First Week of Hindi Classes

Dear friends and family,

I hope things are going well at home. I have been enjoying your update emails!

I completed my first week of Hindi classes on Friday. My day looks like this: I wake up in the morning to do yoga or run while the water heats up for my shower. Then, I shower and eat breakfast.  After that, I catch up on emails, other internet related items, and study Hindi. Next, I walk to Char Dukan to eat lunch with my fellow Fulbrighters and friends from the language school. In the afternoon, I have four hours of Hindi classes back-to-back. At first I thought this would be too much, but I actually like having them blocked together. I am often exhausted by class four, but this would be the case whether there were breaks or not. After that, I may go for a walk, head back to my house, go to the bazaar, etc. I eat dinner around 7:00 or 7:30 usually, study/catch up on things, and go to bed.

There are few things from this week that I want to tell you about in particular.

On Wednesday night, I went to an Indian Christian bible study. Even though India is predominantly Hindu, there are a number of Muslims and Christians. Especially in Mussoorie, there are a lot of Christian churches. It was very interesting and the community was very welcoming. The bible study was almost solely in Hindi although they would give me 30 second updates on what was happening every once in a while. I understood very little of what everyone was saying, but I think it will get easier. It’s amazing to me that I have only studied Hindi for seven weeks formally, but I can understand so much more now! I can even express myself, what I want, and ask questions. My grammar is not always correct, but it’s getting much better. To me, it feels like a puzzle. I have to get the words in the right order with the right gender and then try to decode the message back to me.

On Thursday night, I went to a soiree hosted by four other students at the language school. This was really incredible! We ate pizza (which was thin crust and tasted a lot like home, except spicier and one had paneer on it). Then, four of the students gave talks about travels to strange places. The first talk was by Max who spent three years living in Myanmar including during the change of power in 2008. The second was by Karin, a Swiss radio reporter, based in Delhi reporting on the latest news from Afghanistan. She explained how difficult it is to validate the truth of what people tell her. She showed us pictures of her travels to Afghanistan including some of the locals she met. She also let us listen to sound bites from American soldiers who are stationed there. She prefers to speak with soldiers at lower ranks because she can get a more accurate story from them. Adam, an English professor, gave another talk outlining his prediction on the next economic superpower. Instead of having such a dominant country like the U.S., he thinks that the power will be more dispersed. In addition, he explained that China is less likely to be a successful economic power because of its aversion to diversity. The last talk (which began around 11:00pm) was by Daniel Simpson who recently finished his book The Rough Guide to the Dark Side (he is starting his U.S. book tour in the next month). Although I was exhausted by this point, he was very engaging and his story was also fascinating. He talked mostly about his disillusionment with the free press especially after working for the NY Times after 9/11. I am excited to read his book after hearing his brief talk. He has a website: www.roughguidedarkside.com/.

After such a successful soiree on Thursday, we are going to try to continue this weekly. We had such diversity in the room and hearing everyone’s perspectives and thoughtful questions was such a wonderful experience. To give you a taste of who was there, in addition to the four mentioned above, we had two Ph.D. students from London (one writing her dissertation on something to do with the BBC and the other writing about mobile phones in India), an Indian/British couple who live in Mussoorie, a woman from California who has traveled all over the world, a young man from the U.S. in the National Guard, a woman from Mussoorie whose father owns an antique shop, a university student from Germany, and a man who teaches at the language school.

That’s about it for now. I attached some pictures of the beautiful mountains in Mussoorie below. The other night, I was able to see about 70-80 miles from here to a power station in the horizon. This is the right place to be. =)

Margaret

A Funny YouTube Video

Here is a really funny YouTube video that we were shown in our Fulbright orientation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8AFqfO0XHo

The real translation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4ELW9feU8w

The whole point was to show us as researchers that we may interpret things people say incorrectly because we are looking at it through a different lens. I thought it was very effective!

Vipers, spiders, and other useful things I have learned so far in India

Vipers, spiders, and some of the other useful things I have learned so far in India:

   1.   Indian bureaucracy is totally frustrating. I have been running around for the last week trying to complete my Foreigners Registration. I will probably post my experience with this in the next few days as I wrap up the final pieces.

