September 26, 2008
Our train arrived in Bangalore at 6:00am. As soon as we got off the train I was so happy to be in the city. We were on our way back to Visthar (home away from home). When we got back to Visthar I felt so happy. This place has become home for me. Everything is familiar and quiet. I didn’t think that I would ever really feel this way about a place in India, but Visthar is our home here. It was such a relief.
September 25, 2008
Today was our final day in Talmin Nadu. We woke up early (around 6am) so that we would be able to go to Trichy, a nearby city, to explore and go to a temple. I checked the weather for today and it was going to be about 39 degrees Celsius (that’s about 102 degrees). It is always hot here so why should today be any different. We drove 2 hours to get to Trichy. I was feeling really carsick and didn’t know if I was going to be able to make it all the way without vomiting. The road was so bumpy from all of the trucks hauling sand from the river. When we arrived in Trichy, I got a good look at our goal for the morning. On top of a hill in the center of town was a temple. We would have to walk up this hill to get to the temple. With the high heat I wondered how we were going to make it. After walking through some streets we reached the entrance. I looked up and saw hundreds of red and white painted stairs. There were more than 400 to get to the very top. We took off our shoes and started to climb. We took a couple of breaks to catch our breath. Finally, we were at the top. It was a beautiful view. From the top we could see the entire city and the surrounding area. I started thinking about this trek. We passed many people on the way up to the top. This was a religious experience for them and for me it was a test of strength. It was a really cool experience. The walk back down was the hard part. I could feel my knees shaking the entire time. I was so nervous that I would fall and not stop until I reached the bottom. Luckily, I did not fall. I was so happy when we got to the bottom. I put my shoes on and gave myself a pat on the back. I made it! I felt a huge sense of accomplishment.
We decided that we would do some shopping before we headed back to Karur. I went into a small shop and bought some fabric. It was a really nice. I was happy to be in the small shop. I hated being in the mall a few days early but this place was different. There was one man helping me. I bought some fabric. It was really cheap. I think that I will only go to small shops from now on. I like it a lot better than the big malls. After shopping, we went to get some ice cream. It was really nice because it was so darn hot outside. We went back to Karur and had a little bit of time to get ready for the train ride back to Bangalore. I was so happy to be leaving this place.
September 22, 2008
We woke up this morning and got ready. We didn’t know what was in store for us today. We were told that we were going into the village today. I was happy to hear that we were going to be doing something new again today. We got ourselves together and we were off on the motorbikes again. When we got to the village we were told that we were going to be one our own for the day. I got a little bit nervous. Manjula left us and people who could not speak any English surrounded us. We went to the village school and met the children. It was a government school. There were 85 students and 2 teachers. If this was a school in the US it would have been shut down in a heartbeat and there’s no way that teachers would put up it. I thought about Adam as I sat in this classroom. I thought about how he talked to me a few days before I left the states and wanted to make sure that I went to vote for the referendum (which I did). These teachers have nothing like that. There are really no options for them. They get whatever little money the government is willing to give them and if they don’t get it no one supports them. They were so happy to have us. I think that they thought we would be able to help make changes for their school. They sang songs for us and we sang some for them. We stayed with them for over an hour.
During the children’s lunch break they came and found us. They all wanted to be close to us and touch us. They sang more songs, and we taught them the Macarena and the hokie pokie. They loved it so much. Their smiles were from ear to ear. We spent over an hour doing this with the children. They were so excited. When we had to leave the children were so sad. They asked us if we could spend the night and stay with them. We shook their hands and said goodbye. It was really hard for me to leave them. We waved goodbye and I knew that the memory of their American visitors would remain with those children forever. I was happy to have another opportunity to shape their opinions about Americans. I think that I am doing a really good job of making Americans look like good people. I never thought that I would have to do this. We got back to Manjula’s house and it was time for us to head back to AREDS Trust office. I had a terrifying ride back on a motorbike. A truck on the highway almost hit us. It was really scary. I definitely prefer to ride in cars here.
