A Passage to India

Don't give up on me yet!

2008-07-15T22:21:00.002-07:00

For those of you who are still reading my blog, don't stop reading it yet. I will finish up with the rest of my entries from a pilgrimage I went on to Char Dham when I was still in India, and since I am now back in my home town a few of my reflections on the whole experience. Also I have done a little other traveling on the side recently to Europe for a couple weeks, and to Maui, HI in the states.

2008-07-15T22:21:00.001-07:00

during the marriage

2008-05-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

The fire that you can see in the picture needs to be walked around several times before they are officially married. During this time flowers are thrown at the two of them and everyone teases them.

Me in a rickshaw in Bhavnagar where my host grandparents live.

The Marriage day

2008-05-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

The sister of the bride carries the pot like thing on her head when the groom comes to welcome him. Before the groom comes there is some welcoming among the families where the sister of the bride feeds the groom sweets and tries to pinch his nose to tease him. This is to show the teasing he will recieve from her throughout his marriage.

Some of the grooms friends are teasing him by preventing him from seeing his incoming bride through the crowd.

Bride and groom meeting for the first time in several days to put flowers on each other and do some welcoming with the family.

here comes the bride carried by her family to the wedding tent.

Procession of the Uncles

2008-05-03T21:47:00.000-07:00

Another one of the traditions of this family is for the uncle to give gifts to the bride and her family and also buy the wedding sari for her. To bring the gifts there is a huge procession down the road with music and dancing to bring the gifts. The plan was to dance all down the road, but due to the heat they got lazy and just danced in the driveway of her house.

Everyone holding the gifts to hand out.

dancing in the street

Family functions for marriage

2008-05-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

almost every day we were eating at a marriage grounds for buffet style meals, and this is the typical place where the food is prepared.

The bride Sweetie getting her bridal mehndi applied. She needs to sit like this for four to six hours, and then wait for it to dry afterwards.

The gossip group of women as their mehndi is applied. They can't really use their hands properly so each time water was brought up someone needed to hold the cup for them while they drank.

Before the marriage the bride in this family held a before wedding dinner for all the community members they knew in the town. They claimed that around 3,000 people were there, and the food counters and chairs took up a football field so I am sure around 3,000 people showed up.

Marriage

2008-05-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

Indians, especially Gujaratis are obsessed with sweets, and they always have a box in their house to eat at dinner and share with guests. Lots of the sweets are made with cashew nuts, kesar flavoring, coconut, pistacios, and figs. I am not a big fan of them, but it is necessary to eat them almost every day.

This is a group of women doing Puja before a marriage to their caste god of vishnu.

One of the traditions of this particular family is for the parents to buy the bride all new clothes, jewelery, bedding, and other items to take with her to her new family.

Mehndi with my first host mother Rima

More Goa

2008-05-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

A typical temple in goa complete with the pond area next door.

Another ferry boat that has a concert and DJ on board and everyone dances and enjoys until sunset.

Goa

2008-05-03T12:58:00.000-07:00

This is the tomb of some saint in a church in Goa.

Cochin

2008-05-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

Like every other day we had a storm after we arrived to Chochin, and enjoyed the cooling effect of the rain.

the katakhali dancers

one of the exchangers helping to pull in the chinese fishing nets that line the inlets of kochi. In the off season the fisherman lure in tourists to help them for fun, and then ask for money. Of course all of us were reeled in to this trap and ended up paying some even if we asked if it cost us anything beforehand. They still guilt tripped us into paying a few rupees apiece. Everyone needs to survive somehow or another even during the off season.

munnar 3

2008-05-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

The entire day we were driving around it was drizzling on and off, and going around all the tight turns on the road that could hardly hold one car, everyone was a little worried about crashing into something.

In this place we weren't supposed to enter the area, but we found a little trail on the side and some people decided to hike up it while the others waited in the bus. On this little hike two of the boys aquired leeches to be discovered later on!

Munnar 2

2008-05-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

one of the larger tea companies in India. I am not one hundred percent sure, but I think my family drinks Tata tea.

The typical tea stand that you can find around every corner almost anywhere in India, and aparently also there!

Loading the bags of gathered tea leaves.

Munnar

2008-05-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

Thikadi

2008-05-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

At Periyar Lake where we went around in a little ferry in hopes to catch a glimpse of some wildlife. We didn't see anything groundbreaking, but we did see some monkeys, giant squirrels, and wild boars.

Myself and a young (three year old) elephant at a spice plantation.

Mysore part 2

2008-05-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

whoops antther temple, but from a different perspective (ha ha sorry)

one of the churches that become more frequent in the south

mysore palace

ditto

Mysore Part one

2008-05-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

More Green!

The Palace Gardens of Mysore.

the foutain show complete with music.

right as we were walking back to the van it started to pour like nothing else and within a minute all of us were soaked to the bone, and while driving to our hotel we watched a the lightning thunder, and balance as the bus hydroplanned around the road. Pretty fun stuff!

More travel time

2008-05-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

Everything was so green it was almost blinding, but it also has a way of making you feel very alive! Whenever things are this green I find myself with boundless amounts of energy joy. When it started to rain every night you understood why everything was so green.

An example of the diversity of India I am taking a picture from a digital camera in a van while on the road someone is struggling to take their load somewhere with an ox driven wagon. Talk about opposite worlds.

The tomb of Tipu Sultan he is buried with his father, mother, and some other men, his sisters are buried ouside the big tomb, and then finally on the edge of the white building his wife is buried. An example of how the status of the daughter in-law was and in some households still is in India (also women in general).

Typical temple in southern India

Temple time out from the bus

2008-05-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

Driving to Mysore

2008-05-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

Driving to Mysore we saw a ton of beautiful landscape and all in all one of the best parts about the south tour was the outrageous scenery!

One of the stops along the way was to a Jain temple that needed a 1,200 steps to arrive to the top all taken in the heat of the day. There was some whining from people along the way, but the view you saw once you arrived on top made the hike completely worthwhile. For those who are Jain I am sure the temple and statue on top is worthwhile also.

Banglore

2008-05-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

We spent a great deal of time in the trains on our south tour, and lots of it was spent playing Murder, hand slapping games to see who can handle and give the most pain, observing the countryside, and the passing trains.

All the group in front of the parliament building.

There are so many gardens in Banglore, and it really adds a calming atmosphere to everything.

Heading South

2008-03-25T02:21:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the delay of my blog, but now that my time is winding down days just fly by. Today I am leaving for my south India tour to get a taste of south India. Below are a bunch of random pictures from the last month or so, and I would have put them on a web albumn to see all of them, but my computer doesn't allow me to do that. When I get back hopefully I will have time to fill everyone in on the latest haps, but for now pictures wil lhave to do. Saturday was playing colors for HOli, and the night before was holi puja. Please comment on my blog to say hi, and what you have all been up to! If there aren't any comments I don't know is anyone is reading it, and I want to hear about you! Just let me know you are still alive and kicking, and I will be happy! Also currently my mail doesn't get through for whatever reason so please, the best way to reach me now is by email or commenting! Happy Easter everyone!! Also Happy early April Fools DAy!

2008-03-25T02:17:00.000-07:00

The little Rann of Kutch

Tip Top Temple on the top of the hill picture of the monkey god Hanuman

Guards

Gujarat's chief minister Narendra Modi at the inguration of a whale statue at a Rotary Park

2008-03-25T01:25:00.000-07:00

The camel behindmy camel cart

line of horses

Me trying to wear a shawl turban style.

Worn like a true pro

2008-03-25T01:22:00.000-07:00

The salty desert in Kutch and if you didn't know better you might think it was snow froma distance!!

Because Kutch is along the India-Pakistan border there were security guards all along our camel cart ride to the middle of the desert.

Yeah for camel carts!

2008-03-25T01:15:00.000-07:00

In the village they had the most amazing artwork on the walls and around the lighting.

at the bird sanctuary don't worry there is water on the other side of the reeds.

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The group of ladies waiting for their mehendi to dry!

Poonam auntie and my friend ame chilling on the matresses

some village women in Kutch

Kutch

random pics

2008-03-25T00:56:00.000-07:00

Mock holi at my friend Dena's house on the banks of the Narmada River! Lovely house!

The procession ceremony for the groom at a rajasthani wedding! dancing like crazy with a band and everything!

They are yelling Hup, Hup, Hup, Hup at the top of thier lungs and whistleing as they are dancing.

the band!

Holi Puja

2008-03-25T00:46:00.000-07:00

The day before celebrating color we burn holi who tries to kill the son of a demon who believed in god, and holi cannot be burned takes the boy with her, but because the boy believes so strongly in god holikin dies in the fire, and the boy is saved.

the fire stacks

throwing the prasad in the fire or offerings in the fire at night

after holi my hair is now pink because I couldn't get the color out scroll down and you will understand why!

2008-03-25T00:31:00.000-07:00

Morie, Maya, and I after our first society color play

Pankti and Morie when the first Happy holi celebrations are going on. To wish someone happy holi you take a big handful of power and rub it roughly allover someones face while yelling "Happy Holi!!!" Then you throw or rub in the remaining powder on their clothes or hair.

Throwing water on people is quite common and very fun.

Most of the little kids have squirt guns and stay pretty color free as they run around shooting people. Maya's host mother was squirting us in her kitchen for a while, but then we reminded her that it was in the house.

2008-03-24T23:41:00.000-07:00

My host mother and I with pink

My host mother and I with blue

My host sister pooja and I

My host father

2008-03-24T23:31:00.000-07:00

My host cousin/sister Aashka and I at holi!! My face changed color every 20 minutes!

