Truth Hurts

A hutong that has been somewhat preserved

An old home in a hutong behind
Tiananmen Square being demolished

Culture and heritage, two things that everyone has (whether they like it or not). Our culture helps to define who we are and what we believe; our heritage is something we possess as a result of our birth and predecessors. In class we have talked a lot about the development of Beijing and different steps the government is talking to modernize the city. The problems started years ago when China was competing for the bid to hold the 2008 Olympics. In order to attract foreigners and businesses, the city needs to be aesthetically appealing right? But who determines what is appealing? Well, the government took that to mean out with the old and in with the new. Hutongs are narrow streets or alleys, lined with traditional homes. Some of these hutongs have been around for hundreds of years. Generations of families have grown up in these courtyard houses. Since 2000 many of Beijing’s old hutongs have been demolished in the name of development. The residents are compensated less than the market price for their homes and moved to homes farther outside of the city. Unfortunately, there is not much that these residents can do, because in China the government owns all the land. These people are losing a part of who they are.

T-Shirt with a Communist Obama

In traditional Chinese culture it is believed that spirits of the deceased continue to survival, especially within the home they lived in. The Chinese hold a strong interest in their past and where they came from; so as you can imagine, these old hutongs and homes are more than just 4 walls. They represent a family’s life and their identity and to demolish them would be devastating. During some of my urban explorations I have had the privileged to walk through some of the remaining hutongs, and I found them to be beautiful. Everything doesn’t need to be new with flashing lights to be appealing. Yes, some of the old homes could use a fresh paint coat and certain structural improvements, but to destroy all of this history would be a tragedy. So much of the city is like any other modern city, but the old hutongs give a foreigner a glance into what old China used to look like. Old does not mean meaningless.

Bell Tower

Preformance at the Confucious Temple

Our urban explorations have also led us to more new and exciting parts of the city. We got to visit the Drum and Bell Towers on the northern end of the inner city. Thousands of years ago the towers were used for telling time because there were no other devices or pieces of technology to help people live and work on a schedule.  Luckily, we got to the Drum Tower just in time to see the drum performance that is done a couple times a day. As the troupe started pounding the drums, I could feel the beat and rhythm in my chest. It was as if they were doing more than simply making music, they were telling a story. A story of old China.

In addition to our classes, we are also doing group research projects. I am focusing on HIV/AIDS and my group is looking into how stigma affects the sexual and healthcare seeking behaviors of gay men & sex workers in Beijing. These are two of the biggest populations in Beijing at risk for contracting HIV. Dream of Ding Village is a really good fictional book that gives a pretty accurate portrayal of how HIV/AIDS began and spread in China. We read the book for class and discussed it extensively. It’s pretty scary to think that the Chinese government hid and denied the existence of HIV for so many years. They called it the “foreigner’s disease” and didn’t believe it affected their people. That being said, the book is banned in China, but it’s a wonderfully chilling read. It may not paint all government officials in a positive light, but sometimes the truth hurts. Even though China has a low prevalence rate of HIV, the country holds so much of the world’s population; therefore, this should be a major concern.  

Our meeting at the hospital

Sometimes you’ve got to do nontraditional things! A couple of us found an abandoned amusement park online and decided to take a trip there on Saturday. It was a real cool eerie place. The park was supposed to be a huge success and bring in a lot of tourist and money, but the project was put on hold when the money ran out. It’s been years and doesn’t look like anything will ever become of what was supposed to be this wonderland on the outskirts of Beijing. Nevertheless, it was the perfect place for a fun photo shoot. In retrospect it was probably a little dangerous out there, but that’s the thrill of the adventure J

 

Photo Shoot

The group has some weird stomach virus going around, so this week is all about getting healthy because Friday morning we leave for a 10 day trip to the southern province of Yunnan! We will be flying from Beijing to Lijiang and staying there for a few days. Then taking a bus to Shaxi and Shangri-la and staying in both of those cities for some time. Afterward we fly back to Beijing and have less than 3 weeks left in China! I’m excited to experience another part of China and get away from the large international city. That being said, I will be without internet access throughout the 10 days, but will try to keep a journal so I don’t forget any of the excitement.

