OMGWTFTERRORISTS!!!

So, I'm sure everyone has heard about the Mumbai bombing that happened here in India. I'm just going to start off for all your worriers, I am fine. Mumbai is 1000 miles away from Vizag. So I am safe. No one I know was hurt. And there are no terrorists (that we know of...) near me.
Now that that is said, let's talk about it. So many people were killed in Mumbai. I have heard from 150 to 300 people died and many more injured. It is also said that foreigners were targeted. But the thing is, last time I heard only seven foreigners were killed. So there is a possibility that that fact was just some media hype. Never the less, it makes my position as a foreigner a lot harder here in India.
SYA has put many restrictions on us, both because they are worried and don't want to be liable and they were advised by the police. I have to stay inside and travel from places in an auto always, instead of walking. I can only go out with my host family or with a small (as in one or two other people) group. The police are supposedly watching us too. They have been following people when they walk places and they have called up some people when we all meet together. I have been told that I shouldn't trust the police either. Which makes it kind of scary.
Talking with Indians about everything that has happened it a really interesting experience. You get many different views. The girl in which I sit on the bus with is deeply mourning for all the people. But then again you have people who brush it off. My host family seems concerned but they try not to show it. They are really cracking down on my safety. Which, I appreciate, but can be annoying.
It really is quite scary though. Vizag is on the coast so it is liable for a similar attack. Though it is not a big city like Mumbai. There is also the threat of the Naxalites taking advantage of this event to start their own uprising. (The Naxalites are a communist group that supposedly lives in the forests, and they are prominent in Andrah Pradesh) But I'm sure we will be safe. There is talk of coming home early though. I'll try to keep everyone updated. Sorry for not posting as often!!!
Much Love,
~ Jenna

Tis A Gift To Be Simple...

Thanksgiving. A truly American holiday. Something that obviously does not occur in India. They may have their own similar holiday, but not around this time, and not with the same emphasizes. Naturally, I was kind of depressed about my first Thanksgiving away from my family. I was to spend a holiday, which I had always thought of as a family holiday, with a bunch of people who had been strangers four months prior. Some still strangers. And yes, I must admit, it wasn't a traditional Thanksgiving. Especially since the night before there were terrorist attacks in Mumbai. But I'll talk about that in more depth (and once I know more) in a later post.
As a group of American students, we decided to have a little party. It ended up being a big party involving the host families, something we did not expect when we first began planning. But in India, nothing ever ends up as you originally foresee it. Anyway, all of us made some food and we for some reason hired a restaurant on a beach to make some food. And then we had our party on the beach as well. It ended up being a lot of fun.
I made macaroni-and -cheese and my chocolate-chip cookies again. The cookies came out a lot better this time and they were all gone half way through the party, so I guess they were a hit. I personally did not like my mac-n-cheese, but everyone else did. I couldn't find cheddar so I had to use a processed, cheddar, mozzarella mix, which, obviously, did not taste the same. Everyone else made awesome food. One of the SYA students, Quinn, the one who organized the whole hullabaloo, (yes, I just used that word. XD) told the story of Thanksgiving to our Indian host families. She did a really great job and it was a really sweet speech. I had heard earlier, that when Jayshree (One of our Directors, she was the one to find the host families) invited the host families one of them said, "Wow. I didn't think American's gave thanks." And I must say, Quinn's speech must have put this host father's money where his mouth is... if that makes any sense at all. But it taught him that we do give thanks, and not just on Thanksgiving. I don't know whose host father it was but... I'll leave it at that.
Anyway, I really enjoyed myself. Even though it wasn't the classic sit around the table and talk with your relatives Thanksgiving. It was more of a mix and mingle potluck dinner, but... you get what you get, right? At least we did something, if we didn't I seriously would have been depressed. Haha.
Much Love,
~ Jenna

