Journal 24

Thursday, July 13, 2006
Friday, July 14, 2006
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Monday, July 17, 2006

Dear Journal,

So finally Thursday came around and we left for our well-deserved weekend trip to Goa…

We left the guesthouse at about 11 a.m. and headed to the airport. I love airports, I love being in them and watching people and just thinking about where everyone might be going, where they are coming from and why they are going where they are going…
As much as I love being in airports though, nothing can compare to being on an airplane. I love watching the world from above and I love being in the skies, it makes me feel so free and careless.

When we arrived at the airport in Goa we were picked up by a shuttle bus from the hotel. Right away when we landed I noticed how much more humid it was and how much more “tropical” it felt and looked. It was much greener and there were palm trees and rice fields everywhere…it took about an hour or an hour and a half to get to the hotel, but like I said before…I LOVE bus rides, in fact, I think it might have been my favorite part of the whole trip, well maybe second favorite…right after seeing the Arabian sea.
Anyway, the hotel was great, not necessarily the best location, but not bad. The hotel itself was beautiful and it was great because we basically had our own little apartments, with two bedrooms (2 beds each), two bathrooms, a living room, a really nice balcony and even a little kitchen with a fridge. That night, after getting settled in, eating some Goan food and trying out the pool, we all decided to walk down to the beach, which was only a 10-minute walk away. The beach was definitely not what we had expected, however, I was NOT disappointed at all….

The beach was dirty, not touristy at all, with little huts along the shore, and some locals hanging out. The seas were very rough and there was not very many people around at all (I know it was mainly because it was not the tourist season, but I doubt that there are too many tourists at that beach anyway…
Some of the people in our group were a little disappointed, because all they wanted, was a clean, nice tourist beach, with blue water in which they could go swimming. I on the other hand, was not disappointed, but ecstatic, because this was exactly what I was hoping for. Being at the beach reminded me how much I really do miss the ocean…I miss the smell, the sound, the feel of the sand and the water…I miss everything about it!!!

The next day we decided to go into a part of the nearest town, where we could do some souvenir shopping and maybe some sightseeing. We walked around for quite some time and we found a lot of really nice shops with many great souvenirs. After a lot of shopping and fighting of street vendors, we found a restaurant to try some typical Goan food. The food was really good and after our meal all of us girls even got a rose.
When we got back to the hotel, some of us decided to jump in the pool, play some ping-pong and just relax, since that was what we came for. So that is what we did all night. We relaxed, went out to dinner, came back to the hotel and hung out. The next day we got up to go to a different beach, with hopes that it would be a little more touristy. Well, it wasn’t really more touristy, but like I said before, I did not complain. The beaches there were just so beautiful, with the palm trees, the big waves and even all the annoying locals trying to sell us things. I am still amazed at how persistent they are and how aggressively they will try to sell you things. As soon as we put down our towels, there were about 6 to 8 women gathered around our group, sitting down right next to us while still trying to sell us necklaces and beach towels. That was about enough for me, so I grabbed my camera and walked down the beach. I don’t mean to be redundant, but I LOVE the beach!!!

When it was time for lunch, we decided to find something close by, so when a guy gave me a flier for a little pizzeria, we decided to give that a try. It was only about 2 minutes from where we were and right by the beach, which was my favorite part. The place was really relaxed; we sat outside, with the ocean and the sound of waves in the background, eating some really good pizza and playing some pool.

When we got back to the hotel, we went swimming in the pool and hung out with each other. As always, time went by way too fast and before we knew it, it was Sunday morning and time to head to the airport. We took a taxi back into town, got something for lunch quick and then got back on the bus to the airport. The second bus ride was even better than the first one. I am so content just sitting by the window, watching things pass by and feeling the fresh breeze on my face. The plane ride went smoothly and when we finally arrived at the guesthouse on Sunday night, we were all so exhausted, that after dinner all of us just fell into our beds and went to sleep. It was a great trip and a great way for our group to hang out and relax before our final week here in Hyderabad and before having to finish all of our final school assignments.

Today we didn’t do much. After class Lashanna and I went to the Bridge center to spend some more time with the children and it was great. I played cricket for the first time, and apparently I am a pretty decent batter, and then we played some Karam, which was a lot of fun. Of course I took a million pictures, but mostly I just enjoyed hanging out with the kids. I wish I could stay longer and continue going there. On Wednesday we will have a good-bye party with them and buy a bunch of pizzas and play games with them. Lashanna had also mentioned buying some notebooks for the kids, since they really need some for school. I wish I could do more to help, for example they said they really need computers, but even if I had an old one at home, I don’t know if it would be worth it to send it. I guess money would probably be the best way to help, however I don’t have much of that either, so I think for now some notebooks and copies of all the pictures I took will have to do :).

On a completely different note, I have been observing things here since the terrorist attacks in Bombay and I find it very interesting to see how people react to it here, or better, how they NOT react. What I mean when I say this is that the reaction that I have observed here is so different from what I observed in the states after 9/11. I understand that 9/11 was on a larger scale, but I remember coming back to the States a few months after the attack had happened, and even right after it happened I talked to friends in the States and it seemed like there was so much fear and complete chaos. I always felt that the US is somewhat a nation controlled by fear, in many ways, but it just amazed me to see how much people were actually controlled by this fear.

Here, however, I watched the News (on CNN ironically…) and everyone was definitely scared and shocked, but it was just kind of like: “alright, that is not good, but it happened, so lets see how we can handle this.” Also, the newspaper articles were very different from what I have seen in the US. I really like the newspaper here; it is called “The Hindu” and it actually has really good articles about various topics. Anyway, I just feel like the whole situation was handled so differently here than it was in the States.

