Thailand

Day 1

Today was my first day in Thailand.  We are docked in a small town called Laem Chabang, about 30 minutes outside of Pattaya, where there are excellent beaches.  At 1300 pretty much all of my friends on the ship and I went to the Pattaya Elephant Village on an SAS trip.  This village is home to 33 elephants, three of which are males.  These elephants used to be used in the logging industry, but after the use of elephants in this industry was outlawed they had no where to go.  When we first got there we were given the opportunity to buy bananas, and I did.  We then walked over to the elephants, stood right next to them, and fed them out of our hands!  They are the most gentile creatures!  I was very surprised at how long their trunks were, and how the animals didn’t smell.  They are covered in this rough, pointy hair.  After this feeding students got onto the elephants to go bathe in the river.  Only about 15 students could do this, and I chose not to, but it was funny seeing everyone go chest deep into the dirty, poop filled water.  After the baths there was a short demonstration of the elephants.  We learned about their eating habits, watched them drag and push logs, and we even saw an elephant slam dunk a basketball.   One of their elephants used to work in a circus, so we watched him stand on two legs and do other tricks like that.  We then all got to ride on an elephants back.  It was so hard to get onto it, and I have a funny of Thai men pushing me onto this huge creature.  After another brief demonstration with the elephants, we were allowed to ride on them in pairs, but on the seat-like thing they strap to its back.  Stephanie and I got the small elephant and thought it was so cute.  After everyone loaded back onto the buses we came back to the ship.

 

Day 2

Early in the morning my Semester at Sea Bangkok Overnight trip left.  Emily and Nick were on this trip with me, so I was happy to know a few people who were going.  The bus ride took about 2 hours, and most of us slept the whole way there.  As we entered the city we were amazed at how much it looked like a city in the states.  It was huge, and there were skyscrapers everywhere.  One thing that I also noticed is that there are 7-11’s EVERYWHERE in Bangkok.  It is so much like Philadelphia in that aspect.  As soon as we got to the city we went to a port and loaded a long boat.  We road up the river a little to a temple called Wat Arun.  This temple is extremely tall and steep.  We got out at the temple and were able to spend about a half hour walking around, climbing up to the middle of the temple (which was shaped like a steep pyramid), and wandering around the area.  Emily and I, hot from our climb up the temple, shared a coconut (fresh coconut milk).  It was delicious.  We got back onto the boat and headed into the canal system that traverses the city.  We fed fish from the boat, saw traditional brightly painted boats, saw laundry hanging at every house, and I even saw an ice cream boat.  The ice cream wasn’t just any ice cream, though . . . . it is made from coconut milk (but made in a way not safe for tourist consumption)!  After we finished in the canals we went to the Royal Barge National Museum.  The Royal Barge is used in royal processions and festivals on the river, and is only bought out about once every five years.  After the museum we headed back to the port where we boarded our buses and headed to our hotel.  We were all amazed when we walked into the lobby of the most beautiful hotel I have ever seen.  Semester at Sea trips always put you up in nice hotels; this 5-star hotel surely fit that bill.  We at lunch at the hotel’s buffet.  The food was some of the best food I have ever, ever had.  It was amazing: sushi, pizza, soup with Asian mushrooms, pineapple, dragon fruit, mango, papaya, salads, deserts, cheeses, and meats.  It was quite the spread.  The rooms in the hotel were immaculate.  They were all dark wood, had huge mini-bars, huge showers and tubs, and being of the 23 floor we had the most beautiful view of Bangkok.  After settling into our rooms, Emily, Nick, and I walked around because we had the afternoon free.  I went to a tailor that was recommended to us by our tour guide, and went to get a dress made.  I could choose the fabric, the color of the fabric, and the style of the dress.  After I designed my dress, we left and walked around some more.  I took a bubble bath when we got back to the hotel, and Emily and I took naps before dinner.  We had a dinner/dance show where we watched traditional Thai dance.  Thai dance has much to do with the fingers, and the care they take in positioning their fingers is crazy.  After dinner we went back to the hotel where I had my dress fitting.  They had a rough outline of my dress that I tried on and they pinned it and left to finish it.  That night Emily, Nick, and I went to the night market.  On the way to the night market was saw an elephant on a leash walking down the sidewalk . . . . what?!?!  The night market in Thailand is known for its red light district, one famous in the world.  They warned us that the sex industry was alive and well in Bangkok, but nothing could prepare us for it.  Strip club after strip club after strip club lined the streets, and neon signs such as the one that said “Super Pussy” covered the street.  Men in suits come up to you with menus, but they were not menus for food.  Menus include “Open bottle,” “take rings off bottle,” “razorblade,” and other extremely disturbing stuff.  Use your mind and I’m sure you can figure out what I’m talking about.  You couldn’t walk two feet without having a menu shoved in your face.  Welcome to Thailand.  Nick was extremely uncomfortable so he headed back to the hotel, and Emily and I found a bar on a nearby street.  We sat there and had some wine, and being the only two girls and being surrounded by gay men came to the conclusion that it was a gay bar.  After relaxing and making friends with the British man next to us we headed back to the hotel for the night.

