This is my last Indian update! My train to Chennai leaves tomorrow evening after the SITA Program Farewell Tea. It's tradition: all the families, friends and host students have tea and say their goodbyes at a hotel near the center. If a student wishes to they can perform their extracurricular activity for the group. Sarah and Asumi will do traditional Indian dance; Laura will sing; Danielle will play violin; and I will go yoga! I am very nervous to get up in front of the entire group of people and bend myself in ways often unbecoming, but it's a rite of passage. To make it a little more interesting I've written a fairytale to go along with the moves; in it, my name is Yoga Lakshmi. I try to wake up, get yelled at in class, walk across bridges, and salute the sun. Hopefully, the story will make it a little more interesting...

I finished my paper a day early and turned in all 30 pages with a flourish! I am so proud of the work I put into it and plan to add it to my DU Portfolio- as soon as I get back I'm going to try to find an internship! Luckily, I finished the majority of the work the week before the paper was due, because I got very sick last Tuesday and ended up in the hospital. Don't worry; contrary to popular belief India has some of the best hospitals in the world so I was well taken care of. I was diagnosed with Chicken Gonya, a fever that has been plaguing this part of India and causes severe joint pain. If you catch it early enough all you need is one injection and a couple days rest, which is exactly what I took. I also had laryngitis but some antibiotics and spicy food cleared that right up!

I stayed two days at an ashram in Natham, a rural area outside Madurai. I spent the time doing yoga, eating plain ashram food (they have a very strict diet), resting and relaxing. It was a much needed vacation! Then, I met up with the other students at a Gandhian Thought social work center also located in Natham, where we spent two days resting and relaxing as a group. Now, I have two days with my host family to pack....and rest and relax.

All this relaxation has been nice but, honestly, it's driving me a bit nuts! After such a busy semester it's weird to slow down, especially when I'm so excited to go home. There's only so many times I can pre-pack! My trip home is going to be arduous: it starts with a night train and ends 2 days and 3 planes later. My suitcase is full of presents, and not much else!

I can't wait to see many of you on Thanksgiving! As for everyone else, let's do lunch! But please, no rice.

I have attached a picture of, surprise surprise, me resting and relaxing.

The home stretch is here!

Pondicherry was a nice little getaway although it did provide some important travel lessons. For one, don't let your autorickshaw driver show you "the cheap guest houses"- they will be anything but cheap and very poor quality! Also, beware the "pristine" Bay of Bengal beaches, unless to you "pristine" means "full of smelly fish drying on the sand." Finally, stay in ashram-owned guest houses; after our first night in the driver-recommended pig sty we pulled out our wallets for a marginally more expensive but ashram-owned guest house. The owner treated us like her grandchildren and the room was spectacular. We bought some fine French cheese (available in Pondicherry) and spent the night relaxing. It was the perfect break from my busy research schedule!

Aside from booze and cheese (Pondicherry is a Union Territory so alcohol is not illegal) Ponidicherry is famous for it's socialist community, Auroville. It was started by a popular guru, The Mother, upon inspiration from her guru, Sri Aurobindo. It is an exemplary new-age community based on the ideals of sharing, spirituality, and peace. It feels like a movie to walk through the place; a huge golden dome marks the community center and contains sand from every country. Auroville limits tourist access to a small area so as not to bother it's inhabitants, who number now in the thousands. The community was started in the 1970's and is still undergoing construction; it is slated to hold 51,000 by the time it's finished! It's an inspirational experiment in harmonious living between people and nature, and I recommend anyone interested check it out. One of our SITA students swears he will return to live there post-graduation, and I actually believe him!

For Halloween the SITA students hosted a big party at the SITA Center. The main attraction was our very own Haunted House. I don't want to toot my own horn but, in the words of my host family, I was the "main star." My character was a blood-soaked doctor. The smell of ketchup (blood) and the food I used as guts (Ramen, pumpkin innards, and boiled okra) combined to make me nauseous for the entire 2 hours, but it was all worth it to hear the terrified shrieks of so many poor Indian children! ;) Honestly, "scary houses" in India are nothing compared to those in the U.S. and I think us students may have gone a bit overboard with cutting/killing/zombie crawling. When my host sister came through I had to take off my mask and say, "Suruthi, it's OK, it's just me!" However, the free cake and candy made it all better!

