So... I was planning on posting about my trip to Agra to see the Taj and fort and stuff, but I somehow managed to book the wrong tickets... at least we hadn't taken the long taxi ride to the train station before I noticed that the tickets were for 12:15 AM, as in the morning of and not the night of. Anyways, we just had our first good rain since getting here, so I'm just sitting inside reflecting on the past two months and what i've learned and observed. Here are some thoughts on religion in India:
People here are very religious. There are lots of Hindus, a considerable Muslim minority, some Sikhs, some Christians, some Jains, and some others. It seems like almost everyone puts their faith in some sort of religion. My guess is that everyone has been praying for rain the last couple months, and now that it's come, everyone's praising their gods. Religions not a taboo, but a part of everyday life. The Hindus have so many gods, idols, and little temples/shrines. Something interesting I've learned is that when many Hindus hear of the gospel, many simply acknowledge Jesus as another one of their gods. One women said "I go to that statue of Jesus and pray to IT everyday." It's so different from the US where most people either don't believe in any god or they believe in one true God.
I just saw a movie called Amu, it's about the 1984 riots that led to the killing of thousands of Sikhs. Sikhs have a history of persecution. Their holy book is holy in itself, I've heard of Sikhs being turned away from Christianity because they see how poorly we treat our bible - throwing it, putting it on the ground, etc. - again, very different from anything I've experienced in the US. Anyways, I strongly recommend the movie.
The beliefs and actions of the Jains seem most foreign to me. They don't kill anything, and some will wear masks as to not accidentally inhale a fly. Their diet is very strict, and when they die, their bodies are left to be eaten by vultures. I'd just like to say thank you God for your word that blesses us to eat meat. mmmm.
But, I'll have to say some people take it to an extreme... People joke around about how there's nothing living in Manipoor (a province next to Myammar) because they eat everything. Dogs, cats, lizards, spiders... There were some construction workers who were working at the nearby hospital, and there are lots of monkeys here. Let's just say they went home with lots of monkey jerkey...
And religion has a huge implication on the social structure here, but i'll leave that for another time. Good morning and good night.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
YESSSS!!!!
We just got "broadband" in our office after almost a year of trying!! I put broadband in quotes, cause it's still pretty slow, but so much better than 28.8k... There still are some quirks that need to be fixed, but it's a cause for celebration! धन्यवाद परमेश्वर ! Thank you God!
On a side note, I smell like Indian spices, I even though took a shower yesterday...
On a side note, I smell like Indian spices, I even though took a shower yesterday...
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Toilets in India... (warning, this gets a little dirty...)
Last night, I had my first bad experience on the toilet. I'll just say it was dirty and smelly, but considering that I've been in India for 6 weeks, I think I've been fortunate. Anyways, to commemorate my first day of the runs, I've decided to post on the various toilets I've experienced.
On one end of the spectrum, we have the fancy, high-tech toilets from Japan with a nice heated seat, a bidet, a butt-washer, and a dryer:
Then we have what most of us are use to, nothing special, but comfy:
Here's what my toilet looks like. It's made so you can squat on it, eastern style, but you have to be careful because if you slip, you'll probably be left hurt and in an embarrassing situation...
And here's one of the toilets on an Indian train. It gets the job done, and no indirect butt-to-butt contact, but it's still kinda dirty. Notice the small bucket for cleaning yourself (no TP here). Also, everything goes straight onto the train tracks, which I thought was nasty, but have realized is a good thing considering most of the toilets I've used here don't flush well, leaving poop in the bowl and your bathroom stinking...
On one end of the spectrum, we have the fancy, high-tech toilets from Japan with a nice heated seat, a bidet, a butt-washer, and a dryer:
Then we have what most of us are use to, nothing special, but comfy:
Here's what my toilet looks like. It's made so you can squat on it, eastern style, but you have to be careful because if you slip, you'll probably be left hurt and in an embarrassing situation...
And here's one of the toilets on an Indian train. It gets the job done, and no indirect butt-to-butt contact, but it's still kinda dirty. Notice the small bucket for cleaning yourself (no TP here). Also, everything goes straight onto the train tracks, which I thought was nasty, but have realized is a good thing considering most of the toilets I've used here don't flush well, leaving poop in the bowl and your bathroom stinking...
Friday, February 20, 2009
hamara yatra ko Mumbai aur nargon (our trip to Mumbai and Nargon):
About 2 weeks ago, we left for our first project trip. My team went to a village called Nargon to design additions and renovations to Maharashtra Bible College (MBC). I'll write a separate post about the project, but i'll just say that it was exciting and encouraging to share in the future vision of the college and meet some enthusiastic and friendly students. We also spent about 4 days in Mumbai to pick up our volunteers for the trip and to do some sight seeing. I loved Mumbai. It's got lots of old colonial British architecture, art deco architecture, and modern architecture mixed with a diverse population that speaks different languages, wears traditional and western clothing, and eats lots of different kinds of food (delicious). Throw in some Bollywood flare and of course the craziness that is India (crowded, noisy, busy, dirty, and chaotic) and you get Mumbai.