 

 Day 3

We had a 6am wake-up call, and went to the breakfast buffet at the hotel.  Like the lunch we had had the previous day, the buffet was amazing.  Not only was there normal breakfast food but there was noodles, soup, and lunch food as well.  On the way to our first stop of the day we passed through Bangkok’s China Town, the largest in the world (outside of China, of course).  We first went to Wat Rachabophit, a temple built in 1870 by King Rama V.  The temple is a mixture of local and western styles and reflects the new style of the times.  Here we talked with two monks, one who had been a monk for 23 years and one who had been a monk for only 5 days.  Next we headed to Wat Po Temple to see the Reclining Buddha, a 46-meter long gold-colored Buddha.  It was huge, that’s all that I can say.  The Thai Buddha is skinny because he starved himself, and does not look like the Buddha seen in China with the huge stomach.  Next we went to the Grand Palace, a focal point for the people of Thailand.  Built in 1872, the Grand Palace has extensive murals, gilded spires and fantastic architectural designs.  In one of the buildings you could see the Emerald Buddha, carved from a single piece of jade in the 15^th Century; moreover, this Buddha guards the sovereignty of the Kingdom and the religious beliefs of the people.  Next we had lunch at a local Thai restaurant.  After lunch the buses headed back to the port city, but about half of us on the trip signed off the trip to stay in Bangkok.  Emily and I were supposed to meet up with Matt, Laura, Steph, and Jeff, but Matt’s phone wasn’t working for the first time on the voyage, and we were unable to find them.  The two of us got a hostel in the backpackers district, which was one 4-block long strip covered in hostels, restaurants, bars, shops, and vendors.  We took a nap at the hostel before taking showers and getting ready to go out for the night, for St. Patrick’s Day.  The shower was hilarious: it was a hole in the floor in the corner of our bathroom and a European style showerhead coming out of the wall opposite from the hole.  So pretty much when you shower the whole bathroom gets soaked.  We went out to dinner at a Irish restaurant, and then headed to an Irish pub that was across the street from our hostel.  Since the whole area is for backpackers and tourists there were so many people who were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.  We met a man from Amsterdam who “fancied” Emily, and he bought us a drink each.  He was very drunk and a little weird, but he had two nice friends who had had met earlier in the day.  They were 24 and were from England.  We hung out with them for the rest of the night and had a good time.  The one kid Anthony and I ate worms on a stick that some lady brought over to us.  Maybe not the best idea, but it’s a good story.  After a typical St. Patrick’s Day bash, we went to bed.

 

Day 4

After sleeping in, Emily and I paid for another night at the hostel and headed to Starbucks for a morning pick-me-up.  We then decided just to wander around for the day and to take it easy.  We took a tuk-tuk to the Grand Palace area where we wandered around the markets there.  We found a flower market, not far from the area, and I have never seen so many beautiful flowers before.  There were hundreds of them in bags and in containers lining the streets.  Since flowers are used to honor the gods, many individuals buy flowers daily.  After seeing the flower market we headed back to the hostel area and wandered around for a bit before taking a nap.  We got ready for the evening and headed into the city, not far from where our hotel was the first night.  We ate dinner on a side street, some of the best food I have ever had.  The food in Thailand, by the way, is top.  It is amazing.  It was our friend Amber’s 21^st birthday and she was on a Semester at Sea trip that was spending the night in Bangkok so we went to her hotel to meet up with her at 9.  There were about 20 of us in all that were trying to stay together as a group to celebrate her birthday, but at about 2330 the group split.  I ended up with PJ, Jeff, and Craig, and we found a small bar and relaxed.  Emily decided to go out with the other part of the group, and was going to stay in their hotel for the night but to take a taxi to the hostel in the morning to meet me.  Because I wasn’t drinking, I was extremely comfortable with that plan.  At the bar I had the best iced coffee I have had in a while and it made me extremely happy.  Jeff was too drunk, and I walked him back to his hostel a few blocks away.  When the bars closed at 2 PJ went back to his hotel, a few blocks from where we were.  Craig’s hostel and my hostel were in opposite directions of each other and were about 45 minutes away from each other, but both PJ and he insisted that Craig take the taxi to drop me off before heading back to his hostel.  I love that the boys here are so good about looking after you, it is refreshing.  When I got back to hostel I got a late night snack at 7-11, and then went to bed.

 

Day 5

I woke up at 800 and went to Starbucks and an internet café.  Emily met me in the morning and then we headed to catch the Semester at Sea bus back to the port.

 

India to Thailand

The past few days have been absolutely insane, so I haven’t really had much time to update my blog.  My reflections on India stop after my Erode Village Homestay, so that’s where I will pick up.  In the morning on my second to last day in India, I returned to the ship from my homestay.  After taking a glorious shower and eating some breakfast, my friend Colleen and I decided to explore the port city of Chennai.  We left the ship and started walking through the port (about a 1 km walk from the ship to the port gate).  When we got to the port gate we hired a Rickshaw, the little yellow motorized taxis that are seen in India and some Asian countries.  There were about 25 of them lined up, and every one of them wants your business.  We finally found a guy who was willing to take us the City Center Mall for 100 rupees, or $2 US.  You have to be careful with taxis and rickshaws because the drivers will tell you a price and then change it along the way, try to make you pay for gas, or take you to other shops before taking you to the correct one.  We got lucky and had an honest driver, and although he tried to charge us more he gave us no problems when we handed him a 100 rupee note and walked away.  The ride in the rickshaw was very interesting.  Rickshaws can squeeze in between buses and cars, and you often found ourselves in oncoming traffic.  I took a video of my rickshaw ride that you all will have to see when I get home. 

