-This first post was actually written Thursday June 2nd but I couldn´t post it until today, Wednesday the 8. In this post I talk mostly about the day to day but in future posts, rather then give detailed summaries of my days I´ll simply describe certain events or things that affected me. I think all will find this more agreeable as I´ve tried to be brief and it´s simply not working. :) I love all of you dearly! And now, the first 3 days!
¡Ay! It is currently 4:15pm on (16:15 as all the digital clocks say here) and already I feel very strange writing in English and it has only been 48 hours. Mis pensamientos (thoughts) are a mix of Spanish and English, with the Spanish slowly taking over…which is EXACTLY what I want. Muchas Gracias a todos están orando para mi fluidez en español (thank you very much to everyone who is praying for my fluency in Spanish). I have a LONG way to go but it is encouraging to see improvement and know there is hope. While speaking with the head of the NGO with which I am volunteering, Pedro, I joked about my frustration with my slow language acquisition; (said in Spanish) “Pedro, I have been here for 36 hours and STILL I am not fluent! What is the problem?” Of course this was a joke but being the impatient soul I am, there are moments when I feel this way.
To all of you who read my blog last summer I will do my best to be more concise however, I apologize in advance because I am both verbose and wish deeply each of you could experience each place either on your own or with me so my entries tend to be prolix. I will also do my best to take more pictures which is also difficult for 2 reasons:
a. I hate being identified as a tourist,
b. I would rather be taking everything in with my whole self rather than through a lens. Listen to the song 3x5 by John Mayer, lo explica mis sentimientos perfectamente.
I arrived earlier than my scheduled time of 2:35pm en el aeropuerto en la cuidad de Mexico, collected mi maleta (suitcase), changed my money into pesos (10.62 pesos/dollar) and waited for the woman who was supposed to pick me up. She found me around 4:15 because she had been looking for me in the other of the 2 terminals).
Before being found by the AMAZING Monica I would soon come to know, I was befriended by a fundraiser for a different NGO. We enjoyed talking about the workings of charitable organizations, how they function in Mexico and his view on fundraising (which was much more positive then mine). I say this because upon leaving with Monica I experienced my first Adiós in Mexico. When you meet people for the 1st time, reunite with friends or say good bye you always give a sort of half hug by bending at the waist and putting your right arm on their left shoulder and your right cheek on their left cheek and making a kissing sound. The closeness of the abrazo (hug) depends on the closeness of the relationship but Monica, David and I all exchanged these good-byes before we left and I have been using it quite a bit ever since.
Monica brought me to her apartment which she shares with another woman named Rebecca and soon two other women as well. There are 3 bedrooms, a small living room, bathroom and kitchen. I am staying in the living room with a little cot-ish bed and a sheet over a rope for privacy. Both Monica and Rebecca are fantastically welcoming and generous and have taken excellent care of me and I have no doubt this will continue. I do hope however, I will need less and less help as I find my way around and will therefore, be less of a burden.
My first day was miércoles el primer día de junio (Wednesday June 1st) and Rebecca helped me wake up at 6am so I could join her for a spinning class. Both she and Monica take 3 classes a week at a near by gym; Pilates, Spinning and Zumba. I am THRILLED to join them for all 3 during the next 4 weeks. The class was incredibly enjoyable, the instructor attentive and spinning to Spanish music at 6:15 in the morning in a small room is simply an experience. I have no doubt the entire class was certain of my insanity due to the enormous grin I
maintained throughout the class, even during the periods of extreme exertion. Unfortunately, to inform those who have not exercised with me, this habitual smiling while receiving endorphins is not unusual…
By 9:30am I was showered, had enjoyed fresh cantaloupe thanks to the generosity of Rebecca and was in the car on my way to my fist day of volunteering with HOPE Worldwide. Driving though the significant morning traffic of Mexico City was the head of HOPE in Mexico, Pedro, who as a dentist and has been working for HOPE during the past 10 years. In addition to charitable distributions and various service days, HOPE has 4 main programs in Mexico City:
A pharmacy and clinic which provide general medial attention as well as Gynecology, Pediatrics, Orthopedics, Psychology, Physiotherapy and Dental care ranging from checkups to Orthodontics and Oral Prosthetics.
