India: Surrender yourself to the unknown

Day 1 – Friday October 23, 2009 – Venture to Delhi

 

            In our India pre-port we were told that India is a country that will embrace our five senses and will love us if we love it back. I had not realized how excited I was for India until the day before we arrived. After the excitement in cultural and logistical pre-ports, I was pumped! I was ready to see the Taj Mahal, of course, but I was more excited to see a culture unlike any other. Upon arrival to India we had a diplomatic briefing with a few officials who work at the U.S. Embassy in India. They were all great and gave us useful information about rick-shaws (3-wheel “taxi” by bike; auto-rick-shaw is 3-wheeled motorized little vehicle), shopping, and food. Immediately following our briefing we were shown a yoga demonstration by two students who had been doing yoga for eight years. The instructor was the narrator of each move and it was impressive. They could bend and twist like I’d never seen before. I really want to take up yoga now because she said it’s not just for exercise but for a healthy, balanced mind. We were then called to the Faculty/Staff lounge to receive our Shore Passes which would serve as our passports in India (they weren’t distributing our passports for some reason, whew!). The Shore Passes had to be treated like passports because if we lost them, we weren’t allowed back into the port and thus wouldn’t be allowed on the ship. I went back to the room to pack for my three day trip across India because I wasn’t leaving until 13:00. I was really worried about the pollution because my roommate had gone out for just two hours and was already covered in soot. I packed as light as possible (you know me!) and headed to meet my group of 30 independent travelers!

            I knew quite a few people on the trip, but most not that well so it was going to be a fun experience getting to know new people! We were all so pumped to finally be in India and couldn’t wait to get going. Barbara organized the whole thing and did a fabulous job at it! From then on we referred to ourselves at the “Barbara Connell trip” which made the trip all that more fun. From the ship to the port gate (leads into town) it was about a 20 minute walk. With a heavy, very full backpack, 90 some degree weather, crazy rick-shaw drivers all over the road, and pollution filling my lungs, my first half an hour in India was not the most ideal. However, I loved it! I was so ready for this new and crazy adventure that awaited me so I was going to embrace every second of it, good or bad. We finally made it outside of the port after waiting forever in line for the port officials to check our Shore Passes. We weren’t sure where our bus was so we kind of walked for a few more minutes, then we spotted a huge tour bus with “Incredible India” written on the side. We met our tour guide who was quite the character and were so ready for an air-conditioned bus. Well, we all get on the bus with sweat dripping from every spot on our bodies and realize the air doesn’t work. We all have mini-fans above our seats but they won’t turn on and the tour guide said it just takes a while. We were pre-warned that in India, taking a while is normal and it means it’s going to a LONG while! Despite the heat and our brattiness for wanting air-conditioning we were pumped to be on our way. Our tour guide had the famous Indian bobble-head and it was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. He barely spoke English which was going to be a problem because we had to make sure we got to the airport on time and didn’t miss our flight. We kept asking him if he would take us into the airport to show us where to go but he would just bobble his head from side to side and not really answer the question. All we could do was laugh at that point and just enjoy the ride.

            I looked out the window for about half the ride and already I could tell India was going to be crazy! The traffic was horrendous and there were people everywhere!!! Eventually, I fell asleep until we got to the airport. We ended up having another guide meet us there which relieved all of us because we might actually find where we needed to be. We found the right entrance and got our actual boarding passes. Then we had to go through security and get our carry-on bags checked. This airport was completely different from U.S. airports because it was sooo much more laid back. We had a while until our flight so we bought some snacks and just relaxed. I had to go to pee so badly but when I went into the bathroom there was no toilet! It was just a hole in the ground with some white porcelain around it to make it look pretty. It definitely wasn’t pretty though because it smelled terribly in the stall. I was in the stall long enough to take a picture and just walk back out. I decided I could hold it until the plane and cross my fingers that the plane would have a toilet!  Our flight actually overlapped with the SAS trip going to Delhi so I got to sit with Katie on the plane even though she wasn’t on my independent trip J We had tvs which made the flight amazing! I made a jamming playlist and listened to music the whole way, playing a few games in between. I assumed we would get a snack on the plane just like any other flight but this time we got a meal! I was a little nervous to eat my first Indian meal but it was so good. It was almost like a fajita with lots of spicy sauces. We also got a small piece of chocolate cake which reminded me of a Little Debbie!

