Language Class

Today was the first day of Language school. It's four hours of class minus a tea break in the middle. First period is vocabulary and grammar, then writing and calligraphy, chai, vocab again, then writing again. It's really great because there are only four people to a class so you get really personal attention. I can see why this is considered one of the best language schools in India. At this rate I can see how we might some useful Hindi skills by the end of the four weeks.

After class a few of us walked down into town to pick up some of our tailoring and use the internet. My long Korta won't be done until tomorrow but I bought a cool shirt and a locally made cane with which to defend myself from dirty thieving monkeys.

As promised here are a few more pictures of sexy people doing exciting things:


That is our program Viji over on the left. He is in charge of the EAP India program and takes great care of us by doing everything from bribing officials to rush our documents to setting us up with taxis, food and housing. This is our last house meeting last night before Viji left us this morning.


Here are some boys engaging in the national passtime of cricket on their balcony. Right affer I took this picture the wicket keeper scored a six'er (the cricket aquivelent of hitting a home run) and thereby lost his ball.


Ok, mabey this last one is not so sexy or interesting as I had previously implied, but still... come on... I bet you've never been that close to a wild monkey.

First Rain

It's odd how when I'm away from the computer I have a ton of stuff I want to say, But once I get to the internet cafe I forget it all.

The monsoon has officially started; after threatening all day the sky opened up for about two minutes. The rains were about a week late this year so water has been scarce. Hopefully now they will stop cutting off the running water at night. I'm excited to see the monsoon right now, summer rain is not something I'm used to, however I think that the novelty will probably wear off in about a week after I have to walk to and from town in it a few times.

We got a list of courses offered in our majors today. It's unclear which ones are offered which semesters but on first glance it looks like I'll be taking "Philosophical Classics - Indian" and "Philosophy of Indian Society and Politics." w00tz! The other ones that interest me are "Indian Logic" and "Indian Philosophy of Language." You see the theme of course. What's the point of going to India if your going to take classes offered in Santa Cruz.

A point about the fauna: Despite there cuddly appearance, monkeys are horrible and vicious vermin. Yes Yes, I know they look cute and playful but they're less like furry little clowns and more like furry little ninjas. They run across rooftops, hang upside down through windows to steal your stuff, and attack anyone who come near. This morning one of the big gray monkeys attacked Justen on his way down to breakfast. He said that he heard a noise up in the trees, and just as he looked up a monkey snuck up behind him and hit him across the legs. Justen, being sensible, decided to run instead of facing down this fluffy assassin on his own. wise move if you ask me.

One thing that I find wearing at my sanity here is my inability to hide from people. If I am feeling stressed out and want to spend the day by myself, I can't do it. I have to go out for food, out for the internet, out for everything. It is a small thing, the ability to retreat for a while, but I definitely miss it.

No pics today, we went to the nearer Internet Cafe that we can't hook the laptop up to. We'll have more for you on the next post I'm sure.

Second Day In Mussoorie

Thanks to everyone for the comments. It's nice to know that we still have people back home thinking of us.

Not much going on today. I awoke to the sound of monkeys running across the tin roof of our bedroom. I think that that will prove to be a theme during our stay here. Roxy and I followed the breakfast bell to the kitchen for foods then went back to the room to relax a bit and shower (two mutual exclusive actives here). Here's a shot of the shower to give you a little window into our lives. Don't let the shower head fool you, it doesn't work and we have to bath Indian style: splashing cold water on ourselves from the bucket.



In need of toiletries and other necessities Roxy and I ventured forth with the intention of going into town. Here are some photos from our journey:


There are a ton of stray dogs both here and in Delhi. Roxy found a puppy to make Friends with. She's been threatening to adopt him and take him back to The States with us.


We saw a new kind of monkey. I'm always having this reaction of, "What!? I thought those only lived in zoos." It's stupid but I have this inpression that "Exotic" animals are exotic everywhere.


Here's a shot of my love walking into town.


And finally, here is Mussoorie as we're walking into it.