Traveling Medical and Dental groups which visit marginalized and outcast communities.
A Child Nutrition Center which provides breakfast for 250 children very weekday in a poor area on the outskirts of Mexico city with more than 25,000 families averaging 6 children per family.
Aids Prevention Program which educates more than 25,000 teenagers and parents through classes taught at Public Secondary Schools. The locations for these classes are assigned by the Ministry of Education in Mexico.
I spent Wednesday in the clinic helping the Roldolfo the nurse who runs the pharmacy. The room where all the medicines are stored is incredibly small and the packaging designers of pharmaceutical companies are not especially space conscious which requires us to make a few adjustments. Therefore, Roldolfo and I passed the day working on my Spanish and his English while opening the boxes and refilling them with multiple packets of medicines. We also had to destroy the unused boxes so no one could try to fill them with something else and
attempt a sale. The patients are never given the entire box but only the number of packets needed, each of which are clearly marked.
At 5pm I left with Pedro and his wife Rosa who also works at the clinic. We picked up their 2 adorable children and spent a bit of time at their home before Pedro brought me to church.
My 1st Mexican church service was fantastic! As par the course in Mexico everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming and I even met a young woman named Lucy who had spent a year in my home town of San Jose, CA in 2008, right after I left for Georgia. Oh yes, and I’ve already fallen in love with all the Mexican children! They are so cute and might even give the children in India a run for their money.
After service I took the metro home with Rebecca. Monica was visiting her family so it was just the two of us. The metro here is similar to those in the states except there are separate cars for men and women/the elderly in the evenings. Personally I think this is a fantastic idea! Not only does it smell better, sorry boys, but we ladies don’t have to worry about creepers. However, there were plenty of interesting sights to make me feel uncomfortable in the metro outside of the cars. The friendliness and closeness I so love about the people here also translates into relationships and therefore the public displays of affection between couples are more…significant…than those in the US. I learned quickly however to ignore the kissing and focus on where I needed to go and attempting to speak Spanish with Rebecca and soon we were back at the apartment and getting ready for bed.
Thursday, today, I was not able to sleep in anymore than the day prior. I set my alarm for 5am to give me time to dress and read my bible before being picked up at 6:15am to visit the Centro de Nutrición Infantil (ChildNutritionCenter). This time I was driven by Guillermo, a brother in the church here who is good friends with Rebecca and has an INCREDIBLE heart to serve.We were able to talk the while hour an a half all about HOPE’s work around the world and many other interesting things both Spiritual and not. We spoke mostly in Spanish and Guillermo helped me considerably. He is also fluent in English and loves it so I couldn’t help but give him time enjoy it.
A sign for HOPE painted on a wall near the Center which is just down this street.
The center was fantastic and it was amazing to see all the children and talk with them and the parents. This is my first time abroad where I was actually able to speak the language and communicate with people without the help of a translator and I just can’t get enough! So much more is learned from conversations when you are able to look the person in the eye, understand what they are saying and empathize by meeting them at their level. My heart broke when I was talking with a mother of 4 and was trying to read a sign and didn’t understand one of the words. I asked her what it meant and she said she didn’t know because she can’t read. How challenging! Imagine how she will feel when her children begin to read and she can’t answer their questions or worse, if due to her lack of literacy there is little focus on education for her children and they never learn. The center is run by a patient and hardworking woman named Vicky. Guillermo and Vicky explained to me that there are many fights in the neighborhood, even between the women and so she has to not only organize the program but remove the women who are trying to fight while still feeding their children and others. Upon our visit however, the center was running like a well oiled machine with all the 10+ local volunteers working hard, zero fights and all the children well fed with vitamin enhanced chocolate milk, eggs with sausage and watermelon.
This brother and sister were running all over the place after everyone left and the center was being cleaned. They were so funny but there were a few times I freaked out because I thought they were going to fall off these stairs.
