i'm not sure why i am surprised by this. I thought online dating was kind of crazy. But then I found out about http://www.shaadi.com/ - the online marriage arrangement service.
Apparently Aunti-ji signed up for it a few months ago, for her daughter, but her english isnt really strong enough to navigate it. So I have been helping her check out potential husbands for her daughter. really crazy. I'd feel weird divulging any more than this. But just imagine what it would be like if your parents chose your spouse for you based on his or her facebook profile - only these profiles have even less information on them! And then imagine if they asked some random foreign student to help them figure out which ones were good!!!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
more thoughts
After school yesterday I went to see Terminator Salvation in Hindi at the Mall theater. totally different experience from my host family’s theater. It was basically like being in the US. there was no shouting. no whistling. the seats were really nice (actually much better than in the US) and altogether not nearly as much fun because of it. From now on I am going to try and see movies at my host’s family’s theater instead.... The weirdest thing about the Mall theater was that before the movie, we were asked to stand for the National Anthem. Maybe it’s just me but nationalism anywhere in the world rubs me the wrong way. I don’t like it in the US and I don’t really like it here either. I am not sure why. Maybe because I feel like it just leads to violence. Anyhow, while we listened to the national anthem, we saw images of the Indian military holding Indian flags in Kashmir. Atop majestic glaciers claiming contested land for India, they were sure to pan across a multi-ethnic force of Indian soldiers demonstrating India’s Unity (implicitly against Pakistan given the location of the shots). It was kind of intense… Which reminds me, when I was at dinner last night (some students organized a trip to a pizza joint – perhaps they were homesick already, I don’t know). I met a guy who was describing how when he was in 3rd or 4th grade, India was at war with Pakistan, and his school arranged to have penpals with Pakistani school children in an effort to engender peaceful feelings in the next generation. I thought that was such a sweet gesture. ….
It's really kind of surreal going to malls here. It’s like walking out of India and into suburbia… only little things are different. Personal space, etc. the only real draw is that the malls are always air conditioned, so they provide a good place to hide….. which brings me to the issue of Power.
Never in my life have I felt so dependent on power. If there is no electricity, then I don’t sleep. Period. Last night the power went out for awhile and I must have lost a gallon of water in sweat. I kept switching pillows and flipping them over because they were so wet it was too gross to put my head on them…. The power eventually came on again and I found myself lying on the bed with my head about 6 inches from the A/C. That’s about the only way I can lie still without losing water. It makes me feel weak in a certain respect. But then I remember January in Banaras when I was quite comfortable walking around in jeans and a t shirt and I saw so many people wearing 4 or sometimes 5 layers of clothes, with their heads completely wrapped in scarves. They say that the rain will come soon. And when it does it should break the heat. It is also supposed to last until September…. I’m not really sure what that means yet. I can’t imagine itwill be quite as intense as it was in Costa Rica – India is not a rainforest – but it should probably be some serious water…..
It's really kind of surreal going to malls here. It’s like walking out of India and into suburbia… only little things are different. Personal space, etc. the only real draw is that the malls are always air conditioned, so they provide a good place to hide….. which brings me to the issue of Power.
Never in my life have I felt so dependent on power. If there is no electricity, then I don’t sleep. Period. Last night the power went out for awhile and I must have lost a gallon of water in sweat. I kept switching pillows and flipping them over because they were so wet it was too gross to put my head on them…. The power eventually came on again and I found myself lying on the bed with my head about 6 inches from the A/C. That’s about the only way I can lie still without losing water. It makes me feel weak in a certain respect. But then I remember January in Banaras when I was quite comfortable walking around in jeans and a t shirt and I saw so many people wearing 4 or sometimes 5 layers of clothes, with their heads completely wrapped in scarves. They say that the rain will come soon. And when it does it should break the heat. It is also supposed to last until September…. I’m not really sure what that means yet. I can’t imagine itwill be quite as intense as it was in Costa Rica – India is not a rainforest – but it should probably be some serious water…..
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Chabbi-Wala (Key Maker)
So I got some keys made. Here they do it by hand. I was too shy to take pictures, but it is kind of an amazing process. They have hammers and chisels and they do it all right there on the side of the road. Pretty crazy.
Housing Update.
Dear All,
I just thought I’d give you an update on my housing situation…. I am sure the way I described things before made them sound just awful – and frankly, that was how I felt. However, I think there might have been a case of me being a little quick to judge and ready to jump to conclusions that might not necessarily have been there….
So Aunti and Uncle Ji went to Jaipur for a few days. When they came back, it seemed like things were really different, but maybe they weren’t…. I am not sure. But the first thing I noticed was that Aunti Ji started calling me “beta” which means “son” and she no longer let me use one of the fancy plates from her dinner set – now I use the same plates everyone else does.
I was quick to judge her on not trusting me or not thinking that I was “pure” enough to go in their kitchen, when perhaps the real issue is her lack of trust in her own servants, which sort of complicates her desires to welcome me into her home. Since she sort of opened up to me, I used it as an opportunity to ask about several of the various things that bothered me during the first week.
I asked her why she had a separate refrigerator and stove in the back – outside of the kitchen -specifically for me? She said that because they were going away to Jaipur, they wanted to make sure that I would be able to eat – that the servants would be able to cook, because she didn’t trust the servants to use the kitchen when she wasn’t around. She had actually bought the stove precisely for that purpose as well as a special voltage stabilizer that would allow the refrigerator to work under the slightly more volatile electrical wiring….
