Vlog

First video post!

I've been wanting to do this for a long time but finally got around to doing it. One day, I will learn how to edit and have a fancy camera and junk...but until then here's what I got.

Hostel night

Yesterday was the "Hostel night" for a friend's dormitory. He cordially invited me and another person from our program, which was very nice of him. "Hostel night" means that each person can buy tickets to attend a fancy-schmancy dinner that is coordinated for the residents of that dormitory. The food was quite good. I managed to eat too much and didn't end up staying for the dance party afterwards but it was an okay night

The theme was apparently "nostalgia" which I didn't really understand but I guess makes sense if you've lived in the hostel for more than this year...

The night got quite crowded. So many people in their fancy clothes eating their fancy food in the fancy atmosphere.

I quite liked this piece of art made of colored powder on the ground. It's very transitory and to me represents the fact that nothing is permanent. I'm sick right now and not in the best mood so it was a nice reminder at the end of the night. 

Free Tibet

This Sunday, I had the interesting opportunity to visit the Tibetan Refugee Colony in North Delhi. Now, when one hears the word "refugee", a number of connotations spring to mind. I went into this thinking about the systems of power that cause oppressions like the statelessness of refugees and without a real, tangible image of what refugees actually are: human beings. Our tour guide answered our questions about the difficult political situation between Tibet and China and helped me to get a much better understanding of their relationship and the lives of the people living here.

Part of our trip included visiting the headquarters for the Delhi chapter of Students for a Free Tibet (SFT). There we were educated about the fact that the Indian government has given land to Tibetan people so that they can live and work within their communities. This has made organizing easier, as there are Tibetan schools, hospitals, and other such infrastructures within India. Our tour guide explained to us a number of issues that ultimately make it easier for the central Chinese government to exercise their imperialism over the Tibetan people and region. One thing that he mentioned was that, as he is studying at JNU (like me) he is technically not allowed to return to his home country. This struck a chord in me because, while I am not in a comparable situation bureaucratically or politically, I, too, have not seen my family for a long time and will most likely not see them for a while longer...but I suppose that is an issue I can address in another blog post. 

After all was said and done, we went to a nice Tibetan restaurant and had many delicious dishes, family style. Everything was yummy and satisfying and was a good end to our vacation within/away from Delhi.

Pleasant

What a week! Things have been quite eventful for me here at JNU. I started off the week normally, going to classes and whatnot. Then Tuesday there was Puja, a festival celebrating the beginning of springtime:

Thursday was also an interesting day. It started off normally but then around 3, the President of Germany gave a speech at the convention center here on campus. I wasn't terribly interested in what he had to say (politics blahblahblah) but I was interested in the rhetorical ritual of the whole event. One could easily see his background as a pastor in the way that he spoke. The whole speech centered around India and Germany as strategical business partners, which I think glossed over a lot of systemic issues. Oh well, it was a nice thing to see and I ended up being on German television (for literally one second) because of it. 

He's the one in the middle...ya know, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany...NBD.

Then Friday I went to an LGBT talk given by a group called DHANAK here on campus. I didn't realize there would be such a thing, given the heteronormative, exclusionary nature of what I've seen of Indian culture.There were 4 speakers: two of which who left a bit to be desired and two of which who were amazing. 

There was also a musical performance group associated with DHANAK, which makes me want to get involved even more. We'll see how that goes, I guess. One thing that I noticed about the whole event was even though it's supposed to be a Queer community, there was definitely an in-group/out-group dynamic that left me feeling a bit excluded. People knowing/socializing only with each other, Panelists speaking Hindi (or Bengali)...it wasn't as much of the "home" (as one Panelist put it) as we'd all like, I suppose. I think it might have a bit to do with my personality but, oh well, I had a pleasant time nonetheless. 

Saturday was also quite cool. I went to our specially organized Hindi lesson, which ended up not happening. However, we decided on a new time that would be more convenient than Saturday morning. Went to my Arabic class afterwards, which was so productive. The teacher also wants me to teach him the basics of Spanish, which would be great because I feel a bit like I'm getting more out of the arrangement then he is. Language reciprocity!

That afternoon, there was also an event arranged by the Music Club. I hadn't realized there was a music club (they even have instruments!) here on campus. The room was nicely decorated and the performances were interesting for the most part. I'm hoping to get involved in some sort of music while I'm here. I didn't bring my trumpets for nothing!

All in all, this week has been great. Doing a lot, learning a lot experiencing a lot. That's why I started this adventure. 

Political life

 The student body at this campus is very, very active in terms of political activism. Here is a photo of a performance of revolutionary songs and speeches. It's nice to be on campus and really get to see and be involved in all of the happenings.

I must admit, the campus does seem to be a bit of a bubble. It's different from the rest of Delhi (a lot safer, not as much glaring poverty, etc.) This also means getting outside of JNU is a bit of a trek. Last weekend, a few of us went to protest several injustices within India that coincided with "Republic Day", a very patriotic celebration of India's constitution

On the way to the counter-parade, we saw a lot of Indian flags as well as floats. I wasn't quick enough to get a picture of the floats but they were pretty extravagant. 

