So I'm sitting in the library right now snuggled comfortably into one of the corner floor couches with a lovely wool shawl. I felt a little under the weather this morning. I woke up with a sore throat and stomach pains so I'm a little worried, but then again, I'm not going to feel 100% all of the time. Today, like class day (typically Monday through Friday) we have a catered lunch at the program center. I look forward to this meal every day. Our cook, Uday-ji, is amazing, always using fresh ingredients and foolproof recipes. Today we had a sliced cucumber and carrot salad, white rice, brown lentils with parsley in a dal style, sauteed okra, raita with chickpeas, and fresh chapati. Dessert was gulab jamun. Yum. These past several days we have had the host parents of various students join the group for lunch so that they all feel more connected to the program. It's been nice meeting my friends' "parents". My friend Greg actually sort of resembles his host father. They eat similarly, walk similarly, are both tall. It's really cute.
Last night I returned home from school with my neighborhood buddy Josh and decided to dive into my newly created pirated Bollywood DVD collection. Josh has a sort of obsession with pirated DVDs and videogames, so he has become an expert in the art of DVD hunting and Bollywood culture. He gave me a great DVD with the top 6 Bollywood Movies of 2008--really great. After we got home, we watched "Om Shanti Om," a film with Shah Rukh Khan, the male Bollywood sensation. The story essentially follows a boy-next-door trying to make it into stardom and his huge obsession with the starlet of the day. It takes place in the 1970s for half the movie and the second half in the present day. It's musical madness coupled with oversexualized interactions that don't actually result in sex. It's great escapism which I plan to dive into far more over the semester.
After my movie evening, I went with my host sister, Mintu, to a hotel in my neighborhood for several drinks and a get together with her friends. The hotel is pretty ritzy and expensive, but the top floor has a Mediterranean themed rooftop bar and lounge, with an open roof and beautiful view of the city. India has seriously gotten it right with all of the rooftop and open air architecture across its metropolitan cities. Then again, when it gets that hot, you really need to be elevated to catch some of the wind sweeping through the miserable heat. Mintu's friends arrived, an adorable couple from Jaipur. The husband, Sachin, is a general surgeon and owns a hospital in Malviya nagar, a nice neighborhood of Jaipur. His wife, Chinu, is a contractual hospital management and public health consultant for the government. Currently she is working on a project for the World Bank observing the management and allocation of funds across a secondary sector of hospitals across 5 Indian states. I really enjoyed talking to her and getting sort of an idea of the Indian hospital system. I got an invitation to visit Chinu's hospital at the beginning of March. After the couple left, Sanjay (Mintu's boyfriend/fiance), Mintu, and I all hung out a little longer and danced a bit. It was really fun and a nice escape from my typical routine.
At school, I'm in the process of designing my ISP, or Independent Study Project, which will be my complete focus for the month of April. I feel like I'm on the brink of something really good, but I just can't seem to hone down on one specific topic. My general interest as of now is looking at Food and Development. Ha. Yes, I know. Broad. The three abstracts I proposed are:
1. Looking at produce vendors in urban areas and their incoming competition from the commercial supermarket industry. What are the relationships between the food vendors and farmers? What infrastructure exists to protect the employment of these individuals? (I need to further expand this idea to sort of come up with a project goal).
2. Examining food aid programs in a state, NGO involvement, intertwined with food education. Evaluating methodology and distinguishing some of the unique challenges facing the public aid sector.
3. Researching and studying nutritional education in India and the influence of Ayurveda and the commercialized and popularized notions and approaches to health. How does the media influence individual's perceptions of nutrition and health.
Honestly, I am open to suggestions. The ISP needs to be specific. These categories are rather broad and open-ended. I am currently reading a lot of economic food policy and also "The Political Economy of Hunger" which is fascinating. Eventually I want my ISP to be creative and really reflect my interests. I also want to be based primarily in an Indian city. So, yeah. That's where it stands as of now.
Next week the group is traveling to Jodhpur and Jaisalmer for a development and NGO excursion. While in the two cities, we will be doing some sightseeing, but will primarily visiting and interviewing NGO managers trying to get an idea of the development "industry" in India. We are also going for a camel trek and camping in the desert for a night. I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS!
