Well I am now in Chandigarh, in northern India, in the Punjab region. Chandigarh is interesting because it is a planned city. After the Partition, the capital of Punjab was a part of Pakistan so they had to come together and make a new capital. To do this they employed Le Corbusier to design the city. It's so different from Delhi. Delhi is crowded and, well, crazy. Chandigarh is segregated into different sectors and the thought behind it was to make each sector self-sufficient. It's been interesting because we only had one day of class (we arrived by train from Delhi on Thursday night) and then we've had the weekend so we haven't had too much background info on this city before we have been able to go out and explore. Autos are different here and it's a bit harder to catch one (and figure out where to go). I'll do a mini recap of what I've done so far:
Well our hotel is pretty nice. Air conditioning is key because it is so freaking humid here. On Friday we took a bus tour of different areas, including the parliament and other official designed buildings by Corbusier. The symbol of Chandigarh is the open hand, to represent that it is here to give and receive and that was also Corbusier's idea. Sadly he had constructed an open plaza right near government buildings as a place of open forum and debates but because so many assassinations have taken place (car bombs etc) there is such heightened security everywhere that most people can't get in. We had crazy amounts of documents with all of our information to get cleared to go in and we still couldn't get into to some places. By this time we were all dripping from sweat. We are all trying to get used to it but it's just not natural to sweat this much (even for me!). So the hotel is a nice sanctuary.
After the tour we had lunch outside the architecture college and then went inside for a series of 6 lectures on Chandigarh. It was pretty interesting with a lot of information thrown at us in a short amount of time but we had some good speakers. I'm intrigued to see how our other classes which start tomorrow show us Chandigarh. I think we have some sort of site visit planned soon so I wonder what we will end up seeing.
The past two days have been free. It's been nice to sleep in and have everyone in the same hotel. Our homestays in Delhi were really nice (I love my family and will see them again at the farewell dinner) but it's nice to just lounge around in each other's rooms and find everyone easily. Some people planned a trip to Shimla, a city near the foothills of the Himalayas. I would have loved to see the mountains but it seemed like too short of a visit to go too far away. I think my body needs the rest to get over being sick, so I opted out of it. I haven't had much of a conversation with anyone who has went yet but I hope I don't regret not going. I've convinced myself that I will be back here so I'll come when I can spend more time up near the mountains. There is so much more I want to see that I would regret not being able to spend the small amount of time I have in the place that I am.
Yesterday we went to the rock garden in Chandigarh. It was so cool! I'll have to get some pictures up here soon so I can show you guys the depth of the rock garden. Also our booklet doesn't tell us much about what it is or how it was made so maybe I can get some more information too. Then we went to the lake where we rented a paddle boat and boated around. Everyone was paddling up to us to ask us where we were from and we were definite celebrities, getting our picture taken everywhere. It was nice to just be in a small group (there were 4 of us). I do enjoy the entire group but moving around in a smaller group is much easier and more enjoyable (especially bc they are also the people I feel closest to so far on the trip).
Today's been chill. Very relaxing and classes start tomorrow, which is crazy. This whole trip is moving so quickly, I dunno if you all feel that back at home. I can't believe that we leave here on Thursday and then leave for South Africa in a week. Earlier I was feeling very overwhelmed that India has flown by. I haven't taken as many pictures or bought many things at all!! In the beginning I just wanted to take everything in and now I realize that I didn't have enough time to really do that so I feel this pressure to go and absorb everything quickly. Also my sickness has been a deterrent from feeling my best (after my fever had an infection in my mouth that wasn't good at all). Pictures have been very upsetting because they warned us not to take too many and to be respectful of the people/places we are taking pictures of but I feel like because of that I don't have any pictures of everyday life in Delhi. I'm determined for the few days when we get back to take as many pictures (respectfully of course) as I can. Same goes for buying things, the time to look has passed and now it's grab and go time! Ha.
Ok, I guess that's it for me for now. I'll try to put up pictures soon.
xoxo
Lizzie
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Feelin Hot Hot Hot
Ahh, I do believe I may be the worst blogger ever. Well, I never said I would be good at this but you would think that after two summers under my belt I would have been a bit more on top of things. Anyway, I'll do the best I can for now...
