Tuesday, February 21, 2012
I love the beach
I went to Varkala Beach a couple weekends ago and it was oh so nice! I was meeting up with a friend who was spending her last week in India at the beach. Varkala is located about a 4-5 hour train ride south of Thrissur (1 hour north of Trivandrum). We stayed in an area called The Cliff and it's a bit like being in a bubble in India because it's so different than what I normally experience on a day-to-day basis. The atmosphere is relaxing, the view is gorgeous, and the food is delicious! Truly a nice get-away destination.
It was hot, humid, and simply wonderful being here. There is nothing like swimming in a warm ocean...surreal even since I grew up along side a cold ocean:) It is hands down one of my favorite things in the world. They call this part of the beach the Cliff. There's a path way that winds its way along the cliff with a beautiful view of the Arabian sea on one side and many quaint restaurants and shops on the other side.
This reminds me of home (minus the heat and humidity). Pretty, isn't it?
My friend rented a scooter and we went on a scooter ride for the day. It was so much fun. We rode along side the Arabian sea, passed a small fishing village, and enjoyed being on the open road with the warm wind brushing our faces. As cliche as that sounds, it really was quite fabulous :) Not to mention being on an open road here with few cars on the raod is an enjoyment in itself.
This is a section of the open road we rode on.
In the morning, the local people go fishing to make their catch for the day. This is one way they go fishing here. The men on the shore line up by the net to make sure the net is aligned and the net is then brought in to the ocean by a few boats that sit out from shore. At one point, when the fish must have started entering the net, birds starts circling. One of the men out in the boats was waving a stick around in the air to scare the birds away and some of the other men who were in the water helping to guide the nets were slapping the water to keep the birds away as well. The process involved at least 15-20 people including others who were helping to pull the nets in.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
I Stand Corrected, Confused, and Humbled
You might think that I'm going a little crazy...well the truth is that I probably am a little :) It's been a roller coaster of a week with work and cultural frustrations. I feel like the ground is coming back under my feet, but is this what we call finding middle ground because it sure is exhausting.
So it was my "Friday" today. I work Monday through Saturday and have been looking forward to a weekend of spending it with friends in Kochi. To get to Kochi, I normally take the train down and then a bus. A friend from work usually accompanies me because he travels along the same route. Today, we were fortunate and caught a ride from another colleague who dropped us off in a nearby city where I was able to catch a direct bus....and do you know where we sat??? The back of the bus! Yes, the back! When I first got on the bus, I immediately went to the rows reserved for women thinking my friend would sit in the back. Instead, he says that we can sit in the back of the bus so that we can sit together. Completely puzzled by this, I asked him if he was sure that was ok. And he said, "Yes Yes. Come." The bus was fairly empty so there were plenty of seats open. We sat down and I honestly felt a little uncomfortable, like I was breaking a rule or something. I explained to him what I thought I had learned about riding the bus along with my observations and he explained to me that women can actually sit anywhere in the bus but the front row seats are reserved for women only. What?! I explained to him that the whole time since I've learned to ride the bus I thought women could only sit in the front. And yes...that's true...only women are allowed to sit in the front, but they can also sit in the back. The first time I rode the bus, I was directed to the ladies section, and all the ladies were sitting in the front, none in the back and this has been my experience since then. Also, from my observation, on many of the buses I've seen, you don't actually see many (if any) women sitting in the back of the buses. Majority of the time they only sit in the front, unless the bus is fairly empty and/or they are with someone they know. Seeing a woman sitting in the back of the bus is a little bit like seeing a yellow cherry in a bowl of all red cherries. It sticks out. So today's new learning is that women CAN sit anywhere in the bus and the front is reserved for women only, but they choose to sit in the front because it's safer or easier? Now I really don't know.....
After this experience today, I've learned my first anecdote to my cultural frustrations, question the frustrations! And don't ask just one person, ask a few to confirm and get a better understanding. Let the questioning begin :)
As I am learning more and more about Indian culture and this is probably true for any culture is that it is layered with complexities. Even when I thought I had learned and I thought I knew, it just wasn't what it seemed.
Here's to a good weekend and another humbling experience.......
And by chance, we ended the evening tonight by watching Gran Torino. Good timing I would say!
