India in Bolivia

I'm in Bolivia for a few weeks, and I hadn't been planning to blog at all while here because 1. it's just a vacation and 2. this blog is primarily about India. Well, several India-related things have happened, so I felt it appropriate to post.

1. On my first day in Bolivia, within 30 minutes of leaving the airport, I was waiting for a trufi (shared taxi) to fill up with enough passengers to leave from Santa Cruz de la Sierra for Samaipata. There was a TV on in the waiting room. I wasn't paying attention until I heard bhangra music. I turn around to see men in Punjabi outfits (you know, those baggy pants, long tops, and vests) and turbans dancing with sari-clad women. Then the words "India: una historia de amor" pop up on screen. Bhangra music and dancing continue. What exactly was being advertised remains unclear. A restaurant? A new exhibit at a museum? An Indian dating (matrimonial?) website? No idea.

2. On my second day in Bolivia, in Samaipata, I went on a tour of Chanay/Guaraní/Inca (kept being reconquered) ruins called El Fuerte. I requested an English-speaking guide to the site. The English-speaking guide joked that most Americans who visit Bolivia speak Spanish, so why don't I? Certainly I should speak Spanish too. So I told him that I used to speak some Spanish but recently have been studying "an Indian language called Hindi." He looked confused for a second, and then his face lit up: "I speak an Indian language too! My native is Quechua. Bolivia is 70% Indian, and the two biggest languages are Quechua and Aymara, and there are many Amazon Indians." "Oh, no, that´s not what I mean. Hindi is a language spoken in India." "Yes, Indian, like our Quechua." "No, India is a country in Asia." "Asia? Oh, we have those too. People from Japan and China!" "No... I´m talking about a different country. India." "I don't understand. Indians do not live in Asia, they live in Bolivia, Peru, Chile, and Argentina." "Nevermind." ...I guess he didn't see the commercial from the day before.

3. I randomly found and ate at La Paz's only Indian restaurant, which played hit Bollywood songs from 2007 (I know the year because every single song came out when I was studying abroad in Pondy, such as songs from Om Shanti Om). Turns out it's actually British Indian food, which as some of you know, is actually a slightly different cuisine. The Bolivian-British-Indian feature dish? Llama tikka masala. Of course. I opted for saag paneer (though it wasn't actually paneer, it was some Argentine cheese). And in true Indian restaurant fashion, it gave me explosive diarrhea. That's how I knew it was as close to authentic as you can get in Bolivia.

4. Today I was walking around Calle Sagárnaga, the main tourist street in La Paz, when all of a sudden I heard the theme music from Dilwale Dulhania La Jayenge. First thought: omg, I (or someone else) is about to meet my (or her) Raj. Seriously, I thought that. I don't know why. Anyway, I turned around to see a huge sign for a restaurant called "Tailandia" (Thailand??) featuring food from Asia. Then the song switched to another Hindi song.

...Apparently, I cannot escape India; it follows me literally everywhere. I can't believe India followed me to Bolivia, of all places.

To (Try To) Do List

Many of you know that my last year in Delhi was less than ideal. Some of the problems I experienced will no longer exist for me in my second year, simply because of the new location (goodbye pollution and heat!). I'm sure there will be new problems (cold, oh so very cold, and no indoor heating), but I really want to do a better job at making the most out of my time in India the second time around. Therefore, I have devised a list of tasks that will hopefully help me make this year a great one:

1. Make a bigger effort to meet people. This was my biggest struggle in Delhi. I just didn't know how to meet people! I don't think this necessarily has to do with Delhi; I think this is just a problem that many people have when they transition from student to working life or move to a new city. So how am I going to do this? Well, um, I actually still don't know how to meet new people, but I'm going to try the following things:

• Take a hobby class.The YWCA in Shimla offers several classes, including cooking and Bollywood dancing. Because who says I can't spontaneously break out into an extended song-and-dance while cooking up some palak paneer?
  
• Join a club or team. Maybe there is a hiking or book club that I can join. Or, since Shimla has an ice rink in the winter, it could be fun to join a women's ice hockey team. Apparently "ex pats [sic] from the Canadian and Russian consulates in Mumbai and Delhi have been playing the game in Ladakh,"according to the Ice Hockey Association of India, so I don't see why this American expat can't play the game in Shimla! Because who says I can't compete with a bunch of Canadians and Russians who picked up their first hockey stick 30 seconds out of the womb?
  
