My life in India is beginning to feel comfortable (as comfortable as I can imagine it being, I mean). I live in a beautiful house, in a sunny room. I get breakfast and dinner made for me each day, and I live 3 minutes from campus. I'm doing yoga every day, I go running around campus, and...I'm really sick of curry. That is besides the point though; because the point is that I am really lucky to be here, and although there are parts of it that are totally overwhelming at first, it usually seems to always work out some way. I sit each day on my balcony and write or talk to people at home. And I can feel some things changing: it is winter here and I'm feeling cold when it gets below 75F. I have the urge to go to the left side of the road when I bike. My boogers are black when i go into the city and I'm okay with that. The roads suddenly don't seem so crazy, I can sleep through the sounds of night usually, and I'm growing to feel comfortable with the bugs and spiders of my room.
Yet, Frank Lloyd Wright is a perfect example of how there are changes, and yet I'm still quite prissy at heart. As attached as I had become to him, he was becoming a problem. I had grown used to him and had resigned myself to the idea that he was going to live in the corner farthest away from my bed and that was that. However, one night I decided to watch him once I turned my light off and realized he was doing laps around my head while I was sleeping. Not okay. He could stay in one corner, but he can't have free reign of my room at night. I think Arletta got sick of hearing me cry out about how I was going to get rid of him (but not doing it) so she came in and took a towel, grabbed Frank and threw him out the door. Frank is gone!! So it seems there was a part of me, and still is I guess, who would be willing to let him live in my room, and yet there is always going to be that part of me that just needs to have some kind of wall between the bugs and creatures of this world and my bed, however holey that wall is (as is hole-filled).
(Of course, the next day I came home to find a 3 inch hornet in my room. We proceeded to freak out (all three of us this time) as we opened doors with long poles and tried desperately to coax the hornet outside. Finally we went downstairs and told Amma, who came upstairs to investigate, saw it, started laughing at us, removed her shoe and smacked the hornet against the wall. All in about 2 minutes.)
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A few days ago our program took us to see a movie. The movie theater was like walking back to the States, except that the tickets cost $1.50 and you got free popcorn and a drink with it; and there is an intermission in the middle of the movie. We saw a really great movie, called Taare Zameen Par, which means "Stars on Earth" in Hindi. The movie had no subtitles, so understanding it was really hard, but I got some of it, and it was understandable even without words. It was really interesting as an experience to see a movie without understanding the words that people are speaking and only get the story from the visual. It is about a little boy who has dyslexia and yet also about India and the places, lives, and positions that a boy or man can have within this country. I really loved it.
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Yesterday a few of us went into Hyderabad to explore some more. This is truly the biggest city I have ever seen. It's the 5th largest in India, which is terrifying because the idea of something bigger is not possible in my mind. At the center of the city is the lake, Hussain Sagar, which separates the old city, Secunderabad, from the new city, Hyderabad. We went to a the modern art museum (which was really amazing) and a planetarium (which was adorably Indian in how excited it was about itself). There are some hills at the center of the whole city, near the lake, where the Hindu temple Birla Mandir stands, looking out onto the lake. The area around the temple feels totally different from the rest of the city. You have to walk up steeply inclined, narrow streets, filled with various vendors and stores, all winding in and out of one another. When you reach the top, you must deposit your shoes, all cell phones and all cameras before being allowed into the temple itself. The temple is actually really new, and incredibly beautiful. It is all white marble, and is dedicated to Lord Venkatesawara (I don't know who that is actually.) All along the outer walls are engraved depictions of stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and each of the main gods of Hinduism has their own shine where people daily come to pray and just sit. The views from the top of the temple are spectacular, and it from here that I first really saw how gigantic Hyderabad actually us.
It is not a city in the way a US city is: that is, there aren't tall sky scrapers, or business districts, or large apartments in one congregated area, instead the city is just an expanding mass of small streets and junctions that all have the same kind of stores: bike repair, fruit stands, home appliances, book stores, restaurants, hotels. As the city has grown in recent years from all the tech companies from the US that build their corporate centers here, the city is expanding out towards where my university is. High-Tech city, as it is called, is the area around where we live, holds all the tech centers and corporate buildings. Apart from this area, Hydereabad is just a giant village, full of thousands of little streets, the same stores, and tons and tons of people. From above it all, it was incredible to look down and have it all appear to work so smoothly. Looking out from the temple was so peaceful, and the city seemed to function, flow, and work below me. And then I rememered, immediately almost, the chaos of the city at the street level: the smells, the cows, the dirt, trash, dogs, people, cars and buses. From above it seems to work, but living in it, my host father really did get it right: Hyderabad is like a broken ant hill.