By the time we got in to New Delhi it was dark out and past dinner time. We found our tour guide who was the cutest little man I’d ever seen, Zukaturu. He had nicely combed hair and was wearing a bright orange shirt! We made it to our bus and went straight to our bus to head out for dinner. Before we got on the bus our tour guide was giving us necklaces made out of marigolds and some other pretty flowers. The necklace smelled amazing and I wore it the whole night! It was a great welcoming gift to the country. On our way to dinner we passed the U.S. Embassy and the Presidential Palace where the first woman president of India lives!! (WHOOT WHOOT!) We also passed the Parliament house and the India Gate.  We ate dinner at a fun Indian restaurant which had amazing food. The chicken tasted just like BBQ chicken on the 4^th of July! We had pitas, rice, and some other weird things that I tried but wasn’t a fan of. I tried the local beer called Kingfisher. The restaurant was pretty crazy because there was an old fashioned car in the middle of the room with its lights flashing every few minutes and Marilyn Monroe and Elvis’ pictures were hanging on the wall. I sat with Katie (my roommate for the trip, from Jersey!), Viki (who is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met), Katherine, and Paul. We had some great convos about Ghana and Katherine told us her story of how she met an amazing man who took her group in for the few days we were there. He gave her a beautiful necklace of Africa and a Ghanaian symbol that means accept God. It was an awesome story!!

After dinner we went straight for our hotel which was quite the experience! The bellboy (for lack of not knowing what his real position was!) led us up to our room, opened the door for us, and proceeded to enter our room to show us around. It was the weirdest thing, and a little creepy! We quickly locked the door after he left just to be sure we were alright then had a look around the room. It was completely roasting in there because India is just on fire all the time. Of course, our air conditioner was not working and when Katie went to fix it, a piece broke off that I think was pretty essential in making it work. Our beds had no blankets except for one sheet. They looked like they hadn’t been changed because we found hair on the pillows (it’s all about the experience right?!). Our bathroom was pretty big and had a toilet, Hallelujah!  Our shower, however, was a little different. It was a really big, round tub that took up most of the bathroom. The catch was that it had no shower curtain! I couldn’t believe it and thought it was the weirdest thing! By now it was past 11PM so we had to get to sleep because we had to be up at 4:30AM to catch our train to Aggra. Go figure that we couldn’t fall asleep right away and had to be up so early. After telling each other our life stories, Katie and I fell asleep.

A gift beyond words

Day 6 – October 8^th, 2009 – Operation Hunger

 