So, I have come to the conclusion that I really like India and that I am NOT ready to go home AT ALL. I mean, yes I miss my family and friends, but if I had a choice, I would definitely stay for another semester, or even another year.
I came to India, to be honest, partially to prove to myself that traveling is fun, but that I can be happy leading a “normal” life and settling down somewhere, but coming here has made me realize exactly the opposite. This is what I love to do and need to do and I cannot be happy unless I can travel, meet new people, see new things and taking lots of Photos. I want to volunteer more or even work for an NGO, I want to travel to every place on this earth and take photos for a living…. I would be lying to myself if I said I want to settle down in one place and work in some cubicle. I just can’t do it….
So, I guess what I am saying is that I will miss India, and even though there are definitely things I don’t like, for example, the constant staring, “India time” (I am a very punctual person…it is the German in me :) and not being able to understand what people around me are saying, I think the things that I will miss will outnumber the above mentioned things I won't miss.
I miss “home” but I know I will DEFINITELY miss India and I know I will come back soon.

Journal 23

Tuesday, July 11 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Dear Journal,

To make up for missing visits to my field site last week, I decided to go as much as I could this week before leaving for Goa for the weekend. So after I had a successful day at my site yesterday, Abbie and I decided to have an early breakfast and then head to our site again before we had to be back for class at noon.

At about 9 a.m., right after breakfast, we took our bikes and drove to the small gate to catch a bus. The thing with the busses here is that there is no “real” schedule and my guess is that that might have to do with everything running on what we call “India time.” J
This was actually the first time we had taken the bus by ourselves and as I usually do, right before we left I was a little worried, but I now regret not having taken the bus earlier…I actually really like riding the bus…I love just sitting there and watching the people and my surroundings. My dad once told me that I have always been a very curious person, even as a child. He told me that when we used to go on trips through Europe I would ALWAYS be sitting by the window looking out throughout the whole trip. Even when I am in airplanes I always get a window seat, because I just like to watch the world around me. I also love being in airports and just observing all the people walking by; I always wonder where they are going, and where they come from and why they are going where they are going. I would definitely say that I am a curious person, but to get back to the subject and to get to my point: I loved riding the bus.

We got to St. Ann’s College and while Abbie went to sit in in a class, I decided to find some students to interview. We stayed for a few hours and after I had gathered lots of helpful information for my project, we headed back to campus for our class. After lunch we had another class and then headed back to the guesthouse to work on our final papers. I stayed up until 1 a.m. working on my paper and when I closed the document (AFTER saving it!!!) I realized that the computer did not save any of the work I had done. Right away, all I could do was start laughing but after I still couldn’t recover it or find it anywhere on the computer after about 15 minutes, I started to become very frustrated…I realized I had just been working on the paper for about 2 or 3 hours for NOTHING…. Needless to say I went to bed very frustrated.

Today was a very busy day. After only about 5 hours of sleep (Like the past 3 or 4 nights) I got up for breakfast and after a very quick breakfast I had to leave for class at 9 a.m. We had two classes from 9 a.m. until about 12 noon. Right after class I had to hurry back to the guesthouse, quickly eat my lunch and then leave to catch a bus in order to make it to St. Ann’s on time. Luckily, we caught a bus just a few minutes after arriving at the bus station and made it to campus on time. Right away we hurried to Dr. Smita Asthana’s office to get some more information about the school. But since we are in India, things don’t go as planned, so as soon as we arrive at her office, she tells us that she doesn’t have time today (even though she was the one that suggested the day and time J). SO she says something o the lady standing in her office and tells us to follow her, and that she will take us to somebody else who will help us.

So the lady, who I don’t think speaks any English, leads us all the way up to the third floor of the building to a big auditorium room. We see that there are open windows and there are students gathered around the windows, trying to see what is going on inside…I hear loud yells and laughs and feel very confused. The lady points inside and as I look through the window I see one of the teachers who had shown us around the previous week. There are probably a hundred students in the auditorium and as I look to the left I see a big stage and some girls dancing to some modern-techno-Indian music. I think to myself: “Hm…this is a strange way to get information and statistics about the school and its history, but owell…” The lady keeps pointing inside and mumbling something I don’t understand until she walks over to the door and tries to open it. One of the students that was standing at the window must have sensed our confusion and explains: “Just go inside.” The door is locked and after a couple seconds we hear someone from the inside unlock the door. The lady opens the door and motions to us to go inside. I feel very uncomfortable; as I don’t know what is going on and I feel rude interrupting whatever is going on. But by the time I am done thinking my thought we have already been “pushed” inside and as soon as we enter, some of the girls in the back scream: “Lena…HEY!!!” and I recognize them from the day before. Some of the girls in the front instantly jump out of their chairs and move to the back, offering us their seats. We sit down and as I look ahead I see that at the back wall behind the stage it says in big, glittery letters “WELCOME FRESHERS” and I remember the girls yesterday telling me about the welcoming event this weekend for the new freshmen. They had invited me to come, and I was really disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to go since we will be out of town all weekend. I realize that this must be something like their rehearsal or practice for the performance on Saturday.

I am having a great time sitting there, watching the girls dance and perform while the audience screams and claps and laughs hysterically. At that moment I realize how much I want to stay here, I don’t want to go back home, at least not yet…I love it here, I am fascinated by the things I see and the people I meet. I remember thinking many times before that 6 weeks just isn’t enough time, but now I am simply sad that I can’t stay. I remember thinking, while sitting in the bus, that it is so ironic that we are about to leave, when we have just now started to get used to the weather, the food, the smells…when we have just started to know where things are and when we have just started to become more comfortable and also more willing to do things we were too afraid of at the beginning…when we have grown so close with the people we have met, whether it is people in our group, people on campus or new friends we have made here in India.
While I watch 7 girls on stage dance to the modern Indian music, laughing and having a great time, I get very sad and realize that we will all be leaving Hyderabad in a little bit over a week.