I asked her why she gave me separate glasses and plates and stuff when I first got here. She said that she had been to America to visit her daughter and that Americans always use nice crockery and that she had never seen metal plates and cups in America, so she wanted to get me nice things so I would like them. Apparently the glass I use is the only glass she has and it was somewhat expensive, so she would like me to use it – not that she thinks I will give them all cooties if I use their metal glasses….
So I asked why she asked me to wash my dishes in the bathroom, because I thought that was weird. She said that I was really new here and their system was somewhat complicated. Apparently their kitchen sink is broken(?) So they only rinse them off there and then they wash them outside(?) She is very paranoid about ants, and was preparing to leave for Jaipur within 3 days of my arrival and thought that it would make the most sense to make my dish situation as simple as possible. I’d have my own stuff, I’d deal with it in my own part of the house, and that would be the easiest.
In preparation for her trip to Jaipur, she apparently spent quite a bit of money moving the 2nd fridge out of the kitchen and buying a second gas stove. I noticed in a store as well that the air conditioner they bought for my room cost them nearly double what I will pay them for the summer. It is making me realize that I might be the only person in our program whose presence in their host’s house isn’t primarily financial. Everyone else is staying in places that are more like guesthouses, where the owners are in the business of renting rooms to people and the relationship is much more financially based. Here, there seems to be something else going on, something I shouldn’t be so quick to judge. I have already accused them of pre-judging me, but am I any better to have already judged them?
Aunti-ji also showed that she was thinking about my welfare in ways that are not purely financial. She loaned me some sunglasses, because she saw that I wasn’t wearing any when I road my bicycle. She tried to give me a radio, because she knows that I study music…. She made some herbal after-dinner snack that is supposed to aid digestion and also prevent sunstroke….
At the end of the day, it seems like they are actually bending over backwards to make me feel comfortable, yet somehow I seem to get hung up on what seem to be fairly little things. As for the whole door locking thing – apparently they lock all the doors all the time. So my solution was that instead of bolting the door, they lock it with a key. That way I can unlock it with a key whenever I return. I tried getting a copy of the key made today, but it is much more challenging than it sounds, but that is another story.
I find it interesting that many people have written to me since reading my previous post that I should move. In one sense they are right, but in another, I think this is actually a great place. Every evening, I have someone who is nice, cares about my well being, who isn’t busy, willing to sit around and talk in Hindi to me while we watch Hindi television. I am not speaking English with a bunch of other students around a card table. …
Comparatively I am very comfortable, I have plenty of privacy and am generally well cared for. It would be easy for me to be cynical and reject her seemingly logical explanations for all the weird little things that bother me and stick to my own opinion that it is just a reflection of religious snobbery; however, I don’t think that would get me very far.
I see this as a learning experience. Maybe that is the anthropologist in me suggesting that I take advantage of this situation to learn about a part of Indian culture I might never again have the opportunity to interact with…..
I don’t know. What do you think? Do you still think I should move out?
Here’s a funny anecdote.
So it’s no secret that Aunti Ji is particular about food and cleanliness. She won’t eat food from any airline or any hotel and for the most part will only eat food she made herself. Apparently, when she went to New York for 5 days, she brought 40 paranthas (Indian fry bread) with her from India in her luggage. That’s just crazy. After hearing that story, I was not terribly surprised to hear that she wasn’t particularly interested in me attempting to cook pasta for her and her family one night. I guess one has to progress with baby steps. My short term goal is get her to share a mango with me….
Is it weird that I think of her religious beliefs as a game, where I am secretly trying to push her out of her comfort zone because I don’t agree with her? Does that make me a bit of jerk for trying? She really is a nice lady. And I really do think she is trying VERY hard to make me feel welcome and comfortable in her house… Who am I to suggest that us sharing food is “normal” or rather, the small tiny ways in which her customs make me feel uncomfortable are probably just as annoying to her as me not making my bed or generally keeping my room as neat as the rest of the house. I mean, I try, I really do, but I just don’t care about bed making beyond a cursory toss of a sheet. I am probably never going to wake up in the morning and tuck everything in all nice and neat.
So it continues. I’ll keep you posted.
Allen
Update: Apparently in preparation for my arrival, they hired another servant. So here I am getting all uppity about how many servants they have, and apparently one of them is only concerned with providing for my well being. Woah. I’ve never had a servant before. It’s really weird. I am always sure to use really respectful language registers whenever I talk to them, which is something a little bit outside of Indian customary practice, but I just can’t think about any other way. It’s just not in my nature to give orders – I don’t know. That’s probably the real issue here and everything else is a small problem that has manifest itself from my in ability to comprehend the nuances of the master-servant relationship as it works in India. I mean here, it seems there are servants everywhere, and that it is far from unusual.....
I just thought I’d give you an update on my housing situation…. I am sure the way I described things before made them sound just awful – and frankly, that was how I felt. However, I think there might have been a case of me being a little quick to judge and ready to jump to conclusions that might not necessarily have been there….
So Aunti and Uncle Ji went to Jaipur for a few days. When they came back, it seemed like things were really different, but maybe they weren’t…. I am not sure. But the first thing I noticed was that Aunti Ji started calling me “beta” which means “son” and she no longer let me use one of the fancy plates from her dinner set – now I use the same plates everyone else does.
I was quick to judge her on not trusting me or not thinking that I was “pure” enough to go in their kitchen, when perhaps the real issue is her lack of trust in her own servants, which sort of complicates her desires to welcome me into her home. Since she sort of opened up to me, I used it as an opportunity to ask about several of the various things that bothered me during the first week.
