House O Havoc

For those of you have lived in India before, one must be well aware of the ridiculously long processes one must go through to get a flat (apartment) set up. Plenty of the other fellows have had horror stories about not being able to obtain a gas cylinder for the stove (as they are distributed by the government), staying up till odd hours only to case the garbage man to get him to pick up the garbage, buying single liter bottles of water for weeks before being able to locate a water man, fungus embedded on ceilings simply to be wiped away by a “professional”, toilets overflowing after use, and much more. Besides finding an apartment (which took me forever) I felt my roommate and I had it easy compared to the other fellows. We live on a small street (that spits up sewage everyday) that happens to have a million small shops on it. We immediately got our water set up, daily newspaper delivered, and the interent guy literally waited 3 hours at our door to ask us if we wanted interent and the watchman’s wife picks up the trash every morning. Not too bad.

Then the problems started. Our landlord ignores us, our geezer broke and leaks so we have no hot water for our showers, the mosquito infestation was ridiculous (but worth our beautiful view of the lake), the sink tap stopped working and once it started working the tap literally broke off. Then as the maid was cleaning the bathroom she decided to knock the tap off in the bathroom and not inform me, thus allowing gallons of water to shoot out all over the bathroom and my roommate’s room. It was the most overwhelming experience having the security guard’s wife and father try to help me while only speaking Telegu. My neighbor trying to help me translate but she only speaks English and Hindi and finally my friend’s driver translating in all three languages to get things across. CRAZY! Finally my favorite part was getting locked in my own bedroom as my door knob was broken.

So Sunday was finally the fix it day, and what a day it was! My house wreaked havoc!! The carpenter and his apprentice came to fix screens to keep the mosquitoes out and do other odd jobs, the plumber came to fix the bathroom, the watch man came to be the pompous ass hole he is and help the plumber, the maid came to clean, the landlord’s son came to bug us, the neighbor came to talk to us, the neighbors two young kids who I love came to scream, run around and dance in our house, and finally my friend stopped by to say hi. I cannot begin to describe the chaos that was our house for those three hours. At one point when the little boy from next door was literally hanging on me screaming in my ear while the carpenter was asking me a question in Hindi and water was shooting out in the bathroom, I looked at my roommate and said every so enthusiastically… I LOVE THIS! What a great day! J

Pani Puri

On a normal Saturday in Hyderabad, after work I was sitting in a small park in front of the lake, just reading and relaxing. I had a huge bag of carrots with me and a good book; I was completely content. For those of you who know me well, you are aware of the fact that I eat stalks of parsley; I truly think it is my favorite food. Unfortunately I am unable to find parsley in the land of India, thus my addiction has transferred to my now infamous “bag o carrots”. As I chomped on my carrots this boy and his little posy of friends decide they want to bug me for some carrots, just being stupid teenage boys. I turned to concentrate on my book and ignore them. A minute later I saw them bugging an obvious tourist, fumbling with his hair and making fun of him to his face. Just as I thought they had finally left I looked up to see these boys throwing rocks towards my direction as well as the man they were hassling. I was frustrated with their actions and had to forced myself to remain calm as boys will always be boys. As the group of little terrors walked away, another boy of the same age walked up to me. He was wearing no shoes, had tattered clothes and was carrying a heavy basket on his head. He asked me if I wanted to buy any Pani Puri (an Indian snack), and as I declined he walked away and continued to the next bench in the park.

There I was reminded of the overwhelmingly obvious difference between socio economic statuses. The gap between rich and poor is already very large in India and is continuing to increase its size. As those little havoc raisers walk around, having nothing better to do but pick on foreigners, this boy has to walk bare foot in the streets of Hyderabad, attempting to sell Pani Puri for a very minute profit. It’s odd to me that I felt such strong sentiments watching this, as I go to the slums everyday and constantly see people in worse conditions than this boy. Maybe it was because I had his opposite right in front of me at the same time. In any case… I wish I had bought some Pani Puri from him.

Nov 14th is Children's day in India. The universal date is actually Nov 20th, but in honor of Pandit Jawaharial Nehru, India's first prime minister who was very fond of children, the holiday is celebrated on his birthday.

For this special day the program I work within, Cheyutha, which is a program that is for people living with HIV/AIDS had a picnic for all the affected and infected children. I had the opportunity to invite 4 of my other friends from Hyderabad, knowing that the love kids and expecting the kids would be very excited by new, foreign faces.

