This morning we were given our first taste of Indian Fame! The daily
newspaper featured an article and photo in it about us and the presentation
we gave about our 4th of July.
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Thursday, July 10, 2014
Falling In Love
This is a tale written by my friend Sydney and I, sparked by the love we share for our new-found friend.
The Indian Mango.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alfonzo, Alfonzo. Where for art thou Alfonzo.
The Indian Mango.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alfonzo, Alfonzo. Where for art thou Alfonzo.
Deny thy taste buds of thine juice, a rich color of chartreuse.
Cometh thy rains, come the end of your mango days.
The thought of life without you is hard to bare,
Comparable to cutting you open, and having to share.
Tis difficult to grok why you must leave,
Why you earn so much talk,
Your reputation is impossible to block.
Alfonzo, dear Alfonzo,
We know that when the monsoon does shed,
We will be left unfed.
Denied of your sweet nectar,
We'll have to settle for your cousin Hector.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To follow Sydney and her adventures on this trip, visit her blog at
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Bollywood
Today was many of our first experiences with a real Bollywood movie. We went to Bobby Jasoos at the theater after school. If you have never heard of or seen Bollywood movies, I urge you to click the link below and watch the preview to this movie, then imagine that I sat through that for almost three hours (with an included intermission). My goodness was it an experience to laugh at.
To start out with, the entire movie was in Hindi, with no subtitles. This means that the entire three hours was basically left up to self-interpretation. At the end, we all were left with a slightly different tale of what happened. The singing and dancing were, of course, a huge and hilarious part of the movie; but the over-dramatic acting and everything else were just frosting to the cake. That is, a very metaphorical cake that has moving parts, sings a song, and is decorated with so much glitter and sparkles that it appears inedible.
Due to the fact that we could not understand what the characters were saying, it was often difficult to know when things were funny, or even why they were funny. There were countless occasions where we found ourselves laughing so hard, but not because of a joke or something. We were laughing at how clueless we were, which was, perhaps, even more hilarious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHTTNn_XEtE
To start out with, the entire movie was in Hindi, with no subtitles. This means that the entire three hours was basically left up to self-interpretation. At the end, we all were left with a slightly different tale of what happened. The singing and dancing were, of course, a huge and hilarious part of the movie; but the over-dramatic acting and everything else were just frosting to the cake. That is, a very metaphorical cake that has moving parts, sings a song, and is decorated with so much glitter and sparkles that it appears inedible.
Due to the fact that we could not understand what the characters were saying, it was often difficult to know when things were funny, or even why they were funny. There were countless occasions where we found ourselves laughing so hard, but not because of a joke or something. We were laughing at how clueless we were, which was, perhaps, even more hilarious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHTTNn_XEtE
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Making Progress with Learning Hindi
To be completely honest, Hindi is really really hard. I think I may have entered this program with some whimsical idea that I would catch on super fast and become completely fluent, but that is not the case and I have recently become very accepting of this truth. Starting the first day of lessons was intimidating. I knew a grand total of three words and absolutely nothing else. Glad to discover that I was not alone, we dove into learning a new language head first. Not even really starting with the alphabet, we reviewed vocab and tried to read (which was hard considering we did not know the alphabet). I was frustrated and confused for a solid three days and after taking a break after my first full week of lessons, I was able to reflect on my progress.
After a week, those of us who were starting at zero were able to read words, pronounce the alphabet, count to about 20, write, conjugate basic verbs, and talk about basic things about ourselves. It wasn't until I said this aloud that I realized how much progress this actually is.
Although the language is hard and although I'm frustrated and (really) confused 98% of the time (they teach our lessons trying speaking Hindi only), I'm slowly but surely catching on and I am proud of what I have accomplished so far. Now entering our third week of classes, it is exciting to come home with new phrases and words every day and even more exciting to look forward to the future. Language is one of my passions and I really love the thought of being able to communicate with possibly thousands of other people. When you learn a new language, it's like opening a completely new and shiny door. I'm looking forward to see what my ability is at the end of my six weeks here.
