Time is of the essence, so here is the link to what I just posted on the group blog. I am sure I will have more later!
India Group Blog Post
Headed to Kolkata/Calcutta tonight.
As for music, I got to borrow one of the trip leaders' iPods the last few days adn heard SO many songs I"ve been craving, including "Colors" mentioned in an earlier blog, some of my fave Jeff Buckley songs, "Svave ME" by Jem, "Sesaons" by Chris COnrell and "All NIght THing" by Temple of the DOg, some Pearl Jam, AIC and a bunch more, so not craving anything right now. Though I do really wish I could hear Damien RIce. And more Tool.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
A Few Random THings Before Leaving Varanasi
I had my shoes stolen outside a temple this morning. We were only there such a short while, and some of the guys in our group were joking about shoes getting stolen before we went in. I guess it's just something I've got to roll with, but it's definitely disappointing. They were great shoes, totally equipped for our Himalayan trek, waterproof and sturdy, and I'm feeling a little naked without them, but what can ya do?
We also saw an elephant walking through a street today, which almost made it all worthwhile. It was pretty cool to see.
I also feel like being here is going to help me be more assertive in life in general, b/c i feel like I have to be, with just about everythying. It should also help me learn to say no in a clear, strong way, b/c I constantly have to. Everywhere we go, there are people asking us to buy postcards or candles, or give them money, or go this place or that place, and on and on. And with things like crossing th e street, now that I"m going around on my own a few time s a day, you just have to be aggressive and there is no two ways about it, or you would just never cross the street ever. It's not something I'm confortable with, but again, part of being here on this trip is pushing my comfort zone, and learning, growing stretching, and I think it's great that part of an aspect of this journey might be me exercising assertiveness and boundaries.
There was a huge festival in honor of Shiva last night, and we had to stay in our guest house. Everyone from our local host to people at the local chai stand were telling us how dangerous it was, expecially for women. So we stayed in, and traveled as a group when we went to dinner.
Tomorrow morning, we are leaving for Bodhgaya, birthplace of BUddhism. We think we'll be staying at a temple, but not sure yet. We learned a bit about the place yesterday, and it is in the poorest state in India, where apparently there is a presence of leprosy. Oh and it is also a communist state. I wish I knew a lot more about the politics of India and hope to learn more as we go along our journey.
Another interesting note on the subject of politics is that our squatting toilets got clogged yesterday (our group used too much toilet paper for what those toilets can handle), and the people they had come and fix it were untouchables. I am pretty sure the caste system was outlawed awhile ago, maybe mid=century, but like a lot of inequal things in society with long histories of prejudice, it still exists.
TOday I got a book of Arundhati Roy's political writings, which should help me wise up a little bit . TO get credit for this trip I will have to write a few papers, so I'm hopin gto soak up all I can. I'm also wanting to take in as much as I can about eastern philosophyies and viewpoints. There is no end to what I want to learn in this life, let me tell you!
After Bodhgaya, we're headed on to Calcutta, which is the place I'm the most nervous about, but also the place I expect might be the most rewarding. There we will be volunteering at an orphanage, the Mother Theresa Home for the Destitute. It will be an journey, I'm sure.
All right, peace out.
Song I really wish I could hear right now:
"Colors" - Amos Lee
We also saw an elephant walking through a street today, which almost made it all worthwhile. It was pretty cool to see.
I also feel like being here is going to help me be more assertive in life in general, b/c i feel like I have to be, with just about everythying. It should also help me learn to say no in a clear, strong way, b/c I constantly have to. Everywhere we go, there are people asking us to buy postcards or candles, or give them money, or go this place or that place, and on and on. And with things like crossing th e street, now that I"m going around on my own a few time s a day, you just have to be aggressive and there is no two ways about it, or you would just never cross the street ever. It's not something I'm confortable with, but again, part of being here on this trip is pushing my comfort zone, and learning, growing stretching, and I think it's great that part of an aspect of this journey might be me exercising assertiveness and boundaries.
There was a huge festival in honor of Shiva last night, and we had to stay in our guest house. Everyone from our local host to people at the local chai stand were telling us how dangerous it was, expecially for women. So we stayed in, and traveled as a group when we went to dinner.
Tomorrow morning, we are leaving for Bodhgaya, birthplace of BUddhism. We think we'll be staying at a temple, but not sure yet. We learned a bit about the place yesterday, and it is in the poorest state in India, where apparently there is a presence of leprosy. Oh and it is also a communist state. I wish I knew a lot more about the politics of India and hope to learn more as we go along our journey.
Another interesting note on the subject of politics is that our squatting toilets got clogged yesterday (our group used too much toilet paper for what those toilets can handle), and the people they had come and fix it were untouchables. I am pretty sure the caste system was outlawed awhile ago, maybe mid=century, but like a lot of inequal things in society with long histories of prejudice, it still exists.
TOday I got a book of Arundhati Roy's political writings, which should help me wise up a little bit . TO get credit for this trip I will have to write a few papers, so I'm hopin gto soak up all I can. I'm also wanting to take in as much as I can about eastern philosophyies and viewpoints. There is no end to what I want to learn in this life, let me tell you!
After Bodhgaya, we're headed on to Calcutta, which is the place I'm the most nervous about, but also the place I expect might be the most rewarding. There we will be volunteering at an orphanage, the Mother Theresa Home for the Destitute. It will be an journey, I'm sure.
