Beautiful Kerala

Hey Guys!

Sorry it has been awhile since I last “blogged”! I just returned a few days ago from a nine-day trip in Wayanad a Northeast District of Kerala.  Everything about this trip was absolutely amazing and full of beauty; I now understand why Kerala is referred to as “God’s country”.  Everything was so green! We were able to do a lot of interesting things such as meet with tribal communities, climb a mountain, meet with several self help groups and much more!  The following is a few highlights of the trip; I hope you enjoy!

The Rural Agency for Social Technology Advancement or RASTA, the NGO, which hosted us throughout our trip, focuses on helping farmers obtain their rights by working with government officials and bankers to help ensure they have land and basic human rights.  In simplistic terms, India’s government is more concerned on obtaining up to date technology rather than helping agriculture growth.  Therefore, the average farmer is extremely poor with barely any security or support; this creates a huge epidemic in the farming world.  Unfortunately, due to this lack of interest by the government many farmers become depress and commit suicide or pull out of farming and live a life of poverty.  I do not get it to say the least.  Why would the government not support the people who every day provide them with the food necessary to sustain their own life?  For some reason the government finds it more important to provide its’ people with the latest I-pod rather than feed the people of their country.  This also provokes a sense of indifference to farmers towards their hard work.  Why should they be the ones providing needs to people when the majority does not even acknowledge their suffering?   Anyway, this is just a glimpse of what I was able to experience from visiting various self-help farmer and women groups. 

We were also able to hike to a waterfall, which was quite impressive. By the time we reached the waterfall, I was drenched in sweat and extremely tempted to jump in the water.  Unfortunately, the water was crowded with half naked boys, which was no surprise, but it was still fun to have the mist cool us off. 

Later in the trip we were able to climb a mountain and venture into a cave.  This was awesome! By the time we neared the top of the mountain I was exhausted, it felt like we were on top of the world.  Close to half way up the mountain there was a cave where we were able to go inside; there we found a lot of ancient artwork on the walls, luckily it was not too cramped or else my inherited Closter phobia might have been an issue.  As Karly and I were climbing down the mountain a group of Indian men were snapping photos left and right.  As I was trying to figure out what was so interesting, I realized the photos were of us.  I’m sure it was entertaining to see an American girl struggling down a rock face. As you can probably tell from my tone I was not at all in the mood to be photogenic.

My favorite part of the whole trip was meeting the tribal communities; I thought it was so cool to see people today continuing to live so simply. One of these communities was located in the hills so we were able to hike to their homes and discuss their way of life with the chief of the tribe.  Each tribe has its’ own language, tradition and cultures and ranged anywhere from thirteen families to sixty.  Between talking to the chief, taking in the amazing views of the hills and checking out their crops I was able to interact with some of the younger children. At first they were pretty shy, but slowly began to come a bit closer to me and then once they felt more comfortable I snapped a few photos.  Afterwards, I showed them and they were absolutely giddy upon seeing themselves in my camera.  This provoked them to do more poses, which was absolutely hilarious.

               Well on a more lighter/comical note Amanda, Karly and I received a new eight- legged roommate during our stay.  This addition joined us midway through the trip.  While we were relaxing one night, Karly decided to go out onto the balcony to get some air.  Immediately after she came shrinking in terror jumping up and down while quickly locking the door from the inside.  In response, Amanda and I quickly began to mimic Karly’s hysterical reaction while I zoomed to the other door and locked it as well.  This lasted for minute and then Amanda started yelling, “WHAT, WHAT, WHAT IS IT KARLY???” As I just had my hands over my mouth still jumping up and down in a craze, supposedly I did not need to have an actual reason to act psychotic.  This isn’t surprising haha!  I should note that Karly’s one huge fear is spiders so she was beyond freaking out at this point; she could only manage to gasp, “SPIDER, HUGE, OUTSIDE DOOR, HUGE!”  Amanda then decided to slowly unlock the door and peer out at this hairy creature, within seconds Karly’s hysteria episode was repeating itself only this time by Amanda.  So by that time I was getting pretty tired of yelling for no reason, so with much protest from the girls I had to look out as well.  Well, I’m sure you could guess my reaction.  Well, soon enough Nazar (our Vishtar leader), a lady from the kitchen at RASTA whom had two brooms in hand for defense and a random young Indian boy raced into the room as I am sure they expected a bloody corpse or something of that caliber.  All three of us shouted, “SPIDER, BIG, OUTSIDE, BIG!”  Haha! Well, the frightening looks of our rescuers soon transformed to looks of humor and calmness.  I guess spiders the size of dinner plates is not alarming news to Indians.  Whatever, it was huge.  Luckily, Nazar had come before our little roommate ate us all three whole!

