Moving On

I've finished my first semester, and my friend Martin and I are striking out on our own. But first, a small suggestion...

I recently re-watched the Wes Anderson film Darjeeling Limited, and thought it might show those of you who are interested a little bit of what I've been seeing. I feel somewhat dirty suggesting another person's movie as a means to comunicate my own experience here, but here are my reasons: First, I am pretty lazy about keeping this thing up to date, and I don't really attempt to describe the actual experience itself. Second, this movie, though unrealistic in many ways, shows moments of very subtle interactions that strike me as realistic portrayals of some daily experiences here. Second, it was filmed almost entirely in the state of Rajasthan, where I spent the last three months. The opening scene of the Darjeeling Limited, as well as others throughout the movie, is filmed in Jodhpur. I was in and around Jodhpur for past month while staying in a small village called Kejarli for my independent study. The village scenes could very well have been shot in Kejarli and are largely accurate, though idealized, images of rural life in this part of India. I realize that it's not the same as if it were to come from me, with my pictures and my stories, but that will have to come later.

I now have one and a half months to do as I please. Martin and I are taking english translations of the Rig Veda, the Upanisads, and the Tibetan Book of the Dead with us to Nepal, where we hope to meet up with a trusted guide and trek for most of the next month. Its hard to say how well all this will pan out, but I'm ready to get going.

Things I've Done

Okay, here goes...

September Highlights...

-Camel Safari - I went on trip with 4 friends out Jaisalmer, desert city about 12 hours travel from Jaipur (where I've been the whole time). We went on a 2 day, 1 night "camel safari" out into the sand dune covered region of the Thar desert. We rode camels all day out through the shrubby countryside, past gypsie villages and finally into the dunes by sunset. Return trip the next day. We explored the hand-carved sandstone, hill top palace upon our return, ate an incredible meal, and hopped back on a train to get to Jodhpur...

-Jodhpur - about 2/3 of the distant back to Jaipur from Jaisalmer. All of these are J names. Confusion is part of the Indian experience. We met up with the rest of the students and our directors in Jodhpur. We stayed in an absurdly nice guest house here on the program's bill. (They say the guest house system is similar to hostels...but that's only partly true. The cheap end will only run around $10 or less. The expensive end can be as high as any hotel).
Anyways, we mostly visited NGOs in the area on this trip. By this point, I am becoming pretty tired of our constant grueling, full-sun, hands-off Q and A chats with NGO representatives who seem much more concerned with advertising their ideals than showing us what they do.

Oogna - I went with 4 other students on a school-related trip to rural area in the Aravali mountains to the South of Jaipur. The whole area is beautiful green lumpy peaks and small villages all along the river valley at their base. We were here for 6 days, working with an organization that does these things: Organic farming, water management, women's empowerment, child protection, school development and microfinancing. Each day,we could go anywhere we want, and do anything we wanted. I harvested corn and lentils lentils, milked a cow, taught a class (poorly), climbed a small peak, bummed around some villages, and ate fresh bananas and coconuts. Each night, my group went to the local high school to play volleyball with the locals. Each night the local competition got better and the crowds got bigger.

Diwali - This is the 2-day Indian festival of lights. Honestly, I'm still not sure exactly what is being celebrated, but its the largest festival in India. Almost anyone I asked would tell me "It's like Christmas." To the extent that we give sweets to eachother, see family and friends, and put lights on our houses, this is true. I can't, however, remember the last time everyone in every major city in America bought (almost entirely) unregulated fireworks and set them off with their families for 48 hours without pause, but with an emphasis on times of night when they could actually be seen. Air and noise pollution are phenomenal, but the rooftop view is pretty unreal.

I also finally got my first bout of Indian sickness that I am only just recovering from after 4 days or so. The culprit, I believe, is leftover Diwali sweets that should have been refrigerated given me by my homestay family.

I leave sometime next week to go back to Jodhpur where I'll stay until early December while doing the "Independent Research" portion of my program. I'm going to be doing some sort of thing about a group of communities called the Bishnoi. Their religion focuses on (among other perhaps less noble ideals) the equality between human and natural life. They are fairly renowned for a series of martyrdoms in defense of trees which took place over the past several centuries. The term "tree hugger," they say, was coined in reference to these folk.