All right, peace out.
Song I really wish I could hear right now:
"Colors" - Amos Lee
Sunday, February 22, 2009
NY Times Article - pretty wild idea
Passing on another article from the leaders, this one is from the NY TImes....
India Climate Solutions
Wild and Crazy Ideas - NY Times Article
So I am attending the Energy and Resources Institute climate conference in New Delhi, and during the afternoon session two young American women — along with one of their mothers — proposition me.
“Hey, Mr. Friedman,” they say, “would you like to take a little spin around New Delhi in our car?”
Oh, I say, I’ve heard that line before. Ah, they say, but you haven’t seen this car before. It’s a plug-in electric car that is also powered by rooftop solar panels — and the two young women, recent Yale grads, had just driven it all over India in a “climate caravan” to highlight the solutions to global warming being developed by Indian companies, communities, campuses and innovators, as well as to inspire others to take action.
They ask me if I want to drive, but I have visions of being stopped by the cops and ending up in a New Delhi jail. Not to worry, they tell me. Indian cops have been stopping them all across India. First, they ask to see driver’s licenses, then they inquire about how the green car’s solar roof manages to provide 10 percent of its mileage — and then they try to buy the car.
We head off down Panchsheel Marg, one of New Delhi’s main streets. The ladies want to show me something. The U.S. Embassy and the Chinese Embassy are both located on Panchsheel, directly across from each other. They asked me to check out the rooftops of each embassy. What do I notice? Let’s see .... The U.S. Embassy’s roof is loaded with antennae and listening gear. The Chinese Embassy’s roof is loaded with ... new Chinese-made solar hot-water heaters.
You couldn’t make this up.
But trying to do something about it was just one of many reasons my hosts, Caroline Howe, 23, a mechanical engineer on leave from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and Alexis Ringwald, a Fulbright scholar in India and now a solar entrepreneur, joined with Kartikeya Singh, who was starting the Indian Youth Climate Network, or IYCN, to connect young climate leaders in India, a country coming under increasing global pressure to manage its carbon footprint.
“India is full of climate innovators, so spread out across this huge country that many people don’t get to see that these solutions are working right now,” said Howe. “We wanted to find a way to bring people together around existing solutions to inspire more action and more innovation. There’s no time left to just talk about the problem.”
Howe and Ringwald thought the best way to do that might be a climate solutions road tour, using modified electric cars from India’s Reva Electric Car Company, whose C.E.O. Ringwald knew. They persuaded him to donate three of his cars and to retrofit them with longer-life batteries that could travel 90 miles on a single six-hour charge — and to lay on a solar roof that would extend them farther.
Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 5, they drove the cars on a 2,100-mile trip from Chennai to New Delhi, stopping in 15 cities and dozens of villages, training Indian students to start their own climate action programs and filming 20 videos of India’s top home-grown energy innovations. They also brought along a solar-powered band, plus a luggage truck that ran on plant oil extracted from jatropha and pongamia, plants locally grown on wasteland. A Bollywood dance group joined at different stops and a Czech who learned about their trip on YouTube hopped on with his truck that ran on vegetable-oil waste.
Deepa Gupta, 21, a co-founder of IYCN, told The Hindustan Times that the trip opened her eyes to just how many indigenous energy solutions were budding in India — “like organic farming in Andhra Pradesh, or using neem and garlic as pesticides, or the kind of recycling in slums, such as Dharavi. We saw things already in place, like the Gadhia solar plant in Valsad, Gujarat, where steam is used for cooking and you can feed almost 50,000 people in one go.” (See: www.indiaclimatesolutions.com.)
At Rajpipla, in Gujarat, when they stopped at a local prince’s palace to recharge their cars, they discovered that his business was cultivating worms and selling them as eco-friendly alternatives to chemical fertilizers.
I met Howe and Ringwald after a tiring day, but I have to admit that as soon as they started telling me their story it really made me smile. After a year of watching adults engage in devastating recklessness in the financial markets and depressing fecklessness in the global climate talks, it’s refreshing to know that the world keeps minting idealistic young people who are not waiting for governments to act, but are starting their own projects and driving innovation.
“Why did this tour happen?” asked Ringwald. “Why this mad, insane plan to travel across India in a caravan of solar electric cars and jatropha trucks with solar music, art, dance and a potent message for climate solutions? Well ... the world needs crazy ideas to change things, because the conventional way of thinking is not working anymore.”
India Climate Solutions
Wild and Crazy Ideas - NY Times Article
So I am attending the Energy and Resources Institute climate conference in New Delhi, and during the afternoon session two young American women — along with one of their mothers — proposition me.
“Hey, Mr. Friedman,” they say, “would you like to take a little spin around New Delhi in our car?”
Oh, I say, I’ve heard that line before. Ah, they say, but you haven’t seen this car before. It’s a plug-in electric car that is also powered by rooftop solar panels — and the two young women, recent Yale grads, had just driven it all over India in a “climate caravan” to highlight the solutions to global warming being developed by Indian companies, communities, campuses and innovators, as well as to inspire others to take action.
They ask me if I want to drive, but I have visions of being stopped by the cops and ending up in a New Delhi jail. Not to worry, they tell me. Indian cops have been stopping them all across India. First, they ask to see driver’s licenses, then they inquire about how the green car’s solar roof manages to provide 10 percent of its mileage — and then they try to buy the car.
