I guess its been a while! Honestly, not too much has been going on, I've been going to classes, shopping, and working at my internship. In other words, I have settled into some sort of routine here, and I find it slightly shocking that I'm leaving just over a under a month from now. I'd be lying if I said that I was ready to leave this place, I'm already planning trips (yes trips, as in multiple) back. Anyways what has been going on..
Well we don't have internet, so I'm currently in a nearby bagel shop with internet access filling you all in on my life. That at least partly explains the lack of posting. Well that, and a ten page paper on water in Jammu and Kashmir. Anyways, last week I made another site visit for my internship to Sanmitra Trust, a NGO that works primarily for the prevention of HIV/AIDS particularly with commercial sex workers. I left from the Center for Legal Services with three women who had some point in their lives been commercial sex workers. We established, about a minute after I left, that there would be a huge language barrier. Yet these women took me as there own, linking arms in a protective manner with me as we walked down the street. Then buying me a vada-pav (wada-POW!), Indian street food well worth having. Throughout my time with them, I could tell my safety was their highest interest and they worked hard to make sure I was both safe and comfortable. This was probably one of my favorite experiences in India. The women were incredibly warm and gracious and I was certainly glad to meet them.
A few weeks ago, we went to the Elephanta Caves, on an island about forty-five minutes away from the city. The caves were from 6AD and intricately carved and beautiful.
Other than that, my days have been filled with lots of class time and hanging out.
Happy Thanksgiving to my American Friends and Family!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
GOA!
Ok first off for the like 50 people who have been like "WE WANT AN UPDATE!" I'm sorry! Here it is! I promise I'll make it a good one! :)
Last weekend, which only feels like a lifetime or so ago, we gathered up our stuff and headed away to Goa, the smallest state in India for a weekend. The other Americans- Mike, Chelsea, Sarah, Jess- and I left Bandra, where we all stay, around 5:00PM Friday evening to meet our Indian friends joining us- Ishan and Kunal in Chembur, where they both stay and where the bus was leaving from. The bus was supposed to leave around 8:30, but due to one small factor known as Indian Standard Time, IST, we left more like 10. The bus ride down was at best forgettable, but honestly just unpleasant. Its about a twelve hour drive and we had a terrible driver who didn't know how to handle the curvy roads that led us away. Luckily I was able to get some sleep and we arrived in Goa around 11:00AM Saturday morning.
Stop number one was to our Hotel, Villa Emmanuel, where we had rented a two-bedroom cottage and a private room for all of us. After that, in the middle of October, I went swimming in the delightfully warm Arabian Sea. This was the first time in probably two or three years where I had been at a legitimate beach. I had forgotten how much peace I find in walking along the sand and letting the ocean hold me while I ride the waves.
Another major highlight of the weekend was renting mopeds. While I didn't drive one, I spent many hours riding on the back of one and loving every second of it. Although, if and when I go back, I have promised myself that I will muster the courage to at least drive small distances. I probably won't drive much, but at least a little bit. For anyone planning a trip to Goa, rent a moped. It is by far the best way to get around the community and I can honestly tell you there is nothing like riding on one. Mike especially enjoyed the experience of riding and will happily help anyone who is interested in repeating the experience.
Now the original plan was for us to leave Monday evening and get back Tuesday morning, since none of us had class on Tuesday and take the day to relax. However, we all realized that we could not possibly imagine leaving Goa quite yet and needed at least another day (or a lifetime) in Goa, so we switched our tickets to Tuesday night.
Monday night we went to Curlies, a spot known only to the locals or those who know the locals. You find Curlies through riding down many unmarked and random dirt roads. Curlies is one of those spots from the sixties that never really left, much like the rest of Goa. While we were there we sat on lounger chairs and soaked in the atmosphere.
Tuesday morning, Mike, Jess, Ishan, Sarah, Kunal, and I all went to the Anjuna Cafe, as we called it, a small cafe on a mountainside that looks over the ocean. If I had not decided it already, I determined there that anyone who leaves Goa by choice is an absolute fool. I could easily spend my rest of my time in India riding on a moped and sitting on the beach in Goa. Surely I could make this count as social work credit, right?
As amazing as Goa was, its hard for me not to acknowledge one really upsetting incident that I had to spend some time working through personally. One thing that is relatively well known in India is that children are often used for labor. This is often under the table and done in "cash only settings" All along the beaches, women and children would sell various trinkets, jewlery, and sarongs. One boy that came to us a couple of times, Ravi, told us that he was 11 years old. One time when he was trying to get us to buy something, he and his "friend" (business partner?), saw a police officer. Instantly, the two boys started running in the opposite direction. They were obviously hiding from the officer, since child labor is illegal. It was really hard for me to process watching these little boys running away from police officers. Little kids should be spending time in school or running on the beach with their friends because they are playing, not because a police officer is racing after them.
We got back to the city on Wednesday morning, and although the bus we were on was much nicer, we still left late and didn't reach until 9:30 in the morning. This was a bit of problem, since all of us had places we needed to be. We were all able to sort this out though and I honestly think that it was worth it to spend an extra day in Goa.
The rest of this week has been pretty laid back, how could it not be when you had just spent most of it in the happiest place on Earth?
Yesterday, I went to the Remand Home for my internship. Jaya had introduced me to her friend, Veera, who works there telling stories to the girls who stay there to encourage their personal development. Many of the girls have either been removed from their homes because of inter-familial conflicts, or have been found on the street. Some have ran away from home. The girls I met ranged from 11-16, although some of them only looked like they were 8 or 9. I spent a lot of time talking to some of the older girls and then, at their request, danced and sang for them. DO NOT LAUGH AT ME! I ended up singing them the same song my mom used to sing to me when I was a little girl when I was going to sleep.
On the way to Remand Home, there had been a pipline burst along the train tracks, which resulted in general mass confusion, and stress. While I was waiting to go I saw men and women, in Sarees no less, cross over the train tracks as they adjusted to the change. Some people had to cross multiple times because they kept switching the tracks. This was the first time where I saw more than one or two people at a time crossing and it certainly was something to see. When we were coming back, the pipeline burst had caused so many delays that the trains were super-extra crowded even for Mumbai standards. We made it back to Bandra safe and sound somehow or another though and I can honestly say that I'm relieved that I won't have to ride in a train again until Monday morning. :).
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses- Emmy
Last weekend, which only feels like a lifetime or so ago, we gathered up our stuff and headed away to Goa, the smallest state in India for a weekend. The other Americans- Mike, Chelsea, Sarah, Jess- and I left Bandra, where we all stay, around 5:00PM Friday evening to meet our Indian friends joining us- Ishan and Kunal in Chembur, where they both stay and where the bus was leaving from. The bus was supposed to leave around 8:30, but due to one small factor known as Indian Standard Time, IST, we left more like 10. The bus ride down was at best forgettable, but honestly just unpleasant. Its about a twelve hour drive and we had a terrible driver who didn't know how to handle the curvy roads that led us away. Luckily I was able to get some sleep and we arrived in Goa around 11:00AM Saturday morning.
Stop number one was to our Hotel, Villa Emmanuel, where we had rented a two-bedroom cottage and a private room for all of us. After that, in the middle of October, I went swimming in the delightfully warm Arabian Sea. This was the first time in probably two or three years where I had been at a legitimate beach. I had forgotten how much peace I find in walking along the sand and letting the ocean hold me while I ride the waves.
Another major highlight of the weekend was renting mopeds. While I didn't drive one, I spent many hours riding on the back of one and loving every second of it. Although, if and when I go back, I have promised myself that I will muster the courage to at least drive small distances. I probably won't drive much, but at least a little bit. For anyone planning a trip to Goa, rent a moped. It is by far the best way to get around the community and I can honestly tell you there is nothing like riding on one. Mike especially enjoyed the experience of riding and will happily help anyone who is interested in repeating the experience.
Now the original plan was for us to leave Monday evening and get back Tuesday morning, since none of us had class on Tuesday and take the day to relax. However, we all realized that we could not possibly imagine leaving Goa quite yet and needed at least another day (or a lifetime) in Goa, so we switched our tickets to Tuesday night.
Monday night we went to Curlies, a spot known only to the locals or those who know the locals. You find Curlies through riding down many unmarked and random dirt roads. Curlies is one of those spots from the sixties that never really left, much like the rest of Goa. While we were there we sat on lounger chairs and soaked in the atmosphere.
Tuesday morning, Mike, Jess, Ishan, Sarah, Kunal, and I all went to the Anjuna Cafe, as we called it, a small cafe on a mountainside that looks over the ocean. If I had not decided it already, I determined there that anyone who leaves Goa by choice is an absolute fool. I could easily spend my rest of my time in India riding on a moped and sitting on the beach in Goa. Surely I could make this count as social work credit, right?
As amazing as Goa was, its hard for me not to acknowledge one really upsetting incident that I had to spend some time working through personally. One thing that is relatively well known in India is that children are often used for labor. This is often under the table and done in "cash only settings" All along the beaches, women and children would sell various trinkets, jewlery, and sarongs. One boy that came to us a couple of times, Ravi, told us that he was 11 years old. One time when he was trying to get us to buy something, he and his "friend" (business partner?), saw a police officer. Instantly, the two boys started running in the opposite direction. They were obviously hiding from the officer, since child labor is illegal. It was really hard for me to process watching these little boys running away from police officers. Little kids should be spending time in school or running on the beach with their friends because they are playing, not because a police officer is racing after them.
We got back to the city on Wednesday morning, and although the bus we were on was much nicer, we still left late and didn't reach until 9:30 in the morning. This was a bit of problem, since all of us had places we needed to be. We were all able to sort this out though and I honestly think that it was worth it to spend an extra day in Goa.
The rest of this week has been pretty laid back, how could it not be when you had just spent most of it in the happiest place on Earth?
Yesterday, I went to the Remand Home for my internship. Jaya had introduced me to her friend, Veera, who works there telling stories to the girls who stay there to encourage their personal development. Many of the girls have either been removed from their homes because of inter-familial conflicts, or have been found on the street. Some have ran away from home. The girls I met ranged from 11-16, although some of them only looked like they were 8 or 9. I spent a lot of time talking to some of the older girls and then, at their request, danced and sang for them. DO NOT LAUGH AT ME! I ended up singing them the same song my mom used to sing to me when I was a little girl when I was going to sleep.
