Living in the crazy world but not of it

Two days ago, Paul and I had to make a quick run to Nepal. As we were getting our entry visa in India we saw a couple of tourists. They were planning to go to Darjeeling and we told them that they probably won’t be able to go up because there is a bandh (a strike). One of the tourists response was “Oh, is it a strike by one of the trade unions or something?” All we could say was that strikes in India is different than in the west and often everything shuts down completely. A bandh is a form of political protest here. Anyone with enough influence can call a bandh, closing down businesses and transportation. They enforce the bandh with groups of “supporters” who go around and beat up shop owners or trash shops that are still open for business. Things shut down because people are afraid.

I am starting to adjust to the unpredictability of life here and I feel like I am slowly beginning to grasp some of the political and ethnic tensions that exist. However, the longer I live here, the more I realize how difficult it is to describe what India is like.

In Darjeeling, violence erupted a few days ago because there was an assassination attempt on one of the political leader. A bandh was called and Darjeeling has been shut down for three days. The current political party is declaring that the strike will go on indefinitely until the opposition party’s leadership is arrested. Some people speculate though that the assassination attempt was actually made by the reigning political party as an excuse to arrest the opposition. I have no idea which is true. The army was called in and a curfew enforced. Our annual retreat is starting on Tuesday. As of now, the highway that goes to Sikkim is closed. We have no idea whether we will be able to have a retreat! I hope things get resolved peacefully, although my intuition says we might need to get ready for some messiness and interruption.

This morning I read about a riot in Guwahati between the town people and the Adivasis (a group of tribal groups). The Adivasis were protesting to gain a special caste status when violence that broke out between the two groups. The images of men beaten while people stood by and of a woman being dragged in the street by a man were quite disturbing. Why do we treat each other like this?















I have been reading about Bangladesh and the suffering of the people whose lives have been devastated by cyclone Sidr. It is so weird for me that Bangladesh is so close yet it feels so far away. I have been amazed at the lack of news in India regarding it…. I have noticed that there might be one day of news coverage on a natural disaster in this region and that’s it. I’m not sure why. Sometimes I wonder if it is because natural disaster is something that people expect on a yearly basis and they are so accustomed to it that it doesn’t bother them as much. If I want to know what is happening in Bangladesh (or even flooding in India) I have to rely on the west to get the news.

Meanwhile, Black Friday (or the day after Thanksgiving Sales rush) seems to be the main news in the States. I never really understood the frenzy in the States even when I lived there - but being here, let’s say it feels even more foreign. I watched the news coverage of the situation in Bangladesh where people were screaming for bottles of water, immediately to be followed by the news coverage of throngs of Americans lined up in front of Circuit City jostling each other to get the best deal on the newest gadget. What juxtaposition! Paul turns to me and sarcastically says, “Well, I guess we all have different sorts of problem.” I was kind of speechless. I had to ask, “Are we living in the same world?” If anything, it made me realize again what a crazy world we live in. It made me think again about what it means that we are in this world, but not of this world.

I Can See for Miles....

I, Paul was inspired today by the views. Siliguri is not known as a tourist destination. In travel books it gets comments like, "An extended bus stop with fast food" and "Don't stay there any longer than necessary." It does have all sorts of problems, but we are learning as we live here to appreciate some of it's good points. It is cooler than Calcutta, it doesn't get flooded like Bangladesh, it is easier to reach than Darjeeling (and it has a reliable water supply), and it is not freezing cold in winter (like it is up in the hills).

Recently the weather has been cool and clear. It is only for a few months of the year, but it is quite nice. Visibility has been great, and many mornings we can see a few snow capped peaks of the Himalayas. It's a long way off, so today I opened Google-Earth to see just how far it was. It turns out the peak is 65 miles away.


Picture #3 gives you a different perspective of the same view. If you click on the picture, you can get a more detailed view. Our house is at the left end of the white line, the peak on the right. The yellow line is the border with Nepal (and where you see it in the distance the Nepal Tibet border). The big cluster of mountains to the left of the line is Mt. Kanchenjunga, the world's third tallest peak. We've posted other pictures of it, but the hills in between block the view from our house.


