Time flies when plans get cancelled by farmers throwing rocks.

Only a couple weeks left in India- it’s a pretty bizarre thing.  I constantly find myself in this battle to be as present as possible for these last couple of weeks but it’s hard when I constantly feel like I have one foot in India and one in a suitcase.   On the one hand I’m feeling really involved with my internship and am establishing real relationships with my Indian friends.  On the other hand, I can’t buy something without thinking how it’s going to fit in a carry on and the memory of guacamole is constantly tormenting my Mexican-food-deprived state.  In honor of these battling thoughts, here’s a to-do list of what I still need to do while in India and what I need to do as soon as I return to the States.

India:

-Take a trip to a beach.  Seriously any beach will do.

-Learn how to make a proper cup of chai

-Decrease my uses of the head bob or at least get a better hold on the appropriate times to use it

-Get henna done

-Learn how to wrap a sari

-Finally embark on the daunting task of buying the coolest yet most easily pack-able souvenirs for family and friends 

-Spend the weekends at High Spirits (one of the best music venues in Pune)

-Complete my goal of trying everything on the menu at Le Plaisser, ie: most incredible French cafe one can ever hope to find in India or France

America:

-Consume an illegal amount of guacamole while watching an illegal amount of Netflix (I left America in the middle of Mad Men)

-Wear a lot of black.  Not because I’m depressed but I just need to recover from the amount of colors and patterns worn here

-Buy a cup of black coffee at 9 am and have it served under 20 minutes

-Cuddle with my dog for 10 straight hours.  Then take a guacamole break and then resume cuddling. 

-Go to Whole Foods and buy something really bouchie like ‘pure whole grain grass fed vegan chia flax soy based organic all natural antioxidant ancient Mayan tea’

-Stay out past 10:30 pm.

-Go on the Internet just to marvel at the speed of point and click action

I'll wrap up this post with an event this weekend that shows how much I've adapted to the organized chaos that is India.  A couple of friends and I were planning to travel to the white sand beaches of the Konkan coast- let me also reiterate that this is the last weekend to easily travel as I have a lot of work coming up and I want to spend my last few weekends in Pune.  We arrive at the bus station to find out that the bus has been canceled due to the fact that farmers are protesting to rising costs of sugar cane by throwing rocks at all government vehicles along the highway and the highway has basically been shut down.  Kate from September would be having a mental break down that I was missing my last chance to travel due to farmers throwing rocks at buses as a form of protest and getting a refund for the bus ticket would be next to impossible.  Kate in December, taken aback but not surprised by the absurdity of the situation, proceeds to chuckle and find if alternate routes are possible.  As they weren't, further plans were made to make the most out of a three day weekend in Pune which consisted of seeing an amazing artist from Mali, Fatoumata Diwara, in concert, eating the most amazing strawberry eclair ever created, finding guacamole!!!, discovering the most Philly bike shop in all of India, getting lost on the back of a motor bike in the middle of the night to go to a birthday party where I convinced everyone that naturopathy is the most effective form of medicine, saw another concert which can only be described as the hindi male version of lady gaga, winding up at a late night wine festival, and then coming home to where our host mom made us POTATOES for dinner.  So no, it wasn't the relaxing weekend on a beach I was hoping for but India isn't the place to hope or expect certain things to happen, it's the place to roll with the punches and realize ultimately it's not where you go or what you do but who you're with.  If you don't like who you're with then I suppose you're just in trouble...

Mountains, Momos & Monks

I typically try and shy away from long posts where I go into detailing specifics of places and people because it would probably prove quite boring to people unfamiliar with these places and people.  However, I’m making a rare diversion from my typical introspective accounts of India to tell you about probably the most amazing place in the world I’ve been yet, the HIMALAYAS.  First, I went to the TajMahal and thought I could leave India happy, then I went to the Golden Temple and then knew that I could leave India happy, then I went to the Himalayas and am quite assured I’m ready to die happy. 

