India

Hello! I apologize for the delayed posting, both internet access and time has been scarce but here we go!  I have officially been in India for 10 days.  I flew in to Delhi before moving to Jaipur. Since heading to Jaipur we have stayed at a guesthouse here in the city and finally on Saturday headed to our host family’s.  Classes are fully in session, Sustainable Development, Hindi and Field Research.  Field Research and Sustainable Development are guest speaker and excursion based, while Hindi takes up most of our formal class time. It’s a shame how much Hindi I’ve lost since Senior Year but I’m doing what I can to get it back.

                At the risk of sounding cliché, India is truly a country of amazing contrasts. The nicest neighborhoods will still have slums tucked between their alleyways, a BMW will zoom past an oxen  ( or camel!) drawn cart, Multinationals Headquarters will tower over tiny family stores. The traffic is incredible. I can’t even say horrifying at this point as walking between school and back I’ve noticed a definite pattern, squeeze as many vehicles as you can into a small space, charge fully ahead at all round abouts and honk, loudly, therefore signaling that you are going slow enough that more cars could probably move in. As a man at my hotel the first night explained, you need three things to drive in India. “Good brakes, a good horn, and good luck”.  Walking in India relies fully on the luck, and an aptitude for playing Frogger in traffic.

                So far I’ve managed to keep a pretty good head with everything, being continuously aware of how little I understand to even begin to pass judgment. On any given morning to school I encounter at least five beggars, three of the five are very small children in dirty clothing. The strict rule here is do not give to street children. They are often part of gangs of street children assembled by a leader who takes the profits for himself with little going back to the kids ( Anyone seen Slumdog Millionaire, yep,
just like that). Not to mention it makes their daily choice of school or money even more challenging.  Instead, it is encouraged to give a small piece of candy, a pencil, ignore them entirely or as suggested by a family friend who has spent extensive time in India, build a relationship. I’m working on the relationship thing. So far, after three separate occasions of introducing myself in Hindi to one little girl in particular and asking her name, I finally this morning got a response, a shy smile, and a handshake. We’ll see if this actually goes anywhere, it may lead to even more children following me and the begging may not let up but given my options of doing nothing and this, I’ll give it a shot. It’s funny though how quickly you can get used to stuff. Such as walking over piles of dirt and trash on my morning walk, or stepping around people on the sidewalks.

Ok Ok! Don’t want to bore you all so I’ll stop here. For the record though, I am having a great time. The daily comedy of life here, such as someone greeting me with “Good Morning Sir” as I walk to school, or walking next to a Camel drawn cart helps to keep things light. That and my host family is truly amazing.

I’ve included a few photos, the ones of Jaipur above is Nahgarwal, a Mugal style fort which sits on a hill over the city. Beautiful. And the sounds of Lord Ganesh’s birthday being celebrated below definitely helped.

This weekend, the iconic Taj Mahal. Reports to follow ( assuming the internet agrees) Cheers!