Home is where the heart is.

    I seriously failed at updating this once I got back in the United States. I have, in fact, made it home safe and sound and have already finished one week of classes back in Gainesville.

    I arrived back in the United States around 1 a.m. on August 11th and in the comfort of my pillow-top memory foam bed at 3:30. (seriously, Indian beds are the hardest things in the world, although they told us Americans that they find our soft beds equally uncomfortable.) So far I have unpacked, repacked, worked my last two days at summer camp, baby-sat and visited friends and family before I headed back to school, along with tons of reflecting, processing and thinking.

    Of course, the first question that everyone asks is "how was it?!" I never thought that that simple question could ever be something so difficult to answer. I don't think one word could ever do this experience justice and as time moves on, I feel like my answer will continue to evolve. It's easy to say it was a "good" trip or "trip of a lifetime" type cliche answers peppered with stories of animals in the streets, casual exchanges about the food, culture and weather, and the occasional joke of how Americans don't have the leg muscles to use Indian toilets, but these surface stories and impressions could never do a country as complex and incredible as India justice.
    There are sights, sounds and experiences that you just have to experience first hand to describe. How does a simple one-word answer describe a huge country of one billion people? Or the vulnerability I felt as a minority for the first time? How do I replicate the feeling of constantly being stared at or having your picture taken where ever I went? How do I articulate the questioning of all that I have ever known, and my own purpose in the world, or whether I was just another idealistic college student?
   One thing that India did was make me feel small. Obviously, when you enter a country full of a sixth of the world's population, you are going to feel tiny, miniscule, and utterly unimportant and vulnerable. That feeling only lasts a week though. I soon found that it was liberating. That feeling of "smallness" meant that I didn't have to do it all, (Or, I guess it reaffirmed my previous blog posts.) That I was free to discover and make mistakes. It showed me that eternity is so much bigger than I could ever wrap my weak mind around.

   For now, I guess it's safe to say that the trip was good. It was nothing that I could ever plan for or expect, and it's still difficult to articulate all my experiences as I'm still reflecting and learning exactly what the trip taught me. It's definitely safe to say that I fell in love with India and have a serious case of wanderlust, so please be patient with me and give me grace if I can't give perfectly clear and concise answers to your questions, but I promise answers will come soon enough. 

Home (Indian style)

               No, I'm not back in the United States yet, but after visiting north India, (Delhi and Rajasthan) experiencing the world's largest power outage, riding a camel and an elephant, some bouts of E.Coli and crazy allergic reactions and an ear infection, we're back in what we consider our Indian home at the MCC campus in Chennai.

For the time that we lost power/didn't have internet access, here's what you missed.

Most days we would have to get up around 6:30-7:00 to be ready for breakfast at 8. (pretty rough for some college students)

Following that, we would either have a 3 hour class session, or a day long visit to local NGOs or guest lectures.

Usually we got home around 8, and had dinner at 9 (Again, that took some adjusting), had a debrief session about the day, then went to bed. We also had a few free days in Jaipur and Delhi, so I got to explore, see India up close and personal as well as visit the Taj Mahal and complete my childhood dream of riding an elephant.
I've learned so much on this trip, both academically and about myself. I've seen things I can never unsee and have learned things I can never unknow. It's been a trip of a life time, so please bear with me as I use this as an outlet to process everything.

                                                                 With Love,
                                                                    Kaitlyn

                   

Cross-Cultural Mishaps #2

            So far we've spent only three days in Delhi, but it has been nothing less than uneventful.

The train ride we quite the adventure. As someone who likes her space and values cleanliness far more than many people, being squished into that tiny compartment was tough, along with the Indian style bathrooms and unusable water.
            Of course, over 36 hours there was bound to be some confusion and moments of mishap as fifteen Americans were shoved  into basic Indian modes of transportation without too much warning or prep.
 To give you a taste of what it looked like, here are some pictures:

This is how many of us were in one compartment. Those lovely shirts were so we don't get lost. You know, because we don't stick out enough in an Indian train station.

