Jodhpur

A typical scene during orientation, taken from the back seat of the tuk tuk. Marcus and I (reflections in the tuk tuk's mirror) are sitting in the tuk tuk waiting for Smita to give directions to the tuk tuk drivers, and Madhu-ji walks to her car.
 
I arrived in Jodhpur last Saturday, the 29th. Jodhpur's time is GMT +5:30; 12 and a half hours ahead of Seattle (GMT -5:00), 9 and a half hours ahead of Atlanta (GMT -8:00), and 2 and a half hours behind Singapore (GMT +8:00).

It's really hot here. I always thought Singapore weather was hottest one could get but according to A, since Singapore's a coastal city, the water cools the city down. Jodhpur is landlocked and in a desert, and the state it's in, Rajasthan, has had the hottest weather in India this summer.

I'm staying at a hotel with the 10 or so other FSD interns for the past couple of days. We're moving out tomorrow to our respective host families. Over the past three and a half days, we've gotten to know each other, the FSD staff, and the culture of Jodhpur. It feels like we've been here forever, and we interns have become rather comfortable with each other and with this town. There is more, of course, that we need to discover and adapt to, but my initial unfamiliarity and discomfort has begun to give way to a weird feeling of normalcy.

I know some basic Hindi now and try to practice with people I meet along the street: "Jowl [Go away]!" to the cute little beggar, "Shukriya [Thank you]" to the rickshaw pullers, "Challoh [Let's go]" when I want to leave. People here are very assertive; this is not the place for passive aggression. If you want something done, you say so, loudly, and in no uncertain terms. Hints and polite statements aren't the best way to show displeasure; you have to fight for your place. Along the same vein, people try to take advantage of you, especially if you're a foreigner. In the Delhi airport, a woman stepped up in front of me while I was waiting in the security line. If I weren't jetlagged, hungry and grumpy I probably would have let her go, but since I was, I tapped her on the shoulder, gave her a dirty look and told her I was next. She backed off and I walked through.


Initially I didn't feel comfortable wearing the traditional dress since I was a foreigner. It struck me as pretentious and I was sure I would look even more out of place in the kurta (long shirts worn over pants) or salwar kameez (a type of shirt and pants outfit). However, it become evident that modesty is prized here, and although the locals give some foreigners leeway with regards to their dress, if we want to gain their respect and approval, it would be best to respect their custom and dress according to their standards. The first day we went out to a club and since I was rushing out of the hotel (having taken a longer than anticipated nap), I wore shorts. I could feel the heat of people's stares along the street judging me silently. I resented that, and initially was upset at their conservatism, but eventually realised that I need to look at the situation from their perspective. Many Jodhpuris have never encountered any community besides their own, and their culture is all they know. If they've been brought up to think that women who don't cover their arms and legs are immodest, should I fault them for that?

On the practical side of things, traditional Indian dress helps people cope with the heat much better. The more covered your body is from the sun, the cooler it is. Also, billowy pants and delicate scarves trap the wind and cool the body down. My friend commented that Indian people dress in colours, not tones. While in the US, people try to match their clothes taking into consideration different shades (pastel, bright, or rich tones), Indian people always dress in bright colours and it seems like that more colours they are wearing, the better. I like seeing women on the street in their multicoloured saris and gold jewellery. Few women actually go out in the day, though; this traditional society still prefers women who stay at home, away from the public eye.

Time slows and stretches in India. There are a rough schedule but it usually changes as new things pop up, events run over, and the FSD staff have to attend to other businesses. A shopping session outside takes longer than expected, and everyone is too tired to walk around and visit the phone shop aferwards. No problem; we return to the FSD office to drink chai (sweetened milk tea, like teh tarik) and have a Hindi lesson. When unexpected events occur, people take it in their stride and make do with it. This change in pace is a relief to many of us from the Western world, who live on packed schedules.

Indian meals are eaten much later in the day. We start with breakfast whenever we wake up. Lunch is eaten at 3pm, much later than what I am used to, and dinner at 8 or 9. We usually have a big lunch so it's not a problem eating dinner later, but the period between breakfast and lunch is long and I get grumpy and sleepy without food. Today at the restaurant my dhal [lentil stew] took forever to come and if I knew enough Hindi I would have nagged and scolded the waiter just like Smita, my programme director, did.

Most Rajasthani food, if I'm not wrong, consists of mushy curries and roti, panfried dough, or naan, flat bread. Rice is usually the staple of South Indians, and I've been craving it a lot! (As an aside, it turns out that around the world, northerners eat bread and noodles while those near the equator eat rice because the rains are more abundant in tropical areas near the equator.) Luckily, there are many restaurants that sell food from other parts of India as well, so I've been able to satisfy my rice craving. Food comes coated in oil or ghee [butter], and is very heavy--another characteristic I need to get used to. I'm looking forward to seeing what my host family cooks because so far we've been eating at restaurants. I hope they don't try to feed me too much food!

There is more to say, but I'll leave it for another time. These first impressions, I think, will change over time as I collect more information about this country. There is much learning to be done.