Here is a picture of the symbol of the theme of this march. I really love how inclusive it is, with many aspects of the diversity of the country represented visually. Many organizations came together to protest the patriarchal, systemic injustices perpetuated by the government and some of the people of India. One of the many important issues addressed by the movement was Section 377, a portion of the constitution that criminalizes "sexual acts against the orders of nature". The language of the actual section of the penal code doesn't specify the "criminals" against which it acts but the law seems to ignore any possible application towards heterosexual sex acts (or even sex acts between two women) and stigmatizes male/male interactions. Unfortunately, there was a review of this section on the 28th of January that was dismissed by the Indian Supreme court and I'm not entirely sure what happens now. Hopefully, the people who are fighting this intense battle will turn out victorious. 

The food's good!

Coming to India has been, to quote our program coordinator, an "unabated roller-coaster" for me. One of the goals that I have for this experience is to become a more positive, optimistic person in general. One of the steps I'm taking towards this is to (try to) refrain from complaining when someone asks me about the accommodation. It's really not that bad...I just need to remember that things are different here. One thing that I can really focus on: the food is good. And cheap!

This last week was the first week of classes. I did a bit of shopping around and managed to finalize my schedule. Most of my classes are really good, including a statistics course that I'm actually quite excited about. I'm also taking Arabic lessons here, in the hopes that I can continue when/if I land back in Germany. It feels really good to have an idea of what my schedule is going to be like.

To round out the week, there was some sort of holiday that was celebrated on campus. Many DJs set up for people to dance around bonfires...pretty interesting for a Thursday.

I also managed to do a bit of sight-seeing. I went to the Bahai'i house of worship, where they asked that we remove our shoes. 

Here I am in front of the temple itself 

And here is an indoor model of the shape of the temple. It's a beautiful structure, shaped like a lotus flower. 

And then, to begin the week, I went to class, came home and did laundry. I know, exciting right? For me it's actually kind of a big deal. I've decided that I'm going to wash everything by hand which takes forever but afterwards I have a strange sense of pride looking at all of the clothes hanging on the line. Here is the view from the top of my dormitory. 

It's nice. 

The way to India

I think the following picture can accurately describe how I felt on the 4th or 5th day up until about a week ago. 

Funny how things you enjoyed in your past come back in relevant ways...

The experience I've had so far in Delhi was rocky at first. I was sick and the whole dog fiasco, blahblahblah. Everything turned out okay, healthwise. The dog that attacked me was definitely not as cute as these little guys who also live on campus. 

I still can't really process how many animals there are at JNU. Granted, it is basically a forest/jungle with some buildings in the middle. A few days ago, a nilgai was galloping through the middle of campus. They are huge and it is still unnerving to me. 

One thing that I've come to realize about where I am is the stark contrast between the rich and poor. In my throes of being sick and wimpy, I longed for a familiar sight. In that weakness I decided to go to a mall because it's heated, there's places where I can buy things without having to bargain and feel like I'm getting screwed and/or being unfair to the other person and I was afraid of the food from other places. 

This is the first of three malls that are right next to campus. The first is something that one could find in any city in the "western" world. It's better than the closest mall to where I was born in Santa Maria, California. The second is of higher quality and has salons and apparently a luxurious movie theater. The third, to which I haven't been, is full of shops like Dior and Armani and the like. I haven't gone because I couldn't afford anything there and it just doesn't interest me...I've gotten enough capitalism by visiting the first two. The most interesting/depressing/remarkable/jaw-dropping thing about the first mall is that, although I'm not sure, I think that people live underneath it. Yes, three floors underneath a Starbucks where people pay 200INR (about 3USD) for a latte, there are people in the basement, just hanging out. It was the same situation when I went to get my rabies vaccination. I was told to wait half an hour to see if my test injection reacted negatively before receiving the first dose, and I wandered around the hospital to find peoples' beds and living areas...within the courtyard of the hospital. I imagine there were people there who had been amputated in the surgery ward and then just never left. While on the other side of the building, a state-of-the-art sports rehabilitation center had probably been recently built (most likely funded by private benefactors). I simply don't understand. And more difficult, I don't know how I should feel about it as an outsider. It is one thing when I see inequality in a context with which I am familiar but I think it's quite another to waltz into a country with my money (earned by first-world wage labor) and decry everything as wrong, unfair or backwards. I just...need more time to think about it. 

One other aspect of India that will take some time to learn how to deal with is the NOISE. 

Interestingly enough, there was a parade (with trumpets! and valve trombones!) near the hostel where we stayed for the first few days as everyone was arriving. 

This is the area near to campus where we buy everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. I now have a mattress, blanket, pillow, linens, shower bucket contraption (because of the fact that there are no hot showers in my dorm)

 Munirka Village, it's called. 

It's a crazy labyrinth of corners and pathways and inexplicable motorcycles and people staring. During this particular trip, I ended up being the one to do the bargaining for our mattresses. Because the 11 of us GSPians found each other and all ordered together, for the mattresses to be delivered by a bicycle rickshaw. It was an ordeal but we made it through. I've been telling people this, especially those of us who are having a difficult first few days: Everything that we've done has brought us here. We can do this. We can handle it. India is hard right now and so so so different. But there's a way.