On the way to Remand Home, there had been a pipline burst along the train tracks, which resulted in general mass confusion, and stress. While I was waiting to go I saw men and women, in Sarees no less, cross over the train tracks as they adjusted to the change. Some people had to cross multiple times because they kept switching the tracks. This was the first time where I saw more than one or two people at a time crossing and it certainly was something to see. When we were coming back, the pipeline burst had caused so many delays that the trains were super-extra crowded even for Mumbai standards. We made it back to Bandra safe and sound somehow or another though and I can honestly say that I'm relieved that I won't have to ride in a train again until Monday morning. :).
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses- Emmy
Sunday, October 11, 2009
At the request of my father...an UPDATE
On Wednesday at my internship, I ended up going to visit Pamela Fernandes, my Social Work teacher at THINC. I was reading various essays and books at her office, which had about a million that I wanted to read. Pamela works at a place called Hotline, which address major human rights issues in India. One essay that I read while visiting Hotline, came from Claiming Our Place: Working the Human Rights System to Women’s Advantage the essay was called “The Principle of Universality and Cultural Identity” By Radhika Coomaraswamy. The essay was asking in essence: how can we celebrate cultural diversity, while enjoying our human rights? There a many cultures that exist with traditions that may or may not be conducive to women’s rights. For example, some religious customs mandate a wife’s subordination to her husband, and even place a higher value on baby boys than girls, offering them more chances for education, freedom and enjoyment of life. How do we, as a global society, accept those religions and traditions, while still encouraging a human rights agenda? Where a husband and wife are equal in a relationship and allow for boys and girls to equally pursue education and freedom. I have no perfect answer yet, but I think a quote from Madhu Kishwar: “Our cultural traditions have tremendous potential within them to combat reactionary and anti-women idea, if we can identify their points of strength and use them creatively…We must realize that if we fail to acknowledge and help reinvigorate the deeply humane portions of our heritage, none of us are likely to succeed.” I think we need to start looking at the history of our religions and traditions and see if they truly serve a purpose and also look at other ways the same religions and cultures are used. I do not think that, at their core, any tradition or religion is about dehumanizing or suppressing a group of people, but that we have gotten caught up in those ideas and stopped looking behind those traditions. I agree with Kishwar that cultural traditions have the potential power within them to fight against anti-women ideas and even support the rights of women across the world.
Thursday, I was supposed to meet Jaya at a Mental Stress Seminar. I find it kind of funny then that I ended up getting lost in Andheri for over an hour. During this time, I could have no real conversation with anyone. My rickshaw driver spoke absolutely no English, and I speak no Hindi. We relied heavily on gestures, but it did not really get us very far. I remember feeling very afraid and helpless during this time. One thing I was thinking about in relation to this experience relates back to a conversation I recently had with my dad. I was talking about the frustration of not always being able to communicate, even when I have a very clear idea of what I want and what I want to say. My dad pointed out that this is the experience in the United States for many non-English speakers. I think this experience highlights what my dad was trying to say very well and has also given me an increased feeling of empathy for non-English speakers in the United States. In that short one hour period, I felt so vulnerable and afraid, so I can imagine if someone who constantly lives like that experiences many similar emotions on a regular basis. As much as I did not enjoy the experience while I was lost, I hope that I am able to maintain my empathy for non-English speakers in the United States after my time in Mumbai.
This weekend I got to engage in one of my favorite past times...SHOPPING! :)! There has been an exhibition with TONS of craft stands near where we live in Bandra. Jess and Sarah had already had a chance to go, so Chelsea and I decided to go on Friday afternoon. I ended up getting a bunch of cute things, I can't say what though because some you have presents now! ;). Then yesterday, the girls and I went to another huge one-day exhibition at Candies, the local quick-service restaurant, and I got some more stuff, including a super cute dress, some soaps, jewelry and MORE PRESENTS!
Earlier in the semester, the other girls and I had bought fabric to have made into: saris (for Jess and Sarah) Salwar Kameeze(s), and Kurtas. We finally went to a designer who is going to send it to a tailor to have it made. Unfortunately in the process of trying to get to the designer, we ended up getting lost (for the second time in a week for me) and going into a police station for directions. This resulted in us getting the police officers to get us a rickshaw, and then lead the rickshaw driver from the station to the designer's house on a moped. Not going to lie, that was kind of awesome. We should be getting some of our clothes in the next 10-15 days, so I'm super excited.
This week has been a bit more hectic than some of my other weeks here, what with getting lost and feeling just some general stress, but I'm never not amazed by this country and the people that live here. Whenever I've hit a rough spot, I've just thought to myself "Well its not India's fault you don't know where you're going" I feel very protective of my host country and can't help but love it even when its driving me crazy.
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses-Emmy
Thursday, I was supposed to meet Jaya at a Mental Stress Seminar. I find it kind of funny then that I ended up getting lost in Andheri for over an hour. During this time, I could have no real conversation with anyone. My rickshaw driver spoke absolutely no English, and I speak no Hindi. We relied heavily on gestures, but it did not really get us very far. I remember feeling very afraid and helpless during this time. One thing I was thinking about in relation to this experience relates back to a conversation I recently had with my dad. I was talking about the frustration of not always being able to communicate, even when I have a very clear idea of what I want and what I want to say. My dad pointed out that this is the experience in the United States for many non-English speakers. I think this experience highlights what my dad was trying to say very well and has also given me an increased feeling of empathy for non-English speakers in the United States. In that short one hour period, I felt so vulnerable and afraid, so I can imagine if someone who constantly lives like that experiences many similar emotions on a regular basis. As much as I did not enjoy the experience while I was lost, I hope that I am able to maintain my empathy for non-English speakers in the United States after my time in Mumbai.
This weekend I got to engage in one of my favorite past times...SHOPPING! :)! There has been an exhibition with TONS of craft stands near where we live in Bandra. Jess and Sarah had already had a chance to go, so Chelsea and I decided to go on Friday afternoon. I ended up getting a bunch of cute things, I can't say what though because some you have presents now! ;). Then yesterday, the girls and I went to another huge one-day exhibition at Candies, the local quick-service restaurant, and I got some more stuff, including a super cute dress, some soaps, jewelry and MORE PRESENTS!
Earlier in the semester, the other girls and I had bought fabric to have made into: saris (for Jess and Sarah) Salwar Kameeze(s), and Kurtas. We finally went to a designer who is going to send it to a tailor to have it made. Unfortunately in the process of trying to get to the designer, we ended up getting lost (for the second time in a week for me) and going into a police station for directions. This resulted in us getting the police officers to get us a rickshaw, and then lead the rickshaw driver from the station to the designer's house on a moped. Not going to lie, that was kind of awesome. We should be getting some of our clothes in the next 10-15 days, so I'm super excited.
This week has been a bit more hectic than some of my other weeks here, what with getting lost and feeling just some general stress, but I'm never not amazed by this country and the people that live here. Whenever I've hit a rough spot, I've just thought to myself "Well its not India's fault you don't know where you're going" I feel very protective of my host country and can't help but love it even when its driving me crazy.
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses-Emmy
Monday, October 5, 2009
Rain Rain Go Away...
Today, it was raining, a lot. Maybe not by Mumbai standards but, by my standards it was. Luckily I planned ahead and was able to get to my internship right on time. As soon as I got there, Jaya and I started talking about violence against women, empowerment, and what factors lead to empowerment. One of my favorite aspects of my internship is the exchange of ideas that happens. I think I’m being challenged to think more actively about different issues than I have been in a while and that is good for me to experience. For example, I spent a lot of my time today thinking more actively than usual about how when a woman, or a group of women, is empowered in one aspect of their life it leads to empowerment in other aspects. Conversely, when a woman is disempowered or disenfranchised in one aspect of life they are disempowered in all aspects of life. Even though I have always been aware of this, I think I am developing a deeper understanding of this idea and applying it to a greater extent. I think that the best visual I can think of to represent this is a baby mobile.
Today I also got to go the Sunmitra Trust. The trip was kind of spur of the moment. The director of the program, Prabha Desai, came by the Legal Services office, and offered to take me to her site. I was not entirely sure what the site was, but I ended up primarily going to the Swayambhoo Udyan part of the site, where people who are HIV positive work in simple labor tasks, such as basic box assembly and putting factory parts in the boxes. Prabha explained to me that while factories were not willing to have the people who are HIV positive in their factory, they are willing to outsource their labor to the hospital where the site is. I thought this idea was pretty brilliant. It provides the individuals working there with not only a source of income, but also a greater connection to other people, so they are not isolated at home. I was really blown away at how a simple idea like this resulted in the employment of so many people. The mission statement of Sunmitra Trust includes the belief that they should provide empowerment, not charity. I think this is exactly what happens here, as the women who work their often go on to other sites after some time working. What a wonderful way to develop a community. I’m really glad I got to see this site and be exposed to the wonderful work that they do.
After checking out the Sunmitra Trust, I headed back to the Center for Legal Services. Jaya decided that due to this nasty weather, we could go home early today! I had decided this morning that I wanted to take a rickshaw home. The idea of getting into a hot, crowded, rainy train was just too unappealing to even consider. This made me think of the certain privileges that I have here financially. If I was
really don't want to, or if I feel unsafe (which I never have, don't worry parental, family, and friend types), I don't have to take the train and bus home.
Before leaving, I had messaged one of my friends just to get an idea of how much I should spend, so I would know if something went wrong on the way home, or if I felt like we were going in the wrong direction. I was able to get a rickshaw as soon as I left my site, which I was relieved about. The roads were flooded in some parts but we made it home safe and sound. I was glad to see the route I needed to take in order to get home. It turns out that we go through parts of the city that I have been to before, and just never realized it. When I got home, the rickshaw ride ended up being about half of what I had been told it would be, so I was really excited about that!