After the performance Abbie and I make sure to get at least some information about the school from the professor and then head back to the schoolyard where I conduct some more interviews. By that time it is 3 p.m. and the campus has emptied, since classes end at 2:30 p.m. After saying good-bye to everybody, we leave campus in hopes of catching a bus soon. When we walk onto the main road we see our bus driving up, but realize that we are still a few feet away from the actual stop (well, if there really is such a thing J). I look back and see a bunch of people including small children running up to the moving bus and jumping on while it is still in full motion…. so I think to myself “What the heck if these 8 year-olds can get on a moving bus, then I can do it too.” So with no time for hesitation Abbie and I start a slow sprint and jump on the bus.

Now, I know that to most Indians that is probably a daily occurrence, but for us it was quiet an achievement. So after another fun bus ride, with NO “personal space” or what I would call “normal Indian personal space” we made it back to campus.
Since we are leaving for Goa tomorrow, I will try to work on my final paper…again…. and hopefully it will save this time.

Journal 22

Monday, July 10, 2006

Dear Journal,

Today Abbie and I went to St. Ann’s College at noon. The first thing we did was walk over to meet with Mrs. Lata Subramanya, who is a Professor of Psychology at the College. We want to talk to her to see if we could sit in one of her classes this week, since we missed our appointment with them last week, due to me being sick. She tells us that there is a Psychology class at 1:10 p.m. – an hour later. We decide to go down and talk to Mrs. Radika to confirm our appointment with her for next Wednesday to make sure that we can get some more information about the school’s history and some more information on the student and teacher body itself. We talk with her for about 10 minutes and set up a time, and then we walk out into the yard to conduct some interviews. I walk past the basketball field and observe the students around me. I choose a couple of girls sitting near the basketball court for my first interview, mainly because I wanted to try to find one or two girls at a time to interview, instead of having big groups.
I find two girls and introduce myself. After talking to them I find out that Ayesha is 18 years old and seems so confident and secure. Tarannum, 18, who is sitting next to her, appears a little shier right away, but as soon as I introduce myself she starts talking away about everything and anything. After I tell them about me and why I am there, I find out their names and age. When I ask about their religion, both of them answer very energetically: “Islam!” as if I shouldn’t have even asked. Ayesha describes her family’s status as “upper-middle class” while Tarannum says she comes from a middle-class family. Unlike in any of my previous interviews, when asked about their relationship status, they don’t giggle or shyly turn their heads, Ayesha simply looks me straight in the eyes and says: “Yes, I am in a relationship. I will get married, but it is a love-marriage” and Tarannum’s eye’s light up as she says: “Yeah, me too!” I congratulate them and ask if their parents know about this and if yes, what they think about it. As if planned, in a perfect chorus they say: “Yes, my mom knows, but not my dad.” And then they both start giggling, realizing that they did not even know that that they were both in the same situation. They both tell me that their families support arranged marriages, but that their moms are understanding and willing to accept love marriages, whereas both say they don’t know what their father would say. I ask what they will do once they actually want to get married and they say that they will do a “private wedding” (at the courthouse). They also say that both their boyfriend’s parents know and that they support the love-marriages and that for them it is not an issue at all. I am getting curious as to how they met their boyfriends and they tell me that in both cases he was the neighbor and that was how they met. Ayesha tells me that her and her boyfriend have been secretly dating for 7 years (since she was 11 years old?!) and that she wants to get married this year. Tarannum and her boyfriend have been dating for 5 years; however, she says that they plan to wait before getting married because they want to get settled first. I find this very interesting, because to me it shows that many people really do get married because of pressures from family or others. For Tarannum and her boyfriend for example, it does not matter when they get married, because nobody knows. I have observed that in the States, where many people who come from very religious families and who are told that they should not live with their boyfriends until they get married, do exactly that, whereas I believe that many of them would rather wait a few years to make sure that they actually get along. In Europe it is much more common for couples to be together and live together for 5 or even 10 years before getting married, to make sure that they actually want to be together, which I think makes much more sense. I also understand that this would be impossible to do here, simply because it is socially totally unacceptable, and this, I believe, is a major issue for failing marriages, whether they result in divorces or unhappy couples. Obviously, both of them prefer love-marriages and would not want an arranged marriage. When I ask them what they think about dating they both agree that it is “cool,” but only if it you are serious about it. I ask them what being independent means to them, and almost in chorus they answer: “freedom” and Tarannum adds that independence for her means “having your own identity,” which I think is a great way to put it.
I thank the girls for the information and ask if they have any questions for me and right away I get bombarded with about 5 different questions. I take a few notes of things I found to be important. The girls all agreed that their society needs to change so that the husband will have more responsibilities and that wives do not have to live their lives according to their husbands but as THEY wish. They say that there are a lot of compromises in Indian marriages, as there are everywhere in the world) but that here they mainly go in favor of the husband. However, the Indian traditions are changing and they say that more than 25% are now love marriages.

First I was worried about finding enough time to visit my field sites enough and getting enough interviews for my paper, but now I am enjoying talking to all these girls so much and I find hearing their opinion on things so fascinating, that I am enjoying the project too much as to worry anymore.

