Adventures in India

Trash talk

2008-01-13T03:57:34Z

So far classes have been good and the professors have been helpful and knowledgeable. I'm taking Sociology of Religion, Classical Indian philosophy, Cultural Perspectives of Goa, and Contemporary Western philosophy.We did orientation lectures all this week and begin regular classes on Monday. They even have class on Saturdays, which means I'm not sure how much travelling we will be able to do around India, perhaps mostly short trips around Goa.
The department buildings are very simple and there are open meaning they just have archways and it is open to the outside (which means stray dogs like to roam the halls) to keep air flowing and the classrooms are very simple with just a blackboard which a few benches and tables. The campus is drastically different from UND because they don't have student organizations or really any place where students can intereact and hang out. The two real social places are the library and no one can talk in there, and the canteen where people get lunch but you mainly just sit with your friends, if you can get a seat. There isn't like straight sidewalks or perfect flower beds or trimmed bushes, but instead naturally growing grasses and lots of rocks and red dirt. Unfortunately though people do not throw their trash in bins but rather chuck it out the window, I think it's because they know when a janitor takes it away they just throw in a heap anways. Even where I stay called the Guest House a maid comes everyday and splashes dirty water on the floor with a dirty mop and collects garbage in which she throws outside anyhow. But if we look at the way things are done back home, we also collect the garbage and throw it in a big confined pile. I would say at least there is recycling. The thing is though, people do not have much of a disposable income as they do in the US so they are not feeding into consumeristic values and wasting, but instead use more practical approaches in their spending mainly because they have no other choice. Another good thing is the food is not generally loaded with artificial chemicals so that cancer is a rarity here. At home, you know at least one or two people who have cancer or have gone through the process, but here it is a very big deal because it doesn't happen as often.

Austin and I explored Panjim by ourselves a little and it was quite the experience. We got on a very crowded bus, but it only costs 3 rupees each way so like 15 cents round trip, but the thing is that each bus is privately owned so they like to compete for passengers so they are always very packed and there are people hanging off. Once we got down by the beach we walked around and saw more of touristy Goa which is also nice because I was wondering what attracted people to Goa since most of the beaches I've found you cannot swim since the rip tides are so strong. But it felt like a carnival, there were street vendors everywhere, people making balloon animals, people selling crafts and clothes on the street, others just lying on the beach and just people and kids running around everywhere. It was really interesting to watch and we found a grocery store that had a lot of familar items so we stocked up on toliet paper, cereal, juices and whatnot so it felt reassuring. Then we found a nice restaurant to eat at that was family owned with really good food and cheap prices. As we were leaving 2 men sitting near us asked where we were from and we started talking and they told us they were from Calgary and they come every year for their medical needs because they have to wait too long in Canada. That seems crazy to come all that way once a year for medical attention! After we ate we found a motorized ricksaw and went home for the evening to find our director waiting for us. It was about 10:30pm and he wasn't too happy to have us coming home at that time and said we now should be home by 9! They seem to want to control us and they told the Japanese students they had to be home by 8:00, I can see the purpose but we are all adults now and if we can get ourselves to India I think we should be able to monitor when we want to come home at night.

Trash talk remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Spicy for breakfast, lunch and dinner

2008-01-10T15:46:04Z

Later that evening (Sunday) Austin and I met with Rahul and he told us we would have an orientation the next afternoon to meet our professors to set up times to attend missed lectures. Their classes began December 3rd so this week is dedicated to catching up on what we've missed. He seemed helpful and willing to work with us. So that night I hardly slept a wink maybe 3 hours at the most and I waited for the sun to rise so I could experiment with my new camera. When it turned 8:30 we (Austin and I) went down to the canteen for breakfast and yes it was spicy, spicy rice is what we had but not too spicy just not something my stomach wanted for breakfast.

