Elephants and Illness

Ganesha Outside the Mall on Our Way to School

So India is still a crazy whirlwind, even though we have been here for over 5 weeks. It is crazy to think that 5 weeks can seem like such a short amount of time, but then again it feels like an eternity. I obviously can't deny that this trip has been, and will continue to be, an experience of a lifetime, but I still can't help but be a little excited that I will be back in good old Maine in about two months. I guess they were right when they told me "you can take the girl out of Maine, but you can't take Maine out of the girl." Well, since I haven't really updated this blog in a while, I will give you the low down on the going-ons here and also about my trip to Coorg!

Go Blue!

Alright, so besides me continuing to flip out over the GREs, and procrastinate studying regardless of how much I need and want to, school is pretty much the same. We have our first midterm on Monday, which shouldn't really be a problem because our professor gave us all the questions for the exam. I have high hopes for this semester and really wish my GPA was going to transfer over! I have also started my volunteer hours. I have to do 15 for my Service Learning class, 10 or my
Women's Issues class, and 10 for my Population and Poverty class. I am actually pretty excited about these because I picked two really neat places to volunteer at. For my Women's Issues and Service Learning classes I decided to volunteer at the recycling plant on campus. It turns out that Bangalore, although polluted beyond belief, has the best, biggest, and most efficient recycling centers in all of India! The center is right on campus and it employs eight women from the slum that is right outside of our apartment complex. What we do there is we help to make the paper (as in starting from the pulp), we press it, dry it, cut it, glue it, etc. It is really interesting and harder work than I thought. The women who work there are really nice, but don't speak a lick of English so us volunteers usually just strike up a conversation amongst ourselves and the ladies do the same. For my Population and Poverty class I decided to go into the slum and volunteer at an after school program. Here I help second thru sixth graders with their English homework. Now, I am in HEAVEN here, it is right up my alley, and I plan on doing way more than 10 hours of work here! Besides the volunteer work starting, classes are long and, well, classes.

Failed Attempt at a Titanic Pose

So onto much more exciting things, I went to Coorg last weekend and it was marvelous! Coorg is about 7 to 8 hours away from Bangalore, and so we decided to take a night bus there so we wouldn't take up time during the day to sight see. Well, that was a horrible idea because we got shoved way in the back, the bus was in really bad shape, the seats were horrid, and it took about two extra hours because the bus was apparently carting some illegal goods they had to sell or drop off or something. Well, we FINALLY got there, completely unrested, around 6:30am and headed to find a hotel nearby. Other people in our program had come along too, and by sheer coincidence we were on the same bus. We

Dream Come True!!

decided to all just stay in the same hotel, so we checked in, dumped our stuff off, and headed out for an adventure. My top priority, of course, was to ride an elephant. I told my roommates that as long as we did that, I was game for anything else. Of course, though, we were late because we went sight seeing first (the Titanic Pic fiasco), and we had to take a boat to the island where the elephants lived, so we missed bathing the elephants, HOWEVER, I did get to ride one which was amazing!!! I mean, the fact that I got to ride one was amazing, but the fact that the elephants aren't in the wild is always depressing. i tried to not let it get to me, though, because when they are not working they do live in a forest, and they only come out to work once in a while for tourism or festivals. Also the chains are to let them know that they are in work mode (the noise let's the know), so it's not like they are tying them up so they can't move, it's like putting their work hat on I suppose.

Stopping for a Quick Tree Pose

After we left the elephant camp we headed to a national park to do some "trekking," aka hiking. Lucky for me and my out-of-shape self it was actually just walking around on some trails, which was nice, although I was really full from the suer spicy curry and naan I had just wolfed down, super dehydrated, and wicked sunburned. I should have known this was a recipe for disaster later, but I pushed through anyways. We stopped once in a while for a few photo ops, some meditation, and then headed out to catch the bus back into town. Oh yes, this weekend we learned, well sort of learned, how to work the bus system. Basically you just ask every bus driver if that bus goes to where you want to go and then hop on. Easy enough, right? Yeah, except when the bus is so crowded you are literally hanging onto the outside of the bus from the doorway trying not to fall out. But anyways. We headed back into town and then I started feeling super sick. Everyone was heading to a fountain but I decided to stay in and get some sleep until later when everyone was going out. Well, turns out that super spicy curry mixed with hiking, a sunburn, no sleep, and no water makes a person very, very ill. So I stayed in the whole night sicky pants, which was NOT fun. Note to self: spicy curry is just as spicy coming out as it is going down.

Mysore Palace

Waking up the next morning was easy, mainly because there was a festival LITERALLY right outside our window. Starting at 5:30am. So needless to say the blaring Bollywood music woke me up nice. Luckily whatever had come over me was fixed with a good night's rest and some water, so we rushed to pack up and headed to Mysore, a city about three hours away. THere we split off from our friend Sandy, he wanted to go visit an old girlfriend, so me and my roomies headed to the Mysore Palace. It was beautiful and I wish we could have taken cameras inside, but no shoes or cameras were allowed! We admired it, and the many temples and shrines surrounding it, for a while, then headed inside to see the beautiful architecture. It really was spectacular, and we even got to buy little treats at the end. Beats me what they are called, but they were sugary and delicious!

Elephants at the Zoo

We then headed over to the zoo right down the road, which I have to say was one of the saddest experiences of my life. the animals enclosures were way too tiny, and most didn't have adequate water. I couldn't bear to stay at one exhibit long, although I couldn't pass up a photo op with the elephants, even though their enclosure wasn't even big enough for one. It really was a shame to see all those beautiful animals penned up like that, and I am almost positive that they were not rescued. I don't agree with that, and I didn't know what to expect when i got there, but I definitely would not recommend going there if you are an animal lover!