September 21, 2008
When I woke up this morning my back was so sore from sleeping on the hard floor all night. I was tired but happy to get up off of the floor. It was 8:00am and it was already so hot. It was going to be another long day. After breakfast Manjula brought us out into their field to show us what her family does to make a living. They rely on agriculture to get by. All of the women were out working in the fields and I didn’t see any men around. It seemed really strange to me. Where were they? The women welcomed us. We looked at all of the plants and smelled the flowers. It was really beautiful out there. We stood under coconut trees and watched the women work. Manjula gave each of us a coconut with the top cut off and told us to drink it. It was awful but I didn’t want to be rude so I started to drink. She must have thought that I really liked it so she poured some more into my coconut. Holy crap! Once I was done with my second coconut we left to have some lunch. The food is absolutely gross at this home stay.
Manjula wanted us to see more of the area so we got onto motorbikes and rode down to her parent’s house. I was so scared to be on the back of one of those things. I was so nervous that I was going to fall off. Thankfully, I did not have that problem. We arrived at a grass roof house. I knew that we were definitely in a poor area. We walked around their land. Two small boys followed us around the property. Manjula told us that we had “fans.” They were so excited to have us. We were served tea. Of course boiling hot tea is the first thing that I want to drink in 100-degree heat. We always get tea no matter how hot it is outside. Its kind of like being boiled from the inside out. We had one more stop to make before dinner so we headed out. We drove to a nearby temple. The small temple was on top of a big pile of rocks so we had to climb to the top. It was so amazing. From the top we could see for miles around and get a really good look at the area. Manjula was so nervous that we were going to fall or something. There was really only one way to get to the top because the sides were pretty much straight down the rock wall. This was a religious experience for me even though I was at a Hindu temple. From this temple, I looked out at God’s creation and thought that it was beautiful. For the first time in Talmin Nadu I felt really happy. I sat down to pray. I thanked God for giving the opportunity to see this remote part of the world that most Americans will never lay their eyes on. I thought about how lucky I am to experience so many new things, and thanked God for bringing me here safely. I put 10 rupees (about 20 cents) in the offering plate and was happy to do it. After an hour, we walked back down the hill and went back to Manjula’s house.
September 20, 2008
Today sucked. It was really hot outside and our group decided that we were going to go shopping in the city. We went to a place called Chennai silks. I hated it there. There were more employees than shoppers. We were mobbed by all of them. I felt like all eyes were on me. Everyone wanted me to buy all sorts of things. About 10 people were literally following me around. I tried to get away but they wouldn’t leave me alone. I hated it so much. I just wanted to look but no one would just let me look. I had to get away. I ended walking out of the store and hanging out in the front waiting for the rest of the group to get done. I got some stares but I didn’t care. I just had to get out of there. I hate not being anonymous when I go places here. I just want to go unnoticed. I guess that I will have to wait until I am back in Minnesota where everyone looks just like me. I know that sounds sort of sad but I just want to fit in here. It really isn’t possible. I am so different from the millions of people living in this country.
The rest of the afternoon we spent time getting ready to go to another awkward home stay. Each of us was supposed to go to a home on our own, but I was terrified to be alone in a village. I was not the only one who felt this way. I didn’t want to make a fuss but I had to do something. Auzzie and I talked to Professor Steinwand and asked if it would be possible for us to make the journey together. I was so excited when we were told that we could go together. We packed up our stuff and walked to the bus stop. We traveled for about 5 miles and got off the bus. We walked down a long road. It was about 3 miles to get to the home that we were going to be staying at. It was such a long walk because it was about 100 degrees outside and we were carrying our bags. Finally, we had reached our destination. We were welcomed into the home by our host mother, Manjula. It was a really nice house (by Indian standards). We had a western toilet! I never thought that I would be so excited to see a toilet. I was so happy to be staying in a nice home with a friend. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was still nervous about the whole thing but I felt better knowing more about where we were staying. Manjula was so nice. She spoke English and she was so proud of it. She had sent her two children to schools that taught English medium and both of them were doing economically well. She was so proud of all of their accomplishments and all they had done. I think that she had to sacrifice a lot to send her children to school because she kept talking about how poor her family was and how hard they had to work to get by. She lived in a joint family and the entire family worked together on their land. We found out that she had two mother in laws because her father-in-law had two wives. Until today I had never met anyone with a family like this. It was getting late so we had dinner and went to bed. We slept on mats on the floor and fire ants attacked us. It was pretty painful.
