take!

Today in Hindi class we had a funny conversation with Geeta ji, our professor, about being polite and eating. She asked us what the difference between "Come on in" and "Do come in" is to an English speaker. White debating it amongst ourselves, Julia said she'd said "would you like to come in?" Geeta ji said she would never go in if someone asked her that because it's part of Indian culture to assume that if you are asking them "would you like some? would you like to? would you, etc?" that the questioner doesn't really want you to accept...like such questions are only asked because the asker feels forced to by the other person present. She told us how she went to dinner with some of her first Hindi students from UK, New Zealand, and Scotland and they would ask her "would you like this?" and so she would always refuse...and always be hungry. See in India, you don't offer something so much as demand someone to take it. You must understand that in India when you sit down at someone's table for a meal, you are told "take! take!" upon finishing anything on your plate again you are told "take! take!" (or sometimes it reappears on your plate when your head is turned the other way and in your blindness you can't refuse). She told us that if Indians go to someone's house to eat and the food is before them and they are starving they will not eat unless they are told "take" (and for that matter, it's rude to take it without being told...which made some of us feel a bit awkward in retrospect). Luckily Geeta ji and her first students soon figured out the differences in culture and established a system of 'western no' and 'hindi no.' The former meaning actually 'no' and the latter meaning ask or offer again and I will say yes (in fact I do want it, but must deny at least once to be polite). She also said in Delhi this formality of refusing once or twice is fading in the culture so if she really wants something (but doesn't want to sound rude) she will say "abhi nahi" meaning "not right now," which she says assures she won't lose the offer completely (unless the other is rude). What I want to know is how to say a Western 'no' to people who aren't language teachers...I'm afraid I may be unrecognizable upon my return home from taking in too much =)

Notes on Everyday Things

I thought there some everyday Delhi things may be of interest...maybe not =)
Transportation:
This is an autorickshaw...we have fun arguing with the autowallas (drivers) about using the meter and getting fair prices, my favorite phrase of these encounters is, "Bhaiya, thik boliye," which means "Brother, speak the truth!"

Below is one of the DTC (delhi transportation corp) buses. These 'blue buses' are notorious for being crowded and dangerous, i.e. they kill about 6oo people on the street per year. I sometimes take them in the morning (7-7:30ish) when I can still get a seat since I get on at the beginning of the line. They are significantly cheaper (and sweatier) than autos.
Everyone honks while driving...
I see the India Gate almost everyday because it is by the Metro yellow line stop I take to DU. "British Delhi" is physically quite distinct compared to the rest of Delhi. Hmmm...other daily happenings:
I have troubling studying while on the campus of Ramjas College (the branch of Delhi University I attend) because wherever I choose to sit (be it the library, canteen, sports field, hallway) guys that I do not know start talking to me. I don't mind talking to people and some of them are nice and interesting...but some of them clearly just want to talk to me because I am a white American female...which is pretty awkward. My new tactic for avoiding this is to always be with someone I know, but that also makes it hard to study because then we talk. It gets done eventually.
Professors regularly do not show up to class, which is frustrating since I have to commute about 1 1/2 hours to get to Ramjas and since I like going to class. On the up side, I was soo excited to actually have class today!
The food on the street and in the canteen (cafeteria) is reaaally good and is a nice change from the repetition of food I'm used to at home.
I'm not quite used to seeing monkeys here and there just hanging out, it's cool though as long as they do not want your fruit.
I usually get up around 5 or 6 am to catch the very nice morning weather. My host mom thinks I'm an early riser...my family may beg to differ.
Thik hai (ok)...that's all for now =)

Outside of one of Akbar's Hindu wife's room in the palace at Sikri. There were intricate carvings everywhere, one pole (not shown) has designs to symbolize Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism because he was very accepting of all religions. (His other wives were Muslim and Turkish).

so many kids here love it when you take their picture...so I don't know these folks, but they're happy =)