On the Train

Our last leg of the journey was the train ride back to Bangalore. It was under a dollar for the three hour ride (amazing, I know!), but we got there late (of course) so we didn't really have a seat the entire way. We had half a seat next to this woman so we all took turns sitting there. It was a sleeper cart, and the way it works is no one has a reserved spot, it's first come, first serve, so if you got there a little early, lucky you, you have a seat and maybe even a cushion bench to lay down on! We got to stand, but everyone on the train was really friendly and wanted to know about all the differences between India and America (most everyone here wants to know that). Merchants and food vendors kept making their way through the train, so we were never hungry which was nice, although we were awfully tired. When we finally made it to Bangalore we had to take yet another bus to the mall, then a rickshaw to our apartment. In total, however, to get to Coorg we spent 300 Rupees, which is only $6, and on the way back we only spent 200, so that's $4. In total we only spent $10 on travel, so I say that we made out pretty nice!


It was a very nice weekend, followed by a normally dull week at school. The cherry on top to this full week of school, though, is I am now plagued with illness and have to miss our program field trip to Hampi. My roommate Melissa is also really sick, we we are planning on going to Hampi another time (you should Google this place, it looks AMAZING!). Hopefully we will feel better soon and the adventures will pick up again!!

Today, my life is just Shelby.

School is School

The Slums Near Our Building

So anywhere you go, I have discovered, school is school. Long hours, writing essays, listening to lectures, the whole shebang. In light of that, I haven't really been up to anything much besides going to school, so i guess I will just recant what I have written in my journal from school and what we have learned and such.


So, first thing, we had a cooking class, actually two. Now, we thought this class was going to be interactive, as in we could be cooking so we can actually learn, however, it was a bit different than that.  What happened was we went in for class, got the menu we would be "making" and then proceeded to the kitchen. A woman, who we dubbed as "Mama Poppins" (because she is magical like Mary Poppins) came in and along with our Resident Director, began to

show us around. They got out all the ingredients that we would need and then began the prep. We all just kind of stood there watching, asking questions, taking the occasional note, and wondering when they were going to ask us what we could do. Well, apparently we were going to do nothing so we basically just watched them make the entire meal. I mean, it wasn't a waste of time and we did learn a lot, it just wasn't as hands on as we had hoped. Both weekends though we got delicious food! And the second weekend we did get to be a bit more hands on, stirring the curry and making the puris and what not.

Besides just learning how to make the food, well, sort of, we also learned a bit about how the food is identified. To us it basically all just looks like mush (aka curry) and bread (naan, puri, etc.) and rice, but apparently you can tell what is in the food by what color it is. There are five different colors to curries: red, yellow, white, brown, and green. If the curry is red then it is made with tomatoes, if i is yellow it is made with turmeric, white is with cashews, brown is with onions, and green is with spinach. All of these are delicious and not gonna lie, kind of taste the same to me.

My Name in Kannada in the Middle

So as for actual school, we have basically been learning the exact same things in all of our classes. No joke. None of our professors talk with one another about their lesson plans so they all teach about the caste system. Don't get me wrong, it is really interesting, but when you have four, two hour classes twice a week just about the caste system it gets a little redundant. Also, we watched the same exact documentary in two different classes within a 24 hour period. It was interesting, but twice in two days? Not really necessary.


Kannada class (Kannada is the local language) is fun, yet impossible. The language is literally like nothing I've ever heard before, which makes it super hard to learn. Hindi is the same way. They both just sound like gibberish to me and I have no idea how I am going to make it through until exam time. Alright, I'll give you some examples, written so you all can read it. Alright.

In Kannada:

Ninna hesaru yenu? - What is your name?
Coffee illa - No coffee
Nanage coffee iesta - I like coffee
Nanage coffee iesta illa - I don't like coffee
Nanage coffee beku - I want coffee
Nanage coffee beda - I don't want coffee
Yenu nanage beda - I don't want anything
dhanyavada galu- Thank you
dayavittu - Please
Yeshtu dura - How much

Everything here is about coffee.

But yes, you see? like nothing I've ever seen before. Granted, it is only a one credit class and it does end early, but still, so hard. And it is too funny, our Kannada professor basically just writes a word on the board and then repeats it like 200 times in a row, hoping it will stick. I mean, I guess some things do because looking back on my notes I remember which ones he kept repeating because I was laughing in class because he just kept going and going and going. Hopefully I'll pick some up, though, so I can do some serious bargaining when it comes to shopping.


We have been learning a ton about Indian philosophy and religion, but mostly the philosophy. It is intriguing, but most of the time my mind is blown by the complexity of what we are talking about; it is a very hard subject to grasp. We have learned so much, a lot of vocab, and many concepts. I will just highlight the most interesting points to me, the rest you can Wikipedia or search on your own, I would be here all day if I reviewed everything we have learned so far. Brahman is the oneness of the universe and Atman is the energy within us. Now, they are both the same. This might not make sense so here is an example that might make it easier: Both Brahman and Atman are like a mirror. Through time, the reflections in the mirror change, but the actual mirror stays the same. The mirror represents the "essence" or "oneness" of the universe. The truth runs through every form but it is still the truth. Another example that might work if the mirror one didn't is: Venus is called both the Morning Star and the Evening Star. You can see it in the evening and in the morning, and it looks different each time you see it in different light. However, no matter when you see it or what it looks like, it is always just Venus and it never actually changes, it is just your perspective.


Another fun fact I learned in school is the reason idols here and 4 hands and arms is because it represents how he has more power to create. You will never find an idol with four legs, though, because that would be too animal-like.