The first 15 minutes of the picnic was beyond awkward. As lunch was being served to all of us all we could do was sit quietly, eating our yellow rice, slowly recalling the reality that communication with these children would be difficult, as most of them only speak Telegu, no Hindi or English. Though the first few minutes felt as if it were an eternity we progressively started to remember that with young children language is not a barrier. Within minutes we were all being enclosed by the kids dragging us to play games. The next thing we knew we ended up knee deep in the water fountain in the middle of the park. Everyone was splashing each other, and all the kids were colluding against my friends to somehow push them into the water. To add to my happiness, I got the opportunity to bond with my co workers, who are normally reserved with me because of the communication barrier. However that day they put barriers behind them and grabbed my hand, dragging me in the fountain up to my chest!
(Lola this made me think of you and how you desperately wanted to play in a fountain before we left Barcelona and how we had to do the ocean instead at 4:30 in the morning!)
As the afternoon grew hotter, but we remained cool from our new bath we continued on to very unorganized but tremendously fun series of games such as cricket, tug of war, 3 legged race which became a six legged race with me, tag, and other Telegu games that I progressively learned. As Jason (one of the friends who joined us) put it, these children were the most polite and caring children I have ever seen in such a large group. They were all concerned about each other and acknowledged each other’s needs.

Playing with the kids really brought all of us join. In particular it brought me joy to see my friends remember the constant battle these children have, they are all either HIV positive, or their parents are. I see the reality of these situations every day at work, whether it be in San Francisco or India. I often feel I live in two different worlds. The world of my work that brings social issues directly to my attention, and my friends and family, who are not surrounded by these issues and who work in a sector that these issues aren’t obvious. In San Francisco it often saddened me after I spoke about my work for a minute or two my friends would often ask me to stop, saying it was too sad for them to listen to; telling me I was being depressing. This always confused me as this is a reality people should be aware of. Just as people feel it is important to stay abreast of world issues and politics, these social issues are also a very strong part of reality. Yet I feel a large amount of people feel it overwhelming and chose to ignore it. It was such a pleasant change for me to be around people who were excited to have this unique experience, had more questions and really appreciated the knowledge, no matter how sad it may be.

My Punjabi Diwali

Link to more photos from the weekend:
http://uci.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2180368&l=625ba&id=6011342

Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of the most celebrated holidays in India. Generally it is a family occasion, which makes it a little more difficult for a foreigner like myself to participate in the real traditional Diwali festivities. However, I am very lucky to have made such great friends in Hyderabad, where my friend Saheba (from Delhi but works in Hyderabad) invited a friend Katie and I for a glorious Punjabi Diwali with her and her family.

First we started in Hyderabad where we did Puja (a type of prayers) at Saheba’s family’s’ factory. Then we went off to get Mendhi (Hena as some might know it as) at a beautiful little Mandir (Hindi Temple), followed by an incredible trip to the Gurdwara, the Sikh house of prayer. As my first time in a Gurdwara I was lucky enough to experience it during Diwali, the festival of lights. The whole Gurdwara was covered in the glow of candles in celebration. As we gave our shoes to the man collecting them (as you are not allowed to wear them inside) I was taken aback by him touching his fore head to the tip of each shoe he collected. After inquiring I found out that it is believed that a blessed soul could enter at any moment, and no one knows who that may be, so he gives that respect to everyone; I was so touched. After going inside, saying prayers and receiving our Prasad (an Indian sweet that has been blessed) we continued out to the courtyard which had a giant pool of water, which is considered holy water for one to drink all the way to bathe in. The reflection of the beautifully constructed Gurdwara over the water with the night sky in the background and the peaceful Japu (holy hymns) playing in the background gave me an indescribable amount of peace and contentment.

We continue on to Saheba’s “immediate” family Diwali party which includes over fifty people! Everyone was so nice, open and funny! Outside we had fireworks and sparklers to play with, and a few men from the street decided to join in and start playing the dohl (drum typical to Punjabi music) in the background. I could literally step back at that point and feel like I am in my Indian movie!

The next day we leave for Amristar, Punjab in a train with Saheba and her family. Our first stop is to the Golden Temple, a massive Gurdwara which is what Amristar is known for. The beauty of this place is indescribable. Its set up again includes a gigantic pool for people to bless themselves with by either touching, drinking or bathing in. The temple, in the center of the pool of water with a simple bridge connecting to it is made out of gold and stands strongly, elegantly and with a strong aura of power. The beauty and serenity of this Gurdwara was captivating and it was difficult for me to leave.

