Catching Up Some More

Since midpoint, my life has been subtly different from the first half of my fellowship. This is partly because of choice and partly because of circumstance. First let me write briefly about midpoint:

Midpoint:
Midpoint is one of the three events that AIF uses to bring the Service Corps together (the other two being orientation and end point).

While orientation was held in busy Delhi and our schedule was packed with speakers and activities, midpoint was decidedly different. Our midpoint was held in Anandwan in Maharashtha. 

It was quite a fitting place geographically for midpoint, as we were pretty much right in the middle of India. 

The actual site was awesome. It is a self-sustaining community, originally set up as a home for lepers and other social outcasts. 

I did not really actually learn too much about Anandwan because I was sick during the tour, but the place was peaceful, serene, and a perfect place to retreat to refresh and recharge.

I unfortunately got sick the day I arrived and was out of commission for the first couple of days. It was extremely frustrating because I knew I needed to rest to get better, but was so excited to see my fellow Fellows and hear about their experiences. I did however get reminded of the generosity and warmth of this family that I had in India. I don’t think I went 30 minutes without one Fellow or another coming to check or ask how I was doing. Fellows would bring me medicine, food, and even orange juice (where did Hamsa even get orange juice!?).

Besides reconnecting with the other Fellows and enjoying Anadwan, midpoint offered another recharge. The primary formal work was Fellow presentations. Each was given approximately 5 minutes to talk about their work and life at their placement. It was truly inspiring to hear some of the projects that people are working on, the commitment that the Service Corps has to development, and the common and unique issues and successes we have all faced at our different locations.


Back in Udaipur:
Since midpoint, I have decided to spend more effort at Seva Mandir. While it is often frustrating the pace at which things work, I resolved to be patient, interact more with my coworkers as much as possible and spend more time in the office and proactively seek to go out into the field. I will write more about Seva Mandir and the various projects I am working on later.

Another resolution is to be more active in Udaipur. It is such a beautiful city and it often becomes easy to just relax, slow down to the pace of India, and let time pass without even realizing it. As one step in becoming more active in the community, I have been volunteering on a weekly basis with a school for deaf children. It is something I look forward to every week and I always feel great no matter how tired I am when I get back. The first couple of weeks we spent cleaning up the school grounds. We cleaned one the walls, repainted with a basic yellow, and then painted mural-like pictures with the kids.

With the painting done, the past couple of weeks we spent our time just playing games. I tried cricket for the first time but was a little bit lost on the rules. I played like baseball and knocked the ball out of the field. Unfortunately, I don’t think I was supposed to do that because the kids then had to jump the wall the chase the ball back. This week I played volleyball with the kids. I can proudly say that I was on the team that won, but my favorite part was watching the kids “talk” trash and argue about points in sign language. It was the quietest game I have ever played in that sense but even though they don’t make sounds when they communicate, they would still laugh and were constantly smiling.

  

Most of the kids we played with live at the school (it also serves as a boarding school) and have very limited interaction with people outside of the school. It is always energizing to arrive there and see how excited they are to see us.

Fellow Visitors:
Besides work and new activities keeping me in Udaipur, another reason that I have not traveled much since midpoint is the constant stream of visitors that have been coming through to visit. it has been really great to share my city and life with the fellow Fellows that have come and I can’t wait for the others that are planning to come for future weekend trips, Holi festivities, and as part of other trips.

Because of the many fellows that have come through, I have decided that instead of writing about each case, I will just write about some of my favorite memories:

1. Party at the love nest - beer pong, music, and good friends.
2. Return to Jaisalmer - same trip I took in the fall, but new friends and new memories
3. After party at the love nest - hanging out with Fellows, friends and Fizzy making up songs and serenading us
4. Showing off Udaipur - taking friends to see the different beautiful views of the most romantic city in India (no argument)
5. Bombay Fabrics - taking friends to my tailor to get their own clothes

   

 

Work:
To come...

Catching Up

So again, sorry for the lack of blogging during the past month. It was busy and hectic through December with holiday travels, etc. Things have now settled down here and I thought I would take some time to catch everyone up on what has been happening with me in India.

Love Nest Holiday Party:
To celebrate the holiday season, all the Seva Mandir volunteers gathered at the Love Nest for a nice dinner. Rather than trying to make food to feed everyone, we ordered from our favorite tifin service (delicious home made food delivered to your door). Along with the organic, vegetarian dishes from the tifin service, we also went out and purchased a few fried chickens.