Peace, Love, Elephant Kisses- Emmy
Today I also got to go the Sunmitra Trust. The trip was kind of spur of the moment. The director of the program, Prabha Desai, came by the Legal Services office, and offered to take me to her site. I was not entirely sure what the site was, but I ended up primarily going to the Swayambhoo Udyan part of the site, where people who are HIV positive work in simple labor tasks, such as basic box assembly and putting factory parts in the boxes. Prabha explained to me that while factories were not willing to have the people who are HIV positive in their factory, they are willing to outsource their labor to the hospital where the site is. I thought this idea was pretty brilliant. It provides the individuals working there with not only a source of income, but also a greater connection to other people, so they are not isolated at home. I was really blown away at how a simple idea like this resulted in the employment of so many people. The mission statement of Sunmitra Trust includes the belief that they should provide empowerment, not charity. I think this is exactly what happens here, as the women who work their often go on to other sites after some time working. What a wonderful way to develop a community. I’m really glad I got to see this site and be exposed to the wonderful work that they do.
After checking out the Sunmitra Trust, I headed back to the Center for Legal Services. Jaya decided that due to this nasty weather, we could go home early today! I had decided this morning that I wanted to take a rickshaw home. The idea of getting into a hot, crowded, rainy train was just too unappealing to even consider. This made me think of the certain privileges that I have here financially. If I was
really don't want to, or if I feel unsafe (which I never have, don't worry parental, family, and friend types), I don't have to take the train and bus home.
Before leaving, I had messaged one of my friends just to get an idea of how much I should spend, so I would know if something went wrong on the way home, or if I felt like we were going in the wrong direction. I was able to get a rickshaw as soon as I left my site, which I was relieved about. The roads were flooded in some parts but we made it home safe and sound. I was glad to see the route I needed to take in order to get home. It turns out that we go through parts of the city that I have been to before, and just never realized it. When I got home, the rickshaw ride ended up being about half of what I had been told it would be, so I was really excited about that!
Peace, Love, Elephant Kisses- Emmy
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
Yesterday I went to Family Court for my internship. I was told to meet Marilyn, one of the lawyers from my internship at 10:30. In true "Emmy" form, not wanting to be late I gave myself WAY too much time to get there and ended up getting there around 10:00. I ended up waiting nearly an hour for Marilyn, but I spent most of it outside, because I had no idea how to get inside. Yes, I knew where the door was, but everything was written in Hindi and I had no idea where I was gong. Around 10:45 I finally mustered up some courage and decided to try "door number 1" lucky me! I was right and got into the elevator to head up to the sixth floor where I was told to meet Marilyn. It turns out Marilyn wasn't there yet, so I just sort of wandered around the floor for a bit.
I've only been inside one court building in the States, but I was sort of shocked at how dingy and messy this place was. Essentially it was one big room with a couple of rooms off to the side. In one room was the "official" court room but the whole place was poorly lit, with benches lined up for people sit on and all on the wall were little sayings, like "better a lean compromise than a fat lawsuit."
Around 11:00, Marilyn and Rachada (the other lawyer) showed up and they checked what number their first case was. Then we sat. And we waited. The first case was a "Mutual Consent" divorce, in which both parties want out. In some ways you would think this would be simple, but no. First they have to file for divorce, then they have a case with the judge, then they meet with a counselor, and then six months later they are divorced. It can take a while, and both parties have to agree how everything will be divided, and it all has to be divided perfectly equally. After that case was settled up, both parties met with a counselor, we went to have lunch. No one is allowed inside the court room, except for the judge and the innvolved parties.
After lunch, we were doing a case filing, for another person. Normally case filings happen in the morning, but "M" was not able to drop off her kids until the afternoon so thats when we met with her. The first step in the process was to put stamps, pay the legal fees, on the petition for divorce. Normally this means just going to the building across the street, but this wasn't a normal day. So Marilyn and I jumped in a rick and went to try and find stamps somewhere else. Then we came back. Then three photocopies of the petition had to be made. Then we had to get the original copy of the petition stitched, like needle and thread, stiched together. Then we raced to the court clerks office (I'm guessing) to file the case. The case almost was not accepted because it was so late in the day, but we managed to get it filed.
My intital reaction from the site visit was total impatience, it felt like a lot of sitting around and waiting for nothing to happen. Especially because I can't speak Hindi, I had little to no idea what was going on. What I could see was many people standing outside the court room, looking anxiously in. They were waiting for their daughters and sons, or maybe for themselves for their fate. Some people looked bored. Some looked scared, some looked terrified. Divorce in India is still a taboo, so anyone there was risking a lot to get out of a marriage. People normally only do it in the most extreme of circumstances. I hope I get a chanace to go back to the courts, I think I would benefit from seeing everything again.
Peace, Love, Elephant Kisses- Emmy
I've only been inside one court building in the States, but I was sort of shocked at how dingy and messy this place was. Essentially it was one big room with a couple of rooms off to the side. In one room was the "official" court room but the whole place was poorly lit, with benches lined up for people sit on and all on the wall were little sayings, like "better a lean compromise than a fat lawsuit."
Around 11:00, Marilyn and Rachada (the other lawyer) showed up and they checked what number their first case was. Then we sat. And we waited. The first case was a "Mutual Consent" divorce, in which both parties want out. In some ways you would think this would be simple, but no. First they have to file for divorce, then they have a case with the judge, then they meet with a counselor, and then six months later they are divorced. It can take a while, and both parties have to agree how everything will be divided, and it all has to be divided perfectly equally. After that case was settled up, both parties met with a counselor, we went to have lunch. No one is allowed inside the court room, except for the judge and the innvolved parties.
After lunch, we were doing a case filing, for another person. Normally case filings happen in the morning, but "M" was not able to drop off her kids until the afternoon so thats when we met with her. The first step in the process was to put stamps, pay the legal fees, on the petition for divorce. Normally this means just going to the building across the street, but this wasn't a normal day. So Marilyn and I jumped in a rick and went to try and find stamps somewhere else. Then we came back. Then three photocopies of the petition had to be made. Then we had to get the original copy of the petition stitched, like needle and thread, stiched together. Then we raced to the court clerks office (I'm guessing) to file the case. The case almost was not accepted because it was so late in the day, but we managed to get it filed.
My intital reaction from the site visit was total impatience, it felt like a lot of sitting around and waiting for nothing to happen. Especially because I can't speak Hindi, I had little to no idea what was going on. What I could see was many people standing outside the court room, looking anxiously in. They were waiting for their daughters and sons, or maybe for themselves for their fate. Some people looked bored. Some looked scared, some looked terrified. Divorce in India is still a taboo, so anyone there was risking a lot to get out of a marriage. People normally only do it in the most extreme of circumstances. I hope I get a chanace to go back to the courts, I think I would benefit from seeing everything again.
Peace, Love, Elephant Kisses- Emmy
Monday, September 28, 2009
Internship Adventures
Since I have posted, I have had two full days at my internship, which has been amazing. As I said last time, my internship is at a legal services place which will have me exploring a bunch of different issues related to women's rights. It is pretty much a perfect for me.
Getting there is kind of tough. To do it I take at least 3 forms of transportation, in addition to my feet. To remember where I need to go when I have my key words: "Bandra Station. Goregoan with return. Platform Number 1. Green Stripes. Platform Number 1. Green Stripes. Platform number 1 green stripes. Bus 33. Threes with tails. Baghat Singh (like the fat lady does when its over) Nagar. Baghat Singh Nagar. Walk walk walk. Station Please. Platform number 2. Green Stripes. Platform number 2. Green Stripes. Platform number 2. Green Stripes. Pali Hill/Turner Road/Holy Family Hospital." To give you a break down: Brandra Station is where I ask my rickshaw driver to take me. Goregoan is the train station. Platform Number 1 is where I stand at Bandra Station. I get into a green striped (second class, womans) car. Baghat Singh Nagar is where I get off of the bus. Then I walk to my site. Station is where I tell the bus driver I'm going on the return. Platform number 2 is where I stand. When I get off, I tell the rickshaw driver any of those locations and pray to ever diety known to mankind that one will take me there. The three hardest parts of my day are getting off (yes off) the bus at Baghat Singh, I never seem to be able to see it; getting on the bus to take me to the train station; and finally finding a rickshaw. There are a lot of people normally looking for a ride so the drivers can be picky.
Anyways my internship site is turning out to be great. I've spent most of the past two times there reading/researching Indian laws and rules and regulations as well as various factors that impact women. This has been really helpful in giving me a framework for the report I'm eventually going to do. Additonally, it is providing me with some information that I wouldn't know or understand otherwise. Once I'm able to learn more and understand more I'll look forward to telling everyone about what I'm learning but right now I'm still just processing all that there is to know and sorting it. Both days that I have been there, women have come in normally to file for divorce or address some issues with their husbands. One particular woman "M" is fialing her case on Wednesday, and I got to read over her petition this week. I couldn't believe some of the things I read. For example, her husband abandoned her and her new baby at the hospital and refused to pay any of the bills in the hospital. She had been abandoned and abused by this man that she trusted and married without the support of her family. Since I'm going with her on Wednesday to court, and will probably see and hear more of her story as she goes through this process.
This weekend we went to the Navarati Festival, which was pretty much a HUGE dance party. We went to this location where literally thousands of people were dancing around in huge circles. I wish I could say that I joined in, but they were moving really fast and it was hard to even follow their movements, let alone adance with them. Later we were told that people had been practicing for at least a month leading up to the festival, there were a lot of prizes invovled in the event, so the level of dedication is not surprising.
My classes are continuing to go well and I am enjoying myself and the different opportunities for learning they each offer. My Bollywood class continues to expose us to the side of India that is infused with music and laughter. While Green India challenges us to look critically at ecological problems in the country.
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses-Emmy
Getting there is kind of tough. To do it I take at least 3 forms of transportation, in addition to my feet. To remember where I need to go when I have my key words: "Bandra Station. Goregoan with return. Platform Number 1. Green Stripes. Platform Number 1. Green Stripes. Platform number 1 green stripes. Bus 33. Threes with tails. Baghat Singh (like the fat lady does when its over) Nagar. Baghat Singh Nagar. Walk walk walk. Station Please. Platform number 2. Green Stripes. Platform number 2. Green Stripes. Platform number 2. Green Stripes. Pali Hill/Turner Road/Holy Family Hospital." To give you a break down: Brandra Station is where I ask my rickshaw driver to take me. Goregoan is the train station. Platform Number 1 is where I stand at Bandra Station. I get into a green striped (second class, womans) car. Baghat Singh Nagar is where I get off of the bus. Then I walk to my site. Station is where I tell the bus driver I'm going on the return. Platform number 2 is where I stand. When I get off, I tell the rickshaw driver any of those locations and pray to ever diety known to mankind that one will take me there. The three hardest parts of my day are getting off (yes off) the bus at Baghat Singh, I never seem to be able to see it; getting on the bus to take me to the train station; and finally finding a rickshaw. There are a lot of people normally looking for a ride so the drivers can be picky.
