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

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. 

Well here I go again...

For those of you who have been here before, thanks for stopping by.  For those of you who haven't, welcome.  Below you will find a detailed account of my study abroad experience in Jordan, so if you have some spare time it's a pretty interesting read (if I do say so myself).

But to come: 11 months in India.  Yes, I leave on Sunday for the experience of a lifetime.  By way of Los Angeles, London, and Mumbai, I will land in Ahmedabad on Tuesday to begin the AJWS World Partner's Fellowship.  An eleven month, hands-on exposure to development and social justice, I hope to come away with a better understanding of what these terms mean and how I can help impact them.  And maybe some good recipe ideas.....

Please, share your thoughts and opinions.  But more importantly, keep in touch!  Just because I'm on another continent does NOT mean that our relationship ends.

See you next year!

One Fish, Two Fish...

The colors were unreal. Reds, blues, greens, pinks, oranges. And I'm not just talking about my last Acid trip (just kidding mom!). Nope, that was just my last trip down to Aqaba scuba diving in the Coral Reefs of the Red Sea. Yep, that was my weekend. I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous about it. But it was definitely worth it.

Well, our weekend that was supposed to start at 6 o'clock am on Friday morning didn't really get rolling until Noon, at which time we began our way down to Petra. Me, two friends of mine, and a friend's brother that was visiting Jordan for a few days. We finally make it down to Petra around 4:00pm and..at last...begin what we came for.

It was great. This time we were the only four people on the trail. Well, not the only four. There was a Bedouin guy that was walking about 40 feet ahead of us. Good thing to, because the trail we were walking barely existed and had he not been there we would have for sure gotten lost. We went through Petra, saw the sites. We finally got to the Treasury just as it was getting dark, and made the final trek to the entrance in pitch black.

We then made our way down to Aqaba, where we grabbed some grub and slept on a hotel’s roof. Yep, slept on a roof. It was pretty awesome, the view of the city, the Red Sea, and Eilat, Israel on the other side. That was until 6 o’clock in the morning when a bird made it his duty to croak like he was dying until we were all awake. But overall, a great (cheap) night’s sleep.

Then, we went to the dive shop. Not that I was scared, because that definitely wasn’t the case. I was just nervous. Who knew what could happen. I finally decided to do it. To go ahead, risk my life against the raging forces of nature. We got on the boat and went out to the water. From there, people started to go under. I thought we were going to get some kind of orientation, maybe a lesson or two. Not so much.

It was finally my turn. I put on my wetsuit, got on my flippers, and strapped on my tank. Taking that first step off the boat and into the ocean is like walking the plank (with 20 pounds of oxygen strapped to your back). The dive instructor swam up to me and we both began to swim away from the boat. About 30 feet away, we stopped. He told me to prepare myself. We went through some quick breathing exercises and he told me the signals: an OK sign for…OK, and a shaking of your hand for…Get me out of here. He slowly let the air out of my vest (which was keeping me buoyant) and we began to descend. I struggled at first. You have to breathe in and out through your mouth and equalize the pressure from your ears by holding your nose and breathing (like on a plane). But once I got over this struggle, it was gorgeous. The fish and coral and ocean life was out of this world (actually, it is in this world…just a world we never see). However, the reef we went to, King Abdullah Reef, was located right off a public beach, which meant that I also saw Amstel Draft cans and plastic bags.

Well, 20 minutes later, I was out of the water, alive in one piece. I am so glad that I did it. Although, I didn’t really get the equalizing pressure thing right because I didn’t hold my nose all the way. So my ears were killing from the pressure and when I took off my face mask back on the boat, my face was covered in snot. A little disgusting, but I think well worth the price. We spent the rest of the day on the boat, and headed back home that night.

A great weekend was capped off by the host-family dinner that was held this past Monday evening. All the families that have host students were invited to a dinner at a top-end restaurant in the city. Turns out, my entire extended host family is in on this whole hosting students thing. And the invitation only inviting 2 members of each family translated into Jordanian terms means bring as many people as possible. They were all there, taking up about 4 tables of around 15 people each. We had the cousins, and the second cousins, and the aunts and uncles. Everyone. Our family hosts about 8 students in our program. Who woulda thought.

But the best part of the dinner was the entertainment. A group of us had been practicing the Dubkah, a traditional Arabic dance, for this ceremony we hold for our program next week. Well, we did it at the dinner, only our second time running through the whole thing. And it was a hit. Everyone loved it. And my host mom was so proud of my host brother and I being in the dance. It was really great! (there might be some video footage, but I don’t have my hands on it yet). Lots of fun!

Well, I might as well get started on my ten page paper due next week. But, when you have the options of scuba diving and dancing, the decision is so hard!

Our Bedouin "guide" looking of into the distance at Petra.

Sunset at Petra.

