Wonders of Wayanad

Hi friends!

I've just returned from the hilly countryside of Wayanad (in the southern Indian state of Kerala) and it was AMAZING. We took a 2.5 hour train ride and then a 4 hour very bumpy bus ride to get there, where we stayed with a wonderful NGO called RASTA - Rural Agency for Social and Technological Advancement - in cozy rooms of seven people each. The small RASTA campus was beautiful - stone moss-covered steps, hibiscus and other flowering plants, and so much greenery.

Wayanad is nestled among gorgeous hill-mountains - I shared some photos my friends took on my Facebook page. It was stunning. We spent the week meeting with Adivasi (indigenous) farmers and activists, as well as a women's self help (advocacy and empowerment) group. They were all so inspiring, especially the women's group- they worked together to save money for shared projects and there was such a strong sense of sisterhood. The Adivasi activists talked about their struggles to reclaim land and to fight stereotypes - objectives shared by many Native American groups in the United States. And the farmers discussed the increasing pressure to use harmful pesticides on their land, which is also a problem in  the US.

On one of our visits to an Adivasi town, we drove offroad up beautiful hills. On other visits we had deep conversation about feminism and education and oppression, which are the best sorts of conversations. I am so happy with the group I'm traveling with - they are truly amazing people! We also hiked to Eddakkal caves, which host beautiful moss-covered prehistoric stone carvings. And when I say hiked - I mean HIKED. First we walked up a very steep paved path for a long time, then climbed a neverending set of stairs to get to the caves. It was intense. But the views at the top were breathtaking.

We drove back Friday night, stopping at Mysore Palace, which had been the home of the rulers of Karnataka up until Indian independence. It was one of the most opulent places I’ve ever been, but it raised questions: was the full history present on the audio tour or just the sterilized and glorified version? Is it right that the palace was so full of splendor although, both when it was built and currently, people in the area are starving? Whose land was it built on? How was the labor to build it obtained? These are questions that we can ask about any historical site, in the US or abroad.

Then, on Saturday evening, our group got to attend a wedding! Before Wayanad I had bought a beautiful aqua and royal blue sari, and it was amazing to get to wear it - our group all got dressed up together and some of the women on the Visthar staff helped us drape the saris correctly and secure them. We didn't stay terribly long at the wedding itself, just long enough to have a wonderful dinner of rice and beef and parota (seriously the best bread ever) and to meet the bride and groom. The bride wore an elaborate sari and a veil of flowers - guests would walk up to the stage she and her family were on and present her gifts. Everyone was dressed dazzlingly, in beautiful saris and salwars.

These next 2 weeks I have class at Visthar, and then fall break to the Himalayas!

Peace and love, Malyn

Distance

Revisiting an earlier draft of a post:

Hi folks!

Today I finished Katherine Boo's book Behind the Beautiful Forevers (later than I should have, but I am giving it two careful reads with notes so nobody worry). And I realized a truth about myself that I am unsure how to feel about: I distanced myself from feeling too much. The book is nonfiction, written in a narrative/novel style, and deals with the lives of the residents of a slum just outside Mumbai called Annawadi. There's sadness, hardship, and cold reality.

And after I finished, I realized that I hadn't cried once. Not at either of the two suicides or the murder or the bleakness. I get emotional easily, so why was that? I removed myself emotionally from the plot - while I still empathized with characters and got involved in the story, I didn't allow myself to get too attached. Sometimes it's a survival tactic, because everyone who works with social justice or even lives in the world can understand that sadness can mean feeling helpless and burned out. A certain amount of distance seems necessary. But at the same time I wonder if it means losing some of my humanity, my empathy. I suspect that as I see more harsh realities in India I will keep this dilemma in mind.

I did, however, feel guilt. Realization that the products I use and my own consumerist lifestyle have some impact on the lives of Annawadi's residents and on many people across the world. The chemicals in my nailpolish were possibly inhaled by factory workers or leaked into drinking water somewhere. And while I can cut down on beauty product use, or many other things, I can never stop consuming entirely. It isn't possible for me to become self-sustainable or to only use things that come from ethical sources: while that would be great, I have neither the time nor especially the money that such a venture would take. What we - what I- need to do is to put pressure on companies that act unethically, in hopes of getting them to stop. That dilemma is unsolvable otherwise.

Koppal and CHILDREN

Namascara, friends!

Wow. This past week in Koppal has been a whirlwind. I feel as though I've lived years - in the best sense possible. I'll start with the basics: In Koppal (a more rural area) we stayed at Bandhavi, which is a home/school for girls at risk of being sex trafficked, that houses 106 children of varying ages. It's run by Visthar, the NGO that is hosting us. And along with the young girls' program, there is the Visthar Community College which teaches various students from the community.

