MONTHLY REPORT -SEPTEMBER

            I could almost swear that it isn't October! What happened to September? ...And how is it possible that I have been here for two and a half months already? Time goes by so fast! Nevertheless, you know the expression, "Time flies when you are having fun," and that is exactly what I am doing!

            September was an amazingly full month. There were many activities that I was able to take part in and I enjoyed them all dearly. The first ten days of the month were the Ganesh Festival. I felt so lucky to be able to play dhol on the first day of the festival and felt like a true Indian. However, all of the people that were lined up on the streets to watch the processions go by did there best to make me feel like a foreigner. Taking pictures of me, pointing me out to their friends, and just staring as I walked by were just a few of the reactions I received, most all at the same time.

            I was sad that I could not attend more of the Ganesh Festivities, but after I played dhol at night on the first day, the pollutants and mainly the rain got to me and I ended up staying close to home to get better. I was all better by the last day of the procession, and couldn't wait to share my dhol skills with the crowds. When I got to the meeting place for dhol, I felt so happy when members came up to me to ask me where I had been and if I was feeling better. Sadly, however, I was not able to play dhol due to a misunderstanding, but I was still involved with the procession with the other exchange students from Rotary. We were able to walk the procession route and let the onlookers gawk at our light skin, hair, and eyes. You could tell by most of their faces that they were happy we are here and taking part in Indian culture. We were dressed in typical, if not formal, Indian dress.

            September was also the first time that the exchange students were able to officially meet one another. Together we were able to attend the Inauguration Ceremony of the Pune Festival, where I saw the more foreigners there than I had in my first two months of being here in India. It was an amazing cultural display of India at its best. We, the exchange students, also had our first official Rotary meeting, and pocket money distribution! I had been so nervous about meeting the other students, but I instantly clicked with many of them and it has been great getting to know them better over the month.

            During the Ganesh Festival, I was happy to be able to participate in the Ganpati functions with my extended family here. All of the religious aspects were very interesting to me, and I am sure next year I will be celebrating Ganpati in the US. By gathering for meals as a family, performing chants and rituals praising Ganpati, as well as sending the Ganpati statue down the river at the end of the proceedings. It has been great to experience the culture and religion firsthand.

            The month was scant on school days however. With the Ganesh Festival, we had holidays, and the beginning of October marks the internal exams at my college, so once the syllabus is completed the teacher no longer comes to class. I was able to sleep in everyday and just enjoy time at home with my family. I also have had a lot of time to go shopping for gifts and souvenirs, and am getting great reactions from my families. In the US, my family is wondering if I am going to buy the Taj Mahal before I come home because I am purchasing so many other things. Whereas my family in India just laughs at me every time I come home with something new and is wondering how a person can buy so much stuff. I came to India with one checked bag on the airplane, but I will be leaving with at least two, if not three. :)

            The Rotary district here does not organize monthly events like the one in Minnesota, so the exchange students have taken it upon themselves to get together whenever possible. Together, we went on a tour of Pune and caught many glances from onlookers. With seven very light-skinned students, walking around it almost caused some accidents on the roads from people staring too long. Of course, the rickshaws tried to take advantage of us by wanting to charge us ten times the actual amount, but we were strong and either forced them to use the meter as the charge or found another driver who would. Together we visited the outside of Shaniwar Wada (an old fort in the city part of Pune). Notice that we only visited the outside. The charges for Indian residents is five rupees and for foreigners, it is 100 rupees, because we are living here for a year and have paperwork to show we are in fact residents, we wanted to pay five, but there were only Marathi speakers, so we just left when they kept forcing us to pay 100.

            After the fort fiasco, we traveled outside the city to Agakan Palace, where Gandhi was placed during house arrest with his wife and secretary. We then paid the 100 rupees, but felt better about it because it wasn't the rude people at the fort. The palace was huge, but more importantly, it was beautiful. You have to look at the pictures I took of it on facebook to understand the greatness of the palace; a picture is really worth a thousand words. It was not only pretty, but also very historically interesting. There was a museum of sorts with artifacts of Gandhi's life in the Palace and as a whole. Nevertheless, what was wonderful to me was seeing Gandhi's Samadhi, or where his ashes lay at rest.

