Photos - January 30th

                    The gang plus preston in Karkala (preston, emily, claire, hannah, myself, hannah and grantis)

   Statue of one of the 24 Thirthankaras which stands 42 feet tall and is made out of a single stone.   

 Another Jain Temple that reminds me of Indiana Jones :D

Fresh juice anyone? They've got any kind you want, Kiwi, Watermellon, Strawberry, Pomegranate, Guava....can't wait until mango season!

January 30th, 2012

Ugh i just wrote this super long awesome post and then I lost it, so here I go again...sorry if I seem super hostile and rushed but I have my first classes today so here is the condensed really lame version.

So I'm writing this post from my newly decorated room. Pictures of family and friends and a cut up Travelers Magazine does wonders for my boring side. I bought a new bedspread/pillowcase set and it came back from the dobi today. A dobi is a woman who washes your larger laudry items. I also have a woman who comes and cleans the room for us every few days. That may sound like a luxury and it really is but it also makes me really uncomfortable. I've been taught to do those things for myself, especially when I am a guest, so its hard for me to just sit there on my computer while she cleans around me. I try to talk to ease the one sided tension but she doesnt seem to appreciate that either so instead I leave and let her do her job without having me bother her.

I have yet to tell you about our saturday excursions to Karkala and Moodibidri. Two Jain pilrimage sights about an hour from Manipal. Jainism in a really condensed form is an offshoot of hinduism that stresses non-violence and a devotion to thier Gods. They are all vegans and the nuns and monks are so devout that they do not wear shoes and sweep in front of them so as not to kill any innocent bugs that may be in their path. They have 24 Thirthankars who are Jainists who have been thought to achieve the highest level of being which release them from the karmic circle and reincarnation and give them eternal liberation. The statues we saw today were of those 24 Thirthankars. So I made that sound super boring but its actually really cool!

After that orientation has officially ended, so we've been finding our own adventures. That night we went out to a bar with some friends we met from the geo-politics department and had a good time. We got back to the dorms at 12 so that the security guard wouldn't get angry about us missing curfew our first night out.

Sunday and Monday were spent doing a variety of things on campus. I've been to the gym both days because it is so nice and brand new. There must be millions of dollars of equipment and they have all kinds of courts to play tennis, badmitton, squash, and basketball. They even have personnal trainers walking around to help you out. We've also found the best fruit stand just around the corner that will make you a fresh fruit juice at any time for only 20 rupees which is only like 30 cents USD.

I have to go, I have a lot to do today. I have 4 classes from 8-9, 2-3,3-4,4-5  and then a concert at 6:30. The other girls wanted to go to the gym again today so if I have then energy I may join them at 11.

Pictures - January 28th

                                              The view from outside of the Krishna Temple

                                                Masala Dosa and a fresh lime soda...yummmm :)

Hannah, Myself, Hannah #2 and Claire with Priyanka (4th from left) and her fellow dental students after the Festival

                                                                         Shop in Udupi

                                                                        Sacred Cat? 

January 28th

      Ok so last time I left off talking about the beach house we stayed at for orientation but since so much has happened since then I will just summarize to catch everyone up to present day happenings here in Manipal.
      We've got a lot of information on how to act, eat, sit, dress, and interact in a way that was respectable and generally normal. For instance we can't use our left hand for much of anything especially eating since the most common subsitute locals use for toilet paper here is your left hand and some water. Also we always have to take our shoes off before we enter certain shops and even our own dorm rooms.
       Being a white women on Manipal's campus definately makes me a strong minority and that certainly generates a lot of stares, but we've quickly come to realize that the stares are nothing more than curiousity. People want to know where we are from and why we are here. So far there has not been any instance where I have felt uncomfortable or disrespected in any way. The students are friendly and they act and dress very similarly to students in America when they are not in class. When they do go to class however they dress up in a beautiful salwar zameez if they are a girl or if you are a male you are required to wear a button up dress shirt and slacks. Tonight we may be going to meet up with a few of the girls who we made friends with earlier on in orientation at a place called the sky lounge. Plans are still in the process of being made and we all may decide we are too tired to do much of anything tonight but I'll let you all know how that goes if it happens at all.
       My roomates name is Priyanka and she is very sweet and speaks english really well. She is studying dentistry and wants to come to America when she finishes school. This past thursday was Republic Day in India which is the celebration of their Independence from England. Priyanka and her friends were in charge of putting the festival together on campus and it really was a fun thing to watch. There was a marching contest and each area of study at the University had a group of students who marched to win some sort of trophy or award; Priyanka participated in that too and we met up afterwords and took some pictures with her and her friends. There was also a traditional dance done by a few girls and of course a speech was given by Dr. Kamath.
        Dr. Kamath is a 90 year old journalist and he has an office on campus where he is involved in academics and still writes several different columns and articles. We have met him several times so far and each time I become more and more jealous of his life. He has told stories of interviewing Martin Luther King, riding on President Eisenhowers golf cart and of course attending private sessions with Mahatma Ghandi. Listening to him talk at Republic day about the days when he had such an important role in the independence movement was an unexpectadly inspirational moment to the end of the festival. Plus he has the best sense of humour of any Indian I have met yet which makes him just the most adorable old man. Thinking back now I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture with him but that will just be another excuse to go to his office and chat some more!
       I know I'm jumping all around timewise with this blog but I forgot to mention what we did wednesday so I'm going to backtrack real quick. Wednesday was our first trip to Udupi, which is the nearest town next to Manipal. We visited the Krishna Temple and learned the story of why the diety statue is not facing forward like all other statues but rather sideways. It is said that long ago there was a man of the untouchable caste who was incredibly devoted and would pray to the diety every day until sundown, but because he was an untouchable he was not allowed into the building so instead he prayed through a window on the side of the building that looked in towards the statue. One morning the heavy gold statue was found by the groundskeeper to be facing the in the direction of the window and not the doors. It is believed that it moved itself so that the devout untouchable could worship correctly. Anyways I thought that was a very nice story. After we went to that temple, we walked around and got some dosas which are a food that is famous in Karnataka (the state I am living in). We later came back to Udupi on our first ever solo trip without Ginny and luckily we found our way around very easily and I was able to buy some really nice jewelery and some Indian clothes to wear to classes and around campus. Oh, and I was blessed by an elephant, which basically means I paid an elephant 10 rupees to hit me in the face with his trunk.

