Thus marks my last full day in India. :(:( We are pretty much here all of Saturday though, and will head to the airport Saturday night. I will try to update this one more time before I leave! Today we went to our very last school, a school which spoke little english. The children were very sweet, but there wasn't much we could do. I really need to learn Tamil! We headed to Vidya's sister Brinda's house to get fancy Indian henna. I didn't eat anything all through today. I need American food. We came back to Niketana and put on our new silk sari's to get ready for dinner! That was a chore. I need to practice tying mine. We got in the bus, and as we were driving to our destination, we went past an Indian wedding. We have been trying all month to find a wedding and everyone was so excited because there were so many lights and the groom was sitting outside on a horse. Vidya ended up turning the van around and we got dropped off in front (embarassing). There was a red carpet laid out, and everyone ushered us in. It was as loud as a concert, and there were lots of young guys crazily dancing to drumbeats. Some of the girls taught us some Indian dance moves, and then we finally circulated back towards the ceremony place. The bride and groom hadn't made their way through yet - I actually didn't get to see the bride while we were there. But there were TONS of people! And it was so colorful and lively! It was totally different than any wedding I have ever been to. The brides dad came and welcomed us, and many people told us they were thankful to be in our presence. We tried to sneak out again but they wouldn't let us go without eating. We were astounded that we were actually welcomed into a wedding off the street, but Indian weddings are very large and they like to have many people attending. Vidya said it was probably because we were foreigners, so they know we are just wanting a cultural experience, and wouldn't do anything to hurt the wedding. It helped that we were perfectly dressed! It was really exciting. That's all for now! I will try and blog about my very last day tomorrow. I'm very sad :( I love India and will hopefully come back!
Sunrise on the Indian Ocean!
Yesterday morning we got up around five so we could head to the beach to see the sunrise. It was something we all had wanted to do, so we finally worked it out with Vidya and the driver. The beach was empty, with the exception of trash from the day before, and early morning walkers. On our way to the ocean, people were everywhere walking, and Sara referenced it to Night of the Living Dead. Which fits it perfectly! Every turn we made we ran into more people walking. This is one characteristic of India I don't think I have mentioned - they are big early morning walkers, and the sidewalks are usually crowded! The sky was a little smoggy, so when the sun rose we didn't get the rich colors we had hoped, but when the sun finally reached the top of the clouds it was really beautiful! There were several people doing yoga next to the water, so we did our own poses and took pictures. We spent some time wading, but there were these weird looking orange crabs scuttling around and that started freaking us out.
After we left, we went back to our hotel and got ready for a school visit. This school was a special education program which is located in a hospital. Special Ed is in its infancy in India, so we were prepped to see the worst, and ironically this is the best special ed school in the area. I would hate to see the worst ones, I don't even want to think about it. I won't say much until I can go over the few pictures that I took, but it was very hard to see. One girl was crawling around on her knees because she didn't have a wheelchair, and most of the children seemed to be spacing out because they didn't have immediate attention with an adult. The floor was dirty, and the bedding was reminiscent of a 1940's orphanage, and very stained. There was an adult area too that illustrates what I envisioned reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The whole experience made most of us feel sick, and my appetite hasn't been the same since. When you miss a meal it kills you!
We stopped by a shop, and then came back to Niketana to rest. In the evening, we walked to the Cream Centre Restaurant, and had a nice dinner. I got some chickpea curry, with a giant inflated ball of bread. You'll see what I mean. Everyone else got sundaes, but I am running low on rupees so I opted out. Little did I know Miles was paying! Ah well, something to look forward to when I get home!
After we left, we went back to our hotel and got ready for a school visit. This school was a special education program which is located in a hospital. Special Ed is in its infancy in India, so we were prepped to see the worst, and ironically this is the best special ed school in the area. I would hate to see the worst ones, I don't even want to think about it. I won't say much until I can go over the few pictures that I took, but it was very hard to see. One girl was crawling around on her knees because she didn't have a wheelchair, and most of the children seemed to be spacing out because they didn't have immediate attention with an adult. The floor was dirty, and the bedding was reminiscent of a 1940's orphanage, and very stained. There was an adult area too that illustrates what I envisioned reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The whole experience made most of us feel sick, and my appetite hasn't been the same since. When you miss a meal it kills you!
We stopped by a shop, and then came back to Niketana to rest. In the evening, we walked to the Cream Centre Restaurant, and had a nice dinner. I got some chickpea curry, with a giant inflated ball of bread. You'll see what I mean. Everyone else got sundaes, but I am running low on rupees so I opted out. Little did I know Miles was paying! Ah well, something to look forward to when I get home!
