kkatielynn

Life is an Indian Adventure

2011-11-09T10:06:00.003+05:30

“If everything was easy, there wouldn’t be any fun.”

During the midst of a bit of confusion at the mall, a hallmate of mine uttered this with a smile on her face. There wasn’t mass chaos, just confusion about what cookies were wanted and where exactly to pay and check out. I don’t think there is a quote more fitting to apply to my experience in India than this quote.

My Indian experience has been marked with new experiences in new places, new sights, new smells, new languages, new cultures, and new and different things every day. Sometimes we met frustrating experiences from dealing with the bureaucracy trying to register as foreigners or trying to make our ID cards with the Dean's office. Seriously, some of those crazy stressful moments are the ones that we can look back and laugh at the hardest. They are the most fun to think about. I have learned to laugh at difficult moments and laugh at them hard. I have found so much joy in the difficult things of this experience.

Exhibit A

Travel to Pondicherry from Chennai

On our way to Pondicherry we rode the train to Nungambakkam, which is about 45 minutes away. Then caught an auto outside of the station to the Coimbatore Bus Station, which is about 20 minutes away. We then had to ask which buses went to Pondy and we ended up jumping on a bus on Platform 3, instead of 2. Our bus was very comfortable with individual seats and room for luggage above your head. Once the bus starts moving, a ticket master comes by and collects Rupees in exchange for a ticket. We were caught in early morning traffic and it took about 2 hours just to get out of the city and then another 3-4 hours to get to Pondicherry. We got off the bus, found an auto, and made our way to the Hotel.

Travel from Pondicherry to Chennai

However, going home to Chennai we found our way to the Pondicherry Bus Stand. We asked a police officer which bus was headed to Chennai, especially Tambaram, where we live. He pointed us in the right direction. We found we had to stand in line, to receive a token to reserve a bus seat for us. JJ did that kindly. This bus more closely resembled a city bus and we climbed on and experienced chaos. We didn’t realize that our tokens reserved actual seats for us with numbers and everything. So, we all sat together near the front. Then people whose seats we were occupying came by and were rather frustrated that we didn’t understand the procedure. The aisle was full and 4 of our seats ended up being in the very back. JJ and I made our way to the very back and sat with another gentleman on a 3 seater. I had a big bag, because I bought an extra to take home while in Pondi and had stuffed my backpack into it. I sat that upright on my lap and then JJ and I just kind of laughed at the whole situation. The ticketmaster offered to move my bag to the floor by the door, which was nice. Then, however, we realized that the seat in front of us was broken and the seat leaned back until it was on top of our knees – putting pressure the whole time. This bus didn’t take us straight to Tambaram, we had to get off and then find another bus, but that really wasn’t a big deal. People in India are super helpful.

Clearly, the ride home wasn’t as comfortable as the one to Pondy, but there was no use wasting energy by being miserable over a situation I don’t have control over. Besides, JJ and I couldn’t help by smile and laugh over the craziness of boarding that bus bound for Chennai. If we had expected the EXACT same situation on the way home or even something a little less crazy – we would have been disappointed and upset. But we managed to find the hilarity in the craziness, which is truly where the fun lies.

Today, I was reflecting on why people become disappointed with something. It is when their expectations of a person or a situation are not met as they had originally anticipated. Then I thought that was a little silly as most things we become disappointed in are things outside of ourselves, events or circumstances outside of our control. (Unless we are disappointed with our own performances or thoughts or feelings.) We don't have full control of what happens to us, but we do have full control of how we respond to it.

Living life should not be an inconvenience, nor should it be smooth sailing. Life is an adventure and sometimes things are crazy or difficult, but learning how to find joy and purpose from those moments are what life's all about. The world isn't all about you, but the world is FOR you. God is FOR you.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4

Love,

Banana Pancakes!

2011-11-02T22:09:00.000+05:30

One of my most vivid memories is the taste of Grandma and Grandpa Shirey’s pancakes and King Syrup on Sunday mornings before church. When I was younger, I would spend the night at their house on Saturday nights and on Sunday mornings I would wake up to griddle cooked pancakes. It’s so funny how the taste of food can linger in your mouth, even if you haven’t had it for years and years. Sometimes they would even make the pancakes in K’s for Katie.

We made banana pancakes for dinner tonight to celebrate the end of our finals and to take a break from writing a paper due tomorrow. We are so close to being finished with Academic India, that I can hardly believe it.

Initial Pancakes just like Mamaw and Papaw used to make!

Peacefully. Simply. Pancakes.

Can't you see that it's just raining?

Ain't no need to go outside...

Baby, you hardly even notice

When I try to show you this

Song is meant to keep you

From doing what you're supposed to

Waking up too early

Maybe we can sleep in

I'll make you banana pancakes

Pretend like it's the weekend now

And we can pretend it all the time

Can't you see that it's just raining?

Ain't no need to go outside

What are some of your favorite meals from your childhood? Do you have any particular food memories?

Only 11 days until I’m on a plane to Virginia! I am soaking in the last bit of India right as monsoon has kicked in full swing.

Love,

PS - There is totally a trail that is more or less in South East Asia known as the Banana Pancake Trail.It's kind of a tongue-in-cheek reference to the number of BnBs and cafes that have sprung up along said route, in order to cater to Westerners.

Halloween in India

2011-11-01T22:23:00.001+05:30

Happy Halloween!

Well, Happy Post-Halloween! Have you worked off your candy coma?

Halloween and I have an odd relationship. I love dressing up in costumes and over-indulging on some candy for a day. However, I do not like scary things. Not. at. all. I once escaped from the Haunted Barn during the middle of our tour and sat on the outside while the rest of my friends and family continued the tour. I was probably five. Then one year, I watched some horror films and then I went to the local Haunted Corn Maze with some friends. This was the stupidest idea. Ever. I didn't fare well. I made it home, but couldn't make it through the night at a house that wasn't my home. My mom had to come and get me. I may or may not have been a sophomore in high school. I'll let you decide.

This year for Halloween, my BCA friends and I decided we wanted to celebrate Halloween, because it is such a fun holiday. (Scary stuff aside!) Sparky's, Chennai's American Restuarant, was hosting a Halloween buffet for 500 RS. After being in India for 4 months, 500 Rs was waaaaaay too much for us to spend on a meal. So, we decided to have our own shin-dig in our Hall! Complete with costumes, a dinner of brains and guts (Pasta and Sauce), candy, and a scary movie!

This year for Halloween I decided to be a Cat! I used an animal print dress and leggings. Then I made my cat ears, using Holly's black headband and a fruit loops box! (Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.) Meg, the goddess of the Earth, was kind enough to complete my face with some marvelous whiskers and big cat eyes. My Little Shorty Robinson even got into the fun, by dressing up as a cat toy for Halloween! I know, it was a strecth. MEOW!

We grabbed some Indian candy from Fresh, our local trusted grocery store, and went around the hall in our costumes doing some reverse trick or treating!

First up, Gnanamani!

When we handed out candy, most people had NO IDEA why we were handing out candy! We all said, "Happy Halloween!!" in unison. Then we had to explain what Halloween was. It's really common for people to hand out candy to OTHER people on their own Birthdays or Anniversary. One guard asked us if it was our birthday. No, sir, just a kicking holiday of mischief and candy.

Kheya, our Literary and Debate Secretary, was really excited about candy! She grabbed a handful for some late night studying. Get it, girl!

The BCA girls of Martin Hall: A Cat, G.I. Jane, Demeter, and a Pirate!

I cut tomatoes and green peppers for our pasta sauce, they served as our delicious guts! One of the biggest things I miss about the US is fresh vegetables with every meal. So, whats the best thing about cutting vegetables for our pasta sauce - obviously, stealing a couple fresh pieces of green pepper to eat!

Holly and I preparing food like champs! Smashing garlic and making garlic bread!

Our BCA crew (including Pirate JJ) and our lovely Martin Hall MSW girls - Gnanamani and Linda.

These are the pumpkins we carved for Halloween! Mine is the one on the top, she's supposed to have a little smirk...but it turned out to be a huge half-grin. Also, she was green! B and Holly toasted and salted the Pumpkin seeds this morning and we have been munching on them all day, in between studying for exams and writing our final paper!

