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Thursday, June 28, 2007 ( 9:42 PM ) shut up christine i'm hesitant to write about my experience here, okay for example the other day we took kids from the blind school to the waterpark and it was great, but typing out that sentence makes me feel like a self-righteous american tourist charity worker, do you know what i mean? same goes for pictures, at times there are things i really wish you could see, but i won't take pictures when i'm in the slum because i feel i would be exploiting the people or situation... Jayeshbhai keeps telling me how important it is to share myself and my experiences with people back at home and i want to but i'm having a hard time with the words i cry almost everyday, for different reasons, but i laugh all the time too often i do both at the same time eek that's the best i can do right now. i'll try again later oh a few evenings each week i volunteer at the Seva Cafe last night it started pouring so we danced in the rain like we were in a bollywood movie and i felt like i was back at home. gur - home # Saturday, June 23, 2007 ( 5:56 PM ) shut up christine Gujarati 101 (I probably butchered the spelling) kem cho - how are you? majama - i'm fine ta marunam su che? - what is your name? marunam (insert name) che - my name is ma ne gujarati kabul notti - i don't speak gujarati exchange rate: 40 rupees = 1 US dollar the art of auto rickshaw: - before you get in, make sure the meter is set to zero - try not to scream when you're thisclose to getting hit by a bus - once you reach your destination, take the number on the meter then divide by 4, add 2 = amount in rupees, unless traveling after 11pm in which case divide by four, add 2, then multiply by 1.5 hi :) i'm here in Ahmedabad, i made it safely and luckily La Bamba and Precious (my bags) found their way back to me as well i live in a house at Gandhi Ashram with four other female volunteers... i was told that Gandhi spent some time in this very house and slept inside these same walls. man. the nail clippers are being put to use :) i love how traffic here is so crazy and then you can look to your side and there's a camel or an elephant or bull next to you my second day here i was invited to sit in on an intimate small group discussion with a "guru," there were about 10 of us there and when people asked him questions he would say things like "You are stupid! How idiotic! Your brain cannot comprehend, go meditate" and lots of other rude comments. at the end of the discussion he's shaking hands with everyone then he goes up to one lady and hits her on the forehead with his palm, does it again, and then he starts slapping her really hard in the face alternating on both of her cheeks, again and again, probably 8-10 times ...so i'm watching this thinking WTF is happening????? and then when he finally stops hitting her he says "hi" and then walks up the stairs and all of us in the room are looking at each other silent and horrified. welcome to india. but anyhow, later i learned that this guy is a piece of crap and i would like to publicly declare that Brahmarshi Patriji is THEE BIGGEST TOOL I have ever met. jerk also, i finally met Nirali. she sent me on a mission where i had to go out onto the street and hitch hike a scooter ride from strangers. so fun anyhow, everything is really, really great. it gets insanely hot though, and sometimes it feels like the act of breathing requires effort. we don't eat meat in this ashram but the vegetarian food is so good here that it hasn't been hard adjusting my diet. crossing the street is still scary for me, but its getting easier for the next three months I will be working with an incredible organization called Manav Sadhna. Manav Sadhna is literally a five minute walk away from the largest slum in the state of Gujarat, its a community of over 200,000 so-called "untouchables" so far i've been shadowing a project called Earn & Learn... many children from the slum dont go to school because they need to provide incomes for their families, often as beggars, ragpickers, or boot polishers in the Earn and Learn Program, the children are required to go to school everyday, and they're given nutritious snacks. in the afternoons, the kids create hand-made cards that are sold here and internationally. parents are more willing to send their kids to school because the children are still generating an income. if you'd like to see (or purchase) the cards these kids make, you can click here my main project will involve taking the existing academic curriculum and developing hands-on activities, games, and teaching methods to make the material more fun and engaging. i'm really excited about this...some of you know the issues i had with my job and how i felt about American SES education...i think the No Child Left Behind Act means well and looks good on paper, but i got see firsthand some of the inadequacies of the system i said i would never do this again but here i am in india doing similar work...its different though, it really is about the welfare of the kids, its not about numbers and money and test scores. i feel useful here even when its really crazy, there's a stillness and a