• Volunteer. I actually need some help coming up with volunteering ideas (I'm admittedly fairly terrible with this), but maybe I could do something with environmental cleanup or helping slum kids or something equally cheesy. Or I could do what I do best: teach geography and basketball to monks at the local Buddhist monastery. Because who says monks can't be taught about the inability to drive between South Asia and North America due to the existence of oceans while acquiring the ability to drive to the hoop?
  
• Or, if all of the above fails: put an ad in the Matrimonials. Because what Indian man doesn't want a "23-year-old girl with fair complexion, American citizenship, and a degree from a prestigious foreign university, caste no bar"?
  

So why didn't I do any of those things in Delhi? Well, honestly, I had tried. I spent hours looking for a hobby class with times that worked, for a club or volunteering opportunity I would be interested in. Unfortunately, everything (clubs, classes, volunteer activities) usually met/occurred during work hours or on weekends--and I was unwilling to make any commitments on weekends so that I could use them to travel. Well, this year I'm working 6-day weeks and having only Sunday off doesn't give me enough time to make weekend trips. Thus this year I have no qualms about making commitments! (Yes, you could say I had the wrong priorities last year. You could say that. But remember how much Delhi's pollution sucks, and then you'll remember why I felt the need to escape.)

2. Actually study Hindi. Sure, I took Hindi lessons. Sure, I even (occasionally) did my homework. But honestly? I was a slacker. And in Delhi, it's fairly easy to rely on English. So this year, I want to make sure I put aside a little bit of time every evening to study Hindi. No, really. I'm serious. I want to be approaching proficient by the end of my year.

3. Take a hike. I am going to be in the mountains, so why not take advantage of this? I'm hoping to do hikes as often as possible (dare I say every Sunday? no, I probably shouldn't dare).

You know what's great about these kinds of lists? They make me feel good about myself--when I make them. But you know what isn't so great about these kinds of lists? They make me feel crappy about myself--when I fail to actually follow through with them. And, of course, that's inevitable. This list is a classic example of productive-things-I-intend-to-do-but-then-never-end-up-doing-because-a-rerun-of-Friends-is-on-TV-or-an-actual-friend-is-on-Gchat. I could try to adopt Sareeta's life point system, but I don't think I really want to keep track of my "points" on a daily basis (plus we all know I'd forget anyway).

So, do you have any ideas for how I can make the most out of my time in Shimla? Let me know in the comments or through email (though I can't promise that Friends won't be playing on Star World or Zee Cafe). Thanks!

In support of my previous post...

...this is the first article that came up when I searched "Shimla" in Google News:

53 diarrhea cases reported in Shimla

Shit: proven.

Renaming the blog: "Shit, Sweat, Bribe"?

Obviously I renamed the blog simply by crossing out "Delhi" and writing "Shimla." But perhaps I should get more creative. What do you think of Shit, Sweat, Bribe: One Woman's Search for... Something?... in India? (This mocks the bestseller book "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia.") I promise the leading picture wouldn't be as graphic as the title.

...but I can't promise that my stories won't be too graphic. ;) (Hey, I've actually been pretty good about keeping this blog clean. I didn't even write about my bout of dengue fever!)

emilyinshimla: שנה ב / साल दो / Year 2 in India!

I just accepted a new job in India! A different job than the one alluded to in a previous post. That first job fell through, but luckily I found another one! This means I'm officially embarking on שנה ב / Shana Bet ("Year 2" in Hebrew; what some Jews call an American Jew's second year in Israel, usually between high school and college) (I guess it would be more appropriate if I said Year 2 in Hindi: साल दो / Saal Do).

I will return to India in early September to work in Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh and the former summer capital of British India (so yeah, it's pretty colonial). It's a town of ~160,000 people at ~7,000 feet in the Himalayas. Sure it's not the village I've been dreaming of, but at least it's not 16 million people like Delhi! [Anyone else notice that I always live somewhere with a population of 16 * 10^n? 16 * 10^0 households in Gangzur, 16 * 10^6 people in Delhi, 16 * 10^4 people in Shimla.] [Actually I'm not 100% sure on the numbers in Delhi and Shimla; the populations seem to vary by source.] I'm hoping to do some field work in villages, so hopefully I will get some rural experience.

"A" marks the spot of Shimla - thanks Google Maps!

I might change my blog a bit (new title, new picture, new color scheme), but I will keep the same URL so it's easier for everyone to keep following. So stay tuned to emilyindelhi.blogspot.com!

See you back on the subcontinent in September!

