More Puri

The caves

Seeing as I love being at the ocean, I thought I would split up this blog some so I can share some of my pictures. On the second day we were in Puri, we had to get up early to go to caves that were a couple hours away from Puri. Some of us opted to stay back so they could spend the day on the beach, and I was jealous of them after getting in the bus and finding out that there was no air conditioning and I would have to sweat on the way there. The rest of us packed the bus and made our way to the caves.

On the bus with the Brahmin priest

On the way there a Brahmin priest came on the bus and blessed the Hindu pictures that were on the bus (many Hindu drivers have some kind of shrine or small statue in their car). Then he came to each of us and blessed us with a tikka (bindi) and put camphor on some of our eyes. After he left we drove some more before stopping and making our way over to the caves.

Exploring the caves

The caves turned out to be more like a large rock formation that had outcroppings dug into it. After reading a sign I learned that the structure was thousands of years old and had been excavated so people could visit. After being burnt the previous day and having to sit on a bus with no air conditioning, you can imagine how we all sweated while perusing the caves out in the sun. By the time we were done and back by the bus we all decided to get a nice cold drink and decided to buy some appy fizzes. Let me just say, appy fizz is a delicious drink! Appy is the brand name for the apple juice (might I say that best apple juice I have ever had) and an appy fizz is carbonated apple juice (highly recommend it if you can find it in stores). For many of us, the appy fizz was the best part of being at the caves.

I'm going to miss India

We made our way back to the hotel, ate lunch, and ran for the beach. The waves were a lot more turbulent so it was fun because we didn't have our little lifeguard to watch over us. After awhile Erik came over to us and told us that the hotel had informed him that we had to swim at our own risk because there was a tsunami warning. Most of us didn't care overly much because we were having too much fun but after awhile it started to be quite a workout jumping over the waves and Rachel had seen a sea snake so we eventually came out of the water to dry off. Erik, Kate, and I started roaming the beach for shells and after finding a few, Kate ditched us to see if she could go take a camel ride on the beach. We went inside and after taking a shower, Becca, Brenna, and I walked along the beach and took some pictures. After snacks and dinner we played games late into the night and did impressions of each other. Sucharita sung us a Tagore song and we presented her with a book that we had all written and put a picture in. Puri was a great trip because it was one of the last times we will all be together for awhile and I am so glad to have been on this trip with such great people. Compared to a lot of study abroad trips with all their drama, we all got along and were instant friends. I am definitely going to miss everyone once we leave India, but I am looking forward to being able to hang out together next year at school.

Great friends, great memories...as one journey ends, another begins

Puri

A beautiful sunset in Puri

Unfortunately my time in India is winding down and I thought I would quickly blog about my trip to Puri. Puri is located in the state of Orissa, which is below West Bengal. The area is a popular tourist site because many people go there to see the ocean. We were excited to go swimming and be able to relax before our final paper was due and now I can say that I have been to 3 oceans (technically it was the Bay of Bengal but I think its close enough).

Me on the beach

We started our travels on a night train which left Howrah station in Kolkata and we arrived the next morning. We ate breakfast and immediately headed for the beach so we could swim. The ocean was fantastic although it was slightly annoying when our tour guide and an Indian lifeguard joined us and kept telling us to move back into shallower water. Honestly, we could probably swim better than they can seeing as most Indians cannot swim and we all can because we either live by an ocean, have swam in an ocean, or live in a state with thousands of lakes. Anyway, it was very fun and we were all happy to hang out. I also saw a jellyfish floating about 3 feet away from me and had to yell to Erik and Rachel to watch out or we would have to pee on them (for those of you who don't know, that is what you are supposed to do to someone who has been stung by a jellyfish).

Walking along the beach before our "bodyguard" came to get us

After awhile we went in to eat lunch and then promptly fell asleep for a nice nap. After waking up, some of us decided to go for a walk along the beach and before we could get too far down the beach, the tour guide came to retrive us for snack time. He was quite annoying through the entire trip and we dubbed him the "bodyguard" because he wouldn't let us go anywhere or do anything unless he was along. We came back for snack time and then a group of us went with Sucharita (our program director) to a temple. After sweating our way there (we walked and it is extremely hot in India now) we had to stand outside because only Hindus were allowed inside. Tiffany wanted to see if she would be allowed in so she accompanied Sucharita. Tiff's Asian features could possibly pass as Assamese (North-Eastern Indian state) so she was hoping she was going to get in but the guards were extremely strict and told her that they would call an Assamese priest to check the validity of her claims, so needless to say, Tiff booked it out of the pretty fast. The temple was supposed to be very beautiful and extravagant but they are VERY selective about who they let in. We decided to just head back and after taking a crazy auto ride in which we almost ran into a cow, a dog, and a wall, we made it back to the hotel for dinner and just hung out for the rest of the night seeing as most of us were pretty tired and burnt to a crisp (I am hoping that it will be tan by the time I get back to the States or I really will look like Bob from VeggieTales).

