Oh the Joys of Traveling

Ok, so part of my goal is to give you all a glimpse into Indian culture and my time here. If you want more than a glimpse you will have to come here and enjoy India in all it's glory! I'm gonna start off with the local transportation. With a population of 1,155,347,700-ish people with more than 60% living in rural areas, transportation is a big issue..and apparently has improved immensely over the years.
So everyday I have to take the local transportation to and from Shanti Ashram and it is an adventure every time! To be honest I'm not a huge fan, but I'm getting used to it, on a good day it takes about 50 minutes, on a bad day 2 hours. Basically we fit as many people as humanly possible onto a bus. It's actually quite amusing that at the front of the bus it says that the max capacity is 88...we get at least double that on a daily basis. Just when you think that there is not any room left the bus stops to pick up 10 more women. The women are in the front and the men are in the back, and they get on the bus through different entries. To be honest i think the women are much more ruthless than the men, especially the school girls and the old ladies. You would think that these sweet little old ladies were fragile...wrong! They throw elbows like nobody's business. Also, people generally don't form lines/obey the "American rules" of waiting in line. I'm trying to understand the cultural aspect of this...but I haven't come up with anything yet. Until then my blocking out skills from basketball are very useful.
That being said, people are VERY honest and willing to help. For example, it's proper bus manners to hold somebody else's bag if they are standing and you are sitting. People also take other people's money to hand to the bus assistant and give them back their change. I've even had people open my bag, pull out my money and then put it back for me when I was standing couldn't reach it. This is a very positive part of Indian culture that you don't see very often today especially in the US. Also, it is expected that EVERYONE pays when they get on the bus. Everyone wants to pay the assistant and will be sure to do it before getting off the bus. If it weren't for this aspect of honesty I don't think that bus assistant would ever be able to charge everyone because there are so many people on the bus. I don't think I've ever really been worried about someone stealing from me. I'm always careful of course, because there are different types of people in every culture. But i have been cheerfully surprised by how honest people seem to be here.
I try to blend in but unfortunately I stick out like a sore thumb. Whenever I go places I become very aware at the fact that people are staring at me.Hahaha.....there is a cute little boy in the neighborhood where we live and he is completely afraid of us. His older sisters try to hold him and bring him to touch us but he absolutely will not do it. He will stare wide-eyed until he gets about 2 feet away from us and then he starts crying. I guess we look VERY different even in Salwars.
Anyway, these are some of my experiences. Until next time!

Welcome to India!!!!

I am finally in India! It took a really long time to get here....I left on Monday and didn't make it till Wednesday late afternoon. Once I arrived in Chavadi on the bus I had to get off and walk carrying all my things on a dirt road for a little less than a mile. It's totally worth it though, and luckily I didn't pack very much. The area is beautiful! We live in a small village called Chavadi Pudur and it is just outside Coimbatore in Southern India. I am living with a small family that is really nice and friendly to us, like a family away from home.

Last week I went to Shanti Ashram to get started on volunteering there. It is SUCH a cool place. Basically it is a NGO that focuses on the health/poverty alliviation, development,etc. problems in the rural villages around Coimbatore. The Ashram is a big place with lots of trees and vegetation. There is the main office, ampitheater and main building where everything takes place. When I visited they were doing a program to check the Anemia levels of mothers and their children. It was awesome to see. I'm excited to be here for the next few months with all their programs.

The weather has been really cool and rainy. Apparently it is the rainy season here so this type of weather should continue throughout the summer. Luckliy it is a warm rain so it's not like it's freezing cold. Unfortunately, I forgot to pack my umbrella so I will probably have to invest in one here (however, it took me 3 1/2 years in college before I broke down and bought an umbrella so maybe I will stick it out).

The culture of India is so rich and different. I have never been to this part of the world before so I am trying to soak it all in. The majority of the people in the village where we live are Hindu and there are various temples and occasional ceremonies that take place throughout the week. I already saw a baby blessing and a festival for the rain. I will have to write about what Ilearn in later blogs. India really is so unique in that there are SO many different people, religions, history, etc. that influence the culture today.

After preparing for this for so long it's hard to believe that it is really here. But I am excited for everything that I will learn and for being able to (hopefully) understand a different way of life.