Anyway, I should probably sign off because this has been a long entry and I've undoubtedly exhausted or bored you. Please give me feedback about the ISP at my email address: mtaskier@gmail.com
Thanks for reading!
--Madeline/Mimi
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
India's Animals
So, this morning I ever so gracefully arose out of bed after having been woken up by cooing pigeons that live just above the air conditioning unit outside of my window. These are some clever little fellows. They pretend to be all cute and quiet and the moment I doze off or even venture into some day dream, they FREAK OUT and start maniacally pecking at one another signaling to me that the pigeon apocalypse is at my doorstep. In conclusion, these pigeons follow my main framework of how to approach Indian strangers in general: They may be friendly, but they aren't necessarily your friends.
After I got ready for school, quite early for me I might add (around 7am or so--Mom and Dad you should be proud), I walked downstairs to join papi for breakfast. Papi likes to wake up ridiculously early to read the paper, stretch, and do adult-like things. I typically join him at the end of his routine at his most talkative point, but this morning I caught him at a rather surprising moment in the front garden. I looked out the front door and there is papi with a tin of biscuits in his lap. The biscuits are crumbled and there are FIVE (YES FIVE) CHIPMUNKS crawling on his shoulders and chest feeding right out of his hand. Deeply affected by my ravaging fear of rodents, I instantly reacted with a scream, not the expected, animal-friendly sigh. The whole house gets woken up, my one scream has wreaked havoc on the whole family. Wow, I'm an idiot. Then again, how can I not be shocked when my host father is feeding chipmunks, humming in a garden like snow white? Who voluntarily touches rodents, honestly?
And, for another piece of news: My host sister, Mintu, may be getting married next month. Last night she asked me for my schedule in the month of March so that she could start coordinating guests and relatives. Apparently her boyfriend, Sanjay, has been pressuring her for the last month or so to finally get married. Yay! So I hope the whole thing works out and I get to be involved with all the festivities. Then again, considering Mintu's high-maintenance attitude and general approach to life, it may be thoroughly exhausting sitting through all the fittings and wedding decoration decisions which I normally couldn't care less about. We'll just have to see.
That's all for now. I think this afternoon I may head to a book fair near the old city of Jaipur and see what I find.
After I got ready for school, quite early for me I might add (around 7am or so--Mom and Dad you should be proud), I walked downstairs to join papi for breakfast. Papi likes to wake up ridiculously early to read the paper, stretch, and do adult-like things. I typically join him at the end of his routine at his most talkative point, but this morning I caught him at a rather surprising moment in the front garden. I looked out the front door and there is papi with a tin of biscuits in his lap. The biscuits are crumbled and there are FIVE (YES FIVE) CHIPMUNKS crawling on his shoulders and chest feeding right out of his hand. Deeply affected by my ravaging fear of rodents, I instantly reacted with a scream, not the expected, animal-friendly sigh. The whole house gets woken up, my one scream has wreaked havoc on the whole family. Wow, I'm an idiot. Then again, how can I not be shocked when my host father is feeding chipmunks, humming in a garden like snow white? Who voluntarily touches rodents, honestly?
And, for another piece of news: My host sister, Mintu, may be getting married next month. Last night she asked me for my schedule in the month of March so that she could start coordinating guests and relatives. Apparently her boyfriend, Sanjay, has been pressuring her for the last month or so to finally get married. Yay! So I hope the whole thing works out and I get to be involved with all the festivities. Then again, considering Mintu's high-maintenance attitude and general approach to life, it may be thoroughly exhausting sitting through all the fittings and wedding decoration decisions which I normally couldn't care less about. We'll just have to see.
That's all for now. I think this afternoon I may head to a book fair near the old city of Jaipur and see what I find.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Thoughts on India
I’ve had many thoughts on my mind pending written description, so this update may seem a little scattered, but the themes are extremely relevant in the context of my life here.
