Orientation, Culture Shock and Indian time

The network is being very slow over here at the moment but hopefully it will hold out long enough to make this post. So right now it's a little past 5am and I am unfortunately awake due to interesting experiences yesterday. I officially win the First Person to get Sick award yay! Last night my stomach started feeling cranky and by the time we were leaving breakfast to start out on our first lecture I was feeling pretty miserable. I ended up sleeping/ lying in bed for most of the day and sadly missed the first excursion into the outer city. Luckily, they have told us that most information will be repeated many times during the orientation so I don't feel so bad about being pretty out of it. There also is a lot of information in the handbook so I'm not really worried. It would be nice if the sickness I just experienced was the only sickness I will experience here but the information I have been reading from the program says that you may get sick for up to a week, so I guess I shouldn't expect to have escaped so easily ( not that the last 24 hours have been pleasant) .

I do have to say that being here is quite overwhelming, sickness aside. I've wanted to come on this trip for a long time and now that I'm here I keep fluctuating back and forth between being really excited and wondering what I was thinking signing up for four months here. Right now we are in the old CIEE guest house which is located on the main part of campus but they have just built a new house for all the Study in India programs (SIP), which is for anyone from abroad. We are supposedly moving to the new house today, although we went to visit it yesterday for the inauguration and they didn't have beds in it yet. It is really really far away too. Most important buildings on campus are clustered within about 10-15 minutes of each other but the guesthouse is far out on past many of the other dorms. We are being provided with bikes which is good because it over a mile, possibly several to get from our house to the academic buildings.

I suppose I should back track and explain what happened when we arrived. A number of us arrived from Heathrow and met several others arriving at the same time. There was a barrage of people once we got past security and customs and the really long wait for our suitcases. Luckily CIEE had a clearly labeled sign and we were able to all meet up and get on a bus. Driving to the U of H, we passed many signs in English but clearly we were not in America. It was only around 6:00 in the morning so the roads were pretty empty, however the driving was still pretty crazy. Wherever there is an open spot, that is where one drives, regardless of the lines that are supposed to designate lanes. I think NJ drivers would do well here. People don't signal, they just honk. There are dogs everywhere!!! So far I haven't seen many cows but I see and hear dogs always. When trying to sleep over here there are many sounds of exotic birds and dogs barking, and some people have even said monkeys.

Someone on our program described the campus as a wildlife conservation or a national park. It is so radically different from anything I would ever call a university. There are just wild plants growing around and hardly anything is green but rather brown and dried. Buildings are scattered about, though there is a very good signage. The buildings are all open but designed to stay cool, with a lot of concrete. There seem to be little courtyards in almost every one, which is the only place where there is lush greenery.

Before our official campus tour, a number of us were wandering about and as we neared one of the academic buildings, a man approached the only male in our group and was encouraging us to come in. We didn't really know where we were going but we were led upstairs and into a room where a banner proclaimed that this was a Business Data Mining conference. This seems so typical of India to just be pulled in somewhere. We decided to stay for a while and proceeded to witness about 20 straight minutes of introductions by the panel and a small oil lamp lighting ceremony which was quite stunning as it seemed to be a religious ceremony in the middle of an academic conference. We decided to bow out after the first speaker, but it was an interesting experience.

As I've been writing this several other people have woken up and come down stairs. Now there are 3 people around on the computers and it is about 6:00 am. Breakfast runs from 8-9 and at 10 we have another orientation lecture. Time here is very funny though. Nothing really starts on time or goes according to strict schedule, so going with the flow is very important. There also are regular tea breaks which are quite nice too. The tea, or chai, is very very sweet but yummy! Right now I think I will be safe and try and stick with plain foods until I am sure that my stomach can handle spices.

I think I've crammed enough information into here for now. More updates to follow!

Arrived Safely

Just a super-quick hello to say I made it safely over here and I am fine. We are in the old guest house right but we will be moving over to the new one in a few days. At 4pm today we are getting a tour and hopefully more info as we have none right now. We just ate breakfast which was yummy and now we are getting a little settled in. I don't want to take up computer space right now but once I get my own laptop set up I will be able to keep everyone updated.

GOING TO INDIA!

Hooray Hooray the visa has been obtained!!!
Now finally I can relax and know I will be able to get on the plane of Friday! The issue with the paperwork turned out to be very easy to resolve. Apparently the letter which I brought in was not the right one- there was a second letter which was from the actual University itself (not just CIEE) that I didn't realize existed. I hadn't opened the envelope when it originally arrived so I didn't even think that there would be more than one thing in it, since the one letter seemed to have all the necessary information in it.

