Animals: Part 1

Animals are a part of every-day life in India. And I don't mean house cats and pet dogs either, and I'm not referring only to people living in the country aka farmers. No, no here in Ahmedabad, a city of 5 million, rural meets urban everywhere you look. And this creates some..interesting...stories. So let me go down the list, starting with least exotic.

Cats and Dogs
Cats are somewhat rare here. I've seen a few on CEPT's campus, but they're street cats so are usually really skinny. However dogs are EVERYWHERE which is the reason, I'm assuming, that there aren't many cats... Unfortunate for me as I LOVEEEE kitties :( and am not so fond of the dogs. But there are stray dogs all along the sides of the roads roaming about. CEPT has a regular set of strays and often a set of puppies wandering around.

I was waiting for a train on the platform once, and there was a litter of little puppies on the other side. They were just the cutest, happiest puppies ever, and each time someone would pass they would run after him nipping at his heels. But luckily, the street dogs almost never bother you. Which is good, because I'm not a fan of being sniffed on, licked on, or jumped on by dogs at all...especially mangy street dogs. However once I was in a plaza talking to some friends, and was scared half to death by a warm, wet feeling on my toe...there was a little puppy, happily licking my big toe! :P

Pigeons
When I came to India, I thought cockroaches were the most disgusting creatures ever. Ugh. Couldn't stand them. Now, I know that I was wrong. Pigeons are by far the dirtiest, most disgusting, stupidest things alive. Cockroaches don't bother you; they don't leave a mess.

We live in a 10 story apartment building, and there are pigeons everywhere. We don't have an A/C and it's freakin hot all the time, so the doors and windows are usually open. We don't have a dryer; I don't know if anyone here does, so we hang our clothes on a line on the balcony. Ok, this is the worst ever. Because now we have a maid who comes once a week to wash our clothes. Prior to that I had been hand washing everything in a bucket in the bathroom. When you are constantly sweaty, you have a lot of clothes to wash, and after toiling away washing the clothes, you hang them on the balcony. Only to discover that the next day, pigeons have CRAPPED all over your CLEAN CLOTHES. >:( Don't you laugh! It's not funny!

They are constantly flying into the house via the open doors and leaving feathers. Or landing on the fan and knocking dust everywhere. Once while I was cooking, a pigeon flew in the kitchen, into the pantry and broke the lightbulb and spilled rice everywhere. Why do they want inside so badly??? It's not any cooler!?

And our balconies have become a pigeon incubator. They keep laying eggs there, and now we can't get them away. And pigeon babies are absolutely hideous! So then we have a whole family of pigeons living on our balcony for weeks. Finally the baby leaves, and then somehow we get another family that lays its eggs. Think about how nasty that would leave your balcony....disgusting!

But by far, the very, very worst: I came home one afternoon. I opened the door and there was pigeon shit everywhere! All over the floor in the living room. Someone had left the kitchen door open - this had to have been the work of several pigeons. One pigeon couldn't have created this much crap. There was crap on the couch, on the chair, on the TV. They came in through the kitchen so there was crap all over the floor there. And on the shelves, on the dishes, in the pantry. They spilled a bowl of spices. They even got into my room and crapped on my bedsheet. Needless to say, I WAS NOT HAPPY. Cleanup ensued with much cursing. Do you know how hard it is to get hardened bird crap off a tile floor? It's a pain!

So this, THIS is why pigeons are the worst. By far the worst. You NEVER have to worry about a cockroach reeking this much havoc.

Too Indian?

My...cultural assimilation became all too clear when I met up with Kapil in Hyderabad. As an American in India for almost a year, compared with an Indian who'd spent five or so years in the US it was quite interesting.

I had picked up Indian things, and he had definitely become American. Now, I'm pretty accustomed to the fact that at any given moment here I'm gonna be dripping with sweat, and pretty much given up on trying to look decent. Not gonna happen. I mean, already when I put on sunscreen that makes me look oily and greasy; so already not a good start. So I have to say that the fact that Kapil, who had grown up for 20 years of his life here, was even sweatier than I was, well I must admit I felt a little better, ha.