My host father and my host mother getting each other good for holi.

Bringing out the water hose to make the color really soak in, and cool off in the blistering heat!

Mehndi Madness

2008-03-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

Until yesterday I didn’t really know what you did at mehndi during marriages besides what I had seen while watching a movie called Monsoon Wedding before I had left for India. In the movie mehndi included an all woman gathering who were singing, clapping, and enjoying together while applying mehndi, or henna. I was surprised to find out that this was pretty accurate in its portrayal of the whole mehndi scene. The marriage was for the son of one of the Rotarians in my club, and the marriage is to take place in a couple days after all of the beginning festivities.

The whole mehndi took place in the neighborhood of one of my friends, and I just met up with my friend and her mom before heading to mehndi. When we were walking there I realized I didin’t really know what to expect, but as we approached the house I saw the brightly colored canopy set up around the yard of the house and the huge group of ladies sitting on chairs and covered mattresses on the ground holding there hands about their heads. Of course they weren’t being caught for some great crime, but no one in their right mind would want to smudge their mehndi!

Mehndi is supposed to bring blessings, luck, joy, and beauty for those who wear it, and it a fun and special day for some Indian weddings. In the case of my Mehandi party there were only women having mehndi done, but there are certain cultures in India that have both the bride and groom have mehndi applied. Personally I really think this is a time to get all the women away from the men for a good old fashioned gossip fest.

Before starting to have our own mehndi put on by one of the many mehndi artists available we went to say hello to all of the aunties and our other friends who were there. When one of my friends got started she had both hands held hostage as two different girls applied mehndi on the palm and up both sides the arm to the elbow. The mehndi girls are really fast at their artwork, and they just made their artwork seem like a dance between their mehndi cones and their fingers. I was the last of my friends to get mehndi done because I wanted to watch so when I was getting mine done I had a little audience of my own.

I really like getting mehndi done because it is like carrying a nonpermanent work of art on your arm. Also has such a neat feel as they are putting it on, rhythmically making the strokes, leaving a type of cold wetness to sit and harden, becoming really itching for the next five hours. There were about ten girls there applying mehndi, and although lots of women were present the girls just whipped through one woman after another. One funny thing was watching women trying to move their bags around, answer their cell phones, and move their hair out of their face when they can’t use their hands and feet are taboo. I must say they can be very creative, and it was hilarious watching people use their armpits, elbows, a finger, or their neighbor to accomplish these simple tasks.

Even though getting it put on is really fun the best part is sitting and waiting for the mehndi to dry with all of the ladies. Right after I finished my mehndi one of the older ladies in the group brought out her song book and started a group of ladies singing up a storm. They weren’t really songs that I knew, but it was really fun to listen. Just picture a bunch of ladies in their 60’s holding their hands up and grooving as they sing at the top of their lungs in hindi. By this time all of the chairs were full, and the multiple mattresses laid out were full of different groups of ladies showing off and admiring the hands of one another. Pretty soon the snacks came out, and like any good Indian would our host spent a huge amount of energy making people keep filling their plates and cups.

After the whole mehndi extravaganza I waited at my friends house for my mehndi to dry, and gradually picked all the henna off. My host mother warned me not to let water touch it before tomorrow to allow the color to darken (the darker the color the more your future will love you), but then she started to make me peel garlic. Of all the things she could make me do in the kitchen this is a task that leaves the hands sticky and smelly, and instead of washing it off with water I tried lemon juice which is supposed to help darken it also.

Part of the fun mehndi day included a dance/entertainment program complete with food, and dancing for everyone afterwards. Watching the dance program was fun, but I really loved the dancing afterwards. The whole neighborhood of teenage girls and a couple of my other friends and I all got up on stage working on our dance moves to the latest bollywood songs. Nowadays I am pretty much in love with bollywood songs and spend a lot of time humming the tunes or singing in the kitchen with my host mother.

Luckily for me when I woke up the next day my mehndi was super dark!

Kutch

2008-03-02T10:21:00.001-08:00

After my trip I was ready for another one, and lucky for me by the time I returned from Pirotan Island I was already on the train to Kutch (or atleast it felt like that) in northern Gujarat. On the train I spent one cold sleepless night curled up on my berth until slowly everyone realized no one was sleeping and everyone started to share berths, and eventually all 14 of us ended up just sitting in one to keep warm. At 8:00 am we arrived to meet another district from Maharasthra, and then when we reached our lunch place one other youth exchange group making a grand total of 53 exchange students.

The first part of the day consisted of freshening up, and doing a little exploring around Bhuj we took a bus to a rotary park where we saw Chief Minister Modi inaugurate a life size whale statue where a whale bone had been found. Later we saw a dance parade around a lake, followed by dinner, and then a two hour bus ride to our tent village. We didn’t arrive till early the next morning, but when we did we pretty much just crashed. The next morning we got up see the highest peak looking over the white salty desert that was met by a emerald blue of sea. Basically I had never seen anything like it before, and I didn’t quite know what to make of it. On the way back from our sightseeing we received a flat tire and spent an hour or so waiting to have it fixed. When we finally returned back we had about a half hour to freshen up before we headed off to our moonlight safari.

Our moonlight safari ended up consisting of a camel cart ride to the salt, and then a music/dance program by moonlight while we waited for dinner. The salty desert really looked like fresh snowfall that was calling my name to go skiing on it. Of course that would have totally ruined my skis, but it was still fun to think about it. By this time everyone had already taken their shoes off, tried the salt that was actually produced in the area, and fallen through the salty to the mud layer several times. Lucky for us the moon was really full that night, and although most of us didn’t see much of the entertainment program you couldn’t miss the moon.

After our evening program we then took a camel cart back to the bus before going back to our tent village. Myself and a couple other people decided to walk back and enjoy the evening, and we almost beat the bus back. That night it was really fun because in the exchanger area everyone pretty much had free reign of everyone else’s tents, and people would just follow the voices and join you. In one of my friend’s tents a large wild cat walked in and scared her half to death, and another one of my guy friends walked in and “saved her.” As the night progressed we enjoyed retelling the story, making it more ridiculous each time.

The final day we mainly did a bunch of sightseeing going to a bird sanctuary, fossil farm, and a village before taking the bus back to Bhuj. My favorite stop was the artisan village which had old vegetable paint murals in most of the rooms, and a pitch black tunnel that went around their temple. Once we returned to Bhuj we did a little shopping, went to a rotary meeting, and got back on the train for a 12 hour ride home. Sadly several kids in my district have already gone home for a various of reasons, and each time we say goodbye we don’t know if it will be for the last time or we will be lucky enough to see each other again. That is one of the bittersweet parts about being an exchange student; you make a ton of amazing friends all over the world, but then you want to go visit all of them soon, and at all corners of the world (at all price ranges).

Pirotan Island

2008-02-29T05:30:00.000-08:00

Until last week everything was pretty quiet in my neck of the woods, but then all the sudden out of the blue the wind picked up. Before last week the most exciting part of my day was attending hindi and gujarati classes, and although not the most exciting thing in the world, around now it is one of the most important. Then all of the sudden my counselor informed the three exchange students in my city that on Saturday we were leaving for Pirotan Island and wear thick-soled shoes. After a few seconds of gaping he informed us that a trip we had been planning for earlier was now rescheduled for tomorrow, and then also as a side note the day after we got back all the exchange students were going to Kutch for three days. Although I think because everything was such a surprise it made both trips a lot more fun!

The first adventure was to Pirotan Island in Marine Nation Park in Jamnagar, near the central coast of Gujarat. The special draw of Pirotan Island is its fame for a coral reef that is visible by walking when the tide goes out (although walking on the coral totally kills it). To get there we took a 12 hour train ride to arrive at the bustling hour of 3:00 am. Of course since most of the modern world as we know it doesn’t wiggle until around 5:00 am we slept in the station dormitory until the more reasonable hour of 6:30. We then took a mega rickshaw to the meeting temple (mind you in India you have lots of temples to choose from so you need to be specific) where the rest of the tour group was waiting already eating their breakfast and drinking their tea.

After a crowded bus ride sitting squished between several people, and holding one person and our bags on my lap we started our short bus ride just as the sun was beginning to rise. Once we arrived the tide wasn’t up far enough to let the boats out, and we spent the first hour receiving a wilderness protection lecture. Amazingly (since it was in gujarati) I understood most of it thanks to all of the scientific and English terms he used, and my slowing improving gujarati (thanks to my host mother). When the tide finally came in we filled three heavily overloaded boats for our two hour boat ride (not a life jacket in sight) I remembered how little of my classmates in school knew how to swim. Was this boatload full of people any different? Thankfully the mangrove forests, and variety of herons and egrets seen on the way out provided a healthy distraction from me mulling over the survival statistics (I however had lots of time on the way back). Once we hit open ocean our boat died. Thankfully we were only the second to last boat to leave, and we were towed safely to the island.

Finally on the island everyone was so happy to be on the beach that the majority of the people started taking off their shoes to enjoy the sun and the sand. Some of my enjoyment was lost when I saw someone throw their trash on the ground (esp. after just finishing an hour lecture on protecting the environment), but I quickly gained it back when the afternoon project became “project beach clean-up.” Although there was a ton of it to clean up (like any regular street in India) it was great to see how many people helped us. Of course it was a bit frusterating when the multiple bags we collected were refused to be taken back on the boat, and instead was suggested to be burned, by a very educated person, but we tried. Sadly, this is India, and burning their trash is a regular occurrence, and throwing trash out of the windows is a daily practice, and with one look at their streets you see proof of that. Despite the trash the beach was truly breathtaking, and the sand was white, the water emerald, sun, and the company was so fun!!!

