indiaryofannie

[indiaryofannie]

In Closing

It is crazy to think that I returned from India almost three months ago. I looked back on my blog for the first time today, and realized that I never really concluded my experience or closed out my blog. I realize that a lot of you are no longer following my India blog, and that is okay. I just feel like doing this will be satisfying for me personally. Going on the trip to India meant so incredibly much to me on so many levels. Ever since Facebook came out with the map feature that shows all of the "places you have been," it literally pained me to see my map with just two small collections of dots in central Illinois and here in the Valley in Arizona. I wanted to travel to somewhere new and see some dots on my maps in different countries more than anything. Post-India, however, I realize that my experience gave me so much more than just a dot on a map halfway across the world in Southeast Asia. This summer truly did change me, and I am so grateful that it happened- grateful to my parents for making the personal financial sacrifices that it required, grateful for IAPA for accepting me into the program, and grateful for every single person that I crossed paths with along the way who made the program what it ended up being.

I definitely struggled after returning home thinking about all of the people I left behind. I could not stop wondering whether or not we even made a difference this summer, and I could not help but assume that we didn't. I could not help but think that the hundreds of school children we spent so much time teaching immediately forgot about the "ABCs of Prevention" and that "the number of people in India with HIV would fill up Chepauk stadium many, many times." I could not help but think that the women in villages that we taught and who seemed so engrossed and interested in what we were saying were not able to implement anything that we said into their lives because of how culturally "stuck" India seems to be right now and because of how little control they have over their lives. Part of me even started to feel guilty that I paid money to go to India instead of just sending that money there to help the people that we met struggling with poverty to send their children to school or provide food for their family.

The truth is that worrying like this is unproductive and completely wrong. Thinking back to certain instances, I can stand confident and say that I really did make a difference this summer. No, I did not eradicate HIV in India. No, I did not eliminate poverty and build thousands of houses for those without. But what I will carry in my heart is the moment when a 12-year-old boy came up to me after our teaching and told me that we inspired him to join the fight against AIDS. I will never forget the woman in a rural, remote village grabbing my hand and kissing it with tears in her eyes repeatedly saying "thank you, thank you." I will remember the 5th standard teacher looking at me in shock and then beginning to cry when I told her that we paid to come to India to teach. She told me we were a gift to them from God. Those are the moments that made me realize that what we did this summer mattered. It really, truly mattered. Those are the moments that made me realize that I always want to be involved in service work and that I always want to be dedicating my time, energy, and passion to causes like this and to my brothers and sisters in this world who need my help.

And with that, until I return to India one day (which I know that I will), I am officially closing "The Indiary of Annie," but I know that a day will not pass that I will not think about all of the memories I made there.

[indiaryofannie]

This was at our resort in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was so nice, and everyone that worked there was trained to make us as comfortable as possible. I ran on my first treadmill in India, and fulfilled a life goal of mine of doing yoga in India- right in front of the Arabian Sea!

[indiaryofannie]

Our beautiful, overnight houseboat trip on the backwaters of Kerala. As you can see, our trip ended with this brave man docking our boat in the pouring rain.

[indiaryofannie]

High on the list of "Things I Learned in India:"

Salads are rarely traditional salads. On so many occasions I ordered a salad that sounded like it would include the typical lettuce and other vegetable combination, and ended up with something completely different.

This was a salad that I ordered in Kerala that actually ended up being delicious! It was made up of a huge cucumber that was filled with a type of dressing. On the top was half on a hard boiled egg, and then there were small toothpick kabobs of green peppers, cucumbers, and shrimp on the side. There was exactly one piece of lettuce underneath this piece of art.

[indiaryofannie]

Closing Dinner

Our IAPA SVP Closing Dinner was at an amazing restaurant called BBQ Nation. There were unlimited, delicious kabobs prior to a huge buffet. Since our reservation was not until 9:30 PM, we ended up having a private dance party with the whole staff beforehand. India never ceases to amaze me.

Where in the world did the time go? Saying goodbye got emotional. We have shared so much this summer, and every single one of these people will always hold a very special place in my heart.