            September also marked the end of my two and a half vegetarian streak. My family went to Pizza Hut for dinner on night and practically forced me to have non-veg. Let me tell you, I don't think that I have ever enjoyed a pepperoni pizza as much as I did that night. It wasn't only the meat, but the pizza was just like Pizza Hut in the USA, so it really reminded me of home. Then when I was out with the exchange students, after the palace, we went to a mall food court and the other American and I mooched off the Brazilian's KFC. Which was also very much like America: both the mooching and chicken. I'm not quite sure how I will spend the rest of the year, but I'm planning to eat non-veg if I have the chance, but I am still entirely happy with the food that my mom cooks for us at home.

            I'm really glad that I am here and am so happy for the family I was given and the friends I have made. I am having a grand time, and I know it will get better in the months to come. ...And not only because the trips that will be taking place with both Rotary and my family.

DHOL -A.K.A. THE BIG DRUM

            About a week or two after I arrived here in Pune (time has been all juggled together since then), I joined the dhol club of Shivagergnia. We had practice almost every night from 7:00-9:30 preparing for our week of performances during the Ganesh Festival.

            To start out, a dhol is, as the title says, a big drum. It's an aluminum barrel open on the flat sides, and then covered with material used on drums like bongos and alike. On one side of the drum, there is a black substance put on the inside of the drum surface to make it vibrate more and therefore sound louder. The other side is just left with the original covering. To have the correct sound, the side with the black substance is hit with a wooden mallet, and the opposite side is hit with the bare hand.

            My first performance was on August 22nd. This was not part of the Ganesh Festival, but rather, Krishna Curd. We played at the largest farmer's market in the city, called Mundi. It was my first realization -other than being the only foreigner at practice- that it really was an uncommon occurrence for a foreigner to be playing dhol. The crowd was huge, and I swear, almost everyone with a camera took a picture of me. For me, I had to put on a show for them and really got into the music and the beat. Of course, they could always see my huge smile.

            Practices continued until the Ganesh Festival began. Our first real performance -other than the mini one at Mundi- was on September 1st, the first day of the Festival. I was shocked by the amount of people on the streets. Thousands upon thousands were gathered to watch the processions pass by. We began playing dhol about 10:00 in the morning, and the processions finally ended sometime during the night. Luckily, I didn't have to play the entire time. The first leg of our playing lasted for about four hours, of which I played for one. There was then a lunch break that lasted five hours, during which I ate at my Suman Aji's (Grandmother on my Father's side), and went home to sleep. When I woke up, I again went to play dhol in a different procession. This time, my mom and her friend came along both to take part in the festivities and take pictures and videos of me. In the evening procession, I played for almost twice as long as I had in the morning. During the procession it started to rain, no, it started to pour. The cold rain was relieving after the sweat from the heat and playing. Being true to the procession, no one stopped playing no matter how much, or how hard the rain fell.

            On the final day of the Ganesh Festival, I prepared yet again to play dhol in front of hundreds of thousands of people. However, I was not able to play due to mismanagement of the dhol group and my parents looking out for me and always making sure I have the best experiences possible (THANK YOU!). I was still able to participate in the processions though, thanks to Rotary. All of the inbound exchange students walked the procession route in full Indian dress. The crowds tried to get as many pictures as possible of "those foreigners dressed like Indians," many times coming into our group and having use pose for pictures. During the procession, we did Indian chants and dances as well as showing our nationalities by waving our countries' flags. Overall, it was a great experience and I was smiling the whole time.

            Fun Fact: One of the television reporters that had interviewed me for dhol earlier was assigned to cover the foreigners in the procession. When she saw me with the Rotary group, she was surprised to see that I was not playing dhol. I felt really good knowing that she had remembered me, and am now able to show off saying I know someone on Indian television.

NEWEST INDIAN CELEBRITY

American boy find Harmon-y in Pune dhol beats

Newspaper article about me playing dohl in the Ganesh Festival.