I can't believe that after writing that much I still have so much more to say. This will have to do for now because I think we decided that we are going to try and be social tonight so that means I have to get ready. I'll write soon and fill you in on all the classes I'm taking since I start them on monday. Wish me luck!
      

Pictures - Week one

Week 1

Sorry it has taken me so long to write in my blog. The orientation schedule here is so hectic and crazy that we all just crash when we finally get into our rooms at night. The heat and the constant lull of the fan in my room is a recipe for sleep too.

I guess I'll start from the beginning.  I arrived in Mumbai very late sunday evening and was met by Ginny, our program director. She had to send us (myself and two other girls who were on the same plane) to the hotel we were staying in for the night by ourselves. It was a very quick Hi and Bye and then we were on our way through the traffic of Mumbai. Which for those who have never heard, is scarrier than any amusment park ride or NYC cab trip I have ever seen. We all remark at how every turn is a heart pounding almost collision and yet it ALWAYS works out.

Throughout the week we've been doing a lot of bus and rickshaw rides to get to and from campus. Whether we were in Mumbai or in rural Udupi, the general look of India is almost always the same. The red clay earth creates dust everywhere and trash litters the streets no matter where you go. The outsides of buildings look centuries old and all the metal is rusted. Stray dogs are everywhere and I just want to adopt them all, especially the puppies who you can tell are still so sweet because everytime they see a human they wag there tail and run around you begging to be loved.

The outsides of buildings have absolutely no corrolation to what is inside them. Countless times Ginny and Preston (our assistant director) will lead us into a really sketchy looking place by most peoples standards and it turns out to be a skytop restaurant our even a lovely hostel like my own.

The food here has been absolutely delicious the whole time we have been here. The first few days of orientation we spent at a beach house about 20 minutes away from Manipal University. And the service we got there was unlike anything I've experienced in the US. Coming to India I expected to go without a lot of conforts but at the beach house we were waited and dined on all the time. There was constant supplies of teas and coffees and so. much. food. They made sure it wasnt too spicey for us but Every once and a while we'd all get a spice that made our eyes water and our faces get hot.

I have to go, we have a meeting with professors today and breakfast is first. i'll add some pictures and continue the story tonight when I get back. Love you all <3

Week -1 : Ready or not!

         The time has finally come where I am starting to freak out a little, and I believe it that this fact warrants my first ever blog entry. I have less than three days until I leave for India and there is so much to do and so many people to say goodbye too. I still need to call my banks because apparently a 19 year old girl from upstate New York making an ATM transaction in Southern India is a little farfetched. I also need to finish packing and then probably take half of what I packed out so that I don't have to pay the extra baggage fee. As far as my concerns go, my greatest and really my only fear for this trip is that I will either pack too much or too little. I personally think that packing too little would be worse but I am forcing myself to pack light and follow the instructions given to us by the Alliance crew. I've had so much time at home to get ready that I seriously believe that I'm starting to over prepare and over think everything, which results in me putting three more items in my bag every time I think of something new I might miss while abroad.
   Besides preparing to leave, I've spent my winter break enjoying my family, my friends, my boyfriend, my house and of course my pets as much as possible, because I know I'll be missing them all a ton while I'm away. I am very lucky to have such a great group of people who understand why I chose to spend my spring semester in a country so completely opposite from what I am used to.  They understand my obsession with travel and cultures and support me on my biggest and baddest adventure to date, and for that I am beyond grateful.
  I'll try to blog as much as possible while abroad but it may be a while before I gain access to the wifi on campus so please be patient (Mom that means you <3 ).