It has been a crazy, crazy couple of days... I'll try to quickly recap the highlights for ya'lls.
This last week was Durga Puja - a week of prayer devoted to the Devi Goddess - and the celebration culminated on Sunday and Monday. Well actually, to be honest, I was sort of confused because there's a lot of celebrating going on. Basically there's Durga Puja and there's the Ramlila Festival (the story of the Ramayana) and they both culminated within a day of each other and with my over-stimulated brain and lack of Hindi I get confused. But here's the jist of the past two days:
On Sunday I woke up and did puja (prayer) with my Aunty and her grandchildren (Litika and Shavin). We prayed at her home temple and then 7 little girls and one boy came over (representing the seven goddesses and RAM). We fed them all puree (like chipoti but SOAKED in grease), haval (I think that's how you spell it), and chana (chickpeas, basically) and gave them all bindis, 10 rupees, and a red bracelet for auspiciousness. The children were all from a poor famliy that lives nearby and were the cutest EVER. After they left my entire extended family came over with vats of food from a local restuarant and we fed 300 local people. It seems, for Hindus, that half of the celebrations are just giving things away. It was pretty awesome.
I went to Bhangra class in the afternoon. I can't feel my thighs right now because we had class on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday our teacher forced us to do about 20 squats to hops (literally, we squated then bounced up into the Bhangra position and danced like maniacs). I am going to post a Bhangra video for you all to see. It's the best dance style ever... probably.
Anyway, this is sort of a wam-bam-thank-you-mam post... but last night was Dasara (the last day of the epic Ramayana, when Ram kills Ravana the demon). I went to Lajpat Nagar-II, the neighborhood next to mine, and watched four Ravana effigies get blown to pieces. THere were fireworks being shot off about 50 feet away from me, and these two-story high effigies full of bottle rockets, fireworks, and other explosives were set up in the square. When they blew up it was like a really contained atomic bomb; a little frightening but also amazing. I mean, really. Amazing. So much fun!!!
It's been days of festivities. We also went to a Darga this afternoon (a Sufi tomb) and watched musicians play Qawwli, Sufi "trance" music basically. It was great. We were led by a guest lecturer who I wish was our Academic Director because he was kind AND knowledgeable. Apparently those things can go together, despite what our current AD thinks....
anyway, love to you all. I'm still alive and kicking. This place is crazy in the best of ways.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
the good, the bad, and the puja
Sorry for the week-long hiatus. It has been a hectic week, and I have much to report. I'll just include some highlights/lowlights for you all.
First of all, my computer is lost in transit between the U.S. and India - that's a major lowlight that needs no further discussion.
Another lowlight (I'll move to the better things) is that I am finding this program to be a bit, well, unfitting. I find the lectures fascinating and I really like learning Hindi and my Bollywood dancing workshop is the most amazing thing every (really), but the Academic Director is really hard to take. One day in class she referenced some obscure piece of literature and when we replied that we had not read it she exclaimed, "DO YOU GUYS EVEN READ?"
Ah ha. That's very funny, right? I laughed uproariously. Don't worry, dear parents, this will not be another one of my brushes with authority (a la Miss Gates), but she tries my patience and my deep commitment to human decency. Being treated like a petulant child cramps my style a bit. Let's leave it at that.
But, there is a silver lining, and it might actually be gold.
I really, really love India, and I really, really love a lot of the people on my program. I've found a great support group (we can commiserate about some of the less fun aspects of the program) and my homestay family is to die for. Truly. Aunty is now asking me to call her "mama" (I'll call her H-Mama on here, so that my own mother does not become confused) and last night the extended family came over for tea. We will be celebrating Durga Puja on Sunday and I'll get to hang out with the whole family and get down and Hindu with it all. I'm pretty excited.
On Sunday I went to a Bhangra lesson (Sikh dancing from the Punjab) with some of my friends and had the realization that we may have been in India too long since we think that our Sikh teacher is like a gangster, and that Kurtas (long Indian-style shirts) are "attractive." But Bhangra's crazy and by the end I am covered in sweat and feel great.