After our trash collecting we did a little sightseeing of the lighthouse and more of the island before eating lunch and heading out to see the corals. At first walking out was like most things I’d seen before minus a blowfish and octopus that someone caught, but then we started to see small colonies of corals, then the got bigger and bigger, until finally they covered the ocean floor with colors of dark green, some neon yellow sea anemones, dark red, purple, and blue corals. Before coming I really had no idea what to expect, and I must say I walked back satisfied.

Until the tide came back to take the boats back the everyone watched the sunset, wandered around the beach, and enjoyed their surroundings. Once it started to get dark we went to spend two hours in the boat before the tide came in. When the tide finally came in at 9:00 at night I again remembered that our boat had broken down on the way in, we were heavily overloaded, and most likely only a small handful of the people in the boat could swim. Well we managed to get in safely around 10:30 at night the relatives of my counselor rushed in to take us to our 11:00 train. Luckily our train was a little late, and we made the train on time, and the relatives brought us dinner. To make up for the first night on the train everyone slept hard until morning, and as soon as I got home I had time to rest for a bit before then starting packing for the next trip.

Uttarayan (Kite Flying Day!)

2008-01-21T10:58:00.000-08:00

Basically Uttarayan is kite flying day, and is very big in Gujarat especially Surat, and is celebrated with gusto. Lucky for me my counselor took Morie and I to visit some friends, and enjoy the kite festival in Surat. Uttarayan is one of the only festivals that follows the Gregorian calendar instead of the Hindu calendar which goes by the movement of the moon, and is the only festival that is always on the same date of January 14th when the sun starts to travel north.

I began my day of Uttayaran in Bharuch (which isn’t such a big deal in Bharuch, but you can still see a ton of people flying kites, and after spending the morning with my host family, and my host grandmother who was very sick at the time, I then walked to the relatives of my counselor to fly my first Indian kite. Kite flying isn’t really my special talent, and normally after flying for a minute or so the kite would dive bomb towards the ground, and one of the guys would quickly snatch the kite away from me. By the end of Uttarayan I became pretty good, but it took a while.

After lunch with some friends, and eating Jelebis (an amazing sweet that tastes like fried honey in a swirly shape) we started to Surat. Arriving into Surat you could see all the apartment terraces covered with people either looking up at their kites or down at the fallen kites down below. Being new to kite fighting, which is kind of what the whole festival is about I was amazed to find out that the string called manja is covered in glass powder making the kite string incredibly sharp to cut the strings of other kites, and your fingers, and by the time I returned back to Bharuch I had several cuts. This really is the whole object of flying the kites (cutting the other kite strings), and cheering and yelling is done throughout. Whenever you cut someone elses kite everyone in your group yells “Kypo Chhe!” (I cut the kite in Gujarati) and starts going wild.

We were lucky to be on a really high terrace, and have a bunch of other people around with lots of kite strings just begging to be cut. Morie and I were the first of our group to go up, and we made some new friends who let us fly their kites sometimes. Of course I had mine taken away occasionally, but it was still fun to feed off of their kite flying energy. Part of the fun of Uttarayan is that in Gujarat it is a holiday off of work and school so everyone can enjoy. On the terrace everyone is playing the latest hindi tunes booming through huge speakers, eating chiki (basically peanut brittle), and enjoying their surroundings.

The kites themselves look like a colorful flock of birds filling the sky, and in some places of Surat the sky was covered with kites. After a while not only the sky, but every tree, power line, roof, and lots of the ground was covered with kites. The terrace we were on looked over a huge park, and the trees looked like they were decorated for Christmas with all of the kites enhancing the green. At night everything became even more amazing when they started shooting off fireworks, and flying kites that held candles. With the candle kites they started off with one, and then gradually added more and more till you had huge strings of lights soaring in the sky all over in Surat.
By the time the kite light strings had started we had already changed locations to a little Rotary party, and I met the American Friendship team from Washington/Oregon. I really enjoyed chatting with them as I took pictures of the kites, and worked on my kite flying. That night we went to a outside food stand (which is the place to get food in Surat), and had some of the most amazing chicken I had ever tasted. The next night we again had nonveg, and I decided to be a bit daring and had mutton balls, and goat brain. To keep things a bit more on the normal side I had some egg dishes and a cold cocoa (which is a lot like liquefied chocolate mousse). We were supposed to go home, but everyone was having so much fun we decided to stay the night. Instead we went to the beach and danced in the parking lot for a while.

For the next day we went to see the International Kite Flying Festival, and tried to avoid the people taking pictures, asking for our autographs, and interviews. At this point I was glad I was in a smaller city where the attention isn’t as constant, but you do meet some very interesting people by being strange looking in India. We did meet some kite fliers from Italy, and Morie was thrilled to meet some from Japan and they gave her some of their kites. The kites at the festival weren’t the typical kites of Uttarayan, but huge ones that reached the size of a hot air balloon, and they were all different colors and shapes some with streamers, other solid, but with no two kites the same.

In the afternoon we went back for kite flying again, and I actually got a kite up, and flew it all by myself without too many dive bombings! I even cut some kites by myself (even if some were by accident). Then finally after the meal I have previously described we headed back to Bharuch at the very early hour of 10:00 pm. When I arrived home I was pooped, and after giving a quick summary I crashed into bed. Now the next time I go to the beach in the US I want to buy a kite!!!

District 3060 Rotary Conference

2008-01-21T10:18:00.000-08:00

Not long after our north tour and the rest of my random travels my host Rotary district of 3060 had their annual Rotary conference in Ahmanabad. The conference wasn’t really for the students, and had many lectures that we didn’t attend, but we were part of the entertainment. For the first night all of the exchangers sang the Indian National anthem to end the meeting. One of my favorite parts of the whole conference was a concert given by famous singer Shreya Ghoshal! She was a truly amazing famous, and lucky for me she is the singer of some of my favorite hindi songs. I of course had a ton of fun dancing in front of the stage with some of the other exchangers, and singing the songs with her at the top of our lungs. What a blast!!!

The following day was spent practicing for our talent presentations, and after the morning practice most of us slept, and then practiced more until our actual presentations. The French girls from Baroda and us three Bharuch girls had prepared an Indian folk dance, and then the three of us did a Japanese dance. For the Japanese dance the three of us had to remain quite straight-faced so when we did the folk dance which was after I think something clicked and the entire dance all of us were cracking up, and truly enjoying ourselves. After a secret santa get together with all of the exchangers we went to bed late that night waking up early to drive to Baroda where we spent New Years.

Diamonds to Die for

2008-01-20T10:50:00.000-08:00

The day after I arrived home from my North Tour my family took me on a few more travels one to Ahmanabad to spiritually intiate my host brother’s new apartment flat, and the day following to Surat to take a tour of a diamond factory called Venus Gems. Amazingly Surat produces 80% of the worlds diamonds (not mining, but cutting anyways), and I was lucky enough to visit one of the factories.

Upon arrival to the factory we were brought up to the head office where we had tea and lunch with the owner and one of his businessmen from Belgium; in short we were treated like VIPs. The tour of the diamond factory was pretty amazing, and the technology they use is phenomenal. In the first room we went into tables and tables of men were sitting and examining the diamonds for the quality. At the next group of tables, this time with computers men were using a computer program to see what would be the best cut for each diamond and in the market receive the maximum price.

Working our way to the next room was the first cutting of the diamond to split off the different cuts, and then in a several separate rooms the diamond is cut in more detail. For the major cut a laser is used, but for some of the smaller cuts it is a mix of saw, and then some of laser. Our guide said that by cutting with a saw more of the diamond can be saved than if they always use laser, but using a laser is much faster. For polishing and some small touch ups they use the powder of the diamond, and then in the diamonds final stages it goes through several more check throughs, and also quality tests.

In the final stages of making the diamond my host family enjoyed walking through and admiring the diamonds undergoing their finishing touches. AT one point I was holding a diamond worth $400,000, and with that diamond my host mother put the diamond in between her fingers, and gazed up at my host father. With a look of longing, my host mother’s dream was lost by the laughing of my host father. My favorite part of near the end when I saw them testing the quality by putting them under a black light to check the light reflection of the diamond. One thing that I found truly fascinating about diamonds was that each diamond is unique like a snowflake, and has its own special light reflection. All in all I learned a lot about diamond production, but after watching most of Blood Diamond I will try to stick with crystal.

North India Tour Part Three-Dharamshala

2008-01-16T10:29:00.000-08:00

Of all of our destinations throughout my whole month on tour, Dharamshala was my favorite by a long shot. It could have been that we did see snow in December, or it might have been the welcoming community that we encountered throughout our stay.

Right out of the shoots (or in this case train), our adventures began with an intense rainstorm, and Morie jumping off the train as it was leaving (she had everyone scared). Of course when we got out of the station our bus is nowhere in sight, and most of the students were not properly prepared for sour weather. Lucky for me my parents have attempted to teach me to be prepared for everything, and amazingly on that trip I followed their advice, and I had my raincoat, an extra coat, hat and gloves. After about an hour wait we see our bus for the first time, and at the same time a cringe for how small it is for 19 people. Upon further inspection we find that not only is the bus lacking the proper amount of seats, but over half of the seats are either broken or wet from the rain. Another hour later our group escort decides to rent us three cars to caravan us up.