            My last day in South Africa was a day well spent because I learned even more about the severe problems that this country faces. We at 9am and headed to “Little Lambs: Educare and Aftercare”, a daycare center for children right in the middle of a South African township.  The daycare center splits its children up into three groups: babies, toddlers, and 4-6 year olds. I chose the 4-6 year olds and was very happy I did so. Our job while we were there was to weigh the kids and measure their arms and height. We would document each measurement on a piece of paper and then later place it on a graph to determine the nutrition status of the children. We got right to work and I helped with the height measurement station. We had such a big group so it was hard for everyone to find a place. I was ushering the kids from the arm measuring station to the height measuring station and making sure they were in line. Lauren would give them stickers when they were done with all three stations which helped us stay organized and made them extra happy! It was so cute because they would compare stickers to one another and try to sneak another sticker from Lauren. A lot of the kids still had their shoes off from the weighing station and many of them couldn’t tie their shoes themselves. I started a line going with the kids who needed their shoes put on and it was the most precious thing. The kids would stand there so patiently while I tied their shoes or helped them get their feet in. It was hard to see what some of them had on their feet because some kids had holes in their shoes where their toes were sticking out and some clearly had shoes that did not fit them, either too big or too small. It didn’t take too long to finish with the measuring so we were able to spend a lot of time playing with the kids. Their teacher who was an amazing woman had all the kids get in a group to sing songs for us. They wouldn’t even need to be told to start another song after the first one was finished because they just kept going. It was the cutest thing to see how intense their faces were while they sang to us. What made them even cuter was that they all had on matching blue jacket/pant suits and looked adorable in them! They loved having us take their pictures and videotape them. One little girl from the toddler room, about 3 years old, snuck into our room and somehow managed to get one of the guys video cameras. She was holding it like a pro, videotaping the kids singing. It was so cute! We decided to sing the kids a song too but it didn’t go as well as planned. We started with the “Wheels on the Bus” and then went on to “Heads, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”. Turns out, the kids knew both songs and sang with us; they pretty much knew it better than we did! It was funny! After the singing extravaganza we just ran around the room and played with the kids. One little girl kept wanting me to pick her up so when I did she started to braid my hair. I had two little braids on each side of my face by the time she was done. She told me “your hair is beautiful!” It was the most precious thing! We danced around for a while then more little boys and girls wanted me to pick them up. I had everyone take turns because they were getting pushy and I told them if they wanted to play they had to be nice! The kids were obsessed with our cameras so we were all letting them take pictures of each other and us with our cameras. I had some pretty funny shots when they were done! Another little girl was kind of following me around so I started to talk to her. She showed me that one of her earrings had fallen out and she couldn’t find them. I had my little silver ball earrings in and showed them to her. I asked if she wanted to have mine and she just nodded her head. I took my earrings out and put them in her ears and her face just lit up. It was the best moment of my day! We were getting ready to leave so I snuck into the toddler room to see those kids. They all ran up to me when I walked through the door to hug me! I didn’t have nearly as much time to play with them as I wanted but I got them to take a group picture with their teacher. As I was leaving we were all blowing kisses back and forth to each other and it was a great hallmark moment! Right before we left, Lauren and I wanted to give the small things we brought for the kids. We didn’t have enough for everyone so we asked what we could do. One woman who worked at the center said to leave the little toys and stickers with a note to the head woman. She was currently with the students and we didn’t want to interrupt her. We left a short note explaining we wanted to help and were sorry we didn’t have more. It was the least we could do after spending a wonderful morning with the children. Christine, our tour guide, was showing the teacher and students the chart that some of the SASers created that documented the nutrition status of the children. There were only two kids who were malnourished but the rest of them were healthy. It was great to hear that the progress of the kids is moving smoothly and they are doing well!

            We left the daycare center and headed to eat lunch. We went to a huge community building to eat our box lunches before we went to the next part of our day. We all saved a bunch of things in our lunches (oreos, apples, boiled eggs, Capri suns, sandwiches) to give to the children and adults at the soup kitchen we were about to go to. Before we left, one of the head honchos of Operation Hunger came in to give us a briefing of the organization and what they do to help the people in South Africa. The organization is not as effective as we’d like to think it is due to lack of man power. They made it sound like when Semester at Sea comes each semester, it is the only time they are able to go in to the children’s center and get the weight and measurements of the children. This means that data is only being taken every once in a while so progress is hard to measure. We were confused that they base their program around Semester at Sea’s arrival in South Africa because the organization seems much more structured than they made it sound. However, the programs Operation Hunger has in place have been very effective for the growth and stability of the townships. Some programs include rain-water harvesting, hand pumps, food gardens, and brick making. The organization really focuses on creating sustainability within the community so the people do not need to be as dependent as they have been. We were all very glad to be there to help and really wanted to see the plans in action at the soup kitchen to get a better idea of the functions of Operation Hunger.

            We arrived at the location of the soup kitchen, which was the entry way to a woman’s house. The staff consists of six unemployed women who devote their time to helping their community. The program they run is called Vygrond Help to Care Centre (Vygrond is the name of the township). The women provide services that include informal counseling and support to families, health and awareness care, HIV and AIDS workshops, weekly soup kitchens, distribution of clothing and food, and child/youth activities. The soup kitchen is provided twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and a special well balanced meal on Sundays. The women volunteers of the soup kitchen appeared busy getting the soup ready with the other women. Our whole group of SASers was lined up along the wall leading out into the street looking kind of clueless and helpless. I happened to be near the kitchen so I poked my head in and asked if there was anything we could do to help. (We were all basically waiting for the people to arrive to begin.) They started handing us tons of bread (loaves and pieces) to lie out on the table. We also had two HUGE pots of soup that needed to be carried out to the table. I grabbed one handle and Matt grabbed the other side and we carried it out. It was the best teamwork because the soup was filled to the brim of the pot and it was STEAMING hot. We had to be so careful not to spill it or drop it, and let me tell you, it was a heavy pot of soup! I helped carry the other pot out with someone else and we were all ready to go. A group of SASers lined up behind the table so they could serve the soup and bread and another group was at the extra food station from the items we contributed from our box lunches. There wasn’t much else for us to do so we all just kind of stood against the wall as more people started lining up. Right in the front of the line were two little girls, probably aged 2 and 3, with their colorful plastic bowls patiently waiting. As soon as I saw them I got tears in my eyes because the day finally became real. People in this township really do need this soup to survive. More and more people started to arrive and the majority was children. After a while, more adults began to arrive and we got ready to begin the serving. Before we started, the head volunteer had us all join hands to say a prayer. The words she said affected me deeply because she was so thankful for having us there to help and show we care. When we opened our eyes I realized I wasn’t the only one with tears running down my face. A lot of us were feeling the emotions of the day!