I'm posting from the webcafe in Mussoorie right now. It's owned by this cool Sikh guy named Bir (Pronounced like "beer"). He has invited us to his place for some chi and badmiton tonight. Just before posting I ordered a custom talored kuta pajama outfit witch should be ready by tomorrow. It only cost 400 Rs (about 8 bucks American). After this I think Roxy and I are going to look for a place to get some lunch down here, as we missed lunch at the hotel.

As always, there are more pictures that I just uploaded to our Flickr acount as well so check those out too.

Pictures!!

Here is a selection of photos and videos from our trip so far. The most recent are at the top, and the oldest are at the bottom. For lots more photos, take a look at our Flickr photostream. Also, I made another post today, right below this one, so don't forget to read it (ideally, before you read this post) if you haven't yet.



We spotted these monkeys in a nearby tree in Mussoorie.



After we woke up to the banging sounds of monkeys jumping from roof to corrugated tin roof, we looked out the window and saw a horde of them going through the garbage right outside.



Here's our bedroom in Mussoorie.



Here's the view of Mussoorie from our hotel.



A view from the driveway of the Hotel Dev Dar Woods in Mussoorie, where we'll be spending the next 4 weeks.



All of the water we drove past on the way to Mussoorie was incredibly polluted - you may not be able to tell from the photo that well, but this river is actually black with sludge.



Jordan and I visited Gandhi Smriti - the Gandhi Memorial at the house he last stayed at, and where he was assassinated. This cot was where he undertook his last fast, to promote tolerance between religious groups.



These masks hang on a lot of storefronts and apartments; they serve to ward off the "evil eye".



We walked through this alley in Old Delhi - it was a bit claustrophobic at times, but it was still a very interesting place.



The largest mosque in India - but to get there, we had to fight through this bazaar, which was totally packed with people.



There are some scenes of shocking poverty in Delhi, including this one. Many people have set up makeshift homes by the side of the road.



We thought this was cute.



This is a Hindu temple in Delhi.



A woman selling dates by the side of the road in Delhi. Street vendors selling fruit are extremely common.



Jordan took this video as the bus drove through a major street in Old Delhi. It doesn't really communicate the full experience, but it gives you some idea. Sorry about the noise - we were in a crowded bus and there were a lot of people talking.



At every Sikh temple, they have a communal kitchen, where members of the community volunteer to cook, and anyone can eat for free.



On the first full day in Delhi, we visited a Sikh temple. They foreign visitors office loaned us the stylish orange head coverings you see us wearing, since you have to cover your head to go into a Sikh temple.



EAP students in the lobby of the YWCA International Guest House, where we spent our first week in India.



I was SO tired after our long day of traveling that I finally passed out on a desk while we were filling out paperwork in the study center. Jordan took this picture of me while I was asleep.



On the bus that picked us up at the airport. We made it to Delhi!!



This is the view coming in to Delhi. Look at that smog!



At the Taipei airport, everyone busts out their laptops to make use of the free wireless. 12 whole hours without internet access! Gasp!!



On our way to India, we flew over the Arctic Circle, so outside, it went from night to day to night again, and then day again, by the time we landed in India. It was really trippy. This is a shot of Russia, we think.



Here we are, waiting to board the plane and set off to India!

Arrival in Mussoorie

Yesterday, we got into Mussoorie. It’s less than 200 miles from Delhi, but the bus drove so slowly that it took us 8 hours or so to get here. This place is absolutely amazing, and totally different from Delhi. We’re actually pretty high up in the mountains – 7000 feet – in this tiny resort town surrounded by scenic wilderness. It feels like it couldn’t be more different from Delhi: the first thing we all noticed, as soon as we stepped out of the cab, was that the silence hit us like a wave. After the incessant noise of Delhi, we had totally forgotten what quiet sounded like. The crushing heat of Delhi was also gone – the weather here is cool and pleasant. The scenic beauty, forests and nice weather remind us a bit of Santa Cruz. The people here are also really nice, and I don’t get the same feeling I get in Delhi that they’re trying to take advantage of us. It’s, overall, a super nice place, and I’m kinda sad that we don’t get to stay for longer.