3 of the 4 children of one of the volunteers who also lives in the area. They were so wonderful and mature. 4 very sweet and peaceful children. The niña is 7 and the 2nd child. She is super helpful and responsible was helping with the other children. I was so impressed. Two more cutey patooteys :)
After our time at the NutritionCenter, Guillermo and I braved the traffic to drive back to the center of Mexico City and find me a SIM card so my phone will work here. I have the same BlackBerry I used in India last summer, it’s the family’s travel phone. Then he showed me an awesome restaurant called El Ocho which is a part of the city called Condesa and is where I would have lived had I gone on the trip with Georgia Tech. There were computers set into the wall at the tables so you could take a picture and email it to yourself and you could make it warped or black and white etc. Of course the food was also awesome and you can have breakfast here until 1pm because Lunch is between 1 and 3 so instead of putting bread at the table they put a basket full of croissants and Mexican pastries.
Later I walked Reforma which is a large street close to my house and is pretty much the center of tourism in the city. I’ll put pictures in the next post rather than describing it here but let me simply say…it’s awesome!On my way back to my house I spent 20 pesos or $2 on a HUGE cup overflowing with fresh fruit. Que Rico! And I’m going to bed early because tomorrow is ZUMBA!
The awesome fruit after I already ate some...It was overflowing. And coffee Pedro gave me for my early morning Thursday. YUM!
It's 2:40am and despite considerable forethought and planning on my part I am, of course, up and finishing my packing/bills/printing my boarding pass and copies of my passport... ay!
I will be staying in Mexico City with 2 women from the Mexico City Church of Christ and will be volunteering with HOPE Worldwide until the 2nd of July, after which I will be back in the ATL with the amazing Casazza family.
I make no promises as to my upkeep of this blog over the next 33 days however I will do my best to at least post pictures.
I look forward to your remote participation in my adventure and am grateful you're part of my life!
I must begin by saying how encouraging it is that so many of you are actually reading this. It brings me joy for 3 reasons:
1 - It takes me along time to do.
2 – India is amazing and I am so excited that all of you can come on this adventure with me.
3 – There are many things here which evoke a variety of emotions and I hope that reading this blog will encourage you, entertain you, perhaps make you laugh, but most importantly; I hope it causes you to consider your world views and be willing to challenge you assumptions.
In this post and those following, I plan to describe not only what I see and how I feel, but what it makes me think. I am apprehensive about doing so because many of my ideas are nascent. They are most certainly observations and questions rather than conclusions. While I would love to delve into them immediately, I think you would understand my thoughts far better if I begin with more descriptions of the culture. I am sure you will enjoy the following J
1. Indians have little concept of personal space.
Consider: It is estimated that this July, the population of India will be 1.17 billion people and all those people live on 3,287,263 square km. That is 0.0028 square km per person or 3.06 square yards. The United States is estimated to have 310,232,863 people and they live on 9,826,675 square km. That is 0.0317 square km per person or 34.66 yards. This means the average American enjoys 11.23 times the space of the average Indian. When you’re in a store in India, people just bump into you with little thought. At the market, a busy shopper doesn’t think twice before pushing their way in between you and your friend to get a better view of the bangles. Once at Big Bazaar (Indian Walmart) I was in line with my friend waiting to make our purchases. We had removed our groceries from the cart and as they were being rung up by the cashier, the man behind me reached over my shoulder and placed his items in my cart. When my friend, who is Indian, inquired as to his reasoning, he said we were going to get bags after checking out and couldn’t removed the cart from the store, therefore he would keep his good in our cart so he didn’t have to hold them anymore. I was thoroughly amused!
This ease with exceedingly close proximities is also evident in driving. Whether traveling by car, bus, bicycle, auto rickshaw, cycle rickshaw or foot, people pass one another at wild speeds without as much as a second glance. Honking has a number of meanings. It could mean; “just so you know, I’m here.” or “I’m coming, and it’s most likely I won’t stop so you’d best move.” For either reason everyone honks all the time if there is anyone remotely close. Often the honking elicits little response from those around or just a slight shift in the desired direction. I knew I was becoming comfortable with the traffic when I was crossing a street in Sonia Vihar. I saw a van approaching from my side and as it nearly touched me I simply help up my hand without a second glance and calmly proceeded on my way. A few moments later a motorcycle honked behind me and I jumped. My newly acquired Indian confidence was shattered. J
Another amusing tidbit is that when people want you to move they simply say “side.” In our little house my brother Daniel is constantly saying “Liana, side.” It makes me smile every time.