We found a mexican restaurant!

Yes, we really do wear mask becuase of the pollution

Until Next Time,
*Nicole 

After Easter service

The Transition

Our university's main campus

Ni Hao [hello]! We've made it to China!

People have already started asking for pictures
(Interesting Beijing fashion huh?)

It was odd going from our smaller city in India to one of the largest cities in the world. Beijing is bustling with people, cars, stores, and restaurants everywhere. I’ve settled into my dorm room (although I still need to finish unpacking). We all live in an international student dorm at Peking University on the health sciences campus (apparently it’s the “Harvard of China”). It’s nice for all 19 of us to live together now. All I have to do is yell from my room and I can immediately find out who wants to go eat or go shopping. It’s also really nice to be able to eat what I want, when I want. However, I gave up meat for lent and China seems to have a strange obsession with meat. Literally EVERYTHING seems to have meat in it. Even the Lays chips are all meat flavored except plain! But I’m not complaining, it just means I’m tempted more and have to be strong. That being said, the food is pretty good, but I can now realize just how “Americanized” our Chinese food is back home. I have yet to see orange chicken or general tso on any menu. Sorry to disappoint all you Panda Express or P.F. Changs fans. In addition, I have never seen so many KFCs in my life. They are literally every, sometimes 2 at opposite side of the same street it’s crazy.

Eating some street food

Parts of the city make you forget you’re even away from home. There are many parts that look exactly like New York City. The places were ex-pats (foreigners who temporarily or permanently live here) live are usually the nicest and full of nightlife. Beijing is home to the largest Adidas store in the world! They have streets lined with Christmas lights and sidewalks filled with people speaking languages from all over the world. Our university is in a less busy part of the city away from downtown, but we’re only a couple subway stops away. Speaking of the subway, I feel so accomplished to have mastered the public transportation. I even helped a couple from Israel figure out how to buy their tickets to their destination the other day.

One of the mall areas at night

Seahorses and Starfish on a stick anyone?

Classes are going well, even though we have much more work than we initially thought we would. We have class Monday-Thursday and on the weekends we have to complete explorations within the city. On Wednesdays we have a 2 hour basic Chinese class. Let’s just say, it’s going kind of rough. The sounds are so different from anything we’re used to hearing. On top of that, each word has a certain intonation associated with the meaning and if you say it in the wrong tone it could be another word or nonsense. I definitely don’t see myself mastering the language by the time I leave; which is unfortunate because I feel like you need to know the language here more than I did in India. Many more people in India knew basic English than here. That really surprised me because Beijing is such a global city.

Last weekend we planned a trip independent of our program to Shanghai and it was amazing! We took a 5 hour high speed train and spent 3 days 2 nights there, but it didn’t nearly seem like enough time. Shanghai is even bigger than Beijing and there is also so much cool stuff in the city. I went to a Jewish holocaust survivor’s museum and learned new facts. I didn’t know that over 25,000 Jewish immigrants came to Shanghai as refugees during the Holocaust. I also went to a famous tea restaurant and had a traditional tea ceremony where you get to try various Chinese teas. We went to the top of one of the largest towers in the city and of course shopped a little.

Overlooking Shanghai

Shanghai at night

The tea flower blooms
then you drink it!

The trip so far has been exciting. We've been trying to explore new places to eat and hang out and occasionally say some Chinese words. (A lady in Shanghai understood me when I asked where the subway was and it was the highlight of my day!) A couple days ago I went to Tiananmen Square for one of my explorations and it was really interesting to see where so much history has happened. This is the spot where Mao Zedong (first leader of the communist party of China) declared China to be liberated from the Nationalist and China a new communist nation.

Kirsten and I at a Hot Pot restaurant 

Watching the 2nd Duke vs. Unc game and
final game of the regular season

I called my Indian host family the other day and instantly missed them. I really miss all the friends we made in India and I especially miss the food. I can see myself eating Indian food frequently when I get back home, it’s like my body craves it now. The new experiences are incredible and I still can’t believe I’m here, but I had such a personal connection to India and that’s something I never want to lose.