I asked her why she had a separate refrigerator and stove in the back – outside of the kitchen -specifically for me? She said that because they were going away to Jaipur, they wanted to make sure that I would be able to eat – that the servants would be able to cook, because she didn’t trust the servants to use the kitchen when she wasn’t around. She had actually bought the stove precisely for that purpose as well as a special voltage stabilizer that would allow the refrigerator to work under the slightly more volatile electrical wiring….
I asked her why she gave me separate glasses and plates and stuff when I first got here. She said that she had been to America to visit her daughter and that Americans always use nice crockery and that she had never seen metal plates and cups in America, so she wanted to get me nice things so I would like them. Apparently the glass I use is the only glass she has and it was somewhat expensive, so she would like me to use it – not that she thinks I will give them all cooties if I use their metal glasses….
So I asked why she asked me to wash my dishes in the bathroom, because I thought that was weird. She said that I was really new here and their system was somewhat complicated. Apparently their kitchen sink is broken(?) So they only rinse them off there and then they wash them outside(?) She is very paranoid about ants, and was preparing to leave for Jaipur within 3 days of my arrival and thought that it would make the most sense to make my dish situation as simple as possible. I’d have my own stuff, I’d deal with it in my own part of the house, and that would be the easiest.
In preparation for her trip to Jaipur, she apparently spent quite a bit of money moving the 2nd fridge out of the kitchen and buying a second gas stove. I noticed in a store as well that the air conditioner they bought for my room cost them nearly double what I will pay them for the summer. It is making me realize that I might be the only person in our program whose presence in their host’s house isn’t primarily financial. Everyone else is staying in places that are more like guesthouses, where the owners are in the business of renting rooms to people and the relationship is much more financially based. Here, there seems to be something else going on, something I shouldn’t be so quick to judge. I have already accused them of pre-judging me, but am I any better to have already judged them?
Aunti-ji also showed that she was thinking about my welfare in ways that are not purely financial. She loaned me some sunglasses, because she saw that I wasn’t wearing any when I road my bicycle. She tried to give me a radio, because she knows that I study music…. She made some herbal after-dinner snack that is supposed to aid digestion and also prevent sunstroke….
At the end of the day, it seems like they are actually bending over backwards to make me feel comfortable, yet somehow I seem to get hung up on what seem to be fairly little things. As for the whole door locking thing – apparently they lock all the doors all the time. So my solution was that instead of bolting the door, they lock it with a key. That way I can unlock it with a key whenever I return. I tried getting a copy of the key made today, but it is much more challenging than it sounds, but that is another story.
I find it interesting that many people have written to me since reading my previous post that I should move. In one sense they are right, but in another, I think this is actually a great place. Every evening, I have someone who is nice, cares about my well being, who isn’t busy, willing to sit around and talk in Hindi to me while we watch Hindi television. I am not speaking English with a bunch of other students around a card table. …
Comparatively I am very comfortable, I have plenty of privacy and am generally well cared for. It would be easy for me to be cynical and reject her seemingly logical explanations for all the weird little things that bother me and stick to my own opinion that it is just a reflection of religious snobbery; however, I don’t think that would get me very far.
I see this as a learning experience. Maybe that is the anthropologist in me suggesting that I take advantage of this situation to learn about a part of Indian culture I might never again have the opportunity to interact with…..
I don’t know. What do you think? Do you still think I should move out?
Here’s a funny anecdote.
So it’s no secret that Aunti Ji is particular about food and cleanliness. She won’t eat food from any airline or any hotel and for the most part will only eat food she made herself. Apparently, when she went to New York for 5 days, she brought 40 paranthas (Indian fry bread) with her from India in her luggage. That’s just crazy. After hearing that story, I was not terribly surprised to hear that she wasn’t particularly interested in me attempting to cook pasta for her and her family one night. I guess one has to progress with baby steps. My short term goal is get her to share a mango with me….
Is it weird that I think of her religious beliefs as a game, where I am secretly trying to push her out of her comfort zone because I don’t agree with her? Does that make me a bit of jerk for trying? She really is a nice lady. And I really do think she is trying VERY hard to make me feel welcome and comfortable in her house… Who am I to suggest that us sharing food is “normal” or rather, the small tiny ways in which her customs make me feel uncomfortable are probably just as annoying to her as me not making my bed or generally keeping my room as neat as the rest of the house. I mean, I try, I really do, but I just don’t care about bed making beyond a cursory toss of a sheet. I am probably never going to wake up in the morning and tuck everything in all nice and neat.
So it continues. I’ll keep you posted.
Allen
Update: Apparently in preparation for my arrival, they hired another servant. So here I am getting all uppity about how many servants they have, and apparently one of them is only concerned with providing for my well being. Woah. I’ve never had a servant before. It’s really weird. I am always sure to use really respectful language registers whenever I talk to them, which is something a little bit outside of Indian customary practice, but I just can’t think about any other way. It’s just not in my nature to give orders – I don’t know. That’s probably the real issue here and everything else is a small problem that has manifest itself from my in ability to comprehend the nuances of the master-servant relationship as it works in India. I mean here, it seems there are servants everywhere, and that it is far from unusual.....
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
First impressions might not always be correct
I got a chance to speak with Allen last night and by his own account it sounds like he might have jumped to conclusions with his host family.
Since his earlier blog posts he's (believe it or not) asked about some of the behaviors that first took him by surprise, and he assured me strenuously that he feels comfortable with his living situation ... and actually considers himself one of the lucky ones, in terms of housing assignments.