Finally, we watched THE GRUDGE, which I thought was going to scare the pants off of me. Somehow, it ended up not being so bad, which may or not have be contributed to how long my pillow was in front of my face! Seriously though, it was a little worse than the Sixth Sense and Signs for me, which people say aren't scary. (Whatever, they so totally are!)

There are 12 days until I am headed home! The countdown has truly begun. I can now say I will be home THIS MONTH. Get outta town!

Love,
K

PS - A HUGE thank you to my fellow Martinian and BCAer Holly for letting me steal her fab Halloween pictures. (And for taking pictures of me as a Cat!) You can check out her blog over here on tumblr: http://hmindia.tumblr.com/

Updates from September and October!

2011-10-30T09:33:00.000+05:30

I have not updated in forever! My apologies!

September and October were a whirlwind of school work, conferences, and BCA excursions. Just like at BC things tend to get a little crazy towards the end of the semester. Instead of writing an individual post about each big thing that happened, I’m going to give some summaries below.

September

Excursion to Hyderabad

The highlight of this excursion was all of the beautiful Indian countryside we were able to see! It did wonders for my little green soul that gets tired of polluted city life. We visited a number of old forts that provided beautiful sweeping views of the countryside. The first picture is me doing a cartwheel on the lawn of a resort! No big deal. :)

October

Excursion to Delhi and Agra

We visited the Taj Mahal in Agra and there were SO MANY people. It's a good thing that this wasn't an excursion we did early in the trip, because I think the culture shock factor would have been a bit much. Now I'm to the point of - "Oh, there are a lot of people here...when aren't there a lot of people!?"

Completing Fieldwork at Sahodari.

I finished my fieldwork at Sahodari, which was bittersweet and hard to believe I had finished my time there. I finished back on the 11^th of October. I don’t have a social work background, so working at Sahodari was difficult for me at times. However, I am so thankful for my time there. I have learned so much about myself, especially, in terms of how I relate to people from a different culture, when I come in as a dominant minority and what that means to our interaction.

Unconference!

I was a Convener for an Unconference that my department hosted. Our Unconference was called “Unconference on the Application of Cross-Cultural Knowledge.” We had sessions on Culture Shock, Relating Skills Learned, Dealing with Clients from a Diverse Cultural Background, and the Globalization of Social Work. An “unconference” essentially means that we are the resource people, those who are putting on the conference, instead of bringing in an expert from outside – we become the experts.

Farewell Party!

Our Department hosted a farewell party for us after we finished our exams and our internal fieldwork interviews. It was a lovely hour of fun and games. They even made a slideshow for us and sang us this beautiful song, which made me cry! Also, our parting gifts were Departmental Mugs with our faces on them!!

Cha-Cha Slidin' Through Life

Any Opportunity to do the Cha-Cha Slide and we’ll take it! We finished our Unconference with the Cha-Cha slide, it really was a fun/informal day! Then our BCA farewell party ended with us all doing the Cha-Cha slide one last time!

I have two finals and a paper to write and then I am done with this semester by November 3rd. I'll be home in 16 days!

<3,
K

Fair Trade in India

2011-10-08T11:47:00.000+05:30

As my friends head off for their Alternative Fall Break in New Windsor, Maryland to volunteer at SERRV, I wanted to reflect on a woman who has empowered other women through Fair Trade in India.

Meet Annie Joseph. She is a beautiful and inspiring soul. I first met Annie when she visited our Social Work Department to tell us about her organization Ankur Kala in Calcutta. Ankur Kala was founded by Annie 30 years ago for the intent of women empowerment. Ankur Kala's motto is "Sowing Seeds of Hope." Calcutta contains some of the worst slums in India. AK helps 600+ women who have been affected by poverty and violence. Alcoholism is a huge social problem in India and many women have husbands who waste their meager expenses on alcohol. AK helps women to become self-sufficient. Meanwhile, they work with trafficked or prostituted victims, aiding in prevention strategies and helping them get out of their economic crises. AK sends the children of trafficked women to school, helping to break the cycles of poverty.

They teach impoverished women how to cook (for catering purposes) and tailoring. They work with women artisans to earn a fair trade for their goods and collaborate with organizations like Ten Thousand Villages. Maybe you’ve seen their cute owl change purses? I bought one for my sister last year. Yep, they are from the women of Ankur Kala in Calcutta, India. And their scarves are beautiful! Check them out!

Annie is a visionary. I saw Annie again at the Millenium Development Conference, where she served on a panel discussion. As a young girl, Annie volunteered with Mother Teresa on her days off from school. (Seriously, how awesome is her life!?) Annie shared stories about how she has worked against corruption since she was a young 20 something starting Ankur Kala.

One such story involved Annie going to the Post Office to export a package. The men at the post office gave her trouble and told her to wait for some time. She waited into the afternoon. Then they told her to come back in the morning. She came the next day and waited. They told her to come in the afternoon. She came and waited. Things carried on like this for a few days. Most people would give up, but Annie was persistent. Finally, the men were curious about this young woman and mailed her package. Now, anyone can go to that local Post Office in Calcutta and mention the words “Ankur Kala” as if they were magic words. She closed with, “Don’t underestimate yourself. Believe in yourself. Do what you have to do.”

Annie is a patient and stubborn soul. Another story involved Annie attempting to get NGO status for Ankur Kala. She visited the proper offices and they asked for a bribe to “help” the paper work go faster. She refused, unwilling to give into corruption or justify that practice. Again, she was given the “Wait, Come back. Wait, Come back.” It took her 2 and ½ years to achieve NGO status for Ankur Kala because she was unwilling to give into corruption. She finished with, “Voice your protest. Don’t hold back. Don’t give up. Don’t compromise. Be persistent. Be stubborn.”

It does take personal sacrifice; Annie made no doubt about that. She could have paid the bribe and had a smooth sailing with Ankur Kala’s registration, but what kind of person and organization would she be building if she paid a bribe justifying corruption? Instead, she stood firm on the seeds that had been sewn around her and was unwilling to compromise her personal values. I think Annie practices Jesus’ Third Way beautifully.

I will never be able to look at the products that come in from SERRV or Ten Thousand Villages again. I already felt an inside connection to the products at SERRV, because I had volunteered there the past 3 years for Fall Break seeing the products arrive in their foreign packaging, only to unpack them and repack them for sale in America. But now...I've met a lovely woman who helped to start a beautiful fair trade organization for women's empowerment and I won't be able to separate her face and her mission from the fair trade products I buy. I think that's the beauty of fair trade - behind every item is a story of a community, or a person, or personal growth and empowerment.

Happy Fair Trade Awareness Month!

<3,

Katie

PS – Here are some helpful links if you want to find out more about any of the organizations that I’ve mentioned above.

Ankur Kala

SERRV

Ten Thousand Villages

We are pilgrims, not tourists.

2011-09-30T00:50:00.003+05:30

I enjoy conferences. I enjoy them so much. It’s hard to say if I like working behind the scenes more than I do attending. Well, it’s probably an even mixture. The past few days, the Madras Christian College Social Work Department has been hosting: a National Study Conference on the Millennium Development Goals and Human Rights. I was blessed to participate a bit behind the scenes with setting up the hall and being part of the Exhibition Committee and the Documentation Committee, because I’m currently a member of the MCC Social Work Department. :)

Our BCA crew and our lovely MSW professors. Prince, Priscilla, and Miriam.

Our Exhibition Committee was created on the Friday before Conference! The BCA kids had come to the Department for a big meeting about conference and everyone was gathered in their committees, but at the time we didn’t belong to any committees. So, Prince came over and told us that we had become the Exhibition Committee. Our role as the Exhibition Committee was to make sure that all of the poster presentations were hung and that we coordinated with those from other schools to make sure everything was in order with those. Our task was to make sure it looked “academic.” We decided to call ourselves the X-Team.

X-Team Assemble! JJ and I taping up some posters in the Hall.

At the same time, Prince also asked us to collaborate amongst our team (The X-Team!) and design some posters to be hung up. No big deal. Go design these, bring it back this afternoon, and we’ll take a print out tonight! So, we hustled back to our hall to design 3 different posters. I opened up photoshop and made some designs, while our team helped to create catchy slogans to put onto them. I was really pleased with what we created and so was Prince. (Minus, the setbacks when we tried to first get them printed – something weird and technical that caused the images to be distorted when brought up at the Print Shop. God Bless, Karthik, and his patience for having to deal with that mishap on Friday and then having to go again with 3 different copies of each design on Saturday just to make sure nothing went wrong, because we did not have any more time!)

