From Brahma to Buddha Semester, Fall 2011

Ram Ram Babu ji!!

2011-11-23T13:42:10Z

The students have settled into their home stays and daily routines in Jaipur. In the morning they are studying Hindi language, meeting with various local speakers on topics from Jainism, Hinduism and Islam to Ayurveda and the history of Rajasthan, as well as delving into the plethora of arts and crafts one can find in Jaipur. They have also started their ISPs in the afternoon, so we'll soon see Annie and Katie rocking out like Bollywood stars, Christie adding miniature painting to her repertoire of artistic mediums, Rebecca making even more beautiful metallic creations with wood-inlaying, and Marley bending himself into a pretzel while chanting mystical Sanskrit mantras. Keep checking in - videos coming soon!

-Emilya

Chomu Village

2011-11-23T14:25:42Z

Chomu was an experience, to say the least. Chomu is a very rural village about an hour outside of the main city of Jaipur, and we were paired into homestays for two nights (me and Annie, Katie and Rebecca, and Marley was loning it) and then met up at the Vidyagram International School during the day. We visited classes, where the students thought our foreign westerness was amazing and asked for our autographs, met up with the Teacher Training College for some question & answer time, a dance party, and some Henna tattoos, and then spent some more time signing autographs. As for the homestays, we all had our fair share of trials and tribulations: Annie and I stomached warm buffalo milk with every meal, several pounds of butter with our chapati, and a slimy food that they claimed was curd (my gag reflexes were kicking in so I'm forever indebted to Annie for eating my portion). Oh and we also drank a good amount of questionably boiled water... As for Katie and Rebecca, they showed up at the school Saturday morning decked out in earrings, necklaces, and bangles that were shoved onto their wrists by bending their hands in unnatural ways. And Marley, all by his lonesome, was taken to 4 different weddings in one night and fell asleep with his homestay family members staring at him... Clearly he was quite a sight to see in the village.
But despite all that, I enjoyed my time in Chomu. The kids at the school gave us approx. 100 handmade cards and seemed incredibly excited to just be talking to us. And not gonna lie, it was kind of cool feeling like a celebrity signing all the autographs. The homestay experience was also really nice and very different from everything else we've experienced in India. The houses were very rural, with lots of fields and buffalo around and mud/brick houses, and me and Annie's family spoke little to no English. But even though the conversations were a little awkward with the language barrier, and Annie and I created the game "how long can we sit in silence", our family was so kind and giving. They gave us the best bedroom in the house (and there were only 2 rooms with real beds), offered us tons of food, and asked us "Any problem?" at least 10 times a day. And our 3-year old little sister started crying when we left and said she wanted to come with us.
So Chomu definitely had its ups-and-downs, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and the rest of it was pretty enjoyable.

-- Tay Tay (Christie)

A Feast for the Gods!

2011-11-24T16:47:46Z

and from all of us, to all of you......:

Metal Inlay with Rebecca

2011-11-27T05:32:48Z

Rebecca gives us a quick peek into the intricate world of metal inlay:

Lac Jewelry Making

2011-11-27T18:46:06Z

On Friday we visited an entire family (including multiple generations!) of lac jewelry makers who showed us their incredible art of making a beautiful lac bracelet.... in under a minute each! Then students had the chance to make some bracelets of their own. This time, it took a little more than a minute :)

So . . . we think we can't dance

2011-11-28T10:18:11Z

So Annie and I signed up for dance class mostly for the chance to have some form of aerobic exercise. We had no idea what we were truly in for. Our local coordinator in Jaipur got us into two separate dance classes with the understanding that we would be learning both Bollywood style and classical Indian dance forms. In our first class, we found our teacher to be quite strict. Already we have learned pieces to two Rajasthani songs, and we are expected to learn one more classical dance in the next three days (we'll see how that goes). We definitely look forward to our second class, though. There we learn the steps to Bollywood dances with small children as our audience. Having them there and constantly giggling at us really reminds us just how bad at dancing we truly are. It's a great way of deflating your ego. All in all, we achieved the goal of breaking a sweat in our ISPs (although sweating in India is normal even when you're just sitting doing nothing), and we're not that pumped for our ISP presentation on Friday. We have a feeling that it's going to be sufficiently awkward.

Arrival in Varanasi

2011-12-05T14:46:06Z

Namaste to all!

The final leg of our journey has already begun as the students take over the reins of the program and lead the group through Bandhavgarh national park and the holy city of Varanasi. After a brief stay in Bandhavgarh where we searched for tigers, we arrived in Varanasi today and just complemented our first dinner with apple pie and ice cream. Over the next several days we will be visiting a variety of Hindu and Buddhist sights, as well as relaxing near the Ganga Ji and watching the sun rise with a cup of chai.

Stay tuned for updates from the group.

Che Bandar and Sum Guy

The tables have turned...

2011-12-06T07:49:14Z

This morning students sent the leaders on G Labs first ever scavenger hunt - for the leaders! Mainly revolved around embarrassing ourselves in public, and doing things they think we would never do (little do the know....) OK, off we go!

~sum guy

Bandhavgarh National Park - no tigers but plenty of fun

2011-12-06T16:35:33Z

The start of it all (don't worry, he is happier than he looks!)

Annie and Tay Tay 'sporting'

Mr. Butter

Katie cooking up some mischief

And Rebecca gets diabolical

For many of us, Bandhavgarh National Park offered us our first safari experience, and we made sure that we were adequately prepared for it. Reebie-Ji and Tay-Tay got themselves colorful tiger t-shirts, and Mr. Butter (or, as we found out recently in Jaipur, "I Hit You" as translated into Hindi) contemplated purchasing a safari vest. As a group, we also fulfilled our previous bet that involved everyone receiving henna moustaches if Kai shaved his own moustache and got a heart-shaped soul patch. Needless to say, we all looked pretty spiffy when we rolled into the park in our open-top jeep. We saw a lot of bugs, birds, boars, and deer butts, but no tigers. In fact, we don't think that there are the estimated 35 tigers living inside the park; instead, we believe that the park rangers pay small children to walk around the dirt roads wearing tiger-paw print shoes to lure in the tourists and their money. Whatever. At least we can say now that we have been on a safari and breathed in the same air that a ferocious tiger has breathed. We'll just leave the tigers to their little tiger dreams until next time.