So let me rewind to last Friday when classes finished, every depressing presentation from rape to actual depression had been given and final papers were handed in.  Diwali was going on concurrently which is a Hindu holiday celebrated over 5 days which is known as the festival of lights.  Christmas lights covered every house and colorful paper lanterns were hung from any surface capable of supporting the weight of a paper lantern.  Pune was especially beautiful at night and had a very ‘Christmas-in-July’ look about it.  Diwali is also a holiday usually spent with family where gifts are exchanged which adds another Christmas-y aspect to this Hindu holiday.  What’s not so jolly about this holiday: firecrackers are constantly going off everywhere- the loud uncensored ones that have you ducking for cover every time they go off.  On every street outside of every house it’s impossible to escape the sound of constant explosions for five straight days. 

Despite the firecrackers ability to erode my nerves one blast at a time, on Monday morning around 4 am a car came to pick up Annelise, Jill, Joey and I to begin our travel week adventure.  First stop was to Armristar where we went to the Wagah border (border of India and Pakistan) to watch the ceremonial closing of the gate border.  This ceremony can basically be described as the 30 fun minutes of a sporting match where ever one is chanting and cheering and bonding over how much you love your team.  Instead of teams, however, this is nationalistic pride at its absolute finest.  Soldiers from both Pakistan and India come out to display their countries worth by exhibiting who can kick their legs the highest and pound their chests the hardest on their given side of the border.  This ceremony is performed every day at sunset and every day is an absolute celebration.  Music was blasting, people were dancing, and everyone was completely glowing in ecstatic pride to belong to their given nation.   

After the Wagah border we traveled to the Golden Temple, the mecca of Sikhs worldwide.  In a reaction similar to the Taj Mahal, my jaw absolutely hit the floor.  This floating palace is constructed entirely out of gold and lit up in the nighttime looks like glowing treasure floating on water.  Although we had to wait 30 minutes to enter inside, the interior of the building was just as magical and intricately designed as the outside.  The inside was filled with beautiful fabrics and music and alters that could take days to take it all in.  The steady and overwhelming amount of people crammed together, however, gives you reason to take it all in before getting run over by the crowd

                After Armristar we traveled to Dharamashala, i.e. my new favorite place in the entire world.  Dharamashala can basically be described as a little Tibet.  After China forced control over Tibet and exiled the Dalai Lama, this northern area of India has become a refuge for both Tibeten culture as well as the Dalai Lama temple.  Unlike Pune where it’s typical to be drenched with sweat the minute walking out the door, the cool air of Dharamashala reminded us that seasons do exist along with the simple yet complex comfort that comes from snuggling in a big sweater with a glass of hot chocolate (glass seems to be the preferred method of consuming  hot drinks..) Dharamashala is a little hippy town situated at the base of the Himalayas and is absolutely surrounded by nature.  There are countless cute little cafes, shops carrying handcrafted jewelry and art as well as innumerable monks strolling about town. 

                Our first night in Dharamashala, however, proved that we were by no means packed properly to trek the Himalayan heights.  Off of unquestioned advice, the four of us packed not much more than a sweatshirt and a pair of sneakers for the trek.  Realizing that we were already freezing before even starting the trek, we headed to the nearest store to stock up on wool coats and gear to reasonably sustain us through our hike.  The first day of our trek was to the Triund, the first base camp where we pitched for the night.  All was going well until the thunder started.  We tried to reassure ourselves that it was all taking place way below us and would never reach us, until the hail and 50 mph winds did.  I don’t think any of us got any sleep that night for fear that the tent would blow over at any moment.

                Although cold and groggy from a rough night, it was worth it in the morning to look out at the snow covered caps of the Himalayas.  Our trek for that day was delayed due to weather conditions but we made due snuggling together in our tent catching up on long lost reading and sleep.  We were able to manage a 3 hour hike until clouds rolled in again.  Winds were blowing stronger, hail size was bigger, and lightning strikes were getting closer and closer to our tent post.  Luckily, our trail guide had a cabin off of our site which we had to resort to in fear of being snowed in in our tents.  We were all grateful to have this option, but still dreading what the morning held when we would have to make it down the snow and ice covered mountain, which was a comical site in itself.

                I feel sorry for any person who saw us on the last day of a trek where saying we looked a little worn is quite the understatement.  I had resorted to cameo leggings, a tie-dye lined wool coat, Rasta colored hat and gloves, and reindeer themed wool socks- and no form of shower or hygienic maintenance for the past 3 days.  The worst part of this whole outfit, however, was the court sneakers I brought along which provided about as much support down the mountain as a pair of ice skates.  I could barely take 5 steps without slipping face first into the snow, resulting in the tour guide taking me by the hand to guide me down the mountain, one fall at a time. 

