Namaste, Hola, Hello
Well, my time in India has come and gone, and now I am back in the US. I find myself looking back on the whirlwind of time that I had in Dharamsala, Delhi, Amritsar, Agra and Upper Mcleoud Ganj and it already seems like a lifetime ago and an insurmountable amount of galaxies away. I miss the views of the Himalayan mountains stretching up to the dark, open skies; I miss the colorful yellow and red Tibetan clothing and the Buddhist temple; I miss the vibrant women's Salwaar Kamis (flowy Princess Jasmine pants, long dresses that go over the pants, and the scarves that drape around from one shoulder to the next underneath the neck while hanging freely on the back); I miss the Indian Bollywood music that the taxi drivers and Rikshaw drivers would blast at painfully loud decibles as they drove us around the curvy roads of wildernessy, crowded, subject-to-no-law-or-regulation streets of India; I miss Lalit Baya and Viki Baya along with Monica Didi and Anju Didi who were our main staff workers that joked with us and worked so hard to keep us safe and happy during our stay in their country; I miss the bindis on the women's foreheads and the red dots of paint that were placed on Indian men's and women's foreheads when they went to the Hindu temples to pray; I miss the children and the grown adults who would walk everywhere and always be out and about on the streets--I miss their friendliness and their incessant requests to have their pictures taken; I miss the post office employees that knew me by name and gave me Chai and tried to arrange me to marry their sons when I was stuck in the post office during a heavy 2 hour monsoon downpour; and, I miss the people's faithfulness to their religous customs and traditional family values.
I came home with camel shoes for my Dad, Himalyan silver and gem necklaces for my sisters, Kashmir silk for my mother, and many Bollywood CDs for myself. I also came home with a bit more understanding of the Eastern way of life and my place within this International world that has torn down so many of the already diminishing international boarders--especially speaking of those between the Eastern and Western "worlds."
I was able to observe the treatment of women and the position of women within India and Pakistan; I was able to observe a grassroots social justice movement in a rural Indian district; I was able to corroborate with community members of India, with members of my collegiate community at UCSD, and with volunteers from the US and the UK; I was able to see relics and Holy Temples for religions other than my own and acquire an appreciation for others' spirituality alongside of growing in appreciation for my own spirituality; and, last but not least, I was able to bring my family and friends into this experience with me and raise awareness about another culture and existence.
Having gone to India with AB@UCSD has strengthened my confidence in my ability to be an effective civil servant in the International community. I will keep Indian social reform in my heart and continue to be actively involved in raising awareness from my home in San Diego. This project in India was the perfect way of ending my undergradute studies of International Human Development; and it has inspired me to continue developing myself spiritually and intellectually.
My pictures are on this website, please go have a look!: spanishirenelynette.shutterfly.com
viernes, 22 de agosto de 2008
jueves, 24 de julio de 2008
Dharmsala Week Three
As mentioned earlier, the months of June, July, and August are India's monsoon season so, as such, every day has been riddled with bouts of rain followed by bouts of beautiful sunshine. The clouds roll in by the morning, rain their hearts out, and then the sun immediately follows by afternoon with clear skies and crisp views of the Himalayan mountains surrounding us. I am currently in an internet cafe on the third floor of a building along one of the streets that breaks off from the central market place and winds itself down the side of the mountain through a series of shops and specialty stores. It has been raining for the last half hour and I am hoping that the sun will magically come out when I finish writing this entry so that I can walk back up the mountain to my flat and pack my things up for the train I will be taking in a few hours to Delhi for the program debriefing.
These last two weeks have gone by faster than I could have ever imagined. I was sick and the end of the first week and the beginning of the second week ( I am blaming it on a mango that didn't sit well with my stomach) and everyone in my group from UCSD seemed to be sick at that time as well. There was a lot of stress and a lot of frustration with the differences in the health care available to us up here on the mountain. An Indian-born student in my group from UCSD actually had to leave Dharmsala to receive better medical attention at the beginning of our trip and we were ll in low spirits when she left our volunteer project after a years worth of planning to be here with us. However, we all know that the altitude and the steep hills were not conducive to her recovery and are grateful that she has recovered a lot already from her respiratory infection since she went to stay with her family here in India.