Also, I'm making headway with my Independent Study Project. I went to the National Gallery of Modern Art on Sunday and I came across the work of Nandalal Bose, a nationalist artist who sort of headed the Bengal School movement. He's pretty amazing, and used traditional Indian materials in his work. So, I'm thinking I'm going to go to West Bengal and sort of retrace his steps (from Calcutta - Darjeeling and all in between) and I'll be simultaneously writing a research paper about his philosophies on nationalism and myth and mature in artwork, and also doing my own collage work from found materials. I'm still trying to pass off some of the aspects of the project to the Academic Director. She's pretty supportive but also a major art historian and has her own ideas about "what is interesting" to study. If the "practicum" portion of the project doesn't fly I'll just make the art anyway, because that's kind of the point behind the whole thing... we'll see.
I really miss you all. Much love.
First of all, my computer is lost in transit between the U.S. and India - that's a major lowlight that needs no further discussion.
Another lowlight (I'll move to the better things) is that I am finding this program to be a bit, well, unfitting. I find the lectures fascinating and I really like learning Hindi and my Bollywood dancing workshop is the most amazing thing every (really), but the Academic Director is really hard to take. One day in class she referenced some obscure piece of literature and when we replied that we had not read it she exclaimed, "DO YOU GUYS EVEN READ?"
Ah ha. That's very funny, right? I laughed uproariously. Don't worry, dear parents, this will not be another one of my brushes with authority (a la Miss Gates), but she tries my patience and my deep commitment to human decency. Being treated like a petulant child cramps my style a bit. Let's leave it at that.
But, there is a silver lining, and it might actually be gold.
I really, really love India, and I really, really love a lot of the people on my program. I've found a great support group (we can commiserate about some of the less fun aspects of the program) and my homestay family is to die for. Truly. Aunty is now asking me to call her "mama" (I'll call her H-Mama on here, so that my own mother does not become confused) and last night the extended family came over for tea. We will be celebrating Durga Puja on Sunday and I'll get to hang out with the whole family and get down and Hindu with it all. I'm pretty excited.
On Sunday I went to a Bhangra lesson (Sikh dancing from the Punjab) with some of my friends and had the realization that we may have been in India too long since we think that our Sikh teacher is like a gangster, and that Kurtas (long Indian-style shirts) are "attractive." But Bhangra's crazy and by the end I am covered in sweat and feel great.
Also, I'm making headway with my Independent Study Project. I went to the National Gallery of Modern Art on Sunday and I came across the work of Nandalal Bose, a nationalist artist who sort of headed the Bengal School movement. He's pretty amazing, and used traditional Indian materials in his work. So, I'm thinking I'm going to go to West Bengal and sort of retrace his steps (from Calcutta - Darjeeling and all in between) and I'll be simultaneously writing a research paper about his philosophies on nationalism and myth and mature in artwork, and also doing my own collage work from found materials. I'm still trying to pass off some of the aspects of the project to the Academic Director. She's pretty supportive but also a major art historian and has her own ideas about "what is interesting" to study. If the "practicum" portion of the project doesn't fly I'll just make the art anyway, because that's kind of the point behind the whole thing... we'll see.
I really miss you all. Much love.
Friday, September 18, 2009
jugar and my car
We learned a term this week that I thought I would share with you all. We were sitting in class one day and Storm-ji (Academic Director) couldn't get the powerstrip to work. She informed us that this was the product of the uniquely Indian concept of "jugar." I guess it's actually a verb, and the definition is a bit hard to explain but basically instead of fixing things permanently it is common for Indians to fix them temporarily.
Now, some people had a real issue with understanding this term, but I have to say I'm familiar with the verb jugar. We jugared the Cabriolet all summer. In India it would not be surprising to see a car like mine--with a duct tape roof, apoxied door handles, and a ratcheted convertible top. Add in the fact that we have to blast the heat during the (might I say quite cool) Maine summers in order for the engine not to overheat and I'd say we've jugared the hell out of that vehicle.
So, India's not too far off from home, I guess. I mean, in many respects it is obscenely different - but then there are concepts like jugar that remind me of my dad and Pete.