We sat and watched the sun set, I said goodbye to the sun, giving him up for the night to you all back in the states. It is such a cool and weird thought to realize that, as the sun was setting for me last night, it was rising for you all at that exact moment. To look out and realize that out and down was home is weird and quite amazing. And then we realized that the sun had set, not below the horizon line, but a good distance above it: the sun set into a thick layer of pollution and haze that lies between the sky and the ground. It was so strange to feel so peaceful, to be living in this moment of real beauty and life, and then be reminded so strikingly of humanity and our impact on our world. I've never seen the product of mankind's waste and pollution so apparent and obvious before.
Looking around at the city that I am living in I got another taste of what Indian life is like: that is, an entire country of people who actively believe and live their religion each day. The temple was full of people all come to worship, pray, and just sit above the chaos of the city and enjoy the sunset. The thing I love so much about Hinduism so far is how welcoming it is, how open it is to people who believe different things. The religion is so incredibly accepting of all other faiths, it feels like an affirmation of the idea of unity of humanity, within a structured religion. I really love it. A perfect example of this: walking around the temple are carvings of the ancient texts and stories of Hinduism, depicting stories of heroes and battles, lessons of life and self realization; across a small walkway are three panels, each dedicated to the teachings of other great thinkers: the words of Confucius on one, Judaism and the 10 commandments on another, and Christianity and Jesus' words on the last. Standing proud in the middle of the lake way below is a statue of Buddha, and off in the distance are the Muslim Qutub Shai Tombs, where the ancient Muslim rulers and their wives are buried. This city is so alive with the idea that all religions speak a common language of spirituality. This seems unique to Hinduism, at least in my limited experience with it and other religions. Where else would you find the writings of Jesus, Moses, Confucius, Buddha, the Koran, and Rama all in one place on the top of a hill, than in a Hindu temple in Hyderabad looking out as the sun sets into pollution. This country so full of dichotomies and contrasts.
Maybe I am romanticizing it all, but at least on first impression it feels great to see a culture that keeps its religion so central to daily life, and to have that religion accept all people regardless of how they believe. It feels like the solution to religious conflicts (and what conflicts aren't religious at their core?) that people have searched for for so long. I've run away with my thoughts, but it feels good to find something like this.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Frank LLoyd Wright, et al.
Frank Lloyd Wright is living on my walls. He is a 5 inch lizard (or other reptile creature). He is brown, has black eyes, and is very ugly. I first encountered Frank Lloyd Wright last night as I was brushing my teeth. Three minutes later, I met his girlfriend, Charlotte, who was a spider and who is, coincidentally, now dead. I stepped on her.
Theoretically, I don't mind Frank Lloyd Wright; in practice, however, I hate him. He is invading my personal space and I feel the need to demonstrate my dominance over him by way of flashy displays of territorial control. These include kicking the door repeatedly to scare him away, watching him out of the corner of my eye while pretending to not watch him, and jumping on my bed each time I discover him in a new location. I can't help thinking that he will fall on my face in the middle of the night or poop all over my clothes. Of course, I prefer to know exactly where he is at all times, rather than not see him. Out of side means he could be falling on my face.
Frank Lloyd Wright has a cousin who lives downstairs in the kitchen. His cousin is nameless and is a salamander undoubtedly because he has lost his tail once already and is in the process of growing it back. Cool. Too bad Frank is not as cool. Frank is not a salamander and is ugly.
Also in attendance in my room, though briefly (I hope) was the mouse (who was really a rat, but I refused to call him so). He was only renting for a day, and though we barricaded him into the bathroom, he mysteriously disappeared through alternative routes by the next day. He did not pay room or board.
Lastly in my room, though in numbers certainly not leastly, is Ant Colony Number 134 who inhabits the top shelf of my bookcase and travels in marching formation from the ceiling hole to the hole in the corner of the shelf. They seem to be carrying materials upwards. I suspect they are building the Antilian Pyramids on our roof.
Outside is a different story. It appears that the Montague-Capulet feud, perpetuated by the Jets and Sharks, has found new roots in the dog gangs that patrol the streets of Doyans Gated Community, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, India. Sunning themselves by day, the 30 or so dogs of our neighborhood by night have serious bones to pick (har har) with each other. It sounds like territorial mayhem, barking competitions, and whimpering practice all at once, each night from around 3-6am.
In addition are the mooing-barking cows. Unsurprisingly, there are lots of cows here. The cows of America who complain of bad housing should come over to India where they are literally seen as God. At night the cows like to express their godly status through loud bark-moos. Also they have become used to cars and people and like to stand--or even better, sit--in the middle of the roads. Of all obstacles, either moving or stagnant, cows have the ultimate right of way on the roads of India.
Let's not forget about the wild boars that travel in packs around campus, eating whatever remains in the burning garbage heaps.
Such is an account of the animals I encounter in my life here on a daily basis. Please stay tuned for more fun adventures with Frank Lloyd Wright, now in mourning for the recently deceased Charlotte.
