Sarees, salsa dancing, and birthday celebrations

The sociology department held a farewell party for the graduating seniors, so Marie, Claire, and I dressed up in sarees for the occasion. The master’s first-year students (my classmates) put it on, so they did all the decorations, arranged for food, put together a slideshow and music, and performed during the party. It was really nice, especially because it was clear how much work they had put into it.

The next weekend Pondicherry University held a talent show, which was supposed to start at 5:30, so according to Indian time that means 7:15. People performed dances, yoga demonstrations, songs, etc. It was awesome! However, it went on too long, and some people didn’t get to perform – including Arun, who was going to dance. At ten p.m., the talent show was still going on, but they made an announcement that women should return to their hostels (but men could stay). So I stayed! Ha. Such a rebel, I know. They ended the talent show soon after, though, because no one had had dinner…it just frustrates me that women are supposed to go back early all the time and yet men can do whatever they want. But enough of that, I rant about it enough to my friends here.

On Saturday, a group of us got dressed in sarees and took the local bus (oy vey, so many people stared at us) into Pondicherry, where we had lunch at a fancy buffet to celebrate my birthday and Kara’s birthday. Lunch (and getting there and back) lasted from 11:30am to 5pm, when we got back to our hostel. Around 6 or 7, we got ready to go back out  - we were going to a friend’s house, then salsa dancing in Pondicherry! We rented a 14 seater van for the night because it was cheaper than renting autos ($4 per person for 4.5 hours, cool eh?). I think about 16 people were there, total. Salsa dancing was fantastic! I had never done it before, but I had a blast. The party was put on by a group of European expatriates, so it felt like going dancing at home a little bit. It was really fun.

Other things of interest…the power has been cutting on and off – though not for very long – because of the heat, I think. I was cooking dinner (a rare occurrence here because it’s harder to get groceries, adequate cooking supplies, and we have a cafeteria to go to) for me and Arun and the power went out right as I put the vegetables into the oven to roast. Thankfully the power came back on a few minutes later, but you never know…also, the internet hasn’t been working well (well being a relative term) which is hard b/c I have to email people, figure out classes, and book plane tickets. Yikes! It’s okay though, I’m used to it by now so it’s not a problem.

I leave Pondicherry University early in the morning on April 27, and I’m ready but not ready at the same time. Leaving will be hard. I’m in the process of packing and studying for finals and saying goodbye and it’s just a lot to take in all at once. Study abroad is hard, for a number of reasons. It’s also the best time I’ve ever had in my life, though…it’s just like India – everything is an extreme, great or terrible, rarely any in between, and often it’s both. So you just have to accept it.

On April 27, I’ll be traveling to Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur on a guided tour before traveling to Darjeeling and Kolcutta with Liz and Jackie. From there, I’ll fly to Nepal to start my Odyssey project on May 9 – I’m going to be volunteering at a small hospital in Pokhara teaching health education and living with a Nepali host family for six weeks. I’ll keep my blog going until I go back to the United States in the end of June. 

 From left to right: me, Arun, Claire, and Marie at the Sociology Farewell Party

Noella, Liz and I wearing sarees on our way to fancy lunch in Pondicherry

 Friends! Taken in the van before salsa dancing. Leon, Matt, Kara, Liz, Charlotte, Natasha, Marie, Claire, Najeeb, Me, Arun, Jackie, Ravi, Eugenie.

"We're like that old lady with the fish"

Friday was a fairly typical example of what it’s like to go into the town of Pondicherry, which is about 30-40 minutes from the university by local bus. Liz and I each had a package to mail back to the US (mine was 18 pounds), so we waited for the bus at the bus stop, which is across the street from the gate of Pondicherry University. When the bus arrived, we tried to push past people as they were pushing past us to get onto the bus, lugging our boxes with us. I was terrified the bus would leave w/out us both on it, but we made it!

Once we were on the bus, we stood in uncomfortable positions – we were thankfully standing against the wall rather than just in the aisles. I had my back to the windows/wall, and the boxes were also behind me. Liz was next to me, and we were fairly squished. I tried to stay a bit back from the woman in front of me (her arm was about 6-8 inches from my face and she had some kind of skin rash) so I ended up squatting sideways? Liz befriended this adorable Tamil boy who was around two or so, he kept waving at us then his mom made him touch her face, stand near her, etc. so that was cute. Another child, an older girl, got on the bus and said hi to me - I responded, “Vannakam!” (hello or welcome in Tamil).