 

City Center Mall was a very western mall.  It was clean, and women were dressed more western than I had seen so far (they had on jeans and t-shirts).  Colleen and I were surprised to find out that it was National Women’s Day, evidentially a big holiday in India.  The mall had a small celebration, and we partook in the festivities.  First, we got some excellent tea.  We were given white roses, and got free henna on our hands.  There was a photographer and a videographer who enjoyed taking pictures of Colleen and I, and I am pretty sure that we ended up in a newspaper somewhere. 

 

We wanted to go to Spencer’s Plaza, a huge mall with hundreds and hundreds of stores.  We hired a rickshaw driver to take us there for fifty rupee.  We quickly realized that this was not such an honest driver.  We made 3 stops, one at a furniture store, all three extremely expensive.  The rickshaw drives can make commission off of bringing people to different stores, so this happens to just about everyone.  After one of the stores Colleen and I waited in the rickshaw while our driver went into the store.  He came out with a receipt that had the time in, time out, number of people, nationality, and other information about Colleen and me.  He got 150 rupee from the store, and we felt powerful with our ability to make someone money just by going into a store.  I wonder how much he would have made if I was Canadian, Irish, or German . . . He tried to take us to one more store but I said no, and insisted that he take us to Spencer’s.  He offered to go halves with us, giving us half of his earnings for the next store and not charge us for the ride.  He showed us his cross necklace and told us that he was a good Christian man trying to support his children and do the right thing.  It was pretty cool that he was Christian if he actually was, but I wondered how many necklaces he has around his neck . . . Although I thought it hilarious that I could actually make money by doing this, we wanted to go to Spencer’s.  The rickshaw driver finally told us that Spencer’s was closed (which it really wasn’t as we found out later), and he took us back to City Center Mall.  Back at City Center we got some cookies from this cookie kiosk, and they heated them up for us in the microwave . . . so delicious.  My favorite was caramel cashew!  We bought some groceries and decided to go back to the ship because we were both exhausted.  We hired another rickshaw to take us back.  I slept, watched movies, and relaxed for the rest of the day.

 

Our last day in India, Colleen, Jill, Ben, Connor, and I squeezed in a rickshaw and went to Spencer’s Plaza.  Spencer’s was very large and dirty, but you can bargain there and there is more “India-type” stuff than there was at City Center Mall.  We walked around for a while, bought some stuff, and ate at Pizza Hut.  Yes, Pizza Hut.  Pizza Hut was overrun with Semester at Sea students, in fact.  Every seat was taken up by hungry American college students.  The personal pan pizza that I had was excellent.  They called it Veggie Crunch or something, and it had onion and tomatoes on it . . . for only 75 rupee, of $1.50 US.  At Spencer’s Plaza I had bought some postcards, and had written them while eating.  When we left Spencer’s we hired a rickshaw driver to take us to the post office and then to the ship.  The post office was quite an experience.  Colleen came in with me while the other three stayed in the rickshaw.  The post office was extremely crowded and there were a million lines, each for something different . . . also, no one spoke English there.  It would have been easier if I was only sending postcards, but I was also sending two letters, each filled with pictures making them too heavy to send with regular postage.  After about 5 minutes I figured out that I had to go to a scale, weigh my letters, write the weight, and then go to get the correct amount of stamps.  My one letter had 4 different stamps on it!  I was in such a rush, too, because if I was in there longer the rickshaw driver said he would charge a bit more, so I threw the stamps on and we left (he didn’t end up charging anything additional because I was relatively fast).  We then went back to the ship.

 

A side note about the last day – It had been raining, and I was wearing flip flops because I didn’t want to ruin my sneakers.  I also had on white sweatpant-material capris.  I kicked up so much tar and dirt onto myself that my carpris are now Pokka dotted!  I had to wash my legs and my feet three times in the shower, continuously scrubbing. 

 

India is dirty.  It is littered with garbage and feces.  Men pee on the side of the roads, and children play in garbage.  But India is also littered with the bright colors of saris and the intricate designs of temples.  India smells like sewage and sweat.  The toxic rivers reek of the human feces that are daily dumped into the water.  But India also smells like beautiful flowers and fresh coconut milk.  India has extremely poor citizens who pitifully romp about the city, unable to make a better life.  They live in dilapidated tents, and sleep in their own filth.  But India has extremely poor citizens who have more faith and generosity than even the richest of men.

 

I have said it before, and I emphasize this point:  India is not a place you can write about or describe, it is a place you must feel.  The energy, hope, and happiness expressed in a single child’ smile makes a little piece of you come alive, a part of you that you didn’t know existed.  I feel more whole than I did before I had been to India.  I was unaware that I was incomplete, but now I feel more whole.  India changes you.