A view of the beach taken from our hotel

A Spoonful of Sugar

Seeing as this will probably be my last blog post before leaving to go to Puri to see the Bay of Bengal, I thought I would end the month of April with a nice picture of me with my favorite Indian dish to eat...poori (also called loochi). Today Auntie taught me and Rachel how to make poori so we can make it for our families when we get back home. Normally poori is eaten with aloo (potatoes) and curries, but I like to spread some mix berry jam on mine and eat it like a crepe. Poori is dough that is fried in oil so it gets crispy and puffs up. I recommend everyone who comes to India to try some because they will find it delicious but maybe not so nutritious (it is fried in oil, but anyone who knows me well knows that I loved fried foods so this is definitely my cup of tea). I am hoping that Auntie will also teach us how to make fried egg rolls, which are different than the egg rolls made in America. Egg rolls are quite popular here and some of us CSBSJU students have even considered opening up our own egg roll stand on campus because we think it would be quite popular. We tend to buy egg rolls for lunch while at school in Kolkata and the added bonus is that they only cost 30 US cents. Where else are you going to get an egg roll for 30 cents?!?!

Me with my poori...it was delicious!

Anyway, I am getting excited to go to Puri because it will be nice to go to the beach and swim. This also means that I will have been to 3 oceans (I consider this being in the ocean because the Bay of Bengal flows into the Indian Ocean). The only drawback to Puri is that it will be extremely hot and we will have to stay inside around the afternoon so we don't get sick or sunburnt. Frankly I am hoping that I don't get burnt and come back to the US looking like Bob from Veggie Tales (for those of you who don't know, Bob is the tomato).

After Puri, there will only be a few days left before I go home. My time is winding down here but I can't help but think about all the stuff I still want to do and all the things I have achieved. I think my greatest accomplishment in India is that I have grown to be a more assertive person. I have learned to really care about my own wants and desires and that it is okay to voice them even if others disagree. It has been a hard journey since entering college for me to be assertive because I have always cared more about the feelings of others than my own, but what I didn't understand was that there needs to be a balance in caring about the wishes of others and caring about what you need as well. I think India has been able to teach me this lesson and I hope that I will continue to remain assertive when I get back to the States.

The Lonely Roommate

Rita and Erik tearing up the dance floor

Seeing as Rachel was gone this weekend working in the Sunderbans with her NGO, I dubbed myself the lonely roommate for the weekend. I worked on some homework but then decided to go to Salt Lake for some of my weekend to hang out with some of my fellow study abroaders. Some of the other students from Salt Lake were also gone in Bodh Gaya for the weekend probably trying to seek enlightenment as they did some Buddhist meditation. Anyway, I got to Salt Lake and hung out with Erik for awhile seeing as he was also a lonely roommate with Adam having left, and then we met up with Rita at a local club called Afraa. Rita and I happened to be in luck because Friday nights are ladies night (sorry Erik, you possess too much testosterone), so we just hung around and talked (when Rita wasn't tearing up the dance floor and having men hand her napkins that says she has beautiful eyes). We even met a young Indian man from the East Bengal soccer team, who had met Rita previously, and talked to us for a couple of minutes about coming to a game. It was lots of fun and we had a good time.

Erik the Kingfisher, as I like to call him (Kingfisher is a type of Indian beer)

After walking Rita home and talking for a couple more minutes, I went back and snuggled down in Adam's bed (after a game of darts that I was rather dismal at) seeing as us lonely roommates had to stick together. I woke up the next morning and ate some of the best omelets I have ever had, took a shower, and got dressed to go to the mall to watch a movie. While we waited, Erik showed off his mad skills on the piano (he really is a good piano player...he was playing everything from disney, to Journey and Billy Joel, to Bach). Then we headed out to go see the Avengers. One of the good things about being in India is that apparently the movie The Avengers comes out a week earlier than in the United States, so I was lucky that I got to see it early. Erik and I are both Marvel fans and seeing as no one else wanted to go (Drew blew us off like usual) we went to see it and was blown away by how good it was. Erik and I both agree that it is one of the best superhero movies we have seen and that is saying a lot seeing as I love to watch superhero movies and Erik's dad owns a collectibles store with comic books. If anyone is bored next week in the US or any other country, I recommend going to see this movie (dad, we will have to see it with mom on the Monday I get back. Mom, I hope you will go with us because it was really good). It was definitely worth going to see and I was happy that I wasn't the lonely roommate for long :)