We got to the bus stop and yelled to make sure the attendant would stop long enough for us to bring our boxes down. Then, we took an auto to the international courier service, shipped our boxes, and stumbled to Café Coffee Day (similar to Starbucks, nice but a little overpriced, but so good) where we shared dessert, drank coffee, and studied some for finals, which are next week. Then we checked out a handmade paper factory (cool stationary!) and walked back to the bus stop, where we actually had seats on the bus ride back (always nice) and then got back to our hostel, where I rested for two hours before heading out with some French and Indian friends to “make party” as Marie would say!

Note: the title is something Liz said after we got off the bus, and I agree. Sometimes there are women on the bus with big metal buckets full of fish to sell on the street or at the market…and that’s how we felt on the bus. Hot, sweaty, crowded, but we did it! (And we made some new cute lil’ friends in the process)

Holi Moley - Holi Celebrations and Tea Plantations

Last Wednesday was Holi, which is mostly celebrated in the North, not the South – bummer, man, as I am suuuuuper South! – but some students celebrated it. In the morning, I walked out of my independent study to find some of my French friends ready to cover me in powder! People were running around the social sciences/humanities buildings throwing colorful powder at each other. In the evening I heard there was a Holi celebration going on in the stadium, so I went with Arun and Shruti to check it out. Once we got there, I realized that Shruti and I were the only girls participating, though there were a few girls sitting in the stadium watching boys dance to Tamil music and throw powder everywhere. I danced for a little bit, but felt…odd/uncomfortable being the only woman there. It was super weird, but fun for the most part!

This weekend, the Americans, Arun and I went to Ooty, a nearby hill station. So of course I got to play in tea plants again! Hooray! We visited two botanical gardens/parks, a lake that was a mixture of a lake and a small amusement park, several jaw-droppingly beautiful scenic lookouts over mountains and tea plantations, and wandered through a tea plantation. We were on a bus that took us all over Ooty and nearby Coonoor (for 150 rps or $3 for the whole day, so cheap!) and we were also supposed to visit a tea museum, but ran out of time, oh well.

On Sunday, Arun and I went to the Isha Yoga Centre near Coimbatore. He has been studying Isha yoga for a few years, and is a volunteer as well. The yoga centre was…awesome. I’m still at a loss of words about the experience, honestly. It was so cool learning more about his traditions, practices etc. and at the same time the place itself was really beautiful. Well worth the 5.5 hours of bus travel to get there.

Also, since we were in a cooler climate, it was COLD at night. Women were wearing sweaters over their saris, and many men wore jackets or sweaters. I didn’t because it was ‘cold’ to them – maybe 60 degrees Fahrenheit or 15 degrees Celcius – and it was so refreshing to feel cold instead of constant, sweltering heat. It was so nice.

When I got back to Pondicherry after traveling 5.5 hrs during the day Sunday on three buses, and then overnight on another one, the sudden heat and tiredness caused me to get a terrible fever. Oops, my bad! I went to the health center and explained what happened – basically, the change in climate plus lack of sleep and lots of travel messed me up – and the doctor said it was due to the change in climate, overexertion, etc. Okay. So she prescribed 3 things to me – an antibiotic, a cough/cold medicine even though I told her my throat wasn’t bothering me, and something I couldn’t find online so I didn’t take it – and didn’t explain what anything was for. I am bad at taking medicine to begin with, but if I don’t know why I should take it…hmm. Anyway. It’s been interesting (to say the least) to try to get medical attention for minor illnesses – mostly because I’m interested in international public health haha. It’s very different than in the U.S., that’s for sure. 

Happy Holi! With Arun

Shruti, my favorite Canadian, and I were two of the only girls there. India.

With Arun at Doddabetta peak, the highest elevation in Southern India and a scenic lookout!

At Lamb's Rock in Coonoor, cheesin'

It's hard for me to believe places this beautiful actually exist.

Arun surrounded by endless tea plants, Coonoor