Hampi-ing around...

I’ve only been in India for 3 weeks now, but it seemed weird that I hadn’t taken a weekend trip since I went on adventures literally every weekend in Ecuador. So my AIESEC friends and I planned an excursion to Hampi, India because we had heard great things about the little town. At first, there were 3 of us going on this trip, but when we arrived at the bus station, somehow our AIESEC Hampi group had grown to 13! All of my apartment mates and some of their project partners came along and we represented 7 different countries total… pretty cool, huh? There is no direct bus to Hampi so we took an 8-hour bus from Hyderabad to Bellary. After all my crazy South American overnight bus rides, this sleeper bus was a piece of cake – although all my inexperienced travel buddies thought the bus was too cold, too long, and too uncomfortable. They couldn’t even hold their bladders the entire 8 hours! Clearly not on my experience level… sorry guys. We arrived in Bellary at 6am and let me tell you, Bellary is the REAL India. Extremely dirty, extremely poor, and extremely sad. We met Sofia there, then piled 4 people in each auto, and drove 3 hours to Hampi for only 100 rupees per person (that’s just over $2)! The ride to Hampi was so uncomfortable, but it was beautiful – wide-open spaces, palm trees, quaint villages, and monkeys!

Once we got to Hampi, we were bombarded by men urging us to get in their taxis or buy their tour packages or stay at their hostels, which was all super annoying, but we found a great guest house off the main road for 100 rupees per person! Hampi is a small religious village located in the Vijayanagara ruins and it is filled with temples, markets, tons of creepy monkeys and amazing views! It has turned into a tourist site, but thankfully we went during down-season so we were some of the only white people there. After grabbing some lassis, we began exploring Hampi by climbing the ruins, seeing the Virupaksha Temple (Hampi’s main attraction), and enjoying the awesome weather. The views are hard to describe because I’m not sure what exactly I was looking at – a bunch of rocks spread over a massive palm tree-filled desert? Doesn’t sound too great, but the pictures are proof of how cool it was! After spending all day outside and getting the worst farmer’s tan possible, I got a 30-minute full body massage. It wasn’t the best massage ever, as I was laying on basically a tarp and I was so dirty from the day’s activities, but it was pretty darn relaxing nonetheless. After the massage and a quick shower, my friends and I went to Mango Tree for dinner. We got to walk along the river and into the jungle to the restaurant – it was so cool! – and then we sat on pillows on the ground, outside, under a gigantic mango tree and had a delicious meal. We were so tired from all the traveling, walking, and sun that we went to bed right after dinner and I had one of the best sleeps I’ve had in India!

Sunday morning we got up early and took a 4-hour bike tour in “Royal City” right outside of Hampi. We had neon colored bikes with bells and a personal guide named Jacques… it was so touristy and awesome. Four hours on a bike with a guide sounds awful, but it really was great because we got to ride through beautiful places and stopped at about 6 different temples or ruins along the way. Jacques did bore me sometimes but I learned that the reason Hampi has so many rocks is because, accordingly to legend, it was completely underwater 300 million years ago and the seafloor boulders still remain! We had a well-earned lunch after the long bike ride, shopped in the market, showered, and then headed back to Bellary to catch the bus home to Hyderabad. It was a quick trip (only about 36 hours in Hampi!), but I feel like we squeezed in everything important. A break from all the pollution and traffic of Hyderabad was fabulous and our first weekend trip was definitely a success!

Two more weeks in India then it’s on to Thailand to wreak havoc with my middle sis, can’t wait J  

laterzz, 

scm

auto ride from bellary to hampi ... beautiful! 

HAMPI! virupaksha temple on the left. 

some of the girls

meditating in zen world. 

couldn't resist ...

bike ride: Ganesha statue

ruins

being tourists :)

the Indian tourists loved this so much that they kept asking me to do handstands so they could take pictures!

you know I LOVE MONKEYS! 

indian dress up

I should’ve written this blog on Tuesday or Wednesday because I literally did nothing for those 48 hours. See, there was a taxi strike because the drivers wanted to raise the rate per kilometer so they all refused to drive for two days and all the stores and shops were shut down because they were afraid people would rebel and wreak havoc all over the city. Thanks crazy Indians for two days in lockdown! I did get some well-needed sleep and went on some nice runs around the neighborhood and planned some trips, but I was quite antsy. So, this is a 3-day work week, which is bittersweet: work is hard and tiring, but I love the kids and I realize my time in the orphanage is going to be up before I know it!

I’ll start by telling you what we did this weekend…

Teresa has two Portuguese friends who work for AIESEC in India: Sofia who works in Bangalore and Ines who just arrived and is also working here in Hyderabad. Sofia came to visit this weekend and we rescued Ines for that disgusting cockroach-infested apartment to go on some Hyderabad adventures. On Saturday, we went to the Birla Mandir Temple, a Hindi temple completely made of white marble! We had to leave everything behind before entering the temple – shoes, cameras, phones, and underwear. Kidding about the underwear, but unfortunately, cameras seriously were not allowed so I have no pics. But google it! It was absolutely beautiful and the view of all of Hyderabad was amazing! Once again, WE were the tourist attractions, but I’ve really gotten used to it at this point. That night, I was feeling very tired and a little bit sick (some of you know the reason behind that one!), so I ate some food at the apartment and went to bed early.

