(From February 10)
I pick up my story from Monday, awakening after only six
or so hours of rest to embark on another full week of experiential learning.
While I was physically exhausted, I felt mentally and emotionally refreshed in
a way that made me excited for the
rest of the stay here in India. I’d gotten over the “hump.” I was halfway done
with the actual time spent in India; I’d settled into my homestay; and I feared
for my life a little less every time I rode in a rickshaw.
Classes were quite enjoyable on Monday, and I enjoyed
immersing myself in the academics of India after a weekend of fun. It also
happened to be one of my last full classroom days in India; most of the
remaining week or so of school will involve field trips and site visits.
I also had the fun experience of eating what I thought
was a SUPER spicy green bean, only to discover it was a freaking chili pepper.
Sally and I finished the night by avidly watching “Belief,” that show on
Discovery Channel that we look forward to literally all week.
Our host mother also informed us that she has begun to
take English lessons! She’ll be moving from India in a few short months, so
she’s decided to learn this worldwide language. Plus—she’ll be able to
communicate with us! I’m stoked about it.
Tuesday was a weird day—but it also just felt so
~Indian~. Our class was supposed to visit a car factory about an “hour” away
from our campus then visit a village nearby that had experienced adverse
effects from the industrialization of their farm land.
Plot Twist #1: the factory was “closed” on Tuesday, so we
were alerted that we’d simply wander the grounds and absorb information in that
manner.
Plot Twist #2: the factory was not an hour away. It was
about two and a half hours away. We arrived about an hour and a half after we
were meant to be there.
Plot Twist #3: the factory itself was not the only thing
closed; the grounds themselves were closed as well. So we stood at the gateway
to get into the factory for about twenty minutes, while our faculty attempted
to *persuade* (read: bribe) the officials to let us through. A few of us took
matters into our own hands and linked arms to barricade the road in front of
the factory in a manner of peaceful protest—but that ended in about .5 seconds
when the guards yelled at us.
So, after failed begging and faulty protesting, we
admitted defeat and drove to the nearby village.
It’s difficult for me to write about and describe that
experience. The discomfort in pulling up to a dusty, dry, evidently
impoverished neighborhood in an air-conditioned coach bus with twenty-nine
other extremely privileged American
students is so visceral and so powerful that it knocked me dumb. I didn’t know
what to say when we passed children staring out at us through dung- and pollution-filled
air. I didn’t know what to ask when we gathered a dozen awestruck villagers
around our entitled group for an info center on their struggles and hardships.
What do I say? I’m sorry? Thank you for sharing, I’ve got to go back to my
cushy life in the US in a few months? See you later?
It’s not necessarily the feeling of inadequacy that I had
last week—it’s more a frustration with my inability to do anything right now, it’s a discomfiting feeling
of not belonging in the space I’m occupying, and it sucks. The potency of it during my time in the village crippled me,
and I guiltily couldn’t wait to escape back onto my bus.
We were able to mildly express these emotions after a
two-hour ride back to the school in which we debriefed on our visit. It wasn’t
nearly enough, but we revisited it shortly.
Sally and I departed with other members of the group to
visit the night markets after class. I enjoyed finding the perfect gifts for
the rest of my friends and family.
I’m currently feeling absolutely sick to my stomach, so
I’ve gotta cut this short and get to sleep. Hopefully it wears off and isn’t
typhoid. Fingers crossed!
Toodles,
Aubs
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