Reporting Live from Anadur

Just wanted to post a quick note that I've arrived in Anadur!  By way of plane, train, and automobile, I've finally made it!  It is a weird feeling to be separated from the rest of the fellows now that we've all split up to our different placements.  But then again that gives us each the opportunity to grow and form a community here in India.  I don't have too much to report, but just want to let everyone know that I'm safe and still alive. 


I'll let you all know how I do settling in and getting started with work!


Missing you all!


Andrew

Orientation Ends

And so orientation is drawing to a close. On Sunday evening, our work counterparts from our partner NGOs will arrive to spend our last few days together, and then we all depart our separate way for the next 5 months. It’s ridiculous to think how quickly the past four weeks have gone by, and that only makes me more nervous about the next 10 months. But, day by day I continue to tell myself. No need to freak out too early…

I had my last evening with my host family a a week and a half ago.  They are probably the nicest couple I have ever met!  In order to better accommodate all of our schedules, we decided it would be best for me to spend the night at their house.   Well, for dinner I had CHICKEN biryani.  Yes, chicken!  I slept in a room that had not only a fan, but AC!  I had company in the form of their 70lb Doberman sleep with me throughout the night.  And they took me to their gym the next morning where I went for a swim!  As you can tell, I was pretty excited by the whole experience.  The greatest part is, they're a a genuinely warm and open couple.  I asked about their relationship, which they said was accepted wholeheartedly by both their parents.  Overall, this has been a fantastic part of the orientation.

My host mom, host dad, and me!

The past few weeks have really allowed us to delve into some serious subjects about Indian society: Hindu/Muslim relations and the Caste system. We’ve had some amazing guest speakers at the ashram and trips related to these issues. Some highlights:

• Hindu/Muslim Relations: After the creation of Pakistan as an Islamic state in 1947, many Muslims in India left. Now, Hindu’s make up about 80% of the Indian population, with Muslims coming in second at about 15%. In 2002, Gujarat (the state I’m currently living in) was the site of a huge riot against Muslims by Hindu nationalists. The attacks are extremely politically controversial, with many claiming them to be supported by the political elite. Whatever the case, it means that there are some major tensions that continue to impede progress toward reconciliation between the two religious groups. This has huge implications for politics and cricket (the Pakistan v. India cricket match is supposed to be epic!). But a fantastic movie if you have some time: Parzania. It’s a fictional movie based on real events about the riots.
  

• Caste System: We were fortunate enough to be able to go on a few community visits to talk with people of the dalit community. Dalits are at the bottom of the caste system and were traditionally limited to work dealing with human excrement and animal skins. The caste system is ingrained into the Hindu religion and all people are put into this social hierarchy. It goes, from top to bottom:
  

o   Brahmin (typically priests)

o   Kshatriya (the warrior caste)

o   Vaisyas (merchants and farmers)

o   Sudras (unskilled workers)

o   Dalits (the bottom of the social food chain)

Fortunately, there are some fantastic NGOs in India working with Dalit communities to help empower men and women to expand their public and social roles. We were able to have a few roundtables with men and women from different villages and hear about their experiences. Unfortunately, no pictures here. But I’m sure with my NGO I’ll be able to do similar work and I can share it with you then.

Field Trip! Yes, we had a field trip this week. We were headed to Politana, a pilgrimage site of temples for people of the Jain religion. Jainism is an off-shot of Hinduism whose most orthodox participants are stricter than vegans: they don’t eat meat, dairy, root vegetables, or after dark (for fear that they might accidentally eat an insect).

So let me tell you how this field trip went. Our day began at 6am, at which the 11 of us fellows boarded a bus. What we thought was a 3 hour bus ride turned into a 6 hour journey…in a cramped, Indian charter bus. We arrived at Polytana and were confronted by 3200 steps leading to the peak of a mountain. It turns out Polytana is actually at the top of the mountain. Well, I thought to myself, it must be worth it right? Shortly after we began the ascent, it began to monsoon rain for about 1.5 hours. So, soaking wet and sore, we finally arrived at the top of this mountain. And I have to tell you, these temples are gorgeous (you’ll notice from the pictures). Was the trek worth it? Definitely. We then made the journey back down the mountain (no rain this time) and the 6 hour bus ride back to the ashram. I came away with an immense appreciate for the work it took to make those temples...and a cold, which has caused me to skip the past 3 days of scheduled programming here at orientation.

Some of the stairs leading up to Politana.  You can see a couple of people walking up.

A few from the peak of teh mountain.  And yours truly!

The entrance to Politana.  We have Sami and Jamie posing in front!

Some of the beautiful architecture of the temples.

But on a better note, for breaking the fast on Yom Kippur we’re having bagels and lox!! As you can probably imagine, we’re pretty excited about this!

Yep, that's lox and bagels...in India!  Not exactly the same as home, but good enough!

If you couldn't guess, this is a McDonald's here in India.  Menu complete with: McVeggie, McRaja Mac, and Paneer Salsa Wrap.  And what could be better than some McDonald's French Fries.  Um Um good!