Until Next Time,
*Nicole

P.S. Our brackets are created and I’m set for March Madness to begin! I bet you can guess who I have as my national champion huh J

It snowed last night!

Farewell India: weeks in review

Conducting interviews

Fun with family

This is exactly what I said I wasn’t going to do. I wasn’t going to let numerous great experiences go by and not blog about them, and that’s just what I’ve done. It would be impossible to talk about everything, so I’ll just touch on some highlights.

Siblings

I finished up my research in the village and completed my presentation and research paper. My research was on “Female Autonomy within the Household in Rural India”. I wanted to see if women’s decision making power within the home varied according to age at marriage, class, caste, education, and profession. To sum up my results, I found out that in-laws play a much bigger role than I could have ever imagined. When in-laws were present in the home, women generally tended to have less decision-making power. In addition, all of the women that experienced domestic abuse either lived with their in-laws or the abuse stopped when the in-laws moved/passed away. I’m willing to share my paper with anyone who would like to read it.

M village fieldworker

I didn’t realize how sad I would be to leave the village. I wasn’t that close with my village host family because it was hard to make a real connection with them due to the language barrier. However, I did get close to people who worked with my NGO, Jatan. While they also didn’t speak English, they came with me on some of my interviews and really helped me find women to talk with. Most of them don’t have Facebook or even email addresses so I had to cope with the fact that I probably will never see them again.

Farewell Dinner

Unlike my village family, I was able to get very very close with my host family in Udaipur. They showed me incredible hospitality and I was so comfortable in their home. It was so nice to come home every night to the same family and a room that truly felt like my own. They are the reason I didn’t feel like a tourist once in Udaipur. I have a second family that really loves me. They dropped me off at the train station Thursday night. It was filled with high emotions, long hugs, and goodbyes. I watched through the window as Mommyji ran alongside the train as it began to move. I’ll never forget that woman.

Prior to leaving we had a farewell event on Wednesday night. The event included our host families, professors, and co-researchers. Everyone got all dressed up, it was a blast. Girls showed off their sarees and the boys all wore kurtas. I love getting dressed up, I can’t wait to wear my saree back at home. Ajay and I spoke on behalf of all the Duke students and thanked everyone for making this an incredible 2 months.

Elephant ride

Taj Mahal

We are now back in New Delhi, site seeing for the last time in India. Before coming here we went to the city of Jaipur and got to ride ELEPHANTS!! It was like a life dream come true, so much fun. Then we went to Agra and saw the Taj Mahal, another dream! This trip has afforded us the opportunity to see so many great wonders of the world.

My beautiful Indian family

As I’m writing this we are on our way to our last market in India and our flight leaves at 3:20am Wednesday (tomorrow). I’m just not ready to leave. The time has flown bye and I’ve loved every minute of it (well, maybe not this recent heat). India has been so good to me and all of us in the group. I can definitely see myself returning here one day.

Dear India, I love you J

Until Next Time,
*Nicole

P.S. Dear China, hello. I’ve been awaiting your excitement and all that you have to offer.

Fair & Lovely

One of Fair & Lovely's advertisements

"The obstacle to obtaining my dream job was my skin (referring to its darkness)," states a woman in one of Fair & Lovely’s 2007 commercials. Magazines, billboards, and tv commercials; there is just no way to escape it. Young girls across the country are continuously and blatantly fed this idea that lighter is better. It literally makes me sick. I weep for the girls who can’t afford the products, or who try it and find it doesn’t magically make them beautiful (synonymous for lighter in this specific case). Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m not pointing an accusatory finger at India for this ignorance, I’m pointing it at all of us, America included. When did we learn to hate the way our Creator made us? When did we give in?

Not sure which of these women isn't beautiful

One of the reasons I’ve fallen in love with India is because it is such a colorful country. I love the different colors of houses, decorations, clothes, and the people. India should take pride in its many shades; it’s a land filled with beautiful beautiful people. And since I couldn’t go one night without seeing at least 2 skin whitening commercials, I want to take a moment and tell all the girls with a darker hue, both here in India and around the world, that you are beautiful, you are lovely. Self-hate will be the destruction of us; let’s tell society that we embrace our lovely sun kissed shades.

