The Orange Shirted Men

Okay, I must say there is one thing that is getting really annoying here in India. The title of this blog post, the orange shirted men. Yes, men in orange shirts, following us around with cameras. They are the camera crew that was hired by SYA to document our time here. They will then use the footage for the DVD that advertises SYA for next year’s prospective students. I see the concept of it and the practicality of it. But, I don’t see why they need to film us every moment of our lives. And pose us! I’ve been taped eating, talking, riding on the bus, walking down the street, and being taking pictures of. It’s rather annoying.
Just yesterday a man came over to my house to take pictures of my host sister and me and the camera men came along to film as well. Not only was it annoying to have my picture taken because they were posing us in situations that don’t actually happen, but being filmed during this. I could hardly stand it. This man was really annoying too. He had me pose touching pictures on the wall like they were something I had never seen before or something. I felt ridiculous. Then they had my host mom pose showing me something from the kitchen and they said my hair was in the way of my face. So my host mom went to put it behind my ear and they were like, "Take a picture! Take a picture!" And I just started laughing, and they got all of that on film.
Then my friend Brooke was having a steak party. Yes, a steak party, in India. I’ll take a moment to explain this phenomenon. Her host mother is Christian, so she has not problem with beef. Knowing that us American’s love beef and that she wanted to feed it to us, she invited a bunch of us over for steak, mashed potatoes and apple crisp. It was wonderful. But, the camera men caught word of this and of course found their way over. While everyone was waiting for dinner the picture man posed us studying, like we were at some sort of study group. Then they set up the dinner table so they could take a picture of all of us together. This messed up Brooke’s host mom’s careful set up as well. They went far enough to even ask another girl, Callie, and me to change since they had already photographed us in those clothes! It was ridiculous, so we didn’t do it. Haha.
So pretty much, they are getting on my nerves. Though they left in time to not dampen the mood of the steak party. Which was quite fun and pleasant. I had a great time. The last week was really good. I’m starting to feel more at home here, if that is at all possible. Haha.
Much Love,
~ Jenna

I Want To Ride My Bicycle

Okay so, everyone thought I would get skinnier here in India. It’s the opposite. I feel like I can feel myself packing on the pounds. Those of you at home who were worried about me in India or who thought I was skinny enough already may be happy. But let me tell you, I am not. I would have at least liked to maintain my weight. So finally, after much search and contemplation I found my solution to the expanding body problem. Exercise.
Yes, I know quite obvious. But here in India as a foreign woman it is much harder than you would think. For one thing, SYA has yet to sync itself with Vishaka Valley School's sports programs, so there are not organized sports for us to join. I then looked into gyms. They are either way too expensive, really sketchy, or too far away for the price to be worth it.
I voiced this problem to my host family, and the problem was solved. A bicycle. I now have two bicycles. A stationary one at home that my host father no longer uses and was in the basement of the apartment building. This is good because that is the only thing I would do at the gym anyway because of my knee, and this one if free. My second bike is a real cycle bike, equipped with its own little basket and everything. It was half the price of a new bike too, since my host father called a few friends to see if they had any extras lying around. I love it! It’s wonderful! Now I can actually get out and exercise.
So that is what I did today. I went out for a ride on beach road for half an hour. It was an experience. For one thing, everyone stares at you. But I'm used to that by now. Second, I was actually a part of the traffic, not just a bystander. I kept my ears perked for the tell-tale beep behind me, the voice of a driver trying to get by. I stayed to the side of the road the best I could. It was quite easy actually. The only trouble I had was crossing the street to begin my ride. Otherwise it was a straight road, nothing to worry about. But it was interesting being in the traffic and learning the way of these drivers. I can't imagine what I'll be like when I come back home just in time for drivers ed. Haha.
Much Love,
~ Jenna

Happy Birthday!!! Indian Style.