Working Together for a Better World

One Step at a Time

On Monday of Conference I had to present my poster! For my second CA (Continuing Assessment – i.e. exam), I researched a topic in relation to India and the MDGs and Human Rights. My topic was forced migration, which I have not researched much about at all until now. So, it was exciting to learn so much more about forced migration and internally displaced people in India. During the half hour, Conference participants wandered around asking each presenter questions.

Photo Credit: Jess and Hannah, thanks!

I was talking to Richard (II MSW) on Sunday before the Conference officially started and he was talking about how he was designing the booklet and it was all pretty much left to him. I asked if he needed help. He said, “Yeah, do you know how to use photoshop?” Oh, goodness. I do have some experience. So, each night of Conference I would help design some pages with Richard and Daniel (Documentation Committee Chair) to put into the book.

Late nights, little sleep, and lots of work!?! Count me in!

Get this, though! After each day of Conference, we would have dinner and then the attendants would go to the Department to sleep and the MCC students would go to the auditorium for a meeting that started around 8:30pm. The girls who live on campus in Martin and Margaret Hall had to be back no later than 10pm. So, they would have to be hurried out as soon as our meeting finished. Then some local off-campus girls and hall/off-campus boys would linger to finish some things up for the next day. Since I am an exchange student, the Hall curfew is not as strict for me so I was allowed to stay a bit later. However, Professor Prince would always drive me back to my hall around 11:30pm or 12. He wanted to make sure that the guard would let me back in – he wouldn’t challenge a Professor, but he might challenge a male student walking me back late. It made collaborating or working on designs difficult in case Daniel wanted to assign something else or would want to make changes to something I made, but we made it work. Essentially, I would receive homework to do after I left. I didn’t mind leaving too much, since I was allowed to ride on the back of my Professor’s motorbike!

Conference was such a wonderful opportunity for us to spend more time with our fellow MCC MSW students. You could spend all the time in the world with students in a classroom, but you truly get to know someone when you have to work alongside them or collaborate. I have grown so much closer with so many of them over these conference days. Especially, with working on the Conference book with Richard and Danny and asking for tasks from the Hall Chairman, Karthik.

At the final meeting among the Department after Conference was over, Prince mentioned a lovely phrase that I think really sums up my experience of the weekend. We are Pilgrims, not Tourists. Yes! This completely describes my conference experience! My greatest fear is that I’ll be a tourist on this journey, instead of forming friendships and having meaningful moments with all of my new friends. I am so thankful for these moments as a pilgrim.

Photo Credit: Larsen Michael.

These people are so fantastic and they KNOW how to put on a successful conference! <3

I realized that you might not be aware of the Millennium Development Goals. I wasn’t aware of them before I arrived in India, probably because I’m from a Developed Nation. They are a set of 8 goals drafted by the United Nations for developing nations to achieve by 2015.
The 8 Goals are:

1. Eradicate Poverty and Hunger

2. Achieve Universal Primary Education

3. Promote Gender Equality and Women Empowerment

4. Reduce Child Mortality

5. Increase Maternal Health

6. Combat HIV/AIDs, Malaria and other diseases

7. Ensure Environmental Sustainability

8. Develop Global Partnerships

(Booyah! I wrote all of those from memory!)

<3,
K

PS - I'll do an update post on A) my excursion to Hyderabad and on B) what I actually learned at conference and more reflections about it!

PPS - I go to Delhi in two days! I finally get to see the Taj Mahal!!

A Rural Sunday at Gnanamani's

2011-09-11T21:50:00.001+05:30

Away We Go!

Joel, Mohan, and I departed around 8:30 to get to Gnanamani's. We are headed to her village which is about 2 hours travel away from MCC. She had invited the MSW department to her home for a house warming. So, after a bus ride for about an hour to get to a town outside of Chennai, we rode in an auto for about 20 minutes. We soon caught up to this motorist ahead of us. Guess who that is!?! Gnanamani! This girl is TOO cool.

"Had your breakfast?"

"Had your breakfast?" is a common phrase we hear ever day here. Above, is the breakfast Gnanamani's family served us upon our arrival. (From left to right: Banana, Idlee, Rice something, curd something, sambar, and a glass of water.) Being able to eat breakfast demonstrates that you are more well off than most.

Friends.

These are a few of my friends from the Masters of Social Work Department at Madras Christian College. G- had invited us all to come to her house warming day and we took a walk through some of her farmland.

(From left to right: Joel, Mohan, Michael, Gnanamani, Grace, Linda, and me)

Gnanamani can swim!

While on our walk through the fields, we came upon Gnanamani's irrigation well that her family uses to pump water to their field. She knows how to SWIM! Most girls in India don't know how to swim, because of modesty issues that can occur from tight, wet clothes and it can be hard to get lessons. Gnanamani just jumped right in - kurta and all!

Swimming, swimming...

We couldn't let Gnanamani have all the fun so I jumped in after her and then we were all in! Out of the whole bunch only 3 of us knew how to swim, but the others waded on the steps. It was SOOO refreshing!

Teach me how to dive, Katie!

Since the well was so deep, I dived in a couple times! Poor Joel, attempted a dive and it ended in a belly flop. :/ Thank you Mom and Dad for time at the Beach and Pool and for those swim lessons oh so long ago!

Chief Guest: Katie

Somehow (because I'm American) I was the chief guest of the day. Oh, goodness, you have no idea how humbling that was - I am not worthy to be a Chief Guest for anything! I was asked to place the shawl, first, on this man before I received the shawl myself. I believe he was a local minister.

Receiving the Shawl

Then, this woman placed the shawl around me and a prayer was said over the house and family. At least, I think so. It was all in Tamil. Gnanamani's Uncle did explain that their village was started in the 1930's by American missionaries and an American has not visited their village in over 70 years. So, they viewed it as a very big deal that I would visit their village. How could I miss an opportunity to visit a rural village and Gnanamani's home!? Thanks girl!

"Do you know how to climb a tree?"

Mohan asked me. "Of course I know how to climb a tree!" I exclaimed. Well, not this kind of tree it turns out. A boy from Gnanamani's village climbed this tree to toss down some coconuts for the MSW students and I to have. How impressive is that!?

Drinking FRESH Tender Coconut

So, I have had Tender Coconut before...but that was from a stall. This coconut had just been dropped seconds before from a tall, tall tree that a young boy climbed. This coconut was much tastier - plus NO STRAW. Joel just told me - "Put your lips around the opening. Drink and don't think about it!" Thanks, Joel. Apparently, TC can stain your clothes...I didn't spill a drop on my clothes thankfully!

Eating FRESH Tender Coconut!

Once I finish drinking the water from my coconut a machete is used to cut it wide open down the middle, exposing an orb center with a coconut meat in it. I'm given a nifty coconut scooper to scoop with. Joel lends me a hand and shows me how it's done properly. Then I have a go!

Rural India

Can we just have a moment and marvel at beautiful, rural India? Ok. Thank you. It smelled like home - cow manure. I don't know why everyone at BC is so averse to this smell. I'm so weird, but I just love it and it doesn't bother me at all. It was such a nice smell after coming from air pollution, sewage, and trash. I breathed deep and marveled at the green. Oh, my heart.

Mohan Commandeered my camera. Obviously.

At first, I thought Karthik was really quiet and sometimes we have a hard time understanding each other because of our accents - but I am so glad he was there today. I make faces in response to some situations and Karthik makes his own faces in response to mine and then we laugh together. Oh, thank you, Karthik! We were walking along to get coconuts and he asked where my other BCA friends were and I told him they were busy. His response was,

"Clearly, I like you."

Of course, I'm thrown off guard, but he finishes by saying,

"Because you came today!"

They all have such good senses of humor. We all had such a wonderful time!

(From left to right: Karthik, Jarthro, and Mohan)

Me and Gnanamani in front of her new home.

Meet Gnanamani. She is a delightful girl who lives in my hall and is in the MSW department. She is a second year post grad. She is the ONLY girl from her village to pursue a post grad degree. Her parents were very adamant about their children getting proper schooling. She has spent a lot of time in hostels in Chennai going to school, because there aren't proper schools near her village.