Volunteer Work with the NGO
I have been kept busy with the housewives in my women's group and have had a very rewarding experience working with them. Sabbu and Vindra composed wonderful stories and improved on their typing skills. Prakshi and Meena improved on their addition skills and are on their way to being able to regulate their expenditures in the market. They also gained a lot of knowledge about phonetics and sounding out words spelled with the Roman alphabet (for both Hindi, Punjabi, and English words). Vindra has been sick with a liver problem lately and unable to attend the group and Sabbu went to visit her family in a neighboring town for a few days so they could not attend our group this last week. Before Sabbu left, she has my co-worker Fernanda and I over to her house for Chai and appetizers. We were able to meet all of the women on her husband's side of the family (because she lives on her in-law's property with her husband and daughter Khanti.) Her family is Sikh, which was founded as a religion that borrows from both Hinduism and Islam and is very pacifist. The women carry daggers underneath their shirts which are tied to ropes that wrap around their necks and hang at their sides (I believe it symbolizes strength of character and is a non-violent tool). Sikh men can be spotted out of a crowed because they all wear turbans and never cut their hair. Meena and Prakashi were also busy with new jobs and tending to children who are on vacation from school so they were not able to make our meetings this past week either. However, one of the house maids for the CCS volunteer flats brought her granddaughter with her to work on the computer which perfectly overlapped with the days where none of the regular women in our group could attend. Shrivani has spent the last couple of days with the undivided, two-to-one attention from two well-educated tutors and it has also been very rewarding to have been able to have helped her with her typing skills and her cognitive skills through many games that we played that involved strategies. I don't think that 11 year old Indian girls get private tutors very often in this region, and I am glad that she was able to have not only ONE tutor but TWO tutors. Today I left Shrivani with Fernanda mid-way through the tutoring session and went to the newly opened Special School in lower Dharmsala. It has been up and running for a total of 2 weeks, we were actually here for the grand opening!!--except I was sick during the actual ceremony--and the community is making a lot of progress in addressing the needs of the handicapped community. Today there were 6 special needs children at the school, two teachers, one aide, and three CCS volunteers (including myself). There was also a visiting psychology student who is specializing in "education with the mentally retarded." Given my lifetime of experience with the special needs community, I fit right in to the classroom and felt very helpful and useful. It was a treat to be able to both observe the work that has been done in this community to rehabilitate and educate the often mistreated special needs Indian people.
Traveling
Last weekend my friends and I traveled to Amritsar to see the Sikh Golden Temple and to attend the Pakistani/Indian border ceremony. Both of these were breath-taking, and I will always be grateful that I was able to go to both. We went to the temple on the evening when there was a full moon and on a morning where we were able to see the sunrise over the temple. I was able to enter it twice to see their devotional prayers and readings of Sikh religious texts. It is a site of pilgrimage to all of the Sikhs and and average of40,000 daily visit it. It is the holiest of places for the Sikh religion.
After the Sikh temple, we went to the Indian/Pakistani border ceremony. I walked up to 100 yards of Pakistan and sat down in a stadium where I watched the Indian military enact the ceremonial dances, chanting, marching, and interactions with the Pakistani military. Pakistan also had a stadium on their side of the border, but India's was filled with many more people and many more travelers. Females were separated from males and tourists were separated from the Indians. At the beginning of the ceremony the Indian women and children dance in the center of the stadium to nationalistic Indian music. Naturally, my UCSD friends and I went down and danced with them. The women were more than happy to teach us their dances and many people took pictures of us with their cell phones. We were quite the spectacle, but they were very appreciative of our openness to participate in their ceremonial dancing and all of the women thanked us for coming down from the bleachers to dance in front of the entire stadium. Even after the ceremony many elder Indian women grabbed me by the arm while I was walking to stop me, look in my eyes and tell me that I am a great dancer.
End Notes
I am now running out of time here at the internet cafe so I must end this update. I will be taking an 11 hour train ride back to Delhi in 5 hours and from there my UCSD friends and I will be going to the Taj Mahal and then separating to go our different ways before we return back to the States. Oh, and Anju, one of the CCS staff workers, designed the most beautifully, intricate henna pattern on my left arm yesterday. It starts a few inches down from my elbow and extends to my fingertips. It is such an honor to have it on my arm and I will pridefully carry it with me until it fades away.
These last two weeks have gone by faster than I could have ever imagined. I was sick and the end of the first week and the beginning of the second week ( I am blaming it on a mango that didn't sit well with my stomach) and everyone in my group from UCSD seemed to be sick at that time as well. There was a lot of stress and a lot of frustration with the differences in the health care available to us up here on the mountain. An Indian-born student in my group from UCSD actually had to leave Dharmsala to receive better medical attention at the beginning of our trip and we were ll in low spirits when she left our volunteer project after a years worth of planning to be here with us. However, we all know that the altitude and the steep hills were not conducive to her recovery and are grateful that she has recovered a lot already from her respiratory infection since she went to stay with her family here in India.