A simple trip to Staples to fax over the letter took care of the problem and I was all set to pick up the passport with the usual crowd at 5:30 again. This time I knew the drill so I didn't bother rushing to get there super early to stand out in the cold. When I arrived, the line was down the street, away from the restaurant. When we were allowed inside at 5:30 I was expecting the same announcement about another 10 minutes to sort passports, but this time we were told that the couriers from the consulate were running late, so it would take 10 minutes for them to arrive and then another 10 or so to sort the passports. Of course they would be running late when I was trying to get a bus home at a reasonable time!

Standing on that line was about as stressful as finals week, but all compacted into about 20 minutes. As I stood there, I just kept repeating in my head, ' please let it be there, please let it be there'. Not that I couldn't have gotten it a day later, but it would have delayed our Christmas plans and not been very fun to go back again.

As I stepped up to hand Mr. Enforcer my receipt, Ingrid (the lady who had helped me out on Friday) said that she had just seen my file. Mr. Enforcer said I could move ahead to the pick-up window and as he handed back my receipt said ‘Merry Christmas’ with a slight smile. Although my inner Jew wanted to say, ‘And Happy Hanukkah’ , I was far too overwhelmed with relief to do anything but grin my thanks ( besides, at this point I didn’t want to take the chance that sarcasm would keep me from getting my visa when it was just inches away from me).

After that it was smooth sailing. I turned in my receipt, was handed my passport with visa sticker and went on my merry way! Next stop, Hyderabad!!!!

Fun with Bureaucracy

This is a story, about a girl who tried to get a visa....

I need a visa to get into India, so not having one is not an option. Now, to get one, I needed a letter from my program, CIEE, which would verify all the details of my program and my acceptance to the University of Hyderabad etc. CIEE told us that this letter would not come for a while because U Hyderbad wouldn't send it to them till December( things work on a much different schedule over there). So basically I wasn't going to be able to apply for the visa until fairly late in the game. The letter came to my house some time right before my finals and then I had to decide what to do.

The normal procedure is that you fedex the documents to the company which processes them ( Ironically it is not directly through the consulate- the process has been outsourced to a company called Travista) and then they fedex it back to you when it's completed. Travista also has offices you can visit in person and there happens to be one in nyc, which is pretty convenient for me to reach so I thought I might just go there myself. It would have been annoying to have mom send me the letter and then have to send it to them etc and I figured I wanted to go into the city anyway so I would just do it myself. That probably was the first mistake.... usually the ones from CIEE are handled via mail. oops. I'm still learning how this all works.

So Friday morning comes, and I have my appointment set up for 9:40 as per the internet and life is good. I wait on the line and turn in my papers in a nice room with photos of India on the wall and Indian pop music playing on tv and then I go off and enjoy the city ( and the snow). Then I get a call from mom who says that apparently CIEE pays for the visa, which is why we got a bill for random extra charges which we didn't understand. Well I had already paid the $108 that morning so I wasn't pleased- I hadn't read the instructions correctly and didn't realize there was a whole other form to fill out for CIEE to pay. While I admit that I'm not good with follow-through and should have read better, I do want to note that no where I could see on Travista's site was there any indication that I would have needed this form. At any rate, I hoped that this wouldn't cause extra complications, but I wasn't sure how thrilled they would be to give me the money back.

When I dropped off the application, the guy told me it would be ready between 5:30-6:00 but my dad and I headed over a little early, in the midst of the insane snow storm that was occurring in New York that day. We went upstairs and were told that we HAD to wait till 5:30 AND we could not wait inside where there were couches and it was warm. So it was out into the snow to wait, though luckily there was a restaurant and an awning right next door. A whole group of people showed up as it got closer to 5:30 and everyone congregated in front of the restaurant because there was no where else to go. The man who had told us to stand outside came down and told people not to stand in front of the restaurant since they would get pissed off. No one was particularly happy with this because it was snowing and there wasn't much room to stand.One girl started argueing about how we should be allowed inside. After Mr. enforcement left, someone from the restaurant also came out to yell at us and complain that they wouldn't let us inside travista. Now Mr. enforcer comes back and forms us all into a line going down the street away from the restaurant, and we wait.

