Nana Ka Maka (Open Your Eyes)

Today our team left to see what Jaipur looks like in the daylight. The man that is hosting us runs an international college and was nice enough to have one of his drivers bus us around and show us to the old city. The ride there alone was one of the biggest eye-opening experiences of my life. I can't believe how the cows just roam the streets and eat garbage. I asked somebody who they belong to -but it seems that they're wild. I took a bunch of photos of them and the locals seemed to think I was crazy. I wish I could explain to them that the issue was not that I had never seen a cow before, but instead that it was strange for me to see them grazing openly in the streets.


After walking around for a while I thought it might be a good idea to make some friends. I mean -being in a foreign city without my friends to protect me from myself. These guys looked like business so I started there. The sheer number of people everywhere is something to get used to. Imagine the streets of New York during rush hour, make the streets narrower and without a grid, and then add about a billion people. Oh, and then there are the car horns. India doesn't have traffic lights so much as I'm used to, but they compensate for it by sounding their horns as often as possible. This is not a complaint. There are certainly places even in New Paltz where this might work out -like for example the intersection by the starbucks.


There are also some sad points to what we saw. Poverty unlike anything most Americans could imagine is everywhere. At a traffic jam there was a boy carrying what I assume what his little brother around begging for money. I don't know if you can tell from the photo -but he's got third degree burns all over his leg. I wanted to jump out of the bus, pull out my first aid kit and get to work, but the simple fact is that there are scenes like this everywhere. There's simply nothing one person can do. It's heartbreaking and if this doesn't make me appreciate how privileged I am nothing will. So I'll use this as my reminder to keep in mind my purpose for coming here to begin with.

My sister Cat and her friend at Lola's Cafe told me to bring back some spices. I will if i can and when I saw vendors like this in the bazaar. The photo is nice, but I wish there were a way to convey the aromas too. Cat and Eddie -it would do you well to pay a visit here some day. And speaking of spices, the food here is amazing. Though I feel horrible stuffing myself with such amazing food while right out my window there are people literally starving to death. It makes the mind spin. What can I do? To be sure, I share what I can and make sure nothing goes to waste. And I should also point out that given the chaos and omnipresent poverty, the people are -as a rule- among the friendliest I've met both abroad and within the U.S..

And for my sister Nicole, here are your bangles. Are there any you prefer? Because the variety is endless. I also found some of the most ornate wood carvings and jewelery I've ever come across anywhere -and at some of the cheapest prices you could imagine. Literally for a few dollars you could go on a shopping spree. But on the other hand then the thought of all the people without food or medical care come to mind, and I start to wish I could help and stop caring so much about shopping.

Alright. I love you all, but after a day like this I need some time to rest and relax. I'll continue to stay in touch as often as possible. If you talk to my mom (because I have no idea if she's reading any of this) please tell her that I'm alright and enjoying what I'm doing here. I'll do my best to keep up with your emails, but if I can't please don't get offended.

ॐ शान्ति शान्ति शान्ति ॐ
-Adam

The Start of a Long Journey

After leaving JFK Airport at 10:40 am I thought I was in for a long and tiresome trip. It's true that I was tired toward the end of it, but it in no way felt like it took a long time. I don't know if it Emirates Airlines is consistently amazing, but for our trip at the least I felt like a celebrity. The time went by fast, the food was restaurant quality, the drinks -free, and the crew beyond friendly. After 12 plus hours (felt like maybe three) we landed in Dubai. The airport was beautiful and what I could see of the city made me want to visit it badly. Awe inspiring wealth everywhere. After a short while it was time to depart for Delhi.

When we got off the plane at Delhi everything was suddenly different. There was no avoiding it -I am in India! It's utter chaos everywhere -though not in a bad way. Picture the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. Just... a little dirtier. So... maybe New York circa the early 80's and a lot more Indian. My friend Maija and I are working on our Hindi. We're both making a strong headway with the written language, but there's lots to learn in the speaking and comprehension department. I'm not worried. If I know myself I know that I'll come home speaking all sorts of Hindi and Gujarati.

We didn't have any time to drive around Delhi because we had a connecting flight to Jaipur. My traveling friends tell me that we were stuck in the plane for hours, but in all honestly I don't remember taking off, landing, or any of the flight at all. It could have been because all that fatigue finally caught up with me or it might have had something to do with a small gift from my friend Katrina. Either way -in what felt like minutes later -I was in Jaipur.

The first thing I had to do when I got off the plane was pee. I don't know if any of you have ever been to a scout camp outhouse, but the bathroom at the Jaipur airport fits along those lines. Oh, and forget toilet paper -all you've got is a hose next to the... well... it's not a toilet -more like a ceramic hole in the ground. Don't take this as me complaining. I'm not. From the get go all of us going have been prepared in what to expect -but I want you to know the difference in the lives lived over here versus back in the states.

Once we picked up our luggage -and yes, all five of us got all of our luggage on time and in the right place (something that astounds me because my sisters airline couldn't handle the same task and they were only going from New York to South Carolina!)- we were met by the group from the Rotary International district that's hosting us and putting us up. They were phenomenal and in their welcome. We were all adorned with marigold lais and hugged like we were long lost family members. I didn't deserve it in the least and felt immediately guilty -especially when immediately to my right was a large crowd of (I hate the term poor, but can't think of another way to put it) poor people just standing there and watching us. But on the other hand -it's a large part of why I want to be here -with any luck we'll be able to make a difference in some of the lives that we touch while here.

On the short trip from the airport to the school where we'll be staying for the next two days (or maybe one, I'm not exactly sure) we passed some of the most amazing scenes I've seen in my life. There were the moto-rickshaws that my Indian friends have been telling me about, the quintessential cows in the streets, pigs rummaging through street garbage, it was the most wonderful. As soon as I get a chance to post photos I will. In the meantime -I can't wait for my team members to wake up so we can get out and begin our day of exploration before they put us to work!

Two Weeks Left!

Toward the end of last summer, Toni Hokansan, Supervisor of the Town of New Paltz, told me about a scholarship through The Rotary International that could send me to India for a work study exchange. Despite my having made fun of her for joining the Rotary and calling her a some names ("republican" being the dirtiest and meanest by far), Toni recommended me for what seems now like the opportunity of a lifetime. Only an application essay and a few short interviews later, and I was set to go. Through the Group Study Exchange, the Rotary International is sending myself and four others to Gujarat and Rajasthan to represent the Hudson Valley of New York, talk about our professions, and learn about how our contemporaries approach professions similar to ours in India.

So in less than two weeks, I'm set to leave for what will most likely end up being the most educational trip of my lifetime. I'll do my best to post as often as possible -depending on access to internet- to share my experiences with you all. This will also stop me from having to answer many emails at once and save me time and money in staying in touch with all of you wonderful people.

भारत!!!!!

पागलपन।

So. I'm going to India. As often as I have access to a computer/web connection over there I'll be sure to post updates and even photos. Stay tuned for some crazy, eye opening experiences.


-Adam(o)