The End of the World

Our first excursion was a success.

For those of you who have encouraged me not only to take many pictures, but many pictures with myself in them, I am honestly working on it. With that being said, in this situation I don’t feel that I am the least bit worthy of presenting myself in photographs. Kodaikanal was the first stop of our first excursion in India. Being above the clouds, with the views of the endless foothills ahead and below was remarkable. What other word could I use to describe it? If it truly were “the end of the world” as many say, I would not try to encourage an explanation, nor seek out my bucket-list to check off. There would be no need to reassure myself from any skepticism. I would be perfectly content just to be in this location if it truly were “the end of the world.”

The trip started off with a train ride from the central station in Chennai eight hours through to Kodaikanal, also in the Tamil Nadu state. It was my first experience on an overnight train, or any train, in India. It was a bit different than a train in Europe, in Poland different from the kanapki, REDDs, and Polish speaking people that we would sometimes find. In place, there was paratha with veg curry, six fold down beds per compartment riding through a tropical climate with air-conditioning and a “caution, rat trap available under seat” sign. After watching a Tollywood movie, we pulled out our sleepsacks in order to get as much (or as little) sleep as possible before our ride up the hills/small mountains to our hotel.

The few days in Kodaikanal was spent trekking through the hills, souvenir shopping, visiting primary schools for girls, the old American missionary cemetery, eating out at delicious restaurants including Tibetan, American, and Indian, with lots of chocolate and ice cream. Kodaikanal is known as the “Little Switzerland” of India. We saw many wild animals including bison and monkeys. I was in my own world there. It was amazing to be back in the woods, in the cooler climate (probably even cooler than back home). Although, this time instead of the Upper Peninsula forest we were hiking in what is known as an evergreen tropical forest: a combination of the somewhat familiar evergreen, oak, and pine combined with the tropical/subtropical lush, thick vines and palm trees. It was my favorite time of the trip. I could live here. After just a few days, I realized how much I do not want to live in a city, as much as I love it. I am still extremely curious about daily life in a metropolitan Indian city and excited about my daily routines. However, nothing compares to the quaint, small, town surrounded by mountains and beautiful scenery. I’m sorry for those of you who are city people, but I will go off a bit about being in love with the green. I loved that our trek guide was what some would consider a hippy. Having our own Woodstock on the rocks was mentioned. I loved the Indian women whom I encountered whom were both extremely liberal, but in those same instances very passionate and proud of their heritage. There were numerous pear trees, jackfruits, vegetable stands, as well as homemade peanut brittle. The smiling women wishing us good morning were countless. There were several organic cafes with black coffee as well as white (with milk), including many homemade and freshly made dishes. The cows walking along the street acted as if humans were just as much their comfort zone as fellow cows. There were family houses with balconies: solitude could be found by just sitting outside. It had been quite helpful to be here after visiting a Buddhist retreat center and learning how to meditate.

With the connection many of us felt towards Kodai, it was difficult to leave and quite a change to move down the mountain to Madurai a neighboring city. There we were able to visit a Hindu temple and had the pleasure of being blessed by an elephant! The Rooftop restaurant on top of our hotel had an amazing view all around the city. We enjoyed several meals with some sort of bread: naan, paratha, or roti specifically with many veg curries, along with fresh fruit juices (pineapple and green, orange juice) as well as cold Indian beers, lagers and strong. Most notable for me was the day we spent at the women’s college having a discussion with the college students about gender in India as well as lifestyle. This whole trip was very educational for me in many ways; however, I seemed to learn the most on this hot day interacting with the women and asking those questions many of us had been considering. We talked about things that are quite unfamiliar to us as Americans, including topics of marriage. We talked about the focus on individualism and dependency in India being different than that in the United States. Nearly ninety-nine percent of Indians are still married through arranged marriages. It is normal for us from a western culture to think, “I would hate that” or “why?” In fact I was extremely impressed and awe-inspired by these women. It is just something that they are familiar with and have never questioned. More than that, it is the honor and reputation of their family they consider, which takes precedence over a love marriage. If neighbors or relatives found out about a love marriage, they would question the girl’s mother, yell at her, and probably lose some respect for her and her family. It is more than being just about her or him, but it is about the family, “family” including what we would consider extended: grandparents, aunts, uncles, and so on. The respect, loyalty, integrity, and honor that families have for one another in India is tremendously moving.

It is hard to believe how much one can learn after a few weeks immersed in another culture. Coming back to Chennai, to my college, my bedroom, and the now familiar campus made me realize how much I have learned from just one week to another.

A Little Americanization

It has been a week of some Americanization, or maybe you would call it Westernization. If not familiar too much with the nation, some may think as a so-called developing nation, India may not have those familiar fastfood establishments, movies, or stores. From my experience, in many ways India has had more of these institutions than Poland for example. Although, it has only been two weeks and one day since I have arrived in India, I have had quite a few encounters with Americanization. Maybe westernization is a better word because of the stronger history India has with Great Britain than the United States. There are those fastfood places like McDonald’s, Domino’s and Pizza Hut. American movies are playing everywhere, including Harry Potter, in large malls with many English or western stores. Although filter coffee is not common in India, there is a chain of cafes, Café Coffee Day otherwise known as CCD.

