Hey everyone, I'm sorry I haven't been writing recently. All through Vietnam I was with my family and had no chance to write. I had 2 days after Vietnam to China, both days I was busy with school. I did have 2 days between Hong Kong and Shanghai but I was extremely unmotivated. THe last night of Shanghai I got really sick and I've been recovering since (I just had a fever and now I have only cold symptoms...mom). I have one day between Yokohama and Kobe and hopefully I'll get to it then.
Today we got into Yokohama and me and 2 of my friends took a day trip to Tokyo which was really cool. We're not sure what we're doing tomorrow but probably something in Yokohama. Anyway, sorry to evveryone who has been faithfully checking the blog- I will try to get a more full post up when I have more time.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Rural India and School/Home Visit
October 26, 27
India Day 4 & 5
I am writing this post the day before we get to Vietnam. I still have one more post that I’ll try to finish before I arrive.
I had an early breakfast and my roommate and I got on the bus to go on a rural India trip. We drove out into the countryside of India and arrived at our first stop which was (you guessed it) a temple. The temple was like just about every other temple I went to except it was smaller and there was a monkey there which climbed to the top of the temple. Next to where our bus was parked was a large pool of water (like the ones at other temples) where people washed themselves and their clothes and goats laid on the stairs surrounding the pool. We left this temple area and went further out into the countryside to a rural village which our tour guide told us had a population of 5,000. We were first welcomed by a lady who was like a town caretaker. She gave us a blessing and we headed down the road where we were shown the local watering hole. Our guide said that the village kept this water clean for drinking and other uses. As we stood there, a villager came and took some water in a large vase. We walked further down the road and a lady gave us a tour of her home. We were served tea (black and chai) and shown through the house. There was a living room and a room with a sort of shrine. We left the house and walked back up the street to the front of a woman’s house. There she showed us how they made art on the ground using ground up rice and lyme. Throughout India you would see white, symmetrical designs on the ground in the shape of stars or flowers. She started out by putting dots of the white on the ground and used those as a blueprint for her design. Some of us got to try, but the designs ended up sloppy and nonsymmetrical.
After this, some wagons pulled by oxen arrived and gave us a ride to another part of the village. The wagons first took us out to some rice fields where there were women bent over planting rice shoots. The fields were muddy and flooded with water from a large well adjacent to the field. There were trenches along the fields’ edge that carried water shot from a hose at the well to the rice fields. We watched the women plant rice for a while and then we were allowed to plant rice. We took our shoes off and stepped into the mud. They gave us some rice shoots and we (poorly) began to plant. The strategy was to plant each one equidistant from the adjacent ones, but everybody’s ended up uneven. We got out of the field and washed off at the well and got back on the wagons which took us to yet another part of the village. From the wagons, we saw many different types of homes from concrete structures to wooden huts. We came around the corner and saw a huge grove of coconut trees. There we were given coconuts to drink. A man who lived next to the grove gave us a demonstration of how they got the coconuts. The man had a harness that he leaned back in for support as he climbed up the tree. He used his feet to push him up the tree and within seconds made it to the top about 30 feet up. He cut one coconut and let it fall to the ground. They then let us try though we didn’t go as high. Some of us tried (myself included) and we all struggled greatly. My thighs hurt after trying to climb. We got back on the wagon and rode back to the bus. We then drove to a nearby school. We were greeted by the principal and taken to one of the classrooms. It was hot inside and we were all crammed inside. The kids were between 16 and 17 and studied various subjects such as accounting and economics (among others). When asked what they wanted to be, they said lawyers, government official, cops, and accountants. Education in India is similar to the US in that they have a grade school. However, after this they take a test that determines what subject they will study. We left the school and headed to our next stop which was the Dakeshina Chitra cultural center. We had lunch and then watched a movie about some of the various cultures in India. The rest of the afternoon we were given a tour of the grounds which had authentic structures from the various cultures and exhibits about them. We saw numerous demonstrations such as the making of silk cloth, glass sculpturing using a heated torch, and pottery making. There was a small market inside that we shopped at for a little and then we left.
We got back to the ship a little after 6pm. My roommate and I and one of our friends decided to go to the Citi Center that night (this was our last night in India). We caught a rickshaw to the mall and had dinner on the top floor (it was Arabic food). We then walked around the mall and shopped around for a while. We left and caught another rickshaw back to the port. I don’t know if I mentioned this before but every time we left or entered the port we had to show them a form we had called a Shore pass. In previous countries all we had to do was flash our SAS ID and we were allowed in.