[indiaryofannie]

Stated perfectly by the lovely Megan. Thanks for the memories this summer, friends! Saying goodbye to everyone has been one of the most bittersweet experiences I've been through. I know that whenever I look back on this summer I will not be able to help but smile. The best part about it is that we had a blast, but we also changed a whole lot of lives while we were at it.

And so it is... ;)

As our summer volunteer program comes to an end, we are forced to face goodbyes and hope that they will soon become hellos again. I have met some of the most amazing people on this trip, both from America and from India. This is our entire volunteer program and each of the four groups that were out every single day in Chennai spreading awareness of HIV/AIDS!

[indiaryofannie]

Chennai Super Kings!

[indiaryofannie]

Pondicherry

We took a little weekend vacation to Pondicherry, which is very different from Chennai. There is a huge French influence- including little outdoor restaurants with a huge selection of wine, cafes on every corner, and brick paved streets. 

That night we ended up meeting kids around our age from all over the world! The other highlights of the trip were Camille falling in a giant hole and breaking her toe (random holes everywhere are one thing Pondi and Chennai have in common), and of course getting blessed by Lakshmi the elephant.

[indiaryofannie]

  "Vellaikara"

Megan, Camille, Saul, Nikil and I traveled to a slum on the coast for a side project teaching with AIM Trust. AIM stands for Action for Improving Mankind, and was founded by Mr. Balu. Balu started six centers around Chennai that serve as a sort of "after school program" for kids living in poverty. Megan and Nikil were in charge of this side project, and Baul asked them to create a curriculum that would teach the children about hygiene. I attended one of the six of these teachings, and it was immediately evident to me why they were necessary.

In Tamil, "vellaikara" means "white man." As we were walking through the village, there was a group of small children that were repeating this over and over and pointing us out to their mothers, who were laughing and sort of rolling their eyes at their kids, but also watching us pass at the same time. Mr. Balu smiled, but said something back to the kids in Tamil, and we continued on our way.

Nikil speaks Tamil, so a couple minutes later he shared the meaning of the interaction with me. The kids were referring to us as "white men," and immediately Balu said to them in Tamil something along the lines of, "no they aren't white men, they are friends. They're with me, see?" And then he just kept walking.

This meant a lot to me and really hit me hard. First of all, Balu did not say this to put on a show for us. He said it because he truly meant it. He did not even translate what the kids were calling us, because frankly it does not matter. He just quickly corrected them, and moved on.

Also it made me realize that we really are one race: humankind. We were guests in their village, but not as "white men"- not as their superiors,as their incorrect connotation suggested. We were their guests as equals- as friends. 

Before the teaching Balu took us to the beach. The "beach" consisted of a very small area of sand that looked out over the beautiful ocean. He acknowledged the fact that the beach was small by making a comment like, "here is our huge beach." Even though he made this joke, we could tell that he was proud to be showing it to us. 

Two little boys ran up to us when they saw our cameras and asked us to take pictures, and we are going to make sure they get a copy of them.

The teaching was a ton of fun! We sang a lot of songs, taught the kids how to be healthy, and shared a lot of smiles. Afterwards, we talked to the kids about what they wanted to be when they grew up, and the majority of them said doctors or engineers.

Afterwards, Balu walked us to the bus stop, and it started raining. As we were walking, he pointed out all of these beach mansions that were literally a 3 minute walk from the slums. I asked him if anyone that lived there ever visited the slum. He laughed and said of course not. He said that most of the people living there are rich- either involved in politics or sea captains- and that most of them want the slum to be gone. He said there are 1-2 people living in each of the huge mansions for maybe 2 months out of the year, while right next door there are 12-15 people living in a 2-room hut year round.

It really makes you think.

After we got on the bus, Balu rode beside us on his scooter in the pouring rain and in the dark just to make sure we got home safe. Acts like this that we have experienced countless times while in India never cease to amaze me.

Megan is working with Mr. Balu to hopefully create some American connections with AIM Trust, so I am so excited to see how that develops.

[indiaryofannie]

"Akka, Akka!"

One of my favorite things about India is the concept of everyone treating each other as one single family - as the children of God. 