At 5:25 they let us in where we got to stand on another line for 15 minutes while they sorted through the passports which had come back to the consulate. Once the line starts moving they literally just scan your receipt and hand you back your passport and visa so it goes quickly. We were in a good spot in the line so the only issue to deal with was the money, or so we thought. Unfortunately when we got to the front, Mr. enforcer told us that my passport was still at the consulate, so please stand to the side. We found someone who actually knew what was going on to talk to and she was extremely kind and helpful and went to go see what the problem was. She told us that someone had made a notation on my application that the letter from CIEE had some problem, but that girl had gone home for the day so she couldn't find out what the problem was. She also noted that the man who took my application to process in the morning was one of their most experienced employees and she was surprised that he wouldn't have caught a problem. Apparently it is also not uncommon for student visas to take more than one day because they need to verify lots of things.

The unfortunate part is that this occurred on a Friday, so now the offices are shut down for the weekend and it's nearly 6:00 so no one is there anymore for the day. So on Monday I have to call and try and figure out what the problem is and if I can get the visa on Monday. The lady needs to ask the person at Travista what she thought the problem is, that way we can try and fix it if there is one. Eeek! I really hope so because I am leaving on Friday and I would REALLY REALLY like to be on that plane! And I would like to enjoy some Christmas too before I go if that's at all possible. It seems rediculous that there would be a problem with the letter since it should be the same letter that every participant has received and CIEE knows what they are doing, but who knows?

So now I wait with crossed fingers and prayers to Ganesha ( he's the remover of obstacles) and hope that it all works out.

Why India?

Many people have asked me why I chose India as a place to spend my semester and since my responses have been only a few sentences I thought perhaps I would try and give a more thorough answer.

Something about India has always attracted me and I remember wanting to go there for a very long time, although it was always something I was planning to do in the future, maybe after college. The whole go and help poor people in India was always very attractive even though I knew there were plenty of ways to help right here. I guess it seemed like a place where a difference would really be notable, or maybe it was just the stereotype of "making a difference". That may have been a naive view but I do hope that I will have a chance to take advantage of the volunteer opportunities that should be available.

There is something magical and alluring about the country. I've certainly met my fair share of people who have been there and there is a saying which seems to go along with India travelers which is, "There is life before India and then there is life after India." Anyone I have talked to who has gone says it is a transformative experience and very eye-opening. Yes the culture may be shockingly different from what we are used to but isn't that the point? I wanted to go somewhere which would be different and challenging but also enjoyable. I've traveled to a number of places but none so radically different as India. I thought it would make sense to take advantage of the fact that I would have a program to help orient me in a large and confusing country. There are so many places which I would love to travel to but many of them I would feel a lot more comfortable trying to navigate without the help of a well-organized program.

India also appeals to me because of the interesting background I've had growing up. Having spent 8 years at a school which was very heavily influenced by eastern practices and religious texts and having continued to be a part of SOP after graduating 8th grade, I have a well established connection with India. Let's not forget that during those 8 years I also studied Sanskrit, which will be immensely helpful in learning the Hindi alphabet, as they are virtually the same. India is a wonderfully spiritual country and I there's something very attractive about a spiritual cleansing. Time for a bath in the Ganges perhaps? According to the information I got from my online orientation session today there will be an oppertunity to study some classic Indian texts like the Gita and the Upanishads so there is no way I can pass that up! Yay mini philosophy class.

So I guess my motiavtions for choosing India are spiritual, academic ( I'm an Asian Traditions minor), personal and practical or in the in the words of two fine, fine, gentlemen: Meditation, inspiration, motivation, realization, justice for our generation....

Still determined to go....

So if you've watched the news at all in the last few weeks since around Thanksgiving then you will know about the terror attacks in Mumbai. If for some reason you've had your head in a hole then you can read about it extensively here. The general consensus seems to be that these attacks were initiated by some group in Pakistan and it seems to have to do with a territory conflict.

While I don't deny that it is pretty scary ( I did look at the pictures) and I've had many people urging me not to go ( some very persistently), I do intend on going ahead with the trip. I've been keeping up to date and also reading what other people who are over there have to say and I feel like it should be ok. Of course anything could happen, but as we have seen, things happen here too. I've changed my flight plans so I don't have to go through Mumbai anymore and instead can go directly from London to Hyderabad. Hyderabad is to the south and east whereas Mumbai is further north and west. Since the plane ride from Mumbai to Hyderabad was supposed to be about an hour I am assuming that puts the cities at a good 5-6 hours away from each other. Hyderabad is also a smaller airport and is not one of the ones recently threatened.

My flights are also much better now that I don't have to sit around Mumbai for seven hours although I was looking forward to testing out the well lauded Jet Airways and now I'm on British Airways. My flight is arriving from JFK to Heathrow at 10:25 and leave at 13:40 which is wayyyyyyy better!

So now I just get to finish up finals week then get everything I still need for my trip like skirts! Maybe at LHR I can tap into some free internets but we shall see. Until later kids...