The next day was our last day in India. I was set to go on a trip to one of the colleges and visit an Indian home. The school ended up being the school of the students that were at the welcome reception on the first night so I ended up seeing a lot of the same people from that night. We were greeted by the students and given a rose. Someone had made a floral design on the floor using dyed salts. We went upstairs to a conference room where we were spoken to by the president of the school and his staff. The school itself was called SRM Easwari Engineering School. We were then given a tour by the students of their facilities. We first stopped off at a computer lab that had a class in session. We were taken to several other computer labs representing the Computer Science/Engineering aspect of the school. We were then taken to an engineering lab which had machines and electronic devices set up for tests and stuff. The students I was with (or rather the students that followed me the time I was there) told me that their classes are separated into a class session based on theory and a practical session in which they apply what they know. They said that in order to graduate you had to work on a project that showed what you knew. We were then taken downstairs to some dental facilities which were fully operational and full of locals receiving tooth-work. I was told that all the dentists here were students with the exception of those doing surgical work (which we saw and could walk right up to and watch). I asked some of the students I was with what they liked to do and they said play video games and cricket. We then had lunch which consisted of different types of rice, curry, and other assorted sauces. Indian food is really cool in that you can mix everything together using your hands and it tastes awesome. Like Ghana, you eat with your hand. After eating with the students we said goodbye and left the school.
We then headed to our second stop which was a home visit. The home turned out to be that of a well off Indian woman (her husband was at work). We were greeted at her gate by herself and her 2 dogs, one of which was a beagle and the other was an extremely fat beagle-mix, which I thought was cool. We went inside the house and sat and introduced ourselves. We found out that we had previously met her son who was a student at the school we just visited. We received a tour of her house, which was three floors high. We then hung out on the second floor and she dressed one of the girls in a formal sari with the help of one of the maids. She also dressed up one of the guys in a man’s formal garb. We then went downstairs and had some snacks and talked for a while. After conversing with the lady for a while, we left and went back to the ship. We boarded the ship one last time and departed later that night. Every night in India I was extremely exhausted. It’s a great place, even though it is a country that is very different from the U.S. Despite the fact that it is not a very clean country and there is a ton of poverty, it is improving quite a bit. It seems like its going to take a while for it to clean itself up, but there’s no doubt that it is still full of great, interesting people. It was really cool seeing the Hindu religion first hand and all the historical structures of the area. It was also cool buying things for really cheap prices. It’s a fascinating country that I can’t really describe. Tomorrow I’ll be in Vietnam where my parents and my brother will meet me. I’m really looking forward to seeing them again. (again, no spell check, etc.)
India Day 4 & 5
I am writing this post the day before we get to Vietnam. I still have one more post that I’ll try to finish before I arrive.
I had an early breakfast and my roommate and I got on the bus to go on a rural India trip. We drove out into the countryside of India and arrived at our first stop which was (you guessed it) a temple. The temple was like just about every other temple I went to except it was smaller and there was a monkey there which climbed to the top of the temple. Next to where our bus was parked was a large pool of water (like the ones at other temples) where people washed themselves and their clothes and goats laid on the stairs surrounding the pool. We left this temple area and went further out into the countryside to a rural village which our tour guide told us had a population of 5,000. We were first welcomed by a lady who was like a town caretaker. She gave us a blessing and we headed down the road where we were shown the local watering hole. Our guide said that the village kept this water clean for drinking and other uses. As we stood there, a villager came and took some water in a large vase. We walked further down the road and a lady gave us a tour of her home. We were served tea (black and chai) and shown through the house. There was a living room and a room with a sort of shrine. We left the house and walked back up the street to the front of a woman’s house. There she showed us how they made art on the ground using ground up rice and lyme. Throughout India you would see white, symmetrical designs on the ground in the shape of stars or flowers. She started out by putting dots of the white on the ground and used those as a blueprint for her design. Some of us got to try, but the designs ended up sloppy and nonsymmetrical.