First of all, it’s wedding season in India and the air is buzzing with families shopping, elephants hustling down major freeways in the groom processions, and fireworks going off at literally all times of the day. My house is situated around several very nice hotels so I have been falling asleep to the booming, yet lovely songs of Bollywood films and MCs pumping up the crowds in Hindi. As I said, fireworks are pretty popular and completely legal here. You can be in an autorickshaw on a street in the evening minding your own business and all of a sudden beautiful fireworks will be set off right in front of you. At first I was extremely jumpy at every crackling sound, the memory of last spring’s bombings springing forward. Fortunately they are not bombs or sounds of violence, but of celebration.
On the 19th, I should be attending a wedding with my host family at a nearby hotel for a family friend’s niece. Let me just preface my whole wedding discussion with the fact that weddings are accepted as extremely loud, ridiculous, crowded events that cost a lot of money and a lot of effort. My host parents have attended 5 weddings in the past week, all for individuals they have never met directly, but are related to or acquainted with. When ma announced the possibility of me attending a wedding, I was extremely excited. She of course sighed, rolled her eyes, and said, “Ayyy, not another one.” So, while these weddings are of course a great party and celebrated event, being well-established in a community can be thoroughly exhausting because of the many invitations. At some of these functions, a thousand people attend! At first, the idea of several hundred people attending a life milestone celebration I thought to myself, 'Jesus, I’m never doing that.' But, guess what? I already have. My bat mitzvah was an enormous event itself. I can just remember, at 13, thinking about all of the random people in the giant sanctuary, wondering if I would be at all able to remember their faces and names. I can speculate that the bride and groom are probably thinking and feeling the same thing.
So, in several days, I’ll be going to this wedding in a saree and all. Here is my segue into the next topic. My host-mother’s sarees. Mom, if you are reading this, just know that this woman beats you in all categories of clothing organization. If you thought you could organize colored sweaters, you should try and organize 400 different kinds of sarees. One day last week after a lecture at Diggi Palace, I came back to be invited into ma’s room to chat. She was sitting on her bed staring at her open closet. I came in, glanced and nearly had a heart attack at how many beautiful pieces of fabric were in the closet. Everything was color coded by major hue and then sorted into sections by type of fabric. It was unbelievable. Apparently, ma reorganizes and refolds sarees everyday and barely ever wears the same saree twice. This is a very common trend among the upper class women. An Indian woman is seen as more beautiful, more goddess like if she wears different clothes everyday. Come to think of it, I have never seen either of my Hindi teachers wear the same sarees or salwaar kameez twice. Yesterday in a market in the old city I saw a beautiful silk saree for Rs 2500, roughly $50. I was extremely tempted to buy it, but knew that I wouldn’t really be wearing it. Younger unmarried women tend to stick to the long tunic top and skinny leggings or jeans. I think for the wedding on the 19th I will get to borrow one of ma’s sarees and be satisfied for a while.
Another love-related event shook up our group and really reminded us of the intense cultural differences in Indian relations and American relations. My host sister, Mintu, works for an event management company that organizes weddings, conferences, and large promotional events. This year, her company decided to organize and throw a Valentine’s Day bash for any young Jaipurite couples who were willing to pay Rs. 2500, roughly $50 a couple for open bar, all inclusive food, and entertainment. Of course, Mintu wanted me to come and bring friends from my program. I talked to the group and a good portion of us were prepared to go, buying nice dresses and shoes for the occasion. However, what I didn’t realize was the context in which this holiday takes place in India. Valentine’s Day has emerged very recently in the past five years as a commercial holiday advertised mostly in Indian film and among the Bollywood stars. Boutiques, bookshops, and restaurants have started selling love and couple paraphernalia to individuals in hordes as Indian youth gets sucked into the trends. The commercial nature of the holiday has also shifted from accumulation of goods to the daring, somewhat newly rebellious behavior of young Indian men and women against the cultural norms and male and female interaction. Couples are holding hands in public, kissing, and cuddling. According to Mintu (this may not be an entirely credible source), there are even some young girls who run off with their sweethearts and get married in the mood of love. In the eyes of many right-wing Hindu activists and thinkers, Valentine’s Day has disrupted