Desert Travels

This week we traveled over 2,000 km on our road trip west of Jaipur. We stopped in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer (a desert city about 60 km from Pakistan), and Bikaner and our time was filled with visits to villages, schools, hospitals, and other NGOs, rooftop restaurants, fort explorations, sand dunes, camel rides, traditional music and dance, and of course, FOOD. I will try and put pictures up soon.
In Jodhpur we had dinner on the roof of a huge fort overlooking the city. Stepping up to the wall that was still hot from the sun and looking down on the sea of blue lights below (Jodhpur is known as the Blue City), I got so dizzy just thinking about all that life down there! It was really humbling and I felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility to use my one little life in a way that brings more love and peace to the world. We visited a community of Indian refugees from Pakistan, who are waiting in an endless line for citizenship...so currently they can't get jobs and have a pretty desperate situation. We also met with a group of ashas, or women who have been elected by their villages to receive health training at one center and spread awareness in their community once they come back. It was neat to experience women's empowerment in such a way, and they were really interested in our lives. Also in Jodhpur our hotel had a pool, and I relished the silence of swimming underwater. I love India's noises and hums but I was surprised by how magical that silence was.

In Jaisalmer we stayed in nice tents in the Thar Desert. The biggest adventure there was the camel ride. Being ontop of a camel while the camel is trying to stand up is one of the most hilarious things to watch and experience. It's a multi-step process with awkward leaning and jolts involved. My friend Elizabeth and I named our camel, Choti Moti Nashpati, which means, Little Fat Pear. Unfortunately we were behind a rather flatulent camel. We reached the sand dunes, which are so smooth and sculpted, and descended from our ungainly positions to hear some traditional Rajasthani (the princely state I am in) music and see some dance while the sun set. I wish I could have some paint samples of those sun set colors. At night I couldn't sleep so I lay out and stared at the billions of stars painted across the sky. I saw two shooting stars! The next morning some friends and I got up super early and explored the desert while the sun was getting ready to come up. We were hanging out in the sand dunes when the huge, lava-like sun heavily decided to wobble out. It was a great moment of exploration and surprise. Jaisalmer also has a fort with winding, narrow streets, and a multitude of small shops and restaurants hidden in niches. It felt like Aladdin.
In Bikaner we mostly just visited NGOs- we saw a dairy cooperative and I loved seeing all the steps for the processing of milk, as it is my beverage of choice. I have been enjoying the dairy in India, especially the yogurt drinks called lassis that often are made with fruit. We also went to a girls camp that brings in about 100 girls from very poor families to go to school for 7 months. These girls otherwise probably would not have any schooling, and this is really a transformative experience for them. They sang several songs and chants for us about girls fighting for their education- it was so moving to see them so determined, especially after we had talked about our frustrations with the male-dominated society and gender inequality and segregation. We also got a chance to talk with college students our age, and we talked about music (even both groups singing songs for the other), movies, food, presidents, India, and our thoughts about arranged marriage! Connecting with Indians our age was refreshing. We stand out wherever we go, as we are obviously foreigners, but it's always interesting to see the reactions of kids and other people when a group of 16 American girls comes in to their village or school or hospital to talk especially with them. They are shy, curious, bewildered, amused by small things, but they are always fascinated and happy to see us.

Now we are back in Jaipur, and today is a big holiday called Dussehra. Papa Ji and Mami Ji's daughter Nalini told me the story, which was spell-binding. The story (through Nalini now through me) goes that a king had three sons, and Ram was the oldest so he was the heir to the throne. However, one of his other wives demanded that her son, who was younger, become the king. She also insisted that Ram go into exile in the jungle for 14 years. Ram told his father he didn't need to become king and that he would go into exile. His father refused, but Ram insisted. Ram went into the jungle with his wife Sita, and the evil demon Ravan stole her. Ravan had asked for 10 heads from another god (?) so he would be invincible, so he was basically scary and unstoppable. Ram searched the jungle for Sita, and found out that Ravan had taken her. So Ram sought out Ravan and shot an arrow into his navel, which killed him. So Dussehra is celebrated today by burning an effigy of Ravan. It is the victory of good over evil. 14 years later, or 14 days symbolically later, Divali is celebrated- the day when Ram returned from the jungle and became king. Anyway, that's what I understood from Nalini.
I hope all is well back in the States and wherever you are reading this!