I wish I could give you more detail myself, but he promised to write some more explanation the next time he gets a chance to post...
I should probably stick in some sentence about how this is a lesson in being open-minded about new cultures and not take strange situations at face value ...
:)
Instead I'll just post some pictures Allen sent me of his "day-to-day" in Lucknow.
Enjoy!
Since his earlier blog posts he's (believe it or not) asked about some of the behaviors that first took him by surprise, and he assured me strenuously that he feels comfortable with his living situation ... and actually considers himself one of the lucky ones, in terms of housing assignments.
I wish I could give you more detail myself, but he promised to write some more explanation the next time he gets a chance to post...
I should probably stick in some sentence about how this is a lesson in being open-minded about new cultures and not take strange situations at face value ...
:)
Instead I'll just post some pictures Allen sent me of his "day-to-day" in Lucknow.
Enjoy!
HOT
From weather.com:
Right Now for
Lucknow, India
Partly Cloudy
108°F
Feels Like
113°F
Updated: Jun 24 02:30 p.m. Local Time
WOW! I am afraid of going outside for another 2 hours or so. I might melt.
Right Now for
Lucknow, India
Partly Cloudy
108°F
Feels Like
113°F
Updated: Jun 24 02:30 p.m. Local Time
WOW! I am afraid of going outside for another 2 hours or so. I might melt.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Movie Time - Lucknow Style.
On Sunday, a friend and I went to see X men Wolverine dubbed in Hindi at my host family's cinema. Here are some things I noticed:
1. 99% of the audience was male. Lars said he saw a woman or two, but I didn't.
2. To get in the door, everyone pushes and shoves, even though they wont let us in the theatre for another 20 minutes once inside. After the first wave of people went in, they actually closed the door and re opened it with a smaller opening so that you had to turn sideways to get through - my bike helmet barely fit, I had to turn it sideways. I guess that helped to stem the tide.
3. There is a balcony and a lower section. The balcony costs more. The only difference I can tell is that in the balcony you pay more to be around other people who can afford to pay more. I am definitely going to sit downstairs next time.
4. Lots of Shouting. Whistling. And other noise making. When the sound cut off midway through the movie, I thought there might be a riot downstairs.
5. You could watch this movie without sound and know exactly what was going on. I noticed that As long as I didn't look at their faces when they talked, I was actually able to pick up quite a few words here and there, which was nice - it helped that I had already seen it a few times.
ME JANTA HUN KAUN HO!!!!! means "I know who you are!!!"
1. 99% of the audience was male. Lars said he saw a woman or two, but I didn't.
2. To get in the door, everyone pushes and shoves, even though they wont let us in the theatre for another 20 minutes once inside. After the first wave of people went in, they actually closed the door and re opened it with a smaller opening so that you had to turn sideways to get through - my bike helmet barely fit, I had to turn it sideways. I guess that helped to stem the tide.
3. There is a balcony and a lower section. The balcony costs more. The only difference I can tell is that in the balcony you pay more to be around other people who can afford to pay more. I am definitely going to sit downstairs next time.
4. Lots of Shouting. Whistling. And other noise making. When the sound cut off midway through the movie, I thought there might be a riot downstairs.
5. You could watch this movie without sound and know exactly what was going on. I noticed that As long as I didn't look at their faces when they talked, I was actually able to pick up quite a few words here and there, which was nice - it helped that I had already seen it a few times.
ME JANTA HUN KAUN HO!!!!! means "I know who you are!!!"
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Call Centers
So I met my first Call center employee today. His shift today was from 8pm to 4 in the morning. - though sometimes he works from 3 in the morning until 11.
He works for 2 for 1 Pizza, based in Toronto - along with 25 other employees.
That's right. He works for a pizza joint. When people in Toronto want to order a pizza, they call India. In India, they type the person's name, address, phone, and pizza order into a computer. This gets sent over the internet to Toronto where some guy in a kitchen makes a pizza and some kid with a GPS takes the pizza to the address.
Apparently Torontoans place about 2500 orders/day at 2 for 1 pizza. enough so that even a pizza joint is outsourcing labor to India.
Wow.
He works for 2 for 1 Pizza, based in Toronto - along with 25 other employees.
That's right. He works for a pizza joint. When people in Toronto want to order a pizza, they call India. In India, they type the person's name, address, phone, and pizza order into a computer. This gets sent over the internet to Toronto where some guy in a kitchen makes a pizza and some kid with a GPS takes the pizza to the address.
Apparently Torontoans place about 2500 orders/day at 2 for 1 pizza. enough so that even a pizza joint is outsourcing labor to India.
Wow.
clarification
Dear all,
after my last post, my mom wrote worrying that i wouldn't be able to escape a fire. I just wanted to clarify that there are two doors to my room - one leads into the rest of the house, and the other leads to the bathroom AND then to the exit to the street. So I can leave the house no matter what. I can only go IN the house when someone else is there AND they haven't locked my door. Now, they have stopped locking it while they are there, but when they aren't there it stays locked.... just wanted to let everyone know i am in no risk of being trapped in a fire.
allen
after my last post, my mom wrote worrying that i wouldn't be able to escape a fire. I just wanted to clarify that there are two doors to my room - one leads into the rest of the house, and the other leads to the bathroom AND then to the exit to the street. So I can leave the house no matter what. I can only go IN the house when someone else is there AND they haven't locked my door. Now, they have stopped locking it while they are there, but when they aren't there it stays locked.... just wanted to let everyone know i am in no risk of being trapped in a fire.
allen
Ek Hafta (One Week)
Dear All,
I havent written for awhile, b'c I have been super busy in my first week just trying to settle in. classes have been going well so far, and I am in the intermediate group with a solid class of six people with whom I get along quite well. So the academic part of it all is great. The teachers know what they are doing and the school seems remarkably well organized.