Again when Kapil was here we realized our exchange in cultures when we went shopping.
He wanted to buy bangles to take back to friends in the US. The banglewala wanted Rs. 250 for a stack of not-so-amazing bangles. Kapil was ready to buy it, but I shot back Rs. 100. I pulled Kapil away from the table to walk away when the wala said no which is the first thing to do when they won't bargain with you. IF they really want to sell, they will start negotiating, as this guy did. After haggling over several other bangle sets and getting a better price, we moved on. From then on, whatever Kapil wanted to purchase, he made me bargain for it. Maybe it's because Kapil is thinking in Dollars and I in Rupees which does make a difference. It's easy to get caught up in arguing over Rs. 5 with an autorickshaw walla, and later on you realize you just argued over ten cents.

So this to me shows how much Kapil had been Americanized. Now I'm just being honest here, but India has litter everywhere. There are simply no trashbins all over the place as in the US, and so people just throw trash anywhere. Now in my Indianization, I admit that yes I sometimes do litter, most of the time though I hold my trash until I find a bin, and if I really have no hope of finding one, it is hard to let that trash slip out of my hand to the ground. Those of you in the US, try it sometime, and see how guilty you feel! However this day I had a piece of gum, and there was just no trashcans, so as Kapil and I were standing there I spit it in the gutter. Now, it wasn't out where people were likely to step on it or anything. But Kapil was aghast and couldn't believe I just spit my gum on the street. All I could say was, "Man, you've been away from India too long! There is cow and dog crap and trash all over the place and no trash cans in sight!"

Finally my last example from my trip to Hyderabad. I needed to buy a train ticket back to Ahmedabad, and there were only emergency 'tatkal' tickets left. Now they save a few tickets per train for last minute bookings and they are open for sale only two days before the train leaves. Trains in India fill up fast, like almost a month before, so I had to get one of these emergency tickets. We got to the station a little after 8 am when it opened and already there was a long line at the window of about 30 people. Actually I would have gone directly to the back of the line (which I guess proves I am not completely Indian yet) However, Kapil told me just go to the front, you are a woman and foreign, just go. Now, I went because normally there is a separate line for foreigners, seniors, etc. so it did seem like a valid point. Since I made my mind up to do it, I had to do it with conviction or it wouldn't happen. So in true Indian-fashion I busted up in a line of 30 men standing there to the very front of the line, and this is the thing, no one ever complains when you do this. At least not that I've ever seen. To get my ticket form accepted I had to push my hand inside the window with the form, in front of the next person. What should have taken an hour or so, took maybe 15 minutes. Again Kapil was impressed with my busting-through-lines Indianess.

The pharmacist next to my flat even told me I was becoming Indian the other day. I needed some more liquid hand soap and so pointed to a bottle before realizing there was a refill pouch. Since I already have a pump bottle, I asked for the pouch instead. The pharmacist said, "You're saving money just like an Indian!"

However, Haider has not been completely pleased by these Indian traits I've picked up. The other day we had gone to dinner with a few other Americans. I, as most of the rest of the group had ordered dosas. Now a dosa is kind of like a thin, crispy pancake, folded over and stuffed with potato. You have to use your hand to break off a piece and dip it in chutney. After dinner, Haider politely and tactfully pointed out to me (as he always does) that while the other Americans ate their food with their hands keeping their fingers clean, my fingers were completely covered in potatoes and dosa by the end. He also reminds me that while very loud, open-mouthed without hand-covered belching is perfectly acceptable in Indian culture for both men and women (Once an old lady on a plane sitting next to me belched loudly every few minutes. I don't know what the hell she'd eaten), in his culture and mine (I confirmed) it is not.