 

The day after India was a free day.  No classes, no required meetings, just sleep and reflection.  I slept until 1130, ate lunch, then slept from 1200 to 1500.  It was a relaxing day.  We then had four days of classes.  The first two days of classes I spent locked up in my room, studying.  I seriously only left to go to classes and to meals.  I also watched a few movies, and spent time with myself.  Sometimes I need time to myself to digest everything that is going on, my crazy life, my amazing experience.  I always find myself going back to the question, “who the hell am I?”  What did I do to deserve this?  I often feel frustrated because it is hard convey the change that is going on inside of me.  It is a change that you can’t know or comprehend until you too have traveled the world and seen the places and things that I have seen.  I wish that other people, my friends and family, could share in this experience.  I think about individuals daily, and relate my experiences to them . . .

Dad:  You would love South Africa.  Golf, wine, warm climate, and lots of relation. 

Mom:  You would love Spain.  Great pastries and fresh fruit, not too hot but not to cold, and a nap in the middle of the day.

Sabrina:  You would love Morocco.  Constant business, endless culture to be explored, fairs and bizarres, street shows, monkey, and last but not least, couscous.

Grandpa Kelly:  You would love India.  If you ever would visit there, I don’t think you would come home.  Yes, the poverty and filth would get to you, but the human spirit of the Indian people would steal your heart, and you would be in heaven if you saw the generosity of the people.

Rich:  Namibia would be perfect for you.  For the most part it is very modern and clean.  There aren’t too many people, and everyone is friendly with each other.  It is always hot, and would be an ideal location to set up a neighborhood ice cream shop.  Also, there are some very poor townships, remnants of Apartheid.  I think that you would enjoy doing some missionary work there.  Namibia also has giraffes, elephants, and zebras, and who doesn’t love those?

Don and Betty Helpa:  You would like a little of each.  For Betty, the shopping in South Africa and in Spain.  For Don the golfing in South Africa.  You both would love the Sangria in Spain, the vineyards and wine in South Africa, the great food in Morocco, and the excitement of the rickshaw in India. 

Aunt Fern: I think that you would love India, like my Grandpa.  The children there would touch your heart, and I think they would change you like they changed me. 

…those are just a few examples, but I do this with almost everyone I know, thinking about you all and how much you would love these countries.

 

On the third day of classes after India I had a Demography midterm at 8am (one reason why I had been locked in my room).  I felt very, very good about it but I got a call from my professor a few hours later in my room.  He told me that I had missed a question, so we met 5 minutes later and he allowed me to answer the question.  I thought, how cool is that . . . that my professor can call my room, my cabin and meet me 5 minutes later because he now knows me enough to trust that I legitimately missed the question and wasn’t spending my day looking up the answer.  Also, I got back a paper in poetry class.  I was unsure of it, because it was a interpretation paper for a poem, and my professor is so specific.  If you don’t see what he saw in the poem, he will give you a lower grade.  BUT, I got an A and it made me very happy.  That night I went to pub night with some of my friends and we had a very good time.  I am becoming quite the lover of Rose wines. 

 

Today, our final day before Thailand, I am relaxing.  After Global Studies I went to the field office to buy a bus ticket from Bangkok back to the ship, and then ate lunch.  Lunch was terrible, but they had chilled banana soup which I have learned to love.  It is somewhere between a smoothie and a juice, and is always delicious.  Now, as I am writing this, I am sitting in my room drinking hot chocolate and eating Otis Spunkenmier cookies, which are made fresh daily and sold 3 for $2 (expensive but worth it once in a while).    I think I may lay out for an hour later, it is a bright and sunny day.  I am trying to prepare myself for the next month.  In the next 27 days we only have 6 days on the ship.  We have 5 days in Thailand, 2 days on the ship, 5 days in Vietnam, 2 days on the ship, 6 days in China, 2 days on the ship, and 5 days in Japan.  Time in port always flies by, and the day before a port and after a port always fly by, so the next 27 days are going to be gone in an instant.  What is even weirder/scarier is that after this stretch I only have Hawaii and Guatemala left.  We do gain a day coming across the International Date Line, and coincidentally that day is Easter.  So, I will have two Easters this year (you will have to be sure to let the church know about that one, because I think it’s pretty awesome).  We have all been looking forward to our stretch of time in the Asian countries, and now it is finally here.  But in a way I don’t want it to be, because then it will be over soon, and then my trip will be over soon.  This is all too fleeting.  I really wish that I could stay on this ship forever. 

 

I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving – we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it – but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.

                        -Oliver W. Holmes

Erode Village Homestay, Part 1

So much has happened in the past two days since I wrote my first post about India.  In fact, my first impressions did not do this country justice.  India is an amazing and beautiful country . . .

