April 17, 2010
I am currently on the bus to Jaipur to actually start my ISP. I have the AC blowing on my face and I couldn’t be happier.
This past week was sort of a whirlwind. I was crashing in a flat in Lajpat Nagar with Amanda, Francesca, Kat, Kyle, Katie, Kenzie, and Joan. It was so much fun living with them but I’m glad I left when I did… it was starting to turn into a sorority house.
A few days ago I met with an elephant owner and his driver in Delhi for my project. It was truly the most depressing sight ever. The elephants were illegally tied up to cement pillars under a high way where they stay when they are not being used in religious or wedding ceremonies. They were bathed in a near by marsh field flooded by leaking pipes and soiled water. I saw the elephant driver (age 25 and half my size) punch one of the elephants in the eye repeatedly when she was moving “too slow.” When I got closer I saw that her eye was discolored and looked almost as if it was a blind eye. It was so painful that I only stayed for two hours when I was supposed to stay for three days. I saw what I needed to see.
I’m excited to be traveling on my own now. I feel like so many things have been happening to other students on ISP and its finally time for me to experience India on my own. I’m truly a free bird right now with everything in a backpack on my back.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
April 13, 2010
April 13, 2010
R.I.P Angel the best cat ever to live. My first pet and my favorite. I’ll love you forever, Angel bear.
R.I.P Angel the best cat ever to live. My first pet and my favorite. I’ll love you forever, Angel bear.
April 6, 2010
April 6, 2010
Tonight is my last night in my home stay. Ayshea left for Hydrabad this afternoon so I am alone for the night. I’m actually really sad; my home stay experience was more than I could ask for. Sunita-ji is the sweetest woman and so laid back which made it really easy to live with her. Not to mention she was a fabulous cook! I had some good times in this house and I definitely want to stay in touch with her. She lives alone and it pains me to imagine her eating alone night after night. I want to write to her at least once a month for sure.
ISP has officially started… I can’t believe it. I only have one more month left in India, it’s all happening way too fast. Life is funny, sometimes it seems so slow and then when you look away for one second it all whizzes by. Tomorrow I move into a hotel with Christina, Grace, and Anne for three nights in Para Ganj. Leaving the home stay feels like leaving for college all over again. I am going to have to take care of myself, remember to feed myself, drink water…. I feel like if I survive this I can survive anything life throws at me.
Tonight is my last night in my home stay. Ayshea left for Hydrabad this afternoon so I am alone for the night. I’m actually really sad; my home stay experience was more than I could ask for. Sunita-ji is the sweetest woman and so laid back which made it really easy to live with her. Not to mention she was a fabulous cook! I had some good times in this house and I definitely want to stay in touch with her. She lives alone and it pains me to imagine her eating alone night after night. I want to write to her at least once a month for sure.
ISP has officially started… I can’t believe it. I only have one more month left in India, it’s all happening way too fast. Life is funny, sometimes it seems so slow and then when you look away for one second it all whizzes by. Tomorrow I move into a hotel with Christina, Grace, and Anne for three nights in Para Ganj. Leaving the home stay feels like leaving for college all over again. I am going to have to take care of myself, remember to feed myself, drink water…. I feel like if I survive this I can survive anything life throws at me.
March 19, 2010
3/19/2010
I can’t believe it is already half way through March. Life is going so fast right now!
Calcutta (now called Kolkata) was so much fun. The British influence was much more in your face in here than anywhere I have been. Kolkata is mostly Bengali populated so the food we ate was Bengali which meant TONS of seafood. We went to dinner at this one restaurant which had amazing fresh seafood, maybe the best I have ever had. The crab just melted in your mouth and the sauces used were so rich in flavor and spice. I used to be such a spice baby but after living in India I feel like I can eat anything.
The Hotel we stayed in in Kolkata was called Hotel Fairlawn. It was the most flamboyant, kitche, fabulous I have ever stayed in. It was owned by a 90-year-old woman who is still feisty as ever. There was not an inch of bare wall because the entire hotel was covered with photographs, articles, artifacts, and art. It was sort of living in a grandmother’s house with everything plastered to the wall except there were no plastic coverings on the sofas.
Storm-ji took us around to St. Paul’s Cathedral, Park Street Cemetery, and the Victoria Memorial. It was definitely interesting to see the British institutions plopped down in India. It was as if we were in an English city rather than an Indian one. The cemetery was so eerie to walk through because all the tombs (all British) were of people who died who were my age. They were all young people coming to India to work for the East Indian Company who just couldn’t handle the disease and bacteria. A much as I felt bad for them, part of me felt like it was their karma to die in India. They just expected to move to India and become rich from exploiting all f her resources for the benefit of the British economy. They attempted to conquer India but in the end it was India who conquered them.
