Culture

For the past several Tuesdays, I have spent my days teaching Mar Thoma priests English and American Culture. When I was first approached to teach these men, I was more nervous than a bride on her wedding day! Achen’s or priests are highly respected in Indian culture (when an Achen enters a room, everyone stands to acknowledge his presence) and I didn’t feel worthy to be teaching these men. Worried I would make a mistake, I timidly stood in front of these men and began teaching what I had prepared.

Explaining one’s culture is more difficult than it seems, especially when the question why is involved. Why DO we do it that way? …we just do. Talking about our culture brought about many emotions for me. At first I was anxious that I might upset someone so I had to choose my words wisely. Then a feeling of “Wow, I miss that” lead to, “I wonder how that came to be,” ultimately leaving me with “Culture can shape a person’s behavior just as much as their personality does.” The experience of explaining one’s culture was a good exercise for me as it allowed me to reflect on how differences and mis-understandings can easily occur between God’s children.

However, the best story from my Tuesdays with the Achen’s is the day I was corrected on how I was pronouncing a word. Before each week’s class I am given a book with material on pronouncing different words (similar sounds) with an American accent. Since English is my native language, never, before this year, have I sat down and read pronunciation material, let alone explained it to someone. While it is fair to say, English was never a strong subject, it is also no means an understatement to say I am AWFUL with pronunciation- always have been. I took Latin and Sign Language solely because I didn’t have to worry about pronouncing words to pass the class. So there I am, in front of a group of older men pronouncing words and then having them repeat the words back to me when one of the men politely raises his hand and asks why I pronounced cat with a long a sound when the book denotes it having a short a. As you might imagine I turned bright read and the next words out of my mouth were pure word vomit. It was a moment where I just had to laugh at myself.

I know my strengths and weaknesses well and in one’s own culture it is easy to hide your weaknesses. However, when you are thrown into another culture and have expectations placed on you, hiding those weaknesses is more difficult. While I have learned many things about myself in the past several months, the most difficult thing has been working through my weaknesses and learning to be confident in who I am even when I may not be the best at some particular thing.

Day in the Life

After reading my blogs (thank you and bless you) for 5 months, you may wonder what a typical day of my life here in India looks life. While each day is always a little different than the day before, here is my general schedule. The italicized hours signify the constants-no matter the day, time, weather or mood I can be found doing this.

Monday-Friday
6:00- Wake-up
6:25- Lead morning exercises
6:45- Run
8:00- Breakfast
9:15- Morning prayer
9:30- Morning Chapel
10:00- Classes Begin
12:30- Lunch
4:00- Snack
4:30- Play in the schoolyard with the younger girls/garden with the older girls/carry on conversations
6:30- Malayalam Lesson
7:15- Evening prayer
8:00- Dinner
9:15- Bed

Saturday
6:15- Wake-up
6:30- Run
8:00- Breakfast
9:30- Morning prayer
9:45- Morning Chapel
10:00- Classes Begin
12:45- Lunch
1:30-5:30 Visitation Hours Begin (this is the time I run errands)
6:30- Malayalam Lesson
7:15- Evening Prayer
8:00- Dinner

Sunday
6:15- Wake-up
6:30- Leave for Church
7:00- Church
9:00- Breakfast
9:45- Morning Prayer (with teachers)
10:00- Sunday School (with students)
12:00- Lunch
1:00-3:00- Free-time
3:30- Choir practice
7:30- Dinner

· On Tuesdays after morning prayer I head to town to teach priests English.
· On Wednesdays I go to a YMCA to help students with disabilities.
· On Wednesdays morning I take early morning devotion for the girls at 6:45am.

The American Who Throws An Elbow

Riding the bus in India is always an adventure. Some days the buses are super crowded and you are struggling to find enough space for your own two feet but other times you are able to get a seat and give your feet a break. While I think it is fair to say that is it most often the former rather than the latter, after 5 months of riding public transportation in India, I have learned a few tricks of the trade.
At first I was very conscious about being polite and letting others go before me but I’ve learned that you will just get trampled on doing so. It is important to make your body as big as possible and look out for yourself. Also, walking with your elbows out creates a little more personal space for yourself. It also makes it convenient if you need to throw a subtle elbow if someone gets in your way. I don’t think Indians expect me to know how to ride the bus, so when they see the American following the cultural standards they often stare in amazement.

Catch Up of Christmas and New Year Happenings

Christmas and New Year have come and gone. We are a couple weeks into 2011 but I wanted to fill you in on the holiday happenings here in India.
On December 23, Jim and I started our Christmas break by attending Madison’s school’s Christmas program. Except for the guest speaker who spoke WAY to long, it was a great last Christmas program before we headed to our supervisor’s house to celebrate Christmas. The highlight of the program was Madison dancing in a sari with her fifth grade girls…everyone in the audience loved it!!
Christmas in India is very simple compared to our celebrations and traditions in the States. Decorations consist of a large, single star hung outside of the house. In my opinion these are much more tasteful and classy then the gaudy lights with which Americans decorate their houses. People do carol however, churches use this time as a way to collect money so the purpose/meaning behind caroling is different between the two countries. On Christmas Eve it is common for churches to hold a Carol Service, however this year we did not attend a service on Christmas Eve. We did however, spend the night with Achen’s family sharing food (delicious cashews, I could have made a meal out them alone!!) and conversation.
Our Christmas day began with what seemed like a louder than normal Call to Prayer and the viewing of a Hindu burial service on TV. While the day was filled religiously diverse experiences, it was nonetheless a relaxing day complete with a simple communion service held at Achen’s house, ‘stockings’ or Santa filled hats, light Christmas music played throughout the house, and lots of skype dates! The simplicity of our Christmas day was something to be treasured and be remembered for Christmases to come.
A couple days after Christmas, Jim, Madison and I ventured to Goa, a state north of Kerala known for its beaches. This was our first over-night train experience in India! After 17 hours of travel (and to truthfully report, I decided to fast to keep the toilet usage to a minimal) it was exciting to arrive at our destination…an old Portuguese house! A family-friend of a YAV owns this old house in the middle of the state. The location was perfect as we were able to use it as our home-base and travel to different beaches each day. One night our adventures took us to a private island, where we stayed in a tikki-hut with no electricity and a broken toilet. Depending on the tide the only way to the island is by swimming…this made the experience that much memorable.
After spending 6 days relaxing under the sun it was back to our sites we went. The first couple days back were rough, I had a bad case of the post-holiday blues but thanks to lots of Christmas care packages, cards and emails, I was able to shake the blues away and am looking forward to what is in-store in the coming months!