On Sunday, I got up early and went for a run around the neighborhood, before Teresa, Sofia, Ines, and I headed out for Charminar. Charminar (means “four towers”) is this great little market centered around the Charminar, a beautiful building actually with 4 towers. After a great adventure getting to Charminar that included a broken taxi, some walking, a few failed attempts at negotiating with taxi drivers, and a few bus rides, we made it and climbed the curly stairs of the Charminar to see an amazing view of the city. See the pictures for proof! We bought some samosas for lunch, some scarves to cover our shoulders so we could go in the temple, and then spent the rest of the day in the market. Honestly, it was not as amazing as I had hoped or as great as everyone made it out to be. Yes, it was a huge market with everything, but everything was tacky and breakable and every store had the same crap! But still, it’s a must-see in India so I am glad we went.

On Monday, Teresa, Sofia, and I showed the kids the movie “How to Train Your Dragon”. The kids are still adorable and hilarious, but man, they can be annoying! It was nice to have Sofia there - one more person to draw little pictures in the children’s notebooks! After the taxi strike on Tuesday and Wednesday, we went back to work on Thursday and it was kinda a weird day. When we arrived, all the kids were sitting in perfect rows, perfectly quiet, in clean clothes with combed hair, and the orphanage looked like it had been swept and organized… definitely not a normal occurrence! We found out that the men who built the orphanage were coming to visit, so everything and everyone had to look their best. I asked the leaders if we could sing and dance while we waited for the builders to arrive, and they looked at me like that was the most absurd question ever. Yeah how dare I suggest the kids be having fun when the orphanage builders arrive?! So we waited for the men to get there and when their car pulled up, the leaders scrambled around the orphanage and started passing out chalkboards and new reading books to a couple children here and there. It was so…what’s the word… disgusting and awful? … to watch the orphanage put on this show for the builders. But the kids got some bananas and chocolates from them, so I guess it was kinda worth the fakeness? After the weird visit from the builders, we did are typical routine of stretching and dancing. For some reason, they love to stretch and think it’s the funniest thing when I make those “getting out of bed and stretching” noises. They also love dancing to Justin Bieber’s “Baby”. We have this funny dance and seeing Indian kids singing the lyrics to J.Biebs is awesome, in my opinion.

Friday was a special day. After working at the orphanage, Teresa and I went over to Rada’s house – she is one of the women who works downstairs and calls India all day asking for donations for the orphanage, and she loves us. She took us to her house where her daughter was waiting… she didn’t go to school because we were coming over! Then Rada tried to kill us by way of over consumption: first, it was oranges, apples, and other fruits, then vegetables, then a massive pile of noodles and veggies, then a hunkin portion of rice and sauce, then more fruit. She had noticed that I didn’t finish my lunch the day before at the orphanage and made a comment that I don’t eat a lot, but I guess she didn’t get the picture, because when I said I was extremely full before I finished the pasta AND rice, she seemed surprised. Indians eat A LOT. And they serve their guests EVEN more. And they get offended when you don’t finish your meal. That was bad news for me and I apologized numerous times for physically not being able to fit more food in my stomach. After the feast, she took us to a little market store where she insisted on buying us earrings and bindis (little forehead dots), and then dressed us up in her sarees! It was fun to play dress up, but at the same time I was a little uncomfortable. Not only because her saree was cutting of the circulation in my muscular man arms, but also because I just felt too too pampered and waited on hand and foot for the entire day. Two hours after the time we said we had to leave, we finally left. It was such a nice day with Rada, but we had to run home, quickly pack our bags, and by 9:45 pm we were on the bus on our way to Hampi – my first weekend excursion in India!  

 teresa, nilu's cousin, nilu, and me at the orphanage!

 charminar.

 view from the charminar!

 in the charminar

 little kiddies

 this is what you get when you give a 5-yr old a camera...

playing indian dress up! 

All Work & Some Play

I am beat. Seriously. Mentally, physically, and emotionally I am drained. Maybe it’s because Teresa and I have been teaching and playing with and trying to control over 50 children for 5 to 6 hours everyday by ourselves, maybe its because AIESEC Hyderabad continually tries to push my buttons, or maybe its because I’ve only been sleeping a few hours a night in 90+ degree weather on a piece of wood. I guess it’s a combination of all three. At times this week I have been in the best of spirits, at other times I’ve wanted to cry, at other times I’ve wanted to punch people, and at other times I’ve been laughing at how many things have gone wrong… an emotional roller coaster to say the least.

