Random Notes

I am calling this “random” because I haven’t written in a while and there is so much for me to say, and I know I couldn’t possibly write it all in a cohesive letter. So whatever comes to mind, I am going to write it!

1. After being here for over 2 weeks, I have discovered that the milk I drink every day is actually Buffalo Milk...but I have yet to find out if it is milk from the Buffalo walking the streets, or from a farm. I’m hoping the latter, as the stray Buffalo eat a nutritious diet of trash from the dumpsters!
2. I have passed by a store in the city called “Dr. Jain’s Cow Urine Therapy Health Clinic.” It is a refinery of cow urine…to be consumed by humans!!! Apparently it helps cure illnesses, but I will be staying far, far away. And I found out…Dr. Jain is my immediate neighbor!
3. Last Sunday, my host family and I participated in a Rotary outing to the city Ujjain, which is about an hour away by car. I didn’t know what we were doing, but thought it would be something like a picnic. Along the way, we stopped for coal-grilled corn on the cob, from a small stand on the side of the highway. Delicious! It turned out to be a visit to the Sewadham Ashram, a community/asylum for about 350 people suffering from mental illness, physical disabilities, HIV/Aids, Leperacy, and much more. It is a completely volunteer-run and donation-funded place, and my Rotary Club was giving a donation. When we were there, we took a tour and saw all of the people living there, which was extremely difficult, but also quite amazing. I spoke with one of the volunteers, an elder man, who explained that about 15 years ago, he attempted to take his own life. He lived on, and came to the realization that he had a higher purpose; to serve others. So he has been volunteering at Sewadham ever since. He told me that he wished that when I go home, I can look back on my time in India, and remember a place where such humanity exists. He told me that Sudhir Goyal, the founder of Sewadham, was inspired by the work of Mother Theresa, and that she visited some years ago. Goyal was happy to have an American exchange student visit the ashram, and he had me video recorded talking about my impressions and thoughts, and also had me plant a tree in the garden by the children’s home. This was such an amazing opportunity, and I never considered anything like this when thinking about becoming an exchange student.
4. This coming Saturday, I am giving a speech for the Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology. August 1st is Adolescent’s day, so I will be speaking about the importance of health education, from the perspective of an American adolescent. I am a little nervous, because I don’t know how many doctors will be there!
5. A few nights ago, I cooked dinner for my family. They wanted pasta, and I knew I could make it, but the ingredients available over here are so different from home, I had to improvise. There is nothing like pasta sauce, crushed canned tomatoes, or tomato paste. Just one variety of tomato, a pale pinkish orange sandwich tomato. So I just had that, some onion, garlic, and green bell pepper to make an untraditional, yet yummy, pasta sauce. Just the smell reminded me of home!!!
6. My favorite Hindi TV show is called “Khelo, Jito, Jeeyo” meaning “Play, Win, Live” in which contestants answer questions and perform tasks to win appliances, furniture, and a “modular kitchen” and if they get far enough, they can win an apartment flat. It doesn’t sound that exciting, but it is so much better than the Hindi soaps called “serials” that my family watches every night. I have also been watching BBC World News, which I like much better than the CT news channels!
7. I am currently, along with my host mom, looking for some ‘hobby classes’. I will probably take some in henna designs, clay work, and some other Indian art. I am also going to start going to a yoga class that is down the street from my house, and I can walk there with one of my neighbors. I am also looking into some dance classes, and can either take western dance like jazz and hip hop, bollywood style dance, or traditional Indian dance. We’ll see what comes of that in the next few weeks!