We just arrived in a town called Gadag. After a series of exhausting days in places that were not very nice at all, I am happy to report that my current host family is AWESOME!
I think it would probably be best if I planned on revamping this blog when I return home. Because internet access is so rare, I guess my blog is pretty boring. But fear not - I have been keeping an old school journal (many times I write two or three entries each day) So I guess the best thing would be to check in here when I can and do a full, good blog with pictures and everything when I get back.
I miss you all very much. In terms of the rest our schedule, we are staying in Gadag until Thursday - visiting a very historical place called Hampi tomorrow - and then attending the Rotary district conference in Hubli over the weekend. After that we get to head to Goa which is supposedly heaven on earth.
I could use a little piece of heaven right about now :)
Namaste.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
REST DAY... FOR REAL?
So at long last, I have a few hours off. They have our schedules so tightly packed that we literally have been going nonstop from 9:00 AM until 11:00 PM. The Rotary district that we are in exchange with is so big - over 300 clubs - and it feels like they are trying to get us to see as many as we can.
I am still in Kolhapur and will be until Friday morning. On Monday we rode to a town called Sangli. Everywhere we go, we are greeted with these ceremonies - flowers, oils and the "dot" on the forehead. In Sangli there were three clubs and we got to see some of the projects that each Rotary club was involved in.
Sangli's big project is fitting poor, handicapped people with free prosthetic legs and feet (see if you can google "Jaipur foot") We watched them fit four people with new prosthetics for the first time. It was so beautiful it made us cry. They also provide physical therapy to teach the people how to walk.
We toured a new hospital and then a grape vineyard and winery (wine's not real big in India) and then we went to a place where they make and store raisins (cause Sangli is pretty famous for grapes and supplies a lot of the world with raisins and table grapes.) In the evening we did our presentation for the Rotary club and watched some cultural dancing.
Yesterday we went to a town called Ichalkaranji (say that three times fast!) The projects that this RC are working on were even more amazing. We saw a mobile medical unit that visits 19 poor villages each week and provides free medical care to those in poverty. Then we visited a Rotary Colony: 24 low-income housing units for homeless. These homes (and I use the word "homes" loosely) consisted of two small rooms. For a five-person family.
The third project we visited was a school for the deaf. Rotary built a school for poor deaf children - a population that was probably never given any consideration - and teaches the kids sign language, speech skills and general education. It also provides them with a full meal for lunch. And it's all free for them.
When we're not visiting RC projects, we're visiting the vocational places that Rotarians work. The grape vineyard, for instance, and we've seen a lot of textile factories. Gives me a whole new image when I read "Made in India" on a clothing tag.
I don't know if I mentioned it, but Sunday I attended a musical performance in the home of one of the Rotarians. He arranged a sitar, violin and tabla - just for me! It was frigging awesome.
I'm about to head to the market with my host family. It is the first opportunity I've had to do some shopping and the first thing I need to buy is a second suitcase! Every time we visit a club, we leave with a gift. And my suitcase will no longer close :) We're in Kolhapur until Friday morning and then we head to a place called Bijapur. I will write again when I can. 'Til then, NAMASTE!
I am still in Kolhapur and will be until Friday morning. On Monday we rode to a town called Sangli. Everywhere we go, we are greeted with these ceremonies - flowers, oils and the "dot" on the forehead. In Sangli there were three clubs and we got to see some of the projects that each Rotary club was involved in.
Sangli's big project is fitting poor, handicapped people with free prosthetic legs and feet (see if you can google "Jaipur foot") We watched them fit four people with new prosthetics for the first time. It was so beautiful it made us cry. They also provide physical therapy to teach the people how to walk.
We toured a new hospital and then a grape vineyard and winery (wine's not real big in India) and then we went to a place where they make and store raisins (cause Sangli is pretty famous for grapes and supplies a lot of the world with raisins and table grapes.) In the evening we did our presentation for the Rotary club and watched some cultural dancing.