So it was my "Friday" today. I work Monday through Saturday and have been looking forward to a weekend of spending it with friends in Kochi. To get to Kochi, I normally take the train down and then a bus. A friend from work usually accompanies me because he travels along the same route. Today, we were fortunate and caught a ride from another colleague who dropped us off in a nearby city where I was able to catch a direct bus....and do you know where we sat??? The back of the bus! Yes, the back! When I first got on the bus, I immediately went to the rows reserved for women thinking my friend would sit in the back. Instead, he says that we can sit in the back of the bus so that we can sit together. Completely puzzled by this, I asked him if he was sure that was ok. And he said, "Yes Yes. Come." The bus was fairly empty so there were plenty of seats open. We sat down and I honestly felt a little uncomfortable, like I was breaking a rule or something. I explained to him what I thought I had learned about riding the bus along with my observations and he explained to me that women can actually sit anywhere in the bus but the front row seats are reserved for women only. What?! I explained to him that the whole time since I've learned to ride the bus I thought women could only sit in the front. And yes...that's true...only women are allowed to sit in the front, but they can also sit in the back. The first time I rode the bus, I was directed to the ladies section, and all the ladies were sitting in the front, none in the back and this has been my experience since then. Also, from my observation, on many of the buses I've seen, you don't actually see many (if any) women sitting in the back of the buses. Majority of the time they only sit in the front, unless the bus is fairly empty and/or they are with someone they know. Seeing a woman sitting in the back of the bus is a little bit like seeing a yellow cherry in a bowl of all red cherries. It sticks out. So today's new learning is that women CAN sit anywhere in the bus and the front is reserved for women only, but they choose to sit in the front because it's safer or easier? Now I really don't know.....
After this experience today, I've learned my first anecdote to my cultural frustrations, question the frustrations! And don't ask just one person, ask a few to confirm and get a better understanding. Let the questioning begin :)
As I am learning more and more about Indian culture and this is probably true for any culture is that it is layered with complexities. Even when I thought I had learned and I thought I knew, it just wasn't what it seemed.
Here's to a good weekend and another humbling experience.......
And by chance, we ended the evening tonight by watching Gran Torino. Good timing I would say!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Is it putty or "pooty"?
It's been a long time since I've put up a post. Every time I've sat down to write one, I just didn't feel like I knew what to say because so much has happened (is happening) that I simply didn't know where to start. Blogger's block I guess. Anyhow…I'm back.
I've been in India now for just over 3 months. It's hard to believe because it actually feels like it's been much longer. Not in a negative way, but more so because I'm learning so much and still adjusting to the culture. I've settled into my apartment now and have taken care of a few essentials:
1.) Purchasing caulking and wall putty (which I've learned is pronounced wall "pooty" here). This is to seal all the cracks and holes in my apartment to keep the bugs from invading the inside. They're relentless little suckers. You might be thinking that I went to a one stop shop hardware store to pick up these items, but that is not the case. I first had to ask my co-workers where I could find caulking (they call it "sealant" here) and wall putty. Before they could tell me, I was asked a series of questions on why I was buying these items, whether I was scared of bugs, and why am I not hiring someone to do all these things for me. After this 20 minute conversation, they told me where to buy these things….want to know where? It's at the place next to the stationary shop on the road just before the main entrance of the market, near that one pole. Road signs here are not a big thing, so in order to get somewhere, you have to use landmarks and that's how most people give you directions. After some clarification, I went on my search and actually found the shop with the sealant and the caulking gun! You can imagine my delight when I found these two items. The shop unfortunately did not have the wall pooty, so I had to ask the shop owner where the wall pooty was. Do you want to know where that is? It's at the paint shop that's next to the fruit shop on the main street in the market. This is almost as bad as telling someone in Seattle to meet you at the Starbucks on the corner of the street. After some further clarification from the shop owner, I continued my search and yes…I did find the wall pooty at the paint shop near the fruit shop!
2.) Getting my landlord to come over and fix my leaky faucet that was attracting thirsty critters*
3.) Getting an exterminator to come over to spray the outside and inside of the apartment*
*These things might sound like a no brainer, but here, at least in my experience so far, it's hard to say if and when someone will show up, when they say they will.
Although these three things seem like the most simple of tasks back home in the US, as a foreigner in India in a small suburb, these types of accomplishments are like little gold nuggets here. Included in the gold nuggets category would be learning how to use public transportation and figuring how to get purified water delivered to your house.
I can say now that I'm getting the hang of living here, which has provided me a lot of comfort. I'm even used to all the little sounds my apartment makes (or the neighbors upstairs make) that used to freak me out.
But you know how everyone says that there's this honeymoon period when you first arrive in a country…well, I believe I'm past that part now. In between getting the hang of living here and learning about the culture, some of my frustrations about the culture are surfacing. I don't want to go into a full blown rant about my frustrations, so I'll just give you a few highlights of where some of my frustrations are coming from:
1.) When riding the bus here, women can only sit at the front of the bus. On some of the buses, the first three or four rows on the right side are where women sit. They are not supposed to sit anywhere else on the bus. On other buses, they get the front part of the bus. Imagine a bus being split into thirds, the women would get the first third of the bus. (As an FYI, every part of India is different, so not all areas of India are like this.)
2.) Having male friends or male relatives coming to stay at my apartment with me (unless it's my husband or unless they are accompanied by their wife) is not encouraged. It has the potential of jeopardizing my reputation at work, jeopardizing my work's reputation, among other types of covert actions that I might not know about but effect the environment around me (which in turn effects me).
