Hauz Kaus

Today I finally got to meet up with my cousin's law school friend! (who I have been in contact with for a while now about all sorts of things concerning being an American in India)

We met up at Hauz Kaus Village, where my friend Margaux and I were dropped off my the auto rickshaw and told by the people we asked to go down a sketchy alley to find the Flip Side Cafe. Margaux, being more adventuresome than I, boldly walked down the dirt alley in the fine Sunday morning sun to find the sign, which led up a sketchy staircase. After following this short but strange route, we emerged into a hip, independent cafe, with all the comfort of a hipster hang out: black and white photos, dark hard wood floors, and bright and clean painted walls. But more exciting than the atmosphere (especially to my french friend) was the menu: crepes. Sweet crepes, savory crepes, and pizza.

Caitlin and I spent some time at the cafe, exploring the nearby ruins of Hauz Khas (pictured below), Dilli Haut (hut? I don't know), and then returned to her house and visited the apartment of a friend. A good day, but I am exhausted now, being out during the hottest time of the day, so instead of writing a better blog post, I'm just going to put up pictures and go to sleep. (see, I wrote a good first paragraph, and then gave up).

Observation - 30 July

When anywhere new, what is often most difficult to adjust to is the way things are done in that new place. In America, for example, lawns are mowed and hedges are trimmed using powerful machinery, which affords their operators time to do the cutting and cleaning up with striking efficiency. In India, hedges are trimmed by hand, lawns cut either with a grass whip or else a push mower without a motor. This means that cuttings are left for a day or two once the work is done, until they are raked and picked up by hand.

In America, we self-organize into orderly and polite lines, and may loudly call out one who breaks the socially imposed laws of the line. In India, the line works to an extent, until one reaches the beginning, where about five people all attempt to serve themselves on top of one another.

Classes here are currently running on tentative schedules, which are subject to change next week. Students don’t know if they have housing in the hostel until they go through three interviews, the last of which happens after school has already started.

Perhaps the most striking difference between America and India is the manner in which we shop. For the first time, I went to Sarojini Market, and was not entirely overwhelmed by the masses of people, stuff, heat, and sounds around me. I went with my friend Moitreyee, and we shopped for cookies, cups, knives, and kurtas. I’ve decided that the kurta/leggings combination is probably the most comfortable outfit I’ve ever worn…well, aside from flannel shirts. 

Mom says I ought to post on the blog rather often, so I will try to spice up each post with some sort of story or pictures.

I went to classes today. They were fun, and over by lunch. My friend Mitchri and I then went to meet up with her boyfriend Karan, and we saw the Smurfs movie in City Walk Mall, which is kind of like a wormhole to the USA. Its big, even by US standards, has hotels in it, clean, air conditioned, and has stores like Levi's, Cinnabon, and the Body Shop.

The henna (Mindhi(?)) on my palm has now turned a deep red brown. While we have four leaf clovers and picking petals off flowers to count "he loves me, he loves me not," Michri says that dark designs mean that my mother-in-law will really like me, and thats why brides get the designs on their hands before getting married. I asked what happens if the design stays light, and apparently that means that your mother-in-law will just tolerate you.

We later met up with Margaux in GK1, where we went to a hookah bar, which Margaux had been craving since she left Paris. I didn't smoke, but I did have yummy Moroccan mint tea and Tennessee bbq chicken wings :)

Margaux and the hookah

Michri

Margaux and Karan

Michri

Michri, Margaux, Me

Michri and Me

Michri, Karan, and Me

Michri

July 28th - in the evening

Though the mornings are hard, by 11:00 today I was feeling much better. I sat for a while under a tree/bamboo circle where it was shady and cool after walking around the grounds (my class being cancelled) and seeing a professor doing yoga there.

There are tons of wild cats on campus, but one became my friend today. I bought my philosophy book at the bookstore (for those of you who are college students, or who pay for textbooks, the equivalent cost was about five dollars for my textbook), and was reading the chapter on yoga philosophy in the garden across from the cafe. There was a cat that looked at me, so I called for it to come over, and it sat next to me while I read.

After classes (well, classes for other people, not me...) I went out to GK (Greater...K....) where we got some henna, and I got a romper. We also ate out at pizza hut, which is a sit down restaurant here.

We then went to singing auditions for the Western Music Society (WMS).

And here are some pictures I took today of the college campus:

And here is a really bad video taken while in an auto-rickshaw in Delhi:

So even starting with a hard morning, I still had a good day. :)

Yesterday was my first day of classes. Right now I'm only going to two during the day, because I am going to do one independent study that we are still working out, and my fourth class is part of a sort-of-minor program that will start in another week or so.

I went first to history, and sat in the classroom for a while. There was one other girl there who was on the phone and then left. I was able to get ahold of my friend XiXi who is in that class, who told me the teacher is on leave, so no class.

I then went to Philosophy, where I was given candy by the students, but told to go to a different philosophy class by the professor. My other philosophy class, Introduction to Indian Philosophy, looks like it will be interesting. The professor is nice, though it is difficult for him to get through an idea without someone interrupting to ask a question. After that class, he gave me the information for the textbook, and said we would work out some time to have a make up class for the introductory classes I've missed. I asked a friend where the class would be tomorrow (as they change rooms often), and she said it would be on the syllabus. Another girl said she would lend me the syllabus, and then walked away. But it doesn't really matter that I don't know where my class is, because I have a meeting during that time today anyway with the International Programs office. So I'll worry about that on Friday I guess...