Cooking, Criticisms, and Captivation

Cooking class. It's something that I have been doing the last couple of Sundays. It has been really fun. I have learned to make a whole bunch of Indian dishes. It is taught by Caroline's (another SYA student)host mom. About eight or nine of us show up each Sunday and spend a few hours learning how to cook various Indian dishes and then we get to eat. It usually ends up being highly amusing. The group of people who take cooking is just a really funny bunch of people. The conversations we end up having are hilarious. We talk about our host families, our friends, the gossip about the other SYAers, everything we can think of. Usually I end up being teased mercilessly about something or other, all in good fun of course. And then we make up weird untrue stories about someone in the group and tell another person to see if they will believe. Yes, this isn't Indian and I could be doing the exact same thing in the states. But it will probably be something that stays with me from India, so therefore I found it something that I should mention.
The SYA Trustees and Resident Directors came recently for their annual meeting. India was the location of choice because this is a new location. It was really interesting talking to these SYA power houses about the working of the program and how they got it started. They even asked us for our feed-back on the experience, sending the teachers out of the room for this one. It was surprising how much some people had to say about India, their host families, the amount of activities we were offered. Many people were just unhappy about it. I personally think they just had unrealistically high expectations for a program on its inaugural year. Yes, we have missed out on things that will probably be offered in the next couple years. But we also got to do things that will never happen again, and we get to help shape the program for future years. I just thought people needed to stop whining about discuss what was good about the program, or what we could actually help change, not complain about how little Hindi we have learned or how there is nothing to do in Vizag. Find something to do. I'm able to, shouldn't everyone else be too? I don't know. It just bothered me how ungrateful people were about this amazing opportunity offered to us.
Did you know freckles are considered ugly in India? Like, really ugly. So therefore, I'm considered completely unfortunate here in India. It's kind of funny. And it does no wonders for my self esteem. I asked my host family about it and they brushed it off without giving me an answer. They acted like they hadn't heard the question. And I know they must have because I've asked them more than once getting the same answer. They won't answer me because they don't want to offend me I guess. Because if they said that it's true, they would be calling me ugly. Once someone even suggested that I use some cream or stay out of the sun. I like my freckles! Even though I do have kind of a surplus of them, I have come to accept them as part of me. And if India finds them ugly, then who cares? Right? Haha. It's amusing the definitions of beauty are very different in two different countries. I'm not saying that in the US freckles are considered beautiful but I usually at least get the "I think freckles are cute!" response. And I know I'm not exactly gorgeous in the US either, but nobody has ever avoided the subject about it with me. It's humorous.
Well anyway, I'm going to go put on some make-up and cover up these freckles. (Just kidding!) Sorry for my extremely rapid updating. XD
Much Love,
~ Jenna

It's Been Awhile...

Yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't written in awhile. But I've been doing a lot. Homework, hanging out with friends, more homework, hanging out with the host family. You know, the usual. But it's been a lot of the usual. As my host father so eloquently put it, "She's been up to a lot of things." That was in no way intended to sound as sketchy as I just realized it sounds. Haha. Well, to make up for my absence I shall write a very long post. Now that I've said that, I doubt it will be as long as I intend it to be. But, here 'goes.
The other day, SeoYeun, Brooke, and I decided to go see a movie. We wanted to see the Hindi movie, Hello, which is based on the bestselling novel A Night at the Call Center. So Brooke looked in the newspaper, found out which theatre the movie was playing in and we headed out there. Once there we dodged the sketchy men who looked at us strangely because not many groups of foreign girls come to the movie theatre (or the hall, as they like to call it) never mind any groups of girls. We made our way to the ticket booth, which had a surprisingly short line. The man there looked at us just as strangely, but not as sketchily, as the other men. "Hello?" we asked, "The movie Hello?" "Hindi movie?" was his reply. "Yes, the Hindi movie Hello." So he gave us tickets to what we thought was the Hindi movie Hello. The movie was in an hour or so, so we walked around the area laughing at the many outlandish advertisements and billboards. Then when we returned we found the theatre that was marked on our ticket. And there, was a huge sign advertising the movie that was being played in that theatre. And it wasn't Hello, it was Roadside Romeo. Roadside Romeo was a Hindi movie all right, but it was a Disney movie about a group of Dogs. Yes, Disney has expanded its reach to India, making movies specifically for that audience. We were very confused about why it was not Hello until we realized that this was the "Hindi movie" that the ticket man had spoken of. Hello was not playing that day; we had bought the wrong tickets! So instead of wasting the 40 rupees (less than 1 dollar) that we had spent buying the tickets we went inside to give Roadside Romeo a try. It was a waste of precious minutes of my life that I will never get back. Haha. But pretty much, it was a joke. It was a bunch of dogs talking in Hindi, singing Bollywood songs in Hindi and dancing. Dancing like they do in classic Bollywood movie, with the gyrating hips and the loud facial expressions. It was absolutely ridiculous. We left after ten minutes. I read reviews later saying the second half was better, but... considered how bad the first ten minutes were, I doubt "better" would make up for it. So... that was my first Indian movie theatre experience... hope the next one goes a little better.
For people's birthdays, my host family often likes to go out. So when the birthday of one of our neighbors, and my host sisters "tuition" teacher ("Tuition" is the Indian word for tutoring.) came around, we all went off to the Waltair club for dinner. So I come with them, I'm wearing nicer clothes than the ones I would just hang around the house in, but I have on my flip-flops. Something that would be perfectly acceptable at a place like that in the states, and something I have worn to the Waltair club before. But, for some reason they decided to point out that I was wearing them this time and tell me that I couldn't come in. My host mother came to my rescue and argued that some men had something similar on so why couldn't I. They attempted to argue that the shoes the men were wearing were the same. But then she threw the fact that I was a foreigner, as well as a women, into it and that they were attempting to take advantage of me. It was great. So eventually, they let me in, we called my host mom who was coming a little later and she brought me some real shoes. We made a big show of me changing my shoes though, just to get on their nerves. It was fantastic. XD
Alright, now that I've gotten those two things out of the way. I'm going to talk about something that annoys me. It even annoys the locals here, but it doesn't happen as often to them and they are at least semi used to it. When you are simply sitting somewhere, say it be on the beach, in a park, anywhere. People come up to you and ask you if you want to buy something, ice-cream, a drink, anything. That's perfectly fine in my opinion. Sometimes you may actually want something and you'll be happy they came over. But if you say no to begin with and they keep asking, that is what gets on my nerves. Then, if you're a woman, or a group, and there is at least one guy in the group, the ask him. First, they ask the whole group, everyone says no. Then they continuously ask, "Madam?" But, as they are looking at the guy. The man then has to ask the ladies if they want anything, they tell him no, then he tells the vendor no. It gets highly annoying. "Ice-cream?" "No, thank you." "Madam? Ice-cream? Drink?" "No." "Madam? Madam?" "No!" That is just a shortened version of the normal conversation.
Then, to go along with that theme. The autos. You attempt to cross the street and they follow you. If you stand on the edge of the road, watching the oncoming traffic, kind of peeping out onto the road, at a cross walk, that means you want to cross, not that you want an auto! You can't cross the road if an auto stops in front of you. I have to cross the street to get to this one place that a lot of people hang out. It is conveniently located across from where I live. But this also means, the autos know many foreigners go there. So they hang around, waiting for us to come out so they can snag our ride from the other auto drivers. I personally, don't need an auto. But they think I do. On average, three autos stop for me, just when I'm crossing the street. On right before, one in the middle, (when it is most obvious that I am crossing) and one right when I reach the other side. This isn't counting the ones that beep at me and slow down when I'm simply walking down the sidewalk. It gets very annoying. I can't wait to get back to the taxicabs of the states, the ones you have to flag down, rather than them flagging down you.
As all of you probably know better than me, the US election took place this month. And yes, I watched it. I watched it Wednesday morning though, which was your Tuesday night. I went to my math teachers house, which is right around the corner from mine. I'm so close that he asks me to babysit for him. (Yes, I can even get babysitting jobs in India! Even if they are form Americans...) So I walked down to his house, and a bunch of other people autoed it over and we had pancakes and watched the election. It was nearly noon when Obama finally made his acceptance speech and only three of us students were left. A bunch of the other students when to our APES and econ teacher's house to have lasagna. I didn't know where it was and I take any chance I can get to skip an auto drive, so I stayed with the other two students, my math teacher, my math teacher wife and kids, and my English teacher and his kids, who had come over as well. It was very fun. They canceled school that day so we could watch. So anyway, the next day, all of India knew about Obama's election. It was front page of the newspaper and there was a huge billboard on my bus route saying congratulations. Kids on the bus told me that I had a new president, like I didn't know. It was really interesting to see how much India cared about this election and how much it meant to them. Obviously it means less to them than it does the people of the states. But all of India seemed acutely aware of how much this new US president could affect them as well. I am currently keeping up with the news on Obama, via the Deccan Chronicle, the newspaper my host family gets.
So yeah, that was my long post. Worth the wait? Probably not. But, I did keep to my word and I wrote an uber long post. So be happy with that. Hopefully I shall post a little more reliably now. But I doubt it. Haha.
Much Love,
~ Jenna