2. Food is a ritual, just as much as a means of survival.
In India there is a difference between “Food” kanna and “snack” snack or tasty treat. Here it is expected that you eat three meals a day and you must finish all your food. Meals mean some sort of lentils dal or beans (which have many names, my favorite is red beans called Rajma but channa or chole, cooked chickpeas is also pretty awesome) and rice or parantha, a flatbread. There is often some kind of subji which is cooked vegetables with onions, ALWAYS onions, and often potatoes and many amazing spices. There is often some dairy too like curd or paneer cheese. Breakfast is usually lighter but there is always some sort of subji for breakfast, mostly eaten with prantha but I eat it with rice since I’m gluten intolerant.
Times of eating are very important and everyone eats together. People usually eat with their hands but using a spoon is not considered unusual. I have become quite a fan of eating with my hands. I think the more senses involved in an experience the better it is and there is something about mashing your food together with your hand that makes it taste much better. Don’t be surprised if you come over and see me eating my rice and dal with my hands J. The right hand is always used to eat. Using the left is considered unclean since in the villages people use their left hand instead of toilet paper. (People in Delhi use water instead of toilet paper but I’ll talk more about that later).
During meals people talk for a long time. At work we all wait for eachother before we start eating and everyone sits around and talks. This is considered part of the work day. Food is made at the office and everyone pays Rs. 100 per week which is a subsidized rate but food is also vastly less expensive than in the states. That works out to about $0.45 for me. Awesome. Sometimes people bring food from home and those who do often share with others so I’ve gotten to try a number of tasty things. I love the family style laid back environment that prevails even at work. Everyone laughs and enjoys the time until they are done eating.
People also eat VERY large portions. It’s no unusual for someone to take about 2 cups of rice, a bunch of dal and subji and then go back for seconds and that is for a thin person. Also, it is unacceptable to leave ANYTHING on your plate and it is considered very strange if you don’t eat a lot. People are always asking me why I’m not eating more but when it’s so hot I’m just not as hungry. If you are at someone’s house they will be offended if you don’t take a lot of food and finish all of it then go for seconds. If given the chance they’ll heap the food on your plate themselves.
If you don’t eat a meal it is considered that you didn’t eat. Snacks don’t count. Often in the US we’ll have some veggies and hummus or a smoothie or something and not be hungry for dinner but here, that is unacceptable. If you had 10 snacks it still would be expected for you to eat because you haven’t had food, just “snacks.”
There are so many little stalls on the roads near the homes both in Sonia Vihar and where I live. There are women who sit on the ground with a little stone fire and roast corn on it then they squeeze some lime juice and a few spices on it and you eat if right off the cob. I LOVE that. There is also tons of fresh fruit; melons, apples, different kinds of bananas, plums, peaches, pears and over 100 different types of mangos. There is even a one kind that you squish around then bight and hole in the top and suck out all the pulp and juice because it’s so soft. Only after all the insides are gone do you then eat the peel. (I actually stay far away from this kind because I’m severely allergic to the outside of a mango which has the same properties as poison oak. I break out in a rash. I have to peel it and put in a bowl then eat it. However, it’s ALWAYS worth the extra work because these mangos are fantastic).
Usually we have breakfast around 8am, lunch between 1:30 and 2:30 and dinner sometime after 8:30. Eating dinner so late can make it hard to get up but I think I talked about those challenges in the last blog. Another big difference is the freshness of the food. Because refrigerators are not reliable here due to the frequency of the power cuts, people rarely keep food for more than a day. For the most part they buy the vegetables they want to use that day and they always but the dairy products right before they make the food. There area always a number of stands and small shops close by so getting the needed items isn’t very challenging. I could go on and on about the different types of food and the traditions therein but I have little time. Food however, is an extremely large part of Indian culture and is very important to them.