During the first couple of days we were here, Louis gave us Tamil lessons. One of the first set of words he taught us how to say were "older sister, younger sister, older brother, and younger brother." At first, I was confused as to why we were learning these words before any others. Then, starting our school teachings I was repeatedly called out to as "akka, akka, akka!" Akka means older sister in tamil. That's when it all started making sense, and when a huge part of the Indian culture became clear to me.

There is a passage in the Bible that says: "Do not address an older man harshly but appeal to him as a father. Speak to younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters- with complete purity." 1 Timothy 5:1-2 

I think Paul instructs Timothy to do this to remind him that we are in fact all brothers and sisters. When one of us struggles, we all struggle. When one of us succeeds, we all succeed. I think it is important to practice this mindset.

Another passage that reminds me of this:

"As often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did for me." Matthew 25:40 

The same God lives in each and everyone of us. When we help or empathize with someone in need, we are helping or empathizing with God himself. For me, the best reminder to act in this way is to look at everyone as a brother or as a sister.

Thinking about it, I do not really practice this concept in America. I think of my sister as my sister, my brother as my brother, and everyone else as a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger. Here, all of the above are one of the same.

India abides by this passage, and also carries out the message further than in just an identifier or a title. The way that I watch strangers interact here throws me off a little bit. In Pondicherry this weekend a random auto driver (identifiable by his brown collared shirt), waved down our auto driver, and without an exchange of words sat right next to him in the front seat. This random man turned around, saw us, and chuckled- a common reaction to white auto passengers. As he did so, I definitely smelled alcohol on his breath. This is when it became clear to me that our auto driver realized that his "brother" was in need. The stranger eventually tapped him on the shoulder, our driver stopped the car, and the stranger got out and went on his way. Even though I am sure he was grateful for the lift, he did not say thank you. I think that this act of kindness, of brotherhood, is just expected here.

The boys in the classrooms are always sitting with their arms around each other, the girls are always holding hands, beggars refer to those in passing as brothers or sisters, and all Indians drink water in the "waterfall" fashion. They do this because it is so flipping hot, so they are always sharing water- even with strangers. I feel as a whole, everyone cares about everyone, and it is refreshing and heartwarming to see.

Now of course, there are bad people in India, too. There are people who do not treat those in need with kindness or compassion, but those people are found everywhere, right?

The point I'm trying to make is that I think India as a nation is just very understanding and empathetic. Everyone is on the same page and understands both the hardships and the successes of their "brothers and sisters."

For the record, I love being called "akka." Even though I know that this is what they call all older girls, It makes me feel like I am a part of the culture and like the kids trust me.

[indiaryofannie]

Madam Sheila's

One of the founders of IAPA has an Aunt Sheila that lives in Chennai, and each year she hosts the volunteers at her house for a dinner. Madam Sheila is not only Sanjay's aunt, but she also helped start IAPA and is currently still helping to keep it going.

Madam Sheila lives in the most beautiful house I have ever seen. I have really fallen in love with Indian art and patterns since I have been here, and her house is filled with all kinds of those features. She also fed us macaroni and Pringles, along with lots of other fancier, and absolutely delicious food.

It was a lot of fun taking a night to celebrate our summer and to spend time with the other volunteers. We really have become a family, and as the summer is coming to a close I'm starting to realize how much I am going to miss living and working with all of them every day!

Thank you, Madam Sheila, for a beautiful night. Once again I was reminded of how fortunate I am to be meeting all of these hospitable, kind, and accomplished people this summer.

[indiaryofannie]

Arokiya Project

"Arokiya" is the Tamil word for health, and is a project that IAPA started in order to provide nutrition to HIV positive children and their caregivers.

A huge success, the program doubled in size during the past year (now the project cares for 30 children), and now the children and the adult that cares for them also receives medication and a check-up by a doctor each month.

As a part of the IAPA Summer Volunteer Program, I was asked to choose a side project to dedicate some time to, and I chose Arokiya. As a Barrett student at ASU, I have to complete a thesis project in order to graduate. I knew that my trip to India would be a perfect opportunity to explore a project in the Global Heath field. I think that Arokiya will allow me to do just that while simultaneously making a positive difference.

Each month, the caregivers bring their children to the IAPA office in order to pick up their nutrition package (partially seen above), and to see the doctor (also see above). At their June gathering, I administered a questionnaire to each of the children in order to ultimately put together a case study. This month, I went into a little more detail with many of the children and just spent a little time getting to know them. 