Yesterday we went to a town called Ichalkaranji (say that three times fast!) The projects that this RC are working on were even more amazing. We saw a mobile medical unit that visits 19 poor villages each week and provides free medical care to those in poverty. Then we visited a Rotary Colony: 24 low-income housing units for homeless. These homes (and I use the word "homes" loosely) consisted of two small rooms. For a five-person family.
The third project we visited was a school for the deaf. Rotary built a school for poor deaf children - a population that was probably never given any consideration - and teaches the kids sign language, speech skills and general education. It also provides them with a full meal for lunch. And it's all free for them.
When we're not visiting RC projects, we're visiting the vocational places that Rotarians work. The grape vineyard, for instance, and we've seen a lot of textile factories. Gives me a whole new image when I read "Made in India" on a clothing tag.
I don't know if I mentioned it, but Sunday I attended a musical performance in the home of one of the Rotarians. He arranged a sitar, violin and tabla - just for me! It was frigging awesome.
I'm about to head to the market with my host family. It is the first opportunity I've had to do some shopping and the first thing I need to buy is a second suitcase! Every time we visit a club, we leave with a gift. And my suitcase will no longer close :) We're in Kolhapur until Friday morning and then we head to a place called Bijapur. I will write again when I can. 'Til then, NAMASTE!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
STILL ALIVE!
Hello again! Finally have access to a computer again (although I can't access either of my email accounts for some reason, so if you've sent email, I'm not dissing -- my servers just suck.)
Since my last post, we've been to a town called Belgaum, where we stayed for three days/three nights. My host family there was awesome. The Rotarian was a 30-something guy named Veerdhavel, and he owned an iron casting factory. He lived in a HUGE house with his wife and two sons, his sister and her two kids, and his brother, wife and their two kids. And his mother. This is very common in India - they call it living with extended family.
In Belgaum on the first night, my hosts took me to Gandhi garden. Mahatma Gandhi had attended a congressional session there back in the 1930's and they made it into a monumental garden in his honor.
The next day we visited the KLE hospital which is on par with a Johns Hopkins. We had a very detailed tour - even saw people receiving dialysis and having cardiac catheters. On the same day, we visited Hindalco - a company that mines a mineral called beauxite and produces a chemical called alumina. And then after THAT, we toured a giant technological engineering university. It was a far cry from the visits in Dharwad, to say the least.
Yesterday on my birthday. my host family made me a cake and sang happy birthday. It was a most amazing day. First we visited a fort more than 1,000 (or was it 10,000?) years old. In this fort was an ancient Jain basti (temple). Jain is one of the world's oldest religions. As is happened, my host family were Jains so I learned a lot about the religion from them.
Also at the fort was an mission ashram (I have all the actual names of these places written down, just not nearby) This was by far the coolest experience ever. We meditated in the main hall for a bit and then had an audience with a local guru. He explained to us the "real India" - their beliefs in things like God, death, and the balance of the world. Hell of a birthday present -- finally learning the meaning of life. Words can't express.
After the ashram, we visited the Tata electrical plant, which supplies power to places all over India. It was pretty cool, but my head was still back at the ashram with the guru. In the evening we did our second Rotary presentation. It went pretty well, and at the end, they surprised me with a birthday cake. Picture 65 Indian Rotarians singing Happy Birthday to me... yes.
And the day was STILL not over! We went back to change and then out to dinner and THEN out to see a Hindi movie. Meals are at very different times here. Before breakfast there is always tea. Lunch happens around 2 pm, and then dinner is never before 9:00. I have eaten as late as 11:00. The food is awesome, and they always seems to be bringing more of it.
This morning my host, his sister and a few of the kids taught me seven pranayama (breathing exercises). Veerdhavel is a yoga master, so that was pretty cool. I met up with the other team members around 10 AM and we left for Kohlapur, which is where I am now. I'm using the computer of Vikram (my new host)'s brother and it's a Mac (yay!!)
Internet here is painfully slow. My last host family only had it at certain times, and never when I was around to use it. And our days have been so insanely busy that I haven't even had a chance to find an internet cafe. But I've finally got some time so I figure I can catch up as best as I can.