Adventures in Agra

Well, our trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal was unforgettable for many reasons. First, seeing the Taj at sunrise was absolutely surreal. You walk through a big archway and gaze upon the perfect pools of water and the elegant gardens leading up to the Taj. It looked so unreal that we felt like it was a mural that we could walk up and touch. Only a few of us were up on the marble foundation at the base of the Taj right as the sun was stepping through a curtain of clouds and mist still hung on the river behind it- it felt like I was walking barefoot on a cloud in heaven. The Taj itself is magnificent- it has astoundingly intricate marble work, inscriptions, and gym cuttings- as the king, who built it in honor of his beloved wife, demanded perfection. He would apparently cut off a worker's hand if he messed up.
After this our "tour guide that SIT hired," or so we thought, who had taken us to the Taj, led us to a workshop where "ancestors of the Taj gem cutters," who were master craftsmen, produced beautiful marble and gem pieces such as table tops, vases, elephants, etc. After being paraded around and given detailed explanations on how much time and skill everything required, most of us bought a pretty expensive marble piece, something special from the Taj. It was when they took us into the second room with less expensive items that it dawned on us that this might be a scam. Our tour guide peaced out and we were left frustrated with ourselves for trusting our guide. Our hotel manager told us that Awadesh Ji, our SIT staff member who coordinated most of the trip for us, had hired the guide for us, and we trusted his word. When we got back to Jaipur, we learned that he had not been hired and really just hopped on our bus and probably got a cut from the marble/gem place. Azim Ji had warned us to be careful, so we felt bad that we had fallen into such a thing. But we're all OK, we learned a lot, and now we have a great story to laugh about. Agra is kind of an unpleasant city, and people were constantly bombarding us with trinkets to buy. We laughed when people offered us the following sequence: "Taj keychain? T-shirt? Postcards? Leather whip!?!" How random. On the way back from Agra we stopped at a lost city of sorts. It used to be some capital city, a fort with a vast stone courtyard that strategically straddled a high hill. We scaled the red steps, which were teeming with children, and walked around the courtyard as vendors followed us and tried to sell us things. It felt like a place from the Lord of the Rings- some aging vestige of the past. We were all happy to get back to Jaipur.
This week we had lectures on Gandhi, the caste system, and an overview on development in India. We visited a "basti," an area where the people have constructed concrete houses on government land, to observe and then discuss what we thought the most pressing development issue was. Then we talked with community members- women in colorful saris, curious children, our teachers, and 16 American girls all crowded into one room- and we realized that their priorities and needs were far different than our perceptions. We also visited a rural village that innovatively created a water harvesting system to irrigate fields, provide water and grass for their dairy cows and village use. They dug out squares of earth and created hills to maximize rainwater collection. We walked across the brittle, cracked earth under the scorching sun and talked with the village leaders under a tree. One night this week I went with Mami Ji to her temple. A long drum and an accordion were played while two women led singing, praying, and chanting. We all sat on the floor, and there was incense, flowers, and candles. Another memorable moment this week was when six of us piled into a rickshaw (probably not meant for more than 3 adults) and puttered and choked along at a pace slower than that of an ancient, arthritic turtle.
Tomorrow we depart on a week-long excursion to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Bikaner, which are to the west of Jaipur, to visit some NGOs. Apparently there are scorpions in Jaisalmer. Yikes.

Jaipur

Namaste! (By the way, this means, "I salute the divine in you")
This week has been pretty busy- but here's the latest update. I am so happy with my host family- Papa Ji and Mami Ji (you add Ji for respect) are in their late 60s and they are so so sweet. MJ (I will abbreviate) hardly speaks any English, so by the end of the first full day with them, I was physically exhausted from pushing my brain through an obstacle course of speaking Hindi. PJ is very helpful and I have already learned so much! Learning another language is a thrill to me. PJ reminds me of the dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding- he tells me to put Detol (a soap) on my bug bites and he LOVES to explain Indian culture. Here's an example of my average day: wake up at 5:55 (auspicious numbers and things are big here) and I go for a walk or run. I love seeing so many people out on the roads and there are always new things to experience: monkeys leaping around my house, a peacock strutting in someone's yard, or a camel loping down the road, pulling a cart. My neighborhood has a lot of the old "pink" (really an orange-pink) walls with white designs and soft trees hanging over them. I come back to the house, drink chai with PJ and MJ outside while they read the paper, then get ready for school. I walk to school with another girl, we have 2 1/2 hours of Hindi, with tea breaks, then a lecture for about an hour, then lunch. Lunch is always delicious and we sit on a wide balcony and eat. After lunch we are free to do work, explore the city, shop, see Bollywood movies, etc. I come home around 6-6:30, have tea, read or work on Hindi, watch bizarre TV shows, bathe, help MJ make dinner, eat, sleep by 10. About bathing- I have a bucket bath and a little scooper-I love it. I feel like a very large baby who can bathe herself. We should all try bucket baths- not only are they refreshing...BUT they also save a ton of water.
For future reference, we will be in Jaipur for about 2 months, with some excursions and workshops in there. In November we will embark upon our individual ISPs (Independent Study Projects) for one month. Right now I'm thinking about researching community alternative energy. An organization called the Barefoot College trains semi-literate and illiterate women to install solar home lighting systems intheir communities and beyond. They train and work during the day and go to school at night. What issues does this address? Women's literacy. Check. Rural employment. Check. Alternative, sustainable energy. Check. It's just exciting to consider the opportunities and freedoms that such a program creates...and to evaluate what it can offer as a development model for other communities.
Oh! By the way, today we are going to some place called...oh I forget...umm...oh WAIT...the TAJ. MAHAL.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seekers of Knowledge