Most of the kids have sad stories, but being around their smiling faces and positive auras just fills my heart with joy. In June, I took each of their pictures for the medical records and spent all month matching faces to files, so it was so exciting to realize that I could call most of the kids by name this month. I think they were a little surprised, and their caregivers were thrilled. Someone who is very important to me once told me that remembering a name goes a long way, so that is something that I am constantly striving to do. Some of them even remembered me, too, even though most of them call me Yannie (for some reason it is easier for them to put the "y" in front).

These kids are all very sick, and what is worse is that most of them are very poor. They have to deal with every thing that every other child does growing up, only these kids are dealing with HIV as well. Some have gone partially blind from the harsh medicines they are taking, and others, at extremely young ages, are cooking and cleaning for siblings and grandparents. Some know they have HIV, others do not. Some even reported to me that their parents left because they did not want an HIV positive child. One 14 year old girl even reported that her father committed suicide and her mother died of AIDS, leaving her an HIV positive orphan. Having these facts translated to me was one of the most heartbreaking moments I've faced on this trip.

Leaving the office last Saturday, I was discouraged. All I wanted to do was help, but when a virus is incurable it is hard to convince yourself that helping is even a possibility.

Then, I felt a wave of relief and in this moment my dream to become a Physician's Assistant was reaffirmed. I found myself daydreaming of a time in the future when I will be qualified to help these children. I will have the medical knowledge to provide them with the best medicine and with the utmost comfort.

From this point on I know that whenever I become discouraged during the pursuit to become a PA I will picture the children that I served in this clinic. I will picture them and remember that this moment when I am feeling so helpless. I will use this moment as my motivation. I know that I do not need to travel to India to find sickness and to find suffering, and I cannot wait until the moment where I can provide comfort to my patients.

Thank God for Arokiya for giving them a chance, and thank God for education. Hopefully the awareness we are spreading this summer and other awareness being spread around the world will ultimately prevent others from ever having to hear the diagnosis of HIV/AIDS.

[indiaryofannie]

The End is Near

Today, I had black coffee! And it was actually delicious! WOWZA! You may be thinking this sounds like a typical commodity, and usually you would be absolutely correct. In India, however, it is very uncommon to get more than a shot-sized glass of coffee, and it is always very milky, and very sugary. Tea is very similar, so much that usually I have a hard time telling the difference between the two.

I was so ecstatic to have a little taste of home, but with it came a new reality: I will be back in America in less than three weeks. As I tasted that familiar bitterness, I was instantly reminded of late night homework sessions and 7:30 AM classes. I was reminded that in three weeks I will be back in my comfort zone, and getting ready to, as a Community Assistant, welcome all of my new Freshmen residents to ASU. This is exciting, but it is so difficult to believe that my two months here has almost come to an end.

In the next three weeks I will be teaching almost every day, and when I'm not doing that I will be working on data entry for my side project, traveling to Puducherry and Kerala, and eventually saying some very difficult goodbyes to some people who I have learned so much about and have grown so close to in such a short period of time.

Life during the past two years has been exciting, to say the least. Out of state for college, a new job that I have grown to absolutely love, new friends who mean the world to me, and now this trip to the other side of the world. With that excitement, however, comes the one word that I have grown to hate more than any other. "Goodbye." It seems that right when I become comfortable and settled in somewhere I have to pick up and leave.

The one redeeming fact that comes along with all of the goodbyes, is that as of now, it just so happens that I am absolutely in love with wherever my next destination is: whether that is Streator, Tempe, and now India (if I am lucky enough to ever get the chance to return in the future). 

I think that as difficult as they are, goodbyes make us all stronger. They make us appreciate situations and never take for granted the relationships that we value in the places that we end up calling home.

Hard to believe that a simple cup of coffee provoked all of these deep thoughts. That being said, I am so excited for the next three weeks, and feel more blessed than ever to have had the opportunity to experience India.

