Field Visit #1

It's been a while since I last posted anything. My excuses:
#1) we went on our first field visit for 10 days
#2) when we got back, due to road work our internet was cut off
#3) our first paper was due and the paper is 1/4 of the the entire grade...so kind of a big deal

It has been a full month since we arrived. I can barley believe it. It feels like we have done SO much in so little time. Life is settling down though. Everything is not quite so foreign and new. We are all getting accustomed to how things are done and what to expect when we go out as well as getting more comfortable going out on our own etc.

I have had some requests to share more about the educational aspect of my experience thus far since after all,
I am here as a student...
Class:

Our first class is over. Identity Liberation, Resistance was the first of four topics/classes that we will take while here. Everyday we have an AM lecture and a PM lecture (if we do not have a PM lecture, we can play games with the girls that live here along with us, work in the paper unit and make paper kind of..) Guest lecturers from nearby colleges are usually our teachers. The things I especially like about the way class is structured:
- variety
- every lecture is taught by someone who is somewhat of an expert in the field they are talking about.
-if the accent of the teacher is very thick and difficult to understand, it's ok, they won't be back the next day
-there is a midmorning and mid-afternoon tea, coffee, and treat break. Yum : )
-bells do not exist. the teacher will lecture until they have nothing left to say and the class has no more questions to ask

Some of the topics speakers lectured about included:
-Caste system
-Hinduism
-Dalits (untouchables)
-Women
-Sexual minorities
-Tribal communities (similar to the situation of Native Americans in the U.S.)

After each lecture session we go on a field visit pertaining to our topic that we have been studying. My group (we split up into 3 small groups, each going to a different area) went south to the state of Tamil Nadu to study the identity of fishermen and Dalits. We first visited a school specifically for Dalit children. Firecrackers went off as soon as our bus pulled into the schoolyard as a welcome. As we stepped off of the bus we were showered with traditional welcoming ceremonies, and each one of us had a garland of roses hung around our necks.

We had a tour and met the teachers and then headed to drop off our belongings to the hotel we stayed at. We had just enough time to wash off our faces from the powder that was caked on from all of the welcoming ceremonies before we were rushed off to the house of one of the teachers for dinner.

First things first, we were warmly welcomed again, (more powder) and then we all sat down for a delicious meal always served on a banana leaf. (talk about environmentally friendly! Paper plates and cups are unheard of.) Over the next few days we were welcomed into many families homes for meals. The most unsettling thing about all of this is, not once did we eat in a home that was even close to the size of the home that I grew up in. Most were three room houses and some were one room houses. Up to 8-13 family members may live in each single room house.

It is really overwhelming to accept the overbearing generosity of families that will possibly never ever own a computer, car, washing machine or let alone a digital camera that hung around my neck the entire night. We participated in inauguration ceremonies for the school as the guests of honor, visited some villages, and even had an ox-cart ride to a temple where we were paraded through in order to offer coconuts, incense, and fruit to the gods.

Days were power packed with events and we went places where we had no idea what was going on but were always warmly welcomed and well fed.

Next we headed to the coast to commune with the fishermen community.

We stayed in a fishing village. Our guide, myself and another girl stayed in a home on an island in a small fishermen village. This was the highlight of the trip for me.

This is our hostess Nimi-- she is 21. Thats my age. Kind of weird for her to be cooking for us and all. The picture below is her and her families house.
This village was heavily affected by the Tsunami. Both evenings we were in this village were spent by the beach talking with fishermen who told us their first hand accounts of the Tsunami. These conversations were so meaningful, I ended up writing my paper based heavily on their stories.


We took a boat to get to the island where some of the group stayed in homes for the night.


Seashore and the boats the fishermen use.


Tsunami destruction
Destroyed housed being rebuilt.

...If you look closely, you will see that the man in the middle is wearing a Minneapolis t-shirt. We are in the middle of a small village in India. Crazy. Talk about globalization!

banyan trees are common here

Exercise?

Indians do not run. I have tried not to let this stop me from going on a jog here and there. This is what I experience on the morning runs that I have been on so far:
-Blank stares from everyone in the town that I am passing through
-Laughing directed at me
-Smiles and waves
-Questions asked: "where from you are?" "How are you?" "What is your name?"
-A group of boys running after me
-Lots of little kids that run out of their homes to smile and wave

My solution to deal with all of this attention that I am not used to is that I convince myself that everyone around me thinks that I am training for the Olympics and that is why they are staring at me and waving and laughing. It kind of works.

The other form of exercise is biking. Vhistar has about 12 bikes that we are able to use. Which is really wonderful. It gives us a bit of independence to go places outside of a group setting.
I have yet to bike into Bangalore. A friend and I got pretty close. The problem is that the closer you get to Bangalore the more your life is in danger. Traffic rules are optional at best. Rush hour is every hour and side walks do not exist. It was a thrilling experience however and we were really proud of ourselves. This picture is taken after we found this little shop that sold icecream, our friend here hung out with us looking for $$ which we did not help him out with but he was still happy to pose for the picture.














This picture I have just added because it rains a lot and one day we had a mud fight which is kind of exercise too...

Biology in India

As part of my biology major requirements and out of interest, I am doing an independent study on ethnobotany while I am here. I am the only biology major here and in India. Although it is a false sense of security, I feel very important for that.

