So I have 11 days left in India. It is a very strange feeling to know that I will be setting foot on US soil soon, it feels like I just got here. In some ways I am ready to go back but there is just so much to see in this country that I don't want to leave. I have resorted to coming back at some point and exploring this country further.
At the beginning of the semester the professors were always telling us that we will not realize what we learned here until well after we have left this place. So if I see any of you that read this blog and you ask me what I learned or what I learned about myself I will have to get back to you on that one. Maybe I will come back to this blog and write a final entry on that subject in however long it takes me to realize what I did here.
These last 11 days will be full of writing, preparing for my presentation, and shopping for last minute gifts (I am pretty much done but there are things that have managed to slip my mind for the past three months). The weather seems to have cooled down just a little bit, and by that the temperature has probably dropped only a couple of degrees, it is still well above 100F don't worry.
There is nothing much to report just that I will be seeing some of you very shortly and I can't wait!
Peace
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Agra
My internship has been going well, and I have observing the programs that CFI runs. They are all really interesting and seem to be making an impact on these kids lives. The slums that I have been going to are a lot different than the ones that I saw in Mumbai. One of them was very crowded and the homes were very small, maybe the size of a single dorm room for a family of four. I am in the process of writing my big paper, and I met with my advisor yesterday and he's the type of person than hates structure. So this paper is basically going to be my reflection and thoughts along with trying to write a paper that would be satisfactory for back home if I ever needed it- not gonna happen. He doesn't want quotes from other readings pulled in, and it will basically be one long journal entry ending with whether or not I think the NGO is doing a good job and what they can do better. AWESOME
This past weekend five of us went to Agra, and one of my friends dad came as well! He treated us the whole weekend which was really nice, and the monuments we saw were beautiful. The Taj is unbelievable. It is made completely out of marble and has intricate carvings and in-laid work, and all of the in-laid work is made with semi-precious stones- basically really expensive! We also saw the Agra fort which reminded me a lot of the Amber Fort in Jaipur- i think they were done around the same time. We also saw Fatehpur Sikri which is an abandoned city 30km outside Agra. It took 15 years to make and then everyone left and went to Agra. It is thought that they left because there was no water, but normally thats the first thing you look for in a city, so it is kind of a mystery. We flew into and out of Delhi and didn't really see much of it which is fine, I feel like it is mostly government buildings anyways.
Ok thats all for now, I am spending the weekend in Pune and will be writing furiously!
Peace
This past weekend five of us went to Agra, and one of my friends dad came as well! He treated us the whole weekend which was really nice, and the monuments we saw were beautiful. The Taj is unbelievable. It is made completely out of marble and has intricate carvings and in-laid work, and all of the in-laid work is made with semi-precious stones- basically really expensive! We also saw the Agra fort which reminded me a lot of the Amber Fort in Jaipur- i think they were done around the same time. We also saw Fatehpur Sikri which is an abandoned city 30km outside Agra. It took 15 years to make and then everyone left and went to Agra. It is thought that they left because there was no water, but normally thats the first thing you look for in a city, so it is kind of a mystery. We flew into and out of Delhi and didn't really see much of it which is fine, I feel like it is mostly government buildings anyways.
Ok thats all for now, I am spending the weekend in Pune and will be writing furiously!
Peace
Monday, April 5, 2010
Go Go Goa!
Sorry I haven’t updated in a long time, last week was exams and I had a lot of papers to write! I probably wrote more in these past two weeks than I have ever. I had about four papers to do all over the length of 8 pages, no fun. But classes are over and its time for Internships! I still don’t have an internship lined up, but I am hoping to work with an NGO that does slum rehabilitation. This NGO does a couple of things, they may put sanitation systems in a slum, add proper roads, or construct low rise apartment buildings. The basic objective of my internship is to see how this NGO chooses what projects to undertake in the slums, and where the funding comes from. Hopefully I will get this started soon because April will fly by!
This past weekend a few of us went to Goa and it was so fun! It was great to relax for four days after doing papers, and the resort we stayed at was amazing. It was pretty small, had two pools and was right on the beach. We also had really good seafood, and it was a nice change from the Indian food we have been having for the past 3 months. We got back this morning at like 6am, after being on a sleeper bus for 8hrs.
It is weird to think that I have a month left, and then I am heading back home! These three months have gone by quickly, and April is going to fly. This coming weekend I am going to a tribal village for my Public Health class, the following weekend I am going to Agra to see the Taj, then we have about two weeks after that! Crazy!
Ok not much to report just that I am happy classes are over. I will post again soon!