I've got a little cold, but nothing terrible. My immune system is pretty down (Pete, I should have brought some ImmunoSea, but forgot... it would have been worth it for sure!). Yesterday I went on the first of four "heritage walks." They are led by this fascinating Indian man who is an architectural encyclopedia. He took us to all of these beautiful old ruins that hardly anyone goes to. We ended up wandering through narrow alleyways in a predominantly Muslim area of Delhi. Fortunately, our walk coincided with not only the month of Ramadan, but we were also in the area just before sunset. The men had just gotten out of the mosque and there wre kabobs being roasted and dishes being prepared for the nighttime feasting. It was an awesome spectacle. Not to mention the fact that whenever we enter a place like this (a part of Delhi that is not frequented by tourists) we are followed around and stared at and there's sort of an automatic party feeling. That's a strange way to describe it but... I don't know, it's hard to explain.
I'm running out of time on the computer. India is hilarious. Mom, no costumes yet. I'll tell you about them when we get them.
Now, some people had a real issue with understanding this term, but I have to say I'm familiar with the verb jugar. We jugared the Cabriolet all summer. In India it would not be surprising to see a car like mine--with a duct tape roof, apoxied door handles, and a ratcheted convertible top. Add in the fact that we have to blast the heat during the (might I say quite cool) Maine summers in order for the engine not to overheat and I'd say we've jugared the hell out of that vehicle.
So, India's not too far off from home, I guess. I mean, in many respects it is obscenely different - but then there are concepts like jugar that remind me of my dad and Pete.
I've got a little cold, but nothing terrible. My immune system is pretty down (Pete, I should have brought some ImmunoSea, but forgot... it would have been worth it for sure!). Yesterday I went on the first of four "heritage walks." They are led by this fascinating Indian man who is an architectural encyclopedia. He took us to all of these beautiful old ruins that hardly anyone goes to. We ended up wandering through narrow alleyways in a predominantly Muslim area of Delhi. Fortunately, our walk coincided with not only the month of Ramadan, but we were also in the area just before sunset. The men had just gotten out of the mosque and there wre kabobs being roasted and dishes being prepared for the nighttime feasting. It was an awesome spectacle. Not to mention the fact that whenever we enter a place like this (a part of Delhi that is not frequented by tourists) we are followed around and stared at and there's sort of an automatic party feeling. That's a strange way to describe it but... I don't know, it's hard to explain.
I'm running out of time on the computer. India is hilarious. Mom, no costumes yet. I'll tell you about them when we get them.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
wait, Friends?
Just a quick little post to let you all know that I'm still doing well. I've finally recovered from the illnesses that plagued me for days. It seems I'm back on a regular schedule, if you will.
The days are filled with Hindi, lectures, yoga, Bollywood dancing, and commuting to and from the program center. The lectures are seriously good, if incredibly broad. This week we have had lectures on Orientalism/Occidentalism, Art Music in India, Indian History Pre-1947 (yes, 5000 years in one lecture), and on Who's Who in Hindu Art. It has been illuminating, though I often find that I'm just reeling and cursing the entire academic world when the lectures are through. Mostly I'm astonished at how much knowledge our lecturers have and I've realized I don't hunger for that much knowledge about one specific thing. It's amazing but kind of scary, or awesome? God, I don't even know anymore.
And then there's the Bollywood dancing and the yoga. Yoga is amazing, even if it is at 7 am and I have to get a rickshaw from my neighborhood at 6 am. That's okay. Really, it's fine. Bollywood dancing is just pure joy and full to the brim with everything tacky and sexy. Taking that workshop is a much needed glimpse into Indian modern life (the real India of 2009). SIT is so much about the ancient civilization and "culture" that it's totally relieving to have one part of the day devoted to Indian pop culture. Our teachers, Maher and Inder, are the most awesome and hot people ever. Maher was a semi-finalist in "India's Got Talent" for belly-dancing, and Inder just won the title of the BEST Salsa dancer in India. Of course, because I have two left feet, they just laugh at me as I try to shimmy and twitch my hips around... but they also invited us out to some salsa clubs (Indian salsa clubs??) which will be awesome. So, so, so fun. I'm very excited to see the young hip Indian population and "mingle."
But here's how I really unwind every night: Aunty loves, loves, loves "Friends." Yes, the NBC show. Of course she does. She sits there and giggles about all the weird sexual scenarios and says how "sweet" everything is. "Friends" is apparently the international language.