The title refers to both the weather here in India and also the fever that I had until yesterday(ish). I've totally accepted my sweatiness and yet you would be amazed at what fans can really do. Fatima and I were discussing if fans were more efficient here or if we just dont take them for granted. I'm feelin much better now, and although I'm trying to be careful with the food and my stomach, the fever is gone and my body feels much stronger now. Let's hope it stays this way.
India is difficult. I don't like that difficult as a negative connotation but I feel that's the word that sums up what I'm feeling right now. There is so much beauty here and richness, through the people, colors, smells, foods, but it's a really emotionally trying place to be. There is a lot of poverty right in front of my eyes that I have to deal with everyday. So many beggars, women, children, people missing limbs, etc that come up to you and ask for money. The difficult part is that you want to give them money, especially when you do the conversion and think of how little that is to you at home, but unfortunately the money won't be going to them. If you have seen Slumdog Millionaire then you know what I'm talking about. There are these slumlords that hire the poor to beg and then they bring the money back. So if you give them money then really you are supporting this vicious system, although it alleviates some of you guilt. I feel like breaking down about 5 times a day just from the intensity and the sadness that comes from not only witnessing but being a part of this. Especially when you are sitting in an auto rickshaw and some little girl places a flower on your lap so you will buy it and you have to look away...it's heartbreaking.
On a happier note, I love my homestay!! My family is incredible and Fatima and I get along so well (she was a great nurse when I had my fever). My mother (Gita-ma) and father (Anil-pa) treat us like daughters and joke around with us and we feel so included into the family, it's a nice place to come home to. We have two host brothers and two grandparents. Interestingly they came over from Pakistan after the Partition. There have been many great conversations (luckily everyone speaks English). Gita-ma cooks so well and we try to help out when we can. I was going to cook french toast for breakfast but then I got my fever so I didn't make it down for breakfast. I need to explore my neighborhood a bit more but there's so much to learn just from our family.
The group as a whole has been really good. I am still getting to know people but the more people I talk to the more I like them. My good friends from Detroit have transferred over to Delhi and I've been able to talk to others too. Everyone was so sweet when I was sick and asked how I was feeling and checked up on me. We're a good group!
Tonight we just got back from Agra where the Taj Mahal is. Needless to say, it's gorgeous! Of course I wasn't feel too great but I'm happy I went anyway.
I have many more reflections to write about India but I want to see if I can put some pictures up first so for now good bye! I am thinking of you guys all the time...
xoxo
The title refers to both the weather here in India and also the fever that I had until yesterday(ish). I've totally accepted my sweatiness and yet you would be amazed at what fans can really do. Fatima and I were discussing if fans were more efficient here or if we just dont take them for granted. I'm feelin much better now, and although I'm trying to be careful with the food and my stomach, the fever is gone and my body feels much stronger now. Let's hope it stays this way.
India is difficult. I don't like that difficult as a negative connotation but I feel that's the word that sums up what I'm feeling right now. There is so much beauty here and richness, through the people, colors, smells, foods, but it's a really emotionally trying place to be. There is a lot of poverty right in front of my eyes that I have to deal with everyday. So many beggars, women, children, people missing limbs, etc that come up to you and ask for money. The difficult part is that you want to give them money, especially when you do the conversion and think of how little that is to you at home, but unfortunately the money won't be going to them. If you have seen Slumdog Millionaire then you know what I'm talking about. There are these slumlords that hire the poor to beg and then they bring the money back. So if you give them money then really you are supporting this vicious system, although it alleviates some of you guilt. I feel like breaking down about 5 times a day just from the intensity and the sadness that comes from not only witnessing but being a part of this. Especially when you are sitting in an auto rickshaw and some little girl places a flower on your lap so you will buy it and you have to look away...it's heartbreaking.
