13 Things I Learned in India

Wow, I'm back in the United States. A big part of me feels like I never left, and I'm trying really hard to fight that. I don't want to feel like I never left because I intended India to leave an impact on me. So, I will make a list of things I realized and learned and discovered in India, hopefully forcing myself not to forget.

1. Toilet paper is completely unnecessary.
2. You don't have to know where anything is if a rickshaw driver is always taking you there.
3. Scarfs are very useful in keeping yourself cool. It seems like they should be used to keep warm, but when a scarf is on top of your head it keeps you very cool!
4. While on the metro train, I saw little boy after little boy hold onto the pole in the middle of the train and spin around it. No matter how hard you argue, all people are the same. Kids do the same things in India that they do in America. All people need food, shelter, to love, and be loved. The only reason they go about obtaining these things in different ways is because of different cultural expectations. ALL people are the same.
5. I know that God knows who I am and has a plan for me. I knew I was supposed to go to India, and I've begun to see his plan for me unravel before my eyes because I went where he wanted me to go.
6.  God is more powerful than Satan.
7. You can find beauty in anything if you WANT to. If you have a sincere desire to like or love or favor something, chances are you will be able to adjust. I've seen volunteers in India honestly just hate the culture in India, but as I tried and tried to adjust, I was eventually successful.   I started feeling adjusted the last 5-7 days of my trip, so I know now that I need about a month to adjust. By "adjusted" I mean I started liking the sounds and smells and things that originally overwhelmed me. Markets were still pretty overwhelming at the end of my trip, though. That is something that will take some getting used to, honestly.
8. Soft beds and chairs are unnecessary.
9. Indian people have a talent for falling asleep anywhere, it seems. I wish I could fall asleep on a marble floor!
10. Monetary value is all relative. When an orphanage is built out of marble, you know you must be somewhere other than Hillsboro, Oregon. Marble and some precious gems are so much easier to come by there, while they are luxury items here.
11. Culture shock will go away with time if you want it to. If you don't want to change yourself to fit into the culture you will probably never adjust. I met a girl who had been in India for a year and she told me she, "never really adjusted." I'm sorry to say, but that was 100% her own fault. Learning how to adjust is pretty important if you want to not be constantly stressed out and hating your life.
12. Dress up just because! Traditional Indian dress is so beautiful, and they wear clothes like that so often, not just for special occasions. Sushma told me that henna means happiness - so you decorate things when you are happy, specifically yourself. I find that when I'm happier I put more effort into looking good anyways. Indians have that figured out! Put effort into how you look, and you feel a little more confident I think.
13. Most importantly, I learned that I can do this whole travel thing. And I'm so glad that I know that now! I don't like 8-hour flights a whole lot, but I can find ways to entertain myself. It's not a big deal, really. I like meeting new people, I like going new places, and I like witnessing exquisite examples of beauty. I like learning about cultures and why people do the things they do. I definitely will pursue anthropology.

Anna Hazare

While I was in India this last weekend, I went to a political rally. A man named Anna Hazare is doing a hunger strike against corruption in the government. Anna Hazare was on a stage in a huge field, and there were at least a football field of people sitting cross-legged in front of him. On top of that, there were a bunch of people standing around, milling about, and parading around in large groups with flags and face paint. There were so many people there, speaking Hindi so I didn't understand anything. I think if I would have been at a rally that huge in the US I would have been really nervous that it would turn violent unexpectedly. But I felt completely safe there. It was so cool! Also, Jo and I got interviewed by a news station, a film crew making a documentary, and a woman working with a newspaper or something.

I'm not sure if a hunger strike would work in the United States. The only person I could think of everyone getting behind and supporting the way the entire nation supports Anna Hazare, is Oprah. But that's not really the way we commonly instigate change in the US. Yeah, we have protests and stuff. But I don't feel like they're effective compared to this campaign because the Indian people are united behind it, while the American people don't seem to be ideologically united unless a lot of Americans are killed or something.

Here's a picture of one of the protesters at the rally:

Reluctant to Return to the States

I've been working on my promo video for the past few days. I've worked out a first draft and got some feedback. I'm going to go in a completely different direction, and not focus as much on "interviews." I felt kind of frustrated when people from headquarters told me they wanted me to go in a different direction, when I had put a lot of effort into the first one. However, i agree that it needs to change! After some more filming today, and a lot of planning and stuff, I feel like I'm prepared to change directions and I will be successful!

