Grocery shopping and our first cooking adventure

Today we went grocery shopping. I've had an interesting relationship with food lately anyway, so this was a bit of a challenge for me. But this is what I ended up with:

Lots of ready-to-eat meals... I'm not really sure what most of them are, bahaha. I do know that "aloo" means potato. The paratha is a kind of bread that I can cook in a pan and use to scoop up the masala or chana. Everyone eats with their hands here, which I find pretty enjoyable and fun. I also grabbed those digestive biscuits because it says "high in fibre" and without being able to eat salads, fresh veggies or fruits, I am really, really desperately in need of some fiber... enough said. ;-)

I also bought, for the first time in my life, milk in a box! Plus some "Cup Of Noodles" which are flavored with Indian spices. One is masala and one is pani puri.

I also found a tiny container of Nutella!!! It's the small things that remind me of home that are nice. And, if you know me well, you know I squealed when I saw the box of Red Bull. It's kind of necessary during this jet-lag adjustment period anyway.

I think I paid a total of $16 US dollars for all of this. Crazy.

Tonight the other apartment came over and we all cooked an amazing Indian meal. Anna knows how to make uttapam, which is like a doughy pancake with mango chutney (?) in the batter. Anjali and Kris made some amazing other dishes as well.

Anna making Uttapam. She's a wizard at it!

This was our amazing spread:

Complete with Mango Juice :)

Later after dinner, Anjali made us homemade chai tea, which was soooo good and the perfect cap to our night. We sipped our chai and talked about the black/white binary, the dynamic of our program and classes and university in regards to privilege, and the institution of marriage.

Our discussion about marriage as an institution was really interesting. Some people hadn't really thought about it before. Others had feelings about the institution and what it means and where it comes from, what it's based off of... For myself, my view is more based on the fact that I fall on the LGBT spectrum, so the fact that in some places I cannot legally get married is problematic for me if I want to have children and be able to share custody with my partner. Or be able to file state taxes together. Or be able to have rights in general. Anyway, it was a good conversation and it's a shame that I'm too tired to expand upon it.

It's 12:30am here. Goodnight!

Monday, May 19

Yesterday after watching the sun rise, Phillip, Muxuan and I went on a walk around the neighborhood at around 8am. Not much was open because it was Sunday, but it was really nice out...not too hot yet. The sun begins to rise here at 4am and is up by 5, so the ever present heat is intensified by tenfold by about 10am.

On our walk we stopped by Deshapriya Park, where there was a children's cricket league practicing and playing. Deshapriya Park is really lovely, it's a big square patch of grass with a walkway all the way around, with beautiful brick walls that enclose the park and a few cemeteries/statues.

From Deshapriya Park we made our way down Sarat Bose Rd. and explored a few side streets. We came upon a huge Sunday market where people were selling tons of fruit, vegetables and meat. We saw live chickens being slaughtered, which was... a lot to see. And smell.

We also found a man selling lychee, and Muxuan was extremely excited because lychee is very common in China, so she bought a bunch for 70 rupees (about $1.20). The man selling the lychee was super nice, we chatted with him for a few minutes. 

Now's a good time to mention that I don't take anyone's photograph (at least an identifiable one) without first asking them.

The fact that we are in a post-colonial country is incredibly evident when you look at the surrounding buildings. I haven't taken any good photos of them, but the style and structure are so colonial, yet...a bit battered. My cousin Kate would have a ball here, I'm sure she'd be able to identify which buildings are colonial and whatnot. What sticks out the most are the colors. They are sooo vivid and beautiful!

After our walk, we came back to the apartment and relaxed in the living room for awhile. Yesterday was a day of rest. Oh an I had a great conversation with Nirmal the caretaker (half of which was lost in translation! He he), and required me to draw for him. I was trying to find out the name of the tree that he'd shaken the yellow flowers from (you asked, Mom):

I'm not entirely sure if kolkalful (which is my phonetic spelling) is the word for "tree" or is the type of tree that the flowers came from, but it took us about 10 minutes to come to this. I kept saying "tree" and he kept telling me how to say "three" in Bengali. It was quite the conversation and laugh when we finally figured out what I was trying to ask him.

After that, I went and took a four hour nap, woke up and FaceTimed with Kelsey and Kylie! Kylie sang a rousing rendition of Let It Go from Frozen and Kelsey also showed her on the globe where I am. "Dats a long ride!" she exclaimed. So cute... I miss her, I wish I could hug her. She gives the best hugs/cuddles.

