Weekend in Varkala

Well, all of our planning for Delhi is nearly finished and a group of us headed to Varkala for the weekend. Varkala is one of the most sought out destinations in southern India; its beaches are supposed to rival many in Thailand. Unfortunately, summer is the absolute worst time to go there—its Monsoon season in the state of Kerala. The monsoons are somewhat confusing because they vary from state to state (I’m still struggling to understand them after two months). While Karalla borders Tamil Nadu, its monsoon is a full two months earlier. Varkala’s idyllic beaches and seafood cafes are at their optimum in December—we were a full six months off!

Our nine-hour train ride ended up getting delayed for over four hours. The eight of us sat in the Satur train station munching on fried bananas and passing around our various novels that many of us were re-reading out of boredom. After two months, I expect extreme delays in India: trains, buses, planes, restaurants. Everywhere. I notice myself acclimating to the pace of life that I found so irritating and sluggish at beginning of my trip. We joyously arrived at the Varkala train station at two in the morning. Friederike had been there in April so she knew the address to a hotel where we could crash for the night. The hotel ended up being a miniature bamboo-house village! While attractive from the outside, our village was in the off-season, and the insides of our huts were moldy, sand-filled, and wet. Fiona, Friederieke, and I shared a bed and shivered under the damp covers the entire night.

We awoke excitedly in the morning—at least we had the beach! As we made our way to the shore, (more like swam through the flooded streets) we were non-chalantly informed by a police officer that the beach had been completely destroyed by the monsoons (this is normal during the rainy season). He looked at us pityingly, and we all started laughing. Luckily, we weren’t the only “dumb” tourists in Varkala. A couple restaurants were still open and a few shops braved the storms to sell the typical Indian souvenirs I had seen countless times. Surprisingly, our best discovery wasn’t the shopping or the food. As a group of eight girls “roughing it” for two to three months in India, we would have killed for a hair cut, a manicure, anything. We couldn’t believe our luck when we saw a lonely hut standing among rubble—it was a beauty salon! Manicures, pedicures, facials, henna tattoos, waxing, and massages—it offered everything! We all crammed into the small hut to sign up for various appointments. The owner was in the middle of a wax, but she came out to greet us. The woman getting the wax ripped open the curtain (no modesty here!) and proudly announced that “Sister Lakshimi gave the best Brazilians ever!” I, right then and there, decided that I would NOT be getting a Brazilian that day. I “copped out” and signed up for a facial and a henna tattoo. Many of the girls got full body massages, pedicures, and even henna hair treatment. After signing up, we trudged through the mud to the “German Bakery” restaurant (in honor of Friederike of course!) We spent our day sipping herbal Darjeeling tea and eating homemade peanut butter (yes, they even had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!) We took shifts—when it was time for our appointment, half of us stayed at the restaurant and the other half went to the salon. My facial and henna tattoo ended up costing a total of eight dollars. A facial in the US would be about $100 at a nice salon and even more at a spa. It was a great way to relax—especially because we would be traveling so much in the up coming week.

We ended up eating dinner at the German bakery and then walked back to our hotel. On our way back to our “hut village,” we stumbled on an “Indian Rave”(this is the only way I could think to describe it). There were about thirty young Indian men (AND women) who were dancing conspicuously around a large fire. It was honestly one of the strangest things I have seen; the fire alone was somewhat terrifying. We managed to maneuver our way around all the inebriated (more serious substance abuse was probably going on) dancers and made a beeline for our hotel. Because of the monsoon season, it was pouring rain and incredibly windy—a long cold night was in store for us and while I had a great time I was ready to go back to Sivakasi in the morning.

On my way to Delhi!

Well, I only have a few more hours in Sivakasi. I can't believe my two months are up. We're all leaving for Madurai tonight and my flight to Delhi is tomorrow morning. I'll be there for 5 days and then I fly back to Chicago. I've been doing a lot of journal writing so I plan on transferring all my stories to my blog when I'm back in the states. I'll have two weeks to relax so I'll have plenty of time to transfer all my photos and get my blog looking normal again. I have to go finish packing-I can't wait to get home so I can write(with fast internet) again!

Talk to you all soon!

I'm so sorry to keep doing this but my internet access has been terrible lately and I've been busy with the journalism project. I'm going to Kerala to the beach this weekend and I've decided to do a "double post" Monday! Talk to you soon...I have so much to tell!

Sorry!

Hey Everyone! I'll be posting tomorrow because I had to write a lot today!

