Oi

With only a few days left before students come to school, you can imagine the amount of noise and preparation going on at the school. Not only are the builders hurrying to finish the new addition to the school, but ten new teachers are being trained, others are making lesson plans, cleaning the rooms, or patching up anything that’s been broken. The noise isn’t any different, but people are here long after I return from the village school and begin work early too.
The new addition to the school will not be finished as planned, but it’s amazing to see how fast all the rooms go up. In the month that I’ve been here, workers have literally built about 6 new rooms for the school. It’s expected that in mid-July they will be ready for use.
School being only a week away also means that this is my last week of teaching at the village school. I know I will miss the students even though it will free up my afternoons. It will give me a chance to explore the city and maybe find a concrete research topic. As far as my well-being goes, that’s another story. I arrived in India thinking that I would surpass the usual ‘Delhi-Belly’ or other travelers’ illnesses, but I was wrong. After arriving from my week-long trip, I immediately caught a case of the Delhi-Belly, also known to others as Montezuma’s Revenge (but I’m not in Mexico, am I?). I didn’t do anything about it because I figured it was a matter of toughing it out and letting the bug pass, but this wasn’t the case. Wednesday, I finally hit a low and thought it might be a good idea to tell someone. The clinic across the street, not to be confused with the one on the corner, or the thousands of others in the city (you’d be surprised how well-equipped this city is with doctors), prescribed me some pills which I am now reluctantly taking along with electrolyte water. I kindly suggest for any reader never to try electrolyte water as it is possibly one of the most disgusting drinkable liquids. This also means that I have to survive on a pretty simple diet free of spices, fried things, un-fresh things, and hope to be well sometime before I go home.

Cycle Rickshaw

Before continuing to read the rest of the blog, I suggest you google a cycle rickshaw. That, along with auto rickshaws, is the main forms of public transportation in Varanasi. You can be sure to find one or multiple rickshaws on any corner or shady spot throughout the city. The male drivers might be laying in the rickshaw, napping, chewing on pan (a sort of chewing tobacco popular in India), or waiting to ask “Rickshaw ma’am? Where are you going?” Most of the time, I don’t use their services because I would rather walk, but they come in handy if you’re in a hurry.
That’s not the point of the blog, however. For some time now, I had toyed with the idea of learning to drive one of these things. It looked easy enough. I figured that if the driver got enough momentum to pull the entire cart, then the rest would be just like riding a bicycle. On Sunday, I tried my luck with one group of drivers. Once I got them to understand that I would pay them to let me drive them around, they laughed, but agreed to let me try. Their laughing only increased when I couldn’t go further than a few feet. I gave up after some time, but tried again later with a different driver, only to get a few more laughs out of the men.
These contraptions look easy enough to drive but that is WRONG. The seats are so high I can’t reach the pedals and driving in Varanasi traffic is a fear I should first overcome. Anyway, my goal before I leave is to drive an auto rickshaw down a street.

Escaping the heat

After Amritsar, I took an overnight train to Dehradun, where I then hopped on a bus (or squeezed in) and headed for the hill station, Mussoorie. The first signs of traffic the amount of people on the bus gave me the impression that I was not the only wanting to escape the strong summer heat. I was right.

Mussoorie is a popular vacationing spot for Indians, especially those from Delhi (it's only 7 hours away). That being said, the hotels were very expensive by Indian standards and I ended up in a guesthouse at the end of town with a great view, but primitive facilities. It's all part of the experience I think.

I found that Mussoorie was nice for enjoying the weather, taking walks, and people watching, but it has become very congested and I think some visitors have forgotten to take care of the beautiful landscape. Although some steps have been taken accross many cities in India to reduce the use of plastic bags and to better manage waste, it's still evident that the problem is not solved. By Wednesday, I returned to Varanasi, after spending about 20 hrs. on the train and began teaching again on Thursday.

This is a picture of the class I teach in the village. More pictures of them later.

June is almost over, which is very surprising, yet I feel like there is much more for me to discover in this city. The school will be much different once their summer is over, which is the first of July, so I am looking forward to meeting more of them. I'm signing off until later, maybe I can post some pictures :).