2. 2.       Shopping includes many things that you may not have expected. For example, I bought a squeegee to keep the floor of my bathroom clean and dry. I have to do this because my shower is not sectioned off; it is just part of the bathroom itself. Taking a shower causes water to go pretty much everywhere. When I explained to one of the storekeepers what I need, he called it a ‘viper’. Therefore, I walked around asking store owners, “Kya aap kay pas ‘viper’ hai?” (Do you have wipers?) Somehow, they knew exactly what I meant. (See my attached picture below to see what a ‘viper’ looks like.)

3.       3. You know that you do not have big spiders living in your bedroom if there are little ones on the walls or floors. I don’t mean a lot of spiders, but yesterday I found a decent sized spider dead on my floor. Then, I found a much bigger spider hanging out behind my picture. I am not sure about this, but I think the big ones kill off the small ones. For now, I will keep the little guys around to reassure myself. Luckily for me, the English doctor and one of his sons who live upstairs are not afraid of these enormous spiders and killed two for me today. (Surprisingly, I slept great last night even though I knew there was at least one somewhere in my room.) I am all ears for any advice on how to keep them away. I’m cursing TSA because they threw out one of my bug sprays at the airport. Maybe I can spray my bug spray with deet around the door. (It’s a good thing I am not staying at the organic farm right now. =))

4  4.       I will probably spend more money on toilet paper this year than I ever imagined. It costs about a dollar a roll. 

5.       5. On a more serious note, I am learning how hard it can be to get an adequate amount of protein here. Luckily, I eat eggs, cheese, and milk. However, when I look around at many Indians, they are surprisingly short. At 5 foot three, I have never towered over so many people. The more I have been talking with other Westerners, the more we are recognizing that this must be largely due to malnutrition and probably protein deficiency.

As I was writing this, I thought it might be interesting to do a day’s rundown of foods I typically eat in India (and which would follow a pure vegetarian diet). Here is my breakdown:

a.       Breakfast:           Milk chai –                                    6 grams of protein (about ¾ cup)

 2 aloo paranthas -                            7 grams

b.      Chai:                 Milk chai -                                       6 grams

c.       Lunch:              Channa masala (chickpeas)              7 grams

Subzee (vegetable)                           3 grams

Roti (2)                                            5 grams

Chaval (rice) (1 cup, white)              3 grams               

d.      Chai/snack:         Milk chai -                                    6 grams

Namkeen (salty snack)                   5 grams (Assume peanuts as snack)

e.      Dinner:             Yellow dal (chickpeas)                    7 grams

Subzee (vegetable)                        3 grams

Roti (2)                                         5 grams

Chaval (rice) (1 cup, white)          3 grams

                                                    66 grams

In summary, it looks like I am fine on getting enough protein if I actually eat like this every day. I can even skip some of the chai if I want or switch up the proportions. In the same way, many of the upper middle class and upper class Indians seem to be getting enough protein. The height of the elite Indians seems about the same as Westerners. In fact, some of them may even want to cut back on the white rice and roti (especially as Type II diabetes has been becoming more prevalent in India). This is because they have the money and time to afford three complete meals a day and some snacks. However, others are not as well off. Some of the first items to go in the proposed diet above are the milk chai and dal because they are more expensive (and provide the majority of protein for the day). 

Obviously, my quick analysis is not scientific; instead, it is based more in observation and discussion. However, there is some truth to it. As I was writing this, I found an article in the NY Times reporting on India’s malnutrition. Based on a survey of 100 districts in India which were assigned a level of low for child development, 42% of children under the age of 5 were malnourished. The article explains that an extensive food subsidy program is in place, but the corruption and inefficiency make it ineffective. According to the article, “some analysts estimate that 40 percent of the subsidized food never reaches the intended recipients.” According to another article from the BBC news, “It is estimated that one in four of the world's malnourished children is in India, more even than in sub-Saharan Africa.” This would explain why the two young vegetable sellers who came to the house yesterday looked much younger than they are. One told us he was fifteen but looked more like a young twelve or thirteen year-old. 