Me showing Rita my finished Long Island

The Wedding March

Becca practicing her scolding look when she catches me peeking at Adam

Seeing as I have been busy studying for finals and writing my gazillion papers; I thought I would take some time off to write about my recent nuptials. For those who don't know, I recently got married...(haha, not for real). I performed as the bride in our recent Bengali folk arts night at St. Xavier's. We have been taking a folk arts class while in Kolkata, and one of our assignments was to perform a dance for our host parents. I was cast as the child bride (back in traditional times the bride would be 6 and the groom would be 12). While the rest of the girls and Drew performed the dance, I sat on a stool and tried to sneak glances at the groom, played by Adam. My entourage of women family members were played by Becca, Kelsey K, and Brenna and they scolded me as I tried to glance at Adam. Apparently during this time period, Bengali brides wouldn't know their husbands so it was understandable that I was trying to peek at Adam.

Munu helping Rita with her sari

I wore a brightly colored sari, Rachel's dance jewelry (the most "bling" I have ever worn), and a garland of flowers. The final touches went to putting on a bindi and thousands of pounds of makeup before the end of the sari was thrown over my head like a veil. Apparently it is also common for these child brides to be hidden behind a veil for their entire wedding. Before going on Becca said I looked like the grim reaper with by little sari hood, and I must say as a gender studies minor, I don't particularly think that it would be fun to sit on a chair and hide behind a veil for my entire wedding.

I also was a little disappointed that I was not a part of the dancing group seeing as I have lots of dance experience after dancing for 14 years. I wasn't sure whether the folk dance teacher picked me to be the bride because I looked the least Indian and he could hide me under my sari veil, or if he just chose at random. I acted my part splendidly and now will get credit for the folk arts dance even though all I did was sit on a stool.

Kate all dressed up and ready to go

The night wasn't a total bust though because we also were asked to make patachitra scrolls. Patachitra is a Bengali art form where pictures are drawn on a scroll and you sing the story as you unfold the scroll. Rachel and I decided we wouldn't torture the audience with our singing abilities, and instead focused on our drawing abilities. We decided to tell the story of Rajib and Anjali, two star-crossed lovers whose love has to remain a secret because their parents disapprove, so they meet every day at the Victoria Memorial (which is the date spot in Kolkata, at least I think so since I saw tons of people kissing there). Everyone's patachitra was great and some of the songs were quite funny.

The last part of our show was the talent portion. I had decided to put together a talent show to perform some of our talents for our friends and host parents to see. There were people juggling, playing the piano, singing, and dancing. I performed my lyrical dance solo from senior year (yes I still have it in me because I was able to straighten my leg all the way behind my head in my scorpion) and I had many people come up to me afterwards and tell me they enjoyed my performance. The icing on the cake was probably when the folk arts teacher came up and told me I was great (HAHA, that's what you get for making me sit on a stool with fabric over my face!!!) or when my host dad told me that he never knew I could dance like that (HAHA, that's what you get when you only ask Rachel about her Indian dancing and you don't care that I can dance because it is "American" style dancing). Everyone enjoyed the performances and no one broke a leg.

Still need my sari, flowers, and more makeup

Skills I Have Developed in India

Thought I would make a list of all the great skills I have developed since arriving in India:

1. How to successfully hail taxis and buses
2. The squatting method of using the restroom
3. How to push people with my elbows when getting on and off the metro
4. When to yell at the taxi/auto driver in Bangla for trying to short change me
5. The art of bargaining
6. How to sleep during the night with dogs barking, horns blaring, and people singing
7. Tying a sari successfully
8. The subtle art of talking really loud about knowing when people are talking about you WHEN people are talking about you
9. Using my hands to eat instead of utensils
10. Learning to magically find our classroom after it has been switched and no one was informed
11. How to write a million papers in a second

AND...
   12. How to make sweat look sexy!!!

Happy New Year!

Everyone ringing in the New Year

Well yesterday was Bengali New Year and we all congregated on Lake Road at one of the host parent's house for a nice lunch. Seeing as it was New Year, we thought we would all dress up in our Indian clothes to make things more authentic. Rachel and I arrived a little late because we had to drape our own saris seeing as Auntie was out of town. After arriving we all took some photos and then proceeded to eat lunch. Our lunch consisted of us sitting on the floor with a banana leaf for a plate. We had rice, chicken with gravy, pakora (dad you should try pakora the next time you eat at your Indian restaurant), dal, and gulab jamun. The food was really good and I sat during most of lunch talking to Vinayak (one of the host brothers who accompanied us to Darjeeling).

