Moving On

Today is my last day in Pune.  I can't believe it is time to go already.  I considered staying longer and pushing back my other plans.  In the end, I decided that while my experiences here have been incredible, it is time for the next thing.  Tomorrow I leave on an 11 AM flight to Delhi.  From June 1-June 12, I will be on a Vipassana retreat outside of Delhi.

On June 12, I will meet up with my friend Ainsley.  We will spend 24 days touring the northern part of the country.  Our schedule is Delhi-->Agra-->Varanasi-->Jaipur-->Bundi/Chittor-->Udaipur-->Jodhpur-->Delhi-->Leh-->Delhi--> USA (July 5).  Suggestions of things to do or other places to see are always welcome!

Saying goodbye to my preschool class was tough.  I have really enjoyed spending time with the children and the teachers.  When I got to class today, the head teacher told me to put on my shoes and follow her.  We left the office and went down the street to the market.  She bought me bangles.  The generosity of this still astounds me.  She wanted me to have a proper set before I left.  Walking back into the office, we stopped and showed them to everyone.  I passed out cookies (a real treat) to the class.  We were allowed to play "monster" for longer than usual.  At the end, the teachers gave me ice cream.  They asked me to write to them and send a family photo.  It was tough to walk out of the classroom to the sounds of "bye bye didi, ta-ta didi." (Didi means big sister.)

While I am sad to leave, I am looking forward to what is next.  I was able to say goodbye to a friend over a long afternoon coffee break.  Tonight, my housemates from the Cultural Center have planned a dinner and invited pretty much everyone I know here.

Last day of English class

Preschool

Pratibha showing off my new bangles.

I'll be out of touch for the next two weeks but will write about my retreat experiences after that.

Look Mom, My Hands!

Mom suggested that I give up biting my nails for Lent. After 25 years of hardcore nail biting and picking, I wasn’t sure I could do it. Lent ended my third day in India. Look Mom! I still have nails (and a new ring)!

How is India?

One of the questions that I find most difficult to answer is “how is India?” I usually say “good” or “great” but that isn’t the whole story. Things are going pretty well, but India is a lot more complicated than “good” or “great.”

India is complex. The view from the temple on top of a major hill is beautiful at sunset, until you realize there is a growing slum community at the bottom of the hill or the sun disappears into the pollution on the horizon. People are extremely hospitable, making sure I get home safely, inviting me to join them for whatever they are doing, showing me the city, and answering my many questions. The culture of sharing is incredible—no one puts their mouth on the edge of a bottle of water; everyone pours a sip or two into their mouth and passes the bottle to the next person. I get stared at uncomfortably in the street and beggar children will stand in front of me asking for several rupees (with the exchange rate, only a few cents). Kids and young adults are innocently curious about who I am, where I have come from, and what I am doing. Others are more aggressive.

There are things I don’t understand. I don’t know how to bribe someone to get off the waiting list for a train. I don’t speak the local language and occasionally I feel illiterate. But the aunties who stay at the house and preschool teachers go out of their way to make me feel welcome with the English phrases they know. The two orphan boys staying at the house during their summer break teach me Hindi and Marathi phrases.

Poverty and wealth are extreme, and I don’t think I have seen the full spectrum. I saw a dog starving to death, a sick man lying on the side of a major road, and a dead cat on the sidewalk on my way home from work one day. I’ve been to restaurants and bars in the ex-pat area of town where you never see stray dogs or beggars. I get sick of paying the WGP (white girl premium). But I know the WGF (white girl factor) sometimes works to my advantage.

There are things here which I would not expect at home. I sleep on a mattress that is maybe four inches thick on top of a wooden board. (I sleep well.) There are tiny bugs in the kitchen at home and I’ve seen cockroaches and ants in the kitchen at work. (The kitchens are kept pretty clean.) There is no toilet paper. Streets are lined with trash and people burn garbage on the side of the road. Foreigners are charged ten times what locals pay to access cultural and historic sites. There are two computers at work in the volunteer office. When the power and backup generator go out (a frequent occurrence on Thursdays), the computers and internet don’t work so we go out for ice cream or chai.

It is different. But it works. Once you find how to fit into the rhythms and patterns, India is good, great even. But it is a lot more than that.

Global AIDS Week of Action

Last Sunday kicked off Global AIDS Week of Action.  We had people on the street sign a pledge not to discriminate against people living with HIV.  I was in charge of one of the four locations and am pretty sure that we collected the most signatures.  (Not that it was a contest...) The banners look great and I later decorated the Deep Griha volunteer office with them.

