Environment

When I didn't get enough sleep, when my days are too long, and balancing everything becomes stressful, the general environment of the city makes everything SO MUCH WORSE. On just okay or good days, it is a bit easier to manage, especially because I have lived in a developing country before. But there are sometimes, some days, where these things really get to me.

Garbage

Despite the city's aim to be clean...

...it doesn't always quite work out that way. Our Contemporary India professor explained to us that while Indians have an almost obsession with keeping their personal spaces clean, public space is viewed as something to be taken care of by someone else. Though I occasionally sees signs saying not to, littering is very common and I see people do it all the time. It doesn't help that there aren't any public garbage cans. While there isn't garbage all over, per say, there is definitely much more than I care to be around. On a rough day, having to see, smell, and walk among the garbage is hard. 

Traffic

Anyone that lives in a city anywhere will have to constantly deal with traffic--the crowdedness, the noise, the lack of peace and quiet at any given hour of the day. Indian traffic is much more intense than anything I have experienced, like I posted about earlier. I took a video to share with you so you would get a better sense of what I mean, but it won't upload. But just imagine what it would be like with not a lot of sidewalks, hardly any traffic lights, not a single stop sign, and tons of cars, motorbikes, and rickshaws that weave in and out of traffic however they want. 

Pollution

Because of all that traffic, there is so much pollution. Breathing it and walking among the air pollution is something I really hate. It makes my boogers black, my eyes burn, and my face and feet feel so dirty that I always have to wash them whenever I come home. Indians hate it too, and they have devised a method of tying scarves around their faces to block the pollution. I haven't done that yet, but I might have to start soon.

Coping Method: Not all parts of the city are this intense. To deal with this new environment, I just have to seek out the places that aren't. Also, listening to my ipod while I walk really helps!

Gender Norms

I have never thought about my gender as a part of my identity until coming to India. There are different social norms that apply to women here, and I feel much more aware of my gender orientation.

For example, here is an outfit I would wear to school here in India.

I don't mind doing it, because I feel that I blend in, the clothes are light and comfortable, and they are pretty. However, it also demonstrates how I have to change my habits in India. Women in India don't show their legs or bear their shoulders. So even though it is really hot now and will get even hotter soon, I couldn't wear the tank top and shorts I would normally wear in this type of weather. I also have to wear long pants to the gym, which I normally would not do. These examples might sound a bit trivial, and it isn't like I can't easily adjust to them, but it is these small restrictions and others that make me feel uncomfortable in general about the idea of having any restrictions at all just because of my gender.

Also, in almost all of my classes we discuss how gender plays a role in Indian society in some way or the other. Usually, it is hard to stomach. In Public Health, we discuss "The Missing Girls in India", which happens because female fetuses are being aborted, women are being neglected during pregnancy if they are thought to be pregnant with a girl, and infant girls are also being neglected as far as their overall health and education--all because male children are culturally preferred. Currently, India is the most dangerous place to be born for a baby girl. These and other stories we hear regarding the discrimnation of women, despite the advancements India has made as a country, are really hard to hear.

Coping Method: With these situations, it is really necessary to apply a cultural lense. I come from a society where women don't face as many restrictions on their daily habits and interactions, but this is a different place. Saying "these poor women" won't help, because I don't even really know how they feel about having to dress very modestly all the time, for example. Saying "poor me" won't help either, because I am here to learn about and appreciate this culture, and that means some adapting is necessary. As for the discrimination issues, it helps to identify with those issues as a woman myself and use those stories as motivation to change something rather than just get angry or saddened by it.

Begging

I am used to seeing beggars on the street in many different places, but the forcefulness of the Indian begging population can bother me still despite my prior experience. They are very physical in the sense that they will touch you, tap you, pull on your shirt, push their way between two people in a crowd, and get in your face.

This woman is a type of beggar that carries around a tin of yellow and red powder. She will get in your face and try to touch your head, which you should never let her do. She tries to give you a blessing, and if she succeeds, she feels that she has the right to demand money. If you give her money, she will demand more.

What is worse are the child beggars. I don't have a picture of any situation, by they are particularly forceful, especially more so with us because we are so obviously foreign. It is hard to ignore them, push past them, or yell at them because they are just kids.

Coping Method: The best thing is just to remember that giving a beggar money won't really help the situation overall, especially with the kids who are often working for some higher up and won't get the money anyway. Sometimes people say it is best to give food, but often here the beggars won't accept it or will throw it back in the giver's face. It takes time to work a level of desensitization, which is unfortunate but really our only option on day-to-day basis.

Indian Academics

I know this goes against the intention of this blog, but this post won't actually have any pictures with it. I tried thinking of how I could show it, but given the nature of the topic, I don't think it is possible. It is a very important one, though, because it has to do with our classes as students studying abroad. Basically, Indian classrooms are not structured like United States classrooms in regards to the teacher student relationship. In the United States, classes are normally very discussion-based, require critical thinking and participation and insights from the students. In order for it to be a successful environment, anyway. In India, it is almost the opposite. A well-presented class will be one where the teacher enters, lectures, and then leaves. Perhaps the professor will hang after for one-on-one interactions, but largely Indian professors are not used to leaving time for discussion during class.

Our program staff has worked very hard in training the professors who teach our classes to adapt to the style we are used to. To be fair, the effort is definitely there and in some professors I find their efforts to be very successful. However, other professors don't quite get it right all the time. Because we have to cover a semester's worth of material in 8 weeks, our classes are anywhere between 1.5-2 hours long. If the teacher is lecturing the whole time, which happens unfortunately kind of often, it becomes very hard to pay attention. Any college student reading this will understand this feeling--everyone's had a class like this before. The problem is that while in the States that teaching style would be considered bad, here it is normal. Therefore, the professor doesn't realize when we get frustrated and disengage or why. Many times, the professors won't wait for us to finish our thoughts when they do open up for questions or comments. They try to interpret what we are saying before we are done saying it, and then things become miscontrued. Also, our accents are difficult for the professors to understand, which doesn't help. And when I say the professors don't always realize it, I mean it. After what possibly was the worst class as far as the frustration/disengagment level goes, the professor of that class told our program director that we were the best bunch of students he has had yet.

This is a different academic culture, and this and the rest of this weeks situations are meant to shed light on those differences, not overly criticize or complain about them. This won't be the "Why India sucks" week. So for every post, I am going to offer a coping method either I or other students have used for that given situation.

Coping Method: Our program director is absolutely wonderful. This week, we had a very timely group meeting to make sure everything was going alright. A "re-orientation" of sorts. The staff must know this is the time where culture shock makes things difficult. We discussed our frustrations about the classes with our director. She is going to have a discussion with some of the professors about our comments. In the classroom, we haven't given up. Or at least I haven't. I appreciate that the professors are taking time to teach us because they are so distinguished in their fields. With some patience and cooperation, I think this cultural hiccup can soon pass.

Theme 2: Culture Shock

This week I am going to write about culture shock. It will be a hard theme to demonstrate through photos, though I will try my best. Nonetheless, I feel it is a particularly important theme right at this time because now that the initial excitment of the settling-in phase has passed, we have all started feeling the effects of living in such a different culture. I have had a lot of discussions recently with my program-mates during lunch, after class, or at the center about our reactions to a few topics I will be touching on this week.