Well, I hope this scatter-brained blog is somewhat coherent and gives you a partial understanding of my experiences within the past two weeks! On October 7^th I leave for a nine-day trip in Goa and then quickly after have mid-semester break. Hope all is well back in the States! 

blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin just don't blend here...

Hey Guys!

Sorry it has been awhile since I have last “blogged”, I have just been very busy here at Vishtar and also our Internet service tends to go out on a regular basis.  Well a lot has happened since I last wrote such as we were given the opportunity to observe a India and Pakistan peace meeting, found a Pizza Hut in Bangalore, went to the Hare Krishna Temple, drove to a market in Bangalore, attended the St. Mary’s festival, met with a panel of women whom all are Vishtar staff to discuss women issues in India and also met with another panel compiled of a few of the Bandai girls to discuss their situation and the program that they are involved in at Vishtar. As you can see this is proof to my claim of how busy they keep us!

First, the Pakistan and India Peace meeting was really a fascinating experience. The meeting was about three to four hours long with dinner following the assembly, therefore it was a bit longer than us Americans anticipate meetings to last.  However, I thought it was definitely worth it due to my ignorance on the details of this conflict. My favorite part of the meeting was when we divided into small groups and listened to a speaker and had a chance to discuss afterwards. The group I was involved in discussed De- militarization, this turned into be a group discussion on possible solutions for the Pakistan and India conflict over Kashmir.  I really learned a lot by listening to these extremely knowledgeable Indian men discuss with each other the current happenings in Kashmir.  It also was a bit intimidating to be discussing with men whom are so familiar with this issue and I also felt a bit awkward since throughout the discussion many Indians were delicately trying to critique the American government due to our presence.  I had no idea that the United States played such a “middle-man” role between Pakistan and India.  The men went on to tell us that India would prefer for America not to be involved in any way.  Many particularly did not like the idea that America largely plays a big role in supplying weapons to Pakistan, which eventually kills people from India.  As I say this I am not trying to offend the reader, rather I am merely trying to sort my thoughts and give you an idea of my experience at this meeting.  Also members of the meeting did not want to offend us, Americans, at all but simply inform us of these happenings.  And hoping that when we return to the States we could somehow convince our congressmen to pull America out of this conflict.  However, this is an extremely far-fetched request as most of us students thought, but we just nodded our heads in agreement out of respect.  After listening to the people of India discuss back and forth for a while, many eagerly wanted our opinion as Americans.  Unfortunately, none of us felt worthy to discuss this issue up to par as these men would hope.  Therefore, I decided to just confess that I did not realize Americas’ role in this dispute and would like to learn more.  This only fueled the discussion further... haha! Let’s just say a lot of these men are Barak O’Bama supporters!

Second, we found a Pizza Hut in Bangalore and it was amazing!! At first we were a bit leery since we weren’t sure if it would taste the same as the American Pizza Hut, but it definitely exceeded our expectations! We received many stares, as us 16 Americans filed into the small but one of the most fancy Pizza Hut’s I have seen, and took up a third of the restaurant! I find that Indian food is hard to eat at times due to the rich flavor/spice and that much of it tastes the same since I have not yet been able to retain the identify of the different dishes. This Monday we were able to visit the Hare Krishna Temple, this was a peculiar experience.  Many of us were lost in translation and constrained to cultural barriers throughout the visit, which was to be expected.  The proceedings before entry into the temple were as follows: we had to go thru extensive security, had to hand over our cameras and our shoes, and had to wash our hands and feet for purposes of cleanliness. We then were given a piece of paper with a prayer on it which we had to chant repeatedly while walking on stepping stones in a cue this eventually led to the temple.  Once we entered the temple we each received a brown cube, later I found out that this was to eat.  Finally, we saw the statues of certain gods, many people at this time prayed or took time for reflection. Afterwards, we were guided by signs and found ourselves immersed in a huge market, which seemed endless.  Many people in our group did not feel as though this was an appropriate place to sell things, it almost seemed as though people were “buying off God’s grace”.  On the other hand, I found some really cool holy beads that I could not resist! Shhh!