After breakfast we decided to take a little journey to a village called Cacra and it seemed almost tribal it gave a feel they were their own little community with their own rules of governing, however since there is tourism and Goa Uni very close they are not completely isolated. They have a small shop where you can get snacks and maybe soap. We walked down by the sea and just talked for awhile what we were getting ourselves into. Then we walked back to the guest house. We ate lunch and eventually took naps and went to orientation. This consisted of sittiting in a room with our new professors trying to settle on a time schedule for the week to have individual briefings before we could attend regular class. I thought it was a big commotion since they were kind of arguing over time slots and it seemed kind of unorganized, but Rahul thought it went well apparently. That's the thing, people here have such a completely different view of Everything! Personal space, hygiene, relationships, spirituality and those are only ones I've come across in the last few days. It's interesting to know why people do it this way which is why it is so conveinent to have Jim around, but without knowing why it is difficult to justify some action or way of life. For example hygiene and manners are drastically different from what I am used to. We are taught to always wash our hands, to never eat with our hands or chew with our mouths open, and we as it is gross to have insects in our food. But here people eat with their hands and if there is a bug in their food they will eat it, and it is silly not to.

Anyways after orientation I was feeling good about the school aspect of things and I finally got my internet working so familiarity was key to make me more at ease. However, the connection is horrible but at least it is there. I ended up staying up until 1:30am talking to a couple of the Japanese boys and one Korean. It was very interesting since they are just learning English and I got to show them music on my computer and they really liked some of it. They also said they had been waiting for us to get here so they would have someone else to speak to. They are in their own separate class with just 11 of them and they study a different subject every week so they don't get to use much of the English skills. Again I got maybe four hours of sleep but I was feeling good in the morning so it was okay.

Spicy for breakfast, lunch and dinner remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Acclimation and all that

2008-01-10T12:37:30Z

When I saw the room and the place I would be staying for the next four months I immediately wanted to go home only because I was used to more luxury than the appearance of my new home, plus I hadn't slept or eaten in a ridiculous amount of time by my standards. I had to compare experiences with Austin and see how he was doing too because after all he had never even been on a plane so I was hoping he was alright. We talked and he said that he tried to stay a night in Bombay and catch a flight the next morning but he ended up staying in a slum and wasn't comfortable so he got a rickshaw back to the airport but the driver took him all over the place and demanded to be paid for the tour. Luckily he only gave the man 20 rupees and sent him away but it felt like we were both same place ready to embark on an unforgetable journey.

So to describe my room is that is has two beds, the most uncomfortable things I had ever seen and it made my bed in Wales feel like clouds. The walls are dirty and the bathroom is pretty gross but luckily equipped with Western toilets. I may sound like a snob at this point but already my views have changed, and this was my initial reaction. After unpacking what little I had brought, I went into this common room where there were 2 white picnic tables set up with chairs around it, and tv, microwave, and refrigerator in it and some Japanese students. There were 11 students and they all appeared very quiet and shy so I didn't know how much interaction there would be plus they were leaving at the end of February.

Austin had told me Rahul (our program director in India) said he planned on picking me up at the airport so I was confused as to why he didn't and figured I should get in touch with him so he wouldn't be waiting, but the people at the front said he would be coming in 30minutes. I waited up for a bit but Austin informed me that the Indians don't stress punctuality as much as we do so I decided to take a nap and that turned into a 5 hour nap. I was awoken to a knock at my door and a strange Italian/Jewish looking guy wearing a kurta was standing at the door with Austin. He introduced myself as Jim and told me he was from Connecticut and had been studying philosophy at Goa for 2 years now. He proceeded to tell Austin and I the in's-and-out's about Goa and Indian life. I found it interesting and also scary. He said relationships between men and women were drastically different from the US, and he compared it to living in the 1950's. He said most of the girls had never held hands with a boy or had any boyfriends and many would live at home until they were married, or if they were lucky they would live in a women's hostel (like a dorm) where the curfew was 8pm and there is barbed wire and a stone wall around it. That is his words, not mine I have yet to witness it. There were many other things we spoke about that night but overall it was very helpful and he seemed excited because he had been the only American for the last two years. Goa University is a graduate school of 500 students and Jim told us the Arts & Humanities was not really a flourishing scene because it is highly stressed to get a high paying job and you certainly wouldn't with a degree like English, Philosophy, Sociology or Religion so he says many of the students are very apathetic and are not passionate about the subjects and just want to make the grades. He said everything is about a test and grades and not about the actual learning process, but that the teachers are dying for real philosophy but when a good discussion gets going that someone always wants to get back to what is on the exam, so we shall see.