In all movies where there is smoking there is a disclaimer that smoking is bad for you.


Here "pickles" aren't what we know pickles as. They refer to the hundreds of things that can be pickled. So anything from mangoes to lemons to carrots, literally anything. And they are all called pickles.


Alright, let's see what else. I have completely gotten sick of the mob I have to push through to get food at lunch time. I just want to be able to walk up, stand in line, get my food and go eat without being trampled or pushed aside. The food is still as good as ever though, so that's a plus.


Oh yeah, and we are famous, already made it in one newspaper!!


We went to Nandi Hills last weekend and it was beautiful! For those who saw some of the pictures on FaceBook, that just gives you a hint of what it was actually like. We left our apartment at 3am and drove for an hour and a half, stopping frequently in THE sketchiest places possible for some reason. When we finally got there it was an interesting scene. It was only 4:30am, but people here party all night, and for days on end. Apparently Nandi Hills is a popular place for people to go get drunk, so when we got there there were tons of people hanging out, with their car radios blaring, drinking and partying. Since it was 4:30am I elected to stay in the bus and sleep, but a few others ventured out. The gates opened at 6am sharp and we raced to the top, getting out of the bus at the ticket counter and continuing on foot to the top. Sandy and I got separated so we just went exploring on our own. We were the only two to see the sunrise, and it did not disappoint!! We met up with Katie and Roxanne and continued our explorations into the forest. We climbed walls, trekked through the brush, and eventually came out by an ancient pool type thing. It was massive and beautiful. All in all it was a solid reason to get up at 3am. We slept for the rest of the day when we got home.

We have made great progress of the conference that Melissa and I are in charge of. We had our final (maybe) meeting yesterday and everyone ran through what they are going to say. This shindig is basically a conference slash debate slash discussion about the economies and social problems that face countries around the world, how their relationship is with India, and what their ideas are to reform or fix their country's issues. Right now we have seven countries represented. It is supposed to be tomorrow, but it might get postponed until November if we can't get the head of the department's signature. I am hoping it does get postponed because then we can get more countries to participate.


Other than that it has pretty much just been us getting into the groove of things. Today there is a city-wide strike because of the rise in fuel prices, so literally the entire city is shut down. So far it has been peaceful, but I'm not really looking to leave my apartment in case that changes. It is so strange, literally EVERYTHING has shut down. There are no busses, no rickshaws, no restaurants, side of the road stand, no one is really driving, not even the gas stations are selling fuel. It's crazy!

Trying for Some Good Ju Ju for the GREs

So the riots that I'm sure some of you have been hearing about have made their way into India. We got the evacuation notice from the Embassy for Northern India, but luckily we are in the south. There have only been a couple riots in the south, and, knock on wood, none have been in my city so far. We all just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope they don't come here!!


Anyways, I should get to my homework, or at least back to my essays for grad school. I have officially started to freak out about that, I am taking the GREs on October 6th! AHH! Alright, well this weekend should be fun, I am going to Coorg and am FINALLY going to ride an elephant!!! AHHHHHH YESSSS!!! So That sound be an excellent blog post :) Hoping everything is just as calm, peaceful, and safe at home as it was when I left, I'm gonna need a lot of that when I get home!!

Today, my life is just Shelby.

Tricks of the Trade So Far

Crossing the Street

So crossing the street is a tricky feat. What you have to do it always keep your eyes open and your peripheral on par, or you will get hit. So when you are approaching the section of the road you want to cross, it is always nice to go to a crosswalk (they are all raised, like a speed bump), however, it is not mandatory. Only a select few follow traffic laws, so when the light is red, there is no guarantee that it is safe to cross. So, as you approach the edge of the sidewalk, you need to be looking first to your right (that's the closest oncoming traffic), then to your left, then across the street. Then do it again. Once you are sure that the traffic on your right has stopped, start to briskly walk across the road. Never run. As you approach the middle of the road, the traffic from the left might already be going. Stop in the middle of the road, between oncoming traffic and the cars behind you and wait. Once the cars coming from

Have Fun Crossing THAT!

your left slow or start to have big gaps between them, you can start to cross, and hope that if anyone turns they will go around you. Again, never run. There is a second option to cross the street, but it takes a skilled eye and a quick step to not get smooshed. We will dub this method "The Frogger." Now, The Frogger is no joke, this is a life and death game you are about to play. First, you need to select the section of the road you are going to cross. Make sure that there is no fence in the median, or you are going to have one hell of a time hopping over it to get to the other side, plus the risk of falling into oncoming traffic is too great. So, once you have selected your spot you need to start looking around. You need to look for a few things. The first is how heavy the flow of traffic is, that will gauge the speed in which you need to cross; the more congested the traffic, the slower you can go, the more spread out, the faster (because people will driving like they are a main character in The Fast and the Furious, Tokyo Drift). A helpful hint is to leach yourself to a local. Now, they will be giving you the "who the hell is this white girl who is basically holding my hand" look, but just ignore it, they will soon face their attention to the oncoming rush of vehicles. So, from this point forward you NEED to stay stuck to this person. If you get separated, you are doomed. Stay with them, as close as possible. When they step onto the street, step with them. Once you are down on the street lever you want to start cautiously walking into traffic. Be prepared for massive amounts of honking, people do it to let you know they are there, and to also let you know that they are about to run you down. Just use you're judgement, and remember, don't run. So as you are walking, you need to be strategic about walking forwards and taking steps back as well. In order to attempt to make cars stop, hold out your hand (if, for some reason you are in between your local and the car) to let them know that you are going to walk in front of them. Now, about 89% of the people don't care if your hand is up or not, they will just keep driving, so it is your responsibility to jump out of the way, backwards is usually the safest because the cars in front of you will not slow down to let you go. It is best to put the local between you and the car, though, then your sole mission is to stay as close to them as possible. So, once you step into traffic you need to start walking at a constant pace, as to not confuse the drivers. Keep your head up, you're eyes alert, and make sure to be ready to dodge vehicles as they come. Then, just as in the game Frogger, you need to walk and stop and walk again in between cars, going to the left and the right to adjust yourself to a free space, then, hopefully, you successfully reach the median. Step up onto the median, it is less likely that you will get hit up there, and wait for your local to make their first move. Once you get some space, step down onto the street and repeat the process until you have reached the other side. Beware of busses, though, they stop for no one. This process can take anywhere from twenty seconds to twenty minutes. Just be patient, your life is more important than being on time. Once you have successfully made it to the other side, give your local a knowing, thankful smile and mentally pat yourself on the back; you have survived yet another street crossing.