Journal 21

Saturday, July 8, 2006
Sunday, July 09, 2006

Dear Journal,

Ahh, Sunday…and another fairly productive weekend is coming to an end. Half of our group went to Hampi for the weekend, while Evan, Kirthi, Christine and I stayed at the guesthouse to finish up some more school work and get some rest after being sick last week.

I skipped breakfast on Saturday to catch up on some sleep and got up before lunch to start working on some school projects. After lunch Christine and I went to the library.
The library here in India is so different from any library I have been in before…now most people would say: “How can libraries be that different since all there usually really needs to be are books and computers?” Well, this library does have books and computers, but something about it is still different. When you walk into the library, there are a bunch of little cubbies (I just learnt this wordJ) in which you put your purse – normal. Then you have to walk past this guard who today asked us if we are students, so we have to explain to him “Yes, we are students, but we don’t have library cards, because we are only here for 6 weeks.” After some suspicious looks and speaking gibberish to the guy standing next to him (well, I am assuming he is speaking Telegu, but to me it sounds like gibberish) he lets us pass through. But the strange thing is that this does not happen every time. At different times he will sometimes not ask for an ID at all and sometimes he says he can’t let you go through unless you have an ID. Just like the traffic here, there just seem to be no rules, or even if there are rules, nobody is too concerned about following them very strictly.
The walls in the library are painted the same color as everything else in India…a light, faded bluish color, with spots where the paint is starting to peal of because of water damage – still pretty normal. When you walk through the library, you can see that all the books are organized by topic and by language – normal and logical. Since we don’t have library cards, we can’t take out books – yes, also normal. BUT, since we can’t take out books, there is a place in the library where you can go and have them photocopy the parts of the book you need, or even the whole book. Well, the problem is that when we went to the library that person was apparently out indefinitely and so since we weren’t able to check out books, we had no choice but to copy down the quotes we needed…I don’t know, I don’t think this is normal…since the point of going to the library is to take advantage of the sources it provides….I guess this is not an issue to most other students since they would have library cards, but I just thought that was very odd. It’s just that everything here is so unorganized and sketchy, there are no real rules, nothing really seems to have any “regular hours” for anything and there is no real administration – not normal to me. I guess coming from a place where everything is so bureaucratic and everything is so organized (this goes for both Germany and the US) I find it strange to see how things function on a completely different level. I am not saying that one is better than the other, but again, what works for Germany and the US might not work for the Indian society in their cultural context.

After all of us worked hard all day and got a lot accomplished, we thought we deserved to go out and eat out. We decided to go to “Fusion 9” because Christine was craving Steak, which is rather hard to find here, and we saw online that they had a multi-national cuisine. When we arrived we all agreed that it looked very fancy and I was getting kind of worried that this place might actually be kind of pricy, even in India…but I was wrong. The place was very, very nice and the food was fantastic. A steak with potato and vegetables, which in the States in a restaurant like this, would cost 20$ at least, was still only about 5$. The food was delicious, the service was good and the whole atmosphere was very relaxed. After dinner, we decided to stop by the “touch” to see if the Nordic group would be there and sure enough before even entering the club, we ran into Ole, one of the Norwegian Students. As soon as we entered the club we saw the whole group sitting at a table to our right, so we joined them and had a great evening with them. When we got home I checked to see if Germany was going to beat Portugal and get the 3rd place in the World Cup. I am not a huge soccer fan, but I guess being here in India with a bunch of Americans, I just had to support the “motherland.” After the game was over and Germany won 3-1, I finally headed to bed.

I again missed breakfast today and after having lunch we all went straight back to work on our papers….I definitely believe in the motto: Work hard, play hard.
Today, after we get some more work on our papers done, we might go into town and either go to the mall or go swimming. I think tonight we are going to take it slow and probably watch the World cup.
I decided that I am voting for France to win simply because everyone else is voting for Italy ;) GO FRANCE!!!!

Journal 20

Thursday, July 6, 2006
Friday, July 07, 2006

Dear Journal,

Today we did what I have been looking forward to the whole trip – we went to the ZOO!!! I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to go because I was sick, but I finally felt better today, or maybe I just made myself feel better…either way, it worked and I was able to go. After I only ate a slice of toast and a small portion of rice yesterday, I was very weak and not sure if I could go.

Yesterday we went into town to do some pearl shopping and most of the group bought many souvenirs for friends and family at home. I don’t like shopping here in India because everywhere we go people just swarm us and try to sell us everything in the store. I am not sure if this is only because we are foreigners or if this is simply how they run their stores here, but I don’t like it. I am the kind of person who likes to look around by myself at my own pace. I don’t even like it in the States when I am shopping and one of the sales people comes to the dressing room to see if you need anything else, I would much rather just go and get it myself. So after I spend about 10 minutes trying to get away from people at the store trying to sell me stuff (of course in a polite way) I sat down and waited for the other people to finish their shopping. After about an hour and a half of pearl shopping we continued on to “Music World” where some of us wanted to buy some CDs and movies. Since the shopping took longer than anticipated we decided to eat out. Even though most of voted for something not too experimental, since three of us were still recovering from a nasty stomach virus, we somehow ended up at a South Indian restaurant. We all ordered and even though we all agreed that the atmosphere was a little odd, because we were the only people in the restaurant and the whole waiting staff of about 6 people stood a few feet from our table staring at us, we all had some well-deserved food. The food was good, and even though I only had some rice, we all had a good time just hanging out with the group and catching up with everyone. When we got home I thought I was going to have a backlash and get sick again so I called it an early night.