Delhi:
Just before Christmas, I went to Delhi for the weekend with Alvaro and Fizzy. One of my fellow Fellows (Carolyn) hosted us and took us to an Amazing dinner at a local Korean restaurant. This was Alvaro’s first experience with Korean food so we went a bit crazy and ordered the left side of the menu. And half of the right side. Dinner was delicious and we were all fully stuffed for a few days afterwards.


But the main reason I went to Delhi was to meet up with my Arnab. We have been friends since college and were roommates in New York so it was really great to see another old friend and explore India together. His trip was short as he was only passing through Delhi to see his family in Kolkota, but we made the most of it and Carolyn took us to all the major attractions. Some of the highlights were Qutb Minar (victory tower), Humayan’s Tomb, the Lotus Temple, and Jama Masjid (the largest mosque in India).

I also learned that Arnab really likes to take pictures where it looks like he is holding up a structure by the top.

Christmas - New Years:
Christmas was when things started to become a bit more hectic as I came back to Udaipur for a week to get some work done and meet up with my first visitor. One of my favorite Fellows (Pooja) was traveling in Rajasthan and brought her friends to come see the most beautiful city in India. Though they were only here for a few days, we were able to cram in a couple of Udaipur palaces, Khumbalgarh fort, Ranakapur temple, and a midnight Christmas service at the local Church of North India (all in Hindi, but a nice experience nonetheless).

After Christmas, I headed down to Goa. I met up with another Fellow (Hemant) and a few other Fellows met up with us during the few days leading up to New Years. Goa was without a doubt one of the most relaxing escapes that I have ever experienced. Many times throughout the trip I forgot that I was in India, before remembering what a diverse country India really is. We rented scooters during the few days we were in Goa and hopped from beach to beach. Top 3 highlights:

3. Cows on the beaches - Only in India.
2. Amazing sunsets - My favorite was drinking beers on the rocks
1. New Years - I have never been a big fan of New Years, but this one certainly did not disappoint. What started as a New Years Eve at Club Tito’s became a beach party with a bonfire, an awkward dance-off, and people getting dragged through the sand.

Ajanta-Ellora Caves:
On the way back to Udaipur, a few of the Fellows and myself stopped to see one of the main attractions in India, the Ajanta and Ellora Caves. On the first day, we went to the Ellora caves. Composed of 34 man-made carved monasteries and temples, the Ellora Caves includes Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain caves dating back to 600 AD. While all of the caves were interesting and beautiful, the most impressive by far was the Kailasa Temple. Built to represent Lord Shiva’s home, the Hindu temple was completely carved out of a cliff face. While we all appreciated the beautiful details and carvings of the temple as we walked around the inside, it was not until we climbed up around the back that we were really able to take in what a feat it was to create such a grand structure.

The Ajanta Caves, dated somewhere around 200 BC to 650 AD, were no less impressive when we visited them the next day. Unlike the Ellora Caves, the Ajanta Caves were actually discovered accidentally by a British hunting party in the early 19th century. The caves are filled with beautiful Buddhist paintings that remain surprisingly well intact despite their age. I prefer the sculptures and was my favorite of the weekend was probably the “sleeping Buddha” sculpture that must have been at least ten feet wide.

That's it for now, I'll write about my AIF midpoint retreat that I just returned from and my work projects in the next posting.

Quick Update...More to Come

Sorry for the lack of postings in the last month but with travel, work, and more travel, things have been hectic here in India. Since my last posting though, I have been to seen an old friend in Delhi, spent Christmas with a fellow Fellow here in Udaipur, celebrated New Years in Goa, and visited the Ajanta/Ellora Caves. I'll try and write a little about each of these and post some pictures up shortly, but this week is quite busy as I try and catch up on work, host an AIF staff member who is here for a site visit, and then head off for AIF midpoint at the end of the week. Hope everyone had a very happy holiday season and best wishes in the new year.

My Little Red Book

As I mentioned in a previous post, my new roommate Rachel is publishing a book that will be out in a couple of months. She had an advanced copy that she let me read and I thought I would share my thoughts about it. The book is called My Little Red Book and is a collection of stories from women about their first periods. I was not sure how much I would enjoy such a topic but was open-minded. I found it to be one of my favorite books that I have read and would highly recommend it.