On a happier note, I love my homestay!! My family is incredible and Fatima and I get along so well (she was a great nurse when I had my fever). My mother (Gita-ma) and father (Anil-pa) treat us like daughters and joke around with us and we feel so included into the family, it's a nice place to come home to. We have two host brothers and two grandparents. Interestingly they came over from Pakistan after the Partition. There have been many great conversations (luckily everyone speaks English). Gita-ma cooks so well and we try to help out when we can. I was going to cook french toast for breakfast but then I got my fever so I didn't make it down for breakfast. I need to explore my neighborhood a bit more but there's so much to learn just from our family.
The group as a whole has been really good. I am still getting to know people but the more people I talk to the more I like them. My good friends from Detroit have transferred over to Delhi and I've been able to talk to others too. Everyone was so sweet when I was sick and asked how I was feeling and checked up on me. We're a good group!
Tonight we just got back from Agra where the Taj Mahal is. Needless to say, it's gorgeous! Of course I wasn't feel too great but I'm happy I went anyway.
I have many more reflections to write about India but I want to see if I can put some pictures up first so for now good bye! I am thinking of you guys all the time...
xoxo
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Beginning of the Good Stuff
So I'm in India. That's right, me. I know a lot of you are probably thinking "about time!" and me too, believe me. Let's do the recap:
Good long flight. Flew to Chicago from Detroit, then got on the plane that was 16 hrs direct to Delhi. The flight really wasn't too bad. Not that I got anything done. I was planning on doing major reading/journaling (both personal and academic) but nothing was accomplished. Got some sleep though, so I'm happy.
Then we landed!! We spent last night and are going to spend tonight in a hostel and tomorrow we are going to our homestays. I'm pretty jetlagged because of waking up at 4:30am (it's 9.5 hrs ahead here) but I'm trying to stay up tonight so I can get back on schedule. Believe me, I'm pooped but today's been good. It was a free day, which we all appreciated. Had breakfast at 7:30 then had the morning to wander. We went to Khan market and got some coffee and looked in the shops. Then went back to meet everyone (including our new country coordinators). We did this beautiful ceremony where we lit candles among flowers to commence our time in India. There our new coordinators explained a bit about the next day or so and also our neighborhood. We'll have our first class tomorrow and also go to our homestays after lunch!
After our meeting and lunch at the hostel we went out again. We got sim cards for our phone which was quite the process (need pictures, copies of our passports, activation papers...) and explored a bit more of our neighborhood. Then I ventured with some people to another market and looked around. I was too tired to even think about buying anything (surprising I know) and we headed back. It was nice to have a free day and also to move around in smaller groups (we already stand out so much that not being in a group of 33 or more is a lot easier). Just had dinner and I swear if I see my bed I'll never get back up so a few of us ran out to find computers.
I'm excited for my homestay. I will be staying with Fatima. I really like her and we've had some great talks (she's Muslim and we've had some good religion discussions as well as the usual conversations). I'm nervous to figure out who we are staying with and the neighborhood we are in. I'm hoping that more of my friends will be in my neighborhood ( we are all in 4 clusters) but of course, I wanna get to know other people in my group.
I know I'm going to spend soo much money here, luckily the exchange rate is pretty good. It's about 47 rupees to the dollar ( I round to 50 in my head). I want to get everything...you all know this is my dream come true, but I'm trying to check things out first before I buy stuff, I mean, it's only the first day.
As for India itself, while I haven't seen much, I know it's amazing. Ha. But really, you can't help but smell the country. Sometimes it's not too pleasant but other times its incredible and spicy even. The food has been delicious but I know the homestay will be even better! It's not so much of a culture shock because it's similar, in a way, to Thailand. Granted, they aren't the same but I feel as if I can recognize a lot between the two. The rickshaws (autos) are, um, thrilling. Ha, definitely gets your blood running. Of course it's hard with the children in the street but it's part of the experience. We are looking into doing a community service project (or several) while we are here and one opportunity might be to work with street kids. Sometimes I have to remind myself we are in India. It's incredible to be here and I'm so excited for the next four weeks. I can't tell you much about Delhi yet, but hopefully more to come. I can tell you that I was very surprise to see so much in English. Maybe I'll find out why soon.
Ok well I really have to go. Thank you to everyone who has been emailing me. I apologize for my lack of communication. Keep it coming! It looks like the internet might be better here (who knew?!) so I'll be able to respond.