She and her family built this house with their own hands! I have seen her Monday mornings exhausted from spending a weekend at home working laboriously on their home. Somehow she manages it all and is the smartest student in our classes and gets the top marks of anyone.

A View of Pondicherry through Mealtimes!

2011-09-07T23:46:00.000+05:30

I’m not a food blogger. Sometimes I’ll post pictures of the cookies or peace cakes that I bake sometimes, but I’m not an avid food blogger. However, I am going to give you a taste of our Pondycherry vacation through “most” every meal that I ate! Feast your eyes on some delicious foods!

Wednesday Evening

Our first evening in Pondy we dined at Don Giovanni's beautiful Italian rooftop restaurant!

Spaghetti Pesto!

Tiramisu (with legitimate Chocolate Liquor)

Thursday

Breakfast: Bon Bakes - Almond Croissant

Juice Break: Coffee Door - Apple Juice

The juices in India are always legitimate! You can't see through them because they are so frothy and full of real fruitiness!

Pre-Lunch: Flunch - Croissant and Scrambled Eggs

Snack: Ice Cream Parlour - ChocoCherry Sundae

Lunch: 24 Hour Coffee Lounge - Vegan Sandwich

(It was so good I forgot to get a picture!)

Friday

Breakfast: Daily Breads - Caffe Latte

Lunch: Auroville Cafe - Guava Juice & Broccoli Quiche w/ salad

(Look at those veggies!!!!)

Dinner: Don Giovanni's - Spaghetti

(Yep, we HAD to go back.)

Saturday

Breakfast: Daily Bread - Walnut and Pineapple Salad

Dinner: Anu's House!

Bhel Puri

The Spread: Poori, Stuffed Parota, Chickpea Curry...etc,etc.

Sunday

Breakfast:24 Hour Coffee Lounge - The Continental

Lunch: Mahaballeepuram - FISH

(No, I didn't eat this, but it's the catch of the day for display. The crab was still alive.)

Not eating Rice and Sambar was honestly the highlight of this vacation. Now back to rice in the mess hall! Honestly, I don't mind rice at all. I love eating rice...and thankfully I haven't grown tired of eating it. But I'm always an advocate of some diversity!

<3,

Katie

An exercise in being photogenic

2011-08-29T16:22:00.000+05:30

Friends...I am NOT photogenic. I have never claimed to be photogenic and probably never will. Usually, I have squinty eyes or my hair is all over the place or I just look awk. Anyway. My friend Meg (BCA via Juniata) is one of the most photogenic people I have ever seen in my life. IN MY LIFE. Every picture she pretty much takes flawlessly or knows just what to do for the picture to come out looking awesome.

Thankfully. She agreed to give me a lesson in how to be photogenic.

"NO! I am not photogenic!"

You probably don't even know how many pictures I have spoiled by doubling over in laughter. SO MANY. I just can't take myself seriously enough to take a cute picture. I can't. So, I just giggle at myself the whole time.

Oh, snap! Did we get one? Did we get it?
I like to call this one "The Meg."

Tips from Meg:

1. Put your hand on your hip.

2. Make yourself as small as possible by getting close to the person next to you.

3. Purse your lips in some fashion. (Maybe say "Prune.")

PS - Sorry, Meg, but I probably will never be able to pose like this in the future. Also, I added that bit about the prunes...Meg never mentioned that.

<3
K

The Chronicles of India: A Katie Cummings and JJ Krehbiel Story: Inspired by True Events: Part One

2011-08-26T12:31:00.000+05:30

The Chronicles of India: A Katie Cummings and JJ Krehbiel Story: Inspired by True Events: Part One from Katie Cummings on Vimeo.

Adventures in Sari Wearing

2011-08-21T00:04:00.001+05:30

I wore a sari two times this week. TWO TIMES.

My first experience in wearing a sari was on Monday for India’s Independence Day. My fabulous friend Gnanamani helped me tie the sari at about 7am that morning. She is the absolute sweetest! I had to walk about 20 minutes (IN A SARI) to get to the Village and school where my roommate, B, works. JJ and I were attending her Independence Day ceremony and then heading to Family Life Institute for MCC’s Independence Day celebration. It’s hard to walk in a sari. You can’t exactly stride in a sari.

Me and B, my roommate, at the FLI Independence Day Celebration!

Meg, Katie, and B at the Independence Day Celebration at FLI.
Formal wear that ALLOWS for your stomach to be exposed...
I just have a hard time wrapping my brain around sometimes. But that is certainly the case here!

Once we traveled to both Independence day celebrations, B and I just took a breather under the water tower on campus. It’s kind of a hangout place throughout the week, but since it was Independence Day it was deserted. We sat for a bit…then we decided to have a photo-shoot because we were both rocking out saris!

The road behind me is the path I walk down to class 3 days a week. It's a jungle. A JUNGLE.

No big. Just walking along in my sari. Rocking pink like Elle Woods.

My second experience in wearing a sari was on Wednesday for my field placement’s 25^th Anniversary Celebration. I wore my white and grey sari that has green and blue flowers throughout it. My friend, Gnanamani, helped me tie it this morning before breakfast – she is the best! In order to travel to my field placement, I must first cross the street. Believe me…this is a huge feat for ANY street in Chennai. Then I catch a train and ride that for about 45 minutes. On my train ride, I sat across from two women who were marveling at the fact that I was a blonde girl wearing a sari. The one directly across from me pulled out her jasmine flowers and began to tie them together, so that she could string them in her hair. It is very common for women to wear jasmine flowers in their hair – they give off a very sweet smelling perfume. When she finished a strand, she cut it and handed it to me. She wanted me to wear jasmine in my hair! She had tied the jasmine for me! I didn’t have a pin for it, so she took the pin from her hair and attached the jasmine to the back of my blonde head. I told her Thank You and before she left the train I made sure to catch her name, which I think was Moma. I think.

Snapped at the end of my long day.

I thought that blonde girls get stared at a lot in India and they do, BUT that’s nothing compared to a blonde girl in a SARI. Walking the 10 minutes to my field placement was a funny adventure. As soon as I step off the train, I have to walk up some stairs and then down a ramp. Waiting at the bottom of the ramp, early in the morning, is a gaggle of auto drivers. They more or less cat-called as I walked by – “Auto, ma’am!? Looking very nice in Indian culturals, ma’am!” or “Sari, ma’am!?” I think they got a real hoot out of seeing me. I just laughed at them and kept walking.

While at my field placement, the interns were running around and hanging banners or pinning curtains, essentially climbing onto tables in bare feet and saris. I was one of them. Meanwhile, there were interns in Salwaars, which include pants and kurta with a scarf, who were on the ground handing us pins or fabric. For I second, I wondered whatwhatwhat is wrong with this picture? I am in a sari on a table and you are in pants on the floor. Why? Then I realized it’s really probably no big deal. Women in India live their whole lives in saris – they cook, clean, gather firewood, carry firewood on their head, sell food, walk long distances, manage cattle or chickens, etc, etc, etc. So, standing on a table in a sari is just another thing you can do in a sari! No big!

After my long day taking “snaps” of the celebration and staying late to help make a powerpoint, I caught a train home. There were no open seats when I got on the train so I just stood. All the while, I could feel the women (I was in the Ladies car) giving me an extra glance over. I’m pretty sure one girl snapped a picture of me on her phone. Pretty sure. One woman, in particular, had her eyes on me every time I looked her way. Every time. Eventually, some seats cleared up and I ended up sitting across from this woman who had been eyeing me the whole time. We began to have a little conversation.

She told me I looked nice in my sari and that it was tied nicely. (Thank you, Gnanamani!!) She said that I had done everything perfect like an Indian, except that I was missing a bindi for my forehead. Oh, and I just needed help knowing how to sit in my sari, because my pleats were all over the place, apparently! She mentioned how she had just watched and watched and watched me the whole train ride. I knew it! I asked for her name (in Tamil) and he eyes grew wide with surprise. We had been chatting in English and she was completely taken aback at this Tamil phrase that I whipped out. She mentioned that she was so impressed that I was a foreigner wearing a sari, because she can't get her daughters to wear one.

I really didn’t mind wearing a sari. It's kind of just like wearing a fancy dress. I should start learning to tie it for myself and see how that goes! I doubt that I’ll be wearing these lovelies when I go back to the US. But I did find an awesome site that suggests a ton of ways to recycle a sari. I think they would make lovely window treatments, especially the white and grey one. Thoughts?