the appropriate system of male-female relations. In their eyes it is a disgrace to disobey the cultural norms of marriage and dating; disobedience of the parents is the utmost demonstration of disrespect and dishonor. The Shiv Sena and other right wing fundamentalist were getting rather heated on the topic of Valentine’s Day for Jaipur’s youth. Several days leading up to the party, newspaper articles voiced the threats of the Shiv Sena against any Indian individuals who planned on displaying their affection and love in public. The government of Rajasthan announced the dispatch of unmarked police officers all over the couple “hot spots” in the city in an effort to curb and prevent the violence against young men and women. Three days before the party, a largely public event, Mintu’s office got a call from an anonymous right wing member that threatened “compromising of the safety and security of the guests at the event.” Mintu and her colleagues decided to cancel in an effort to avoid potential liabilities and violence that might have ensued. Imagine the shock and confusion my group must have felt at this threat and subsequent decision. Why are Indians so afraid of PDA? The right-wing groups really will take action when they are displeased with activities that go against tradition. Wow, I can’t believe that they threatened a private party. These are just some of the thoughts going through my friends’ minds. How has one commercial holiday that in theory causes little damage, stimulated such strong feelings of anger and fundamentalism in a society? It is not as if every young person is going out and parading his or her relationships around openly. It is the idea that these individuals are thinking about love and love relationships as an acceptable avenue to walk down. The possibility of change scares many people here. Lack of control, order, and loss of tradition scares those who cling to it. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. While I agree with the ideas of preservation of tradition, I take issue with political and religious interference with individual autonomy. Young people are people as well and should be allowed certain rights. Respect and honor for the family is very important, but I don’t think the participation in such holiday celebrations actually violates these values. There can be a middle ground between the expectations of parents and families to be respectful individuals and the desire to interact with youth from the opposite sex. How one can achieve this is being shaped by individuals on a daily basis.
As I might have mentioned to some people earlier, my internet is really terrible. I don’t yet have it at my homestay and the program center is in the process of transferring from a government line to an Airtel line which should be more reliable. Sadly, whenever I want to get on the internet, everyone else does as well and the routers get overloaded. I’ll try my very best to stay in touch with you all as much as possible. Please send me letters - I really love them. I’ll update soon and, again, thanks for reading!
Mimi
First of all, it’s wedding season in India and the air is buzzing with families shopping, elephants hustling down major freeways in the groom processions, and fireworks going off at literally all times of the day. My house is situated around several very nice hotels so I have been falling asleep to the booming, yet lovely songs of Bollywood films and MCs pumping up the crowds in Hindi. As I said, fireworks are pretty popular and completely legal here. You can be in an autorickshaw on a street in the evening minding your own business and all of a sudden beautiful fireworks will be set off right in front of you. At first I was extremely jumpy at every crackling sound, the memory of last spring’s bombings springing forward. Fortunately they are not bombs or sounds of violence, but of celebration.
On the 19th, I should be attending a wedding with my host family at a nearby hotel for a family friend’s niece. Let me just preface my whole wedding discussion with the fact that weddings are accepted as extremely loud, ridiculous, crowded events that cost a lot of money and a lot of effort. My host parents have attended 5 weddings in the past week, all for individuals they have never met directly, but are related to or acquainted with. When ma announced the possibility of me attending a wedding, I was extremely excited. She of course sighed, rolled her eyes, and said, “Ayyy, not another one.” So, while these weddings are of course a great party and celebrated event, being well-established in a community can be thoroughly exhausting because of the many invitations. At some of these functions, a thousand people attend! At first, the idea of several hundred people attending a life milestone celebration I thought to myself, 'Jesus, I’m never doing that.' But, guess what? I already have. My bat mitzvah was an enormous event itself. I can just remember, at 13, thinking about all of the random people in the giant sanctuary, wondering if I would be at all able to remember their faces and names. I can speculate that the bride and groom are probably thinking and feeling the same thing.
