Hello all,
What do I have to tell you from the week? You saw my henna
tattoos from Tuesday night. This was a lot of fun! I arrived first out of the
three of us and got to have about a half hour conversation with Asha in Hindi.
She knew enough English to help me if I didn’t understand a word she used. She
was able to tell me about her school and her family. She is in the 11th
grade, although she does not look that old. Her favorite subject is computers,
and she hopes to get more training after she graduates. She is a very sweet
girl. One of the striking things about this experience was her house. I wish I
had better pictures to show. She lives with her mom, dad, and brother in one
room, probably not bigger than my dorm room. In this room, they have a stove
and shelving for cooking, a sink, two beds, two chairs with a small table
(where we did the henna), and a TV. The two beds are right next to each other.
I could not imagine living in such close quarters. Plus, their bathroom is
below their house, and I think they share it with their neighbors. It makes me
feel so lucky to have grown up in a country with so much space and money.
On Wednesday night, I went to the Christian bible study
again. I am really happy to be going to these because it makes me feel more a
part of the Indian community here in Mussoorie. There is a large population of
Christians here because it is a former missionary town. My favorite part about
these bible studies is still the singing which usually lasts 20 to 30 minutes
before the bible study begins. I am starting to learn some of the songs and can
tell that my comprehension and speaking is greatly improving. I know that I
have a lot to learn still, but I can recognize the small progress I have made in
three short weeks.
We skipped the lecture series on Thursday night and are
going to start having it every other week. Next week, it will be hosted at
Villa Bethany’s and two weeks later it will be back at Woodside. I am going to
be speaking with the other two Fulbright students here. We are going to talk
about our experiences before the Fulbright and what we plan to do as part of
our projects.
Although I have been focusing on my Hindi, there have been
some opportunities for me to be thinking about my project. On Friday, I talked
with another Fulbright student who received his grant the previous year. He gave
me a lot of good advice based on his experience so far in Himachal Pradesh (a
neighboring state of Uttarakhand). Also, my teachers have been pushing me in my
Hindi classes. I have begun writing some of my interview questions in Hindi and
learning the vocabulary for the items I will need (such as slow-sand filter,
sand, coal, etc.). It’s really useful. Plus, I am realizing how it’s going to
be important to ask questions in different ways to make sure that I get the
type of answer I am looking for. For example, if I ask, “Where does your water
come from?” “That tap over there” is not exactly what I had in mind as the
answer. I am going to be reading about and practicing these interviews, so that
I can get the most useful information for my research.
Instead of having a lecture on Thursday night, I went to the
bazaar. My first stop was the spice shop, where I bought coriander, turmeric,
chili powder, cumin seed (50 g each), rice, and lentils (1/2 a kg each). Guess
what my total was for all of this! 107 rupees! This equates to about $2, and I
bought enough to last me for quite a while! If I could get by without buying
chocolate and peanut butter, my food bill would be so cheap!
After my trip to the spice shop, I went to the saree shop. I
was invited to see the Dalai Lama at Woodstock school next Sunday, so I have to
dress up! I bought a gorgeous maroon saree for the occasion from Benares
Sarees. After this, I visited my favorite cloth seller to buy fabric for the
skirt which goes underneath. Then, I had to go to the tailor to get sized for
my saree top and skirt. I decided to go to my teacher’s brother who is a local
tailor. He looks so much like my teacher and is giving me a really good rate
(254 Rs = $5). I would have gone back to the tailor I used before, but he is
pretty unreliable when it comes to timing. I am just hoping my saree will be
ready in time. I will send a picture as soon as I get it. I am going to have to
request some help from Bina (the woman who works at Woodside) when putting it
on because it is pretty complicated. All of the women staying at Woodside will
be wearing sarees to this event, so we will be figuring this out together. I am
planning to go bangles and shoe shopping this weekend or week to complete my
outfit.
Since I bought all of those beautiful spices, I had to come
home to make some Indian food. I replicated the recipes I learned at my cooking
class the week before and made yellow dal, bindi masala (okra), and rice. Everything
was very simple and turned out delicious! Pressure cookers are a huge time
saver! The rice only took about 5-10 minutes, and making all of this food only
took about 30 to 45 minutes total! Because I like to cook, I thought I would
write the recipes for you below. These are from my teacher Manisha and take no
credit for how good they are!
(Sorry the picture is a bit out of focus, but the food had been eaten by the time I realized.)
One quick note on something interesting I learned about
Indian culture through my Hindi study. I learned how to use the passive verb
tense this week. Apparently most spoken Hindi uses the passive verb tense
rather than active verbs. In English, I would say, “I made chai.” However in
Hindi, I would say, “Chai was made.” Another example is also interesting. In
English, I would say, “I broke the glass.” In Hindi, I would say, “The glass
was broken.” My teacher told me this week that I need to stop thinking like an
American. Instead, I need to get used to this culture and put more emphasis on
what happens instead of who made it happen. This is proving a bit hard to pick
up culturally.
That’s about it for now. I am going to the bazaar today to
look for my lost umbrella, buy some ingredients for cooking, and get some
books. There will be more exciting updates from India to come.
Best wishes,
Margaret
Yellow Dal (Serves
2-3)
½ cups red lentils
1 cup water
1 Tbsp turmeric
1 ½ Tbsp salt
Pick out the stones in the lentils. Soak them for 15-20
minutes in cool water. Strain the lentils and add them to the pressure cooker
with 1 cup of water, the turmeric, and the salt. Turn on the gas and wait for
the pressure cooker to make one whistle. After this, turn off the pressure
cooker, and the dal is ready.
Bindi Masala
(Spiced Okra) (Serves 2-3)
¼ cup sunflower oil
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp garlic
1 Tbsp ginger
2 onions, chopped
2 Tbsp coriander powder
2 Tbsp turmeric
½ tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
2 tomatoes, chopped
½ kg bindi (okra), sliced
Heat the sunflower oil in a skillet. Add the cumin seeds.
Once the cumin seeds pop, add the garlic, ginger, onions, 1 Tbsp coriander, 1
Tbsp turmeric, and ¼ tsp chili powder. Cook until the onions brown. Add the
remaining spices with the tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes soften and mash the
tomatoes a bit with your spoon. Add the bindi and cook until soft (5-10
minutes).
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