Women's Team Badlav Ki Aur in Khaniyara Village

This is three members of the team, Jitender (who organized the team), and Kunshan one of the CCS field workers. Kushan came with Maddy and I on the first two days of going to our placement to act as interpreter and to give us ideas of how to proceed. Jitender does a wonderful job of interpreting for us now.

Migrant Workers

There are men and women and little kids here that do very hard labor. I asked Anil, our director, who they were, thinking that what I was seeing was a "caste" issue. Anil said that the people I see carrying sacks of dry cement on their heads up flights of stairs to dump in a pile at the top, working on roads, and carrying bags of garbage are migrants workers. Some are from Bihar, to the east; most from central India, Madhya Pradesh; and some are from Rajasthan. Bihar is the poorest provence in India. Those from Rajasthan are mostly from a specific tribe who find work as rag pickers and waste pickers. All come because there are "menial" jobs to be done that people here would rather not do. Sounds remarkably like the U.S. and our migrant workers.

Asuni drives Maddy and I to work and back every day. I have never ridden with a more skilled driver. His family lives 55 kilometers from here, but it takes two and a half hours to get there on the bus. He is going home to see his wife, Sunita, and four children (ages 2 to 14) this Saturday and Sunday. He and his family will be harvesting wheat. His is an extended family with 12 people making up the household. That way, there is always someone there to help out. Asuni has been all over India driving tourists. He speaks Spanish very well and also English. On the way to work today, he taught me how to ask someone's name in Hindi.

Maddy went to the Dr. today for her cough, so I was with the women by myself today. They asked me to tell them the difference between do, did, and does. I did the best I could; then they practiced asking and answering questions around the circle using those words in the present, past, and future tenses as well as in singular, plural and second person. I am amazed at how little I know about my own language. Afterward we sang Bingo. They told me about some of their festivals; and, we sang Down in the Valley before I left to be driven, by Asuni, down into the valley.

The air is really smokey from forest fires. Pines were introduced into the region probably shortly after independence from Australia. This is not a good thing. The native forest here was Himalayan Oak at the level of lower Dharamsala and oak and deodor cedar at McCleodgunj. Pines make many areas monocultures, turn the soil acidic, and lead to fires. Before, the people cut the low branches and leaves from the oak to feed their cattle and other livestock, so you didn't have the layers of dried leaves (in the presnt case needles) lying on the floor of the forest. We are in a dry, hot fairly windy season now. I saw the smoke from two fires on the way home today. Of course, the pines have also caused habitat loss for a variety of species.

This weekend all of us (volunteers) are going off on a weekend exploration adventure on our own. For now, namaste. If I figure out how to upload photos, I may do that a little later this afternoon.

The Internet

Anil, the director here, said that we are experiencing how things work in India. The internet went out the second day we were here, or so. Today, finally, it is partially fixed. Tomorrow. Hopefully the wireless will be working too. Then, maybe, if I have time, I will be writing more often on this blog. It is great to be able to reach all of you in one place.

We are half way through our second week. The women Maddy and I are working with are delightful, intelligent, and lovely, and fun, and..... I have realized, however, that I am not cut out to be an English teacher though. I don't understand enough about our language. I only know what sounds right and what doesn't. Still, I'm trying to learn. We have had a great discussion about marriages and today about festivals.

Yesterday we, our CCS group, had a lecture from the director of the Institute for Tibetan studies and library (I think that was the name of the institute). Anyway, this wonderful monk had spent four years as the Dali Lama's interpreter. We got to ask questions and have a dialogue with him. This has to be a true highlight of our adventure.... Or, so I thought, until this afternoon, when we had four fantastic musicians come to our home base and play a two hour concert for us of classical Indian music. I never would have believed, in the early seventies when I listened to my Ravi Shankar album, that I would be in northern India listening to a concert in our living room.
Time for bed. Talk to you later. Maybe tomorrow night.

Internet Cafe, friday of first week.