Winding Down

A lot has happened since my last post! I can’t believe I leave in less than 3 weeks! My two months have zipped past me—I honestly don’t see how people can visit India for less than two months—there’s just too much to do and see. I’m quite excited because seven of us from Projects Abroad are going to Delhi on the 25th of July. I’ll be in Delhi till Monday and then I fly back to Chennai. It’s Chennai for two days and then I’m St. Louis bound! We’re going to Agra for a day to see the Taj Mahal (I’m probably most excited about this!) I was on the NPR website the other day and they’ve just renamed the seven (new) world wonders—the Taj Mahal is one of them. Delhi has a lot to do so we’ll be quite busy; I’ve heard the Ghandi memorial is worthwhile and there will be excellent temples to see on top of shopping and feasting on North Indian cuisine (it’s much different than southern fare). I have a week left of work and I will be incredibly busy. I’m working on 4 articles (the health benefits of yoga, animal welfare, local dog breeders, and a comparison/contrast between Bollywood and Hollywood…i.e., “From Hollywood to Bollywood”). By the end of my stay here, I will have 5 articles. However, I’m hoping to bring a lot of ideas back home so I can write about them with more freedom—I’ll go into more detail. 

Journalism here is completely different than journalism at home. Even when I’m reading “The Hindu,”(India’s leading English language national newspaper) I notice little peculiarities. In one of their photo captions about the ongoing conflict with Pakistan, the caption read something to the effect of “the Indian Army has smoked out all the Pakistanis. Once again, India prevails.” The U.S. media has no qualms about being biased at times as well, but the Indian media really doesn’t like to expose India’s problems. In journalism, there’s never just one side of the story. I’m actually quite worried about my articles because I have a feeling the director will either not publish them or just edit them to the extreme that they are no longer “mine.” It’s interesting because my articles aren’t that critical—they’re just typical clips talking openly about social problems. I really wanted to write about women’s’ issues but it’s difficult to get people to “talk” honestly about their feelings. I’ve become much more appreciative of my right to speak my mind in the United States—for all of America’s problems, we are encouraged to criticize, to analyze, and to think for ourselves. At times, it feels like we are “shut up” by the government, or our rights are taken away—but it’s nothing compared to the silence that permeates throughout India. 

Last weekend, four of us visited an ashram (the Auroville ashram…renamed “horror” ville by one of the other volunteers!) outside of Pondicherry (a 14 hour bus trip). Friederike (my friend from Germany) and I got food poisoning and we were extremely out of it for most of the weekend. It was probably one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life and I’m glad to be feeling better now. We were in an un air-conditioned hut and our fan wasn’t working (120 degrees outside!) I think I lost six pounds in two days. Auroville itself was unbelievably unfriendly and unwelcoming; it was clear they did not want us there. Auroville started in 1968 as an “ideal township” dedicated to “experimentation in human unity.” Here is what the brochure reads: “The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity – in diversity. Today Auroville is recognized as the first and only internationally endorsed ongoing experiment in human unity and transformation of consciousness, also concerned with - and practically researching into - sustainable living and the future cultural, environmental, social and spiritual needs of mankind.” It sounds okay on paper, (maybe a little strange to most people) but it’s just not reality. After staying there for two days, I got the impression that people came to Auroville to hide from the world’s problems, not to help solve them. I would recommend going to the website (http://www.auroville.org/index.htm). 


