A recap...

So although I sadly did not make it to Hampi after all, last weekend turned out to be one of the best I’ve had in India!

The train situation was impossible, and it turned out we were on the waiting list, which prevented us from travelling.  I know they say it’s all about the experience, but I am slightly ashamed to admit that I was somewhat relieved that I was not going to board the train when I saw it pass.  Uma is a teacher in standard three and it was her and her son that I had planned to go with.  Her son, Druv (sp?) was sadder than both of us combined and cried the entire ride back home. I think the auto guy was about to throw him out the large opening.  The rest of the night was spent relaxing, but Uma and I decide we would do a spa day to make up for our failed attempt at Hampi.  I spent most of the night playing with her adorable son and niece, Shreias (sp?).  It seemed they were quite fascinated by me and I was thrilled to play with them and listen to them giggle. The next morning we headed to the cricket stadium where the spa is located.  Apparently the cricket stadium is not just a stadium but also something closely related to a country club.  There was a pool, restaurant, salon, and a couple of other components.  Membership is needed to access all of these venues, but Uma’s father-in-law (who by the way is also her uncle, yes she married her first cousin...) is the chief commissioner of the stadium so we were granted access! After our wonderful treatments, which were slightly more invasive then I have previously witnessed, we ate lunch in her father-in-law’s office and spent some time there. During lunch I learned all about the game of cricket and was invited to a game on that Tuesday night!!

As we left the stadium after a wonderful afternoon I could not help but think that everything really does happen for a reason.  If we had gone to Hampi, I would have never made it to see a cricket match and although it would have been nice to see Hampi, I think in the end I enjoy the 50 yard line seats at the cricket match a little bit more.  A long day of relaxation it was indeed, which was followed by a roof top party to send off a friend of Shilpa’s friend.  Shilpa, who I believed I mentioned earlier, is a friend who I have really come to enjoy spending time with.  She is about 16 years older than I am, but as my mom pointed out, her life is no more settled than mine as she has been going from country to country for her job. Just now she is settling in Bangalore.  Anyway, Shilpa’s friend, Namita, is 32 years old and hated her job so she quit and is going to Zanzibar to help her friend start up a number of villas.  She kept insisting that I was brave for coming to India, but all I could think about how cool and brave it was going to Zanzibar and quitting her job! It’s meeting people like her that makes me appreciate those that refuse to be unhappy and are willing to take risks in their lives.  Everyone else at the gathering was so nice and included: a girl who is Indian, but grew up in America and actually attended Wisconsin, a married couple who lived in New Jersey for a few years but has settled back in India with their family, a French/Israeli Jew who travels back and forth from France to operate his technology business with his brother, and a few others I have met before.  Being there made me feel like such a baby in some respects, but very adult like and mature in others.

On Sunday, I met up with two of the teachers from school, Jhumki and Mohua.  Jhumki is one of my favourite people here at school and she is the other standard three teachers. Mohua is an art teacher and one of the sweetest, most cultured people I have ever met.  Both have incredibly interesting life stories and live in the same apartment complex.  During my time with them, they took me first to a crafts exhibition of some kind which basically had all of the goods found all over India in one location.  It is an understatement to say that my senses were over stimulated by everything there.  From there we went to pick up lunch during which time I learned about Mohua’s relationship with her son, which I admire greatly.  It seems that she is a truly selfless mother (as I know most if not all are) and misses her son a great deal who lives in France with his father.  When we drove back to their apartment to eat lunch, Mohua gave me all sorts of gifts. The first was the most beautiful Sari I have ever seen, which was originally gifted to her by her mother but since she has never worn it in the three years it has been sitting in her closet, she decided to gift it to me- I could not have been happier! Then, she pulled out a silver bracelet with a very modern design, which I happily wear every day now J.  Following came a very pretty scarf, which reminded her of a friend she has who is a silk distributor so after lunch we went to her house to see all of her goods.  This was an awesome experience! As we walked into a room that was probably meant to be a bedroom, silk was to be found everywhere! It was so much fun going through everything and of course buying a ton! After coffee and paying, we left to freshen up before heading to a Odici dance recital that was to be performed by a couple of the students from Aditi.  The recital was nice, but we were all somewhat done after a few numbers.  The little girls were very cute and excited about being on stage.  A wonderful weekend has come to a end with a lovely Indian dinner at a local place.