calmness in my head that i haven't felt in months i love it speaking of love, my roommate Anchal is trying to arrange a marriage for me i'm totally playing along but i'm starting to think she's really serious about it i don't get to use internet that often but i will try to upload pictures soon # Wednesday, June 13, 2007 ( 8:00 PM ) shut up christine super quick... my flight from LAX was delayed, which messed up the rest of my connecting flights and i've been in transit for over 50 hours now with one more flight to go (wish me luck!) one of my bags got lost from London to Calcutta then my other bag got lost from Calcutta to Bombay :( but i am hoping that both bags will magically be waiting for me in Ahmedabad...cross your fingers! i love you # Monday, June 11, 2007 ( 1:50 AM ) shut up christine It almost hurts to say this because I've been dreaming of this moment for so long, and now I can finally say the words... Today I leave for India! I feel like I'm going to throw up! :) Work is (almost) done. Getting to this point has been a trip in itself. I think about all the overtime I put in to fund this...unfortunately I don't get paid overtime haha but I am genuinely grateful that I struggled with this job as much as I did because I appreciate every fraction of a penny I earned. For every experience I'm about to have, I know what its worth, and that feeling is something you can't put on a resume or deposit into your bank account, you know? That kind of work experience is priceless Speaking of priceless, Heffrey stopped by my house a few nights ago and gave me a small bag filled with band aids, antibiotic cream, aspirin, and a pack of chewing gum I stood there listening to him try to explain it... he held up the gum and said something like "I don't know why I bought this. I'm sure they have gum in India, right? I don't know why I bought this..." Something about that is so incredibly humbling. He's never going to meet those kids. Its not just about band aids and bubblegum, its the intention behind them. They might have cost 5 bucks but I packed them away in my suitcase as if they were worth a million dollars Whatever he put into that bag, you can't buy that off a store shelf. Thank you, Jeff. Also, I sent out an email and the response was amaaaazing I got over 200 nail clippers! Unji, Unji's mom, KC, Nanet, Linda, Cuong, Anto...thank you so much. Can you imagine the hundreds, and maybe even thousands of hands that will be affected? Nirali said amazing things happen when you bring together the things that matter most in life: small ideas, ordinary people, and a simple thing called love. So true. Those words have been permanently implanted in my head ever since I read them You know what else is pretty amazing...people started giving me things and I didn't even ask them. Someone told a friend of a friend who told someone that I was going to India, and a complete stranger (a complete stranger!) sent me a package Inside were little gifts like m&ms, nailpolish, a pair of sandals, perfume, a cd player, a cell phone. This is part of the email she wrote me: There is a family in which 5 out of 7 children have a rare disease that has no cure, there are only 40 worldwide cases, 5 of this in one family alone. These children will all die at a young age, one sibling has already died. They live in a village near Calcutta in a mud house and the surrounding neighbors are very hostile because they feel the children, who have malformations, are cursed. The children have been featured on Discovery health. Although they have such widespread coverage, doctors continue to use them for research without offering them compensation ( the family is illiterate and lets them do this thinking there might be a cure), they still live in the mud house. They have never went to the cinema, one of the children dreams of having a cell phone. So one day she saw this family's story on TV, decided she would do something about it, found my contact info, and I became part of the picture. Did I ever think I would be going to Calcutta to deliver this package to this family? Nope. But somehow I am, and its funny how things work out that way. Small ideas, ordinary people. This has been a very humbling, life-shaking experience so far, and I haven't even gotten on the plane yet. Kuo, you are my best. Anyhow, I need to finish packing up my precious cargo. This was a long entry and I'll probably be back by the time you finish reading it. See you in September! out like a trout peace out scouts # Thursday, June 07, 2007 ( 2:24 PM ) shut up christine we cut my hair off today. with clippers. i will remind myself that less hair = less shampoo = shorter showers = saving valuable water resources = more drinking water for thirsty orphans in India. for the orphans! # Friday, June 01, 2007 ( 11:00 PM ) shut up christine this conversation happened just now *phone rings* me: hello? person on other end of line: (no answer) me: hello? he~llooo? person on other end of line: hallo? dad picks up phone also: hello? person on other end of line: hallo dad: hello? person on other end of line: hallo! dad: ohhh hello hello hello!! filipinos. # |
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