 

At 8pm three nights ago my trip met in the Union.  We left the comforts of our ship behind as we boarded another bus to head for the Chennai train station.  India is bustling at night.  There are people covering the streets, and there are many food vendors who come out at night.  We were all overwhelmed when we got to the train station.  Thousands and thousand of people hustling about.  I felt like we were a parade because everyone just started at us Americans.  We were all shocked when we got on to the train.  Dirt, dust, and bugs.  The bathroom was a squat toilet, aka a hole in the ground with two designated places to place you feet.  We all went to the bathroom before the train started to move in order to avoid a catastrophe of sorts.  We all sat for about an hour until the train was schedule to leave.  We also prepared out “beds.”  My friend Allison, who I had met form my bus in Namibia, was in the bed next to me, and two girls named Zoey and Colleen were on the bunks on top of us.  The four of us had our little nook, and a curtain could be drawn to give us minimal privacy.  We also had our own light and fan.  Alison gave me some Nyquil, and I slept like a baby.  We arrived in Erode very early the next day, at about 6:30am.  At the train station some school children were gathering to get on to their buses.  We were once again the focus of everyone’s attention.  We loaded on to two mini-buses, and departed the station.  On my bus there were 10 of us, and on the other bus there were 16.  Our buses were to depart for the entire day, and to meet back up the next day.

 

Driving, I observed how many physically handicapped people there are.  This could be for the sheer reason that there are just so many people in India, but to me the streets looked like a Christian charity commercial.  It was sad.  I am afraid that the money a few well-meaning Christians could muster up wouldn’t even be the tip of the iceberg fro solving the problems of poverty in India.

 

We drove about a half an hour to a town called Gobi, where the 10 of us were staying with our host family for the day and night.  As we pulled up to the huge, gated house we could tell that our hosts had lots of wealth compared to their neighbors in shacks and dilapidated houses.  We were greeted with flower lays that smelled amazing and bhindis (sp?), the red dot of spices in between the eyes.  Different colored bhindi’s have different meanings, as we came to discover.  Our red bhindi was to welcome us and was a guiding eye for our insights into this new culture.  As our host, Dr. and Mrs. Shavari greeted us, they said “Welcome Home.”  I have never felt as welcome as I did, in fact.  Also, it is tradition for the Indian women to draw designs in rice flower outside of the front door.  These beautiful designs are sometimes colorful (but more so during festivals) and are for the ants and other bugs to eat.  Along with this design our host wrote “Welcome.”  What a great start for the day. 

 

Next, we were shown around the house.  A huge open foyer area led upstairs, where bedrooms were everywhere.  I counted 6, but there could have been more.  Dr. Shavari works at a local hospital, and Mrs. Shavari is the principle of the school next door, the school in which this couple owns.  We also met Dana, a 22 year old from Minnesota who graduated last June with a degree in world religions.  He has been staying with our host family for two months now, and has two more weeks left in India.  He is volunteering at the school, teaching English to the older students.  He was excited to see some Americans.

 

Breakfast was our first taste of amazing Indian food.  South Indian food, by the way, does not taste/smell like “curry.”  Curry, in fact, doesn’t really exist in India.  So no, the house did not smell like curry all the time, and neither did the people.  For breakfast we started with coffee.  This was the best coffee that I had ever had, ever.  It is made with fresh milk, not pasteurized or tainted with chemicals.  Also, it contained tons of sugar.  Lastly, the coffee beans were fresh, gown not too far from the town by a relative of my host family.  I had three cups, as did most of us.  We also had fresh lime juice and fresh orange juice.  There was dulce (like a thin pancake, or crepe), rice dumplings, and sweet bread.  To go with this there were a variety of sauces, or chutneys.  There was a cauliflower with coconut milk chutney (my favorite) and a salsa like chutney.  There was also peanut brittle, meringue cookies, shortbread cookies, and other sweets out for us.  So yummy!  After breakfast we all headed next door do the school. 

 

At the school (which is a private school) we were greeted at the gate by a marching band, which began to play as soon as we were in sight.  About 15 children marched and played the drums, trumpet, or fife.  They led us in procession to the morning assembly, which is held outside daily.  The 1,020 students were standing, waiting for us in perfect lines.  We had to sit in chairs facing the students.  We had so many eyes on us; it was truly an awesome feeling.  After we each introduced ourselves we listened to the students recite their mantras, or prayers.  After the assembly was over, children headed to their classrooms.

 

We were toured around the school, visiting various classes.  We were all amazed by how smart and well behaved these children are.  When they saw us coming towards their classroom, everyone stood.  They stood!  Silent as a mouse, no one said anything until told that they were allowed to interact with us.  The older students, on a regular basis, take botany, physics, zoology, biology, chemistry, computer, social studies, all studies of math, English, Tamil (their language), Hindi (their second language), and English (their third language).  Talk about well educated, well rounded students.  What struck us the most was how eager these students are to learn.  120 of the students live close to the school in a hostel because their homes are too far away.  They all wake up at 5am to meditate and to study.  The students have classes from 8am until 4pm, at which point many students stay until 8pm to study and to tutor other students.  The passion for learning is mind blowing.  The content of the material these students are learning at such a young age is beyond my knowledge.  It goes to show how cocky the American education system is getting, and how badly it needs a reform.  We are falling behind in America, we truly are.  Students take all of these classes from Kindergarten through 10^th grade.  At this point, students choose a concentration for their last 2 years.  After 12^th grade, students take an examination, almost like the SAT.  Students who score a 1180/1200 will be excepted into medical school, free of charge.   Others must pay, and it is difficult to get in without that 1180.  Other professions such as businessman have a sliding scale in terms of what you scored on the exam.  If you think about it, it is similar in America.  Almost all of the students at this school either want to be in medicine or engineering.  100% of students go onto college.  Amazing.