3. Visitors and Elders are honored
In the Hindu religion, visitors are considered incarnations of God. For this reason they are treated very well. A visitor is always given the best seat and the one closest to the fan, sometimes it is the only seat and the family will sit on the floor. They are always at least offered water and often chai. When I am doing interviews in the field if I say I just had chai at the house before and don’t want any they say “Just one cup. One cup. I make.” If it’s not chai its “cool drink” which is soda, sometimes both. The kinds of soda here are Coke, Pepsi, Limka (a lemon soda), Slice and Mazza which are mango juice drinks and a few others but those are the main ones. About a quarter of the time people also bring out “mixture” which is any of a number of different sack mixes. They are SO GOOD and spicy and they are brought out in a little bowl with a spoon. You spoon it into your hand and then take pinches and put it in your mouth. They will also bring out roasted chickpeas or biscuits to eat with your chai. The other day we visited 15 people and I had 6 cold drinks and 3 cups of chai and a bunch of mixture. I really don’t like soda very much but once they bring it out, you have no choice but to drink it or risk severely offending them. It is considered extremely rude, not to mention these people don’t have very much money and just sent their child to the little shop next door to get it for you. That was my longest day in the field visiting people, walking between houses, from 10 until 4:30 and it was about 113 degrees.
I think this is one of my favorite things about India. The respect. In addition to visitors there is much respect for people older than you and those you interact with on a regular basis. It is interesting to notice the difference between how people treat those they know and those they don’t. Perhaps it is because there are so many people it is difficult to give everyone space or kindly acknowledge them as they walk down the street but for the most part Indians ignore those around them (unless of course you are foreign then they stare at you unashamed) and don’t say thank you. But when you know someone then you treat them with great respect. Women older than you are always called didi which means sister but only if they are older than you and are young and called Aunty if they are say, above 30. Any woman is Aunty as soon as you’ve met her and men are Uncle. You can also add Ji to the end of their name. The guy who drives our van to work everyday calls me LianaJi and sometimes he calls me Liana Didi which makes me feel a bit embarrassed because he is putting me at the same level as him even though he is probably over 60. Being a foreigner makes you automatically more respected. People in Delhi view the west less warily than those in the villages, instead they are more amazed an in awe.
I think I love this so much because I so quickly feel a part of someone’s family. They always want me to come back and are so excited for any visitors. Of course it’s more because I am foreign but they treat anyone who comes to their home with similar respect. I have so much fun with these families. Even though they have so little the human connection is such a treasure…more on that in later postes.
Within families the children are trained to respect their parents and visitors so when any visitor walks in they automatically bring tunda panni, cold water, while their parents talk with you. When parents are sitting in the front room and someone comes to the door, they will call their children who will come answer the door so they don’t have to get up. It’s automatic.
4. India is a country of passion
Everything in India is extreme. The weather is very hot, there are tons of people, the clothing is super colorful, many people are very poor, many are very rich, the people are very loving and VERY straight forward, there is tons of music… everything is just a lot. I spoke with my papa, Santosh, and I asked him why, in a country with arranged marriages, are all their movies and TV shows about love? He said that Indian people are passionate and they love to feel the romance and dream of it. For many, romance is not their reality but they enjoy it anyway. I spoke with someone else and they said that life is difficult in India, so people need a way to escape to a better place for a little while. Sometimes the lives depicted in the movies do not end as perfectly as we would like, but they are always full of drama, color and passion.
5. Your business is not your own
On a similar note, people are very involved in each other’s lives, for better or worse. They know exactly what’s going on and have no problem telling you when they feel you are not acting the way you should. I am finding that in India, I have many chances to grow in my security. The other day for example, Chelsea came with me to work and during lunch they were teaching us Hindi. They had no problem pointing out mater-of-factly, “Chelsea learns Hindi much faster than Liana.” Thanks guys, thanks. Another example: I didn’t know that your salwaar (loose pants) and dupata/chunni (the long scarf looking thing you wear around your neck hanging down the back) MUST match each other. I thought as long as the colors matched the kurta (long shirt) you were good. But I figured it out when a number of people told me I didn’t look good when I wore brown salwaar with a red kurta and chunni. At least you are quickly able to fix mistakes rather then walking around looking foolish and without being told. That being said, I am sure this openness of opinion as well as confidence in the correctness of one’s opinion can make things very challenging for more free-thinking individuals. But, I will discuss this more later in the analytical posts J.