 

Later we went to dinner at Tamarind, a really nice restaurant nearby. I got super adventurous and got a dessert I'd never had before. It's called Kulfi Faluda - the reason I got it is because in Cambridge in Inman Square there is an ice cream place called Christina's. One of the flavors that they offer is "khulfi" and I never really knew what it was, but it was my favorite flavor. I got so excited to see it on the menu last night! This is what it looked like when it arrived:

 

It's kind of like a super frozen ice cream with pistachios, a sweet sauce, and vermicelli noodles on top. An interesting combo, but it was good! 

Paying the restaurant bill was a challenge. Actually paying for anything is a challenge. Because of the exchange rate and inflation, rupees come in huge denominations... so it's really hard to tell what you're paying for something (in dollars) unless you pull out your phone and use a conversion app, just to get a sense of how much you're spending. Last night we had to use a piece of paper and write everything out. In the end this is what it looked like:

And then we still ended up being wrong, and had a few hundred rupees left over. It's so confusing...we try so hard. I'm sure we'll get used to it once we wrap our head around what each denomination is worth. This is what I need to remember: 

50 rupees = .85

100 rupees = 1.71

500 rupees = 8.53

1000 rupees = 17.07

Oh, I should also mention that I started adding to the "Favorite Photos from India" tab on the blog.

We are just starting our day - it's 9am here. I woke up at 7 and couldn't go back to sleep. Kolkata wakes up very, very early. As Phillip (and Frozen) would say "The skyyy is awake, so I am awake!"

Today we need to go grocery shopping. And perhaps some more exploring. Orientation at Durbar is on Wednesday!

I'm feeling a little homesick this morning. Love to everyone.

Late Night/Early Morning

Beth, one of the lovely ladies on our trip, had the misfortune of having Air India lose her luggage during her flight here. She arrived with only toiletries and no clothes! Luckily, Auntie Kumkum took us to a big mall, where we were able to buy some outfits and she was able to stock up on essentials until the airline locates her luggage. Having the airline lose my bag was probably my biggest fear, but Beth has taken it in stride!

Right now it's 6:30am here... and we haven't really slept yet. Another student, Sandra, arrived at 3am this morning, so myself, Beth and Phillip went with Nirmal, the caretaker, to pick her up and to inquire about Beth's luggage. Auntie Kumkum suggested that Phillip and I go because he is a male, and because we are firm with our words! We weren't able to get the suitcase, but luckily her name is in the system and they claim they will deliver it to our apartment when it arrives. Please keep your finger's crossed for Beth!

On our way back from the airport, the sun was beginning to rise. It rises here very early, starting around 4am. We dropped off Sandra to her apartment (there are two apartments for us 8 students, they are very close. Just around the corner from one another). Nirmal then walked Beth, Phillip and myself back to our apartment. When we arrived, we noticed a man and two women...the man was shaking a tree so that the yellow flowers would fall off and the women were picking them up and putting them into little satchels. Some people here use flowers to make wreaths to sell, or for prayer booths dedicated to deities. Nirmal went over to help the man shake the tree and we were able to gather some flowers for ourselves.

That's Nirmal in the tan shirt and glasses. He's the best! He travels with us, answers all of our questions, and is very, very sweet. He is the caretaker of the apartments where we are staying, and he is up at all hours of the night in order to accommodate us. We appreciate him very much.

By the time we got up to the apartment it was near 5am. Phillip and I headed to the roof with our big cameras to capture some sunrise photos. The view from our rooftop will never get old. There are so many buildings and things to look at.

So, now it is very early in the morning and we've only had about 2 hours of sleep last night. Yet, for some reason my body is not tired. I'm caught in a limbo.. I know that it's around 9pm EST, so my body is no longer in EST mode, but it's not quite in IST (Indian Standard Time) yet either. I need to work on this so that I can be fully functional when we begin our orientations next week!

So far, there's 7 of us here and the 8th student will arrive today. So far the group is getting along great, and I am really looking forward to the discussions we'll be having during class and when we are out in the field.