The days are filled with Hindi, lectures, yoga, Bollywood dancing, and commuting to and from the program center. The lectures are seriously good, if incredibly broad. This week we have had lectures on Orientalism/Occidentalism, Art Music in India, Indian History Pre-1947 (yes, 5000 years in one lecture), and on Who's Who in Hindu Art. It has been illuminating, though I often find that I'm just reeling and cursing the entire academic world when the lectures are through. Mostly I'm astonished at how much knowledge our lecturers have and I've realized I don't hunger for that much knowledge about one specific thing. It's amazing but kind of scary, or awesome? God, I don't even know anymore.
And then there's the Bollywood dancing and the yoga. Yoga is amazing, even if it is at 7 am and I have to get a rickshaw from my neighborhood at 6 am. That's okay. Really, it's fine. Bollywood dancing is just pure joy and full to the brim with everything tacky and sexy. Taking that workshop is a much needed glimpse into Indian modern life (the real India of 2009). SIT is so much about the ancient civilization and "culture" that it's totally relieving to have one part of the day devoted to Indian pop culture. Our teachers, Maher and Inder, are the most awesome and hot people ever. Maher was a semi-finalist in "India's Got Talent" for belly-dancing, and Inder just won the title of the BEST Salsa dancer in India. Of course, because I have two left feet, they just laugh at me as I try to shimmy and twitch my hips around... but they also invited us out to some salsa clubs (Indian salsa clubs??) which will be awesome. So, so, so fun. I'm very excited to see the young hip Indian population and "mingle."
But here's how I really unwind every night: Aunty loves, loves, loves "Friends." Yes, the NBC show. Of course she does. She sits there and giggles about all the weird sexual scenarios and says how "sweet" everything is. "Friends" is apparently the international language.
Monday, September 14, 2009
the adventure really has begun
The monday after our first big excursion out of Delhi and I am reeling. We have traveled 12 hours by train in the past 2 days and had the full-on study and tour of Amritsar. I do have photos, but until I get my computer (soon) I cannot get any pictures up on this blog. I know, it's a disappointment, but for now the words will have to do.
The trip to Amritsar really was amazing. We attended a lecture on Sikhism at Khalsa College, a very prestigious and beautiful college in the Punjab. The lecture was a bit bizarre, but fun in it's own right. The professor informed us that, whether we accept it or not, the scripture of the Sikhs (that's pronounced "sick" not "seek," just so everyone knows. We westerners have been mispronouncing apparently...) provides the moral code that could rid the world of "AIDS, smokings, drugs, and other world troubles." Yes, you heard him, smoking and drugs. I am making a conscious effort to open myself to the religious and spiritual rntings and ravings here in India, but sometimes (like in that lecture) I find myself faced with statements that are just... well... different. I do have to say it's been eye opening thus far in the amount of tolerance everyone has for each other... but I'm not sure how much tolerant they have for Godless atheists. We definitely have a few on our trip, which is interesting.
Of course, then we visit places like the Golden Temple (the holiest of holy place for Sikhs) and all of my cynicism is washed away by the grandeur of what can be constructed from pure faith. It's pretty incredible. The Sikhs have also been some of the most welcoming people I have encountered yet. We were whisked into the communal kitchen at the Golden Temple and asked to take pictures of women making chipoti, and a very old bizarre man told us crazy stories and wrote his name on a sheet of paper in English.
There's almost too much to tell about this trip to Amritsar, a phenomenon that I'm sure will keep happening. We also saw Bhangra dancing and we watched the Indo-Pakistan changing of the border guard. That was particularly awesome--especially in the way of a political performance. We're talking stadium seating, screaming Indians, and border guards who can do high kicks. It was like a military dance/festival/pride fest. I loved it.
I loved it despite the fact that not two minutes earlier I had gone to the bathroom and had a little, well, incident. You see, Indian toilets are holes in the floor, and this particular hole had a lot of water around it and well... I fell. I just tripped a little bit and down shot my foot, right into the Indian toilet bowl (a hole) into my favorite Indian smell, caca-poopoo-fecal matter. So, whilst watching the Indo-Pakistan changing of the border guard, my foot was covered in poo.
But that's my trip so far--absurd and exhilirating. The jewel is in the shit, as they say.
Love to all.