If you were standing behind that peak and look back at our house, you would see picture #4. Here the yellow line is the India- Bangladesh border (straight ahead) and the India-Nepal Border (on the right side).

I'd like to actually get to those mountains some day. We've been to the hills, but mostly to our friend houses which are lower down. So I'll enjoy the mountains from a distance and appreciate the good things about Siliguri for now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As I write this, most folks back at home are probably waking up to Thanksgiving day morning. Happy Thanksgiving!

Last year, we didn't get to celebrate Thanksgiving as we were in transit from Nepal to India. But, this year was different. We just came back from a fabulous Thanksgiving meal with a couple of ex-pat friends and their families. It was truly a taste of home! I would say turkey was the only missing traditional Thanksgiving dish (chicken was fine!). We even had cranberry sauce (from Thailand). We all pitched in and brought different dishes. What a feast it truly was! We worked off our meal with badminton, instead of American football. :) We are thankful for friends.

Not that weird anymore

When I first came to India in 2004 I was completely overwhelmed by the constant honking noise on the streets. When I returned back to the States after a month of being here, I spent a whole month driving around in my car without music turned on. I wanted silence. I think I did this for a little over a month and even after that, I thought twice before turning on the radio or the CD player.

As we were riding around on our scooter today, I couldn't help but start laughing at myself. Why the laughter? Because I have been finding myself telling Paul that he needs to honk MORE! I actually find myself feeling more safe when he's honking. Honking warns people to watch out because there is a fast moving vehicle nearby. There have been times when motorcylists would sneak up behind us or next to us without honking and my immediate reaction would be, "Dude, you need to Honk!" The constant honking that I find near the markets still drives me nuts. But, I understand more the reasons behind the honking now that we operate our own vehicle. Honking does not seem as weird, rude , or irritating as it once did!

We never thought we would find ourselves driving on the wrong side of the street or breaking what we would consider normal traffic "rules." But let's just say we are maybe starting to get a little too comfortable with breaking the "rules"? If you want to avoid the big pot holes, the cows, or that really slow bicycle rickshaw....well...you end up on the opposite side.

Punctuality was (and still is to some extent) something we value. But, we find ourselves showing up to things late (sometimes on purpose because we think no one is going to be there on time). We used to work so hard on trying to be somewhere on time, but these days we find ourselves a little more lax. Moreover, if we know we have to be somewhere on time and we are walking, we have to give plenty of time to run into people on the streets for chit-chat. For the most part, punctuality is valued and some people hate the culture of "lateness." I guess we know with whom we need to be on time and with whom we could relax and take our time because even when we're late, they're not there!

Things that used to drive us a little nutty and seemed quite odd, they are becoming less so. In 2009, when we come home for a furlough, I wonder whether we would find America a little odd. :)

Noticing the Change

We have been getting warnings from the State Department in Kolkata about Cyclone Sidr for the last three days. The weather today is definitely different compared to the last few days of sun. The sky is gray, ominous, and it looks like a storm may come soon, but no rain or wind is seen here. I read that so far at least 242 people have been killed in Bangladesh.... Thankfully, the eastern coast of India has been spared for now. We'll see if it affects our region in any significant way.

What is in season?

When I was living in the States I had no idea when certain vegetables and fruits were in or out of season. Maybe once in a while I would notice the price fluctuation here and there, but that was about it. Since living in India, I have become much more aware of which fruits and vegetables are in season. I have been surprised to find myself looking forward to change in season knowing that certains fruits and vegetables will become available.

Currently, I am thoroughly enjoying spinach! I have been having spinach salad almost everyday and I don't think I will get sick of it. It will disappear sometime around February. So, I have the next three months to enjoy them! We also have green onions (scallions) available now to garnish various dishes. Mangoes and lychee have been replaced by oranges, pomegranates, and apples. When the mangoes were in season, Paul made killer mango salsa! Hmmm!! I've been making my one apple cobbler per month as I promised Paul and it has been pretty tasty. I told him he better enjoy it because when March and April hits, apples will be scarce. I have yet to see things like kiwis, strawberries, peaches, apricots, plums, and honey dew melons. Well, I guess you can't have everything in life. I'm enjoying the change in season in various ways!

