I'm Back!

Thoughts from a village:

Bhojasar was AMAZING. The family I lived with for 16 days was delightful and we had so much fun! not speaking the same language, playing my ukulele, eating with our fingers, sleeping outside, chasing the baby goats, taking pictures, going for walks and drinking chai chai chai (my maximum was 8 cups in one day)

I visited schools in neighboring villages of Moriya, Denok, Khichan (school kitchen library!) I climbed a sand dune (mountain) in Aau, another one in Lahovat, and climbed 357 stairs to a temple and watched the sunset.

I observed the work that Urmul does in the schools--funding Room to Read libraries and facilitation, providing education in braille for blind children and I met all the local weavers in the village.

I fetched water from the well every morning to take a bucket shower, washed my clothes on the floor and was careful not to hang them on the clothesline close to the cow (or else she would eat them).

I had lots of time to think and reflect and be an angsty teenager: "Nobody Understands Me!" literally. I have not spoken face-to-face with a native English speaker for a month. and that leaves all the processing to inside my own head. meaning my dreams have been crazy! Every single one is a whimsical combination of Kenyon/Petoskey/MCFYP/India. The medians in Petoskey turned into Middle Path but the roads were filled with rickshaws. Gina Angileri (petoskey), Bryan Lewis (mcfyp) and Rob Fine (kenyon) came to visit me in India. Summer Conference was at Mooti Doongri. I flew back home on a combination plane/train/rollercoaster with Kylie Musolf (mcfyp) and Sam Karns (india). I go back to Jaipur on Saturday the 4th to be reunited with my MSID friends and for my final week in India!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Best,
Ellen

(or as everyone called me in the village: Ellena)

Lost in Translation

I don't think Indians understand why I am here. I haven't figured out how to say "semester abroad" or "experiential learning" or "wanderlust"

I am here to observe and live in their country immersed in their culture. I came prepared for everything to be different and overwhelming--and I think I have handled it rather well. I am adapting to their customs and habits and I respect their way of life. But they cannot understand mine.

I am 20 and not married *GASP* I might not even get married til I'm 28! and it will be for love, not an arrangement! My sister is 23 and she's not married! and...wait for it...I don't have a brother *GASP*GASP*

I try to explain that it is ok in America to not have brothers (would anybody really want to deal with a Blanchard son?) and that I want to get married, but in America 20 is considered young to get married (the other day someone was appalled that I am not married and said to my face that I was old) and usually people wait until after college to get married.

so besides that mini rant--all is well!!

I have been in Phalodi for the week, and I will go to a village on Tuesday the 9th. There hasn't been a lot of internship-related work, but I think this has been one of the best weeks of my life.

I am the novelty white girl at the foundation (every person and their cousin-literally.) knows the story of my life, rather, the story that they chose to tell based on the facts I try to tell about myself in broken Hindi (but obviously the most important things are that I am not married and don't have a brother)

The main people who work at the foundation live at the foundation, so it's like having 7 host families! So I have chai at least 5 times a day, and get to hang out with...I can't even count them all...19 siblings.

and Diwali!! in a nutshell: Let all those under the age of 6 run around with sparklers and matches. Let them set off as many firecrakers as they want and stand only 4 feet away. repeat all night long.

love
Ellen

I just attended the meeting of the Rotary Club of Phalodi, India.

well, actually it was the staff meeting of the Urmul foundation...but it was exactly the same vibe as a Rotary meeting in Petoskey, barring a few minor details. The 40 staff members gathered in the big multipurpose room (after leaving all 80 shoes outside) and sat on the floor in a circle. Like any Rotary meeting, I brought the total number of women in the room to a whopping three. The meeting was called to order and "Harry Begley" led a few rousing tunes, rather, Hindu prayers. Then I was introduced (I only know this because everyone started starting at me and attempted to say my name "aylin" "eleen" "ellit" and then I was asked to introduce myself--IN HINDI. Now, this is what I have been preparing for my whole life (those rotary types don't scare me) I was spontaneously asked to introduce Petra Dlouha in front of the whole club and did so without batting an eye. I know that a room full of professionals who are working for the good of their community and world really aren't that scary. It was empowering to be a young, white women speaking a language I only started learning 6 weeks ago in front of 40 Indians and do so with confidence. 

The meeting proceeded with individuals presenting their specific area of the organization [Urmul has a women's weaving cooperative, sponsors girls' schools, trains teachers and librarians, advocates against child labor and child marriage and supports local agriculture in many villages in western Rajasthan]

After each presentation there would be questions and discussion and it would get heated! "Jack Woldvogel" would say something that would make everybody speak up at the same time, "Ken Mainland" would try to calm people down, "Charlie Gano" would say something that would make everybody stop and recalculate, the "Brummelers" would be having their own conversation by just looking at each other from across the circle and of course, there was a jokester right up front-and all that he was missing to make it an authentic meeting of the Petoskey rotary was a pair of pants with little camels embroidered on them. 

Then we went to lunch, a far cry away from the reycraft room, but instead the local eatery where everyone sits outside, eats dal, subzi (vegetables), rice and chapati chapati chapati (only using the right hand of course) They talk and joke and laugh and I know they are the types to try and include me, but I am a videshi (foreigner) and cannot speak their language well enough to schmooze. 

It was an amazing morning for culture comparison, and so appropriate because today is Wednesday! So while the Petoskey Rotary meeting has yet to happen, the Phalodi "Rotary" is already taking afternoon chai!

best,

ellen

update!

In the last blog I failed to mention that during the awesomeness of the RIFF festival I went through India Identity Crisis #847.