After a week, those of us who were starting at zero were able to read words, pronounce the alphabet, count to about 20, write, conjugate basic verbs, and talk about basic things about ourselves. It wasn't until I said this aloud that I realized how much progress this actually is.
Although the language is hard and although I'm frustrated and (really) confused 98% of the time (they teach our lessons trying speaking Hindi only), I'm slowly but surely catching on and I am proud of what I have accomplished so far. Now entering our third week of classes, it is exciting to come home with new phrases and words every day and even more exciting to look forward to the future. Language is one of my passions and I really love the thought of being able to communicate with possibly thousands of other people. When you learn a new language, it's like opening a completely new and shiny door. I'm looking forward to see what my ability is at the end of my six weeks here.
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Experiencing Rural India
Today we woke up early and took a bus about three hours outside of the city to Baramati Farm. Watching a Bollywood movie on the bus while singing and dancing was super fun, but we were also able to see and experience different people and landscapes from the rural side of the country. At the farm, we walked around, learned about planting, harvesting and watering methods, farm animals, new fruits and vegetables and got to see silk worms and sugar cane. We ate more delicious traditional Maharashtran food, and drank even more chai. We rode in a tractor and also a wagon pulled by beautifully decorated cattle.
We were also able to visit a group of ten women who are working together in a nearby village in a sort of CO-OP program. They make and sell various spices and foods, and by doing so, they are able to be more independent and not reliant on their husbands and families as much. Many of them are now even able to send their children to school. It was so neat to meet these women and talk to them about their business and to be able to ask them questions. Many of them are uneducated and so to have this opportunity of a steady income and the availability to take out
loans is extremely helpful for them and their families.
The rural side was very different from the city and it was nice to get out and see a change. It was much drier than I imagined - especially because the area is experiencing a really bad drought right now. We were exposed to more poverty than we have been seeing in the past weeks and it was another eye-opening experience, making us all more appreciative of the little things in life. Even the big things, like a house.
We were also able to visit a group of ten women who are working together in a nearby village in a sort of CO-OP program. They make and sell various spices and foods, and by doing so, they are able to be more independent and not reliant on their husbands and families as much. Many of them are now even able to send their children to school. It was so neat to meet these women and talk to them about their business and to be able to ask them questions. Many of them are uneducated and so to have this opportunity of a steady income and the availability to take out
loans is extremely helpful for them and their families.
The rural side was very different from the city and it was nice to get out and see a change. It was much drier than I imagined - especially because the area is experiencing a really bad drought right now. We were exposed to more poverty than we have been seeing in the past weeks and it was another eye-opening experience, making us all more appreciative of the little things in life. Even the big things, like a house.
Friday, July 4, 2014
Celebrating Our Country 8,000 Miles Away
Today is the 4th of July. Happy Independence Day everyone! It was such an interesting and fun experience to celebrate the holiday outside of America. This is how my day went.
First thing at school this morning we had a school assembly and we presented to the school about the holiday. It was extremely hilarious and hard not to laugh because we were describing the 4th of July as if it were near and dear to our hearts. All of the children in the school would tell us "Happy Independence Day" every hallway passing, because in India, they have a big and beautiful celebration for their independence day. It is a holiday they are very passionate about whereas in the US it seems to be a good excuse to visit family, have large parties and spend ungodly amounts of money on fireworks. Holidays are different here, I learned that quickly.
To celebrate our "American Culture" we went to McDonalds and ate ice cream and french fries. I generally am extremely opposed to eating fast food but an ice cream cone and greasy fries (not to mention chicken and fried-paneer burgers) were just what we all needed after a long week of lessons. Just a group of 15 Americans, dressed in red uniforms, mobbing down the streets of India eating fast food and laughing and dancing. To say the least, we were attention magnets and we didn't really manage to break the American-Stereotype (more like confirmed it).