I think I can, I think I can...

Today, I started learning how to ride the scooter. In all honesty, I am not very excited about it. I'm actually quite freaked out by it. The geometry of the scooter, its weight, and speed (although not very fast, feels fast!) make me feel a little out of control. I'm learning how to cruise, accelerate, and break. I also tried turning a bit, but it felt quite uncomfortable. We were practicing at a hotel parking lot after working out and I almost ran a guy over. I was not going very fast, but I panicked and instead of breaking I accelerated. Breaking has not become second nature yet. I have to remind myself to break and to let go of the accelerator simultaneously. Anyway, I found myself talking to myself, "I know I can.. I know I can.. I know you can!" With practice, I know I will eventually learn to ride the scooter, but the real question is do I want to learn it? Right now, my honest answer is, "Not really." But then, once I can move around on it, I probably would be glad that I decided to learn.... Let's just say it's going to take a lot of practice before I feel comfortable getting out on that crazy road!

Country Roads...

Imagine two 1/2 Bengali 1/2 Nepali men, three Germans, one Tibetan, one South Indian, one American, and one Korean-American belting out the song Country Roads! We made friends with two couples from our church who are middle-class. We were invited to a birthday party and they whipped out their guitars and started singing, among other things Country Roads. Paul and I decided to switch West Virginia for California for nostalgia sake. Here's the video of the crew having a little fun...



Interestingly, we were all inter-racial couples: German-Begali/Nepali; German-South Indian; Tibetan-Bengali/Nepali; American-Korean. Throughout the night, Nepali, German, and English were being thrown around while we enjoyed Bengali food and lots of singing and laughter. I don't know all the words to the song, but the Indians sure did! Other features of the night were Beatles songs, a little CCR, and a Bob Dylan impersonation. Who would have guessed the song Country Roads would be a common thread between three continents and five ethnic groups!

I'm completely biased...

and I can't help it. I think they are the best!! I just love my nephews and I can't get enough of them. I tried to post their photos on the sidebar of the blog, but for whatever reason, the blogger site is not cooperating. So, I'm posting them here. If you had nephews like mine, you would be posting their photos too! ;) I just adore them! Lots of kissies and huggies from yee-mo, Jeshua & Seth!

Christmas in November?

All over our town and in surrounding areas, Christmas lights twinkle throughout the night. If I didn't know any better, I might have thought that they are gearing up for Christmas already. The truth is that Diwali (the festival of lights) is just around the corner. Today, the roads are bustling with traveling cars, people going about shopping, and getting ready to celebrate. I am still in the process of learning more about Hinduism and various religious festivals here, but it is one of the two biggest festivals. You can read more about this festival by going to these two websites.
http://www.bawarchi.com/festivals/diwali1.html
http://www3.kumc.edu/diversity/ethnic_relig/diwali.html


Sometimes it is hard for me to tell whether Diwali holds deep meaning for people or if it has become more commercialized like Christmas is in the U.S. Last year in Nepal, we spent some time with our Hindu friends in their celebration of Diwali and it consisted mainly of killing a lamb, eating lots of food, playing games, exchanging gifts, and giving money to carolers! I don't think they even visited a temple, but then they described themselves as nominal Hindus. Here in India, most of our neighbors are Buddhists, so they don't celebrate Diwali. Their big festival time is in February.

I wonder what Christmas time will be like here, but if it is anything like last year, I'm sure there will be no external signs of Christmas anywhere! However, we're planning to put up a fake Christmas tree up this year which we inherited from an ex-pat couple who left for the States. It would be nice to have something to remind us of Christmas. We're not sure what we're doing for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I'm sure we'll figure something out!

Home Sweet Home

After being on the road on and off for the last three weeks, I am glad to be home. We don't have any plans to travel outside of our town until the last week of November. Our trips away from home have been very productive and enjoyable, but now, I am ready to stay put for a couple of weeks. :) I get to sleep in my bed, drink lots of water (I feel like I've had enough tea to last a couple of months), eat less oily food (my skin has been breaking out!), and have lots of introverted time!! It's really nice to be home.