The car ride up was a winding one, but was so beautiful it was hard to not follow every curve with your eyes. Shortly after crowding in, packing our luggage in and out (lucky for me mine fit in the car), and driving a ways we stopped to eat a hot breakfast. One thing I should mention about Dharamshala is that compared to the temperature of Gujarat, Dharamshala was very cold for us even if it was only about 40 F (the lowest temp I’ve see in Bharuch has been 76 F, and everyone is wearing hats and sweaters). After our long drive of catching glimpses of the snow covered Himalayas, rivers, waterfalls, lots of monkeys, fields, and a new type of forest I had never seen before we finally reached Dharamshala.

Dharamshala is really famous for the residence of Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama, and a large Tibetan population, and in our less than 24 hour stay there we were able to see THE Buddhist temple, and a couple others as well. Along with our Buddhist temple viewing we walked up to a waterfall to really enjoy the rain, and the wonderful scenery, and then we saw a Hindu temple, and Catholic Church. Besides the major temples on the hike up to the waterfall you can look down and see small Hindu temples at the edges of cliffs looking down towards the valley. Kind of a dismal thought, but I told Mayara that if I died in India I wanted her to let my ashes go here. It was so fun to be there with everyone because you could see the joy in everyone’s eyes as they saw snow (some for the first time), and just enjoyed the cold. Everyone was just flushed with the excitement of being alive, together, and in India.

After our sightseeing adventures we went shopping, and met the community. The community in Dharamshala is different from any community I have encountered in India so far. Everyone, and I mean everyone greets you cheerfully on the street (even a cow mooed at me once), and the whole atmosphere is somewhat lighter. Also it is the cleanest town I have been to in India, and all the people I met there were really helpful too. In one shop I went into the family who owned the shop were eating their dinner there, just laughing and enjoying, and asking us if we needed any help if we looked undecided. Such a different atmosphere from the shouting and bargaining of where I live in India, and if you ask the price they give you a fairly direct and decent one, so much that you feel a little guilty if you bargain (I encountered several exceptions of course). After a late night of shopping, and a ton of fun enjoying everyone’s company we went to sleep with our heaters on high after a totally wonderful day.

The next morning several girls got up early to try and complete some last minute shopping before we had to go. Most of the shops didn’t open until 9:30 10:00 so we really missed the good shopping, but all good things must come to an end, and down the hill to the train station we left. On the way down the rain subsided, and actually became sunny, and a half an hour before our train came we arrived. For the 20 hour train ride I mainly slept, and the next day I said a sad farewell to everyone as we got off at Bharuch.

North India Tour Part Two-Agra/Delhi

2008-01-16T09:54:00.000-08:00

Until we actually reached Agra we had essentially an all day drive stopping a couple times for a bathroom break, and once at our guide’s family house for a dab of tea. Also we stopped to see a mogul fort right on the outside of Agra which was really cool. Once we actually reached Agra you could feel the excitement as everyone yelled “WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE TAJ!” every few minutes. That night we didn’t get see the famous wonder of the world yet, but the restaurant of our motel did have a revolving dining area that looked out over the city; not bad for a first night.

The big day finally arrived after a short night of sleep everyone woke up early to try and catch the Taj as early as possible. After an international bus ride including some people from Katmandu and Spain we reached the Taj. Honestly when you first see it you kind of have to pinch yourself to make sure you’re not dreaming. Places like the Taj can’t have their magnificence on film or in any other way besides witnessing it in person. The buildings surrounding (which you don’t know are there by all of the pictures of the Taj) are pretty awesome too, but the tomb inside isn’t out of this world, but if you plan to see the Taj make sure you have a whole day to spend there alone.

Upon our arrival at the Taj everyone brought out their cameras and were taking pictures like crazy, and it was kind of like strike a pose, grab the closest person next to you and shoot like crazy. One kid in the group took 400 pictures at the Taj alone, and then as we were leaving he was adding to it. The park surrounding the Taj is a great place to wander around and enjoy the splendor you are beholding. Sadly when we went it was a bit smoggy, but the white marble managed to shine through. I think that one of the coolest parts about the Taj is that so many people from around the world come to see it and gape at it that it kind of is like an international convention. Everyone is soo excited to see the same thing that you find yourself exchanging looks with the person beside you and just smiling, and even if it is in a different language you know they are thinking the exact same thing as you “I can’t believe I am standing here!”

Our tour guide for the Taj had us on a really tight schedule, and every single one of us were about an hour late, and as a result we received a lecture, and had to skip the Agra fort to instead visit a temple in Delhi. After a quick stopped at the hotel to gather our things, and then one at MacDonalds for lunch (sadly, how typical of foreign teenagers, but when I tell them I rarely go to MacDonalds in the US they are kind of shocked) we were on our way to Delhi on a race against time to make it to the temple by 5:00 pm.

When we finally did reach Delhi, on time, but cutting it close, the traffic was crazy and every car was packed full of people. My personal record of people in a 5 seater car here in India is 9 full grown adults, and even for long journeys a single seat to yourself, is rare. In other words every car in Delhi is holding about 9 people, and all the buses are jammed pack. Luckily we made it to the temple which as it turns out was a Swaminarayan temple. To get in we had to remove anything metal, cameras, belts, and basically get patted down due to a bombing of one of their temples not so long ago.
Honestly upon entering the gardens and building surrounding the temple I didn’t think that it would be one of my favorite places, but it gives the Taj a run for its money. Before actually entering the temple most of the exchange students bought tickets to see the exhibition of the temple, a light/fountain show, and a boat ride/tour of the vedic ages. The exhibition included some informational movies and then a walking tour where some amazing robots narrated the life of Bhagwan Swaminarayan the holy man who began making the swaminayaran temples in the fist place. We then sat and watched the amazing fountain show of water and lights all coreographed to music! I think it was one of my favorite light/water shows (also one of the few I’ve seen), and the background was the temple decorated in its evening lights! After the light show we walked through an educational display on the teachings of Bhagvan Swaminayaran, and then following the boat ride that took us through the vedic ages and all of its discoveries. That night in Delhi we didn’t get into our hotel till around 10:00, and before going to bed managed to grab a bite to eat.

Our day in Delhi was much too short, and we only were able to see about half the things we were supposed to, but we still managed to have a good time. At Humayan’s Tomb we met some people from Pakistan, and one of the guys in the group started telling me about himself (and very proud of himself I might add), and then radomly gave me this CD of this band he was doing technical work for. About half way through the day we walked a ways to find a MacDonalds and met some amassadors kids from France. From there we visited some more sights before we had to head to the train station.

Since I have heard through the grape vine of some complaints about how long my posts are, from now on I am going to try to make more entries, but shorter. Happy New Year to everyone, and I will work on Part III of my north tour-Dharamshala soon!

North India Tour Part One-Rajasthan

2008-01-03T20:25:00.000-08:00

North India Tour

The north tour like the Gujarat tour was amazing, but of the two the north tour was my favorite. Each day was jammed pack full of things to see or lots of travel time where we were able to cover tons of beautiful country. Over my month of touring I was able to hit all the extremes from the desert in Rajasthan, to the beautiful beaches at Diu, the lovely Himalayan peaks and forests in Dharamshala, the hard core city in New Delhi, and everything in between passing through terrain on the bus.

After some sad goodbyes to all of the short term Malaysians who weren’t going to join us for the North India tour, all 17 (5 from the US, Brazil, and France, and 1 from Japan and Mexico) of the exchange students departed on the train destined for Jodhpur, Rajasthan. We spent the night on the train which for those who have not spent the night in and Indian train it is quite an experience. Till about 11:00 at night people are walking through the Boogies yelling for people to buy soup, snacks, water normally in a really loud, high, nasally voice. In the particular tier that I was staying in there are 3 levels to beds to sleep in on two side for one side of the compartment and then on the other there are two levels of beds and they are both facing in the direction of the train. We ate train food tray dinners, and then after a little bit of chatting we all went to sleep, and magically woke up in Jodhpur.

From Jodhpur we took a desert drive in the bus to Jaisalmer where shortly after arriving we visited an ancient burial site. The interesting thing about the burial site was the more recent graves where a couple of us looking around found what looked like cut hair all around. Well the Indian girl who joined us from Bombay (she went to Florida last year on exchange) told us it was from coconuts, but none of us bought it, and now it remains a mystery.

After visiting the burial site, and each of us finding one ferile puppy that we wanted to take home in our purses we went to Gadisar lake where we had a film director ask us to be in his movie the next day. Apparently it was going to be “a frickin’ big movie,” but with language like that and the absence of a cast who would believe him. At the lake we rented boats to take us out at sunset, and enjoy the evening surroundings. It was so much fun to be out on the lake, and look over and see the lighted temples in the distance and on the other side trees emerged in water full of cormorants all haloed by the purple sunset lighting up the sky.

The next day was one full of sightseeing and we jumped from the Golden Fort, and then bunch of Havelis. the Haveli’s (big ornately designed old mansions) we went shopping, and I think everyone got to work on their bargaining. Bargaining in India is quite an event that normally starts with the merchant calling the buyer in to look at their things “oh madam! Come and have a look at my shop,” “today is my birthday I will give you special price,” “You are looking so beautiful today madam I think you need to treat yourself,” “I will give you indian price madam, come and shop”. If you ask the price; the first price is always ridiculously high, and if you laugh and walk away they normally automatically give you a lower price by a couple hundred rupees followed by “lowest price” or “don’t tell anyone, but this is only for you”. Once the Merchants mark it down once you know they will do it again, and so begins the chase. After some complaints about how they won’t break even if they give you a certain price yada yada yada, and some complaints on my side about how “I am just a student I can’t afford that ridiculous price.” Then after some time they hopefully ask you (if you start to walk away one last time) “fine. what is your price?” you give him a price, and they hopefully accept it. Sometimes bargaining can get quite heated, and I have seen Indians start yelling at each other during bargaining.