Then this morning, knowing I would be going to the ZOO, I felt much better. I got up at 7 a.m. to have some breakfast to prepare me for the day. I knew I was going to need some energy. We left the guesthouse at 9:30 a.m. so that we would be able to be back by 3:30 p.m., since part of the group was leaving for Hampi. I love going to Zoos and I am not even sure why, but I always have a good time. When we arrived at the Zoo, we got a map to decide which part of the Zoo we wanted to go to first. We all agreed that we wanted to see the white tigers, the lions, the monkeys and of course the elephants. We walked through the zoo, which was actually very pretty. There weren’t too many people there and it wasn’t too hot yet since it was still pretty early in the day. The first thing we saw were monkeys…I love monkeys. If I could have a pet monkey, I would J and after Satya told me that for 200 Rupees I could by a monkey if I wanted to, I was seriously considering it until my conscience kicked in and I decided that that wasn’t going to work…realistically. We saw the lions and Jaguars, the hyenas and the white tigers, but the best was yet to come…the ELEPHANTS!!! Ever since I have come to India I have wanted to see some Elephants, not because I had never seen one, but because I thought that since I was going to be in India I should see some elephants. But what I really want to do is ride on an elephant.
I did not get to ride an elephant, however, an elephant did kiss me and that was awesome. When we arrived at the elephant area we were disappointed because the elephants were very far away and we could hardly see them, but as soon as we arrived at the front of the fence, one of the guards started talking to Satya, who then informed us that for 20 Rupees (less than 50 cents) we would be able to ride an elephant. Needless to say I was ecstatic. One of the men standing by the elephants then brought one of the elephants up to the fence where we could pet it. All of the sudden the elephant reached for Abbie’s ponytail with its trunk and right away I though it was going to eat it, but then I realized that it was giving her a kiss. One after the other, the elephant gave all of us a kiss, or what they called it “a blessing.” This was so cool and very exciting, and even though we never got to ride the elephant, at least we got kissed by an elephant. Not too many people (at least people that I know) can say that they have been kissed by an elephant.
So, my verdict is that even though Hyderabad wasn’t the best Zoo I have been to, getting kissed by an elephant definitely made the experience worthwhile. And I definitely would still get a pet monkey if I could…

Journal 19

Tuesday, July 4, 2006
Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Dear Journal,

I am sick and because of that, I had a very uneventful day. That’s why I am going to combine yesterday and today’s Journal entry.

Yesterday was the 4th of July and we spent most of the morning trying to organize some “American” food to celebrate. We decided on Hot Dogs, corn, chips, iced tea and ice cream. After class, Susheela, Lashanna, Abbie and I went to Q-mart to get some of the items for that night. Mr. Das had already bought the Hot Dogs, the Iced tea and the ice cream. Susheela had bought corn the day before, so all we needed was some Chips. Meanwhile Kirthi and Nikki went to talk to a High school class about Independence Day and what it meant to them. Christine and Evan had been sick all night, so they were sleeping and resting at the guesthouse. I felt bad all day for them because being sick, especially when you are not at home in your own bed, is no fun. Little did I know that I was going to be sick too and that I was going to be needing the crackers I bought for Christine that day, more than her.

We planned on meeting in the kitchen at 6 p.m. in order to start preparing our food that night, but to our surprise, Mr. Das and his team had already prepared everything. We went upstairs, where a table and some chairs had been set up for us and started setting up some of the food. Kirthi brought up his Laptop and turned on some music and we all started eating. We had everything there, except for the Hot Dogs were still being made. We were all waiting for them with anticipation. However, this anticipation was soon replaced by a slight feeling of disappointment. Even though, we knew that they were going to be “Veggie Hot Dogs,” what we were getting was NOT AT ALL what we had expected…but hey, we should be used to that by now J. The “hotdogs” were little triangle shaped potato and vegetable things, and not Hot Dogs at all. I don’t think any of us were really that disappointed, just confused and surprised. We all just kind of started laughing, because nothing is what you expect here.
After our meal we had some Chocolate cake and ice cream. By this time I was starting to feel funny, so I stayed for a little longer to chat and then headed to bed. I did not get much rest that night and felt very sick, so I did not get up for anything today. I slept until about 10 a.m. and felt a little better than I did that night, but still not good. I stayed in bed all day, trying to take naps and struggling to eat some crackers, so that I could take my Malaria Pill. I hate being sick, because it just makes me feel like I just wasted an entire day… I did have some rice and am now catching up on some schoolwork. But I think I need to head back to bed and lay down, so that hopefully tomorrow will be better…

dance

dance
Originally uploaded by thompson83.

This picture of a group of ladies dancing was taken at Nagarajuna konda falls.

Buddha

Buddha
Originally uploaded by thompson83.

Kirthi and I at the Buddha statue

Me and the girls from St. Ann's College

Me and the girls from St. Ann's College
Originally uploaded by thompson83.

This was taken when I was interviewing some of the students at St. Ann's College for my final class project

Working hard

Working hard
Originally uploaded by thompson83.

These were two people working really hard on the side of the road

Little indian girl

Little indian girl
Originally uploaded by thompson83.

This was soo cute, I took a picture of this little girl and she didnt seem so happy right away, but then when I got in the car she was pointing at me, telling her mom something about this "weird, white girl" taking pictures of her....

Bridge Course center for Street Children 200

Bridge Course center for Street Children 200
Originally uploaded by thompson83.

This is a photo of me and the kids at the Bridge course center for Street children...aren't they adorable?!?!?

Abbie and I in our Saris

Abbie and I in our Saris
Originally uploaded by thompson83.

Journal 18

Dear Journal,

I am having the best day ever today and I am not sure why…I am just in a really good mood! I woke up early today to go to Yoga and am very glad I did, because it was a beautiful morning and the wind was blowing just right. After class Kithi and I went to the post office, which was different than expected…just like everything else in IndiaJ.