Malarone Dreams and Sidewalk Sleeping

From the first day that I started taking the Malarone (pills to prevent Malaria) I've had the most vivid, strange nightmares each night. I wake throughout the night with a start. The nightmares are always about people that I care about, and I get several throughout the night. Even when I take a small nap I get a bad or very vivid and bizarre dream. It's strange to wake from a nightmare and then realize you are also not in your own bed, bedroom, or even your own country. I just googled "malarone nightmares" and apparently it is indeed a side effect of the medication. Had I known this, I would have brought some sort of stuffed animal to cuddle with at night. ;-)

Last night as we walked back to the apartments from the coffee shop, it was around 9pm. I noticed that many people - men, women and children - were readying their beds on the sidewalk to prepare for a night's sleep. Some of them have crude wooden boards on risers upon which to lay their bodies, with a small pillow and their belongings stuffed underneath. Some just have a thin mat to lay on the sidewalk. This morning when I woke at 5am from one of the nightmares, I went to the living room where I could access wifi and text my friend who I'd dreamed about. Once I heard back from her that she was okay, I went to the roof and was surprised to find that the sun was rising - and with it, the sidewalk sleepers. I leaned on the balcony rail from 5 stories high and watched as they slowly rolled their mats. Some of them went to the street corner and used a water pump to wash their faces, arms, and legs and feet.

I didn't expand upon the sights during our ride through Kolkata at 2am on the night that we arrived here. It was a 30-45 minute drive through all parts of the city to get to our apartment. Although we were jammed into the van and jetlagged beyond belief, I was sitting near the window and the view was a lot to take in. We passed many small huts made of tin or aluminum siding, and once we reached the actual city streets, there were so many people sleeping on the sidewalks. We passed a building that said "Nursing Home" in English, and outside there were about 30 older adults, laying on thin mats and sleeping on their backs. As we drove through the streets I saw so many people sleeping on the sidewalks. It struck me so hard.

When I lived in Boston I saw homeless people, especially since I worked in Harvard Square and many of them congregated there (potentially because there are more tourists there who are willing to part with change). In Philadelphia my original field placement was with a shelter for homeless women. But here, there are so many that it is overwhelming. They crowd the sidewalks in certain places. I literally stepped over an entire family last night as we rounded a corner on the way back to our apartment. I don't want to assume that all of the sidewalk sleepers are homeless - perhaps some of them are just keeping watch over their sidewalk shops. But either way, it's a jarring sight.

What does it feel like to step over a family of homeless Indians while wearing $25 Reef flip flops? It feels wrong, disjointed...weird. I'll elaborate on this more when I can process it a bit more.

First Foodie Adventure

We decided to venture out into the neighborhood for some coffee and a snack. We ended up at a place called The Banana Leaf, where they serve really good coffee, tea and snacks. I ordered the 2 vada, which are sort of like very doughy donuts that come with chutney and a yogurt based sauce (since the chutney is spicy). You can tell how yummy it was by the fact that I was already 3/4 of the way done before I remembered to take a picture:

And then Phillip ordered the "Family Dosa". A dosa is a long roll of extremely thin bread. When he ordered the Family Dosa, he was planning on eating it all himself. And then when it arrived, the entire room laughed at us and someone even took a picture of us! This is why:

 

We ended up canceling two other orders of food and all of us helped Phillip eat the "Family Dosa". Still cracking up about that. 

The whole reason we went out in the first place was to get some coffee to help us fight the jet-lag and stay up past 10pm.  When the coffee came, I had no idea what to do, because this is what it looked like:

Luckily, Anjali has been to India many times, so she knew the trick. You pour about half of the tall cup of VERY HOT coffee into the shorter bowl, and swirl it around for a minute so that it cools off, then you drink it. Then, repeat until you've finished all of your coffee. And by the way, it was probably the best coffee I've ever had in my entire life. I've never tasted anything like it!

We have the next few days to relax, adjust and get acquainted with our area of Kolkata. Tomorrow we venture out to find a bank to exchange money, and hopefully check out some more street markets so that we can buy some super cheap clothing that is culturally appropriate for us to wear (and much more comfortable temperature wise). Right now it's 11pm and it's still 101 degrees with the heat index!

Most of you are just starting your afternoons, but I'm going to try to go to bed pretty soon. Hope you're all having a wonderful day!

We Made It!

We arrived in Kolkata around 1am last night. With all of the time zone changes, I can't even tell you what time that meant for the US - and I'm still too jetlagged to do the math. The flights were pretty crazy. 15 hours on the first flight to Mumbai and then another 2 and a half from Mumbai to Kolkata. All in all it was about 24 hours of travel time, including driving to the airport, waiting, flying, more waiting, security, customs, immigration, more flying, more waiting, and one crazy van ride at 2am in the morning through the streets of Calcutta. We were sandwiched in like sardines with all of our stuff. Here's the proof:

Poor Muxuan was shoved in the back with all of the bags! From left to right, Phillip, Anjali, Kris and me. This was after 24 hours of travel, stepping off the plane into 100 degree weather (even in the middle of the night!) that was so hot, it felt like steam was getting stuck in my throat. Seriously crazy humidity, I've never felt anything like it in my life!