It’s amazing, though, how fast your expectations change in this kind of situation. We first stepped in to our room and said, “Wow! This is so nice!” But later, it dawned on us that we probably wouldn’t have been so pleased if we were still in America…the room is full of bugs (including some scary giant spiders), everything’s a bit dingy, and there’s no real shower – just an area in the bathroom, sectioned off with two by four nailed to the floor, with a faucet and a showerhead sticking out of the wall. And the water pressure is so low as to render the shower totally useless, so we both showered Indian-style this morning: by pouring water on ourselves out of a bucket. Jordan was so anxious to shower that he did so without first figuring out how to use the water heater, so he had a pretty cold experience. I figured it out though, and had a nice, lukewarm, bucket shower. It’s amazing how many conveniences I don’t really even miss.

We also had our orientation at the Landour Language School, where we’ll be learning Hindi. The teachers seem really nice, and we got our textbooks today. Whenever I need a break from hiking and exploring, I’ll be studying my Hindi to get ready for lessons next week. I’m so excited!

I’ve got tons of photos to share, and I’m still kinda new to Flickr, so bear with me while I try to make it work. My next post (or series of posts, I’m not sure how it’s gonna work) will have some selected photos from our trip so far, but there are way more at my photostream on Flickr. Go visit it for tons of photo goodness: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39830606@N03/

Oh, also, to answer questions:

Mom: I didn't have a chance to find anywhere really tranquil in Delhi. Even the temples I went to were crowded and sometimes loud. I'll have to figure that out when I get back, but for now, Mussoorie is a really nice break from the chaos of Delhi.

Janelle: The food here is delicious, but I'm still getting used to it. They put dairy products in almost everything, which makes being vegan challenging, but I'm doing my best to stick with it for now. You can NOT drink the water here, but so far we've been supplied with free bottled water by the hotels we've been staying at, so we haven't needed to break out the water filter.

Corey: The limiting factor for posts is probably going to be internet access, not time. In Mussoorie they have wireless internet, but it's about a half hour walk from our hotel. We'll do our best to keep you all updated, though!

Everyone: Thanks for your comments. It makes us happy to know that you care :)

First impressions of India

I haven't posted at all since we got to India, so I figured it was about time I did - I was really hoping to find some wifi access and use my own computer, since the computers here are about 10 years old and you have to pay to use them. But we can't seem to find wifi anywhere in Delhi, so I'll just deal with using this computer until we go to Mussoorie on Thursday.

This past week has been pretty overwhelming. Being in Delhi is an assault on the senses: the heat, the smells, the noise, and the many bodies packed onto the streets that you have to fight your way through when you walk around the city. Life here definitely takes some adjusting to, and despite the initial surge of enthusiasm, most people in the program are starting to show signs of that at this point. Several people have gotten sick, most are tired, some have had upsetting encounters with locals - most people are, in some way or another, stressed out. I know I definitely went through some pretty bad culture shock when I first got here. We went out shopping on our second day, and I bought a bunch of salwar kameez(es?) from this vendor at the Palika Bazaar. They totally worked me over and when I got back to the hostel, I talked to someone who was familiar with India and found out I had been ripped off. This was not an unusual experience by any means - I think everyone in the group has had at least one experience like this by now - since even inflated prices still seem really cheap by US standards (I got four complete outfits for less than US $50). But what stressed me out about this was not being able to trust people: knowing that people would judge, based on the way I look, that I am a stupid tourist with lots of money, and that they would try to get as much of my money out of me as they could. Street vendors call out to us, walk up to us, sometimes even follow us even after being told that we're not interested, and if we are interested in buying something, they quote us ridiculously inflated prices; I felt like I had a target hanging over my head everywhere I went.

But, after a few days of feeling stressed out and tired (which was not helped by the fact that I'm still so jetlagged that I wake up every morning at 3 AM and can't get back to sleep) I kind of just got over it, and now I'm feeling a lot better. I've gotten a lot better at being assertive, and at bargaining without feeling uncomfortable about it. It's still a bit unnerving at times to be singled out as different (mostly with staring, which people here do overtly and unreservedly), which does happen everywhere I go, but I'm starting to get used to it. After a bit of adjusting, I'm really starting to enjoy my time here. I can't wait to start learning Hindi!