Anyways my internship site is turning out to be great. I've spent most of the past two times there reading/researching Indian laws and rules and regulations as well as various factors that impact women. This has been really helpful in giving me a framework for the report I'm eventually going to do. Additonally, it is providing me with some information that I wouldn't know or understand otherwise. Once I'm able to learn more and understand more I'll look forward to telling everyone about what I'm learning but right now I'm still just processing all that there is to know and sorting it. Both days that I have been there, women have come in normally to file for divorce or address some issues with their husbands. One particular woman "M" is fialing her case on Wednesday, and I got to read over her petition this week. I couldn't believe some of the things I read. For example, her husband abandoned her and her new baby at the hospital and refused to pay any of the bills in the hospital. She had been abandoned and abused by this man that she trusted and married without the support of her family. Since I'm going with her on Wednesday to court, and will probably see and hear more of her story as she goes through this process.
This weekend we went to the Navarati Festival, which was pretty much a HUGE dance party. We went to this location where literally thousands of people were dancing around in huge circles. I wish I could say that I joined in, but they were moving really fast and it was hard to even follow their movements, let alone adance with them. Later we were told that people had been practicing for at least a month leading up to the festival, there were a lot of prizes invovled in the event, so the level of dedication is not surprising.
My classes are continuing to go well and I am enjoying myself and the different opportunities for learning they each offer. My Bollywood class continues to expose us to the side of India that is infused with music and laughter. While Green India challenges us to look critically at ecological problems in the country.
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses-Emmy
Monday, September 21, 2009
Classes and Birthday Bashes
Greetings my friends! You are reading this blog entry after a very long, exciting and eventful week!
This past Tuesday, we watched another great Bollywood movie (I'm going to become quite the buff by the end of the semester...probably not but maybe), Rang De Basanti. The movie shows a British girl, Sue, coming to India to film a documentary about her grandfather's, who was an officer in the British army, journals about a group of men who challenged the British rule in the 1930s and the friendships she makes with the students she works with. Unlike many movies about the Indian Independence Movement, this movie portrays the use of violence as opposed to nonviolent means to fight oppression. I don't want to give too much away but I would definitely recommend it.
I finally have my internship set up! I know I had mentioned working at VIN home in my last post, but things were not coming together fast enough, so Pamela mentioned that she had a friend, Jaya, who worked in legal aid, among other things, and often did counseling for women in need. Today Pamela and I went to meet with Jaya, and it seems like everything will work out. Jaya really wants me to get a full experience of understanding how oppression works at different levels- legal, poltical, economical- and see how they are all interconnected so she has some big plans for me, which I am excited about. She is going to arrange for me to go to at least family court session to see how the system works, as well as a case filing to go through the hope and anxiety that results from filing a case. Jaya also determined that she wants me to write a report about what I see, think, and feel, while I am going through this internship and connect it with various research work. This is an excellent opportunity for me to explore macropractice and have a better understanding disenfranchisment and how to empower individuals on as many different levels as possible. I am really excited about this internship, as it is so close to what I am doing.
Today, when Pamela and I took the train to my site, we were in the women's car for my first time, since I have only ridden the train before with Mike- who obviously is not a woman. While we were riding on the train, women were buying nail polish and jewlery, gossiping, and feeding their children. I was sort of taken aback at what I saw. Compared to the mixed gender car, this car was so much more lively and exciting to be in. In the mixed gender car, everyone is very quiet and hardly acknowledges each other, however in the women's car everyone is taking care of everyone. They are helping each other on and off the train, scooting over to give more room for everyone to sit down. It is sort of like this mini-community that happens only in the train, an unspoken code that says "If you need something I'm here, now try this nail polish it will look great on you." I am really looking forward to being able to ride in the women's car as I continue my internship and I'm sure I will have at least one or two more experiences to write about.
This past weekend, our friend Ishan had his 21st birthday. To celebrate, we went to Mud Island (yes Mud as in dirt and water mixed together, there is another spelling, but for all intensive purposes, "Mud"), where Ishan's dad's company has access to some bungalows and houses on or near the beach. Mike, our friend Kunal, and I left my apartment in Bandra around 7:15 friday night and took a rickshaw to the island, which took about two hours. Now if you know Mike, and you know the size of a rickshaw, you know that it was a tight fit, but if you don't know Mike, he's a giant and rickshaws are not designed for longer trips,so the three of us were pretty much squished in the rickshaw through all the traffic for quite some time. When we got there it was really dark, so I didn't really get a chance to see the area until the next morning. However that night at midnight, Ishan officially turned 21. In India this means that everyone of his friends and family members calls him or if we had been in the city, would have shown up at his house. In fact one of his friends, Justin, showed up just past midnight with balloons. As it was, we all sang loudly for him and celebrated. The next day when we were having cake,Ishan cut the first piece and then went around to all 15 (ish) of us and offered us a bite of his cake. Apparently this is how its done. Totally fun and totally messy. I had never done this before, but it was really fun and it might start happening at my birthday celebrations from now on.
Mud Island itself is gorgeous. We were able to walk along the beach (my favorite) and take in some gorgeous sites. The water was really dirty so we couldn't swim in it but it was a great trip all the same. I forgot how much I missed being at the beach and wandering around.
We headed back from our weekend birthday bash celebration this morning, bright and early. Somehow I still ended up in the back seat with Mike and Kunal, which was pretty tight but not nearly as bad as the richshaw. We ended up back at the school around 9:00, in time for those who needed to to go to class and for me to meet Pamela! It didn't take nearly as long to get into the city as out of it, because there was less traffic.
Happy Ramzan Id! As all celebrations and festivals in Mumbai, Ramzan Id is a big deal and is currently being celebrated throughout the city with enthusiasm!
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses- Emmy
An Amazing Sunset over the beach at Mud Island
This past Tuesday, we watched another great Bollywood movie (I'm going to become quite the buff by the end of the semester...probably not but maybe), Rang De Basanti. The movie shows a British girl, Sue, coming to India to film a documentary about her grandfather's, who was an officer in the British army, journals about a group of men who challenged the British rule in the 1930s and the friendships she makes with the students she works with. Unlike many movies about the Indian Independence Movement, this movie portrays the use of violence as opposed to nonviolent means to fight oppression. I don't want to give too much away but I would definitely recommend it.
I finally have my internship set up! I know I had mentioned working at VIN home in my last post, but things were not coming together fast enough, so Pamela mentioned that she had a friend, Jaya, who worked in legal aid, among other things, and often did counseling for women in need. Today Pamela and I went to meet with Jaya, and it seems like everything will work out. Jaya really wants me to get a full experience of understanding how oppression works at different levels- legal, poltical, economical- and see how they are all interconnected so she has some big plans for me, which I am excited about. She is going to arrange for me to go to at least family court session to see how the system works, as well as a case filing to go through the hope and anxiety that results from filing a case. Jaya also determined that she wants me to write a report about what I see, think, and feel, while I am going through this internship and connect it with various research work. This is an excellent opportunity for me to explore macropractice and have a better understanding disenfranchisment and how to empower individuals on as many different levels as possible. I am really excited about this internship, as it is so close to what I am doing.
Today, when Pamela and I took the train to my site, we were in the women's car for my first time, since I have only ridden the train before with Mike- who obviously is not a woman. While we were riding on the train, women were buying nail polish and jewlery, gossiping, and feeding their children. I was sort of taken aback at what I saw. Compared to the mixed gender car, this car was so much more lively and exciting to be in. In the mixed gender car, everyone is very quiet and hardly acknowledges each other, however in the women's car everyone is taking care of everyone. They are helping each other on and off the train, scooting over to give more room for everyone to sit down. It is sort of like this mini-community that happens only in the train, an unspoken code that says "If you need something I'm here, now try this nail polish it will look great on you." I am really looking forward to being able to ride in the women's car as I continue my internship and I'm sure I will have at least one or two more experiences to write about.
This past weekend, our friend Ishan had his 21st birthday. To celebrate, we went to Mud Island (yes Mud as in dirt and water mixed together, there is another spelling, but for all intensive purposes, "Mud"), where Ishan's dad's company has access to some bungalows and houses on or near the beach. Mike, our friend Kunal, and I left my apartment in Bandra around 7:15 friday night and took a rickshaw to the island, which took about two hours. Now if you know Mike, and you know the size of a rickshaw, you know that it was a tight fit, but if you don't know Mike, he's a giant and rickshaws are not designed for longer trips,so the three of us were pretty much squished in the rickshaw through all the traffic for quite some time. When we got there it was really dark, so I didn't really get a chance to see the area until the next morning. However that night at midnight, Ishan officially turned 21. In India this means that everyone of his friends and family members calls him or if we had been in the city, would have shown up at his house. In fact one of his friends, Justin, showed up just past midnight with balloons. As it was, we all sang loudly for him and celebrated. The next day when we were having cake,Ishan cut the first piece and then went around to all 15 (ish) of us and offered us a bite of his cake. Apparently this is how its done. Totally fun and totally messy. I had never done this before, but it was really fun and it might start happening at my birthday celebrations from now on.
Mud Island itself is gorgeous. We were able to walk along the beach (my favorite) and take in some gorgeous sites. The water was really dirty so we couldn't swim in it but it was a great trip all the same. I forgot how much I missed being at the beach and wandering around.
We headed back from our weekend birthday bash celebration this morning, bright and early. Somehow I still ended up in the back seat with Mike and Kunal, which was pretty tight but not nearly as bad as the richshaw. We ended up back at the school around 9:00, in time for those who needed to to go to class and for me to meet Pamela! It didn't take nearly as long to get into the city as out of it, because there was less traffic.
Happy Ramzan Id! As all celebrations and festivals in Mumbai, Ramzan Id is a big deal and is currently being celebrated throughout the city with enthusiasm!