Acclimation and all that remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Goa, India

2008-01-10T12:14:58Z

Well so far it has been a crazy experience, which is what I've expected but it is still India is not what I thought it was, however, I have not been here long enough to judge whether or not I am correct in those predictions. The journey began a little sour in that the engine wouldn't begin in Fargo so all the passengers had to get off the plane and rebook their flight, and as I approached the front of the line, they announced they had fixed the plane and we could go as scheduled. By this time I was nervous to catch my connecting flight and my stomach was grumbling. When I got to Minneapolis I found that my flight had been delayed so I had an hour to eat. The rides were pleasant from there, including the fact that my longest flight was only 14 hours and not 19 like I had thought. Surprisingly it went by fast although I wasn't able to sleep much of it. When I arrived in Bombay or Mumbai which is the new name, there wasn't as many people as I expected basically just the ones from our flight but the mannerisms were different in the sense that Indians aren't used to a queue system so everyone was budging and running around. However things seemed more relaxed than the US because they didn't interrogate you at customs and rip every article of clothing off you if you look "mildly suspicious."

My next flight wasn't until the next morning at 5am and I got in around 10 so I had some waiting to do, so I just waited in Mumbai airport and took a domestic flight to Goa and it was strange because on the plane they had these items you could bid on during the flight, strange concept. So when I got to Goa I was getting a bit exhausted and I was told someone would be waiting for me so I looked around but saw no one. I took it upon myself to get a prepaid taxi to Goa University, but the girl at the counter must have misunderstood because I certainly did not arrive at the right place. The taxi ride was pretty crazy and I had no idea where he was taking me, but we got to a place called The International Centre and it seemed very nice and like it could be the right place but I soon found out it wasn't. The taxi driver left and I was stuck at this place because it was 6:30am and also a Sunday. Luckily the man at the front desk was very helpful and arranged his friend to take me to the University for a small fee. Finally I arrived at the Guest House and I think they were expecting me, but no one spoke any English. They led me to a room and I found Austin in a room across the hall so finally I had arrived!

Goa, India remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Varsity Match

2006-02-23T15:26:21Z

It snowed here today! Well it wasn't actual snow but probably as close to real as it will get, since it melted before it landed. Last night there was a varsity rugby game between Cardiff University and Swansea University, and sad to say that Swansea lost 5-15. It was a pretty interesting game since in the first 10 seconds one of the best players broke his wrist. It was a chilly night, but the fans didn't care. Cardiff in the red and black and Swansea in green and white, cheering wildly to show loyalty to their team. Each Swansea fan bought a ticket for 13.50 which included the bus to Brigend, ticket to the game, and the after party at Time & Envy. The highlight of the game was the group of streakers at half time. There were probably seven guys and two girls who decided to streak across the field and play in the mud a bit. It was hilarious. Tonight is battle of the bands, and I think I will be one of the judges, don't worry I'll be harsh.

Varsity Match remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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U.K. terms

2006-03-11T15:59:28Z

rubbish = trash
lolli = sucker
boot = trunk
petrol = gas
1 stone = 14 lbs.
chave = someone who wears gold chains and is a menace to society
queue = to form a line
pulling = kissing
crisps = chips
tomato sauce = ketchup
football = soccer
napie = diaper
sweets = candy
fit = hott or good looking
tosser = jerk
jumper = shirt
trouser = pants
pants = underware
gangways = aisles
mum = mom
chips = french fries
bloke = man
cheers = thanks, or goodbye
mad = crazy
bollocks = crazy, unheard of
quid = slang for one pound
mate = friend or pal
lift = elevator
lemonade = carbonated lemon water
squash = fruit drink
z (pronounced zed) lol that one threw me off

common words that aren't used often at home: cheeky, fancy, lovely, gorgeous, brilliant, lush

thats all for now...