Last week was filled the awesome cricket match, of which I could not take pictures because you cannot take a camera into the stadium, the last night of Chanukah at the Israeli family’s house down the street, and an Indo- Brazilian music concert.  The cricket match was a blast and I enjoyed my time with Uma and her father-in-law.  The last night of Chanukah with the Bloch’s was lovely and I am so lucky to have made that connection while I’ve been here.  Going to the Indo- Brazilian concert sounds a lot cooler than it was, but hey- it’s all about the experience.  Then, Friday morning I took a VERY early bus to Coorg, one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited! More on Coorg to come...

Field Trip!

   Because I have been spending so much time with standard three and thoroughly enjoy being in their classroom, I was invited on their field trip! In social studies, or SOS as they call it, they are studying Jainism, which is one of main religions practiced in India.  Apparently, they are known to be quite wealthy and close knit in their small communities.  They do not believe in having external desires, worldly desires.  Also, they cover their mouths and clean off anything before they sit on it as to avoid killing any living thing.  On the way to the Jain temple I sat with one of the teachers who I have not had the pleasure of spending much time with.  During the forty-five minute ride, I learned her ENTIRE life story.  She has two children, one in London, the other in Washington, D.C.  The daughter in London has two twins who she is bringing to Bangalore to visit in the next few days.  Her son is younger, 29, and works for some time of government software company in DC, but lived in NYC to work on a project for a couple years.  She also went to NY in April, but lost 10 days on her trip due to that volcano that erupted delaying flights all over the world.  It's very interesting to hear all of these stories especially because they are all so different, but they all seem to have a common theme- they love to talk about their families and where they are in the world.  Also, having family in America is a sign of true success and wealth- interesting. Plus, they think that just because you are American, you are for whatever reason "better" than Indians. Indians also feel that their children are more successful if they marry and move to America to settle their lives there. I'm still working on understanding this one.
   The Jain temple was beautiful! The students seems to enjoy it, and I learned a lot about the temple as well as the religion thanks to the knowledge of the art teacher- Mahua.  She has an interesting story as well, but the details will sound like they come straight out of some Bollywood movie/ soap opera.  Anyway, Jhumki, the main classroom teacher in standard three, arranged for one of the mothers who came with us on the trip to take me to a Hindu temple after the Jain one when the students went back to school.  I went with Uma and Mahu as well as the mother and her daughter who is in our class.  The Hindu temple was nice, but it was dirty because of a Punja (some religious celebration) that took place the previous day.  More than anything I enjoyed the conversation in the car ride and the time spent with the teachers and mother of the student.  In fact, the mother lived in America for some time and went to NYU.  She now is a professor at one of the most prestigious universities in India teaching some branch of business management.  When in NY she worked in an investment banking firms whose names I recognized, but cannot remember.
   On another note, yesterday was the last day for the German exchange students.  As I walked towards my bus, I saw them exchange a tearful goodbye with the Indian students who they had spent the last two weeks getting to know.  All I could think about was how amazing this opportunity was for them and that they will remember it forever.  Even more, what would our world look like if we built more of these cultural gaps between such foreign nations...
   Later tonight I will be venturing to Hampi with another teacher from Aditi. It is known as a world heritage site and may be interesting to read about it if you have the time...pictures will of course be up upon my return. Wish me luck as I will be experiencing India trains for the first time! Shabbat shalom and chag channukah sameach!

So I'm about halfway through, what have I learned so far?

As I sat on the bus coming home from school on Friday, I began to reflect on what I've learned so far during my experiences here since I have officially been here one month and have a little less than a month left.  Some of the items below are what I have learned about myself that I would like to share with all of you and others are meant for educating or entertaining purposes.

-       The traffic in India is outrageous as are the drivers.  There is absolutely no way of knowing how long it will take to get anywhere in this country.  On the roads here you will find cars, auto rickshaws, bikes, scooters, trucks, buses, camels, cows, and whatever else may be roaming the streets.