Volunteer Work with the NGO
I have been kept busy with the housewives in my women's group and have had a very rewarding experience working with them. Sabbu and Vindra composed wonderful stories and improved on their typing skills. Prakshi and Meena improved on their addition skills and are on their way to being able to regulate their expenditures in the market. They also gained a lot of knowledge about phonetics and sounding out words spelled with the Roman alphabet (for both Hindi, Punjabi, and English words). Vindra has been sick with a liver problem lately and unable to attend the group and Sabbu went to visit her family in a neighboring town for a few days so they could not attend our group this last week. Before Sabbu left, she has my co-worker Fernanda and I over to her house for Chai and appetizers. We were able to meet all of the women on her husband's side of the family (because she lives on her in-law's property with her husband and daughter Khanti.) Her family is Sikh, which was founded as a religion that borrows from both Hinduism and Islam and is very pacifist. The women carry daggers underneath their shirts which are tied to ropes that wrap around their necks and hang at their sides (I believe it symbolizes strength of character and is a non-violent tool). Sikh men can be spotted out of a crowed because they all wear turbans and never cut their hair. Meena and Prakashi were also busy with new jobs and tending to children who are on vacation from school so they were not able to make our meetings this past week either. However, one of the house maids for the CCS volunteer flats brought her granddaughter with her to work on the computer which perfectly overlapped with the days where none of the regular women in our group could attend. Shrivani has spent the last couple of days with the undivided, two-to-one attention from two well-educated tutors and it has also been very rewarding to have been able to have helped her with her typing skills and her cognitive skills through many games that we played that involved strategies. I don't think that 11 year old Indian girls get private tutors very often in this region, and I am glad that she was able to have not only ONE tutor but TWO tutors. Today I left Shrivani with Fernanda mid-way through the tutoring session and went to the newly opened Special School in lower Dharmsala. It has been up and running for a total of 2 weeks, we were actually here for the grand opening!!--except I was sick during the actual ceremony--and the community is making a lot of progress in addressing the needs of the handicapped community. Today there were 6 special needs children at the school, two teachers, one aide, and three CCS volunteers (including myself). There was also a visiting psychology student who is specializing in "education with the mentally retarded." Given my lifetime of experience with the special needs community, I fit right in to the classroom and felt very helpful and useful. It was a treat to be able to both observe the work that has been done in this community to rehabilitate and educate the often mistreated special needs Indian people.
Traveling
Last weekend my friends and I traveled to Amritsar to see the Sikh Golden Temple and to attend the Pakistani/Indian border ceremony. Both of these were breath-taking, and I will always be grateful that I was able to go to both. We went to the temple on the evening when there was a full moon and on a morning where we were able to see the sunrise over the temple. I was able to enter it twice to see their devotional prayers and readings of Sikh religious texts. It is a site of pilgrimage to all of the Sikhs and and average of40,000 daily visit it. It is the holiest of places for the Sikh religion.
After the Sikh temple, we went to the Indian/Pakistani border ceremony. I walked up to 100 yards of Pakistan and sat down in a stadium where I watched the Indian military enact the ceremonial dances, chanting, marching, and interactions with the Pakistani military. Pakistan also had a stadium on their side of the border, but India's was filled with many more people and many more travelers. Females were separated from males and tourists were separated from the Indians. At the beginning of the ceremony the Indian women and children dance in the center of the stadium to nationalistic Indian music. Naturally, my UCSD friends and I went down and danced with them. The women were more than happy to teach us their dances and many people took pictures of us with their cell phones. We were quite the spectacle, but they were very appreciative of our openness to participate in their ceremonial dancing and all of the women thanked us for coming down from the bleachers to dance in front of the entire stadium. Even after the ceremony many elder Indian women grabbed me by the arm while I was walking to stop me, look in my eyes and tell me that I am a great dancer.
End Notes
I am now running out of time here at the internet cafe so I must end this update. I will be taking an 11 hour train ride back to Delhi in 5 hours and from there my UCSD friends and I will be going to the Taj Mahal and then separating to go our different ways before we return back to the States. Oh, and Anju, one of the CCS staff workers, designed the most beautifully, intricate henna pattern on my left arm yesterday. It starts a few inches down from my elbow and extends to my fingertips. It is such an honor to have it on my arm and I will pridefully carry it with me until it fades away.
jueves, 10 de julio de 2008
First Week in India
I safely arrived in New Delhi on July 6th, 2008 after my flight heading west from LAX with a layover of 3 hours in Taiwan. While in the LAX airport I met an Indian woman and her daughter who were also on the day long flight to New Delhi--and we quickly bonded and kept each other company. The mother taught me a few useful Hindi phrases, one of which was "shukriya" which, when I later tried to use it in Dharamsala came out sounding like "shakira"--a mispronunciation which resulted in both the Indian to whom I was speaking to and myself laughing at my difficulty in pronouncing the word.