Eating on banana leaves

After we ate, we mainly sat around talking and some of our group sang some songs to ring in the New Year. Sucharita (our program director) had us all go around the circle and say a sentence in Bengali (I got down on my knee and told her "I love you", a phrase I was told never to utter to ANY Indian men while I was here or I would surely not be leaving the country). We took a couple more photos and then said our goodbyes.

Rach and I tied our own saris!

Rachel and I then decided to take a taxi to one of the markets and Rachel was somewhat disappointed that some of the shops were closed for the New Year. We wandered around and Rachel eventually found what she wanted and bought a couple more saris for her family members (that girl has a closet-full of them now...I have no idea how they are going to fit in her suitcase). We decided to catch a bus back home and after getting on and going in the wrong direction, we had to get off because we realized that bus 45 and bus 45B do NOT have the same route. We eventually caught the 45B and made it home. I'm not a big fan of traveling around in saris because they can get caught, you can step  on the hem, and men tended to stare at me more due to the fact that I was wearing a sari and also the fact that my white skin is exposed more (I still cannot fathom why it is acceptable to show your stomach but not to wear shorts but I assume it has to do with the legs being a more attractive body part here than the stomach is). One man even started saying to a friend (in Bengali of course) that he should look at the white lady wearing a sari. I gave him my meanest glare as he pointed and gawked. I still feel quite uncomfortable with the way people stare but I am getting better at ignoring it so hopefully by the time I leave, I will be quite accomplished at glaring at onlookers who are leering, and ignoring the rest.

Me in my sari with Swami Vivekananda in the background (I love saying his name!)

Our Last Hyderabadi Adventure

Rita and Me at Warangal

The final full day of our trip in Hyderabad consisted of us taking another three and a half hour bus ride to an area called Warangal where we looked at the ruins of a walled city and palace. On our way there we stopped at a Jain temple where the boys had to wait outside again because they were wearing shorts and the rest of us had to leave our belongings on the bus in order to get in. The Jain temple was beautiful and carved similar to many South Indian temples in the area. It was a 2000 year old temple that had been restored by Jains from Rajasthan. The idols were made out of jade and covered in silver (all but the head) and the carvings on the pillars were so extravagant that I wish I could have been able to take pictures of the temple (it was not allowed). I really enjoyed visiting the temple but the guards were rather irritating so a little of my pleasure was lost but besides that and some of our group having to stand outside (or in Rita's case she switched her shorts with Brenna's pants) it was a great experience.

Warangal was also really cool because the ruins were also intricately carved. We had fun climbing around and getting our pictures taken next to the stone structures. After many snaps were taken, we walked across the street to another area of the walled city and climbed up some steep stairs to look out over what was left of the ruins. After hopping back on the bus, we stopped again at a Hindu temple to look around and be blessed by the Brahmin priests. This temple was carved out of stone with the base in the shape of a star. The stone was black so you can imagine how badly we all hurt our feet having to walk from the sun to the shade of the temple. I actually amazed a few people by casually walking across the surface while they had to hop around and run to avoid burning their feet. Later on we left the temple, went to go eat, and then drove back on the bus to reach the hotel in time for dinner however, since it was Easter, some of the girls decided to have an Easter egg hunt and Brenna and I found the grand prize (the people who actually found hard boiled eggs got cookies and a snickers, which was good for us seeing as we were roommates during the trip and just split our prize). Some students had gone to mass the day before and had said it was like going to see Jesus Christ Superstar with flashing lights and crowds of people (Indians really do things flamboyantly sometimes) but I stayed behind and got some homework done. Our night ended with Brenna and me watching "Remember the Titans" and falling asleep before we had to get up the next morning and fly back to Kolkata. All in all it was a trip that was packed with things to see and even though we were tired for much of it, we still had fun getting to hang out with each other!

Rita either trying to catch me off guard or trying to take a picture of the Muslim women with burkas in Hyderabad

All The King's Horses and All The King's Men

Golconda Fort

After our trip to the IT sector, the next days trip was a little more exciting. We climbed up Golconda Fort in Hyderabad. The fort was made out of stone and a couple kilometers long. It was rather hot out but we still made our way up more than 300 stairs to reach the top of the fort. It was a nice workout for all of us but eventually Rita and I had to help Sucharita down all of the stairs because she has bad knees and had taken a fall the previous day. I really liked the fort because once you got to the top, you could see all of Hyderabad as well as the rest of the surrounding fort. The guide gave us a lot of information about the fort but mostly we just saw the beauty of the area and decided to take as many pictures as we could so most of his information about the fort was lost on me. It was an enjoyable visit though and I even got tan from wandering around in the sun.