I’ll give you the low down on work at the orphanage:

Remember how I said I didn’t think I could make much of a difference by simply playing with the kids and teaching them a few new words here and there for 6 weeks? Well, I was wrong. I feel like I have already made a huge difference in these kids’ lives. Teresa and I usually start the class by having the kids stretch and touch their toes and clap their hands, simple exercise like that, but man do they think it is the best thing in the world (that’s probably why I love working with kids – anything I do, they think is so cool or smart or funny; a total ego booster). Then we dance around the orphanage to Justin Bieber or Britney Spears or the Macarena or all 3, and then follow up the dance sesh with some “Itsy Bitsy Spider” action. After we get some of their energy out, we do some real teaching. From world geography, to English to math – we teach it all – and we have learned that using the laptop and blackboard together is the best plan. The kids think the laptop is the coolest thing ever, so, for example, Teresa will pull up a picture of a basketball and hoop on the laptop and the kids yell out what sport they think it is as I write on the board and they write it in their notebooks. After lunch and some more dancing and games, we do individual teaching, which means the children bring up their notebooks and we write exercises in whatever subject they want to work on. “Madam, drawings drawings!” is the most popular request I get, so I spend a lot of the day drawing pictures of cars, houses, animals, fruits and the children write the word in English. I’m out of ideas so if you have any more ideas of little pictures I could draw, please send them my way!

The most difficult thing about work is trying to keep the attention of all 50+ kids, ranging from age 3 to 12. Really is there an activity that 3 year olds up to 12 year olds would all enjoy? It’s hard, especially since we have very little help from the orphanage workers, but at the same time, it’s awesome, because Teresa and I are in charge when we are there. Another task we are still trying to deal with is the beatings and physical punishment by the adults. The adults beat the kids with sticks and because of this, the kids think it is okay to beat each other. It’s not the kids’ faults, they do not know better, and they simply see the beating sticks as a sign of power and control. I got in a fight with the Founder this week because I saw him pulling the ears of a 3-year old because the kid licked his chalkboard instead of cleaning it with his hand. I told the Founder he was fat, stupid, ignorant, abusive, and did not deserve to run an orphanage. No no no I didn’t really say that but I sure was thinking it! We have come to an agreement: they will try not to beat the kids when we are there, and in return we will teach the kids discipline and morals. I just agreed to this because I could not stand to talk to this awful human being anymore, but really, who does he think he is telling me I need to teach the kids morals? He is the one showing the kids that hitting is the only way to solve problems. Ugh I could go on and on all day, but I wont. All I will say is this issue will continue to bother me every day, but hey, at least when we are there, the abuse is not. 

So not only do I feel like I have taught the kids A LOT, but I feel like I have become one of the first adults in their lives that they love, trust, can count on, and look up to – and that makes me feel very good.

Teresa and I have fallen into a pretty nice routine. After working at the orphanage, we usually walk over to the local market, pose with Indians who are amazed at the paleness of our skin, and buy some tea and fruit or samosas for under 20 rupees (that’s like 50 cents for delicious food)! On Tuesday, after work and the market, Teresa and I went to Golconda Fort (it means “Shepherd’s Hill” in Telugu)– a touristy place that was mentioned in the top 10 things to see in Hyderabad. The 13th century Golconda Fort was built by the Kakatiya kings and then was later made into a massive fort with granite walls by Qutub Shahi Kings. It has 8 gates, 87 bastions, and this really cool acoustics / sound transference thing that allows claps heard at the entry gate to be heard clearly at the top of the hill! We posed with more Indians and got to see an amazing sunset over all of Hyderabad. On Wednesday night, we got in touch with our sensitive sides. The lady who lives downstairs is kinda like a minister and leads meditation every morning and night. So from 6 to 7:30 we sat in a calm room, staring at a red light, and listening to soothing music and sometimes I have difficulty focusing (or not focusing) on my thoughts, but this time, I felt fabulous! Mediation was followed by a super delicious Indian meal made by the minister and then some skype dates with friends and fam. After work and the market on Thursday, we went into the City Centre to see an Indian band called Phoenix perform. They did covers of songs that I love – including Bob Marley and The Cranberries – they were very good and had probably one of the best guitarists I’ve heard in a while! We also met some really cool people from AIESEC there and got our picture taken for the newspaper, so it was a pretty successful night. But Friday was a pretty tough day. Not only was it sooooo hot, all the kids wanted to do was hang on me and touch me and hit each other and wipe their grimy hands on the computer, but on top of that, it started monsooning while Teresa and I were in the auto with no windows so we got absolutely stoked! And all I wanted to when I got home was take a shower and relax and go to sleep early, but no. Instead, the AIESEC boys gave us a little surprise by telling us we were moving to a new apartment at 8pm THAT night. He said it would be nicer living conditions and closer to our place of work. So we packed up, headed out, and 300 rupees/ 45 minutes later, we were at our new house. AND SURPRISE: it was worse than we imagined! The girls living there said they hadn’t had running water in 7 days, there was so kitchen / refrigerator and the closets place to eat was 15 minutes down a dangerous road, there were no beds for us, and there were cockroaches everywhere! This is when I started laughing because there was absolutely no way this could be real life, like why would AIESEC ever let their interns live in a place like this? We told AIESEC we would stay the night there, but in the morning – adios awful apartment – we were going back to our original apartment, where we had showers and beds and food.

