10 Observations

G'day all,

It's becoming increasingly obvious that I'm quite unable to write a short, concise blog post. To the chagrin of many social science professors, I'm sure, the artsy-fartsy side of me seems to have subconciously shunned the idea of precis, and clearly this tendency has not been restricted to essays. I just can't help it! As a result, my reflections probably bring greater joy to insomniacs than they do to blog readers - to the members of the latter group who have hung on this far, I salute and thank you.

(In a comment on one of my earlier blogs, Silas wrote that in order to make my blogs even better, I should stop talking about my blogs in them. Seems like a good rule of thumb; however, it also seems like something I can't resist doing. Probably a result of my habits of constant self-analysis).

In addition to causing readers to waste 15+ minutes of their lives, my blogs also typically cut pretty deep into my own day. For that reason, I'm going to impose a type of "glass ceiling" on some of my blogs, that I think should save a bit of time for everyone. I think I shall simply call it "10 Observations". Once a week, I will write 10 short points on interesting things that I have noted about this country during the week. I know that I'm hardly re-inventing the blogging wheel here, but I think it's something that will allow at least one of my weekly blogs to be a predictable length. As I just thought of this idea on my walk over from the residence, I don't really have any good ones right now, but I'll do my best. Here goes:

1) People laugh/stare at you when you're not wearing long pants (if you're a guy). I was told that this was the case, as little boys are typically the only ones who wear shorts, but I didn't really believe it. But, sure enough, as I was making the 2 minute walk to the campus up from the residence the other day wearing shorts, everyone from upper-middle aged women to rough-and-tumble construction workers looked at me like I didn't have any clothes on at all!

2) Contrary to my expectations, trips to the washroom are NOT a near-death experience. Numerous people / travel guides / etc. gave me this notion, and I actually haven't experienced many public facilities that are worse off than their average Canadian counterparts. I guess to me, it's hard for a loo to not look beautiful after you've been holding it on a bus for 3 hours.

3) Privacy is not nearly as much of a concern here than in Canada, and that is a very good thing. Although it can be initially disconcerting to have people staring down at you from a window, or looking over your shoulder while you're typing out a blog post or an e-mail, it ceases to be annoying after you get used to it, and I've grown to appreciate the openness and lack of obsession with "personal space" that characterize the Indians that I've interacted with.

4) Somewhat related: people are generally far more hospitable here than in Canada. I think I mentioned in my last blog post that a guy recently randomly invited me off the street to his house for a meal, just to get to know me. Other members of my group boast of very similar experiences. The people here seem very eager to learn more about my part of the world (which they already know a surprising amount about - more on this in a later blog), and seek to give me the best possible impressions about their country that they can. So far, they've succeeded.

5) Most of the workings of everyday life here can be seperated into two general categories: 1) appearing chaotic, but turning out to work surprisingly effeciently, 2) appearing chaotic, and are. An example of the former is the transportation infrastructure: although it is far from standardized, and there seems to be a total neglect of any road laws (probably because of the violation penalties themselves: I read that the fine for running a red was 100 rs, the equivalent of $2.50), people generally get to where they need to go. An instance of the latter is the internet connections. The network at the school I'm at rarely works, and neither does the wireless network that we're told has been set up in our residence. The web cafe's, despite being economically convenient, are only slightly less frustrating to use.

That's it - I'm spent. I'm either going to have to make my points shorter, or reduce it to 5 every time. Adios.

- Tom

10 rupees / hour

The amount that I'm paying for this internet cafe sums up a surprising amount about this country - that is, there's alot more to it than it initially seems. Although 10 rupees is unbelievably cheap - converts into roughly 25 cents - I'm evidently paying for much more than just to use the internet for an hour. In actuality, I'm paying to use the internet with two kids staring over my shoulder every couple seconds reading what I"m typing, and asking me to take their photo. The expression 'getting more than you pay for' - which, don't get me wrong, far more often includes pleasant surprises than unpleasant ones - sums up alot about the experiences of a foreigner in this country. Probably an even better example of this can be seen by sitting down in a rickshaw and, after marveling at the ridiculously cheap price that you're paying for a 5 kilometre ride, finding out that the driver had every intention to make pit stops along the way at emporiums that pay him a commission to try and convince you to "look around for 10 minutes". It takes a little getting used to, but it's definitely an adventure.

As you've probably noticed, I haven't made any blog postings since a couple days after I arrived. This is due to the rather unfortunate fact that I spent the first 2 weeks of the semester working terribly hard lying on a beach and trekking around a rain forest coffee plantation. Oh, quit your whining! I know most of you haven't done any schoolwork since the semester started, anyways.
If there's one thing that I've discovered in my very limited blogging career, it's that I much prefer writing about abstract ideas / absolute nonsense that recounting all of the interesting things that I've done in the day. Therefore, if any of my blogs suspiciously resemble something that's been cut-and-pasted out of an e-mail to my mom, your gut instinct is probably pretty accurate. However, I am also aware that I have a substantial group of loving friends who care about how I'm doing (or are at least really good at making it seem like they do). So I'll do my best to record some of the more interesting happenings of my excursion.

As I already mentioned, I spent a bit more than 3 days at a rustic-but-comfortable retreat on the coast of the Arabian Sea. The logic behind this arrangement was that we had to 'unwind' after a long trip - good enough for me! Although, unsurprisingly, I spent a lot of time lying on the beach, we also had the chance to visit some of the villages, and even play a bit of cricket with the locals. Speaking of cricket, these people are absolutely RABID about the sport. The Indian national team is playing a test series against Australia right now and, due to various controversies revolving around alleged racisim and refereeing bias, amongst other things, there is a pretty large amount of non-so-subtle animosity towards the Aussies here right now. Dual citizenship has never served me better!