We head off down Panchsheel Marg, one of New Delhi’s main streets. The ladies want to show me something. The U.S. Embassy and the Chinese Embassy are both located on Panchsheel, directly across from each other. They asked me to check out the rooftops of each embassy. What do I notice? Let’s see .... The U.S. Embassy’s roof is loaded with antennae and listening gear. The Chinese Embassy’s roof is loaded with ... new Chinese-made solar hot-water heaters.
You couldn’t make this up.
But trying to do something about it was just one of many reasons my hosts, Caroline Howe, 23, a mechanical engineer on leave from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and Alexis Ringwald, a Fulbright scholar in India and now a solar entrepreneur, joined with Kartikeya Singh, who was starting the Indian Youth Climate Network, or IYCN, to connect young climate leaders in India, a country coming under increasing global pressure to manage its carbon footprint.
“India is full of climate innovators, so spread out across this huge country that many people don’t get to see that these solutions are working right now,” said Howe. “We wanted to find a way to bring people together around existing solutions to inspire more action and more innovation. There’s no time left to just talk about the problem.”
Howe and Ringwald thought the best way to do that might be a climate solutions road tour, using modified electric cars from India’s Reva Electric Car Company, whose C.E.O. Ringwald knew. They persuaded him to donate three of his cars and to retrofit them with longer-life batteries that could travel 90 miles on a single six-hour charge — and to lay on a solar roof that would extend them farther.
Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 5, they drove the cars on a 2,100-mile trip from Chennai to New Delhi, stopping in 15 cities and dozens of villages, training Indian students to start their own climate action programs and filming 20 videos of India’s top home-grown energy innovations. They also brought along a solar-powered band, plus a luggage truck that ran on plant oil extracted from jatropha and pongamia, plants locally grown on wasteland. A Bollywood dance group joined at different stops and a Czech who learned about their trip on YouTube hopped on with his truck that ran on vegetable-oil waste.
Deepa Gupta, 21, a co-founder of IYCN, told The Hindustan Times that the trip opened her eyes to just how many indigenous energy solutions were budding in India — “like organic farming in Andhra Pradesh, or using neem and garlic as pesticides, or the kind of recycling in slums, such as Dharavi. We saw things already in place, like the Gadhia solar plant in Valsad, Gujarat, where steam is used for cooking and you can feed almost 50,000 people in one go.” (See: www.indiaclimatesolutions.com.)
At Rajpipla, in Gujarat, when they stopped at a local prince’s palace to recharge their cars, they discovered that his business was cultivating worms and selling them as eco-friendly alternatives to chemical fertilizers.
I met Howe and Ringwald after a tiring day, but I have to admit that as soon as they started telling me their story it really made me smile. After a year of watching adults engage in devastating recklessness in the financial markets and depressing fecklessness in the global climate talks, it’s refreshing to know that the world keeps minting idealistic young people who are not waiting for governments to act, but are starting their own projects and driving innovation.
“Why did this tour happen?” asked Ringwald. “Why this mad, insane plan to travel across India in a caravan of solar electric cars and jatropha trucks with solar music, art, dance and a potent message for climate solutions? Well ... the world needs crazy ideas to change things, because the conventional way of thinking is not working anymore.”
Al GOre Editorial
Our group leaders have been spamming us with India related articles, and I thought I'd pass them along for reader enjoyment and interest.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Editorial/COMMENT--Lets-Go-Green/articleshow/4162513.cms>Al Gore Editorial
Economic stimulus is the order of the day. This is as it must be, as governments around the world struggle to jump-start the global economy. But
even as leaders address the immediate need to stimulate the economy, so too must they act jointly to ensure that the new de facto economic model being developed is sustainable for the planet and our future on it.
What we need is both stimulus and long-term investments that accomplish two objectives simultaneously with one global economic policy response a policy that addresses our urgent and immediate economic and social needs and that launches a new green global economy. In short, we need to make 'growing green' our mantra.
First, a synchronised global recession requires a synchronised global response. We need stimulus and intense coordination of economic policy among all main economies. We must avoid the beggar-thy-neighbour policies that contributed to the Great Depression. Coordination is also vital for reducing financial volatility, runs on currencies and rampant inflation as well as for instilling consumer and investor confidence. In Washington last November, G20 leaders expressed their determination to enhance cooperation and work together to restore global growth and achieve needed reforms in the world's financial systems. This needs to happen urgently.
Stimulus is intended to jump-start the economy, but if properly conceived and executed it can also launch us on a new, low-carbon path to green growth. Some $2,250 billion of stimulus has already been announced by 34 nations. This stimulus, along with new initiatives by other countries, must help catapult the world economy into the 21st century, not perpetuate the dying industries and bad habits of yesteryear. Indeed, continuing to pour trillions of dollars into carbon-based infrastructure and fossil-fuel subsidies would be like investing in subprime real estate all over again.
Eliminating the $300 billion in annual global fossil fuel subsidies would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 6 per cent and would add to global gross domestic product. Developing renewable energy will help where we need it most. Already, developing economies account for 40 per cent of existing global renewable resources as well as 70 per cent of solar water heating capacity.