I will post at least once more before I return to the States. Pakalam for now!

Emily

Karnataka is Awesome

Hello everyone! Sorry (as usual) for the long delay. After Karnataka I immediately dove into my IS project and this weekend was Diwali, the Hindu holiday (that I heard Obama celebrated at the White House??).

Before I tell you all about how great my tour in Karnataka was let me get one thing off my chest: I turn 21 tomorrow! In one of the most sober countries in the world! And I really could not be happier about it. :)

My time in Karnatake can be broken into three main segments: Mysore, Hospet/Hampi, and finally Bangalore. In each city I had a completely unique experience. The one unifying thing for all the different areas was how open and friendly I found the people to be. My host father had mentioned that Karnatakans are "so nice," and he was right!

Mysore- This thriving city is one of my favorite metropolises that I've visited. Central to the tourism/city pride is the Mysore Palace. Touring the palace made me feel like I was in Versailles all over again; it's a very European and regal. We got to take a private tour of the weapons room and the hunting hall- a very creepy place. I spent 5 minutes being stared down by the stuffed tigers, elephants, rhinos, bears, giraffe, crocodiles, etc. until I took my leave... I also visited a great outdoor market in spent a whole lot of money at one of the Mysore Arts Emporiums. Let it be noted: I love Karnataka and Karnataka loves my wallet. The other highlight of Mysore was hiking to the top of a Jain mountain, where a 30-foot high monolothic statue of a Tirathankara. Tirathankaras are Jain devotees who are released from the cycle of miserable life by committing suicide. It was bizarre to see such a beautiful temple devoted to suicide worship! I have included a picture of the statue.

Hampi/Hospet- There is no way to convey how awe-inspiring Hampi is! There are three of the largest archeological sites in the world: Macchu Picchu, a place in Cambodia, and Hampi. Hampi is a hilly region strewn with boulders caused by a huge volcanic explosion centuries ago. Around the 14th century (I think!) the Vijayanagara Empire came to dominate the region, naming Hampi it's capital. The entire city is covered in the ruins of temples, marketplaces, palaces and more; everywhere you look is an ancient edifice! We rented bicycles and spent the day wandering the ruins and laughing with the locals. I have included a picture of my friends and I lunching in a temple ruin (by the way, Hampi had excellent food! We packed hummus and chappathi to-go). I spent 3 days in this fashion: wandering and shopping, hiking and eating. People, you have to see it for yourself!

Bangalore- Where East meets West! We only had 12 hours here so we went to the local mall, full of Western shops like Zara, the Body Shop, and tech stores. We watched a movie (The Surrogate, a bad Bruce Willis sci-fi that was perfect for the occasion!) and ate at Subway. It was nice to spend a day in America but even better to exit and return to India. I'm not quite ready to come home...

I'd also like to talk a little bit more about the chaos that is Diwali. Everyone I ask gives me a different story on the holiday; apparently it has distinct regional variations. In Madurai it is mostly celebrated by businessmen worhsipping Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth. Yet it's also called "The Festival of Lights." And, wow, there are lights. Everyone buys atrocious amounts of "crackers" (fireworks) and lights them non-stop for the entire 24 hours. I woke at 5:30 to the sounds of them! During the day only sound crackers are lit; I felt like I was in Baghdad what with all the explosions and smoke and noise. There are no restrictions on firework sizes so anyone with enough rupees can buy the massive 4th of July-size fireworks. These went off all around us as we stood on the roof to ooh-and-aah. Really, I stood there with my knees shaking.

In the coming weeks I will focus entirely on my IS Project. However, we are travelling to Pondicherry this weekend for a short vacation. I look forward to laying on the beach and eating French pastries!


Cheers!
Emily

Shout out to Northridge!