We left Bangalore on Saturday night, and took an overnight train. It was always my childhood dream to ride on a sleeper train (the one overnight Amtrak that I rode from Fargo to Wisconsin, I slept in a seat because it was much cheaper) and it was just as wonderful as I'd imagined. We were supplied pillows and a blanket, and slept in berths of six (two bunkbeds of three bunks each). The train really did rock me to sleep, and it felt like a dream. Although I will say, you haven't lived til you've tried an Indian style (squatter) toilet on a moving train. That was an...interesting experience.

In the morning, I went exploring a bit, and found that you could open the train doors and watch the world go by as you journeyed. It was exhilarating and one of the best experiences I've ever had. We got off the train at Koppal, and rode a bus to Bandhavi. There, we were greeted by a mob of small children, all asking our names and wanting to play handclapping games. After being shown to our room (a single space where we all had mats and blankets; it was quite cozy actually) we played with the children. I've never been a child person, so this was something to get used to. 106 (we later divided into groups of 20 kids and 3 of us) children all wanting to touch you and play with you. It was mildly terrifying.

Our group did SO MANY things this past week. We listened to panels of former child laborers, the VCC students, and a childs' rights group - composed of children. We toured a wig factory (that was hard, conditions there weren't great and it reminded me that every product I own was made with other peoples' suffering) and saw a movie called Chennai Express in an Indian movie theater (the audience interacts way more than in the US - there were constant cheers and whistles). We toured a few different villages, visited a Hindu temple, and learned about cotton farming and the ways that big corporations force bad conditions on farmers.

And we collaborated on a photoesssay with the VCC students - my partner took me to his village to take photos, and we had tea with his very gracious mother and grandmother.Several of the Bandhavi girls and I became really quite close - there was one girl called Venilla who was extremely bright and often helped translate for the other children, and another called Shivu who adopted me as a mother and was adorably possessive of me.

We took the train back Friday night, arriving in Bangalore early Saturday morning. I've been resting and recharging, and looking forward to wonderful weeks to come!

Peace and love,
Malyn

A Chaotic Harmony

Hi everyone! :)

It's my second week here in India and all is well. aside from the fact that I miss cheese! there isn't sliced cheese or anything of the kind, although some sauces (paneers specifically) are cheese based. Who knew that that would be the food I'd miss most? More than French fries or chocolate. However, I do enjoy Indian food, especially the flatbreads and a sort of rice patty called idli.

Today we celebrated the festival of Onam (a major festival in the nearby state of Kerala) on campus with a GIANT lunch served using a banana leaf as a plate, with rice and bread and so many curries and chutneys. There were also different games played, all good-heartedly competitive. and this evening we headed to the Ganesha festival, celebrating a Hindu god who stands for prosperity, where large statues of Ganesh are dunked in a lake. It was the first time I'd been in Bangalore at night, and it was exhilarating.

Earlier in the week I experienced shopping in Bangalore for the first time - chaotic and yet oddly harmonious. There aren't really lanes for cars, they go where they want and somehow it works and I haven't yet seen a crash. Amidst that, there are bikes and motor scooters and autorickshaws and pedestrians walking across the street. There are so many sights and sounds and smells - garbage, flowers, spices, exhaust, trinkets to buy, street vendors, music, talking...and yet, it doesn't bother me. I've only felt overstimulated a few times. It's new, but exciting. I bought a few shirts and some leggings, and am finding them very comfortable to wear.

In our classes, we've been talking about the roots of poverty, the difference between culture and ideology, and so many other new concepts. As well, we've been bonding and earlier this week had a class session where we shared our life stories. I am so comfortable with the group, everyone's so trustworthy and genuine. We've also discussed the challenges we'll face throughout the semester as well as the struggle to reenter American life. How do I challenge consumerism yet keep being a functioning and acceptable member of society?

At some point, maybe we'll puzzle the answers to those questions out. For now, I am content :) next week we travel to the city of Koppal, where Visthar (the NGO who is hosting us) has a school for girls. We'll interact with the children and discuss social problems and it will be wonderful!

Peace and love,
Malyn

The Contrast Between Vision and Practice

Hi folks!
Or, namaskara/namaste- I bow to the divine within you - a typical Indian greeting

So. Here it is. Now we are getting to some of the harder themes. Today we went out into Bangalore as a group with only 40 rupees (less than $1, or relative to what the cost of living/purchasing power is $4) which is what many, many Indians live on daily. Our group leaders found us a small restaurant that served 10 rupee breakfasts, and then we went farther out into the city and into a slum.