U.K. terms remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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PJ Party and Valentines

2006-02-13T15:56:01Z

One of my projects at Ents is to organize social events on a Friday night, so I decided to put on a 'pyjama party' as they spell it. So Owen, another events planner and I, got some mattresses loads of pillows and many fairy lights and decorated Divas to look quite comfortable and dream like. Many people wore pyjama's which was cool and I think everyone had a good time. Some wore slippers, and some of the guys even wore women's pj's which was entertaining.

Sunday was also another event called Live and Wired where it's basically an open mic night and local talents come to display their musical art. I was very surprised at how good each act was. A lot of it was accoustic, but they had very beautiful voices. My boss Ben and his best friend did a few songs and they did really well.

For valentines day, Idols is having an anti-valentines karoake, and Time is going to have a lock and key party where all the girls get a lock and the boys get a key and when you find your match you get a prize.

PJ Party and Valentines remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Superbowl

2006-02-16T15:49:03Z

As you all probably know, I dislike American football because it is pretty boring and a waste of time in my mind. However, since I'm an intern I get asked to help with everything. So a girl called Kieran, I love that name by the way, asked me to help her with the superbowl party at the student village bar. I should probably explain the different places I am able to help in. There is Divas, which is an on campus dance club and is connected to the Green Room which is a cafe in the day and they have a DJ on the weekends usually playing R&B or more relaxing music, and Divas has a capacity of about 900 people. JC's is the on-campus pub/sports bar, where I watched Rugby the day before. Idol's is the student village bar, but it's more like a sports bar. It has a pool table, air hockey, and some IT boxes which are gambling games. Then there's Time & Envy which is one of if not the biggest nght clubs in town. The capacity is 2500 and is really busy on the weekends. Then there are other places associated with where I work but aren't directly owned by Ents, and one is Escape, which is my favorite place because it has an Indie room, a metal room, a stage for live bands, and several cool areas to sit.

Alright back to the superbowl. A bartender from Idols called Das and I worked on the Superbowl party together in which we sold hot dogs, taught them to make trail mix, gave a presentation about how to play American football since many don't know or follow the sport, and completely decorated the place in American flags, statues of liberty, and balloons. We even faced painted which was the most fun. The only problem was that it began around 12am since the time difference, so it was a late night to say the least.

Superbowl remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Rugby

2006-02-08T12:17:54Z

This weekend was pretty eventful as well. Rugby and football (our soccer) are the main sports played and watched in the U.K., and there is a huge rivalry between England and Wales. I don't completely understand why, I suppose it is similar to the states but a lot more intense. So there was a rugby match between England vs. Wales on Saturday afternoon, and I have no idea about rugby so I wanted to see what it was all about. Some people from work told me to meet them and they would explain what was going on, so when I got to this sports bar type pub, the place was completely packed with people, so we sat on the ground in bean bag chairs. About 80% of the people were wearing rugby shirts with their team name, red for Wales, white for England. Before the game started people were cheering and hollering, the English team Chelsey, sang 'Swing Low Sweet Cheriot' because I guess it's tradition. Everyone stocked up on beer and crisps (chips as we call them), and got ready. The game was only 80 minutes, but it seemed pretty brutal since they don't wear pads. They also don't stop after every play like football, and they cannot pass the ball foward. So I was taught the rules and England ended up winning so there were a lot of sad faces that afternoon.

Rugby remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Reel Big Fish

2006-02-07T20:19:22Z

Another adventure has come my way. Reel Big Fish (is probably the biggest ska band here, even though they are from California, and ska music is like punk music, a bit more dancy and add trumpets and trombones to the mix), Zebra Head, and Fandango, came to Swansea last Tuesday and my job was to buy everything the bands wanted on a list they put together, help set up and take down equipment, and tend to any other wants or needs throughout the night. Everyone was very nice, and the bands were pretty excited that I was from the states too. I walked in from grocery shopping, and the band's manager stopped me and asked are you the girl from North Dakota? I said yea that's me. He said, how can you really be from North Dakota? Then after the show, there was an after party where my job was to get them taxi's and help them around the club.