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses- Emmy
An Amazing Sunset over the beach at Mud Island
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Clasees Adventures and more!
The past week or so has been pretty busy, I've actually been going to my classes and the schedule seems to have steadied out a little bit.
I started my Green India class on Friday, which I am really excited about the class focuses on different ecological issues facing India, what has caused them, and what to do to address or try and fix them. Our teacher, Soonu is AMAZING. She looks like an Indian Julia Child, with big glasses and super curly hair and the warmest face. She had just returned from her first trip to the United States and was excited to share her adventures with us. You can certainly tell that she has a passion and joy for life and I'm looking forward to working with her. She has also traveled around India quite a lot so I'm sure she will have some tips for us as we embark on various trips around the country.
Friday afternoon, Mike and I joined Pamela for another few site visits. Not to be overly optimistic but I think I may have found a potential internship site, the only thing that needs to happen is figuring out my hours and if there is a place for me. I really hope I get this one though. The place I am interested in working is called WIN (pronounced with a "V") home and its focus is: W.omen I.n N.eed. Women and teenaged girls can come and stay there if they are in any sort of distress and the group helps to facilitate solutions for the women. They also have a bedroom for at least five women to stay, and if they run out of space, they use the floor. The center helps women to find jobs and medical care if either one is needed. Another thing the home does that I think is really cool is teaching them various skills such as candle making and flower arranging. The sister (as in Catholic Nun Sister) that we met with was saying that then the flowers and candles are sold at a weekly gathering at another church where people from all faiths come to meet and pray. Then the money that is made is used to help around the house and also to the women to help them in whatever way is needed. I am really excited about the prospect of working there, so as soon as I get an "official" confirmation I will let you all know.
This weekend we did a trip up to Lonvala which is about an hour and a half north of Mumbai. The main part of the trip was exploring this huge mountain top which was beautiful. We had gotten into the city Saturday night and went up the mountain but it was super cloudy so we couldn't see much, but it was still fun and Mike took some fun pictures. Driving up the mountain was really exciting, we took all of these super sharp hairpin turns up the mountain and of course back down.
On Sunday we drove back up the mountain with all these crazy turns and could see some the beautiful scenery surrounding us. While we were driving up, there were a bunch of cows in the middle of the road, which made getting up the mountain a slightly intense process of weaving through cows and cars coming the other direction but we made it safe and sound. Everything here is this fantastic shade of green that provides a sharp contrast to the brown. I've been taking pictures but they don't do the scenery justice. On the mountain we overlooked this cliff where everyting we saw was this amazingly alive and vibrant green and AMAZING! It provided such a sharp contrast to the gray clouds that hung over us for most of the time that we were up on the mountain. On the mountain we walked near this waterfall that can be completely flooded, but wasn't while we were there so we could go around it and while we were there, we saw crabs wandering around. We also saw a camel which was awesome.
It was such an amazing weekend and such a fantastic trip.
Peace, Love, Elephant Kisses- Emmy
The camel we saw, I don't know why but this was rediculously exciting for me!
A view from the top of the mountain in Lonvala, again no justice is done in this picture.
I started my Green India class on Friday, which I am really excited about the class focuses on different ecological issues facing India, what has caused them, and what to do to address or try and fix them. Our teacher, Soonu is AMAZING. She looks like an Indian Julia Child, with big glasses and super curly hair and the warmest face. She had just returned from her first trip to the United States and was excited to share her adventures with us. You can certainly tell that she has a passion and joy for life and I'm looking forward to working with her. She has also traveled around India quite a lot so I'm sure she will have some tips for us as we embark on various trips around the country.
Friday afternoon, Mike and I joined Pamela for another few site visits. Not to be overly optimistic but I think I may have found a potential internship site, the only thing that needs to happen is figuring out my hours and if there is a place for me. I really hope I get this one though. The place I am interested in working is called WIN (pronounced with a "V") home and its focus is: W.omen I.n N.eed. Women and teenaged girls can come and stay there if they are in any sort of distress and the group helps to facilitate solutions for the women. They also have a bedroom for at least five women to stay, and if they run out of space, they use the floor. The center helps women to find jobs and medical care if either one is needed. Another thing the home does that I think is really cool is teaching them various skills such as candle making and flower arranging. The sister (as in Catholic Nun Sister) that we met with was saying that then the flowers and candles are sold at a weekly gathering at another church where people from all faiths come to meet and pray. Then the money that is made is used to help around the house and also to the women to help them in whatever way is needed. I am really excited about the prospect of working there, so as soon as I get an "official" confirmation I will let you all know.
This weekend we did a trip up to Lonvala which is about an hour and a half north of Mumbai. The main part of the trip was exploring this huge mountain top which was beautiful. We had gotten into the city Saturday night and went up the mountain but it was super cloudy so we couldn't see much, but it was still fun and Mike took some fun pictures. Driving up the mountain was really exciting, we took all of these super sharp hairpin turns up the mountain and of course back down.
On Sunday we drove back up the mountain with all these crazy turns and could see some the beautiful scenery surrounding us. While we were driving up, there were a bunch of cows in the middle of the road, which made getting up the mountain a slightly intense process of weaving through cows and cars coming the other direction but we made it safe and sound. Everything here is this fantastic shade of green that provides a sharp contrast to the brown. I've been taking pictures but they don't do the scenery justice. On the mountain we overlooked this cliff where everyting we saw was this amazingly alive and vibrant green and AMAZING! It provided such a sharp contrast to the gray clouds that hung over us for most of the time that we were up on the mountain. On the mountain we walked near this waterfall that can be completely flooded, but wasn't while we were there so we could go around it and while we were there, we saw crabs wandering around. We also saw a camel which was awesome.
It was such an amazing weekend and such a fantastic trip.
Peace, Love, Elephant Kisses- Emmy
The camel we saw, I don't know why but this was rediculously exciting for me!
A view from the top of the mountain in Lonvala, again no justice is done in this picture.Saturday, September 5, 2009
Ohhhh the Joys of Finding and Internship.
This morning Mike, Pamela, and I began our quest for internships for Mike and I, or rather restarted, this is a process that has been going on since April-ish, when we, Mike and I, told Fred Koch, the director of the Social Work Program, about what we were interested in doing abroad. Mike and I both really wanted the international experience (obviously) so today was a bit frustrating for us.
The first site we went to, Holy Family Hospital, had several options for both of us. I am interested in working with people affected by domestic and sexual violence, and Mike is interested in working in the substance abuse field. There were a lot of options there for both of those issues, as well as an opportunity to work with kids, which we both want to do. Since neither one of us speak much Hindi, (a few phrases here and there, but nothing where we could interact on a regular basis with anyone, especially in a professional helping relationship) the lady at the site seemed less than eager to "take us on."
Next, we went to the largest slum in Asia, and the second largest in the world, the name of which I'm forgetting right now, but it takes up 580 acres, to go to another social service agency. Here we waited for about forty-five minutes until we talked to someone where we pretty much got the same response, they are unwilling to take us on because we don't speak Hindi.
Right now I'm just incredibly frustrated. It seems like a lot of the legwork should have happened before Mike and I got here, but instead its been happening this week. I get that every detail might not have been settled, but what if we had been able to do site visits this week, instead of waiting until the weekend. We both have made our interests known to several people before we even got here, so it would have been nice to have some agencies already thought of instead of going through a list on Monday. Also, there is the issue of time. We are supposed to be working about sixteen hours a week at our sites, right now it looks like we'll miss out on at least two weeks, or thirty-two hours, of work. I know I can make it up, but still I want to make sure I'm given plenty of time to see and explore India and Mumbai.
The first site we went to, Holy Family Hospital, had several options for both of us. I am interested in working with people affected by domestic and sexual violence, and Mike is interested in working in the substance abuse field. There were a lot of options there for both of those issues, as well as an opportunity to work with kids, which we both want to do. Since neither one of us speak much Hindi, (a few phrases here and there, but nothing where we could interact on a regular basis with anyone, especially in a professional helping relationship) the lady at the site seemed less than eager to "take us on."
Next, we went to the largest slum in Asia, and the second largest in the world, the name of which I'm forgetting right now, but it takes up 580 acres, to go to another social service agency. Here we waited for about forty-five minutes until we talked to someone where we pretty much got the same response, they are unwilling to take us on because we don't speak Hindi.
Right now I'm just incredibly frustrated. It seems like a lot of the legwork should have happened before Mike and I got here, but instead its been happening this week. I get that every detail might not have been settled, but what if we had been able to do site visits this week, instead of waiting until the weekend. We both have made our interests known to several people before we even got here, so it would have been nice to have some agencies already thought of instead of going through a list on Monday. Also, there is the issue of time. We are supposed to be working about sixteen hours a week at our sites, right now it looks like we'll miss out on at least two weeks, or thirty-two hours, of work. I know I can make it up, but still I want to make sure I'm given plenty of time to see and explore India and Mumbai.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
A few quick updates from India
When I decided to study abroad, one of the benefits that was pointed out to me- by several people, but the person who is standing out in my mind is my "kindred spirit" Mary King- was that when you want to sit inside and not go anywhere or see anything or do anything, you can. Four months I think is the perfect amount of time to live somewhere else, you can spread out your site-seeing over a period of weeks, every minute does not have to be scheduled with some "activity." So the past few days, we have all been doing just that. Hanging out in our apartment, doing laundry, venturing out for food and that is about it.
This week I was supposed to meet for 5 classes- my social work internship class, 2 blocks of Green India, and 2 blocks of Bollywood. I've gone to two. I told you all about my social work internship class on Monday, and on Tuesday we had our Bollywood course. The class works like this: we meet every Tuesday morning then about four hours later, we watch a movie; then we meet again Thursday morning to talk about the movie. So this morning (its about 1:30PM here now) we were supposed to meet. Today is the last day of the festival for Ganesh, and thusly the streets and the city are going to be CRAZY, CROWDED, and, for young American tourists, potentially Dangerous. The logical thing to do then, is shut down the school. Tuesday afternoon we watched Lagaan, one of the first Bollywood movies to be nominated for an Oscar. In short the movie was about how the British were taxing the Indian villagers, and when the villagers tried to ask for a break on the tax, because they couldn't pay due to a drought and bad farming conditions, the British challenged them to an Indian cricket match. I'm leaving a lot out, but its definitely worth watching if: you have a spare four hours or so, don't mind subtitles, and LOVE random outbursts of song. Bollywood films are abound with music, seriously, its great and I love it, but if you don't like exagerated shows of emotion and completely overblown, completely impossible story lines, Bollywood movies are not for you. Sorry.
