Update

Hi everyone, 

It's hard to believe I have been in Bangalore for over two weeks! I can safely say that time flies when you are having fun and everyday has been full of new things to explore. It has at times been very overwhelming, having time alone is far less common than I am used to and the noise and heat can be obnoxious. But I really do like it here. There is something about not knowing what each day will bring that is exciting.

In my first week, I started my placement at the school. This was a bit of a troublesome experience for me at first. I expected to show up and have my days organized into various activities that I would be good at and enjoy. The first two days were a whole lot of nothing - a quick meeting on the first day and the second day involved a meeting with a 3 hour break in between. The principal of the school literally left myself and one other volunteer in his office for 3 hours, despite saying he would be back shortly. This ended up being a good experience because I met the other volunteer who taught me a lot about India, including the fact that this waiting is a common occurrence. My western obsession with time and efficiency immediately made me very bothered by this, but I learned that it was not considered rude and that I should accept it. This was a hard pill to swallow; I was shocked that he didn't even mention it or apologize - but I now realize this is just how things work in India.

 I spent a few days with the children one on one, assessing their English and public speaking abilities. All of this was very self-guided work. The school didn't have any specific parameters I should be assessing and sortof left it up to me. Part of me wonders if they will ever even really want to look at my notes on this - I did have a bit of a feeling like I was not being very useful to them. After that, it took a few days of insisting in order to get a conversation going about a possible schedule. From there, a four hour meeting ensued with various interruptions, hypothetical ideas and little actually getting accomplished. As someone who is very organized and can be impatient when problems are not getting solved, I was very tired after this meeting. This was another learning experience for me - this is just the long process of getting things done in India. I think it was also upsetting because I believe I have a lot I can lend to this school and time seemed to just be wasted on trivial discussions and aimless ideas. This being said, by early last week, a more detailed schedule was ironed out for me. I've learned that what I really wanted to do with the kids is not necessarily what I will be doing but I do believe that I am benefitting them. I am running French lessons with a small group of students, doing creative science projects with younger kids, trying to teach older students to improve their public speaking and am counselling students of all ages about goal setting. A lot of this is completely in my hands, which I'm start starting to be happy about. While guidance is nice, guidance here is slow and disorganized, so having things in my hands allows me to get the ball rolling. There are a few difficulties though. For example, I am helping a 16 year old who has actually graduated from the school with his high school French. The thing is, the level of French required for this class is far beyond what he has ever been instructed. He learnt after-school basic French for about a year and now is expected to be at about a 3 year knowledge level. So the things I am supposed to help him on (ex. Grammar, conjugation) are impossible to teach him because he doesn't have the basic vocabulary to string sentences together. I've told my boss about this and he just doesn't seem to get it; he says I can teach him the vocabulary in a week and then move on to class content. I'm not sure he realizes that someone can't learn a massive chunk of vocabulary in 3 hours spanned over a week. This conversation was difficult though as I've heard I need to be careful about overstepping my authority, so I agreed to give it a try. I just worry that he expects more than is possible but I suppose all I can do is try my best.

There are some other adjustments I've had to get used to at the school. I'm often reminded that this is a school for the needy, not the privileged. The class sizes are huge (sometimes around 60 children squeezed into a room) and basic supplies are lacking. Often there are not chairs or tables so the children sit on the dirty floor, with little space to write or move. They are pretty understaffed so sometimes it is just me and a class of children, which is difficult because the children don't respect me as an authority figure yet so they misbehave. I've had to get my authoritative yell out a few times. Speaking of discipline, the teachers have excellent control over the children because they sometimes hit them with their hands/a ruler. This was really alarming to first see and I still find it difficult,  but with the sometimes impossible unruliness of the class, it is very effective. This all being said, the children can be unbelievably lovely and sweet. Especially when I work with them in small groups or one on one, they are so curious about me and are very polite. They will not sit down in a chair until I tell them to and they often will hesitantly ask if they can ask me a question about myself. I love to hear what they ask...they often want to know about Canada and about my parents and best friends. When I ask what they want to do when they grow up, the most common response is a software engineer or doctor. I look forward to talking to them more about their ambitions as we discuss goals I over the next few weeks. I think it will be really important to emphasize the importance of realistic short term goals that are required for their more long term ambitions. 