Before I forget (again)...
I want to say VANNAKKAAM to Joel Stewart's class at Northridge Elementary! Thanks so much for following my blog! You guys are awesome! Here is an interesting bit of information for you...
In Tamil (the language here) the word for flower is puu, pronounced like "poo." Funny, huh? (Sorry, Dad).

I wanted to upload some pictures of my trip to Kerala before I leave for Karnhataka this week. Sorry I didn't include them in the last post! These are pictures of the trek and boating, as well as some other cute ones. My Dad requested that I include more photos of myself, so this is for you, Dad!
We have officially ended the classroom-learning portion of our study abroad. Also, I finally decided on an Independent Study topic after a series of fortunate events. My Society/Politics class toured an NGO called Teddy Trust, a community-based organization started by a woman from Northern Ireland. Impressed by the organization and shocked to find a fellow Northern Irish lass in the middle of S. India, I requested an interview. Amanda is an in-demand lady so I didn't really expect to land the interview. I decided to mention my Irish roots just in case...Lo and behold, she called, we hit it off and scheduled a time to meet, and now I plan to make Teddy Trust the focus of my study on Madurai NGO's. Luck o' the Irish!
We are traveling to Bangalore, Mysore, Hampi and Hospet the next week- I can't wait to see some of the famous ruins in Hampi. We are taking four separate night trains so I expect to be in some state of delirium the entire time. Tune in for interesting stories!
Hope all is well back home and thanks for reading!

Trip to Kerala

We returned from our first "tour" to the territory of Kerala on Saturday. Kerala is a gorgeous, spice-laden state directly West of Tamil Nadu. It is mountainous and cool. It's so fun to get away and "play tourist." We enjoyed the following luxuries:

Trekking- This is no easy hike! After waking at 5 a.m. we hopped on a bamboo raft that took us across a river and into the jungle. During the trip we saw the rare black monkeys (they look like they have afros), snakes, wild boar, wild dog, and lotsandlotsandlots of leeches. Really big, gross leeches. The greatest sighting was actually a near-trauma: as we waded through the brush, my friend Sarah shrieked- a huge scorprion was crawling up her foot! We had apparently all walked past the behemouth without noticing. It's rare to see a scorpion of that size and we were very lucky (except Sarah). While walking we asked our guide about his scariest trekking moment. Apparently, he was leading a few English couples into the forest one morning. The group was suddenly stampeded by a herd of elephants. While running into the brush one "fat" English woman stumbled and fell. Our guide was bitten as he tried to help her and then trampled by an elephant. He was knocked unconscious, coming to 30 min. later and 2 km. downriver, where he was approached by a fisherman. He instructed the fisherman to find the English people (who were all OK) and was eventually taken to the hospital. Today, his "elbow is powder" and leg "steel." Radical, dude.

Traditional Keralan martial arts demonstration- The Indian martial arts are amazing, and Kerala is no exception. They use a variety of weapons and employ religious prayer and ritual throughout. Fire jumping, stick fighting, yoga, and hand-to-hand combat are included. I was enthralled!

Rive boating- Since Kerala is on the ocean and swampy boating is both a necessity and a pastime. We got to enjoy the luxury of houseboating the Kerala "backwaters." This is a favorite destination of heads-of-state. The spacious and comfortable boats float lazily around the peaceful bird reserve, offering beds for overnight stay and lots of snacks. It was so relaxing!

Kathakali Performance- Kathakali is a traditional Indian dance form. You've probably seen pictures of it before: the men have painted faces, bulging eyes, and very elaborate costumes. The whole thing is based on facial movement. I had no idea someone could contort like that! It was fascinating and very entertaining. Look it up!

Italian food- Yes, yes I know, but there is only so much Indian food I can take before I develop what we call "iddili belly" (iddili is a rice bread they serve here). We consulted the guide books and found a genuine Italian restaurant, where I enjoyed the most amazing gnocchi in Asia. We ate ourselves silly, and on the way home 5 of us paid for it dearly, vomiting on the side of the road and compensating the unfortunate autorickshaw driver dearly. I was fine. :)

So much happened during the week that I would like to include, but my internet time is almost up. We have two more weeks of classtime, then take another tour (Bangalore), then our month-long independent study period. Believe it or not, this week is the halfway point of my study abroad experience...