Animal Welfare

My interviews in Madurai went very well. My first interview was with a veterinarian who spoke little English so it was difficult to receive honest or straightforward answers. He basically gave us an overview of the ABC (Animal Birth Control) program. Government officials collect stray dogs, sterilize them, give them the rabies vaccination, and then release them back into the streets. It’s been effective, as dog bites, rabies cases, and stray dogs have all steadily decreased over the last few years. Even though it was my interview, he refused to look at me and just spoke to Nigel instead (I’ve found that this happens quite a lot when I go with another male volunteer). His surgical desk was quite the sight (my fellow workers at Horton Animal Hospital would be completely aghast). The surgery room had a dirt floor with chickens and goats running around; his surgical tools were dirty and scattered everywhere—there’s no need to even mention any form of sterilization. After the interview, Mutu took Nigel and I to lunch by bus and we sat next to a group of women. Nigel and I are both blonde so we attract a lot of attention anyway but these women seemed to be unusually interested. Mutu told us later that blonde hair isn’t attractive in India because Indians think that it looks like white hair—the women on the bus were saying that I “looked like an old woman!” Of course Nigel thought this was extremely funny and proceeded to find a walking stick on the ground for me (note that they never said he looked like an old man!) We all went to Baskin Robins (yes, they have Baskin Robins in India!) and met the director of People for Animals (Madurai branch-much like the ASPCA in America). This was probably the best interview I have had in India. As a pathologist and as head health director for the hospitals in Madurai, he still finds time for animal welfare. I was surprised to discover that animal rights are somewhat scoffed at in India. Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism all worship animals yet a person is “psychotic” if he or she is concerned about them. When I told the director of my journalism placement that I wanted to write a story on animal welfare he looked at me and laughed. “Why do a story on animals when there are so many people problems?” “Write a story about how we all love animals!!” I’ve found that this sentiment is quite common. Many people in the States would say the same thing. As an animal lover, I do not see their point. If someone is willing to torture an innocent animal they are more likely to commit a more serious crime against a human. Hopefully I can convey this in my article. Stray dogs roam the streets and many of the females are overbred and then left to die painfully. I saw a policeman brutally beating a dog in Bangalore for no apparent reason. It’s not just dogs—cows are left to die after farmers are finished with the milk, bull fighting is still legal in many states, and cock fighting is still popular. It seems a little bit troublesome to me that one is supposed to report animal abuse to the police and many of the police are committing the crimes themselves. Dr. Palanikumar is spearheading the animal rights movement in South India. People for Animals has branches in major cities throughout the North and the South and it’s slowly gaining a following (emphasize slowly). His ultimate goal is to build an animal hospital and shelter in Madurai and then form an animal adoption agency (there are currently NO adoption agencies for stray dogs and cats). If you’re interested, the website for PFA Bangalore is very good. Go to http://www.pfabangalore.org/www.pfabangalore.org/activities.html 


Coffee and Weddings

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday! I was in Madurai all day interviewing people for my animal welfare feature. I left at about eight in the morning with Mutu, my translator, and Nigel, another journalist from England. We had breakfast at a little outdoor café across the street from the office. I’ve gotten quite used to speaking in broken English/a few words in Tamil and having absolutely no one understand me. I had a funny moment yesterday when I ordered black coffee (said more like blackcoffee—the faster you say it, the better). Instead of getting my usual breakfast caffeine fix, I got three fried bananas (black coffee must sound similar to fried bananas in Tamil). Anyway, I couldn’t stop laughing and the waiter just stood there with this baffled look on his face. I ended up just eating the bananas and drinking water—a much healthier option in my opinion. 

We passed at least four marriage ceremonies/receptions on our way to Madurai yesterday. According to Mutu, yesterday was the “lucky” day to get married. The majority of the marriages are arranged, and the wedding is often the fist time the couple sees one another. I could really go on forever about how much I disagree with arranged marriages but I’ll try not to rant for too long. Many argue that it’s tradition (as one man put it, “we’ve been doing this for longer than your country has even existed”). Us Americans get these sorts of comments about “having no history” quite a bit when we’re abroad. But I don’t believe that “tradition” is a plausible excuse. Female circumcision is “tradition,” Sati (the Hindu practice of widow burning which is now outlawed) was “tradition.” The “tradition” needs to change. I look at it as a way to severely oppress women and as a way to keep people in their proper social caste. More simply, it goes against every law in nature.

Anyway, I got to see a little bit of a wedding reception with Alisha and Friederika. We heard loud music two nights ago by the office so Ambika (a feisty and independent woman who works for Projects Abroad) took us to see where the music was coming from. The family ended up inviting us to the wedding reception! Ambika took us to a gift shop where we all got little trinkets and chocolates (about 200 rupees each). I got this little glass ball with two doves in it that said “Best of Luck.” Cheesy, but it’s the thought that counts after all. The wedding ceremony was at six in the morning (can you imagine?) and then the reception was at seven. The reception was under a pavilion outside—just gorgeously inundated with bright colors, flowers, and spices. I felt hideously out of place in my Western boy trousers and button up shirt. A live marching band came in behind the bride and the groom and it kind of reminded me of the many parades that I’ve been in (sort of looked like a junior high marching band, completely out of step, but happy nonetheless). A little girl named Pooja (about 14 with the maturity of a 20 year old) took us under her wing. She was best friends with the groom’s sister and despite her limitless knowledge of wedding etiquette and procedure, she quickly informed us that she “did NOT want to get married.” At 14, she had impeccable English—this is quite uncommon because Sivakasi is a small village. She wants to study in England and if she “ever gets married”(she rolled her eyes when she said the word married), she wants a ‘love marriage.’ It’s both refreshing and disheartening for me to see such strong-minded women in a society that shuns such attitudes. I hope she can get a scholarship to university so she can live a life that she chooses—a life I’ve taken for granted without ever thinking about how lucky I truly am. 