That is all I can write for now. I have misplaced my cord that uploads my photos on to my iPad so I am currently trying to track that down for more photo posts. 

Thanks for reading!

Sari for such a late post!

Last weekend, a majority of the interns went away on a pre-planned trip so my friend Lindsey and I had our first weekend in Bangalore. Friday evening we went to a summer solstice party that Lindsey's dance coworker invited us too and it was really neat. There we met a bunch of other friendly expats and Indians, one of whom invited us to a wedding! We were originally taken aback by this offer as it seems a little crazy to invite two strangers to someone's wedding, but turns out it is very common. It seems that with Indian weddings, the more the merrier...even if you don't know anyone there! It is especially normal to invite foreigners as it is assumed that an Indian wedding is a unique cultural experience that everyone should experience. Very excited for this event, Lindsey and I spent the majority of Saturday running around trying to find nice saris for a decent price. Ironically we settled on the same one in different colours! Pictures are below, some of which are stolen from Lindsey, who has a lovely camera.

Lindsey took some model shots of me on our penthouse balcony:

The downside of this story is that we needed our little sari tops made by a tailor within less than 24 hours. Turns out when our tailor said the tops would be ready at 10am, he was talking Indian time and actually meant 1pm. So, we missed a lot of the wedding. We arrived around 2pm and really only got to enjoy the lunch - all of the processions and ceremonies were finished. But the bright side is that we got an extremely lavish Indian lunch...and part of me has a feeling that this won't be our last wedding invite.

I also took some photos while out on the hustle of bustle of shopping streets:

Behind the lady selling jewelry above, I tried to secretly sneak this photo...we thought was a good glimpse at the eccentric oddities of India. Her child was so relaxed and sound asleep on a tarp behind her on one of the  most chaotic street corners with people and rickshaws all around.

We bought some coconuts from the below lady to rehydrate after shopping exhaustion. Shopping in India is super overwhelming. People lean out at you from all sides and if you are caught eyeing something you are immediately roped into a sales pitch. That being said, it is really fun...the colours are so vibrant and the patterns are so unique. The sales people can be really hard to say no to but it helps that everything is very inexpensive. 

Another blog post coming soon! Thanks for reading!

Shiva temple experience

This evening, a friend and I decided we should see Bangalore's infamous Hindu Shiva temple. This was a lot of fun and a very unusual experience. 

We arrived via a lengthy winding rickshaw ride to a street corner in the middle of a little monsoon downpour. In an area on the outskirts of Bangalore, we expected a more suburban or rural experience only to discover that the chaos of Bangalore expands for a very, very long time. Once dropped off, we walked down a dirty small pathway to come to a woman seated at a table who charged us to enter.

Once having paid, we entered a strange little dimly lit tunnel that seemed to go on forever. The tunnel was plastered with posters with various religious and inspirational statements on them. One is pictured here:

After wandering through this tunnel, we came to a booth where we were instructed to remove our shoes. We then walked through more tunnels with a tour guide, who taught us about some of the Hindi gods pictured and captured in little shrines. 

We then went outdoors. Still barefoot, this was a little uncomfortable because it had just rained and I'm sure many people had walked the pathways and there were puddles with lots of dirty water. I remember thinking that some people at home would think this was awful and very unsanitary. That thought definitely rushed through my head, but I've discovered that -when in India- one learns to accept the uncomfortable and not think about it. It reminded me of myself in bed at night, feet incredibly itchy from mosquito bites, redirecting my thoughts so that the itch goes away. I'm learning that it takes some mental power to accept many parts if India, so to not ruin the positive.