-       Pollution is definitely a concern, but there is only so much being done to make the situation better.

-       There is no denying the dirtiness as well as the poverty in this country.  For the citizens, it is part of the make up of the population.  People will unzip their pants and pee just about anywhere, piles of garbage lines the streets, and there is constantly fumes in the air for all of the modes of transportation in the streets.

-       A metro is currently being built.  One route will run north and south and the other east and west through the city of Bangalore.  There is a car on display right now and they are actively building the railway.  It was predicted to be functioning in December, but it appears as though they will be slightly delayed.

-       There are people everywhere in this country.  Even in the most remote areas I have seen between the places I have traveled, there is always someone on the side of the road.  A GPS is not necessary because all you need to do is roll down the window and ask someone where to go.  If they don't have the answer, not to worry, the person next to them will direct you.

-       Banana in Hindi is Kela

-       Sugar cane in Hindi is Ganna

-       Street food is incredibly extensive, but some of the most popular and safe items include sweet corn anyway you like it and sugar cane juice.

-       Drinking sugar cane juice or coconut water is actually safer than buying a bottle of water in some cases because it is not 100% certain that you can trust the person you are buying water from.  They have learned how to reseal the bottles and can fill them with whatever water they can find.

-       To activate any outlet, you need to turn on a switch, even to turn on the hot water for the shower.

-       Muslim are not well liked by the general public, there is enormous political tension between Muslim and Hindus.  I have not seen evidence of this, but I have heard statements like, "a good Muslim is a dead one" and "this area is especially dirty, it is occupied by the Muslims."  In the more educated circles, there is less tension, but I believe that this is present more in the northwest part of the country boarding Pakistan.

-       Education is one of the most important parts of a child's life.  Even the poorest of the poor attend school through high school.  It is believed that education is the only way to be successful in this country.

-       Students have hours of homework on a daily basis and learn at far more advanced levels then I have seen in America.

-       Parents take care of their children until 21 or until they are married in some circles.

-       Arranged marriages are still part of their culture; however, there are situations in which a proposal will be made and the prospects have the ability to say no.  Love marriages are also present. 

-       Your birth date is one of the first questions someone will ask you.  Horoscopes are a big deal.

-       When you are born, you are given a koondli (spelling?) which basically predicts your life.  If your koondli does not match that of your potential life partner, it is possible that the marriage will not be.

-       Teaching in a country in which the students have names you cannot pronounce is far more difficult than I had imagined.

-       The younger students have no problem asking me all sorts of questions.  Honestly, I love that they are not afraid to ask these questions because at least they will have accurate information instead of making assumptions based on what they have heard.  On my very first day a 5 year old asked, "to which god do you pray?" A third grader asked me if there is sun where I am from because I am so fair.

-       If a Thursday of school was missed, they will make up for it on a Saturday- not cool.

-       Everyone here wishes to have fair skin, meanwhile, we spend our time sunbathing to be darker.

-       Indians are open to share anything and everything with you.

-       Everyone I have met as an incredibly interesting story.  Many are separated by loved ones by thousands of miles for various reasons.  Some of their life struggles are similar to ones you would find in America, others are unique to their society.

-       Child are allowed to be hit in the convent schools.

-       There are four major types of schools in India: convent school run by the Catholic church, public schools, private schools, and International schools.

-       There are about 50 Jews in Jacoor, Bangalore.

-       Everything closes in this city by about 11:30pm, even the clubs and restaurants.

-       They do not have pretzels in this country!

-       I miss the comforts of my Judaism, but I have made my own connections and have enjoyed discovering its true importance to me.

-       Beds in India are much harder than what we have in America and far thinner.

-       Bollywood films are excellent, but the majority have little or no storyline; however, they are entertaining.

-       There are Jewish stars all over the place, but it is a sign of peace.

-       As I spend more time observing the people, I have noticed that everyone is a different color skin.  I am not certain of the significance, but I hope to look further into this with the remaining time.

-       Being alone here was far more challenging in the beginning, but now I am enjoying the freedom it has given me to explore myself as well as this place in my own way.

