India Part 4 (October 21, 2009)

Hi All,

I'm now in the middle of my seventh week in India. I feel more at home here every day. At the same time, I'm constantly seeing and experiencing new things. Getting the chance to really learn so much about another country and culture is such a privilege.

My volunteer work at Udayan Care is going really well. I am still running soccer practice every other evening. The team played another game, this time against a group of adults as a fundraiser. It was fun to watch them hold their own against people two or three times their size. Anna (the other volunteer from Germany) and I have started making posters to decorate the blank walls of the tuition I have been helping a lot of the girls with math, which seems to be a very weak subject for most of them. Many of the girls are missing the fundamentals. It's hard to teach someone how to simplify fractions when they don't know what multiplication or division is. I am helping a group of the younger girls learn their multiplication tables. I have also started running some arts and craft sessions. Right now we are experiencing a bit of friendship bracelet mania in the home.

Last week, I spent a fun (not so much) night at the hospital. Luckily, I was there as a friend, not a patient. Anna had to spend a day hooked up to an IV because of really bad food poisoning "Dehli belly" is a well known tourist warning for a reason. While at the hospital, my job was to walk downstairs every hour to buy medicine. Then I would bring it up to the doctors so they could administer it to Anna. The hospital requires every patient to have a "caretaker" stay the night with them to do this. Seem a little inefficient? At least I can now say that I spent the night in an Indian hospital.

Once she had recovered, Anna and I took a trip to Delhi for a volunteer meeting. Getting to Delhi from Greater Noida is quite the process. We have figured out how to take the bus (three different ones each way). Getting to our final destination is mostly a matter of asking every bus driver we see where they are headed. Before coming to India, I was warned about the buses here being extremely crowded, hot, and often smelly. This is all true. But the buses are also a lot of fun, with loud Hindi Bollywood music blasting and a steady stream of peddlars hopping on and off to sell coconut slices or roasted corn. There is so much to see out the window, from women clad in bright sarees to stands selling sweets for upcoming festivals. For some reason, whenever I'm sitting, or as is more often the case, standing on the bus (often with sweat dripping down my face and an elbow or two poking into my sides) I feel especially happy to be in India. I like knowing that I am experiencing something so different from what I am used to.

While in Delhi, Anna, another volunteer Paula, and I visited the Lotus Temple. As we were taking pictures of the temple, many of the Indian tourists were taking pictures of us. Some people attempted to do so sneakily. Others came up and asked us to pose with their families. I wonder how many family scrapbooks I'll wind up in...

This past Saturday we celebrated Diwali, the Festival of Lights. It is one of the biggest festivals here. Diwali celebrates the homecoming of Rama and Sita in the Ramayana. It also marks the Hindu New Year. Celebrating Diwali has been one of the my best experiences so far (so I'm going to explain it in a bit of detail)!

In the morning, the girls and I made colorful paper decorations which we hung up all over the home. The house was cleaned thoroughly. We also painted "rangoli" designs on the floor. Cleaning and decorating the house is meant to attract Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.
Breakfast was my all time favorite "aloo paratha" (a sort of bread pancake stuffed with potato). After breakfast, everyone dressed up in their best outfits. I got to wear my saree for the first time. At least 10 girls crowded into my room to help me wrap the saree, put on bangles, and apply a bindi. Next, we all went to the meditation room for "puja" (worship). Songs were sung/chanted, incense burned, and an offerring of sweets made. The puja ended with a "rasgulla" (a syrupy dough ball of a sweet) and a "tika" (red forehead mark) for everyone. Before lunch, a couple of the girls and I walked to the local market. I attracted more attention in traditional clothes than I do in my usual western wear. Grocery shopping in a saree was fun though.

We had a special lunch with "puri" (fried bread) instead of our usual "roti". Around five, we all went outside to start preparing "diyas" (little terracotta bowls with oil and a wick in them) to light up the house. By the time it was dark, the whole neighborhood was lit up. The Diwali lamps represent the lights that were lit to guide Rama home. Before dinner, we had a second puja where the God Ganesha was worshipped. This puja ended with more sweets and "kalava" (sacred red string bracelets).

After dinner, fire crackers were distributed to all the girls. Then the madness began. Incredibly happy, exciting madness. But madness non the less. 40 girls, many under the age of 13, in a smallish space with their own personal supply of spark spewing crackers... It was insane. There were crackers that shot sparks up like a volcano, ones that made incredibly loud booms, and ones that exploded with bursts of flame, just to name a few. The next couple of hours were spent playing with fireworks. It was great. (My little brother would have had the absolute time of his life). I fell asleep to the sound of fireworks.
And that was Diwali. All in all it was an awesome experience.

This update turned quite long. Sorry about that. I guess it makes up for not sending one out last week.

Thanks for reading this. Please keep on updating me on your lives if you get the chance!

Love, Emmo(liese)