My Green India class was cancelled because our teacher is in the States, unable to teach us, so I'll have my first class of that next week.
Last night when we went out to dinner, we were sitting an empty table away from a Bollywood Actress. Apparently she is a huge deal, but I don't know her name and we were very polite and didn't stare, but Ishan tipped us off, so we all stole a quick glance at her.
This isn't the most exciting post I know, but I promise I'll be more exciting sometime soon.
Finally I want to throw a link out there for anyone who wants to do some reading about micro finance and the importance of financially empowering women. I got this in an email from the Champlain Women's Group and really enjoyed it so I thought I'd share: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&emc=eta1.
Enjoy!
Peace, Love, Elephant Kisses- Emmy
This week I was supposed to meet for 5 classes- my social work internship class, 2 blocks of Green India, and 2 blocks of Bollywood. I've gone to two. I told you all about my social work internship class on Monday, and on Tuesday we had our Bollywood course. The class works like this: we meet every Tuesday morning then about four hours later, we watch a movie; then we meet again Thursday morning to talk about the movie. So this morning (its about 1:30PM here now) we were supposed to meet. Today is the last day of the festival for Ganesh, and thusly the streets and the city are going to be CRAZY, CROWDED, and, for young American tourists, potentially Dangerous. The logical thing to do then, is shut down the school. Tuesday afternoon we watched Lagaan, one of the first Bollywood movies to be nominated for an Oscar. In short the movie was about how the British were taxing the Indian villagers, and when the villagers tried to ask for a break on the tax, because they couldn't pay due to a drought and bad farming conditions, the British challenged them to an Indian cricket match. I'm leaving a lot out, but its definitely worth watching if: you have a spare four hours or so, don't mind subtitles, and LOVE random outbursts of song. Bollywood films are abound with music, seriously, its great and I love it, but if you don't like exagerated shows of emotion and completely overblown, completely impossible story lines, Bollywood movies are not for you. Sorry.
My Green India class was cancelled because our teacher is in the States, unable to teach us, so I'll have my first class of that next week.
Last night when we went out to dinner, we were sitting an empty table away from a Bollywood Actress. Apparently she is a huge deal, but I don't know her name and we were very polite and didn't stare, but Ishan tipped us off, so we all stole a quick glance at her.
This isn't the most exciting post I know, but I promise I'll be more exciting sometime soon.
Finally I want to throw a link out there for anyone who wants to do some reading about micro finance and the importance of financially empowering women. I got this in an email from the Champlain Women's Group and really enjoyed it so I thought I'd share: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&emc=eta1.
Enjoy!
Peace, Love, Elephant Kisses- Emmy
Monday, August 31, 2009
Shoppin' and Learnin'
Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a deeply rooted joy in shopping. I can pretend to be all "holier than though" about this trip, and part of me is looking for that deeper component to this trip, but also I want to come away with some amazing material possessions. Yesterday, due to a certain phase of the moon suggesting such, (inside joke sorry if you miss it) the girls and I got to go....(wait for it)....SARI SHOPPING! Rajna's mom generously volunteered for the task of taking us to a local store to buy fabrics. It was the last day of a sale, so our task was urgent.
Upon entering the store, thousands of fabrics shouted out at me "buy me" "look at me" "just for a minute" "you're only here once." I'm only human, so how could I refuse all of these beautifully intricate amazing fabrics, for just a minute, when I'm only there once? The first fabric I looked at was a beautiful blue fabric with handmade stitching in a multitude of different colors, but cost close to two hundred American Dollars even on sale. I knew I could find better. From the store, I ended up buying one pre-made Shirt/Dress (depending on what country you're in), and two different sets of fabric that I will eventually have made into tops. One fabric was a another gorgeous shade of blue with silver flower designs on it. The other is a bunch of different colors, but in the dark purple, dark pink family with lots of different designs and patterns. The shirt/dress is teal, black and probably weighs 5 pounds when I put it on with all the sequins but is beautiful all the same.
Earlier in the day, Chelsea, Sarah, Jessica and I went shopping just the four of us. I walked away with a pair of earrings that are pretty much "Emmy" in an earring form. They are BRIGHT PINK shells with sparkly stuff all on the bottom half. My Indian friends/Mike think I paid far too much for them (350 Rupees about $7), but I don't care.
Today was the first day of classes, and also the first time I think in my entire educational/academic career where either myself or someone else has not picked out an outfit in advance. I don't know if this shows A) an lack of caring in my apperance B) a lack of clothes in my closet, and thusly a need to shop or C) a mixture of the two. Mike and I were meeting Pamela Fernandes, our social work instructor at about 1. We decided, being aware that Mumbai traffic adds at least 30 minutes to just about anywhere that you want to go, decided to leave around 12. It's a good thing we did, because...we got lost. Rather GoogleMaps got us lost. We have decided that instead of blaming each other we'll blame the internet. When Mike looked up the directions this morning (only this morning...it seems like forver ago) we thought we had to go much further into Mahim than we needed to. As a result we got out of the cab when we knew we had gone too far and walked back to where we had to go. About 30ish minutes, in the sun, in the heat. We were bright red by the time we got to the campus. Luckily we made it there on time, and also our teacher was late.
When Pamela finally arrived, 15 minutes late we talked a bit about what site placement we were both interested. At this point we have no "definite" site placements, but we do have some hope. On Saturday, Mike, Pamela, and I are going to do some site visits. I'm sure I'll find a great site to report to you all about!
Upon entering the store, thousands of fabrics shouted out at me "buy me" "look at me" "just for a minute" "you're only here once." I'm only human, so how could I refuse all of these beautifully intricate amazing fabrics, for just a minute, when I'm only there once? The first fabric I looked at was a beautiful blue fabric with handmade stitching in a multitude of different colors, but cost close to two hundred American Dollars even on sale. I knew I could find better. From the store, I ended up buying one pre-made Shirt/Dress (depending on what country you're in), and two different sets of fabric that I will eventually have made into tops. One fabric was a another gorgeous shade of blue with silver flower designs on it. The other is a bunch of different colors, but in the dark purple, dark pink family with lots of different designs and patterns. The shirt/dress is teal, black and probably weighs 5 pounds when I put it on with all the sequins but is beautiful all the same.
Earlier in the day, Chelsea, Sarah, Jessica and I went shopping just the four of us. I walked away with a pair of earrings that are pretty much "Emmy" in an earring form. They are BRIGHT PINK shells with sparkly stuff all on the bottom half. My Indian friends/Mike think I paid far too much for them (350 Rupees about $7), but I don't care.
Today was the first day of classes, and also the first time I think in my entire educational/academic career where either myself or someone else has not picked out an outfit in advance. I don't know if this shows A) an lack of caring in my apperance B) a lack of clothes in my closet, and thusly a need to shop or C) a mixture of the two. Mike and I were meeting Pamela Fernandes, our social work instructor at about 1. We decided, being aware that Mumbai traffic adds at least 30 minutes to just about anywhere that you want to go, decided to leave around 12. It's a good thing we did, because...we got lost. Rather GoogleMaps got us lost. We have decided that instead of blaming each other we'll blame the internet. When Mike looked up the directions this morning (only this morning...it seems like forver ago) we thought we had to go much further into Mahim than we needed to. As a result we got out of the cab when we knew we had gone too far and walked back to where we had to go. About 30ish minutes, in the sun, in the heat. We were bright red by the time we got to the campus. Luckily we made it there on time, and also our teacher was late.
When Pamela finally arrived, 15 minutes late we talked a bit about what site placement we were both interested. At this point we have no "definite" site placements, but we do have some hope. On Saturday, Mike, Pamela, and I are going to do some site visits. I'm sure I'll find a great site to report to you all about!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Busy Busy Days!
Don affectionately referred to those who read my blog as my "fan club." I don't know if I would go that far, but I did figure my "followers" deserved an update. This first week has been super busy so don't expect all these updates once classes start on Monday, just so no one goes through withdrawals.
Yesterday we toured mainly around two different areas of Mumbai. We got to go over a bridge to go into town. First we went to the Mahalaxmi Race Course where there was not too much to see, because there were no races. We wandered around the track a little bit and took some pictures. Driving over to the track was a bit of an adventure, Sanjay drove Mike, Chelsea, Rajna, and I to the track. It wasn't nearly as crazy as riding in a taxi, but we did get lost and made several debatable U-turns.
After going to the race course, we went to the Mahalaxmi Temple, dedicated to the goddess of wealth. I was really excited because the top of the temple was painted pink, which as we all know, always puts me in a good mood. Before entering the temple, we had to take off our shoes and enter barefoot; Rajna also bought an offering to make at the altar. To go into the temple we climbed probably 50 stairs and had our bags checked twice as well as going through a metal detector. Then the girls and guys had to separate and go through seperate lines to make an offering. When Rajna gave her offering to the altar, a man gave her several things in return, including flowers and a coconut. She explained that she would take the offerings home place them at altar at home. As we exited the temple, a woman placed red powder dots on our forhead and gave us sugar candies. A man also gave us lotus flowers, which I think was mainly done because we were tourists. On the wall behind the altar, we could offer prayers and try and stick coins on the wall. If they stuck, our prayers would be answered.
On the drive home from the temple, we drove by Haji Ali, a Muslim Temple. We didn't go in though, since it is currently Ramadan. From the road though, we could see what looked like thousands of people going into the temple. Rajna and Sanjay also told us that there were many beggars around the area.
Today we got to see several different parts of Mumbai. We went to two different train stations, first we went to the Churchgate Train Station. It was super crowded and we had to go through several metal detectors as well. Then we went to the Victoria Terminus, we were there around 3:00 and there was 1.1 million people in the train station! Even to get in and out of the front entryway was a struggle. We didn't get to see all of the people, but I can imagine where everyone was.