We then ventured through a market in Bangalore. What a spectacle that was, every fruit or vegetable one can imagine was available! Huge crowds of people were bargaining for the lowest prices and transporting goods from place to place by balancing them on their head. It was so cool! I had never seen anything like it! Unfortunately, one could not escape the polluted smells of India while walking through this market or the crowds that would constantly gawk at us due to our appearance. Therefore, we did not spend as much time in the market as we would have liked. However, I did get a lot of pictures! Many people here actually enjoy getting their picture taken as long as afterwards they can see it on my camera.  Haha, the little ones always say, “Auntie, Auntie I want to see! Take another picture!”  As an explorer of this country I obviously do not have any rebuttal to these requests!

Later that day we were also able to attend the St. Mary’s festival, this was absolutely nuts! I have never been in such crowd of people where I externally am so different than the majority! Blonde hair and blue eyes just doesn’t blend in India! The sea of people filled the street and sang in unison “Ave Maria” and listened to the Bishop speak.  We could barely see anything and a lot was in Kannada, which made it hard to follow, however, just to see all of the people was definitely enough to awe me.  I should mention on this day there were two separate occasions in which we encountered two different extremely persistent child beggars. However, on both of these occasions I spotted their mother watching us from afar.  This made me a bit angry. Why put us through this guilt just because we are Americans? Please do not get me wrong, I would have given them rupees if I had any money but we were advised not to carry wallets or purses due to pick pocketers and also it would not have made a real difference whether this child had parents or not because this child would still need money regardless.  I just feel a bit tricked; the mother knows that we are naïve Americans whom would not be human if we did not feel guilty upon seeing the sight of this little girl barely able to hold her baby brother on her hip asking for money.  I seem to be trapped between being ignorant and not giving enough or feeling extremely sorry for these children and giving them too much.  Am I just being their crutch? I mean how much will these five rupees really help them survive in the long run? For now, I will have to get use to the pulling of the skirt along with the gestures towards their hand indicating they need money for food and try not to feel painfully guilty.  Why am I so lucky as to be blessed with enough? How does God pick whom gets to be born in middle class living in the United States and whom has to be born into the slums of India?

                  Finally, we were able to meet a panel of women from different ages, economic class, caste, and family.  We discussed the restrictions women have in India and how they deal with this discrimination.  Many of them know no different and therefore it was really hard to communicate or rather find a common ground in which we fully understood each other’s culture. In India women are highly discriminated against and often times abused sexually, physically and mentally. Women are unable to own land, make decisions for the family, buy certain things, stay out at night, work outside the household, or choose whom they would like to marry.  However, as India continues to evolve into a more westernized or “Americanized” culture a few of these inequalities have faded but many of these traditional ways are still strongly exercised especially in the rural areas.  One of us asked, “If you had a million dollars what would you do with it?” David our translator, said,  “this amount of money means nothing to them, let us lower this amount to ten lakhs.”  I do not know how ten lakhs would compare to the American dollar, but I assume it is less than a million U.S. dollars. Still, many of them had trouble even answering this question; it is hard for them to understand the idea of just “winning” a large sum of money.  Most are incapable of even imagining this idea, which in America is often, used as a common “get to know you” question.