Theoretically, I don't mind Frank Lloyd Wright; in practice, however, I hate him. He is invading my personal space and I feel the need to demonstrate my dominance over him by way of flashy displays of territorial control. These include kicking the door repeatedly to scare him away, watching him out of the corner of my eye while pretending to not watch him, and jumping on my bed each time I discover him in a new location. I can't help thinking that he will fall on my face in the middle of the night or poop all over my clothes. Of course, I prefer to know exactly where he is at all times, rather than not see him. Out of side means he could be falling on my face.
Frank Lloyd Wright has a cousin who lives downstairs in the kitchen. His cousin is nameless and is a salamander undoubtedly because he has lost his tail once already and is in the process of growing it back. Cool. Too bad Frank is not as cool. Frank is not a salamander and is ugly.
Also in attendance in my room, though briefly (I hope) was the mouse (who was really a rat, but I refused to call him so). He was only renting for a day, and though we barricaded him into the bathroom, he mysteriously disappeared through alternative routes by the next day. He did not pay room or board.
Lastly in my room, though in numbers certainly not leastly, is Ant Colony Number 134 who inhabits the top shelf of my bookcase and travels in marching formation from the ceiling hole to the hole in the corner of the shelf. They seem to be carrying materials upwards. I suspect they are building the Antilian Pyramids on our roof.
Outside is a different story. It appears that the Montague-Capulet feud, perpetuated by the Jets and Sharks, has found new roots in the dog gangs that patrol the streets of Doyans Gated Community, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, India. Sunning themselves by day, the 30 or so dogs of our neighborhood by night have serious bones to pick (har har) with each other. It sounds like territorial mayhem, barking competitions, and whimpering practice all at once, each night from around 3-6am.
In addition are the mooing-barking cows. Unsurprisingly, there are lots of cows here. The cows of America who complain of bad housing should come over to India where they are literally seen as God. At night the cows like to express their godly status through loud bark-moos. Also they have become used to cars and people and like to stand--or even better, sit--in the middle of the roads. Of all obstacles, either moving or stagnant, cows have the ultimate right of way on the roads of India.
Let's not forget about the wild boars that travel in packs around campus, eating whatever remains in the burning garbage heaps.
Such is an account of the animals I encounter in my life here on a daily basis. Please stay tuned for more fun adventures with Frank Lloyd Wright, now in mourning for the recently deceased Charlotte.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Warangal & Vijayawada
It has been a while since I've written anything. Last week we were shopping for classes (if they were happening at all) and this week we begin going to class for real. Classes are really interesting here because in the beginning of the semester a class might or might not meet depending on the professor yet we have no way of finding that out. So we end up just going to the class room and waiting for hours and only to realize that class is clearly not happening. Hopefully all will work itself out eventually. I'm trying really hard to approach all problems I face with an Indian attitude: that is, just going with the flow and seeing where I end up. This is so different from back home though, that it really does take active mind control NOT to try to fix each problem and plan everything out. Through the process of dealing with classes it has become so apparent how dependent we are to schedules and rules in that they give us a structure and guidelines that here just are either unimportant, or unnecessary. Anyways, if nothing else it is good lesson for me in self control and relaxation.
Now for this past weekend...
The stars have aligned themselves so that today is the Sankranti kite flying festival in India. School was cancelled yesterday and today (maybe tomorrow too...who knows really. That's how it works here.) so last Friday we decided to take advantage of our time off and go exploring the area around Hyderabad. Because of the festival all trains outside Andhra Pradesh were booked so, putting all our faith in the writers of the "Rough Guide" and "Lonely Planet" guide books, eight of us jumped on a 3 hour train heading northeast to a town called Warangal. We had all hoped that during this weekend adventure we would be able to get out of the city and see some beautiful nature and countryside. While we definitely got away from Hyderabad and did see some open spaces, it is becoming ever more clear to me why people say this country is overpopulated. Beyond the city, areas are less populated but by no means are the small towns in the country empty or really small for that matter. Taking trains is interesting in itself of course because you literally have to elbow and shove your way onto the train the second it stops (though many people prefer to run and jump onto the train as it is pulling into the station, I opted out of that option). If you don't get on quickly enough you end up standing for the entire train ride, packed really like sardines. And it's hot. (side note: of course this is actually the winter here, so the best part is that while we are all sweating our butts off, the Indians around us are all bundled up in sweaters and even a few coats. It is probably about 90 here right now at the hottest par of the day, fyi.) Anyway, trains are also an awesome way also to see the countryside. It really felt amazing to get out of the polluted city and see what the landscape of India really looks like, even if I was smashed against smelly Indians for 3 hours. Luckily we found a spot on the floor of the train which was right next to a window, which ended up being a fantastic seat to see the country fly by.