I am at a rather busy corner in Kawali market looking down at the street from the internet cafe. Lots of horns. We came by here this morning going to my placement and were in a traffic jam. Asuni had to back down an incredibly narrow street, as did about five other drivers, so that the bus, coming from the other direction could come through. The driving here is unbelievable. What skill. What a sport.

Madeline and I have completed all but one day of our first week of trying to learn how to teach 9 or 10 wonderful young women conversational English. We have a half hour comute one way to our village where we are working.

The internet at the home base isn't working. Don't fret if you hear nothing for a while. Tough to get here to write. It was a half hour walk uphill. Gee, you all must be special.

Leaving New Delhi

Last night I realized I have left my camera cable at home. So, probably there will be no pictures added to this blog :( We'll have to rely on a few word pictures. The two days in New Delhi have been something of a blur due to jet lag and an unhappy back yesterday. Much better today. leave here at 11:00 to fly to Dharamsala. The flight will be about an hour and leaves at two. Day one, Bonnie, Charmain and I were driven by Sunil (I hope I have his name right) to see the Ba Hai temple and then to a beautiful moseleum (taj mahalish) and around the capital buildings. Everyone came in throughout the day and into yesterday morning. We received an incredibly informative briefing by Bella Singh yesterday, were taken to an unbelievably delicious lunch (that I could eat -- who knew you could make such fantastic food from rice flour?) and then shopped for our first set of clothes. Maddy and I are going to look like peacocks.

Sights: street cattle, dogs, people sleeping out the hottest part of the day on the sidewalk or up under a tree. Rickshaws, bicyclists pulling unbelievably heavy loads, busses, trucks, mini clean energy ricshaw-like taxis, pedestrians making their way through chaotic traffic where might is right and signs or lanes, mere suggestions. "functional chaos"

It is 6:10 and the birds are active. It is never quiet here. I'm looking forward to seeing our new posting today. The group of people I am with are definitely "friend candidates".

Arrived

Long, long flight(s). Met at the airport by wonderful CCS people. Shopping for appropriate clothes today. Orientation tomorrow. On to Dharamsala Monday.

Phoenix Airport

I just saw Melisa and Marshall who are 4000 miles away. I'm sitting on the floor in the Phoenix airport leaning against one of the round support beams that have a plug -- so that I can be 'plugged' into the world. There is a total blurring of public and private space as I visit in Melisa's living room while surrounded by strangers tumbling past me. Passing. Destination? Anyplace, World. The all pervasive TVs blare CNN news as I stare at my all pervasive computer monitors. 1984, controlled surveillance. 2009, chaotic surveillance. "Reality," Sci-Fi, fiction, media, individual-group connections, person-place connections are all so convoluted, entwined, broken and yet whole. The little boy holding the plastic jet fighter (made in China) while getting a lesson on surveillance of the enemy as he sits on his father's lap is real. What kind of changes will he see in his lifetime? And me? Hey...I skype, I blog, I play with images, I move about like a grain of sand being washed down the river. But moving, traveling, experiencing, learning, contemplating, touching and being touched by other pebbles is so worthwhile.

Getting close to the wire

A storm just blew in today. The lenticular clouds sliding over the San Francisco Peaks reminded me that Flagstaff can be pretty spectacular. The roofers put a new roof on just in time (two days of heavy footed, pounding 'elves' on my roof and dirt raining down inside). Maybe it will be quiet enough that I can focus on packing tomorrow. An advantage of being forced out of my house is that I took care of multitudinous errands that needed running before I leave. I have been thinking about going to India, and waiting and waiting long enough, that I think I'm truly ready to begin this adventure. Too bad I didn't learn how to speak Hindi -- I'll try to learn some while I'm there.

Yes. I did read the novel, Laurie King's "Keeping Watch." Maybe now I'll finish income tax and start packing. It is snowing. Will it be snowing in Dharamsala? Will home base have a furnace?

Let's see...
Forgot to start taking my live typhoid virus two weeks ago so started today.
Can I really "pack light" this time?
I'm both incredibly excited and anxious. Maybe I should just read a novel and ignore all that I need to do before I fly from Phoenix to Chicago to New Delhi next Thursday. Then again, maybe not.