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.