Our Academic Director, Azim Ji, says our goal is to be "seekers of knowledge." Like the goddess Saraswati, the goddess of learning, whose picture adorns our educational center, we are here to gain knowledge and experience life in India to develop our perceptions of the world. Azim is very eloquent, generous, optimistic, and has a vision of the world that is rather inspiring. He and the other SIT staff and professors exude hospitality, openness, honesty, joy, and pride in their culture.
We spent a little over a day in Delhi...the jetlag has been alright, although one morning I woke up at 2 a.m. our time and listened to music while watching the shifting blue plates of the Delhi sunrise a few hours later. We visited Mahata Ghandi's cremation site, a peaceful and simple flower arrangement enclosed by high walls in a big courtyard area. We also spent time getting to know each other- there are 16 students on the program and all of us are girls! It is strange to travel in a huge pack of girls, surrounded mostly by men out in the daytime. In Jaipur, we travel in a fleet of auto-rickshaws, which are like 3-wheeled golfcarts...it makes me feel like we are playing a live game of Indian Mario Kart. For safety reasons, we're supposed to avoid eye contact and communication with men and boys when we are out on the street, which feels pretty isolating. Another girl is interested in doing some service so that we can engage with people, as well as practice Hindi. I'm sure once we start the homestays we will feel better connected to people.
We spent about 5 1/2 hours on a bus to Jaipur, where we will be for about two months, before we spend a month on our Independent Study Project. Jaipur is known as the Pink City-- pink is a welcoming color and apparently the city was painted pink for the visit of the Prince of Wales. Also many of the surrounding buildings are made from sandstone. Jaipur is the capital of the princely state of Rajasthan. Most of our time this week has been spent either eating, drinking tea, discussing orientation materials, or exploring the city.
Wednesday we hiked up a cobblestone switchback road to Nahargarh Fort (the Tiger Fort), which overlooks the whole city. One palace within the walls was an incredible masterpiece of polished yellow walls and ornate windows. We were able to walk around the top. I fantasized about playing tag in the multitude of rooms, hallways, and staircases in the palace. We watched the sun set over the city into the hot haze.
Azim Ji talked about the need to bridge the gap between academics and community--how do I actually apply what I've learned to relationships in the community? It's frustrating to not be able to help the kids who follow us on the street, but giving them a little food before we leave puts a smile on their face. It has been great to engage in conversations with some of the girls on the program-- there is a lot to process here and we have a lot of things to talk about- especially when we have awkward, goofy, or moving experiences.. There are some really interesting and funny ones in the group that I feel close to. For some reason I have been exceedingly eager to learn Hindi-- we were each given names in Hindi-- mine is pronounced "supnaa" and it means "dream," because I am always dreaming and thinking about Jaipur and India, as one of my language professors said.
The food has been delicious so far. We have roti (sort of like a tortilla), rice, spicy veggie dishes, yogurt, and a sweet at most meals. I am trying everything. There is a lot of okra! The weather has been HOT, but Thursday night we experienced the monsoon rain, which flooded our courtyard some dark pink clouds, and a chorus of lightning strikes. Some of us have gone to the Central Park here to do yoga in the mornings or run. We also went to the movie theater, which is supposed to be like a giant creampuff, but reminded me more of a Jeffersonian-era wig underwater...to see a Bollywood film.
I will post some pictures and maybe a video in a couple of days, as I am quickly writing this right before we meet our homestay families...and we haven't been around computers, but I hope you all are well!
Love,
Sarah