Journal #30

I thought that the video that was shown in the last few minutes of class today was really interesting and the director did a very good job of creating a short film that leaves you thinking for the rest of the day. I find it interesting that he used such a creative way to tell a message that we have heard many times. I felt that throughout the video I was aware that something deeper was being shared; however, the audience did not know what it was until towards the end. Maybe this is because it was divided into 2 parts, but I found the parallels between the 2 parts to be very moving. For example, in the first part of the video the narrator talks about how the workers make the tomatoes and the woman who sells flower perfume for money uses that money to buy the tomatoes. Then when she is making pork (dead pig) for dinner the tomato that is not good enough is thrown in the garbage. In the second part the workers live on land named for flowers and the tomato that is not good enough to feed to the pig is thrown out to those who do not have money. In the first part the tomato goes down the food chain of human-animal-trash. If we are to take this same senario for the second part it is human-animal-those without money (AKA-trash). One way of looking at these videos is that the trash in the first part is representative of the poor in the second part. The poor are treated as though they are not humans (like the Jews....) even though they have the same characteristics as everyone else. It seems to be an unforunate truth that eventhough we know that poverty is a problem, it is still very abundant, and growing everyday.

Journal #29

As I have been reading Gandhi throughout the semester I am increasingly imporessed by the life that he led. Throughout his efforts it didn't seem to matter if he was put in jail or not, in fact he said, " civil obedience, once properly launched, needs no leaders." The only thing he looked for was freedom and to do what's right. Not only is it impressive that he continued with this mentality for the majority of his life, but that others recognized it as well. Some of his opponents have stated, " Be careful in dealing with a man who cares nothin for sensual pleasures, nothing for comfort or praise, or promotion but is simply determined to do what he believes to be right. He is a dangerous and uncomfortable enemy because his body which you can always conquer gives you so little purchase over his soul." The fact that Gandhi put everything he was into his beliefs and did not expect praise was part of his great success. The way Gandhi went about creating reform is very different than the way Americans have tried to do it. Gandhi tried to do it without violence, though he did not mind breaking the law (there were some US leaders who have done this, though they seem to be the exception). In general it seems the US is very quick to take up arms to solve problems. This how we make change, by showing others that we are bigger, stronger, and quicker....and many Americans have come to believe that this is the best way to produce what we "believe". I would find it hard to believe that there would ever be 20,000 US Americans willingly to peacefully walk hundreds of miles to protest and be willing to be beat, put in jail, etc. etc. in order to stand up for what they "believe". However, I do think it is more feasible for 20.000 Americans to take up arms and "fight for what's right". I am interested to go to India, and to learn more about their culture and learn more about thier rich history and how they view life.

Journal #28

I was recently reading articles about illegal immigration and what the US is doing as far as legistation is concerned to solve this problem. As I was reading the article and the different viewpoints that the informants addressed I started thinking about how US citizens are not really good about understanding other cultures (at least according to the comments I have heard and the articles that I have read). People tend to say slandering comments about the "mexicans" (which is a word used to describe anyone south of the US/Mexico border), how they need to learn English and stop hopping over the border and to have their kids here, etc. etc. etc. These phrases paint a very different picture of immigrants than the ones who I know. Whenever I have met an illegal immigrant they generally have 2 or 3 jobs and are trying to save money to send back home. I am not writing this post to discuss the politics of illegal immigration, but about how we as US citizens view other countries, and why our scope is so limited. A few months ago CNN came out with a statistic that only 30% of US citizens have passports, and 44% speak a second language. For an international "super power" these numbers seem low. Now I realize that not all US citizens have these close-minded beliefs; however, I do think these beliefs are common. Part of it has to do with the fact that the US is separated from a lot of the other countries in the world, making it harder to travel.. It seems that we are loosing the curiosity and desire of finding out about other cultures/countries, even though these cultures are quickly coming to our door in a world that is constantly growing smaller. I would think that technology would make it easier to travel, but it seems to be taking away from travel. Why go to Rome when you can have a treadmill that puts pictures up of Rome and simulates the roads so it's as though you are "in Rome"? Hearing these comments and seeing how others view different ways of life give me a greater desire to have more cultural experiences and learn about others ways of life. There is so much to learn and so many ideas and beliefs to hear and think about. As time gets closer for departure I become more excited to go and have another immersion experience.

