My Pretentious Study Abroad Blog: Hindi word of the day: सफेद (saphed

I dedicate this post to Miss Julie Platt, who ~~nagged me so much that I broke down and agreed~~ inspired me to have a study abroad blog.

Rohan once said to me, "I've realized recently that you are really white." I would like to point out that this comment was inspired by his purchase shortly beforehand of the book Stuff White People Like from an Urban Outfitters, which is perhaps the whitest thing ever, especially for someone who isn't technically white. I do have to concede, though, that he was right; I am a gigantic coffee addict (#1 on the Stuff White People Like checklist) I hate Ed Hardy (#124), I am obsessed with This American Life (#44), and I am currently traveling in a "third world" country that is mostly vegetarian where I will be interning for a non-profit organization (#19, #32, and #12).

Hi, I'm American.

But since arriving in India, I've started to understand my whiteness on a whole new level. I've never before been forced to be so aware of being white. On my walk to school, which takes about 45 minutes, I am constantly stared at, and not just by children--white-girl watching seems to be a all-ages form of entertainment. This is usually fine on the way to school, when I'm freshly awake and showered, ready to take on the day, but on the way home, when I'm exhausted and just want to zone off while I walk, it becomes a challenge. I never realized how much mental energy it takes to be stared at, to stand out so glaringly, but when I'm walking home after a day of classes and adventures around Pune, I find it impossible to zone off.

This is Fat Dog. I see him every time I walk to or from school. He is the only one who doesn't stare at me.

Christie, Rebecca, Kate, and Julia getting photographed at Parvati Temple. We get asked if people can take our photos all the time.

Sometimes this can be overwhelming, but most of the time I'm able to remind myself that this is part of the experience of being in India, that this is why I came. And I definitely prefer standing out and feeling like an alien while walking along Karve Road (the road that takes me to school) than existing in the bizarre bubble that has been created in the more modern parts of town, called Koregaon Park and Camp. Last weekend, Pooja and a few other buddies took us to see these parts, which many of them consider the "cool" part of town. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but what I found was basically American shopping malls, American grocery stores, and fancy Italian restaurants. First of all, the entire culture felt different--there were advertisements for bikram yoga (an American interpretation of yoga which I love but felt really weird seeing in India), street vendors selling the kind of stuff you'd see on Venice Beach in LA (rice necklaces, keychains with names engraved on them), and white couples buying Nutella and loaves of French bread from the grocery store.

Burger King? (Koregaon Park)

But what really threw me off was the concept of it all: Why would white people come to India just to seclude themselves in a bubble that is essentially a western version of India? And why would Indian kids want to consume an American reinterpretation of India? I was in a really strange mood when we got back from Camp. It was actually a relief to be stared at as I walked down my street. In my Issues in Political Economy and Development class on Friday, we spent most of the class discussing what "development" means--why are some countries considered "developed" (the US) and some are considered "developing" (India). Pooja (who's in the class) said that she thinks that when everyone has access to education and basic needs like food, India will be developed, like the US, because the US provides these rights to its citizens--which of course elicited a giant "NUH UUHHHHHH" from every American in the class. Without a doubt, many Indian teenagers idealize the US in a way that suggests all the Hollywood, Coca-Cola propaganda has pretty much worked.

Sayali and Pooja nommin' on some Subway sandwiches

On the other hand, there are plenty of kids who reject the Westernization of their culture. Christie took me to a meeting she'd heard about at an organization called Open Space, which addresses social justice and queer issues in Pune. About twenty students were there, mostly Indian but also a few kids from the United World College and one German boy who was volunteering at a youth organization in Pune. First, an amazing guest lecturer spoke. He was trained as an architect but now helped build schools (that the kids who went to the school designed) out of recycled materials and mud. He basically argued that cement and so many modern building techniques we use are just unnecessary for most projects--and that there can be a lot more community-building and value in using other methods. Afterward, we discussed what the word "modern" means to us. The kids who spoke were amazing and so insightful and really seemed to value their roots in a way I found inspiring. I hope I have the opportunity to meet with them again.

The speaker at Open Space--amazing. On the screen behind him is one of the schools he helped build.

After I left the meeting, I met up with Amy and Kelsey, whose buddy, Sayali, had invited us to a mehndi ceremony for her sister, who's getting married on Sunday. Weddings are a three-day event here (Actually, the number of days varies depending on what part of the country your family is from--a Punjabi wedding is different from a Maharashtrian wedding. My aai said her daughter's wedding was ELEVEN days. She's going to show me photos.). The ceremony was incredible--we danced all night, got our hands henna'd, and ate delicious food. My face hurt so bad from smiling that I actually had to force myself to stop. And Sayali's friend Niha told me I was a good dancer!! (I know you don't believe me, but I swear to god I'm going to come back and blow you all away.) We were welcomed completely and kindly, and even though I felt foreign, I still felt like I fit in. It was a spectacular night.

In related news, I have decided I am henceforth only dating Indian boys in order to guarantee that I will have an Indian wedding (sorry to disappoint you, Max).

MEHNDI CEREMONY!!!!

Sayali (red) and her sister, the bride (green)

Amy, Kelsey, and Sayali

Dance party

All the girls know the dances to most popular Bollywood songs by heart and can do them on the spot in sync with each other. I asked Sayali if they ever practiced and she said, "No, we just watch the music videos so much we know all the dances."