And because we all know how silly I really am…here are some goofy pictures of me in a sari. You’re welcome.

And I can't forget the MOST EPIC picture of me in a sari to date:

I am jumping for joy because I am about to go take off that sari and put on a tie-dye t-shirt! For real, for real.

Love, K

A heart filled with ineffable joy

2011-08-11T23:35:00.000+05:30

Today was a good day.

Today was my fourth full day at my field placement. I work at Sahodari, a project of YWCA Madras, which is a family counseling center and a short stay home for women. Even so early in my field work, I had begun to dread Tuesdays and Thursdays – my field placement days. Here’s why: on my second day of fieldwork, I was thrown into a room (by myself) with the women and told do some group therapy. As a sociology major with no social work background, I wasn’t exactly sure what to do. I didn’t have any materials with me and was not even sure what one does in “group therapy.” Plus, I have a hard time communicating with them, when I speak English and they speak Tamil. So, that day was really rough and left me feeling very self-conscious about myself and my abilities. Each day has been better.

Sahodari is preparing for their 25^th Anniversary Jubilee celebration taking place next week. They needed my help typing up some addresses to mail invitations and scanning in pictures for a slideshow for the program. I was thankful for the office work. My heart always races with worry when I have to spend time with the clients, because I remember that day I felt so lost. However, since that Thursday I have been working on a book, THE BOOK. A work in progress that includes games, songs, activities, crafts, and program ideas that I can do with the women on any given day. I also loaded up on arts and crafts supplies over the weekend. With my little red backpack filled with goodies – what should I fear??

In the afternoon, there was a lull in the Jubilee workload and I was instructed thus by my director, “Kate, why don’t you do some group therapy with the clients.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

I headed into their small concrete room with my backpack slung over my shoulder. They greeted me warmly – “Good afternoon, Miss!” came the chorus of voices. I figured we could color again. I decided to have a “free draw” until I have built up my rapport with the clients and get to know them better. As I handed them their own paper and set of crayons they all responded, “Thank you, Miss.” And they began to draw – beautiful intricate flower designs, helicopters, fruits and whatever they desired. Shortly, a counselor came in and told me to make them draw something different. “They draw flowers every day.” One, false. Two, this is only the second day I’ve done this coloring activity. C, it’s called a free draw for a reason. I brushed it off. I’ll guide their drawings when I want to guide their drawings.

The counselor left. I watched them draw for a bit; then decided to make a puppet out of paper, like my roommate had shown me to night before. I decorated it. The two young girls (aged 5 and 6) who live at the home watched me with fascination. I then pretended to gobble the little girls’ fingers in my puppet's mouth. They squealed in delight. They wanted puppets of their own, so I folded them and allowed them to color them. I had been with the clients for about 25 minutes when I was pulled away to do more computer work. I was reluctant to leave their presence. I left the crayons and paper with them, since they had practically no time at all to color.

I wasn’t able to go back to them until 5, which is when I must leave. They had stacked the papers and crayons neatly on top of their TV, which they’re allowed to watch from 5:30-6 everyday. As I took the papers, a chorus of “Thank you, Miss!” warmed my heart.

“You are so very welcome, my dears.” One client, who had passed on the first free draw I led on Tuesday, came up to me.

“Thank you, Miss! Thank you, so much,” she beamed. “This morning, I sat, sat, sat and was bored, bored, bored. My back hurt and I had pain. But then you come this afternoon and we draw and I am so happy, Miss. Thank you! I am so happy, Miss. Thank you!”

“I am so happy that you’re happy,” Understatement of the century, my heart was about to explode from ineffable joy!

I was so hesitant about spending time with the clients this morning – how could I have been so silly? I was beaming as I walked from their room. My heart was light. How could I have hesitated at the opportunity to make their days just a little bit better?

I feel so re-invigorated with a passion to bring something new and exciting for them to do each day. I hope to watch them grow over the next few months, teach them, learn from them, have them teach me, and grow together with them. I am not afraid to spend time with them anymore, I have my Book – I’m not at a loss of things to do. Will everyday feel as rewarding as this? Highly unlikely; I’m going to be stretched and some days will be hard. But I have this nugget of bright joy to carry with me. These are the moments I live my life for.

Other mentionable things that happened today:

On the train ride home, I was standing by the open door of the train looking out at the city scape as we zoomed by. We passed by a stopped train and a man leaning out of it landed his eyes on me. Instead, of giving me a peculiar stare, he waved and smiled at me. I beamed and waved back. Thank you for acknowledging me as another human being, sir, instead of staring strangely at me. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Also on my train ride, I spotted a cow. Nothing unusual, right? Well, this cow, instead of having large patches of black or brown, looked as if God had splatter painted her with black spots. She really looked like a modern painting. It was beautiful.

I ate lunch with three ducks today and shared my lemon rice with them. Their names are Sophie, Alice, and Mr. Wimbledon. Sophie is a white little duck with a limp in her waddle. Alice whines and begs me for more lemon rice. Mr. Wimbledon hovers in the background and only reaches for the rice I drop in spoonfuls, instead of grains here or there.

I feel truly blessed by my surroundings. Thank you, India, for helping to bring joy into my life today.

Love,

The girl with the golden hair...

2011-08-06T22:47:00.001+05:30

Being Caucasian in India is fascinating.

Today, I went shopping for a sari that I could wear to my field placement some days. My hair was really curly today and I had it down because the Saravana Store was air conditioned. In Saravana Stores attendants are in ABUNDANCE. While, I browsed saris I had three female attendants trailing me. Just hovering. I had my back turned facing the long rack of saris and I felt a hand fluff my blonde hair. As one of the attendants walked past she had reached out and touched my hair. I didn’t really mind.

They asked me whether I knew Tamil before talking about me as they hovered. They made motions to my hair and whispered to each other –“gold color.” I have gold color hair. Not yellow color hair. Gold color.

We went shopping for shoes, too, at another Saravana Store. (Saravana is a HUGELY popular store in India, especially T. Nagar with no less than 6 or 7 tiers.) While, I was trying on a pair of shoes to wear to an Indian Wedding a group of women came to up to us. They remarked to our Indian friend, Shakti, that I looked like the heroine from Titanic. Rose? I look like Rose from Titanic? It was probably because my hair was curly and pulled back in a loose ponytail, I had those crazy wisps all around my face.

The women I spend time with at my field placement all comment about the way that I look. They are women that stay at a short stay home and most of them don’t speak English. They comment on my golden hair, too. One woman asked me if I wear contact lenses and I do – because I need corrective lenses, but that’s not why they asked me. She thought I was wearing colored lenses, because my eyes were blue and that’s such a strange color.

The girls in our hall love our fair skin, which sometimes makes me uncomfortable when they praise our fair skin and degrade their brown skin. I think their skin is beautiful. Skin is skin. Why wouldn’t you like the skin you’re in? They always advise to wear lots of sunscreen to keep our skin so fair. I have to wear a lot of sunscreen or I’ll burn and be miserable.

Advertisements for skin lighteners are on all the TV screens here in India. Skin lighteners are SO bad for your skin and can cause cancer. The popular brands are Fair and Lovely for women and Fair and Handsome for men. As if being fair makes you a lovely person!? History has showed us that that is clearly not the case as Caucasians have showed themselves in ugly, oppressive ways towards individuals of different skin colors.

Fair and Lovely commercials depict a man initially refusing to take a woman as his wife because she is too dark. Then she uses Fair and Lovely for 7 days and then hoards of men are trailing her in the streets. Imagine. We have commercials in the United States that take us from pale to bronze. Attaching any sense of worth to skin, eye, or hair color troubles my heart so much.

I try to be so understanding of the stares that I get and all the questions about my complexion. I know that I’m an anomaly here in a sea of black hair, brown eyes, and brown skin.

Welcome to the Family

2011-08-03T21:22:00.000+05:30

This is the song that was shared at the Social Work Department Fresher party. It's actually a children's song from a band called Psalty, who are from the U.S. Go figure!