My birthday was on Tuesday. I turned seventeen while in a foreign country. My first birthday away from home. Kind of sad, but I'm in India! I got to experience a whole new kind of birthday. Well, it wasn't all that different. When I had birthday cake with my host family they fed it to me. Like they put it in my mouth, and they took pictures of everyone feeding me cake. It was kind of funny. Then at school I got to ditch the uniform for a day, which was awesome. When someone says happy birthday to you they shake your hand. Everyone does. There are no exceptions. You can bring in chocolate or candy for your classmates too, not the other way around. That has been nice because randomly students will come in and give us chocolate on their birthdays. Chocolate is always good.
Speaking of chocolate... (Wow, that was a good transition to my next topic!)They do not have Hershey's or any American chocolate here, but they have Cadbury. People who have been to Europe before have told me about Cadbury and how it was better than Hershey's. I never believed them, until now. It is amazing. It's so yummy and delicious. Creamy and fulfilling. Everything you need in chocolate. They have awesome varieties too. Like fruit and nut, which is very yummy. So now I'll stop sounding like the typical chocolate loving woman that I am and move on...
Indian's all do this sort of head bob thing. I've gotten so used to it that I have caught myself doing it on more than one occasion. It's like a slight tilt of the head to the side. They use it as almost the universal answer. It can mean yes, no, or maybe so. It seems to usually mean yes when they use it with silence. Otherwise they follow up the gesture with words. The few times I have done it I have gotten weird looks though... I'm becoming Indian already!
The other day I was walking down the street with two of my friends when suddenly one of them stopped. There were two white men in business suits talking with an auto driver. We literally stopped and stared about them, muttering things about American men and how we never see any. Then we noted that they had noticed us and were laughing so we quickly moved on. But it was really funny because we have already become so used to not seeing white people that it was a shock. I understand why the Indians stare at me now. It was highly amusing.
So that is what happened around my birthday and stuff. It was interesting. Now I'm waiting for the packages my parents sent me... it's been more than a week since they shipped them...
Much Love,
~ Jenna

Me and My Salwar Kameez

I bought some native Indian clothing the other day. It is very pretty. I only bought something called a Salwar Kameez, no saris yet. Haha. A Salwar Kameez it a sort of pant suit like thing. There is a shirt that goes anywhere to a bit above your knees to a bit past it. Then there are pants, but they can be billowy and loose pants or tapered ones that crunch up at the bottom. Then, often times you were a sort of scarf thing around your neck. It's very nice. My host mom wears one everyday to work. I just bought some so now I won't stick out as much here in India. Yay!
I've been noting some interesting things about the culture here. Mostly dining etiquette. For one thing, it's definitely not rude to put your elbows on the table. Everyone does it, and blatantly too. Unless you are younger, in which case you are excused, everyone eats with their right hand. Very rarely do Indian's use thier left hand when eating. To tell you the truth I found out the reason. Let's just say it's hygienic reasons, not religious or anything, and it has something to do with the fact that many Indians don't use toilet paper. Got it? Good.
Showering is interesting. They fill buckets with water and then use a smaller cup to pour the water over their body. At least that's what I assume, since I haven't watched anyone do it. Haha. They do have a shower head at my house, so I use that. But it is cold. The only way I could warm the water is if I bathed the bucket way. And, I'd rather a cold shower than warm water being poured over me... At least at this moment in time.
There is this awesome little kid on the bus I take to go home. He is amazing. He is the bus manager and he definitely does his job. He tells all the other kids where to sit and he brings calm to the chaos. The thing is, he wears his shorts up to his chest and he has immaculately combed hair. But he is multilingual and multi-skilled. Every woman's dream. As my friend Brooke put it today, He’s a tiny high shorted wonder. Haha. But really, he is my hero. And he's like... ten? I’ll get a picture of him. I promise.
I had this really yummy Indian sweet today. It's a fried substance that is then dipped into a sugar syrup making it very crunchy and delicious. Though it was quite filling, or maybe it was just very sweet. I don't know. It was good though. So yeah, that's all I have for today. I had more but I have forgotten. I really need to write down my thoughts as they come to my head. Haha. Oh and just to let everyone know... my birthday is in five days!!! Wooh!!! So that is when I'll next post. See you then!
Much Love,
~ Jenna

More Than A Week Already?!?

I've been here in India for more than a week now. It definitely feels like longer than that. So much happens in a day I guess. I've already learned so much about this new and different culture. I can't even imagine how much I am going to know come December.
Classes start on Monday. So I won't have as much time to update. Probably only on Saturdays or Sundays. But that won't stop me from relaying everything that happens here. The posts will just be longer. Haha.
The uniforms we have are ridiculous. These thick navy skirts and a gray blouse. Not exactly practical in this kind of heat. They look ridiculous on too. The guys have a button up shirt and pants. And on Fridays, the whole get-up is white. Casual Fridays, eh? They make me feel like a really tacky church goer. On stage. Seriously. The shirt I have to wear is exactly the same as the one I wore in Ragtime, except short sleeves.
Supposedly these uniforms are very similar to other ones in other schools. My host sister has a similar uniform, but it's thicker. So I guess I lucked out. Only a little but thick.
As for schools, students are younger here. My host-sister is seven and she is in third grade. My brother at home, Sean is seven and he is young for his grade, and he is in second grade. I have heard a few cases like this. So they must start school sooner. I actually saw three year olds in school, they were so cute.
We had the inauguration of the school building yesterday. On Teacher's Day. We watched the celebrations for Teacher's Day at Visahka Valley School. It was really hot, but they were really cool. The teacher's sang some songs, and then some of the students did some traditional dance. They were really good. Well, it's the only traditional dance I have seen here, so there is nothing to compare to. But they were good to my untrained eye and ear. Then after the celebrations we went to the new building and cut the "ribbon." I was very happy that they had a "ribbon." Well, it was made out of flowers, but they still cut it.
I guess that's enough for today. Not much to write about. But there will be more later!
Much Love,
~ Jenna