For the rest of the afternoon we then went camel riding out in the desert to enjoy the sunset and the sand. I think even more than the camel ride people enjoyed the sand, and a couple people were buried full body in the sand. Most of the people arrived back in the hotel with their clothes and hair full of sand, and desperate for a shower. Actually my friend Mayara had sand the pair of pants she was wearing for the rest of the trip. I managed to escape unscathed.

The next morning we left bright and early for a drive back to Jodhpur to see the fort and spend one night before heading up to Jaipur. On the drive to Jodhpur it was interesting because we kept on seeing all these military vehicles. Before anyone gets freaked out I should mention that about 80% of the desert inhabitants join the armed forces (the rest are in agriculture, tourism, or other industries) and also Jaisalmer is only like 150 km from Pakistan. Once we reached Jodhpur we toured through the fort which is full of palaces and has a great view of the “blue city” (which is literally the blue city almost every building is painted blue). During the evening in our hotel we juggled time spying on a wedding reception and watching a scary movie. Amazingly enough I sat through the entire scary movie, and didn’t have any nightmares!! (but I did scream when someone jumped out at me when I was walking out of the bathroom).

On the way to Jaipur we were back on the road again only to stop for the bathroom and then once to see a holy wishing tree. The wishing tree is special because if you make a wish and tie a string all the way around its trunk when your wish comes true you have to come back and remove the string you tied. Sadly there were a lot of strings on the 5,000 year old tree, but there is always hope. During the process of tying one of the holy men came up to me, and rushed his had up to give me a tika and then ran away. He left me standing there startled, left only with a red dot on my forehead.

In the evening we arrived to Jaipur, and in the evening we celebrated the last day of Hanukkah. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet, but one of the American girls from New York is Jewish, and every other night or so we will celebrate one of the days of Hanukkah with her by lighting the candles saying a prayer and then playing Adam Sandler’s “Hanukkah Song.” For the last night of Hanukkah she went all out giving everyone dreidels, lighting all the candles on our make shift menorah, some prayers, Adam Sandler’s “Hanukkah Song,” traditional songs, and then playing dreidel for “gelt.” So I can now say I have celebrated Hanukkah in India with 6 different nationalities.

The next day in Jaipur we spent the entire day sightseeing, and then finished if off by a lot of shopping. To start off the day we went up to a huge fort on top of a hill looking out over a lake and the city and palace of Amer. We then drove down to go to Amer Palace, and RIDE ELEPHANTS!! Riding elephants up to the Palace was really cool, but throughout the ride up our driver was harassing us to exchange his euros, and then to give him a tip. The harassment continued when we got down, and a bunch of merchants stormed us to buy postcards, elephant statues, and paintings.

At the top of the palace, just before the entry most of our group decided they didn’t want to go into the palace. This left a small group of 5 to rush through in 30 minutes in this maze of a Palace (there was actually a maze in the palace called in hindi a Bhool Bhalaiya, which is also a hindi movie that was in cinemas a while back) and even though we had the shortest amount of time to look around I think we had the most fun because we had to rush. My personal favorite part was when we were running down the road where the elephants came up and one of the girls lost her sandal for a minute. When we reached the bottom, afraid we were going to be the last ones we were actually the first and a group of people was lost. Everyone finally found each other in time for lectures on the bus.

Our next destination was the city palace, and then shortly following a shopping extravaganza. The city palace was interesting, but what made it the most fun was meeting a group of French people with one of the French exchange students and then touring with their group (we then saw the same people when they were at the Taj Mahal). Mainly the city palace was a museum exhibit, and they had an amazing collection of paintings and decorative carpets. Afterwards shopping was crazy! There are so many things to choose, and everyone trying to convince you to come to their shop. Personally I had A LOT of fun shopping, and by the end of our shopping excursion I had several bags full of things. That night we did one last stop to see the evening view of a monument before returning to our hotel for the evening. Next stop AGRA!!!

Holidays!!

2007-12-23T03:05:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays everyone! Also congrats to the new Outbounds! I hope you are satisfied with you future destinations! I am so excited for all of you to embark on your new adventures, and it may not seem like it yet, but it begins now! The North tour summary is coming, but I just wanted to say Happy holidays! Right now I am in Baroda with some of the other exchange students at the Youth Exchange Chairman's house, and we spent all morning decorating his house to make it Christmasy (we have a fake tree and everything!). The whole group is also planning to attend Christmas eve midnight mass, followed by brunch the next morning!! Then after returning back to Bharuch christmas afternoon the three Bharuch exchange students are planning on making Christmas dinner for my host family! Wishing everyone the best, and safe travels if you are traveling for the holiday season! Feliz Natal (portugues), Feliz Navidad (spanish), Merry Christmas, and Joyeux Noel (french)!!!!

Gujarat Tour

2007-12-17T08:15:00.000-08:00

In short, my tour of Gujarat was a lot of Rotary meetings, temples, and riding in the bus, but we had a ton of fun through most of it. After all they say it’s not where you are, but who you’re with, and with the 16 other long term exchangers and the extra 12 Malaysian short terms that joined us for the Gujarat tour, everyone managed to have a good time.

We started off our tour with a fun train ride that reunited us back with everyone living in other cities. After a Rotary Meeting in Ahmanabad where Mayara, Morie and I performed a Japanese Dance and a pop/country dance to Shania Twain’s “Man! I feel like a Woman!” there was a four hour bus ride to Rajkot where we spent two days sightseeing there, staying a host families, and attended a Rotary Meeting.

Once we had completed our stay at Rajkot we spent the day traveling stopping at one city to see a Jain temple and then continued on till we reached the Jain city of Polytana that has several temples all built at the top of high hillsides. This happened to be Thanksgiving day and that night we stayed at a temple hostel. Surprisingly I had a very fun thanksgiving, and I spent a lot of the day explaining Thanksgiving to the students from other countries. After our 6:30 dinner of temple food (not Thanksgiving dinner by a long ways) some of the students brought out their hidden stash of peanut butter and Nutella and with cookies covered in these condiments we made a fake turkey, we went up to the terrace of the hostel, sat in a circle, and everyone went around saying what they were thankful for. It was a very universal Thanksgiving.

The next morning we got up early to go and see one of the temple and managed to a make it through the crowds of people begging on the sides, there was a wedding going on, and then all the other visitors to the temple. Finally we made it up and saw the temple which was very pretty, but being a Jain temple has a series of almost identical-appearing statues of Gods. After another crowed walk back to the bus we then drove up a twisty road up to the top of a hill where a beautiful, white marble temple lay at the top looking out over everything. The temple was still in the process of being built, but it was so open and light that you just felt blinded by the light of holiness. Although at one point we were walking up to the next story and it was so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, and you had to feel your way up the steps.

That night we went to a Rotary meeting in Bhvnagar and that night I stayed in a private hospital. At the hospital we actually slept in the hospital beds and later that night we met the only patients and I held a five hour old baby. The stay and host were a little strange, but it was still fun and definitely a new experience. During the next day it was a very temple filled day and all day we were in the bus we then stopped to see a temple and then eat at the temple then we kept driving until we stopped to see then eat at and then stay in the temple’s hostel.

On this particular day the temple experience was to the extreme and we had the experience of eating what the poorer pilgrims ate and see how they sleep on the floor outside the temple. The association with the other pilgrims was a great experience at the temples. Unfortunately the hygiene of these places was a little questionable and for dinner that night we were able to watch a domino show of bodies shoot standing strait up (accompanied by shrill screams) as a rat ran along the wall they were leaning on to eat. Despite the bad hygiene (see a rat, people using their hands to serve us food ect.) the temple had a very unique kitchen where one side could make kurd (yogurt) without adding anything to make it solidify. The kurd was at least good there.

For our next destination we had all thought that we were going to the Sasan Gir Reserve where the last Asiatic Lions survive, but due to the expense to high for most of the students and time constraints we had to skip that and then drove to the beach in Diu!! Oh the beach was soooo much fun! The beach didn’t smell like a proper beach, but there was water for swimming, sand, shells, and one of the exchangers even found a poisonous snake slithering about. Needless to say anywhere near water I am in heaven so I loved Diu!!! After lots of swimming and in my case a little body surfing we went in to have dinner and later that night a dance party on the beach!

The next morning most of the exchangers woke up early to see the sunrise! Myself and two other girls went for a run along the shore, and then spent a ton of time searching for seashells and other treasures. When we were almost back to the hotel a huge group (25) of tribal women carrying firewood overtook us and surrounded us talking in their native tongues, a couple grabbed pieces of our clothing, and others touched our hair. Honestly it was kind of a startling experience. By then most of the other exchangers had gone back to sleep, but I was glad that I had stayed up to enjoy the sunrise to its fullest extent and enjoy the beach for as long as possible.