In my last post, I mentioned that I was going to be staying with a family in a really nice house. Well, that deserves a little explanation. Frankly, it's going to take some getting used to. My hosts are Jains - which means they practice Jainism. This is a sort of extreme end of the scale that really believes in purity cleanliness and all that kind of stuff. They are also extremely wealthy. So. They have 4 servants. That alone to me is crazy. From what I can tell "Aunti-Ji" spends most of her time at home ordering them around to make sure that everything gets done the way she wants it.... But then again this is India and wealth disparities and caste distinctions are probalby not news to any of you reading this blog.
But it gets weirder. or at least to me. So my room has its own bathroom and on the other side of the bathroom there is a door to the laundary room that leads out a side door of the house. All well and good. they gave me the key to the backdoor and said tat i could come and go as I pleased. At dinner on the first night, I was given my plate, bowls, spoon and glass. I have used the same ones ever since. Aunti-ji told me that I was to wash my own dishes in my own bathroom sink. (this was really weird to me, b'c she didnt give me any soap to do it with...) I guess in every other house in every other part of the world I have ever been to, people generally wash dishes in the same place that they prepare food - usually not the same place where they wash themselves..... It was also doubly weird that the servants (remember 4 of them) were washing everyone else's dishes, but i was to wash mine in the bathroom???
That night I went to sleep. When I woke up in the morning, my bedroom door was locked. from the other side!!! The bedroom door opens onto the living room. And while i was asleep they bolted it shut. I guess they dont want me to wake up in the middle of the night at sit on the couch or at the dining room table.... I, of course, woke up rather early about 630 and basically sat around wondering when they were going to let me out. It's really kind of weird feeling locked out of what is generally a quasi public space....
Later I was told that I was to ALWAYS use the backdoor and never use the side door - which is the door taht everyone else uses, even the servants.
That first evening I went shopping with Aunti Ji just to check out the town - which actually meant spending an hour or two waiting in the car b'c she didn't actually want me to go with her (despite inviting me). During that time I got to know a couple of the servants really well. They are some of the sweetest nicest people I have ever met. The driver has already invited me to come visit his village with him next month. (He is allowed to go see his family for one day every month). I'm totally going.
So anyhow, it has been kind of weird being segregated off. It's as if my presence in their house might some how polute it. They dont want me anywhere near their kitchen and they definitely won't want me using any of the same cups and such that they do. I have however convinced them not to lock my door at night - with the suggestion that I will lock it from the inside. That's just weird to me. It's not like I need to go in the living room, but I just dont like feeling caged in.....
The family has a 22 year old son who is pretty laid back - but he works with his father and I get the impressino that business is very stressful for them these days.... My first night here, I went out for ice cream with my host brother and on our way back we were told that there were guests, so while we stood at the back door waiting ot be let in (my key didn't work, b'c they had bolted it....) the parents and teh guests moved to another room so that we could enter without being seen.
I guess me interacting with friends of theirs is just completely beyond question. again. weird. It's kind of like being a second-class citizen. It's not like being a servant, but just having everything be "separate but equal" maybe its more like apartheid. It's going to be an interesting summer here - that's for sure.
bullet points:
* Good News: I gotta bicycle and a cell phone! (i'm really glad I brought my bike lights and helmet - I think I am the only person in lukhnow who rides safely)
* Bad news: I havent been able to find an internet connection fast enough to skype without constantly getting cut off and delaying and repeatedly saying "can you hear me now?"
* Unrelated news: Pakistan plays Sri Lanka in the World Cricket Championships tomorrow. At least one of the world's least happiest countries will have reason for joy.
Thanks to you all for reading this far. I hope you are having a good week wherever you are. Please write and let us know how you are doing - we'd love to hear from each and every one of you.
best,
allen
I havent written for awhile, b'c I have been super busy in my first week just trying to settle in. classes have been going well so far, and I am in the intermediate group with a solid class of six people with whom I get along quite well. So the academic part of it all is great. The teachers know what they are doing and the school seems remarkably well organized.
In my last post, I mentioned that I was going to be staying with a family in a really nice house. Well, that deserves a little explanation. Frankly, it's going to take some getting used to. My hosts are Jains - which means they practice Jainism. This is a sort of extreme end of the scale that really believes in purity cleanliness and all that kind of stuff. They are also extremely wealthy. So. They have 4 servants. That alone to me is crazy. From what I can tell "Aunti-Ji" spends most of her time at home ordering them around to make sure that everything gets done the way she wants it.... But then again this is India and wealth disparities and caste distinctions are probalby not news to any of you reading this blog.
But it gets weirder. or at least to me. So my room has its own bathroom and on the other side of the bathroom there is a door to the laundary room that leads out a side door of the house. All well and good. they gave me the key to the backdoor and said tat i could come and go as I pleased. At dinner on the first night, I was given my plate, bowls, spoon and glass. I have used the same ones ever since. Aunti-ji told me that I was to wash my own dishes in my own bathroom sink. (this was really weird to me, b'c she didnt give me any soap to do it with...) I guess in every other house in every other part of the world I have ever been to, people generally wash dishes in the same place that they prepare food - usually not the same place where they wash themselves..... It was also doubly weird that the servants (remember 4 of them) were washing everyone else's dishes, but i was to wash mine in the bathroom???