Peace
This past weekend a few of us went to Goa and it was so fun! It was great to relax for four days after doing papers, and the resort we stayed at was amazing. It was pretty small, had two pools and was right on the beach. We also had really good seafood, and it was a nice change from the Indian food we have been having for the past 3 months. We got back this morning at like 6am, after being on a sleeper bus for 8hrs.
It is weird to think that I have a month left, and then I am heading back home! These three months have gone by quickly, and April is going to fly. This coming weekend I am going to a tribal village for my Public Health class, the following weekend I am going to Agra to see the Taj, then we have about two weeks after that! Crazy!
Ok not much to report just that I am happy classes are over. I will post again soon!
Peace
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
A Busy Week
Last weekend was Holi, and we played colors with the kids on our street. Playing colors consists of colored powder, water, water guns, and water balloons. Being the rookies that we were, we only had a few water balloons and one water gun between the eight of us. The kids in the neighborhood had water guns that had reservoir tanks on their backs; we did not have a chance. When we were done playing the eight of us were pink, and I mean pink. My body looked like I had a bad sunburn on it- my elbows are still pink. We had it better than some other people though. When we went out we saw people that had colored powder all over them, it didn’t even look like water was used, just powder. The next day at school a few of the blondes had green, pink and purple in their hair, it actually looked really good!
Tuesday night we left for Mumbai as a program, and spent the next three days there. We had packed days full of speakers and sightseeing. We saw the dhobi ghat, which is like a Laundromat in Mumbai. People live in this area and their job is to wash clothes. It is enormous, and not a single article of clothing is ever lost. We also saw dharavi. If you have seen Slumdog Millionaire, dharavi is the slum that the main character is from. It is the largest slum in Asia, and instead of people leaving this slum for work, a lot of people come into it. The areas we saw were extremely organized and it is nothing like it is portrayed in the movie (but then again it’s a movie). Like any city today, people are moving out of Mumbai and going north to the suburbs. Dharavi is located north of Mumbai proper, and now this huge piece of land has become very valuable. The government is trying to rehabilitate the slums, but doing it in such a way that the developers can get as much profit out of the area as possible. They have proposed that everyone who has been in dharavi since 2000, and can prove that they have owned a home since then, will get housing. But they have not taken into consideration that most of these people live above their place of work, and by putting them in 20 story high rise they cannot run their business the same way they did before. There are many groups who are protesting this development, and trying to provide a better way to house these people and still keep their work in tact.
After dharavi we went to the Gateway of India, which is located on the Arabian Sea. It is also located right in front of the Taj Palace Hotel. It was an interesting contrast to go from a slum to a posh area of Mumbai. They were two very different worlds, and it shows you the stark contrast of people that exist in these large cities that we do not seem to see that much or at all at home. Our last big visit on the agenda was to a film institute in Film City (yes where they film Bollywood Movies). We spoke to a few of the professors there, and one of them was great. He talked to us about the differences between Indian story telling and American story telling. We base our story telling off of the Greek tragedies and comedies, and our stories having a beginning, middle, and end with a climax towards the end of the middle. Indian story telling is based off of the two major epics in India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which are long, drawn out epics. He did not go into detail much about the differences because not many people have read those two epics. I would have liked to hear about it though, because I read them this past fall and loved them! If anyone gets a chance read them, R.K. Narayan has good translations of each epic!
Overall it was a jam-packed weekend, and we were constantly moving, but I really enjoyed Mumbai. It had a lot to offer, and I would love to go back at some point and look around some more!
the gateway of india
the dhobi ghat
Peace
Tuesday night we left for Mumbai as a program, and spent the next three days there. We had packed days full of speakers and sightseeing. We saw the dhobi ghat, which is like a Laundromat in Mumbai. People live in this area and their job is to wash clothes. It is enormous, and not a single article of clothing is ever lost. We also saw dharavi. If you have seen Slumdog Millionaire, dharavi is the slum that the main character is from. It is the largest slum in Asia, and instead of people leaving this slum for work, a lot of people come into it. The areas we saw were extremely organized and it is nothing like it is portrayed in the movie (but then again it’s a movie). Like any city today, people are moving out of Mumbai and going north to the suburbs. Dharavi is located north of Mumbai proper, and now this huge piece of land has become very valuable. The government is trying to rehabilitate the slums, but doing it in such a way that the developers can get as much profit out of the area as possible. They have proposed that everyone who has been in dharavi since 2000, and can prove that they have owned a home since then, will get housing. But they have not taken into consideration that most of these people live above their place of work, and by putting them in 20 story high rise they cannot run their business the same way they did before. There are many groups who are protesting this development, and trying to provide a better way to house these people and still keep their work in tact.