Alright, them's the highlights. Any questions, let me know. I've basically got tests, beaurocratic trifles, and travel for the next week, so my reply may not be swift, but I'll do what I can.

Catching Up

So its about time for an update, I'd say. My parents have asked several times for a recap of exactly what I've been up to...sorry to say, but I'm not going to give it this time. But I hope to soon. This will be another internal dialogue.
Reflecting on my thoughts long ago about time, I am forced to admit that I haven't been reserving enough of my own for personal reflection or even as just free space. Every now and then I become aware of it, and usually do nothing about it. Why?
In a brief moment of reflection, I realize that its really essentially the same reason that I haven't kept up with this blog, or with emails and phone calls and all that. When I take time to myself, I encounter all sorts of things that I'm not commonly made aware of - things that are me, and make me who I am, but occur without my knowledge. And all of a sudden I begin seeming unfamiliar to myself. I miss myself. And anyone who faces that feeling, as most or all of you surely do at times, knows how unnerving it is. And the fact is, it becomes easier to sacrifice the time I owe to myself in favor of spending time on all the other things going on here. When I'm always so busy running around and seeing new exciting things, it is not terribly tempting to engage a more thoughtful and difficult interior experience.
With family and friends its really quite similar. Being so far away, I inevitably am less connected with you all for the time being, and I inevitably miss you. But the less I keep in contact, the less aware I am of how much I miss you. And with so much new stuff here, its quite possible to fill virtually all my time with newness. So, when I don't actively make myself put in the time to keep in touch, I slip by habit out of contact - the reason, I think, is that I am afraid of knowing how much I really long to be closer, how much I miss you all.

But these things have a way of being inescapable. The time for you and the time for me that has gone neglected for a while now has caught up to me. And now it's my turn to catch up - with me, and with you.

So drop me a line and let me know what's up, how you are, and I'll really do my best to get back to you, despite the quickening academic pace over here - really its the least of my priorities, but the most of my commitments at the time, which makes for a terrible imbalance, but one I've got to make the best of.

Also, I plan to make a post soon that lets you al know what's been up.

Micah

Catching Up

So its about time for an update, I'd say. My parents have asked several times for a recap of exactly what I've been up to...sorry to say, but I'm not going to give it this time. But I hope to soon. This will be another internal dialogue.
Reflecting on my thoughts long ago about time, I am forced to admit that I haven't been reserving enough of my own for personal reflection or even as just free space. Every now and then I become aware of it, and usually do nothing about it. Why?
In a brief moment of reflection, I realize that its really essentially the same reason that I haven't kept up with this blog, or with emails and phone calls and all that. When I take time to myself, I encounter all sorts of things that I'm not commonly made aware of - things that are me, and make me who I am, but occur without my knowledge. And all of a sudden I begin seeming unfamiliar to myself. I miss myself. And anyone who faces that feeling, as most or all of you surely do at times, knows how unnerving it is. And the fact is, it becomes easier to sacrifice the time I owe to myself in favor of spending time on all the other things going on here. When I'm always so busy running around and seeing new exciting things, it is not terribly tempting to engage a more thoughtful and difficult interior experience.
With family and friends its really quite similar. Being so far away, I inevitably am less connected with you all for the time being, and I inevitably miss you. But the less I keep in contact, the less aware I am of how much I miss you. And with so much new stuff here, its quite possible to fill virtually all my time with newness. So, when I don't actively make myself put in the time to keep in touch, I slip by habit out of contact - the reason, I think, is that I am afraid of knowing how much I really long to be closer, how much I miss you all.

But these things have a way of being inescapable. The time for you and the time for me that has gone neglected for a while now has caught up to me. And now it's my turn to catch up - with me, and with you.

So drop me a line and let me know what's up, how you are, and I'll really do my best to get back to you, despite the quickening academic pace over here - really its the least of my priorities, but the most of my commitments at the time, which makes for a terrible imbalance, but one I've got to make the best of.

Also, I plan to make a post soon that lets you al know what's been up.

Micah

These Things Take Time

I'm trying to break a bad habit. I check a clock or watch about 15-20 times each day (I've done a few informal counts)- it's always on my mind. I'll ask Ankit what time it is when I have nowhere to go and all the time in the world to get there. On more than one occasion he has responded, "It is evening." And it strikes me that he is much more accurate than whatever clock I might look at. 