Random pics for your viewing enjoyment:
Some bangles
Meeting eating a big Papad (fried cracker thing)
Hyderabadi Pearls I bought

Hyderabad

We took the night train from Nizamabad to Hyderabad, leaving at 2 am and arriving around 6 am. We went to Kapil's aunt and uncle's flat and crashed there for a few hours. Would these crazy night trains work in the US? Would we be willing to arrive at odd times in the AM? I don't know... but the AC at the uncle's place was much appreciated! I thought at first maybe his aunt was not quite as welcoming as Kapil's mom, but in reality I think she was just self-conscious about her English, and I think many Indians are worried about whether I will eat the food they cook, sitting on the floor to eat, and things like that. Because after a little bit she seemed much more relaxed and was very, very nice! Also many people speak English so well here that I often forget it may be difficult for them to understand me, so I had to keep reminding myself to speak more slowly.

Apparently while I slept Kapil caught up with his relatives, and they were planning our schedule of seeing the city, but then said, hey we'll just come too! First we went to see a temple on top of a hill. Someone's bad planning decided to use black stone to pave the temple. In all Hindu temples you must take your shoes off, so we were running from one shady spot to the next and burning our feet off!
We had authentic Hyderabadi Biriyani at the Hyderabad House; it definitely is no contest - I've never had it like I have here. Hyderabad was ruled by Muslims for awhile, so they eat more non-veg here. Biriyani is this layered, spiced rice dish with chicken or mutton. Making it is apparently an involved process that takes several hours, but it so much better than and nothing like the so-called 'Hyderabadi Biriyani' I've had elsewhere in India or in the US!

Next we went to this place called Shilparam which was sort of a Indian village museum, similar to the one I mentioned that we saw in Udaipur awhile back. They had a bunch of traditionally built village houses with displays set up of how people live. It was cute because Kapil's uncle's hobby is photography, and he is really into it! And he was teaching his boys how to take pictures, too. He has a huge, nice Nikon camera which he said was his 'second wife.' His first wife must have been very used to his hobby because she patiently walked while they all photographed everything in sight. Even walking down the sidewalk, one of the sons would be running in front to take a picture of us all while we were walking, and then they all had to huddle over to review the images they took! But the uncle always made sure to take plenty of pictures of him and his wife together; after 20 years of marriage they are still a really cute couple and a cute family! Kapil and I had our palms read while we were there. The man said said I was indepentent, very career-minded, would live outside my country for a long time, that I would have a very happy marriage. As we were sitting in a garden there before we left, some women came chasing a rooster that had gotten loose. Then Kapil and his cousins got into it too and everyone was chasing this poor, stubborn rooster over the whole area!

Later that night there was a big get together at this lake. Lots of Kapil's family in Hyderabad came, and we all took this ferry out to this island in the middle with a huge Buddha statue. There were a bunch of restaurants and kids' rides on the lake front, and they put Kapil's little cousin on several of the kiddie rides. After a hunt for her lost shoe and a round of bumper cars, we went to eat. There were a bunch of fast-food restaurants, so everyone could order what they wanted. It was a lot of fun and there was a festive mood with all of them together and Kapil's uncle photodocumenting the event. Even though it was late and we were pretty exhausted, another aunt really wanted me to stop at her house for a few minutes that night, so all of us went. There were about 20 of us, I'd say. It was pretty funny even though a lot was in Telegu and I couldn't understand. They kept telling me, oh this is only 50% of the family in Hyderabad, and then several times later someone would modify this number saying, oh this is only 20% of the family and so on. It was strange for me though because they would say something in Telegu, all laugh about it, then turn and look and me and get quiet. I jokingly mentioned this and they all thought, oh yeah that would be weird, but promised me they were only making fun of each other's English. They were especially having fun with their sister, Kapil's mother's English, and wanted me to tell them what she had said to me.

The really great part for me was when one aunt admitted, you know, when we first heard you were coming, we were all really anxious and worried we wouldn't have anything in common or anything to talk about, but now we see it's fine, you're just like us! And I thought, that is exactly what Fulbright is about.

Nizamabad

So I have a friend from Evansville who is from India. He went to school in the US and works as an engineer in E'ville. He hadn't been back to India in almost three years and invited me to come meet him and his family in south India, so I just got back from Nizamabad and Hyderabad.