 

Side Note: At the school we were taught about the Silk Cotton Tree, whose seeds contain a white substance similar to cotton.  These seeds are used to make a rough cloth.

 

We left the school and walked to the house of a wood-worker.  We watched him carve out a bedpost or a table leg.  He sells to other individuals in the village, but his products do not reach much farther than that. 

 

After the woodshop we traveled to the village fabric shop, where we watched the noisy mechanical looms weave towels.

 

Next in the day, we got into the bus and rode to a place where they produce sugar.  First they grind the sugar cane, which is grown on the premises.  Next, they boil this liquid and skim off what floats on top, until there is nothing left.  What is skimmed off drains and starts to harden, and then it is turned with huge wooden paddles, similarly to fudge.  Lastly it is formed into medium sized balls.  This yellow, no-chemical-added sugar tastes like honey fudge.  It is amazing.  I wanted to buy a ball, but they wouldn’t let me pay for it and insisted that I take it for free.  We also chewed on some sugar cane before we left.

 

Continuing on with our journey, we went to house of a potter.  We watched him spin a pot, which he then lets it sit for three days.  After the three days he pounds the bottom for smooth it out, a process that we also observed him do.  This potter produces 30 pots a day, and each pot sells for R8, or less than $0.20.

 

Lastly in our “Trades Tour” we went to an organic farm.  He we enjoyed raw mango, guava, 2 varieties of gooseberries, coconut milk straight from the coconut, and coconut flesh.  The raw mango was interesting, but good.  It was not as sweet as the ripe mango but it does carry a stronger mango flavor.  This is how they enjoy their mangoes in Gobi. 

 

After the farm we went back to our hosts house to eat lunch.  There, we met the niece of our host, a deaf girl.  Our host was telling us how the niece can only speak one language, unlike the rest of the Indian population who can speak 3.  We were all amazed that she could even speak one language!  She speaks so well that you really wouldn’t even know that she was deaf.  It was incredible.  Lunch was another amazing meal.  We had these soft brown tortillas, rice, lentil chips, other chips (tasted like Bugles), beans and carrot salad, potatoes chutney, lentil chutney, egg mix (chutney), soup with spices, fresh yogurt, fresh lime juice, fresh orange juice, coffee, and a variety of sweets.  We finished our meal with amazing bananas, a different variety than you can get in America.  They are smaller, but sweeter and stronger.  My favorite thing about eating in India is that you eat with your hands.  You mix everything together on your plate using your right hand only and then shovel it into your mouth.  It is fun.  I think we need to implement this in the States.

 

Erode Village Homestay, Part 2

After lunch we took a 45 minute power nap.  After we woke up we were reading the newspaper and noticed that there was a picture of our ship on the front page.  How cool!  We left the house and went to the bizarre/market, where they sell so many types of vegetables.  We then walked around the streets, and 5 of us girls bought saris, the traditional Indian dress that women wear. 

 

After shopping we drove to our host’s sister’s house, who also happens to be the Vice Principle of the school.  Here, the women tied our saris on us.  We also were given bhindis and fresh, fragrant flowers for our hair.  We all loved them, and felt beautiful wearing them.  About 20 students from the school came and we had a question and answer session with them.  We also sang and danced for each other.  After this, the students left and we ate dinner.  Dinner included a soft fried tortilla-like thing, steamed sourdough balls, chickpea and spice chutney, a green colored coconut chutney, red onion chutney, sweet sugar sauce, and bananas.  After dinner the Vice Principle showed us her shrine, and taught us about Hinduism.  She also shared her thoughts and feelings about India and the world with us: “We are all fearful because our knowledge hasn’t soaked in yet”; “We need to let be.  That is that.”; “Poverty is not as much an issue as it is a mindset. When people label individuals as poor they become more poor at heart and less secure.”; “We need to create a global community of knowledge and come together to work towards a better world.”

 

After these words of wisdom, we left the house silenced, deep in contemplation of the days events.  We went back to our hosts house, and quickly fell asleep.

 

The next morning we were woken up at 6:45 am with a knock on our door and our host’s helper/cook holding coffee for us.  Yum.  What a good morning.  We said goodbye to our host and gave them some small gifts from home and stuff that we had picked up on the ship.  Wanting to give us something in return, Mrs. Shavari got her bangle (bracelet) collection and told us to take whatever we wanted.  Most of the bangles were too small for our huge western hands, but we all found something that fit.  They are beautiful.  She also gave us all bhindi’s for a safe journey, and we left with her spirit still souring in our souls and her coffee still warm in our bellies.

 

We drove back to Erode, where we went to the B.V.B. School.  This private school has 5,000 students, 800 of whom live on the premises.  Like the other school, 100% of these individuals go on to college.  At the school we ate breakfast: coffee, tea (which tasted like a tea latte), Dulce, omelet, dumplings, rice mash with spices, cauliflower chutney, and spice and potatoes chutney.

