Day 13: History of India
Today was a LONG day! We started out at Fort St. George near the Bay of Bengal and spent most of the day in historical churches. It's so easy to get caught up in the culture that you forget about the immense history India has before and after the British colonization! And how truly impressive India's development has been since the British abandonment only in 1947 considering that the country had to start over in almost every way!
Another view from India
Hi everyone,
I am new to the blog. I know my classmate Tess has been giving you great updates about our adventures in India. The trip has been fantastic so far...in fact words can't even really capture all of the things that I have learned and experienced while I am here. In my next posts, I will go into detail about all of the educational, cultural, and societal observations and experiences we have had...but for now let's do a quick summary of our happenings on the trip by spelling out Happy Pongal! For those of you who don't know Pongal is a the harvest festival celebrated in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Typically, those of the Hindu religion use the holiday to pay thanks to the gods of cattle and earth. Activities of the festival include: kolam drawings and the making and serving of pongal, a sweet rice. We just celebrated Pongal a few days ago...so I think it is an appropriate phrase for this activity.
H indu temples, Christian churches, mosques, and more. India is a melting pot of religions. People are proud of their religion and openly display their faith. All of the religions coexist here so peacefully.
A sking questions. This trip has been one of inquiry. Questioning students, teachers, and ourselves about the education, culture, society both in India and back home.
P anner, curry, rice, naan, and more. We have been enjoying sampling all of the south Indian cuisine. In fact, our mouths may still be tingling with all of the intense spices when we return.
P eople. The sheer number of people in the city of Chennai is immense. There are always crowds of people at every location and at every hour of everyday. People exert their democratic freedom with fervor and most are looking to make life in India better for future generations.
Y ield...no way...the traffic in Chennai and the rest of India is unbelievable. Lanes are optional, the horn is a tool of necessity, and pedestrians beware. Chennai traffic makes an I-5 traffic jam look like a dream come true.
P overty. There is no side-stepping this realization that India is a developing nation. The poverty is evident. It is humbling and difficult to come to terms with.
O n broadway...well not exactly...but the Bollywood movie that we saw was toe-tapping fantastic. We all came out of the theater with smiles on our faces, even though we didn't understand one word. Other cultural events we have experienced include dance, kolam drawing, pongal celebrations and more.
N ew clothes. While in India, we have been wearing the traditional kurtas, scarves, and pants. We also just bought sarees the other day. The clothing here is so bright, colorful, and comfortable.
G etting to know the children at the schools has been a wonderful experience. They are so bright and so inquisitive. Among the differences, there are so many similarities. I will remember these interactions for many years to come.
A choo....unfortunately almost everyone of us on the trip have had a bout with a cold :( (we are all almost well)
L ove. India is about love of family and love of each other. We have been welcomed here with open arms and open hearts even though we look strange and can only speak one language.
I am new to the blog. I know my classmate Tess has been giving you great updates about our adventures in India. The trip has been fantastic so far...in fact words can't even really capture all of the things that I have learned and experienced while I am here. In my next posts, I will go into detail about all of the educational, cultural, and societal observations and experiences we have had...but for now let's do a quick summary of our happenings on the trip by spelling out Happy Pongal! For those of you who don't know Pongal is a the harvest festival celebrated in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Typically, those of the Hindu religion use the holiday to pay thanks to the gods of cattle and earth. Activities of the festival include: kolam drawings and the making and serving of pongal, a sweet rice. We just celebrated Pongal a few days ago...so I think it is an appropriate phrase for this activity.
H indu temples, Christian churches, mosques, and more. India is a melting pot of religions. People are proud of their religion and openly display their faith. All of the religions coexist here so peacefully.
A sking questions. This trip has been one of inquiry. Questioning students, teachers, and ourselves about the education, culture, society both in India and back home.
P anner, curry, rice, naan, and more. We have been enjoying sampling all of the south Indian cuisine. In fact, our mouths may still be tingling with all of the intense spices when we return.
P eople. The sheer number of people in the city of Chennai is immense. There are always crowds of people at every location and at every hour of everyday. People exert their democratic freedom with fervor and most are looking to make life in India better for future generations.
