As I type this blog I am sitting at my desk in my house reminiscing about my experience. I am back in the US and I guess this will conclude my Indian Experience as well as my blog...(tear) 3 weeks really did go by very quickly. I have to admit, that in the beginning of my trip to India and even the middle of my experience, I did ask myself more than once "Why am I here? Why did I choose India?" I definitely had my doubts and no responses to these questions.
India really is an intense country with very little rules, or rules that no one follows. It is a free for all when it comes to driving, scenic places are hard to find, and there is so much extreme poverty right in your face all the time. However, as I stopped resisting everything that was so different from me and I slowly began to accept India for what it is, and appreciate India for what it has to offer, I suddenly found myself at peace and enjoying India.
Believe it or not, I would not mind going back to India, with all of its craziness. I know what to expect now and how to accept it. I don't think I would ever want to live there but I will be ready for it the next time.
I am so grateful, blessed and fortunate to have been able to go to India. I have always wanted to see another part of the world, another culture and another way of life. I was able to fulfill all of those things and I feel empowered to go back to school now, having had this experience. I am ready to study and learn about NGO's, now that I have worked for one. I now have a totally new perspective that I can add in my discussions at school and have a first hand experience working in the slums. After this experience I think I could go anywhere in the world and be ok. I already know what it is like to live and work in a developing country.
Thank you to all of you who have read my blog. I hope that I was able to entertain you a little and give you a little incite into the world of India through my perspective. I have to say that I enjoyed writing the blog and would love to do another on my next adventure. Take Care and God Bless!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
My Last Day in India
Yesterday, was a jammed packed day for me. Everyone had either left or were about to leave and I did not have to catch my flight until 10:50pm that night. I decided to hire a driver to take me to all the touristy places in Delhi that I missed these past 3 weeks.
My first stop was the Lotust Temple. It was really cool because I happen to get their when they were doing their prayer ceremony and got the chance to hear a prayer/hymn from 7 different religions. It was really neat, (but at the time I had no idea what was going on, but it was interesting). One of the guys that worked there told me afterwards that it was a prayer ceremony.
Then, I went to Delhi Haat. This was actually suppose to be the place where I went several times, where you can bargain with the vendors and get all kinds of great stuff for cheap, but my driver ended up taking me to a different place where I ended up getting some really cool stuff. I bought some more scarfs and I got this great bed spread for my guest bedroom. I am so excited to put it on the bed. I think it'll look great and all my guest that sleep over will have a nice Indian motif when they sleep!
Chandhi Chock was next. This is the mecca of craziness shopping. I had to check this place out. It is super crowded with people, with shops up and down narrow streets selling all kinds of stuff. I didn't have too much time to spend here, because I spent so much time at the previous place that I literally walked around just to check it out. I also ate at the McDonald's because I thought it would be the safest place to eat without getting sick...so far so good.
The last place I went to was this HUGE temple called Ashadaram. Apparently it was built in 5 years by 7000 craftsman and the temple is dedicated to this guru Ashadaram and his teachings. It was a very interesting place and my fellow volunteers told me that it is a definite must see before you leave Delhi.
At the temple they had 3 little activities for you to do to learn about this famous guru. There was a walk through exhibit with interactive puppet things, then there was a little movie about him and then a boat ride. (A boat ride like "It's a small world" at Disney Land). While touring this place, I ended up meeting 2 French men and a couple from Germany. It was really cool to meet them, and the fact that I could practice my French with the French guys. They were of course surprised to see an American speak French but I loved talking to them in francais...
The message of the guru was to find inner peace within yourself, to find god within you. When you can find god within yourself you can find it within other people, which will in turn lead to peace and love throughout the world. It was a great message to learn, to think about, to meditate on, and a great message to end my time here in India.
My first stop was the Lotust Temple. It was really cool because I happen to get their when they were doing their prayer ceremony and got the chance to hear a prayer/hymn from 7 different religions. It was really neat, (but at the time I had no idea what was going on, but it was interesting). One of the guys that worked there told me afterwards that it was a prayer ceremony.
Then, I went to Delhi Haat. This was actually suppose to be the place where I went several times, where you can bargain with the vendors and get all kinds of great stuff for cheap, but my driver ended up taking me to a different place where I ended up getting some really cool stuff. I bought some more scarfs and I got this great bed spread for my guest bedroom. I am so excited to put it on the bed. I think it'll look great and all my guest that sleep over will have a nice Indian motif when they sleep!