Sometimes people here come across as rude or tactless. I try really hard to not get offended because I don't think they mean to be rude or anything. I was talking to another volunteer and he explained that Hindi is an extremely direct language. I guess there isn't a word for "thank you" unless someone saved your life or something. Because their original language is so direct, their English is super direct. In America we speak very euphemistically. For example, some girls weren't sure that they were supposed to be at a meeting yesterday, but they showed up anyways and were a little late. When they voiced this, an Indian woman said something along the lines of, "I told you to be here at 2:30." If she were American, she probably would have said, "Oh. maybe there were some miss-communications. I intended for you to be here at 2:30, along with everyone else." Knowing that Indian people are very direct is SO helpful in understanding how they communicate with me, and how to read them. They aren't calling me out when they say, "I told you __," they are just clarifying, or simply making conversation.

Another cultural fact - when you buy something and someone asks how much it cost you, it's their way of showing interest in you. Also, people will ask you how you got somewhere after you arrived. Did you take the metro? What station did you get off the train at? Did you take an autorickshaw after that? When they ask you how you got there, it's their way of showing they care, it seems to me.

I feel like I'm starting to understand the culture. I traveled to Noida today alone, and once I got home I was telling one of the girls in the homestay about my day. Really, I don't want to come home to the states. I feel like I've adjusted. I have friends and I enjoy being here. I feel like I'm making progress on my project and I'm reaching my goals. I have more work that I could do if I had more time. I've been really homesick the past two days, but now I just don't want to go home. 

Snuggle Pillows and Sneezes

Going to the home in Greater Noida was so awesome!! I got to take pictures and videos, and do interviews with the girls and with the volunteers there. Before I filmed the interviews, I would just chat with the girls for a little while. I got some amazing feedback! Some of the girls didn't want to say what they told me on film, but that's okay. Most of the girls really love it at the Greater Noida home, and it was so cool to hear them say, "This is not an orphanage, this is my home."

There were some other girls that gave me some awesome feedback about what they want to change at the home. I feel like that's a way I can help here at Udayan care, is sharing this feedback with Headquarters. For example, one of the girls suggested they have more than one mentor mother. Totally makes sense! They have 35 girls and only one woman that comes a few times a week to be their "mother figure." I think that is a good suggestion! There were some other suggestions that I have no control over, and some girls just seemed a little bitter about certain aspects of the home that aren't going to change. That's a shame, but you can't make someone be happy or like where they are living. They have to make that choice.

One of the girls put a henna design on my hand. It looks awesome!! She did such a good job. Although I should have packed my bags before she put i on my hand...

I felt super sick when I woke up at the Greater Noida home yesterday. My head was pounding and my sinuses were all stuffed up. I felt better when I got back to East of Kailesh yesterday evening and took a nap. But last night I came down with a fever and had crazy chills and was sneezing. I've had a few fevers since I've been in India, but this one stunk because my lovely Sara wasn't here! I was in the room alone last night. BUT the fact that she wasn't here meant I got a snuggle pillow - a concept I introduced to her in Jaipur; a pillow for your head, and  a pillow to snuggle with! But being sick isn't so bad today because I just need to edit pictures and videos today anyways. Today is India's Independence day!

Transition from the Orphanage to New Delhi

I find it annoying when people get all emotional online, and post or tweet desperate things, and I've tried to avoid that here on my blog. But the reality is that living in an orphanage is really, really difficult. There are lots of emotional and psychological issues that come into play all the time. And as an international volunteer, I have to deal not only with the language barriers, but with the cultural differences as well.

When I talk about "culture shock" it may be hard to understand what I'm referring to, especially if you're back in the states, texting and eating Cafe Rio. Culture shock is when you can't communicate with someone because you don't speak Hindi - for the 7th time that day. It's when literally every person in the train station stares at you when they walk by, as you sit on the bench alone and wait for a train. Culture shock is when people yell at you in Hindi to buy things that you don't want a the market place, and then a little girl with face paint on begs you to buy some henna. Culture shock is when you eat roti for the third meal that day and you just want some cinnamon toast. Culture shock is when you go to the market and the man tells you the necklace costs 100 rupies, and then you hear him tell an Indian woman it costs 50 rupies. Or when you're in the back of a rickshaw and every single person is honking their horn so loud that you think your head might explode and implode all at the same time.

Now don't get me wrong, there are so many beautiful things about this culture that I'm enjoying. I love the crazy flavors, the naan bread, the fresh guava, the home-made mango juice. I love eating with roti instead of with a fork. I love it when you drive past a huge field and you can see the workers because their sarrees are so bright you can't help but stare as they stick out from the rest of the grass. I love that it's okay to talk to strangers (although it's usually really overwhelming for me). I love that people wear tons of jewelry just because. I love the humidity. I love that you can hold hands with someone you care about just because - it's not a big deal. I love being called "didi." I love that they always offer guests a drink of cold water.

But anyways, back to the orphanage. Yes, living in an orphanage was hard for me, but it's even harder for the kids who see volunteers constantly come and go. Why on earth would they want to trust you when they know you're going to leave?

