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