Most Indians are very impressed and or confidently satisfied when I tell them I am studying biology. When I tell them I am interested in plants and their medicinal and or general uses they are more than happy if not excited to tell me what plants they use for certain purposes. It has been fascinating hearing some of the secrets that people talk to me about pertaining to plants and their uses.

As part of my course I am going to do a case study on one plant and focus on what its many uses are, who uses it, and why etc. As of right now, I think I am going to focus on the uses of the spice turmeric. It is a commonly used spice in many Indian foods and I've been told that it's prevalence in the Indian cuisine has been scientifically linked to be one of the reasons why Parkinson's disease is much less common here than in the U.S. It is used on cuts as an antiseptic as well as to prevent scarring. If you are willing to have a jaundiced appearance for a few days, a turmeric paste when rubbed on the face is said to result in perfectly fare skin. When toasted onto a certain leaf (not sure of the kind of leaf yet...) and boiled in water. The broth will get rid of fever. It is also smeared on guests face or hands in traditional welcoming ceremonies as sign of purification or being cleansing.

These are the uses of the spice that I have discovered so far. I have much more investigating, researching and conversing to do. I have been so pleasantly surprised at how happy everyone is to tell me what they know of either turmeric or plants in general. This makes my job as a first- time ethnobotanist much easier. : )

Some other biology fun from India:


This praying mantis joined us for lunch



















These giant millipedes are all over the place. I have managed to not step on any yet...







Stick bug as big as my hand was chillin on my door keeping me company























I almost died when I found out that these badlandishesque piles of dirt were anthills. I was told that snakes live near them so most people stay away from them. I didn't tell Mike that when I asked him to pose for me by it. : ) Mike is 6'11"





This my favorite animal picture. Mynea, Kee, Sarah and I were exploring downtown Mysore and we ran into my ridiculously out of place friend here...
Mysore is a bustling city, tons of traffic, shops vendors, no grass, just like any downtown.

Oh, and after this picture was taken, while continuing to explore the city I stepped in not 1 but 2 different huge cow pies in the street. Gross. : )

FOOD... for thought

Every meal is an adventure. I never know what I am eating, but I enjoy it all. Much more flavor and variety than a typical American meal. This meal was especially elaborate. Dont let the silverware in the photo fool you, this entire meal and every meal is consumed with my right had as my only utensil. All of the side dishes can either be combined with the rice or eaten with the bread (I think....this is how I ate it at least.) Three people from the group have gotten very sick. This is probably from eating a meal that was prepared or eaten with unclean hands. Sick means at least 24 hours of fever, vomiting, and diarrhea, very unpleasant. I am very thankful that I have had no problems with my health or the food yet...

Pictures!

The Group

The Bandhavi Girls that live at Visthar as well

Coconut anyone...?

Our mode of transportation other than walking

Lots of fresh fruit, too bad we just missed mango season

Still can't figure out the picture thing but soon...?

I live in a paradise. There are 72 Palm trees creating a tropical canopy overhead. The weather is great. 70's all the time. Rain down pours come and go with out warning because it is monsoon season. The dorm that I live in is really nice as well. There is an odd amount of girls (13) and boys (3), so Ben and I are the only two to have our own rooms. Since I got here first and was therefore sleeping when the rest of the group arrived, rather than disturb me, I awoke to find that everyone had roomates except me. This made me a bit sad at first but I am quickly realizing how lucky I am. It is nice to not have to share my space with anyone. We all are together much of the day, so evenings to myself are refreshing and necessary.
So far I have not gotten sick or had any problems. 2 on the trip have had "jungle fever." This includes vomiting, diahrea, and a fever. yikes.
We have been warmly welcomed. Everything we need is provided for us. I now understand why the man I sat next to on the plane kept telling me that we would be treated very well here. In India guests are treated better than family and are closer to the level of gods. It is almost sickening how well we are treated. We are far wealthier than most people here, but we still get royal treatment.

Flight to Bangalore and Arrival

After a 7 hour flight from Chicago to Frankfurt followed by a 10 hour flight from Frankfurt to Bangalore, I have arrived safe and sound. I did not travel with the group since I ordered my tickets separately because I will be staying a bit later than the rest in my group. I was quite nervous to travel all by myself but all the flights and transfers went flawlessly. I met many interesting people along the way. It ended up being more empowering than frightening. The closer and closer that I got to Bangalore, the more I became aware and concious of my pale skin.

It was dark when I got here and I was quite tired. What I do remember is talking to a nun and an Indian woman in the customs line about this being my first time out of the U.S.. Once through I anxiously awaited my luggage. Fortunately the two bags that I checked appeared on the conveyor belt. (I was convinced that they would not, so I was pleasantly surprised.)

Walking out of the airport was like being a celebrity. There were tons of people on each side all holding a sign with a name on it. (taxi drivers I assume) I found a man with a sign that said Visthar (the name of the place that I am staying at). I said hello and he gave me a big smile and said "Leedia??" I followed Parti Bon into a small jeep and we were off. In the back of my mind I couldn't help thinking, "he could take me anywhere..."

Although it was dark and I was very tired I do remember some things about the drive to Visthar:
-We almost ran into 2 cows chillin in the middle of the road
-Pressing the horn is probably more frequent than pressing the brake
- Traffic lanes? not so much.
-Traffic rules/laws? not so much.
oh yeah, and they definitely drive on the other side of the road here.
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