It was really fun and exciting, and I'm really lucky to have had the opportunity. I was surprised it wasn't like they were these famous people on a pedastool and I was the fan, where there enters a level of separation. Maybe it was a mixture of them being professional, and the fact that I wasn't a die hard fan of them to begin with. I enjoy their music and I've seen them twice before, so the newness is maybe not what it used to be. Who knows, it was a good night.

Reel Big Fish remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Cardiff

2006-02-03T00:45:17Z

There was another American field trip to the capital of Wales in Cardiff bright and early Saturday morning. I almost missed the bus because I set my alarm an hour too late, oops, but luckily I woke up without it. We first went the museum of Welsh life where we looked at different Welsh homes throughout the decades, a smaller castle, and well preserved churches. Around lunch time we went to the center of Cardiff where they let us explore for about four hours. I went to the National Museum of Wales which was both a natural history and art museum, and it was really good. It was supposed to have the best impressionist exhibit aside from London. I saw my first real live Monet and Van Gough paintings, along with many other fascinating sculptures and drawings. I probably enjoyed the art the most of everything in Cardiff. Then off to the castle we went. It was more of a castle than the other one, it had gold leafed ceilings, and a keep which was neat because we climbed all the way to the top and looked down. Following the castle, there was some shopping, and it's supposedly the best shopping in Wales, but there wasn't enough time to explore all the shops. It was a nice trip especially because it's only an hour from Swansea. The next trip should be to North Wales, which I'm really excited about because we are staying a couple of nights, and it's more mountainous.

Cardiff remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The school system

2006-02-03T00:45:32Z

After talking with several Welsh students I think I understand the way it works. So the begin school at age 3 or 4 where they learn letter formation, how to read sentences, numbers etc. This type of school is primary school until about age 11 or 12, then they move to secondary school, but before that happens they take a test. This test determines what type of learner they are. There are two groups: the academic ones, or the hands-on. A friend told me the purpose of this was for the higher achievers to not be held down, and the ones who like to do hands-on work to not become bored. So in secondary school which is ages 12-14 I think, they learn in what they tested as, but if they aren't comfortable there, they can retest and join a different group. So after secondary school, they take another test I believe which determines if they go to college or like a tech school. This process begins at age 14-16, which means they have to know what they want to do already! After college, they can go to the university and only have one area of study, for the next 3 or 4 years. However, the first year is only counting toward one third of their academic career, so they only need to above a C. Also, they don't have GPA's like our system. They do factor in grades, but someone told me since everything with their grades counts as a different percentage they aren't able to tell where they are until they graduate.

The school system remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Bath

2006-01-27T17:51:25Z

So the intership is fun and well, but not everyone has a fun or glorious job. The UNCW students met at Dr. Ervin's house in Mumbles which is about twenty minutes away from our houses to have dinner and talk about our stay so far. Mumbles is a really cute little village where Catherine Zeta Jones and about four other mansions lie, and one of these days a bunch of us are going to be tourists and try to take pictures. Betsy and her husband Dawn made us a lovely meal of pasta with cucumber, salad, beans, and crusty bread, it was delicious. I got to hear that some people were typing all day for a computer sofware company, being a teaching assistant at an elementary school, sitting at a bank all day, or doing social work. The next day all the American students took a field trip to Bath, which is half way between London and Swansea; about two hours on a bus. When we got there it was absolutely beautiful, I put a few pictures up, but they don't do it justice. It was funny because we were standing in line and there was this crowd circling around something, so I went to find out what the big deal was. Haha, well when I got to the center there were two men wearing thongs doing handstands with firecrackers shooting out of their butts. Quite amusing I guess. We went through the museum with these personal tour guides that were like Zach Morris cell phones, but it did a great job of explaining. Then we got free time for like four hours, and I walked around with another girl. When we had to load the bus there was another crowd, and this time there was this guy that was going to get on a 10 foot uni-cycle and juggle with flames.

