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