Getting Hit By a Car No Matter Where You Walk

Nowhere is safe to walk here, and it's not because of the people who are walking along side you or loitering along the roadside; it is because of the drivers. Now, you may think that because you are on the sidewalk, you are safe to take a breather and enjoy the scenery. Well, you are sadly mistaken. You are safe nowhere on the sidewalks of India. Pedestrians have the right of way nowhere here, not even on strictly pedestrian sidewalks. When walking in the road, which is a common occurrence here, seeing as how the sidewalks are a mess and are sometimes too torn up to walk on, it is just common sense to watch out for cars, and move out of the way when you hear the honk. On the sidewalks, however, you need to be more alert because rickshaw drivers and motorcyclists, and the occasional car, will just roll up and start using it as another lane. Now, once this happens, everyone after them is going to do it too, so when you see one get up there and start to cruise, get out of the way. It is a pretty safe bet, though, that once traffic starts to move (because people use the sidewalks to try to avoid traffic jams), the drivers will stick to the road where they can go much faster. Just beware, though, and keep you're eyes open.



People Taking Pictures of Our White White Skin

So apparently having white pasty skin is a big thing here. You know me, I forget that I am not a local at times, so when I see people taking pictures of me from their cars I am still like "what the..."  So there are a few methods that I have observed, and experienced, of the people here taking photos of the whities. The first is the sneak attack. This happens mostly on the streets when we are walking to school or to to the market. Everyone here is always on their phones, either texting, calling, checking the time, whatever. So we are never alarmed when we see someone who is holding a phone. Now, there are two kinds of sneak attacks. The first is the sly photo taking. How this works is the person who is taking the picture holds their phone up so it kind of looks like they are scratching their neck, or just raising their
hand to their head or chest, but they are actually snapping a picture. You know they are taking one because they are staring into your soul as it happens. You can also sometimes hear the picture click or see the flash, very discrete. THe second form of sneak attack is the blatant picture snap. This is when someone walking by, or on the other side of the street, just holds up their phone to us, looks at the screen, and snaps the picture. Sometimes it is very close, as in when people are passing us on the sidewalk they come within a foot of u to get a close up. Kind of makes us feel like freaks, but I guess it could be worse. There is also the more friendly, but sort of more creepy, picture taking method. This is when people ask us if they can take our picture. There are also two versions of this, one is slightly less creepy than the other. On the less creepy side, people ask if they can be in a picture with us. We have come to the conclusion (with the help of one of our professors) that they do this so they can tell all their friends that they know Americans. Although why they would want to brag about that is beyond me. So it is kind of fun when this happens, we get some shy people who come timidly ask us if they can get in a picture with us, and we have some that just run right up and ask. Either way we always say yes, why the hell not? The way more creepy way is when people just ask if they can take a picture of us, without them in it. This happens frequently. We usually say yes because we know they are going to do it anyways, but it is still so creepy. I hope I don't see my face photoshopped onto some naked girls body any time soon. Or ever. But yes, moral of the story is that we are freaks, and we forget it sometimes, until something like this happens. We just have to laugh about it, though, what else can we do?



Bargaining

Locals will not bargain with you unless you have an Indian with or around you. That is all.



Broad Shoulders, Hulking Out

Everyone here has such a sleek frame that the shirts that are pre made are always too small. My size is a 38, because apparently I have freakishly big arms and broad shoulders. In order to get a shirt to fit my arms I need to go up to a 40, but then it looks like I am pregnant because it is to big everywhere else. It is a lose lose situation. Luckily, though you can get an entire outfit handmade for about fifteen dollars, and that will prevent you from hulking out of the pre made shirts, which is what it feels like when you squeeze into them. Also, you can get shirts tailored, which only costs about 40 cents per shirt, but it is a pain in the rear and takes about a day or two for them to finish. Moral of the story is if you are at all shapely or have broad shoulders in the least, you need to get your clothes custom made because they are just not going to fit.



Averting Your Eyes

Eye contact is a no go when you are walking down the street. It isn't such a big deal if you make it with other women, but men, it's jut never a good idea. There are a few reasons why. One of them is respect, if you are looking at them in the eye then it might come across as a challenge or disrespect, it is just better to avoid the blow to a strangers ego. Another is it might give them the wrong idea. As in I might

When You See This (a Rickshaw) Avert Your Eyes

just happen to glance up at a stranger and make awkward eye contact, then quickly look away, but they might take it as "hey, come follow me and really creepy me out." People stare at us to begin with so it is really hard to avery eye contact a lot of the time, but you just have to try. Rickshaw drivers a whole other story. If you make eye contact with them, even if it was just fleeting, then it automatically means that you want a ride. To avoid the awkward rickshaw-driving-next-to-us-walking-and-incessantly-asking-us-where-we-need-to-go, you need to avoid eye contact with them at all costs. This is nearly impossible, but it is a goal to which I am still working towards. On the other hand, if you do really need to catch one it is really easy to flag them down. Getting them to agree on a reasonable price is near impossible, though.