MONTHLY REPORT -AUGUST

            It seems crazy that I have been here for a month and a half already! The time is flying by so fast! It STILL feels like I just arrived in Mumbai last night. But, I'm so happy that I have been here for this amount of time! I have already been able to experience so much. (I feel bad for other exchange students that are just arriving this week. They have already missed so many interesting things).

            The month of August was another month full of entirely new and very interesting experiences. I was able to enjoy three family birthdays, sadly said goodbye to one of my host sisters, Aishwarya, my first Indian haircut, and my first Bollywood movie in an Indian theatre. Not to mention all of the daily experiences here that would seem alien in the USA.

            I had a really good month. I feel that I am becoming an actual Indian and adjusting to the culture and the customs more and more daily. I am loving school everyday and enjoy being with my friends there and my family at home. I am used to the stares and second glances now, (I don't feel like there is something on my face every time someone looks at me weird).

            I had the pleasure of being involved in; my host father's, host sister's, and an extended family member's birthday this month. It was interesting to see how similar their celebrations are compared to ours. Personally, I really enjoyed all of the festivities. From my father's "around the water cooler" conversations with his friends, to the noise and scariness of 25 pre-teen girls in one house for my sister. It was neat that the extended family member actually lives in the US, New Jersey, but is originally from India. I was able to carry out a very nice conversation -in English.

            My first Indian haircut was also quite an experience. Instead of just going to my normal place and saying, "The Usual," I had to tell my father what I wanted, exactly, and then he translated it to the barber. Luckily, the haircut turned out nice, and short enough I won't have to worry about another one for quite some time. Although, I wouldn't mind another relaxing head massage with the natural oils the barbers give after the haircuts are finished.

            It was hard to say goodbye to my sister Aishwarya. She had done so much for me and helped me daily by getting me where I needed to go, introducing me to people and the city, and helping me understand Marathi by translating what people said. I know that she is having a great time in Minnesota, but being selfish, sometimes I wish she were still around. It surprised me how much I could miss a person after just knowing them for one month. Nevertheless, life goes on and I still have her amazing family with me.

            Bollywood definitely needs its own name. It is so different from any movies I have ever seen, and I have seen A LOT of movies. The theatres here are huge! Although they seat probably close to the same number as the normal size theatres in the US, they only have a slight elevation from row to row, without stadium seating, which makes them stretch on and on. The movie I saw with my family was Singham. Although I understood only two percent of the words, I was still able to follow the plot quite directly. What really surprised me though, was leaving the theatre. There were hundreds of people all trying to leave through one very long, very thin -for that amount of people- hallway. I just kept thinking to myself, "Multiple exits would be REALLY nice right about now."

            Going into September, it was the start of the Ganesh Festival. My first encounter with the other exchange students here in Pune, and the first Rotary meeting for the inbound students. More details on these will come in future blogs, and the September monthly report.

            Overall, I'm still Lovin' India.

MINNESOTIAN MAIDS

For me, it's very different to have maids. Luckily (and unluckily), the maids that my family has don't do everything and are not here all the time.

            Two maids come every morning, around 8:00 or 9:00, to help with the house chores. They wash the dishes, do my family's laundry (I do my own), wash the floors and occasionally prepare meals.

            Throughout the day when we have dirty dishes we just rinse them and leave them in the sink. For metal dishes, which are generally used, we rinse them and then place them in a tub below the sink. This helps to keep the kitchen clean. The maids don't do all the dishes though. My mother helps to make sure that there are not too many dishes by washing a few now and then throughout the day. In order to get hot water to wash the dishes, you have to turn on a water heater that is in the kitchen. Because it is small, the water heats up quickly and then is ready to use. The soap used for dishes is a soft bar. You take a small washrag and pick up some soap, then use it on the dishes.

            For the laundry, the biggest difference for me is that there is no clothes dryer. My family does have a clothes washer-which I am very happy about-although, many people here hand wash their clothes. The washer is just like any 'normal' one from the US. However, since there is no dryer, we hang our clothes on rods in the balcony. Because we live on the seventh floor and it is usually windy, the clothes dry very fast (totally dry in around 24 hours). My family told me that right now, during Monsoon Season, clothes take the longest to dry because of the moisture, but for the rest of the year they dry even faster.