Welcome to the family
We’re glad that you have come
To share your life with us
As we grow in love and
May we always be to you
What God would have us be
A family always there
To be strong and to lean on,

May we learn to love each other
More with each new day
May words of love be on our lips
In everything we say
May the Spirit melt our hearts
And teach us how to pray
That we might be a true family

How absolutely beautiful is that!? This is such a special place and I'm so glad I'm here - sharing in this family for a couple of months.

Allan even passed along the YouTube Video if you'd like to have a listen.

Highlights of the Fresher's Party

2011-08-03T12:03:00.003+05:30

Indians know how to have a party. I just got back from the Social Work Department Fresher’s Party and it was a total and complete blast!

First off, the theme was retro, which we all took to mean our 60s and 70s retro eras. I came as a hippie, which is no stretch for my wardrobe. Seriously. The rest of our BCA group came as 50s Greaser chicks and 80s with killer side-ponies. However, the MCC Social Work fresher’s came dressed as Retro Bollywood. They looked so fabulous! Big hair dos, colorful saris, unbuttoned shirts, popped collars – it was fantastic! So, we looked a little out of place but we rocked what we had!

Picture credit to Hannah K. Thank you!

Second, this social work program is equally matched on the number of men and women. Unheard of! So, they paired up in couples and marched into the big assembly room to blaring music and cheers. We paired up with our decades partners and filed into the big horseshoe circle of fresher chairs.

Third, they had everyone introduce themselves by strutting their stuff up and down the horseshoe as if it were a runway! Then we had to stand up front and say our name and then an adjective that describes ourselves. I described myself as Kooky Katie! YAY for Alliteration!

Fourth, we taught them how to do the Cha Cha slide! I LOVE THIS DANCE. Basically, I love to dance. So, we got our groove on and did the Cha Cha slide with them, while the Ghetto Old version played on the projector. It was so amazing.

Fifth, they paired up again and the girls got to dress the boys up at GIRLS! So, all 6 of us ganged up on JJ and turned him into one hottie! He was such a good sport, especially because we gave him boobs! Once the boys were all dressed up, they had to strut their stuff as if they were Miss Universe and say one thing in support of feminism. It was a hoot watching the boys walk up and down as women.

Picture credit to Hannah K. Thank you!

THEN- in a twist of fate, we then learned that the girls would have to be dressed as boys! So, instead of all 6 BCA girls getting dressed as men I decided I’d take one for the team. No big! I’ve crossed-dressed before as Ron Weasley from Harry Potter for Halloween. Plus, I don’t take myself too seriously! It was such a crazy ball! I had a red button up shirt, with a scarf tie and the best part was my BEARD! JJ drew a beard on my face – which he got WAY too much enjoyment out of.

Picture credit to Hannah K. Thank you!

When we were finished we showed off our manliness and our fine ladies with a turn around the horseshoe. Each couple had a different cute spin to it. One couple even had the man beating his wife – crazy. JJ said he was glad I wasn’t an abusive husband. Uh, yeah, me too.

At the end, JJ and I were crowned the best cross-dressed pair. Holler! They crowned a Mr. Fresher (Ben or Big Daddy) and Miss Fresher (Shruti).

Picture credit to Hannah K. Thank you!

Finally, we all gathered and watched a slide show that Allan put together during the program. Some senior MSWs sang a beautiful song about being a family, where we support and lean on each other and grow in love with each new day. It was such a beautiful song. ~~I should request the lyrics from Allan.~~ [Edit: I did! Post about that here.]

THEN, THEN we got FISH. We got two fish in a little bag. FISH. We could take them home with us or drop them into the fish tank in the Social Work yard. I decided to drop mine into the tank and visit them a couple times a week. I think it’s better for them there, I don’t trust myself as a fish parent.

Finally, they closed with some dinner and sweets. We decided to grab dinner in the hall (Parotha Night!!), I opted for some tasty Indian sweets. Their peanut brittle in Tamil Nadu is to die for! It’s all peanut with little brittle, which is perfect because the brittle part always gets stuck in your teeth. They even included mints that looked alka seltzer tablets, but were minty fresh.

Walking back to my hall, I was in a completely blissful state, even though my cheeks hurt from smiling so much! I bounced back on a high of happiness from the dancing, laughter, and love, as my marker mustache melted from my mouth in the heat.

My Mother is a Saint

2011-07-28T18:09:00.000+05:30

Who gets two care packages in one week? Really? Really. My mother is a wonderful woman. I am completely stocked on Cliff Bars, re-hydration packets, peanut butter, and candies. I'm going to have to share with my BCA and Indian friends!

Package 1. It's a bit squished, but nothing bad.

A Happy Birthday Card from my wonderful family, even though I've been 21 for over a month now!

"Everyday is a day to celebrate you!"

Package 2. Spoiled, no?

Oh, hey, my address. All of my mail gets delivered straight to the Hall, instead of the Post Office like at Bridgewater.

Red Vines, re-hydration packets, and goodies galore.

Thanks mom! Just so you know...they do feed me three meals a day! :)

Love, K

Harry Potter in an Indian Theatre

2011-07-26T22:37:00.000+05:30

I finally, FINALLY saw Harry Potter more than a week after it came out. We ventured to Escape at Express Avenue Mall. This viewing of a Potter film was unlike any other viewing. For one, I was not seeing it on a midnight release like I have done for the past 7 films. It was devastating. Believe me. Midnight release disappointment aside – Indian theatres are not like American theatres. Here's why:

There are absolutely no previews.

If the movie starts at 3:40pm the movie STARTS at 3:40pm. So, coming in to find Harry already discussing the Elder Wand with Ollivander was worrisome.

Cellphone use is frequent.

Phones will ring off the hook – blaring bollywood tunes during a heavy scene where Harry realizes he must face Voldemort and die OR when Ron and Hermione kiss OR when Neville is giving his speech OR when they’re breaking into Gringotts OR whenever you don’t want to hear bloody phones in the background! Not only do they ring, but people will answer them! They ANSWER THEM!

There is an intermission.

Harry has just put his hand to Snape’s neck to help stop the bleeding when the lights come on and the screen goes blank. There is a 15 minute intermission – where people can go to the bathroom, grab some refreshments, take that call they didn’t answer during the movie – oh, wait…already did that. Then during the intermission is when commercials are played.

Bringing a crying infant is appropriate.

Except that it’s not. Even in India.

We get reserved seats.

The seats are made of leather and worthy of being in a fancy living room. Some seats are “couple seats” which essentially is a loveseat, because there is not arm rest in between. Perfect for a date. My roommate and I shared one. :)

Tickets cost 130 Rs.

Which translates to about $3. Yeah, we took 9 people to the movies for about $20. Get outta town.

Clapping is common.

Neville kills Nagini. Clapping. Ron and Hermione kiss. Clapping. Harry’s not really dead! Clapping. Nevermind, it’s Harry freaking Potter and it doesn’t matter what country you’re in – it’s EPIC.

No, it wasn't a midnight release, but it was an adventure in itself. Plus, for 130 Rs a ticket I may see it in theaters 6 or 7 times instead of my average of 4. Yes, I'm a Harry Potter nerd.

A glance at Indian women

2011-07-25T22:19:00.000+05:30

The biggest and most meaningful event that took place when we visited Madurai was a visit to Lady Doak college. Lady Doak is an all women’s college in Madurai. We were able to sit down with a group of about 15 students from the social sciences departments. We were able to ask questions, but essentially they described their lives as women and as students. I don’t want this to be a list of grievances against the way Indian society treats their women, but I really wanted to share what they shared.

Women are supposed to be less educated than their husbands and earn less if they have a job.

A more educated wife who earns more is harder to control.

“A girl should be in the house, before you have to switch on the light.”

Girls are not allowed to be out past 6pm. If they stay out past dark they are at a greater risk. It could also cause the neighbors to talk.

"Our lives depend on what others want."

Whether a girl would like to pursue higher education or whether she gets married by the age of 20 is completely in the hands of the men in her life. Her father, her brothers, her grandfather, her uncles, etc. etc. etc.

We talked with a couple of girls who wanted to pursue other majors, but weren't able to because their parents wanted them to pursue something more "stable." One student wanted to be a lawyer, but her parents protested because lawyers are very hard to marry off. "No one wants to marry a lawyer, because they talk and argue all the time," was their reasoning.

"We can be broadminded, but we can't apply it unless our husbands or our husband's family agrees."

