Happy Birthday Mom

Pictures= Pooja, traditional dress, Haji Ali mosque, and Juhu beach at sunset.

Happy Birthday Mom. This blog entry is your gift so enjoy and just so you know I had to stay up till 2 am writing it when I will get up at 5:30 am tomorrow to go on vacation. So if the language is sloppy forgive me.

This blog is intended to answer some peoples questions, tell what I’ve been up to the last week or so and explore a little about the Hindu holiday Diwali.

First I will try to zip through what I’ve been up to. I left you on October 20th so I will pick it up from there. If you remember last blog I mentioned that extremists from a local political party prevented North Indians from writing the Railway exam. Well the a couple local courts didn’t really take well to that so on Tuesday the police apprehended the leader of this political party, which is called the MNS. So the extremists of the party didn’t really like to see their leader put on trial so they flocked to the streets in large numbers rioting. I had planned to go out that day but I was not allowed to go out for much of the day. Near where my second host family is there are many supporters of the MNS so there were riots there. What these riots entail are burning buses, breaking cabs/ rickshaws, and just generally disturbing the peace including fighting with riot control police. They are not really organized rather just going on power trips and breaking stuff. I watched some footage on the news about the riots and thought it would be pretty cool to be one of those police guys with the baton hitting everything that moves but it would not be so great being the guy getting hit or the rickshaw driver being beat up by the extremists. I was walking to my Hindi class that day which was the only thing I was allowed to go out for and four guys on two bikes drove by on my street and threw two large bricks at a cab which was parked on the side of the road while they were still moving. They really had terrible aim though and missed the cab from like 10 feet. It was weird because my area is one of the safest and quietest areas in Bombay. If I had been walking like 10 seconds faster I would have been right beside the cab when they threw the bricks and who knows what would have happened. The MNS leader had to spend a night in jail so more riots were expected the next day that never really happened but I did spend almost the whole day inside my house. The plan was to go to the water park that day too so it never happened. I forgot to mention that I went for a run a few days before and went out to meet some other exchangers and I walked by some beggars and one of the beggars threw a piece of dirt at me and was not happy.

The next day I went to an art gallery with a couple other exchangers and the Natural History society. The art gallery was decent and it changes artists pretty frequently so it’s not just a one time deal. Best part the gallery was free, I love free things. At the gallery we went into a room that only had like 3 modern art statues and it was a huge room so we thought there should be more so we made up art. What this means is we would go stand at a huge blank white wall with a “No Smoking” sign on it and analyze it as if it was art. Some Indians would look at us funny others would come see what we were checking out which was hilarious because we were actually looking at nothing. Just analyzing it like “you can really capture the artists emotion in the color of the sign” or this scuff mark on the wall is perfectly placed. I think it was one of the countless had to be there moments.

The next day was a birthday party but I was going out during the day too to meet a couple exchangers, (it is holiday time right now) on the way to the train station a bird shit on my nice birthday party shirt so I had to go change it. Anyways in India when a bird shits on you it is said to be good luck and I found that out. It was a really good day. Firstly we went to some Mosque that is on a man made island with a foot path out to the mosque. During high tide the foot path is submerged in water so you can’t get out there and it looks like the mosque is floating. We reached at low tide so took the foot path to the mosque and saw it. After that we went to a mall that sells all the fake Rolexs, Omega, etc… it was good. After that we were walking to the station and somebody I knew from Canada, named Steve Morie, phoned me. He is my dad’s friend’s son from Edmonton and he is traveling through India for 3 months on his own. So he phoned and we have met up twice over the past few days. He is just in Bombay for a few days before going to Rajasthan. So when he phoned we were just going to Juhu beach so he came also and saw Juhu at night which is crazy. Then the girl’s birthday party. We just went to a restaurant and had a good time together. We had an Indian Rotex guy with us who is Sikh and believe it or not another Sikh guy saw this and bought us 2 pitchers of beer. We got to talking and the guy who bought us beer was actually from Mississauga, Ontario. He is in town for eight months on diamond business. It was awesome.