We started off by hoping into taxis around midnight and heading towards Saharanpur's train station, which is about 1.5 hours away. We took a crazy, dusty, and windy road that's filled with scary looking trucks. Some highlights from the taxi ride included a leopard that leaped accross the road (i missed it...), lots of honking, passing, and flashing headlights, a truck that was turned over on it's side in the middle of the road (no big deal...), and a bridge that had a chacane so that only cars could maneuver onto it (trucks had to slowly cross the dried up river bed). Here's a pic of one of the scary looking trucks:
We get on the train around 3am. It's dark and confusing, we kick people out of our berth and try to get some sleep. We're on "sleeper class" which is the most typical way of traveling for Indians and only costs about $5 for the 25 hour train ride. I wake up to the sound of the chai-wala (guy selling tea), who runs back and forth along the train yelling, "Chaiii, chaiiiiii, chaiiiii...". It's 6am and we understand that you're selling chai, but we just want to sleep... But overall, it was a comfy ride down, especially compared to the trip back (see last 2 pictures, we had up to 28 people in our berth designed for 8...) Here' what the train looked like:
After lots of roaming around, we finally arrive to a hotel around sunrise. The room we got was funny. The doorway leading into the room was about 5 feet high (I hit my head and it hurt). Also, the door has to be latched to stay shut, and if you latch it from the inside, you can't open it from the outside, and if you latch it from the outside, everyone in the room is trapped, scary.
We freshen up and head out to see Mumbai! Great colonial buildings, this one's the headquarters for the Indian Railway, the world's biggest employer, employing 16 million people (that's almost the population of Australia!)
The new, modern, and expensive next to the typical.
Funny looking steam roller thingy that hit a car...
Us east asians and white boys buying delicious street food.
Typical market street with lots of shops, people, cars, bikes, scooters, soliciting, birds, hanging clothes, etc., I love it
View of the Taj Hotel and the Gateway of India. Lots of tourists in the area and beefed up security around the hotel.
We took a ferry from here to Elephanta island to see some cave temples. The 6th century BC Hindu temple that was originally a Buddhist temple. It costs Indian citizens 20 cents to get in, it costs us foreigners $5, not cool.
There were lots of monkeys on the island, this one's beating up a puppy
On the ferry ride back, someone dropped a sandal into the the bottom hull of the boat. I thought it would be a good idea to go get it. It was hot, dark, and scary, but after a couple minutes I found it.
View looking back towards Mumbai's beach. In most of India, PDA is a big taboo, but in Mumbai, it's a little more acceptable. The stranger thing is that close friends of the same sex feel free to hold hands and such. On a side note, we were in Mumbai over V-day. The right wing Hindus were "moral policing" to make sure that couples weren't doing anything indecent out in the public (basically showing any kind of affection or even being found with your significant other in a "romantic" spot). There were also massive real policemen and reserve MPs out to make sure that the "moral policing" didn't get out of hand. Later in the week, I read a few stories about people being beat up, arrested, publically humiliated, and even one girl committing suicide. India's changing, but some don't want it to. Anyways, the beach:
View of one of the slums one of Mumbai's many railway stations. This one's where they shot some scene's for Slumdog Millionaire, which we saw while in Mumbai, and I highly recommend:
View of one of the crowded commuter trains. Yes, it's moving, and no, the doors don't close...
The train station where we left from.
At one of the train stations on the way back to Mussoorie, I decided I wanted to get off to stretch my legs and get some lassi (delicious yogurt drink). I found it odd that so many people were pushing their way onto the train long before it stopped, but figured that it's no big deal. It turned out that about 400 people had come to take an exam to get a job with the railway, but the exam was canceled and all 400 people decided to hop on our train instead of waiting for theirs. People were fighting to get on the train, even going through the emergency window to get in. I stood watching and being amused until I realized I actually have to fight to get back on the train. I manage to get on, but I'm kinda hanging out from the side of the door. We start moving, and I wonder how long I'll make it before I fall out. Luckily, Indians often "treat their guests as gods". So someone realizes I'm a foreigner and tells the others to let me in. I make my way a few feet into the train where i see some people sitting on the floor of the bathroom. Anyways, I meet some guys that are eager to talk to me. We have some interesting conversations, I learn how to politely complement a girl by saying "ap sandur hai" (you are beautiful). After about 2 hours of standing in the crowd (I've never been so close to another guy...) some of the guys tell me that since I'm not Indian, I probably won't make it much longer standing in the crowd. They tell everyone to clear a path at the next station so that I can find my seat, and after stepping on some luggage and small children, I make it back to my seat, where I find 27 people in my berth designed for 8!