The trip to Amritsar really was amazing. We attended a lecture on Sikhism at Khalsa College, a very prestigious and beautiful college in the Punjab. The lecture was a bit bizarre, but fun in it's own right. The professor informed us that, whether we accept it or not, the scripture of the Sikhs (that's pronounced "sick" not "seek," just so everyone knows. We westerners have been mispronouncing apparently...) provides the moral code that could rid the world of "AIDS, smokings, drugs, and other world troubles." Yes, you heard him, smoking and drugs. I am making a conscious effort to open myself to the religious and spiritual rntings and ravings here in India, but sometimes (like in that lecture) I find myself faced with statements that are just... well... different. I do have to say it's been eye opening thus far in the amount of tolerance everyone has for each other... but I'm not sure how much tolerant they have for Godless atheists. We definitely have a few on our trip, which is interesting.
Of course, then we visit places like the Golden Temple (the holiest of holy place for Sikhs) and all of my cynicism is washed away by the grandeur of what can be constructed from pure faith. It's pretty incredible. The Sikhs have also been some of the most welcoming people I have encountered yet. We were whisked into the communal kitchen at the Golden Temple and asked to take pictures of women making chipoti, and a very old bizarre man told us crazy stories and wrote his name on a sheet of paper in English.
There's almost too much to tell about this trip to Amritsar, a phenomenon that I'm sure will keep happening. We also saw Bhangra dancing and we watched the Indo-Pakistan changing of the border guard. That was particularly awesome--especially in the way of a political performance. We're talking stadium seating, screaming Indians, and border guards who can do high kicks. It was like a military dance/festival/pride fest. I loved it.
I loved it despite the fact that not two minutes earlier I had gone to the bathroom and had a little, well, incident. You see, Indian toilets are holes in the floor, and this particular hole had a lot of water around it and well... I fell. I just tripped a little bit and down shot my foot, right into the Indian toilet bowl (a hole) into my favorite Indian smell, caca-poopoo-fecal matter. So, whilst watching the Indo-Pakistan changing of the border guard, my foot was covered in poo.
But that's my trip so far--absurd and exhilirating. The jewel is in the shit, as they say.
Love to all.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
mujhe toilet jana hai.
My most important phrase yet in Hindi... this digestive stuff is hitting me hard, but I think I'm at the tail end (haha) of it all. Last night I sat on the toilet and exclaimed, "Gods that bless this country - bless my bowels!" Then I knew it was the pits. The pits of the pits of the pits. But it's also okay. So don't worry none on bit at all.
I hope this blog is making sense, I was reading over the last entry and saw a lot of English mistakes and I'm starting to wonder if my writing is going to suffer dramatically from Hindi-overstimulation. And I'm telling you, we are being overstimulated. We have Hindi class every day for 3 hours. Three hours of solid grammar with Prahlad-ji. He's very nice, but definitely practices the Indian teaching style... meaning he's a bit distant and tends to cover about four chapters a day.
We had our first "Arts and Culture" lecture today, which was great. All about the Indian art theory of the Rasa. I won't go into it all, but it's cool. I'm actually headed off to the India International Centre tonight to see an exhibit of Hungarian art (films, paintings, etc) to write about for my cultural event report. We are required to go to a cultural event every week and then report on it.
Blah blah, enough academics. That is my life right now... but there are a few other things happening. It has been pouring all day, for one thing, and this morning we drove in a cab (no rickshaws could go) and we were going through 1 1/2 feet of water and the cars were all overheating and people were pushing them down the street - it was madness. Thankfully it covers up some of the stench of my street, though the underlying smells are still there for sure.
Also, I've gotten hooked on this Hindi soap opera that my host-mother watches. It's all about a family in Rajasthan and this little girl who gets married at age 13 and I have no idea what's going on but Aunty always laughs and yells "OH MY GOD!" at the television before "explaining" the scenarios to me. She is truly hilarious.
Anyway, still percolating on the ISP ideas... they are getting good.
Love ya'll.
I hope this blog is making sense, I was reading over the last entry and saw a lot of English mistakes and I'm starting to wonder if my writing is going to suffer dramatically from Hindi-overstimulation. And I'm telling you, we are being overstimulated. We have Hindi class every day for 3 hours. Three hours of solid grammar with Prahlad-ji. He's very nice, but definitely practices the Indian teaching style... meaning he's a bit distant and tends to cover about four chapters a day.