At three Lashanna, Nikki and I went to the Bridge Center for Street Children to see the children. Lashanna and Christine are doing their projects there and they have also been volunteering there for a few weeks now, so since I didn’t have to be at my field site today, I wanted to go with them and volunteer also…IT WAS AMAZING!!!!

I was so excited to go and my expectations were not only met but exceeded…The children were wonderful and so well behaved. There are about 30 children at the center of ages ranging from 5 to 16 years old….We started the afternoon with some drawing and art projects. I of course had my camera and as soon as I started taking pictures, I was surrounded by children. They just absolutely love having their picture taken and then seeing themselves on the screen. At the beginning the children would patiently each hold up their drawing and let me take a picture of them, but after a while they all just kind of pilled up to be in the picture. It was so great to hang out with the kids and see how happy they were to have us there. About 200 pictures and a lot of drawings later we decided to end the night with some “Duck, duck, goose” and that was great!

I always love watching and observing children…like I said before in my Participant observations, children are so carefree and just happy. These children had literally nothing, not even a family, and they were still just kids. They loved to have company and play games and simply enjoy being kids. I think what touched me the most was when we left and said a thousand good-byes, one of the little kids took my hand and tried to pull me back in…it was like he was saying: “Don’t leave, stay here”…I absolutely fell in love with the children and I know it sounds so corny, but it just feels so good to see them smile and have a good time and know that I can do something to make their day better…So from now on, I will be joining Christine and Lashanna twice a week to go to the Bride Center to see the kids…

Participant Observation 2

Field notes from St. Ann’s College

Today Abbie and I went to St. Ann’s College, which is the location of our field site for our final project. We had been there once before, but only very briefly, because we got there after classes had already finished for the day.
Today, we went by taxi and arrived at the gate at about 1 p.m. As soon as we get out of the car in front of the college, we are being stared at by everyone around us. The street is dirty and smells like rotten fruit, but as soon as we get to the gate it seems to appear much cleaner. When we enter the gate the guard stops us and asks us what we were doing and who we had an appointment with. I tell him that we are students and that we have an appointment with Mrs. Radika, so he lets us enter without any further questions. I wonder if there are any female guards, especially at women’s colleges or other institutions for women in this country (or any other country for that matter...). As soon as we walk through the gate, I notice many girls looking and pointing at us. I like the campus, it is very green and spatial; there are many trees and the buildings are tall, grey buildings which are in very good condition. I also feel comfortable on the Campus, it has a friendly atmosphere, and I catch myself thinking that I might be more comfortable here because there are only women around me. Even though the women and girls are still staring at us, it seems more comfortable to me and doesn’t bother me as much as the staring on the streets. Most girls walk by and smile at us and I smile back.
As we continue our walk across the yard, I see many Muslim girls, Hindu girls, all mingling and chatting with each other. Most of the girls are wearing “traditional, Indian” clothes, while others are wearing Jeans and t-shirts. I think to myself that it is very neat to see all these girls of different religions and backgrounds enjoying each others company. Most girls are walking or sitting in groups of four or more and none of them seem to be in a hurry. I look up at the sky and notice that it is kind of cloudy and it looks like it might rain. I wish I would have brought my umbrella. It is still really hot, even without the sun out. I am sweating and hot, but realize that it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to at the beginning of my stay in India.
I look to the left and see a girl in a Muslim Burka walk through the gate. After she gets closer to one of the buildings, she takes of her head scarf and continues walking. She seems relaxed. Many girls are sitting on benches and steps around the yard, while some are just standing around, talking. Some girls are playing with a basketball. I am guessing that they must all be getting done with lunch break around this time and about ready to go back to class. A girl in a pink and white outfit walks by and almost runs into me. She moves to the right just in time and smiles at me. As I smile back at her I cant help but wonder what she thinks about our presence here on campus. As we walk through one of the hallways, I see many religious Christian pictures and religious slogans. I find this strange, considering that the majority of the students are probably NOT Christians. I watch the students and teachers talk in front of the Administration office and just now realize that all the teachers are wearing Saris. I think that this might be part of their dress code and could help distinguish between faculty and students (which one of the teachers confirms later). I see a lady in the hallway sweeping the floor with a short broom made from small braches and sticks. She is wearing a blue/greenish Sari and her back is slightly bent. I wonder how many times she has swept this floor and decide that it is probably too many times to count. She doesn’t even look up or move as we pass. I notice that the sun has come out for a few minutes, but there are still a lot of clouds in the sky. We reach the chemistry department, where Mrs. Radkia has her office and just as we arrive at the office, she steps outside, greeting us. I observe her as she speaks and I feel very comfortable around her. She is a very friendly-looking woman and her English is very good. She apologizes and says that she has a very busy day and asks us if we would mind it if she had another teacher show us around. She is smiling and does the “head-thing.” As we are talking to her I think to myself that she would be a good teacher. After meeting the other teacher we walk around campus for awhile and talk to a few more people to make some appointments for the following week. We then decide to walk back to the yard and do some more observing and as soon as we sit down I notice that we are watched by everyone around us. I observe a group of girls who appear to be dancing around one other girl and they are dancing and shouting, but I can’t understand what they are saying. Two girls walk up to us and without hesitation, they ask for our names. I notice that most of the Indians I have met are pretty straight forward and do not seem shy at all. We tell them our names and ask for theirs. Their next question was fairly expected: they wanted to know where we were from and we told them that we were from the United States, their eyes widened and they started smiling at each other. I thought this was very interesting and wondered what they were thinking about. While the two girls are talking to us, about six to eight more girls have gathered around us. One of the two girls who were talking to us starts giggling and they continue their walk across the campus. There is a group of four girls sitting to the right of us, so they start talking to Abbie while I am answering questions from some of the other girls standing in front of us. I feel a little overwhelmed for a couple minutes, but not uncomfortable. Again, I realize that I am more comfortable around this group most likely because they are all women. I feel a breeze on my face and take a deep breath to fully enjoy it. From the corner of my eyes, I can see that many eyes are still on us, but some students who saw us when we entered, seem to have gotten used to the fact that we ere there and continued on with their regular activities. The group of girls gathered around us has now moved on and the girls to the right of us ask if we are students at St. Ann’s. We end up talking to the group of students for about 20 minutes and gather a lot of valuable information for our projects. It starts to rain, first lightly, then heavier, so we move further up the stairs to get some cover from the roof behind us. I enjoy the smell of the warm summer rain and don’t mind the few cooling drops that hit my legs. I watch the students in the yard and am surprised to see that most of them are in no hurry to get out of the rain unlike in the States. Some girls go and stand under covered areas, while others simply stay where they were. None of the really seem to mind the rain and I think that they must be used to the sudden but usually short monsoon rains. After the rain has mostly stopped, we decide to head home. We say good-by to the girls and thank them fro the conversation. I have to laugh when the one girl tells me that we were really nice and she didn’t think we were going to be. When I ask her why, she said that she expected us to be shy and not talk to them, but now she thinks we are nice. I smile at her and all of us exchange e-mail addresses. As we leave campus, I take one more look around and notice that even though we are still being watched, that most of the students have gotten somewhat used to our presence. I just now notice that there is a volleyball net set up right next to the small stage.