Next, we were able to speak with a few of the girls from the Bandhavi program at Vishtar. This was a pretty sad time due to their unfortunate past. All have been temporarily saved from a life of the Devadasi system  (an underground system of prostitution) and some saved after they have been committed to this life.  A lot of these young girls have had traumatic experiences; this was evident in today’s discussion with them.  We were able to ask several questions to each other with the help of a translator. Many girls asked us, “In your country what are the restrictions that young women face? and “In your country are girls discriminated against?” I really felt a mix of feelings by responding to these questions.  How do you tell a twelve- year old girl that where you come from there is no gender discrimination and you are free to do as you please while these girls are discriminated against on a daily basis? It was an awful feeling to be the bearer of this news.  These girls discovered in that moment that a society can exist based on gender equality and also that tragically they will never be apart of this.

One always sees the sad infomercials on the television advertising poverty in third world countries; one may hear of tragedies overseas, one may even send a monthly donation to them.  However, it is much more profound to be living in this infomercial.  Hopefully that makes sense :) It’s difficult for me because I know as descriptive as I am with these updates I know you guys will never understand what I am actually seeing with my own eyes every day. 

Sorry for the lengthy update, but thanks for reading! Hope you are having an awesome day!

Oh! The Things I Have Seen!

Namaste!

 

Today was a packed full day in Bangalore.  This morning we split up into two groups to walk through the slums.  This was a crazy experience for me.  The amount of poverty is tremendous and a bit disturbing.  We walked along many “houses” some hand made out of ply wood or anything that was constructible, almost each having little children usually half naked curiously peering out at us.  As we walked I noticed a lot of young people most whom should have been in school but were instead doing manual labor such as hauling large water bins or pushing a heavy vegetable cart.  I felt my heart breaking as I saw the little girls barefooted walking on mounds of trash. This same feeling came to me yesterday when we encountered a little, malnourished pup looking as though he was about to take his last breath.  It is hard for me to witness these horrendous things coming from such a fortunate background.  I find myself extremely puzzled as to how I can go about helping this individual.  Is it right for me to take on the attitude of the stereotypical “superhero American”? As much as I try not to support this stereotype, I find myself unconsciously succumbing to it. 

 

            Immediately, after this we went to two malls in Bangalore.  The one I went into had 6 floors, the first being perfume and make up.  All items in this mall were expensive and modernized.  It seemed as though I was back in America for a split second.  All of the advertisements were of Americans or of very light skinned Indians.  Here, in India being lighter is better.  If you have lighter skin you are already considered a “better” person socially, mentally, physically and economically.  Due to this there are many places where you can actually bleach your skin similar but opposite to tanning booths in the United States.  Anyway this mall was incredible.  It was mind boggling to go into these stores when we had just come from the one of the biggest slums in Bangalore.  I couldn’t help but think while in the mall being surrounded by Channel perfume that not even a half hour ago I saw some of the most graphic images of poverty imaginable.  Economic class does not separate the living area in Bangalore at all, one block you can be among some fine houses and just in a matter of seconds you can be among shacks.  It is extremely odd to witness, it is very hard for a foreigner to place any specific economic class on one area besides the slums.

 

            In the afternoon we were able to go shopping with Mary (David’s wife) for Indian clothing! It was a lot of fun!  I was able to get three outfits; one of these is referred to as a “sari”.  This is a three-piece set, which women typically wear on a daily basis. When buying saris you first purchase the material and then go to a tailor and have it fitted.  After this we went eat lunch at Hotel Empire, a restaurant in Bangalore.  However, we had to wait awhile due to it being closed for an hour of prayer in respect to the Ramadan, which is Muslim tradition where it calls for a month of fasting during day light hours.  I find it so funny whenever I eat food in India because I never can pronounce or guess what I am eating and everything is extremely flavorful! Also, since I have been feeling a bit ill I have been VERY careful as to what I put in my mouth!

 

            In the early evening we are able to watch the closing of the Ganesha ceremony.  It begins at the lake in Bangalore where it is tradition to submerge the Ganesha statues.  Typically, they are dipped three times and on the third time dropped into the lake.  To be honest I cannot remember the exact significance of this custom, but I am sure it is some sort of indication that today is the closing of the festival.  After this long day in Bangalore I was exhausted ready to leave the city.  Once we arrived at Vishtar I showed a few of the little Bandhavi girls my clothing, they then replied “Super, Aunty!”  haha! It is typical in the Indian culture out of the respect to call your senior female “Aunty” and your senior male “Uncle”.  I find this rather cute come from little girls with broken English.