Just Point at What You Want to Order

If no one is there to help you order, just point to something at the menu and say how many of each thing you want. Short words are the best. Hopefully you're not a picky eater because there are no descriptions or pictures on menus. Also, if you are outgoing, you can ask the people around you what their favorite dishes are and then try that. Usually, though, just point to it and hand the cashier your money.



Wave Your Money to Get What You Want. Also, Change is Not Important.

If you are going to get anything you need to push your way up front and start waving your money around. There are no lines here, so it is basically just a mosh pit to the front. Once you push your way through, just take out the amount of money you need (try to not use big bills, as you might not get the right amount of change back) and start waving it in the air. Someone from the counter will come over and take your money and as they do you need to tell them what you want. If you need change, say "change" loudly and make sure they hear you. Change is not important here, so if they don't have the correct amount handy they might just give you some change and a piece of candy, or tell you to get one more of what you ordered, or just not give you the right amount. That is why it is best to give them exact, or as close to exact, change as you have. Remember, lines don't exist here. Be assertive or you will be waiting forever.



When Eating Out, Look For the Most Crowded Places

This means that the food is good. Even though an empty restaurant or cafe looks appealing, for the simple need for some peace and quiet, it probably means that there is something wrong with the food. Stick to crowded places and only eat food that is hot. Hot food is safe food.



Trying to Blend In

Dress Like a Local, Think Like a Local

Attempting to speak the language makes everyone more comfortable. Also, wearing the local garb makes the locals see that you aren't here to just fool around, or to just gawk at how Indians live, you are here to experience what they are experiencing. People will actually come up to you and thank you for respecting the Indian ways and when you bust out some Hindi or Kannada, everyone is always impressed. It is a sure fire way to make new friends.



Don't Drink the Water

Just don't. It will make you poop. You won't be able to stop.



Always Bring Water and a Snack With You

You never know when you are going to be able to get water that you can actually drink without getting the runs, so it is always a good idea to bring a water bottle with you. You can use the filtered water anywhere in the city, but don't trust water that you can't see being poured, it may come from the tap. Also, it is always smart to have some sort of snack with you in case you are stuck in traffic, at school, or have no time to stop. Adults can turn into crabby five year olds if they are too hungry or thirsty. Believe me, I am the worst offender of hanger, and no one wants to deal with that.



Don't Step in Anything Wet

It's probably pee.



Being Late is Never a Problem, Except For Getting to Class

Everyone runs on "Indian Time," so if you really need to get somewhere on time, tell whoever you are going with that you will be actively leaving a half an hour early before you are actually going to leave. With some people it needs to be an hour. This is no joke, no one is ever on time. The only thing you don't want to be late for is class, if you are more than ten minutes late not only will you get a dirty look from the teacher and everyone in class, they might not even let you in and they will mark you absent, and a certain amount of absences will add up to a failing grade. No one wants that.



Learn How to Dougie, Make Instant Friends

I know how to Dougie and it works. Learn how, make friends. That is all.



Being Homesick is Normal, Staying Off Facebook Helps

Even people who have never really gotten homesick before (me) are going to experience a bit of homesickness when they study abroad. It helps to not think about what you are missing back at school, and going on FaceBook and seeing what everyone is up to is never a good idea. Focus on what you are doing here and try to think of all the exciting things you are going through. Obviously your mind is going to wander to the place that you came from, and that's ok. Just try to not let yourself be sad that you aren't there. You are having a great experience and you will get to go home soon enough. THe adjustment period is hard, but after a couple of weeks I have come to realize that I am ere only until December, and I need to make the most of India while I am here, because how knows if I am ever going to be able to return.



Eating Food from Home is More Than Comforting

Just because you are in a foreign country does not mean you have to only eat the local food. Eating food that is familiar to you can cure a bout of homesickness in under a minute. Thank God we have a Pap Johns here, it tastes JUST like the pizza back home!



Never Go Anywhere Alone

To me this is just common sense, but to some apparently it is not. We get a false sense of security that we are safe, because walking in a group no one usually gives us any trouble. But we live in a third

Find a Good Group of People and Stick With Them

world country, people here are more poor than most can imagine, and sometimes morals can fly out the window in a time of need. Education is also very low, which can be the root of a lot of the problems here. Anyways, even though if feels like you are safe, and you can trust the people who are around you, you need to always be on guard. People are very good actors sometimes and can be very deceiving. Have fun without getting yourself in trouble. Don't trust anyone right off the bat and always, always travel with at least one other person. Know who your girls are and stick with them.



Bring Toilet Paper with You EVERYWHERE! Also Hand Sanitizer.

Usually there isn't even a real toilet to go in, so obviously they are not going to have toilet paper for a hole in the ground. Bring some everywhere you go just in case you really have to use the hole. Also, water is not guaranteed or mandatory for bathrooms here, so it is always a good idea to bring hand sanitizer, especially because we eat with our hands!



Eat Food with Your Malaria Pills.

You will puke if you don't. Just do it.



Hot Water is Precious, Shower Whenever You Have It.