            All of the floors in India are hard. No carpet. In college, they are all just plain concrete. In most homes and businesses, however, they are made from marble or a marble look alike. The reason for no carpet is the humidity. It would be very easy for the carpet to get wet and in turn, moldy. Many houses do however have rugs to have a glimpse of carpet. However, it is not needed as much here because the hard floors do not get cold in the warm weather (unlike Minnesota's winters). The maids in turn wash the floors daily. Not with a mop and a bucket though, on their hands and knees with a wet towel. We have a rug here, so the maid washing the floors hangs in on the balcony railing to make sure it stays dry, and then washes the floor underneath.

            Sometimes when my mother is really busy she has the maids prepare meals or parts of meals for the family. This doesn't happen very often, however, and when it does, the food is not as good as when mom makes it.

            Whenever the maids are here, I try to stay out of their way and try not to disrupt their normal routine. Most of the time, I am at college when they are here, thankfully.

            I've never had a maid before so I wasn't and am still not quite sure how to act around them. They treat me very well though. My family told the maids that they had to be extra nice to me, so I wouldn't get a bad impression of the maids in India. They said that the maids where I am from in Minnesota are very kind and do anything we tell them to do. When I told my family, "People don't usually have maids in Minnesota." They said, "We know that, but the maids don't have to!" We just laughed.

            Overall, it's nice to have someone do the 'dirty work' for you, but I do enough to make sure I don't take advantage of them. I'm sure as time goes on I will become more comfortable with them and them with me. Nevertheless, as you can probably tell by the above conversation my family and I are already close.

COWS IN THE STREET.

All right, so I'm pretty sure I said that the traffic is crazy, but THE TRAFFIC IS CRAZY. It has been hard adjusting to constant horns and swerving in and out of traffic. The streets are so loud and crowded. Words cannot describe the amount and craziness of this traffic. Here, scooters are the prevalent mode of transportation for people over age 16 (that is when you get your scooter license, car license at 18). Otherwise, for families, there are small cars and vans. The "Regular Joe," (like me) is always able to catch a rickshaw. Just on my five-minute ride in the rickshaw to school, I see probably 300 scooters and at least 100 cars. There are cars and people everywhere! The traffic is very different from Owatonna, and even from Minneapolis or St. Paul. I used to think that the traffic in the cities was bad; but compared to this, that is child's play.

            On Sunday, 14 August, my family and I went to Mumbai to send off my sister Aishwarya. [For those of you who don't know, Aishwarya, my host sister, is spending the year as an exchange student in Northfield, MN]. Whenever my family has to travel to Mumbai, they always hire a driver; even though the traffic is busy in Pune, it is ten times worse in Mumbai. Too bad for me, but the driver that hired did not give us a very "smooth" ride. By now, I was pretty adjusted to the jerks of stick shift vehicles and the usual swerve into the other lane to pass and the short stops to avoid accidents. However, this trip was all that and more.

            To start out, my stomach wasn't feeling the most comfortable when we got in the car. [Some of you can probably tell where this is going already]. The driver would constantly accelerate rapidly and then have to slam on the brakes. Not to mention him swerving back and forth through three lanes of traffic. The ride to Mumbai is about three hours long, so my stomach was not in a good state. When we finally reached Mumbai, the driving just got worse. With more traffic than the highway, there were stops and accelerations within seconds of each other; jerking back and forth like some amusement park ride gone bad.

            I started to get the feeling. The one you get when you are about to vomit, yeah, that one. I didn't have a bucket or a bag or anything to use so I tried to roll down the window, but it was locked. I couldn't open my mouth to say that the window was locked, because words wouldn't have been the only things that came out. Suddenly it happened, but luckily, I was able to control most of it. Aishwarya quickly told the driver to roll down the window so I could get rid of it. My stomach felt so good afterwards, but I felt horrible that I had vomited.