Chandhi Chock was next. This is the mecca of craziness shopping. I had to check this place out. It is super crowded with people, with shops up and down narrow streets selling all kinds of stuff. I didn't have too much time to spend here, because I spent so much time at the previous place that I literally walked around just to check it out. I also ate at the McDonald's because I thought it would be the safest place to eat without getting sick...so far so good.
The last place I went to was this HUGE temple called Ashadaram. Apparently it was built in 5 years by 7000 craftsman and the temple is dedicated to this guru Ashadaram and his teachings. It was a very interesting place and my fellow volunteers told me that it is a definite must see before you leave Delhi.
At the temple they had 3 little activities for you to do to learn about this famous guru. There was a walk through exhibit with interactive puppet things, then there was a little movie about him and then a boat ride. (A boat ride like "It's a small world" at Disney Land). While touring this place, I ended up meeting 2 French men and a couple from Germany. It was really cool to meet them, and the fact that I could practice my French with the French guys. They were of course surprised to see an American speak French but I loved talking to them in francais...
The message of the guru was to find inner peace within yourself, to find god within you. When you can find god within yourself you can find it within other people, which will in turn lead to peace and love throughout the world. It was a great message to learn, to think about, to meditate on, and a great message to end my time here in India.
Our Night Out In Dehli!
Meena, Jackie, Rosie, Sonal, Karina, and I all went out on the town Thursday night. This was going to be most of our last night in Delhi and we decided to go out with a bang! For the 3 weeks that we have been here I had never checked out a Delhi club, nor did we have anytime to do so either. 1) We had a curfew and we couldn't be out passed 12am. 2) We had to work up early anyway to volunteer 3.) The weekends we were always traveling somewhere new in India.
We all hired a driver to take us to this really posh hotel where they had a really nice club. Going out in Delhi feels kind of weird I have to admit, because during the day we dress so conservatively. We wear the Indian clothing, a salawa kameeze, or at least a kurta ( a long shirt) with pants and a scarf, so getting decked out and showing a little skin felt a little weird. But Apparently, there are some young Indian folk that go out clubbing...so that's exactly what we did...
When we get to the club it was dead. There was a total of about 5 people in the downstairs part with a few men at the bar and a private party going on upstairs. (Which we tried to get into but got shot down immediately.) So we ended up just getting a drink and hanging out with ourselves. We had a good time dancing and listening to some American hip hop songs. It was nice to hear a little usher, Rhianna, even Chris brown in the clubs. It had been a while since I heard their music. So we took a bunch of pics and partied up our last night in Delhi!!
We all hired a driver to take us to this really posh hotel where they had a really nice club. Going out in Delhi feels kind of weird I have to admit, because during the day we dress so conservatively. We wear the Indian clothing, a salawa kameeze, or at least a kurta ( a long shirt) with pants and a scarf, so getting decked out and showing a little skin felt a little weird. But Apparently, there are some young Indian folk that go out clubbing...so that's exactly what we did...
When we get to the club it was dead. There was a total of about 5 people in the downstairs part with a few men at the bar and a private party going on upstairs. (Which we tried to get into but got shot down immediately.) So we ended up just getting a drink and hanging out with ourselves. We had a good time dancing and listening to some American hip hop songs. It was nice to hear a little usher, Rhianna, even Chris brown in the clubs. It had been a while since I heard their music. So we took a bunch of pics and partied up our last night in Delhi!!
Henna!!
Wednesday night we had a Henna party! It was really cool because there were about 6 of us who got henna. The girls that did the henna were really nice and did a great job, but they totally over charged us on getting this done. I was a little irritated at how much they charged us even if they did come to our flat to do it. The girls were going to charge me $20 bucks but I was able to bargain them down to $18. This may not sound like a whole lot, but one of the girls who got henna done in our flat went to Amritsar and got it done on the street for 50 cents!! So when you pay $18 for something when someone else paid 50 cents that is a little irritating. But nonehtless, my henna looks great, you are only in India once or very rarely so I just sucked it up and paid my $18 bucks (900 Rupees)!
The Restaurant!!