On the plane they gave us really cute dinners:

 

I'm still not sure what I had for dessert (upper left corner) but the man next to me was kind enough to warn me that I was eating dessert first when I grabbed that one and started eating it first! 

I like how they say "veg" or "non-veg" here. "Veg" means you want vegetarian, "non-veg" means you want meat, but I think it's kind of funny because they don't specify which kind of meat!

After we got here, we were able to see the apartment and it's very cute and compact and perfect for us. Phillip and I are sharing a room, this is what our room looks like:

Yes my friends, that is an AC UNIT in our bedroom! We are so lucky, as all of the bedrooms have AC units. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Auntie Kumkum! I don't know if I'd be able to sleep in this heat.

Once we got here it took us awhile to get sleepy, but when we did, we SLEPT. Until about noon. And then we forced ourselves to get up and get out and about. Jetlag. It's a real thing. So is not showering for 36 hours:

After we woke up and readied ourselves, TJ (our professor)'s mom and Nirmal, the house attendant (must find out his actual title...) took us to a lovely lunch place, and afterwards Nirmal walked us around a bit to show us where we could find the outdoor bazaar and also an indoor mall, plus the metro station. At the mall we did a bit of shopping and I found a new outfit:

 

 

Serious Face >.<

And then the man in the store tried to sell me like, every single thing he had. Literally. I actually ended up only buying the teal outfit because I didn't have enough rupees to cover both - we haven't exchanged our currency yet, but Auntie Kumkum gave us each 1000 rupees (about $15 USD) to hold us until we get to the bank tomorrow.

First impressions of Kolkata: extremely HOT, a lot of people staring at me, a lot of people sleeping on the ground- last night as we drove through the city at 2am, there were just bodies all over the sidewalks of people sleeping...something I've never really seen before. The police that I saw here had machine guns (or automatic rifles, or something like that?) Really, it's all a bit overwhelming to take in everything, but we're taking it slow and making small trips out of the apartment to acclimate.

It's 6pm here and we're about to go get some coffee so that we can try to stay awake until at least about 9pm. This jetlag is no joke! Kolkata is 9.5 hours ahead of EST.

We're here, we're safe, and we're ready. If you have a chance, leave me a comment and let me know you're reading! I have no idea who's following this aside from my family and those who have already commented.

Much love from India!

The Day Is Here!

We depart Newark airport at 4:25pm and arrive in Calcutta at midnight on Thursday (2:30ish on Thursday, Eastern Standard Time). Basically, it's about 24 hours of traveling. I downloaded two movies I've been dying to see but haven't had time for what with finals and the end of the school year - Dallas Buyer's Club and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Hopefully I can watch these on the plane to keep me busy for a little while.

Packing last night was an interesting adventure, but I made it all fit! One big suitcase, one smaller duffel as a carry on, and a backpack later - I am all packed and ready to go! Packing my suitcase last night was pretty funny. It was kind of like making lasagna. A layer of clothing, then a layer of food/toiletries, then another layer of clothing.

Yes, I use Old Spice deodorant. Don't judge! It works better...and I like to smell spicy. Haha.

My mom and Carlos will be picking me up at 10ish and then we'll pick up Phillip and Kris - two other friends/students who are flying with us. We'll meet Anjali and Muxuan at the airport and all 5 of us will fly together! The other 3 students will meet us in Calcutta later this week.

I can't wait to update from Calcutta! (If you haven't noticed yet, Calcutta and Kolkata are interchangeable, they are the same city.) As soon as I get over my jetlag and make it to a phone store, I'll be able to buy a wifi stick so that I can update from the apartment where I'll be living. I'll be sure to post pictures! We have a few days to rest and acclimate to India before everything begins.

I'm so excited! See you all from India!

Piles

I've never packed for such a long trip before, so for me, it's been easiest to just clear a space in my office area and slowly add to piles of certain things. This is what things are looking like 36 hours out.

There's a pile of toiletries:

(Those are all prescriptions for preventatives like Cipro, an antibiotic, and Malarone for Malaria)

There's a pile for toys/trinkets to give out to children instead of giving them rupees:

 

There's a pile of clothes that I've bought so far:

Plus my books for the course I'll be taking:

 

And of course, a stock of American food that I'll be taking along with me and hoarding in my room ;-)

 

Hopefully by tomorrow night, all of those piles will be neatly packed into my very large suitcase and ready to be loaded onto a plane on Wednesday afternoon. 

