INCREDIBLE INDIA...

INDIA DAY 1:

 

India is incredible!  For the week preceding our arrival countless professors spoke about the 'socially overwhelming' difference and the unique culture we are about to jump into.  We discussed our preconceived notions and rumors of India; all of which heightened everyone's excitement to arrive.  After a fascinating pre-port lecture and diplomatic greeting we were released into the dirty, smelly, crowded city of Chennai.  My goal was to beg my way onto a service trip hosted by Semester at Sea to a Dalit Village (also known as the Untouchables).  This is the poorest caste in Hindi culture and it's members are deprived of education, clean living arrangements and even self-empowerment.  They are taught from a young age that they were born into this situation by their god's will and that they cannot rise above it.  After a quick bus ride through the city we arrived at this slum greeted by many brightly dressed women and children as well as a band playing traditional Indian music.  We were given beautiful fresh flower lays as we stepped off the bus and then immediately pulled into the crowed.   I joined in without hesitation parading and dancing down the small dirt lane flanked by goats and cows all the way into the depths of their slum.  On one side there was a filthy dirty river and the other four story apartment blocks that looked like they'd crumble any moment.  The smell in the area, similar to much of Chennai, was of human feces and urine mixed with animal dirt.  I will remember this scenery combined with the amazingly friendly people for the rest of my life.  We paraded all the way through the town with mothers, grandmothers, small children and men running out of their houses to see us and join in.  We were led to a shaded stage area where we were welcomed with a series of children's dances.  The music was fun and upbeat and the dancers were fantastic.  I was taught that there is a strong gender division in India to the point that girls and boys do not play together often.  Interestingly, most of the dances were flirtatious between a little girl and boy.   We sat on chairs but all around us women sat on the ground holding their children and men stood outside the shade cover pushing to get a view.  For the next three hours we worked as a team with the locals to build a brick and mortar women's center where our donation would provide a one-year salary for a night teacher, newspaper subscription, as well as a seamstress teacher.  We got dirty, sweaty, and tired but it was an incredibly rewarding experience.  The local ladies taught me how to fill huge water jugs from the well tap and carry it on my hip.  The old men taught be how to put mortar on the outside of the wall to even the brick gaps.  I also spoke to the children and played in the sand.  Everyone absolutely loved getting their photo taken and looking at it on the view screen.  I am sure that this was one of the first times seeing themselves in a picture.  Mothers would come up to me with their children and ask for a photo and then old ladies would ask for a shot by themselves.  Everyone would giggle after seeing the photo and ask for another.  After our building project was completed we participated in a meditation with the women's group.  It was hard to say goodbye but I did feel as though I had helped make a difference in empowering these people slightly.  The education classes for the women will prove to be quite beneficial for the entire community I am sure. 

 

Caked in dust and sweat and kisses from the local people, Tammy and I showered off quickly at the ship before heading out for the night.  Dane, Kyle, DePaul, Margaret, Tammy, Jackie, Mikey and I walked out of the port and ask the nearest rickshaw driver to take us to a good bar with Indian music.  Social drinking is not common in India, nor is it very acceptable for women so we made sure to dress conservatively as always, but also to try not to stick out.  Unfortunately this was nearly impossible as we dress, look, and talk entirely different than everyone else.   Our rickshaw friend took us to 'Submarine Bar' where American music was blasting and we were closed in the 'non-smoking section' with submarine porthole windows looking into the main area.  Within 10 minutes we saw a huge rat run across the floor.  That, needless to say, became the running joke of the night.  Later on we went to a trendy hookah bar to experience this very Indian custom.  The bar was outside and beautifully decorated.  We sat under a canopy in our own section.  After a long day we decided to head back around 11pm since we had to get up before 3am and still hadn't packed.  Our rickshaw driver on the way home was not allowed into the port area so we were dropped off over a mile from the ship and it was pitch dark.  There were hundreds of people just sleeping on mats in the open air and we felt relatively uncomfortable as the only people awake walking down the street.  Dane and I hailed down a police car and convinced him to let us load in the back of his trunk and take us to our ship's port entrance. Luckily he agreed and we all piled in.  I'll have two hours of sleep before meeting the group tomorrow for our journey to the holy city, Varanasi.