Are we done shopping yet?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
I will post today's quickly, because I am tired and we have to wake up at 5:30 to be at the beach by 6:30 for the sunrise! Today we went to an all girls school. The building was very dilapidated on the outside, but the girls were still eager to learn and immersed in their studies. It makes me sad that the schools in America are all so nice and have such great resources, but our education is falling behind. Me and Sara went to a classroom to visit with first graders, and they clustered around us in two groups, and then proceeded to have what can only be described as a sing-off. Then the birthday girl gave me a candy that she was passing out, so the rest of the girls wanted to share their snacks with me as well. And you can't take one girls snack and not the others - because they were so excited to give them to me. So I ended up leaving with a handful of various crackers, cookies, and homemade sweets. I hope I don't get sick! The high school girls were not as exciting to work with - they were reluctant to speak with us. After we left we went to an Indian bakery and got slices of caramel cashew cake with fresh oranges and guavas. The oranges here are amazing! And we couldn't eat the guava yet, so the bus smelled like guava for the rest of the day. We are slowly but surely getting souvenir shopping done. It's hard because India doesn't really have the usual touristy things like key-chains and magnets. At least not where we have been. And most things are handmade, which is awesome, but a lot of times things are falling apart. We have an absolute jam-packed schedule tomorrow, so I will have more excitement to post. We ended with an Italian dinner, but my vegetarian lasagna was kind of cold by the time we got back to our room :( I think I will have to take a few Pepto's and go to bed! We eat them so much here we call them pink candies now.
The US Consulate in Chennai
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Busy Busy day today. I'm going to make this fairly quick because I am tired! I will tell you a more detailed version later. 6:30 AM breakfast, which is rough after having a relaxing weekend. Our fifth school visit was set for today at 7:30, so we had to be out early. This school was another school with a high tuition, so we expected another westernized school that lacks the values of the Indian Educational System. We were pleasantly surprised however, that the students were practicing traditional religious values, and had good attitudes and treated their teachers with respect. I got to watch morning Sanskrit chants, a very heated sixth grade debate regarding family planning and population growth in India, and students in a model-making class who were demonstrating physics properties by making working models. That same model class also has a life section where students are taught how to unclog leaks, replace washers, lay patio bricks, fill holes, fix dents, etc. I was really impressed with that! Sign me up! We stayed for another fried lunch, It was a little taste of Indian fast food. The food really isn't disgusting, I am just yearning for a little more variety! I'll post a picture of it on facebook.
After leaving the school, we visited the US Consulate, which we were invited to. One full body pat down later, we were finally inside and toured around by a girl just a few years older than us, and not so great at public speaking. Then we met with a man in charge of something important with the Consulate. He gave us a big talk, and the main Consulate General who had invited us briefly poked his head out. Our group ripped our speaker apart afterward, but I didn't feel too fired up, mostly because it was so boring. And it was obvious the American people working there don't do much interacting with the locals. So much for foreign policy. When we left, we were without our cellphone so we had a faith walk to find our bus. We finally saw Albert (our driver) who told us to stop where we were, because the portion of the sidewalk coming up was really smelly. Which it was; waste + dumpster. So he came to pick us up from where we were standing. We had some time to kill, and were going to see a Mosque (because here there is religious toleration and you can just walk in), but there was someone throwing up by where we stopped the bus, and someone peeing just a few feet away. Don't think India is gross though! I just thought it was funny! So we went to a shop and then went to this hole-in-the-wall tailor shop to get our Sari blouses made. The shop was about the size of my bedroom, but much skinnier. It was so cramped, I took a picture of it. So we should be wearing our Sari's on Thursday!
Tonight, Vidya's sister came over to talk to us about arranged marriages. In America we think they are terrible, but once you see the other side of the story, you can see the benefits although there are still flaws. Brinda is a marriage counselor, so she illustrated the problems that often occur. Usually the problems have less to do with the partner, and more to do with families not getting along. There are too many family issues to blog about. India's divorce rate is only 1.1%, so comparing that with the US's 50%, I'll take it. There are many unhappy marriages, but also happy ones, just like everywhere else. Marriage here is seen as the union of two families, so their idea is of course the rest of the family and the parents get a say in the choosing of a partner. Usually the girl and boy are given the right to accept, and are not often forced into it, especially today. Anyways, it was very interesting! And this trip has made me judge things like that a lot less. Okay bedtime for me now, I'm onto Wednesday! You all still have to live through Tuesday.