Finally we left the city of Amristar to go to a small village in which Saheba’s parent’s Guru lives. This Guru is actually a direct decent of Guru Nanak, basically the Guru that started Sikhism. We were privileged enough to stay at his house in the village for one night. In the morning Katie and I took a wonderful long walk into the village by the never ending fields while horse drawn carts full of people slowly passed us.

Oh and the gluttony! The Guru had his very own parata (an Indian dish that is amazingly yummy) cart in his backyard. Katie and I got to learn how to make paratas (Katie was amazing, I was horrible at it) and then gorge on paratas with different sides all day and all night.

Overall in this incredible weekend, I could have only asked for one thing more, my family to have been there to enjoy it with me. This was the most I have missed them since I have been gone and watching a family interact, I recalled and cherished so many memories.

Qawwali

Through the years I have been participating in outreach work for different communities, I have seen many unique and creative ways to bring awareness to the subject at hand. I have always been in awe of how dedicated some people are to the cause and how they can use their unique talents to create an overall understanding.

In Hyderabad, I have recently seen one of the best examples of using that talent for a higher cause. The field work team that I work with, along with another man (of whose talent I will be speaking about) put together a program to bring awareness about HIV/AIDS and Leprosy to young kids in the slums. This man did this by writing and singing Qawwalis that gave general information about Leprosy and AIDS.

Qawwalis started out as being devotional music created by the Sufis. It is very vibrant music that is now enjoying its main stream popularity. This man, along with his “band” sat down in the middle of the slums and just started playing, using his singing voice, a harmonium and two Tablas (Indian Drums). Instantly dozens of children (and some parents) raced out of their homes to join the excitement, and were instantly captivated by the music and his words.

Though the words are very general, it really brings a subtle awareness to these children about issues they would have not even heard of before. Now they at least might be empowered to ask questions in the future.

Dassara in Bangalore and Mysore

Dassara is the 9th day of the festival of lights; which I celebrated in Bangalore with some other fellows that live there and some that decided to visit. First we started out with a wonderful night on the town in Bangalore. The following day all six of us prepared ourselves for the three hour bus ride to Mysore, a small city outside of Bangalore, where the Dassara festival is largely celebrated. There we were able to stay at Meneka’s cousin’s place with a sweet family including aunty, her two sons and her father (who had amazing stories to share). In Mysore we were able to see the Mysore castle that was beautifully decorated for Dassara and the procession.

Pictures from the weekend:

http://uci.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2173351&l=6f32b&id=6011342

Navratri the Right Way!!

Celebrating Navratri has always been exciting from me back in California. I can recall weeks of excitement, going from Cal Poly Pamona Garba Rass to UCLA’s to Irvine’s, etc. This year I was privileged enough to celebrate Navratri the right way, in Gujarat!! Two of the Service Fellows, who are located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, home of the biggest Navratri celebrations, kindly opened their doors to us like family. Four other fellows joined us from different cities and seven of us got to spend the weekend enjoying each other’s much missed company and the exciting tradition of dancing for Navratri.

Navratri is a Hindu Festival of worship and dance. Navratri means nine days, in which the goddesses of Hindu religion are celebrated.

Included are pictures of us dressed up for the occasion as well as others who were wearing the traditional dress with all their beautiful colors.

For the rest of the pictures you can go to:

http://uci.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2171519&l=b3c32&id=6011342

Outreach Work

Today I tagged along with the head outreach worker at my program. The outreach workers are a group of HIV positive people that choose to use their status to benefit others. They go into the hospitals and communities in search of pregnant woman, encouraging them to get tested for HIV…all in hopes of preventing their children from contracting HIV during birth. Overall the experience in the hospital was unique. I was escorted through the HIV division where I was able to converse with all the doctors and counselors, while being explained the process. One of the doctors introduced me to a HIV patient that also has TB and explained his symptoms to me. Last week I saw a Leprosy patient. It’s so interesting to observe health problems that are almost nonexistent in the states anymore.
The hospital was a mad house, lacking any sense of order. As I walked into the phlebotomy lab I was trampled by eager patients that had in all probability waited hours to simply get their blood drawn. There was no order, there was no privacy. Families congregated on the floor in hallways pulling out their “tiffins” (metal Tupperware to store food) and having their meal. During orientation we were informed how public hospitals ran, but I had not expected this.