That’s the weekly update! It’s been a rollercoaster ride thus far, but AIESEC promised an unforgettable experience filled with leadership opportunities and excitement so at least they are following through with that part of the deal.

Peace, love, and roaches,

Shannon  

 soni, rhani, and me

 view from golconda fort

 madam and the boys

 birthday surprise at the orphanage

 the phoenix performing at hard rock

 peace & love baby

riding in the auto in the flood

turistas!

DAYS 7&8

Touristy. That’s what we were this weekend. On Saturday, Sam, Teresa, and I grabbed some nasty breakfast from a local “bakery” (oh side note: there are tons of “bakeries” all over Hyderabad, but they are nothing close to the bakeries you are used to, trust me) and then went to Hussain Sagar Lake. We had done some googling and found that this place was highly recommended. It is the largest man-made lake in Asia, at 24 square kilometers, was built by some guy named Hussain in 1562, and there is an awesome gigantic Buddha statue in the middle! We walked around the lake, had some interesting interactions with Indians, then took a 5-minute boat ride to the statue. The statue is 18 meters high and pretty cool! Sam, Teresa, and I were trying to take pictures in front of it, but we got a little interrupted because every single Indian there was asking to take pictures with us! Literally it was as if the statue did not exist and WE were the tourist attraction. Check out the pics – they are pretty funny!

Later that night, Arjun (an AIESECer who lives near our apartment) took us to see some of his friends’ bands perform at a bar. The first 2 groups were really good, but it went downhill from there. It was fun being at the bar surrounded by music and young, cool Indians, but we left around 10, and got stopped in front of an apartment because there was a huge drum and dance circle congregated in the road! The drums were so loud and awesome, there were men walking around with huge lampposts on their heads, and the Indian men dancers in the middle of the circle were AMAZING, indescribable! Probably some of the coolest and best dancing I have seen in my life. Too bad American men don’t know how to move like that. Pictures for proof & check fbook for a groovy vid.

Sunday we continued our tourist streak. We slept in, then went to Lal Bazaar, a place that was recommended by the sareee maker on our street. Basically, it’s a street lined with run-down stores, selling anything you could imagine – bangles, mangoes, scarves, jewelry, army uniforms, old washing machines, used waffle makers, etc. Teresa and I bought 6 bangles for 10 rupees or some ridiculously low price like that, and I also got a radical tie dyed scarf that I will probably just use for decoration or something for about a dollar fifty. The bazaar was pretty fun and funny because once again, we stuck out like sore thumbs. It was as if white people in the Lal Bazaar were the highlight of these people’s lives and their questions in broken English were very entertaining! After the market, we went to the Chocolate Room, a restaurant in the city center that has all things chocolate – shakes, ice cream, sundaes, brownies, and even chocolate pizza! So typical American stuff, but it was delicious nonetheless. Later that night, we met up with an AIESECer friend and saw Pirates of the Caribbean 3 in IMAX. While waiting for the doors to open, Teresa and I were lounging against a wall, when a guy came over and asked to take a pic with us. Being super fed-up with being stared at, Teresa declined so I just agreed and said sorry. Instead of leaving us alone, the boys just casually posed next to us while their friends’ casually held up phones and oh so subtly snapped pics. I started cracking up, and I think they took this as me being happy to be in pics with them, so before we knew it, we were surrounded by 15 Indian guys and a bazillion camera flashes. We also got asked to teach an etiquette class… weirdest request thus far, but we are considering doing it just for some extra money and to say we were Indian etiquette teachers! Dad, I hope you don’t mind if change my career track now and stay in India to teach girls how to be ladies.

Very fun weekend and after speaking with the AIESECers, I’m definitely more excited for work tomorrow. I understand that I won’t get the internship I had imagined, but I’m going to make the best of this amazing opportunity to be in India and if I can’t completely change the world in 6 weeks, I’m going to get as close as I can.

little buddha in the palm of my hand

hi big buddah! 

first of many pics with random indians...

family photo request

saturday night dance and jam sesh on my street

bangles in lal bazaar!

bazaar and a wooden woman

sam and teresa and chocolate at the chocolate room! 

Danyavadamulu for reading!

much.love.sha.    

journey > destination

Day 4:

So sleeping was a fail because I was worried I was going to wake up with spider bites, fleas on my body, lice in my hair, and cockroaches in my mouth.