Shabbat in Bangalore, Harry Potter, and German exchange students

     Rushing home on Friday to get ready for Shabbat was an incredible feeling that I hadn't had in quite some time.  The auto rickshaw arrived to pick me up and drive me to the hotel where services and dinner were being held.  When I got to the front desk, I didn't know who to ask for so I stumbled over my words and finally said I'm here to see the Rabbi.  She actually knew what I was talking about and pointed me in the right direction.  As I opened the door, I was greeted by Rabbi Rifkin, his wife Noa, and their two adorable children.  They had moved from Israel to India about two years ago and are living in the Chabad house in Jacour, which is closer to where Aditi is located.  From what they told me, the Chabad house is used on a regular basis during the week for the few Jewish families enclosed in the eruv.  Apparently there are a few Israeli families, a family from the states, and even one from France.  These families don't need Shabbat, but the business men who travel to India for work do.  Therefore, Shabbat is relocated to the center of the city so these businessmen are in walking distance.  After a little while a young Israeli couple showed up followed by a few business men.  They were all in fact Israeli.  Some of them were born there and travel all over the world while others made Aliyah with their families and continue to travel to various destinations for work. Services felt weird because I still don't like the idea of a division between men and women, but at the same time it was nice to have my own little corner of the room where only I could hear my prayers.  Dinner was delicious and lovely as we all sat around and talked about where we had come from and why we were in Bangalore.  We even did high points! I did not know this, but there is some drash that the rabbi gave about saying the best thing that happened to you during the week! At least it felt a little bit like Shabbat dinner!  By the time it reached 10, I decided it was time to wish my new friends, people I would probably never see again, a Shabbat Shalom and called for a taxi to take me home.
    Saturday was incredibly lazy.  Believe it or not, I actually woke up, wrapped myself in my talit and davened Sacharit all by myself for the very first time in my life.  There was something amazing about being alone in my room with my pajamas on ( I dont know if there is some halachic rule against that), wearing my talit, and saying the prayers that are so familiar to me. I skipped over some prayers, but found myself engrossed in others that I had simply glanced over in the past or read in Hebrew never really understanding the meaning.  It was a wonderful experience that I do hope to repeat to get more comfortable with the feeling of individual prayer.
     After davening, I went to have breakfast with Gina.  It was nice having an easy morning and she informed me that her friend had free tickets to see Harry Potter, so I thought why not! Hemal works for Titan watches and manages the entire Fast Track line, which is for kids.  He loves his job and comes with awesome perks like traveling and getting free movie tickets.  The movie theater was BEAUTIFUL! I mean it puts the ones we have in the states to shame.  You are assigned your seat so showing up to the movie late isn't an incredibly bad thing (we were 30 mins late due to traffic) and they have ever concession stand imaginable available during intermission.  Yes, there is intermission, which apparently everyone looks forward to during the movie. The movie was pretty good even if I didn't understand most of it and then we were off to meet Gina and some of their other friends at the Hard Rock Cafe.  This was probably the most "American" day I have had in India between sleeping in, going to the movies, and then going to the Hard Rock, it was just all in Bangalore haha. I had a nice time meeting Gina's friends and the music was fun- all around good night :)
    Sunday was also lazy and did not accomplish much,  but I needed to down time after my busy time in the north during the week.  Yesterday was the first day of Language Arts week at school and although I do not fully understand it yet, the planning of it seemed interesting. During our tea break at 10 I met the exchange teachers who came with a group of sixteen 15 year olds from Germany!  A group of our students at Aditi also went over there.  It was very interesting speaking with them and hearing about their program.  I even got to watch them in the Indian Folk dance class they took during one of the periods during the day.  It's so cool these cross cultural connections that are being made over here!
All my love from India!
    

Back to reality...