Bath remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Orientation and Internship

2006-01-26T19:28:40Z

On that Monday, all of the American students had an orientation telling us more about the campus and what there was to do. Then they told us that there was this British culture & politics course that most of the students would be taking over the next two weeks before classes actually begin. However, the 12 from UNCW would be doing an internship instead, which is good and bad on it's own. The Welsh students have 2 or 3 weeks of exams so they are either still on break because they don't have exams, or revising. Tuesday came, and went to my first day as an intern. I was happy to hear that I didn't have to show up until 11am because I'm not exactly the best morning person. I work for the Ents Department which is affiliated with the student union on campus and owns four different clubs on campus and around Swansea. My job is to organize social events, book bands, and be a brainstormer of new and upcoming events. It's similar to what I've done in high school, but on a much bigger and more exciting scale. I get along really well with everyone in the office, and they've taken in me and shown me all around Swansea. It also helps that they enjoy similar music interests.

Orientation and Internship remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Gower

2006-01-25T12:34:44Z

It is nice because there are 115 other American students in the same position as me. Iowa brought about forty students, and UNCW which is the program that I'm affliated with brought 12 from all over. There is one other ND student named Casey, but she is from the cities and goes to NDSU. After we all got settled, we took a field trip to Gower Peninsula which was said to be one of the prettiest spots in Wales. When I was at the top taking pictures, a lady approached me and asked if I was Sierra. I was wondering how she knew my name, and she introduced herself as Dr. Betsy Ervine from UNCW. She was going to be one of the two visiting professors this semester and she brought her husband Dawn who is an English professor and her four-year-old daughter Willa; who is adorable. I also met some other UNCW students, Kelly, Ashu, Casey, Rachel, Emily, and Calli. The bus then took us to the Quadrant Center which is a shopping mall and Tesco's which is their giant supermarket. I hate going there because there is so many people all of the time. It is equivalent to Wal-mart after Thanksgiving, and I absolutely hate going unless I have to. Well thats enough for now.

Gower remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The First Few Days

2006-01-24T11:47:47Z

So finally I'm writing this blog I had been planning to do for awhile. The plane ride went well because I slept most of the way except the guy next to me was named 'Z' and from Pakistan. I made my way through the airport and customs surprisingly and to a train. After a four hour train ride and 3 train switches later I arrived in Swansea. I found the nearest taxi and told him where I needed to go, eventhough I wasn't exactly sure. I received my keys and had to lug my suitcase up with giant hill where my house was, number 74. I unpacked, and took a nap. When I woke up, I met my roomates, well some of them. Adi who is a computer science major, aged 24 and from Indonesia. Patrick is also a computer science major aged 22, from somewhere in England. Dave is a computer science major aged 22, from Cardiff, Wales, and Ming Jed is an engineering major aged 26 from Malaysia. I went to bed that night, tired as can be.

The First Few Days remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The Countdown

2006-01-07T07:41:38Z

So I'm heading to Swansea, Wales in about five days from now and I am growing more and more excited every day. I didn't realize however that I'm going to actually miss some people back in North Dakota. I know they will be here when I return, but it will be weird not to see familiar faces in so long and be aquainted with new familiar faces abroad. There will be a number of things I will miss, but the reason people miss things is because there is a hope of getting them back again, so I will eventually be reunited with friends, family, and other retarted things I seem to miss. I am pretty much packed and ready to go, but I keep having this reoccuring dream that I am late for my flight without my suitcase packed. I suppose there could be worse things in the world. I hope to update this thing at least twice a week or whenever something exciting happens, so we shall see how timely I am and if I can keep my new years resolution of keeping in better contact with the world. Until we meet again.

The Countdown remains copyright of the author sierrak, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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