When is dinner time? Whenever I eat dinner. Will my watch tell me when to eat? Or will I eat when I am hungry and there is food?

Obviously some things require scheduling. But what difference does 5 minutes make? Or even 15? Is it anything but troublesome to deal in such minute accuracies? The more accurately you measure time, the more time you have to fill up with more tasks. And the danger is to be ruled by some narrow understanding of time - to become endlessly linear.

The trick, then, is to make sure there is free time. I mean this in two senses - first, to make room for leisure in whatever schedule you keep. And second, to work on a system of "soft time" where late and early are not easily pinpointed and deadlines are approximate.  Being on time may make a good impression, but it also becomes an addiction. Being off time is difficult and liberating, as is kicking any habit. 

Time is a natural resource and should be used responsibly. Like lumber and oil and water, time can be put to positive use, but if abused can be equally detrimental to public (and personal) health. Nature reserves help to protect the beauty and health of the world, and create space for exploration and wonderment. Time reserves do the same for an individual.

All that behind me, I had planned to leave my house at 2 today and make my way to the market. The time of writing is 2:07, and I'm wondering if being intentionally late will become as habitual as being on time. 

P.S. - I realize that I'm using this blog mostly for musings. If you want me to give something more informative and less talky, either send me an email (friendlyneighborhoodsasquatch@gmail.com) or just tell me and I'll see what I can do.

Really, this is fun.

First, the details. My host family is a family of classically trained traditional Indian musicians. My brother is a 5th generation Sitar expert. Just imagine how much I love this.

Now for a diatribe.

My program administration puts a whole lot of time and money into sheltering we privileged students from the angry Indian masses. The pampered life is alright for a week, but the most important part of getting out into the world is to expand - to get uncomfortable and push my limits. The administration prides itself and is esteemed for "playing by the rules" - which means doing its best to keep students fat, complacent, and out of mischief. I'm certainly overfed, but I'll be damned if I let them get me with those other two.

I inquired with the program director about weekend backpacking possibilities. She's very clever, and always finds a way to be prohibitive, but never explicitly so. The truest answer in this situation would have been, "You'll need my help and knowledge of Jaipur and its surroundings to put something like that together. But that would put you outside the tiny realm of my immediate and overbearing control, so I'm not willing to tell you anything helpful."  Rather than press the issue, I've chosen active disobedience as my response to her passive prohibition.

Beginning first thing Saturday morning, accompanied by several good friends, I'll embark on an ill-advised and intentionally unsupervised urban backpacking trip. At the center of "Old Jaipur," there is a beautiful white tower that is said to have the best views of town. This is our first and only planned destination. Atop the tower, we'll choose our next destination from among the other vertically significant natural and man-made features in and around town. Repeat. 

After navigating through as many back alley shops, sex districts and slums as we can find our plan is to end up in the small mountains not far outside Jaipur for the night  We know little (nothing) about the mountains we're heading to, save two important things: 1)Law does not prohibit us from sleeping there and, 2) Death or serious are not likely. So fear not, loved ones, if I return hurt (or do not return), it will have been an improbability. 

We've also vowed to eat street food, use local restrooms in local fashion (please contact me personally for details), get lost, interact, and forget about how important we're told it is to be painfully inoffensive. 

I went with my host brother and father earlier this evening seeking "grey market" running shoes. When I asked Ankit, my brother, to clarify grey market, he explained, "It is not quite illegal." It operates in the bottom floor of a mall beneath the dozens of brand name stores, and sells the same items for a fraction of the cost. 

I was all geared up to make me some borderline-legitimate business transactions, but it would appear that the Indian underworld caters primarily to hobbits. 

Its fairly late, I'm real tired, and I'm getting up early to do some sort of exercise with Ankit. He's great.

No longer in need of constant adult supervision, 

Micah

Week One

Things have been moving real fast here. Busy as I've been, I hardly have time to think about life outside this program.  I'm in Jaipur and begin living with my homestay family today. I'm not well rested and not feeling particularly articulate today, so this time around I'll be brief. 

Remember how crows are black and eagles are exciting? Well, in Delhi crows are grey and eagles are pigeons. The rest is harder to explain. 