Five of us were lucky enough to get a flight together, so that eases my travel anxiety a bit. I've never flown on an international flight before, so I'm not really sure what to expect when we get there and have to go through customs and such. 

At the advice of a student who went on the trip last year (and is about to graduate, AND is the student government president of SP2, whatup Britney!) I stocked up on baby wipes and invested in a good umbrella. I actually really love to live simply, so I'm hoping I can pack as light as possible...which if you've ever traveled with me, you know is a FEAT. For a simple leggings and tank top wearing girl, I sure do over pack when it comes to traveling - just ask Kim & Suzi. ;)

Right now this experience is all about the preparation and craziness of packing...but hopefully soon I'll be able to write about some more substantial goings-on. Tomorrow night we have a pre-trip meeting at TJ's (the professor going on the trip) house, where we should find out any and all last minute information. 

I can't believe it's finally so close! A few days ago it didn't feel real, but now as I sit here looking over my piles of stuff...it's feeling very, very real. 

I'll check in once more before we fly out!

 

7 Days!

Passport: ✓
Visa: ✓
Flights: ✓
Immunizations: ✓ (and ouch!)

Basically, all of the big important things are taken care of, and all that's left to do are the smaller logistical pieces!

Since I've never really traveled abroad, especially for such an extended period of time, I really had no idea how many logistical pieces there would be to this preparation process. There is so much paperwork that my head is spinning! It feels endless, but I've got my handy list that is being added to on a daily basis, and if you notice, there is clearly a super big priority item on the list there ;-)

I've just finished up my first year at Penn and since "self care" has been pounded into our heads since the beginning of the MSW program, I've been trying to find time between writing final papers and preparing for this trip to be good to myself. Last night I made a fruit smoothie and snuggled in to watch Runaway Bride. Whatever floats your boat, I guess. For me, it's the sweet combination of almond milk and frozen fruit, plus a romantic comedy.

I obviously still have a lot to do before I leave, but luckily I have 7 more days. It's hard to believe that in one week we'll be heading to Newark International to embark on basically a 24 hour journey to India. Tonight we received our housing assignments, and I can't wait to get to know the group better. There's only 8 of us going, and we'll be split into two "houses" that are very close to one another.

I wonder about the weather...will it really be as deathly hot as everyone is saying? Will I really spend the entire day sweating through everything I've worn? Should I really bring a nailbrush because that's how dirty I'm going to get? I worry a bit about the coursework as well - I just ordered my books and they should be coming in the mail this weekend. It all sounds fascinating, but I hope that I can keep up and fully comprehend/synthesize the material with our work in the field. 

Before the big trip, one very important event is happening. My sister Kelsey will graduate from college at West Chester with her BSW, and I couldn't be more proud. I'm excited to put a halt to all school work and India prep and spend a day celebrating her achievements.

I'll probably check in twice or thrice more before we blow this popsicle stand and head for (MUCH) warmer weather!

Logistics

I booked my flights today! I fly out of Newark on May 14th and arrive in Kolkata on May 15th. I'll be in India until June 29th, when I fly to Bangkok, Thailand. I was accepted as a volunteer at Globalteer's Thailand Elephant Sanctuary, located a few hours south of Bangkok. I will spend a week living with elephants and working at the sanctuary (feeding them, bathing them, scrubbing their toes, hugging and playing with them, and even scooping their poo) and also farming the fields where they roam. I've long dreamed of a way to interact with elephants that is non-exploitative and this is the perfect opportunity.  On July 7th I'll fly back to the US, presumably exhausted, sunburned, soaked from Monsoon season, happy, fulfilled, and full of stories!

 

Last week we had an orientation meeting for those of us traveling to India (and the other crew who are going to Puerto Rico). We talked logistics and I found out a lot of important information, like what to bring clothing-wise, what the weather will be like (I was told, "Imagine the hottest, most humid weather you've ever been in. Now multiply that by 10."), how we'll connect to internet while there, lots of information about the course I'll be taking and the individuals with which I'll be working in Sonagachi, the largest red light district in Asia. This course is going to blow my mind, I just know it. Also, I found out that Kolkata is the final resting place of Mother Theresa and visitors can go to see her tomb and pay their respects. That is definitely high on my list of to-dos.

Now that my passport is taken care of and my flights are booked, all I need to do is finish up applying for my Visa and start a packing list! Wait, who am I kidding... I started a packing list a month ago. I'll need to refine it though, now that I know what I'll actually need.

And so the countdown begins. 38 days until I board a plane bound for India. :-)