The engaging and humorous anecdotes effortlessly connect reader and author on a very personal level; more importantly, the theme of the book creates a strong message that transcends age, culture, ethnicity, religion, or any background. While the stories will inevitably more powerful for women, I would highly recommend it to men who have an open-mind in learning about “the other half of the world.” The stories in My Little Red Book should also resonate very well with the many fathers, husbands, and brothers who may have tangentially been involved in such an experience, whether they knew it or not.

I cannot really comment much on the current discourse of the feminist movement, but I found My Little Red Book to be a refreshing voice for empowering women and imagine it can be very empowering for readers of all ages. My Little Red Book is a befitting title for this manifesto and will hopefully spark a similar revolution in the next generation of feminism.

To summarize:
Book: My Little Red Book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff
Review: Excellent. Highly recommended for readers of all ages
Date of Release: February 2009

Erin's Vist, Part II

While it was fun to travel to Jaisalmer and Jodhpur, I was most excited for Erin to see Udaipur and experience what my life here has been like. Luckily her trip coincided with an unexpected holiday which allowed us to spend more time together. The holiday was a government-sanctioned break for the Rajasthan elections (something all locals have been very focused on recently).

Love Nest Party
To celebrate the election (or rather the work holiday), we threw a party at the Love Nest. As I had mentioned in a previous post, my roommate Alvaro is quite the handyman. With just a couple of sticks, duck tape, and a bed frame, he made a ping-pong table. While everyone has loved the ping-pong table, the best part has introducing my international friends to Beirut.

Chittorgarh
On the day off, Erin, Fizzy, and myself took a day-trip to Chittorgarh, an eighth-century fort that some claim as the greatest in Rajasthan. Within the fort walls, we visited some palace ruins, the victory tower, a palace garden, and a few temples. The entire fort was quite beautiful and the palace ruins seemed like the most ideal site for a massive paint-ball competition.


One of my favorite memories is not related to the fort or history of the city. As we were leaving the victory tower, we were approached by a couple of boys who were selling postcards. This is not a unique sight at any tourist location around the world. What was different about these boys were that they were selling postcards that they made.

They sold postcard drawings of tigers, peacocks, monkeys, maharajas, and my favorite, Ganesh. I was not sure if they were going for a “youthful motif” in their art or if they just were not that good. Either way, we all supported their entrepreneurial spirit and bought some postcards to support the cause.

Udaipur City Palace
In Udaipur, I finally made it to the City Palace. It is a gorgeous site and parts of it have been turned into hotel/restaurants (where Erin and I had our Thanksgiving dinner). We spent one afternoon touring the palace grounds and the museum. While breathtaking from the outside, the inside/museum was similar to many of the other palaces that I have seen in India: extravagant living quarters, great views of the city, and beautiful architecture all around. I think my favorite part was this courtyard that had intricately designed stained glass artwork all along the walls.

It was a great week and so fitting that Erin’s trip started with Thanksgiving because it reminded me of how grateful I am for my friends and family. In other news, the Love Nest has a new tenant, Rachel from the US. She lived in China during the summers growing up, backpacked from Paris to Istanbul, and is returning to the States in a couple of months because her book is getting published. Oh yeah, she graduated from high school last year and is eighteen.

Too Much To Be Thankful For...

Thanks to everyone who has sent messages after the Mumbai attacks. Everything here in Udaipur is fine and luckily none of my friends or colleagues were in the area during those few days. Along with the tragic events, the recent holidays have reminded me to be thankful for everything that I have back at home and to be grateful for the opportunity I have in India.

Thanksgiving
Despite getting a bit home sick during the holidays, I was excited last week to get my first visitor in India. My friend Erin flew in from Beijing to spend a week here in Rajasthan. She arrived on Thanksgiving Day and after giving her a brief introduction, we went to a hotel in the city palace for an “authentic Thanksgiving dinner.” This was the first day after the Mumbai attacks and even though I received a call from AIF to stay away from tourist hotspots, I felt that passing on an opportunity for Thanksgiving turkey would be the ultimate sign that the terrorists have won. So to fulfill my patriotic duty, I went to eat dinner. The dinner itself was of no comparison to the home cooked feast that my family was experiencing back in the states, but it was still one of the most memorable meals I am sure to ever have (eating in a palace!).