Work it out, 

Micah

Well, this one will be short and quick - I need to get some good sleep before the long day of flights tomorrow.

I'm in New York now and my flight leaves at 6 pm tomorrow. 

Here is my address for first semester - I won't always be close to where the mail is received, but I should be able to check every now and then.

Micah Stanovsky

World Learning, India / SIT

2, Shree Rampura Colony

Civil Lines

Jaipur, Rajasthan 302006, India

A note: Please don't mail anything unnecessary, especially if it takes up space. I'll be happy enough to get a few e-mails or even letters. Much more than that probably won't be practical for me, since I'll be moving around a lot.

And here is a brief itinerary of what I'll be doing, starting September 1 (This is actually a bit different from what I've described to some of you)...

September 1 - Arrive in Delhi

Sep 2 - Orientation in Delhi

Sep 3-7 - Travel to Jaipur where program orientation continues and homestay begins

Sep 8 - Classes Begin

Sep 22-26 - Excursion to Jaisalmer and Jodhpur

Oct 7-9 - Excursion to Kota and Sawai Madhopur

Oct 17-26 - Some other stuff

Nov 8-Dec 6 - Independent Study Project (I'll try and explain this sometime later)

Dec 10-12 - Independent study presentations

Dec 12-13 - Final banquet, program basically ends

Dec 14  - Group flight back to USA (I don't plan on being on this)

I'm exhausted. I'm really glad I got to see all you Tacoma friends once more before I took off. There were some really hard good-byes, and I'm pretty overwhelmed. 

I sat by a pretty cool pediatrician / global health physician on the flight out here. He was in Seattle advising the Gates foundation about something. He told me a little about the Koran. I was hardly coherent in conversation with him, but must have seemed interested enough, because he kept talking to me.

Already learning,

Micah

Let's Try This Out

Hey all, 

So here it is - the only blog you'll ever need. This will be the best way to keep track of me while I'm away in other parts of the world.

First, a disclaimer: Based on past travel experience I'm not real good with scheduling time to communicate in the midst of all the other things I'm sure to be caught up in. I hope that this blog will help remedy that problem - that it will provide me with a relatively low maintenance way to keep you all updated on me all. But there's a certain possibility that blogging will be just another medium for neglect. If this is the case, please accept my sincerest apologies, and rest assured that I told you so.

Anyways, here's what is up with me between now and when I leave (August 30). I'm working on getting my stuff together (physical, mental, emotional, etc.) while drastic changes loom for all of my family members. This time last year, my mom told me "Nothing ever stays the same." That seems pretty accurate to me, so let's all try to take these changes as they come. 

I said my first round of goodbyes today to various cousins aunts and uncles. Things sure seem real once you start saying goodbye. Everything takes on a curious nostalgic quality, makes you start to miss everything, regardless off its importance. On the drive home, I found myself going all soft over everything from much loved family, who I really will miss, to the mediocre folk music artist I'd never heard of who's NPR interview special provided soundtrack to my thoughtful drive. For me, its a sort of feeling that can run rampant if unchecked. So what I'm working with is trying to feel as completely as possible my feelings for those parts of my life I truly care about, while dismissing the fairly absurd and newfound sentimental attachments that arise to such things as Washington license plates.

Similar scrutiny should be paid to feelings of excitement. If I don't watch out, I get really enthusiastic about an "India" which cannot possibly exist as I imagine it. Its surprisingly taxing trying to monitor and evaluate moods and thoughts like these, but I think its also very important to force myself to think and feel realistically. If I let every goofy thing become dear to me at the same time I envision my coming travels as increasingly fantastic, I'll end up torn apart about leaving, and set up for harsh disillusionment once I actually get to India.

Anyways, enough narrative of my inner negotiations. I'll probably write again before I take off, say goodbye and all that. I'm planning to do my best with keeping this thing updated and full of pictures. But I do have fear of being over-connected while I travel, that too much of me will try and live back here while I need to be present elsewhere. And I am a terrible photographer. 

Oh, and if you have important communications for me, I'd say friendlyneighborhoodsasquatch@gmail.com is the best bet. I can't predict, though, how well I'll be able to keep up with personal correspondence. 

Thanks for all the support!