I asked if the women would raise their children to be broadminded as they are. One girl replied, "It is not in our hands." So much depends on others. If a girl is married to a man who does not agree with her, she can't do much to persuade him, especially if his family thinks similarly.

A proper wife is expected to be silent, less educated, and doesn't open her mouth for anything; while the husband is be to treated like GOD.

Wives lose their identity and place in society when their husbands die.

Women are forced to wear a white sari for the rest of their lives. They can't wear flowers, bindis, jewelry, toe rings, or anything else that would designate her a married woman. She isn't allowed at big social functions.

It should be noted that this applies to the group of girls that we met at Lady Doak college. One thing that you begin to learn about India is that there are contradictions all over the place. So, while this applies to much of India, it doesn't apply to all women all over India. Just throwing that out there. Some women have more freedom than this, some don't. For example, at my college the female halls have a curfew of 6:30pm and we're even a Co-Ed institution. The boys curfew? 10:30pm.

A Visit to Kodaikanal

2011-07-25T11:21:00.000+05:30

This past week we had our first BCA excursion to Kodaikanal and Madurai. Kodaikanal is a beautiful mountain town located to the South of Chennai. I'll share some pictures with you.

First off, we traveled by an overnight train from Chennai to Kodaikanal. Our train left around 9pm and we arrived around 6am in Kodai (pronounced Cody). This train was sketch, i.e. above sign.

B, Hannah, and I are SUPER excited to sleep on this train overnight.

We reach Kodai! Welcome to a few days in cool air and mountainous views!

We visited a gorgeous Zen Bodhi temple, where one can stay for 200 Rs a night or about $5 USD (meals and beautiful views included). We explored a bit, then we were able to do some meditation.

JJ turned 21! We celebrated his birthday with some Mango Cheescake! It was not like cheesecake you would get in the states, it was much more pastry like.

We feasted our eyes on a beautifully huge Indian Bison, known as Gower. His name was Biff and he lived in this pear orchard. Gower are much more muscular than American Bison. He was gorgeous, but he didn't get too close because he could gore us to death.

Our guide, Vijay, a regular Indian mountain man. He was SO knowledgeable! He's even featured in Lonely Planet, I would definitely recommend him if you're ever in Kodai.

While hiking, we learned that there are only 3 kinds of edible mushrooms in India and only 1 of these are hallucinogenic mushrooms or "Magic Mushrooms." Vijay, our guide, said it takes about 8 to get a buzz and if you eat 12 -"There is nothing like it!" Apparently, it's a big thing eat Magic Mushrooms and then play a round of golf in Kodai!

We traveled to the "Edge of the World" as Vijay would say. Through the clouds we could see 3 large pillars of stone.

This is Bethany (or B) my roommate. She is a delight and hails from Elizabethtown College by way of Boston.

Bridgewater jumping picture!

Me and the Mountains.

I could never get tired of looking at mountains. Ever.

The Daily Bread had the BEST ice cream! It was the Harvey's of India. For real. I tried mango, jackfruit, and banana during our stay there. It was about 8 Rs for a scoop. This is where JJ's mango cheesecake came from and we also snagged some chocolate donuts for the next leg of our journey.

Also - anytime a beggar was begging outside of this shop a worker from inside would bring them a baked good to eat. They were wonderful people.

This requires a bit of a background explanation. Sometimes we'll refer to JJ as "Heeey! JJ!" just for fun. Well, when at Pick-n-Pack the other day I found a treat called "AJJ" I had no idea what it was and the package didn't give much information, but I bought it for him anyway.

It ended up tasting really good!

Tea, Envelopes, and Pan Pizzas.

2011-07-15T23:28:00.000+05:30

TODAY! Today, my friends, has been amazing! AMAZING!

1) Woke up to go for a morning run at 6am with BCA friend Hannah! It has been so great to run 3 days a week in the early am here. I run so early here, because it would just be unbearable to run any other time of the day. Also, it gets dark here at 6:30pm, so night runs are out.

2) SCHOOL! I had Development Economics today!!

3) So, today we learned that the College Calendars that we have been waiting to get for 2 weeks are here! We’re able to pick them up at the Dean’s Office. Good News! We go there and ask for them. We ask one person. Confusion. They ask someone else. Confusion. They ask someone else. Confusion. Phone Call to our On-site coordinator. Confusion. We can’t pick up our calendars until Visanthi is there to sign them out to us and we need to have our student IDs, because technically anyone could walk and claim to be a student. She’s currently off campus. We leave empty-handed. 3 people and a phone call! No lie! For student calendars!

4) Then Bethany, who is my roommate, and I went to the post office. Everything in India is an adventure. I want to mail some postcards to the USA, right? The girl behind the counter says I can’t…that my postcard needs to be in an envelope. But I don’t want an envelope. Argue for a bit. She’ll give me 5 Rs off for the envelope. I. Do. Not. WANT. An envelope for my POSTCARD. Then she has to figure out the number of stamps I need. Do I need international stamps for the postcard to get out of the country? We shall see. I probably will not be mailing home very many things besides letters…that go in envelopes.

E) At lunch, I learned that I need to have my hair pulled back during meals and it’s not allowed to roam free.

6) Then we ventured into town and finished up our work with the Immigration Office. NOW we’re legal student immigrants!

When we come back we promised our friend, Anu, that we would go see her play at 4pm. We said we’d come even if we got back late and it’s not 4:30pm so we head over to try and find the auditorium. Anu’s “play” turned out to be a College Union Society Inaugural Function. Uh, yeah. The auditorium is PACKED. We ask if this is “Anderson Hall” – Yes, yes! Please come in! Come in! So, we’re ushered in and stand in the back. I pray to myself that someone will let us just stand in the back. Of course not! Indians are too hospitable! We are ushered to THE FRONT of the auditorium, while the MC is speaking. The function was to honor the College Union Society and the distinguished guests, who were both graduates from MCC. One of the speeches was in Tamil. Didn’t understand a word, not a word. After a couple of speeches and the loud speaker blaring, you know…since we’re in the front row. There is a transition to a cultural presentation! The distinguished row of guests move and take our seats! We were sitting where the distinguished guests were sitting, so we moved to the 2^nd row.

Then each of the halls, minus Margaret Hall, performed a special performance – it was performed and organized by all freshers! There was a mesmerizing traditional dance and awful garbage band “gospel” rap song. Then our lovely Martin Hall girls did a Human Video to a mash of songs – it was about good and evil in dream form. Then Heber finished with “Hallelujiah” and “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” ALL of this just blew my mind. What had we stumbled open? I was pretty much overjoyed the whole time this whole cultural presentation was going on. No. Lie.

All of THIS was followed by tea. TEA.

7) Then we all went back to our room and made plans to order pizza. We had decided to have an American Night with our BCA gang. JJ found the number, we decided on our order, then I volunteered to call. Could not understand a word the man on the other end said. He hung up on me! Someone else tried. Fail. We ventured to find Indian friends. Pizza Ordered. We settled in to watch the office while we waited for the pizza to get delivered. We ordered 4 pizzas, an extra to share with friends who helped us order, and two orders of bread sticks, and 4 drinks. The total was 800 Rs, which is about $16.00. Then our friends went to meet the deliveryman and came back with 4 personal pan pizzas, when we were expecting Mediums at least. I could not help laughing. I mean seriously. How funny is that!

We dined on our pan pizzas, breadsticks, and shared oreos and peanut butter while we guffawed at the Office.

It was a great day.

GREAT. DAY.

Get away weekend to Mamallapuram

2011-07-11T18:18:00.001+05:30

We've had a rather frustrating week this past week. We've been hoping to start class. We didn't. We were hoping to register with the Immigration Office. We didn't. Shoot! We would have been happy to get our paper work from the MCC Dean without much trouble. Not so. I also followed Annual Conference this week and, while I wasn't there, I was frustrated by what I heard and read about it. That was exhausting and disheartening. Anyway, we were shot, fried, and ready for a get away weekend to Mamallapuram, courtesy of BCA.

Here's a brief overview of our weekend.

Saturday

We played in the waves of the Bay of Bengal and jumped here! First jumping picture of my Indian adventure! How did this take a whole week to happen!?!

We also ate dinner at the Radisson (a very fancy schmancy hotel) and then watched a wonderful fireworks display. Hotel food after 3 meals a day of Samba and rice? Yes, please! Bring on the Naan!