MG Road banner at the office

After the signature campaign, we grabbed ice cream then lunch (it was really hot out) and rode around on my buddy’s motorcycle for a bit (whoo hoo!).

My team with our banner and ice cream

Up next were the rallies.  Two rallies started at different locations and met on a major road in town.  The point was to get people’s attention.  I was the only Westerner in one of the locations.  They put me at the front of the crowd.   And look!  A similar picture was in at least one other local paper.

A candlelight vigil followed the rallies.  Most of the program was in Marathi, but I’m pretty sure it included a description of our work, information about HIV testing, a skit about the HIV hotline, a thank you to the founder and board members, a testimonial by a person living with HIV, two traditional dances by teenage girls, one modern dance to Sheila  by a nine year old boy, a singer, a band, several other things, and yes, a candlelight ceremony.  All in all, the 90 minute program started 30 minutes late and went for 2.5 hours.

Rohit, me, and Kassie at the end of the day

It was a long day and I felt lucky to be a part of it.

Preschool This Week

A volunteer from New York brought in supplies for the kids to make bracelets. This is pretty different than what they normally do in preschool. There aren’t many opportunities to do arts and crafts. At first, some children were pretty confused but they eventually got the hang of it.

Class showing off their bracelets

Sanchi showing off her new jewelery.

Starting two days ago, the teacher and assistant in the preschool classroom decided to put me to work. I’ve always played with the kids and helped out with managing moving them around. But my duties pretty much halted during lunch. Until Tuesday. The teacher motioned for me to sit in the middle of the circle of children. She asked me to serve the kids bhatah (rice) and dal (lentils).

Apparently, I did not do a good job. Both ladies jokingly asked if I had ever served dinner before. I told them we passed dishes at my house. I’m still getting the hang of proper ratio of rice to dal, and judging whether the dal is too spicy for the children. I really like my new role in the class. It makes me feel that the teachers have accepted me and trust me enough to be really be a part of their classroom. It’s sad to think that my last day in Pune is next Tuesday.

Kajul's impression of my monster face

Material Girl

When I initially started buying some Indian clothes, I decided that under no circumstance would I ever need a sari. I was content to buy and wear salwar kameez, kurtas, and churidar. That was until Susanna came to stay at the Cultural Center. She’s on her fourth visit to India/second long term trip. She very convincingly explained to me that I needed to go sari shopping and to own a sari by the time I leave. So, off we went Wednesday after work.

Susanna was right. Sari shopping is an experience everyone (well, female) should have in India. We went to the old city of Pune where the markets are teeming with people on the evenings and weekends. We went into the first store, kicked off our shoes, and plopped down on the mattresses on the floor. A man started tossing fabrics our way, responding to our likes (few) and dislikes (many). To get what you want, you can’t sugar coat what you say. If it’s ugly and has too much bling, speak up. The pile of fabric grew until we realized that we weren’t seeing anything that I liked. We left the shop with a good idea of what I didn’t like and some idea of what I might like.

The second place we went was similar to the first. Someone took us to the second floor, where we tried to sit down. Then someone else guided us to the third floor. There was another group of women looking at beautiful saris in the corner. Again, off with the shoes and down on the mats. At this place, the shop assistants didn’t toss fabric our way so much as display it in front of us. At first, they showed a lot of fabrics with bright orange. Eventually, we got on the green/blue/purple track. It was time to try them on. A sari is generally a big piece of fabric intricately looped around a body. The people in the store were very good at quickly tying the saris and showing them to us. It was a lot of fun to have someone drape and dress you in beautiful clothes.

I finally settled on a bluish-purple fabric with a beautiful gold pallu and a purple top. I plan to drop it off at the tailor tomorrow. It should be completed by Sunday. Now I need to learn to dress myself and to find a place/occasion to wear my new outfit. Will someone I know please get married soon and have an Indian wedding?

Getting wrapped

First sari

So much fun to try

Beautiful embroidery but not quite right 

The instigator

That's the stuff!

Pallu (back)

Trim of skirt and shirt

HIV+

Deep Griha has two main missions: to help children and families in slum communities and to do outreach about HIV/AIDS. When I was planning my trip, I thought that I would only work with the kids. I didn’t know much about HIV/AIDS and I felt somewhat uncomfortable discussing it.

After I had been in India for about ten days, the volunteer coordinator Kassie (an American, future phd in infectious disease) asked if I would give half the Wake Up Pune presentation the following Sunday. I didn’t know what she was talking about.