After leaving the school, we visited the US Consulate, which we were invited to. One full body pat down later, we were finally inside and toured around by a girl just a few years older than us, and not so great at public speaking. Then we met with a man in charge of something important with the Consulate. He gave us a big talk, and the main Consulate General who had invited us briefly poked his head out. Our group ripped our speaker apart afterward, but I didn't feel too fired up, mostly because it was so boring. And it was obvious the American people working there don't do much interacting with the locals. So much for foreign policy. When we left, we were without our cellphone so we had a faith walk to find our bus. We finally saw Albert (our driver) who told us to stop where we were, because the portion of the sidewalk coming up was really smelly. Which it was; waste + dumpster. So he came to pick us up from where we were standing. We had some time to kill, and were going to see a Mosque (because here there is religious toleration and you can just walk in), but there was someone throwing up by where we stopped the bus, and someone peeing just a few feet away. Don't think India is gross though! I just thought it was funny! So we went to a shop and then went to this hole-in-the-wall tailor shop to get our Sari blouses made. The shop was about the size of my bedroom, but much skinnier. It was so cramped, I took a picture of it. So we should be wearing our Sari's on Thursday!
Tonight, Vidya's sister came over to talk to us about arranged marriages. In America we think they are terrible, but once you see the other side of the story, you can see the benefits although there are still flaws. Brinda is a marriage counselor, so she illustrated the problems that often occur. Usually the problems have less to do with the partner, and more to do with families not getting along. There are too many family issues to blog about. India's divorce rate is only 1.1%, so comparing that with the US's 50%, I'll take it. There are many unhappy marriages, but also happy ones, just like everywhere else. Marriage here is seen as the union of two families, so their idea is of course the rest of the family and the parents get a say in the choosing of a partner. Usually the girl and boy are given the right to accept, and are not often forced into it, especially today. Anyways, it was very interesting! And this trip has made me judge things like that a lot less. Okay bedtime for me now, I'm onto Wednesday! You all still have to live through Tuesday.
Dinner at Brinda's!
Yesterday we visited the Madras Government Museum in Chennai. India museums are so different in comparison with US Museums, it's crazy! There were a lot of ancient artifacts, like statues of different Hindu God's and Goddesses, just sitting out on display, protected just by railing, and completely exposed to open air and sunlight from the screened windows. We know some of them were casts, but I don't think all of them were. Either way it was different. The Natural History/Botany area was another story. This part of the museum portrayed many different animals from India and around the world. Most of the animals were either fake, or taxidermy-d. The taxidermy animals looked terrible, old and falling apart. And there were a ton of snakes, pigs, kittens, etc. in jars. All white and wrinkly; not my cup of tea. The Brass area had an increase in security, and this building was entirely Krishna, Shiva, Ganesha, and Buddha Statues. Give or take a few Gods like wives and children. It was interesting to look at the intricate detail of each statue both big and small. Unfortunately, we entered this building right as two big groups of french tourists entered. It appeared to be a fifty and older tour ;) It's funny because every time we see white people, we keep assuming they are American, when usually in this part of the world they are European. I read somewhere that Europeans frequent Southeast Asia more than Americans because Americans don't choose to take trips to third world countries, because they don't want to see the poverty. The Contemporary Art portion of the museum was seriously lacking in the facilities area, but it still showcases a lot of beautiful Indian painters. I am pretty sure however, that by contemporary, they were referring to any time in the last 50 years; most of the work was very dated.
When we left the museum we were pretty hungry, so we went to this little whole in the wall bakery place to eat. We each got Samosa's (potatoes,peas,spicy), and some fried dosa balls. Vidya also ordered us some fried onions, which is an Indian snack that resembles thick chunks of the crunchy coating that comes off fried chicken. Then we got some Indian sweets, which are really different, and mostly fried as well.That sounds like a really fattening lunch, but it really wasn't that much food. But this fried food is killing me. I'm glad my digestive system is up to par.
Yesterday Evening we went to Vidya's sister Brinda's house for dinner. Brinda lives with their mother, and their other sister and brother came to eat with us as well. So did Vidya's brother-in-law, and niece and nephew. They gave us each a necklace, and we talked about the city and culture, and they were comparing our Bollywood moves that we learned from our movie. We ate a delicious dinner too! Then we walked back to Niketana around ten- VERY scary. Well actually not that bad, but crossing the road was scary.
When we left the museum we were pretty hungry, so we went to this little whole in the wall bakery place to eat. We each got Samosa's (potatoes,peas,spicy), and some fried dosa balls. Vidya also ordered us some fried onions, which is an Indian snack that resembles thick chunks of the crunchy coating that comes off fried chicken. Then we got some Indian sweets, which are really different, and mostly fried as well.That sounds like a really fattening lunch, but it really wasn't that much food. But this fried food is killing me. I'm glad my digestive system is up to par.