After a late start out of the hotel we visited a fort overlooking the ocean, saw a Catholic church, and then had a very long bus ride to Porbandar. Luckily on the way we stopped to see this amazing Hindu Oceanside temple in Somnath, and then again on the beach for a short dip your feet and enjoy the sand, and then it was more time on the bus. In Porbandar we ended up staying at a girls school/hostel and we went and hung out with the girls after a Rotary meeting. With the girls we stayed up late dancing and chatting with them, and finally at about 1:00 in the morning we all went to sleep only to wake up at 5:00 the next morning.

During our stay at the girls hostel we saw them perform and visited the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and then we had a 13 hour journey to our next destination. Most of us all slept the first part of the day and then as soon as it got dark it was party time on the bus. One of the exchangers had speakers for his ipod so we cranked the music and started dancing on the bus. The bus was crazy and because the roads in India are horrible everyone was falling all over the place as the bus swerved around, but the important thing was that everyone was having a blast.

Upon reaching Anand we had another Rotary meeting with a great dance performance and then everyone stayed in host families. Originally I was staying with one of the other exchangers, but one of the Rotarians came up to me and asked me to come and stay with him because his daughter was crying because none of the exchangers were going to stay at there house. Well I get in the car and the little girl looks and me, and then terrified shrinks as far away from me as she can. I personally don’t think I am that scary, but I felt bad for the little girl that she had to have me living at her house for one night. The next day the little girl began to warm up to me, and then I left with her father who showed me around the city a little before we saw the Amul Co-Op milk factory. That Afternoon we arrived in Baroda to stay in host families, do a little sightseeing, and then for the next couple days participate in a leadership camp.

Wow! When you are gone for such a long time, and see so many things you have so much to talk about. Sorry if this entry is a bit long, but I have a lot to catch everyone up on, and hopefully I will be able to summarize my North Tour soon also. Basically my Gujarat tour was a great time to spend with all of the exchangers, and going by bus was a great way to see more of Gujarat. I would have to say my favorite places were Polytana and Diu by a long shot, but as a whole the tour was great. Next time I would like to see more of Gujarat in a little more detail, and take a little more time to enjoy my surroundings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-18T11:09:00.000-08:00

Well I just wanted to wish everyone Happy Thanksgiving before I leave on my Gujarat and North India Tour!
I am thankful for so much, but thanks for all of the support from back home while I am embarking on my grand Indian adventure!

SEWA Rural

2007-11-18T11:05:00.000-08:00

The day after I got back from my Rajasthan trip I watched two movies in the movie theater Saawariya and Om Shanti Om, and then went to a birthday party. The next day my host father arranged for my host siblings, my host brother’s friend, Morie, and I to all go to Jhagardia (a nearby town) to visit a basically nonprofit hospital for the nearby villagers and tribals. This amazing program is called SEWA (pronounced seva) Rural and it works to help educate and aid the villagers and tribals in the surrounding villagers. That day we just visited the hospital which has a large optimology department, and basically a full hospital.
Besides the hospital the SEWA Rural trains villagers and tribals skills like welding, electronics, mechanics, and agriculture skills for one year to help provide skills for jobs. They live in the hostels at the training facility, and then for the women they have sewing machine training and a place where the women make snacks and an everyday chip-like food called Papad to sell around Gujarat. They also have internships, some medical training for local students and a ton more. Besides classes and trainging, they also educate the villagers and tribal women about maternal things, women empowerment, proper care of themselves while they are pregnant, training for the midwives in the villaege, and help in child planning.
After visiting the hospital we went into the field to visit a village, and see the type of stuff they were working on there. In the village we went with the nurse who looks after 14 villages to check up on a woman who had a 25 day old baby, and then a woman who was 8 months pregnant. We also were able to meet the village midwife and see her birthing kit which was provided by the hospital. The village itself was really quite a nice and modern one with water pumps, some huts even had electricity. For the main part the houses were made out of sticks and covered in dried cow dung, and with all of the animals, flowers, ground wood stoves, you really felt like you were in a village. About 99.7% of the villagers were tribals and most either worked agriculture or in the nearby coal query. At the time we were there the quary wasn’t working because it was draining too much of the river’s water, but I was happy to hear that for the 6 months the mine wasn’t working the government was compensating its workers.
After our village visit we went to a nearby town to meet blind people who were able to find jobs and make a living for themselves. One man wove the bottoms of chairs, one ground flour and could read money, and one little girl was going to school and could read brail. The whole SEWA Rural was a really impressive program, and included a bunch of really wonderful people. I met one nice couple from San Francisco (one a optimologist and one a eurologist) who would be there for 6 months volunteering their time, and another girl from Chicago who would also be there for six months. Hopefully in the next few months I am in India I will have the opportuninty to visit Jhagardia again.

Rajasthan trip!

2007-11-18T10:42:00.000-08:00

Just recently I returned back from a week long Diwali vacation with my family to Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. First to get there we drove about 15 hours on Indias roads (which always includes some dodging of cars, cows, people, and for about half the way potholes). Along the way one exciting thing was when the back of the van I was riding in blew open littering the road with everyones luggage. In hindsight it was comical to watch the oncoming trucks and cars dodging the bags, food packs, and water bottles scattered over the road, but at the time it was a little scary.
Once we reached Jodhpur, and asked 6 different for people for directions we reached our gorgeous hotel on a wildlife filled lake in the middle of the desert. One thing that was really cool about the resort was that on one side of the lake it was quite deluxe with a lovely lawn, garden, nice hotel and restaurant, and then on the other side you could see a small hovel with it’s fire burning silently every morning and night, cows, goats, waterbirds, and a temple that played worship music almost all hours of the day.
Moving out of Jodhpur to officially start our trip in Jaisalmer we stopped at a couple temples. One was a lovely Jain temple with ornately scultped temples, another was a hindu temple with hundreds of stairs leading up looking over the town with its pastel houses of purple, blue, orange, and green. In the inside of the temple the intire inside was covered in colored glass, colored/decorated tiles, and mirrors (really beautiful). Another temple was connected with one of the largest libraries in Asia, and we went at night near Diwali so candles were being lit on all the steps leading to the temple, and all of the houses surrounding.
When we reached Jaisalmer we visited the tourist sights, and being white I really felt like a tourist. It was funny because each time my host mother saw another white person (which was a lot) she would say “Katie look your friends!” The really funny part was that whenever I would say good morning or hello to a westerner they would totally ignore me, but if any of my host family said hello you would have thought they were long lost brothers. In Jaisalmer we went to see the largest inhabited fort in India which was interesting but because I wasn’t India everything like going into the temples with my host family, and everything was difficult. Being a white in India kind of often makes you a target. We also saw a lake that had tons of temples in the middle of the lake, some havelis, which are like Indian Mansions with the walls totally sculpted, and more Havelis.
After a day of sightseeing in Jaisalmer my whole family set out for a desert safari. On the way to the desert safari was that the van we were driving got a flat tire, but personally I enjoyed our time on the side of the road because it gave me time to observe my surroundings, watch a couple working in the dried fields, see their stone hut covered with sticks at the top, and check out further areas with my binoculars.
Once we reached the desert safari my host sister and I rode on one camel together and my host father and brother on the other. Riding on a camel was a lot like riding on a horse, but at the beginning to get up the camel starts with first lifting its hind end and then its front. Honestly it felt like I was on a teeter totter. Through the desert with sand dunes covered with other Indian tourists, traditional dancers, and intrumentalists. I really felt like I was in a tourist area, but thank goodness this time most of them were indians. I was interested to hear that about 70% of the desert inhabitants join the armed forces and all the rest are in the tourist buisness.
Letting us off, and promising to pick us up after sunset, our camel guides left us to enjoy our surrounding sand, sun, music, and fellow tourists. After a beautiful sand dune sunset my family and I were waiting for the camel guides to pick us up. Well of course they didn’t come so my host family and I walked back to our camp. Even though it wasn’t very far I think my host sister and I were the only ones who really enjoyed the hike.
That night we stayed in luxury tents complete with beds, carpet, toilet, lights, ect, and enjoyed the traditional dance and music. At one point all the audience was allowed to come up and join in the dance, and of course I joined in and had a blast. Of course I was the only westerner in our camp so people kept asking to have their picture dancing with me. Afterwards the music band sang a song about me in english, but even though it was in english I only understood about two phrases that they actually sang. The whole evening was a blast, and I ended the desert safari by waking everyone up in the morning to watch the sunrise with me in the morning. I should also add that in the desert the temp reached a low of 14 degrees celcius!! Yeah for cold!
The next day we went back to Jaisalmer to visit a Haveli and go to temple to celebrate the Hidu New Year. At the temple the holy men had brought out the statue and shrine of the god Vishnu into the middle of the partially open air temple. One thing that was special about this Vishnu was that he had a huge diamond in the middle of his chin. The shrine was ornately decorated with silver designs of elephants, flowers, and peacocks on a black background. In front of the Vishnu was a huge pile of cow poop covered in saffron powder and rose petals holding a black rock on a handkerchief. Over the black rock the holy men were pouring milk and then rinsing it with water. To top it all off someone drug in a terrified baby calf to walk in front of the god a couple of times, put a red saffron dot on its forehead, and wrap it in a saffron scarf. When the baby calf went to the bathroom some of the nearby women stuck their hands out to catch the urine and put it on their foreheads.
For the rest of the day we drove back to Jodhpur, saw another Jain temple popular for pilgrimages, ate in its dining hall, and then reached the same resort we stayed at the first night. At Jodhpur we saw the fort, some temples, and palace, did a little shopping and came back. The drive back to Bharuch included some more stops at a couple more temples one kind of tourist destination, and the other a very religious destination that is one of the most heavily visited temples in atleast Gujarat in the city of Umba, worshiping the goddess Umba (durga, pavarti, ect for other names) several thousand people were there, and it was another shove fest to even inch your way any closer. Finally around 2:00 in the morning we reached home after a wonderful trip.