So, I've had a lot of thoughts but I don't really think I can string them together coherently, so here are some random observations/trivia/etc:

The streets in Delhi are totally insane. People drive at different speeds, completely disregarding the lanes when they're going the same direction, and often disregarding them even when they're not. It is not uncommon at all for cars (and especially auto rickshaws, known as tuktuks) to swerve into oncoming traffic to pass someone, or even to drive the wrong way on the road for an extended period of time. Crossing the street is an equally harrowing experience, since cars do not even slow down for you, so you have to wait for gaps in the traffic and then sprint across. This is easier to get used to than you'd think, though, and when traffic is especially bad I just cross alongside someone who knows what they're doing.

The wildlife here is interesting. They have chipmunks with fluffy tails instead of squirrels, myna birds instead of sparrows/starlings, weird looking hawks, and the occasional green parrot. There are feral dogs everywhere, and in some neighborhoods (including the one we're moving to when we get back) cows roam the streets freely. To our surprise, we found that monkeys are a very common sight even in the middle of the city, and we saw a mongoose yesterday morning. Also, Jordan saw a hornbill the other day (probably nobody will know what that is except my mom), and I wish I had been there, but he did get pictures.

Even when people here speak hindi, it's always interspersed with english words. There is no hindi word for "thank you," so they always just say it in english.

The stupid computer deleted everything in my post from here down. Let me see if I can remember what I wrote...

The clothes here are great. They're really cool and comfortable, and I don't feel weird at all wearing them. The only thing I don't like is the scarf you're supposed to wear with the salwar kameez, which is always falling off my shoulders or blowing away or something. Most people in Delhi actually wear western clothes (especially men), but I really like having an excuse to wear Indian clothes. Plus, I don't know how they deal with wearing jeans all the time in this heat.

I miss supermarkets! I miss stores where you can just walk in and buy things hassle-free! It seems like most of the shops here (at least for everyday essentials) are basically storefronts with a counter that opens to the street, where you go up and tell the guy what you want and he gets it for you and rings you up. I don't even know where to get a razor, and I didn't bring mine, so I'm getting reeeally hairy. Oddly enough, I don't care.

I think the most conspicuous I've felt was when we went to visit the largest mosque in India. People actually formed a circle around us just to stare at us, and I was asked at least 6 or 7 times in the 45 minutes or so we were there to pose with people for pictures. Once someone asked Jordan if it was okay to take a picture with me, instead of asking me. It was weird.

Monkeys here are kind of a menace - I've heard lots of stories about them raiding street vendors' stalls, and Jordan actually saw one steal from someone the other day. Apparently sometimes they pick up human vices, like smoking cigarettes and getting drunk on alcohol that they stole. They're scary when you get up close to them!

I love the music here, even the hip-hop stuff that I wouldn't have expected I'd like. And their music videos are so ridiculous, with their cheesy dancing and horrible camera work (they love to zoom in and out really fast, over and over again). I love it!

I kind of understand cricket now! And it's actually sort of fun to watch.

The metro in Delhi is amazing. It is, by far, the cleanest and nicest subway I have ever been on.

Delhi is really, really loud. The main reason for this is the incessant honking of cars. It took a while for us to figure out that in India, honking serves a different purpose than it does in America. Since the driving here is so unpredictable and a lot of people don't have rear view mirrors, they honk to let each other know that they're there. It was really offputting at first to get honked at all the time, but now I've come to realize that it isn't rude to honk at someone here the way it is back home. It's still really loud and annoying, though.

Okay, this is getting really long now, so I guess I'll end it here. Expect an update on Thursday or Friday with LOTS of pictures!

Reactions To Delhi

We don't really have internet access here in Delhi so I hope you will forgive the gapps in our posts. when we get to Mussori it should become more regular.

We have done a lot since getting here, I want to go over everything but it would take way to long. I figure you'll get to see the specifics of what we've been up to when we upload the pictures. For now I think I'll just give you some thoughts and reactions to Delhi.

It is totaly different world here; there are no traffic laws, no stores as we know them, the homeless build semi-perminent homes accross the sidewalk, and everyone is trying to rip you off.

That might be the biggest adjustment, getting used to assuming everyone is lying to you. In America to we assume honisty unless proven otherwise but here you have to be constantly on guard. We've all learned realy quickly that when asked if this is our first time in India to say "no," "yes" is an invitation to be ripped off. I've also learned to not make eye contact with venders and to ignore anyone trying to get my attention which also go against my instinct. It's realy hard to just keep walking when someone addresses you directly.