 

            As I am still adjusting I still have not found much beauty or pleasure of living in India permanently.  I do not know if this is due to my unfamiliarity or what but I feel like I will find some sort of reasoning as time goes on.  Well, that’s all for now! Thanks for reading and hope you all are well! 

First Impressions

Hello All! 

Well where do I begin... First off, as you might guess I have arrived in India safe and sound having now slight but expected jet leg.  India is extremely different from anything that I have ever experienced in my life.  This is going to be a truly eye opening adventure that I will never forget. 

The following are some random things that I have learned thus far: a) In India every state speaks a different language. Our group is located in the state named Karnataka, which speaks a language called Kannada.  I am hoping to learn a few phrases so that I may better communicate with the little girls at Vishtar.  b) In India it is common for men who are friends to hold hands in public.  This does not have any taboo of being gay attached to this behavior.  c) In India dogs are everywhere. And when I say everywhere I mean EVERYWHERE! d) In Hindu cows are holy and can be seen wandering around on the busy city streets.  It is really bizarre to seee random cows meandering around on bustling streets.  e) In India trash can be found along the streets in piles, this seems to be the norm.  It is hard to find a trash dump and there is no trash pick up in this country. f) In India when having a conversation it is common to nod your head side to side to the other partner to show that you agree, a direct translation of this action would mean “yes”.

  Since arriving we have done many things such as attend a Christian church in Bangalore, have a tour of Bangalore, met the Bandavi girls (girls that have been saved from a life of prostitution whom live at Vishtar) and have begun classes.  As you can see the Vishtar staff has kept us very busy which is good. 

As of now I am experiencing a mix of different feelings as to what I have encountered in the mere three days that I have been in India, such as confusion, excitement, curiosity, frustration, guilt and more confusion! Haha!  The poverty here is robust which leaves me feeling somewhat guilty/confused and questioning the duties of authorities. I am excited to learn rhyme and reason to the culture, tradition and regulations.  I am curious of everything! I feel like I have been reborn and am learning how to survive all over again in unfamiliar yet exciting surroundings.  I feel frustrated because in the process of adjusting to the food I have become sick which has prevented me from doing all of the above.  I feel guilt because a day does not go by in India when I do not witness some form of poverty, which makes me compare my own life to these poor people.  However, David (the Director of Vishtar) framed this sort of guilty feeling by saying in class, “Do not be apologetic of your identity as of now.”  I realize that I cannot be upset that I have been blessed in many ways in which numerous people in India have not been.

Yesterday the main event was the Inaugural ceremony, which was a way in the Indian culture to welcome us to Vishtar.  The Bandhavi girls performed a ceremonial dance, we also read sacred prayers, and received painted on “bindis” which is the traditional Indian mark between the eyebrows.  It seems as though the people of India are very diverse in regard to religious beliefs, languages and culture but strive at the same time to be interconnected as a whole.  I was very touched David’s speech when he spoke of the Bandhavi girls.  He reminded us that these girls have close to nothing yet still find the hope to sing and dance in rejoicing for a new peaceful India.  “ Give us this day our daily bread”, is an expression that is used often in prayers in India and unlike in the United States is meant in its entirety! Two thirds of Indian people live on TWO U.S. dollars per day! This I do not think I will ever be able to fathom. 

Today was the Ganesha Festival, which is a celebration of the Ganesha god whom is represented as an elephant.  The festival is a celebration of life and death.  We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to celebrate this festival with the Bandhavi girls and go to a staff member’s house.  However, I was unable to attend the house visit due to feeling ill.  We celebrated with the Bandhavi girls by eating food, receiving “bindis” and accepting new life.  This was extremely interesting to witness. The girls were all very excited about this celebration. Tomorrow we are going into Bangalore to continue the celebrations of the Ganesha festival.  Well, I hope this update finds you all well!