Until next time!

Pictures cont'd

Hello, how are you, niinka caavukiyaama?

It's been almost two weeks since I last wrote. I have mostly been around Madurai, developing a bit of a routine, yet this is bound to change since formal classes end in 3 weeks. After we finish formal classes we will begin our independent field research. What will you research, Emily? I still have no idea! There is so much here that interests, confuses and delights me, I have no clue how to pick a single topic...

One highlight of the last two weeks was our trip to Kodaikkannal. Kodai is a popular tourist destination far up in the Indian mountains. It was gorgeous (I have attached some pictures) and such a nice respite from the city. The air in the mountains was clean and cool (versus polluted and hot) and our schedule was relatively free. We did visit a coffee research plant that offers adivse to local farmers. Beware of the Indian tour: you will probaly be walked through every minute aspect of the organization, introduced to a multitude of employees, and may be invited to the guide's house for tea afterward... We also visited an agricultural field that contained bananas, oranges, gooseberries, eucalyptus, and avocado. The oranges were the best I've ever tasted! The field was an incredible place, with a 3,000 year-old stone tomb and a temple complex at the very top. We spent a long time sitting on the edge of a rock cliff, enjoying the lush view and eating oranges.

For those of you who contributed monetarily to this academic experience, don't fret! I do not regularly sit on cliffs and eat oranges. In fact, I am SO busy! I have at least 3 classes a day, usually followed by some sort of field trip (we have visited temples for my Religion class and multiple villages and NGO's for my Socio/Political course). After class I attend yoga and get home late to eat dinner and chat with my family. Around 10:00 my host family goes to bed, giving me some quiet time to study. But by that point my brain is usually mush from all the stimulus and information I packed in during the day... This trip is a test of willpower, time management and balance!

We are leaving to visit the South Indian state of Kerala next week. It is the first of three "tours" we will takes, and I am so excited! In the schedule is river boating, elephant-riding, and ocean-viewing, so it's sure to be amazing!

Pictures Continued

Sorry, I'm still getting the hang of this!

Vannakaam!

If "settling in" means getting used to always being lost/confused then I am proud to say that I've settled in quite nicely! It's been just over a week since I met my host family and moved to Maduari. In this week I've seen a countryside temple dedicated to the God Shiva, a sacred tree Grove called Avanyyar, the huge Meenakshi Temple here in Madurai, cows, horses, pigs, sheep, rich people, poor people, trash, carts, buses nearly toppled over with people hanging off the sides, and my own life flash before my eyes (riding a bicycle to school). I'm loving every minute of it!

Where to begin? My host family is a typical middle-class Indian family. The father, who I called Annan (brother) is an Advocate (lawyer) and the family owns several homes that they rent out. The children, Kogil and Sruthi, are incredibly studious- they have school six days a week followed by two-hours of "tuition" (tutoring) every day, and then homework! The whole family speaks some degree of English with the kids being the best. I have formed a great relationship with Chitra, my host mother. Speaking to one another is like floating down a river of gramatically mis-aligned English and Tamil, but if we just keep talking we can usually get the point across. Luckily, most people here speak English and Tamil itself is littered with English words (thanks, Brits!) so I haven't had much of a problem. My Tamil is getting better by the day, though!

My brain is expanding like a wet sponge. Every Indian I've encountered is more than happy to converse about everything taboo in the States: politics and religion. Hinduism is such an integral part of life here but any learned person can as readily quote Jesus Christ or Buddha. I have had so many rewarding conversations and am learning a great deal about the Indian lifestyle and spirituality!