XOXOXO Thinking of you all...
Lizzie
Good long flight. Flew to Chicago from Detroit, then got on the plane that was 16 hrs direct to Delhi. The flight really wasn't too bad. Not that I got anything done. I was planning on doing major reading/journaling (both personal and academic) but nothing was accomplished. Got some sleep though, so I'm happy.
Then we landed!! We spent last night and are going to spend tonight in a hostel and tomorrow we are going to our homestays. I'm pretty jetlagged because of waking up at 4:30am (it's 9.5 hrs ahead here) but I'm trying to stay up tonight so I can get back on schedule. Believe me, I'm pooped but today's been good. It was a free day, which we all appreciated. Had breakfast at 7:30 then had the morning to wander. We went to Khan market and got some coffee and looked in the shops. Then went back to meet everyone (including our new country coordinators). We did this beautiful ceremony where we lit candles among flowers to commence our time in India. There our new coordinators explained a bit about the next day or so and also our neighborhood. We'll have our first class tomorrow and also go to our homestays after lunch!
After our meeting and lunch at the hostel we went out again. We got sim cards for our phone which was quite the process (need pictures, copies of our passports, activation papers...) and explored a bit more of our neighborhood. Then I ventured with some people to another market and looked around. I was too tired to even think about buying anything (surprising I know) and we headed back. It was nice to have a free day and also to move around in smaller groups (we already stand out so much that not being in a group of 33 or more is a lot easier). Just had dinner and I swear if I see my bed I'll never get back up so a few of us ran out to find computers.
I'm excited for my homestay. I will be staying with Fatima. I really like her and we've had some great talks (she's Muslim and we've had some good religion discussions as well as the usual conversations). I'm nervous to figure out who we are staying with and the neighborhood we are in. I'm hoping that more of my friends will be in my neighborhood ( we are all in 4 clusters) but of course, I wanna get to know other people in my group.
I know I'm going to spend soo much money here, luckily the exchange rate is pretty good. It's about 47 rupees to the dollar ( I round to 50 in my head). I want to get everything...you all know this is my dream come true, but I'm trying to check things out first before I buy stuff, I mean, it's only the first day.
As for India itself, while I haven't seen much, I know it's amazing. Ha. But really, you can't help but smell the country. Sometimes it's not too pleasant but other times its incredible and spicy even. The food has been delicious but I know the homestay will be even better! It's not so much of a culture shock because it's similar, in a way, to Thailand. Granted, they aren't the same but I feel as if I can recognize a lot between the two. The rickshaws (autos) are, um, thrilling. Ha, definitely gets your blood running. Of course it's hard with the children in the street but it's part of the experience. We are looking into doing a community service project (or several) while we are here and one opportunity might be to work with street kids. Sometimes I have to remind myself we are in India. It's incredible to be here and I'm so excited for the next four weeks. I can't tell you much about Delhi yet, but hopefully more to come. I can tell you that I was very surprise to see so much in English. Maybe I'll find out why soon.
Ok well I really have to go. Thank you to everyone who has been emailing me. I apologize for my lack of communication. Keep it coming! It looks like the internet might be better here (who knew?!) so I'll be able to respond.
XOXOXO Thinking of you all...
Lizzie
Motor City without the Motor
Ok, so actually I'm in India now, but let's just pretend I'm not so I can catch you all up on what Detroit was like first.
Detroit was interesting. Of course I was weary in the beginning, new people, the normal "get to know you games," and the daunting feeling of spending 4 months traveling. But it turned out to be great! I learned a lot about Detroit and met a lot of people who were very optimistic for Detroit's future. It was really good to hear that side of the story, but sometimes I didn't feel like we were getting an acurate view of the situation in D-town (does anyone call it that?). Some quick high/lowlights from my two weeks there so I can move on to my India entry.
-Well obviously, not a lot of internet action. Detroit was barren really. We stayed right down town and it was pretty creepy how no one was there. So many people have moved out into the suburbs but even beyond that, because Detroit is so large that even the neighborhoods that are still vibrant are so far from downtown that the city seems empty.
