"We're all Hussein"- Barack Obama

Seriously? Click on the title to link to an article I just read which discusses how ridiculous some Obama fanatics are.

Actually Barack, my middle name is Martin, thank God.

Zanzibar

is where I will be July 9-17, drink in hand. Now if only I could find a swimsuit for sale in Jodhpur, the Mumbai airport, or the conservative Muslim island of Zanzibar. I'm pretty excited to cross another continent off my map, even if I have to swim in a sari.

In other news:

Casey's going-away party is tonight. I'm going to miss her BIG TIME. She's off to travel North India (visiting Dharamsala...I'm jealous!) and then headed down to South India (Kerala and Tamil Nadu.) Hopefully I'll get to play with her again down at the beach.

Speaking of South India, I had South Indian food for 2 meals yesterday- divine. It's my favorite...I didn't even know about dosas and iddli and all the fun chutneys (especially cocunut and garlic) until this trip. Indian restaurants in the US generally just have North Indian dishes...which are very heavy.

Lindsey,
I have footage of Dadi feeding Rangoo, but it won't upload. Also, the cat's name is Rangoo, not the ex-capital of Myanmar. Evidently Rangoo means "colorful," which is fitting for this anorexic pussycat for many reasons. Oh, and Rangoo broke a laughing buddha figurine while we were eating dinner and singing karaoke last night. I was called on to sing for the first time. I said I need practice. I would never sing in front of good singers at home, but I figure the language barrier will prevent them from realizing how awful I am. I'm thinking Janis Joplin...so I don't have to hit any high notes. I'd appreciate suggestions for songs (that can be sung without background music.) I think the last time I sang karaoke was at the Cat's Meow and my song choice of "When I think about you I touch myself" probably won't fly here. But it could be interesting.

So, it's 4pm here at the Gravis office. Everyone but Jasdeep, Shailendra, some other person I don't know, and I have been in a meeting all day. So, I decided, what better time to break out my ipod and speakers to play some fun American music? Playlist so far:

1. Crossroads by Bone Thugs
2. Don't Stop Believin' by Journey
3. Closing Time by Semisonic
4. All Star by Smashmouth (now Jasdeep is just changing the songs every few seconds so I'm stopping.)

Pictures of my "colleagues" will be posted soon...but my computer is locked up in the library right now, so that will have to wait.


Sorry for such a lame post.

Also, I'm extending the deadline for responses to my poll since everyone is slacking. Get on that please, thanks.

That's what she said: my date with the palm reader

If Allie is reading this she is rebuking me. I'm judging this on the fact that when I had my fortune told on my 21st birthday in New Orleans, she ran away saying "I rebuke that!" Turns out that Ms. Jackson Square psychic was no good. She told me I would meet my soulmate in December of 2006 and his name would start with an "M." So, naturally, every boy I met whose name started with an M was fat or heinous or both. I denied fate.

SO, after our adventures at the Fort, Casey's host family had us over for Sunday lunch. After our feast and some lounging around, I asked Ms. Tanwar, Casey's host mom, to read my palm. Casey had told me that she's very good...although she told Casey that she would have a "very hard life."

"Do you believe in this stuff?" someone asked me.
"It depends on what she says," I replied, "I'll decide later."

And so, after much studying of both my skinny, ogre hands- and some poking around and bending of my fingers and thumbs- these are the results of my most thorough palm reading to date:

One of my biggest faults is that I'm indecisive. My other major flaw is that I think with my heart and not my head and make most of my decisions based on emotions as opposed to rational thought. Because I'm so indecisive, I should trust the opinion of an older, wiser person that I'm close to. (Mom has already claimed this role as she somehow knows everything I do and has all the right answers.)

Being indecisive can lead me to miss opportunities. When I see a chance, I should take it instead of thinking that I'll have many more chances.