'Tis the Season

My Christmas concert has come and gone and while the experience was one that I will always remember, I am in the holiday spirit more than ever!

My Christmas concert night began with 3 teachers dressing me in my light pink sari. At first I had a hard time feeling the holiday spirit as I was wrapped up in our pastel color uniform. I decided to put on some American Christmas music to get in the spirit. I sang along (warming up my vocal chords) as the teachers made me feel like a celebrity, pampering me and making sure each fold in the sari was just right. As I rang out the door, my auto (taxi) was waiting at the steps of the school to carry me off to my performance. If I didn’t feel like a movie star enough already, when I arrived at the enormous hall, the red carpet had been laid and was waiting for the choir’s grand entrance. The concert was a blast…and I’m not exaggerating. I was very skeptical of joining this choir in September but this night made it all worth it! Some of the songs we sang in Malayalam I ended up mouthing but at the end of the performance I was told that it just looked like I had more passion singing the English the songs. (I took that as a compliment.) The icing on the cake was my picture in the paper the next day… a souvenir worth hanging on the fridge when I return in July! As I came home that night, I was rejuvenated and excited for the season.

I must admit I was a little apprehensive about Christmas in India. Spending 4 years in college where the holiday spirit was buried under mounds of school work and the days closest to Christmas were full of cramming for finals, I was afraid I would spend another year missing the spirit of this season while in India. However, it has been quite the opposite. It seems that each day since the month of December has begun, I have done something related to Christmas. The day after my Christmas concert, I attended Jim’s Christmas concert I have taught Christmas carols in class (weird feeling to be sweating while teaching these though,) attended various types of Christmas related programs and helped the girls at Nicholson with the pronunciation of words as they prepare for their Christmas program.

My favorite activity has been making and decorating our newspaper Christmas tree. My friend, Katie sent foam ornaments for the girls to decorate. As we were decorating them today, one of the girls asked where the tree was…I didn’t have one was my initial response. But after putting on my resourceful thinking cap, I grabbed the morning paper and some paint so we could make a Christmas tree. We didn’t have a paint-brush but used our hands and clumps of newspaper to spread the paint out..it was a great collaborative effort! Each girl took a turn to “hang” their ornament on the tree as we sang O Come All Ye Faithful….it truly felt like Christmas! The girls have another week of school before their Christmas break begins and you can definitely feel the excitement in the air!

Top 10 Reasons to Wear A Sari

After 3.5 months of wearing a churidar, I mustered up the courage to try a sari. It was a great decision for many reasons!

Here’s my top 10:
10) Felt like a professional teacher
9) Now can appreciate the slow pace Indian women walk
8) Feel prepared to go to the bathroom in a wedding dress
7) Forced me to sit like a lady ALL day
6) Great bonding session with the teacher who dressed me
5) Couldn’t overeat at lunch
4) Felt more confident in the classroom
3) Appreciate how quickly Indian women can walk up steps
2) 400 girls told me how beautiful I looked on a day that the side effects of the prednisone had me feeling otherwise.
1)Loved the pampering of having someone else dress you

A Feast to Remember

The holidays are a hard time to spend away from family no matter the distance. I knew this Thanksgiving would be different as it was the first Thanksgiving that I would not be with my blood family. However, I was able to spend the day celebrating with my Indian family and it will be a Thanksgiving I always remember.

Achen and Kochamma out did themselves as went out of their way to make sure we had an American Thanksgiving. We feasted on chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots, stuffing and a PUMPKIN pie with ice cream! It was delicious. I think I ate more chicken at this meal than I have ever eaten in my 22 years of living. The five of us devoured the whole chicken, and were still able to ask for seconds on ice cream! (Indian ice cream is delicious- I would compare it to Dairy Queen, but twice as smooth and creamy!!)

Many laughs were shared at the table as we enjoyed each other’s company and cumbersomely attempted to eat our meals Western style…with silverware. After eating with our hands for 3 months, it seemed bizarre to use a fork. It didn’t take long for Madison and I to discover the fun of eating mashed potatoes with our hands. We ditched the fork and resumed the customary eating with our hands, a memory I will always remember.

This Thanksgiving, I had much to be thankful for. I found that being removed from all the normal holiday commotion in the U.S., it was much easier to take time to reflect on all the blessings in my life. However, in addition to Thanksgiving being a time to remember our blessings, I now also see it as a celebration! Achen gave a thoughtful Thanksgiving devotion before we shared our meal together that shed new light on the holiday for me. In the coming years, I will not only remember the year I feasted with my hands while eating more chicken than I have ever eaten in my 22 years of life, I will also remember to take time and celebrate!!

(It's actually boiled water in the Smirnoff bottle, there was no vodka included in our feast...as much as we may have enjoyed a stiff drink!! :)