Diwali: A Do-It-Yourself Fourth of July

Okay, so I've decided I'm going to come back to India every year around this time, just to participate in Diwali again. It was amazing. I'm in love with this holiday and all its utterly dangerous entailments. Hey, we said it ourselves with our Independence Day, what better way is there to celebrate than lighting off fireworks. It's just that here in India, you don't just watch the fireworks, you light them yourselves. A kind of... Do-It-Yourself Fourth of July. Absolutely brilliant. If only fireworks weren't illegal in Massachusetts!
Diwali is a festival celebrated by Hindu's. They are celebrating the return of Rama from exile. You know Rama from the Ramayana? Well he was in exile for fourteen years and when he comes back, he is crowned king. So therefore, that is cause for celebration. Everyone buys sweets for all their friends and they travel to one another's houses giving out these gifts. I helped my host mom wrap her gifts. Also, each family decorates their house with flowers and paint and millions of candles.
It is known as the Festival of Lights, and for good reason. (Though it should really be known as the Festival of Frights...) The candles are one thing that portrays the lights, but the fireworks, or crackers as they call them here, are the bigger thing. At least in my opinion... and all of the children's opinions. Let
me tell you, it's pretty intense.
The night before Diwali, I went to the Waltair Club with my host family. The Waltair club is like a country club that many of the SYA host families belong to. Well anyway, they were having a fireworks show, like you would see on the Fourth of July, right? Wrong. It was the same, except that I was literally less than ten feet away from where they were lighting off the "crackers." Stuff was falling on my head. I seriously felt like I was going to die. I found myself praying to God, to Rama, to Ganesh, to anyone. I didn't think I'd survive the ordeal. But I did, I just had many random pieces of burnt paper in my hair and ash in my eyes. Otherwise, I was fine... physically. Haha.
The next day, on real Diwali, my host family cleaned up and decorated the house. Then that night we went down to the ground floor of the apartment. There everyone was lighting off an array of crackers. If I thought I had almost died the night before, I was probably actually going to die this night! Eventually, after dodging numerous children waving around sparklers and teenage boys preparing rockets, I decided to give it a go myself. My host father handed me a "cracker" and a large incense stick to light it with. The cracker was a coiled piece of something in which you light up and it spins around. I began to light it and my host father suddenly hit it out of my hand. I had been about to light it in my hand! Yeah... that's right. I'm that smart. So then, after my first mishap I began to light crackers while they were on the ground. Then after awhile I grabbed some smaller ones and I began to light them in my hand and throw them out into the parking lot. Hey, it's what the cool kids were doing.
So pretty much, I light off a bunch of fireworks that only professionals would use with a license in Massachusetts. And it was amazing. At night the week before and the week after people would light a few crackers here and there, so I got used to the sound. But on actual Diwali night, it was so loud that I couldn't concentrate on the book I was reading. I made a video. I may upload it if you're lucky. :)
Much Love,
~ Jenna