This was my bed on the top bunk of our compartment

         
         The first accidental mishap came within the first hour of the train ride, when I tried to change into my pajamas, completely unaware of the fact that there was a wide enough gap to give the men in the next compartment a full view...oops. Let's just say that in India, the most conservative western undergarments could be considered very risque. My mantra for this trip has now become, "At least I'll probably never see these people again." for whenever I accidentally do something embarrassing.
      Once we realized the train was nothing like Harry Potter, much to our dismay, we decided to go exploring. Over the 36 hours we were able to venture through almost the entire train, from our comfortable a/c cars with beds to the very back of the train filled with people and with bars over the windows. We encountered beggars on the train, all kinds of tea and food being served, open doors to the tracks below us, and many confused stares as we wandered about, and finally even more confused looks as we piled 17 people into 1 compartment for a lecture.
     Once we were in Delhi, the real fun began. So far, in our hostel, we have discovered kittens (ew, ew, ew.) and rats. (I know, even better.) We also found out, that the guards and men that work in the hostel now think us American girls are huge wimps (which I guess is true) and can reach octaves when we scream that are so high, only dogs can hear them.
It all started when I was downstairs doing homework, when I heard doors slamming and Katrina screaming "STACY! STACY! STACY!" as she tried to get her out of the shower. The first thought in my head was "Oh my gosh, someone just broke in and is going to traffick us." So I did the sensible thing, and ran upstairs to see what the problem was. It turns out, that there was quite a large rat making its home in Katrina's suitcase. The slamming doors was due to the fact that out of self-defense, Katrina accidentally locked Stacy in the room with said rat. Let the screaming and shrills commence. Once we were all able to calm down, We were able to get Dr. K and a guard.
We then had another valuable life lesson. Those Indians don't mess around when it comes to rodents. Rather than the expected rat trap, there was a lot of stomping and a large stick. The rat put up a fight, biting Dr. K, but in the end, met it's ultimate demise and had to be swept down the stairs.

       Other than that bit of adventure, we've gotten to see some of Delhi's best sites, did some serious shopping, visited an NGO, was stared at a lot, had my picture taken a million times, with only half of those times by someone I actually knew and finally, ate 6 chicken nuggets and a chocolate chip cookie. Hooray for American food! (I do love Indian food, but Indian food 24/7 is rough.)

All in all, India has been great adventure and I'm just a little over half-way through.

"India, like life, is what you make of it." - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

                                                              XOXO,
                                                              Kaitlyn

Planes, Trains and Autorickshaws

Those have been my main modes of transportation to and around India. I'm happy to say that after 36 hours and two nights on a train. I survived while successfully suppressing any panic attacks, and anxious tendencies. It was certainly an adventure.
Now we're catching up on rest and showers at our newly renovated and fairly modern hostel in Delhi, that at one point was used as the equivalent to the Olympic Village for the Asian games. (Basically, the Asian Olympics that are held every 3 years.)

We're hear until July 30th, heading to Jaipur for five days, then flying back to Chennai for the final few days.

It's definitely been an incredible journey.

                                                          XOXO,
                                                          Kaitlyn

"Sorry, That's just my face"

              If I had a dollar for the amount of times I have had to say that exact sentence, I would have been able to pay off all my tuition in a year. Sadly, it's kind of the opposite since I have to clarify with "No, I'm not upset." or "I'm not mad at you." before people think I hate them. I've also heard the "Oh, it's just because your nose goes slightly up" Yeah, because that's going to make me feel better as a thirteen year old girl after watching America's Next Top Model.  Over the nearly twenty years of my life, I still don't really know what this supposed face looks like and I never notice when I'm doing it.

What does this have to do with India?

             The first time I thought of this was when we were taking one of the million (literally) pictures that Dr. K had initiated when the tour guide pointed out that we all have "picture taking smiles" unlike Indians who are always so serious in pictures.
I noticed it at the SOS Children's village when the children would ask for a picture and want to see my camera but then run away laughing because they were "too afraid" to take a picture.
I noticed it on the quite moments when riding a bus or rickshaw or walking to class in a sea of unfamiliar faces who stare back with such serious disposition and dark eyes, while others look with curiosity and surprise to see a white girl in their developmental economics class. Out of self-preservation and a lack of comfort in such chaos, (because everything about traveling in India is chaotic.) I think I finally figured out "the face" and why it definitely wasn't doing any good in India.

The best answer to that: Smiling. (Cue, "Smiling is my favorite from Elf.")

              I sat against a bus window looking out while we were stuck in traffic for what seemed like four hours and looked out where I met the eyes of a girl who looked about my age (Although a lot of times I can't tell, sometimes Indians look way younger than they actually are.) We stared at each other for about ten seconds as I tried to come up with ways to tactfully avoid her curious glances.
Then it occurred to me. I may be the only white, American girl she sees in her entire life. Who am I to say we have nothing in common or decide that I am too uncomfortable and must avert her curious looks. Why do I, of all people, have the authority to decide that this is the impression she should have of Americans. First impressions speak volumes. Why do we give such harsh an menacing looks?
In those ten seconds, I decided to smile.
Do you know what happened? She smiled back.
I felt better about the fact that everything was a little scary and new. I felt better about the fact that despite the fact that we had one of the most difficult NGO field trips of the trip, which resulted in me crying in public, (and in front of my professor, awesome.) there are still things to smile about.
I was reminded of this verse:

"I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile." - Job 9:27

It's cliche, but like nearly all cliches and sayings it certainly rings true.
      