Y ield...no way...the traffic in Chennai and the rest of India is unbelievable. Lanes are optional, the horn is a tool of necessity, and pedestrians beware. Chennai traffic makes an I-5 traffic jam look like a dream come true.
P overty. There is no side-stepping this realization that India is a developing nation. The poverty is evident. It is humbling and difficult to come to terms with.
O n broadway...well not exactly...but the Bollywood movie that we saw was toe-tapping fantastic. We all came out of the theater with smiles on our faces, even though we didn't understand one word. Other cultural events we have experienced include dance, kolam drawing, pongal celebrations and more.
N ew clothes. While in India, we have been wearing the traditional kurtas, scarves, and pants. We also just bought sarees the other day. The clothing here is so bright, colorful, and comfortable.
G etting to know the children at the schools has been a wonderful experience. They are so bright and so inquisitive. Among the differences, there are so many similarities. I will remember these interactions for many years to come.
A choo....unfortunately almost everyone of us on the trip have had a bout with a cold :( (we are all almost well)
L ove. India is about love of family and love of each other. We have been welcomed here with open arms and open hearts even though we look strange and can only speak one language.
Day 12: Happy Pongal!
Due to this festive Harvest celebration (similar to the American Thanksgiving), many schools have been closed for a long weekend, which is why we are doing so much sight-seeing! Today however, we literall
y shopped until we physically dropped on a staircase in the middle of a 5-floor jewelery store.
We started in a mall where I bartered successfully according to Vidya, and we all worked together to boost the Indian economy!
Then came time for us to buy Saree's. The kurta (shirt) and salwar (pants) are traditional young women's and casual clothing. The saree is the outfit fit for an adult, professional woman. At this stage of adolescents in our lives, this purchase was symbolic in a mental and physical way. Unfortunately, the store where we made our purchases did not have appropriate petticoats for Sara and I. So Vidya took us to
another shop to attain those garments, which we had to walk to.
Walking past the street-salesmen and begging children had been a strange experience in Bangalore, but it was completely different here in Chennai. We had only seen these parts of the city from behind the glass window in our air-conditioned bus. And it was when a begging mother was holding her baby in her left arm and clutching my shoulder with her right that I truly started to understand poverty.
This woman was obviously ill, but her child was not. She was barely clinging to the jewelery and clothing that identified her with her culture, yet had wrapped her baby in a cotton blanket and I saw her take out a few rupees and buy him an orange after we left. What her situation was, I will not pretend to know. I don't know where she went at the end of the day or whom she went with. I simply know what I observed. Which was a mother trying to protect, nurture, and feed her baby by any means necessary.
In the theme of Pongal and Thanksgiving, I just want to thank all of those who have nurtured me in physical and maturity growth. And all of you who are reading this and supporting my mental and academic growth. Happy Pongal.
y shopped until we physically dropped on a staircase in the middle of a 5-floor jewelery store.We started in a mall where I bartered successfully according to Vidya, and we all worked together to boost the Indian economy!
Then came time for us to buy Saree's. The kurta (shirt) and salwar (pants) are traditional young women's and casual clothing. The saree is the outfit fit for an adult, professional woman. At this stage of adolescents in our lives, this purchase was symbolic in a mental and physical way. Unfortunately, the store where we made our purchases did not have appropriate petticoats for Sara and I. So Vidya took us to
another shop to attain those garments, which we had to walk to.Walking past the street-salesmen and begging children had been a strange experience in Bangalore, but it was completely different here in Chennai. We had only seen these parts of the city from behind the glass window in our air-conditioned bus. And it was when a begging mother was holding her baby in her left arm and clutching my shoulder with her right that I truly started to understand poverty.
This woman was obviously ill, but her child was not. She was barely clinging to the jewelery and clothing that identified her with her culture, yet had wrapped her baby in a cotton blanket and I saw her take out a few rupees and buy him an orange after we left. What her situation was, I will not pretend to know. I don't know where she went at the end of the day or whom she went with. I simply know what I observed. Which was a mother trying to protect, nurture, and feed her baby by any means necessary.