So, in several days, I’ll be going to this wedding in a saree and all. Here is my segue into the next topic. My host-mother’s sarees. Mom, if you are reading this, just know that this woman beats you in all categories of clothing organization. If you thought you could organize colored sweaters, you should try and organize 400 different kinds of sarees. One day last week after a lecture at Diggi Palace, I came back to be invited into ma’s room to chat. She was sitting on her bed staring at her open closet. I came in, glanced and nearly had a heart attack at how many beautiful pieces of fabric were in the closet. Everything was color coded by major hue and then sorted into sections by type of fabric. It was unbelievable. Apparently, ma reorganizes and refolds sarees everyday and barely ever wears the same saree twice. This is a very common trend among the upper class women. An Indian woman is seen as more beautiful, more goddess like if she wears different clothes everyday. Come to think of it, I have never seen either of my Hindi teachers wear the same sarees or salwaar kameez twice. Yesterday in a market in the old city I saw a beautiful silk saree for Rs 2500, roughly $50. I was extremely tempted to buy it, but knew that I wouldn’t really be wearing it. Younger unmarried women tend to stick to the long tunic top and skinny leggings or jeans. I think for the wedding on the 19th I will get to borrow one of ma’s sarees and be satisfied for a while.
Another love-related event shook up our group and really reminded us of the intense cultural differences in Indian relations and American relations. My host sister, Mintu, works for an event management company that organizes weddings, conferences, and large promotional events. This year, her company decided to organize and throw a Valentine’s Day bash for any young Jaipurite couples who were willing to pay Rs. 2500, roughly $50 a couple for open bar, all inclusive food, and entertainment. Of course, Mintu wanted me to come and bring friends from my program. I talked to the group and a good portion of us were prepared to go, buying nice dresses and shoes for the occasion. However, what I didn’t realize was the context in which this holiday takes place in India. Valentine’s Day has emerged very recently in the past five years as a commercial holiday advertised mostly in Indian film and among the Bollywood stars. Boutiques, bookshops, and restaurants have started selling love and couple paraphernalia to individuals in hordes as Indian youth gets sucked into the trends. The commercial nature of the holiday has also shifted from accumulation of goods to the daring, somewhat newly rebellious behavior of young Indian men and women against the cultural norms and male and female interaction. Couples are holding hands in public, kissing, and cuddling. According to Mintu (this may not be an entirely credible source), there are even some young girls who run off with their sweethearts and get married in the mood of love. In the eyes of many right-wing Hindu activists and thinkers, Valentine’s Day has disrupted the appropriate system of male-female relations. In their eyes it is a disgrace to disobey the cultural norms of marriage and dating; disobedience of the parents is the utmost demonstration of disrespect and dishonor. The Shiv Sena and other right wing fundamentalist were getting rather heated on the topic of Valentine’s Day for Jaipur’s youth. Several days leading up to the party, newspaper articles voiced the threats of the Shiv Sena against any Indian individuals who planned on displaying their affection and love in public. The government of Rajasthan announced the dispatch of unmarked police officers all over the couple “hot spots” in the city in an effort to curb and prevent the violence against young men and women. Three days before the party, a largely public event, Mintu’s office got a call from an anonymous right wing member that threatened “compromising of the safety and security of the guests at the event.” Mintu and her colleagues decided to cancel in an effort to avoid potential liabilities and violence that might have ensued. Imagine the shock and confusion my group must have felt at this threat and subsequent decision. Why are Indians so afraid of PDA? The right-wing groups really will take action when they are displeased with activities that go against tradition. Wow, I can’t believe that they threatened a private party. These are just some of the thoughts going through my friends’ minds. How has one commercial holiday that in theory causes little damage, stimulated such strong feelings of anger and fundamentalism in a society? It is not as if every young person is going out and parading his or her relationships around openly. It is the idea that these individuals are thinking about love and love relationships as an acceptable avenue to walk down. The possibility of change scares many people here. Lack of control, order, and loss of tradition scares those who cling to it. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. While I agree with the ideas of preservation of tradition, I take issue with political and religious interference with individual autonomy. Young people are people as well and should be allowed certain rights. Respect and honor for the family is very important, but I don’t think the participation in such holiday celebrations actually violates these values. There can be a middle ground between the expectations of parents and families to be respectful individuals and the desire to interact with youth from the opposite sex. How one can achieve this is being shaped by individuals on a daily basis.
As I might have mentioned to some people earlier, my internet is really terrible. I don’t yet have it at my homestay and the program center is in the process of transferring from a government line to an Airtel line which should be more reliable. Sadly, whenever I want to get on the internet, everyone else does as well and the routers get overloaded. I’ll try my very best to stay in touch with you all as much as possible. Please send me letters - I really love them. I’ll update soon and, again, thanks for reading!