(NY Times Article: http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/indias-chronic-battle-with-malnutrition/)

(BBC Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-16481731)

 My last night in Delhi. I ate at an Indian-Italian restaurant with two other Fulbrighters: Sohini and James. I had this pasta with veggies and a spicy tomato sauce. It was very good!
 

Back to Mussoorie, my home sweet home for the next four months.

A picture of the mountains. It's been pretty foggy and a bit rainy but very beautiful!

Some of the essentials I bought during my shopping trip: toilet paper, almonds, powdered milk, carrots, floor wiper, laundry soap, and a wool sweater.

My late friend the spider peeking out from behind a picture. Little did I know, his friend was also behind there.

A Week in Delhi

Namaskar friends and family,

Here is an update from India. There is so much to cover, but here are some of the highlights.

I met with my NGO affiliation, Himalaya Seva Sangh (HSS), last Sunday. I am really excited to work with them! They work with villagers in Uttarakhand on traditional water management, land rights, women’s empowerment, and education. At my meeting, I talked with my contact, Manoj, about the logistics of my project. I am going to be working in three areas: Tehri, Uttarakashi, and Pauri Garhwal. I will mostly be focusing on their water projects: slow-sand filters, rain water harvesters, and natural spring recharge ponds. HSS is trying to bring water management back into the hands of the people in these communities. The government and multinational corporations commonly control water resources and forests in these areas, and the villagers have lost their land and natural resources. 

On Monday, I met Manoj at the Constitution Club in Delhi for a conference on community management of forests and rivers. The conference was one week long and held in various parts of India. The session I attended in Delhi had representatives of organizations all over India. The purpose was to bring together individuals who are working on forest and water management. Sharing ideas and common problems helps them to find solutions and realize they are not alone in their struggles. Leaders of various NGOs spoke about what they are doing and expressed their hopes for how better management could be implemented. Three ministers from the Indian government were present to listen to concerns and explain the government’s involvement. All ministers acknowledged that they are trying to make the voices of these villagers heard concerning forests and water, but enforcement of government policies is challenging. [These presentations were in Hindi, so I missed a lot of the details. Luckily, Manoj translated the main ideas for me. I look forward to my Hindi classes so I can better understand in the future!]

I have become an expert at navigating the Delhi metro. It reaches all of the main parts of Delhi where I need to go, so it makes it a lot easier to get around. Rather than haggling or getting charged American prices for rides in the auto rickshaws, I can get to where I need to go quickly for about 14 rupees. Plus, there is a ladies’ car which is much less crowded, and I don’t attract as many stares. I still take some autos, but I mainly use the metro. I am going to miss it when I go to Mussoorie, but I guess the beauty of the Himalayas will more than make up for it. 

Wednesday, August 15 marked Indian Independence day. Many people took the day off and government offices were closed. I took this time to visit the mall and see a Bollywood movie. It was called Cocktail and was definitely a chick flick. Being set in London, I recognized many of the locations in the movie which was really fun! Like all Bollywood movies, the film lasted about three hours with lots of singing and dancing. The good news is that despite being so long, most Bollywood movies have an intermission. I will note that Cocktail was not as good as another movie I watched on TV earlier in the week called My Brother’s Bride (translated). I preferred the dancing and humor of this movie where one brother tries to find a bride for his other brother and falls in love with her in the process. [Because the movies are in Hindi, I am hoping they can help me with my listening comprehension.]

I have been soaking up my last week at the Taj. I broke down and bought a swimsuit, so I could swim in the Olympic size pool. While staying at this five star hotel, I also learned you can receive plates of complimentary chocolates daily, bowls of fresh (and clean) fruit, and toothpaste whenever you need it. I guess I should not have gotten used to some of these luxuries.

I travelled to Mussoorie today and start my Hindi classes on Monday. I am excited to be back in the Himalayas where I stayed last year! The scenery is beautiful!

Another quick note, I am going to run in half marathon held in Delhi on September 30. Ashwin is my friend from Xavier who lives in southern India. He invited me to join him in the race, so I guess I will have to start increasing my mileage in preparation. =)

Thanks for reading and thanks for sending me your updates too!