Please allow me to touch on the hygiene factor. Those of you who know me fairly well know that I am somewhat particular when it comes to grooming habits [ie: 30 minute showers, 2x a day] Well, for the past six days, I have been bathing out of a bucket and peeing in a hole. It's just strange. The last host's house was beautiful, but their bathroom was just horrific. The first night I encountered two cockroaches and could not fall asleep the entire night.
But I do not want to dwell on that. Because although it seems Indians are third world in sanitation and hygiene, they are light years ahead of us in spirituality. They are the most peaceful, gracious people I have ever encountered. And not just my host families, but everyone. People on the streets. People walking with 50 lbs. of mangoes balanced on their heads. People riding atop a pile of sugarcane, behind a couple oxen.
Even the malnourished, dirty kids at the cotton factory. They are who they are, they feel God in their hearts and they just love. In this way, I feel that they are way ahead of me.
Okay - I guess that's enough for now. In two hours we're leaving to make a presentation and then a dinner at 9. Tomorrow we travel to Sangli, but are staying with these hosts in Kohlapur for about 5 days. So hopefully I can check in again soon. I hope you're all well, and please know that I miss you and can't wait to see you all... But not before I take a 30 minute shower.
Namaste.
Since my last post, we've been to a town called Belgaum, where we stayed for three days/three nights. My host family there was awesome. The Rotarian was a 30-something guy named Veerdhavel, and he owned an iron casting factory. He lived in a HUGE house with his wife and two sons, his sister and her two kids, and his brother, wife and their two kids. And his mother. This is very common in India - they call it living with extended family.
In Belgaum on the first night, my hosts took me to Gandhi garden. Mahatma Gandhi had attended a congressional session there back in the 1930's and they made it into a monumental garden in his honor.
The next day we visited the KLE hospital which is on par with a Johns Hopkins. We had a very detailed tour - even saw people receiving dialysis and having cardiac catheters. On the same day, we visited Hindalco - a company that mines a mineral called beauxite and produces a chemical called alumina. And then after THAT, we toured a giant technological engineering university. It was a far cry from the visits in Dharwad, to say the least.
Yesterday on my birthday. my host family made me a cake and sang happy birthday. It was a most amazing day. First we visited a fort more than 1,000 (or was it 10,000?) years old. In this fort was an ancient Jain basti (temple). Jain is one of the world's oldest religions. As is happened, my host family were Jains so I learned a lot about the religion from them.
Also at the fort was an mission ashram (I have all the actual names of these places written down, just not nearby) This was by far the coolest experience ever. We meditated in the main hall for a bit and then had an audience with a local guru. He explained to us the "real India" - their beliefs in things like God, death, and the balance of the world. Hell of a birthday present -- finally learning the meaning of life. Words can't express.
After the ashram, we visited the Tata electrical plant, which supplies power to places all over India. It was pretty cool, but my head was still back at the ashram with the guru. In the evening we did our second Rotary presentation. It went pretty well, and at the end, they surprised me with a birthday cake. Picture 65 Indian Rotarians singing Happy Birthday to me... yes.
And the day was STILL not over! We went back to change and then out to dinner and THEN out to see a Hindi movie. Meals are at very different times here. Before breakfast there is always tea. Lunch happens around 2 pm, and then dinner is never before 9:00. I have eaten as late as 11:00. The food is awesome, and they always seems to be bringing more of it.
This morning my host, his sister and a few of the kids taught me seven pranayama (breathing exercises). Veerdhavel is a yoga master, so that was pretty cool. I met up with the other team members around 10 AM and we left for Kohlapur, which is where I am now. I'm using the computer of Vikram (my new host)'s brother and it's a Mac (yay!!)
Internet here is painfully slow. My last host family only had it at certain times, and never when I was around to use it. And our days have been so insanely busy that I haven't even had a chance to find an internet cafe. But I've finally got some time so I figure I can catch up as best as I can.