Journal #27

So the conversation on culture shock got be thinking about my experience with culture shock and the different parts of it. I thought it was interesting that different people explained the different ways that they experienced culture shock, yet everyone agreed that what they had experienced was in some form, culture shock (or at least the irritability stage of culture shock). However, with the discussion we had I wasn't really satisfied with the definition we had of biculturalism. From what I understood from what people were saying, they believed that biculturalism is when you take one part of a culture and make it into your own. If this is the case, then I don't think you necessarily even need to go through the other stages of culture shock in order to do this. We come in contact with different cultures on a regular basis and generally that contact leaves an influence on our lives. For example, I remember reading an article where in California there were gangs from Mexico and gangs from Laos who were fighting and did not like each other at all. However, what was interesting about these gangs was that the members both spoke English with a Mexican accent. So even though technically the members of the gang from Laos did not ever go through the stages of culture shock from being in a Mexican culture, they still were affected by that culture. I guess you could argue that since they lived in a heavily populated Mexican area they could have passed through culture shock, I would think that they were passing through culture shock from being in the US, but taking on attributes of the way Mexicans speak English. I think that in order to be truly bicultural, it takes years of living in one place. And even then, I don't know that it is ever truly possible becuase I think that in some way we always change the way we adopt a certain part of another country's culture. For example, after living in Chile, I have become accustomed to drinking Mate. Even though this is a custom done in several countries in south America, the way that I drink Mate is Americanized...so is this really bicultural if it is changed? I guess I still haven't come to a complete conclusion, but it is intersting to think about.

Journal #25

I was nervous to do the Social Situations Scavenger Hunt at first. Mostly I was nervous to have to start a random conversation with a person I didn't know. However, after I thought about it for a while I realized that I will have to do something similar to this in India, so I better get used to it. I think for some reason it is more difficult to go outside your own cultural norms instead of some one else's cultural norms. But regardless of the difficulty of the situation I will have to try to find a way to meet new people in order to do my research. I also found it a bit hard to know what to take notes on, so I just wrote everything down I could think of (and what we wrote down in class before hand). Here is a brief outline of what I wrote down: 1) Greeting started from roughly 10 feet apart; both walking at a quick pace male was going in one direction and the female in the opposite direction The male said "What's up" and the female said "hi" The female made a slight hand motion that was semi-circular Continued in opposite directions 2) Conversation took place 5 feet apart Both were standing under the bookstore sign Both were leaning against the wall The male had his hands in his pockets The female used frequent hand motion when talking Both had made eye contact and then looked away periodically 3) Both females were sitting down across from each other One female was holding a bottle of water while talking and had her legs crossed She was wearing black pants and a black top The other female was wearing a pink shirt and her hands were crossed on the table Both used the phrase "So my news....." and proceded to tell circumstances of their lives Both used a lower tone of voice than the conversations around them Neither one was smiling or laughing during the conversation 4) The males were 4 feet apart standing outside near a building Both had hands in their pockets, there was no hand movement during the conversation Both males were swaying side to side The conversation lasted about 30-45 seconds The conversation ended when one of the males showed the other his small, black, plastic device (looked like a phone) and then began to talk into it while he walked away from the other male. The other male said "See ya" and turned to walk away in the opposite direction 5) I began speaking with a younger male (early 20s) at a booth He stayed seated the whole time Asked where I worked and then asked my responsibilies His hands were crossed and he was leaning back in his chair during the conversation He spoke about his job and his desire to study 6) I asked permission to sit down The woman stopped reading her book and consented to my sitting down When I asked about her book she closed the book and proceeded to speak about what she was reading. She then asked me a question. We took turns asking each other questions about favorite classes, majors, goals, When she was ready to stop talking and continue her book she said "Good luck with everything" and then opened her book and began reading. No other words were exchanged until I got up and left the table. 7) While I was speaking to one male another one came up and greeted the male I was in a conversation with The entering male had a bag of blue candy and discussed his thoughts about the candy He offered the candy to his friend and after a short period he offered the candy to me. He was standing during the whole conversation; however, the male he greeted was seated. He had a backpack and jacket on I found that I had a hard time not assuming situations or observations. However, it was fun to be able to not only view people's conversations and interactions but then view my own interactions within my own culture.