            The driver was not at all happy with be for detailing part of his car with my DNA. I showed no remorse however, because, after all it was his fault that I had the feeling and he did lock the windows. Luckily, we stopped at a relative's house for dinner and I had the chance to clean up. The driver glared at me when we got back in the car to go to the airport, but I just ignored it. I wasn't too happy with him either. We finally made it to the airport and I was able to get some fresh air as we all said goodbye to Aishwarya. It was emotional for me even. She was the first sister I ever had and saying goodbye to her was like saying goodbye to my family all over again.

            The ride back was a lot better than the ride there because I was actually able to sleep and no focus on the terribly rash driving. When we got home, about 4:00 in the morning, I was so happy to be on solid ground again. I went straight to bed and was able to sleep in because there was a holiday from school for India's 65th Independence Day.

            Well, now that I got that out of my system, I should probably talk about what this post is actually entitled. Cows in the Street. Not to mention the beggars, dogs, and my personal favorite, elephants. It's so odd to see full-grown cows roaming city streets. Sometimes they are off on their own going through the garbage looking for something to eat. Other times there is a whole herd of cattle being lead through the streets by their owners. Traffic jams are caused because the cows don't like to follow the rules of the road and, from what I can tell, they have the "right of way." You can tell that cows are near from either the sound of the bells around their necks, or the smell and views of cow pies on the streets and sidewalks.

            Another common animal seen in the street are dogs. Much like in my college, the stray dogs roam the streets looking for food or a place to get out of the rain. They run in and out of traffic causing even more stops that are sudden. The dogs like to stay around people with food. They follow anyone with the scent of any meal. Again, sadly, the dogs are not the healthiest, have matted and dirty fur and probably numerous fleas and other small insects living on them. If you see a random dog in the street, STAY AWAY.

            Onto the beggars. There are so many of them. Some really old, some really young, and others of all the ages in between. They are on the sidewalks, on school campuses, and in the middle of the road at intersections. The traffic lights here have wait times of up to 95 seconds. This gives beggars the perfect opportunity to walk down the rows of cars, scooters, and rickshaws asking for money from the drivers and passengers. They knock on windows and tap on shoulders to get your attention and then hold out their empty hands and look at you with puppy dog eyes trying to convince you to give. During my first encounter with beggars on the street, I had no idea what was happening and thought they were crazy to be in the middle of street with traffic as bad as it is. Luckily, my family was in a car at the time, so my father immediately rolled up all the windows and said to ignore them.

            The beggars on the sidewalks are the worst out of the lot. Especially for me, with my fair skin and light hair. They immediate target me, thinking I will have money and give to them. I was just walking down the street looking at some trinkets in shops with my friends when one can up to me and started tapping me. I ignored her as I was taught, but she didn't stop. She actually grabbed my arm and tried to turn me around to look at her. My friend that was with me yelled at her, "No, you don't touch him." Now thinking back on the event, I just laugh, but it was scary. My friends told me to start walking further down the street. I did as I was told, but the girl (only about 13) started walking behind me holding out her bowl for me to put change. I swear she followed me for a good 30 yards before I finally was able to enter a store and she went to find her next victim.

            You also have to be careful on the sidewalk for the beggars that try to put kunku (a red dot) on your forehead. You are strolling along and they just put it on your forehead, and then expect you to pay them. There have been numerous times when I had to duck out of the way so they "didn't get me." They also like to follow me. I cannot wait until I at least get a tan and am able to blend in a little bit more. I am also thinking about dying my hair a darker brown so I don't get the daily stares and double takes.

            Finally, the elephants! I have only seen three so far, but still, it is an amazing sight to see an elephant walking down a street full of traffic. I was lucky enough to be walking one time that I saw one, so I got some good pictures that will be put on my facebook album shortly. They are huge, and you can get close enough to touch them; it is amazing. The other day I saw an elephant that was giving food to his rider. The rider bought some fruit from a stand on the sidewalk, and the elephant used his trunk to give the fruit to his rider. Then the rider put money in the trunk and the elephant paid the seller! It was so cool to see. I really hope to ride one while I am here.

PHOTO ALBUM

For those of you that do not have facebook, here is a link to my photos taken in India. It will be updated hopefully every week or two weeks.

Indian Adventure Photo Album