Being an NRI

Some thoughts on being an NRI (Non-Resident Indian) in India. Please note that these are my thoughts only!

• Its hard to look the part. I'm an Indian-American, dressed in traditional garb, but I don't speak the language and don't know the customs. I am constantly expected to know every prayer, ritual, holiday, etc. When I don't the look of shock on people's faces is priceless.
• I'm tired of talking about marriage and I haven't even been here for one month! I don't care what the custom here I am not of marriageable age and as a matter of fact no one will determine what that 'age" should be but me!
• Its hard to know what my gender role is, even though people expect me to know it! I have to be home at a certain time, know who is okay to talk to, etc etc. Sometimes I think it would just be easier to look totally foreign, then I would have an excuse for not knowing!

Walk to Work

So, I know I've been a bit, as one of my friends likes to say, crab apply, on my blog recently, so I wanted to write about my favorite part of the day, my walk home. So my aunt recently told me that "Dharwad is a zoo!" and it kind of is. On my walk home I pass pigs, cows, bulls, goats, dogs, cats, roosters, and the occasional monkey klan (yikes!). But also I see autorickshaws bursting at the seams with school-children, children on bikes, people selling all sorts of stuff on bikes, a small forest, and the train station. I also pass my uncle's house, which used to make me sad but now I look forward to it because I think he's watching over me.

India wins!

Before I post anymore I must take this moment to thank Brian Heilman for teaching me the rules of cricket. It's a fantastic game and tonight India won the Twenty 20 World Cup in South Africa. It was an amazing match as India beat their arch rivals Pakistan by a mere 5 runs! People are celebrating in the street and I'm about to join them! Go India!

Funny Quote

My cousin is going to New York for a couple months through work and my aunt asked, “Can you buy rice in New York?” I love it.

Frustrations.......................

I wish I knew Kannada. Its Kannada non-stop around here. I know some words here and there but not enough to communicate effectively. Also people speak ten times faster here with far less English. Kannada is everywhere, with my family, at work, and on the signs. There are very few English signs. Also all of the names are incredibly long here, street names and people’s names. So I have a hard time remembering anything. At work I was introduced to people but very quickly, i.e. this is “vanketeshwara swami, blah blah”. Street names are similar.
My first day at work at SPS, was okay. My desk space is separate from everyone else’s so its feels isolating. Also I’ve been given a lot of books to read, which I’m grateful for, but I already feel like I’m going to be useless. They want to know what I would like to do, and my answer to be useful to them, isn’t really working out. I hope it gets better.

Pictures of Dharwad!

Some pictures of the market place and the outside of my aunt’s house, also a a picture of the kitten named Putu.

Ganesha Chachurti !

This years celebrations were subdued but I thought I would included some pictures of our Ganesha. The bigger Ganesha’s are in the market place. Ganesha Chachurti celebrates Ganesha’s birthday. Ganesha is the remover of all obstacles so people have been celebrating like crazy. There are firecrackers going off all the time but they sound like bombs so sometimes I feel like I am in a war zone!

I've been avoiding this post..

I’ve been avoiding this post for sometime, wondering whether or not it’s even appropriate. But my experience to date in India has been defined by this event so to not write about it I think would be wrong. As some of you know my uncle committed suicide on September 11.
The news, as one can imagine, was quite a shock. He did suffer from depression but nobody expected this. That I suppose is the beast behind the disease of depression. Even the best doctors don’t fully understand it.
In the past few days I’ve been able to slowly digest what has happened. My uncle lived in Dharwad, the town I am currently residing in for my AIF fellowship. In fact his house is less than a five-minute walk from the NGO I am working at. His house is amazing, with both a great porch and a deck. He was a statistics professor at Karnataka State University and an overall genius. I was particularly excited to come to India to spend more time with him because out of my extended family in India he understand what I was doing here. He also as I’ve stated before a genius, an encyclopedia of information, he knew a little bit about every topic. I think that’s what makes this especially hard, how could someone so intelligent do this?
Besides being devastated for the family he has left behind, I can’t believe this happened 3 days before I was to come to Dharwad. Didn’t he know I as coming! We were supposed to sit on his porch, drink chai, while he told me things I wouldn’t understand, but would pretend to anyway.
I thought things would be better when I got to Dharwad but it hasn’t been really. I don’t know the language or Hindu tradition so I’m not helpful. Grief is also a difficult emotion and I wish it could be avoided. People are very closed here in their emotions. Combined with the fact that the only time I am really alone is in the bathroom, which seems to be the only place where I can express my emotion.
Above is a picture of my family in Dharwad; my uncle is in the button-up shirt. He looks scholarly doesn’t he? Uncle, wherever you are I love you and miss you.

Rajasthan Visit-Farmers Rule

Pictures from our Rajasthan visit.....

More Orientation Pictures.......

My roommate Diana and I, Maria and I drink up to Milk of Mag to help with our stomach woes, and Becca and Ann sweat it out at Hunaman's Tomb.........

I stole all of these images from Brian's Blog at http://bharoterdinratri.blogspot.com/ You should read his blog its much better :)

I wasn't kidding we really did learn Bollywood Dance!

Made it to Dharwad, without the train!

So I decided against the typical Indian experience and flew to Hubli-the nearest town to Dharwad. Flying within in India has become much easier in the last few years so there are a number of people who are new to this mode of travel. For example the man checking in front of me didn't really have luggage, instead he had 8 plastic bags that were duck taped shut.



It's been raining here nearly everyday and everything is incredibly green and muddy. Also I have to learn Kannada (local language) here ASAP as nobody speaks English, and most signs are also not in English. Also most of the roads don't have any names next to them.



I also met with my NGO today and talked to my mentor. He is incredibly nice there are about 5 people working there. The organization is known as SPS or Samaj Parivartan Samudaya.

SPS works to protect the environment in Karnataka by advocacy and organizing people dependent upon natural resources, mainly forests, land and water, for their livelihoods. SPS has been implementing a five year livelihood project since 2002. The main objective of the program is to contribute significantly to the livelihoods of 3,841 families in 26 villages in two districts of Karnataka - Davanagere and Haveri. I met briefly with the Executive Director today and he gave me several books to read. I think I will be working on policy issues specifically the Right to Information Act (RTI) and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). RTI is a much better version of the Freedom of Information Act. NREGA guarantees 100 days of wage employment to households in rural areas.



I promise to post pictures soon! Hope everyone is doing well!

No Train Ride for Me!

So... I'm still in Delhi and i can't wait for some SOUTH INDIAN food. I'd take yogurt over paneer any day! We are still in orientation and have some amazing speakers from government officials, to huge non-profits, and those from the corporate sector. I found out that I'm living with my family, but since I was told that I am suppose to take the train by myself, I'm opting to fly.
Yesterday we went to the National Art Gallery of Modern Art and we had it to ourselves! I definitely feel like I'm a celebrity here and am learning what a powerful network the America India Foundation has. Miss everyone!

I made it!

Hey everyone! I made it to Delhi safe and sound! We are staying at the Vishwa Yuvak Kendra (International Youth Centre). Its a great place, very clean (besides the dead crickets that keep drowning in the bathroom) and the food is excellent. We leave for our destination cities on September 12th and I will be headed to Dharwad which in Northern Karnataka. Its about an 8-10 hour train ride north of Bangalore. The train ride from Delhi is about 40 hours. Yep 40 hours. That is very long. Our class is great and so far we have bonded with some Bollywood dance! Who doesn't love that!
More coming soon!