I had the privilege or the sorrow (it’s difficult to decide which one) to be given a tour of the ward where pre and post pregnancy women stayed. I even went into the surgical unit where the mothers give birth. As I entered I noticed all the doctors chatting on one side, while a woman who had just given birth, was sitting in pain on the opposite side. To my surprise I was allowed in without any sort of sanitization process. Next we went to a specific ward in search for a woman the outreach worker had been working with. This woman just gave birth to twins two days ago, and both children died within a day. The patient and husband were both HIV positive; however their families had no clue. There is no way to know if the children expired due to their mother being HIV positive or not. The ward she was staying in was appalling. Fifteen women smashed into an incredibly small room; some of the women’s cots were tattered up and placed on the floor. While I was attempting to talk to the woman (language gap) I was horrified when I saw at least 10 bugs crawling around the walls. No other unit was this unsanitary and disorganized, why this ward? Later I listed as the husband of the woman cried to the outreach worker for an hour and a half. He complained how the doctors hardly even touched his wife during birth and treated her horribly because she is HIV positive. The stigma obviously continues in Hyderabad. The outreach worker explained to me how she literally has to kiss ass to the doctors for them to even take the patients, however convincing the doctors to treat the HIV positive women like human beings is a novelty that isn’t available at the moment.

I met another girl of 22, who during her second pregnancy found out she was HIV positive. Her husband gave her HIV…then after finding out she was positive, left her at her parent’s house and then left her life. The outreach worker kept on instructing me to hold her hand as we continued down the hospital halls. I confused as to why until she explained to me that the parents and in-laws are not accepting this young girl anymore, and hardly speak to her. It seems the only reason they accompanied her to the hospital is over concern for the unborn child. She asked me to hold this girl’s hand to demonstrate to the family that I did not fear or reject her because of her status.

Finally we continued on to do work within the community. We arrived at an incredibly small house (after an expanded tour of the city by bus) where an expectant HIV positive mother lives. She is going to give birth any day now and is denying the fact that she and her husband are HIV positive. Her being aware and accepting of her status is important for the unborn child, because there are forms of prevention for the baby to contract HIV. The husband and wife were unbending in their belief that they are not positive because they are normally healthy. The outreach worker persisted for an hour and a half, even after being screamed at by the girl’s mother. The mother even accused the outreach worker of having the ulterior motive of interested in the husband. Basically there was no way around it and we were forced to leave, unsuccessfully.

Overall a sad, overwhelming, but motivating day. Plenty of work has been done in this field, however there is so much more to be done.

Kids Kids Kids!!

Today I was reminded of the long forgotten feeling of childhood. I had the grand opportunity of spending majority of my Sunday with children. First, we volunteered at an orphanage during their play time. Second, the “house boy” Mark, at the guest house I am staying at, invited me to play games with the children out on the street.
As I approached the children their eyes became bright and excited. All of them running around calling me “didi” (sister), dragging me to come play with them. I have never seen children so inclusive before, constantly reminding each other in Hindi to include me in the game (even though I had no clue how to play).
Just a bit of the culture I was looking for while I was in India. All the kids called me “didi” and Mark “Mark Bhaiya” (Mark brother). One of the girls, just a few years younger than me had just recently gotten engaged and now everyone called her Bhabhi (Sister in-law). They are just names, or titles as some will call it, but referring to me as “didi” automatically included me into their little family of games and ignored the fact that I was a perfect stranger. To go off on a bit of a tangent here I am reading a book about the India-Pakistan Partition by one of the women who came to speak to us at orientation. Her name is Urvashi Butalia and her book is named “The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition”. In this book there is a paragraph that makes me think of this same thing. An uncle and niece are united for the first time ever in their lives as the niece was born the partition. This is their first conversation over the phone when the uncle finds out the niece has made the dangerous trip to Pakistan to meet him. The niece’s friend answers the phone first:
“‘I believe my daughter is staying with you. Please call my daughter; I would like to speak to her.’ (The niece gets on the phone) ‘Beti, what are you doing there? This is your home. You must come home at once and you must stay here. Give me your address and I’ll come and pick you up’. No preamble, no greeting, just a direct, no nonsense picking up of family ties. I was both touched and taken aback.”
My friend and I were having a discussion about what India culture really is; I believe this is some of it. I cherish this.
I digress.
As I was saying, these kids were just overwhelming me with childhood memories. They were playing in the middle of the street without any care in the world. Kids were running around me fearlessly climbing up high walls and jumping in piles of construction sand and bricks. They competitively played barefoot, to improve their game, without the slightest concern of falling on their faces or getting cut from the bricks. Hand clapping games and singing songs kept them consumed for hours. I had forgotten that part of childhood, and enjoyed being able to watch and even feel like a kid again.