6. Body Image and Movie Stars
The perception of weight and health are very different here. If someone is gaining weight they just say, “your getting fat,” and the person nods. Also, you notice that many people both on the street and especially on TV are every shape and size. In American cinema and television programming most people are white or black with some Asians and they are almost always thin. Here in cinema and TV, parents and grandparents are always heavy and the women often thicker than those you would see in American media. There are few very skinny women on TV and there are a number of relatively heavy ones. For the most part, the men are thin or buff but there are a few stars who have a bit of a belly and they are loved just as passionately as the body builder looking ones. And not in the way Jack Black is loved as just being comical. People think they are very good looking.
Here people are obsessed with movies, television and music. Much of the music is from the Bollywood movies but there is also tons of other music and people love all of it. Most of the Auto Rickshaws we ride in have little sickers of the drivers favorite stars stuck on the front so he can see them as he’s driving and everyone knows all the stars and what moves they’ve been in. Adds are often done by the same few stars. I’ve been here for 6 weeks and I’m already pretty familiar with many of them. There’s Sharukh Khan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, Amitabh Bachchan, Kajol Devgan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai…
Not to say I’m famous but any foreigner, especially at non-tourist spots, may find themselves stared at incessantly. I’ve also been asked by a number of people to take a photo with them. Chelsea has too. A few people even got a two for one deal and have both of us in their picture. So funny. The photos and the staring I could do without. I have no idea how celebrities do it!
Well, I’m beginning to get tired of writing and I have no doubt you’re sick of reading so I’m going to stop now and let you see more pictures J.
As always, I love and miss you guys. The next post will hopefully come sooner and will be more specific about some of my recent adventure to tourist spots, including the Taj Mahal. Yahooo! Enjoy the photos below.
Cherry we were resting in a field after a long day of sightseeing.
A bit of a view of Delhi traffic. :)
Chelsea getting her first Mahindi from my friend Geeta. She is AMAZING at doing this and showed us the book from her training it was so very cool.
One of the families from church. They are in Mommy and Papa's group so they come over to our house on Tuesday nights. These kids are SO much fun and the mom, Kamla, made us some awesome idlys a few weeks ago with 3 types of sambar and my favorite, cocoanut chutney.
Two insanely cute kids.
One of the women from Sonia Vihar who got a loan to help increase the stock at her store. She is photographed here with two of her daughters.
Another woman from Sonia Vihar. I love this photo.
Some children sewing beads on a long piece of cloth. I'm not sure what this cloth is destined to be used for but I know they are going to sell it.
Two of the children of one of our lenders.
The 1st photo of Chelsea on her way to short hair. This woman did not want to cut it off.
The finished product. She took photos with her phone too to show people she had cut someone's hair short. VERY few women here have short hair. The woman who cut her hair also threaded our eyebrows. She was really pretty and did a really good job. I actually thought it felt kinda good and it only cost Rs. 10. That's 25 cents! I think you'd pay at least $7 in the US... oh how I'll miss India...
The Lovely Chelsea once here hair was all cut and styled a bit.
A man in the leprocy colony. He used to be a professor and spoke English. Such a cool guy.
Typical street view in Sonia Vihar and the leprosy colony Village of Hope.
A few of the adorable Village of Hope Children.
On the banks of the river where we were feeding some fish. They were CRAZY! For every little piece of bread you put in you would see 20 black fish wrestling over each other right on the surface for it. Wild!
Sion on his birthday. It is customary for a person of a higher rank to feed you on you birthday or other special occasions so Mommy gave him his first bite, and some facial decorations.
A bowl made out of leaves. We had melon and so my coworkers fished a stack of these out of a drawer and started using them like it was nothing. I almost died! They are SO cool. You can even rinse them off, let them dry and use 'em again! Way to go green India!
Two more cutey patooteys :)