Our program supervisor has been wonderful. She has made sure we feel as at home as possible and have everything we need. For me, I feel like there has been a little too much of America in our schedule, only because I came to India to experience India. Looking at it from a different angle, these encounters with westernized places is just another way to learn about the culture. I am a little concerned to think that it has been two weeks here in India, and some of my peers are already seeking out those familiar places. Even so, it has been interesting to be able to compare Domino’s, movie theaters, and coffee houses with those back home.

Wednesday evening our program supervisor took us to the mall. There we went to see a movie, an American film, Larry Crown. The seats in the theater were extremely comfortable, like lounge chairs, not to mention the tickets were about $3 with popcorn being $1 for an individual serving. The difference I thought was the most interesting and best, was intermission. A fifteen or so minute break was built into the movie half way through to encourage viewers to use the restrooms, order more popcorn, coffee, or ice cream, maybe a pop. No subtitles were used. Because India has many state languages and it can even be difficult for Indians of other parts of the country to communicate with one another, English is widely spoken. My classes, which are with Indian students, are all in English. An inauguration ceremony I went to was also in English. Announcements at the intercity train stations are in English. This is quite normal.

With that being said, English was not spoken by the man that my friends tried to order Domino’s pizza from last night. After being able to order the three pizzas, two breadsticks, and three pops for seven people, the pizza came. The faces of Holly and Jess were quite priceless. It turned out all the pizzas you order from Dominos are single servings; you know those single ones you can get at Pizza Hut for instance, with four little slices. They were really delicious! That evening was followed by Oreos and peanut butter for those feeling somewhat homesick.

Today I have to say, I honestly was looking forward to a little bit of my familiar westernization. Our rickshaw ride after bartering with a few drivers was successful to Café Coffee Day. I had a large cup of brewed coffee. Brewed coffee is not very prevalent. I never thought I would miss coffee that much. If you would like to know, I was half looking forward to the taste, but half seeking out what it would do to my system. It has been a change in diet: home it was a lot of raw vegetables for me, along with whole grains and coffee every morning, to here, white rice and curry. I LOVE the food here; however, I had no idea how much my system would change, the drop in fiber I would consume: making many of us have problems with…regulation. At any rate, the coffee was delicious! It is much more exciting to consume coffee in Chennai, India than at home.

Slumdog Millionaire

The first week to my five months in India have been extremely exciting, rewarding, interesting, along with many learning moments. One thing I have learned within just one week is that time runs on a different scale here. We found that out one day after waiting six hours to accomplish a minimal task with the Dean here at Madras Christian College. But within those six hours the seven of us American students took turns going to buy fruit for everyone, which is extremely easy to do here, along with water. Today, we just spent several hours traveling across the city to go to Immigration to register only to find out they had closed for lunch and for the day. Anu, our program supervisor gave us a lifeline tip for adjusting to this part of the culture. She told us that in the States we may think of tasks as in, “I need to do this today by this time.” In India we need to think more along the lines of, “I need to get this and this accomplished sometime this week.” Eventually it will get done, but it will help some people keep their sanity.

This week has been wonderful overall though. I am studying in the Social Work department here at MCC, choosing three classes, taking two mandatory classes (one for credit and one not) and doing a six credit internship or field placement. Tuesday and Thursday of this week (and next week) we spent time at two non-profits that social work students intern at. One was called the India Welfare Organization and the other was Don Bosco, which I loved. Don Bosco was in a worse part of town I would say, especially than from ICWO. When we walked in, there were already two boys maybe around ages twelve and ten or so. One was crying, the other was trying to support him. Don Bosco is an organization that works with street children, homeless (or pavement dwellers as they are sometimes called), run away children and children in the slums. They also have a couple programs for women and those mothers. It was such a wonderful organization. Allan and Gnanamani showed us around throughout the day and were sooo helpful. All Indian people have been the most amazing that I have met so far. I am not sure if it is that initial phase of us being foreign and exciting for them, part of their hospitable culture, or more of just a sincere friendship-oriented mind.