I stayed in Nizamabad for about three days..getting there was interesting. Originally I was going to meet Kapil in Hyderabad which is a big city. Well there are only a couple of trains going from Ahmedabad to Hyderabad, and Indian trains book up very very fast. The only thing saving me is that most trains have a foreign tourist quota, so there are a few seats saved, and if you show your passport at the booking office, you can get a ticket.

I quickly realized how spoiled I was in Ahmedabad. Several times a day in Nizamabad, they have power cuts, and sometimes they don't have running water. The temperature is from 100 - 110 degrees now; with a fan it is somewhat bearable. When you are trying to sleep and the power is cut and you are in a hot little room with no power to run the fan.... well, that's pretty miserable.

It was Kapil's birthday, so he had a party at his parents' house for a bunch of his relatives in Nizamabad. In India, the birthday boy or girl is expected to treat all of his or her friends. Actually usually they take their friends to dinner or something like that, so it is kind of the reverse of our birthdays. First, all the men sat on the floor and had their dinner, and then the ladies sat and ate.

Now, not too many people spoke English, and Kapil's mom only knew a few words. But she was really excited about dressing me up in a sari for the party. So I felt pretty much like a giant! ha. She tried to put her sari blouse on me, and these things are ultra fitted. Even on some slim women you might have to pry it off. On me, well I couldn't get it up over my fat arm! So she had me put on one of my blouses and rolled it up at the bottom. She and an aunt put some jewelry on me and drew a bindi on my forehead. Somehow they managed to squeeze her bangles over my big hands (breaking one glass bangle in the process). My hair was wet, so they insisted on combing out the part and that i leave it down...that didn't last long! In the end they said I looked beautiful and looked just like an indian...(several people in different situations have commented that I look just like their relative, that my skin color is just like them...I have yet to see any Indian as blindly white as me...hahaha)

Anyway, it was fun. The next day Kapil's mom showed me a scrapbook of the work her NGO did, teaching poorer women to make handicrafts to sell - jute bags and things and gave me some of the bags. She wanted so much for me to understand, and even when Kapil wasn't around she just continued talking to me in Telegu as if I understood. Mostly I just had to smile and nod, hahha. But we ended up playing this game Carobs which was a lot of fun; it's a little like pool without the cue sticks. His mom and I were partners, and with her little bit of english she kept telling me 'soft touch, soft touch' or that the shot was 'compulsory.'

Oh and Indians will not take no for an answer when they offer you food. No matter if you've already consumed an entire pot of rice and a whole chicken, I think they still would try to get you to eat more!

Last day in Singapore

So first of all my flight didn't leave Singapore until 12 at night. I checked out of the hostel 12 hours before, luckily the ladies kept an eye on my stuff for me, and I just came back for it later.

Well first of all I had seen these amazing pedestrian walkways built through the treetops in some tourist literature. So I took the MRT way out there and then asked the bus drivers which bus to take. He told me to sit up front and he would tell when to get off. Well I got off at the bottom of this huge hill, right under these pedestrian walkways. After hiking up the hill, the view was amazing! Really amazing walking through the tree tops and quiet...and really really humid. All these petite, cute asian girls walking around in heels and super cute little sophisticated dresses, not sweating a bit. And then me...haha big american girl sweating like a pig in the 90% humidity. The heat is less there than Ahmedabad but I have to say I appreciate A'bad more now. It's oven-like heat is much better than the sauna style heat.

Loookkk- It's a McGriddle Sandwich! Yay! They don't serve breakfast at McD's in India. Oh man if only they'd had one of those steak bagels...

So anyway, after that I was gonna go to Chinatown, but I got out at the stop and it was raining super hard :( So I had some KFC mashed potatoes while I was at the mall there (ok yeah, i know i'm just talking about food here, but I'm just telling you how it was. I hadn't had any of this food in seven months so I was determined to make room for as much as possible!) So I didn't see much of chinatown, i decided i'd go see the National Museum instead...well after wandering around for awhile, I couldn't find it. But you see the MRT metro stops, half of them end in a mall and the other half have these big shopping complexes underneath...so I tended to get a bit sidetracked (especially when I found My Neighbor Totoro merchandise!)