That night I went to sleep. When I woke up in the morning, my bedroom door was locked. from the other side!!! The bedroom door opens onto the living room. And while i was asleep they bolted it shut. I guess they dont want me to wake up in the middle of the night at sit on the couch or at the dining room table.... I, of course, woke up rather early about 630 and basically sat around wondering when they were going to let me out. It's really kind of weird feeling locked out of what is generally a quasi public space....
Later I was told that I was to ALWAYS use the backdoor and never use the side door - which is the door taht everyone else uses, even the servants.
That first evening I went shopping with Aunti Ji just to check out the town - which actually meant spending an hour or two waiting in the car b'c she didn't actually want me to go with her (despite inviting me). During that time I got to know a couple of the servants really well. They are some of the sweetest nicest people I have ever met. The driver has already invited me to come visit his village with him next month. (He is allowed to go see his family for one day every month). I'm totally going.
So anyhow, it has been kind of weird being segregated off. It's as if my presence in their house might some how polute it. They dont want me anywhere near their kitchen and they definitely won't want me using any of the same cups and such that they do. I have however convinced them not to lock my door at night - with the suggestion that I will lock it from the inside. That's just weird to me. It's not like I need to go in the living room, but I just dont like feeling caged in.....
The family has a 22 year old son who is pretty laid back - but he works with his father and I get the impressino that business is very stressful for them these days.... My first night here, I went out for ice cream with my host brother and on our way back we were told that there were guests, so while we stood at the back door waiting ot be let in (my key didn't work, b'c they had bolted it....) the parents and teh guests moved to another room so that we could enter without being seen.
I guess me interacting with friends of theirs is just completely beyond question. again. weird. It's kind of like being a second-class citizen. It's not like being a servant, but just having everything be "separate but equal" maybe its more like apartheid. It's going to be an interesting summer here - that's for sure.
bullet points:
* Good News: I gotta bicycle and a cell phone! (i'm really glad I brought my bike lights and helmet - I think I am the only person in lukhnow who rides safely)
* Bad news: I havent been able to find an internet connection fast enough to skype without constantly getting cut off and delaying and repeatedly saying "can you hear me now?"
* Unrelated news: Pakistan plays Sri Lanka in the World Cricket Championships tomorrow. At least one of the world's least happiest countries will have reason for joy.
Thanks to you all for reading this far. I hope you are having a good week wherever you are. Please write and let us know how you are doing - we'd love to hear from each and every one of you.
best,
allen
Monday, June 15, 2009
Lucknow!
(another note from Allen)
I have successfully oriented in Delhi and am now in Luck. now. I am in Luck, now. or so it may seem. Today I visited my soon to be host family for a very short time and will move in tomorrow. They seem nice and the room seems clean. I don't really know much yet. They showed me that there was an alleyway which led to a door directly to my room. I wonder if that means they don't want me to be in the rest of the house? we'll find out. The only member of the family I met was the mother. She seemed very nice, she is very Hindu - so that will help me to keep increasing my hindi vocabulary while learning Urdu - which is kind of perfect. She kind of reminded me of one of my Hindi Teachers back at NYU... Anyhow, more to come. Tomorrow is the placement test. Wish me luck!
I have successfully oriented in Delhi and am now in Luck. now. I am in Luck, now. or so it may seem. Today I visited my soon to be host family for a very short time and will move in tomorrow. They seem nice and the room seems clean. I don't really know much yet. They showed me that there was an alleyway which led to a door directly to my room. I wonder if that means they don't want me to be in the rest of the house? we'll find out. The only member of the family I met was the mother. She seemed very nice, she is very Hindu - so that will help me to keep increasing my hindi vocabulary while learning Urdu - which is kind of perfect. She kind of reminded me of one of my Hindi Teachers back at NYU... Anyhow, more to come. Tomorrow is the placement test. Wish me luck!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Note from Allen on htis first impressions of India during the monsoons
Dear Friends,
I am safe and sound in India and just wanted to give you guys a little shout out.
First. It's insanely hot. It's so hot I'm afraid of going outside for the next 2 hours because I might melt. I walked out of the airport (at 11pm) and felt like I was slipping into a steamroom. Yeah. not a sauna, a steam room.
I got picked up by the school and everything is comfy cozy here at the compound. although i don't know where any of the other students are and from what i have been told I am actually pretty far away from the city center - so i am kind of on lockdown. but its all good, i got the internet working and have my book..... I think I am in a region of South Delhi built by the British called Cantonment. I might google map it in a minute just to check it out.
I met some pretty interesting folks on the plane. First a lady who is a Database administrator in New York with family in Hyderabad who chatted me up about Nikki's work, and second a Dilliwala (which means person from Delhi) who lives part time in Brazil and imports musical instruments and clothes and stuff to sell to Brazilian hippies - and other tourists. Pretty cool. I have his email and can follow up with him about where he gets his drums. Ah globalization.....
So that's about it for day one. Orientation starts tomorrow and on monday we fly to Lucknow. I don't have a cell phone yet and probably won't get one until I am in lucknow, but when i do, i'll be sure to post the number so you guys can contact me in case of emergency - or just to say hi. BTW to call my Indian Cell phone from SKYPE costs you 2 pennies/minute. so feel free to just give me a buzz sometime when you are in front of your computer. just remember that I am 9.5 hours AHEAD of you in time. so morning time or really late at night for you East coasters would be the best.....
that's all for now.
best,
allen
I am safe and sound in India and just wanted to give you guys a little shout out.