After dharavi we went to the Gateway of India, which is located on the Arabian Sea. It is also located right in front of the Taj Palace Hotel. It was an interesting contrast to go from a slum to a posh area of Mumbai. They were two very different worlds, and it shows you the stark contrast of people that exist in these large cities that we do not seem to see that much or at all at home. Our last big visit on the agenda was to a film institute in Film City (yes where they film Bollywood Movies). We spoke to a few of the professors there, and one of them was great. He talked to us about the differences between Indian story telling and American story telling. We base our story telling off of the Greek tragedies and comedies, and our stories having a beginning, middle, and end with a climax towards the end of the middle. Indian story telling is based off of the two major epics in India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which are long, drawn out epics. He did not go into detail much about the differences because not many people have read those two epics. I would have liked to hear about it though, because I read them this past fall and loved them! If anyone gets a chance read them, R.K. Narayan has good translations of each epic!
Overall it was a jam-packed weekend, and we were constantly moving, but I really enjoyed Mumbai. It had a lot to offer, and I would love to go back at some point and look around some more!
the gateway of india
the dhobi ghat
Peace
Sunday, February 28, 2010
The Pink City
Short week this week because I skipped school to go see my mom! She came in last Monday night and did a whirlwind trip. She started in Delhi, then to Agra, then to Jaipur and finally Mumbai all in six days. I went up to Jaipur to see her and her friend Frances. When you travel with Frances you only travel in style, and I kid you not. In Jaipur there are a ton of palaces that the royal family has converted into hotels or museums, so for two nights we got to stay in palaces. It was amazing to stay in a nice bed, nice room, and not have Indian food for a few nights.
During our day in Jaipur we went to the Amber Fort. The royal family lived in this fort/palace for 600 years before moving down to Jaipur. To get to this fort you have to take elephants, when they are available. They are only allowed five trips up to the fort so you have to get to the fort early enough to be able to ride one. It was pretty fun, kind of bumpy but it was an elephant so it was worth it. We then went to the Silver and Art Palace and bought jewelry because Jaipur is known for its gems. That was probably a bad idea because I wanted everything. We then went to the City Palace and Museum. The royal family converted part of their palace into a museum and the other part they still live in. Until the current Maharaja there had not been a son born into the family for 100 years, so the Maharaja would always adopt one of his sibling’s boys to become the next king. Well the Maharaja didn’t have a son so he adopted his grandson. The Maharaja does not have any power over the people of Jaipur (Indira Gandhi eliminated Princely rule when she was in office), but he is a political figure now. I also learned that the reason Jaipur is called the pink city is because it is a color of welcome. When Prince Albert came to Jaipur, the Maharaja had the city painted pink to welcome him. A lot of the buildings are still pink!!!
We left Saturday morning for Pune so it was a pretty short trip, plus it’s Holi and we did not want to miss it. It was great to see my mom and Frances, and nice to take a little break from Pune. We are playing colors tomorrow and I will post lots of pictures! Short week this week as well because we are off to Mumbai as a program to hear some talks etc.
Amber Fort
Peace
During our day in Jaipur we went to the Amber Fort. The royal family lived in this fort/palace for 600 years before moving down to Jaipur. To get to this fort you have to take elephants, when they are available. They are only allowed five trips up to the fort so you have to get to the fort early enough to be able to ride one. It was pretty fun, kind of bumpy but it was an elephant so it was worth it. We then went to the Silver and Art Palace and bought jewelry because Jaipur is known for its gems. That was probably a bad idea because I wanted everything. We then went to the City Palace and Museum. The royal family converted part of their palace into a museum and the other part they still live in. Until the current Maharaja there had not been a son born into the family for 100 years, so the Maharaja would always adopt one of his sibling’s boys to become the next king. Well the Maharaja didn’t have a son so he adopted his grandson. The Maharaja does not have any power over the people of Jaipur (Indira Gandhi eliminated Princely rule when she was in office), but he is a political figure now. I also learned that the reason Jaipur is called the pink city is because it is a color of welcome. When Prince Albert came to Jaipur, the Maharaja had the city painted pink to welcome him. A lot of the buildings are still pink!!!
We left Saturday morning for Pune so it was a pretty short trip, plus it’s Holi and we did not want to miss it. It was great to see my mom and Frances, and nice to take a little break from Pune. We are playing colors tomorrow and I will post lots of pictures! Short week this week as well because we are off to Mumbai as a program to hear some talks etc.
Amber Fort
Peace
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
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