September 19, 2008
We had a really long day today. We set out bright and early to visit a market in Karur. This was a really interesting place because we got to see all of the different types of fruits and vegetables being sold and how some people make a living. Some of these people grow plants themselves and others buy from a farmer and then sell the goods for a higher price. After we walked through the crowded market we came to a canteen run by the women of SWATE. This canteen is one of the ways in which these women earn money for themselves and for their group. They all welcomed us to the area by giving us jasmine to put in our hair and placing a small red bindi on our foreheads. Everyone was excited to have us around. We were invited to go to one more of their local shops. We were told that there would be lots of handicrafts to buy but when we got there the store was nothing to get excited about. It was hotter than heck inside and all they sold was crap. We were pressured into buying a couple of things. So I bought some bracelets and a couple other things. I guess that the money that I spent might do some good but I just don’t know.
In the afternoon we met with the high up leaders of SWATE in the area. They were happy to have us and really wanted to us to know about their organization. It was interesting to see these people face to face and to get a better understanding of what they are all about. One of the major things that we talked about was sand mining in Talmin Nadu. Sand mining is a huge problem in this area because it has dropped the water table greatly. It has placed unnecessary strain on the people relying on the water. The environmental consequences of this are great. The women of SWATE have used social movements to try to change this environment crisis. Some changes have occurred but not enough to make a great difference yet. The government is in control of the sand mining and does not want to stop because it is a great way to make money. The social movements have been a good way for the people of the community to come together for a common cause.
September 18, 2008
I had my first train experience today! We rode a sleeper train from Bangalore To Karur. It was definitely an experience. The train was supposed to pick us up at 9:30pm but it was almost an hour late. Once we got onto the train I knew that I was in a different kind of place. We squeezed ourselves down a narrow row looking for our compartment. We walked past people deep into their sleep. I knew that the snoring passengers were going to drive me crazy. There were eight beds in our compartment (two of which were already occupied). As quickly as we had gotten onto the train it began to move. We were on our way to our first field visit in India. We tucked ourselves in and tried to get some sleep. It was about a seven-hour ride to Karur. I slept most of the way because I was so tired. I needed to use the bathroom, but in India that can sometimes be a chore. I didn’t think that I would be able to pee standing up in a moving vehicle with water allover the floor. I decided that I was going to hold it.
We arrived at AREDS (Association of Rural Education and Development Services), an NGO, at about 5:45am. We were taken to our rooms. The room that we were given was a sauna. It was so hot! I didn’t think that I was going to be able to make it for an entire week sleeping in this hot room. AREDS is an NGO whose purpose is to empower marginalized people (Dalits, Women and Children). AREDS helps these people create support groups and promotes social movements among them. AREDS helps these people understand their rights and gives them the tools to help themselves. One organization that AREDS supports is SWATE (Society of Women in Action for Total Empowerments). We went to a nearby village to meet with women involved with this organization. Groups of local women use the SWATE to gain support for their personal and village rights. On our first night we were invited to join a branch of the SWATE and listen in their meeting. We learned all about the good the group has done for the village. Women were given the opportunity to voice their concerns and come up with solutions to their problems. We were surrounded in the small village. Men, women, and children all came out to see us. As we got up to leave after the meeting everyone wanted to know everything about us. They wanted to know our names and get our autographs. I don’t think that I have ever felt more like a celebrity. Everyone wanted us to shake their hands, hold their babies and come to eat at their homes. It was really crazy. Everyone was taking a ton of pictures. None of these people had ever been in contact with Americans before. Shaking hands with the villagers was a very important part of meeting with them. The villagers were Dalits (part of the untouchable caste) and most people will not even look at them let alone touch them. It really meant a lot to me to see how excited these people were to be with us. We were able to shape their opinions about Americans and that makes me very happy because I know many people only get to see one side of Americans. We left a good impression on them.
September 16, 2008
I have tired to find connections between the US and India. It is obvious that the US has influenced the Indian economy and media. Every time we go into the city we drive past countless American restaurants (Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonalds, Baskin Robins and more) and American based companies (Ford, Dell, ATT and more). As we drive down the road a familiar song begins to play on the radio. I guess that I didn’t expect to hear “Backstreet’s Back” while in India. What else do we have in common? On a more serious note…The United States and India have similar problems. Our problems may be on a much smaller scale, but they are very similar. India is 1/5 the size of the US in land but has about 4 times as many people. We share many of the same problems: Environmental and noise pollution, violence, war, discrimination (racial, class, caste, sexual), corruption in government, lack of jobs, rising cost of living, homelessness, high cost of health care, sickness, lack of educational funding, dietary concerns, drug abuse and more. Perhaps we are not that different. The problems we face are similar. Thinking about them makes the world seem a little bit smaller. I wish that I could change the way things are in both countries but I am just one person. I believe in helping when I can but should I help people abroad when we have the same problems at home? Who do we? I wonder what the solution could be. Perhaps we will never really know.