Showering with cold water is never fun, and it can get you sick. The trick for that is turn on the lower, foot washing part of the shower so the ice cold water doesn't hit your body and wash one limb at a time, hair last, and make it quick or you will freeze. So whenever you have hot water get in the shower and start to scrub. You need to scrub fast, because no one knows how long the heat will last. Once you are totally scrubbed you can just stand there and appreciate the warmth.



Sweat is a Part of Life, Embrace It.

It's true. You are going to sweat wherever you go here, even if it is just right across the street. Try to avoid backpacks with a shirt that you can see sweat through, because that takes a while to dry. Pack deodorant when walking to school and try to buy clothing that is light (like cotton), a little looser, and a color where you can't see pit stains. It's pretty guaranteed, though, that at some point in the week you are going to sweat through a shirt. All you can do is embrace it and know that everyone else is suffering from the heat as well.



Wear a Scarf, Not Only For the Fashion Statement, But For the Smog.

You will suffocate if you never wear a scarf. Going out once in a while with no scarf is fine, but at times, you just need to cover your mouth in order to breathe. It is nice because a scarf is a part of our uniform, so on school days we have them with us. Whenever you are driving in a rickshaw (also called an auto), I almost always have my scarf around my nose and mouth and have my eyes squinted because of the smog. Also, riding on a bike you need to keep your eyes really squinty because the dirt that is flying around will blind you. A scarf is a necessity if you want to have a day where you are not coughing or blowing out dirt.



Mosquitoes Are the Devil.

End of story.



Don't Pet Stray Dogs.

They might seem friendly and be wagging their tails, and they might be friendly, but you don't know what they are carrying. Almost all of them have fleas and lice. A majority of them have mange, and rabies is running rampid through the city. I am a dog fanatic, and they can be really cute, but I would never touch one, for my own safety.



Cows Are Awesome.

Cows Are Awesome.

If you love cows you will fit in just fine here. They are revered and are everywhere. They are the only thing that cars would never dream of hitting; they don't even bother honking at them. They run the show and the locals love them.



If You Need to Be at School at 9am and Your RD Tells You it is a Half an Hour Walk, Leave at Least an Hour Early Because it Will Take Twice as Long as He Told You to Get There.

Again, Indian time goes both ways. There really is no sense of time, so if someone tells you it takes a half an hour to get somewhere, leave at least an hour early.



When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go

There is no waiting when you need to go, let's say, to the ATM, for modesty's sake. When you really need money, there is no waiting, you need it now or something really bad might happen, like dropping your ATM card in the street. You never know what is going to make you sick when you are eating out

A Very, Very Nice ATM

so often, and with the iffy water situation and all, so when you need to go to the ATM, you need to find one as quickly as you possibly can, or some coins might come slipping out of your pocket before you even know it. Never rush going to the ATM either, if you do, you might not get out all the money you need and then there might be an accident and no way to prevent it. When you feel the urge coming on, let someone know that you need the ATM and then get up to find one. If you wait, there might be very embarrassing consequences. Don't be too picky about AMTs either, if they look a little sketchy, just don't touch anything, go in, take out your money, and leave. Sanitize thoroughly. It is always a relief, though, when you come across a really nice ATM with all the accommodations. Take advantage of that, and when you are in a nasty ATM, just remember the nice ones you have experienced, do your transaction, and get out. Moral of the story: when you have to use the ATM, use the ATM; that money won't wait for anyone.

Today, my life is just Shelby.

School's Cancelled For Dancing

Traditional Garb All Day

So any time class is cancelled it is obviously going to be a good day. Today, though, was quite an experience. Bhasha Utsav is a day where classes at Christ University are cancelled and everyone comes to school in their traditional garb. There are students from over 40 countries, so you can only imagine the amount of colors that were there. So this morning we had to get up way way way  too early to head to school because we have no idea how to wrap a sari. So of course the rickshaw driver didn't know how to get to our school, even though it's right up the street, so he dropped us off at the mall and we had to like it the rest of the way (like 15 minutes). Even though we were going to be late apparently Jacob (our resident director) decided

Manoo and Hannah

that we were going to all get breakfast. We headed out to eat really quick then back to school with Hiral (a student here that helps us out, she's fabulous and sooo helpful and patient with us). We spent too much time attempting to wrap ourselves in our saris and Hiral just ended up wrapping each of us in ours so it was right and wouldn't fall off (although some did!). She was late and we all felt terrible, but we saw her later and she looked gorgeous and she wasn't mad at all (which was amazing because she was really really late). We headed into the streets to join in the parade that was happening through campus. It was packed and we represented the US, Canada, Denmark, Australia, and the Philippines. After that we headed to the auditorium to watch the cultural presentations, which was basically like the International Dance Festival we have at UMaine. It was amazing to say the least, but the fun was still to come!

Family Photo

Heading back out to campus it was a mob scene. Literally. There were people everywhere. I mean, there's 14 thousand students that attend the university and, if I had to guess, most of them were there today to celebrate. We pushed our way down the steps and down to the Junior College Building (where the USAC students, us, have all of our classes), and stood at the bottom of the steps to wait for the music to start. The music was a drum and arabian horn band and they were badass. It was so loud and everyone was feeling the music and dancing so much it was crazy. THe photo to the left is only a glimpse of the people dancing in ONE part of campus. There were bands like the drum core at three different locations, and each spot was just as crowded. Actually, all of campus was this crowded, and dancing. So of course I pushed my way to the front with my friend/roomie Melissa and we stood right next to the band and jammed. The others caught up to us eventually and we were invited to join so many dances with the other students. They were really eager to teach us how to

move like an Indian, or a Nepali, or whatever other cultures they were from. Also, EVERYONE wanted to take pictures with us. Everyone. No joke, probably close to thirty people asked to take a picture with us, it was hilarious! You all know how I hate getting my picture taken... NOT! Hahaha so of course I was loving it, and people were laughing about it. One person would come up and ask if they could get a picture with us and of course we said yes, then five more would join in. Gonna be in so many people's profile pictures! BOOM! All of our friends were dressed up and it was so cool. THe Middle Eastern outfits were legit, and of course the Indian ones were beautiful and colorful. Although, I have to say, Saris are not comfortable at all and are so hot and hard to walk in. You are basically wrapped up in six meters of fabric. It has to be wrapped and tucked and folded perfectly or it will fall off. So complicated. They look really neath, though, so we suffered through. Throughout the day, though, they would fall off a bit, or start to slip. In India, appearances are really important, so whenever