I finally ended up going to Arab St. - a muslim area - with a lot of different middle eastern food. Unfortunately it wasn't like little india where immigrated indians live, so there wasn't a big middle eastern community. I really wanted to find a middle easter grocery to pick up some things for Haider. It was more catered to foreign tourists - so a lot of, goofy-looking foreigners smoking hookahs was what it was basically...There were a street that sold a lot of fabric for the malaysian women's clothes. And there were Turkish restaurants, Lebanese, etc, so I at least brought home some baklava for Haider. Oh and then there was one random...SWEDISH restaurant thrown into Arab St. Seriously, what the heck, random?? Ha, because Swedish food is so well known besides their...meatballs??

Singapore: The most courteous place on earth

Now when I got here I realized that people were really polite here. But I just found out there is a National Courtesy Campaign started in '79 launched by the Ministry of Culture to transition to a new Singapore and so also to be courteous to tourist for the tourism industry. Actually there were different courtesy campaigns prior to this as well! Well it's working. The mascot is this Singha the courtesy lion. There are signs on the MRT rail line telling passengers to let people get off first before getting on, and other things like that. People are very conscious on the train and bus of giving up their seat to people who need it more. People will open the door for you, they will let u go first in line. It's very interesting coming here from India. In India you have to fight for your life basically to get on a bus. Men never ever move their big butts out of a seat for any woman, if she has a kid, if she's old, I've never seen it happen.

So I've decided one of my goals in Singapore is to eat as much food as possible since I can't get this stuff in India! I went to this place called Laupa Sat again for lunch. It has all kinds of different vendors under this old victorian kind of bandstand thing. On the way I passed a Vietnamese place and thought, oh I should get a spring roll! Bleh, it was no good- still Pho Grand in St. Louis is the best. I'm not that far from Vietnam, you would think they would know how to make it! Anyway I went on to Laupa Sat and had a Korean dish for lunch- pimimbap. It had rice, bean sprouts, some other vegetables, beef and egg. Yum. I saw a Long John Silver's here, and I totally love fries with their malt vinegar, but they don't have the vinegar here :( There is a nice riverwalk area with a bunch of restaurants along it, so I went there. Everyone is trying to get u to come to their place. There are all these seafood places with tanks of live lobster, enoooormous huge crabs, live frogs. Ha, the Indian places tried to get me to stop, again I was like no way in hell. There was one place called 'haldhi' which means turmeric in Hindi. If you read my earlier blog, you will know about the multiple uses of turmeric. Needless to say I did not eat there. The meal ended up being ridiculously expensive :( 45 singapore dollars which is like thirty US dollars and the worst of all almost 1500 rupees! bleh. I had some kind of fried crab roll that was not good and mango chicken that was just ok. Then they were going to charge me .5 dollars for a wet wipe that was set out on the table when i got there and 1.50 for nuts that they brought to me. Well I argued them out of that at least.

My friend here at the hostel is from Singapore and she says I should try a Durian. Well, I don't know if I'm up to it yet. The smell is supposed to be horrible for this fruit and it's banned from hotels usually b/c of the smell. So I tried a bite of Durian ice cream. Well, the smell did precede it...and the first taste was a little bit garlicky almost...it got a bit sweeter, but not enough for me to like it. I ordered Lychee flavor instead which was a much better choice. On the way home I stopped in a grocery store and was looking around. They had some...interesting Pringles chips flavors. So I bought one that was grilled shrimp flavor and one that was....Blueberry and Hazelnut!!!! The shrimp one is good but the blueberry is very weird. A little sweet but still salty.

Finally after walking around for forever, I even looked yesterday, I found this big Merlion statue. That is like the symbol of Singapore...after all that it was kind of anti-climatic.Ha.

But I did go to the Asian Civilizations Museum..ok mostly to take a break from the humidity but it was a really awesome exhibit. They had a whole one on Indian jewelry that was amazing. They had these enormous carved emeralds!