When I arrived to New Delhi, I was picked up by the Cross Cultural Solutions taxi driver Jessy who took me on my first car ride through the streets of New Delhi to the CCS base. We passed by cows, hundreds of Indians walking around the streets and hundreds of cars jam packed on the streets. I met up with my group of UCSD Alternative Break volunteers soon thereafter at a restaurant and had the welcoming of royalty. Every one's faces lit up when they saw me walk up to the table and we were all pleased to all be together in India after a year of planning and fund raising back in San Diego.
New Delhi was a beautiful city, which I have learned is referred to as "the heart of India" (Vindra, a housewife in my Women's Group here in Dharamsala, explained this to me). The buildings were reminiscent of the cement buildings in the immigrant areas in the outskirts of Catalonia, Spain and even reminded me of pictures that I have seen of cement buildings in Egypt. There were 6 story buildings which, from the outside offered very little aesthetically; although, upon entering into the heart of the buildings, one would notice that the couches, tables, sinks, refrigerators, televisions, toilets, and air conditioning made quite the spacious and comfortable living-quarters. Appliances, furniture, and architecture were not as modern as in the United States, but I still found my particular living space more than comfortable. Sewage and trash are more present and visible here in India, a part of India which has been referred to here as "India's inheritance for being a ten thousand year old civilization." India is colorful and India has strong smells. India is bold and India is aged with wisdom.
Our first view of Dharamsala from the airplane that we took from New Delhi. The thick layer of clouds dispersed bringing a crisp view of the Himalayan mountain range into focus. It was breathtaking and, quite frankly, still is. We landed at the base of the mountain range and took taxis up to the lower mountain range in Dharamsala where we later hiked up even further to the CCS base atop a mountain. It's a steep climb up to our headquarters and the dirt roads are narrow and windy. The houses scattered along the mountains surrounding us are very modest and the water "gutter" continuously guides the rainwater down to the base of the mountain. It rains an average of two times a day and the fog rolls in and out precipitating the rain showers. It is humid and oscillates between warm and cold temperatures. Fans and air conditioning are available at ATMs, at our dining facilities, work offices, bed rooms, and certain shops in the market. We are living in this quaint mountain range with colorful decorations everywhere and a humble lifestyle where life is simple and slow-paced. Many areas would be labeled as "impoverished" by Western standards, but despite the poverty, the people walk around content and with joy--their bodies, countenances, faces, and interactions with each other are joyous. (I have come to really appreciate the head nod where one repeatedly leans one ear towards their shoulder and then the other ear towards the other shoulder.)
The CCS staff are amazing. They prepare delicious, safe food for us; they orient us into the Indian community around us; they paired all of us with ongoing volunteer projects within Dharamsala; and they have been at our beck and call these last few days driving members of our group back and forth to the hospital at all hours of the day. It is common for travelers to get sick in India and 6 people in our group of 12 have already been sick. All have recovered, except for two who are still recovering (one is still in the hospital with pneumonia which was contracted in the US and then made evident upon our first days of adjusting to being in Dharamsala and will hopefully return tomorrow night, and the other is on house arrest and taking antibiotics for a soar throat). Luckily, we have a doctor and two nurses available in our own staff from the United States along with many pre-med students from UCSD. The CCS Indian staff caters to us and has made soup deliveries, hospital check ups, and an ample supply of bottled water available to all of the volunteers.
My placement is with 5 adult housewives (their ages range from 25 to 46)who want to learn Mathematics, English, and computer literacy. There are two groups which are separated by skill levels: one group is knowledgeable of numbers, converses well in English, and are skilled in typing on the keyboard while the other group is knowledgeable of basic addition and subtraction, has limited knowledge of English, and has little computer literacy. My volunteer partner and I have designed a curriculum which caters to each woman's individual skill level. We hope to have the higher skilled women to give a presentation of a book of short stories that they will be writing; likewise, we hope to have the women in the other group perform a skit with addition skills that they can use in the market.