Participant Observation 1

Bus ride from Pilley Polley to Hyderabad

When we left the farmhouse in the little village of Pilley Polley on Saturday afternoon we were all tired and exhausted. Seeing the countryside I thought was a great learning experience, but we were all ready to go back to the guesthouse with air-conditioned rooms and cold showers. Before we would be able to enjoy these comforts, we had to endure the four and half hour-long bus ride through the villages. This turned out to be a much more interesting and enjoyable experience than I had anticipated.
We waited for the bus outside the farmhouse for about ten minutes until we saw a bus driving by on a road other than the one we were standing at. We all said good-bye quickly and started running like crazy to catch the bus. When we arrived we were of course stared at and I was aware that many people on that bus had probably never seen a “non-Indian” person, let alone a group of young, touristy-looking college kids running down the small road of Pilley Polley.
Most of the people on the bus looked poor and I could see they were tired and exhausted form working all day in the hot sun. The bus was very old, rusty and had a bluish/grayish color on the outside. The bus had no doors and I found this very odd (but later found out that the bus does not always come to a complete stop when people get on or off the bus, so doors would complicate this). The bus does not have air conditioning so consequently it was very hot. The bus smelled of sweat and dust. We all sat down in the back without thinking about it, until the conductor came up to us, waving his arms, saying something we did not understand over and over. It wasn’t until then that I remembered a former SIP-student telling me to never sit in the back of the bus, since the women have a designated area in the front. We all moved to the front and I made sure to find a window seat in order to get some air and also to be able to take pictures. I am tired sweaty and hot. My stomach also feels funny, maybe from something I ate at the farmhouse.
As the bus slowly starts moving, I can hear the tires screeching and I can feel how bumpy and uneven the gravel road really is. I can see the old man in the back watching us from the corner of my eyes. We start our slow drive towards Hyderabad on a tiny road, which has piles of rocks and dirt piled on each side of the road and forces the bus to move in a zigzag motion. I lean forward because my back is already sweaty and my shirt is sticking to my back. The breeze on my face feels good and I watch the landscape. The landscape is beautiful. Everything is so green and colorful.
I see an old man plowing the field with an ox and a little wooden cart. His back is bend and he is wearing nothing but a piece of fabric wrapped around his waist. It takes me a few minutes to process this and realize that this is LIFE for many Indians living in rural India. I try to imagine what life would be like living in the village. The bus is fairly empty; there are only about five to ten other people on the bus. As we reach the first small village I smell cows and rotten fruits. I see small children sitting in piles of dirt and women kneeling on the ground washing clothes. An old lady enters the bus, one of her eyes is blind and looks very glossy, and she cannot walk very well. I am getting tired and lean back.
I see many women enter the bus, most of them carrying little children. The women are all wearing traditional clothes and many of them have flowers in their hair. Christine sits in the chair on the left of Abbie and me. A woman holding a little girl with a big Bindhi and short, black, curly hair sits down next to her. The woman is wearing a pink Sari and has white flowers attached to her braided hair. I watch Christine with her “western” clothes and her iPod plugged into her ears and the Indian woman in her traditional clothes next to her. The first thing that comes to mind is “clash of cultures.” What a funny image to see these two different people sitting next to each other on a small bus driving through some small Indian village.
I watch the little girl as she stares at me without even blinking. Children are so curious and not ashamed to do what they feel like doing. They do not have any rights and wrongs, dos and don’ts embedded into their minds yet. I enjoy watching the girl as she continues to stare at me with big, brown eyes. I realize that all the children are quiet on the bus, nobody is crying or screaming. Most of the children are even sleeping as their heads are bouncing all over the place with the motions of the bus. I think about bus rides in the States, there are children crying and wining about everything. I wonder if the children here are just used to the conditions. The road is so narrow that every time there is oncoming traffic, the bus gets so close to the trees on the side that leaves fly in through the open windows.
After an hour or so I realize that I have become pretty used to the heat and I realize that I don’t even notice the smell of sweat and dust anymore. By we have passed a few small villages and the bus is cramped. There are old men, women carrying things on their heads and school children. We pass a school and I see three little girls in the yard looking at me. I wave at them and they giggle shyly and wave back. They smile and laugh and this makes me smile and laugh. Again, I think about how unconfined children are and how carefree (well, unfortunately not all children get that luxury, but children always find a way to be children, or at least they should).
All of the sudden we hear a loud noise and it feels as if the bus hit a big bump. I get kind of worried right away and wonder whether we lost part of the motor or if we ran over something. The bus stops and the bus driver get out to check on things. When he gets back into the bus and starts driving after a few minutes, I assume everything is ok. I keep watching the people getting on and off the bus and decide that I really like the colors of the clothes. Women here wear very bright, colorful and happy colors and it makes me smile. I realize we are approaching the outskirts of the city and I notice how the kinds of people on the bus slowly change. I see IT workers and businessmen with small cell phones enter the bus and sit among the farmers of the villages. I am enjoying watching this “contrast.”After four and a half hours of driving, and switching buses once, we arrive at the guesthouse, exhausted, tired, hungry and thirsty. Without a word, everyone heads to his or her air-conditioned rooms.