Once in Warangal we found a nice hotel (total for everyone costing a staggering 600 rupees, which is about $16...) and went in search of the Thousand Pillared Temple, (which the town is famous for). The temple was really beautiful, though not exactly what we had imagined since it was in the middle of the city. We happened to arrive at the temple at the same time as a group of school kids on a field trip (at least, I presume it was something like this). I need to preface this part of the story with a few important facts about being a white traveler in India. The best way I can describe it is something close to a celebrity. Walking around everywhere to anywhere, groups of Indians just follow us. Everyone stops what they are doing to stare, and when we stop to sit, a crowd of spectators form a mass around us just watching and staring. It is exhausting and it makes you feel like an animal in a cage. I would say about 25 times each day (at least) people come up and ask to take photos with us. It is really hard to deal with because while you know they are just interested in you, by the end of a day of staring and pictures, it is really hard to be nice about it. So, in the temple that first day, the schools kids all stopped and stared, then got bolder and came near us, giggled and laughed, dared each other to touch us, and then started asking for photos. We were literally squashed up against a corner of the temple with a crown of about 150 kids all talking and touching and flashes. It was really overwhelming and made appreciating the actual temple really hard because I just wanted to get out of there. Luckily we managed to have a few minutes at the end after the kids had left to really see it. It is a Hindu temple dating to 1163 and dedicated to Shiva, one of the three main Hindu gods. I will be putting picture of everything later today.
We walked around Warangal's streets which are packed with street vendors as always and vendors with fresh fruit and strings of flowers. The next morning (Saturday) we got back on a train and went southeast now to about 4 hours to Vijayawada where we stayed for two nights. Both Waragnal and Vijayawada are not hugely known for either their monuments or temples so finding the important places was definitely a challenge. The eight of us were had planned the weekend all on our own so it really was up to us to find places to eat and places to sleep that were safe and comfortable. Eating here when traveling is tricky because we can't eat street food because it our stomachs aren't used to the spices and also we don't have the immune systems to fight off some of the germs/parisites that live in dirty street food. This means we can only drink bottled water and eat at nice restaurants where food is prepared for us right then. Luckily nice restaurants here are insanely cheap so it was not a problem, but I can say that I'm getting sick of curries, rice and daal and could REALLY go for a salad with uncooked veggies right about now!!
In Vijayawada we took a rikshaw out to the Amaravatti buddhist cave temples which are absolutely gorgeous. It dates back to the 6th century AD and is a multi-leveled temple that has been carved into the rock of a mountain. There are sculptures and pillars and the views are amazing. It seems that all rural India grows bananas and corn. We spent all afternoon there just sitting and relaxing, looking out at the Krishna river and the mountains that surround Vijayawada. Sadly, there is so much pollution even out in the country that there is never a "clear" day as we would say, it is always hazy and foggy and you can never see more than a few miles or so into the distance because of the smog. When we were leaving a group a school kids (less this time) was leaving as well and their teacher offered to give us a ride back into the city with them. None of the kids spoke English but we managed to communicate things like names and we sang songs for each other. They were so excited to have us on their bus and wanted lots of pictures. It turned out that the bus dropped us off actually farther from the city than we had been and so we got onto a public bus, only to realize 45 minutes later that we had gone the extra loop around a mountain. We did finally make it home, but it was perfectly Indian day in that when we asked if the bus was going to town, the driver said yes, except that actually that bus had to first finish it's round going the opposite direction and then turn around and go back...like I say, it is just a different way of life here.
Sunday we took a bus 2 hours into the countryside in search of a Buddhist temple. When we got there we realized it was actually in ruins, but there was a museum and small replica of what was once one of the founding places of the Buddhist religion. There were scultures dating back to the 2nd century BC, which was really cool. We ended up just coming back soon after, eating dinner, and going to bed while watching Jurassic Park dubbed in Hindi. We planned on taking a 6:45 AM train the next morning, so we had to get there at 5:45 to get seats, but the train was delayed...for 4 hours. We finally got back to campus outside of Hyderabad at 5pm...12 hours after we had woken up to start traveling. It was really exhausting.
I rode on a motorcycle into the city to get my cell phone fixed (which it isn't). I actually closed my eyes and prayed that I would not die. I am not kidding about that.
Coming back to Hyderabad and getting out of the city to the campus was so much better than i thought it would be. Just walking onto campus was so nice because suddenly people weren't staring at us and it wasn't over crowded. When I finally came home to my house I got such a great surprise because they finally finished all the construction and so I got to unpack and make my room my own. It has really made me feel great to realize that this place really does feel a like my home here in India. The trip itself was a grand success for half and somewhat of a let down for half. We planned it very last minute and as a trip to just get out of Hyderabad and see some of India I think we did a really great job, for cheap too! It was mostly successful because we got to see other parts of the country around where we are living, to see how the trains work, and realize how intense traveling is going to be. It also just made me so grateful for the oasis I do have of my room, my house, the university, and the people at CIEE.