Okay, my next post will cover my interviews in Madurai, my extremely interesting bus experience, my trip to Bangalore, and my trip to a wildlife reserve this weekend! I will also post pictures!

Easing my way in

I’m going to try and post twice a week but it looks like I’m easing my way into blogging. I still don’t know how people make it a daily habit! This week has gone by pretty fast and I can’t believe I’ve been here for two weeks already. I’m working on 3 articles right now: a film review (Pirates of the Caribbean), an article on the popularity of “yoga vacations,” and an article on animal rights. It’s hard to schedule interviews because of the language barrier, but I’m learning to speak slowly and repeat myself. Hopefully I’ll get to travel sometime next week—I really want to visit a yoga ashram in Madurai. It’s become quite popular (especially for rich women in the US) to take “yoga vacations.” These consist of two to three week holidays in Asia (especially India) where they practice yoga with a master and other students. There’s been quite an uproar in many of the Indian papers lately because the US is trying to patent many yoga positions. Despite the fact that yoga is over 6,000 years old, many commercial studios in America want rights to the art form (an article in the Hindu said it best with the title, “Can you patent wisdom?”) Indians are baffled by America’s attempt to commercialize such a sacred part of Indian culture. Many studios in the US (most notably Bikram Choudhury...aka, "hot yoga") ignore the meditation/spiritual aspects and just focus on the asanas (physical). I think it’s such an intriguing example of globalization (in my opinion, the negative aspects of our "flattening world"). 

Last weekend a group of us went to the backwaters of Kerala and spent time on a houseboat for one night. It was a great way to relax and I even got to see an elephant! We took a sleeper train with no air conditioning. The bathrooms were overflowing with sewage and I don’t think I’ve ever smelled something so putrid. A group of us are leaving for Mamallapurum (by the beach in Tamil Nadu) tonight and we are taking a sleeper bus (we’ll see how this differs from the sleeper train!) We were originally supposed to go to a beach in Kerala this weekend but there has been a chicken flu outbreak so the police are protecting the border between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. If I can get some more interviews next week, I may get to travel even more.

Mamallapurum was amazing last weekend. We spent most of our time by the sea and then we rented mopeds and drove around (no, for those of you who know me well, I did not drive, I was a passenger). It actually reminded me of a hippie California beach town—tons of artsy shops, quaint cafes, and a relaxing atmosphere. On Sunday we went to Pondicherry (now Puducherry)—a former French colony and now a union territory of India. I wish our school system (and others around the world as well) would focus on colonization and emphasize its enormous impact. I’ve really enjoyed my politics classes at USC (especially geopolitics) because we focused on the continuing effects of colonizing a country. While shopping in Pondicherrry, the shop owner (from Pakistan) gave our group a “little history lesson” about the British control of India. I was honestly kind of surprised that most of the British students didn’t seem to care or know much about their government’s role/impact in Asia. Ironically, the three Americans knew the most. I’m not trying to insult the British, but I’m beginning to realize that it’s not just the Americans who are “ignorant” or isolated. 

I can’t believe I’ve only been here for 3 weeks! Indian time is probably 100 times slower than Missouri time (which makes it a million times slower than L.A. time!) To me, my three weeks here have been more equivalent to three months. I have an interview with a veterinarian next week in Madurai and then I’m spending a day at a yoga ashram to interview people for my article on “yoga vacations”(this should happen the first week of July). I’m hoping to have five articles by the time I leave. It’s more difficult than it seems because scheduling interviews on “Indian time” is extremely difficult and at times very very frustrating. I usually have to go to the director three or four times to remind him that I need to set up an interview (going back to the States and setting things up is going to be much easier now!) The language barrier has been the hardest aspect but I’m actually learning to study facial expressions and body language more closely and this has helped immensely. 

Although my host family doesn’t speak much English, I’m learning to communicate with them as well (I’m even learning a few words in Tamil!) Today I’m off to Bangalore by sleeper train—a huge group of us travel together on the weekends. According to one of the translators in the office, “it’s the best city in India for shopping.” Sorry Mom.