I have a great luck line and will have lots of luck and fame in life. (Get excited!) Also, I will have "an easy life" with "two incomes." I hope this means my husband will have 2 jobs because I don't plan on working. My life is supposed to be long, although there are breaks in my lifeline. This means that I will have lots of mental distress. "Do you get depressed easily?" she asked. I just laughed. And I got kinda scared.

Also, she told me that I get angry too easily- but I mean well and I have a good heart. Many people think they know me, but only people who have lived with me or been around me for a long time truly know me. (Does this mean I'm mysterious??? Ha.) And (I thought this was interesting, actually) I am a different person on the inside than the outside. Kind of like when Ms. Sims said "She looks like an angel but there's a tiger inside." Maybe.

"You will have love marriage, not arranged marriage," she informed me. Whew, good to know...
And I'm supposed to meet this love marriage person sometime between this December and next December. This period is called my "engagement chance." I will probably miss this chance...nothing good can happen in December (except Christmas) it's too cold and depressing.

Oh, and in India, a girl's left hand shows her own fate and her right hand shows her husband's fate. The lines on my left hand are a lot more shallow and messy, which supposedly means that I'm more emotional and "messed up" than my future husband. Makes sense.

And here's the kicker-

"You will have own house," Ms. Tanwar said in a happy voice.
"That's good," I thought.
"when you are 35," she continued.
"What do I do until then?" I asked.
"Live with parents. Your parents or his parents."

WHAT?! She might not know that we don't really do the extended-family-living-arrangement-thing in the USA. I chose to disregard this part of the palm reading.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on all this. Are her predictions so broad that they could be applied to lots of people?

The picture is of Cynthia and Ms. Tanwar after she read her palm.

AND, speaking of "that's what she said," a special thanks to mom for THE OFFICE DVDS!!! And books and The Economist. I read both issues front to back in one day. Glorious.

Us gals at the Fort

More Fort

OK, so this picture doesn't look that exciting, but it's kinda cool because:

1. I just really like whitewashed walls.
2. I don't think that alcove is the right word...but each little alcove used to have a candle lit inside. Pretty.
3. The big alcove at the top just looks like a random hole, but that little screen at the top connects to a secret walkway on the other side. The screens allowed the women to listen in to what the men were discussing in meetings, without being seen.

Speaking of not being seen, purdah was enforced within the Fort, which influenced much of the architecture. There is very intricate lattice work on many of the upper floors. From the ground, you can't see inside the Fort; however, the women could see down at what was going on in the courtyards. I'm starting to understand why some women might actually enjoy purdah...the men are a little out of control here.

Hookah at the Fort

"Smoking the hookah prior to battle helped them endure pain and mental anguish," said the audio tour guide.

I BET IT DID!

fort

One view from Mehrangarh Fort. Cynthia, Casey, and I visited there Sunday. I believe this has been my favorite historical site/fort to visit in India. It's enormous, the architecture is stunning, and the history of the Rathore rulers is fascinating. Plus, the audio tour was really first-rate and included interviews with the current Maharaja and others who were around during partition.

In 1459 Rao Jodha moved the capital of Jodhpur from Mandore (where my monkey pics were taken) to the top of this mountain, 400 feet above the city. Since then the Rathore rulers have never lost a battle.

There are 7 gates that lead into the fort and plenty of right-angle turns meant to slow the momentum of invaders. After the last gate there are the handprints of the 15 royal wives who committed sati on their husband's funeral pyre. Sati is the act of widows throwing themselves on their husband's funeral pyre-and although it is outlawed now, 40 cases have been reported since independence...mostly in Rajasthan. When Maharaja Ajit Singh died in 1731, 58 concubines committed sati. Women considered it an honor and a show of loyalty to sacrifice their lives for their husbands; instead of wearing mourning clothes, they often wore wedding attire to symbolize their eternal marriage. Discrimination against widows persists- they are seen as bad luck and given little family support. Even girls who are married as children and become child widows generally never remarry. Evidently the women just walked into the fire holding the Bhagavad Gita and didn't let out a sound as they burned.

do I make you proud?