We filled the rest of our day with yoga, very minimal Hindi classes, volunteering at a local school and making delicious American meals for our host families and siblings.
It's so interesting to celebrate this holiday from afar. Though I like to often joke about the US and our so-called "culture," this trip has really made me appreciate many things our country has to offer. Things that I was taking advantage of without really knowing.
First thing at school this morning we had a school assembly and we presented to the school about the holiday. It was extremely hilarious and hard not to laugh because we were describing the 4th of July as if it were near and dear to our hearts. All of the children in the school would tell us "Happy Independence Day" every hallway passing, because in India, they have a big and beautiful celebration for their independence day. It is a holiday they are very passionate about whereas in the US it seems to be a good excuse to visit family, have large parties and spend ungodly amounts of money on fireworks. Holidays are different here, I learned that quickly.
To celebrate our "American Culture" we went to McDonalds and ate ice cream and french fries. I generally am extremely opposed to eating fast food but an ice cream cone and greasy fries (not to mention chicken and fried-paneer burgers) were just what we all needed after a long week of lessons. Just a group of 15 Americans, dressed in red uniforms, mobbing down the streets of India eating fast food and laughing and dancing. To say the least, we were attention magnets and we didn't really manage to break the American-Stereotype (more like confirmed it).
We filled the rest of our day with yoga, very minimal Hindi classes, volunteering at a local school and making delicious American meals for our host families and siblings.
It's so interesting to celebrate this holiday from afar. Though I like to often joke about the US and our so-called "culture," this trip has really made me appreciate many things our country has to offer. Things that I was taking advantage of without really knowing.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Tips N' Tricks I've Learned Along the Way
1. Don't eat with your left hand
2. Stop saying "Thank You" so much, there is this sort of unspoken gratitude
3. Pick out the little green peppers in the rice and in the daal unless you really feel like crying
4. Never translate Hindi sentences and phrases as their literal English meanings
5. There are three different ways to say and write a "D," but they are NOT interchangeable and NOT the same thing
6. It's no big deal when people stare at you and touch your hair - you're probably just the first blonde they have ever seen. Just smile back and say "Yes, It's real."
7. When a sign says "No Honking," it doesn't pertain to you (or anyone for that matter) and you can completely disregard it
8. Don't wait for cars and motorcycles to slow down or even let you cross the road - just go for it and hope for the best
9. Forks are never a necessity
10. Bobbling your head side to side means "Yes," not "No" or "Maybe"
11. Two-lane road is English for four-lane road
12. No matter how many times you ask your host siblings to repeat a word or phrase, you won't remember it
13. If you think you have experienced mango, you haven't. From here on out all other attempts will be unsatisfactory
14. Accept your early-onset addiction to chai, it becomes a necessity - you will be needing it AT LEAST three times a day
2. Stop saying "Thank You" so much, there is this sort of unspoken gratitude
3. Pick out the little green peppers in the rice and in the daal unless you really feel like crying
4. Never translate Hindi sentences and phrases as their literal English meanings
5. There are three different ways to say and write a "D," but they are NOT interchangeable and NOT the same thing
6. It's no big deal when people stare at you and touch your hair - you're probably just the first blonde they have ever seen. Just smile back and say "Yes, It's real."
7. When a sign says "No Honking," it doesn't pertain to you (or anyone for that matter) and you can completely disregard it
8. Don't wait for cars and motorcycles to slow down or even let you cross the road - just go for it and hope for the best
9. Forks are never a necessity
10. Bobbling your head side to side means "Yes," not "No" or "Maybe"
11. Two-lane road is English for four-lane road
12. No matter how many times you ask your host siblings to repeat a word or phrase, you won't remember it
13. If you think you have experienced mango, you haven't. From here on out all other attempts will be unsatisfactory
14. Accept your early-onset addiction to chai, it becomes a necessity - you will be needing it AT LEAST three times a day
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