There are a lot of things about India that I do not love and there are equally many things that I immediately or am growing to love very much. The beauty of the landscape is indisputable, and yet the pollution covers so much of what we could once see that it is hard to look out at a mountain range and know that it probably goes on for miles, but only be able to see one or two mountains. It is also hard to drive through the country and in one flash see a group of farmers sweating in the sun, deformed children tap you on the leg asking for money as they shuffle along the ground on their hands, or blind beggars call out to you. I know that 2 ruppees is nothing to me, and yet I can't give to these poor people because when I do, instead of leaving me alone since I am white, they just come after me for the rest of the day following us wherever we go and calling out more and more. There was a moment when we were walking through the streets in Vijayawada and a group of small boys cam running up to us, grabbing at our things, at our food and water, at our cameras. It was all i could do to just get them off of me and all I could think was how easily they could have brought me literally to the ground if they had tried. It was really scary and so sad because I want to help out the hungry and sick that I see all around me every day here, and yet their desperation has led them to desperate measures that terrify tourists. It is a hard country to live in day to day and I am growing to understand some of the contradictions that are present in everyday life. It takes time and a lot of energy to understand another culture and a lot of patience not to judge it based only on the negatives.
Now for this past weekend...
The stars have aligned themselves so that today is the Sankranti kite flying festival in India. School was cancelled yesterday and today (maybe tomorrow too...who knows really. That's how it works here.) so last Friday we decided to take advantage of our time off and go exploring the area around Hyderabad. Because of the festival all trains outside Andhra Pradesh were booked so, putting all our faith in the writers of the "Rough Guide" and "Lonely Planet" guide books, eight of us jumped on a 3 hour train heading northeast to a town called Warangal. We had all hoped that during this weekend adventure we would be able to get out of the city and see some beautiful nature and countryside. While we definitely got away from Hyderabad and did see some open spaces, it is becoming ever more clear to me why people say this country is overpopulated. Beyond the city, areas are less populated but by no means are the small towns in the country empty or really small for that matter. Taking trains is interesting in itself of course because you literally have to elbow and shove your way onto the train the second it stops (though many people prefer to run and jump onto the train as it is pulling into the station, I opted out of that option). If you don't get on quickly enough you end up standing for the entire train ride, packed really like sardines. And it's hot. (side note: of course this is actually the winter here, so the best part is that while we are all sweating our butts off, the Indians around us are all bundled up in sweaters and even a few coats. It is probably about 90 here right now at the hottest par of the day, fyi.) Anyway, trains are also an awesome way also to see the countryside. It really felt amazing to get out of the polluted city and see what the landscape of India really looks like, even if I was smashed against smelly Indians for 3 hours. Luckily we found a spot on the floor of the train which was right next to a window, which ended up being a fantastic seat to see the country fly by.
Once in Warangal we found a nice hotel (total for everyone costing a staggering 600 rupees, which is about $16...) and went in search of the Thousand Pillared Temple, (which the town is famous for). The temple was really beautiful, though not exactly what we had imagined since it was in the middle of the city. We happened to arrive at the temple at the same time as a group of school kids on a field trip (at least, I presume it was something like this). I need to preface this part of the story with a few important facts about being a white traveler in India. The best way I can describe it is something close to a celebrity. Walking around everywhere to anywhere, groups of Indians just follow us. Everyone stops what they are doing to stare, and when we stop to sit, a crowd of spectators form a mass around us just watching and staring. It is exhausting and it makes you feel like an animal in a cage. I would say about 25 times each day (at least) people come up and ask to take photos with us. It is really hard to deal with because while you know they are just interested in you, by the end of a day of staring and pictures, it is really hard to be nice about it. So, in the temple that first day, the schools kids all stopped and stared, then got bolder and came near us, giggled and laughed, dared each other to touch us, and then started asking for photos. We were literally squashed up against a corner of the temple with a crown of about 150 kids all talking and touching and flashes. It was really overwhelming and made appreciating the actual temple really hard because I just wanted to get out of there. Luckily we managed to have a few minutes at the end after the kids had left to really see it. It is a Hindu temple dating to 1163 and dedicated to Shiva, one of the three main Hindu gods. I will be putting picture of everything later today.
We walked around Warangal's streets which are packed with street vendors as always and vendors with fresh fruit and strings of flowers. The next morning (Saturday) we got back on a train and went southeast now to about 4 hours to Vijayawada where we stayed for two nights. Both Waragnal and Vijayawada are not hugely known for either their monuments or temples so finding the important places was definitely a challenge. The eight of us were had planned the weekend all on our own so it really was up to us to find places to eat and places to sleep that were safe and comfortable. Eating here when traveling is tricky because we can't eat street food because it our stomachs aren't used to the spices and also we don't have the immune systems to fight off some of the germs/parisites that live in dirty street food. This means we can only drink bottled water and eat at nice restaurants where food is prepared for us right then. Luckily nice restaurants here are insanely cheap so it was not a problem, but I can say that I'm getting sick of curries, rice and daal and could REALLY go for a salad with uncooked veggies right about now!!
