If you’re new here, start here: Read Part One
Wednesday October 24th
Today I broke the students up into partner groups to practice interview techniques. They took the exercise seriously and I was happy with the results. Many of them confessed the exercise helped them break through prior assumptions they had made about one another and let go of harsh judgements—especially when it came to those students they thought were shy.
I overheard two students from very different parts of India relating how affectionate or NOT affectionate their families were. They were polar opposites. One student came from a family in Punjab full of kisses and hugs and heard “I love you” often while the other student said she had a very formal relationship with her parents without any of that. Each of these students is incredibly interesting and socially aware. During an exercise to brainstorm ideas for documentaries, several of them mentioned #metoo, gender equality, LGBTQ rights and sex workers. It has been so good to see these issues and subjects being talked about on the other side of the world. In fact, I noticed the front page of the newspaper the day I arrived was full of stories about U.S. Visa restrictions from India and #metoo stories.
Today in my journal I wrote, “I wish I knew now what I will remember in years about this place, this experience and these people. Will I remember the beauty of the Tata delivery trucks with their painted 3D logos and brand, window decals and black tassels adorning the side mirrors. I still haven’t gotten the perfect shot of a truck tailgate ‘blow horn’ yet. Will I remember the women sitting side saddle (always to the left) on the backs of the scooters, often cradling a child or a large back of rice? The men piled high and deep in dump trucks holding their shoes in their hands for the ride. The dogs, the cows, the kids whose beauty guts me. The colorful turbans and top knots. The tens of languages. The side to side head nod. The head bowing and namaste hands. The smiles. THE SMELL. Incense and nag champa and dust and diesel and garam masala. The odor of the people which smells so good and so right in THIS place.
I realize that I no longer smell Indian people when I encounter them, because at this point—I smell like an Indian. You eat the food and drink the chai and you smell like you belong. It’s a strong smell that I used to mistake for body odor, but it is no more body odor than someone who ate a ton of garlic and onions the day before and is fresh out of a shower smells bad.
I’ve learned a handful of words in Hindi, but most I misunderstand, mispronounce or can’t remember. For instance, I thought the word for “yes” was “haanji” but I forgot that “ji” is an expression of respect, so really the word for yes is “haan” and the students add the “ji” for respect. So I hear “Haan Ji” a lot. It might be easier to pick up if people were consistently speaking only Hindi, but that is NOT the case in India AT ALL. Depending on what region/town/geographical area you’re in, there could be SEVERAL languages spoken depending on where you are and the context. Here in the northwest, people speak Hindi and Punjabi, but the most popular language is English—thank goodness for me. I have however successfully picked up the side to side head nod many Indians do when they are saying yes. Video to come later.
After my teaching session I spent some time working with the Dutch professors in a conference room before a presentation from the business school. The female Indian professors brought bindis to put on our foreheads and hilarity ensued when we discovered a wasp in the room. “I can’t kill it, but I can stun it out of the room,” was the justification one of the women gave for bashing it with a large book. They also offered us “paan” to snack on. It’s a betel leaf and an areca nut. You chew it and then spit it out. It’s a stimulant and can have psychoactive effects—which of course no one told us when they offered it to us, which is why I politely declined the offer. I guess it’s kind of like if I offered someone chewing tobacco without warning. All in good fun.
Thursday October 25th
Teaching our workshop in the television studio today. It reminds me a lot of my days at Purdue University. Similar set up in the basement. It’s great to be able to demonstrate the concepts and theory we’ve been describing for days in lectures.
I also convince a group of girls who had recently interned at Disney World to floss for me so I could show my kids.
In the evening we take a group trip to an outdoor mall. It’s remarkable how beautiful all of the traditional Indian clothing is. I’m overwhelmed with the options and feel unexpectedly intimidated by the stores with floor to ceiling stacks of gorgeous, colorful, bolts of fabric. I wish I had an Indian wedding to go to justify the investment of time and resources.
Instead, I support the local economy by buying scarves. SO many scarves. The patterns and colors and designs begin to meld together into some sort of psychedelic brain fog and I’m unable to make decisions. It’s all so contrary to anything I would be comfortable wearing so I manage to pick out the blandest outfits and scarves in all of India and laugh at myself later at the wasted opportunity to branch out beyond neutrals in the motherland vibrancy and color. Everywhere my fellow professors are having their hands painted in with henna—a popular custom this time of year because of the approaching holiday of Diwali (pronounced di-VAHLL-ee by locals to my American ears). I buy the boys some light up helicopter like toys they can launch into the air with rubber bands and a bunch of trinkets and tea for people back home. I wish I was brave enough to try the food stands. One in particular has coal roasted sweet potatoes called shakarandi I think. They cube up the sweet potatoes, which are white on the inside and came originally from Portugal, and then sprinkle a special spice and lemon juice all over them. It looks absolutely delicious. I regret not trying them for weeks. If anyone from India wants to ship me this spice combo, I would be forever grateful!