The Lady Helping Hannah in the Bathroom

that would happen someone who was around would step up to help us out. We had people we had never met before just come up to us and start fixing out outfits. It was hilarious and a great way to meet new people. After moshing around a bit, grabbing a bite to eat, heading to the cellphone kiosk, then back to campus we headed to the mall for some coffee. I changed out of my sari because I was too hot and the chub rub was getting a little out of hand, but Hannah, Melissa and Katie stayed in theirs. While we were sitting and drinking our coffee a woman came up to us and wanted to just sa that she was really impressed that we were wearing the garb and wanted to thank us for trying and respecting the Indian tradition. It was really neat. Hannah and I made a trip to the restroom and while we were in there the lady who cleans there

Hiral Helping Us With Our Saris

saw Hannah's sari and just started to work on it. She basically redid the entire thing, which was so hilarious (see photo). At the end she asked my opinion, and of course it was flawless. It was so funny, she was like pulling safety pins out of her pockets and everything to make this look nice. After we decided to just head home to hang out with the apartment next door, Sandy, and Captain America (aka Abhishek) (where we are now) and on our way back a lady stopped us to fix Melissa's sari. It was so funny, she was laughing and we were laughing, it was priceless. Pretty sure they are just embarrassed for us and that's why they help, but regardless it is funny and helpful, and a really great icebreaker. Today, all in all, was really exciting, even though we only did a few things. The dancing though was so much fun. The vibrant colors, and the different outfits and traditions, the different languages and attitudes, but everyone coming together to share their culture, was absolutely amazing. Tomorrow we have a full day too. Even though it's Saturday we have class from 9:30 until 12:30, then a meeting at 12:30 (oh yeah, I am the organizer of a business conference with Melissa. Come on now, I can't give

Performers for the Festival

up leadership opportunities just cause I'm in India, you know me; if it's not Team Maine it's gotta be something else! So after that the roomies and I, and probably Sandy (who is the tall guy in all my photos if you haven't gathered that so far) and maybe Raskin and Captain America, are all heading to Commercial Street to get the rest of our shopping done, then we are heading to an African party with my new friends Ibrahim, Yann, and Flavin (from the Ivory Coast) invited us to. We are going with the boys, so no worries on the sketch factor, and it should be really interesting; I am excited! Sunday should be nice and relaxing which will be ver welcome after the hectic weekdays I have! Anyways, going to head to bed now because of class in the morning, but keep in touch, I miss you all!!

Today, my life is just Shelby.

Starting to Explore

Night Rickshaw Ride to Karaoke!

Well, if I thought the first three days was a whirlwind, then I have no idea what to call the last two (well, even more now it's been almost two weeks, I've been a little busy, updating the blog has been a challenge), because they were even more eventful! I think I have to rethink how I want to do this blog, though. Instead of giving a blow by blow of all the details of the day, I think I might just write every few days and give the highlights. Yes, that sounds good. Besides, most of my pictures will be uploaded to FaceBook soon after I take them, I don't want to leave anyone out on all the fun happening here!

THe NGO Welcomed Us With This! Made from Flower Petals

Ok, so we went to a karaoke bar on Wednesday, which was fun! It was at a sports bar which resembled an American sports bar a

lot. Drinks are free for women, but when we got our first ones and I saw they had ice in them, I decided to refrain. We ate THE spiciest food we've had so far and watched and listen to everyone sing. They are AMAZING singers here, like, could be famous singers. We were stunned. A couple of my roommates met this one girl (who was a doppleganger of Sarah Thurston by the way) who sang Adele better than Adele herself, and she said she wanted to see us there every week! So I guess the tradition of Karaoke continues to India!!

Thursday we went to a couple of NGOs (Non Government Organizations) to visit. For our classes (three for me), we have to do at least ten hours of community service for each class (so I have to do 30 total). We went to visit a leprosy rehabilitation center,  an AIDS rehabilitation center, a leather making center, a shirt making center, and a school (which was my favorite)! Most of these places employ the people who have suffered from leprosy or AIDS, which was really neat to hear. We met some of the people, who were just so nice. The school was my favorite one by far. It was a K through 9 school for the children of the affected diseases. Boy, were they cute!!! I picked that one, hands down, for my first NGO, teaching English, my favorite! Now I just need one for population and poverty and women's issues. I'm thinking for my population and poverty I will volunteer at the slum across the street from my apartment, which I learned yesterday was the largest slum in all of India. For women's issues there is a paper making factory where they make folders out of recycled paper (Bangalore has the largest recycling program in all of India).