            It was so hard for me to stand there and see all of these people in line for soup and bread. I immediately got tears in my eyes as they started handing out their bowls to be filled, especially the little ones. I felt so helpless because none of us had a job to do in order to help them, except for the five students serving soup and bread. I could only stand there so long staring at the children and adults in line so something sparked me to help. I saw a little boy, no older than three years old, carrying his bowl of soup, bread, and an apple under his arm. I bent down and asked him if I could help carry something and he sort of stared at me for a few seconds looking puzzled but when I reached out to help he let me carry his soup. It was such a profound moment because even though I wasn’t doing anything extravagant, I was able to help him carry his soup so he didn’t spill it. This soup was probably the only meal he would have today and I didn’t want him to lose any of it. I helped some more children carry their soup and bread along the walkway to the road and they were so appreciative. More SASers had started helping children and adults carry their soup too. Some SASers were giving away stickers and small trinkets to the kids, some were taking pictures and playing with them, and others were having conversations with adults and teenagers in the soup line. It was so heartwarming how everyone had found their place and were all doing something to help. I think just our presence there was enough to make these people happy. I started talking to two women on the side of the wall as they were eating their soup named Seena and Cheena. They were saying how they never thought America or Americans were real because they had only seen us on TV. Cheena said she knew we were real because we were there now and it was amazing for her. What a statement! It was so unreal to me that they couldn’t believe we were actually there to help them. Cheena also said that our presence was enough to show them we care and things would get better just because we were there. As they left, she told me to pray for them and it brought tears to my eyes because they were so spiritual and it was obvious their attitudes were majorly shaped by religion. Despite all of the poverty and hardship these people have gone through, they have faith. Their faith is what holds them together and keeps them going and it was so powerful to see it in front of me. This moment really showed me how important faith is and that no matter what, faith is what gets you through. It was a lesson I was in need of and it really made a difference on who I am. I will never forget these two women and our conversation and I will continue to pray for them.

            The line was slowly getting smaller, which meant it was almost time for us to go. I went back to the soup line and was able to jump in and serve the last few people of the day. It was an amazing experience to literally be giving food to people who were in such a need of it. The pot was getting emptier so some people didn’t get as much soup as others. I would try and give two scoops but sometimes people would move on before I could give them more. The amazing thing was that they didn’t even realize they didn’t get as much as soup as the next person. These people were so appreciative that they were getting food for the day and it really hit me hard. I felt so guilty for every time I have complained about not liking the food I have or wasting a plateful because I was full or didn’t like it. How could I take for granted something that these people don’t even have on a regular basis? I was ashamed of my actions and made a vow to make an effort of appreciating what I have much more than I ever have before. The whole day was definitely a personal struggle for me.

            After the last of the line had received their soup and bread we had to gather everyone to leave. I hugged and thanked all of the women who provide the weekly soup kitchen and they thanked us for being there. We got a small group picture with all the women and then headed to the bus. I was so full of emotion at that point from seeing such huge amounts of poverty and was not in the brightest of moods. It took everything I had to hold it together until we got on the bus. Lauren and I didn’t talk the whole way back to the ship because we were both so full of emotion. What we saw was not easy but definitely very important because it is a reality of life. I was glad to witness everything first hand and see the faces of the people that need our help; I will never forget those faces.

            By the time we got back to the ship, it was on-ship time and we would be leaving South Africa soon. It was an amazing country and I could not have had a better experience! Next up…MauritiusJ