Namaste Everyone!

So it’s been about a week since I wrote you last, but I feel like a lot has happened since then, and I have a couple more perspectives to share with you. I have become a little more comfortable with the culture itself, but I am still struggling to understand the layout of my city because during orientation they provided all of the transportation for us so we really didn’t have to know where we are going. Last week we saw a “bollywood” movie called Love Aaj Kal roughly translated to be Love These Days. I also learned that producers are sometimes not fond of the term “bollywood” because their film industry is actually older than Hollywood-when India’s film industry started; America’s industry was in New York. We have also had a couple of informal Hindi lessons, which have been a challenge for me. The characters in the script are very intricate, there are a lot of exceptions to the rules, and there a very very subtle differences in the pronunciation of the characters. My biggest problem is that I lack confidence when speaking the language; I get nervous that I’m not saying anything right and then I get flustered. But my language instructors are wonderfully patient and have tons of office hours where I can go and practice with them, so hopefully I will feel more comfortable with it as time goes on. I’ve also bought a couple of salwar kameez, which is a traditional Indian outfit consisting of loose pants and a long tunic. They are much cooler in this heat, more comfortable, and I get fewer stares when out and about. This past weekend, the whole group went to Choki Dani, which is a village themed resort where you can eat traditional food, get henna artwork done, watch tribal dances, etc. The next day we met our host family for the first time, which I was very nervous about, but they are kind, caring and generous people and they have made me feel very welcome in their home. My host father is named Chinmaya, and he is a fine arts professor at Jaipur University. He is extremely intelligent, and has many wonderful perspectives on Indian culture, cultural identity, and westernization. My host mother’s name is Meena, and she is so sweet, and always asking me if I need anything. I also have a host sister whose name is Soumya, and she is in her thirties but still loves to shop-she has already taken me to the mall! Soumya and her eleven-year-old son Patheya live with us because her husband works in Delhi and travels around the country. Patheya is a lot of fun to hangout with, and he is always trying to help me with my Hindi homework!

That pretty much brings us to the weekend, but as mentioned, there are a couple of issues I would like to share my perspectives on. The first is the hierarchy here. It is extremely prominent in everyday life; when faced with an elder, you should greet them first; men are always the head of the household, etc. When my host sister wrote down everyone’s name she wrote down first her father, then mother, then her husband, then herself, her son, and then she skipped two lines and wrote the names of their hired help, who they actually call “servants”. This brings up an entirely different issue. Almost all middle and upper class homes have at least one full time “servant”, and they are on the very bottom of the hierarchy. Santosh, who is the “servant” in our home, is not allowed to sit on the furniture, and he eats after everyone else has eaten. He is about 14 years old, but does not go to school because he works in the house all day. It is very difficult to sit there and allow him to “serve” me food, water, tea, etc, but it is not culturally appropriate for me to get these things myself, or treat him the same way I treat my host brother. This may not seem ethical or morally right, but again, things are different here. My family are good people and mean well with everything they do. They are not cruel mean people-the way they act is their cultural norm. So while it does not seem right to me, and can’t march into their house and tell them that they and the rest of the middle and upper class is wrong. With the background that Santosh comes from, if he did not work for my family who provides him with food, clothing, and a small stipend, he would most likely be malnourished, and possibly living on the streets, which would also make him susceptible to drug or alcohol abuse, violence, disease, etc. Again, his work in my family’s home does not fix the larger problem, but it is his best option. This is just one example of the problems and injustices that come with cultural hierarchy and the caste system.

The other phenomenon that I have observed is the incredible amount of pride that Indian people have for their culture and their history. Everyone I meet has another fact, story, or bit of history about their country. Coming from the United States where many people can not name everyone sitting on The Supreme Court, this is both pleasing and depressing. Even my host brother can tell me how many dialects India has. Everyone seems so interested in reformation, cultural identity, globalization, etc and they just seem so extremely informed about everything here. Granted, my interactions have been limited, but I am describing everyone from a taxi driver, to my neighbor to my instructors. In the United States, a country that has so much, it is sad that we don’t hold this kind of pride and knowledge.

As you can tell, I’m learning a lot over here and it’s really got me thinking! I spent this weekend in Agra at the Taj Mahal, so expect a blog with lots of pictures in the next couple of days!

India!!!

Hello Again All!
Sorry it took me so long to write-internet is a little tricky here!