3.) Overall how ultra conservative/sensitive it is here that even the most subtle of actions and words can have serious implications for you. The implications can be subtle or in your face, but most at least from my observations are subtle….a bit like an iceberg effect.
I do have other frustrations that are surfacing as well but the part I am struggling with the most right now is trying to find understanding in my frustrations. I'm searching for middle ground at the moment because I can feel my frustrations building a wall between me and my continued learning about the culture. I thankfully have made a handful of good friends here who I can confide in and who have provided support for me in ways that have prevented me from doing really stupid things or prevented me from continuing to do stupid things. This is in addition to humorous anecdotes which you can't get enough of here and background information that reminds me that India is made up of so many different cultures and languages that things are not always what they seem. So the struggle continues……but at least I can comfortably sleep on it with my "sealant" and wall "pooty" at hand.
I've been in India now for just over 3 months. It's hard to believe because it actually feels like it's been much longer. Not in a negative way, but more so because I'm learning so much and still adjusting to the culture. I've settled into my apartment now and have taken care of a few essentials:
1.) Purchasing caulking and wall putty (which I've learned is pronounced wall "pooty" here). This is to seal all the cracks and holes in my apartment to keep the bugs from invading the inside. They're relentless little suckers. You might be thinking that I went to a one stop shop hardware store to pick up these items, but that is not the case. I first had to ask my co-workers where I could find caulking (they call it "sealant" here) and wall putty. Before they could tell me, I was asked a series of questions on why I was buying these items, whether I was scared of bugs, and why am I not hiring someone to do all these things for me. After this 20 minute conversation, they told me where to buy these things….want to know where? It's at the place next to the stationary shop on the road just before the main entrance of the market, near that one pole. Road signs here are not a big thing, so in order to get somewhere, you have to use landmarks and that's how most people give you directions. After some clarification, I went on my search and actually found the shop with the sealant and the caulking gun! You can imagine my delight when I found these two items. The shop unfortunately did not have the wall pooty, so I had to ask the shop owner where the wall pooty was. Do you want to know where that is? It's at the paint shop that's next to the fruit shop on the main street in the market. This is almost as bad as telling someone in Seattle to meet you at the Starbucks on the corner of the street. After some further clarification from the shop owner, I continued my search and yes…I did find the wall pooty at the paint shop near the fruit shop!
2.) Getting my landlord to come over and fix my leaky faucet that was attracting thirsty critters*
3.) Getting an exterminator to come over to spray the outside and inside of the apartment*
*These things might sound like a no brainer, but here, at least in my experience so far, it's hard to say if and when someone will show up, when they say they will.
Although these three things seem like the most simple of tasks back home in the US, as a foreigner in India in a small suburb, these types of accomplishments are like little gold nuggets here. Included in the gold nuggets category would be learning how to use public transportation and figuring how to get purified water delivered to your house.
I can say now that I'm getting the hang of living here, which has provided me a lot of comfort. I'm even used to all the little sounds my apartment makes (or the neighbors upstairs make) that used to freak me out.
But you know how everyone says that there's this honeymoon period when you first arrive in a country…well, I believe I'm past that part now. In between getting the hang of living here and learning about the culture, some of my frustrations about the culture are surfacing. I don't want to go into a full blown rant about my frustrations, so I'll just give you a few highlights of where some of my frustrations are coming from:
1.) When riding the bus here, women can only sit at the front of the bus. On some of the buses, the first three or four rows on the right side are where women sit. They are not supposed to sit anywhere else on the bus. On other buses, they get the front part of the bus. Imagine a bus being split into thirds, the women would get the first third of the bus. (As an FYI, every part of India is different, so not all areas of India are like this.)
2.) Having male friends or male relatives coming to stay at my apartment with me (unless it's my husband or unless they are accompanied by their wife) is not encouraged. It has the potential of jeopardizing my reputation at work, jeopardizing my work's reputation, among other types of covert actions that I might not know about but effect the environment around me (which in turn effects me).
3.) Overall how ultra conservative/sensitive it is here that even the most subtle of actions and words can have serious implications for you. The implications can be subtle or in your face, but most at least from my observations are subtle….a bit like an iceberg effect.
I do have other frustrations that are surfacing as well but the part I am struggling with the most right now is trying to find understanding in my frustrations. I'm searching for middle ground at the moment because I can feel my frustrations building a wall between me and my continued learning about the culture. I thankfully have made a handful of good friends here who I can confide in and who have provided support for me in ways that have prevented me from doing really stupid things or prevented me from continuing to do stupid things. This is in addition to humorous anecdotes which you can't get enough of here and background information that reminds me that India is made up of so many different cultures and languages that things are not always what they seem. So the struggle continues……but at least I can comfortably sleep on it with my "sealant" and wall "pooty" at hand.
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