Me with the city of Hyderabad

We went to eat after that and then made our way to the Charminar and a Muslim mosque. The Charminar was really cool and a very famous part of Hyderabad's architecture, but unfortunately after that my camera died and my extra batteries were in Kolkata, so I didn't get to take as many pictures of it as I wanted to. The mosque was a let down because the boys were not allowed in because they were wearing shorts, and us girls weren't allowed in because we weren'g wearing dupattas (scarves). Women are only allowed into the gates of this mosque and not actually inside the mosque, which just goes to show the male-dominated, patriarchal society that is prevalent in this part of town. Hyderabad has the biggest population of Muslims in India (30% of the population) and many of the Muslim women wore full head to toe, black burkas. The blistering heat was enough to make me sweat in my Ali Baba pants, so I felt really bad that they had to wear burkas in the heat. In other words, the mosque was a bust and the man at the gate was extremely rude and mean so we didn't go inside and instead shopped around for a little while and then proceeded back to the hotel for the night.

The Charminar

India: the IT Sector

The library at the IT school we visited

The next day of our trip to Hyderabad, we went to visit the IT sector. As we were driving by we saw huge skyscrapers and tall buildings, one after another, and I couldn't help but compare it to Kolkata which doesn't build up and instead builds out. Anyway, we saw buildings like Google headquarters and other top companies while we made our way to an IT school to take a tour of their campus. We were greeted at the door and proceeded to walk around the college which was only 10 years old and cost approximately 40,000 USD to go there a year. The college is privately funded so the school doesn't receive any money from the government. Some of the architecture in the school was really cool but then we had to sit down for a presentation and I started to feel myself drift off. I'm not really a fan of management, economics, computers, etc. (Oh no! What will Sucharita say when she finds out?!?! She is an econ professor!)

Statues outside the market

After touring the school we went to the mall for a little break because we didn't want to walk around in the blazing sun. The mall was rather upscale but it was nice to walk around and some people even got their feet cleaned of all the dirt that was on them by putting their feet in a tank and having little fish nibble at their toes (I was told the experience was really weird). We left the mall after awhile and went to a local flea market where they were selling goods from all the different states in India. I ended up buying a couple things (mostly for my parents) and it was fun to look around and have Sucharita try to bargain for us.

Some more statues...these ones were creepy though

The market was fun but we had to leave eventually and go back to the hotel to have dinner and celebrate Brenna's birthday. The only problem was that we had decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe for Brenna's birthday, and when we got there we were told that it was a holiday celebrating Hanuman (the Hindu monkey god) and most of the bars/clubs in the city were closed. We ended up walking around the mall next to the Hard Rock for a little while and then went back to the hotel where Brenna ordered something to drink. I came downstairs after a little while and Brenna was almost finished with her birthday drink and I looked at the bottle and started chuckling. There on the bottle it stated, "Drinking alcohol is harmful," in case you didn't already know. After Brenna was finished we went back upstairs and Brenna started chasing Tiffany around and vice versa (this is a regular occurence) and then we all went to bed.

Frankly My Dear...I Don't Give a Dam!

The Hindu Temple on the way to the dam

The second day on our exciting adventure of Hyderabad consisted of us visiting the Nagajuna Sagar Dam about three and a half hours away from Hyderabad. We started out earlier in the morning in order to reach there around lunch. On our way there we stopped outside a Hindu temple for a bathroom break and to marvel at the beautiful sight. We took off our shoes and made our way around the hot stones to the inside of the temple where we received a prasad, a tikka (bindi), and a blessing from the Brahmin priests. Like always, the priest made me take the prasad (in the case of this temple it was mishti, which means Bengali sweet) and I was forced to try and eat it all or it would be frowned upon...I wasn't able to pull it off this time though but I didn't waste it either so it went to a good cause. The temples in the south, in my opinion, are a lot more beautiful than those in the north because many are hand-carved and have depictions of gods/goddesses running up the sides.

Buddha statue

Arriving at our destination, we got on a boat where we proceeded to sit and sweat for an hour before we reached the local museum/Buddhist stupa that we were headed towards. The museum held many Hindu and Buddhist artifacts and even had weapons/fossils from the Neolithic age and other time periods. It reminded me of when I visited the Institute of Art in Chicago with my dad this summer and saw all of the Asian artifacts that they had collected. I liked the museum but it was rather hot after we had trekked to the stupa so I mainly stood in front of the fans in the museum and looked around me at the artwork.

Five-pillared stupa

The Buddhist stupa took a little work to get to see because we had to walk around in the sun in order to see it. Kolkata is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit every day and Hyderabad is probably about the same only it is less humid and more dry heat (I actually got a tan while there). Our tour guide showed us the area where the Buddhist monks used to dwell and the five-pillared stupa where relics of Buddha were kept. The five pillars represented Buddha's experiences throughout his life and it was interesting because the stones were built up in a way that reminded me of the stone shelters that the Anasazi built. I also saw a tree next to the stupa that the Dalai Lama planted and they had a little sign next to it that said it was planted by him. I really think my cousin Becky would have enjoyed seeing the stupa because she is really interested in Buddha's life and wanted me to visit some areas that are culturally significant to Buddhism.