With some other factors piled on top of that, I decided that spending another week at the orphanage would not be the best use of my time. I wouldn't be able to fix my relationship with them in a week - relationships are formed over such a longer span of time. When I realized this, I felt like I had failed my mission. Other volunteers did this, why couldn't I? I came to help kids in an orphanage, and I couldn't even do that. I felt like a total failure. I was feeling my worst last weekend, and I basically shut down. After we came home from church last Sunday at about 3 pm, I basically slept until dinner which was at about 8:30 pm. I felt so discouraged and was just done dealing with it. When an Udayan representative stopped by that weekend, he asked if I was okay. Vivek seemed rather worried about me on Monday when he was there. But Jaipur helped me recuperate, and was a much needed holiday.

I'm a perfectionist, and I like things to be just a certain way, so it was a hard decision for me to leave the orphanage. I wanted to "fix it" and make it right, but I knew I needed to leave and come back to New Delhi. I met with some coordinators at Udayan Care today, and we talked about my transition from the orphanage to the UC Headquarters. I'm going to travel to two other orphanages in my last week here and film and edit a promo video for the NGO. I'll also take pictures of the kids in the homes. I'm excited to do this! I think my skills will be put to good use here. I have a little bit of editing experience, but not enough, so if you have any advice for me please facebook me or something. I think this will be a good use of my time here.

And, for your pleasure, here's a video of the bathroom on the train back from Jaipur. The train was very, very nice. But Sara was a little surprised when she used the bathroom and realized where the pipe lead..

Greetings from Jaipur!

Sara and I are in Jaipur right now! Wow, we have had an amazing time!! We've finished our work at the orphanage, and after our 3 day holiday here in Jaipur I will move back to New Delhi and start my work at Udayan Care headquarters for the remainder of my stay in India. By transferring to NGO's headquarters, I will be able to get a feel for the administrative aspect of social work. I'm pretty excited to try that out!

Well, we have had a fabulous time in Jaipur so far. We took a four hour train ride here, which was pretty nice. When we got to the train station we had some trouble finding our taxi driver.. but we sorted it out eventually. Not after being asked by like 15 people if we needed a richshaw. We felt a little overwhelmed. Just a little.

I was feeling skeptical about the hotel, but when we got there I fell in love! I felt like I was in America again. After two weeks living with locals, it was nice to feel like I was home. Air conditioning, toilet paper, and TV in English are amenities I welcome with open arms!

After hanging out for a bit, we left for our first sight-seeing. First we saw some fancy building, but didn't really want to pay a guide to explain it all. Then we went to the King's palace. It was amazing! And SO beautiful! Our favorite part was looking at all the weapons they had on display. How cool! They have back-scratchers that convert into knifes, and lighters from 200 years ago. Also, there were loads of knives that doubled as guns. So cool!!

We went back to the room and relaxed for a while, and then we went to Chauki Dhani. OH MY GOSH! It was amazing. We had some troubles finding where the buffet was.. but we rode a camel! The camel symbolizes love, I found out. And it is now my new favorite animal. AH! I want to go on a journey in the desert on a camel. Oh my goodness, it was awesome! Also, the food there was absolutely amazing. We ate until we physically couldn't eat anymore. Yum!

After Chauki Dhani we hopped back in our taxi and made our way to the hotel for a long-needed night's rest. This morning after we got ready we did a lot of sight-seeing. We walked around two forts, and took pictures of a palace that was half-submerged in water. Instead of getting guides, Sara and I made up stories for the sites. It was so much fun!! We came up with intricate tales involving a King Sharu, Prince Jazmeal, Princess Sapira, and the evil King Raji from the Mogul empire. Man! Today has been totally awesome.

I've decided that it's a lot easier to adjust to a culture when I have an American style home to go back to. I'm not as afraid to face the dangers of India and all the vendors that try to get me to buy EVERYTHING when I know I can go back home to place that is like the home I'm used to. Also, on an interesting note, I dyed my hair brown. Sara and I have definitely noticed a change in the locals. They stare just as much, but they don't talk to me as often. Also, they give us better deals on stuff. I like the dark hair, and this is an added bonus!

Rakhi Festival

Today was the Rakhi Festival here. During the festival girls give boys bracelets, which says they want the boys to take care of them and protect them (like in a brotherly way). ALSO, we got to eat delicious Indian sweets. It was a long festival, but it was really cool to watch. The girls also put a bindhi on the boy's foreheads, but either put a grain of rice or a piece of sugar in the middle of it (I couldn't tell which it was). Pretty interesting!

While we were waiting for our ride today, we met another social worker that works with one of the boy's homes. Our social worker, Sara, this new guy, and me all chatted for a while. The social worker told this man that I had a good voice and I played guitar, and she told me to sing everyone a song. The people here do that all the time, ask each other to sing, or just start singing. It's really fun! And Sujita tells people that she introduces me to that I have a "sweet voice." That makes me feel good :)