We started off by hoping into taxis around midnight and heading towards Saharanpur's train station, which is about 1.5 hours away. We took a crazy, dusty, and windy road that's filled with scary looking trucks. Some highlights from the taxi ride included a leopard that leaped accross the road (i missed it...), lots of honking, passing, and flashing headlights, a truck that was turned over on it's side in the middle of the road (no big deal...), and a bridge that had a chacane so that only cars could maneuver onto it (trucks had to slowly cross the dried up river bed). Here's a pic of one of the scary looking trucks:
We get on the train around 3am. It's dark and confusing, we kick people out of our berth and try to get some sleep. We're on "sleeper class" which is the most typical way of traveling for Indians and only costs about $5 for the 25 hour train ride. I wake up to the sound of the chai-wala (guy selling tea), who runs back and forth along the train yelling, "Chaiii, chaiiiiii, chaiiiii...". It's 6am and we understand that you're selling chai, but we just want to sleep... But overall, it was a comfy ride down, especially compared to the trip back (see last 2 pictures, we had up to 28 people in our berth designed for 8...) Here' what the train looked like:
After lots of roaming around, we finally arrive to a hotel around sunrise. The room we got was funny. The doorway leading into the room was about 5 feet high (I hit my head and it hurt). Also, the door has to be latched to stay shut, and if you latch it from the inside, you can't open it from the outside, and if you latch it from the outside, everyone in the room is trapped, scary.
We freshen up and head out to see Mumbai! Great colonial buildings, this one's the headquarters for the Indian Railway, the world's biggest employer, employing 16 million people (that's almost the population of Australia!)
The new, modern, and expensive next to the typical.
Funny looking steam roller thingy that hit a car...
Us east asians and white boys buying delicious street food.
Typical market street with lots of shops, people, cars, bikes, scooters, soliciting, birds, hanging clothes, etc., I love it
View of the Taj Hotel and the Gateway of India. Lots of tourists in the area and beefed up security around the hotel.
We took a ferry from here to Elephanta island to see some cave temples. The 6th century BC Hindu temple that was originally a Buddhist temple. It costs Indian citizens 20 cents to get in, it costs us foreigners $5, not cool. 
There were lots of monkeys on the island, this one's beating up a puppy
On the ferry ride back, someone dropped a sandal into the the bottom hull of the boat. I thought it would be a good idea to go get it. It was hot, dark, and scary, but after a couple minutes I found it.
View looking back towards Mumbai's beach. In most of India, PDA is a big taboo, but in Mumbai, it's a little more acceptable. The stranger thing is that close friends of the same sex feel free to hold hands and such. On a side note, we were in Mumbai over V-day. The right wing Hindus were "moral policing" to make sure that couples weren't doing anything indecent out in the public (basically showing any kind of affection or even being found with your significant other in a "romantic" spot). There were also massive real policemen and reserve MPs out to make sure that the "moral policing" didn't get out of hand. Later in the week, I read a few stories about people being beat up, arrested, publically humiliated, and even one girl committing suicide. India's changing, but some don't want it to. Anyways, the beach:
View of one of the slums one of Mumbai's many railway stations. This one's where they shot some scene's for Slumdog Millionaire, which we saw while in Mumbai, and I highly recommend:
View of one of the crowded commuter trains. Yes, it's moving, and no, the doors don't close...
The train station where we left from.
At one of the train stations on the way back to Mussoorie, I decided I wanted to get off to stretch my legs and get some lassi (delicious yogurt drink). I found it odd that so many people were pushing their way onto the train long before it stopped, but figured that it's no big deal. It turned out that about 400 people had come to take an exam to get a job with the railway, but the exam was canceled and all 400 people decided to hop on our train instead of waiting for theirs. People were fighting to get on the train, even going through the emergency window to get in. I stood watching and being amused until I realized I actually have to fight to get back on the train. I manage to get on, but I'm kinda hanging out from the side of the door. We start moving, and I wonder how long I'll make it before I fall out. Luckily, Indians often "treat their guests as gods". So someone realizes I'm a foreigner and tells the others to let me in. I make my way a few feet into the train where i see some people sitting on the floor of the bathroom. Anyways, I meet some guys that are eager to talk to me. We have some interesting conversations, I learn how to politely complement a girl by saying "ap sandur hai" (you are beautiful). After about 2 hours of standing in the crowd (I've never been so close to another guy...) some of the guys tell me that since I'm not Indian, I probably won't make it much longer standing in the crowd. They tell everyone to clear a path at the next station so that I can find my seat, and after stepping on some luggage and small children, I make it back to my seat, where I find 27 people in my berth designed for 8!
Monday, February 2, 2009
There's so much I want to share, but so little time right now, so for today, I'd like to introduce you guys to the team I'm working/serving with (I've also included some random things at the bottom, including a video of the crazy ride up the mountain). I'm in India with EMI. Our office is at the foothill of the Himalayas in a small town called Mussoorie. There are 4 interns, 6 long-term staff members (5 form the US and 1 from Hong Kong), and 6 Indian employees (2 cooks who fill the office with delicious smells and 4 technical/support employees). Here're pictures of some of the people I'll be living, eating, working, serving, and praying with:
the video, there's lots of honking, swerving, and plain craziness as we rode up a steep and windy road (sorry for the watermark):
the video, there's lots of honking, swerving, and plain craziness as we rode up a steep and windy road (sorry for the watermark):
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