Jaisalmer - Day 1
After leaving the palace, Erin and I went to catch an overnight bus to Jaisalmer, which is in the western part of Rajasthan. We met up with a couple of other Fellows (Ekta and Natassia) the next morning and explored the old city. Jaisalmer is known as the “golden city” and looks like a giant sandcastle sticking out of the Thar Desert. After exploring spending the day touring the Jaisalmer fort and city palace, we enjoyed a peaceful sunset on the roof of our hotel and prepared for the big day ahead of us.

Jaisalmer - Day 2
We started the next morning on a jeep, which took us to two sites, a ceremonial burial site for maharajas and a small but beautiful Jain temple.

We then traveled a little further out into the desert to meet our new travel companions. My camel was the only female in the group and I am sure it was just a coincidence that she was high-maintenance.



My camel’s name was Mumla (the female protagonist from a famous Indian love story). Mumla was not much of a leader, most of the time we were spent tied to Mohandra (a male camel named after the male protagonist from the love story). My guide, Abhi, was very friendly, spoke a decent amount of English, referred to me as Michael Jackson (presumably the most/only famous “Michael” that he knew), and enjoyed singing a welcome song that has a way of getting stuck in your head even if you don’t understand the meaning.



The trek was quite fun and included a few stops for chai, lunch, and short break at one of the guide’s village. The best part by far was the evening under the stars. I wish that I could share pictures of how beautiful it was to see so many stars, but my camera can do no such justice. I would describe it as amazing, though Ekta felt a better rating would be “better than amazing times infinity.” I’m not sure how to top that.


After dinner, we enjoyed what I like to think of as the Desert Olympics. Along with the four of us were three friends from Australia, a couple of guys from England, and the local guides (obviously from India). We started with a game of agility and flexibility, balancing on one foot while attempting to touch our nose to a bottle on the ground. The only people who were successful besides the guides were the Aussies. The second game included stretching out one hand to place a beer bottle as far as possible while holding oneself up with another beer bottle. It is a bit awkward to describe but I believe Ekta and I were the only ones to finish the task. The third game was standing on one’s head, cycle ones legs upside down, and then stay balanced during some weird leg challenges. The only successful attempt was by the British. With a three way tie, we ended the night with a riveting game of “cow-cow-camel” (same as “duck-duck-goose”).

Jodhpur
After some more time with our camels and our guides, we headed back to Jaisalmer and then to Jodhpur. Jodhpur is known as “the blue city” because of sea of blue houses that fill the landscape. Originally blue was a color to distinguish the Brahmin caste (religious leaders), but today can be used to paint any house. Jodhpur also had a sandcastle-like fort and we spent our day exploring the grounds of this beautiful bastion. Towering above the city, the fort was not only architecturally and culturally remarkable, but provided us with a breathtaking view of Jodhpur and another great sunset.



Erin will be here for the rest of the week and I am hopeful that my work schedule will allow us to explore some more of Udaipur during the weekdays or even take a day-trip outside of the city.

Wedding Season

Wedding season has officially kicked off here in India. I am not sure about the details of the timing but have been told that it has something to do with the Hindu calendar determining the best marriage times. Every night the streets are filled with big parades following grooms on parades, all the venues are town are booked with wedding parties, and the skies are decorated with fireworks. It is quite a site and I was excited to attend a fellow work colleagues wedding a couple of days ago. The volunteer coordinator was getting married and invited the entire staff at Seva Mandir. It was a traditional Rajput wedding and most of the rituals were lost on us but it was still a neat experience.

As many people may know, Indian weddings can last for an entire week. We were invited to the night of the official ceremony. Upon arriving, we found the bride and groom in the middle of a large crowd of women. The bride was covered in a red sheet, the groom was having something poured on his feet, and the parents were sitting next to them. They were all under a tent with a fire in the middle and the crowd passively watched the scene.

A few minutes after arriving, my roommates and I were pushed out of the area. While focused on the ceremony, we apparently did not notice the lack of men in the wedding. Apparently this was only for the women, so we were guided to the appropriate tent. It was quite a different scene, with all the men sitting around at tables eating food and drinking.

So while the female volunteers sat around watching the wedding, the guys sat and drank whiskey. It was quite anticlimactic but a good experience nonetheless. With all the money and energy put into these weddings, I was expecting more of a party. I guess weddings are just another manifestation of the cultural importance of tradition. Disappointed that we did not get the bash that we were looking for, the volunteers took it back to the Love Nest and threw our own party. Though not what I was expecting for the night, we ended up having a great time and it was fun to dress up like a maharajah.