Mimi
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Arrival in Jaipur
I am absolutely loving India.
Today I moved into my homestay which was extremely nervewracking but exciting. The entire group (all 21 of us) was chatting non-stop about it all day worrying whether we would like our families or whether they would like us. I can honestly say that I had nothing to worry about and my family is fantastic. I'm living with an elder Bengali couple in a 'posh' neighborhood on the south side of Jaipur. My homestay father, Varun (or papi as I call him), is an architect and just won an honorary lifetime award for achievements in modern Indian architecture. Very cool. My homestay mother, Indira (or ma), has lived at home caring for the children, but is an AMAZING cook and is one of the more beautiful older Indian women I have ever seen. She has bright green eyes and gorgeous skin. Papi and ma have three daughters and were very pleased to know that I am one of three sisters as well. As of now, the oldest daughter, Mintu, lives at home with her parents after a terrible divorce from her ex-husband. Mintu is extremely talkative, bossy, outgoing and has so far been a great host. One of the other daughters who lives in Australia just gave birth to a baby girl, making the third grandchild for ma and papi. I helped Mintu drop off almost 25 gift baskets to friends and family around Jaipur in celebration of the new family member.
In addition to the Mintu and her sisters, ma and papi have adopted two young girls and taken charge of their education. Lakshmi and Devana (15 and 11) are extremely adorable, but quiet so I haven't gotten to know them all that well. Papi puts extreme emphasis on education, especially education for women.
Ok, so I should probably talk about the orientation I've been through for the past week. However, it's been sort of a blur so I thought I would just highlight some of my favorite parts.
• On Thursday we visited Humayan's Tomb. This Mughal Ruler built a fantastic tomb in the middle of Delhi chockfull of Islamic architecture. We walked around the building, got a tour, and explored the gardens. Then in the afternoon we ate at Delhi's most famous vegetarian thali restaurant.
• The drive from Delhi to Jaipur was absolutely amazing. Peeling through the Rajasthani countryside on highways was not only exhausting, but also captivating. One of the most prominent things about India is the idea that you see so many things at once and often have trouble processing it all. We rolled into Jaipur just as the sun was setting passing elephants, monkeys, parrots, and camels.
• The program center in Jaipur is absolutely amazing and an oasis in the dusty city. The whole place is marble. When we walked in, we were given rose garlands that smelled unbelievable. Inside the program center are offices, a kitchen, a large lecture room, a library (with the comfiest floor couches), a meditation room, a rooftop terrace, a beautiful front lawn, and a computer room. The whole place is quaint and grand all at the same time.
• On Sunday we traveled to Diggi Village, approximately 80 km outside of Jaipur. I was shocked and amazed to find out (today of course) that one of our academic directors Mia-ji or Maria Stallone is married to a Rajput or one of the old royal family members of the kings in Rajasthan. His family owns Diggi Fort, the village, and everything around it. SO COOL. Ms. Stallone arranged for a private visit to the Fort and the Temple of the Village and organized a scavenger hunt throughout the town. My friend Jason and I were paired up together and we went walking around the town. Two women approached us with their infants and toddlers asking in Hindi what we were up to. We asked for directions to the market and followed them, but instead they led us to a polio vaccination clinic for their children. We had gathered a pretty large crow d by then so as we entered the clinic, the mother placed a baby in my arms and I held her as she got her treatment. Jason was surrounded by many of the men in the village and they kept handing him carrots (which by the way are a bright pink color here). It was absolutely amazing.
• That same afternoon, Mr. Aadhar, our program coordinator and Mr. Sain, the assistant program coordinator, organized a game of cricket with all the students. The majority of the group including our Hindi teachers, Goutam-ji, Mrs. Mehr, and Ms. Singh played along. It was so much fun and absolutely hilarious as the whole village sat on the wall watching us like a peanut gallery.
Several nights ago we all went to a Rajasthani themed village restaurant. It was literally like Disney world meets India. We ate a traditional meal, wore turbans, it was totally ridiculous and hokey, but very fun. After, we walked around the village seeing snake charmers, dancers, and magicians. I RODE AN ELEPHANT! It was so much fun.
I'm about to go to the mall with a couple friends to buy a cell phone charger, hang out and get coffee.