There are a lot of very cool things here too; the temples are amazing, monkeys roam the streets, the buildings are breathtaking, and the clothing and colors are briliant. America seems stuffy and ridged compared to India; this place is alive and organic. The entier city comes at you in waves, in one block you'll smell five kinds of food, piss, garbage, and flowers. The city sounds never stop.

I've taken to getting up at about 6:00am in the mornings and going out to walk the city by myself while the shops are still closed and the streets are quiet(ish). You really get to see a different side of the city in the early morning when it gives you a chance to slow down and breath. This morning I watched a monkey steal food from a street vendor, got lost, and had a good conversation with an random Indian guy walking the street.

Tomorrow a bunch of us are getting up early and going to go hiking in a nature reserve, and in the afternoon going to the largest Muslim temple in India. No plans yet for the evening.


To answer your questions and address you comments:

Dad - Yes, I got your pictures, thanks. Yes, it is hot as hell, I drink about two gallons of water a day and never pee. Have not looked into yoga yet. No, it is not as big a deal to use your left had as I had heard. I think the kids here just play Cricket. No, there is not a Starbucks here (that I know of), thank god. The temples that I have been to resemble Catholic churchs where you can go in anytime and pray and talk to people more than an actual service with preaching and things of that nature.

Mom - I don't think people wear fezs here.

Caleb - Yes it was exactly like that. I know better now, way cheaper that it would be in America is still twice it's real price.

Cathy - This computer doesn't have spell check.

Free Day

I just finished a very long post about our day today when Internet Explorer deleated all my work.

I'm too tired to do it all over, so here are the cliff notes.
-Went to Sikh temple
-Bought cell phone
-Got lost in Delhi
-Went to bazaar
-Got swindled
-Talked to local and learned that I had gotten swindled
-Talked to fellow EAP peoples and Learned that everyone had gotten swindled

All things concidered I feel as though the extra money I payed on everything was the price of my education. And, if you compare it to my formal schooling, I at least got a good deal on that.

Heat, Busses and Paperwork

So we landed in Delhi safely around 11:30am Wednesday (or midnight Tuesday for you all). We met up with Viji, our liaison here and he bussed us to the YWCA where we're staying. We hung out there for a bit and got some food, then we bussed across town to the Study Center where we've spent the last 2 hours doing paperwork in the heat.

Don't know what tonight holds yet, guess we'll see.

P.S. No photos yet. No way to upload them but when we do you'll get a ton all at once.

Almost there...

We made it to Taipei, and are currently waiting for our flight to Delhi with the rest of our EAP group. Jordan's been taking pictures like a madman, so once we get the USB cable out of the checked baggage, I'm sure some of those will find their way up here.

It's 7 AM here, but 4 PM (yesterday) over there. Also, when we were flying here, we flew over the arctic circle, so it went from night to day and back to night again on the way here . So basically - our internal clocks are very confused.

But we're almost there! More updates to come as soon as we get to Delhi and can find some internet access.

Twentythree Skidoo

So, after almost six months of planning, moving, finals and paperwork we are finally heading out to India. Of course the "heading out to" part is a bit of an ordeal itself; once we get to San Francisco and onto the plane it's 13.5 hours to Taipei, a three hour layover, then another 6.5 hours to Delhi. To further confuse matters, as we fly for 20 hours we go back in time 12 hours until we cross the international date line and jump forward 24 hours. Anyway you calculate it, we're in for a long trip.

After all the stress and planning, I for one am looking forward to being herded around for a while. Not having to make any decisions or take any responsibility for myself sounds like a nice break so I'm hoping they keep us on a short leash for our orientation week.

I am supremely excited to start this new adventure. By the time I get back to The States I'll have lived in Delhi for as long as I have lived in Santa Cruz, Roxy and I will have been together for over two years and I will be able haggle in Hindi.

That's all my random thoughts on it for now. I'll probably compose our next blog on the plane and post it when we land so you'll have a first hand look into how boring it is to sit in a aluminum tube for 20.

Until next we meet,
Always know where your towel is.