Wake Up Pune is closely tied to Deep Griha and does HIV awareness in English for university students and corporate groups in Pune. The group does “bootcamps” for volunteers at least once a month to inform people about HIV. The first half of the session is scientific and the second half relates to cultural perceptions and combatting stigma. Because the subject of HIV, drugs, sex, and disease are very taboo in India, there is a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding about HIV. The goals of the bootcamp are to provide accurate information and to make people feel comfortable talking about the issues.

Wake Up Pune has an “HIV Positive” campaign that encourages people to be positive about the future of people living with HIV and positive about HIV awareness, support, and education.

Shirish, me, Chaarvi, Prateek, Rohit, Kassie, Parisa, and Indrajit
Global Aids Week of Action Candlelight Vigil

The bootcamp went well! I’d certainly never talked about any of this in front of a group before. Definitely an interesting subject to talk about in India. People got into a really interesting debate about HIV and social perceptions of AIDS. Now I want to do another one! As long as I don’t have to do the demonstration.  Here’s the powerpoint we use.

I Love India

When I first got here, a girl finishing her Fulbright in Pune told me that people love or hate India, that it is hard to not feel passionately one way or another about the country. At the time, I was worried. Everything was so new and I was unsure exactly what I was doing here. I didn’t love India. But I didn’t hate it either. We were still in the “getting to know you” phase of a relationship. I didn’t think about her words again until the other night.

Parvati Hill, Pune at sunset

I was taking a rickshaw home after successfully haggling over the price to go to my neighborhood. On the way home, something happened on the road we were on. I wish I could remember exactly what it was. It may have been a cow in the street. Or driving on the wrong side of the road. Or passing a family on a motorbike and honking at them. Or all of the above at the same time. I smiled to myself and thought “I love India.” I smiled more when I remember the girl’s words. India isn’t always easy. But there is a beauty in it which can be mesmerizing.

Dhobi Ghat, Mumbai

Getting Down on Friday

Here are the songs from English class iTunes Friday from this week and last week.

We Will Rock You-lyrics and song

Hot 'n Cold-lyrics and song

Home

I am staying at the Deep Griha Society Cultural Center.  Here are a few pics of my room.

Click Your Heels Three Times

If only it were that easy to get home. Proper addresses and street names are not used here. Nor is spelling consistent. I live in the city of Pune, also spelled Poona. The closest big neighborhood is Wanowrie aka Wanwadi.

I technically am in the neighborhood of Wanowrie but live closer to Fatima Nagar. From there, I live in a smaller subdivision called Tatya Tope (pronounced Ta-tia Toe-pay).

Here are directions to my house: big neighborhood-Fatima Nagar, small neighborhood-Tatya Tope near Shivika Garden, turn left at the Big Bazaar (mall-like complex), go straight until the Bank of Maharastra with the blue sign and the fruit stand, turn left, take your first right, follow the road, take your first left on a real street, go to the second tree on the left.

Home sweet home.

Kids Do The Darndest Things

After English class, I go to the one of the preschool classrooms. Technically, I am there to assist the teacher and assistant. I usually play with the kids and sing some songs in English. Twinkle Twinkle and Head Shoulder Knees and Toes are quite popular. The kids are adorable and occasionally very naughty. One in particular, whose name I learned because the teacher often yells her name, has a lot of charisma. When I sit on the floor, she clamors into my lap and swings at anyone who tries to dethrone her.

If I could speak any Hindi or Marathi, the title of this post would be “kids say the darndest things.” I have no way of really communicating with these 2 to 6 year olds, other than a few key phrases in Hindi that get them to sit, eat, use the bathroom, and be quiet. I am learning their nursery songs. And they have learned “no fighting” and “be nice.”

Typically, our games involve one of the following: a) me becoming monster (or velociraptor) and tickling the kids; b) playing clapping games which often devolves into several of them yelling “mala” (my turn) and grabbing my hands; or c) the kids squirming on the stomachs—they look like adorable worms—until I pick them up and put them somewhere else in the room. All with minimal verbal communication.

Kids are funny things and they make me laugh a lot. The next part is one of my favorite stories. I’ll preface this bit by noting that because the roads are so dirty, it is polite to remove your sandals (or chappals) when you are inside. 

After lunch yesterday, while the assistant was wiping down the floor, one of the kids started playing with my foot. He seemed pretty interested in it. I let him keep poking and moving it around while I played with some kids on my lap. Suddenly, something felt strange. I looked down to see my left big toe in the kid’s mouth. Down to the toe-knuckle. He looked at me, opened his mouth, and let me take my toe out of his mouth. I still laugh when I think about the look on his face. Kids really do the darnest things.