I got up early and watched the children’s morning routine. They wake up and put on their uniforms (which I was informed were just recently donated and they only wear them for part of the day) and then pour this oil mixture on each others’ heads and use a comb to remove the lice and lice eggs. The children looks so comfortable and normal and at ease as they pick bugs off their friends’ heads… like monkies! A couple rounds of “down by the banks” and patty cake and 10 squirts of hand sanitizer later, we were ready for breakfast… the typical rice and spicy sauce. I feel bad because they completely spoil Teresa and I and give us HUMONGOUS portions, and I always end up trying to give it to the children (who I honestly think are too scared to take it because if the men saw them eating my food, they would get whipped) or have to secretly throw it out. I HATE HATE HATE wasting, especially in an Indian orphanage! After breakfast, I got my first taste of teaching. Basically we were told we can do whatever we want with the children, so we drew pictures of different fruits and wrote the names in English as one of the kids wrote the words in Telugu. Everything was completely disorganized and crazy and the children were everywhere.  They are absolutely adorable, but it gets tiring trying to teach as the children stuff their notebooks into my face saying “Ma’am ma’am please!” hoping that ill look at their drawings and spellings and say “Wow good job! Its also just frustrating because I did not imagine I would be spending all six weeks in India drawing fruits on a small chalkboard. I want to make a difference in these kids’ lives, teach them something important, and make them excited about the world – but all of this is hard to do with such a lack of supplies.

After dinner, Teresa and I caught a cab to a hostal. It was kinda far and kinda scary because it was kinda late, but we made it to the hostal safely. And although we did see 1 cockroach, 1 lizard and a few ants, I was a so thankful not to be sleeping in the orphanage once again! At this point, I’m still somewhat disappointed that my internship is not living up to what I expected. It is also annoying because I have no internet access at the orphanage (so I cant speak to my fam who would definitely cheer me up a bit) and we have no phone, which is making it very difficult to get in contact with AIESECers and figure out our situation. But they promised to get the living sitch figured out tomorrow and let us talk to someone in charge, so we shall see how that goes…

Chau!

--------------------------------

Day 5:

Teresa and I took a cab all the way from the center of the city to the orphanage where AIESEC promised they would pick us up at 10am and take us to our new apartment. OBVI the AIESECer who was supposed to scoop us was not there at 10, so we taught the class how to add and subtract. Well some of them kindaaaa understand, others not so much, but now I realize how difficult it is to teach when the students don’t speak the language (erin seester you are amazing)! Thankfully there are a couple of students that speak a little bit of English and if I can’t explain the difference between the + sign and the – sign, the kid “translators” somewhat help.  The orphanage looked a little bit cleaner than normal and Nilu, one of the women who works at the orphanage who I absolutely adore, seemed to be cooking a ton of food. Turns out, some of the orphanage sponsors were coming to eat lunch with the kids. And when I say, eat lunch with the kids, I mean they watched the kids eat on the floor, and then at their meal in seats in front of the fan in a separate room. Don’t get me wrong – the sponsors were very nice people – it just rubbed me the wrong way as they have no idea what terrible things go on there and the terrible living conditions. Well anyway, 5 hours and probably 25 telephone calls later, Teresa and I were in a cab on our way to our new humble abode. I was stoked to see we would be living in this big, open apartment that can sleep 9 people, but I was not stoked to see spiders and ants on the floor, hairballs in the corners, orange soda spilled all over the floor, 42 plastic bottles scattered around, and to smell the nastynast kitchen from the front door. The AIESECer who had brought us there said “So how do you like the place?” Honestly, I thought he was kidding. Yes, it COULD be awesome, but at this time is was honestly disgusting. Not on the level of the orphanage, but still gross. But the people I’m living with are cool! I am living with girls from Russia, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Czech Republic, South Africa, and Finland. Clearly they are slobs, but they are cool. The guy from AIESEC, Arjun, took me and Teresa and Sam (from Russia) out to dinner and I had my first real Indian meal (instead of rice and spicy sauce) of naan and paneer and my!oh!my! it was delish. Although the apartment is really dirty and the electricity is really unreliable and the shower was clogged with hair (etc, etc), I am so thankful to have internet to complain to my parents, and to be in a permanent place finally. And they promised to have the place cleaned tomorrow, so I look forward to that J

namaskarum!

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Day 6:

Are we supposed to go to work, even though its 45 minutes away and we don’t have the money for taxis to and fro, and even though this isn’t even our promised internship? Well the AIESECers promised they would tell us the dealio last night but they didn’t, so we couldn’t go to work today! I know I JUST got here, but after everything I've gone through, this was a nice day off. Teresa, Sam, and I went to the city center (main part of downtown, and by far, the most American-ized) to the mall to check it out and get a few things. We got some lunch, I bought a towel, and paroozed the bookstores. After the mall excursion, Teresa and I went exploring in our new neighborhood – besides some road-side stands and rundown shops, there not much to the “RHC Colony” aka my hood for the next 6 weeks. But we do have a very convenitently located grocery store and our favorite – the mango man. He has a little mango stand right on our street and we bough 4 humongous mangoes for $45 rupees – that’s a little over $1! Later that night, we had an amazing meal of aloo gobi and naan at a restaurant and the portion was so big that we only had to order 1 and it was good enough for all of us, cheap date fo sho. We want to do some touristy Hyderabad stuff tomorrow, then we've been invited to watch some bands play at a local bar, so things are looking better and better everyday!

ta-ta for now,

shannon

 what i call home now. sam from russia, teresa from portugal, jilin from china :)

 fresh fruit yummm

 ridin in the auto - a three-wheeled taxi with no doors or windows!

hindi designs and a cute indian dog. 