That was hard. We were with an Indian guide (the fabulous David Selvaraj of Visthar, the NGO which is hosting us), so it was less awkward because he could translate our purpose and interact with non-English speakers, but it still felt like we were intruding on people's lives and gawking. It was also hard because of the crushing poverty we witnessed, and knowing that my actions as an American consumer created some of that - Western companies that pay poverty wages, Western companies which dump toxins/trash in local communities, Western companies that displace people and force them to move to slums. At the same time, how do you stop consuming? At some level, you will always be responsible for harm, and it's important to take ownership of that and also to reduce it when possible. As David talked to us about, there is a perpetual contrast between the vision (what we want) and the practice (what we do).

After experiencing one of Bangalore's many slums, we then went to an upscale, Western style mall nearby. With our 30 remaining rupees, we were instructed to try and buy lunch. Walking in, there was a stand selling gourmet doughnuts - I was quite hungry by then and craving American pastries. But the cheapest one was 55 rupees. The mall was clean, with expensive clothing shops and escalators and altogether not different than Northtown Mall or West Acres, but it felt extremely luxurious after seeing the slums. It was also a weird feeling knowing that with the budget we'd been given, I couldn't even afford small things. And while this contrast may seem like a uniquely Indian thing, there's stark poverty and disparity in the US as well. We just hide it better.

At the top floor was a food court - with KFC and several Indian chains, but the only thing to be purchased for under 30 rupees was a small basic salad or a basket of plain roti flatbread. Not a meal. It was jarring.

Coming back to Visthar, I was exhausted both mentally and physically, but great discussion with the other members of the group helped immensely. I am so fortunate to be traveling with all of these genuine, intelligent people.

And on a happier (but somewhat guiltily so) note, we have begun to discuss fall break plans: I am looking at going to Bodh Gaya, where the tree Buddha reached enlightenment under is. It's in northern India, near Nepal. Otherwise, I will be going to Darjeeling or the beaches of Kochi.

Peace and love,
Malyn

The beginning of the adventure

Hello folks!

After an 8 hour flight to Paris and another 9 hour flight to Bangalore, I have arrived! It is amazing here. Yesterday was spent being jetlagged and with a runny nose from the airplane's dry air, but it was wonderful all the same.

We recieved a lovely Indian welcome (after getting in at 3am and sleeping) including songs, bindis, and sandalwood lei-type things. We also have eaten several Indian meals now, often in the open-air dining hall, and they have been delicious. Puri, several kinds of chutney, roti, and many other foods. The rooms we are staying in are quite nice - a bit larger than standard double dorms, with a private bath (and bucket showers! I had my first one this morning) as well as lovely tiled floors and all of the rooms open onto a shared terrace.

Upstairs from our rooms is a lovely open air room, with chairs and clotheslines, and there are also several lovely buildings including one called the Mandala, which is partly a beautiful underground room that feels like you are sitting in a very lovely, very reflective hole in the ground, with exposed earth.

Yesterday we took a small walk to the nearest store and the bus stop - about 40 minutes there. I also really like our group - everyone is very genuine and friendly and I am so thankful for them all! yay friendship!

It's looking like it will be a lovely semester!

Peace and love,
Malyn

Getting Ready!

Hi folks :)

Less than 2 months away from departure! By now I've had my travel shots (4 total!) and have prescriptions for malaria pills and traveler's diarrhea, and I'm working on getting my supplies.

Things I have:
-several skirts
-several plain shirts
-hiking sandals
-lightweight camping towels
-1 pair flip-flops
and I will most likely be borrowing a backpack from my aunt.
So there's still a lot to still get, but I'm making progress.

We have a few books to read pre-departure (Behind the Beautiful Forevers being one of them), but I didn't find them last time I went to the library and got lazy and still haven't read them! oops. procrastination is showing there. I am a notoriously fast reader and love books so I should *hopefully* be able to read them quite thoroughly in the remaining time. I'll make another library trip tomorrow, and then I'll order them right away via Amazon if I don't find them. They do look really good, though.

It still doesn't seem real, but it's less than 2 months away. I've been starting a bit on spice acclimation, although I have a long way to go yet before I'll be truly comfortable with spicy foods. I'm a bit worried because I do have depression, and while I'm on medication and doing well, it does tend to make me quite  angsty at times. I'll be talking to my doctor about a possible dosage increase so that I can deal with stressful situations in India better. What else? Orientation in Minneapolis starts August 24th, and we fly out the 30th, so far as I remember. Bangalore here I come! but not yet. I'm not done getting ready.

SO EXCITED. I will send you all postcards. that's all!