[indiaryofannie]

Shelter kids! It’s unfortunate (and hilarious) that Carsten is the only one giving bunny ears to a small child in the back row. :)

[indiaryofannie]

Today we left the hostel at 5:30 AM and made our way to the Zonta house. This is a house exclusively for women- some with HIV, some that are mentally disabled, and some who were rescued from abusive homes. The women are very different, but what they do have in common is that they are neglected and often rejected in society. At the beginning of the trip when we visited Zonta for the first time, Sheema gave a quick summary of each of the women's lives, and they were some of the saddest stories I have ever heard. As much as I would like to communicate with the women directly to talk to them and to comfort them, I had to realize that this would not be possible due to the language barrier and other issues. That being said, being able to help them in a way that they could benefit from in years to come seemed like the next best thing.

I was not initially a part of this side project, but I decided to tag along to help the group create this vegetable garden. We dug the plots from nothing and got the seeds all planted in barely any time at all. It was hot, and the work was difficult, but it felt good to get so much accomplished just in a few morning hours.

As always, the women were smiling from ear-to-ear and so grateful for what we did for them. I have some gnarly blisters on my hands and the "you-should-be-good-at-this-you-live-on-a-farm" comments were flying like crazy, but all in all it was a wonderful, rewarding day.

[indiaryofannie]

The first two picture are by the Shore Temple, which is dedicated to Vishnu. There is actually a huge statue of Vishnu "resting" in the temple. Vishnu is the Hindu god that is usually pictured being blue with many arms.

The third, fourth, and fifth pictures are of Pancha Rathas, or the "Five Chariots." This whole structure was carved from one single rock. This was the most unfinished of all of the temples. You could literally see the empty insides and unfinished sides of the structures. It was eerily beautiful thinking about what caused the construction to suddenly come to a halt. The sixth and seventh pictures are of The Descent of the Ganges. It is a bas relief that tells a story from top to bottom. You can see the Ganges river, the separation down the middle. This was my favorite of what we saw that day. I loved the intricacy and of course the life-sized elephants! There are over one hundred figures carved into the bas-relief, including gods, humans, animals, and half human-half animals. Absolutely incredible.

The picture after that shows " Krishna's Butterball," which is actually just a giant natural rock that is just straight-up balancing. Apparently Pallava kings tried to move this structure with dozens of elephants and completely failed! It is said to represent when the universe was seen in Krishna's mouth.

The last picture was just a snap of the sea that Nirali and I took while we were hitting the little shops downtown. (See how I said "snap?" That's what Indians call "pictures" or "photographs," and I think it's adorable, so I'm trying real hard to make a habit of using it!)

The last picture was of the coolest bookstore I have ever seen. There were so many books jammed into a little 8X8 room, and they were sorted by language! It was beautiful.

I love India, and Hinduism is such a large part of their culture, so it means so much to me that I got to spend the day here with great travel buddies!

[indiaryofannie]

Mahabalipuram

Mahabalipuram is a city on the coast of India that was previously called Mammalapuram. Essentially, the meaning of the name changed from "sacrifice" to "warrior" due to changing times and changing rulers.

This location is filled with beautiful Hindu temples honoring all of the gods. Going into the day knowing virtually nothing about Hinduism, it was so entertaining to hear all of the stories and foundations for the religion. One of the girls that went along, Nirali, is a practicing Hindu. She is so passionate about all of the stories, so it was so fun to learn all about Ganesh, Shiva, Vishnu, and all of the traditional stories and dances to honor these gods. I still need to do a little studying to keep all the information straight though!

Built between the 7th and the 9th centuries, some of the temples were eventually buried under the sand for hundreds and hundreds of years before they were uncovered. One of the temples was uncovered just 21 years ago! Some are even clearly half-finished probably due to a combination of an interruption- a war or a natural disaster- and the amount of intricate work the carvings demanded. 

To protect the temple shown in the picture here, the Shore Temple, a wall was built in front of it. Then, when hurricane Sandy struck, the water washed completely over the temple, but due to the resistance caused by the wall the temple was unharmed.

I could talk about these temples forever, and I know that I will not forget this experience. The next post will show more pictures from the day. All together, we visited three main sites in Mahabalipuram.

In the picture from left to right is Saul, then Nirali, then Lucas, and then our coordinator Niraj. It happened to be a 100% ASU gang :)