First Few Days In Hyderabad

I find it incredible how people can reach out to a person they do not know. In the last two weeks in Hyderabad, I was very lucky to have people I hardly knew, but have some sort of connection to, connect me with people that live in Hyderabad. The first night I was here, feeling very isolated and a little scared in my room, alone, in a guest house full of only men, I was greeted by friendly faces that I didn’t even know. My dad made one call at 11 o’clock at night and within 45 minutes an Aunty and Uncle (who have never met my mom and dad) were at my front door to take me for ice cream. Since then they have been calling to check up on me, take me out to dinner and even helped me go shopping for work clothes.

Another instance is a pervious fellow that was placed in Hyderabad two years ago and decided to stay. She spoke at orientation about her experience and her and I connected. As soon as I got here she invited me to a party and connected me with a lot of people my age living here. She even got me a ride from a guy named Ian (I know Ian is reading this right now ;) ) who has been an absolute gem to me. From the first day of giving me a ride to the party, Ian has always called me up, inquired how the settling process is, and has included me in all of his plans. From him I have met some wonderful people who I am enjoying immensely. The other day five of us had a “cook out” and had my first sleep over in India, which was grand! I helped cook Indian food…and it tasted amazing! Jeana and Shrina…it was SO much better than our attempt for butter chicken years ago, I learned something for when I come back.

I am so grateful for how wonderful some people can really be.

FOOODDD!!

Food

Ever since I have been in Delhi I have been working out of the Regional office of my NGO…meaning I have not been in contact with the communities that I intend to work with. Saturday (YES we work on Saturdays here) I finally got the opportunity to get myself accustomed to the site I will be spending most my time at, a site that works with and provides programs to HIV positive people. A few of the staff are paid but most of the members who work a large amount of hours there are all HIV positive people wanting to make a difference. It’s truly admirable. Also there is no distinguishing between staff and members, everyone is the same there.

I went to observe the clinic day where doctors distribute medicine for opportunistic infections and a session where a lawyer informs the members of their rights as they are discriminated against because they are HIV positive. Lunch arrived about 20 minutes after I got there and the fuss over me began. I was led into a room (mind you I do not speak the same language as most of these people so I am getting by on my broke Hindi) and told to sit. I realized they were sitting me there for lunch. I attempted to explain that I wanted to sit outside with everyone else on a sheet that was placed on the floor. No one would allow me to do so, they did not want me to sit on the floor. Everyone else, staff and members, ate on this tin foil plates while I was given a huge glass plate. Everyone came in one at a time serving me the different plates of food. I could hardly sit still having all these people serve me; it was more than I could handle. I kept telling them it wasn’t necessary as I could do it myself but they weren’t having it. Finally my plate was set with food and they left me to eat. Then every two minutes someone came in to see if I wanted more food or just see if I was ok. I felt so incredibly bad because they gave me water, which was tap water, so I could not drink it. I hated myself when I saw the look on their faces when I did not take the water they offered me. How could I explain that my spoiled self is from the US and I cannot handle their tap water? Finally I was done eating, and then got attacked by people because I attempted to take the 10 feet treck to the sink to put my dish away.

It’s difficult for me to handle this on a daily basis. I have many friends who have maids that are elderly, (I hope I do not insult any of my friends living in India) and it’s very common to have them clean your house and do the cooking. When I move into an apartment I am sure I will have the same thing. Yet it’s such a contradiction to me because I always thought it was my Indian culture that taught me to treat elders with the utmost respect. I was never allowed to let elders get water themselves, always offer them your seat, they should always be served food before you, etc. I respect this about my culture. Yet I come here and it really depends on your status.

One thing I will say is the hospitality is amazing. No matter where you go you are offered Chai (tea) or water. What a simple but beautiful way to express to someone you are welcome in my home or office.

Quotes quotes quotes

Another fellow shared this quote with me today (she noticed I am obsessed with quotes), I really liked it and just wanted to share:

"The only dream worth having is to dream that you will live while you're alive and die only when you're dead: To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget."~A. Roy.