Waking up Wednesday morning was the saddest I've been since I left my blood family at the airpot a few weeks ago.  Teena and Maninder again woke up with me at 7am to eat breakfast and drink tea before we headed to the airport to catch my flight.  When we arrived at the airport Maninder again gave me the choice of going to arrivals instead of departures.  I assured him that if my graduation did not depend on it, of course arrivals would be my destination of choice.  Maninder said farewell to me at the car and Teena walked me up as far as she could to say goodbye.  There wasn't much time between when I got to the airport and when my plane was scheduled to take off so I didn't have too much time to be sad, but it hit me when I got on the plane and my seat was already taken by someone who was given the same seat.  Because I got there second, I was brought to the front of the plane in one of two rows of business class and remaind there for the flight.  An adorable young couple with an eight month old sat next to me. I know what you're thinking, but actually the baby was a great distraction and didn't cry the entire way!  As I landed, I realized I was heading back to school the next day, which felt rather "average" compared to the past few days I've spent traveling and seeing these amazing places.  Finally I reached home and collapsed on my bed- the exhaustion from the past few days had hit me.  The rest of my day was spent recapping the wonderful visit I'd had with my new Indian family and being incredibly lazy- just the day I needed.  Today, I woke up at 6am as I had the past few days, but new a different kind of adventure was in store for me that did not include seeing the places of the world, but teaching the young faces of the world who will hopefully have the privilidge to see these sites some day.  As I began my unit teaching standard three, I was welcomed with open arms and open minds, which was a big change from where I was last week.  I was excited to be there and it seemed that the students, as well as the teachers, enjoyed the lesson!  Being back at school wasn't as bad as I thought and was happy to see the familiar faces who were happy to see me.  The students in standard three were excited that I'd be teaching them and the other students I've taught since I've been here now say hi to me in the hall and are excited when they pass me. 

Now, I'll enjoy the next few days exploring Bangalore and attending shabbat services tomorrow night for the first time at a chabad.  To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about going to a chabad, but at the same time, I need to feel some sense of shabbat and Judaism while I'm here.  Although I've been praying by myself and definitely getting something out of it, there is something about being in a community that brings a different warmth to the experience.  When I was at college I basically refused to even try the chabad simply because Hillel wasn't for me.  However, since it's either the chabad or nothing, I figure I may as well experience this in Bangalore rather than not even try it while I'm here.  Not to worry, I will be sure to share what it is like.  Not to steal your line Jordan, but congradulations to those of you who have made it through the pages of my adventures in the north!  The rest of the pictures are in my facebook albums. Sending all my love from India!

Delhi: Old and New

Me and Jiya in front of the India gate

Our amazing dessert- Banoffee pie and chocolate mousse!

Me and the boys! Divraj and Bikram (left to right)

After getting almost a full night's rest, I woke up to have breakfast with Jiya and Teena, as we planned out our day in Delhi.  We decided on a few places so that we could enjoy the day and not be too busy and of course leave time to shop! So we drove around Delhi to see the Lotus Temple, Himayan's Tomb (which was just visited by President Obama), the Red Fort, the India Gate, the president's house, parliment, and the house of the lords and ministers.  We stopped for lunch at an awesome Italian place called the Big Chill where we ate delicious pasta and shared two large desserts over coffee.  Spending the day together site-seeing, shopping, eat, and talking was so much fun!  After our lunch break, we shopped for a while and had a blast before we went to see the Sikh temple where the family attends. It was very cool to see the ritual aspect of the religion, which is a sect off of Hinduism.  When we walked up to the temple, we removed our shoes and Jiya purchased holy food for her two sons Bikram and Divraj.  We covered our heads and walked closer to the steps of the entrance where she bent down to pay respects.  As we approached the center, there was a bed where their holy book sits as they read through the entire book over three days.  The repeat this process on a daily basis; however, Jiya explained to me that she reads parts of this at home every day and at the rate she reads it, it takes her about a year and a half.  What I also learned was that Sikhs are the ones who wear the turbans because they were brave warriors who were not afraid to stand up to the muslims.  The other Hindus cut off their hair and pretended to be Muslims.  Just an interesting fact I had not previously known.  Jiya drank the holy water and explained to me the holy bath before we got back into the car and headed home.  At home, we were greeted by her two sons who are so sweet and adorable!  Jiya and I drank tea while I got to spend some time with her boys.  Then, Teena's mom arrived, she had just gotten back from a two month vacation in New York (Chappaqua to be exact) visiting her other daughter.  I was thrilled to spend time with another family member!  Preet, Maninder and Teena's son as well as Jiya's husband, also got home around the same time so I got to spend time with him.  Because of his work schedule and my busy in and out we had not spent any time together.  Luckily, Preet, Jiya, Divraj, Bikram, and I all got to go out to a lovely dinner at a Viatnamese restuarant at one of the Taj Hotels. Spending time with them was so much fun! I only wish I had more time with them, oh, and Preet is hysterical!  I of course was fed way too much at dinner and drank a wonderful cocktail with Preet (Jiya doesn't drink in front of the children or Preet's parents, which I found interesting) so I could not have asked for anything better for my last night in Delhi!  Since we absolutely HAD to have dessert and there wasn't anything great on the menu, we actually went back to the Big Chill and took out dessert.  Preet ordered two HUGE mudpies, which I absolutely had to make room for although I have no idea where it came from.  When we got home I ate dessert with the three of them before saying a sad goodbye as I was leaving early the next morning :(