Gurdwara

2007-11-13T20:27:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness! I have soo much catching up to do! Before I left for my trip to Jaisalmer and Jodhpur I went to Gurdwara (the Sikh temple) with my friend Mayara (from Brasil), Morie (from Japan), and Mayara’s host family (who is Sikh). When attending for worship everyone needs to cover their heads as a sign of respect. Both Sikhs and non-Sikhs are allowed to come and worship, and there was a mix of turbaned, and non-turbaned men present. Really the non-Sikhs are just not as strict, but still believe the basics of the same things.
Walking in we went before the holy book, Guru Granth Sahib and kneeled before, gave a monetary donation and then sat in gender specific areas. While reading was going on out of the holy book, which is on a kind of special platform and canopy of silver, a featherduster looking silver inlaid brush was waved over the holy book to keep the evil spirits away. The holy book in a way is kind of like their god, and they have a special room in their temple where they keep the book, and every night they put it to bed (like with a sheet, bed, and everything).
The hymns and reading is done by those Sikhs who are baptized and follow the 5 K’s which are visual identification of a Sikh: Kesh (uncut hair), Kanga (wooden comb), Kaacha (specially-designed underwear), Kara (an iron braclet/bangle), and a Kirpan (a sword strapped over their shoulder and around their waist), and they had special colored turbans. It was interesting to see the all the special identifications (minus the underwear of course), and then see the swords. Once the readings are completed Prasad (a holy food) of a kind of buttery, goopy, flour pudding is given to everyone (not my favorite).
After worshipping Langar a meal where food is free for all is served. The food is made from donations, and the kitchen is open most of the day and night. To eat you go into a large dining hall with strips of carpet/cloth laid down for people to sit on. People come around to serve you food of curry and chapattis (tortilla like bread). The chapattis are kind of holy, and to receive on you have to hold up both your hands in acceptance instead of holding out your hands. After you are done eating then everyone goes and washes their own dishes so that they are ready for anyone else who might want to eat.
Overall it was very interesting experience, and now when I see a Sikh on the street I have more appreciation for what they believe in (honesty, equality, fidelity, meditating on God, and never bowing to tyranny). Oh yeah they don’t cut their hair because they think that it is a gift from god, and you should cherish that gift.

New Family

2007-10-27T01:36:00.000-07:00

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.

New Family and Good luck future Exchangers

2007-10-23T03:47:00.000-07:00

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!"

Navratri

2007-10-23T03:43:00.000-07:00

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.

skit

2007-10-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

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.

A week in Baroda

2007-10-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-10-03T05:34:00.000-07:00

Mattieu (France), Marion (France), Morie (Japan), and Lison (France)

The District YOuth Exchangers

Luis, LIson, and Mayara on the train

Marion and Lea playing with some skit props (the skit was from MOnty Python)

On the way to school

2007-10-03T05:21:00.000-07:00

Temple on the way to school.

on the way to school

More Janamashtami

2007-09-22T03:03:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-22T02:54:00.000-07:00

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 classroom

Religious Puja (worship)

2007-09-22T02:37:00.000-07:00

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.

The Golden Bridge

2007-09-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

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 

A Bike Ride Alone

2007-09-14T23:22:00.000-07:00

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.

Rotary in India

2007-09-14T23:21:00.000-07:00

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!!

Interwheel Project

2007-09-14T23:15:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-09-14T23:09:00.000-07:00

The group of women who were part of the Rakhi tying assembly line!

My cousin Ashka tying a Rakhi on one of my cousins.

The Rakhi tray with rice, powder, sweets, and the orange and red Rakhis

My host brother Dipan and my host cousin Ashka demonstrating their love for each other. :)

Celebrations

2007-09-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-09-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

Both of these pictures were taken in one of the Temples my family and I attend regularly. This month is the month of Lord Krishna's Birth and every day they change the decorations in the temple. Down below they are reading off things to sing and clapping hands to the beat. Always lots of chanting in the temples.

This is the temple that we walked the 14 km to the one night and above is a picture of Hanuman. Below is a things of wax where you dip your finger and put it in the middle of your forehead.

2007-09-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

Swim friends at the meet

NIce costumes, believe it or not these are nice compared to some of the girls wearing what looked like floral dreeses!

Go!!

2007-09-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-01T07:37:00.000-07:00

My host father Sanjiv (far left) Puja, Manej, and Kali

The Narmada Dam

Bridge before the Narmada Dam

1st Narmada Dam trip with Rotary beside me are 2 Korean girls, Morie (Japan), Poonan, Mina, and some other people

Family

2007-09-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

One of the three sitting rooms in my house.

My host cousin Ashwi (ash-wee) at one of our family gatherings

The boys at Narmada Dam (L-R) Manej, Kali, two host cousins, top my host brother Dipan

Family at Narmada second in my host sister Puja and host mother Rima

Walking for Wishes

2007-08-29T05:09:00.001-07:00

The other day my host family and some family friends went on a 14 km walk from my house to a temple in a local village. Walking in the first 7 km, was all along the highway, and trucks and cars were blaring by. I guess I should mention that this was all done from 9:00 to 1;00 at night. Before we started the walk my host parents kept asking me “are you sure you can walk 14 km without stopping?,” I was very sure I could, and it was highly entertaining to hear the distance increase each time they asked me. First it was 14 km the actually distance, then it was 16, and I think it ended at 22 km. As it turns out we stopped a lot (almost every ½ hour to an hour), and they had a car that stopped a short distance ahead every mile or so. My host sister and friend even spent some time in the car. Thanks to my parents training in hiking the 14 km was not a problem at all.
On the second half of the walk we were on a less traveled road, and by this time we were joined by hundreds and hundreds of villagers, and other walkers. People were driving by on their mopeds blowing on noisemakers, and yelling out chants of who knows what. I really enjoyed this part of the trip with watching all of the people, listening to the frogs, bugs chirping in the agricultural area bordering the road, and just enjoying the walk in the moonlit evening.
Once arriving near the village where the temple was there were tons of stands selling coconuts, noisemakers, and all types of nicknaks. At the temple we started in, and I saw a huge line of people in line, segregated from the other side of the temple. At first I was dreading the wait in line, but since my family is of a higher caste we walked right in, and were even sat in a separate room, and served tea. Actually in the temple there were very few people, but waiting in line you could feel the temperature change from the mass of body heat, and people were clinging to the walls trying to climb up and get a view of the temple. The people believe that if you walk to the temple from Friday until Sat on this particular day, and at 2:00 pray to the Monkey God Hanuman, any wish you desire and pray for will be granted.
By 2;00 on the nose bells, cymbals, drums, and hands clapped a beat as the unveiling of the Gods began, and with the beat of the deafening noise the Guru waved some holy fire of some sort in a clockwise circle around the gods. First were statures of all of the major gods, and then the unveiling of Hanuman (where they then did waving again). With the unveiling of Hanuman we changed locations, and nearing the end of the unveiling the people waiting in line became frantic. People started jumping over the fences and pushing their way through to see Hanuman, pray, and give an offering. More and more people started flooding in, and I soon lost all control over the movements of my body. I was pushed, pulled, and shoved to the front, trying to keep my balance, and keep my host family in my sight. About this time my host mother collapsed in the crowd from claustrophobia and dizziness. Luckily my host father was there to support her, and we all eventually got shoved out of the madness. Finding a place to catch our breath we regathered ourselves and tried to revive my host mother. After a minute or too we finally made our way back into the clambering crowds to the exit.
On the way home 9 people were all crammed in to a small 5 seater car, and I was kind of almost wanting to be walking home instead. Oh my goodness!!! I hadn’t ever really be a part of such mass hysteria before, and I am so glad I was able to have this experience!!!!

Swimming

2007-08-29T05:06:00.000-07:00

I didn’t actually think I would have the opportunity to swim, but amazingly enough I almost get to swim somewhat regularly! Once a week we have games, and this month we had swimming. Well it turns out that the athletes here aren’t really known for there swimming (not that you here of any big swimmers from India or anything), and I was teaching the 9th standard girls how to swim. The swim instructor is actually really good, but when you have ten girls who want to learn swimming, but not actually put in the time to learn you have your hands full. Afterwards Morie and I were allowed to swim some laps, and the next day the teacher invited me to come swimming again.
The next day I was expecting to be teaching again, but as it turns out we kind of had practice (Indian style) We did a little stretching, and like 100 m worth of laps at most ( I was allowed to swim a little longer and further) and then we attempted to work on starts and turns. Most of the starts were bellyflops, and most of the turns were good attempts, but I don’t think anyone actually did a full somersault, or if they did they were 2 feet from the wall.
The day after I was invited to be a spectator at their district meet, and see how things were run. Kids from about 5 schools were there, with ages from about 10 to 18, totaling about 50 kids at most. The pool at the athletic club had 6 lanes and was 25 m long. Equipment wise they are a little worse for wear, and they don’t have blocks, most of the kids don’t have goggles, and instead of stopclocks they use their cell phones and only time the first three finishers. They also don’t really swim butterfly at all, or at least not at this level.
As far as events they only swam the 50 back and free because they had enough open spots to fill the rest of the events at state. Of the 50 free the fastest swimmer swam it in 32.80, and that was by an 18 year old boy. All in all I enjoyed myself, and there were some very nice 11 standard girls who were fun to spend time with during the meet. Very different from our district swim meets, but a cool experience none the less.

