Kailash Giri

On Wednesday (September 24th), SYA students went to Kailash Giri for meditation.

The program was for half an hour and all the kids got a chance to relax and feel the refreshing air.

Here are some of the pictures taken at Kailash Giri;





After the meditation, I went to Music World with a group of friends - a group of seven kids including myself.

How did we get to Music World?

On AN auto with our backpacks!!

It was quite an experience; I really enjoyed it :)

Puja

(Sorry, it’s been more than a week since I wrote a blog post but I haven’t had internet connection and I’ve been a little busy. Sorry again.)

I’ve been in India for a month (I arrived on the 24th of August and stayed in Chennai for five days with my dad) and one of the most memorable experience so far was participating in Puja(h).

Puja is a ritual carried out by Hindus; they pray to Ganesh, the elephant god, for the goodwill of their family and for the rest of the year. The period of time when theses pujas are performed is called ‘Ganesh Chaturthi.’ It usually lasts for 3 to 9 days, depending on the family’s preference. The official date for the beginning of Ganesh Chaturthi is September 3rd, and it ends on the 12th. Interesting fact about Ganesh Chaturthi was that it’s celebrated only in odd days – maybe there are some myths considering even and odd numbers. (FYI: it was five days for my family.) I’m currently living with a Hindu family so it was natural for me to be a part of puja. In fact, I participated twice.

So, this is how it goes. The process is long and complicated; in addition, I did it more than a week ago so I’m not sure if my puja memory has been retained well or not. First, Hindu women read some kind of script (since the regional language here is Telugu, they read the Telugu version; my host family didn’t understand what they were saying but they had a general idea of what it was about.) for twenty minutes or so. Then the priest, or Brahmin, comes to perform the rituals. He carries on with the script and people listen attentively with two hands together (it’s just like praying in a Christian way, except for the fact that they hold their hands close to their mouth.) After reading the first part of the script the Brahmin gives out flowers or rice to everyone; people hold them inside their hands with the same position and wish for what they want. The priest then takes flowers/rice away (this part was actually confusing for me because once I got rice and the second time I got a flower. When I got rice the priest told me to throw it at Ganesh and wish for whatever I want. However, when I got a flower he just took it away from me.) and asks one of the participants to break a coconut; its juice is poured into a cup for the later use. The priest blesses everyone with coconut juice and rice – he sprinkles them on people’s head and they touch the brahmin’s legs/feet. Touching brahmins’ legs or feet is considered to be an act of respect/holiness. Everyone ends puja by sharing certain types of food – some sweets, rice that is like rice pilaf, chickpeas, etc.

The best part of Ganesh Chaturthi, in my opinion, was when people bring Ganesh statues to the beach. They put the statues on huge trucks and play loud music. People come out to dance and party; I really wanted to go out and take a look at the “party” closely but my host family didn’t allow me.

There were not many women outside and they were worried that people might ask me to be a part of the "dance." So I didn't go out but took some videos:

Different Country = Different Culture

I've been in India for about two weeks and I have already learned a lot about the Indian culture!
Here are some of them:

1. Indians like to shake their heads!
Haha. Yes, it sounds weird but it's true! (At least in Chennai and Vizag..)
I think it's when they either say yes, or maybe. Oh, and when they mean something like "ok I understand." From little kids to seniors, they ALL shake their heads! I think I might even pick that up and start shaking my head!!!!

2. the toilet situation
I'm pretty sure that everyone is aware of the fact that majority of Indians do NOT use toilet paper. They are eco-friendly; they use water! I was lucky to have a host family that provided toilet paper for me but some of my friends, unfortunately, are not allowed to use them because toilet paper might clog the toilets. I have also noticed that the "no toilet paper phenomenon" also resulted in absence of trashcans. I know that this is a sensitive subject but trashcans are necessary for women; I think you know what I mean...

3. Water, water, water.
One of the many comments that I got before I came here was "don't drink the water there." This meant that I should only drink bottled water. I have been drinking the filtered tap water; I think the filters here have excellent quality because I haven't gotten sick. (yet. haha) A couple of days ago I finally understood why the tap water here is dangerous; apparently, Indians don't pay for tap water. So I think that the lack of "budget" for clean water resulted as unsafe tap water. This piece of information was provided by my host sister, who is 11 years old...... I'm not doubting or discrediting her but I'm not sure if it is actually possible to not pay for the water... Readers, if you know anything about this, will you leave me a comment?!?! Thanks!!!