One of the guys in our gruop getting ready to dive (on the right).

Doin the Dabkah. We're wearing dishdashis, traditional Arabic robes.

Just part of the family. We had a few more tables like this.

took a little trip...

So, it's taken me about 6 or 7 days to recover, although my stomach wouldn't say that it's back to normal (i think a little bit of pharaoh's revenge). But on the whole, I'd have to say that my trip to Egypt last week was amazing. 9 days in a country that has really scene the birth of our civilization and culture. It was surreal: the pyramids, the temples, the Nile, the Souqs. Granted, I may be ruin-ed out for a little bit, but it was worth it.

I won't bore you with all the details, but I'll give you an overview of the highlights:

Cairo - the largest and most populated city in Africa, this city is bustling with life at all hours of the day. With a population of 16 million people, it's huge! We stayed right by the downtown area (Talat Harb), which is a street lined on both sides by clothing stores. Egyptians think that the best marketing strategy is to stick as many mannequins as possible in the windows. These weren't just normal mannequins, but were out of control and had the oddest expressions. It was ridiculous, but really entertaining at the same time. Traffic sucks, the city is dirty, and there are people everywhere. But it was awesome, especially in contrast to Amman.

Giza: Yep, took a stroll around the Pyramids of Giza. 2 Wonders of the World down. Giza is really incredible, really touristy though. The sphinx is spectacular as well. It's so fascinating to see these structures which were built over 4000 years ago still standing. Yes, it's a complete tourist trap, as well. Fortunately, we didn't fall into any...many...of the traps set for tourists because of our fluent arabic. Hahaha...i make myself laugh. But, we had gotten a driver through our hostel to take us to the pyramids, who then proceeded to take us to a bunch of tourist-trap places to buy rugs, or perfumes, or papyrus scrolls. It seemed like a big scheme, so we were fairly successful at not giving in.

Western Desert: Probably my favorite part of the trip. We took at 2 day/1 night camping trip out to the Western Desert and saw the Black Desert and White Desert. The views were stunning, surreal, (insert adjective here). We slept out underneath the stars. Gorgeous. Probably the best part was the Italian couple that was on our tour with us. They spoke little English, but provided for some ridiculously awkward moments.

Luxor: Located in the south of Egypt (or Upper Egypt), a lot of the ruins are located here. That’s after the 12-hour train ride to get there of course. Luxor is the Ancient city of Thebes and used to be the capital of Egypt. Hence why there are so many ruins there: The Valley of the Kings, The Valley of the Queens, Queen Hatshetput's Temple, Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple. The Valley of the Kings is incredible because the tombs still have the original paint in them (unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures).

Aswan: A really relaxing town further south ofLuxor. Saw the Aswan Dam (a huge bone of contention during the Cold War), the Phillae Temple (a temple that had been flooded by the dam and then relocated to another site). Sunset on the Nile.

Alexandria: A Mediterranean coast town. We wanted to go swimming but the weather was too cold. Still, a relaxing day towards the end of our trip hanging out by the water.

Culture: You'd think all of the Middle East would be the same. But I've found out that this stereotype is in no way true. Egyptian culture, at least towards tourists, is completely different than Jordan. Not to say that we didn't have a great time, but it was different. Whereas in Jordan you'll get a "Welcome to Jordan" or "Let me help you", in Egypt you're more likely to get hasseled than anything. Despite the fact that then language is DIFFERENT in Egypt (which completely discourages me from ever thinking I'll learn the language), we were able to pick up a little of the colloquial and get by. But even so, shopowners will yell at you from across the street to come into their stores, only to get mad at you for not buying anything when you never intended to in the first place. And baksheesh, or tips, is a huge part of the way people operate. They'll ask for it after any "service" they provide, even for something as small as giving directions. Egyptians also have a fascination with foreign women. The 4 girls that I was with got at least a couple undying love confessions and marriage proposals while we were there. And walking down the street, I got a couple "Cassanova" or "4 wives...lucky man" or my favorite "Spicy". It takes a little getting used to.

So at the end of the day, I am so glad to be back in Jordan. I've realized what a great place it is to study here. But..only a month left. It's scary to think how quickly this time has gone by. I think it might be time to actually...study? Although, who said studying was part of a study abroad experience....

You know, the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx...

The White Desert. Can you guess why this one is called The Chick?

Sunrise over the White Desert. Stunning.



The Black Desert.

Luxor Temple.

Luxor's "motto". Made me laugh.


The carvings at the Phillae Temple. Still in great condition.

Sunset over the Nile in Aswan.

We went to this Sufi Dance Festival. Sufiism is a mystical sect of Islam that has its own traditions and customs. The music and dancing was really interesting. The guy in the middle here had been twirling for about 25 minutes when I took this picture...gotta give him props!