Today I moved into my homestay which was extremely nervewracking but exciting. The entire group (all 21 of us) was chatting non-stop about it all day worrying whether we would like our families or whether they would like us. I can honestly say that I had nothing to worry about and my family is fantastic. I'm living with an elder Bengali couple in a 'posh' neighborhood on the south side of Jaipur. My homestay father, Varun (or papi as I call him), is an architect and just won an honorary lifetime award for achievements in modern Indian architecture. Very cool. My homestay mother, Indira (or ma), has lived at home caring for the children, but is an AMAZING cook and is one of the more beautiful older Indian women I have ever seen. She has bright green eyes and gorgeous skin. Papi and ma have three daughters and were very pleased to know that I am one of three sisters as well. As of now, the oldest daughter, Mintu, lives at home with her parents after a terrible divorce from her ex-husband. Mintu is extremely talkative, bossy, outgoing and has so far been a great host. One of the other daughters who lives in Australia just gave birth to a baby girl, making the third grandchild for ma and papi. I helped Mintu drop off almost 25 gift baskets to friends and family around Jaipur in celebration of the new family member.
In addition to the Mintu and her sisters, ma and papi have adopted two young girls and taken charge of their education. Lakshmi and Devana (15 and 11) are extremely adorable, but quiet so I haven't gotten to know them all that well. Papi puts extreme emphasis on education, especially education for women.
Ok, so I should probably talk about the orientation I've been through for the past week. However, it's been sort of a blur so I thought I would just highlight some of my favorite parts.
• On Thursday we visited Humayan's Tomb. This Mughal Ruler built a fantastic tomb in the middle of Delhi chockfull of Islamic architecture. We walked around the building, got a tour, and explored the gardens. Then in the afternoon we ate at Delhi's most famous vegetarian thali restaurant.
• The drive from Delhi to Jaipur was absolutely amazing. Peeling through the Rajasthani countryside on highways was not only exhausting, but also captivating. One of the most prominent things about India is the idea that you see so many things at once and often have trouble processing it all. We rolled into Jaipur just as the sun was setting passing elephants, monkeys, parrots, and camels.
• The program center in Jaipur is absolutely amazing and an oasis in the dusty city. The whole place is marble. When we walked in, we were given rose garlands that smelled unbelievable. Inside the program center are offices, a kitchen, a large lecture room, a library (with the comfiest floor couches), a meditation room, a rooftop terrace, a beautiful front lawn, and a computer room. The whole place is quaint and grand all at the same time.
• On Sunday we traveled to Diggi Village, approximately 80 km outside of Jaipur. I was shocked and amazed to find out (today of course) that one of our academic directors Mia-ji or Maria Stallone is married to a Rajput or one of the old royal family members of the kings in Rajasthan. His family owns Diggi Fort, the village, and everything around it. SO COOL. Ms. Stallone arranged for a private visit to the Fort and the Temple of the Village and organized a scavenger hunt throughout the town. My friend Jason and I were paired up together and we went walking around the town. Two women approached us with their infants and toddlers asking in Hindi what we were up to. We asked for directions to the market and followed them, but instead they led us to a polio vaccination clinic for their children. We had gathered a pretty large crow d by then so as we entered the clinic, the mother placed a baby in my arms and I held her as she got her treatment. Jason was surrounded by many of the men in the village and they kept handing him carrots (which by the way are a bright pink color here). It was absolutely amazing.
• That same afternoon, Mr. Aadhar, our program coordinator and Mr. Sain, the assistant program coordinator, organized a game of cricket with all the students. The majority of the group including our Hindi teachers, Goutam-ji, Mrs. Mehr, and Ms. Singh played along. It was so much fun and absolutely hilarious as the whole village sat on the wall watching us like a peanut gallery.
Several nights ago we all went to a Rajasthani themed village restaurant. It was literally like Disney world meets India. We ate a traditional meal, wore turbans, it was totally ridiculous and hokey, but very fun. After, we walked around the village seeing snake charmers, dancers, and magicians. I RODE AN ELEPHANT! It was so much fun.
I'm about to go to the mall with a couple friends to buy a cell phone charger, hang out and get coffee.
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