The Hindu National Newspaper

P.S. I'm in The Hindu - India's National Newspaper....And on page 2

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/puducherry/a-first-hand-experience-of-resilience/article7324446.ece?ref=tpnews

Photos

The view from the terrace on my roof. This is what I see as I'm pondering or listening to the call to prayer.

It took Stephane and I about an hour to get to Serenity Beach where his surf lessons take place. I stood on the pier composed of black rocks for about forty minutes trying to get a good picture of him catchin' a wave, but it wasn't working out. (In his defense, the waves weren't great) Then I explored the area, waded into the sea, and dodged hooting and cat calling young Indian men. It was a good day out.

Sights and Moments - June 16

-I took a walk today to a neighborhood I had never been too. It is a bit out of the way, past the river and past the railroad tracks. Apparently, not many foreigners have been there. In my neighborhood, the locals still give me the occasional glance, but are used to me and to my fellow volunteer. In the neighborhood I visited today, I felt like I was coming into a village as the president or some other famous person. The kids surrounded me and kept asking me tons of questions. One woman came up, took my hand, and started shaking it. Then the kids wanted me to go and play shotput with the boys. I refused. (I really wanted to, because the boys looked pretty skinny and I wanted to display some feminist power. But in the end I decided not to).

I liked the change of scenery, but don't know of how appropriate it is to go and explore villages like that again. Of course I want to see all walks of life, but I don't want to raise attention. This leaves me searching for other activities to do in the evenings.

-Perumal was excited about "news from America": "George Bush's son is running for president!!!" My face went sour as I thought about his support of shaming campaigns, "Ugh, I know." Perumal thought that was so funny. He told me to run for president. He, Lalida, and Tamil (one of our friends' name is Tamil, like the language) all got a kick out of that.

Sights and Moments - June 15

-I played a game of chess with Stephan (I lost) and Sita (a good game, but I won!)

-I spent a lot of time with the host fam today. Perumal's mother, Lakshmi, came. She doesn't speak a word of English, but she still kept talking to me in Tamil and pointing to the sky and to the flowers. I loved that. When Perumal and Lalida go to Europe for a month, it will be Lakshmi who takes care of me. I'm happy for that.

Letter Home

I thought I would send an email on how I am doing in India. I am doing well and am quite comfortable here. I live in the same house as my host mom and dad, who are also in charge of the organization I am volunteering for. My area of the house is pretty separate and private though. The house is composed of almost two little apartments. My host mom and dad, named Perumal and Lalida, live in the front section and I live in the back.

When I first arrived there were two other volunteers here from France. I shared a room with the woman for all of this week, but she went back to France today so I have the place to myself. It is nice, but she was such a funny older lady that I kinda miss her already. Besides her, there is one other volunteer from France who is my age named Stephan. He has a few more weeks here before he leaves. He actually takes surfing lessons on the weekends, so today I went with him to take pictures for him. It has also been so great to practice my French here! I've also been slowly learning the Indian language, Tamil, from my host family and other friends. About a year ago Ashley started to teach me. But learning Tamil always begins with learning the alphabet, which has 236 letters. So I always get tired of learning the alphabet, stop practicing, and then don't learn anything else.

My day usually starts with drinking tea with my host family. I don't know what kind of tea it is, but it is really good! About an hour later I also have breakfast with them. It usually includes foods called idly and parotas. You can google them for pictures. I eat only with my right hand, like the Indians, without any silverware. After breakfast, I go in to the organization's office. It is about a ten-minute walk away and is always interesting. Wild, sick, and diseased dogs are everywhere. Though I feel bad for them, I don't let them touch me, but I still sometimes skip or run around with them when they're not too hot. Other than that, many cows wander the streets. And there are a couple that will be giving birth to babies any day now. I always look for new baby calves everywhere. Besides that, the women will always wash off their porches and the street in front of their house each morning, and then draw patterns on their porch with chalk or by pouring sugar in beautiful patterns. So the mornings are very interesting and active.

The organization I'm volunteering for advocates for women's rights, which are much needed in India. So they teach women and kids how to speak English, how to work on computers, and other vocational skills to help them obtain jobs. I wanted to be more involved with the women, but the organization wants to make use of my English skills. So I am editing and writing a lot of reports for the company. Not too exciting.

The days get to be 110 degrees Fahrenheit here (not including humidity), and my work has no a/c, so I sit under all the best ceiling fans and work. I and the other volunteer sweat constantly. (I never see my Indian friends sweat). Thank heavens, my room has a little air conditioning unit, so when I come home, I hurry and turn it on, and just stand in front of it for a while. But, some days there are power outages, in which case the a/c and ceiling fans don't work.

At about 1 o'clock, my host parents and I go back home to have lunch. It's usually homemade curry, sambar, or some kind of vegetable mix, and…rice…of course. Then we go back to work for a couple more hours. My host parents usually work Monday through Saturday 8 am - 8 pm. But, I go home around 4:30 or 5. I'll cool off for a bit, and then go to explore around town, or do errands like going to the bank or getting items at the store. Other days I just sit and read. We have a staircase that goes up to the roof where one can best feel the breeze. I like to go up there and read or just think. Sometimes the neighbor kids will come over to talk. I'll talk with them or I'll see what everyone else is doing on their own rooftops up and down the street.

I hope you are both doing well. I think about you often and want to visit soon. If you have time, please write me a couple of lines on how you are. I may not be able to write back all of the time with lousy internet connection, but I love you.

Sarah

Sights and Moments - June 12

Sights and Moments - June 12

- On our way home from eating out, our rickshaw ran out of petrol. The driver pushed it to the side of the road. He then emptied his water bottle, and stood out in the street trying to stop motorcyclists. One guy on a scooter stopped for him. The rickshaw driver hopped on the back of the scooter and off they went! Still sitting in the stopped rickshaw, my friends and I all looked at each other. "Um...did he just leave us?" We waited a few moments. Several minutes later the driver walks up, this time with petrol in his water bottle. He poured it in the gas tank, and off we went! I loved this experience. You never know the adventures you'll have.
- I had a wonderful dinner out with fellow volunteers Line and Stephan
- One of my favorite people ever, Sita, sat down with me and started teaching me the Tamil alphabet.

Sights and Momeent - June 11

-my favorite part of the day is hearing the call to prayer from a nearby mosque.
-I found 20 rupees on the street!
-Sita, my favorite person here, made me fish and rice today. She loved watching me eat it.