September 15, 2008
There are bars on everything in India. All of windows have bars across them. I worry that if there is a fire that I will not be able to get out. We have locks on everything, too. Everyone works hard to protect their things and themselves. Everyone is trying to keep someone out. There are times that I wonder about crime rate here because of these bars and locks. The cold feel of the bars chills me to the soul. However, I feel like I have used bars to separate myself from others. People who know me may wonder what I am talking about. I feel like I have put up bars around me so that I can protect myself from these new and different people. None of them really know anything about who I am. I am thousands of miles away from the people who actually know me. But how can these people get to know me? I don’t know myself in India. I feel different here. I don’t know what to think about myself here. I don’t know how to look at my own life. These bars fill me with a new type of sadness. My guilt is more painful than I could have ever imagined. My guilt about my own life compared to the people living in India. I feel like I have trapped myself in an iron cage. Here I sit. The bars surround me in my little India cage. I often think about why I have come here. I hope that with some time these bars will go away. There is just so much that I don’t know about this place. It is really scary.
What I miss about the US…
*Ruby, Mom, Dad, Adam, Kellie, Danielle, Heidi, Reid, Grandmas and Grandpas, cold drinks, washing machine, my phone, queen size beds, not sweating, diet coke, the internet, you tube, television in English, clean water, driving, safe roads, cheese, cold cereal, sandwiches, meals without rice, clean feet, cars with doors, crosswords with Dad, warm showers, Ice, Fall colors, Target, blankets, brownies, paved roads, shower curtains, ice cream, wheat bread, Hugs and Kisses, soft toilet paper, knowing how much something should cost, regular clothes, quiet roads, not being starred at, no power outages, and going out to dinner.
September 13 and 14, 2008
We went on our home stay this weekend. It was decided that I would be staying with Mr. Francis and his wife (Mr. Francis is the director of Visthar). They are an older couple that live in Bangalore. There apartment is small but it is very comfortable. It is much nicer than the other homes that I have been in so far. I got to sleep in a larger bed and had my own bathroom to use. It was a difficult weekend because I was put into a situation where I did not know anyone. We went to family functions. It was interesting to see all of these people interacting together. I noticed that Mr. Francis’ wife was really pushy. She was always saying “Come Michele”, “Eat more” and “You didn’t like the food.” It was difficult because I think that this was her trying to be a good host but it came off as kind of rude. The culture differences have been difficult to deal with this weekend.
September 12, 2008
We visited schools in Bangalore this morning. The school that I attended was a government funded middle school. It was a small school with about 400 students and 70 faculty members. We went around the school and were introduced to most of the students. We were able to go into their classrooms and talk to them for a short period of time. Each desk was a long table with a bench attached to it and about 5 students shared each one. We were given an opportunity to talk to the children and ask them questions. Most of them told us that their favorite thing to do is study. I started to think about this. I wondered about the types of responses we would get in the US. The children at this school are fortunate because they have the opportunity to learn and educate themselves. They are living in a country where so many of the people cannot even sign their own name let alone read a book. These students are putting everything that they have into this education because they understand how important it is. I heard that the referendum just passed in Red Wing to give the schools more funding. I realize that we have higher standards for education in the US but I wonder why there is a difference in the students. In the US, it seems, students take their education for granted. We think about it in terms of “we have to” instead of “we get to.” We live in a privileged society and I wonder what this school in Bangalore could do with the kind of funding that many schools in the US receive. Everything at this school looked second hand to me, but I guess I feel like that a lot in India. I feel like everything has been used so much. I think that if Red Wing school kids could see how these children go to school they would perhaps realize how lucky they truly are, how lucky we all are. I try to find someone to blame in this situation. The government is giving the school funding but how much more could it do if people in the government actually played by the rules. The children at the school asked us about school in the US. I didn’t know how to answer them because they schools are so different. I didn’t really want to tell them about how awesome the schools are in Red Wing compared to this. I never had to sit 5 students to one small desk. I always had a clock to look at to learn how to tell time. There was a playground outside instead of a cement courtyard. We had bathrooms that were always stocked with toilet paper and hand soap. How can I tell them how much better things are for many schools in the US? How do I not feel guilty about the life that I live at home? I wonder why the US gets to live a privileged life while so many others suffer. Perhaps the lifestyle of the US can only exist if places like India exist.