Our group from UCSD and the other volunteers are like family. We are all really enjoying spending time with each other and with Indian community members. Sicknesses, cultural differences, selfless volunteer projects, and adjusting to India have brought all of us close together. My friend referred to being here because of her desire to have "spiritual cleansing"--which I feel truly captures why all of are here in India.
India is the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and an age-old home to Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Islam to name just a few religions that all contribute to the spirituality that is intrinsic to the Indian way of life. There is a lot of time to enjoy the scenery, reflect about life, and exist.
When I arrived to New Delhi, I was picked up by the Cross Cultural Solutions taxi driver Jessy who took me on my first car ride through the streets of New Delhi to the CCS base. We passed by cows, hundreds of Indians walking around the streets and hundreds of cars jam packed on the streets. I met up with my group of UCSD Alternative Break volunteers soon thereafter at a restaurant and had the welcoming of royalty. Every one's faces lit up when they saw me walk up to the table and we were all pleased to all be together in India after a year of planning and fund raising back in San Diego.
New Delhi was a beautiful city, which I have learned is referred to as "the heart of India" (Vindra, a housewife in my Women's Group here in Dharamsala, explained this to me). The buildings were reminiscent of the cement buildings in the immigrant areas in the outskirts of Catalonia, Spain and even reminded me of pictures that I have seen of cement buildings in Egypt. There were 6 story buildings which, from the outside offered very little aesthetically; although, upon entering into the heart of the buildings, one would notice that the couches, tables, sinks, refrigerators, televisions, toilets, and air conditioning made quite the spacious and comfortable living-quarters. Appliances, furniture, and architecture were not as modern as in the United States, but I still found my particular living space more than comfortable. Sewage and trash are more present and visible here in India, a part of India which has been referred to here as "India's inheritance for being a ten thousand year old civilization." India is colorful and India has strong smells. India is bold and India is aged with wisdom.
Our first view of Dharamsala from the airplane that we took from New Delhi. The thick layer of clouds dispersed bringing a crisp view of the Himalayan mountain range into focus. It was breathtaking and, quite frankly, still is. We landed at the base of the mountain range and took taxis up to the lower mountain range in Dharamsala where we later hiked up even further to the CCS base atop a mountain. It's a steep climb up to our headquarters and the dirt roads are narrow and windy. The houses scattered along the mountains surrounding us are very modest and the water "gutter" continuously guides the rainwater down to the base of the mountain. It rains an average of two times a day and the fog rolls in and out precipitating the rain showers. It is humid and oscillates between warm and cold temperatures. Fans and air conditioning are available at ATMs, at our dining facilities, work offices, bed rooms, and certain shops in the market. We are living in this quaint mountain range with colorful decorations everywhere and a humble lifestyle where life is simple and slow-paced. Many areas would be labeled as "impoverished" by Western standards, but despite the poverty, the people walk around content and with joy--their bodies, countenances, faces, and interactions with each other are joyous. (I have come to really appreciate the head nod where one repeatedly leans one ear towards their shoulder and then the other ear towards the other shoulder.)
The CCS staff are amazing. They prepare delicious, safe food for us; they orient us into the Indian community around us; they paired all of us with ongoing volunteer projects within Dharamsala; and they have been at our beck and call these last few days driving members of our group back and forth to the hospital at all hours of the day. It is common for travelers to get sick in India and 6 people in our group of 12 have already been sick. All have recovered, except for two who are still recovering (one is still in the hospital with pneumonia which was contracted in the US and then made evident upon our first days of adjusting to being in Dharamsala and will hopefully return tomorrow night, and the other is on house arrest and taking antibiotics for a soar throat). Luckily, we have a doctor and two nurses available in our own staff from the United States along with many pre-med students from UCSD. The CCS Indian staff caters to us and has made soup deliveries, hospital check ups, and an ample supply of bottled water available to all of the volunteers.
My placement is with 5 adult housewives (their ages range from 25 to 46)who want to learn Mathematics, English, and computer literacy. There are two groups which are separated by skill levels: one group is knowledgeable of numbers, converses well in English, and are skilled in typing on the keyboard while the other group is knowledgeable of basic addition and subtraction, has limited knowledge of English, and has little computer literacy. My volunteer partner and I have designed a curriculum which caters to each woman's individual skill level. We hope to have the higher skilled women to give a presentation of a book of short stories that they will be writing; likewise, we hope to have the women in the other group perform a skit with addition skills that they can use in the market.
Our group from UCSD and the other volunteers are like family. We are all really enjoying spending time with each other and with Indian community members. Sicknesses, cultural differences, selfless volunteer projects, and adjusting to India have brought all of us close together. My friend referred to being here because of her desire to have "spiritual cleansing"--which I feel truly captures why all of are here in India.