 

After breakfast we drove to the local temple.  There is a temple located on the outskirts of each community.  This temple honors a god who rides on a white horse and protects the community at night.  We also learned about swings that are in the temple.  People pray to these swings to ask for children, or other subjects dealing with children.  We watched a short ceremony to honor this god, and then we were given a packet of holy ash.  This ash is special because the ash burns, leaving nothing.

 

Next we went to the Bhavani Temple.  This temple was much bigger than the community temple, and is considered to be in a holy location because it is where three rivers join.  There is much color in, on, and around this temple.  It was beautiful.  We watched men bathe in the rivers, which are also considered holy.  We spent about 2 hours walking around the temple, learning about the different gods and goddesses.  Also, whenever you go inside a house or a temple you must take off your shoes, so we all walked around in socks.  Although this “taking your shoes off custom” caused your feet and socks to be very dirty, it is a custom to honor the gods.  Everything in Hindu culture, moreover, has a purpose and a meaning. 

 

After the Bhavani Temple we drove a few minutes to a weaving factory.  This is the last hand weaving factory in the area, and it was fascinating watching individuals make blankets.  For larger blankets, two individuals work a larger loom, and for smaller blankets one individual works a smaller loom.  There are also mechanic weaving machines on the premises.  These mechanic machines are used for fine materials such as silk, and are used to make intricate patterns as well. 

 

We then departed on our buses and went to the Erode Arima Society, a school that is the sister school of the B. V. B. School.  This school works with physically handicapped students, most of who have polio and have lost legs. They honored us with bhindis and flowers.  Some of the students had prepared two dances for us, and then it was our turn to entertain.  We did the Hokie Pokie, and they seemed to enjoy it.  After fifteen minutes of free interaction with these students we had to go.  We donated $300 to this school.

 

Back at the B. V. B. School for lunch, we had fresh watermelon juice, soda, dulce, rice, fried vegetable wanton-like thing, spice chutney, bread with fresh strawberry jam, and bananas.  We then went to the gym, where some middle school students performed a traditional N. Indian dance for us.  Again, we had to perform in return, and we dance and sang “Build Me Up Buttercup.”  They laughed and enjoyed it, although their performance was much better.  After embarrassing ourselves, we decided to embarrass ourselves a little more.  The girl’s basketball team challenged us to a game (they won nationals!).  While some individuals played basketball the rest of us tried to learn that traditional N. Indian dance, which happened to be very hard.  We could have never predicted what happened next.  About 1,000 kids swarmed us for autographs, handshakes, and pictures.  We were celebrities.  They followed us like paparazzi.  Many just wanted to know your name and see your face.  Some 11^th graders were mad because we were “too old” but said that I had “beautiful eyes.”  A younger student asked me to come back in 2 years (because that’s the age he can marry) and still another said “I love you very much.”  They were all too funny.  All the girls and boys were hanging all over us, and wanted nothing more than attention from the American kids.  They loved us.  As we boarded the buses they followed us, giving us high-fives out of the window.  These children are extremely happy, and I will never forget the smiles.

 

After we left the school we drove to another town to visit a drug manufacture.  Here was saw the 600 natural raw materials from all around India that they use to produce these drugs.  Next we saw the mechanical and hand held mixing system, that ensures the product is thoroughly blended.  A particular black mixture smelled terrible, and we came to later learn that it was bull horn (don’t ask me what they use that for!).  After the tour we had a meditation session before heading back to the B. V. B. School for dinner.  Dinner was more of the same food that we had been eating for the previous two days, but we also had an ice cream like desert that tasted like cake batter ice cream!  It was delicious, and just what I have been craving for the past 7 weeks!  After dinner we headed to the train station, where we caught the 10:30pm sleeper train back to Chennai.

 

Of my experience in India so far I can say this:  I have never met such loving and caring people in my life.  People with nothing will offer you everything; whereas in the States people will everything will offer nothing.  The culture is so rich, so deep.  Everything has its place and its purpose.  Everything is also so colorful, the clothing, the personalities.  It is impossible to not feel loved by everyone you meet.  The physical dirt of the country disappears as the culture emerges.  These people are rich.  These people have got it right.

 

 

india, Day 1

As soon as my roommate Kayla and I woke up at 6:45am this morning we smelled it.  A dirty, musty, chemical smell permeated the ship . . . and we were still one hour outside of India! At 8am we pulled up to the port, greeted by military men with rifles. Welcome to India! The floors of the ship are covered with cardboard and I hear that they cover the walls with plastic, as well. At the diplomatic briefing they told us that the “intestinal distress”that we will get here will surpass that of any other country. Awesome!

 

So this morning and afternoon I was on an FDP with my Demography professor, Dr. Grindstaff. The program was called HIV/AIDS in India. A bus picked us up at 10am. The bus was one of the nicer ones in India, because it had “air conditioning”which was extremely inefficient but was better than nothing. The bus was also chock-full of mosquitoes (India is a malaria risk area). Everything is dusty. The high today was 95 degrees, but since women dress conservatively I wore longer capris and a t-shirt. It’s hot. As we drove we passed goats, dogs, cats, and cows, all walking along side and in the roads. The scooters, bicycles, surreys, buses and cars have no rules when it comes to the road, so the traffic is pretty much a free for all. I have never and don’t think I will ever see something like it in my whole life. You just have to look the other way and not think about the cars coming straight toward you. We passed a beach, the second largest in the country, and it was lined with canoes. On the sidewalks women were washing clothing, but they were scrubbing them on this dirty, sandy sidewalk. Things aren’t too clean here . . .