For the first time since arriving, I ate what, when taken off the bones, my first spoonful of chicken since leaving home.

Friday, I am planning on seeing Cowboys vs. Aliens with my friend Mitchri at citywalk mall, which apparently is humongous. Normally I wouldn't be up for it, but its both familiar and something to do with friends, so I am looking forward to it.

The mornings are the hardest I think. I get up early to meditate and call home, but I also wake up missing home, and worrying about what I have to do during the day (how will I figure this out, I need to go to Delhi to get more passport pictures, I need to get this form from her, did I do this right?). In the morning, only I am awake and there is little to distract me from missing the comforts of home, the simplicity of familiarity. At home, to get passport photos, I would take mom's car, drive five minutes to the Kinkos that I know, it would take ten minutes to print out several photos, and then I would go home, the experience being full of english speaking peoples and clean stores and roads. Here, I need to find out where to get passport photos, how far away is it, enlist a rickshaw driver or auto who doesn't speak much english, negotiate with him, find the place, get the pictures from someone who may or may not speak english, and go through the rickshaw process to go back to campus. Right now, that option is a lot more scary and stressful than at home. And once I get the pictures, I need two other letters, one of which I have, one of which I need a copy of, then get my study abroad coordinator to sign my bank account application, then we hope that they weren't lying when they said I can open account even though I'm from the US, and then I have to figure out how I'm getting money in it, and then finally I can pay for the residence hall.

Lets just hope this all works. Logistically, this place can be overwhelming.

But I've made some friends so they can help me. But I miss home. I still go back and forth throughout various emotions throughout the day. 

Feeling/Events report: 7/26/11

I can't promise I'll keep up writing on this blog near every day, so don't get your hopes up, but for now I am, probably because I'm so excited for the internet, so I get on, and then everyone is either asleep or just waking up or going to bed. (12.5 hr time difference from CA)

Today was a day of what was for me an extreme duality of emotion. I'm generally a pretty even-tempered person, so to start out the morning sad, homesick, and that whole deal, and then to spend the rest of the day in a really good way, excited for my classes, the clubs on campus, the people here, is very odd to me. Its strange to experience such a range of emotion in one day. I almost don't want to say that I was happy, because I wasn't in the morning, but neither can I say I was sad, as I spent most of the day happy.

Today I worked on my course schedule,
Voila:
Philosophy of Religion
History of India 1750-1950
Human Rights, Gender, Justice, and Reconciliation (human rights and conflict studies with gender thrown in there)
Independent Study

My Independent Study is gonna be something to do with Sustainable Development. Its like a thesis, I have a year to do it, so I don't know what exactly the topic will be, give me ideas if you have them! Maybe something about renewable energy in emerging and established economies, or pollution and development, value of preserving open space, not sure what yet. I'll go to my first classes tomorrow. Philosophy and history are five days a week, plus a tutorial when that starts up. The human rights class will be in the evenings starting maybe next week, and they will work on appointing an advisor for my independent study, who I will meet with once a week.

I also had fun today, going with my friend Vrinda to look into singing classes, and this evening I'm going to watch Tootsie (I thought they were saying Tulsi, a movie with Dustin Hoffman, but Dad clarified).

I think since there is kind of a general sort of noise, from the fans, cars, people talking, etc., it actually makes it easier to sing, listen to music, and call home without fear of offending anyone.

So anyway, thats how my day was. 

Snippets of India

Here are some snippets of experiences I've had in India:

In the newspaper there was a story about a pedestrian bridge that was built...sort of...it deposited the pedestrians half way across the street. It cost 20,000,000 rupees, and no one realized they wouldn't be able to finish it until it was halfway built because there was another bridge that would block its completion on the other side.

In Old Delhi, we were taking Rickshaws, and two people had to go on the back, so Margaux and I did, because I thought it would be fun. Three young men on a motorcycle came up behind the rickshaw fast and then slowed just before hitting us on the back, as a sort of tease. Margaux yelled "Fuck!" because, well, it was scary. But they seemed to like that reaction because they kept doing it. One time when they went off an older man now riding behind us explained they were just trying to tease us. Eventually I yelled and they left, because it was well past the point of creepy, though it had only been a few minutes. I think I'll ride in the rickshaw from now on. My friend Vrinda said just to ignore them, unless they touch you, then you can slap or punch them.

The metro is brand new, about a year and a half old, and there are three cars in the front reserved for ladies only. Its great. They are less crowded and the metro is air conditioned.

Vhaya is "older brother" in Hindi. Its used to address basically everyone, the people who work in the mess hall, the rickshaw drivers, store owners.

"Take" a picture = "Click" a picture
Motorcycle = Bike
Graduate school = need to say Post Graduate school, I got asked if I wasn't going to graduate from college if it wasn't graduate school
These aren't very interesting but I'll be on the lookout for more.

The college seems so disorganized, but it apparently works for them. See, when you are in a program, you have no choice of classes, so it doesn't matter what the classes are, just who the teacher is. So the course schedules are cryptic, with only letters and numbers on time slots, and no key. It makes it very difficult for us to choose our classes, but I guess if you don't need to know what they are until you get there it works.

An appropriate answer to the question "Where are you from?" seems to be, Political Science.