This is one of the Buddhist temples in Sarnath

All the way to the Golden Temple

On Tuesday of this week, I packed and got everything ready for my week trip around Amritsar, Dehradun, and Mussoorie that started Wednesday. Since it'd be my first train ride completely alone in India, I felt pretty excited. An autorickshaw dropped me off at the station at about 9 and I was left in a daze, being unable to understand the train system. After some very confusing conversations and A LOT of help from various men, I found out that my train had a 2 hr. delay. I waited...and continued waiting when the delay became a 2.5 hr. delay, to a 3 hr. delay, and a 4.5 hr. delay. Note to self, Indian trains are almost always delayed. Yes, eventually it arrived and after a very comfortable 24 hrs., I arrived in Amritsar.
Being here is VERY different than Varanasi. There are police everywhere and signs promoting environmental awareness. It is very obvious that I'm still in India, but it's also more quiet than Varanasi and people confuse me with being Indian if I don't open my mouth, which I take as a compliment.
My first goal was to find a place to sleep, and after searching for a hotel, I got a decent (maybe) deal at a guesthouse. For about $10 a night, I got a big bed, ac, tv, and private shower/bathroom. Not bad until I met some girls who told me I could stay at the actual Golden Temple for a simple donation. Pilgrims flock to the Golden Temple to not only take in its beauty, but those of Sikh religion try to make it to this holy spot at least once in their lifetimes. Not only is this place beautiful, it also hosts thousands for free or a very small charge. On top of this, volunteers cook around the clock to feed over 40,000 people a day. We went into the feeding hall to experience this process and were surprised at the efficiency and the taste of the food. It wasn't anything rated with five stars, but the chapati (bread), dal (lentil soup), and rice were prettty tasty.
Other things to do in Amritsar include the Jallingwalla (sp?) memorial, where thousands of Indians were fired at by the British without advance notice or way to escape, and watching the lowering of the flag and closing of the gate at the India Pakistan border. Since I've accomplished all of this, I'm ready to head out tonight to Dehradun and up into the Himalayas.

An exciting Sunday

Since arriving in India, as I've already mentioned, I've become quite the early riser, not because of the continuous honking that has become an expected background noise, but because it's simply nice to enjoy the day before the temperature rises. On Sunday, I woke up pretty early to accompany Nita ma'am, my internship advisor, and her mother to the most famous temple in Varanasi -- Vishwanath Temple. It's a temple to Lord Shiva, the creator. We stood in semi-single-file line without shoes and proceeded through small walkways until we reached the main altar. Hundreds of people came, some from villages and abroad as well, to give their offerings of milk, flowers, and even money. You wouldn't expect patience considering the importance of the temple, but until reaching the center of worship, people were fairly calm. The amount of police stationed there probably helps though, as it was destroyed during the Muslim rule.
This visit, which Hindus try to make at least once in their lifetimes, went pretty fast for me and after a quick breakfast at home, I headed to Sarnath with a family whose kids attend and work at the school. I wish whoever takes the time to read this could really see what Sarnath is like. Although small, it is home to one of the Stupas, many Buddhist temples, and is also the place where the Buddha gave his frist sermon. It's only 10 K away from my current 'home', so it was quite easy to visit but I want to go back. Some of the artifacts there date back to 5 BC.!
After visiting Sarnath, I went to the movies with my Nita ma'am, her daughter, and mother. My first Hindi film and first mall experience. I guess malls here are a big hangout place for kids and families. It was a pretty eventful Sunday and it left me incredibly exhausted, so it wasn't long before I fell asleep at home.

A walk on the River Ganga

I decided to wake up early today to get a feel for the morning routine in Varanasi. What better place to do this than the river. At 5 am, I woke up and started heading to Asi ghat, which is closest to the Nirman Center, only to realize that I was about one hour too late. A lot of people were already at the river! I made sure to make a mental note that Indians are early risers...of course, the sun starts shining at 6 am and goes non-stop until 6pm. So, I missed the beginning, but was determined to observe for the remaining 1-2hrs.
It took me about one hour to walk from Asi ghat to the ghat at Godolia Market, and the experience was unlike any other. Yards upon yards of brightly colored and patterened saris lines the steps as individuals of all ages made their way to bathe in the river, unaware of the curious looks from tourists passing on boats. In front of one of the ghats, children lay flat on the ground as a man preached to them from a microphone and an ashened saddhu carried out a ritual. Drums beat in the background of cricket games, India's all-time favorite sport, and women walked in single-file to wash clothes in the river.
For two hours, I walked in a trance, taking in all I could of this normal routine, thankful that I can take par.

Week One

I've officially been in Varanasi for a week now and am beginning to understand the difference between Indian summers and summers in Indiana-- it's 106 degrees F here. My body has constantly produced sweat since the plane landed. I did get here safely and spend about a day in Delhi walking around before coming to Varanasi/Benares on an overnight train. My bag did not make the plane and I was forced (cough..cough) to buy some clothes in Delhi.
My first few days in the city, I spent with a group that was here from Canada. It was a nice transition because we worked in the school together and they let me do some activities with them. Once they left, I was sort of on my own for a few days, which was no problem because this city is teeming with new and exciting things to both do and see. Like I mentioned earlier, Benares is located along the Ganges, so if you walk along the ghats, you can find all sorts of temples, saddhus, food, music, vendors, etc. Each of them is a little bit different and tiny streets located behind the ghats lead you to even more stores and other findings.
The people are equally friendly and hospitable, especially here at Nirman. I am staying at the guesthouse and take all my meals here. Since the students are still on summer break, I am in charge of teaching 2 ESL classes (one in the city school and one in the country school) and working in the library, which needs catalogued and organized. Both classes are completely different, as are the schools, one being mainly an adult class (city school).
This past week alone has gone by very quickly, and I wonder if the rest of the summer will be like this. Although the country is full of friendly people and an incredible culture, the poverty is also astounding. For example, we went to a pre-wedding party at a village of untouchables this past week and it felt like walking into a completely different century. Yet, despite their socioeconomic status, they warmly welcomed us and entertained us. It was humbling.
I obviously can't post everything I'm doing, but I'll try to post again in a few days. Until then...namaste :)
Ana