Catholic Church from Across the Street

We had a tour of the city on Friday, which was exhausting but so interesting. We went to a Catholic church, a Hindu temple, and a Sikh temple. The Catholic church was in session, apparently they have mass every day. It was so crowded that the streets were filled with people just watching the ceremony on the streets. People were also begging and selling things outside the church as well. The Sikh temple was amazing as well. We had to cover our heads, take off our shoes, and wash our hands and feet before we entered. We learned that they serve breakfast every morning to anyone who comes, even non-Sikhs; we got invited, hopefully we'll go there soon again! And, of course, the Hindu temple was incredible. It was massive, probably as tall as a ten story building, maybe taller, made of stone. The inside, once we made it up (also in bare, washed feet), was decorated with gold and paintings. It was stunning. Instead of holy water they use cow pee, and although I knew that apparently not everyone did because most of our group ended up drinking it. HA! But they said it tasted fine, and it's probably safer than the water here anyways.

Our tour of the city also included some markets, which were really neat as well. We went to a veggie market, a flower market, a lamb market, a beef market, a fish market, and a pet store (if you can call it that. They were all so colorful and crowded, with cows wandering around, people shouting prices and bumping into you, oh, and not to mention EVERYONE staring at us because of our skin color (and taking pictures, I might add). THe pet "store" we went to was actually right next to the beef market. We were told this is because if people were seen at the beef market they could just say they were browsing for pets (because of the taboo on beef). The "store" was actually just a closet with cages and cages of baby animals (kittens, puppies, birds, mice, rats, etc.) stacked on top of each other. No food or water, no

bottom of the cage, just wire. They were sick and disgusting and it was hard to look at. Under one cage there was even a dead, crushed puppy that someone had just left there. It was horrible, but it's just the way it is here I suppose. After we headed to a restaurant that apparently is n the Lonely Planet hand guide for India, which is pretty cool. It was an all you can eat, so you had to tell them when to stop bringing you food or they would just keep scooping it on your plate!! It was sooo filling but sooo good! Also, the plates looked like bear paws so obviously I loved the place. GO BLUE!

Shopping for Saris. No Shoes allowed!

Ok, so. It is now Thursday evening and that means that I have been here for nearly two weeks (hard to believe!). It has been a whirlwind because of school starting, hence the delay in finishing this post. So I will just go over the past few days, getting ready for school, the town life, or city life I should say, etc. Alright, so we went shopping on Commercial Street for our school clothes which was SO fun (to me at least, the shopaholic). I got to go into tiny little shops, pick out the fabrics I wanted to use (there were thousands of choices, so many colors and patterns), and then get measured for custom made clothes!!! I bought three regular outfits for school (photos will be uploaded as I wear them), genie pants, scarves and all, for about forty bucks. Just amazing. The handy work is unbelievable and they fit great! We also got saris made (which we will be wearing tomorrow at a festival happening on campus). Saris, for those of you who don't know, are the outfits women wear that are wrapped around them. It is one piece of cloth, usually about six meters long, and can take up to 45 minutes to wrap correctly. We have to get to school at 7:30 tomorrow so we can all get help wrapping them before the festival at 8:30! We also bought some pre-made clothes, although they don't fit as nicely as the hand made ones do.

India is so colorful. The people are vibrant, the noises are certainly not quiet, and the food is well, delicious would be an understatement.  I find that everything here, literally everything, is opposite to how it is in the US, or at least in Maine. If you think of things, like traffic for example, just think of how it is at home: pedestrians have the right of way, people usually follow the laws, stay in their own lane, honking is minimal, seat belts are usually used, etc. Now take all of those things and the opposite is what happens here. Not only do I almost die every time I cross the street because cars and busses just don't stop, but the honking is out of control. They honk at everything: they honk to let you know they are com in up beside you, to tell you to get out of the way, to tell you they are turning, to say hi; everything. It makes for a very busy (hour) walk to school every morning. We have all found (although I am comfortable crossing the street by myself, in a group it is hard, and a bunch of people in the program don't have the technique quite down yet) that if you find an Indian person, couple, or older person to stand next you, all you have to do is walk really close to them, right next to them, and follow their every move and you won't get by the rushing traffic. As chaotic as it is, though, it is entertaining to watch and it is certainly never boring.

We Love Bikes and Cows

Speaking of never being bored, that is exactly how my life is right now. I have literally no down time and I am tired all the time. I am over the jet lag (thank God), but being so busy in a new city, new climate, language, food, etc., is utterly exhausting. I strangely find myself very homesick, which is really unusual for me, I have never really been homesick before, even when I lived abroad in Costa Rica. I think it may be because I was in such a permanent feeling routine in Orono and my life was so set, and I enjoyed it so much, plus all my friends are back to school all together, all of it added up to me feeling really lonely and wanting to go home. I still feel that way, although I am trying really hard to adjust to living here and taking in all the

India's Magic Masala Lays

experiences as they come. Having great friends here helps a lot, though, my roommates are awesome, we go everywhere together, and now we have some great Indian friends as well. Having them really helps us get used to the city, knowing where to go to eat, the right prices for things, where to shop, all sorts of fun stuff. It is really funny to see how the West, mainly America, has influenced India. Tonight, in order to try to cure my homesickness, we went to Papa Johns, which was right on par (or close enough) to the ones back home, which is so strange. They also have places like Dominoes, Ralph Lauren, Cover Girl, and other really American brands and stores. On a completely different note, the mosquitoes here are vicious! I am sitting outside right now in front of my friend's apartment (because mine doesn't get internet), and am literally being bombarded by them. I am in all UMaine apparel (obviously) so I am pretty much covered, but it is still annoying to get bit, especially with the threat of malaria, it's no fun. Because I have to get up so early tomorrow I am just going to post this as it is, even though there is still so much I could write about. Tomorrow I will be sure to take tons of festival pictures, we will all be in our saris so it should be really neat!!! Hope all is well back at home, or wherever you are reading this from and remember to keep in touch!!!

Today, my life is just Shelby.