September 10, 2008
Today our class session was based on women in India. We met a panel of women who are each involved with Visthar. The four women who we met (1 married, 2 single and 1 widow) shared their life experiences with us. The women on the panel each came from very different circumstances but each play a significant role at Visthar. We were introduced to the women and they shared their story with us. One thing that I thought was really interesting about these four women was the variety of life experiences. These were only four women in a country with millions of female residents. It makes me wonder about the life experiences of all the women in the country and how each has a unique story to tell. I wonder how many are masked by what this society expects of them. Many stories might be silenced by the culture surrounding them. As a woman, I want to relate to these women, but I really don’t know how to because we are so different. I have never felt like my life has been hindered because of my sex. As each woman told her story, I thought about all of the restrictions placed on her life. Some of the women had more freedom than others but each feels the strain on their life to some extent.
Some of the older Bandavi girls came to talk to us today. Each girl has been rescued from a life in slavery as a devadasi. They talked to us about their lives at Visthar and the things that they like to do. They all seem like ordinary children but they are not. Their experiences have made them strong and Visthar has given them a great sense of self-esteem and the opportunity to do great things with their lives. Each girl has the chance to make a difference in her life. I wonder what their lives would be like without Visthar. At Visthar they are given all of the rights and freedoms that children deserve. The girls seem very happy here. I have been thinking about their stories. I have heard some of them and try to put myself in their shoes. Where would I be? Could I survive the traumatic experiences? Girls who are half my age have lived more in their time than I have. One of the girls told us that she would rather die than go back to the Devadasi lifestyle. She began to cry. Those words made my heart drop. I wanted to go to her and comfort her, but how can I? How can I relate to this child? I have no idea what life has been like for her. After this session with the girls I feel that the service project is a must. That is the one thing that I can do.
September 8, 2008
We went to the temple of Krishna today. It was a very different experience. We walked a long path to get to the entrance of the temple. Once we got there we were directed to these square stones. We were told to chant “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Rama Hare Rama Hare, Rama Rama Hare Hare.” We had to chat it one time for every stone. It ended up being 108 times total and if we were not chanting loud enough a man at the top would yell and tell us to chant louder. I knew that I should chant this to show respect for this culture but it felt wrong in my heart. Almost like I was doing something wrong. I felt like I was going against my own religion to respect someone else’s religion. I don’t know if I will be able to do this again. After the chanting was over we were pointed up into the actual temple. It was really extravagant inside. There were huge golden statues with flowers on them. People were praying to the gods inside of the temple. On the way out of the temple there was a huge market. People were buying and selling left and right. This struck me as quite odd. We were not allowed to bring our cameras into the temple but there were salespeople everywhere. I guess that I just don’t understand how this works exactly. On the way out of the temple so many people approached us. People are always trying to get us to buy whatever it is that they are selling. People on the street trying to sell things always target us.
Later in the afternoon we went to the St. Mary’s festival in Bangalore. It was a huge festival. I think there were about 50,000 people standing around just trying to hear and see what was going on. As we were standing in this huge crowd small children came up to us asking us for money. I always want to give to them but I am afraid because I do not want other people to see that I have given something away. The festival was long and hot and I had no idea what was going on. Plus, I was really uncomfortable being in such a huge crowd. I hope that we don’t have to do anything else like this while we are in India.
September 7, 2008
Have you ever eaten mac & cheese and thought that it was the best thing that you have ever eaten? That is what happened to me today. David’s wife, Mary, brought us mac & cheese today for lunch. This was the first American food that I have eaten in more than a week. It was amazing. The food choices here have been pretty slim. Our meals consist of rice and some sort of vegetable mush. It has been a difficult transition so far because the food is so different. As a treat we are going out for pizza tonight. It’s really exciting for everyone because we all really need a break from all of the Indian food. I think that eventually we will all get used to it and maybe look forward to mealtime. The only thing that I look forward to at meals is having time to talk to everyone. I really like some of the people in the group but some others I could do without. I guess that the age difference is difficult because we are at totally different places in our lives. I think that the sophomore lifestyle is very different from someone who is almost done with their undergraduate studies.