I’ve been in India now for 4 nights and 5 days, but it seems like much longer because we have already seen so much. Right now we are in our “orientation phase” so we are listening to seminars about personal health, safety, culture shock, adaptation, homestay protocols, etc. while also visiting “tourist sites” and becoming familiar with the local neighborhood. My flight arrived in Delhi at about 5pm on Sunday, and we spent all day Monday touring the city. We also had rooftop tea after one of our seminars, where we had a view of the top of a Hindu temple. One of the highlights of the day was when we visited the site of Gandhi’s cremation, where there is a memorial inscribed with his last words: “Hey Ram” or “Oh God”. Below are two pictures from the memorial.

We left Delhi on Tuesday for our 6 hour bus ride to Jaipur, which is our main site for the program, and when we arrived, we received a traditional Indian greeting from the family running our guesthouse. Yesterday (Wednesday), we had some more information sessions at our program center, and then hiked up to the Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur. This fort was built in 1734, and offers a bird’s eye view of our city, since it was once used as a lookout to protect the city. It was a long steep walk but 100% worth it! Today we went on a scavenger hunt in the city in groups of five; our list of targets where useful locations that we will need to use over the next view months, like a photo developer, clothes store, general store, and chemist (pharmacy). We have a break right now, but in a little while, we are off to see a Hindi movie-it should be an interesting experience, since apparently patrons regularly sing, comment, or even get up and dance!



Living in India so far has definitely been a major shock, as I knew it would be. The noise, food, smells, and people are all 100% different from my previous experiences in the U.S. One thing that surprised me was the traffic; lanes are really more of a suggestion, it is quite common to drive on the other side of the road, the streets are filled with cars, buses, rickshaws (carts attached to bikes), auto-rickshaws (kind of like a closed in golf cart), bicycles, motorcycles carrying two or three people at a time, pedestrians, and animals like dogs, cows, goats, and camels, and it is common practice to beep your horn every time you pass someone. The food has turned out to be a pleasant surprise-I only had Indian food once before I came here, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I have liked almost everything I’ve tried so far, and if I don’t eat something, it is usually because it is just too spicy. I have also had to adjust to gender norms in this society. Even though the temperature hovers around 100 degrees, we must wear skirts or pants to our ankles, sleeved shirts that come to our hips, etc. to display modesty, and it is also not appropriate to make eye contact with men on the streets. Furthermore, because my group is all girls, most of whom are white, we attract TONS of attention wherever we go. People will stare, or come up to us, or say “hi” to each of us as we pass by-when we stopped at a food court in a middleclass neighborhood, people actually took pictures of us with their camera-phones! There is a preconception that because we are white westerners, we are all extremely wealthy, so we also attract a lot of beggars, including children. It is very hard to say “no”, but we have been briefed by our staff about the industry of begging: unfortunately, most who beg are drug addicts or alcoholics, and even the children who beg almost always have a “boss” or parent who will take whatever money they earn. Thankfully, I have found an alternative to just saying “no”, at least when it comes to children; I brought several bags of candy and lollipops with me, and they love it if present them with a sweet; it doesn’t fix the problem, but at least it makes them happy for a few moments. Poverty here is not like in the U.S. In our country, poverty is hidden within houses, or certain areas or neighborhoods. But poverty in India is so extreme and so common that it is literally everywhere: “good” neighborhoods, markets…I even saw a “shantytown” (shacks made of tin or plastic) lined up in front of multimillion dollar call centers; it is inescapable. All though these things are difficult to witness, this is what I am here to learn about.

All in all, its been a wonderful experience so far, and I can’t wait to see what’s next!

Summer So Far...

Hey Everyone!

So I just thought I would let you know what I’ve been up to the last few weeks. First of all, I’ve been working in the Admissions Office doing data entry, answering phones, and of course, giving tours! I got a great question the other day on a tour that I didn’t know the answer to, so I thought I would share it with you. The question was “Where did the name Stonehill come from?” My fellow tourguides helped me out though- it turns out that “Stone House Hill House” was the name of the original Ames family estate where Stonehill was founded, so when the Holy Cross Fathers created our college, they named the school “Stonehill”. I guess you learn something new everyday!