Well, the next time I update I’ll be in Anadur! Hope all is well stateside!

Andrew

Doing it Indian Style...

Picture this: 5 young 20-somethings rocking out to Justin Bieber while washing clothes with a bucket and spicket.  And thus began my Thursday afternoon.  I think the Justin Bieber was our small longing for American culture, but I will not deny my utter enjoyment from the experience.  But, all aside, I officially completed my first attempt at laundry.  7 buckets worth of clothing and 5 hours over 2 days, I was able to successfully clean my first set of dirty clothes.  I think I’m going to reform how I wear/wash clothes… as in reduce, reuse, recycle.  However, overall it is an extremely grueling process that I need to get used to because I will have to continue to repeat it over the next 11 months. 

The laundry crew, clothes in the background.  Success!

         Well, overall this has been a fantastic week.  Prior, we really had been secluded to our ashram and hadn’t really seen too much of the city of Ahmedabad.  It was as if we were in a bubble, shielded from many of the realities of our city and the opportunities that existed past its gates.  But, fortunately, this week we began to explore.  Some of the activities of the week:

• Homestay Family: We have all been broken up and given “homestay” families.  Every Sunday night, we spread out to our homestay families for dinner and cultural immersion.  My family is fantastic.  They are a couple, married within the past year, and recently returned from Toronto, Canada where they completed their Masters in architecture.  The husband is Rajasthani(a northern Indian state) and the wife is Iranian.  They’re young, hip, and are excited about their new architecture business here in Ahmedabad.   Best part of the evening, I was served eggs (which are almost considered black market here) and beer (which you need a special permit to buy in the state of Gujarat).  I can tell you all the other fellows were jealous about the above two.  I’m really interested in learning about the acceptance of their international/racial relationship, but I think I’ll ask that at our second meeting on Sunday…save the sensitive subjects for later.
• HINDI CLASS: So, I’m finally fluent in Hindi.  JUST kidding.  But we have started to take our language classes.  We are being thrown into the language from the beginning and have immediately begun learning to speak.  Who needs the alphabet….  But I have begun to pick up some essentials, like the numbers and some basic greetings and questions.  (Un)fortunately, I’m going to have to learn another language when I get to my placement, Marathi, which is very close to Hindi and shares the same alphabet, but is slightly different.  Taking it one by one though…
• Scavenger Hunt: WOW.  What a way to spend the afternoon!  Last Tuesday, as a part of our programming, we were split into pairs and given a list of tasks/places to visit around the city.  My partner (Shaina) and I were determined to get through the entire list.  However, all the clues were “coded” and, with our minimal Hindi, provided some difficulty in figuring out where to go.  We got through most of the tasks, and had a great time exploring the city.   Some pictures of where we went:

Find Pani Puri, an Indian street food.

Find a live chicken.  Not so easy in a city that is mostly vegetarian.

Find Gandhi's 3 friends.  This is located on the famous Gandhi ashram (not the one we're staying on, but another).  We added a couple of our own as well...

• An Indian Jewish community?: Believe it or not, we went to synagogue this week.   Wednesday marked the 76^th anniversary of the synagogue here in Ahmedabad.  The bustling Jewish community here in the state of Gujarat boasts a staggering 125 members.  So, needless to say, this community and building really is a testament to their faith and dedication.  The entire experience was surreal.  Indian people, praying in Hebrew and doing the HavaNegilah, with names like “Elijah Jacobson”.  The community was really excited to have us, and are looking forward to have us as a part of their high holiday services (which are next week and the week after – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur).  I think the feelings are mutual, as many of us are just as interested in seeing how this community celebrates these holidays.

A processional around the synagogue with their Torah.  What a sight

• Holidays…Indian style: So, I would have to guesstimate that about every other week in India there is a holiday.  Since I’ve been here, there have been 2.  Please forgive me if I get some of the details wrong in describing them, but I’ll give it my best try

o       Raksha Bandan: This is the brother-sister holiday, where sisters tie a “rahki”, usually a red string, around their brothers as a sign of protection and loyalty to each other.  Celebrated the day of our arrival last Tuesday, each of the men in our group was tied by Sunitaji, the AJWS in-country representative, and continue to wear the red rahki around our wrists.  And we really have been taken under Sunitaji’s wing, more like a mother than a sister.  She has been an amazing guide to the city and life here in India.

o       Janama Ashtami: Thursday was the Lord Krishna’s birthday (one of the Hindu gods).  Throughout the day (and during the middle of one of our sessions here on the ashram), people in cars and floats go down the street with music and drums to celebrate the birth of Krishna.  This goes on until midnight (the exact time of his birth) where everyone gathers in the middle of the city, at which point there is a big celebration in the streets.  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go to the celebration, but we were able to see fireworks from our ashram.

And thus was my last week here in India.  I’m going to start a Word/Phrase of the Week, where I’d like to teach you all a little something from my life here in India.  This week, it will be: bahut sundar: very beautiful.  I’m going to tell you, this one has come in handy.

Have a great week you all!!

Andrew