From the beach retreat (it was in a place called "Turtle Bay" in Karnataka state), we moved on to spend a few nights at an organic coffee plantation / retreat centre. It is located in the Western Ghat mountains in the rainforest, about halfway between Mangalore and Mysore, and made for beautiful place to "rough it" for a couple days. Bucket showers, snakes, and rats-in-our-cabin combined (see Jared W.'s blog at http://jaredmotherindia.blogspot.com/ for more details on the latter), it turned out to be a pretty unique getaway, at least for a sheltered Western kid. The owners produce a number of crops, including coffee and pepper, in an ecologically sustainable manner, and run a getaway business on the side. It's really a great operation, and offers encouraging examples of eco-friendly agricultural alternatives. If you're interested, they have a website at http://www.rainforestours.com/ .

From there, we moved onto Mysore, the first place where we'll be studying. I've only been here a couple days, so I'll write more about this place in my next couple of blogs. I will say that the people here are very friendly and hospitable, and show a real desire to get to know us, and learn more about where we came from. Case in point: as I was walking down the street the other day, a man walked out of his brick-making yard, and randomly invited me to check out his operation, which he enthusiastically described as he gave me a tour. He proceeded to invite me back tomorrow for lunch, which I expect will consist of cuisine native to Goa, the state that him and his wife are from. Despite the continuous stares and occasional giggles that are directed towards us as a group, we really have been treated with a great deal of respect and friendliness - more than I've experienced in any other country that I've traveled to.

Undeniably, even a few rupees starts to mean something to a poor traveling student, and for that reason I'm going to check out of this cafe. E-mails are welcome and appreciated - I'd love to know what's going down back in the Great White North. Namaste for now.

- Tom

well, I survived my first bus ride...

This is it - officially my inaugral Indian blog posting. This is my third day here, although in some ways I feel like I've been here alot longer. The trip was overall pretty smooth; planes these days are pretty decked out with amneties like personal video screens that you can watch episodes of House on (with the exceptions of Air Canada and perhaps Air Koryo, North Korea's national airline; check them out at http://www.korea-dpr.com/airkoryo.htm).

Right now, I'm in Kochin, Kerala, which is in the extreme south-west of India. Specifically, I'm staying in an area called Fort Kochin, which is one of the earliest European settlements in the country, with the presence of Westerners here dating back to the voyages of the Portugese explorer / trader Vasco de Gama in the early 16th century. It's a nice city, albiet a little touristy. The digs are alright although, unsurprisingly, TP is not provided. Nevertheless, when you gotta go you gotta go, and Jared and I officially became Indian the night that we arrived.

We're here until Friday, when we catch a train up to Turtle Bay, a couple hours north, where we'll spend a day on the beach. Hard work, eh? We officially start classes when we arrive in Mysore later in the month. Plenty of updates before then, though.

Concerning the title, today I experienced the wildest bus ride I could ever dream of, much less have previously lived out. I wanted to take a video, but I wasn't close enough to the front. Probably the highlight of the trip was the driver driving through the oncoming traffic lanes at toll stations, to avoid paying up. Hilarious. Hopefully my mom isn't reading this.

Speaking of the daunting toilet issue, I'm still not totally adapted to this left hand thing, so I'm going to go on a bit of an excursion for a western-style loo. Pictures on my next post - also check out my Facebook in the next few days. Hopefully you are all doing well in the new year.

- Tom

Another valiant effort at blogging...

...and at least I have a predominant theme this time - hopefully that will keep me motivated.  Those of you who know me well, know that every time I start a new blog, I have a great time for about 5 days, get rave reviews (not to toot my own horn or anything), and then abandon the pursuit in a sad submission to laziness and apathy.  I'm not going to pretend that I can make it different on my own this time; I'm going to need your help.  Whether in the form of endless Facebook spamming, or a e-mail genuinely expressing your sincere regret that I "haven't posted at all in the past week", I will sincerely appreciate your prodding in the next 6 or so months.

"So India, eh?  That's.....interesting.  What made you decide to go there?"

"I dunno, I really wanted to get some overseas studying in before I graduate, and I thought that as a developing country, India is a sensible choice that coincides with my ID ambitions."

That's a pretty accurate overview of 9 out of 10 conversations I've had in the last two months or so.  Admittedly, my response to the question has been pretty cliche.  How genuine has it really been?  Well, the first part is kinda bogus.  I really don't care whether I travel in the form of a study abroad, or as your average early-20's backpacker - I just want to get out there.  The second portion of my response, on the other hand, has an element of truth to it.  I personally think that it's pretty sad that despite spending 4 years learning about developing countries out of textbooks, I really haven't spent a good chunk of time in one, getting first-hand experience.  Academically, the trip should be profitable, specifically as an essential compliment to the valuable things that I've learned in the ID program (or will they end up being a valuable compliment to the trip I'm about to embark on?  I have a feeling that's what's going to transpire). 

But is there more to it than that?  Surely there is.  Have I figured out what?  Not really.  I'm definitely looking to grow spiritually, and I'm fairly sure that God's been telling me that He's going to teach me wonderful things through the Indian people.  Materially speaking, I really feel like I've lived the past 21 years in a North American box, spoon-fed and spoiled.  I don't think a half-year visit to South Asia is going to allow me to extract more than a sliver of understanding of how an everyday resident of that region lives and what they go through, but I'm hoping that that sliver will be enough to make me put my own life and ambitions in perspective, and come closer to determining what's really important.

So stay tuned.  I've got 2 more sleeps in my comfy bed in the Haliboo, and then I'll be living out John Denver's "Leaving on a Jetplane", minus the "babe don't let me go" part.  Itinerary details to follow in the next couple days, time allowing.

- Tom