Yesterday Evening we went to Vidya's sister Brinda's house for dinner. Brinda lives with their mother, and their other sister and brother came to eat with us as well. So did Vidya's brother-in-law, and niece and nephew. They gave us each a necklace, and we talked about the city and culture, and they were comparing our Bollywood moves that we learned from our movie. We ate a delicious dinner too! Then we walked back to Niketana around ten- VERY scary. Well actually not that bad, but crossing the road was scary.
Bay of Bengal
Monday, January 17, 2011
Sunday, was another designating shopping day. The weekend of the Pongal festival restricts a lot of activities we can do, so we played tourists. We started by visiting a spice shop, because tons of members of our group had requests from relatives to bring home Indian spices. People back home are getting really picky about souvenirs, and its hard for us to buy something for friends and family from India, because it really won't mean much to someone who hasn't been here, where it means so much to us. A lot of us have expressed our difficulty in buying something so special when it won't be as appreciated because no one will really know where it came from. I know we are all having trouble figuring out what to get everyone, so don't be offended! One girl has a list of things she has to get everyone with specific colors and everything! And saffron was on her list, so we went looking for authentic Indian spices. I decided to opt out on that one, because I don't want to deal with customs. Saffron is sold up with the cigarettes, in these teeny tiny boxes because it is the gold of spices. I'm sure native Indians don't even cook with it that much because its like 200 rupees for a teaspoon. Ridiculous. Once we finally got back onto the bus, we headed to the Ft. George Museum, which has artifacts from when the British occupied India with the East India Company. Indian museums are a lot less strict than the US, each item had a lot less description, the lighting was terrible, and the building was not that nice. It puts development into perspective though, we have had a few hundred years to develop, where India has not been on its own for very long, and already they have advanced technology, and generations of smart children rising up. They just need some more time to catch up, and I don't think it will take very long. After we left the museum we went to a catholic church, and then an Armenian church. The Armenian church was very old, and I will post some pictures on facebook.
After eating lunch, we went to the beach. The beach is huge, and there are vendors everywhere. We went at a time where the beach was not as crowded, but even so there was a loud speaker blaring the whole time in Tamil. Translated, it gave continuous warnings about valuables, chain snatchers, etc. It also reminded everyone that you are NOT permitted to wear a bathing suit, or revealing clothing. All the people we saw were wearing native dress, which isn't really that hot in the sun. You aren't allowed to swim in the Bay of Bengal anyways, because the undertow is so strong. We all went to the waters edge and waded around and took pictures. Absolutely everyone was staring at us, but we are totally used to it. The beach we were on is right next to the slums, and it was completely flooded by the Tsunami. When the water receded before the tsunami came a lot of the children from the slums ran out onto the tide flats to collect pebbles, and a lot of children died when the water came in with little warning.
The water was very warm, and now my feet have stepped in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans! We were bombarded with begging children as we were leaving, and the kids are harder to ignore because they tug at you. Vidya bought us all jasmine flowers for our hair, and then we left. You have to cross over a huge amount of sand to reach pavement again. There is a famous statue of Ghandi by the entrance of the beach that we went over to see. Unfortunately, we had to leave quickly because we were causing too big of a scene and people kept trying to take our picture. It must have been the type of demographic that visited the beach, they were much less accustomed to Westerners. We ended up eating a room service dinner last night, and ordered hot chocolate because we are absolutely craaaaving cake, ice cream, and chocolate! We can't eat cold dairy here, and we can't really find cake! The hot chocolate tasted soo good. I hope I can get my hands on some dessert soon.
After eating lunch, we went to the beach. The beach is huge, and there are vendors everywhere. We went at a time where the beach was not as crowded, but even so there was a loud speaker blaring the whole time in Tamil. Translated, it gave continuous warnings about valuables, chain snatchers, etc. It also reminded everyone that you are NOT permitted to wear a bathing suit, or revealing clothing. All the people we saw were wearing native dress, which isn't really that hot in the sun. You aren't allowed to swim in the Bay of Bengal anyways, because the undertow is so strong. We all went to the waters edge and waded around and took pictures. Absolutely everyone was staring at us, but we are totally used to it. The beach we were on is right next to the slums, and it was completely flooded by the Tsunami. When the water receded before the tsunami came a lot of the children from the slums ran out onto the tide flats to collect pebbles, and a lot of children died when the water came in with little warning.