6 weeks of this?!?

Day 3 (this is going to be a long one, but please bear with me!):

Okay now I’m really antsy. Rohit said I would be picked up at 10am to go to my job and where I would be staying… so, naturally, we left at 2pm. We went to the AIESEC office and here I met some really cool AIESECers from Hyderabad and interns from Portugal, Russia, and Mauritius. I freaked out when I met the girl from Mauritius. I said my cousins lived there. She asked their names. I said Espitalier-Noel. She said they are very rich! Hahahahahaha but can you believe what a small world… I meet a girl in India and she knows my cousins from Mauritius!?!

Finally, Teresa (19 year old from Portugal) and I headed off to the orphanage! It is at this time I am told the first of many shocking and unexpected pieces of information…

-Teresa says we will live at the orphanage. Well I was promised an apartment with other interns, but living at the orphanage wont be so bad, right?

-Teresa says we sleep on the floor without blankets and pillows. I love sleeping on the ground when I camp, so this wont be too bad, right?

-Teresa says bathroom is infested with bugs… Spiders. Ants. Flies. At this point, I’m getting a little uncomfortable with this living arrangement.

-Teresa says the orphans have lice and fleas and love to come and lay on our “beds”. Definitely definitely definitely not okay. I don’t want lice to be the reason for cutting off my dreads!

So you get the picture, right? I was trying to be optimistic and brave so although this was not the ideal living situation, I would survive. Welllllllllllllll, it was 298457092847502948570298457 times worse than I could imagine! After seeing 5 cockroaches, an ant infestation, 6 gigantic spiders, 103453 million flies, and 1 lizard in our bedroom by 9pm, Teresa and I said decided we would talk to AIESEC in the morning and demand the living situation we were promised. More on this in a bit…

The orphanage: It is called Gracious Paradise Orphanage, and within 5 minutes, I realized it was anything but gracious and a paradise. It is home to about 40 “orphans” (some have parents, but I guess the parents cant afford to keep them, so kids live here and see their parents on Sundays during visiting hours and the orphanage) and the place is a dump. The dirtiness I understand is Indian culture, TO AN EXTENT, but this place is disturbing. Bugs (all the ones I mentioned were in my bedroom) all over the building, the children have lice in their hair (they look like monkeys when they wait in line to get food and are picking the bugs and lice eggs out of each other’s hair), the kids sleep together on the floor or in the kitchen or wherever on ratty blankets (if there are enough blankets to go around), there is no toilet paper so they wipe with their hands I assume AND there is no soap to wash hands THEN they use their hands (no silverware) to eat, they wash the dirty dishes simply with water and scrub them with their DIRTY hands (and each child does not have his/her own plate, they are shared and switched), the plates are stacked in a pile on a shelf covered in bugs and ants until the next meal, they cut all the vegetables and prepare the food on the floor (with dirty hands), and the food is left uncovered on the floor of the kitchen all day and night.

This place is also disgusting in a more social sense, rather than physical. This fat old man owns the orphanage (I say fat just because it is disturbing to see an over-gluttonous person among these extremely skinny children) and he is called the Founder. He has 3 awful minions that basically run the place. They scream at the children and beat them with sticks and rulers multiple times throughout the day. Can you imagine my shock and horror and absolute hate for these men when I saw them whack a little 3-year old boy’s hands because he wrote his alphabet wrong? Or when little Briyanka got smacked with the ruler four times because she was praying on her knees instead of being cross-legged? THAT’S ANOTHER THING: here are these men forcing the children to pray 3 hours a day and sing hallelujah and God is good and loving and then 5-minutes later, they are hitting little children. Its awful and by day 3, I’m already counting down the days I have left in this hell hole.

And the worst part of all this? THIS IS NOT EVEN THE INTERNSHIP I WAS PROMISED!

Yes, I can spend the next 6-weeks teaching this kids how to add, spell, and play patty-cake, but when I leave, what good will I have done? The reason I chose this job was because I wanted to teach and work with children, but more importantly, I wanted to work with an NGO to improve the conditions of orphanages and get more children off the streets. I love the kids at the orphanage (and I have known them for about 1 day!), but I don’t know if I can spend the next month and a half doing nothing that will improve their lives in the long-run.

Back to how day 3 panned out: Upon arriving at the orphanage, three little girls ran to the taxi, shook my hand, said “Hi Maam” and insisted on carrying my bag to my room. How cute! I quickly met all 40 of the adorable orphans (ages 3-11), learned the orphanage handshake, gave 193847 piggy back rides, told the story of Cinderella in English as one of the children translated it to Telugu (local language), and recited the Our Father in English upon request. I even went to a 12 year old’s birthday party! Anoragh and his little brother Nani (they both speak very good English) live across the street from the orphanage, and they invited Teresa and me to their house to eat cake and celebrate his bday with his family and some of his orphan friends. It was really fun and his mom told us to come back to eat mangoes and dinner in the future! 