Leaders everywhere, notably in the US and China, are realising that green is not an option but a necessity for recharging their economies and creating jobs. Globally, with 2.3 million people employed in the renewable energy sector, there are already more jobs there than directly in the oil and gas industries. In the US, there are now more jobs in the wind industry than in the entire coal industry. President Barack Obama's and China's stimulus packages are a critical step in the right direction and their green components must be followed through urgently. We urge all governments to expand green stimulus elements, including energy efficiency, renewables, mass transit, new smart electricity grids and reforestation, and to coordinate their efforts for rapid results.
Second, we need 'pro-poor' policies now. In much of the developing world, governments do not have the option to borrow or print money to cushion the devastating economic blows. Therefore, governments in industrialised countries must reach beyond their borders and invest immediately in those cost-effective programmes that boost the productivity of the poorest. Last year, food riots and unrest swept more than 30 countries. Ominously, this was even before September's financial implosion, which sparked the global recession that has driven a further 100 million people deeper into poverty. We must act now to prevent further suffering and potential widespread political instability.
This means increasing overseas development assistance this year. It means strengthening social safety nets. It means investing in agriculture in developing countries by getting seeds, tools, sustainable agricultural practices and credit to smallholder farmers so they can produce more food and get it to local and regional markets. Pro-poor policy also means increasing investments in better land use, water conservation and drought-resistant crops to help farmers adapt to a changing climate, which if not addressed could usher in chronic hunger and malnutrition across large swathes of the developing world.
Third, we need a robust climate deal in Copenhagen in December. Not next year. This year. The climate negotiations must be dramatically accelerated and given attention at the highest levels, starting today. A successful deal in Copenhagen offers the most potent global stimulus package possible. With a new climate framework in hand, business and governments will finally have the carbon price signal businesses have been clamouring for, one that can unleash a wave of innovation and investment in clean energy. Copenhagen will provide the green light for green growth. This is the basis for a truly sustainable economic recovery that will benefit us and our children's children for decades to come.
For millions of people from Detroit to Delhi these are the worst of times. Families have lost jobs, homes, health care and even the prospect of their next meal. With so much at stake, governments must be strategic in their choices. We must not let the urgent undermine the essential. Investing in the green economy is not an optional expense. It is a smart investment for a more equitable, prosperous future.
Ban Ki-moon is UN secretary-general; Al Gore is a former US vice-president.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Editorial/COMMENT--Lets-Go-Green/articleshow/4162513.cms>Al Gore Editorial
Economic stimulus is the order of the day. This is as it must be, as governments around the world struggle to jump-start the global economy. But
even as leaders address the immediate need to stimulate the economy, so too must they act jointly to ensure that the new de facto economic model being developed is sustainable for the planet and our future on it.
What we need is both stimulus and long-term investments that accomplish two objectives simultaneously with one global economic policy response a policy that addresses our urgent and immediate economic and social needs and that launches a new green global economy. In short, we need to make 'growing green' our mantra.
First, a synchronised global recession requires a synchronised global response. We need stimulus and intense coordination of economic policy among all main economies. We must avoid the beggar-thy-neighbour policies that contributed to the Great Depression. Coordination is also vital for reducing financial volatility, runs on currencies and rampant inflation as well as for instilling consumer and investor confidence. In Washington last November, G20 leaders expressed their determination to enhance cooperation and work together to restore global growth and achieve needed reforms in the world's financial systems. This needs to happen urgently.
Stimulus is intended to jump-start the economy, but if properly conceived and executed it can also launch us on a new, low-carbon path to green growth. Some $2,250 billion of stimulus has already been announced by 34 nations. This stimulus, along with new initiatives by other countries, must help catapult the world economy into the 21st century, not perpetuate the dying industries and bad habits of yesteryear. Indeed, continuing to pour trillions of dollars into carbon-based infrastructure and fossil-fuel subsidies would be like investing in subprime real estate all over again.
Eliminating the $300 billion in annual global fossil fuel subsidies would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 6 per cent and would add to global gross domestic product. Developing renewable energy will help where we need it most. Already, developing economies account for 40 per cent of existing global renewable resources as well as 70 per cent of solar water heating capacity.
Leaders everywhere, notably in the US and China, are realising that green is not an option but a necessity for recharging their economies and creating jobs. Globally, with 2.3 million people employed in the renewable energy sector, there are already more jobs there than directly in the oil and gas industries. In the US, there are now more jobs in the wind industry than in the entire coal industry. President Barack Obama's and China's stimulus packages are a critical step in the right direction and their green components must be followed through urgently. We urge all governments to expand green stimulus elements, including energy efficiency, renewables, mass transit, new smart electricity grids and reforestation, and to coordinate their efforts for rapid results.
Second, we need 'pro-poor' policies now. In much of the developing world, governments do not have the option to borrow or print money to cushion the devastating economic blows. Therefore, governments in industrialised countries must reach beyond their borders and invest immediately in those cost-effective programmes that boost the productivity of the poorest. Last year, food riots and unrest swept more than 30 countries. Ominously, this was even before September's financial implosion, which sparked the global recession that has driven a further 100 million people deeper into poverty. We must act now to prevent further suffering and potential widespread political instability.