After this, some wagons pulled by oxen arrived and gave us a ride to another part of the village. The wagons first took us out to some rice fields where there were women bent over planting rice shoots. The fields were muddy and flooded with water from a large well adjacent to the field. There were trenches along the fields’ edge that carried water shot from a hose at the well to the rice fields. We watched the women plant rice for a while and then we were allowed to plant rice. We took our shoes off and stepped into the mud. They gave us some rice shoots and we (poorly) began to plant. The strategy was to plant each one equidistant from the adjacent ones, but everybody’s ended up uneven. We got out of the field and washed off at the well and got back on the wagons which took us to yet another part of the village. From the wagons, we saw many different types of homes from concrete structures to wooden huts. We came around the corner and saw a huge grove of coconut trees. There we were given coconuts to drink. A man who lived next to the grove gave us a demonstration of how they got the coconuts. The man had a harness that he leaned back in for support as he climbed up the tree. He used his feet to push him up the tree and within seconds made it to the top about 30 feet up. He cut one coconut and let it fall to the ground. They then let us try though we didn’t go as high. Some of us tried (myself included) and we all struggled greatly. My thighs hurt after trying to climb. We got back on the wagon and rode back to the bus. We then drove to a nearby school. We were greeted by the principal and taken to one of the classrooms. It was hot inside and we were all crammed inside. The kids were between 16 and 17 and studied various subjects such as accounting and economics (among others). When asked what they wanted to be, they said lawyers, government official, cops, and accountants. Education in India is similar to the US in that they have a grade school. However, after this they take a test that determines what subject they will study. We left the school and headed to our next stop which was the Dakeshina Chitra cultural center. We had lunch and then watched a movie about some of the various cultures in India. The rest of the afternoon we were given a tour of the grounds which had authentic structures from the various cultures and exhibits about them. We saw numerous demonstrations such as the making of silk cloth, glass sculpturing using a heated torch, and pottery making. There was a small market inside that we shopped at for a little and then we left.
We got back to the ship a little after 6pm. My roommate and I and one of our friends decided to go to the Citi Center that night (this was our last night in India). We caught a rickshaw to the mall and had dinner on the top floor (it was Arabic food). We then walked around the mall and shopped around for a while. We left and caught another rickshaw back to the port. I don’t know if I mentioned this before but every time we left or entered the port we had to show them a form we had called a Shore pass. In previous countries all we had to do was flash our SAS ID and we were allowed in.
The next day was our last day in India. I was set to go on a trip to one of the colleges and visit an Indian home. The school ended up being the school of the students that were at the welcome reception on the first night so I ended up seeing a lot of the same people from that night. We were greeted by the students and given a rose. Someone had made a floral design on the floor using dyed salts. We went upstairs to a conference room where we were spoken to by the president of the school and his staff. The school itself was called SRM Easwari Engineering School. We were then given a tour by the students of their facilities. We first stopped off at a computer lab that had a class in session. We were taken to several other computer labs representing the Computer Science/Engineering aspect of the school. We were then taken to an engineering lab which had machines and electronic devices set up for tests and stuff. The students I was with (or rather the students that followed me the time I was there) told me that their classes are separated into a class session based on theory and a practical session in which they apply what they know. They said that in order to graduate you had to work on a project that showed what you knew. We were then taken downstairs to some dental facilities which were fully operational and full of locals receiving tooth-work. I was told that all the dentists here were students with the exception of those doing surgical work (which we saw and could walk right up to and watch). I asked some of the students I was with what they liked to do and they said play video games and cricket. We then had lunch which consisted of different types of rice, curry, and other assorted sauces. Indian food is really cool in that you can mix everything together using your hands and it tastes awesome. Like Ghana, you eat with your hand. After eating with the students we said goodbye and left the school.
We then headed to our second stop which was a home visit. The home turned out to be that of a well off Indian woman (her husband was at work). We were greeted at her gate by herself and her 2 dogs, one of which was a beagle and the other was an extremely fat beagle-mix, which I thought was cool. We went inside the house and sat and introduced ourselves. We found out that we had previously met her son who was a student at the school we just visited. We received a tour of her house, which was three floors high. We then hung out on the second floor and she dressed one of the girls in a formal sari with the help of one of the maids. She also dressed up one of the guys in a man’s formal garb. We then went downstairs and had some snacks and talked for a while. After conversing with the lady for a while, we left and went back to the ship. We boarded the ship one last time and departed later that night. Every night in India I was extremely exhausted. It’s a great place, even though it is a country that is very different from the U.S. Despite the fact that it is not a very clean country and there is a ton of poverty, it is improving quite a bit. It seems like its going to take a while for it to clean itself up, but there’s no doubt that it is still full of great, interesting people. It was really cool seeing the Hindu religion first hand and all the historical structures of the area. It was also cool buying things for really cheap prices. It’s a fascinating country that I can’t really describe. Tomorrow I’ll be in Vietnam where my parents and my brother will meet me. I’m really looking forward to seeing them again. (again, no spell check, etc.)
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