New Clothes

I packed three pairs of pants. Now, I have one pair due to a significant and unfortunately placed rip, and some initial difficulties with eating rice with curry with my hands. Wearing the same pants and four tops all the time was getting boring. Time to buy some Indian clothes. I purchased a salwar kameez, churidar, a tunic top, and some earrings. (Ok, earrings weren’t necessary but they were pretty and inexpensive.) The light fabric makes wearing pants, sleeves, and dark colors bearable on 100*+ days. Here are some pictures!

Environmental and Embarrassment Management

I hate paying for bottled water because of the plastic waste. At dinner on Friday, I decided I didn’t want to pay for water. Instead, I pulled out my SteriPEN Adventurer Opti, a Christmas gift from my parents. You stir the UV light in water for about 90 seconds to break up the cellular structure of any bacteria and make the water safe to drink. One of the side effects is that it draws quite a crowd. Since we were at a thali place (basically a buffet where food comes to you), a lot of the waiters gathered around to watch. Ninety seconds has never seemed so long. Water has never tasted so good.

Red Light, Green Light: Two Traffic Adventures in One Day

On Monday, I rode a motorcycle! I had my bag and laptop on shoulder and posters in one hand. My other hand was clutching the driver's shoulder. Motorcycles are a really popular mode of transport here because of the limited parking, ease of transport, and cost of cars. I couldn't imagine all of the bikes on the road being cars. It would take years to get anywhere and there would be nowhere to park.

For the most part, I take rickshaws since I am usually out with other volunteers who live near me. Yesterday, I was going to meet someone after work. A volunteer with a motorbike was going my way and offered to drive me. He couldn't believe I had never been on a motorcycle before. I explained that I don't exactly hang out with the motorcycle-driving crowd in the U.S. I wish I did. It was great. Motorcycles are a terrific way to feel and understand traffic patterns, which apparently do exist despite my first impression.

Later that evening, I negotiated the price of a rickshaw. After shopping, I had trouble finding a richshawalla who would go to my neighborhood for a reasonable price. It was early enough, so "meter price" should have been an option. After turning down some greatly inflated prices, I finally found someone who would take me. It wasn't meter price, but after he lowered his initial offer, the cost was pretty much what meter price would have been. I was pleased to know enough about the city to know good prices and to negotiate my way to a fair price.

Baby Baby Baby

Every day, I co-teach a summer camp English class to 16 year olds.  There are about 25 kids in the class, 20 girls and 5 boys.  They sit on opposite sides of the room, separated by a shoulder-high divider.  The other teacher, Shravan (a 22 year old business student), explained to me that many of the girls come from conservative families and it is better to keep the girls and boys separate.

Girls

The first day, Shravan asked me if I had any ideas for teaching confidence.  The students, particularly the girls, are painfully shy when they speak in class.  Most barely speak above a whisper.  I wanted to do something that they would find engaging and get excited about.  This is summer school after all.

Boys

A friend suggested that we teach the lyrics to popular songs in English. And iTunes Friday was born.  I took class suggestions.  The only song that was remotely appropriate was Justin Bieber’s Baby.  

On Friday, I handed out lyrics with missing words.  The class listened to the song on repeat and filled in the blanks.  When we finished each stanza, we would discuss what was happening in the song. (I glossed over the part “she woke me up daily, don’t need no Starbucks.”  I told them that Ludacris was so happy to see his girlfriend every day, he didn’t need coffee or chai in the morning to feel awake.)  I was dying laughing on the inside while reading JBieb’s lyrics like poetry.

In the end, I think it went well.  I also think I was invited to watch Titanic though I pretended not to hear.  By the end, the entire class was singing out loud.  Monday, they asked to hear the song again at the end of class.

Whether this translates into more confidence for the students, we will see.   In any event, they seem to be excited already for the upcoming Friday.  And the class talks a lot about what song they want to do next.  At least it’s a start. Baby baby baby oh.

Want to test yourself?  Here are the lyrics we handed out and a link to the song.

New Experiences

I knew that India would provide many new and different experiences.  Since I arrived last Friday, I:

• Was left in charge of a room of twenty 2 to 6 year olds.  They don’t know English and they know I don’t know Hindi or Marathi
• Saw five people riding a motorcycle (child, father, small child, baby, mother)
• Passed cows, goats, pigs, and stray dogs on the way to work
• Piled four people into a rickshaw and seven people into a regular-sized car in the same night like it was a completely normal thing to do
• Negotiated my curfew so I could stay out after 11:30 on a Saturday night
• Befriended a gecko in my room
• Paid less than $5 for a nice dinner, delicious ice cream, and a rickshaw
• Thought I was really sunburned or tan, only to spend 5 minutes washing red and brown dust off my feet to reveal my pale, pale skin.