September 6, 2008
There are dogs everywhere! I don’t really know what breed they are though. They kind of look like little dingoes (the dingo ate your baby…haha). It’s so weird to see all of the dogs just running around all over the place with no owners. I saw the saddest thing the other day. There was a tiny puppy that looked like it was starving to death. It was so sad. I just wanted to pick it up and bring it back to Visthar. I suppose that most people don’t keep dogs as pets here because it can cost a lot to keep them but I’m guessing that some dogs attach themselves to people in the area. The Visthar campus has a few dogs. They eat pretty well because we put all of our left over food into this bucket and I always see the dogs eating from it. They are a little skittish though, so I just stay away from them. I’m a little nervous that the dogs might go crazy if provoked. It’s been hard for me because I really want to pet all of the dogs and I know that I really shouldn’t. There are other animals on campus. There are a few cows running around. Apparently, the group of students last year gave Visthar a cow as a gift. I hope that we will be able to do something like that for them. The other morning we were having breakfast and all of the sudden a calf went walking through the dining hall and we had to scare it away. After that I went to the bathroom and the calf tried to follow me in. WTF? It was really funny but it wouldn’t go away. I ended up having to chase after it to get it to leave me alone.
September 5, 2008
Today was the hardest day in India so far. We took at long walk through one of Bangalore’s slums. Bangalore has more slums than any other city in India. I had never been in an area like this before. Whenever we go anywhere people are always looking at us. As we walked to the slums David was telling us information about the area and while we were stopped a bunch of people came around to look at us. One man was standing so close to us that it made me really uncomfortable. He just stared at us without blinking. We had to keep moving because more and more people started to come. The first thing that I noticed about the slums was the smell. It was really awful. There was garbage everywhere. This sight was enough to make me gag a little. It was difficult to breathe. David explained to us that the people living in the slum where not the ones who were creating the garbage. The slums are more of a dumping ground for everyone else’s garbage. Most of the garbage came from items that people from the slums cannot afford to purchase. I was stepping around all of the garbage I almost stepped in a huge pile of poop. Yikes! Along with the garbage, there is poop all over the place on the streets. Bathrooms are commodities that many people living here cannot afford. We passed a public bathroom but we were told that you have to pay to use it and it was incredibly small for the amount of people living in the area. I wondered about sickness in the slums. I have to assume that many people here get very sick because the conditions are so unsanitary. I did not want to touch anything because I was so afraid of the germs.
Our first stop in the slum was at a small shop. The man working at this place was a recycler. He collected recyclable materials and once he had enough he would bring them to a recycling facility and receive a few rupees for all of his hard work (42 rupees is equal to about 1 American dollar). I guess the garbage in the area gives some jobs to the people living there. I have this feeling that these people getting screwed over. People like me throw out garbage and once it is out of sight it is out of mind. People are living in the garbage of other people. How is that fair (I find myself asking this question over and over)? I don’t know if I have ever really thought about garbage before.
After we toured the slums we went somewhere totally different. They brought us to a huge mall in downtown Bangalore. It was air conditioned and had five stories. I felt like I was back in the US. I finally felt anonymous. No one was looking at me. I was not being followed here. Everything was so much like things are back home. I even heard the song Born in the USA being played on the radio. What the heck? I just had to smile and laugh it off. I think that it is amazing how much the culture of the United States has impacted this part of the world. I feel like I’m a million miles from home but here it is sitting in front of me. It was difficult to go to the mall because we had just gotten out of the slum. What a fun transition! These two worlds are only about a 20-minute drive from each other. How do I deal with the feeling that I have been doing something wrong? I go shopping at malls pretty often at home. I guess one of the hardest parts of this experience is figuring out how to not feel guilty about my own lifestyle. Later in the afternoon we went out to eat lunch. Many people, including myself, did not eat all of the food that we were served. Leaving food on the plate just about killed me. After seeing so many people with so little, how can I waste like this? I am full of questions that I do not know how to answer. Maybe the answers will come with time and experience.