Our final stop of the day with Don Bosco was to the slums… when someone asked Allan (the student leading us) what happens to the children that don’t want to follow them or go with them to the shelter, he responded, “Have you seen Slumdog Millionaire? That is what happens.” It was powerful to hear that, and then to see the slums. I don’t have many words to describe what we saw. I have never seen that many flies or such a densely populated area in my life. There were 4000 people living in the size of a very small neighborhood block. It was almost hard to feel extremely depressed while being there because the children and even the adults were extremely excited to see us, again, just as celebrities. There were stray dogs laying down, hardly breathing with their ribs showing. Children were running around naked or with underwear on. Mothers were sitting on the ground cooking whatever was possible. All homes in which a family lives were connected to one another. They were the size of my bathroom back home (including the tub), quite literally. The aisles in between homes were about one meter long, barely able to fit two people. At one point we walked pass the communal bathroom, a large piece of land in which everyone can go and sit and do their business. Nonetheless, everyone seemed happy and social. Many people were interacting with one another. As we walked people would come out of their houses to see us, smile, or even shake our hand. Children kept running up to us and asked us our name, probably the only thing they could say in English. It is so difficult for me to think that this is their excitement for the day. Their daily lives are probably so similar and what I might think as boring, yet they seem to be the happiest people.

This was somewhat opposite to the weekend we just spent at a resort in a place called Mamallapuram, which is a very touristy town outside of Chennai. They arranged a whole evening and dinner for us seven American students at a resort, The Radison. It was the most gorgeous places I have ever been. We were on the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean with a pool overlooking the beach if we chose not to swim in the ocean. We then had a fancy buffet dinner with both veg (vegetarian) and non-veg (non-vegetarian) options, rice, of course naan, some fruit and vegetable dishes, soup, and some ice cream for dessert. We even had our own special firework show. As much as I have been loving India, it was nice to see a more calm side of India away from the business and many people.
I get to start classes tomorrow which I am so excited about, and then will visit two more NGO’s this week. Next week we are off on an excursion! After that I will get to start my internship at whichever NGO I decide.

Many Firsts

It was my first of many things, including every daily meal, and tea time between sixteen (4) and seventeen (5) in the afternoon, chai tea that is. Something resembling Ramon Noodles accompanied by curry was for breakfast, along with chai tea. Lunch around 12:30 was rice and several curries along with buttermilk, one of the first things my taste buds did not completely enjoy, and lemon water. Dinner was again rice and curries. This time, one of the most notable things of the day in my opinion, was eating with my hands. It is not necessary or expected by any means. Yet it is part of the traditional culture – it is a preference. Along with the five other BCA students and the help of two extremely hospitable, friendly, nice Indian girls, we learned the technique of eating rice and watery curry with our right hand (the left is used in the bathroom).

Along with some things that I have expected, there have been many instances I did not expect, like my identifying as Caucasian causing me to be treated like a celebrity here on the Madras Christian College (MCC) campus. We have the only three air-conditioned rooms among two dormitories; our coordinator or warden is getting us a refrigerator, toaster, and oven for the seven of us students to use (They really insist); water is turned off three times per day here, but not in our rooms: we have our own water tank.
While all MCC girl students must follow a curfew of 6:30 pm, we were told that did not apply to us (this is not a unisex campus). As nice as it sounds I am perfectly happy to live like any other Indian citizen (even in 97 degree heat and 100 percent humidity). I do not expect any of this. It just goes to show how hospitable the Indian people are.
For being a campus in a city of nearly ten million people, MCC consists of much forest land. There are so many deer roaming around campus, numerous large bats, birds singing, and trees with dangling branches the size of softball bats. We walked around to the different departments and saw where students like to mingle and talk. We finally were able to see the Social Work Department which is one of the best departments on campus, and also houses the International Social Work Department. Our classes are supposed to start on Monday, yet we will just have to see how well that goes, since we do not even know which classes we can choose from yet. The one thing we were told today by Anu, our supervisor and host at MCC was that if we are going to learn one thing while being in India, it will be to just go with the flow. That is something I think will be good to learn and have in everyday life.

We spent the last couple days shopping which was quite exciting, however pretty exhausting. We went into one big shop with many floors, the first floor = saris; second = salwar kameez, a set of pants and a top, which was what we were searching for. These are typical Indian clothes for women, a bit more casual, maybe than saris. The third and fourth floors were for men. The place was packed because it was a weekend day. It was also the beginning of the month, hence the crazy lines at the atm machines as well, everyone gets their pay check the first of the month. We all bought at least one kameez along with a pair of salwars. They are quite comfortable and breathable in these extreme temperatures.
Our first meal at a restaurant was interesting in itself. The meal was delicious! The meal began with a banana leaf placed in front of everyone. A little water was poured over top to spread around with the right hand. Several servers came by and delivered us a flat bread (not naan), a chipati (sp?), three different curries, an onion kind of salad, a sweet ball made of some sort of nuts, and rice to combat the hotness and to finish the meal. It was delicious, and again was eaten with our hands!
Now we are back home and ready to go to bed. Yet it is hard to just fall asleep or read a book when there is so much to reflect on. I keep thinking about the driving here in India. I cannot tell you how many mopeds take up the streets as vehicles weave in and out of each other. Further, is the number of women riding on the back of a moped, holding onto nothing, riding side-saddle in a sari. I do not know how they can do it, but I think I need to build up a little more courage before I even think about trying that one.
I just love that about India so far: everything that happens here or that I experience is something new, something I have not seen or am use to.