In addition to seeing the two train stations, we got to see the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel, where the bombings took place last year. The Gateway was erected when King George V and Queen Mary from England came to Mumbai. The structure was huge and incredibly intricate. The Taj Hotel had two different parts, the Heritage and the Presidential Buildings. The Heritage building was the one that had been attaced, we could still see the where the bombs had happened and the holes in the building. Rajna very prodly noted that the hotel had surrived both of the World Wars and the bombings. The structure definitly reflected the British Colonial time period.
In between going to the train stations and the Gateway, we had lunch. Yesterday, we had gone to what us "Americans" thought was a really authentic Indian restaurant. Ishan, Sanjay, and Rajna felt differently, though so we went to a place that they liked. While there, an older gentlemen kept on challenging us to eat the chilli peppers on the table. After they left, Sanjay tried to get Mike to eat one. After much coaxing, Mike broke down and tried one and definitly felt its impact! Outside of the restaurant, some of us tried some sweet pann, which was made of a beedle leaf. It wasn't entirely bad, but it was not entirely great either. It was sort of like overly strong licorice. I had it for the experience and that was it!
We also went to Marine Drive, where at night, we can see the "Queens Necklace," several different buildings that look gorgeous. We were incredibly lucky because we got to see a Bollywood movie being filmed!
We've gotten to go on many adventures in the past few days! It has been great to see so much more of the city and it definitly enhances my excitement about this amazing city.
Peace, Love, Elephant Kisses- Emmy
Yesterday we toured mainly around two different areas of Mumbai. We got to go over a bridge to go into town. First we went to the Mahalaxmi Race Course where there was not too much to see, because there were no races. We wandered around the track a little bit and took some pictures. Driving over to the track was a bit of an adventure, Sanjay drove Mike, Chelsea, Rajna, and I to the track. It wasn't nearly as crazy as riding in a taxi, but we did get lost and made several debatable U-turns.
After going to the race course, we went to the Mahalaxmi Temple, dedicated to the goddess of wealth. I was really excited because the top of the temple was painted pink, which as we all know, always puts me in a good mood. Before entering the temple, we had to take off our shoes and enter barefoot; Rajna also bought an offering to make at the altar. To go into the temple we climbed probably 50 stairs and had our bags checked twice as well as going through a metal detector. Then the girls and guys had to separate and go through seperate lines to make an offering. When Rajna gave her offering to the altar, a man gave her several things in return, including flowers and a coconut. She explained that she would take the offerings home place them at altar at home. As we exited the temple, a woman placed red powder dots on our forhead and gave us sugar candies. A man also gave us lotus flowers, which I think was mainly done because we were tourists. On the wall behind the altar, we could offer prayers and try and stick coins on the wall. If they stuck, our prayers would be answered.
On the drive home from the temple, we drove by Haji Ali, a Muslim Temple. We didn't go in though, since it is currently Ramadan. From the road though, we could see what looked like thousands of people going into the temple. Rajna and Sanjay also told us that there were many beggars around the area.
Today we got to see several different parts of Mumbai. We went to two different train stations, first we went to the Churchgate Train Station. It was super crowded and we had to go through several metal detectors as well. Then we went to the Victoria Terminus, we were there around 3:00 and there was 1.1 million people in the train station! Even to get in and out of the front entryway was a struggle. We didn't get to see all of the people, but I can imagine where everyone was.
In addition to seeing the two train stations, we got to see the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel, where the bombings took place last year. The Gateway was erected when King George V and Queen Mary from England came to Mumbai. The structure was huge and incredibly intricate. The Taj Hotel had two different parts, the Heritage and the Presidential Buildings. The Heritage building was the one that had been attaced, we could still see the where the bombs had happened and the holes in the building. Rajna very prodly noted that the hotel had surrived both of the World Wars and the bombings. The structure definitly reflected the British Colonial time period.
In between going to the train stations and the Gateway, we had lunch. Yesterday, we had gone to what us "Americans" thought was a really authentic Indian restaurant. Ishan, Sanjay, and Rajna felt differently, though so we went to a place that they liked. While there, an older gentlemen kept on challenging us to eat the chilli peppers on the table. After they left, Sanjay tried to get Mike to eat one. After much coaxing, Mike broke down and tried one and definitly felt its impact! Outside of the restaurant, some of us tried some sweet pann, which was made of a beedle leaf. It wasn't entirely bad, but it was not entirely great either. It was sort of like overly strong licorice. I had it for the experience and that was it!
We also went to Marine Drive, where at night, we can see the "Queens Necklace," several different buildings that look gorgeous. We were incredibly lucky because we got to see a Bollywood movie being filmed!
We've gotten to go on many adventures in the past few days! It has been great to see so much more of the city and it definitly enhances my excitement about this amazing city.
Peace, Love, Elephant Kisses- Emmy
Thursday, August 27, 2009
New Adventures
Today we got to do some more exploring around the city. Around 11:30 the other girls and I headed towards Carter Road, which is an area on the beach that eventually leads to Road 5,where we can find lots of cafes. We didn't realize how long Carter Road was though so we decided to turn around and go closer to home. When we were trying to explain to a rickshaw driver how to get us home, several people came up to offer us help. I really feel like nobody is ever alone in this city, if you need anything there is always someone there to help you. The four of us piled into the rickshaw, which is not normally allowed, but in India anything goes. While riding, we noticed the driver had never turned on the meter, so he was going to try and trick us out of money. When we paid him what we were told was the proper amount by someone who had helped us when we were trying to get a rickshaw, he told us we owed him more, so more people came around to help us. We ended up giving him a bit more because he had let four of us ride in the rickshaw, when normally only three of us should.
When we got out of the rickshaw, we noticed a restaurant, Mocha Mojo, that we decided to go into. It was completely decked out in 60's/70's style furniture. The food there was delicious and we all enjoyed ourselves a lot there. It is defintily a "must return!"
After Carter Road we spent some time around the apartment, and began making a very long list of everywhere we want to go. Rajna and Nishit came over and also helped us working on the list.
After that we headed to Mount Mary church. Again we road in a rickshaw, but this time in separate groups. As soon as we pulled up to the church, we were rushed by little boys selling candles for the church. They all crowded around us and were shouting. We have to keep walking though and ignore them. For me, this means I turn my "feelers" off, it's hard to ignore people who are trying so hard to get your attention, and I still think about it sometimes after wards, but if you give money to one person, everyone who sees you will ask you for money.
Inside the church was beautiful! All along the walls next to the pews there were paintings depicting the life of Jesus, we could not take pictures but it was all very beautiful. Over the front section of the church there was a quote, "All Generations are Blessed." To me this represents how many Indians see their lives as all being interconnected and attached to one another.
After going to the church we walked to Bandra Fort, located on the ocean. There many people just sat and were talking and hanging out. Sanjay, who had joined us at Mount Mary's, bought some street food that was like a spicy munchy mix. I only had a few bites, but I enjoyed it.
I continually find myself happy and enjoying myself here, but don't worry I am planning on coming home! :)
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses- Emmy
When we got out of the rickshaw, we noticed a restaurant, Mocha Mojo, that we decided to go into. It was completely decked out in 60's/70's style furniture. The food there was delicious and we all enjoyed ourselves a lot there. It is defintily a "must return!"
After Carter Road we spent some time around the apartment, and began making a very long list of everywhere we want to go. Rajna and Nishit came over and also helped us working on the list.
After that we headed to Mount Mary church. Again we road in a rickshaw, but this time in separate groups. As soon as we pulled up to the church, we were rushed by little boys selling candles for the church. They all crowded around us and were shouting. We have to keep walking though and ignore them. For me, this means I turn my "feelers" off, it's hard to ignore people who are trying so hard to get your attention, and I still think about it sometimes after wards, but if you give money to one person, everyone who sees you will ask you for money.
Inside the church was beautiful! All along the walls next to the pews there were paintings depicting the life of Jesus, we could not take pictures but it was all very beautiful. Over the front section of the church there was a quote, "All Generations are Blessed." To me this represents how many Indians see their lives as all being interconnected and attached to one another.
After going to the church we walked to Bandra Fort, located on the ocean. There many people just sat and were talking and hanging out. Sanjay, who had joined us at Mount Mary's, bought some street food that was like a spicy munchy mix. I only had a few bites, but I enjoyed it.
I continually find myself happy and enjoying myself here, but don't worry I am planning on coming home! :)
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses- Emmy
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
So far, So awesome
I guess since I have been here for a few days, ya'll deserve an update? (or at least I'm sure you want one!)
First off we need to have a little discussion about the traffic, its crowded. Traffic lanes are an adorable western concept. Despite having lane markings, i think they are just there for comfort of visitors. Autorickshaws zip around the others cars and other cars zip around them. Its like a big game of chicken, except inside of just two cars facing off at anyone time its like a million. Oh by the way, guess who isn't wearing her seat belt? All but one vehicle I have been in hasn't had seat belts, so it is not my fault.
We have only really explored two areas of Mumbai: Bandra and Mahim. Bandra is where our apartment is and Mahim is where our school is, so those two areas are important. The street we live on is quiet compared to a lot of the city, which is nice. As soon as we get off our street, though, you enter a mad house.
Around our apartment there is a lot of shpping. We can find most of the groceries we need as well as just about anything else we need. Instead of big grocery stores though, there are lots of little shops, that fit a specific need. Theres a meat shop and then a spot for generalzied grocerys. Big Box stores are pretty much unknowns here. Yesterday though, we did go into a store called Shoppers yesterday, which was like a big Macys. We were picking up supplies for our apartment. For example, the pillows that we had were so flat and stiff that all four of us were waking up with aching necks and backs. Fluffy pillows was definitly a good investment, I feel so much better since we got them. We also got some cooking supplies and other things to help make our apartment feel a bit more like home.
I'm sure I have a lot more to tell you all but sometimes its hard to put into words. I'm going to try and post pictures soon of my apartment and the city, so don't worry, those are on the way!
Peace Love and Elephant Kisses- Emmy
First off we need to have a little discussion about the traffic, its crowded. Traffic lanes are an adorable western concept. Despite having lane markings, i think they are just there for comfort of visitors. Autorickshaws zip around the others cars and other cars zip around them. Its like a big game of chicken, except inside of just two cars facing off at anyone time its like a million. Oh by the way, guess who isn't wearing her seat belt? All but one vehicle I have been in hasn't had seat belts, so it is not my fault.
