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!
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!
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