Sunday

We went sightseeing!

The statues seen in these two images ^ are both carved from the same exact rock. It was massive! There were two temples in it.

Meet our Tour Guide.

We met a monkey, which was a nice first visit for a girl who's a little intimidated by them.

Krishna's Butterball and some happy goats.

I met my first elephant. She was made from stone and very, very old.

We drank some coconut water. The water was good! Then they broke open the actual coconut and let us try the actual coconut. Warm coconut isn't quite my thing.

Finally, we made a stop at the Herpetology Center on the way home!

Hope you've been able to relax and rejuvenate this summer wherever you are my friends. Don't lose heart.

<3 K

Suds in the bucket & Bureaucratic frustrations

2011-07-11T17:32:00.000+05:30

I just finished doing my laundry in a bucket with detergent made specifically for washing your clothes in a bucket! My forearms are going to be so tough after wringing out all of that water!

It was a refreshing act of physical labor after spending 3 hours on a bus into town and out of town. We've been trying to register with the Immigration office for about 4-5 days now. It's been an uphill struggle to get the proper paper work from our college here in India and today we were ready to visit the offices and finally register. After our 8:30am class we leave by 11am, skipping our International Social Work class at 11:40am. However, after a 1 and a half bus ride into the city we get there only to find they've closed for the day. They're only open from 9:30am-12:30pm. What a window! Wednesday is our last chance to register before we begin to get charged $40 a day for late registration each. Money which will be coming out of our excursion budget. We're all just ready for this bureaucratic mess to be over with.

An Introduction to the City: Shopping

2011-07-03T22:26:00.000+05:30

Saturday we had our first excursion into the city to shop. We traveled there in a van, which we won't be doing much longer because soon we'll get our train cards. The city streets were so crowded as they're filled with cars, vans, buses, bikes, mopeds, pedestrians and the like! The lines on the road don't really seem to mean much here as mopeds zoom between cars and buses.

Walking along the street was frightening enough, with cars zooming right on the edge of a really non existent sidewalk, but crossing the street now THAT was frightening, exhilarating and exciting. The 7 of us followed close behind Shabik, Anu (BCA), and Anu (2 - MCC). Well, we tried to - I would often cling to the person in front of me or grab their shirt. We only had to cross traffic twice, and the second time was an accident. The second time we were walking right between stopped cars that could go or move at any moment. Here's a view from our van. They really fit 3-4 vehicles in a two lane road and what not.

We went to a store called Saravan Stores and the whole complex had 7 floors! We ventured to the second floor which had "Ladies Readymades" There were loooooong rows of clothes, even western inspired clothing like jeans. We browsed the kamis tops and some salwaar bottoms. I selected a gold and red camis top - Bridgewater colors! (Is anyone surprised, really? Really.) This place was packed with people. PACKED.

We also did a tiny bit of shopping on the street, where we're allowed to bargain. I was satisfied with my one top for the day and snapped some pictures of the street. We had a couple of beggars follow us around. One woman with a baby followed after us in hot pursuit - even through traffic. She kept tapping us on the shoulder. "Ma'am! Ma'am!" It broke my heart. When we stopped at a little stand, I asked Anu (BCA) what we should do. "Nothing." Ah, it's so hard.

Then we stopped at a veg restaurant that was celebrating it's 4th year of being in business. This is what I had for lunch! It was served to us on a banana leaf.

Sunday we went shopping again! This time to a huge mall -Expressway Mall. Anu (BCA) mentioned that it's a small slice of American culture plopped into the middle of Chennai. We found that to be SO TRUE. It's shiny and clean, like a nice American mall. There were 4 floors and a basement, which housed a super store Bazaar foods. Bazaar Foods was very similar to Wal-Mart, you could find everything there. I'm even pretty sure I didn't see everything there was to see in that store. Some of the stores were such a fascinating paradox - there would be western clothing and then a section of Indian clothing right next to it.

Shopping at the Mall was an interesting experience - much less overwhelming than yesterday's shopping experience. I saw as many people in traditional Indian dress as I did in Western clothing. Really, almost ALL of the men I saw were in heavily influenced western clothing - jeans, polos, sunglasses and the like. One group of boys wanted to get a picture with our small group (there were about 5 of us at this point). But each of them wanted their own picture with us. The first one wanted us to do a "Screaming picture" - whaaat? Yeah, it's what it sounds like...it ended up being a picture where we all just shouted. Anu said we shouldn't pose for pictures with men, because they will show them off as "Oh, I have my picture with these American girls" and they'll brag. The assumption about Western women is that we're carefree and easy and we won't really tell them "No". They get these viewpoints from watching Western films and various other Western influences. We said no to similar requests after that.

Shopping in the Bazaar was another overwhelming experience. There are just so many people everywhere. All the time. It's something I'm really going to have to get used to. We stopped here to get some fruits and other groceries if we wanted. I snagged some shampoo and body wash - they had Dove, Herbal Essences, and Garnier Fructis - just to name a few big brands. I mean, seriously, I see the effects of Globalization everywhere I look. There are SO MANY American/Western products here. I did notice that all of the shampoo was focused on sleek and shiny hair or straight hair - nothing was marketed toward me and my curls.

Welcome to India: Sleepless Nights & Sweaty Days!

2011-07-01T22:19:00.000+05:30

I'm finally here! After much planning, packing (and re-packing), and copious amounts of nervous, anxious, excited anticipation - I'm finally IN India! I arrived Friday morning around midnight. We came straight to the campus and went to sleep around 2. "Sleep" really consisted of waking up about 6 or 7 times between 2am and 6am - then finally giving up at 6:30am. My roommate, Bethany, and I both laid in bed - sweating in the early morning heat of about 92 degrees F. I took a bath from the bucket in our bathroom, which I really prefer to a shower.

Meals here are very different than meals at home in the KCC! This morning we walked into breakfast at 7:30. Breakfast is served from 7:30 to 8:30 every day and in each of the halls. The students are only allowed to eat in their own halls. Breakfast this morning was a very mild noodle (ramen-like almost) dish. And that is it! There are no "options." Of course, you have the option of not eating there if you prefer. It's great. It was served in this HUGE pot - bigger than any pot I'd ever seen. For lunch, the rice was served in this massive dish too. Dinner and lunch are similar - rice and different types of curry. So far, I am not a fan of the curdled milk products. I have tried them each time, but I just don't have the taste buds for it, yet.

For our campus tour and for dinner we sat with some new Indian friends who taught us how to eat Indian food with our hands! It was great! I may never use a spoon again!

We took a tour of the campus this afternoon after the heat of the day had passed. Madras Christian College is gorgeous! There are trees everywhere and they really isolate each area and building from one to another. It's not wide open like at Bridgewater. There are dirt paths that can take you to each building. Walking to the Social Work building the first few times will be an adventure in itself!

There are deer everywhere. Deer who aren't really frightened of you either. A new Indian friend mentioned that she had a deer come up to her window each night at 10pm and she would feed them!

One animal I was not expecting to see - BATS! They are not little either! They are about the same size as the black birds here. As dusk was approaching, they were flying all over the place. Many of them had gathered in the trees above and were tittering away at each other. Notice the bat in the lower left hand corner, just sayin'. Not to mention all the little black bundles in the trees - yeah, those are bats.

This is our good-looking group after getting caught in some rain during our tour. It was so refreshing!

Tomorrow's agenda? Shopping! (And hopefully picking my courses!)

India here I come: Goals Edition

2011-06-28T09:40:00.001+05:30

Hello there India! I'm headed your way!

Dad and I went out to dinner the other night and he asked me what some of my goals were for India. So, I decided I'd sit down before I leave and reflect on some things I hope to get out of this study abroad experience.

I hope to...

have an openness to new smells, tastes, and sights.

meet people who are vastly different from myself.

greet someone in their native tongue, but not mine.

take my shoes off and stand on holy ground.

feel uncomfortable.

be placed outside of my comfort zone.

dance, eat, learn, and pray with new people.

be challenged in my views.

learn from different faiths and faith teachers.

lead at times and follow at others.

wear clothes I didn't get in America.

reflect on my new-found minority status.

walk along busy streets.
learn the customs of a different culture.
listen to new stories.
possess a willingness and an openness to share myself with others.
dance and sing to new songs.

Holy Cow, India! Katie is on her way!