Once outside, your ticket for the temple acts as a little passport with various activities you need to check off having completed them. This included putting coins in a ton of little brass buckets, chanting Om, tying a string to a pole to release worries, pouring milk over an idol, touching an ice sculpture and sending a candle off in the pond, as well as many other rituals I cannot remember. Unfortunately it was sortof difficult to understand our guide so I don't know the significance of many of these acts, but it was very neat to try them. Some photos of this are here:

A lot of these photos look very touristy but our guide insisted on taking them (likely in hopes of a good tip). I'm glad he did though because I think they are pretty funny.

And alas, we got to see the shiva statue and watch the Indians say their prayers. As you can see from the photos, it really is a bit of a tacky statue. The whole experience itself was a little "Disney", with the various checkpoints but I think it is designed to teach tourists about various rituals, while also serving as a place of worship. The funniest thing that happened on the way out was that an Indian family asked if they could take a photo with us. Apparently this is common in India, and it's likely given that Bangalore is not a major tourist destination, we were the only white people they had ever been so close to. We thought this was so funny so of course obliged, having the two mothers pose with us and then after, their toddler son, while a father snapped away on his smartphone. 

That is all for tonight! I'm very tired from working with kids on their speeches and have a full day of it tomorrow. 

Goodnight!

Bangalore thus far

Hi everyone,

I've finally made some time to write about my first few days here in Bangalore. Things have been very busy and with added jet lag, lost luggage, and a bunch of new people to meet, I have had very little time to reflect.

To sum it up, things here have been marvellous. Bangalore is definitely very different but I have had nothing but positive experiences (except for lost luggage and missing a flight...but that is in the past!). I arrived to our apartment here to meet a plethora of other interesting volunteers from around the world, some of which I have started to form friendships with. I haven't officially started any duties at the school yet so I cannot say much about that yet. Below are some random thoughts and pictures I have been wanting to share...

The stories about India traffic are true. Taking a taxi back from the airport was pretty alarming, but it's funny how quickly I've gotten used to it. To get around town everyone usually takes auto rickshaws because they are quicker and easier than the busses and are pretty inexpensive. Here is a picture of the congestion when I took a rickshaw ride yesterday:

One thing I've noticed is that Indians are unbelievably friendly and gregarious. When I missed my flight due to my own fault/exhaustion, a man working for the airline spent 30 minutes trying to haggle his boss to get me a free replacement ticket. Everyone I meet wants to know about Canada and I've had a few people ask me if I know their relatives in Brampton. Whenever I thank someone for their service or help, they literally smile ear to ear with the biggest grins. I met some other volunteers from the school who are Indian and they were so curious to get to know me, and today I was fortunate enough to go to one of their houses for lunch. This included a delicious south Indian meal (chapati and cauliflour curry) prepared by her house keeper, which we ate with our hands, the traditional way (although only right hand, left hand is historically the "toilet hand"). Below is a picture of the two other volunteers with our meal. I'm really looking forward to getting to know these girls more as the conversations we've had  so far have been really interesting and have taught me a lot about India.

One thing I've done so far that I have absolutely loved is visit the yoga house. This is an English speaking yoga studio that has a stunning outdoor retreat-like restaurant and a beautiful studio with windows that open up onto the quiet street it sits on. The yoga here was very enjoyable and slightly different from the western classes I've taken; much more focus is placed on meditation and state of mind, rather than poses. The restaurant downstairs has organic vegan meals and delicious fresh vegetable and fruit juices. It is one place that you seem to be able to find vegetables, which have been hard to come by with all of the breads, rice and sauces. Below are some pictures of the place and the food:

I've got to head to bed now because I start working with kids tomorrow, but I will try and post again soon!

Less than a week to go...

For those of you who enjoyed reading my blog posts from my time in Europe last year, I have decided to resurrect Sarah's Suitcase for another adventure. I really enjoyed writing my blog last year and received lots of great feedback so I decided I should do it again. I cannot promise that my blog posts will be frequent but I will try my best to post here and there and also upload some photos.