The Dalai Lama's tree

After visiting the musem and stupa, we climbed back on the boat and made our way to the bus to make our return trip back to the hotel. As we were driving I took a picture of the sunset over the dam (oh, by the way, the dam is the largest free-standing masonry dam in the world). I was glad to be back in the bus after such a warm day so I could listen to my music while I watched the gorgeous sunset.

Sunset from my seat on the bus

Hyderabad!

Chowmahalla Palace

Well I just got back from the lovely city of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad is India's fifth largest city and we went there for a South India excursion during the Easter weekend. As I first arrived in Hyderabad, I kept thinking that the buildings were extremely tall compared to those in Kolkata because it seemed to me that they had built the city up instead of out (in Kolkata they try to squash as much as they can into a single street so the roads are more narrow and everything is packed together). I liked the city a lot because it seemed more modern and new.

A city built from the ground UP

After setting up at the hotel, we went to eat at Chutney's for lunch. I ate a dosa, which is a traditional South Indian dish (dad if they have it at any of the restaurants you go to, you should try it), and then we headed off to visit some historical sites.

Inside the palace

The first place we visited was the Chowmahalla Palace. The palace was owned by the nizams of Hyderabad (the Muslim royalty that were once some of the richest people in the world). While wandering around we came to see how the city had changed from its once rich cultural and historical heritage, to a modern city more rooted in contemporary ideals. The palace was gorgeous with its hanging chandeliers and paintings, but it is more like a museum now than anything. The current nizam of Hyderabad has lost much of his fortune and the heir isn't apparent because of the number of offspring and grandchildren he possesses. The nizams once owned 5 of the most precious stones in existence (including the Hope diamond) because the area surrounding Hyderabad once had some of the best mines in the world. Everything in their lives was opulent, but now much of it has gone to ruin.

The clock tower at the palace still chimes

After leaving the palace, we hopped on the bus and realized that it wasn't working so we had to get off and wait until it was fixed. We ended up waiting an hour for the bus to start working but in the meantime we watched a large group of boys and men play cricket in a dusty field. The seemed to really enjoy us as spectators and even had Erik bowl a ball or two. Soon after they started to flock over and we had tons of them asking for pictures and for us to sing/dance. I was asked to pose for many pictures and one man even asked to dance with me (to which I was too embarrassed and politely declined). Like many people in India, these boys seemed to be entranced with my white skin and blonde hair and as I was leaving one even pinched my cheek and said, "Goodbye cutie pie!" (I was extremely close to slapping him for the comment and pinching). I have decided that next time I will stay firmly on the bus if this happens and just watch the cricket game from my cushioned window seat.

Jagannath Temple

Seeing as the bus finally started running, we quickly made our way to the Jagannath Temple in order to take some pictures and tour around. The temple was very beautiful but it was rather late at night so it had become harder to see how lavish it truly was. We walked around in our bare feet and took some pictures of statues lining the walls. I also took a very nice picture of Ganesh's mouse statue for my mom seeing as I know she loves mice ;) After a short while we got back on the bus, went to the hotel, ate dinner, and I promptly fell asleep.

A mouse statue at the Jagannath temple

Another picture for my mom...a huge dead rat right outside our hotel

A Marvelous Dinner

Having made it through a busy weekend, I am off to a busy week (we are leaving for Hyderabad on Wednesday for an Easter Break excursion). On Friday I hung out at Erik and Adam's place in Salt Lake, Saturday I went to the South City Mall to watch the Hunger Games and then came back to do some homework and watch movies on my computer, and Sunday was spent doing more homework and watching movies. Last night we also decided to cook a nice dinner for our host parents as a special treat. Rachel and I sauteed chicken with oregano and parsley and then added it to spaghetti sauce and had spaghetti with garlic bread. Rachel and I were especially excited about the dinner because it was the best Italian food that we have had in India (which doesn't say much seeing as we made it). I was a little upset because with our dinner at first, because we had asked Auntie if we could make her dinner and she had said yes, and then as we were getting ready to prepare dinner, our host parents said that they needed to go to a function and would be back later, so Rachel and I ate the dinner and then had to heat it up for our host parents when they got back at 11:00 pm. I had thought that they would have told us they were going to be late for dinner, but that they are don't usually update us on things so we just have to adapt to the situation.