Please allow me to touch on the hygiene factor. Those of you who know me fairly well know that I am somewhat particular when it comes to grooming habits [ie: 30 minute showers, 2x a day] Well, for the past six days, I have been bathing out of a bucket and peeing in a hole. It's just strange. The last host's house was beautiful, but their bathroom was just horrific. The first night I encountered two cockroaches and could not fall asleep the entire night.
But I do not want to dwell on that. Because although it seems Indians are third world in sanitation and hygiene, they are light years ahead of us in spirituality. They are the most peaceful, gracious people I have ever encountered. And not just my host families, but everyone. People on the streets. People walking with 50 lbs. of mangoes balanced on their heads. People riding atop a pile of sugarcane, behind a couple oxen.
Even the malnourished, dirty kids at the cotton factory. They are who they are, they feel God in their hearts and they just love. In this way, I feel that they are way ahead of me.
Okay - I guess that's enough for now. In two hours we're leaving to make a presentation and then a dinner at 9. Tomorrow we travel to Sangli, but are staying with these hosts in Kohlapur for about 5 days. So hopefully I can check in again soon. I hope you're all well, and please know that I miss you and can't wait to see you all... But not before I take a 30 minute shower.
Namaste.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
WOW.
I apologize for not writing sooner, this is the first time I have had access to a computer and ten minutes to sit down and write. Where do I begin?? Even though I have only been in India for two days, what I have already experienced could probably fill volumes. I'll try to recap...
We left JFK a little after 9:00 PM on Saturday night. The flight to London was about 6 hours, and then we had a two hour layover at Heathrow. From there we flew for about 8 hours to Mumbai. By the time we arrived, went through immigration, found our bags and connected with our hosts, it was nearly 3:00 AM (India is 10.5 hours ahead of US. Right now it is 5:15 PM here and still around 7 AM by you)
We spent Saturday night in a "flat" in Mumbai. I shared a room with the two other female GSE team members. In the morning, we walked to a Hindu temple in Mumbai before going to a smaller airport to catch yet another flight. This flight - to a place called Hubli - was delayed about three hours. It was a small plane and took only about an hour to get to Hubli.
My host family here in Dharwad is amazing. The Dad (Nagraj) is a civil engineer and he has a wife (Neeta) and two daughters, Rachana, 15 and Krutika, 7. They have this Indian saying that translates to: "treat your guest like a God" and they certainly have been doing that.
They are always trying to feed me. The food is great but due to this damn anti-malaria medication, I have no appetite. Glad to report that the nausea and nastiness has subsided (come on - you honestly didn't think you could through an entire post without a reference to my bowels, did you?)
Before I left to come to India, lots of people told me about the extreme poverty in the country. But I could have never imagined the things I have seen. Remember the Sally Struthers, "Save The Children" commercials? Well, that shit exists. We really have absolutely no idea what this part of the world is like.
Never really having paid attention in class, I seemed to have missed the lesson on that whole Indian caste system. Like I said, I could write volumes, but I won't. Instead, I will post some of the 500 pictures I've already taken (as soon as I figure out how to do that from here... it might have to wait until I come home)
This morning we had an orientation meeting with the Dharwad Rotary club. Afterwards we visitied an Aruveydic hospital (see honey? I listened!) and then took a detour to a textile village [read: sweatshop] to see cotton being processed, made into thread, woven and dyed to make fabric. This particular textile mill provides the fabric for ALL the Indian flags in the entire country.
Today is some sort of festival where the people pass out sweets and say: "Take sweets, be sweet." We're going to some sort of celebration and Neeta and Rachana are planning to outfit me in a sari. I am psyched!!
I guess that's it for now. Tomorrow we are going to a new town and a new host family. I hope they're as great as this one has been.
Namaste.
PS - Wolf, I think that text message I sent will end up costing like $50 :) I will call home as soon as we get a sim or calling card - I promise!!