4. no taxis. AUTO RICKSHAWS!
Frankly speaking, no one calls auto rickshaws rickshaws or auto rickshaws. (wow that was a horrible sentence. sorry about that.) They're called "autos." In Vizag, autos can pretty much take me anywhere; prices range from 20 to 50 rupees. I live on the "other side" (I live REALLY far away from other SYA kids.. at least a 20 min. drive...) so I usually need 50 rupees to ride an auto. oh.. breaking news! Yesterday, I was on an auto by myself!!! Since I didn't really know how to get to my host family's house, it took a while, but I did it!!! The driver was nice, stopping numerous times to ask for the direction, so I tipped him 2 rupees (I wasn't really sure how to calculate tips here..) When I came back the host family asked me about my auto adventure and when I told them that I tipped him they were surprised..

I'll try to write more and update my blog as much as I can but internet here is kind of slow.. and when school starts I don't think I'll have enough time to go online. I'm so thankful that my host family takes care of me all the time. I'm usually online for a couple of hours everyday but ever since I came to India, I haven't been online or watching TV. They have been really helpful. I'm having such a great time that I'm starting to think that going online would be a waste of time; why should I be online when I can be spending time with my Indian family and friends?!?

Please leave comments if you have any questions.. I'll be glad to answer/ find out about them.


INDIA IS SIMPLY FANTASTIC!

Day 4 in Chennai

Greetings from Vishakapatnam, India!

I'm already at my host family's house but I'll get to that later.

I never got to talk about my 4th day in Chennai; instead of going on a tour, my dad and I asked our driver to take us to a famous church and a museum.

St. Mary's Church is famous for its association with Mr. Elihu Yale, the founder of Yale University!

I'm not sure if I should write this here... but Yale is my DREAM SCHOOL!

I was really excited to see his portrait and a carving (?!?! sorry I don't know what they are called..) that "commemorates" the naming of Yale University!
So I'll start with the church building itself.

As you can see, it is a beautiful white building that catches people's attention.

There were a few visitors inside the building.

ST. MARY'S CHURCH! :)

The interior was truly beautiful; in fact, I have taken about a hundred pictures at the church but due to the slow internet connection, it will be hard for me to put them up. I'm putting up about six pictures today. The process itself is time consuming and my host family is taking me to a beachside park today within an hour or so!!!!

So here is the "carving" that I've been raving about. You might want to click on the picture to see the enlarged one. It basically talks about how Yale University was named after Mr. Elihu Yale.. There is a Latin phrase at the end but I don't know anything in Latin.. So readers, if you happen to know Latin please help me out!

and.. yes... THIS is the portrait of Mr. Elihu Yale! I was actually expecting something more elaborate, but it was quite modest. But I was still excited to see it!!!

This artist of this painting is unknown; according to the person that works at the church, it is assumed that the painting was imported from some other country...

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So I think we had enough of Chennai!

It's time for VISHAKAPATNAM!

I think I have mentioned in previous posts that Vishakapatnam is a port city that is in the state of Andra Pradesh.

I got here on Friday the 29th. At the Park Hotel (if you're planning on visiting Vishakapatnam, this is the hotel to stay at. It is AMAZING!) I met my host parents and sister.

They were very welcoming but I think I was still nervous then..

When we came back around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, my host family showed me my room; when I first walked in, I was a little confused because I saw men's shirts, belts, and sunglasses on the shelves..

It turned out that the room that I'm using at the moment used to be my host brother's room.

His name is Priyesh and he's in 11th grade (but he's only 15!)

He came back around 5 and I met him for the first time at the house.

The first day at Vizag was a blur... I think I was too caught up with everything going on that I don't remember much..

It's been exactly a week at my host family's house.

My host mother is a great cook; frankly speaking, I thought that I would lose weight here because of the food, but I think I'm going to GAIN weight!!!

My host father is a marketing manager of a steel company; he told me all about his job.. He apparently travels a lot and when he's home he's pretty much resting the whole time.

Shreya, my host sister, is 11 years old and she's a sweetheart. She's in 7th grade at Visaka Valley School so she's been helping me a lot around school.

Priyesh is really nice as well. He's been trying his best to help me assimilate into the Indian culture; I've met his friends and been to their houses!

I'm so thankful for my family's hospitality. I live far away from the rest of the group so I thought that I was going to be a little lonely, but I'm not.

My host family's originally from Delhi, so they speak Hindi; it's great for me because the regional language of Vizag is Telugu but I'm learning Hindi at school.

Classes start next Monday. I got my uniforms and actually wore them today for the "ribbon cutting." Here the uniform system is unique. From Monday to Thursday, I have to wear these blue uniforms and wear black shoes. However, on Fridays, I have to wear ALL white, including shoes. So today, I wore my white skirt, but not my shirt because I haven't gotten one yet. I think it's going to take me a few days to get used to the uniform.