September 4, 2008
We walked into the village today. The majority of the walk is on unpaved, muddy roads and on these roads a walker must compete with cars, trucks, scooters and more. One car drove so close to me that it almost grazed my arm. Needless to say, that was not the most fun part of the walk into the village. Along the way you must look out for animal droppings because they are all over the place. The one thing that I noticed the most about the walk into town was the smell in the air. At Visthar it does not smell bad but once we got out on to the road it was pretty heinous at times. Once we got into town there was a departmental store where we were able to buy small items. I bought some shampoo, laundry soap, a bar of soap and a cold drink called Thumbs Up. It was awesome to finally have a cold drink after a hot walk. I glad to see that I was not the only one who was really hot. Everyone was sweating. Nausa, a staff member at Visthar, brought us further into the village. He wanted to show us the nearest church, where his wife worked and the Dalit village.
As we walked through the village I couldn’t help notice all of the people looking at our group. I felt like we were on display or something. I feel like this every time that we go anywhere. I have never really been to a place where I was the minority in terms of the color of my skin. It makes me feel very uncomfortable. I guess that I thought that it would be like this when I signed up for this trip but I did not really think about it at length. I suppose that I will need to get used to the stares because they are not going to stop any time soon. Walking through the Dalit village I did not know what to think. People were busy going about their daily lives and looking up at us as we passed. I began to think about what life is like for these people. It is difficult for me to communicate with them because even if they speak English what could we possibly talk about? How could we relate to each other? My bedroom at home is larger than most homes in this village. I sleep on a queen size bed and I do not have to share it with the rest of my family. I think that a part of this journey will be to figure out how I can communicate with people who are different from me. This is not what I originally signed up to do, but over the few days that we have been in India I find that communication and relating to the people here are more important than my original goals. We are all human beings and if we cannot understand each other the point is lost.
September 1, 2008
We had our first class session today. It was basically to go over all of the things that we will be doing in the next four months. It seems like a lot to do in such a short time. We were told that we would be going to many different festivals within the next couple of weeks. We will be staying at Visthar until the 18th of September and then we will be gone for about a week. This means that we will have a lot of time to adjust to living in India before we set out into the country. I have discovered that Visthar is like a getaway for us because when we were in Bangalore the craziness of the city just made me want to come back to this place. I feel comfortable here. I feel like I have a place to rest and be at peace when I am here. Its funny that after only a few days I feel like this place is a home away from home. We are thousands of miles away from our families and so we have had to become close with people who we have never met. The Visthar staff is so amazing and welcoming to all of us. We were introduced to all of them this morning. We had to play a hilarious name game to help us remember all the names. Let me tell you, some are difficult to pronounce.
After the introductions were went to another classroom to talk about our expectations of this program. Everyone was asked to write down his or her greatest expectation to share with everyone. The majority of them were about self-growth and getting out of the comfort zone. As soon as I heard this from the other students I started to realize that we are not so different from each other because we are all seeking very similar things. We all want to set out from where we are the most comfortable and really experience the world for what it is and not just for what we think it is. Living in the United States is a privilege for me and for you. We are blessed with so many things that we often take for granted. It’s amazing to see how much we have while others have so little. Most of the people who I have met so far live very simple lives and seem to be content with the things that they have. By American standards they live on very little but here in India they live very well. We have clean water to drink and toilets to use as Visthar. We always get 3 meals per day plus 2 times to enjoy tea and some treats. We have very lucky to have all of this. We were told today that the rain had washed out the road leading to Visthar (the road was not very good to begin with). People in India have to deal with the sort of thing all the time and the government probably will not come out here to fix this problem, and if they do come the job will not be a permanent fix. It seems like people are often on their own here.
We were inaugurated into the Social Justice, Peace and Development Program today. It was really amazing. As we walked into the grass roof hall, the women of Visthar burned incense around our faces and placed a small red spot of sandalwood ash on our foreheads. The children of the school welcomed us by doing a traditional song and dance around the child-god Krishna. This dance was very complicated but the girls did a lovely job at performing for us. It was one of the most beautiful and innocent things that I have ever seen. As they danced my mind wandered to what life is like for the girls who live here at Visthar. They are all the children of Davidasis. Davidasi means a slave to the gods. Basically, their mothers are temple prostitutes. The girls are brought to Visthar so that they can break free from the cycle and become educated women. Thinking about all of the things that these girls have had to go through in their short lives is troubling for me, and yet here they are dancing for me and welcoming me into the community. How privileged am I? These girls are beautiful and full of life and wonder. I want to know everything about them and learn from them. As David has put it, “Out of the mouths of babes comes truth.” That is a powerful statement in itself and at Visthar I truly believe it.