                Slowly but surely, however, we made it down back.  It was kind of a time warp walking down as the further we went the warmer it became, seeming as if the seasons were changing right before our eyes.  My legs felt like jell-o walking back to our hotel and every step felt like a humiliating challenge but the accomplishment felt amazing.  The only thing that would have been amazing after 3 days trekking through snow would be to come back to a hot shower.  Seeing, however, as this is India where things are prone to go wrong, the heater was of course not working.  Although some rest and relaxation seemed necessary after the trip, we didn’t want to lose our last days in Dharamashala so we head back into town for further shopping, sight-seeing, and momo eating.

                Fast-forward 18 hours of planes and car rides later back to the home base, Pune, India.  It’s a little hotter here, stray dogs aren’t as friendly and you’re still risking your life every time you attempt to cross the street but it’s my little niche in the world for now.  My internship at the National Institute of Naturopathy has begun and although I’m still trying to figure out exactly what I’m supposed to be doing, I’m enjoying the insight into Naturopathy along with free yoga classes :) Okay, I’m pretty sure I’m breaking some unwritten blog rules considering how much I’ve already written so my riveting explanation of Naturopathic Medicine will have to wait until another post.  

Namaste,
Kate

(Sorry, I don't know why photos won't upload, I'll try wrestling with Internet connection again tomorrow)



 

Simplicity & Independence

A Note on Simplicity.

One thing I’ve definitely come to value more and more since I’ve been in India is the value of simplicity.  America is known worldwide for its consumer based culture and the excessive amount of ‘stuff’ we accumulate.  Sometimes we buy stuff to make ourselves feel better, sometimes it’s just too good of a deal to pass up, and sometimes we feel the need to replace perfectly fine and workable things with shiner and prettier things.  Mostly due to the overall low economic status of India, the accumulation of ‘things’ is not as highly valued.  You won’t find cabinets filled with collections of china dolls or beany babies.  It’s rare to find anything that comes close to resembling a junk drawer filled with those items you use on average once every five months.  The overall décor can be described as basement furniture your parents kept from the early seventies with an Asian twist.  Technology isn’t sleek and new and overall functionality and practicality play a greater role than the desire to impress through the things you own.  In India and other parts of the world not yet hit by this excessive facet of western culture you find a lot of space where you’re used to finding stuff, both mentally and physically.  It’s a refreshing feeling to open my closet and instead of being overwhelmed by ten thousand wardrobe choices to find the functionality of 5 outfits.  In America I always felt my head was spinning from the constant division of time between school, friends, family, work, internships, volunteering, free time and finding ways to make each division of time as productive as possible.  Time management isn’t much different here but the elimination of unnecessary clutter has had a big impact on my overall ability to focus and to help clear my mind of unnecessary clutter as well.  The elimination of television and the Internet has definitely played a large role as well although it does have me at a slight disadvantage with regards to current events and relative media topics.  Basically, when I return to the states I don’t see myself living off of 2 t shirts, dirty sandals and forcibly cutting myself off from all media ties.  I do see myself, however, making strong considerations about the necessary and unnecessary things in my life that play a part in passive distractions from areas that deserve greater levels of attention.

A Note on Independence.  

This one…I’m still struggling with.  Personal independence, something so highly regarded in an American mindset, is something that’s not strongly valued in India.  In America it’s the expected norm to leave home as soon as you’re old enough or finances permit but in India, you’ll find grown, financially stable adults living with their parents even after their married.  Parents are so involved in their children’s lives that they hold a very strong say in who their children marry and there have been many cases where love marriages hold a back seat to arranged marriages in the interest in pleasing the parents. The strong, deep rooted family ties which are common throughout India put family and community at a greater value than the individualistic mindset.  Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing… but coming from a person who thought herself ready to move out on her own at 8 years old combined with an irrational yet deep rooted dislike for all authoritative figures makes it hard as a 21 year old to have a 10:30 curfew along with constant reports of where I’m going, with who, and when.  Of course it’s not only Indian culture that requires parents to be a bit more controlling and protective of what you do when, I’m also a foreigner.  Traveling through any foreign country requires a heightened level of awareness with respect to understanding the norms and keeping yourself safe in a new environment.  But I’m the worst kind of foreigner you can be if you’re seeking independence, a female foreigner.  Given the high incidences of rape and sexual violence towards women in India you may say, ‘Well duh, independence is a small price to pay for your safety in a foreign country like India.’