First Post in India

I’m finally here in Sivakasi (I’ve been here for 5 days now but it feels much much longer). India has been so overwhelming that I haven’t had time or energy to write an entry, but now that I’m settling in, it doesn’t seem as daunting. Arriving at the Chennai airport was quite an experience. With no air conditioning and hundreds of people back to back (literally) in customs/ baggage claim, it took over an hour to get my luggage. I met a man from Projects Abroad named Pandi who took me to a hotel to rest before my train ride the next day. I knew it was going to be hot, but I’ve never experienced heat like this before. I was so nauseated the first few days that I could barely eat anything; I ended up drinking about 6 1-litre bottles of water a day (more water than I usually drink in a month!). I felt absolutely terrible because Pandi bought me a nice breakfast and lunch before the train ride and I couldn’t eat much of it. I’m still adjusting to eating with my hands (or ‘hand,’ you don’t eat with your left hand). I have to put my left hand between my knees to avoid the embarrassing mistake of accidentally using it. I’ve been experiencing a lot of “lost in translation moments.” In India, they shake their head to the side to say yes. After attempting (but failing miserably) to finish my dinner after the train, Pandi asked if I wanted more and I shook my head in the Western “no” motion. I ended up getting three more chapatis when I could barely stomach one. Now that I’ve been here for about a week, I’ve started to adjust to the heat and I can eat a little bit more.

I’m living with a host family and two other volunteers. We usually eat about 2 meals a day with the host family and then have lunch at a hotel near our office. For the first few days, we ate all three meals with the family, but this made us feel excluded from all the volunteers who live and eat at the hotel. We talked to some Projects Abroad workers and now we’re going to eat lunch with the other volunteers. It’s just a difficult situation because we did not want to offend the family. My host family is extremely nice but they speak absolutely no English (besides the basic greetings and numbers). Alisha (my roommate) and I might start to try and help them in the evenings (we have to be back by 8:30 every night). I have never had a curfew before so I feel so restricted--it is not acceptable for women to be out much later than this. 

It’s frustrating because women are basically second-class citizens in small town India (at least in the small town where I am living). Bigger cities are more progressive. In general, we cannot shake hands with males or sit next to them on the bus. Friederike, a girl I work with at the magazine, said she was sitting on the bus by herself and two men who wanted to sit down made her get up and stand for the two hour bus ride. It’s somewhat problematic when the women at the magazine go on interviews because men do not take us seriously (sometimes I haven’t even been acknowledged). Not all situations are like this—I have met many friendly men who are willing to talk and seem very curious (this could be because we are Western looking as well). Overall, the people in Sivakasi are extremely hospitable and welcoming (much more polite and generous than Americans). Projects Abroad gave us a “tour” of the city by rickshaw (a mini taxi) and we met “the richest man in Sivakasi” who is famous for his Indian tea. There were about four of us lounging around drinking tea (the chai tea in India is amazing!) and 30 or so townspeople surrounded us and just stared (it was somewhat unnerving!) I have become accustomed to walking into a café or shop and having everyone stare (for some reason it doesn’t bother me as much as some of the other volunteers). We are hoping to profile the “tea man” in the upcoming issue so the interview will be next week! 

So much more to say, but I’m off to the backwaters of Kerala (supposed to be absolutely gorgeous) for a boat tour. Eleven of us leave on an overnight train tonight and we will get back late on Sunday. I Promise to post pictures for my next post!

2 More Days!

It’s down to the wire now; only two more days before I leave the states! I’m going to St. Louis tomorrow to watch my brother swim and then I’m off to Chennai on Sunday. The total travel time is approximately 30 hours so I’ve made sure that I have an abundance of books, magazines, sudoku, and snacks. After I arrive in Chennai, (formerly known as Madras and the capital of Tamil Nadu) I will meet A Projects Abroad worker outside of baggage claim—I won’t be completely on my own in getting to Sivakasi! I have an 8-hour train ride to Sivakasi where my host family will meet me and help me get settled.

I’ve heard that staying with a host family facilitates assimilation and enriches the overall internship experience. I can’t wait to eat Indian food for 3 meals a day (vegetarianism is a must while I’m there). My roommate is from France and is participating in the conservation project. For those of you who haven’t heard of Projects Abroad (http://www.projects-abroad.org/), it’s a British Programme (from now on I while try to write in British English) that places volunteers across five continents in projects such as medicine, journalism, teaching, law, and conservation. It’s geared towards “gap year” students, as it’s quite popular for students in the UK to take a gap year after high school or university. I’m taking part in the journalism project in Sivakasi (located in the state of Tamil Nadu). It’s in the very south of India so the July heat will be nice and toasty. I’ve dealt with Missouri humidity, but I have a feeling it’s nothing compared to what I’m about to experience. 

I’m interning at a monthly magazine called the Sivakasi Times. Each month has a theme that focuses on local issues. I’m particularly interested in covering cultural, literary, and film events—Bollywood and Harry Potter, perhaps? I’m open (and fully hope) to expand my palate and write about environmental issues, news stories, sports, etc. The magazine is entirely run by volunteers so I will assist in editing, publishing, and the overall layout as well. I can’t wait to see what lies ahead!