 

The first place that the FDP went to was called APAC, or Aids Prevention and Control Project. The branch we went to was in a hospital and worked in the state of Tamil Nadu, where Chennai is located. The hospital where it was located was fascinating. There were different small buildings for each specialty, such as diabetes and HIV. There are only 198,000 people in Tamil Nadu who have HIV/AIDS, which is an excellent statistic considering the amount of people who live here. The rate of HIV/AIDS is less than 0.3%, which is actually pretty good. We all sat in a room with a long table and watched a PowerPoint presentation that talked about the mission of APAC.  Something that I thought was interesting was their classifications of the types of at risk people. There are three groups, FSW (Female Sexual Workers), MSMs (Men who have Sex with Men), and IDUs (Intravenous Drug Users) . . . blunt, but it works. APAC was so hospitable. They brought us water and cookies, and later soda.

 

We moved from that room to the Y. R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education for Academicians, which was upstairs from APAC. Here they do HIV/AIDS testing and research, to hopefully some day find a cure. They are very proud, also, that they have developed an HIV test that is much cheaper from the typical one found in the US and in every other state in India. This test makes it possible for more people to be tested, therefore preventing the spread of the disease. 

 

Next we walked a block to the YRG Care center, where they currently care for 3,000 HIV/AIDS patients. Not many of these are in-house care, and most stop by for medicine weekly. Here, they fed us some cake and juice (juice-boxes) and we watched a short presentation.

 

Finally, we had lunch. We went to this Chinese Restaurant that was in a hotel somewhere. The food was extremely good, and my meal only cost 190 Rupees, or less than $4. I thought it was funny, though, that we ate at a Chinese Restaurant in India. After that we were supposed to go to an orphanage that is home to individuals with HIV/AIDs, but there were about 12 of us who needed to get back to the ship in order to prepare for our trips that leave tonight. Our trip was running about 1.5 behind schedule due to extended presentations and a long lunch. We all got into one bus to take us back to the ship, while the other people went to the orphanage. I am sad that I missed out on that experience, but it wasn’t worth the stress of worrying if I would make my night trip or not. 

 

So, my first impressions of India: dirty but colorful, smelly but beautiful . . . impactful and humbling. 

 

Thought

"You must become the change that you wish to see in the world" Goethe

 

 

Sea Olympics

So, two days ago was Sea Olympics. They divide the boat into seas, which are pretty much each hallway divided in half. I am in the Bering Sea, and my color was purple. We had our opening ceremonies three nights ago. Each sea developed a mascot, made a flag, and created a cheer/chant. During the opening ceremonies a “torch”was lit and everyone presented their cheer. The events began the next day and included: mashed potato sculpting, the human knot, whipped cream eating, volleyball, dodge ball, relays, fitness tests, spelling bee, Sudoku, picture scavenger hunt, Pictionary and the main event, synchronized swimming. . . it was so fun. My event was the human knot, and we lost terribly. At the end of the day were the closing ceremonies and the final medal presentation. At first it wasn’t looking too good for our sea, but we won for best mascot, best flag, and got third for best chant. We tied for third place with two other teams! The winning team, the team pink, won the rites to first of the ship in Fort Lauderdale at the end of our voyage. 

 

Anyway, I got two more cards in Mauritius so my wall is now pretty colorful, with cards and pictures, my map, and a few schedules and calendars. 

 

Yesterday was just another day, uneventful. Went to all of my classes (haven’t skipped a class yet!). We have an interport lecturer from India who is teaching our Global Studies class. She is hard to understand, so we are all going to fail the next exam, yikes. I have a cognitive psychology test tomorrow, so I spent all of my free time yesterday studying, and I will be doing the same today. Last night I went to the 10pm snack and just relaxed for a bit before going to my room, watching the movie Crash (everyone must see it, it has an amazing story), and going to bed.

 

Everyone has been hiding in their rooms a lot lately. I think we are all thinking about things, missing friends and family back at home, and just getting tired of being around everyone all the time. We are all just excited to be in India in a few days, and all want to get there as soon as we can. Oh yeah, and it’s pretty cool to be able to say that I am in the Indian Ocean right now. I didn’t mention that, but Mauritius was in the Indian Ocean as well.

 

Food quality: dangerously poor

Movies on the TV (The Loop): crappy

Number of study hours: extremely high

. . . BUT . . .

High Temp Today: 92

Sun Temp Today: scorching

Classes Today: none

Happiness rating: high

 

Remember . . . Knowledge is not something gained in a classroom or in books. It is not something you can obtain by sitting in your house and searching the internet. Knowledge is something you feel, something you see, something you experience. I have learned a great deal more from the impoverished, uneducated children of the world than I have from any Rhodes scholar who thought he could share his “knowledge”through an essay.