 My response would be that although it is a legitimate issue, over half of all cases of rape and sexual abuse happen within the family home, America has a higher per capita rate of rape, and it’s common knowledge to travel in well lit, well-populated places at night in large groups.  I have also never felt uneasy or unsafe at any point during my time in Pune and found living back home in North Philadelphia a more viable threat to safety.  I really don’t have much of an issue having a 10:30 curfew at night, most places close by that time anyway.  It’s more so the issue of being an adult who’s been living on my own for the past couple of years to be reinstated with rules, curfews, and someone to answer to.  It is humbling, though, sometimes to be put back into my place.  Even as a child I considered any rule to be open for discussion (note: my parents were fairly strict growing up even by Indian standards so this was more of a nature borne trait rather than nurture) but parenting techniques are a bit different here where rules leave no room for conversation.  If curfew is 10:30 and I ask for an extension till 11 pm, I’ll more likely be met with laughter than with any kind of further discourse.          

Plan A, B, & C: Wing It

Life in India is full of unexpected surprises and there's a calculated rate of things going to the way you plan .001% of the time.  For this reason, making any sort of plans outside of 'winging it' is comically useless.
Now, here's a crash course of my Indian life from the last 2 weeks:
We traveled to Bombay with Alliance for a three day trip to learn more about the financial and economic center of India.  For the most part though, we struggled to stay awake through three days of lectures in the basement of a YWCA.  In my opinion the best meeting was with Gandhi's great grandson.  It was interesting to see his formed identity outside of this monumental legend of a relative.  His parting words being that celibacy is not the path for him confirms that he has chosen to take his own path outside of that chosen by his great grandfather.  We then took a trip to visit Dharavi, the largest slum of Asia.  Although interesting, it still felt intrusive to walk through someone's community, taking pictures like their lives were some sort of exhibit.  
The following weekend Annelise, Jill and I took a weekend trip to Delhi and then Agra to see the Taj Mahal.  Going off of the other students reactions of Delhi being an aggressive town difficult to navigate through, we hired a driver to take us from touristy spot to spot.  Seeing the Taj Mahal on Sunday was one of those moments that made every Indian challenge and struggle worth it.  It was the most majestic, enchanting, breath taking man made structure I have ever seen.  Although I was disappointed to find out it's not one of the 7 Wonders of the World, it definitely lives up to and surpasses every expectation.
Coming back to Pune after that trip was challenging considering it was our first full week of classes since we've been here and now most of my free time is spent procrastinating over the six reports and three presentations I have due within 2 weeks (eeeek!).  Although it seems like a lot of work, the prompt for the majority of these reports is, 'Write 10 pages about a topic we've covered in class.'  So basically, 10 pages worth of my interpretation can't be that difficult.
This past weekend I attended my first cricket match- India vs. Australia.  Although I'm glad I went and was able to grasp a basic understanding of the game, here are the basic phrases that were on repeat through my head during this 8 hour match: 'I wonder if I'll pass out first from the heat, lack of water, or ball that keeps being hit into my section.' 'Why didn't I bring sunglasses?' 'It's only halftime?' 'Why are they opening my water with a screw driver?' 'No, I don't want to take my picture with you, I see you fitting me into your selfie pic.' 'It's really awkward being on the jumbo screen for this amount of time.' 'Wow, is this game really still going on?' 'Why is that player laying down in the middle of a game?' 'I think the referees are Canadian mountain men.' 'Why does no one where gloves?' 'Is this game really still happening?'

And as expected, being white girls in Indian jerseys warranted us a spot in the sports section of today's paper:

And even more expected, I'm the one with my eyes closed..

Bombay/ Mumbai: The City with Two Names

Namaste!  In the attempt to keep you all (this means you mom and dad) up to date with my Indian travels, here are the pictures from the last week spent in Bombay, Delhi, and Agra.  In a further attempt to upload these photos before these cafe owners turn off the WiFi and kick me out, further dialogue about India will have to wait.     