India is the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and an age-old home to Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Islam to name just a few religions that all contribute to the spirituality that is intrinsic to the Indian way of life. There is a lot of time to enjoy the scenery, reflect about life, and exist.
sábado, 28 de junio de 2008
Pre-Departure Preparations
Hello Everyone!
Moving out of La Jolla
So, I've been spending the last few minutes in my apartment in La Jolla as I pack up my car with the last of my things and will soon be heading off to San Bernadino to visit my sister in the hospital before I make the long trek up to Atascadero to visit my parents before my flight to India at 5AM on July 5th.
Vaccinations
I had a bit of an ordeal getting vaccinated, but, I finally managed to get Typhoid, Yellow Fever, and Hepatitis A. I also received a prescription for malaria and a special prescription for the very feared and unwanted extreme cases of diarrhea and stomach "problems" that the other UCSD students and I must, unfortunately, prepare ourselves for getting.
Pre-trip Conversations with Indians and International Students
I keep noticing all of the collegiate Indians that are in San Diego and then I wind up talking to them about my upcoming volunteer project. The women have been more than supportive and it is such a joy to know that I am going to Dharamsala with the blessings of Indian doctorate students. And, after the heart of my gregarious and talkative grandfather Bill, I struck up a conversation with an Indian who is the leasing manager for the apartment in La Jolla that I hope to move into when I return from my summer travels. Our conversation started with India and ended with making comparisons between the concentration of wealth and overwhelming amount of poverty seen in India and Mexico.
Long Over-Due Appreciation for America
As I am quite hard to categorize because I have a light complexion and appear completamente juera but still can communicate well enough in Spanish, in addition to being a Mexican-American with roots all over the world, I am the quintessentially perfect example of what it is to be "American." As a country that has been founded by immigrants from all over the world, citizens of the United States are multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual. I pray that the United States continues to respect its very own essence and not only embrace cultural diversity but also cultivate and encourage it.
My Inevitable Soap-Box-Cameo Paragraph
We live in an international world and every country is interconnected through technology, politics, immigration; and most importantly, we are all connected through our shared humanity. India, China, North America, Africa, Central and Southern America, East Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Europe may be geographically separated land masses but there is a borderless flow of knowledge, technology, tourists, immigrants and refugees. As a Mexican American with grand-parents and great-grandparents spread out across the world (Mexico, Spain, England, Germany, Denmark, and Native Northern American soil to name a few), I am just one of the many millenials who exemplifies through the very blood flowing through me just how international this world has become. As such, I find it crucial to address the distribution of poverty and various concentrations of wealth across all of them--for they are directly tied to each and every one of us, whether we are aware of it or not.
So, as I step off of my Soap-Box, here's a hearty cheer to the young at heart, the hopeful and perhaps disillusioned generation that's dedicated to social change and proactive lifestyles that demand justice for all of humanity....
Moving out of La Jolla
So, I've been spending the last few minutes in my apartment in La Jolla as I pack up my car with the last of my things and will soon be heading off to San Bernadino to visit my sister in the hospital before I make the long trek up to Atascadero to visit my parents before my flight to India at 5AM on July 5th.
Vaccinations
I had a bit of an ordeal getting vaccinated, but, I finally managed to get Typhoid, Yellow Fever, and Hepatitis A. I also received a prescription for malaria and a special prescription for the very feared and unwanted extreme cases of diarrhea and stomach "problems" that the other UCSD students and I must, unfortunately, prepare ourselves for getting.
Pre-trip Conversations with Indians and International Students
I keep noticing all of the collegiate Indians that are in San Diego and then I wind up talking to them about my upcoming volunteer project. The women have been more than supportive and it is such a joy to know that I am going to Dharamsala with the blessings of Indian doctorate students. And, after the heart of my gregarious and talkative grandfather Bill, I struck up a conversation with an Indian who is the leasing manager for the apartment in La Jolla that I hope to move into when I return from my summer travels. Our conversation started with India and ended with making comparisons between the concentration of wealth and overwhelming amount of poverty seen in India and Mexico.
Long Over-Due Appreciation for America
As I am quite hard to categorize because I have a light complexion and appear completamente juera but still can communicate well enough in Spanish, in addition to being a Mexican-American with roots all over the world, I am the quintessentially perfect example of what it is to be "American." As a country that has been founded by immigrants from all over the world, citizens of the United States are multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual. I pray that the United States continues to respect its very own essence and not only embrace cultural diversity but also cultivate and encourage it.