Margaret

The beautiful India Gate in Delhi. I like how you can see some of the vendors alongside the road selling snacks and water. This photo was taken from my moving rickshaw. 

 Here I am with three other Fulbrighters at a South Indian restaurant in Delhi. Traditionally, South Indian food is served on banana leaves. We had plates too though.

Here is a picture from the conference I mentioned above. Manoj is the one at the podium speaking. I am sitting in the back, and you can see some of the other attendees. By the way, I also got to introduce myself to the group in Hindi. Very fun!

In case you were worried, I wasn't eating well. Here is my talli from Navdanya cafe in Dilli Hut.

This is outside the mall on Indepedence DAy. It's a very commercial mall, much like the U.S.

 A few of my worldly pleasure that I will miss from the Taj hotel.

Arrival Pictures

Here are some pictures for you from my trip so far.

Before I left for India. Here is the beginning of my life as a minimalist. =)

The lobby of my luxurious hotel (This may contradict my minimalism.)

 Yes, I walked past Mother Teresa's home in Delhi today. =)

I went to Mass at the Cathedral today in Delhi. It was in Hindi. A very interesting side note. In Hindi, there is both a formal and informal way of addressing people. The informal way is used to address children but is also reserved for your mother and God. It was beautiful to hear the hymns being sung in Hindi!

 Another picture of the Cathedral. Check out my new kameez from Fab India. I bought two yesterday and love them!

A street in Delhi in case you are interested

I will do my best to keep posting frequently especially with photos, but don't get too used to it. :) Also, I added a link at the bottom of the page in case you had a hard time subscribing before.

I made it!

Namaste all,

I finally arrived in India! After about 30 hours of travel, I arrived in Delhi. As awful as it sounds, the trip actually went very well. I even met some fellow Fulbrighters before boarding my flight out of Chicago. This worked out great, especially since one of them is going to be spending two and a half months with me at the language school. (My good Indian karma is coming through again.) I spent 17 of my 24 travel hours on a plane from Chicago to Delhi, but to keep me occupied, the stewardesses brought around food every three hours. In between meals, I watched movies, read, and slept.

My orientation in Delhi has been a bit surreal. I am staying at the Taj Mahal hotel. Needless to say, this is the Ritz Carlton of India. Being around this much air conditioning makes me feel like I am not in India. We have beautiful bedrooms featuring a gorgeous view of the city. I never realized before how green the city is. It turns out that Delhi is both the greenest capital in the world and one of the most polluted.

I have been going strong since my arrival. Our schedule has been jam-packed with delicious Indian food and chai as well as informative sessions on Indian culture, politics, and economy. In addition, the Fulbright staff and speakers have provided us with important details on the administration of our Fulbright grants and tips for conducting research in India. Networking with the other Fulbrighters has been one of my favorite parts so far. From the 40 people at my orientation, five Fulbrighters are also doing projects related to water which approach the issue from biological, public health, and engineering perspectives. Although a number of us are focusing on water, all our projects and backgrounds are incredibly diverse, and we will be situated throughout the entire country. Here is a sample of the project titles to give you an idea:

·         Dharma and Justice: Socially-Engaged Tibetan Buddhism in Exile, Varanasi and Dharamsala

·         The Role of Law in Development of Corporate Social Responsibility in India, Delhi

·         Determining Indigenous Rhizobacteria in Chromium Contaminated Sites to Aid Remediation, Hyderabad

·         The Ramayana as Theater: From Ramlila to Rock Musicals in India, Delhi

The Fulbright program has been totally impressive so far. Our group even visited the house of the American Ambassador to India last night for a welcome and some networking. The enormous house has modern Indian architecture. I was only invited into two rooms but am sure the rest of the house is just as nice. I would have pictures to share if I had been allowed to bring my camera.

The Fulbright group dispersed today after lunch. Now we are ready to get on with our projects. Most of the group dives right into their research. Luckily for me, I still have four months to improve my Hindi. I have some administrative items to complete in Delhi before I start my Hindi classes, which I begin a week from Monday.

I am including a picture from the hotel: a view out my window in Delhi. (Yes, that’s the hotel pool. It’s Olympic size.) 

There will be much more to come on my adventure in Incredible India!

Margaret