In the theme of Pongal and Thanksgiving, I just want to thank all of those who have nurtured me in physical and maturity growth. And all of you who are reading this and supporting my mental and academic growth. Happy Pongal.
Day 11: Places We Go & The People Who Want to Meet Us
I don't think I could ever become accustomed to the amount of attention we receive here. People don't just stare, they usually stop what they're doing and focus all of their energy on us.
Today we went to a lot of cultural spots that attract tourists. At the Crocodile Farm, there was a group of students who said that meeting us was the best part of their field trip. Their teacher wanted a picture with us.
At Dakshin Chitra, after we drank coconut water out of coconuts and saw very elaborate dancing in which the performers were on stilts and in large animal costumes, the dancers asked a couple of us who we were and how we were enjoying our visit to India.
And at the beautiful temples (one was by the shore, another in the sand, and the last was on top of a mountain)
, people kept taking pictures of us! At the last temple, it was very crowded and there was a limited amount of space to walk. With half of my group far in front of me, and half far behind, I ended up in the middle of a men's school group on a field trip. I must have posed with over 15 people for pictures in that 5-minute interval!
This interest in and friendliness between strangers is not present in the U.S. and I will miss it when we go home. Yet, being treated like royalty because my skin color is a rarity here, is just wrong. And it emphasizes the lack of interest the Western world truly has in this (and probably most) developing countries.
Today we went to a lot of cultural spots that attract tourists. At the Crocodile Farm, there was a group of students who said that meeting us was the best part of their field trip. Their teacher wanted a picture with us.
At Dakshin Chitra, after we drank coconut water out of coconuts and saw very elaborate dancing in which the performers were on stilts and in large animal costumes, the dancers asked a couple of us who we were and how we were enjoying our visit to India.
And at the beautiful temples (one was by the shore, another in the sand, and the last was on top of a mountain)
, people kept taking pictures of us! At the last temple, it was very crowded and there was a limited amount of space to walk. With half of my group far in front of me, and half far behind, I ended up in the middle of a men's school group on a field trip. I must have posed with over 15 people for pictures in that 5-minute interval!
This interest in and friendliness between strangers is not present in the U.S. and I will miss it when we go home. Yet, being treated like royalty because my skin color is a rarity here, is just wrong. And it emphasizes the lack of interest the Western world truly has in this (and probably most) developing countries.
Day 10: Sightseeing
Today was full of experiences. As is everyday here in India, yet the emotion that I was overcome with at St. Thomas Mount may have been one of the best experiences I have had yet.
After climbing to the peak of the mountain, we went into the church built on the site where St. Thomas (AKA 'Doubting Thomas') was murdered.
It is a beautiful monument full of icons and thousand-year old artwork. And as I was crossing myself in front of the alter, a woman looked at me and asked why I was wearing the Bindi (red dot worn on the forehead by Hindu's) if I was a Christian. Religion is a touchy subject, especially in a church. I simply told the woman that I was a visitor to this country, and was trying to respect the culture.
Afterward however, I could not stop thinking about religions and religious differences.
Personally, I believe that God is the father of the world. And like a father, he will bring you opportunities and people you need in your life, but he will also let you learn from your mistakes and leave it up to the individual to create your own situation in this world. I am a Christian, an Eastern Orthodox Christian. Yet, this did not stop me from feeling enlightened in the Hindu temple, nor does it deplete the sense of security you get by wearing the Bindi (used to protect the mind and soul). In fact, using multiple perspectives makes me feel closer than ever to this awesome invisible power that we all celebrate in our own culturally-accepted ways.
After climbing to the peak of the mountain, we went into the church built on the site where St. Thomas (AKA 'Doubting Thomas') was murdered.
It is a beautiful monument full of icons and thousand-year old artwork. And as I was crossing myself in front of the alter, a woman looked at me and asked why I was wearing the Bindi (red dot worn on the forehead by Hindu's) if I was a Christian. Religion is a touchy subject, especially in a church. I simply told the woman that I was a visitor to this country, and was trying to respect the culture.
Afterward however, I could not stop thinking about religions and religious differences.