My Inevitable Soap-Box-Cameo Paragraph
We live in an international world and every country is interconnected through technology, politics, immigration; and most importantly, we are all connected through our shared humanity. India, China, North America, Africa, Central and Southern America, East Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Europe may be geographically separated land masses but there is a borderless flow of knowledge, technology, tourists, immigrants and refugees. As a Mexican American with grand-parents and great-grandparents spread out across the world (Mexico, Spain, England, Germany, Denmark, and Native Northern American soil to name a few), I am just one of the many millenials who exemplifies through the very blood flowing through me just how international this world has become. As such, I find it crucial to address the distribution of poverty and various concentrations of wealth across all of them--for they are directly tied to each and every one of us, whether we are aware of it or not.
So, as I step off of my Soap-Box, here's a hearty cheer to the young at heart, the hopeful and perhaps disillusioned generation that's dedicated to social change and proactive lifestyles that demand justice for all of humanity....
jueves, 19 de junio de 2008
Why I'm going to India
Dearest Friends and Family,
Why a blog?
I've switched from mass emails to keeping this blog so that you can check up on me at your own leisure. :)
Quick Update
I have just finished my first senior year at UCSD and I will be heading off to Dharamsala, India at 3AM on July 5th, 2008 for a three week volunteer project. A team of UCSD students and I will be working up in the beautiful Himalayan mountains (right next to the Dali Lama!). The rest of this blog entry will address specific questions that you may have about my trip this summer.
The Purpose of my UCSD Volunteer Project
Alternative Breaks at UCSD (alternativebreaks.ucsd.edu) is the group that I am currently affiliated with which will be involved in this international volunteer project. We are teaming up with Cross Cultural Solutions (http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/) and our statement and goals are to: "facilitate national and international service and learning trips that cultivate lifelong socially active and globally conscious leaders through direct service, education, diversity, reflection, investigation of social justice issues, and reorientation." Our student organization will be sending UCSD students to the following sites this year: India, Thailand, Ghana, Brazil, China, Russia, Guatemala, Peru, Costa Rica, and the California National Parks in Big Sur.
Why India?: Social Issues: the Plight of the Untouchables and Unequal Gender Roles
India is a beautiful country and is different from anything I have ever experienced before. This, however, is the smallest of factors for my interest in going to Dharamsala, India. The Caste system has denied a majority of the population equal rights and the plight of the untouchables, also referred to as the "Dalits," maintains a strong presence in the country. Ghandi refused to call the untouchables "Dalits" because that word means "crushed underfoot" and "broken to pieces."Instead, Ghandi referred to them as "Harijan" which means "children of God." He once said "the taint of untouchability is an intolerable burden on Hinduism. Let us not deny God by denying a fifth of our race the riht of association on equal footing" (1958). Here's a little insight into the heart of a Dalit, through a Dalit Devotional Song:
I search for God, who shall I hear?
I made stone temples, carved God out of stone
But priests are like sone,
They imprison God.
Whom shall I hear?
We were born untouchables
Because of our deeds.
In addition to the untouchables, the treatment of women in the country is very different from what Westerners are accustomed to. Because of the dowry system, women are less valued at birth and infanticide is still a common practice. In some regions, men out-number women three to one. There have been about 200 reported rapes within on region of India within the last two years, not even to mention the assaults that have gone undocumented. (I will be in a safe region and our program is dedicated to ensuring our safety so there is no need to worry)
Spirituality in Dharamsala: I have been speaking with my Indian friends that live here in San Diego and several of them have explained to me that Dharamsala is a very spiritual place--which makes perfect sense considering that it is a place fostering Tibetian refugees and the Dali Lami. While Hinduism is the prominent religion in India, this region will have a hybrid presence of Buddhism and Hinduism, and I predict that there will be a strong sense of spirituality because the area is a prime destination for meditation. As a woman of faith, I am personally looking forward to experiencing the spirituality of this region of India and being able to see how Indians and Tibetans perceive faith, religion, spirituality, religious texts, religious institutions and organizations, and whatever else is there that I can't predict experiencing and noticing.
India and my Future
Being involved in AB:India@UCSD has allowed me to encourage undergraduate students to be global citizens and to be informed about international social issues. I have been able to join the collaborative student effort which proactively promotes cultural diversity and global awareness. At the student level, I believe that investing into this community is also investing in the enrichment of the rising leaders of the United States through helping them gain international perspectives. In addition, I will soon be a college gradate and wondering what to do with my bachelors degrees in International Language Studies and Human Development. I hope that this experience will help me to decide if I would like to base my next few years in another country working with an NGO or living abroad while getting a Masters in International Relations or Social Work. Likewise, my previous experience in Spain has remained with me throughout this past year and I am considering starting a life for myself back in Barcelona in which traveling to India will me more accessible and establishing ties with India this summer may become a lifelong partnership working towards promoting social justice in India.
