In January, he went to India. He tought classes in both Bangalore and New Delhi, spending a week at each location. Below is a lengthy post of his experiences and observations about this trip. I have taken excerpts of about 15 pages of his report and pieced them back together again, but be warned, this is not a completely glowing travelogue.
I've seen starships off the belt of Orion. ... whoops, sorry.
Dogs, cows, monkeys. I've seen them. Bangalore started rounding up stray dogs the week that I arrived, because a young girl died from a dog attack (rabies). There were more attacks while I was there. I didn't see any cows blocking traffic. Speaking of which, I remember a video of crazy city traffic that was posted somewhere in the web.
It's &%*&^$% TAME!!!
Imagine:
NASCAR (not necessarily that fast) on a four lane highway (sometimes divided, sometimes not) with cars, trucks, buses, tractors pulling huge over-filled wagons, camels pulling pulling huge over-filled wagons, cyclists (2 & 3 wheels), pedestrians, cross-traffic, motorcycle rickshaws (capacity = driver plus two) filled with 12-15 people. People crossing the highway (day and night), tractors or cars going against traffic in your lane (left-hand roads). The horn is used during the daytime, dimming your high-beams at night (and still using the car horn) to signify that you are passing on the right. Larger vehicles have the right of way. It's like playing chicken without stopping until you arrive at your destination.
Accidents:
Not really.
1 - I saw a truck and a car that were nose-down in ditches. These were next to each other, so the may have happened at the same time. Probably one was turning against traffic. These had happened before I arrived.
2 - I was walking on M. G. Road (Mahatma Ghandi Road) when I heard a plasticky wallop from behind my left shoulder. I turned and saw a moped and two bodies on the road. A crowd gathered and helped the people. Both could walk, though the lady was motionless on the street for a few minutes. My guess is that the petite lady tried to cross through traffic and was hit by the guy. Maybe she was driving the moped, but more guys than women drive.
Squalor:
I've seen tent villages next to construction sites, and a guy washing his face with water from a puddle.
Part of it made me really sick. I saw baby monkeys, puppies, calves, and human infants. They are all part of this world of dirt and trash,
Imagine a fast food restaurant's dumpster up-ended.
Cows standing in a pile of trash, nibbling. Dogs sniffing for food. The night gets cold, so people will gather what they can and burn it for warmth. Sometimes wood. My nose sniffed burning plastic; trash.
More Miscellaneous Thoughts:My current hotel is like a theme park. Four restaurants; one bar; one dance club; one banquet hall; one game hall with bowling, billiards, skeeball, air rifles, and video games; one electric bull surrounded by an inflatable landing pad; gokarts with a racing track; and a cricket batting cage. And two roaches in my bathroom.
Perspectives using Texas as a unit of measurement
Texas
268,581 square miles
23,500,000 people
87.5 people per square mile
India Where Texas is 1.0 (ed.)
Area=4.5
People=46.8
P/M2=10.5
India is crowded. There are probably smaller countries with higher ratios of people per square mile.
Three meals per day for five days is my limit for Indian food.
Money doesn't grow on trees. It grows on foreigners, especially Americans.
A couple of students talked about U.S. politics. One asked my opinion about the war in Iraq. The other suggested that U.S. military spending be used to help the poor in the U.S. I pointed out that we have the following:
- Minimum wage
- Free medical emergency care for those who cannot afford it
- Free public schools, including lunch, for those who cannot afford it
- Programs like the Texas Workforce Commission
- Scholarships and grants for college students who are poor
- Taxes are paid to people/families if they earn too little
We're a great country and ranked number 4 for Economic Freedom (today's India Times). Hong Kong is #1. UK, New Zealand, Canada, and others are in the top ten with us.
Karma
Indians believe in Karma (sanskrit for "Action"), usually interpreted as Fate. If they are sick, then it is the result of their Karma to be sick, so they just accept it. I think it's the result of my Karma to have issues with the taxi ride back to the hotel.