We had our first "Arts and Culture" lecture today, which was great. All about the Indian art theory of the Rasa. I won't go into it all, but it's cool. I'm actually headed off to the India International Centre tonight to see an exhibit of Hungarian art (films, paintings, etc) to write about for my cultural event report. We are required to go to a cultural event every week and then report on it.
Blah blah, enough academics. That is my life right now... but there are a few other things happening. It has been pouring all day, for one thing, and this morning we drove in a cab (no rickshaws could go) and we were going through 1 1/2 feet of water and the cars were all overheating and people were pushing them down the street - it was madness. Thankfully it covers up some of the stench of my street, though the underlying smells are still there for sure.
Also, I've gotten hooked on this Hindi soap opera that my host-mother watches. It's all about a family in Rajasthan and this little girl who gets married at age 13 and I have no idea what's going on but Aunty always laughs and yells "OH MY GOD!" at the television before "explaining" the scenarios to me. She is truly hilarious.
Anyway, still percolating on the ISP ideas... they are getting good.
Love ya'll.
Monday, September 7, 2009
chicken soup and chicken curry
I have finally settled into a home here in Delhi. I'm staying with a woman named Nirmal Milek in Lajpat Nagar III in New Delhi. I call her Aunty, and it's just me, Aunty, and her Nepalese servant in the house. Yes, having a servant is weird. Very, very weird... but it's part of the social structure here so one can't really fight it, at least not as a foreign exchange student.
Aunty owns a whole building in Lajpat. The first floor is a preschool. I went there today and played with 30 1 1/2 - 4 year olds. Oh man. They are absurdly cute and just stare at me like I'm some sort of alien which, I guess, I am. We danced a lot and sang bursery rhymes. The whole school is in English. Aunty and I live on the second floor, in a really nice apartment. There are some ants, but other than that it's pretty chic. We have dinner every night (chicken soup the first night for my stomach, then chicken curry last night because I have been feeling much, much better) at 8 pm, then we watch really terrible television for an hour. Basically we watch "Planet Bollywood" (some Bollywood entertainment show) or really badly produced Hindi soap operas. Aunty is adorable and yells in Hindi at the television and then hits my arm, laughs, and yells "This very, very funny!"
I don't understand anything, but I have a pretty good time laughing at her exclamations. I am lucky to live in the house I live. This morning Aunty took me into the kitchen where her shrine is and we prayed together and lit incense.
We have the day off today so I am spending some time getting school supplies, art supplies, and going to shops around the house. I have been pretty overwhelmed with everything... tomorrow we start real classes and it promises to be very, very touch academically. It's great, but I'm nervous.
So much has been happening... I'm sorry to say that so far I haven't really been that thorough on this blog. I promise I will get some pictures up soon and report more on the happenings.
Oh, and just because I want to stick to the theme... I have been noticing the more unpleasant smells recently, they are rampant around my neighborhood. Many wafts of urine and human waste come creeping up from the baking sidewalk. Apparently in the next ten days the temperature will drop and I am looking forward to that. It's about 100 degrees all the time and I have no more sweat to sweat. Delicious.
Aunty owns a whole building in Lajpat. The first floor is a preschool. I went there today and played with 30 1 1/2 - 4 year olds. Oh man. They are absurdly cute and just stare at me like I'm some sort of alien which, I guess, I am. We danced a lot and sang bursery rhymes. The whole school is in English. Aunty and I live on the second floor, in a really nice apartment. There are some ants, but other than that it's pretty chic. We have dinner every night (chicken soup the first night for my stomach, then chicken curry last night because I have been feeling much, much better) at 8 pm, then we watch really terrible television for an hour. Basically we watch "Planet Bollywood" (some Bollywood entertainment show) or really badly produced Hindi soap operas. Aunty is adorable and yells in Hindi at the television and then hits my arm, laughs, and yells "This very, very funny!"
I don't understand anything, but I have a pretty good time laughing at her exclamations. I am lucky to live in the house I live. This morning Aunty took me into the kitchen where her shrine is and we prayed together and lit incense.