Random Comments and Thoughts

Do you know what is kind of fun? Watching cartoons in Hindi. Especially ones that I have seen in English. It is fun, and kind of funny. I was watching TV the other day with Muscaan, my host sister. Her name means smile in Hindi, isn't that cute? Well, we were watching TV and she would watch Disney Channel and Nickelodeon but they had some different shows on them. A few were the same, like Mickey Mouse Club House, but others were very new to me yet they were still on familiar channels. The commercials are amusing too. They are a lot more dramatic than commercials in America. Though I do not understand anything they say. Haha. That will come eventually, when I start classes maybe.
My host family has a maid. I do not know what her name is and I can't really talk to her because she only speaks Telugu, the native language of Andhra Pradesh. I feel bad about this and I don't really know what to do about it. She asks me if I want tea or anything, and she says good morning and good bye but otherwise there has been no real interaction between us. I'm happy that she say good-bye to me but I'm sure she says bye to everyone. I'd love to make friends with her, but the language barrier is hard to cross.
I'm not really sure about her status, either. I read all about the caste system before coming here but it really isn't that apparent. Obviously she is of a lower caste than my host family. They do not treat her badly; they talk to her and everything. But I can tell they think of her as lower. Nothing has specifically been said, but it's quite apparent. So, one of my missions in India. Befriend the maid, well... at least learn her name and be on good terms, if any terms, with her.
They feed me a lot of food. I thought when coming here I would get skinnier because I wouldn't like the food and I would sweat a lot. Well, the sweating is true. Haha. There are some things I don't like, but a lot of the food I really do enjoy. And the sweets and biscuits are very good. All of the fattening stuff. And once my host family realizes I like something they feed me a ton of it. It's very funny.
Yesterday for breakfast I had this huge spread. Scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, toast, corn flakes, tea. It was intense. I was stuffed and they were still giving me more food. I am definitely not going to be losing any weight here. Though, due to the amount of sweating I'm doing, I'm unlikely to gain much either. So I'm good. I'll stay my current weight! Haha.
Much Love,
~ Jenna
P.S. By the way, once classes start I doubt I'll have this much time to blog. The only reason I'm writing so much now is because everything is new and there is so much to comment on.

Auto Adventure

I had a really intense auto adventure today. It was unplanned, but not spur of the moment. I must say, it was very tiring though. Kind of stressful, but very fun. So yeah, I think I'll explain what happened now. Haha.
Today we went to the Vishaka Valley School for the first time. It is nice; the classrooms they built for us are very nice. With lots of fans. Fans are good. Haha. So, they wanted us to take the bus home from school, with the other students. I went on the bus they told me to and watched out for my home. But, I never saw it. I got off on the last stop with two other SYA students. One knew where he was going, the other girl, Brooke, had no idea. Just like me.
I looked around and didn't see any land marks so we decided to get an auto rickshaw. Brooke had her address written down and I didn't. So we decided we would go to her house and then take it from there. We called an auto, asked how much it would be and told him where we were going. So we got in and started heading toward her house.
I'm going to pause here and explain what an auto rickshaw is. Because a few people have already asked me. It's like a taxi. The ones in Vizag are actually yellow like taxis. They have three wheels, two in the back and one in the front. They ride it like a motorcycle, with handle bars. There is a place for people to sit in the back. I think that's the best description I can give. I'll take a picture and put it up eventually.
So, we went on the auto, right? As we drove by in the auto I saw the Park Hotel right by the place we were dropped off. That was the landmark I had been looking for before so I could find the house. But I decided to stay on and not ditch Brooke because she had no idea where she was going. It was a good thing I did too. Otherwise, in her position, I would have been terrified.
You see, the auto driver actually didn't know where he was going. He kept stopping and asking for directions. This got us very worried. We drove around for about forty minutes, looking for Brooke's house. She thought she saw it but the auto driver kept driving. And just when we decided to tell him to go to the Park Hotel because I could find my house from there he turned around and we found it.
So we went to her house and talked with her host family who got in touch with Jayshree, the woman who is working for SYA. We sat and talked and bonded for a while because Brooke's host father's car was at the shop. Then I got in touch with my host mother and we went home, once again by auto. This time Brooke's host father was with us so it went much more smoothly. Funny thing was, when we got to my house we realized the bus stop was about two feet away. I had just been walking and looking in the wrong direction. Haha.
That may not sound that intense to you, but trust me it was. With Indian traffic, and not being able to tell what people are saying or where you are. It was exciting though, it always is in a way, getting lost. So, that was my first Indian adventure. One I am not likely to forget.
Much Love,
~ Jenna