August 31, 2008
I went to church today. It was a Christian church in the city of Bangalore. David Selveraj was a student there when he was a young man. It was really interesting because it was an English service. I even took communion. I thought that it was really weird because there really wasn’t a lot of talking about God. The preacher talked about responsibility and what each person is responsible for. After church was over we set out to explore the city. We had brunch at a restaurant call Airline. It was an outdoor place and let me tell you, if you would have seen the kitchen there is no way that it would be allowed to operate in the USA. It was basically open to the air and all it consisted of was a small makeshift hut. David introduced us to different types of Indian food and most was pretty good. I was a little nervous when they placed cups of water on the table for us to drink. Luckily one of the members of our group had a water filter with him and he let me use it to get rid of any parasites in it. It seemed to work okay. It is a few hours later and I have not felt sick yet. During our tour of the city we really got to experience some crazy driving. Crazy is actually a pretty loose term for the kind of traffic we were in. It was absolutely nuts and at one point we had to cross the street to get to where the cars were going to pick us up. I’m glad that I went to church in the morning because it reminded me how to pray for my life. It was pretty funny though because all 17 of us were trying to get across without getting hit by a car, bus, scooter or rickshaw. What a gong show!!! It seems like city life here is pretty crazy all the time. What else can you expect from a city with about 7.2 million residents?
It rained a lot today. I didn't realize that we were going to be living here at the end of monsoon season. It rained so hard today that huge streams were flowing through the campus. David told us that there would be two more weeks of rain and then it would stop. The storms make the power go out all the time, but we use very little anyway so I guess that its not so bad. The only part that kind of sucks is that when the power goes out the fans stop working and it can get pretty hot. Its a really unpredictable thing here, but everything about India is unpredictable. We were told that the only thing predictable about India is the unpredictable. Very suitable.
August 30, 2008
Our flight came in at about 5:00am today. When we first arrived at the airport in Bangalore I could not believe what I saw. It was a huge structure everything about it seemed so modern. I guess that I was expecting something a little different based on my ideas about what India is supposed to look like. Jonathon told us that it was brand new. We met our first person from Visthar at the airport. Sanford greeted us with a huge smile and directed us to the bus we would be taking to the campus. Sanford is around campus to help us with certain things to make life a little better here. It was about 80 degrees outside and humid and it was only about 6:00AM. Needless to say it was a hot 200-yard walk to the bus carrying all of my bags. The bus was a little bit ridiculous because I think that at one time it could have been really nice but not so much anymore. It was cramped because all of our luggage was put inside with the passengers. Two small Indian men loaded our things on to the bus and we were off. (Sort of) The parking lot was crazy. No one knew what the heck they were doing and it was a mess. When we finally got on to the highway we had about a 40-minute drive to Visthar. It was a very eye opening experience for me and for everyone else on the bus. The bus ride was around the outskirts of Bangalore. The road was paved at first but turned into sloppy gravel and filled with a bunch of hidden speed bumps. I can’t exactly tell you about all the things that I saw on that first bus ride into India, but what I can tell you is that it was unlike anything that I have ever seen in my life. As we drove down the road the bus was silent. Everyone was looking out upon a world that none of us have ever seen and looking into the faces of the people as was passed by them. The smell in the air was smoggy but every so often we would get a faint odor of Indian cuisine. The shops along the road were small and looked a little run down. From what I could see from the bus there were jars in many of the stores that were filled with preserved fruits and vegetables. I saw a man chasing a monkey away from his fruit stand. I thought that was really funny but no one else even saw it. Along side the road we were able to get a first glance into the lives of Indian people. Many of the homes were small shacks with no real windows. There were even worse living conditions. We drove past a small area were the homes were made out of mud, branches and tarps. One of the most interesting things that I saw while riding to Visthar was that amongst the slums there would all the sudden be a really nice home. I guess that I’m not totally sure about what’s going on in that situation. There are so many questions that I want to ask. There’s a lot of time for me to figure it all out. When we arrived at Visthar David was here to greet us. He showed us to our rooms and gave us some information about the place. Later, we took a tour of the campus and ate our first Indian meal. I think that I am going to starve here because most of the food is so different from what I am used to. We eat a lot of rice, vegetables and different types of sauces. Plus, the spice is sometimes a little too much to handle. Hopefully I will be able to get use to the new tastes. That's it for now.