Kidnapped

2007-08-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

Now before anyone gets too freaked out I wasn't actually kidnapped in a negative way. The other day while in music class where all the notes are written in Hindi I amight add, a class of 5th graders came in for their lessons. For some reason I stick out a little here, and people are always staring, commenting on my hair, eyes, groups of kids come and want to shake my hand ect. I was so much of a distraction that one day while riding on a moped with my host mom someone wasbusy looking at me that they ran into the car ahead of them. Whoops, maybe next time I should cover my head or something.
Well back to the story, the kids came in and started shoving notebooks at Morie (the girl from Japan) and I and asking us for our autorgraphs. After signing for about ten minutes they started firing questions about us and our countries, an what hindi movies we had seen. Shortyly after they started in on the choruses of the songs, and there we all were singing ( me attempting to follow along, but only knowing some parts of the main choruses) After a couple songs, the grabbed our hands took us totheir classroom, shoved us in a desk, held the door shut to prevent us from leaving, and started to hand us food from their tiffin(lunch bx type thing) Finally we esccaped and after a few more autographs we made it back to our proper class.
I am having ahard tim e getting used to all of the commotion I cause every time I head out the door. I 've even had people ask to take their picture with me! A lot of the time I just wish I could fade away into the sea of Indians. There will never be a chancefor me to be mistaken as a local, and I have found that in lots of situations people put you on the spot more, and test you. The other exchange students, who conveniently have black hair, get just as much attention, but atleast they can hide a little bit. The benefit is that I am having an experience being the minority in a community (to the extreme). I now have so much more appreciation for those who are different, and what they have had to face all of their lives. The shoe is now officially on the other foot.

Dogs and My Shoes

2007-08-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Life has been very busy in my neck of the woods. Every day after school I have Mehndi class and tomorrow I am starting a class called The Art of Living, a type of yoga, meditation class. This last weekend my school hosted an interschool debate called the Freedom Cup. The topic of debate was “ The status of women has remained unaltered in a poised India.” There were 17 school present and 36 speakers. For the first 10 it was very interesting, but after 6 hours of sitting everyone started to get a little restless.
School is going ok. Now all of the exchange students were moved down to standard 9 so we can have history, geography, economics, hindi, music, art, and several other classes instead of just focusing on science or commerce. I like the subjects better, and they are a lot easier, but my classmates have the behavior of a fourth grade class. They are friendly, but they have a tendancy to bully their fellow students, and even at times us. I still go over to class 11 every chance I get, and hang with my friends there.
This weekend we took a short little inbound rotary trip to see the Narmada dam which is about the size of Grand Coulee Dam. The dam supplies energy and irrigation for Gujarat, Mahrastra, and Rajasthan. Afterwords we went to see a palace museum, which also serves as a movie set, and bed and breakfast.
My speaking ability is slowly improving, and gradually I am getting better at both reading and writing Gujarati and Hindi.
Also dogs seem to have an obsession with my shoes. The other day my host families guard dog ate the strap off of my sandal, and now I have to use a safety pin. Also today at school I took my shoes off before going in to the library (you don’t wear your shoes in lots of places to show respect), and I came out after an hour or so and a dog had run one of my shoes into the middle of the football (soccer ) field!! I was so scared that I had lost it forever for a while, until I saw my lonely tennis show in the muddy field.

School and Family

2007-08-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!! After a couple days I am finally starting to transition into school!! Biology and Chemistry are my favorite, and everything else I normally do something else. In Maths (they add a plural s here) I study hindi, and same for Physics. IN English my teacher gave me a list of Indian literature to read while I am here! Lately there have been teachers who have not shown up for class and we have a had atleast one free period a day to sit and chat. The girls and boys stay separate for the most part, and there isn’t much association. Today on the jeep ride home from school the jeep broke down, and we were stranded at the school messing around in the rain. There are 10 of us in a 6 seat jeep and I have a 30 min drive over the Narmada river to get to school. I love my host cousins who have made me part of their cousin clan, and the younger girls (my cousins) have taught me some bollywood moves and a little hindi!!
The other day my family had a bon voyage party for my host grandparents who are leaving for the US on Sunday, and we got in a line gave them a rose and touched their feet and then our hearts as a sign of repect. At the hotel my host parents own we ate dinner, and the women were in one hotel room eating veg, and the men were in one hotel room eating nonveg and drinking. For a while I was invited in the man room to try some of the nonfveg food, but I was quickly shooed out to rejoin the women. I will try to put some pictures on soon!!

Holy Cow!!

2007-07-27T03:38:00.000-07:00

My frist impressions of India is Chaotic Beauty and before coming I didn't know that anything like that was physically possible, but India has proved me wrong! My host family is wonderful everyone is so nice and helpful! My house is a gorgeous two story house half in beautiful marble to keep the house cool. You can take the girl out of the orchard but you can't take the orchanrd from the girl. My family has a small orchard at their house!!
ON my first night I went to the birthday party of a girl visiting from France. During the party Iwitnesesed my first force feeding when the host of the party went around shovinga syrup covered donut ty[e thing in random peoples mouths, mine included. It was comical to watch, but starling to experience. Holy cow! I have seen so many cows!! More later.

Hindi

2007-07-13T17:04:00.001-07:00

I give a standing ovation to anyone who could read the last posting. Don't feel bad if it looks like a bunch of scribbles because that is exactly how it looks to me (with a couple exceptions to lettters here and there of course). 9 days till take off!!

अद्दिक्टेद तो ब्लोग्गिंग

2007-07-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

होव कूल इस थिस! ई फिगुरेड आउट होव तो चंगे थे टाईप ऎंड तुर्ण इत इन्तो हिंदी! थिस जुस्त मदे मय दय!! ई दो क्नोव ठाट नोने ऑफ़ मय फ्रिएँड्स कैन अच्तुअल्ल्य रेडी थिस येत, बुत इत डेन'त स्टोप मय एक्ष्कितेमेन्त् इन फिन्दिंग थिस निफ्त्य लिटिल डिवाइस ॐ मय कंप्यूटर। जुस्त थिंक, वन ऑफ़ ठेस दय्स, माय्बे इन अ कपल ऑफ़ मोंथ्स। त्रय अबाउट ६ ई विल बे ओं मय वय तो लीर्निंग हिंदी! थे बद न्यूज़ इस ठाट एवें नोव ई कान्नोत, सो पुत्तिंग थे फॉण्ट इन्तो हिंदी इस प्रेत्त्य मुच पोंत्लेस, बुत ओह वेल्ल, वहत कैन यू दो।

Time is a ticking!

2007-07-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

wow! I can hardly believe that I only have less than two weeks before I leave! Yes you did read correctly! I am leaving on July 23rd!! After a little miscommunication here and a little miscommunication there I finally have reached the moment where my flight has been booked and confirmed, and now all I have to do it wait! Hopefully I can live by notary's favorite phrase "Blessed are the flexible so they won't bent out of shape" or something like that! This will become more interesting once I actually reach India, or at least I hope so!

Eastmont Swim

2007-06-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

Lake Chelan

2007-06-19T22:45:00.000-07:00

Family

2007-06-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

In the Classroom

2007-06-19T22:42:00.000-07:00

Wind Ensemble

2007-06-19T22:40:00.000-07:00

2007-06-19T22:39:00.000-07:00

A group of friends at Callie's graduation party

Wenatchee

2007-06-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

The Inbounds at My house

2007-06-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

A lot of the inbounds came to my house to roast marshmellows and have S'Mores in our fire pit

We then went down to Hydro Park by the Columbia River to walk along the trail

More Chelan Pictures

2007-06-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

My AP English Class

2007-06-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

I Know Where I am Going!!

2007-05-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Yeah! I am so excited. A couple of weeks ago, before I went on the Rotary Weekend in Naramata, I found out where I am going!! Well..... I am going to Bharuch Gujarat!! I even know who my first host family is, my school, and counselor!! At the weekend in Naramata I learned so much, and I am hoping that once I arrive I can be very open and understanding to the new culture I will be tossed into! some of the recent highlights are that I was able to chat with the inbound from India Pankti, and she was so nice and helpful!! We had a lot of fun together, and I can't wait to see her again.
Here in Wenatchee I am just counting down the days till I leave, which is around the last week in June or the first week of July. Everyone else doen't leave till August! One thing I am goint to miss is the distinct four seasons of the Wenatchee Valley. Right now it is just gorgeous! Everything is so green, and the hills are covered in wildflowers, like lupine, sunflowers, and flocks! The river is a richer blue than normal, and if you look up to the moutains, the snow is still left in all it's magnificance! Not only are the hills teeming with flowers, but all of the orchards are white and pink with fruit blossoms! The smells of all the flowers of lilacs, flowing almonds, dogwoods, and other flowering trees fill the air, and turn it into heaven in a nostril!!
I love this time of year! It is hard to imagine that around this time of year next time I won't be far off from the end of my grand adventure in India!!

Less than a year away

2007-04-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that in less than a year I am going to be on my way to India. The question now is when am I going, who am I staying with, and exactly where am I going? It has been fun to tell people, "Oh I am going to rotary district 3060" and they look at me like I am from another planet. In a way I am going to another world so they are partially correct, but not all the way. I figured I should probably start a blog now, and then when I leave I will get the hang of this whole, blog thing. Thank goodness I don't have a myspace or anything, otherwise I would go insane. Look some more in a couple of months and this should get a little more interesting.