So, there is an Indian Idol. And this is one of the contestants. I don't know if he's good or not or what he sang...but I do know that he was wearing a crushed purple velvet blazer a la Taylor Hicks. Presumably for good luck. So I took quite a few pictures of the television, which confused my host family a bit.

PS- has anyone seen ole Taylor lately around Lakeview?!?

SOUL PATROL SOUL PATROL SOUL PATROL!

PSS- How did he ever win American Idol?

PSSS- I think the dude that won this year is the best yet. Thoughts?

The two best pictures on mom's computer/ ever

Female foeticide in NW India

Click on the title to link to today's article.


Maybe if girls become really rare, Indian men will start having to pay a reverse dowry in order to get wives...

Here's another report from March that's specific to Rajasthan:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4773389.stm


Here's a hopeful story of one village in Punjab that is going against the state's trend. It's interesting that Punjab has the lowest ratio of girls to boys b/c much of the state is pretty well-off. Most Indians I know in America are from Punjab (or Gujarat). It seems that more prosperous families would be less worried about the monetary burden of having girl children...but then again, they have easier access to doctors who perform the illegal ultrasounds.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4887778.stm

In other news, India's inflation rate just reached an 13-year high of 11%.


I love the BBC!

a triumph

All of my belongings fit in this closet!!

duh, mr. autowallah

If you're going to stop the rickshaw in the middle of a highway to pee, I'm going to take picha!!!

"And she painted my eyes and lips"

Sooooo...I took my first Indian art lesson! First I learned how to draw eyes, and then lips. Teacher says I'm better at lips. Probably because they are easier.

Drawing, or creating any kind of art, is something I've always considered myself worthless at. I can't even paint my own toenails. Since Ms. Thomason's "Eagle Eye Art" in kindergarten, I haven't given any time or thought to art- except art history, appreciation, and purchase. I feel like I can become decent at most anything I try, but art has always been out of my reach. And not only that. It intimidates me and pisses me off that I can't even draw stick figures. So I decided that I'm going to conquer the art world. Or at least become a better artist than Jackson Pollack.

The best part about this whole endeavor is that it's free! I don't think it is for everyone, but the teacher (whose work is amazing, btw) said that he "makes enough money selling art and art is his hobby so why charge?" He has exhibitions all over the world. Maybe there is hope for me after all!

It's crazy. In the past 2 months I think I may have learned more than I did in 4.5 years of college. (That's not a knock on Bama- it's an acknowledgment of me and my laziness. Roll Tide.) I've read about 7 books front to back, which is almost certainly more than I EVER read off of any teacher's reading list. India is my continuing education. We'll see if the reading continues once the internet connection is fixed at my host fam's house...

The Food Crisis in India

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7445570.stm

The Food Crisis in India

Jodhpur is a हप्पेनिंग place

Elizabeth Hurley got married here last year on an auspicious day (see my first post.) What this BBC article doesn't say is that many local Indians were really pissed about the wedding, as they felt it made a mockery out of their traditions. Ajit Bhawan is where I got my sunburn. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6433311.stm

And Jimmy Choo based its new collection on the handicrafts and colors here. I'm not quite sure how a sand-covered city in India inspired $500 shoes, but OK.

Other things that are happening:

Last weekend a rickshaw had a wreck with a taxi outside the train station. A yelling match ensued between the two parties after personal information was exchaned. The rickshaw driver, angry that the taxi driver and passengers had called him an awful driver, got a bunch of his buddies together and hunted down the men who had been in the taxi. And stabbed two of them to death. And while this was an isolated incident, the rickshaw driver and other murderers happened to be Muslim, while those killed were Rajput (the high, ruling caste here.) So, like many events of this sort, the killing has turned into a religious battle of sorts. Not to mention that this is an election year and tension is already high.