       India is challenging and changing me in some of the best ways possible. It's in the little things like having grace for my roommates when they are working long hours into the nights, letting a friend sit on my bed during bible study, despite the fact that I used to flip out if anyone touched my bed at home, or sharing clothes when another forgot something or they're laundry didn't come back on time. It's learning to bite my tongue when the only boy on the trip with us continues talking after a six hour long trip, when the rest of us girls are tired and ready to fall asleep on the "45 minute" long bus ride home. It's learning to let go of my expectations and schedules and remember that "Indian time" is no where near as exact as I would like it to be. It's learning to go with the flow and smile. :)

(After writing this post, I promise I will accept a gentle reminder of this the next time anyone sees me give someone a look :) )

P.S. We're leaving in about two hours for a 36 hour train ride to Delhi. I'm still unsure about the living arrangements once we're there, so again, internet and blog posts may be sporadic.)

                                                              
                                                                With Love,
                                                                 Kaitlyn

Picture?

Overlooking Chennai from St. Thomas Mount

Our first Auto Rickshaw ride!

Playing with some of the kids at SOS Children's Village

A beautiful temple we visited

Participating in a Hindu baby shower

Receiving our honorary shawls at SBS

ATVing on the Beach!

The fishing boat we rode in, and got soaked

Aside from staring, we get a lot of Indians trying to be sneaky with the camera. Sometimes they ask, but most of the time, they just snap away. When Dr. K tries to assemble us all to get a "money shot" as he calls it, we tend to attract a pretty big crowd with far more cameras then we intended. So, I thought I would share some of my own from Chennai and this past weekend on Ideal Beach.

This one time, in India...

I feel like all good stories start with "One time..." I also promised I would chronicle all my cross-cultural mishaps with this blog.

Ergo, number one of many that I'm sure to have in India.

Here's some necessary background info:

We've been meeting with tons of professors, community leaders, NGO founders and employees and government officials. Today, Dr. K informed us that we would be meeting the speaker of the house for Tamil Nadu. In India, the state government alone is huge and welds a lot of power, unlike the United States. This would have been a completely rare and exciting opportunity and then the Americans got a little confused.

First, we were invited into his bungalow where we received welcome shawls, as per south Indian tradition and welcoming statements and introductions were made. Completely normal since it was the usual custom for all our Indian events. 
Soon, we found ourselves facing the giant TV in the room, (which was pretty cramped with all 15 of us, plus government officials and the help) bombarded with news clippings of the speaker of the house as he recorded us sitting there watching TV.
We then proceeded to re-watch said recorded video onto a projector.

So this is what it looked like; 15 tired American college students, uncomfortably crammed into a room watching with confused looks on our faces, a video of ourselves, still doing the exact same thing, just five minutes prior, as tea, coke and cookies were constantly handed to us.

Once he answered a few questions and told us a few more strange stories, we clapped (side note: I'm pretty sure Indians think Americans clap for everything because that's what we would do to fill awkward silences during lectures...turns out clapping doesn't mean something is finished, it means keep going. Oops, only took us a week to figure that out.) and stood up thinking it was time to leave.
All of the sudden, we were ushered into his office, an even smaller room, where we watched more of his videos.

This is where it gets really strange. Since none of us speak Hindi or Tamil we couldn't understand anything in the Bollywood style videos he was showing us, all while we sat in his office, which was covered in far larger than normal portraits of himself.
We later learned that it wasn't a Bollywood movie, but rather propaganda-like campaign commercials with terrible super imposed graphics and effects in Tamil. Very North-Korea style. The self-portraits were just an  added bonus.
We were awkwardly forced to eat more cookies, drink more chai and were encouraged to continue clapping until we were able to finally find an excuse to leave.

The entire time we were afraid to laugh or make a peep, thinking we would offend someone. Instead when we got back on the bus, Dr. K burst out into the most ridiculous giggle fit and yelled. "I don't know about you, but that guy was a freaking nutjob!"

I can't tell you a single thing about the local government structure in Tamil Nadu. But after today I can tell you:

1. Clapping does not mean the same thing in India.
2. All older people get really excited when they figure out technology.
3. You should probably gather some background information before you watch something in Tamil or Hindi.
Finally: I am, by nature, prone to awkward situations. I apologize if this affects anyone reading in the future.

                                                         - Kaitlyn