New Thoughts, New Masala!

I want to set a few things straight first.  Yes, cows do roam the streets at will.  Yes, you do call them chaiwallas (the men who make/bring chai) and drink it at least 3 times a day.  Yes, poverty is very apparent and children will often come up to you asking for money or food.  Shoes are taken off before you enter a house.  My hands are my main and only utensil.  And yes, there are probably about 20 spices that go into every single dish.  But then again, it wouldn’t be India any other way. 

You can correctly assume that I’ve arrived in India safe and in one piece.  The program so far has been fantastic, and the fellow “fellows” have made this a great learning experience: a pluralistic community of people from many different backgrounds both religious and not.  Ranging from orthodox to agnostic, business majors to artists, it is a great group of young adults who are really interested in issues of development and social justice. 

We are living on Kochrab Ashram, the first ashram that Gandhi started in India.   An ashram is a community for spiritual and personal growth.  Our accommodations, I’m sure you all want to know about, are very…spartan.  Yes, squat toilets, bucket showers, and no internet.  It’s a great escape to actually be disconnected to the world and finally reconnected to yourself and your immediate community.  And in case you were wondering, I have successfully used a squat toilet.…not that bad.  The entire ashram is also vegetarian.  So that means no meat or eggs.  In fact, the entire state of Gujarat for the most part is entirely vegetarian...and dry (alcohol-wise).  I do have to say, the food has been fantastic.  I'm definitely not starving over here. 

Kochrab Ashram.

Our bathroom facilities.  Toilet on the Left, and shower on the right (complete with bucket).

The ashram is located in Ahmedabad, the largest city in the state of Gujarat.  Unfortunately, we haven’t had too much of a chance to explore the city of Ahmedabad given our schedule. However, I can tell you the temperature has been about a steady 85 degrees with probably 85% humidity.  Which means that I constantly have a layer of sweat and dirt covering my body 24 hours a day.  It is something I’m trying to get used to, but is really frustrating when you never get a reprieve (read down to the movie part and you’ll understand how fantastic that was).  Also, many of your ideas or stereotypes about India are true to a degree.  Extreme poverty is a blatant occurrence, with children coming to you in rags asking for money.  Yes, cows do roam the streets at will and cars swerve /stop/avoid them to the best of their abilities.  Traffic is terrible, and I am truly amazed by the ability of rickshaws and motorcycles to dodge between large trucks, other cars, cows, people, and the occasional elephant and camel.  But at the end of the day, all these make India a much more dynamic and interesting place.

Pretty self explanatory

Just a little rickshaw race.  Greeting some of our fellows during our ride.

This past week, most of our programming centered around Judaism.  I’ve never really engaged with Judaism in the way that I have this week.  India is a country filled with religions and religious complexities (Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddism, Jainism, Judiasm, etc), and it is a really exciting backdrop to think and discuss about issues of Judaism, social justice, and faith.  We had our first Shabbat together this past Friday night/Saturday, and held services together in the ashram.  It was almost…magical…in having everyone come together, each with this common thread, celebrating the Sabbath.  We celebrated in a way that made everyone able to participate no matter their religious background.

A highlight.  We went to FabIndia: THE place to go to buy your typical Indian clothing.  For men, that means kurtas (or longer shirts with a distinct collar), and for women that means either a sari or salway kameez.  We spent hours there, and I did buy myself a few Indian clothes.  Before we went however, we had a quick fashion show using some borrowed clothing from Sunitaji (the in-country representative from AJWS, a wonderful woman that is helping us navigate our time here in India).

The group of us fellows.  Don't we look dashing!

            We also went to our first Bollywood movie the other day (bollywood is the Indian film industry), a terrible film called “Hello Darling” about a chauvinistic male boss in a Mumbai office.  But I have to say that it was amazing to sit in these theaters…about the level of an Arclight in Hollywood with plush, reclining seats, AC (now you know why this was so fantastic), and caramel popcorn.  I have never so much appreciated AC as I did this past Saturday night.  Although the movie was completely in Hindi, we were able to follow the plot.  And every now and then they would throw in an English sentence that would help keep things in context (although it would mostly be them swearing).

            And so here I am.  Learning and living in India.  We start language classes this week, so I’ll make sure to let you know when I’m fluent in Hindi.  Hopefully the weather will start to cool down soon….

(and if you’re interested in learning more about my flight here, keep reading)

Oxford Street in London.

The trip here was fairly uneventful: 20 hours on a plane, 7 hours in an airport, 6 hours in London, and 5 hours of sleep.  During our 10 hour layover in London, my flight-mate (Katie) and I decided to trek into London.  We arrived at Paddington Station (on the Central London express), explored Oxford Street and the Marble Arch.  (Laurie, things are looking good for you here.)  After our journey and a final stop at Starbucks, we went back to Heathrow and found some of our new fellows.  A burger, shot of jack, and beer later (my last of all these for while…), and we made our way to Mumbai.  As soon as we stepped off the airplane, a layer of sweat appeared over my entire body.  And it has yet to leave.  To be completely honest, I have sweated constantly over the past 5 days.  The humidity does not help.  But, another 4 hour layover and 1 hour flight and we made it to Ahmedabad.  We finally made it!  An exhausted group of 11 Americans ready for the experience of their life.