We left JFK a little after 9:00 PM on Saturday night. The flight to London was about 6 hours, and then we had a two hour layover at Heathrow. From there we flew for about 8 hours to Mumbai. By the time we arrived, went through immigration, found our bags and connected with our hosts, it was nearly 3:00 AM (India is 10.5 hours ahead of US. Right now it is 5:15 PM here and still around 7 AM by you)
We spent Saturday night in a "flat" in Mumbai. I shared a room with the two other female GSE team members. In the morning, we walked to a Hindu temple in Mumbai before going to a smaller airport to catch yet another flight. This flight - to a place called Hubli - was delayed about three hours. It was a small plane and took only about an hour to get to Hubli.
My host family here in Dharwad is amazing. The Dad (Nagraj) is a civil engineer and he has a wife (Neeta) and two daughters, Rachana, 15 and Krutika, 7. They have this Indian saying that translates to: "treat your guest like a God" and they certainly have been doing that.
They are always trying to feed me. The food is great but due to this damn anti-malaria medication, I have no appetite. Glad to report that the nausea and nastiness has subsided (come on - you honestly didn't think you could through an entire post without a reference to my bowels, did you?)
Before I left to come to India, lots of people told me about the extreme poverty in the country. But I could have never imagined the things I have seen. Remember the Sally Struthers, "Save The Children" commercials? Well, that shit exists. We really have absolutely no idea what this part of the world is like.
Never really having paid attention in class, I seemed to have missed the lesson on that whole Indian caste system. Like I said, I could write volumes, but I won't. Instead, I will post some of the 500 pictures I've already taken (as soon as I figure out how to do that from here... it might have to wait until I come home)
This morning we had an orientation meeting with the Dharwad Rotary club. Afterwards we visitied an Aruveydic hospital (see honey? I listened!) and then took a detour to a textile village [read: sweatshop] to see cotton being processed, made into thread, woven and dyed to make fabric. This particular textile mill provides the fabric for ALL the Indian flags in the entire country.
Today is some sort of festival where the people pass out sweets and say: "Take sweets, be sweet." We're going to some sort of celebration and Neeta and Rachana are planning to outfit me in a sari. I am psyched!!
I guess that's it for now. Tomorrow we are going to a new town and a new host family. I hope they're as great as this one has been.
Namaste.
PS - Wolf, I think that text message I sent will end up costing like $50 :) I will call home as soon as we get a sim or calling card - I promise!!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Namaste!
Welcome to my India blog! I'm hoping I'll be able to post regularly so my friends and family can stalk - er, keep tabs on my adventures.
For those of you who may not know where I'm going or what I'll be doing... join the club! Neither do I!
The basics are: I saw an ad in the newspaper back in October saying that Rotary District 7470 was sponsoring a Group Study Exchange trip to India. They were looking for four professionals (Ha! Fooled 'em!) between the ages of 25 and 40 who would be willing and able to spend a month traveling around India, representing the district. Apparently they do this ever year - send people to different countries, and then host their exchanges.
The opportunity presented itself at a really great time. For those of you who may not know, I am currently on a year-long sabbatical from my teaching job in Mountain Lakes. I was granted a leave of absence to pursue a dream I've had since graduate school: to organize the first New Horizons Band in New Jersey.
That's been a blog in and of itself, but the experience has been going really well. I work with a great bunch of people at The Music Shop. And I am so fortunate to work in such an amazing school district. Not many would have granted me this great opportunity.
Huh? Oh yeah... India... right. So I was sitting at the kitchen table on a Saturday morning when I saw the ad. I asked my wonderful fiance, "Hey honey, wanna go to India for a month?"
I read him the ad and he considered it for a moment before answering, "Nah. Cause if we both applied and I got it but you didn't, I wouldn't wanna go without you."
"Oh," I replied. "Well... can I apply?"
This is the part of the post where I thank him. If he told me he was going to spend a month in a foreign country, traveling with strangers and living with even stranger strangers, I don't know if I could handle it. But Wolf knows that I have an incurable itch to travel - it's part of who I am - and he has been wonderfully supportive throughout the entire process. I am so very lucky to have him in my life. Honey, if you're reading this - I LOVE YOU! And yes, I will miss you.... A LOT.