Yesterday was Ganesh's birthday, the huge elephant God that dots the doors of every house in Madurai. Celebrations took place at Meenakshi Temple, the namesake of my blog. The Temple is in the very center of the city and provides it's greatest pride. It is a massive temple that is painted very brightly and contains a multitude of rooms, statues, prayer spaces and it's own market. Frankly, it feels like the Disneyland of temples, and I much prefer the quiet rural places of worship. However, there are always weddings and familial celebrations at Meenakshi. I love seeing the beautiful Indian brides with their henna tattoos, shy smiles, and downturned eyes. Marriage is one of the most important events for any Indian family and the happiness of the parents and attendees is palpable. Marriages here are arranged by the parents and caste-reliant- in fact, caste is alive an thriving here! The intersection of class and caste, which are very different, is a point in a lot of my societal studies.

I have attached some pictures of the rural temple, Grove, and my host family. I will post again in about a week, so let me know if you have any questions!

Pakkalaam!

Last Night @ Hotel in Thanjavore

Hello everyone! This is my last night in the hotel w/ internet access, so I thought I'd update really fast. I'm not able to post pictures yet, but I've got some really good ones, just you wait!

We have spent this week taking orientation/classes at a hotel in Thanjavore, Tamil Nadu. It's a gorgeous place with marble floors and plants everywhere and a pool outside and tons of foreigners. Needless to say, I keep reminding myself that this is a luxury, not a reality! Although...they have been feeding us a ton of spicy, delicious Indian food, so much that I'm never hungry and looked forward to eating normally with my host family. But lo and behold, they informed us today that the amount we're currently consuming is paltry compared to our host mother's cooking. And they called Americans bad! Did I mention the stigma here against food waste?? I may choose not to update you on the whole food situation....

In other news, today is Krishna's (the Hindu God) birthday! I think he was born somewhere in 600 B.C., but he doesn't look a day over! Still blue, flute-wielding, nymph seducing, butter-stealing, bull-riding Krishna. We travelled to the Hindu temple in Darasarum to see some of the amazing sculptures and carvings of the deity. The temple was magnificent, with ancient Brahman (Hindu religious wise-men) and incredible volcanic sculptures. The Hindu religion has a rule and a symbol for absolutely everything, from love ties between the Gods/Goddesses to the importance of certain directional cues. It's myths were fashioned out of Greek mythology (really, to combat the growing popularity of Buddhism in 600 A.D.) so they're all love and deceipt and heaven and hell. Fascinating!! It's like one long mystical soap opera.

Well, I have to go repack my stuff. We leave for Madurai tomorrow afternoon, where we will stay in aother hotel for the night and meet our host families the following day. I'm so excited and a little nervous. I hope my host siblings, Kogil and Struthi, will like the "Sour Patch Kids" I brought them!

Tamil sentence of the day:

"I want tea, but not milk."
"Ennuka tea veenum, aanaa paal veenaam."

Ha! That's all I know, really.

Emily

Please send mail to:

SITA Center (Attention: Emily Stewart)
34-B, H.A.K. Road
Chinnachokkikulam
Madurai 625002, Tamil Nadu

I would love to receive postcards, letters and packages, and plan to send many of my own out!

Thanks to all for coming to my party- I'll be eating those leftovers until I leave....

Hello Everyone!

After years of reading other people's blogs, I have finally decided to start my own! Primarily, I want this to be a space where I can chronicle my study abroad and communicate all the incredible things I'm discovering to you, my awesome friends and family. I'm still trying to get the hang of this, so bear with me!

My study is through the South India Term Abroad Program. Every year 15 students from different universities in the U.S. travel to Madurai, India, to study abroad for either a semester or year (I am a semester student). We take classes at the SITA center, explore the city and region as a group and as individuals, and live with a host family. My host is a family of four, with two children Maggie and Jane's ages. I think it would be so cool if I could get Maggie and Jane to pen-pal with Kogil and Sruthi (son and daughter, respectively). We'll see!

I plan on posting fairly often, depending on availability of internet and time. The SITA center has internet access and my class schedule is the typical block schedule, so it shouldn't be an issue. However, it would be a horrible misuse of adventure if I spent my Indian days in front of a computer! Enough said!

Please, please comment and ask questions and don't take anything I say too seriously, both because text does not convey sarcasm well and Goodness knows I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. :)

Wish me luck, and keep in touch!