Personally, I believe that God is the father of the world. And like a father, he will bring you opportunities and people you need in your life, but he will also let you learn from your mistakes and leave it up to the individual to create your own situation in this world. I am a Christian, an Eastern Orthodox Christian. Yet, this did not stop me from feeling enlightened in the Hindu temple, nor does it deplete the sense of security you get by wearing the Bindi (used to protect the mind and soul). In fact, using multiple perspectives makes me feel closer than ever to this awesome invisible power that we all celebrate in our own culturally-accepted ways.
Day 9: Kolam and Bollywood
Kolam is such a beautiful medium. It reminds me of henna in the sense that it can be drawn freehand yet so intricately by the people here!
Drawing a kolam outside your house symbolizes health and wellness are with all members of the family. It is
traditionally drawn with a powdery substance, but we have als
o seen it done with chalk and a rice-milk concoction!
It is such a simple art, yet it brightens any location with its color, design, and message of peace.
We got to see a Bollywood movie today! I am very thankful that we did because it was a very energizing experience! The colorfulness of the screen with the constant musical numbers made for a very enjoyable movie! Vidya said that going to the movies is still pretty cheap and can obviously provide a lot of happiness to people in hardship. Yet, I also have to think that it preserves and enhances the full richness of the culture in many ways! The movie did not have subtitles, so we were left to fill in some communicative portions here and there (although the one full sentence in English was "they should make love, not war." which out of context was pretty entertaining). However, it was easy to follow because of how well the Indian people show their emotions through their body language. After watching 'Band Baaja Baaraat' I finally understand why people say American accents are monotone!
To see our group's favorite part of the movie, watch this video!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EK5Nt3y71Q&feature=fvw
Drawing a kolam outside your house symbolizes health and wellness are with all members of the family. It is
traditionally drawn with a powdery substance, but we have als
o seen it done with chalk and a rice-milk concoction!It is such a simple art, yet it brightens any location with its color, design, and message of peace.
We got to see a Bollywood movie today! I am very thankful that we did because it was a very energizing experience! The colorfulness of the screen with the constant musical numbers made for a very enjoyable movie! Vidya said that going to the movies is still pretty cheap and can obviously provide a lot of happiness to people in hardship. Yet, I also have to think that it preserves and enhances the full richness of the culture in many ways! The movie did not have subtitles, so we were left to fill in some communicative portions here and there (although the one full sentence in English was "they should make love, not war." which out of context was pretty entertaining). However, it was easy to follow because of how well the Indian people show their emotions through their body language. After watching 'Band Baaja Baaraat' I finally understand why people say American accents are monotone!
To see our group's favorite part of the movie, watch this video!:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EK5Nt3y71Q&feature=fvw
Day 8: Montessori School
Today we went to a very expensive private institution that even at face value is hardly worth the cost. Schools using the Montessori method and name get immediate recognition due to the modern style of the education. This generally consists of leaving many educational toys and activities in a classroom and observing the (2-6 year old) child and helping them progress to more difficult activities.
First I observed an elementary classroom where this system is supposed to thrive. Yet, only 2 (of the 5) teachers in the room were even paying attention to the children. The others were charging thousands of rupees a year to sit and read a book while drinking coffee and yell at any child who asks for help because they interrupted them. This truly disgusted me. In a system where observation is everything, this is unacceptable! Later, Vidya asked the woman who was charge of the elementary section how they evaluate student progress and what skills need to be demonstrated before they turn 12 and move into a more traditional setting. The answer? "We'll get back to you on that."
The older grades were so disrespectful to their teachers! It seems as if they see themselves as the authority. Yet, there seemed to be very little drive in these students, most were unsure as to their choice career (which is rarer in India than wanting to be a pottery maker!). And many of them complained about school and referred to subjects as being "like throwing up." They do not appreciate their education like children at the other schools did.
Further, they lacked a sense of community in the classroom-both with other students and their rich cultur
e that I have come to love. Many foreign students are at this school as well, in fact one lady asked us which kids were our children. And over 30 BMW's rolled in to pick their kids up at the end of the day. This school gives children too many freedoms as infants and can never seem to get authority back. The parents must be drawn by name, location, and expected value for ticket price. Yet, lack of true Montessori methods obviously depletes that monetary value in equality to the child's education, growth, and attitude.