Okay. So I applied for the trip. Was accepted. My new boss (also a Rotarian) was incredibly awesome in allowing me to take a month away from work. As he put it, "So um, you want to take a sabbatical from your sabbatical?"
Everything is set. But... what are we actually doing over there?
The team, comprised of four members and a team leader (that's five for all you musicians) will be traveling around the Goa region. We're staying with eight different host families, and will be giving presentations about New Jersey and District 7470 to all of the Rotary clubs in their district. When we're not presenting, we'll be visiting schools, seeing sights and all kinds of other neat things which I will write about as they happen.
We leave tonight at 8:30 PM from JFK. I am all packed and vaccinated. I've also started my anti-Malaria pills (which have some very unpleasant side effects - but I guess they're better than having Malaria). We're meeting at one of the team member's homes around 3:30 and shuttling into the city together.
In case you really care, I'll be flying British Airways flight 114 into Heathrow. After a two-hour layover, I'll be on British Airways flight 139 to Mumbai. After that, it's anyone's guess!
So dear friends and family, I bid you adieu - for now. Check in from time to time, I'll do my best to keep in touch!
Jen
For those of you who may not know where I'm going or what I'll be doing... join the club! Neither do I!
The basics are: I saw an ad in the newspaper back in October saying that Rotary District 7470 was sponsoring a Group Study Exchange trip to India. They were looking for four professionals (Ha! Fooled 'em!) between the ages of 25 and 40 who would be willing and able to spend a month traveling around India, representing the district. Apparently they do this ever year - send people to different countries, and then host their exchanges.
The opportunity presented itself at a really great time. For those of you who may not know, I am currently on a year-long sabbatical from my teaching job in Mountain Lakes. I was granted a leave of absence to pursue a dream I've had since graduate school: to organize the first New Horizons Band in New Jersey.
That's been a blog in and of itself, but the experience has been going really well. I work with a great bunch of people at The Music Shop. And I am so fortunate to work in such an amazing school district. Not many would have granted me this great opportunity.
Huh? Oh yeah... India... right. So I was sitting at the kitchen table on a Saturday morning when I saw the ad. I asked my wonderful fiance, "Hey honey, wanna go to India for a month?"
I read him the ad and he considered it for a moment before answering, "Nah. Cause if we both applied and I got it but you didn't, I wouldn't wanna go without you."
"Oh," I replied. "Well... can I apply?"
This is the part of the post where I thank him. If he told me he was going to spend a month in a foreign country, traveling with strangers and living with even stranger strangers, I don't know if I could handle it. But Wolf knows that I have an incurable itch to travel - it's part of who I am - and he has been wonderfully supportive throughout the entire process. I am so very lucky to have him in my life. Honey, if you're reading this - I LOVE YOU! And yes, I will miss you.... A LOT.
Okay. So I applied for the trip. Was accepted. My new boss (also a Rotarian) was incredibly awesome in allowing me to take a month away from work. As he put it, "So um, you want to take a sabbatical from your sabbatical?"
Everything is set. But... what are we actually doing over there?
The team, comprised of four members and a team leader (that's five for all you musicians) will be traveling around the Goa region. We're staying with eight different host families, and will be giving presentations about New Jersey and District 7470 to all of the Rotary clubs in their district. When we're not presenting, we'll be visiting schools, seeing sights and all kinds of other neat things which I will write about as they happen.
We leave tonight at 8:30 PM from JFK. I am all packed and vaccinated. I've also started my anti-Malaria pills (which have some very unpleasant side effects - but I guess they're better than having Malaria). We're meeting at one of the team member's homes around 3:30 and shuttling into the city together.
In case you really care, I'll be flying British Airways flight 114 into Heathrow. After a two-hour layover, I'll be on British Airways flight 139 to Mumbai. After that, it's anyone's guess!
So dear friends and family, I bid you adieu - for now. Check in from time to time, I'll do my best to keep in touch!
Jen
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