any time over the next 6 weeks, i will only be found in Oman... or my blog. probably better you just look for me on the blog.
if you cannot make it to one of my 5 talks this week on india, [i know... all the same week... why do i do this to myself?!] here’s a sampler… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju-9FOlDty4
dear india. part of me wants to close your cover. i’m ready for the next book and to move past my time with you… i don’t want to tell your stories nor try to figure out how you changed me. i’m ready to write your conclusion and put your numbered book on the shelf with the rest of them. i’ll pick you up again someday, when i’m ready to read you again. but not until then. then part of me is afraid to finish you. i’m beginning to forget what your soap smelled like in the kitchen, the freshness of your morning,...
Read More[written while in india] as we walk through the streets, my friends tell me everyone is looking and staring at me. [as if i didn't already know] i smile. most of the time, it can be ignored; but sometimes, it gets to me. it really gets to me. sometimes, i tell them, i want to walk these streets and blend into your mosaic of dark faces. now they smile. they can’t really understand but thought they might feel the same if they visited my country. and then, that got me thinking… [yeah. surprise, surprise...] so often, i wish i weren’t an outsider. at first, it didn’t bother me. at first,...
Read Morethe transition seems to be much easier than i anticipated, though there were some funny things that unexpectedly caught my attention… +i’ve been used to tuning everything out in hindi and perking my ears when i heard a familiar english conversation. suddenly being able to understand everything around me is exhausting me! +wedding rings, we didn’t have them in india. +starbucks…i think there were 29 in chicago’s airport. +women wear jeans and their shirts don’t always cover their backsides. in fact, they don’t really cover much at all. +men are no longer smaller than i am, but big and tall. did i mention big? +i can...
Read Morefreckles on your forehead, twinkles in your eyes. you look just like my true love. is she in your village? when can i meet her? she’s so indigenously dressed, you’re so indigenously dressed. [international love song. caedmon’s call] a popular misconception is that all indian women wear saris. although many do, the sari is not the definitive word on indian dress. indian women wear many kinds of draped clothing, different kinds of pants, blouses, jackets, skirts, fabrics that are woven, brocaded, embroidered, tie-dyed. [yes, i said tie-dyed. apparently india missed that out-of-style memo] however, after some study, you realize that an indian woman’s dress reveals...
Read Morei’m back ‘home’ in mussoorie. i realized i have spent the same amount of time ‘out’ of this city as i have ‘in’ it. no more 100+ degree days for here at 7000 elevation, long sleeves are more appropriate and i’m beginning to i think i was made for this elevation. 20 of august, 2006, i set my feet on indian soil and i am amazed at how much life has changed in such a short amount of time. a world which before i knew only from books, i am now apart of everyday. this life requires a slow pace. it’s...
Read Moreanother night on the train, though this one not as bad as the last. maybe i’m getting used to this indian travel or maybe the ear plugs are really just that good. the scenery has changed since my eyes were last open. the rain has stopped and the cities have been replaced with small villages, the rolling hills are now flattened plains. back at home, in plains of my own, i would often find myself driving. i loved rolling down the windows and turning up the music. with my hand out the window enjoying the ever-present kansas ‘breeze,’ i would...
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yesterday, orientation was completed. tomorrow, i leave on a project trip. today, was a shopping day. in my week and a half here, little exploration has happened. most of the moments here have been planned with orientation and those that weren’t were spent recovering from those which were. but today, i was rested. today, i was ready. gretchen, rutu, and i set off for the bazaar. the walk down from the top of the hill is steep and my toes clutch tight around my flip flops. the trees we live amid are slowly replaced by shops and markets and the stillness in the air becomes consumed...
Read Morei’d like to state for the record that i have now been a patient in two foreign hospitals. i would also like to state for the record, i don’t intend on adding any more to the list. the second day i arrived in india, i wasn’t feeling well. my stomach seemed to be at war with something inside of me. i didn’t try to fight back, i just let my system do its thing. i knew it would take some adjustment, i knew it would take some time. i went to bed that afternoon at 4pm hoping things would be better in...
Read MoreI’m sitting here in Café Central, one of Vienna’s most famous coffee shops. ...Stephanie and I are being serenaded by a cello, violin, and piano as we sip our coffees and eat our tarts. I feel like I am in a movie. I love taking time to just sit and watch the people. It’s weird to look around and know you don’t belong in a place…to see that physically you don’t look the same and know that don’t speak the same language. Things that have happened to them are so different from the things in my life….everything is so...
Read MoreHere I am doing my first load of laundry at Laundry King…it’s run by a really nice American man from Alabama. Doing laundry makes things feel more permanent. They have TV here and I realized that this is the fist time I’ve watched the news since I left the US…I really don’t miss it at all. We had an international student dinner last night and dancing afterwards with a live band. Our dinner was pretty interesting: we had soup with chicken liver and the knee of a pig…definitely not something I would have ordered myself, but it was catered so I...
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