After the birthday party, we ate a dinner of rice and spicy sauces. That’s the only meal served at the orphanage: rice and spicy sauces, three times a day, every day. It is very delicious but I gag at the thought of seeing it 120 more times. The men insisted Teresa and I eat in our room in chairs with light in front of the fan, but we said no, and instead ate on the floor of the kitchen with the other leaders in complete darkness because the electricity was out. I guess this is a typical occurrence. Everyone that works at the orphanage is quite nice, but I just could not get over the fact that they beat these children on a regular basis.

After dinner, I took a “shower” in the nastiest bathroom ever and tried to get comfortable for a not-so-cozy snooze. 

I can only hope for a better day tomorrow…

the waiting game

Day 2: monday

My suitcase came yay! Although Rohit’s family’s house was very comfortable and his mom was offering me the most delicious foods and tea every 5 minutes, I was really antsy to get to my job! Rohit said we would go around 5pm to the apartment where I was to stay, but I’ve quickly learned India is on Indian time, something very similar to Ecua-time aka they say 1 hour, they mean 5 hours, they say 1 day, they mean 3 days. So I spent the day reading Catcher in the Rye (finished it in just a few hours and it was so good!) and napping, and didn't go to the apartment. ugh. 

Since everyone has been asking…

-Indian food is gooooood and a lot of people here are vegetarians… great news for me! For lunch, I had a naan-type bread with mushed up mangoes (sounds gross?) and some potatoes and vegetables in spicy sauce. Very delish, but different from what I expected! By the way, the mangoes and tea here? Ohmygoodnesssososogood!

And here’s the lowdown:

-I am in Hyderabad, India: capital of Andrha, Pradesh state, sixth most populous state in India

-Hindu and English are the main languages, but there are over 100 languages and dialescts spoken in this country; Telugu is the main language of Hyderabad

-Biryani is the famous dish from Hyderabad... I don't know why, but I felt that was important to add...

I HOPE I GET TO GET GOING ON THIS WHOLE WORK THING TOMORROW! 

another adventure: bring it on!

*** these first few stories were all written as they were happening, but not posted til now! enjoy! 

Day 1:

Soooo I made it to India! From Tokyo, to Bangkok where I got 3 hours of sleep (I was so nervous that the front desk would forget my wake up call that I woke up turned on my comp and phone and the TV and used times in other countries to figure out what time it was in Bangkok. it was 4am and I couldn't go back to sleep til they called at 6am... perfectly on time, how ironic!). Then went to Delhi where I had to go thru customs, get my bag and recheck it. It was 1245 at this time and the flight left at 1255 so I just dropped my bag at the guys desk and ran (again ironic since the flight was delayed!), thinking it was all taken care of since it already had Hyderabad stickers on it, but I guess this was a wrong move since it was a no show when I got to Hyderabad. I must admit I cried in the airport when I couldn’t find my bag and it was totally my fault, the airport guy said I didn’t do something in customs correctly, I couldn’t find a working telephone, and when a guy let me borrow his, the number I had didn’t work! Finally I got in touch with a guy from AIESEC headquarters, I took a 45-minute bus to the hotel where I was supposed to meet him. I was expecting a grand hotel with a bathroom that I could finally relieve myself in, but nope - the hotel was shut down, obviously. I borrowed another phone and called back and within 15 minutes there were 4 twenty year old AIESEC Hyderabad guys there to pick me up! I'm staying at Rohit's house (he is the guy I have been in contact with this whole time and the one who laughed hysterically when I asked what clothes I should bring). His parents are super nice, made me tea upon arriving, then the boys and I went out on the town for a little bit. Its super crazy here, reminds me a lot of cityish parts of Thailand, there are so many people and cars and motorbikes. But everyone is really nice. I've gotten a lot a lot a lot of stares so far - I was the only non-Indian on both of my India flights and I haven’t seen another white person yet. I especially get eyes pointed my way when we ride by others on Rohit's motorbike with my dreads waving in the air. Anyway, I just took a shower and put my dirty clothes back on and no toothbrush, but I hope to get my bag in the morning. Tomorrow ill go to the NGO apartment where I will be living with other interns. So excited! I was super overwhelmed and nervous and scared and tired and frustrated when I got here, but since the airport craziness, my mood has drastically improved and I’m so excited. I've already seen a bunch of little children with no shoes and ripped clothes begging for food and money, so I hope I can get working right away and help these kids learn something! 

 sunset by the closed down hotel!

peace, love, & orphanages. 

Chau Ecuador, Hello USA!