The Victoria Memorial was probably one of my favorite places in Kolkata. It was a museum full of paintings and photographs of India done of the British in the 1750’s- 1850’s. It was so cool to see how much India has changed and developed since then. They had illustrations of lush green land where my school is which is now in the middle of a bustling city full of roads and cement.
Right now I’m on the plane back to Delhi. I am sort of over Delhi right now. After seeing places like Kolkata, Rishikesh, Bandhavgarh, and Orissa it just makes me want to explore India even more. There is so much to see and I am only here for such a short period of time. I can’t wait until ISP where I’ll be in Jaipur and then Bandhavgarh on my own. Although I am nervous to travel alone, I’m even more excited to get my feet wet.
I can’t believe it is already half way through March. Life is going so fast right now!
Calcutta (now called Kolkata) was so much fun. The British influence was much more in your face in here than anywhere I have been. Kolkata is mostly Bengali populated so the food we ate was Bengali which meant TONS of seafood. We went to dinner at this one restaurant which had amazing fresh seafood, maybe the best I have ever had. The crab just melted in your mouth and the sauces used were so rich in flavor and spice. I used to be such a spice baby but after living in India I feel like I can eat anything.
The Hotel we stayed in in Kolkata was called Hotel Fairlawn. It was the most flamboyant, kitche, fabulous I have ever stayed in. It was owned by a 90-year-old woman who is still feisty as ever. There was not an inch of bare wall because the entire hotel was covered with photographs, articles, artifacts, and art. It was sort of living in a grandmother’s house with everything plastered to the wall except there were no plastic coverings on the sofas.
Storm-ji took us around to St. Paul’s Cathedral, Park Street Cemetery, and the Victoria Memorial. It was definitely interesting to see the British institutions plopped down in India. It was as if we were in an English city rather than an Indian one. The cemetery was so eerie to walk through because all the tombs (all British) were of people who died who were my age. They were all young people coming to India to work for the East Indian Company who just couldn’t handle the disease and bacteria. A much as I felt bad for them, part of me felt like it was their karma to die in India. They just expected to move to India and become rich from exploiting all f her resources for the benefit of the British economy. They attempted to conquer India but in the end it was India who conquered them.
The Victoria Memorial was probably one of my favorite places in Kolkata. It was a museum full of paintings and photographs of India done of the British in the 1750’s- 1850’s. It was so cool to see how much India has changed and developed since then. They had illustrations of lush green land where my school is which is now in the middle of a bustling city full of roads and cement.
Right now I’m on the plane back to Delhi. I am sort of over Delhi right now. After seeing places like Kolkata, Rishikesh, Bandhavgarh, and Orissa it just makes me want to explore India even more. There is so much to see and I am only here for such a short period of time. I can’t wait until ISP where I’ll be in Jaipur and then Bandhavgarh on my own. Although I am nervous to travel alone, I’m even more excited to get my feet wet.
March 18, 2010
3/18/2010
Who ever said this Calcutta excursion was going to be stressful couldn’t have been farther than the truth. I’m on vacation right now.
Today we slept in and then had a delicious breakfast at the hotel. We went to a small paining village afterward which was incredible. The entire village painted all over their walls and all of the houses were covered in paintings and color. Every man kept bringing me to their house and showing me their hand painted art which was all so detailed and beautiful. It was incredible to see the young children paint the paintings I was buying right in front of my eyes. It made me feel good that I was supporting not only the arts but their entire village. I would have bought from each family if I could afford it but sadly money doesn’t grow on trees as I am quickly finding out.
South India is completely different than North India in every possible way. South India is exactly what I imagined India to be before I came here… jungles, rural villages, monkeys… everything here moves at a much slower pace. It is almost like a time warp. Sometimes I forget not everyone lives in a city and has access to electricity or let alone running water. Visiting South India has definitely been a humbling experience so far.
Who ever said this Calcutta excursion was going to be stressful couldn’t have been farther than the truth. I’m on vacation right now.
Today we slept in and then had a delicious breakfast at the hotel. We went to a small paining village afterward which was incredible. The entire village painted all over their walls and all of the houses were covered in paintings and color. Every man kept bringing me to their house and showing me their hand painted art which was all so detailed and beautiful. It was incredible to see the young children paint the paintings I was buying right in front of my eyes. It made me feel good that I was supporting not only the arts but their entire village. I would have bought from each family if I could afford it but sadly money doesn’t grow on trees as I am quickly finding out.
South India is completely different than North India in every possible way. South India is exactly what I imagined India to be before I came here… jungles, rural villages, monkeys… everything here moves at a much slower pace. It is almost like a time warp. Sometimes I forget not everyone lives in a city and has access to electricity or let alone running water. Visiting South India has definitely been a humbling experience so far.