I also got to go home for Fourth of July weekend and see my family and friends. I drove back to PA on Friday, then came back to Stonehill on Sunday, so it was a whirlwind of a weekend! I got to have dinner with my friend Erin and catch up with all of the latest news from my old job at the movie theater, and the next day my family and I headed up to Nicholson (about 30 minutes away) for a family party. It was a combined July 4^th party/birthday party for my younger cousin. It was great to see him so excited while he was opening presents-he wanted to play with everything right away-he didn’t even want his cake! Check out a picture of me, my siblings, and my cousins, including Brian the birthday boy holding his brand new kite.

In the evenings after work I’ve been practicing my Hindi for India. I have to learn all of the characters before I go, so I have a solid start when I arrive! The language is set up by syllable, not letters, and the “alphabet” is organized by how your mouth moves when you pronounce the character-its tricky stuff! I also booked my flight-its 14 hours from JFK airport to Delhi. Preparing all of this stuff makes it seem so much more real, and I feel like the rest of my summer is going to fly by!

This past Monday, myself, my friends Matt and Tim (who are also working in Admissions) and Tim’s friend Lauren all went into Boston for a night out. We took the T (Boston’s subway) to the Arlington stop and headed to Fire and Ice Restaurant for college night. Its ten dollars for all you can eat, so it is definitely a great deal, and its really fun because you choose your raw food, the chefs cook it in front of you and they have great music playing the whole time. After dinner, we walked around Newbury Street where we enjoyed some Ben and Jerry’s Ice cream and played some video games in the Mac Store. It was great to get off of campus, have an excellent meal, and wander around the city for a little while! Take a look at some of the pictures from our night out: Matt and I on the T, everyone fooling around at Fire and Ice, plus a great picture of Newbury Street.

Hope you're enjoying the summer as much as I am!

Welcome to My Blog!!!

Hi Everyone!

Since this is my first post, I thought I would share some fun facts about my hometown and give you a little bit of background info.

My name is Katrina Organ, and I am from Scranton Pa (which is about a five hour drive from Stonehill). When I’m not at Stonehill, I live with my mom, brother, step-dad, and step-sister (my biological dad died when I was really young). In addition to my family members, my house also includes two dogs, two cats, a rabbit, and a bird-we are definitely animal people! I have been in Catholic School since third grade, and I graduated High School with only 75 classmates, so Stonehill was actually a pretty big school for me.

Above is a picture of me and my family a few months ago, and of course, a picture of my dogs, Snickers and Pugsley

At Stonehill, I am an International Studies Major, and I am minoring in Middle Eastern and Asian Studies. This area of study is the reason I'm spending the fall semester in India. It is so weird to think that I won't be at Stonehill for Welcome Back Weekend, Halloween, or even to see the leaves change, but I know India will be an amazing experience that I will never forget. So far in my two years at Stonehill I have been involved in Student Government Association (SGA) on the Programming committe, Housing Lottery Committe, ALANA Brothers and Sisters Program, Diversity on Campus, Publicity Committee, and the Freshmen Orientation Program (as an assisstant coordinator and a peer mentor). I also have two work study jobs on campus: Student Ambassador and Information Desk Worker. As you can probably tell from that list, I love being involved on campus, and I love that so many other Stonehill students feel the same way. Pictured above is Sarah Bareilles. She was one of the artists who performed at our Spring Weekend Concert, so the whole Programming Committee (including me!) got to meet her!


So now that you have some basic background info, how about some fun facts about Scranton? Scranton is the 7th largest city in Pennsylvania-its population is about 73, 000. It is referred to as “The Electric City” because we established the first successful electric trolley system in 1886. Scranton is also home to the minor league Yankees-the stadium is only about 10 minutes from my house. The city is also very Irish-it hosts the 4th largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the country! (Take a look to your left for a very small sample of the chaos the ensues on parade day) Some famous people have also hailed from Scranton, including Joe Biden and Bill O’Reilly. And finally, in recent years, Scranton has become well known thanks to NBC’s show “The Office” which is actually set in Scranton. It’s strange but also pretty cool to hear the characters mention your high school or a restaurant you’ve been to a hundred times, and the city has hosted conventions and appearances by some of the actors. Below is a street banner of the fictional paper company on the show-it was sponsored by an anonymous business as a practical joke.

That’s all for now! I hope you learned a few things about me, and maybe even picked up some fun facts to impress your friends. I’ll check back soon with some updates about freshmen orientation- including lots of pictures!