. The prayer was beautiful, but comical at the same time complete with trunk and ear motions for the elephant, and muscle flexing some baby holding, and peace signs over the eyes to show the strengths of Ganesh. I think after dancing I felt like the elephant I was trying give a prayer for, hopefully it will get better before we have to perform it.
Throughout the week we were kept busy with eating a lot in the morning, and then going to dance practice to learn a prayer dance for Ganesh and a folk dance. In the afternoons we ate some more, compiled a version of Hakuna Matata from The Lion King including Hindi, Portugues, Japanese, French, Spanish, and English, sometimes a little shopping, and then more dancing and yoga. In the evening we often made something, (I don’t know anyone who has an oven in Bharuch, and of course I brought five pounds of scone mix) like a cake, and ate some more normally ending the evening with a movie. Besides the cooking and fun we went to a Traditional Gujaratia and Rajastani dance program, visited the Gaekwad palace, and volunteered at a orphanage.
While in Baroda we did a little sightseeing around the town. One of my favorite places we went to go see was the EME Temple. The temple was built by the military out of air plane scrap metal (picture a round, open silver structure). Surrounding the temple are huge Banyan Trees, and statues from ancient temples, along with recent statues of Gods. The Banyan Trees with their roots hanging from their branches seem to be paying their respects to the gods (in Indian to pay respect to elders or gods you touch their feet with your hands and then touch your hand to your heart).
When you first walk into the vicinity of the temple you have a sensation of peace and serenity. One thing that is fascinating about the temple itself is although it holds the statue of the Hindu god Shiva (and also pictures of the other relevant Hindu gods and goddesses), the temple’s structure includes a Christian, Jain, and Muslim religious architecture as well. Walking in the temple any little move echoed, and when the little voice of Morie piped up, the whole temple was filled with her voice. All in all it was amazing.
The dances themselves were lots of fun, and one was a prayer dance to the elephant god Ganesh and once was a traditional gujarati folk dance. The prayer was beautiful, but comical at the same time complete with trunk and ear motions for the elephant, and muscle flexing some baby holding, and peace signs over the eyes to show the strengths of Ganesh. I think after dancing I felt like the elephant I was trying give a prayer for, hopefully it will get better before we have to perform it.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
On the way to school
Temple on the way to school. 
on the way to school
MOre on the way to school (Bharuch)
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