Explains a lot (not all) of why I am here in India for all of you who are still confused as to why I decided to do this.

My settling in Hyderabad is a roller coaster..but I am just so glad I am here :)

Rural Site Visits

I want to explain some of my experiences during training in detail. First of all I cannot begin to describe how amazing this group of Fellows is. I am in constant awe of their ambition, intelligence and passion. I truly feel privileged to be apart of this group. In addition to being well accomplished, these fellows are so much fun to be with. We have all been together for a little over 12 days but feel as if we have known each other for years. We have had a blast together through all our experiences and will see each other at our midpoint meetings, end point meetings, and in between travel. Some fellows are in the same city, some are in cities alone, including me.

As far as experiences all the speakers were motivating and a wealth of knowledge. We got the amazing opportunity to assist Rotary International with a polio vaccination for young children. What a truly incredible experience! We were driven about an hour outside of Delhi to a different state. From there we went to three different stands in various areas that were passing around polio vaccinations. Polio has been eradicated in most areas but has been difficult to eradicate in India. At each booth they take children ages 5 or younger and give them a simple two drop vaccination and a black marker on their finger to show they have had the drops. After this the volunteers go to each and every house in the next few days to see if every child has been given the vaccine. The child needs to have this about 25 times to be fully vaccinated, so the volunteers will do the same thing next month. I was able to give a child a vaccination, which was the most incredible feeling. These towns were so excited to see the volunteers and to see us helping. It was heart breaking how poor some of these children were but it gave me a lot of pleasure to give them excitement for a day to see the “Americans”. These kids love digital cameras too, they beg you to take a picture of them and then show them. I got trampled by kids multiple times to take a picture of them. The other people in the slum areas were so appreciative of us visiting. In the last area (which was predominantly Muslim) the Imam had us come into his house and though it was obvious that everyone had very little, they gave us a crazy amount of fruits, and sweets. Our picture was taken a million times and then we were asked to give information about our projects in India. It was an honor to be invited into the Imam’s house and even the mayor (a female) was supposed to meet us but we unfortunately ran late and missed her. Finally everyone gave us the necklace of flowers, a long cloth as a gift and a plaque with a picture of Krishna. I can’t begin to describe how much of a privilege it was to visit these areas and interact with the people. It was both heart breaking (because of the poverty) and beautiful (because of the love and hospitality) at the same time.


Another experience was rural Rajasthan right outside of Jaipur. We took a bus and then a small jeep into our sleeping accommodations because the bus would not be able to get through the roads we took. Our accommodations were a small school in the middle of nowhere. People were so hospitable, forcing food on us and offering us amazing tasting chai. We were in rooms of five with lizards and bugs everywhere and Indian style toilets (a hole in the ground) but we still all woke up in the most peaceful state of mind to beautiful music and gorgeous nature. From there we went to a rural site to observe the schools. Different grade levels were in one very small room with one or two teachers maximum, teaching each group a different lesson. They lack materials and books; however this school even being established for these kids was a big step. I got to sit and help some little kids how to add with the little Hindi skills I have and got the opportunity to recall the simplicity of childhood without video games, TV, computer, etc. with a simple gave of “duck duck goose”. I had a blast teaching these kids, especially this beautiful little girl named Kali. She was so beautiful and intelligent and I realize that she will never be told that in her life. Later we walked around the village and felt the hospitality of those around. We also saw the young girls working endlessly on a loom for rugs. These girls cannot go to school every day because of work, however they have night school for three hours

We got to go to another site which was my favorite experience. In rural villages NGOs (Non government agencies) attempt to go and provide livelihood for the people. In this village people farm a lot, so the NGO went in and taught the women how to save and invest. Now the women all have weekly meetings of how to progress. They save money and their husbands do not have access to it. The women (in response to this) had to take a lot of disapproval and abuse from their husbands who did not initially approve of their group formation. They have worked hard to keep their program going besides their husbands’ resentment and possible retaliation. Many of these women expressed how they do not like what they do and do not want to have to deal with their husbands beating them and coming home drunk. They do not have any running electricity or even a restroom in their houses. Though they deal with this from 5am to 10 pm each and everyday these women were still happy and so hospitable. At first introduction they sang a song for us then asked us to sing an English song for them. We couldn’t think about anything besides a melody of “Row Row Row Your Boat” which we did in three separate groups, the video is hilarious! These women took us in the field to show us everything and immediately were crawling all over me. They held my hand as we walked and overwhelmed me with questions of my marriage, what I am going to be doing in Hyderabad, who I am planning to “unveil” my wedding veil to. These woman were all over me, to the point that once we were walking back they were all pulling me in the opposite direction to stay. The sweetest thing was they straight away pulled out corn from their crops to give us some, though they hardly have any food for themselves. These families hardly have anything and even then, when my flip flop broke, they offered from me to take theirs. This flip flop accident did allow for my first bollywood moment to happen as the tour guide from the NGO that was taking us around, took off his shoe for me to use and walked around bare footed. I was even dubbed one woman’s sister. I loved this experience so much. It was so beautiful to watch these strong women and was inspiring to see the initiative these NGOs that I will be working with are taking.