First. It's insanely hot. It's so hot I'm afraid of going outside for the next 2 hours because I might melt. I walked out of the airport (at 11pm) and felt like I was slipping into a steamroom. Yeah. not a sauna, a steam room.
I got picked up by the school and everything is comfy cozy here at the compound. although i don't know where any of the other students are and from what i have been told I am actually pretty far away from the city center - so i am kind of on lockdown. but its all good, i got the internet working and have my book..... I think I am in a region of South Delhi built by the British called Cantonment. I might google map it in a minute just to check it out.
I met some pretty interesting folks on the plane. First a lady who is a Database administrator in New York with family in Hyderabad who chatted me up about Nikki's work, and second a Dilliwala (which means person from Delhi) who lives part time in Brazil and imports musical instruments and clothes and stuff to sell to Brazilian hippies - and other tourists. Pretty cool. I have his email and can follow up with him about where he gets his drums. Ah globalization.....
So that's about it for day one. Orientation starts tomorrow and on monday we fly to Lucknow. I don't have a cell phone yet and probably won't get one until I am in lucknow, but when i do, i'll be sure to post the number so you guys can contact me in case of emergency - or just to say hi. BTW to call my Indian Cell phone from SKYPE costs you 2 pennies/minute. so feel free to just give me a buzz sometime when you are in front of your computer. just remember that I am 9.5 hours AHEAD of you in time. so morning time or really late at night for you East coasters would be the best.....
that's all for now.
best,
allen
Friday, June 12, 2009
Allen has made it safe and sound to Delhi
Just a short FYI: Allen made it safe and sound to Delhi. He'll be there for a couple of days of orientation before heading to the American Institute of Indian Studies language program in Lucknow.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Blog name change!
So in advance of Allen's imminent departure we decided to spruce up the blog a bit by changing the name to...
(We like plays on words)
The new title means "Wheels Around The World" in Portuguese (interpret that how you will) --- but hey! it has our name in it now!!!
Rodas Em Todo O Mundo
(We like plays on words)
The new title means "Wheels Around The World" in Portuguese (interpret that how you will) --- but hey! it has our name in it now!!!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Join Followers of Nikki and Allen's Blog
For those of you interested in keeping up with our comings and goings --- but aren't obsessed with some form of RSS reader (if you have you ask, you'll never know) --- we've started list serv, which will let us forward our blog updates to your email, instead of having to check our blog all the time.
Shoot us an email if you're interested in joining
Shoot us an email if you're interested in joining
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Memorial Day Weekend in Asheville, NC
(After Allen's text heavy post from yesterday....)
We spent Memorial Day weekend hanging out with the Roda clan and the Brady bunch... eating barbecue, playing with babies and telling stories.
Here are some of the highlights from the weekend:
We spent Memorial Day weekend hanging out with the Roda clan and the Brady bunch... eating barbecue, playing with babies and telling stories.
Here are some of the highlights from the weekend:
The Story of Little Dame Krump from Nikki Candelore on Vimeo.
... as told by our 102 year old grandmother --- slam poetry style!
William the Pacifier from Nikki Candelore on Vimeo.
Our nephew William goes to town on this scary T-Rex toy
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
What I will be doing for the next 2 years
Dear Friends,
I thought that it would be a good idea to tell you all what I am up to. My Dissertation, tentatively titled "Making Banaras Tabla: An Actor Network Approach to Musical Production" was approved by my committee last year in June. In that document, I argued that when we hear musical performances it is not just the performers, but the instruments themselves that are creating sound. Instruments are actively participating in the production of music. In this sense, they are "Actors". It follows then that musical production is not something created by a single individual, but rather by a network of "actors" both human and non-human. My work focusses on a particular set of non-human actors involved in musical production: the instruments.
Subsequently, these instruments did not appear magically out of a vaccuum. They were in fact built by another set of actors including musical instrument makers, their tools, the materials they used, and perhaps other workers they have contracted to perform specific tasks. Subsequently, the instrument itself can also be seen as the product of a network of human and non-human actors. It is to this network and the way in which these actors come together to produce the instruments that ultimately contribute to musical production that I shall devote my research.
In order to do this research, I had to situate myself in a particular place. I chose India for a variety of reasons. The primary reason is that I have perhaps more experience with Tabla than I do with any other instrument, which is a product of the fact that for the last decade I have tried to pick up a new instrument just about every year..... It is also strategic in the sense that I will also be learning quite a bit about the music of South Asia and hope to be able to teach undergraduate courses on the region in the future.
In the fall of last year, I applied for approximately 1 Bajillion grants. That's a specific term. In October, I was offered the American Institute of Indian Studies Junior Research Fellowship - which unfortunately disqualified me from even being considered for the Social Science Research Council or the Wenner Gren Foundation. So as of Last October, I had the luxury of actually knowing that I would, in fact, be going to India for my dissertation research.
In the spring I taught my first stand alone class at NYU called "The Art of Listening" which focussed more on "Sound" than it did on "Music" but also spent a good deal of time interrogating what it means to be an "audience". That was very exciting, and very time Consuming.
