First off, let me please apologize for any grammatical errors and/or spelling mistakes that the computer does not catch. It seems speaking in half English, half Hindi constantly really confuses the brain, especially since Hindi is opposite from in every way. Even though I have only been here for a month and a half, its really sinking in quickly! I truly believe that there is no better way to learn a language than to be forced to listen to it or speak it, all day,every day.
But apart from Hindi adventures, this week has been pretty tame. On March 12, I leave to go to the Southern part of the state, to a city called Udaipur. I am going to be serving at a community organization, specializing in sustainable agriculture and herbal medicine, called JJVS or Jargon for short (http://jjvs.org/). Also, because the festival of Holi falls on the week that marks the halfway point of my program, I get once less week at my field placement site. I am really excited but nervous about some things! I am going to really miss my amazing family and roommate, Bridget, and am not ready to leave them for a brand new city and very nervous to live with two other people on my program who I am still not sure if they like me or not. But I am really excited to see how an NGO functions in India, and learn some of the ways that Indians farm and live in rural India. Hopefully, all goes well, and I can focus on learning more Hindi and all my term papers due when I get back!
For now though, I am enjoying my last week and a half with my family, working on papers and preparing for my mid-term Hindi exam. This past weekend was very laid back. Bridget and I walked over 20 km between Saturday and Sunday, exploring our city and (me) crossing out some of my final items I purchased for my family. I was hoping to bring back more, but I am surprised at how much space everything takes up! With gifts for my immediate family, grandparents, and close friends, I barely have any space for myself (though if anyone wants anything specific, PLEASE TELL ME!). I have already purchased another bag to bring home on the plane with me. On Sunday, we decided to venture to the overpriced zoo.
Though it was nothing spectacular, I am certainly glad we went. After paying 15x more than an Indian student, I got to see some pretty awesome animals! The big cats (leopard, tiger and cheetah) were all being fed huge chunks of meat. The alligators were living in harmony with the stray cats scattered across their pen. It seemed that everything I saw was straight out of the jungle book. From the Indian Wolf family that raised Mowgli, to the big sloth bear Bhaloo lumbering around (which means bear in Hindi and also my new favorite animal), all members of the cast were there! All in all, it wasn't a terrible zoo for being in the middle of the city, although I do wish that some of the animals lived in better conditions.
During the week this week, we got to experience the opposite ends of the spectrum of dance. On Tuesday, we were lucky enough to have a dance guru come in and teach us about one of the nine forms of Indian classical dance. She showed us how it evolved from folk dancing, into a dance that each movement and gesture has a different symbol and told us many stories about the gods and their consorts through her and her student's movements. I was fascinated with the preciseness of each movement and am so interested in it now that I am writing a paper on classical Indian dances! Last night, we also saw "The Bad Boys of Dance." It was amazingly fun, but I was shocked at how sexual some of the dancing was. In a country where kissing in movies is considered too explicit, I was almost appalled to see dancers on stage waltzing with blow up dolls and rolling around, male on top of female. At one point, they even kissed each other on the cheek, leading to cheers from the crowd!
This week is the week that I have really just started to live in India. Studying abroad cannot be one big adventure - there's massive amounts of schoolwork to do! So though no major events took place, it was certainly enjoyable; introducing no-bakes to my chocolate loving host sisters, sitting in the cafe after school and researching for homework into the wee hours of the morning. Hopefully, many good weeks (with the perfect weather we had) are to come!
But apart from Hindi adventures, this week has been pretty tame. On March 12, I leave to go to the Southern part of the state, to a city called Udaipur. I am going to be serving at a community organization, specializing in sustainable agriculture and herbal medicine, called JJVS or Jargon for short (http://jjvs.org/). Also, because the festival of Holi falls on the week that marks the halfway point of my program, I get once less week at my field placement site. I am really excited but nervous about some things! I am going to really miss my amazing family and roommate, Bridget, and am not ready to leave them for a brand new city and very nervous to live with two other people on my program who I am still not sure if they like me or not. But I am really excited to see how an NGO functions in India, and learn some of the ways that Indians farm and live in rural India. Hopefully, all goes well, and I can focus on learning more Hindi and all my term papers due when I get back!
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| Kitty cat and Crocodiles! |
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| Indian Wolf Pack |
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| Pure excitedness with Sloth Bear |
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| "Siva" in Kanta Dance |
This week is the week that I have really just started to live in India. Studying abroad cannot be one big adventure - there's massive amounts of schoolwork to do! So though no major events took place, it was certainly enjoyable; introducing no-bakes to my chocolate loving host sisters, sitting in the cafe after school and researching for homework into the wee hours of the morning. Hopefully, many good weeks (with the perfect weather we had) are to come!
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