So where am I off to next? I am on my way to Bangalore, India! You might be shocked to hear this given my latest adventure in Europe was not nearly as exotic. This is true - and I'm sure that India will be like no place I have ever experienced before. However, traveling in Europe gave me a great sense of independence, maturity, cultural curiosity and travel awareness that I think will help me along the way. You may be asking why I chose India in the first place. This started back in January when I found out I had been accepted to do my Masters in Clinical Psychology. Given that I knew I was absolutely going to attend, I reminded myself that this summer could be one of my last free summers. While I'm certain that graduate school will allot some time off (I look forward to the continuing 3-week Christmas breaks), I know that it will be difficult to take extended trips where I won't be needed for reading or editing or writing or marking or analyzing. Add this to the fact that I, quite frankly, felt like I needed to do some sort of trip after graduating. Last fall was a very tumultuous time, I was preparing my Honours thesis, had written not one, but two Graduate Record Exams, had applied to a pile of grad schools and was trying to maintain a successful academic and social term. I have also always worked full time each summer or term off and it seemed appropriate to use some of my earnings to do something interesting and exciting. I didn't know of any friends who were in the same fortunate situation as me who would want to travel around, so I figured volunteering would be a good opportunity to see a new place but also to commit to something enriching and worthwhile.

So, I began reading around about volunteering abroad. One thing that continued to pop up in blogs and websites about volunteering abroad was "volontourism". While this word sort of sounds like a good thing, there are dangers of volunteering abroad with certain organizations. In particular, shipping privileged young people like myself to work on projects they are not qualified for (i.e. I would not feel confident in my house-building abilities), and/or creating volunteer projects that are designed to benefit the privileged volunteer rather than the community that is supposed to be helped - were major concerns for me. I also garnered concerns about large, often very inexpensive, volunteering organizations that ship students around the world with little detail on what/who exactly they would be volunteering with and/or little staff to extend a hand when needed (e.g., emergency contact, travel help, etc). SO, this limited my search a little bit. I finally came upon an organization called Leave UR Mark that is a small organization based only out of Bangalore, India. Upon inquiring about their projects, I was met with warm and informative greetings. After a few weeks of talking and Skyping back and forth, I decided this was the organization I should go with. They only take about 10 volunteers at a time so I went through an interview process and was told that I was accepted. As for projects, it seemed appropriate to contribute to an area that I have strong skills in. Having worked on numerous research projects with children and youth and with an interest in intervention initiatives for children/youth at risk for mental health and/or other complications (e.g., poverty, crime, etc), I decided to volunteer in a school. The school I will be working in is a not-for profit charitable school that educates children in ranging ages whose parents make less than $50 USD/week and who are thus, at risk for becoming street children. The school runs all school year with Indian employees and occasionally has volunteers in for extra help. Some of the areas I have been told I can help out in will be building English phonics skills, aiding in recreation (sports, crafts, theatre) and potentially counseling some of the kids. You can learn more about the school here (their website is a bit outdated though): http://www.sukrupa.org/activities/

It sounds like I will be the only Leave UR Mark volunteer working in this school but I will be living with the 9 or so other volunteers/interns in an apartment. We have breakfast and dinner prepared for us and will be attending our placements Monday though Friday like normal work weeks. In addition to this, I am told we have a contact person living with us who often organizes evening or weekend excursions so that we can profit from the city and other Indian destinations. I am really glad that I decided to go with this organization as it sounds as though the school will be a good match for me and I am happy I will have the opportunity to meet other volunteers like me.

At this point in my pre-departure, I leave in approximately six days. Over the last month, I have acquired an Indian visa and have been vaccinated against the many maladies that one can contract in India. I am almost packed and am just trying to enjoy my down-time, reading over my guide book for last minute information. I don't have a lot of friends who are home for the summer so have been spending some time alone  - which I am telling myself is good in preparation for heading to one of the world's most populous nations!

Stay tuned for my next update - thanks for reading.

Sarah