We have the day off today so I am spending some time getting school supplies, art supplies, and going to shops around the house. I have been pretty overwhelmed with everything... tomorrow we start real classes and it promises to be very, very touch academically. It's great, but I'm nervous.
So much has been happening... I'm sorry to say that so far I haven't really been that thorough on this blog. I promise I will get some pictures up soon and report more on the happenings.
Oh, and just because I want to stick to the theme... I have been noticing the more unpleasant smells recently, they are rampant around my neighborhood. Many wafts of urine and human waste come creeping up from the baking sidewalk. Apparently in the next ten days the temperature will drop and I am looking forward to that. It's about 100 degrees all the time and I have no more sweat to sweat. Delicious.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
delhi belly
I've got it. The Delhi Belly. But no one panic--it's just a natural part of acclimating I suppose.
This week has been a bit intense, hence the lack of access to the computer and whatnot. We are done with orientation officially as of today, and we meet our homestay families this afternoon! I am living in Lajpat Nagar (a bustling market of Delhi) with one woman who is a widow. She runs a school for 2 1/2 - 4 year olds! I hope I can get down to it (it's under the apartment) and hang out with all the kids, as we are not allowed to work with children to our Independent Studies because of ethical issues. That would be a nice break from the academic and social pressure of the day-to-day SIT stuff.
I've learned (in orientation) that this program is going to be a lot of work. That's great, but a little overwhelming. We had a 2 hour Hindi lesson today that was amazingly rapid and confusing, and also I felt ill so I couldn't really focus on anything. The Academic Director and the Student Affairs Coordinator (Storm-ji and Guy-ji, they are a couple which is nice - like Mom and Pop) are giving me dried fruit to assist me in my stomach problems. Need I say more? No. I need not.
Delhi is insane but so much fun. I think I got a little ill because I have been up at about 4 am every morning thinking about my Independent Study Project, sort of a nervous excitement about it. I'm not sure what will happen - because logistically it is hard to figure out. I might not get as far north as I want to go because... well... I probably shouldn't go to Kashmir and also because it will be dead-of winter when I do the project. I might end up in Rishikesh or Hardiwar, which would be wonderful (no Pops, no mountain-viewing in Delhi, but in Rishikesh there is).
So, these are the things that are going on... I'm constantly thinking and assessing and figuring out what this program is about and what my expectations are. Oh, and the other students are cool. There aren't very many of us and that might become hard, but for now it's nice.
Also, just because it would be SO MUCH FUN I might study "Bollywood Dancing" for my art practicum. HA! Yes. Bollywood stardom here I come.
Oh, and (jeez, many things...) we went shopping and are wearing beautiful outfits of hybrid western/indian clothing. Awesome.
peace and love
This week has been a bit intense, hence the lack of access to the computer and whatnot. We are done with orientation officially as of today, and we meet our homestay families this afternoon! I am living in Lajpat Nagar (a bustling market of Delhi) with one woman who is a widow. She runs a school for 2 1/2 - 4 year olds! I hope I can get down to it (it's under the apartment) and hang out with all the kids, as we are not allowed to work with children to our Independent Studies because of ethical issues. That would be a nice break from the academic and social pressure of the day-to-day SIT stuff.
I've learned (in orientation) that this program is going to be a lot of work. That's great, but a little overwhelming. We had a 2 hour Hindi lesson today that was amazingly rapid and confusing, and also I felt ill so I couldn't really focus on anything. The Academic Director and the Student Affairs Coordinator (Storm-ji and Guy-ji, they are a couple which is nice - like Mom and Pop) are giving me dried fruit to assist me in my stomach problems. Need I say more? No. I need not.
Delhi is insane but so much fun. I think I got a little ill because I have been up at about 4 am every morning thinking about my Independent Study Project, sort of a nervous excitement about it. I'm not sure what will happen - because logistically it is hard to figure out. I might not get as far north as I want to go because... well... I probably shouldn't go to Kashmir and also because it will be dead-of winter when I do the project. I might end up in Rishikesh or Hardiwar, which would be wonderful (no Pops, no mountain-viewing in Delhi, but in Rishikesh there is).
So, these are the things that are going on... I'm constantly thinking and assessing and figuring out what this program is about and what my expectations are. Oh, and the other students are cool. There aren't very many of us and that might become hard, but for now it's nice.