The water was very warm, and now my feet have stepped in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans! We were bombarded with begging children as we were leaving, and the kids are harder to ignore because they tug at you. Vidya bought us all jasmine flowers for our hair, and then we left. You have to cross over a huge amount of sand to reach pavement again. There is a famous statue of Ghandi by the entrance of the beach that we went over to see. Unfortunately, we had to leave quickly because we were causing too big of a scene and people kept trying to take our picture. It must have been the type of demographic that visited the beach, they were much less accustomed to Westerners. We ended up eating a room service dinner last night, and ordered hot chocolate because we are absolutely craaaaving cake, ice cream, and chocolate! We can't eat cold dairy here, and we can't really find cake! The hot chocolate tasted soo good. I hope I can get my hands on some dessert soon.
Sari Shopping.
Okay I am GOING to catch this up today, it wont be hard since the past few days have been relaxing shopping days. On Saturday, we went to several little stores in the mall to finish our souvenir shopping. That was the haggling mall, and you have no idea how stressful it is haggling. We hadn't done it in awhile, and it just really wears you out! Half the time the workers will tell you different prices, or they won't tell you anything until they see your finished order. If you remember the beginning of aladdin; with the street vendor, you will have a good idea of what we are dealing with. I remember because I just watched it last night :) They say, "Oh, you like this? Very beautiful, very beautiful. You want to buy this? No? I have others maam let me show you more. You see this? Beautiful piece, beautiful color. You want something different? I show you one. No this is a very good price. No maam just wait I give you a good price." It's a moment of relief when you exit a store. So Saturday was the main celebration day of the Pongal festival. Most of the stores we wanted to go into were closed, so we had to work around it. We did a little shopping here and there, and then we moved onto our big event for the day, which was sari shopping.
We all wanted Sari's for the same reason you would want a kimono if you were staying and loving Japan. Sari's are so beautiful, and all the women wear them. Vidya leads us to a very nice sari shop (which sadly I do not have a picture of, I will live but you wont get to see it), and we were almost instantly mind boggled. There were folded Sari's everywhere. We told Vidya our price range, and she led us to which areas would have that. Four of us wanted authentic silk ones, and the other four were fine with a cotton/silk mix. We sat down on little stools and told the men what colors we were looking for, and he would pull them out. Or you could tell him to pull out a certain one. We went to look at the cotton ones upstairs, but the colors were so much less rich, and a lot darker, and the floor was empty, whereas the silk floor was crowded. Most Sari's have some sort of border, some have detailing, and most of the silk ones have different tints when they are in different lighting. There was a mirror placed under a skylight so you can try on the Sari with natural lighting. It's had shopping with other girls because the minute you put something down someone snatches it. I ended up going with my first inclination, albeit an expensive one. Well it really isn't expensive considering women are buying Sari's for 10,000 rupees, but it went a little over my budget. It is such a bright, pretty color though. And a Sari is six yards of material, plus a blouse, so I am getting a lot of material for my money! We are taking our blouses to the tailor in the next few days, because the blouse material comes attached to the Sari and you have to have someone make it for you. But we are very excited to wear ours! I won't tell you my color because it is kind of hard to explain. But I will post a picture of a Sari for you.
We all wanted Sari's for the same reason you would want a kimono if you were staying and loving Japan. Sari's are so beautiful, and all the women wear them. Vidya leads us to a very nice sari shop (which sadly I do not have a picture of, I will live but you wont get to see it), and we were almost instantly mind boggled. There were folded Sari's everywhere. We told Vidya our price range, and she led us to which areas would have that. Four of us wanted authentic silk ones, and the other four were fine with a cotton/silk mix. We sat down on little stools and told the men what colors we were looking for, and he would pull them out. Or you could tell him to pull out a certain one. We went to look at the cotton ones upstairs, but the colors were so much less rich, and a lot darker, and the floor was empty, whereas the silk floor was crowded. Most Sari's have some sort of border, some have detailing, and most of the silk ones have different tints when they are in different lighting. There was a mirror placed under a skylight so you can try on the Sari with natural lighting. It's had shopping with other girls because the minute you put something down someone snatches it. I ended up going with my first inclination, albeit an expensive one. Well it really isn't expensive considering women are buying Sari's for 10,000 rupees, but it went a little over my budget. It is such a bright, pretty color though. And a Sari is six yards of material, plus a blouse, so I am getting a lot of material for my money! We are taking our blouses to the tailor in the next few days, because the blouse material comes attached to the Sari and you have to have someone make it for you. But we are very excited to wear ours! I won't tell you my color because it is kind of hard to explain. But I will post a picture of a Sari for you.
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