How You Know You've Been in India 1 Month

1.        You ask for extra red pepper flake packets for your domino’s pizza that suddenly seems a bit too bland.

2.       Your clothes never match in color or pattern but that’s cool because no one’s really does.

3.       You don’t wear shoes, ever.

4.       You’re able to cross a busy two way street at rush hour with the confidence of Moses parting the red sea.

5.       You know and have named every street dog in your neighborhood.

6.       You've accepted the fact that the YMCA is still a relevant and popular dance in almost every night club.

7.       You’re no longer fazed driving into oncoming traffic.

8.       You walk into an Internet café with absolutely no expectations of there being Internet or it being a café.

9.       When you hear a car playing the happy birthday song you back up, it’s no one’s birthday, the car is just going in reverse.

10.   You can eat an entire meal, including rice, with only one hand. 

11.   You’re able to push and bully your way to the front of lines with no remorse- large crowds call the ‘eat or be eaten’ mentality into focus.

12.   You start charging to have your picture taken.

13.   You've mastered the Indian head swivel which can mean yes or no depending on the occasion.

14.   You always have a roll of toilet paper on you.

15.   You’re not constantly sweating, you’re constantly glistening.

So this post is coming quite late but as I might have mentioned before, reliable Internet is as mythical as the Hindu gods.  Below are the pictures from the Ganpati festival- I’m sure the Internet can give a much better and in-depth analysis of this Hindu holiday but here’s a very quick and watered down foreigners version:  Ever since I arrived in India all I’ve been hearing talk about is the Ganpati  festival.  Ganpati is a 10 day celebration of one of the most important Hindu gods, Ganesh, a God with the head of an elephant, body of a man and 4 outstretched arms.  At the beginning of the holiday every family brings a statue of Ganesh into their homes and prepares an appropriate alter baring flowers, gifts and incense.  Likewise, huge Ganesh idols are placed all around town with extremely elaborate setups ranging from robotic peacocks to waterfalls to red carpets and chandeliers.  At the end of the festival a huge procession takes place across town where all of the idols are immersed into the river (or carefully selected water tanks for the eco conscious).  The procession is a 36 hour affair of nonstop drumming, dancing, lights and music that starts from one end of Pune, or your respected town, and ends at the river where the idols are immersed.    

Alter for Ganesh in my host family's house

Prayer before immersing Ganesh in designated water tanks

This has absolutely nothing to do with India or the Ganpati festival, but I miss my puppy!

Pardon the Interruption.

It’s important to have a sense of humor in India as over the course of one day, you mind find yourself running into any number of little interruptions that leave you questioning the reasoning behind the chaos.  Mainly because you never know when your rickshaw is going to break down in the middle of nowhere in the pouring rain, you may put the majority of your clothes in the wash and they may come out purple, you might have a bite of curry drenched/ tear inducing food before realizing there’s no water in sight, it may take you 5 minutes to cross a one way street, sleeping patterns might become a little staggered as you fall asleep to drum circles and wake up to what sounds like a highway running through a tropical rain forest, at the foreign commissioner’s office you’ll have to deal with the disappointed faces that you’re an American who hasn't personally met Jack Bauer, you may find yourself sleeping on a hotel floor amongst 20 other grasshoppers and unnamed insects, maybe you’ll pay to use a restroom that doesn't even supply toilet paper, you might visit 10 different Internet cafes to find that the term ‘Internet’ is used very loosely here, the power may randomly go out at any given time, and possibly you’ll find yourself at a traditional Indian dance recital where they suddenly break out into the robot doing an interpretive dance of space travel.  Not that I would have personal experience of any of these occurrences or anything…  

The basic point is that there is an order and flow to Indian lifestyle and the main component of finding this order is to continually expect the unexpected.  Maybe your rickshaw broke down, but there are 5 more people ready to help you get where you’re going.  At the end of the day purple clothes make as good of clothes as those of any other color (and at least now all of your outfits are color coordinated).  It may take 5 minutes to cross the street but is your day really so rushed you can’t spare those 5 critical minutes?  Internet may only be seldom available in 10 minute intervals but there are books to be read and places to go that computer fixation could hold you back from otherwise.  And where else in the world are you going to see a group of Indian dancers break out into the robot as a tribute to the first Indian astronaut in space? 

*PS: I really tried to come up with a cute justification for sleeping next to full grown grasshoppers and how it was a learning experience if put in the right perspective but seriously, that one was just gross.