From these experiences I already feel like a different person. My eyes have been opened up to a world I have known about but never understood. It is difficult to go to a club at night or even a nice restaurant and see the attitudes of the rich, and see how much they actually have, then go to areas like I mentioned above and see the poverty and despair. It is a constant struggle to watch the separation in India. On another note, India does really have that power everyone speaks about. It is beautiful in so many ways and the hospitality is beautiful.

First two weeks in INDIA!!!

For more pictures:

http://uci.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2162251&l=9cff6&id=6011342

My first few days in India have been a real eye opening experience in so many ways. I am staying in a youth hotel with the 29 other fellows that are in the same program as. We are in New Delhi for the first 12 days for training, then everyone separates to go to their host location.

The streets of India are exactly what I imagined them to be. Driving in my first auto rickshaw was an exciting experience as we drove through the extremely wealthy and extremely poor areas of New Delhi. We have attempted to see as much as possible in this city, though most of our time is taken up by our training.

I must say I feel truly privileged to be a part of this prestigious and incredible program. Our training consists of a plethora of information concerning social, religious, economic and health issues in India. We have very informative and important speakers from all over India coming to speak to us about various topics to prepare us for our experiences. These topics trigger a lot of questions and concerns about the issues that continue to disturb India. Our topics of discussion are always very intense and there are plenty of fellows to contribute to profound conversations. AIF is extremely well connected in India and the US which is why we were privileged enough to have speakers from every realm. Some of the speakers include, a former Chief Minster of Madhya Pradesh, an India state, the US Ambassador for India, a lead social activist, a woman who participated in the feminist movement in India and is now a well known author and publisher, a man in charge of a dalit (untouchable caste) rights worker, a man in charge of the disabilities non profit, livelihood coordinators, the Deputy Managing Director of the lead bank, etc. In addition we had our own viewing of the National Gallery of Modern Art, where the director gave us a private tour while the museum was closed.

My co fellows are incredibly intelligent. All of them have accomplished a truly mind boggling amount things and are on a strong mission to have a positive impact in this country. Every conversation stirs up many thoughts, issues, emotions, moral dilemmas and social interests. It’s refreshing to be around and apart of such intellectual conversations on a daily basis. It saddens me how sometimes our lives become so routine that we lack such conversations on a daily basis, and I am glad to have that in my life right now. I am lucky to be a part of every conversation and am taking every word that is spoken to soak up all the information I possibly can. I find it very inspiring and motivating to be around such topics of discussion.

I realize now that I will have a constant dilemma while in India. The issues we are concerning ourselves with are serious and are very dominate in the Indian culture. Poverty is out of control, social stigmas and castes societies are still strongly in place, public health services are not readily available, jobs are scarce and the division between rich and poor is un measurable. We are constantly debating on the fact that we should bargain with rickshaw drivers, yet realize this is their livelihood, and what is 10 more rupees to us (25 cents)? Most lower class people make about 20 rupees a day (if at that) which is about 50 cents. A dollar and 5 cent blood test at the hospital is practically impossible for many of these people because of the price. Untouchables as a caste have been able to rise, get an education and hold high positions in their jobs, however they are still discriminated against to the point that a higher caste member will purify a seat that an untouchable has sat in before they continue to sit. The issues go on and on.

Post training, I will be working in these fields and get an even stronger sense of all these issues. I am beyond excited to get involved in my program, however am constantly fearful of all the poverty and social injustice I will see.

Though we are focusing on all these issues I want to emphasize I am very happy with everything I am learning. This wealth of knowledge feels empowering and I just feel so blessed to be here. I am having a blast during down time with the other fellows and look forward to maintaining friendships with them.