What do I like about India?
I have photos of Taj Mahal. I met an honest taxi driver. (I'll explain after I return.)
The people here are very industrious and friendly. Some work every day for 10+ hours.
Fashion - the ornate designs on women's dresses/saris/shawls are amazing.
Industry - people work. No work equals no money. There are no government hand outs from what I can tell. People protect there jobs in an almost union-like way. If a person's job is to open the door and he stepped away, then he may run to the door so he can open it for you. I had three people direct me to the restroom (no guess-work or getting lost), and two opened doors for me. If an Indian has a job, then other Indians respect his/her right to perform that job.
History & Culture - President (?) Nehru wrote a history of India starting 7000 years ago. India is a mix of influences form Hindis and Muslims. The Taj Mahal shows the variety arts and styles. India produced many discoveries that we enjoy. Buddha was born in India, so that's especially important to me.
Welcoming - Indians accept everybody. There were some controversies earlier in history when the rulers were Muslim and the masses were Hindi. That is resolved now with the democracy. The division of India/Pakistan (1947/1957 ???) was supposed to separate Hindis and Muslims. India is 80% Hindi and still has more Muslims than Pakistan. It still seems that the Hindis tolerate the Muslims who are here. Maybe not.
I've met some nice people. One taxi driver, one guide at the Taj, the students in my classes, and the people who support the classes. Sales people in shops can be nice, too, especially if you are buying something.
Toothbrushes accidentally rinsed under tap water and immediately thrown into the trash can: Monday morning, Tuesday morning, and Thursday night
There are a couple of guys who provide refreshments for the classroom. I wanted a "coffee with milk" yesterday, and the guy remembered today. Kind of cool. So he grabbed a coffee mug for me instead of a paper cup (like yesterday). He held it with both hands, one on the bottom, and one on the top. Then he rotated it. I'm not sure if this was an absent-minded motion, or if he was cleaning the rim with the palm of his hand. Then he made the coffee (it's a pretty cool coffee/tea/chocolate machine in the office) and I accepted it. I returned to the classroom and cleaned the handle and rim with Purell hand sanitizer.
The Chinese restaurant at the hotel (one of four restaurants) has really good Chinese food. It's not Indianized; it's what I would expect from an American Chinese restaurant. My stomach still hurts, and dinner has been my main meal this week. Breakfast and lunch are just enough to keep me going without causing more pain. I'm glad I'm on antibiotics.
Okay, it's 10pm-ish. I'm heading to bed. Good morning, ya'll.
_________________
Oh, Dear God, I'm in a spot of trouble. ...but it's the good kind.
I started the day with a startle, and finished it with a stun.
I slipped on my trousers and undershirt so I could open the door and grab the newspaper. Something scurried across the paper and I jumped. I followed it to the left, and saw a rat run into an open panel. I looked up, and an Indian hotel person giggled. I'm sure he thought the rat was good luck or something.
The students applauded me at the end of class. The argumentative student said I was the best instructor ever. He was from the group who walked out of the class on the first day with the previous instructor. Two other students (session two with the previous instructor) gave me gifts. I now have an Indian hookah and a lantern. We took group photos. I read the reviews, and almost all were glowing.
Maybe the rat was good luck, after all.
The Trouble:
How do I get a hookah and a lantern back to Dallas? It's not an issue with them being illegal or anything. The problem is that each is maybe the size of a Nerf football. Each one has a glass shell joined to silver-coated metal. British Airways only permits one (as in one-and-only-one) carry-on bag for the flight. I'm checking two bags and carrying the laptop. My two large bags are full. I could fit them into the garment bag, but it's a garment bag that will go through three airplanes to arrive in Dallas. I don't think so.
I don't know if I'm dreading my return flight because of non-stopness that begins at 3am, or if I'm looking forward to it so I can get home as quickly as possible.