On Wednesday, Jackie and I took our students to a restaurant for the very first time in their lives!!! It was so great to be able to give them this opportunity to take them to do something that is so common for all of us. The kids were very excited, and of course Jackie and I whipped out our cameras to take pictures of this momentous event. Once we did, all the students wanted to take pictures too, or they wanted to have pictures of themselves! So we gave them our cameras for them to take pics and we took a ton of them as well.
Getting to the restaurant with all of our kids (10) was a completely normal thing in India, but if we had done what we did in India in the US there would be complaints, maybe even lawsuits. We packed in 7 kids, 2 teachers and a driver in a Jeep to transport us to a restaurant. (We had to do 2 trips but the more people you can pack in the better.) That is how the Indians do it here. They cram as many people as you can possibly fit in a car, truck, bus, even a motorcycle and go. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people practically hanging off trucks, and tiny cars with 10-15 people inside. You will even see a whole family on a motorcycle that includes mom, dad, daughter, and son. And no the motorcycle is not any bigger than a regular size motorcycle.
Anyway, we transported our kids to the restaurant in good ol' Indina fashion and it worked out fine, no problems. I think the kids had a great time, and they were the most well behaved, well mannered group of kids you have ever seen. It was a great experience not only for the students but for us as well. We were able to show them something they had never done before. That was really cool!
Getting to the restaurant with all of our kids (10) was a completely normal thing in India, but if we had done what we did in India in the US there would be complaints, maybe even lawsuits. We packed in 7 kids, 2 teachers and a driver in a Jeep to transport us to a restaurant. (We had to do 2 trips but the more people you can pack in the better.) That is how the Indians do it here. They cram as many people as you can possibly fit in a car, truck, bus, even a motorcycle and go. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people practically hanging off trucks, and tiny cars with 10-15 people inside. You will even see a whole family on a motorcycle that includes mom, dad, daughter, and son. And no the motorcycle is not any bigger than a regular size motorcycle.
Anyway, we transported our kids to the restaurant in good ol' Indina fashion and it worked out fine, no problems. I think the kids had a great time, and they were the most well behaved, well mannered group of kids you have ever seen. It was a great experience not only for the students but for us as well. We were able to show them something they had never done before. That was really cool!
Salsa in Pappankalan!!
I was able to teach salsa in the slums!! I must give a shot out to Joe Figueroa for putting together such an amazing CD with fantastic salsa and bachata music!! Thank you so much Joe! I couldn't have taught salsa without your music.
Anyway, I taught a little salsa lesson last week and the kids really enjoyed it! I think they really liked it, when I added in some Indian moves that all the children know. It is when you put one hand on your hip and the other hand in the air and you shake your hand in the air and shake your hips. They all LOVE that move and a couple of my students get so giggly when they do it! It is soooooo CUTE. But it is sooo HOT in the room that we are teaching that you can only do salsa for 10-15 min or the heat will overcome you.
On Friday, I taught salsa for the last time with the kids and we went outside this time so that we could have some air. It was a lot of fun and Jackie ended up taping the mini lesson so I have it on video for you all to see. I will have to consult Grace on how to do this of course!!
Anyway, I taught a little salsa lesson last week and the kids really enjoyed it! I think they really liked it, when I added in some Indian moves that all the children know. It is when you put one hand on your hip and the other hand in the air and you shake your hand in the air and shake your hips. They all LOVE that move and a couple of my students get so giggly when they do it! It is soooooo CUTE. But it is sooo HOT in the room that we are teaching that you can only do salsa for 10-15 min or the heat will overcome you.
On Friday, I taught salsa for the last time with the kids and we went outside this time so that we could have some air. It was a lot of fun and Jackie ended up taping the mini lesson so I have it on video for you all to see. I will have to consult Grace on how to do this of course!!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
The Greetings
For that past 2.5 weeks every time we go to our placement to teach all the little kids around the ages of 1-4 greet us as we are getting out of our car. There are at least 10 kids that come up to us wanting to shake our hands and say good morning. It is the cutest thing ever, and something that totally warms my heart everyday. They are the most adorable kids living in pretty harsh conditions but always greet us with a smile and great enthusiasm. I will definitely miss that greeting when I return to the states, but for now I can cherish it for the next 3 days...
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