An ominous letter

I had written a reflective/sappy I'm-leaving-Delhi-this-is-all-coming-to-an-end-how-do-I-feel-about-it bullshit post, but I'm actually not going to post it right now. Why? I'm in the middle of packing and cleaning up my apartment, and I randomly came across a letter I wrote during PiA orientation. Anastasia, the director of PiA, had asked every new fellow to write a letter to him/herself that we would receive at some point during the year. When the PiA deputy director (or whatever her title is) came through town back in November, she must have given me the letter. But I apparently never opened it; the envelope was sealed. Of course I took a break from cleaning to tear open the envelope and read the letter. Anyway, I thought it was worth sharing my expectations/concerns from a year ago in my leaving-Delhi post, because many of them were scarily spot-on:

May 18, 2009

Dear Emily,

You're going back to India! Woohoo! (Should I write this in the first or second person? Awkward.) I hate these kind of assignments. I don't know what to write here. I guess what I'm nervous about? I'm most nervous about hating Delhi. I really think it is a possibility. After all, I hated it so much last time I left early! I hope by the time I read this that Delhi will have grown on me. Or, if it hasn't, that I'm able to escape (i.e. leave the city and travel). I'm also nervous about my job. What if I suck at my job? Or worse, what if my job just sucks? What if the bureaucracy drives me crazy, or what if I have an insane boss? Hopefully I'll figure out the system, have a nice boss, and be good at my job.

I can't believe the person in the letter Anastasia read aloud gave up the Fulbright for PiA. Well, at least an alternate got to go in her place! More than anyone can say about this alternate writing this letter. I hope withdrawing from Fulbright wasn't a mistake; I'll be pissed if I somehow find out a Nepal alternate got the grant. I really hope that PiA turns out to be so awesome that I don't remain jealous of Fulbrighters. I hope by the time I read this letter, I no longer even think about the Fulbright.

Speaking of jealousy, when I hear about people going to rural villages, WOW do I get jealous! I just think back to Gangzur and my wonderful Bhutanese family and wish I could experience rural mountain life again. Or any rural life, not even necessarily in the mountains. At this point, I'd much rather be in a rural village of 16 houses than a city of 16 million and all the pollution that comes with it. I hope I am able to find a community that loves and supports me--I think, in some ways, that is easier in a small community like a village. It was easy to find a welcoming community in Bhutan; I didn't even have to look (though I know I was probably lucky and some villages are not so welcoming to outsiders). In Delhi, in a big city, finding my community will be difficult. It is easy to stay anonymous, to be alone, in a city, despite being surrounded by millions of people. Who can I trust? Who will be my friends? I really hope I am able to find my community, and by the time I read this, I hope I have at least started to feel at home.

Ok, I'm done with this bullshit assignment. Good luck in Delhi!

Love,
Emily/myself (?? awkward)

A few points:

1. Concern about hating Delhi - largely realized. And yes I did escape via travel quite often.
2. Concern about job - definitely realized.
3. I did find out that all Nepal alternates ended up getting the Fulbright less than 2 weeks after I withdrew. And yeah, I was pissed about it. I'm still jealous of Fulbrighters, but fortunately I don't really think about it anymore. Plus I've discovered that the South Asia Fulbright programs are full of crap, so that makes me feel better about myself.
4. I would still rather be in a village than a city. If things work out for next year (er, in 6 weeks from now?), I will be! More to come when that's all figured out.
5. I never did find a "community." But I like Alice and Sareeta!
6. Delhi oddly feels like a home of sorts, regardless of my bouts of loneliness.

Alright, back to packing. See you in America!

I should probably be packing right now.

My flight to the US leaves in less than 24 hours. And I haven't started packing (besides what I already dropped off at Sareeta's place over two weeks ago for summer storage).

I spent my last 16 days in Sri Lanka. (Jhanvi, I know you want pictures, but I just don't have time right now, with the whole leaving Delhi thing.) Some highlights:

• playing with freshly-hatched baby sea turtles (aged 1 to 3 days old), including one albino sea turtle in Kosgoda
  
• learning about the traditional medicine shaman-type man at the mask museum in Ambalangoda
  
• spotting crocodiles, monkeys, elephants, and various types of birds in Yala National Park
• hiking through tea plantations up to Little Adam's Peak near Ella
• Vesak perahera (Vesak is the day that Buddha was born, achieved enlightenment, and died, and a perahera is a procession, often and in this case with caparisoned elephants) in Badulla
• seeing the Buddha's tooth relic during Vesak puja at the Dalada Maligawa temple in Kandy
  
• watching the elephants at Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage (though I question the treatment of elephants in this facility), including petting a baby elephant
• um, NOT the "Ancient Cities" -- a bit boring, actually
• scuba diving off Nilaveli
• exploring the wartorn Tamil region around Trincomalee
• eating delicious Sri Lankan curries everywhere

Ok, now to pack...