March 17, 2010
3/17/2010
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
Yersterday we visited the Yogini Temple in Bhubaneshwar. The temple itself was in the shape of an open courtyard in circle form with little yoginis (goddesses) carved into the walls (no ceiling) and a small dance pavilion in the middle. It was so cool to see a temple entirely dedicated to goddesses see the female essence being worshiped. Apparently it used to be mainly a tantric practice to worship these temples thus the temples being in really remote places.
After the Yogini Temple we went to Dhauli to see the Ashoka edicts where Emperor Ashoka declared he was going to rule his kingdom with morality. The inscriptions themselves were from 2nd century BC- SO OLD!! All the architecture in India is so old and so beautiful. It is kind of sad that there is no patronage anymore because all the architecture commissioned by royalty is so incredible and exquisitely detailed. But I guess democracy has its pros as well…
At night Kat, Amber, Darren, and I went to the beach and stood in the water. The water was so warm I just wanted to swim in it all night. It kind of made me homesick to be by the ocean and smell the salty air. (side note: power just went out. Pretty sure this occurs about three times a day no matter if you are in a youth hostel or a 5-star hotel. The other night the power went out while I was eating with my home stay family and we just continued eating…in the dark… like nothing happened. Just a great example of how India teaches you to be patient and flexible. I’d rather have this happen than an electrical fire… also a common occurrence.) Anyway, you could definitely tell the ocean was an Indian ocean because all along the shore was piles and piles of trash. It is so sad how this country could be so beautiful but there is so much trash everywhere that it just distracts the eye from her natural beauty.
Today we went back to Bubaneshwar to see a handful of Hindu Temples. Don’t get me wrong, I love learning about the architecture but once you have seen ten Hindu Temples, they all start blending together. I think I am just on temple overload right now. When we were driving back from temple hopping, the main road was closed so we were forced to take the back roads through the villages. It was so interesting to see actually village life- such a different way of living. Although their way of life was much simpler than ours, they definitely have a good business head- They were charging every car that came through ten rupees about every kilometer, making hundreds of dollars off of us. We had no choice but to pay because they would just stand in front of the car until you did. I’ve realized that this country runs off of bribes alone.
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
Yersterday we visited the Yogini Temple in Bhubaneshwar. The temple itself was in the shape of an open courtyard in circle form with little yoginis (goddesses) carved into the walls (no ceiling) and a small dance pavilion in the middle. It was so cool to see a temple entirely dedicated to goddesses see the female essence being worshiped. Apparently it used to be mainly a tantric practice to worship these temples thus the temples being in really remote places.
After the Yogini Temple we went to Dhauli to see the Ashoka edicts where Emperor Ashoka declared he was going to rule his kingdom with morality. The inscriptions themselves were from 2nd century BC- SO OLD!! All the architecture in India is so old and so beautiful. It is kind of sad that there is no patronage anymore because all the architecture commissioned by royalty is so incredible and exquisitely detailed. But I guess democracy has its pros as well…
At night Kat, Amber, Darren, and I went to the beach and stood in the water. The water was so warm I just wanted to swim in it all night. It kind of made me homesick to be by the ocean and smell the salty air. (side note: power just went out. Pretty sure this occurs about three times a day no matter if you are in a youth hostel or a 5-star hotel. The other night the power went out while I was eating with my home stay family and we just continued eating…in the dark… like nothing happened. Just a great example of how India teaches you to be patient and flexible. I’d rather have this happen than an electrical fire… also a common occurrence.) Anyway, you could definitely tell the ocean was an Indian ocean because all along the shore was piles and piles of trash. It is so sad how this country could be so beautiful but there is so much trash everywhere that it just distracts the eye from her natural beauty.
Today we went back to Bubaneshwar to see a handful of Hindu Temples. Don’t get me wrong, I love learning about the architecture but once you have seen ten Hindu Temples, they all start blending together. I think I am just on temple overload right now. When we were driving back from temple hopping, the main road was closed so we were forced to take the back roads through the villages. It was so interesting to see actually village life- such a different way of living. Although their way of life was much simpler than ours, they definitely have a good business head- They were charging every car that came through ten rupees about every kilometer, making hundreds of dollars off of us. We had no choice but to pay because they would just stand in front of the car until you did. I’ve realized that this country runs off of bribes alone.
March 16, 2010
3/16/2010
This morning we left for our group excursions. My group is going to Orissa and Calcutta to study art history. I am currently in Puri sitting on my hotel’s balcony overlooking the Great Bay of Bengal. There are palm trees to my left and cows to my right… Sort of like Florida mixed with India. I could sit here forever.
This morning we left for our group excursions. My group is going to Orissa and Calcutta to study art history. I am currently in Puri sitting on my hotel’s balcony overlooking the Great Bay of Bengal. There are palm trees to my left and cows to my right… Sort of like Florida mixed with India. I could sit here forever.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
