Two weeks have come and gone and we’re all running out of our initial energy. One of our professors handed us each a copy of “Rhinesmith’s Ten Stages of Adjustment” last week. The reason that he did is that this week pretty much all of us hit stage five, which is the “depression-frustration” point. The combined weight of absolutely everything being different here from what we’re used to is made worse by the fact that most of us aren’t able to get ahold of our families except for an e-mail once every day if we’re lucky. The internet at school is shaky and there are quite a few of us all trying to connect at once, so it’s difficult to get access. Without fail, the people with stronger internet receptors are able to log on and the rest either jump on and off or are just unable to access it. That fact alone, I think, has been causing the most frustration. Not only can we not contact our families, but it’s been difficult to contact our respective schools to get our independent study projects approved and we can’t look up information for our holiday plans, which we’re in the middle of booking. Those of us who can’t get onto our own computers have been able to snatch a few moments each day on the office computer, but not much. We just found out that we got approved for some money and are waiting for the appraisal for a new router, so hopefully that will happen quickly.
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| One of my friends playing the tambura after a classical music demonstration at our school. This instrument has only four strings and no frets, so it plays only four notes. It is used as accompaniment during classical singing. |
Another thing that is proving difficult, at least for me, is that there is constant noise here. During the day, there are drummers practicing for the Dwali festival (which is in late October... they will be practicing up until then) and busses, motorbikes, etc. Throughout the evening and late into the night, construction is going on in my neighbourhood. Technically, they are legally obliged to finish by 21:30 at the latest, but they go much later than that every night, which makes it difficult to fall asleep. Also, at 5:30 every morning, I’m woken up by the illegally-kept Macaws across the road (at least, I’m fairly certain that it’s them). They are viciously loud... I’ve taken to sleeping with the windows and doors all closed tightly and my headphones in. The problem with this approach is that then it’s very hot in my room, which doesn’t help either.
Beds here are much more firm than we are used to in the States, which also contributes to a less than ideal sleep pattern. Even the beds in the more “western” hotels made my bed at school seem like sleeping on a cloud. The pillows are, for the most part, just as unyielding. So... if you don’t plan to bring a fluffy pillow from the States, get one as soon as you arrive (which is a better idea as long as you don’t mind waiting a couple of nights). It will help at least a little in getting sleep.
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| We weren’t exactly sure what to make of this snack... although on the back it says “keep out of direct sunlight,” so it was decided that it must be vampire food. Apparently, it was pretty good. I couldn’t bring myself to try it, so I can’t verify that. |
To add onto all these difficulties, most of us are feeling a bit under the weather still. The pollution here has given most of us headaches and fairly bad conjestion problems now. Hopefully those problems will go away as soon as we’re used to the air here. And, of course, there are the mosquitoes to contend with. They aren’t around enough for us to wear repellent all the time (which isn’t a good idea anyway, as I’ve said), but they do strike in packs at different times so we’re all sporting bites at this point and afraid of getting Dengue, Malaria, and Chikungunya (which is apparently just like Dengue but targets the joints instead of the muscles and which most of our group got last year).
Fortunately, we seem to be moving onto the next stage in the chart slowly but steadily as we figure things out. Travel plans are, for the most part, getting solidified and we’ve discovered internet cafes near our school and most of our respective homes. We found a place that serves grilled cheese sandwiches and a little store that sells ice cream and is highly recommended by our staff. And, of course, most all of us have been consuming massive amounts of chocolate along with our daily cups of chai, so caffeine makes everything a little better as well. So, here are some tips to acclimating quickly to wherever you are.
9) Don’t expect to get anything finished in the amount of time that you would in the United States. “Tentatively,” “I think,” and “We hope” have become the most-used phrases here so far. Everything just takes longer and is much more complicated than we are used to or prepared for. Also, we are pretty much consistently the only ones early (and sometimes the only ones on time). It’s incredibly easy to get discouraged and frustrated, but shrugging it off a little bit and not letting it get to you is the best approach. Even less will get done if you’re irritable. We’re all learning to relax a little, be fluid, and deal with “Indian time” without going insane.
10) Do expect people to try and cheat you. You want to know exactly what is going on (as far as possible, at least) so that you won’t get cheated. Have tariff-cards for rickshaws and know the correct exchange rate. Be insistent about being treated fairly because they will try to talk you out of it. (This attitude is the best to approaching bargaining at the markets as well... we found out just how completely dreadful I am at haggling on Friday).
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| A temple that we visited today as part of our city tour. We went to the zoo and a museum as well, but my camera had died by that point, so no photographs of that until I can steal them from other people. |
11) Spend as much time as possible with your home-group. We’ve done quite a bit of hanging out at coffee shops, the market, one another’s homes, and just walking around/hiking together and that’s helped the most to rid us of some of the homesickness. Find ways to just laugh and have a good time with a group of people like you. If you’re white in a place like India, you get stared at constantly. Nothing will change this, but if you’re in a group, you feel better since you as an individual don’t draw as many stares. For these first few weekends, we’ve had outings arranged for at least parts of the weekends, so we’ve been able to spend that time together and that’s helped more than anything else.
12) Figure out what your most effective outlet is. We found a bookstore with a huge sale here, so most of us got a book (and city maps, which we can’t really figure out but make us feel more secure). I got Northanger Abbey, which I am loving. Somehow, Jane Austen was just the right thing to get. Some of us are planning to go back sometime this week to see if we can find a couple movies that we’ve been craving. Journaling is also proving to be a fantastic outlet for a lot of us and we’ve each gone through a day where we’ve just plugged into our ipods, lay down, and closed our eyes. Blocking out everything is just the right approach sometimes, particularly when it’s so difficult to find any physical space.
13) If you are a movie person, bringing movies from home are a good use of luggage space. Not a lot, but a few that are your favourites or feel-good movies. The Chronicles of Narnia and all three Lord of the Rings came with me, naturally, and I am SO happy that they did. Other people are as well, I might add... I’ve already had people borrow all of my Lord of the Rings and someone else has The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe right now (and I’m borrowing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban from her).
14) Stay organized! You will have enough going on (particularly in the beginning) that you shouldn’t need to worry about losing things. Have one place where you put all your papers, notebooks, etc. (I’m thinking of a bookshelf, not one pile in the middle of your desk) and, for goodness sake, don’t put anything in a place where “you won’t lose it” because you do lose it and then you can’t find it when you really need it. You feel stupid, get frustrated, and are late (that last one hasn’t actually happened here yet).
Apart from the frustrations, we’re having a great time. Some people are getting a little sick of the roti (tortilla-looking bread) that is had with practically every meal, but the food is great and we keep seeing things that amaze us. It also helps that we’re all going through the same thing at the same time, so we usually know what one another needs. Today was our day off, so a friend and I went to check out a nearby Church and tonight some of us are going out to dinner together. We’ve learned to take pride in the small triumphs: reaching our intended destination, haggling successfully, and understanding a dozen words in a Marathi Church service. We’re getting there slowly but surely and soon we’ll have this place figured out.
*L*