A Marvelous Italian Dinner

I have also felt very conflicted lately. Something came up during the weekend and it has been very hard to deal with the situation when the people who support you are so far away and can't always talk to you. It is times like these where you truly understand how important family and friends are, and I am glad that I have such a great roommate like Rachel to talk to about what is going on in my life (not to mention she gives great advice). There have been times lately with the amount of homework I'm getting and now this sudden event that came up, where I just want to fly to a deserted island in order to be by myself but I know that since that is not likely, I have to play the hand I have been dealt. I can only hope that things get better with time and hopefully everything will work out for the best. India has taught me many things about myself and I can only be grateful that it is allowing me to grow as a person.

Where is the Fun?

Those of you reading my blog from college, you know how well ranked our school's study abroad program is in the States (it's ranked #1). Numerous students choose to study abroad for various reasons and I always hear how much fun their trip was and how they want to go back. I also hear from students that it is enjoyable because you get to travel around the city and school isn't focused on constantly. All I can say to you is...WRONG!

The India program is generally agreed upon to be the hardest place to study abroad that our school offers (I am saying this as far as having to adapt to the culture goes). On top of that, this year it seems like our school has decided to give us twice as much homework as any of the other programs. I think that many of us are feeling the strain of school work, and unfortunately it is taking away from our experience of visiting the sights of Kolkata. In my one class alone, I have NINE papers due in April (and this is just one class!) and not to mention numerous presentations throughout the month. Talking to many study abroad students, and even those students who went to India last year, they think it is outrageous the amount of work that we are expected to complete especially since we are already studying in a challenging place.

Unfortunately I also feel that I am in a tough spot because I am trying to apply for a scholarship and summer jobs. My summer job applications are not working out too well either because employers don't want to even interview me because I am in another country (which is totally prepostorous because then the position is not based on merit but on the proximity you are to the office). As the last month of my stay here draws near, I want to be going to a million places and seeing as much as I can, but instead I will be stuck in front of a computer screen constantly typing up papers. I think that if I am paying to BE in Kolkata and SEE Kolkata, then I should do so and I am a little disappointed in my teachers and the staff at the Office for Education Abroad for making this trip about papers, books, and presentations, and not about the culture and surroundings of India.

The Rural Side of India

I'm back again from another weekend trip (they are becoming quite frequent). This time I went to rural villages in the district of Bolpur (still in West Bengal but a 4-5 hour train ride) to conduct case studies for the NGO that I volunteer for called Reach India. Before I left I had been quite upset because I was originally planning to go to the nearby state of Orissa but due to terroristic threats, I was not able to go. Instead of informing me of the change this weekend, Reach had asked a fellow student to update me with the details and the student in question didn't tell me anything. Low and behold, I find out 3 days before I am scheduled to leave that I am going on this visit (I was not a happy camper). Nonetheless, I packed up my belongings and headed out for the weekend.

I left from school to go to the Howrah station and take the train and then a short car ride to the village that we stayed in. I had a great time going from village to village and taking case study interviews of the rural women who had benefited from Reach's and the local NGO training. I used some of the few Bengali phrases that I know and people seemed quite excited that I was making an effort to speak in Bangla. The Indian food that we had was also quite delicious and cooked by a young man at the NGO building that we stayed at.

The accomodations were better than I had expected in such a rural village (I had a Western toilet and a bed with a mosquito net, which is more than I could ask for). The women that I interviewed all seemed to have greatly benefited from the training they had received both in monetary increases, and an increase in knowledge and team-working skills. Sometimes it was a little hard to have to use an interpreter to ask questions or receive clarifications, but all in all I think it was quite a success.

My favorite part of the weekend was riding an ox-driven cart. Most people ride them to get from village to village and Drew and I thought that it would be fun to ride one down the bumpy, dirt road. As we passed, people stopped to stare at the pale-faced foreigners riding a local ox-cart, and after the continuous staring we received, I decided to start saying hello in Bengali to all the people we passed. Needless to say, we had half the village following us by the time we reached our final destination. After getting out we were offered tea (I don't think I have ever drank more tea/chai in one day) and then we sat down and asked the villagers questions and vice versa. Seeing as I was feeling mighty friendly, I decided to ask them if I was the blondest person that they had ever seen and they all replied in the affirmative (we have all come to agree that I am the blondest person in India and so far I have yet to see a foreigner that could rival me so it is entirely possible).

All in all, the weekend was a success and I have many great interviews from women whose lives have been impacted through Reach India. I can only hope that once my case studies have been compiled and my research for the sexual and reproductive health module has been completed, that more rural women will have been positively impacted by the work that I have completed on behalf of Reach India.