This means increasing overseas development assistance this year. It means strengthening social safety nets. It means investing in agriculture in developing countries by getting seeds, tools, sustainable agricultural practices and credit to smallholder farmers so they can produce more food and get it to local and regional markets. Pro-poor policy also means increasing investments in better land use, water conservation and drought-resistant crops to help farmers adapt to a changing climate, which if not addressed could usher in chronic hunger and malnutrition across large swathes of the developing world.
Third, we need a robust climate deal in Copenhagen in December. Not next year. This year. The climate negotiations must be dramatically accelerated and given attention at the highest levels, starting today. A successful deal in Copenhagen offers the most potent global stimulus package possible. With a new climate framework in hand, business and governments will finally have the carbon price signal businesses have been clamouring for, one that can unleash a wave of innovation and investment in clean energy. Copenhagen will provide the green light for green growth. This is the basis for a truly sustainable economic recovery that will benefit us and our children's children for decades to come.
For millions of people from Detroit to Delhi these are the worst of times. Families have lost jobs, homes, health care and even the prospect of their next meal. With so much at stake, governments must be strategic in their choices. We must not let the urgent undermine the essential. Investing in the green economy is not an optional expense. It is a smart investment for a more equitable, prosperous future.
Ban Ki-moon is UN secretary-general; Al Gore is a former US vice-president.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
On the Other Side of the Ganga
This post will probably be a bit shorter than usual, but there isn't too terribly much to report, I don't suppose. Got another ravaging of bug bites, grrr, and feeling a little ru n down, but overall, no complaints.
Of course after writing the last blog I thought of things I forgot to mention, like that I took a bike rickshaw ride with one of my leaders the other day, which is a lot rougher than the auto rickshaw, but cool to experience. I also wanted to say there is almost no waste system here whatsoever. I mean there is garbage all over the streets, and it gets swept up every day, and I am not even sure where it goes after that, pretty sure everything goes into the Ganga, I know the sewage does. Also, the power goes out a few times a day, like clockwork, it's scheduled, I think if I understood correctly, it has to do with the city not being able to pay for full electricity, something like that. So it goes off for a few hours in midday, and a few hours in the evening, and there might be another time or too.
Also, as Storyteller mentioned in a comment, Varanasi (also called Banaras) is the place of the funeral pyres and the dead. They say it's the city of Shiva, and apparently it's really holy to die here, you get immediate release from the cycles of life and death and rebirth. And awhile down the ghats, that is where they cremate the bodies.
So, classes are going well. I feel like I'm rocking Hindi class, though this morning I was sooo tired. I had my last singing and dance classes, and got to learn one full composition of kattak dance (though I'm still pretty rusty at it) and it feels good to have a full, sort of complex thing as dance that I can do. I also got to do lots of singing exercises and then learned a full song, a prayer to Saraswati, the goddess of music. It's all in Sanskrit, so I don't really exactly know what it means, but Goba, my singing teacher, gave the gist.
Yesterday morning, we took a boat ride on the Ganga at sunrise, which was awesome. We learned a bit about the history of the city, and about some of the places and temples along the ghats. We also went into a mosque and a Hindi temple before going back on the boat. Riding back, I was in a sort of meditative trance almost, really overwhelmed, in a good way, like, wow, I'm in Asia, in India, it feels so surreal sometimes. I also started thinking abouti what first made me want to go to India, many years ago, and it's slightly embarrassing I guess, but it was Christopher Pike's Last Vampire series, which was great. I read the six book series twice as a teenager, and each time it felt like going on a spiritual journey of sorts. There is a lot of Hindu mythology in the books, and that's what first got me th inking about India, Indian philosophy and art and culture and history. THat was like, fifteen years ago or something. ANd I remember in my freshman year of college, I was thinking about trying to do this winter break trip to India the next year, and talked w/some friends about it. Remembering that makes me really miss my firend Ted who I only knew a short while, who was very dear to my heart and such a great friend, who I miss a lot. He was helping me thinking up ideas on how to fundraise. But then I decided to transfer and so it never happened. I also thought about how in my senior year of high school I wrote my term paper on Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha (which was ten years ago at this point, and I really wish I still ahd that paper somehow, to at least read and reflect on ten years later) and how our next stop is Bodhgaya, which is the supposed place where SIddhartha Ghutama became enlightened. So I was just sort of overcome, thinking about, in a way, how freakin' long in the making this has been for me. And it's just amazing that I am actually here in India, i mean it's hard to wrap my mind around.
Today we had another boat ride after Hindi class, to the other side of the river, where we had a picnic, (and where tehy informed us that all the dogs over on that side are rabid). Our food was prepared for us in the traditional way, aka, cooked on a cow dung fire. THe food was really great, and we ate it out of clay pots (that were not fully baked) and leaf plates and ate with our hands. While we waited for the food, we mostly hung out and chilled and listened to iPods. ONly a few in our group have them in India (I left mine in SF) and so a lot of times we'll share, one person with one earbud, and one person with another. TOday I got to hear some songs that made me think of older times, and in some cases, way older times. It's kind of nice to have that every now and then, the familiar music. I would say I miss that more than anything, non-person-related that is. I miss music. And last night I got to hear some TOOL briefly, the "watch ther weather change" song.
It's to the point where I do really feel like I"m getting used to it here, where I can tell that when I return to America, it's going to feel really weird to me, and probably so quiet it's uncomfortable. It will be weird to not see animals everywhere, people everywhere, color everywhere. Roads with rules will seem strange, but I think most of all, americans will seem strange (no offense!) Here I feel like I see people from all over the world all the time, and the Indian people are very welcoming, in a way that is really different from the states.