In Vijayawada we took a rikshaw out to the Amaravatti buddhist cave temples which are absolutely gorgeous. It dates back to the 6th century AD and is a multi-leveled temple that has been carved into the rock of a mountain. There are sculptures and pillars and the views are amazing. It seems that all rural India grows bananas and corn. We spent all afternoon there just sitting and relaxing, looking out at the Krishna river and the mountains that surround Vijayawada. Sadly, there is so much pollution even out in the country that there is never a "clear" day as we would say, it is always hazy and foggy and you can never see more than a few miles or so into the distance because of the smog. When we were leaving a group a school kids (less this time) was leaving as well and their teacher offered to give us a ride back into the city with them. None of the kids spoke English but we managed to communicate things like names and we sang songs for each other. They were so excited to have us on their bus and wanted lots of pictures. It turned out that the bus dropped us off actually farther from the city than we had been and so we got onto a public bus, only to realize 45 minutes later that we had gone the extra loop around a mountain. We did finally make it home, but it was perfectly Indian day in that when we asked if the bus was going to town, the driver said yes, except that actually that bus had to first finish it's round going the opposite direction and then turn around and go back...like I say, it is just a different way of life here.
Sunday we took a bus 2 hours into the countryside in search of a Buddhist temple. When we got there we realized it was actually in ruins, but there was a museum and small replica of what was once one of the founding places of the Buddhist religion. There were scultures dating back to the 2nd century BC, which was really cool. We ended up just coming back soon after, eating dinner, and going to bed while watching Jurassic Park dubbed in Hindi. We planned on taking a 6:45 AM train the next morning, so we had to get there at 5:45 to get seats, but the train was delayed...for 4 hours. We finally got back to campus outside of Hyderabad at 5pm...12 hours after we had woken up to start traveling. It was really exhausting.
I rode on a motorcycle into the city to get my cell phone fixed (which it isn't). I actually closed my eyes and prayed that I would not die. I am not kidding about that.
Coming back to Hyderabad and getting out of the city to the campus was so much better than i thought it would be. Just walking onto campus was so nice because suddenly people weren't staring at us and it wasn't over crowded. When I finally came home to my house I got such a great surprise because they finally finished all the construction and so I got to unpack and make my room my own. It has really made me feel great to realize that this place really does feel a like my home here in India. The trip itself was a grand success for half and somewhat of a let down for half. We planned it very last minute and as a trip to just get out of Hyderabad and see some of India I think we did a really great job, for cheap too! It was mostly successful because we got to see other parts of the country around where we are living, to see how the trains work, and realize how intense traveling is going to be. It also just made me so grateful for the oasis I do have of my room, my house, the university, and the people at CIEE.
There are a lot of things about India that I do not love and there are equally many things that I immediately or am growing to love very much. The beauty of the landscape is indisputable, and yet the pollution covers so much of what we could once see that it is hard to look out at a mountain range and know that it probably goes on for miles, but only be able to see one or two mountains. It is also hard to drive through the country and in one flash see a group of farmers sweating in the sun, deformed children tap you on the leg asking for money as they shuffle along the ground on their hands, or blind beggars call out to you. I know that 2 ruppees is nothing to me, and yet I can't give to these poor people because when I do, instead of leaving me alone since I am white, they just come after me for the rest of the day following us wherever we go and calling out more and more. There was a moment when we were walking through the streets in Vijayawada and a group of small boys cam running up to us, grabbing at our things, at our food and water, at our cameras. It was all i could do to just get them off of me and all I could think was how easily they could have brought me literally to the ground if they had tried. It was really scary and so sad because I want to help out the hungry and sick that I see all around me every day here, and yet their desperation has led them to desperate measures that terrify tourists. It is a hard country to live in day to day and I am growing to understand some of the contradictions that are present in everyday life. It takes time and a lot of energy to understand another culture and a lot of patience not to judge it based only on the negatives.