That just about wraps it up folks.
I love you all and thank you all for the roles that you have had in shaping me to be who I am today.
....until the next blog entry.....
Irene Lynette Trevino
Why a blog?
I've switched from mass emails to keeping this blog so that you can check up on me at your own leisure. :)
Quick Update
I have just finished my first senior year at UCSD and I will be heading off to Dharamsala, India at 3AM on July 5th, 2008 for a three week volunteer project. A team of UCSD students and I will be working up in the beautiful Himalayan mountains (right next to the Dali Lama!). The rest of this blog entry will address specific questions that you may have about my trip this summer.
The Purpose of my UCSD Volunteer Project
Alternative Breaks at UCSD (alternativebreaks.ucsd.edu) is the group that I am currently affiliated with which will be involved in this international volunteer project. We are teaming up with Cross Cultural Solutions (http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/) and our statement and goals are to: "facilitate national and international service and learning trips that cultivate lifelong socially active and globally conscious leaders through direct service, education, diversity, reflection, investigation of social justice issues, and reorientation." Our student organization will be sending UCSD students to the following sites this year: India, Thailand, Ghana, Brazil, China, Russia, Guatemala, Peru, Costa Rica, and the California National Parks in Big Sur.
Why India?: Social Issues: the Plight of the Untouchables and Unequal Gender Roles
India is a beautiful country and is different from anything I have ever experienced before. This, however, is the smallest of factors for my interest in going to Dharamsala, India. The Caste system has denied a majority of the population equal rights and the plight of the untouchables, also referred to as the "Dalits," maintains a strong presence in the country. Ghandi refused to call the untouchables "Dalits" because that word means "crushed underfoot" and "broken to pieces."Instead, Ghandi referred to them as "Harijan" which means "children of God." He once said "the taint of untouchability is an intolerable burden on Hinduism. Let us not deny God by denying a fifth of our race the riht of association on equal footing" (1958). Here's a little insight into the heart of a Dalit, through a Dalit Devotional Song:
I search for God, who shall I hear?
I made stone temples, carved God out of stone
But priests are like sone,
They imprison God.
Whom shall I hear?
We were born untouchables
Because of our deeds.
In addition to the untouchables, the treatment of women in the country is very different from what Westerners are accustomed to. Because of the dowry system, women are less valued at birth and infanticide is still a common practice. In some regions, men out-number women three to one. There have been about 200 reported rapes within on region of India within the last two years, not even to mention the assaults that have gone undocumented. (I will be in a safe region and our program is dedicated to ensuring our safety so there is no need to worry)
Spirituality in Dharamsala: I have been speaking with my Indian friends that live here in San Diego and several of them have explained to me that Dharamsala is a very spiritual place--which makes perfect sense considering that it is a place fostering Tibetian refugees and the Dali Lami. While Hinduism is the prominent religion in India, this region will have a hybrid presence of Buddhism and Hinduism, and I predict that there will be a strong sense of spirituality because the area is a prime destination for meditation. As a woman of faith, I am personally looking forward to experiencing the spirituality of this region of India and being able to see how Indians and Tibetans perceive faith, religion, spirituality, religious texts, religious institutions and organizations, and whatever else is there that I can't predict experiencing and noticing.
India and my Future
Being involved in AB:India@UCSD has allowed me to encourage undergraduate students to be global citizens and to be informed about international social issues. I have been able to join the collaborative student effort which proactively promotes cultural diversity and global awareness. At the student level, I believe that investing into this community is also investing in the enrichment of the rising leaders of the United States through helping them gain international perspectives. In addition, I will soon be a college gradate and wondering what to do with my bachelors degrees in International Language Studies and Human Development. I hope that this experience will help me to decide if I would like to base my next few years in another country working with an NGO or living abroad while getting a Masters in International Relations or Social Work. Likewise, my previous experience in Spain has remained with me throughout this past year and I am considering starting a life for myself back in Barcelona in which traveling to India will me more accessible and establishing ties with India this summer may become a lifelong partnership working towards promoting social justice in India.
That just about wraps it up folks.
I love you all and thank you all for the roles that you have had in shaping me to be who I am today.
....until the next blog entry.....
Irene Lynette Trevino
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