Of course there are the ones that are too welcoming. Most of the girls in our group have had at least one unusual and unwanted encounter with the local dudes, nothing major or anything, but still, it's noticeable. We had a women's asfety pow-wow last night. One of our group members has a lot of training in that area and is also going to share her skills. Sometimes it feels like every night is a slumber party.
At this point in Varanasi there are some definite favorite places to eat. One is this organic cafe, called the Aum Cafe, with awesome herbal tea mixes (I often pick the Journey to Aum tea, which supposedly connects the heart to the third eye) and just excellent food. Sometimes I go there by myself and write and listen to conversations and try to understand Hindi, and just enjoy the vibe. ANother place is this mediterranean restaurant which is just so cool. I will have to get some pictures. The benches are almost like beds, they're semi low to the ground, and actually one day we went there really early hoping for breakfast and all the people who work there were sleeping on the seats/beds. THey have chessboards there and great food. The owner is this really cool guy who was a bodybuilder and was Mr. Jordan (as in the country) seven times! He told us he used to eat 35 eggs everyday! That place also has a great vibe, and that is where we sometimes get hookah.
Everything is really cheap here compared to in AMerica. THe exchange rate for rupees is good right now, and things are just really inexpensive. Basically we all eat on about $7 a day, which is included in the price of the trip, I have barely spent any money at all, which is good, but also does definitely make you think about poverty, and the relativity of money. Oh, another interesting fact, the ATM machines here spit out counterfeit rupee notes. We had a little lesson in how to tell the difference last night, and we looked at our per diem's and many of them were counterfeits, but no one seems to notice or care, I mean we have probably been paying with a mix of real and counterfiet the whole time. And people are really laid back. This morning for breakfast, I went to pay with a bill that was too big fro the guy to break and he said, just pay tomorrow. A lot of places are like that. There are no reciepts or at least I haven't gotten one, and it seems a lot is done by hand.
Anyway, we have a few more days here in Varanasi, and then on Tuesday morning I think, we leave for Bodhgaya, the birthplace of Buddhism. And after that, Calcutta, which I have to say is the part of the trip that makes me the most nervous, hands down, but ya know, I feel like once I get through that, it'll be golden, and in some ways easier. This really is a constant learning and growing experience.
It's funny how certain issues will surface. Like yesterday in Hindi class, the teacher gave me a compliment or two, and I felt like I was doing well, and then I felt really guilty about it, like to the point of wanting to pretend not to know stuff, or just not answering b/c I felt bad adn just so didn't want to stand out. Well part of me totally did, but it was like there was this whole undercurrent that didn't. And all this stuff came up for me, like it triggered a lot of stuff from the past, like sorts of things I didn't even have any awareness of until that point, about issues I had around being smart, or standing out in class, I mean there was SO much there under the surface on that topic, and it was rich territory to explore, and something I feel is worth trying to work through before going to Reed, so I can just be ON academically and not battling some old inner demons. It's funny b/c I've been giving a lot of thought to the topic of why when I was younger I didn't really push myself academically nearly as much as I could have, and some of it was laziness, but I also realizeed there was way more going on under the surface of that. SO, good to have some clarity. I mean I just took the experience, went to the AUm Cafe and journalled for awhile, and I felt like I really saw how certain older experiences and patterns had shaped my life, in a subconscious but powerful way, and created patterns that I do not want to continue while in school, like feeling guilty that school comes super easily to me - that is NOT something I want to be operating under when I return to college. No way in hell. So I'm glad I could see it and I'm sure there's more there. I feel this is a bit vague, and I could go into it more later, but I'm about to go.
So yeah, the learning never stops, and I'm glad. THat's part of why I'm here, to further develop as a person, to grow, to ch allenge myself, to have courage. We each had to pick a sticker of a deity our second day here, sort of tarot card style, like they were all facedown, and I closed my eyes while picking, and used my left hand, and I picked Durga (Hey Tam, I hope I'm not dopplegangering your namesake here) and we had to research our deities, and I feel like mine is the perfect one I could have gotten for this trip, and I will say more on that later too.
I also realized that there is a bit of a spiritual journey that I am on, not to find clarity or anything like that, I feel like I'm not seeking answers, I'm seeking a process of letting go, which sounds way more new agey than I mean it. I don't really want to say more b/c it's super personal, but it's sort of similar to something I did several years ago, that involved water. Or it did the first time, and might not this time.
Okay, gotta go.
Song in head:
A song by Dido, I actually don't know the name, though I think it's "Hunter." I hadn't heard it in ages, but my girl Willa ROse had it on her iPod when we were sharing earlier today. I've always loved it. I wasn't huage into Dido, but I always really loved this song. ANd it sort of fits this trip in a way too.
With one light on
In one room
I know you're up
When I get home
With one small step
Upon the stair
I know your look
When I get there
If you were a king
Up there on your throne
Would you be wise enough to let me go
For this queen you think you own
Wants to be a hunter again
I want to see the world alone again
To take a chance on life again
So let me go...