The next night a few exchangers went to Marine Drive and there were fire works because it was 2 night before Diwali starts. There were crazy loud crackers and flares and everything too bad they are made by children. The fireworks are a little dangerous and the Indians operating them are crazy. They are dangerous because most of the fireworks are ground based so little pieces of debris fly everywhere. The vertical ones are pretty good and basic but some people complicate things by light the fire work then waiting till the last moment then throwing it towards the water while it explodes in the air. The reason why there are so many fireworks is because it is Diwali, another festival. But this one is big it is the new year according to the Hindu calendar and is the major holiday for vacationing or seeing your family. This is the festival of lights so there are firecrackers for the 4 day festival (Mon-Thurs) and a few days before and after. I will go more in depth into Diwali and include more information on religion in my next blog because I do not have the space in this one. Basically all you need to know is Diwali means bright lights, loud noises (which wake you up at 7am sometimes), family holiday, equivalent of Christmas, traditional dress for me, not traditional dress for Indians (so I was the only guy in traditional Indian dress the 3 Diwali functions I have dressed up for even though I am a foreigner), streets/houses decorated with lights, and religious rituals which are called poojas. You do something different at the separate poojas your family has, first one in our house I wore some hat (like the ice cream men from the 1960’s) and saw my reflection in water, then broke a fruit with my foot then tasted it. The second one I was just on cymbals the whole time making loud noises and trying to keep a beat with the chanting of my family.

On the Sunday I went with one of the Rotaract clubs sponsored by my Rotary Club, which is like Rotary for youth. So they have local projects that aid local people. This Sunday we went to a project that celebrated Diwali with mentally ill or orphaned children. It was a really great program we spent time with the kids doing arts and crafts and talking with them. It is kind of depressing when you analyze the children’s situation but that is all forgotten when you see the big smile on their face and realizing you put it there. It was also a little disheartening when I realized that a child who just learned to walk and from the smell just pooped their pants speaks better Hindi than me. That program was great and really put me in my place in the world, it made me step back and really look at how fortunate I am. In the evening there was another program which raised awareness about transgendered people, aids, and homosexuality. I don’t know how I was dragged into that one but I went anyway. The whole program was in Hindi so I didn’t understand much but the idea was good for the area. I am sorry if this sounds blunt but I didn’t like the program that much because my idea of a good time does not consist of a transvestite, a homosexual and a bisexual talk in a language I don’t understand for an hour and a half. That night I went with my family to a Diwali dinner with my family and a bunch of family friends, dressed in traditional wear and everything. I know I am not the person to be saying this so forgive me but I was ballin’ out of control.

As I said next post I will go more into Diwali and religion but now it is question time.

Yes Maeghan you had a question: “Do you find that people speak to you in English? And is there anything they don't have in India that you wouldn't have thought about?”
- Yes pretty much everybody speaks to me in English, I find it hard to learn the language because I am not totally immersed in it. Hindi the national language is not even the local language so I don’t even know if people on the trains are speaking the language I am learning unless I can pick out a word I know. There are way too many languages in India so you never know what to learn as per the location you are in. 29 languages have at least 1 million speakers, and newspapers are written in 90 languages all over India. The Indian people are really amazing when it comes to languages anyway like most people speak or understand at least 3 languages if they are educated. That is a long way to say yes people speak English to me. Not really anything you can’t get here apart from cold weather and clean public bathrooms but I already had thought about that. There are many imported food stores which sell you things you are used to at high prices, like the Europeans love getting Nutella here. Also there is no toilet paper is many bathrooms instead there is a spray hose. Indians think TP is not clean but soaking your butt is so that is a little different. I bring TP with me almost everywhere.

Callander: “Do you find that you are continually amazed by the people and culture but at the same time, longing for the efficiency and cleanliness of North America? It really is like being on a different planet, isn't it?”
- YES, especially the cleanliness part. There is so much diverse culture here stemming from the region or religions and I love the culture even such a big city has culture, and I’ve heard out of the city there is way more culture.

Many people asked about the tube video: I do feel some what refreshed after the process but I really just do it because it is so rad and is cool to tell people what I’ve done. The purpose they say is the friction in the nasal passage increases the blood flow to the area and in turn creates a more healthy nasal passage which is less likely to become infected. And no it is not a piece of red licorice but I am seriously considering going out to buy licorice now just for that purpose. I only had to do it a few times before I quit gagging but even now I still gag a little.