-We had a many speakers come and talk to us about different issues and sometimes even great panels. Topics include: auto industry (kinda, not as much as I would have liked...), food systems (there aren't any major grocery stores in the city of Detroit, mostly just convience stores and "party" stores), race and class (huge white flight effect and the city is 85% African American) and much much more
-Went to two tigers games!!! One I organized for the group, the other we got in for free!
-Went to Eastern Market, a wonderful farmers/flea market downtown. The second time got fabulous bbq
-The last weekend we were there it was the international jazz fest and I saw great musicians, including Dave Brubeck and Chit Corea. Good times and it was interesting to see people coming into the city
-We didn't get to cover the auto industry, really at all. The one panel was more on transportation systems but I did find out that the coordinator for the Detroit progam owns a...Toyota (gasp!) Don't worry, daughter of Bob, explained to him how he was hurting this city that "he loves so much" by buying a foreign car. After that talk, he was cool...
-The people have been really amazing. Of course in the beginning was I was worried, but the more I get to know people the more I really like them. I get along great with my (former) roommate, Rashida, and there are others too. But it's still the beginning and while I know everyone's name and have definitely had conversations with them, I still have time to bond with more people.
-Hmm, any more highlights? Things definitely happened in Detroit (such as our little late night excursion to Windsor) but I think for the most part it was low-key. We met with some techno guys (cause apparently techno was created in Detroit) and that was cool. Also a night bike tour of the city which was really awesome. Great way to see the city and get around quickly. Everyone we met with was so surprised we didn't have cars and most of the city doesn't think it has a public transportation system, and while it's not great, we did ride the people mover (their elevated very limited rail) and the buses.
Ok, well I would write more on this but I wanna wrap it up so I can do another entry about India.
xoxo
Detroit was interesting. Of course I was weary in the beginning, new people, the normal "get to know you games," and the daunting feeling of spending 4 months traveling. But it turned out to be great! I learned a lot about Detroit and met a lot of people who were very optimistic for Detroit's future. It was really good to hear that side of the story, but sometimes I didn't feel like we were getting an acurate view of the situation in D-town (does anyone call it that?). Some quick high/lowlights from my two weeks there so I can move on to my India entry.
-Well obviously, not a lot of internet action. Detroit was barren really. We stayed right down town and it was pretty creepy how no one was there. So many people have moved out into the suburbs but even beyond that, because Detroit is so large that even the neighborhoods that are still vibrant are so far from downtown that the city seems empty.
-We had a many speakers come and talk to us about different issues and sometimes even great panels. Topics include: auto industry (kinda, not as much as I would have liked...), food systems (there aren't any major grocery stores in the city of Detroit, mostly just convience stores and "party" stores), race and class (huge white flight effect and the city is 85% African American) and much much more
-Went to two tigers games!!! One I organized for the group, the other we got in for free!
-Went to Eastern Market, a wonderful farmers/flea market downtown. The second time got fabulous bbq
-The last weekend we were there it was the international jazz fest and I saw great musicians, including Dave Brubeck and Chit Corea. Good times and it was interesting to see people coming into the city
-We didn't get to cover the auto industry, really at all. The one panel was more on transportation systems but I did find out that the coordinator for the Detroit progam owns a...Toyota (gasp!) Don't worry, daughter of Bob, explained to him how he was hurting this city that "he loves so much" by buying a foreign car. After that talk, he was cool...
-The people have been really amazing. Of course in the beginning was I was worried, but the more I get to know people the more I really like them. I get along great with my (former) roommate, Rashida, and there are others too. But it's still the beginning and while I know everyone's name and have definitely had conversations with them, I still have time to bond with more people.
-Hmm, any more highlights? Things definitely happened in Detroit (such as our little late night excursion to Windsor) but I think for the most part it was low-key. We met with some techno guys (cause apparently techno was created in Detroit) and that was cool. Also a night bike tour of the city which was really awesome. Great way to see the city and get around quickly. Everyone we met with was so surprised we didn't have cars and most of the city doesn't think it has a public transportation system, and while it's not great, we did ride the people mover (their elevated very limited rail) and the buses.
Ok, well I would write more on this but I wanna wrap it up so I can do another entry about India.
xoxo
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