Friday, January 04, 2008
driving, Vedic chanting, and Ganesha
Yesterday evening our host family took Tim, Arlita and me to a spiritual talk with a famous yogi. We left the house around 5pm to drive into, and across to Hyderabad's twin city, Secunderabad. Driving here is like nothing I've ever experienced. At any moment I think I could die, but amazingly I made it. I think because there are so many cars and people and things going on when you drive, it forces people to pay more attention and so there is none of the 'spacing-out--while-changing-the-CD-while driving' that is so dangerous in the states. I'm starting to not be surprised by some of the insanity, but there are just so many people, more and more of them that keep coming from every direction, that it is absolutely impossible to get anywhere quickly or safely. My host father, Ramarasimhum made the comparison of Indian cities being like 'broken ant-hills' because you just keep seeing people spilling out from all places, going in random directions, and they are all going about their own paths and just keep coming and coming. The best part of driving yesterday was the small statue of Ganesha that sits on the family car's dashboard. Ganesha is the Hindu god who removes obstacles, which really is just hysterical to me, beyond ironic of course. Ganesha is trying his very best to make our path clear to the lecture hall, but the broken ant-hill of Hyderabad is too jam-packed that he is having a tough time of it. Each stop beggars come up to the window with babies in their arms, street vendors try to sell electric, rechargable plug-in fly swatters (random I know...) and small children come with rags to wash the windows for a few rupees. We are constantly confronted with other cars, pedestrians, bikers, motorcycles, cows, goats, dogs, beggars, children, and street sellers; at its most busy and insane, this place really does feel like something broken, unable to fix itself, perpetuating more confusion and chaos. Did I mention that people don't wait for the lights (when there is one) to change from red to green? They just go when they...want to? need to? certainly not when they think it is safe, because that never happens.
We sat in traffic until around 7pm (the lecture started at 6:45) and so luckily we only missed a bit of the speech. The speech was interesting, it was about the practice of yoga and meditation as the means to reach god/self-realization. What I like the most about Hinduism so far is how all-encompassing it is. It brings so many aspects of other religions together that is seems to teach a very universally spiritual message. The hall was full of Indians, some of which only understood Telugu (the speech was translated afterwards in Telegu), and then we had a big meal of the usual rice, daal, chipati, curries, and yogurt. It was fun to go off into the city with my host family and see what life in Hyderabad is like for someone who is not just going to school here.
On the say back we got talking about Vedic prayers and hymns and soon they were singing out the matras that my Mom used to sing to me at night when I was little. It was so interesting, hearing the words and melodies that I used to fumble along with, it was like hearing something from a past life even. It was such a flash back. Anyway they sang one that was probably about 7 minutes long, which was really amazing to me because it is all in Sanskrit, the older version of Hindi, and neither of my host parents speak it (and my host mother doesn't even speak Hindi!).
Of course, while they singing about the beauty of the universe, the creation of the world, and the unity of everything, we were sitting in a tiny red car, with Ganesha on the dashboard, being honked at, nearly crushed, tapped at, and waved at by a city that is so over-flowing with people it takes an hour and a half to go about 10 miles.
We sat in traffic until around 7pm (the lecture started at 6:45) and so luckily we only missed a bit of the speech. The speech was interesting, it was about the practice of yoga and meditation as the means to reach god/self-realization. What I like the most about Hinduism so far is how all-encompassing it is. It brings so many aspects of other religions together that is seems to teach a very universally spiritual message. The hall was full of Indians, some of which only understood Telugu (the speech was translated afterwards in Telegu), and then we had a big meal of the usual rice, daal, chipati, curries, and yogurt. It was fun to go off into the city with my host family and see what life in Hyderabad is like for someone who is not just going to school here.
On the say back we got talking about Vedic prayers and hymns and soon they were singing out the matras that my Mom used to sing to me at night when I was little. It was so interesting, hearing the words and melodies that I used to fumble along with, it was like hearing something from a past life even. It was such a flash back. Anyway they sang one that was probably about 7 minutes long, which was really amazing to me because it is all in Sanskrit, the older version of Hindi, and neither of my host parents speak it (and my host mother doesn't even speak Hindi!).
Of course, while they singing about the beauty of the universe, the creation of the world, and the unity of everything, we were sitting in a tiny red car, with Ganesha on the dashboard, being honked at, nearly crushed, tapped at, and waved at by a city that is so over-flowing with people it takes an hour and a half to go about 10 miles.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
new years!
8pm January, 1st, 2008 (!!)
Happy new year! New years was funny here in Hyderabad because life seemed to go on as usual (guards guarded, cab drivers drove, Indian men stared, etc.). Yesterday we went to a craft fair in Shilparamam which was incredible. It is really amazing to focus only on the colors of the clothing people where here. It is all so vibrant, especially at this fair, every color imaginable, all swarming around you. I bought some Indian clothes (two pairs of pants, a shirt, and a really gorgeous silk scarf). One of the pairs of pants are hysterical (imagine bright orange skinny jeans to the thigh, and then bloomers around my butt...), but otherwise it was a huge success: I now have really breezy and cool clothing to wear until I can get my own things made by the tailor on campus (this is apparently the best way to get good clothes here, exciting!). Walking through the streets here is a lot like walking around in Kenya, but we were never located so constantly in a city, and so didn't see as much of the dynamic and societal customs of city life, which I feel I will get while here. That being said, going into the city is completely exhausting and almost too intense--I don't plan on going in more than once every week at most, at least at first. Today we went to went on a bus tour of the closer towns near the university and I am really excited because they are really nice and way more manageable than the big city. It is only about 3 miles from the university.