A tribal group called the Gujjars are protesting and staging riots in an effort to gain ST (scheduled tribe) status. This is a designation that would give this nomadic, agriculturalist society government reservations...and more help from the government in general. It's like India's affirmative action. The Gujjars have blocked the railroads on the Rajasthan border with Uttar Pradesh, which caused trains to be canceled and lots of travel disruption between here and Delhi. Here's the latest...http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Gujjar-agitation-over--to-get-5---quota/324505/

Living on the Edge (of Pakistan)/ Lessons in Low-Maintenance

So much for getting excited. Now blogger won't let me add ANY pictures.


The previous two pics are from last week's field visit to Gagadi. It was only for 2 days, but I really lived dangerously. First of all, I rode on Uncle's malfunctioning motorcycle to work. It kept cutting out on the highway and whenever we hit a speed bump. And, no, I don't wear a helmet. "Only the driver needs a helmet...it's unnecessary for the passenger," my host brother told me. So I ride side-saddle like a real Indian woman, purse and laptop in my lap. Unlike a real Indian woman, I don't have a calm face and a great balance...I feel like I'm going to fall off at every turn. The good thing is that mom got extra travel insurance for dangerous activities such as this. So, if I fall and crack my skull open in a puddle of cow mess, we're covered. All thanks to an extra 20 cents a day!

I also forgot to bring any water with me. We're advised to drink 4 liters a day- I'm pretty sure I sweat about 3 of those liters out. So, I drank unfiltered Indian water during the entire trip. It's been 6 days and my stomach is feeling great! I was really proud of myself until a colleague informed me that water-borne illnesses don't set in for about a week. Tomorrow could be a doozy.

Another thing I forgot was toilet paper. And napkins. I forgot to bring ANY paper products besides my notebook. Thank God for the notebook (because I had a cold) and a special thanks to the god of bowel movements (I'm sure there is one.) I survived. I'm going to try to post my makeshift "trashcan" of notebook paper. As you may know, waste disposal as we know it in the USA is not really popular here. Just as the world is your toilet, the whole of India is your trashcan as well. I still can't bring myself to throw my trash on the ground, so I do my best. I really don't like carrying my trash around with me, though.

In all of the field center, I could not find one trashcan or one paper napkin or square of toilet paper. There was also no kleenex in the Gravis hospital. I must give credit to Indians, though. They don't waste like we do. Even though all of their trash is on the street (or burned)- it would be a heck of a lot more trash if it was Americans throwing out all of their waste. When I do see a trashcan here, it is rarely full. The typical American family has trashbags full of stuff each day. There is a lot of reuse and recycling of household products and a lot less use of paper and plastic bags.

Other ways in which I took chances:

I let the girls put more of that black eye stuff on me. And this time...no sty!! I also let the girls paint my nails. It wasn't the best idea. There is a reason that the best nail salons are run by Vietnamese and Chinese...not Indians. (See pictures below.)

I ate tons of garlic chutney.

I packed no clothes...just the sari on my back!

I washed my dishes with sand. This is the traditional method of dishwashing in India. I don't know how effectively it sanitizes, but it does cut the grease. And it makes me understand why Indians don't touch glasses or cups to their mouths when they drink.

Sweet. This is the first time blogger has allowed me to post more than one picture.

A family near Gagadi

This is Tippu Bai Ram and her husband, Peera Ram. Tippu Bai (65) is a fascinating lady who I got to interview last Friday. She has been a Village Health Worker with Gravis for the past 20 years and in that time has educated hundreds of people in her village, provided health care and referrals to Gravis' Tinwari Hospital, and seen changes in people's attitudes toward women, medicine, and children.

She was integral in the construction of a school for girls and has insured that all of her daughters and granddaughters receive good educations. Additionally, she advises the women of the village to get sterilized after having a few children. Her progressive views have upset more than a few people in her village (esp. men). Her husband, however, says that he has always supported her work. Hearing her speak reminded me of how intertwined all of the issues Gravis works with really are- health is related to education is related to women's rights is related to water security.