Aunty Linda: Will you be seeing the famous Taj Mahal?
- YES I will be seeing the Taj Mahal in mid December on the Rotary organized North India and Rajasthan trip.

Brad Duholke: 1) Do you ever feel unsafe during this journey?
2) have you experienced the Indian medical system yet? Any insights?
3) Do you think a trip like this is for everyone or only the bold?
Finally could a girl do this and could you have done this without a sponsor family?
- I have not really felt unsafe on the journey, India is actually a very safe place when it comes to crime on a large scale but does have quite a bit of petty crime. When I am walking around alone after dark is the only time I really have to keep a watch out. I have seen a couple of fights but I was in the house for the riots and apart from the brick throwing incident I was very safe. I do feel unsafe in the cars sometimes but that is just the cultural differences, it is part of the culture to dive the wrong way down a road or pull out in front of a speeding car in traffic to make a slow turn. The two most important parts of the car are the horn and the brake here. The hoards of people are, although overwhelming, reassuring of your safety. If India is not the country for you there are many other more safe European countries offered as choices.
I have not experienced the Indian medical system yet, I assume it is pretty good. If you want to know more ask Steve Morie who was a little sick. I have heard the system is relatively clean and efficient but I don’t intend to find out first hand. I heard that if you want medicine at a hospital you have to buy it from a pharmacy then the doctor will administer it.
I feel this exchange is for anyone who is up for a challenge and wants to have a great time becoming more mature and meeting new people in the process. Many people are content at home and I respect that but the world is waiting for you to see it. If you really want to learn a ton about another culture and even more about yourself the exchange is for you. Yes girls can definitely do this and world wide more girls than boys do the exchange. In my district in Canada there are about twice as many girls as boys abroad in 15 or 16 different countries (I think). I don’t really understand the sponsor family question but I can tell you how I began the exchange process. My father is a Rotarian but it is not a necessity nor very common to have the parent of a student abroad as a Rotarian in Canada. That is how I knew about the exchange process because my family has hosted students before. Otherwise you can contact the schools guidance counselor about the Rotary International Long Term student exchange or look up your Rotary International district and there is usually a web page dedicated to the international youth exchange (IYE) in the district. You can get info there. If you want to leave in summer 2009 then start planning fall 2008, there is a preliminary application, an interview, a full application and a few orientations you need to attend. You can tell them what country you want or what you want in a country but you won’t necessarily get that one. You leave for the exchange July or August and return about 11 months later. What the parents need to pay is the airline ticket, the insurance, trips in the country, vaccinations before you go to the country and spending money beyond what you get from the Rotary Club locally. This is the best thing I have decided to do in my life. Sorry if I bored the other student who read this blog but I really support the program.

Lauren: Just to clear it up.. .Is a eunic like a transvestite? Because I thought eunic's were just men who had their... parts.... removed... you know like a gelded horse. It's still a guy but just... less of one. You know?!? But is a Eunic different?!
- I am not actually sure what they are. People here call them eunuchs but they look more like transvestites or transgendered people to me. I thought a eunuch was like a gelded horse too and enjoyed that analogy but these ……. Dress up like women but I am not sure if the breasts are real due to taking female hormone pills or if they are just fake. I am really just baffled by the whole thing. From what I knew from before I think a eunuch has no parts but doesn’t necessarily dress like a woman, and a transgendered person dresses and acts like a woman but I am not sure if they have parts or not I would guess not (I think I don’t know from experience), and I think a transvestite is like a transgendered person who went to the extreme with hormone pills and no parts, I actually didn’t look this up so it is not legitimate at all but that is what I feel from what people call different people here. I know they call the thing that touched me a eunuch I just don’t know if it falls into the eunuch category I explained. What I would call what touched me is a transgendered person.

I have left some people questions for next blog as I am running out of time including questions from Dad, Trevor, Carlann, and Lesley. Remember to leave comments and I think this answering questions thing could also be reoccurring so leave comment or ask questions.
Have a Happy Diwali.