"India is not another country, it is another planet!"

The title of this blog post is from Dr. Sunny Luke, our program director- I thought it was more than fitting for my first post.  The past few days have been quite an experience. I have so much to say but it is difficult to get it all down. I left for India on the 7^th and got there on the 9^th at about 2am.  Luckily, both my bags made it.  After sleeping for several hours Leala, Kara and I walked around what I now know is the Tamil side (as opposed to the French side) of Puducherry.  First thoughts: loud, the smell, lots of colors, dirty but beautiful too.  The traffic in India is insane- it is exactly like what you’ve seen in the movies.  The only rule seems to be that honking frequently is necessary. As I write this I can hear continuous honking from the streets below. Other than that there are no rules.

We are staying in the Hotel Suguru- known for its restaurant where we have eaten every meal.  In the morning I usually have idly- rice cakes with different sauces/ toppings, for lunch it’s more rice and toppings (today paneer pulao- cheese and spiced rice with a onion yogurt relish), and for dinner we have eaten both dosa and naan- delicious.  Puducherry is about 95% vegetarian, which awesome. I haven’t had meat since I got here and I haven’t missed it. In India you only eat with your right hand, and you don’t usually use utensils.  It was hard at first but after learning it, I find it a pretty refined technique.  You pick up the food and use you thumb in a sweeping motion to push it off you hand and into your mouth. If done correctly the only thing messy should be your fingers.

Yesterday the IISAC program director, Dr. Sunny Luke, lectured us on Indian culture (mostly on dealing with the opposite sex), and Pondicherry University.  Indian girls and boys are basically raised to be strangers, and boys will take any type of attention from American women/ foreigners as a sign of interest or a come on.  The girls of the program have to be very careful with how we interact with Indian men in case we give off the wrong signal.  It is worrisome, because the natural American reaction to seeing someone is a quick smile.  Dr. Luke advised us against this.

Pondicherry University is HUGE compared to Hendrix.  Most schools are, but PU stretches across 800 acres.  We plan on using bikes to get around and to go to the shops nearby to get what we need.  We didn’t pick our classes, but told Mani- Mani (if that is how you spell her name), and assistant to Dr. Luke, which subjects we were interested in and she is going to type up a list of the classes in these subjects that we may choose from.  I am interested in Philosophy, Sociology, Environmental Studies and Physical Education (I would like to take a field hockey class).

Today we had our Visas validated, which only took about an hour. Then we went on a tour through the botanical garden, walked on the beach, and after lunch visited Auroville, which is an intentional community known worldwide about 20 minutes outside of Puducherry.  It was great to visit.  Auroville is very quiet and peaceful.  I couldn’t hear and cars, and the air was cleaner.  It was a much-needed break, as the city can feel overwhelming after a while.  Tonight is our last night at hotel Suguru.  Tomorrow we leave at night by train to start our South India Tour- first stop in Cochin.  Leala and I capped off our last night with a beer, Indian music videos, and blogging before our big trip.  If anyone has any questions please post a comment or send me an email!

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A creek/ river that runs under a bridge on the Tamil side of Puducherry.

Breakfast the first morning in Hotel Suguru- I can't remember the name of it, but it was wonderful.

The street when you walk outside the hotel (taken on my first walk)

Thali- an Indian lunch. You eat the sauces and sides in a certain order and after the bread is finished they put white rice in the middle- everything eaten with just the right hand.

Our bathroom in Hotel Suguru- notice the shower.

In the botanical gardens in Puducherry today.

The meditation center in Auroville- only those who live there  are allowed in.

A huge tree (can't remember the type) in Auroville.  The branches grow twigs that eventually become extra trunks and root into the ground.

The toy/small train path in the botanical gardens- we went for a ride, it was like being at Disney World.

The Eve of Departure

Tomorrow I leave for India. I fly out of Philadelphia at 6:25pm to Heathrow in London.  Leala (another junior from Hendrix also going- who is amazing) and I will meet in Heathrow and catch the plane to Chennai, India together.  We arrive in Chennai at 1am India time, and from there our program will pick us up and take us to Pondicherry.
I think I have most of my stuff together.  Packing has been slow going as I try not to overpack, which I always do.  Mostly my bag is full of medicine... just in case. My room is a veritable mess and at this point it's quite like a maze and scavenger hunt rolled into one as I try to find the items I need while simultaneously walking through the room.
It's all becoming very real now and I wonder what I have gotten myself into.  I'm concerned about dressing and acting properly for Indian society and culture, but I am hoping that this is something I will pick up on as the semester goes.

The Journey Begins...

On January 7th I leave for Pondicherry, India for five months.  The reality of the situation hasn't set in quite yet, so at this point the only anxiety I feel concerns the status of my Visa... because I just sent in the application today. However, I think everything will turn out fine (at least that's what my Mom is telling me).
The name of this blog- Chak De! India- is the title of a Indian movie about the Women's Indian Field Hockey team. One of my best friends (Kelly Rappe- who has an amazing blog from her semester in Ghana) and I finally watched it this past season, after saying we would since my freshman year of college. It was an awesome movie, and the title means something like "Go for it India!" I figured it was a fitting title.
I have a mental checklist that I keep running through- and which I should probably write down. At this point the Visa is out of my hands, so I need to call the bank and start buying items which should be useful to me in India.  So far, everything has been much more complicated than I thought it would be.  Today I expressed that to my Mom and she told me, "Of course, what did you expect?" I really had no idea as to how much a trip like this involved, making the arrangements has already been a lesson in travel... it's hard to go halfway across the world!
As for arrival in India as well as living, studying and traveling there I have no idea what to expect.  This is the farthest I will have ever been away from home.  I've never been to a country so far east- mentally I think myself ready for Indian culture and society but in reality I know it will be a huge shock.  We'll see if I feel any more nervous as my departure date approaches!