There is a lot to say about Darjeeling

One of the tallest mountains in the Himalayas

The next day we woke up at 3:30 am to go to Tiger Hill to see the sunrise and hopefully spot the Himalayan mountains (on REALLY good days you can even spot Everest). The sunrise was beautiful and we were able to spot some of the Himalayas in the background. Tiger Hill is a good vantage point to see nature but it also was rather crowded and had lots of tourists.

Sunrise at Tiger Hill

After leaving Tiger Hill we went to another Buddhist temple. On taking off our shoes and entering the temple, we came upon a prayer wheel. Entering even further, we discovered a large statue of Buddha and decorative paintings across the walls of Buddha and his life. There were several other statues in the temple of other monks and poses of Buddha. The temple was completely elaborate in all its decoration and I just wanted to sit there all day and stare at everything.

Colorful statue of Buddha at the temple

Eventually we had to move back to the cars so we could go have breakfast, do some last minute shopping, and pack up to head back to the train station. On our way back to the train station, we drove by and stopped for a minute or two near a toll gate. A man was standing there lifting the gate up and down for cars and people who wanted to get through to the other side. Arandati (a host parent) told us that beyond the gate was Nepal. We were 20 feet away from being in Nepal! She said that they used to let people cross the border (beyond the gate was a street full of Nepalese shops) to go shopping, but they didn't allow that anymore. Normally when I think of border control, I think of men holding guns and shooting trespassers, but apparently in India it is just a man lifting and lowering a gate.

The elaborate walls of the temple

After stopping to eat a late lunch, we arrived at the train station and boarded the air conditioned area this time in order to get back to Kolkata. I know that if I ever come back to India, I definitely want to go back to the beautiful town of Darjeeling :)

The gate separating India from Nepal

Darjeeling Continued

Sunrise in Darjeeling

The next day we woke up at 4:30 am to watch the sun rise. It was really beautiful and we could hear the morning call to prayer for the Muslims and later on we could also hear flute music and chanting from the Tibetan boarding school that is in the area. It was all rather surreal and even though it was rather chilly and we were all tired, it was worth getting up early just to see the sunrise.

Part of the Buddhist Temple with its stone carvings and Buddha statues

After breakfast we all piled into the car and drove to a Japanese Buddhist Temple located in Darjeeling. The temple area was marked by a large stone pillar with Japanese inscriptions guarded by two stone lions. Upon entering the temple we took our shoes off and climbed up the stairs to emerge into a small room with a shrine. Two people sat on each side of the room and hit drums while the chanted. Those of us who came into the room sat on the floor with smaller drums and pounded out the beat with the monks who were there. When leaving we held out our hands and the monk gave us a small handfull of sugar pellets as a blessing to eat (the prasad in Hindu worship).

Buddha carvings at the temple

We walked around outside the temple area and marveled at all the ornate stone carvings of Buddha that were etched into the sides of the temple area. There were also golden statues of Buddha interspersed with the stone carvings depicting Buddha's life. I loved looking at all the artwork surrounding the temple and seeing that Buddhism was important to many of the inhabitants of Darjeeling.

Kate picking tea in traditional Darjeeling clothes

After leaving the temple we went to a tea plantation because Darjeeling tea is one of the most famous in the world and comprises about 15% of India's tea. We got to see the bushes where they pick the tea and Tiffany and Kate dressed up in traditional Darjeeling clothes. Alongside the tea plantation were vendors selling snacks and veggie momos (very similar to Chinese dumplings). Momos were very common in Darjeeling (probably because it is very close to Nepal) and I had the best momos I have ever had next to the tea plantation (Dad, these momos were 10x better than the ones in Chicago).

Riding the skyway

We hopped back into the cars and drove to the skyway where we took a skyway up and down the mountain. Some of the people in our group were extremely nervous about going on the skyway because a few years ago it broke and people fell to their deaths. Even on the back of our tickets it said that if you are maimed you can receive 100,000 rupees. We all made it safe and sound and proceeded on to the Darjeeling zoo where we looked at all the animals like the Bengal tiger and the red junglefowl (yes Chuhu, I got a picture of your red junglefowl). There was also a small museum there with artifacts and information about all the climbing expeditions to Everest and some of the other Himalayan mountains.

Wolves at the zoo

Comin back from the zoo, we were all starved and quickly ate something before we started shopping again. We stayed out pretty late to explore around (I actually found beef burgers and wanted to eat one but Erik told me I would be ostracized from the group if beef touched my lips...argh, peer pressure). We met a man from Madison, Wisconsin outside one of the eateries and he had been traveling all around Asia for 6 months every year since he dropped out of high school. He had networked with many people across Asia and his stories could fill a rather thick book. He said that we were the closest he had been to home in awhile so he quite enjoyed talking to us about our experiences in India and how we missed America.