Wonders of the World

Saturday and Sunday we went on a tourist excursion to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri, one of the Capitals of the 3rd Mughal - Akbar The Great, built during 1569-72AD. The Taj is simply amazing. It's huge and truly awesome. It was crowded to say the least when Saturday because it was the anniversary of the death of Shahjahan, the Mughal emperor who built the Taj for his 'love' wife, so there was a large religious procession going on. The tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal (I think her name is actually longer than that...)are in the basement, but there are replicas on the main floor which are equally intricate and beautiful. I think standing at the foot of it and just looking up is the most amazing view, but taking a closer look at all the intricate carvings literally all over the building almost makes it surprising they could finish it in 22 years. I guess the going joke is to ask your husband if he loves you enough do something as amazing as building the taj for you (which of course he says, "yes, as soon as you die...hurry up!") Mumtaz died giving birth to their 14th child in 18 years of marriage...Anyway, we did venture down to the basement to see the real tombs, but it honestly was not worth it that day. It was a small room with the tombs, but Saturday it was packed with people praying and moving and the walls were all wet (which could have been from holy water or perspiration), there was barely room to move. The Fatehpur Sikri palaces were also beautiful and fun to walk around and hear the history. It's amazing to walk through history.
Upon our return to Delhi I realized that I was strangely happy to be back. I say strangely because I would have to say I like Delhi, but I don't think of Delhi like I think of Chicago, meaning, as a city that I just absolutely love. I think I'm starting to like Delhi because I'm starting to get familiar with it. This is probably a bad analogy, but for almost 3 hours on the bus we were talking about arranged marriages vs. love marriages, and I feel like I'm in an arranged marriage with Delhi and as I get more familiar with this stranger that has just come into my life my affection for it grows. I feel like I've been asked a lot lately if I like India and I just find it to be a funny question to ask...some things just can't be yes or no. Some days I feel like everything is backwards and not worth dealing with, but then there times when I'm completely happy to be here discovering new tings (new to me at least). My favorite thing about India is the people, but I'd have to think for me that's universally true. Anyway, I'm about to start rambling on and on, so it's time I sign off.

showing our affection =)
Juhi practices cheek squeezing like a crazy great aunt, hopefully I'll still have some when I come back

pictures can't do this place justice on any level

pardon my rambling

We took a long weekend to Simla, which was the British summer capital back in the day. I never thought I'd actually be taking a toy train through the Himalayans, it is so beautiful and cool up there. We had to take 2 trains to get there (a total of about 12 hours traveling each way). The first train was pretty normal, but the toy train from Kalka to Simla was more like what you'd see in movies where people are traveling in India. It was small with paneless windows so everyone with a window seat hung half way out of the train and it was completely acceptable to hang out of the doors. I've never appreciated cool air so much in my life, so if I wasn't already happy enough, the view was amazing, green mountains with clouds hanging out here and there, sometimes we went right through them. Simla is completely a tourist town now, so it wasn't hard to find a place to eat or stay, but it was a challenge to walk around there. The roads there remind me of this hill on a cross country course in Kansas that we went to every year in high school, it was so steep you felt like you ought to just grab on with your hands and climb it like a ladder...but in Simla that's everywhere. We hiked up part of the mountain to the Jakhu Temple, which is a temple of the Hindu monkey god, Hanuman. After dragging myself up the mountain, I understood why it was a temple for the monkey god: they are everywhere. It was odd to see them so often especially since the terrain, filled with evergreen type trees...and the random cactus...isn't exactly where I picture monkeys. We were warned not to carry anything because of the monkeys. As it turns out some people have trained them to take things like glasses, then the people retrieve them and charge 50 rupees (this happened to a girl in our group...). Since I don't wear glasses I enjoyed watching the monkeys when we got to sit down at the top...and as it turns out the other tourists liked watching us. In fact, we had quite a few groups of Indian people ask to take pictures with us. They all seemed like normal people just touring Simla, one man and wife even asked if we'd be in a picture with their little boys. We did that, then started saying no...although I was more on the "yes for 20 rupees" side (the group didn't take that seriously...but we could've paid off our weekend escapade had we set up shop).

On Sunday we (Julia, Caitlin, and I) went with the woman we were staying with to a girls' ashram (orphanage) about 1 1/2 hours away. The drive was fairly terrifying between the narrow, poorly kept roads (covered with "NO OVERTAKING" signs that nobody obeys), the huge buses, and the steep drops (that had great views, but minimal railings...). However, I was glad we went when we got there. The girls live perched on a mountain side and are equally as beautiful. We got to each lunch with them, and the food (made by some of the girls) was some of the best we've had in India and of course, they fed us way too much (I've never seen little girls eat so much). There was an old man there that we decided is a cross between Santa and Gandhi (because he had was so jolly and kind, but also taught the girls songs about community and overtaking hurdles in life and never becoming destitute...roughly translated). It was such an inspiring place, the girls, who were silly, healthy and happy, were such a breath of fresh air.