Journal 17

Friday, June 30, 2006
Saturday, July 1, 2006
Sunday, July 02, 2006

Dear Journal,

Since we didn’t go on any major excursions this weekend, I decided to write one big Journal entry instead of three separate ones. Like planned, we had a very “unplanned,” spontaneous weekend. And like I had intended, I got a lot of work for my classes done, which feels really good. For once something actually went as planned, but in an unplanned way :)

On Friday I did not get up for breakfast and slept in for the first time since I have been here…it felt great! After lunch I did some research for my paper for the “Contemporary India class.” I decided to write my paper on the Population Control Program in India, because the Idea of a developing nation, a third the size of the United States and an estimated population of 1,103,371,000, trying to control this growth is very interesting. I decided to walk over to the library to try and find some more information on the topic. After a few hours of hard work, we met up with Satya who wanted to take us to watch a movie at the IMAX Theater. This time we made sure that the movie was in English J. We left early in order to get tickets, because it was the opening night of the new Superman movie. When we arrived at the ticket counter we saw that the little screens said that the evening shows were all sold out, however Satya recommended that one of us go up to the counter and sure enough, when I asked for six tickets the guy at the counter whispered something into another mans ear and sold me six tickets for Superman at 7:24 p.m. that night. Interesting….

The IMAX is not just a movie theater; it is more like a very American mall. They have a huge food court with big screen TVs playing soccer matches from the world cup, they have clothing and music stores and everything else you could possibly want. The complex was very clean and decorated in a very “western-looking” way. Before the movie, we ate in the food court and enjoyed chicken burgers and pizza for what is equivalent to about 2,50 US$.

When you enter the movie theater, there are two guys at the entrance handing out 3-D glasses making sure to tell you not to break them!! Once we sat down in the movie theater we heard a distant “Hey look, white people!!!” and saw that a few rows down there was another big group of “white people” and apparently they were very excited to see us. The movie was pretty good and it was kind of nice because for once people seemed to stare at us a little less than usually. This however changed once we left the building, where EVERYONE on that particular street wanted us to ride in his or her rickshaw or taxi. But luckily we had Shandra Shaker to give us a ride…. Oh “Thunder Shaker,” what would we do without you?

Saturday I again slept through breakfast and as soon as I got up started working on my paper. All of us worked pretty hard on our school projects until we left to go and eat out once again at 6:00 p.m. We went and ate at the “Chutney’s” which was great. The food was delicious and so cheap!!! We all had appetizers, soft drinks (POP J), a full meal, dessert and tea and paid about 5 US$ a person. When we left the restaurant and walked up the street to find our taxi, we were surrounded by begging women and children within seconds. They kept saying: “Money, money, money” which makes sense, but then one of the women started saying: “Money, money, chocolate, chocolate”…. chocolate?!?! WHY CHOLCOLATE? I thought that was an odd request, but hey, she wanted chocolate.

It is still very hard for me to try and “ignore” them and not give them all I have, but I know that if you give them something, all they learn is that begging is ok. Also, if you give one person something, you have to give everyone something and that is impossible to do. It was also very strange, because apparently they told Satya, who was the only guy with us, that we were all improper women and that we would not stay with our husbands. Very odd… So after we finally found “Thunder Shaker” we got into the car VERY quickly. We then went to the “touch” for some “evening fun.” It was nice to get out and dance with our group, but it is so annoying, because even at a place like touch, which is a very upper-scale club, we get talked to and stared at. So after a couple of hours we were exhausted and ready to call it a night.

Our Sunday again was spent mostly on finishing up our projects for school and drinking lots of tea J. I did finish all my Participant Observations and Journals for the Ethnography class and I also finished my research paper for the Contemporary India class. Tonight, we will once again eat out, simply because since the Scandinavian students have arrived it is too crowded in the guesthouse. There is room for about 16 students in the dinning hall, but there are about 35 students at the moment. The addition is in progress, but is not going to be done for another ten days, so until then we have been eating in “shifts” and while sitting in the TV room or sitting area. So, we decided to go and see what Italian food in India is like. There is a little place called “little Italy” so we thought we should try that.
We have also been trying to make some plans to celebrate the 4th of July. I think we are going to try and make some Hotdogs (well, they might end up being “Chicken Dogs”), some French fries, corn, Iced tea and maybe get some fireworks. It should be interesting to see how well we do cooking those things in the facilities which we will have available here .