The unread book
And painful look
The TV's on
The sound is down
With one long pause
Then you begin
Oh look what
The cat's brought in
If you were a king
Up there on your throne
Would you be wise enough to let me go
For this queen you think you own
Wants to be a hunter again
I want to see the world alone again
To take a chance on life again
So let me go
Let me leave
For the crown you've placed upon my head
Feels too heavy now
And I don't know what to say to you
But I'll smile anyhow
And all the time I'm thinking
Thinking...
I want to be a hunter again
I want to see the world alone again
To take a chance on life again
So let me go
Of course after writing the last blog I thought of things I forgot to mention, like that I took a bike rickshaw ride with one of my leaders the other day, which is a lot rougher than the auto rickshaw, but cool to experience. I also wanted to say there is almost no waste system here whatsoever. I mean there is garbage all over the streets, and it gets swept up every day, and I am not even sure where it goes after that, pretty sure everything goes into the Ganga, I know the sewage does. Also, the power goes out a few times a day, like clockwork, it's scheduled, I think if I understood correctly, it has to do with the city not being able to pay for full electricity, something like that. So it goes off for a few hours in midday, and a few hours in the evening, and there might be another time or too.
Also, as Storyteller mentioned in a comment, Varanasi (also called Banaras) is the place of the funeral pyres and the dead. They say it's the city of Shiva, and apparently it's really holy to die here, you get immediate release from the cycles of life and death and rebirth. And awhile down the ghats, that is where they cremate the bodies.
So, classes are going well. I feel like I'm rocking Hindi class, though this morning I was sooo tired. I had my last singing and dance classes, and got to learn one full composition of kattak dance (though I'm still pretty rusty at it) and it feels good to have a full, sort of complex thing as dance that I can do. I also got to do lots of singing exercises and then learned a full song, a prayer to Saraswati, the goddess of music. It's all in Sanskrit, so I don't really exactly know what it means, but Goba, my singing teacher, gave the gist.
Yesterday morning, we took a boat ride on the Ganga at sunrise, which was awesome. We learned a bit about the history of the city, and about some of the places and temples along the ghats. We also went into a mosque and a Hindi temple before going back on the boat. Riding back, I was in a sort of meditative trance almost, really overwhelmed, in a good way, like, wow, I'm in Asia, in India, it feels so surreal sometimes. I also started thinking abouti what first made me want to go to India, many years ago, and it's slightly embarrassing I guess, but it was Christopher Pike's Last Vampire series, which was great. I read the six book series twice as a teenager, and each time it felt like going on a spiritual journey of sorts. There is a lot of Hindu mythology in the books, and that's what first got me th inking about India, Indian philosophy and art and culture and history. THat was like, fifteen years ago or something. ANd I remember in my freshman year of college, I was thinking about trying to do this winter break trip to India the next year, and talked w/some friends about it. Remembering that makes me really miss my firend Ted who I only knew a short while, who was very dear to my heart and such a great friend, who I miss a lot. He was helping me thinking up ideas on how to fundraise. But then I decided to transfer and so it never happened. I also thought about how in my senior year of high school I wrote my term paper on Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha (which was ten years ago at this point, and I really wish I still ahd that paper somehow, to at least read and reflect on ten years later) and how our next stop is Bodhgaya, which is the supposed place where SIddhartha Ghutama became enlightened. So I was just sort of overcome, thinking about, in a way, how freakin' long in the making this has been for me. And it's just amazing that I am actually here in India, i mean it's hard to wrap my mind around.
Today we had another boat ride after Hindi class, to the other side of the river, where we had a picnic, (and where tehy informed us that all the dogs over on that side are rabid). Our food was prepared for us in the traditional way, aka, cooked on a cow dung fire. THe food was really great, and we ate it out of clay pots (that were not fully baked) and leaf plates and ate with our hands. While we waited for the food, we mostly hung out and chilled and listened to iPods. ONly a few in our group have them in India (I left mine in SF) and so a lot of times we'll share, one person with one earbud, and one person with another. TOday I got to hear some songs that made me think of older times, and in some cases, way older times. It's kind of nice to have that every now and then, the familiar music. I would say I miss that more than anything, non-person-related that is. I miss music. And last night I got to hear some TOOL briefly, the "watch ther weather change" song.
It's to the point where I do really feel like I"m getting used to it here, where I can tell that when I return to America, it's going to feel really weird to me, and probably so quiet it's uncomfortable. It will be weird to not see animals everywhere, people everywhere, color everywhere. Roads with rules will seem strange, but I think most of all, americans will seem strange (no offense!) Here I feel like I see people from all over the world all the time, and the Indian people are very welcoming, in a way that is really different from the states.
Of course there are the ones that are too welcoming. Most of the girls in our group have had at least one unusual and unwanted encounter with the local dudes, nothing major or anything, but still, it's noticeable. We had a women's asfety pow-wow last night. One of our group members has a lot of training in that area and is also going to share her skills. Sometimes it feels like every night is a slumber party.
At this point in Varanasi there are some definite favorite places to eat. One is this organic cafe, called the Aum Cafe, with awesome herbal tea mixes (I often pick the Journey to Aum tea, which supposedly connects the heart to the third eye) and just excellent food. Sometimes I go there by myself and write and listen to conversations and try to understand Hindi, and just enjoy the vibe. ANother place is this mediterranean restaurant which is just so cool. I will have to get some pictures. The benches are almost like beds, they're semi low to the ground, and actually one day we went there really early hoping for breakfast and all the people who work there were sleeping on the seats/beds. THey have chessboards there and great food. The owner is this really cool guy who was a bodybuilder and was Mr. Jordan (as in the country) seven times! He told us he used to eat 35 eggs everyday! That place also has a great vibe, and that is where we sometimes get hookah.