Also, just because it would be SO MUCH FUN I might study "Bollywood Dancing" for my art practicum. HA! Yes. Bollywood stardom here I come.
Oh, and (jeez, many things...) we went shopping and are wearing beautiful outfits of hybrid western/indian clothing. Awesome.
peace and love
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
the arrival
I am officially in Delhi. And yes, there are smells to be smelled. We are staying at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in New Delhi for our orientation, and every morning we wake up to chanting and, because of the late monsoon season, it smells like wet, wet dirt and intense tropical flowers. Right now lunch is wafting down from the kitchen (I am in the SIT Program Center, where we have classes and we have lunch on the rooftop terrace that overlooks the rooftop city of Delhi) and, though I just had some weird little fried snack, I'm getting pretty hungry.
The program is actually awesome beyond anything I expected. The Academic Director (Storm-ji, yes... that's right... "Storm-ji") is really nice and funny and even swears (Oh! Thank goodness). The staff is pretty amazing, and I'm getting to know the students. There are 12 of us, 2 boys and 10 girls. That is tough, but I'll make due. The coolest thing is that starting next Wednesday we begin our regular routine - yoga at 7 on the roof (!!), hindi for 2 hours, lunch, Arts and Culture lecture (various scholars come and give us the digs on all that is Indian art), and then PRACTICA workshops. The practice workshops are the coolest. We can do a workshop in pottery, or tabla, or bollywood dance, or sitar playing. I really don't know what to do... but I'm excited because everything sounds great.
Also, I just talk to Storm-ji about the possibility of getting my hands on film equipment and taking it into the mountains (and we are talking MOUNTAINS) for my Independent Study Project. She is down with helping me to facilitate whatever bizarre adventures I hope to have, which is really, really amazing. I will most definitely have to rent the equipment, but that's all right because I am so obscenely rich.
Also, a few notes about Delhi in general:
Basically I'm just overwhelmed at the moment by the people and the driving (insane, absolutely terrifyingly insane) and the sheer sprawl of buildings and little communities. It's pretty confusing. Granted, it's my second day here so I am sure that will get better. SIT does these things called "Drop-Offs" where they just drop a group in a part of the city and we have to find certain things and then report back to the Program Center. WE had one yesterday and got monsooned on and managed to find nothing useful... then, in about 1 month and a half we have a "Hindi drop off" in which we have to find things only using Hindi.
I do not expect that to go smoothly, but maybe I'll be a quick study.
Hopefully I will get pictures on on here soon...
Love to you all.
The program is actually awesome beyond anything I expected. The Academic Director (Storm-ji, yes... that's right... "Storm-ji") is really nice and funny and even swears (Oh! Thank goodness). The staff is pretty amazing, and I'm getting to know the students. There are 12 of us, 2 boys and 10 girls. That is tough, but I'll make due. The coolest thing is that starting next Wednesday we begin our regular routine - yoga at 7 on the roof (!!), hindi for 2 hours, lunch, Arts and Culture lecture (various scholars come and give us the digs on all that is Indian art), and then PRACTICA workshops. The practice workshops are the coolest. We can do a workshop in pottery, or tabla, or bollywood dance, or sitar playing. I really don't know what to do... but I'm excited because everything sounds great.
Also, I just talk to Storm-ji about the possibility of getting my hands on film equipment and taking it into the mountains (and we are talking MOUNTAINS) for my Independent Study Project. She is down with helping me to facilitate whatever bizarre adventures I hope to have, which is really, really amazing. I will most definitely have to rent the equipment, but that's all right because I am so obscenely rich.
Also, a few notes about Delhi in general:
Basically I'm just overwhelmed at the moment by the people and the driving (insane, absolutely terrifyingly insane) and the sheer sprawl of buildings and little communities. It's pretty confusing. Granted, it's my second day here so I am sure that will get better. SIT does these things called "Drop-Offs" where they just drop a group in a part of the city and we have to find certain things and then report back to the Program Center. WE had one yesterday and got monsooned on and managed to find nothing useful... then, in about 1 month and a half we have a "Hindi drop off" in which we have to find things only using Hindi.
I do not expect that to go smoothly, but maybe I'll be a quick study.
Hopefully I will get pictures on on here soon...
Love to you all.
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