I'm in India!
Here is my update written on 1 Feb 05.
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Hey all!
I'm in India! I've been here for three and a half days, but it didn't fell like I was here until today when we were biking on the main road in Auroville (where I'm staying) and the other traffic was people on mopeds, cute little cars, cows, and dogs.
I'm with a great group of students from North America and we have been doing orientation for a week and a half now. First we met at Sirius Community in Western Massachusetts where we stayed for a week. We spent that whole time becming a community, which was awesome because we all got along well together and were really able to open up to each other. Next we were off for 30+ hour travel to Southern India. It was snowy and dry in MA and it is really hot and humid here in India, so we went from one side of the spectrum to the other.
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow we are biking around Auroville so we can get a feel for the area and figure out where we want to do our internships. Finding our way around is going to take some time, though, because the dirt roads all look the same and there are no street signs.
In the last few days we have been focusing a lot on the differences between Indian culture and American culture. The main differences so far are clothing, cleanliness, and interactions between the genders. The clothing is thin and flowing so it is not too hot but is still modest. I don't know how they do it, but even though they are walking on and working in red dirt in the extreme heat, Indians always look clean and take pride in their appearance. They use squat toilets, which has been taking a bit of getting used to. Indians don't show affection to members of the other gender in public so we have to be careful not to offend them or to give them the wrong impression by our actions. Even though the caste system was outlawed years ago, there is still a sense of inequality among the people, which is going to take some time to get used to. A few cultural practices such at the Ammas (literally meaning the mothers) doing most of our laundry and cooking help us to be able to focus on our education, which is good because we have had such a full schedule.
Ever since the group came together at Sirius, we have been doing a lot of sitting in a circle discussing and thinking deeply. With this program, we are not only doing a lot of hands-on learning about sustainable development, but also cultivating inner sustainability. We get up at 6 am to do yoga as the sun rises. This is early for a night owl, but so far has been a good way to start the day. As I'm doing yoga, there are ants crawling all over me which makes it hard to relax, but I guess that is what I get along with an outdoor clasroom in this climate. I'm very jumpy with the flying bugs landing on me, but I keep telling myself that it's not as bad as Kakadu. We are constantly learning, thinking, eating, etc. as a group, so we haven't had much free time.
I'm starting to feel the heat and constant discussion wearing on me, but I'm with a great group of people and look forward to finding my place in Auroville. I hope you all are doing well!
*Shanti*
Tanya
Posted by: Tanya on Feb 14, 05 | 11:11 am
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