Then in the course of about 2 weeks in late April I heard back from a number of grants. I received another grant from the American Institute for Indian Studies to spend a year of Language training in Lucknow. I received a Fulbright Student Award and a Critical Language Enhancement Award that would have provided me with 13 months of funding for language training and research. Finally, I also received a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship for Summer language training from NYU's department of Near Eastern Studies.
After much hemming and hawing, Nikki and I ultimately decided to politely decline the Fulbright award, because it would not allow itself to be combined with any other award. I was, however, able to combine the other three awards.
So this is what is going to happen. On June 11th (Next Thursday) I am going to fly to New Delhi for a 2 day Orientation, then I am going to fly to Lucknow on June 15th to begin my Summer Urdu Language program which continues until August 22nd. Some of you may wonder why Urdu and not Hindi. There are several reasons. One is that both languages sound the same only have slightly different vocabularies. For the most part they are mutually intelligible, despite being written completely differently. The second is that Urdu is spoken by most Muslims in South Asia, and from my preliminary research it seems that the VAST majority of tabla makers are Muslim. Finally, if I had signed up for Hindi classes, I would have spent a year in Jaipur - Rajasthan - which does not have a particular history of tabla production or performance. Lucknow is one of India's historic centers of tabla - so it is an ideal location to spend a year. Perhaps I will find some time on the weekends to get some research done while studying for my classes.
As for Nikki, she will not be coming until late August, and we currently do not know the exact dates. We think that she will be spending the fall semester in Lucknow and the Spring Semester in Bangalore; however we haven't figured that out yet. Still in the works.
We DO know, however, that we will return to the US in June of next year - and would love to see everyone when we get back. We will probably be returning to India in August to begin the research portion of the trip.
If you have read this much, you obviously care a lot about what the two of us are up to. If you feel so inclinced, shoot us a line to let us know what YOU are doing.
Love, Peace, and Happiness,
Allen
I thought that it would be a good idea to tell you all what I am up to. My Dissertation, tentatively titled "Making Banaras Tabla: An Actor Network Approach to Musical Production" was approved by my committee last year in June. In that document, I argued that when we hear musical performances it is not just the performers, but the instruments themselves that are creating sound. Instruments are actively participating in the production of music. In this sense, they are "Actors". It follows then that musical production is not something created by a single individual, but rather by a network of "actors" both human and non-human. My work focusses on a particular set of non-human actors involved in musical production: the instruments.
Subsequently, these instruments did not appear magically out of a vaccuum. They were in fact built by another set of actors including musical instrument makers, their tools, the materials they used, and perhaps other workers they have contracted to perform specific tasks. Subsequently, the instrument itself can also be seen as the product of a network of human and non-human actors. It is to this network and the way in which these actors come together to produce the instruments that ultimately contribute to musical production that I shall devote my research.
In order to do this research, I had to situate myself in a particular place. I chose India for a variety of reasons. The primary reason is that I have perhaps more experience with Tabla than I do with any other instrument, which is a product of the fact that for the last decade I have tried to pick up a new instrument just about every year..... It is also strategic in the sense that I will also be learning quite a bit about the music of South Asia and hope to be able to teach undergraduate courses on the region in the future.
In the fall of last year, I applied for approximately 1 Bajillion grants. That's a specific term. In October, I was offered the American Institute of Indian Studies Junior Research Fellowship - which unfortunately disqualified me from even being considered for the Social Science Research Council or the Wenner Gren Foundation. So as of Last October, I had the luxury of actually knowing that I would, in fact, be going to India for my dissertation research.
In the spring I taught my first stand alone class at NYU called "The Art of Listening" which focussed more on "Sound" than it did on "Music" but also spent a good deal of time interrogating what it means to be an "audience". That was very exciting, and very time Consuming.
Then in the course of about 2 weeks in late April I heard back from a number of grants. I received another grant from the American Institute for Indian Studies to spend a year of Language training in Lucknow. I received a Fulbright Student Award and a Critical Language Enhancement Award that would have provided me with 13 months of funding for language training and research. Finally, I also received a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship for Summer language training from NYU's department of Near Eastern Studies.
After much hemming and hawing, Nikki and I ultimately decided to politely decline the Fulbright award, because it would not allow itself to be combined with any other award. I was, however, able to combine the other three awards.
So this is what is going to happen. On June 11th (Next Thursday) I am going to fly to New Delhi for a 2 day Orientation, then I am going to fly to Lucknow on June 15th to begin my Summer Urdu Language program which continues until August 22nd. Some of you may wonder why Urdu and not Hindi. There are several reasons. One is that both languages sound the same only have slightly different vocabularies. For the most part they are mutually intelligible, despite being written completely differently. The second is that Urdu is spoken by most Muslims in South Asia, and from my preliminary research it seems that the VAST majority of tabla makers are Muslim. Finally, if I had signed up for Hindi classes, I would have spent a year in Jaipur - Rajasthan - which does not have a particular history of tabla production or performance. Lucknow is one of India's historic centers of tabla - so it is an ideal location to spend a year. Perhaps I will find some time on the weekends to get some research done while studying for my classes.
As for Nikki, she will not be coming until late August, and we currently do not know the exact dates. We think that she will be spending the fall semester in Lucknow and the Spring Semester in Bangalore; however we haven't figured that out yet. Still in the works.
We DO know, however, that we will return to the US in June of next year - and would love to see everyone when we get back. We will probably be returning to India in August to begin the research portion of the trip.
If you have read this much, you obviously care a lot about what the two of us are up to. If you feel so inclinced, shoot us a line to let us know what YOU are doing.
Love, Peace, and Happiness,
Allen
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