Sunday night we took a sleeper train home. We we were in a car with a group of "Britishers" (as Indians say) in our car that said they had been robbed by armed drunk men on their way north and consequently lost $4,000...or something like that. The bunks were comfortable enough, but our car was unairconditioned, so the sticky air greeted us back home to Delhi. There was definitely a stick of a scandaless "Rahul" on Julia's bunk, haha. It was fun experience although probably not the best night's sleep I've ever had. We arrived droopy-eyed and crazy-haired to the morning streets of Delhi at 6:30 am. Turns out that people sleep all over the place, we saw men sleeping on walking bridges and bags of who-knows-what commodity in the medians. There's always something new here for better or worse.

One final note, I saw a sign today saying basketball practice at Ramjas College is 6:15 am every day. I don't think I can get an auto or bus early enough to get there, but I'm really excited at the prospect of getting involved in something here that I 'belong' in, lol. My campus experience today was much better. We're discovering that some professors just don't show sometimes...and that the student recreation center is hidden behind a huge pile of dirt, but air conditioned and accompanied by students playing guitar. I'm starting to feel more comfortable and really excited to get involved in extracurricular activities no matter how much digging and questioning it takes to figure out what's going on. Everything here is figured out because you know someone who knows someone who is involved in whatever, so meeting people is on the top of the list. I've also learned that wearing black disguises my pool of sweat, haha.

Fresher

Monday was my first day of class at Delhi University. Most students there who are not freshmen there think we (the IES students) are because here you go to your three years of school with essentially all the same people in all your classes, so if there are people you don't know you assume they are new (...and people don't transfer here either). Although it's important to explain we really are 3rd year students to avoid 'fresher ragging' I really did feel like a stereotypical freshman again at least for the first half of Monday. I know I've mentioned it's kind of hot and humid here, but for some reason I was sweating more than usual on Monday, so when I got to Ramjas (the college I'm enrolled in in DU), my shirt was a completely darker shade and my face a fountain of sweat, then I couldn't find room 120...because it was actually room 102, then the people in the room before the class told me the class wasn't held in there (even though it was...) and of course if my sweatiness and lost state weren't enough everyone kind of stared at me because I seemed to be the only white person there on Monday. When class was about to start I was feeling like the stereotypical miserable freshman in high school. I really felt very isolated with my pool of sweat. Then a girl sat next to me, introduced herself as Kritika and asked me my name and where I'm from. When I said America, she said, and I quote "What the hell are you doing here?!" And in that moment I answered quite honestly "I was just wondering that myself." Of course the day got better after that, it was nice to make a friend, she even called me after my next class to make sure I had someone to eat lunch with and it turns out her best friend lives exactly where I live in South Delhi. Friendly people really do make quite a difference. The classes at DU seem like they are going to be easier than I would have expected, but I've been told it's because in India some students are granted admission due to reservation laws (affirmative action) and these students by and large come from terrible school systems so many professors try to make things easier so they can start to catch up. I am a bit frustrated with the seeming ease of the classes, but I've only been to 2 days of class so I'm sure it will pick up a bit...and if not I'll have that much more time to study Hindi and manage my essentially 2 hour commute (one way). The classes that IES is offering will be more demanding I think and hopefully I have an internship or volunteer opportunity once a week, so I think my days will be full enough (even without much class I pretty much collapse at 9 or 10 every night...right after dinner at 8 or 9pm because just getting from here to there is exhausting here). I am glad to be getting into a more regular schedule now and starting some classes, it'll all balance out soon enough.
Some things you don't lose across country lines: I went to see Harry Potter with my host sisters on Sunday. I find it funny how it's quite the craze here almost as much as at home, I even saw copies of it written in Hindi. Juhi thought it was funny that I was so tired after the movie and thought there must be something wrong with me (since I was quiet and calm...), but I was trying to explain to her that in America movies never start at 10 am!
I learned how to make plum juice today, it's wonderful =)