The festival was great but the experience was kind of like this [for my philanthropic youths]: imagine being told that you are a member of the MCFYP committee an hour before registration begins, the only people that give you direction are Kari Pardoe and Rob Collier who speak intimidating philanthropy jargon and throw out a million names of people you don't know. you do not speak the same language as the maybe (literally) and there is no Mike Goorhouse in sight.

Needless to say, it was very overwhelming. I adapted quickly because I can handle that sort of run around/stress/logistic environment. but then I realized that I have done work like that before in the US and will continue to do work like that in the US--and I am in INDIA. so I needed to reevaluate the situation.

Also, on the way to Jodhpur we dropped off my good friend from the program, Anna, at a village where she would be working with a school. After leaving her in a tiny room in an incredibly rural setting my stomach began to ache with regret. I thought I wasn't brave enough to go to a village and a city is what I wanted to experience in India. I was lying to myself. After a few freak outs, minor explosions and 17 pages of journaling and talking to my program director and making a few phone calls...I am getting on a train tomorrow night a going to Phalodi.

I will be working for the Urmul foundation, a women's weaving cooperative that also invests in girls' empowerment through education. I will be seeing the work in villages as well as the school in the town. I actually don't know what to expect--but I am surprisingly calm about all of it.

I will be in a village in India for the next 5 weeks, so blogging probably won't be happening as frequently.

This has been a whirlwind week and I have learned A LOT about myself and really had time to seriously reflect on my India experience.

lovelovelove
ellen

ps The uke is coming with me to the village :)

extra points.

To all the honorary Blanchards:

I just read the chapter about Peter on a train in India. While on a train in India. I think I get some extra points for that. I also understand the transcribed hindi. and I can do the ambiguous Indian head nod with ease.

To the commoners:

I am reading The Brother's K while in India and it is especially significant because part of the story is set in India. Once you read it, you will know all things, and become an honorary Blanchard because it is Paul's favorite book.

It is hard to read abook that constantly reminds me of my family while I am so far away from them and cannot shout a passage across the hall to get my dad's reaction, but it is an amazing book and relevant to my experiences in India...in an abstract sort of way.

ANYWAY.

I just got back from the Rajasthan International Folk Festival in the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur--google it, youtube it, facebook it. IT WAS AWESOME.

Dede and I spent the day roaming the fort, listening to music, dancing, eating, taking pictures, dancing, eating and dancing.

My favorites were Susheela Raman and the Bengali Baul philosophers/musicians.

At the Sunset Devotional event at the festival, the speaker made a poignant statement: That all things that rise must set.  I am over halfway through my stay in India, so the sun is setting...but my favorite time of day is dusk. So I am pumped for the second half of this adventure but have been reflecting on the whole experience as well.  

Now I am back in Jaipur and have meetings to attend.


love
Ellen

No Chronology.

Sorry I haven't updated in a while.

Let me tell you about my weekend.

On Thursday evening I got on a sleeper bus and didn't get off for 12 hours. I was in a bunk above the seats sleeping, talking and watching the Rajasthan desert whoosh past out the window.

10 of us arrived in Jaiselmer (real close to Pakistan) and had a rooftop breakfast (typical India, rooftop adventure #784) We explored the Jaiselmer fort in the morning and then went to catch the bus to the village of Khuri where our camel safari would commence.

Our group had split up to explore, so some got on the bus at the bus station, while my small group was at another stop farther down the road. we kept in contact to make sure we would get on the bus together. Every phone call from those already on the bus was a warning about how the bus was filling fast and we might not be able to get a seat. Well, when there is no room in the bus, you only have 1 choice. Get on the roof of the bus. So yes, I traveled for 2 hours sitting on top of a bus with 30 indians going to the tiny village of Khuri. Absolutely Amazing. and the camel safari had not even begun.

From the top of the bus to the top of a camel and into the desert. The view from the top of the camel was spectacular yet incredibly bumpy. especially when we galloped as fast as we could to see the sunset. We ate around a campfire with our 8 Warmari guides and played hide and seek in the dunes before falling asleep under the stars.

Sunrise, tea and back on the camels to return to the village.

We had a hotel back in Jaiselmer and this time we rode inside the bus.

and the diversity of modes of transportation did not end there!

on Sunday afternoon we rented scooters and zoomed-zoomed our way to a lake, another village and The Secret Garden--India style.

So, I am physically exhausted but mentally satisfied and emotionally overwhelmed because tonight I pack up my room to move into a new host family to start my internship on wednesday.

so much love

~Ellen

Temple Grandin Moments in India

1) Being overwhelmed by sensory inputs

2) Cows Everywhere

sorry if you don't know who Temple Grandin is--google her, watch the Claire Danes movie about her, read her book, go out to coffee with my dad and this post will make sense.

3) Swing sets

This morning I woke up in the shekhawati region of India in an awesome hotel in the middle of the indian countryside. MSID took a field trip and we spent two days visiting farms, hevalis (Historical Indian Mansions), forts and eating delicious food. We also middle-schooled it up and had an MSID pool party. The hotel also had a playground. The first thing I thought of to do in the morning was run to the playground and get on a swing. The instant I did I was flooded with memories of all the swing sets I have ever been on. (this is where Temple Grandin comes in--she thinks in pictures and she is flooded with memories of images for everything) I was reminded of swings in the backyard next to the little blue house, underdogs (much to my mother's chagrin) swings at Bay View, swings at the state park, and of course the innumerable amounts of memories from the swings at Lincoln Elementary School. I realized that my swinging experiences have come full circle because in Elementary school, Angelo and I would sing songs from The Jungle Book at the top of our lungs while on the swings and I have now been swinging in the setting for those very songs.

Tonight I am going to see the Indian adaptation of 'The Three Penny Opera' -in hindi.

This weekend I am going to see some big marble building in Agra.

LOVE
Ellen