- Katie

Photos! A short look back on Jaipur

2011-12-08T05:38:06Z

Rebecca's teacher demonstrates his art of Taarkashi - brass inlay in wood

Thanksgiving dinner at the Bothra's

]]>
Marley gets his first profession shave on a street corner, under a tree

The step by step process of miniature painting

Tay Tay at work on her painting

And a closer look at her (almost) finished product

Marley shows off his painting skills

And then his new found Yoga skills

Reebie Ji with her completed box!

And Emilya demonstrates Ayurvedic head massage on Sonam La

The whole group with the Bothra family, just before leaving. Thanks for all your work and for lending us your home!

A morning boatride down the Ganga

2011-12-08T05:50:34Z

This morning (bright and early at 6am) we took a wonderful trip down the mist covered Ganga. Here is the trip in photos:

Boats wait on the shore before we head out

While we wait for our boat

]]>
The boatman starts up his oars and we begin

Katie hides from the camera

As Tay Tay and Peter are stilled

The Ganga is hidden in fog

But the world starts to move by

And Emilya enjoys snackies with peanut butter

More of the ghats open up

as we are followed by other boats

Peter wakes up

and Tay Tay hides from the camera

More boats pass by

And the ghats become clearer

Marley gives his best Zoolander face

and then strikes a pose with Annie

Reebie ji smiles

While Katie remains aloof

And Emilya imitates a frog

Finally we arrive at the famous Manikarnika ghat, a place offering moksha, or liberation from samsara. Vishnu's disk crashed to the earth here, creating a holy pond, and Shiva's earing fell into the pond during a dance, giving the Ghat it's name (Mani means earing).

And then head back upstream, towards Assi ghat, and breakfast. Smile!

-- Sum Guy

Goodbye, Varanasi!

2011-12-09T06:35:22Z

Gaaah! There are only a few more days left in India! In a few hours from now, our group will be speeding along on a train back to Delhi. I feel like we have barely seen Varanasi. Sure, we have watched the cremations, witnessed the aarthi ceremony, visited Sarnath, and taken the boat rides on the Ganga, but there is so much more to do and see here. The past few days have been pretty misty, but that weather hasn't dulled the vibrancy and color of this ancient city in the least. In fact, it has probably added to its mystery. Although I most definitely will not miss the pollution here (is it weird that I am looking forward to Delhi's pollution due to my time here?), I am glad, though, that I can now say that I have at least scratched the surface of this world-famous site.

The Last Post in India?

2011-12-11T13:23:20Z

How can it already be our last, full day in India? Time certainly has a way of flying by. The past two days in Delhi have been pretty memorable. We visited an extraordinarily large temple/ theme park dedicated to Swami Naraiyan of the 18th century. Not only were we treated to an animatronic show, IMAX movie, and fountain and light show, but we also witnessed the last total lunar eclipse of the year. That's probably some sort of sign, right? We're all definitely going to miss India and certainly cherish our memories made here. Three months just doesn't seem long enough now. Jule, Tashi Delek, and Namaste, India! I'm certain we'll be seeing you again.

Mai Jutta Peu Hu

2011-12-12T13:15:52Z

Yesterday we sent our fearless leaders out on a scavenger hunt in Varanasi. Now, this was not a normal "scavenger hunt" for an experienced GLABber. Oh, no. We made this one different . . . fancy . . . interesting. As the leaders themselves posted: "the tables were turned." Hopefully, video recordings will soon be posted to the blog itself to act as testimony to the outrageous actions taken by our leaders, our friends. Actually, what we had them do wasn't that stunning, but it was hilarious. For example, Emilya had a staring contest with a beggar child (she won), Kai danced his way into and out of the hearts of many a restaurant's patron, and Peter said the ultimate sentence. See for yourself when the videos are put up. Revel in the hilarity of the situation and respect these fine people for their gumption and willingness to put up with a bunch of teenagers seeking some sick form of revenge through a scavenger hunt in Varanasi. You won't be disappointed.

Welcome Home!

2011-12-14T15:02:04Z

Welcome home and congratulations on completing a wonderful semester adventure in India!

From the first days of orientation in the Berkshires we discussed some of the challenges that are referred to as "reverse culture shock". This adjustment period and its emotional challenges are very real and completely normal, so don't let yourself think you are going through it alone or that there is anything wrong with you!

Remember, this blog is not going away and can be used for communicating, sharing memories, photos, etc. Feel free to post comments here about how you are doing and feeling at home. What are some of the things that used to feel completely familiar, but now strike you as silly, strange, or even surreal? Share your observations here--this site is one important way for you to stay connected as you go through the always interesting process of cultural re-entry.

All of us at Global LAB are always happy to hear from you to discuss how things are going as you navigate your way back into your home culture. You have an enormous amount of new and rich experience and insight to integrate. This process takes time. So remind yourself to practice patience; stay connected with your Global LAB friends; and find ways to tell your incredible stories however you can.

Here are some specific resources and tools you can use to help with this process. Perhaps these documents can help shed some light and perspective on a new world:

SIT Study Abroad Reentry Toolkit

Transitions Abroad: Coming Home from Study Abroad

University of Missouri International Center: Coping, adjusting and getting involved

Middlebury: Re-entry Resources