What is most interesting to me about where I am and what I see each day is the stark contrast of poverty and wealth that is literally smashed together all over this city. As I think I mentioned before, all along the roads are these congregations of blue-tarp tents, which i found out are where workers like, who are working on the giant corporate and high-rise apartment buildings that spring up everywhere. The most ironic sign in the world (which I am working on getting a photo of) is a giant billboard reading "Luxury Apartments: Live right" (or something like that) above a huge slum of blue-tarp tents all covered in dust. These people are building the new apartments, and once it is complete they will move their homes (with their families) to a new location in the city to build another billion-dollar high-rise. All over the streets are bare-foot children begging for money (who come running and screaming our way when they see a group of white, rich, tourists like us).
Yesterday I took my first rickshaw. Luckily they can only go about 20 miles an hour, so no one is really speeding super fast, however, just to paint the picture accurately: on the way home we actually drove between a person standing in the middle of the street and and sidewalk. Driving here is complete insanity, but the drivers are so quick and their reaction times are so sharp, it almost seems to work (in a not so safe, kind of insane way).
Last night we went to a restaurant in Banjari Hills, the fancy part of town, came home early and had a rooftop party til midndight when we counted down to 0, set off a some dud firecrackers, and had hand sparklers. A bunch of Indian guys came (who soon brought more, who called more of them, and more and more) who were too drunk and saw all of us hugging each other 'happy new years' and seemed to think it was license to hug us all. Normally that'd be fine, but in a culture where male-female physical contact is limited to married couples onlyd, it seemed weird so we left. It was a strange new years because I knew that no one back home at yet entered 2008--time is so weird like that--and it made me miss being home.
Happy new year! New years was funny here in Hyderabad because life seemed to go on as usual (guards guarded, cab drivers drove, Indian men stared, etc.). Yesterday we went to a craft fair in Shilparamam which was incredible. It is really amazing to focus only on the colors of the clothing people where here. It is all so vibrant, especially at this fair, every color imaginable, all swarming around you. I bought some Indian clothes (two pairs of pants, a shirt, and a really gorgeous silk scarf). One of the pairs of pants are hysterical (imagine bright orange skinny jeans to the thigh, and then bloomers around my butt...), but otherwise it was a huge success: I now have really breezy and cool clothing to wear until I can get my own things made by the tailor on campus (this is apparently the best way to get good clothes here, exciting!). Walking through the streets here is a lot like walking around in Kenya, but we were never located so constantly in a city, and so didn't see as much of the dynamic and societal customs of city life, which I feel I will get while here. That being said, going into the city is completely exhausting and almost too intense--I don't plan on going in more than once every week at most, at least at first. Today we went to went on a bus tour of the closer towns near the university and I am really excited because they are really nice and way more manageable than the big city. It is only about 3 miles from the university.
What is most interesting to me about where I am and what I see each day is the stark contrast of poverty and wealth that is literally smashed together all over this city. As I think I mentioned before, all along the roads are these congregations of blue-tarp tents, which i found out are where workers like, who are working on the giant corporate and high-rise apartment buildings that spring up everywhere. The most ironic sign in the world (which I am working on getting a photo of) is a giant billboard reading "Luxury Apartments: Live right" (or something like that) above a huge slum of blue-tarp tents all covered in dust. These people are building the new apartments, and once it is complete they will move their homes (with their families) to a new location in the city to build another billion-dollar high-rise. All over the streets are bare-foot children begging for money (who come running and screaming our way when they see a group of white, rich, tourists like us).
Yesterday I took my first rickshaw. Luckily they can only go about 20 miles an hour, so no one is really speeding super fast, however, just to paint the picture accurately: on the way home we actually drove between a person standing in the middle of the street and and sidewalk. Driving here is complete insanity, but the drivers are so quick and their reaction times are so sharp, it almost seems to work (in a not so safe, kind of insane way).
Last night we went to a restaurant in Banjari Hills, the fancy part of town, came home early and had a rooftop party til midndight when we counted down to 0, set off a some dud firecrackers, and had hand sparklers. A bunch of Indian guys came (who soon brought more, who called more of them, and more and more) who were too drunk and saw all of us hugging each other 'happy new years' and seemed to think it was license to hug us all. Normally that'd be fine, but in a culture where male-female physical contact is limited to married couples onlyd, it seemed weird so we left. It was a strange new years because I knew that no one back home at yet entered 2008--time is so weird like that--and it made me miss being home.
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