One of the Great World Wonders

Another early morning began, but I was brought tea as I got ready, so it wasn't so bad.  After enjoying tea and some biscuits, Maninder, Teena, one of their drivers, and I hit the road!  For the first couple hours I was in and out of sleep, but then enjoyed wonderful conversations with Maninder and Teena.  We spoke about India's corrupt government, the pollution, health care, and the poverty in the country.  It was so interesting to get their perspective on all of these issues and as Maninder said, "although it's sad, at least it gives us something to talk about."  This may be true, but it is important for me to hear about these things, although I suppose I could read about them as well.  We stopped on the way to pick up some breakfast at a south India restaurant that they knew they could trust.  The food was yummy and the company was even better.  We hopped back in the car when we were done and reached Agra after another two hours of driving.  Interesting fact about driving in India.  No matter where you are, even if you are in the middle of nowhere, there is always someone around who you can ask for directions.  There is no such thing as a gps, at least that I've seen, because you can always roll down your window and ask someone where to turn.  Our first stop in Agra was Fatipur Sikri, which was cool and interesting to see, but of course I had my heart set on seeing the Taj Mahal.  We spent about an hour at Fatipur Sikri walking around and taking the tour because driving over to the Taj Mahal.  Also, if you are keeping track of the number of times I ate this day, we are up to two and it is currently 1pm at which time we at meal three of the day which comprised of vegetable sandwiches which were delicious.  Anyway, we parked the car and took a horse drawn carriage from the parking lot to the entrance of the Taj Mahal.  It was either this or a typical car and Maninder insisted on the experience, which I enjoyed!  Walking up to the Taj Mahal was a beautiful site.  Teena warned me that the govenment does a poor job at keeping the monuments clean so she wanted me to be prepared for what I may see.  I was of course not disappointed, but was amazed at what I saw and learned.  The Taj Mahal was a magnificent and truly is a great world wonder.  Everything I learned about the way in which it was built and why in this specific way was so interesting!  As the day was getting late, we finished the tour and headed to a hotel to clean up, use the bathroom, and have a cup of tea (I of course had coffee J ). When we walked into the hotel, a necklace of jasmine flowers was placed over my head and a bindi placed on my forehead. We sat down and decided to have dinner there since it would be a long ride home- it was very yummy!  Spending the entire day with Maninder and Teena was so lovely and I enjoyed every minute talking with them and learning more about them.  By the day's end, I felt so much like part of their family and it felt incredible to find that thousands of miles from home.  When we finished eating, we got back in the car and headed home.  At around 9pm, I woke up to find us at a rest stop for the driver to eat and again, Maninder ordered food and at meal 5 of the day.  This food was different though as it was "economical" eating.  Basically it was a rest stop where they prepare fresh, cheap food.  Maninder trusts the food, which was good enough for me considering they are as careful as I am about what to eat, so we ate daal and naan- yum!  By this point I thought I was going to explode if I ate another thing so I was sure to keep my mouth shut for the rest of the day (which only had three hours left in it anyway).  The car started moving once again, but sadly we did not reach home until about 12:30am, which meant it was an incredibly long day and a VERY long drive for Maninder.  He insisted on driving the entire way even though the driver was brought along.  We turned in as soon as we got home and I was excited to explore Delhi with Jiya the next day!