THIS POST IS COMING FROM AMERICA! for those of you who dont know, i just thought i'd let you know i am, in fact, in the united states once again. i have been home for two and a half weeks so far, and this time friday, i will be en route to india if you can believe it. more on india in a bit...

so a lot of people have asked "is it weird to be in the states again?" its not weird, just different. i've compiled a list (well, i found it on the internet and tweaked it a bit) of typical things / encounters in ecuador for you to see what i mean:

1. Eggs not refrigerated.
-- seems completely unhealthy and strange, right? but if you thing about it, why do we refrigerate eggs? its plain and simple: americans are crazy.

2. Food left out.
--yes, my family would make rice, potatoes, chicken and steak, and soup for dinner, leave it in the bowl or on their unfinished plates over night or for multiple days, and then continue eating it much later. no refrigeration or foil covering, nothing. clearly, americans have wimpy stomachs.

3. Babies playing on dirty streets / Babies and toddlers hanging out of buses or trucks.
--vivid memory: a mother watching her 2 year old pick up an old cigarette butt off the ground and eat it. no reaction from mother.
--vivid memory: a 2 year old leaning over the railing in the bed of a pickup truck going 60 mph. no adults around.    CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE THIS HAPPENING IN THE STATES?

4. No toilet paper. ever.
--it's safe to say i have perfected the drip dry technique.

5. Drinks sold in plastic bags.
--no little cardboard box juices or capri sun-like pouches, ecuas prefer to use a sandwich bag and straw to enjoy their drinks.

6. Change is rare and precious.
--i bought a $7 meal at panera the other day and was so nervous when i only had a $20 bill. i said "i'm so sorry this is all i have. do you have change?" the cashier actually laughed at me. try using a $5 bill to pay for a $1.50 cab ride in ecuador and the driver will be exasperated. case in point.

7.  Paying to use bathrooms.
--15 cents for toilets, 10 cents for urinals. but at least toilet paper is included! but dont bet on a toilet seat or bathroom door for that price...

8. Security guards with shotguns.
--i've never seen so many ak47 guns in my life. and not just military officials, police, store guards, apartment guards, club guards - yep, they all have them and probs dont know how to use them correctly. even the 24 hour mr. hotdog stand by my house had 2 guards, each with an ak47, posted in front of the shop at all times. necessary?

9. Dish soap is a hard paste.
--man i have missed liquid dish soap that doesnt smell like rotten apples.

10. Sellers on bicycles.
-- i forgot that it is not normal for ice cream vendors and snacks sellers to ride around on bikes with their food in an attached compartment. its pretty darn normal in ecuador.

sounds a little different from the states, huh?  well, i thought it was going to be super strange to be home again, but it has actually felt quite normal. i fell right back into the swing of things when i returned - sleeping in, working out, hanging out with friends from tc, gymnastics, chapel hill, spending time with family, etc, etc. but some things do feel a bit strange still - tipping at restaurants, driving & paying for gas, drinking tap water with ice, toilet paper always, speaking english - and to be honest, my 5 months in ecuador kinda feels like just a dream. a fabulous dream though. i had one of the most amazing and most memorable experiences of my life, living in a country "off the beaten path," learning about and experiencing a completely new culture and way of life, meeting new people that challenged my views of the world, and making some of the best friendships that i know will last a lifetime. it is great to be home in va with fam and friends, but i will always treasure my semester abroad in ecuador and never forget the awesome memories i made there.

i know what you are thinking: "oh no im so sad since shannon is no longer in ecuador that means this blog is over and i will have nothing to live for anymore!" FEAR NOT FRIENDS because i leave in 4 days for india and it is mandatory that i keep a blog of my experiences there, so stayed tuned as i teach orphans and work for an NGO in hyderabad, india for the next 6 weeks!

here are some pics of galapagos, argentina, and ecuador that never got posted...

 hike to sierra negra volcano... crater = 6 miles wide, 4 miles long!

 beautiful sunset on isabella island

 so excited to be in galapagos :)

 that's rock and lava and coral! home to hundreds of iguanas

 volcano hike

 penguins before snorkeling!

 giant tortugas... up to 160 years old.

 sea lions are precious!

 best sunsets on the planet...

 iguana, sea lion, pelican, and blue footed booby RIGHT NEXT TO ME!

 blue footed booby! soo cool.

 santa cruz island beach

 cathedral in la plata, argentina with caroline! ignore the weirdos in the background

 la recoleta. eva peron's burial place

 i <3 argentina!

 in the park in Paloma, BsAs

 aliceann's awesome family in their awesome apartment! san telmo, BsAs

 la boca

 mi casa en quito

 chels and i in baños!

 pailon del diablo waterfall = best cascada on earth.

 volcano in baños erupting!

 me - correct form.

 chels - not so much.

chels and cole making friends and bonfires on the beach in montañita!

------------------------------
thank you thank you thank you to all of those who have stalked my ecuador blog over the past 5 months. sometimes it was annoying writing on this thing, but i loved sharing my stories and adventures with you and this was a great way to remember my south american travels. love you all.

Until India,
Shannon

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”