Everything is really cheap here compared to in AMerica. THe exchange rate for rupees is good right now, and things are just really inexpensive. Basically we all eat on about $7 a day, which is included in the price of the trip, I have barely spent any money at all, which is good, but also does definitely make you think about poverty, and the relativity of money. Oh, another interesting fact, the ATM machines here spit out counterfeit rupee notes. We had a little lesson in how to tell the difference last night, and we looked at our per diem's and many of them were counterfeits, but no one seems to notice or care, I mean we have probably been paying with a mix of real and counterfiet the whole time. And people are really laid back. This morning for breakfast, I went to pay with a bill that was too big fro the guy to break and he said, just pay tomorrow. A lot of places are like that. There are no reciepts or at least I haven't gotten one, and it seems a lot is done by hand.
Anyway, we have a few more days here in Varanasi, and then on Tuesday morning I think, we leave for Bodhgaya, the birthplace of Buddhism. And after that, Calcutta, which I have to say is the part of the trip that makes me the most nervous, hands down, but ya know, I feel like once I get through that, it'll be golden, and in some ways easier. This really is a constant learning and growing experience.
It's funny how certain issues will surface. Like yesterday in Hindi class, the teacher gave me a compliment or two, and I felt like I was doing well, and then I felt really guilty about it, like to the point of wanting to pretend not to know stuff, or just not answering b/c I felt bad adn just so didn't want to stand out. Well part of me totally did, but it was like there was this whole undercurrent that didn't. And all this stuff came up for me, like it triggered a lot of stuff from the past, like sorts of things I didn't even have any awareness of until that point, about issues I had around being smart, or standing out in class, I mean there was SO much there under the surface on that topic, and it was rich territory to explore, and something I feel is worth trying to work through before going to Reed, so I can just be ON academically and not battling some old inner demons. It's funny b/c I've been giving a lot of thought to the topic of why when I was younger I didn't really push myself academically nearly as much as I could have, and some of it was laziness, but I also realizeed there was way more going on under the surface of that. SO, good to have some clarity. I mean I just took the experience, went to the AUm Cafe and journalled for awhile, and I felt like I really saw how certain older experiences and patterns had shaped my life, in a subconscious but powerful way, and created patterns that I do not want to continue while in school, like feeling guilty that school comes super easily to me - that is NOT something I want to be operating under when I return to college. No way in hell. So I'm glad I could see it and I'm sure there's more there. I feel this is a bit vague, and I could go into it more later, but I'm about to go.
So yeah, the learning never stops, and I'm glad. THat's part of why I'm here, to further develop as a person, to grow, to ch allenge myself, to have courage. We each had to pick a sticker of a deity our second day here, sort of tarot card style, like they were all facedown, and I closed my eyes while picking, and used my left hand, and I picked Durga (Hey Tam, I hope I'm not dopplegangering your namesake here) and we had to research our deities, and I feel like mine is the perfect one I could have gotten for this trip, and I will say more on that later too.
I also realized that there is a bit of a spiritual journey that I am on, not to find clarity or anything like that, I feel like I'm not seeking answers, I'm seeking a process of letting go, which sounds way more new agey than I mean it. I don't really want to say more b/c it's super personal, but it's sort of similar to something I did several years ago, that involved water. Or it did the first time, and might not this time.
Okay, gotta go.
Song in head:
A song by Dido, I actually don't know the name, though I think it's "Hunter." I hadn't heard it in ages, but my girl Willa ROse had it on her iPod when we were sharing earlier today. I've always loved it. I wasn't huage into Dido, but I always really loved this song. ANd it sort of fits this trip in a way too.
With one light on
In one room
I know you're up
When I get home
With one small step
Upon the stair
I know your look
When I get there
If you were a king
Up there on your throne
Would you be wise enough to let me go
For this queen you think you own
Wants to be a hunter again
I want to see the world alone again
To take a chance on life again
So let me go...
The unread book
And painful look
The TV's on
The sound is down
With one long pause
Then you begin
Oh look what
The cat's brought in
If you were a king
Up there on your throne
Would you be wise enough to let me go
For this queen you think you own
Wants to be a hunter again
I want to see the world alone again
To take a chance on life again
So let me go
Let me leave
For the crown you've placed upon my head
Feels too heavy now
And I don't know what to say to you
But I'll smile anyhow
And all the time I'm thinking
Thinking...
I want to be a hunter again
I want to see the world alone again
To take a chance on life again
So let me go
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Read Graham's post on the India Group Blog!
Graham, one of the awesome girls in my group, and the fellow Grey's Anatomy addict), posted the first blog entry for the India group blog. I encourage everyone to check it out, and get more perspective on the whole experience.
INdia Group Blog
Check ya later, off to go grab some snakcs at this cool organic place that apparently has to die for banana chocolate bread, and also has filtered water, yaya! After that, singing lessons and kattak dance.
INdia Group Blog
Check ya later, off to go grab some snakcs at this cool organic place that apparently has to die for banana chocolate bread, and also has filtered water, yaya! After that, singing lessons and kattak dance.
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