It's two BA flights and one AA; I'll be relieved as soon as I fasten my seat belt
I'm on vacation after I return. All I need to focus on is documentation, which is low stress. I'll hide in a library to do the work.
Group hugs and hot chocolate!!! (Something I need to help me recuperate once I return.)
I found the correct quotation from Bladerunner:
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die. - Batty
The week ended well, mainly from the glowing student feedback and gifts. The students said that Jaipur, Srinagar, Kerala, and Kashmir are beautiful. They also recommended Goa (beach resort town), and Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras) kind of get my attention. Would I come back to India? I might. Would I look forward to the trip? Maybe. If I could do a two-week tour of the above mentioned cities, then maybe yes. If I have to stay in the same hotel in Bangalore for work, then maybe no. If I have stay in the same hotel in Delhi for work, then maybe.
HOME, HOME, HOME-ITY, HOME!!!!!!!!!!
Afterthoughts on History and Culture:
When Indian women wear western clothes (jeans & shirts), then they look like other Latin women. I think the Indian saris/sarees are pretty, and Indian women look pretty when they wear them.
Delhi will host the 2010 Commonwealth Games. They are doing construction - adding new things (like a bridge) and improving the airport. The poor will have jobs. They need more.
Sikhs. I flew on Jet Airways from Bangalore to Delhi. I read the restrictions list posted by the security screening area. No liquids, walking sticks, pool sticks, cricket bats, knives, et cetera. Sikhs have one exemption from the list - their sword.
The Sikh Kirpan (the Sikhs have five symbols, all starting with the letter K) is a ceremonial sword. It is worn purely as a religious symbol (representing dignity and the historic struggle against injustice), not as weapon!
Even though the Sikhs have the one exemption from the security list, it is a diminutive version of this sword that is permitted. IIRC, the dimensions are 3" and 6", though I don't remember which is for the handle and which is for the blade.
The other four Sikh symbols:
Kesh - long, unshorn hair (spirituality). Turbans are mandatory for males, optional for females.
Kangha - a comb (hygeine and discipline).
Kara - steel bracelet (strength, continuity, restraint).
Kachha - underpants (self-control and chastity).
Sikhs make up 2% of the Indian population. Male Sikhs are given the title of Singh (lion), and females are given the title of Kaur (princess). I had a Singh in class, and a Kaur was an airline stewardess.
Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1966. She was assassinated in 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards. Indira was the daughter of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (India's first PM, and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi). IG was followed by her son as the PM. He was assassinated, too.
I spoke with my parents tonight. I almost finished the conversation with "it was a good trip." Not yet. My dad went to India, and he experienced similar things. We agreed that the poverty and begging are everywhere, and he was on a "free" trip where he was brought to a shop at the end and was expected to buy something. He said it will take a couple of months before I'll be ready to think of traveling anywhere. I'm going to East Texas for the weekend for extra recuperation.
Education:
America has public schools, and we are one of the greatest nations in the world. (Depending on which measurement(s) you prefer, then America is the greatest nation in the world.)
India has no (zero) public schools. The country would go broke if they tried to fund public schools. Even if they did public schools for something equivalent to K-4, the country couldn't afford it. There is the expense for the masses of students, which is only compounded by the corruption that would sap any educational funds.
Yes, America has corruption, but it's not as prevalent as what I experienced in India. Some of the India corruption is subtle - "free-taxi-ride-that-ends-at-a-shop." Other is blatant, and all of it is everywhere.
I'll fight/scream/yell to protect our public schools. Yes, they are not perfect, but (I heard) there are more good schools than bad. And I believe they are vital to American prosperity. Arguments for privatizing our public schools are a step in the wrong direction. If education in America becomes "what you can afford" then there would be a noticeable increase in uneducated poor. I don't want that. I believe everyone can prosper, and they should in America.
I'm a very proud father. My son is now in Iceland! Can't wait for that report!
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