We have only really explored two areas of Mumbai: Bandra and Mahim. Bandra is where our apartment is and Mahim is where our school is, so those two areas are important. The street we live on is quiet compared to a lot of the city, which is nice. As soon as we get off our street, though, you enter a mad house.
Around our apartment there is a lot of shpping. We can find most of the groceries we need as well as just about anything else we need. Instead of big grocery stores though, there are lots of little shops, that fit a specific need. Theres a meat shop and then a spot for generalzied grocerys. Big Box stores are pretty much unknowns here. Yesterday though, we did go into a store called Shoppers yesterday, which was like a big Macys. We were picking up supplies for our apartment. For example, the pillows that we had were so flat and stiff that all four of us were waking up with aching necks and backs. Fluffy pillows was definitly a good investment, I feel so much better since we got them. We also got some cooking supplies and other things to help make our apartment feel a bit more like home.
I'm sure I have a lot more to tell you all but sometimes its hard to put into words. I'm going to try and post pictures soon of my apartment and the city, so don't worry, those are on the way!
Peace Love and Elephant Kisses- Emmy
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Safe and Sound, Notes from my Journey over here! :)
Guess where I'm writing this from? If you guessed anywhere other than Mumbai, you're silly. In fact I am currently in my apartment! YAY!
I left Saturday (two days ago) from Richmond Virginia. After Richmond I was in New York to check into my Air France Flight to Paris and then Mumbai! Sarah and Chelsea were both on the flights starting in New York. It was great to have two amazing travel buddies! :) When we got to Paris, we got on a small shuttle that took us to our terminal. After waiting about two more hours we got on our flight to Mumbai. I luckily was able to sleep for a lot of the flight from Mumbai which was good, since we had been traveling so much.
When we arrived in Mumbai, as soon as the plane landed you could tell you were in Mumbai. Several people had told me about how completley different the smell is in India. So far, it isn't bugging me too much, it actually is sort of familar. It reminds me of the beach, so far I can honestly just say I think it smells damp, if that makes sense. Once we got off the plane, we had to go through two lines. The first line was a check in with a medical examiner, since the H1N1 (swine flue) virus is really active in India. Then, we went through customs which was an easy process. While waitng for our luggage, we saw Jessica waiting to figure out what had happened to her bags, since she she had arrived an hour earlier. Luckily, Sarah suggested looking around for her bags, in other parts of the baggage claim area, which resulted in a successful retrieval of her bags. After getting my luggage (all of our bags made it!) we went out and met the Indian students- Rajna, Nishit, Sanjay, Richie, and Ishan- who will be helping us get acclimated to our new home. Even though it was after midnight (it is Monday morning in India), we went out to get a quick bite to eat. We went to this fancy hotel 5-star hotel to get food, because it was the only place that was open. I ordered samosas, little pastry triangles filed with potatoes, onions, and spices. They were really SPICY and it was tough for me to eat them. The Indian students told us, that they were supposed to me mild and said they thought they were rather bland. I think my tastebuds have some adjusting to do!
While driving from the restaurant to our apartment, we saw lots of stray dogs wandering the streets. Also we saw what looked like 50 people sleeping under a bridge, all right next to each other. There was a little girl who was awake and wandering around. This was another reminder of where we were.
Our apartment is amazing! Martha and Joseph our landlord(s), madde sure to prepare it nicely for us and we are grateful for all of their help!
Quick Sidenote: I have been traveling on planes since I was a baby/little little kid, it is absolutly FASCINATING to me that of all the trips I have taken the powers that be decided that THIS TRIP everything should run smoothly and I should get my luggage and everything is on time, I wasn't expecting that! :)
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses- Emmy
I left Saturday (two days ago) from Richmond Virginia. After Richmond I was in New York to check into my Air France Flight to Paris and then Mumbai! Sarah and Chelsea were both on the flights starting in New York. It was great to have two amazing travel buddies! :) When we got to Paris, we got on a small shuttle that took us to our terminal. After waiting about two more hours we got on our flight to Mumbai. I luckily was able to sleep for a lot of the flight from Mumbai which was good, since we had been traveling so much.
When we arrived in Mumbai, as soon as the plane landed you could tell you were in Mumbai. Several people had told me about how completley different the smell is in India. So far, it isn't bugging me too much, it actually is sort of familar. It reminds me of the beach, so far I can honestly just say I think it smells damp, if that makes sense. Once we got off the plane, we had to go through two lines. The first line was a check in with a medical examiner, since the H1N1 (swine flue) virus is really active in India. Then, we went through customs which was an easy process. While waitng for our luggage, we saw Jessica waiting to figure out what had happened to her bags, since she she had arrived an hour earlier. Luckily, Sarah suggested looking around for her bags, in other parts of the baggage claim area, which resulted in a successful retrieval of her bags. After getting my luggage (all of our bags made it!) we went out and met the Indian students- Rajna, Nishit, Sanjay, Richie, and Ishan- who will be helping us get acclimated to our new home. Even though it was after midnight (it is Monday morning in India), we went out to get a quick bite to eat. We went to this fancy hotel 5-star hotel to get food, because it was the only place that was open. I ordered samosas, little pastry triangles filed with potatoes, onions, and spices. They were really SPICY and it was tough for me to eat them. The Indian students told us, that they were supposed to me mild and said they thought they were rather bland. I think my tastebuds have some adjusting to do!
While driving from the restaurant to our apartment, we saw lots of stray dogs wandering the streets. Also we saw what looked like 50 people sleeping under a bridge, all right next to each other. There was a little girl who was awake and wandering around. This was another reminder of where we were.
Our apartment is amazing! Martha and Joseph our landlord(s), madde sure to prepare it nicely for us and we are grateful for all of their help!
Quick Sidenote: I have been traveling on planes since I was a baby/little little kid, it is absolutly FASCINATING to me that of all the trips I have taken the powers that be decided that THIS TRIP everything should run smoothly and I should get my luggage and everything is on time, I wasn't expecting that! :)
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses- Emmy
Friday, August 21, 2009
My Bags are Packed! (Sorta) I'm ready to go! (Sorta)
OK, so first blog post is coming approximately 26 hours before my plane departs for Paris. Where another plane will then take me to Mumbai!!! O my gosh I can't even believe this is happening. I have wanted to go to India since I was a little kid, I think I was around ten when I first made this decision that someday I would go to India. I'm so lucky to get to see one of my biggest dreams come true.
Leaving though for me is also really hard. This summer has been really hard on me, and so I'm hoping that by going to India I will be able to find some healing and peace and joy that is tough right now to have. I'm going to miss a lot of things about Virginia, (and Burlington, and Calgary...geeze I'm just a lady of the world ;)) but mostly I'm going to miss my family and friends. I'm so lucky to have so many people who support me and are cheering me on as I embark on this journey. This trip is dedicated to all of you! Also, going to India to an enitrely foriegn place is scary, and somehow I have to be brave enough to do this. My mom said just over a month ago, "I go with a fierce heart, and certainly a grateful one." Even though our circumstances are completely different, my mom continues to offer me words of wisdom as I go.
I know that there have been a lot of questions about different aspects of my trip. I'm going to try and offer up some quick answers for those questions.
1) Do you know where you will be living? Yes, as of last night I found out that I will be living with the four other girls going to India with me (Sarah, Jessica, and Chelsea) in an apartment near the school we are going to. There will be two bedrooms, a kitchen and a living area. This will be the first time I've had roommates since freshmen year, so it might be a bit of an adjustment.
2) Is someone picking you up from the airport? Yes, four students from the THINC campus will be meeting Sarah, Jessica, Chelsea, Mike, and I at the airport. Don't worry, I won't be alone.
3) What are you doing over there? I will be taking classes and doing the first half of my social work internship there. I also will hopefully be experiencing many moments of self-discovery, and a greater appreciation for the world around me.
I'm sure there are many more questions, feel free to email me or post them here, I'll try to answer them as best I can.
Finally, I'm including a map of where I will be over the next 48 hours. I leave Richmond, VA at 10:16 tomorrow morning to get to New York. Then I will leave New York at 5:45PM, get to Paris at 7:00 (ish) in the morning , and get to Mumbai at 11:35 Sunday Night. Keep in mind there are time changes here, but still its about 24 hours of traveling! The Pink line shows my general route! :)
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses-Emmy
Leaving though for me is also really hard. This summer has been really hard on me, and so I'm hoping that by going to India I will be able to find some healing and peace and joy that is tough right now to have. I'm going to miss a lot of things about Virginia, (and Burlington, and Calgary...geeze I'm just a lady of the world ;)) but mostly I'm going to miss my family and friends. I'm so lucky to have so many people who support me and are cheering me on as I embark on this journey. This trip is dedicated to all of you! Also, going to India to an enitrely foriegn place is scary, and somehow I have to be brave enough to do this. My mom said just over a month ago, "I go with a fierce heart, and certainly a grateful one." Even though our circumstances are completely different, my mom continues to offer me words of wisdom as I go.
I know that there have been a lot of questions about different aspects of my trip. I'm going to try and offer up some quick answers for those questions.
1) Do you know where you will be living? Yes, as of last night I found out that I will be living with the four other girls going to India with me (Sarah, Jessica, and Chelsea) in an apartment near the school we are going to. There will be two bedrooms, a kitchen and a living area. This will be the first time I've had roommates since freshmen year, so it might be a bit of an adjustment.
2) Is someone picking you up from the airport? Yes, four students from the THINC campus will be meeting Sarah, Jessica, Chelsea, Mike, and I at the airport. Don't worry, I won't be alone.
3) What are you doing over there? I will be taking classes and doing the first half of my social work internship there. I also will hopefully be experiencing many moments of self-discovery, and a greater appreciation for the world around me.
I'm sure there are many more questions, feel free to email me or post them here, I'll try to answer them as best I can.
Finally, I'm including a map of where I will be over the next 48 hours. I leave Richmond, VA at 10:16 tomorrow morning to get to New York. Then I will leave New York at 5:45PM, get to Paris at 7:00 (ish) in the morning , and get to Mumbai at 11:35 Sunday Night. Keep in mind there are time changes here, but still its about 24 hours of traveling! The Pink line shows my general route! :)
Peace, Love, and Elephant Kisses-Emmy
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