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