Gorgeous

“You are beautiful”

Sincerely, the girl whose ancestors must have spent countless hours working, playing, and dancing under the sun; embracing all of her rays. The girl who knows what it’s like to feel that your shade isn't the right one. Sincerely the girl who dislikes chocolate, but has the beautiful dark complexion that has made Hersey’s famous….

Sincerely,

The girl who embraced the shade within

May India prosper through her future generations

Our House

“I cried a lot during my poverty research,” he said. (My immediate thoughts: “I’ve travelled; I’ve seen poverty up close. I know how the majority of the world lives.”) While that’s true, it doesn’t matter, each life, each person is different and their story deserves not to be reduced or compiled with the many others in similar situations. I now know how he felt. It wasn’t until Monday when I started my major research project in my village that it hit me. I’ve studied, seen, and even talked with people in abject poverty. Research is different though; I’m prying into people’s lives and asking some of them to recall memories they’ve tried to forget about. I’m probably one of the only people that have listened to their stories. Naturally, my eyes watered during some of my interviews, but I made a conscious decision to be strong; not at all for myself, but for these women…these warriors.

Cake in your face means we love you!

Deepak's BDay!

My co-research Shivani and I are in the village of Railmagra for the last time to do research for my final project. This stay is for an entire week, Monday-Saturday. As you might have guessed, the 18 Duke Students were a mess the day we left. Long hugs, and desperate pleas to “text me!” or “Facebook chat all week!” We are quite a funny bunch. Our final project topic was left open to us and we have a large variety of focuses. It kind of feels like we were thrown out here to either sink or swim for this project; I just hope everyone is still afloat like me!

One of the many sunsets

Since my last blog, we’ve celebrated two more birthdays in the group! Both Deepak and Denzell turned 21. Thanks to all the celebrations, we’ve gotten a chance to try out multiple restaurants along Fateshager Lake. Each place so far has had such a beautiful view of the lake at night. During Deepak’s dinner we realized that a Bollywood movie was being filmed on the other side of the lake. We all quickly reached for our cameras but due the lighting the people were unrecognizable. The film is staring two huge Bollywood stars, Deepika and Ranveer (I had to Google them). These Indian sunsets have been breath-taking; I really should pay more attention to them back home. If they’re anything like what I’ve been experiencing here, then I’ve definitely been missing out.

Mobile grocery

Rather than always going to the grocery store, here in India, the grocery store comes to you! I was reading on the porch one day when a man came shouting down the street selling vegetables. Mommyji ran outside to see the selection. She must have been satisfied with what she saw because she immediately went into bargaining mode. He had everything; carrots, peas, cabbage, lentils, and more. It was like Kroger or Wal-Mart on wheels. In addition to food, I’ve also seen people come by selling fresh milk, brooms, and other home goods.

Playing cricket with my 3 year old village host brother.
He has the absolutely best hand-eye coordination I've ever
seen for someone so young! (This was also my first time
playing cricket)

The dance/cultural show we attended.
She's dancing with all these pots on her head
and standing on broken glass! Ouch!!

Friday, Duke Basketball had a rematch with NC State. It was a big game because we lost to them earlier in the season on their court so we had to redeem ourselves at home. A couple of us woke up early and came to school nearly 2 hours before class to watch the game on the projector. It felt good to be cheering on the boys again.

Duke Basketball in India!

Tomorrow my time, and tonight your time is the biggest game of them all! DUKE vs. unc at 9pm. I am so anxious I can’t wait. I really wish I could be somewhere with a tv that got ESPN or at least back in the city so I could have a strong enough internet signal to stream the game. My internet stick works in the village, but it’s pretty slow. Nonetheless, I’ll get up at 7:30am tomorrow and furiously hit the “refresh” button to get updates on the game. Who knows, maybe I’ll even be able to stream it. I will go to sleep tonight dreaming of a beautiful world in which everyone sported the ever great royal blue.

We found a bowling alley in the mall

Until Next Time,
*Nicole

P.S. Happy Ash Wednesday, wish I could have gone to service today. I am continually reminded of how blessed I am each time I walk out the house. In addition, I have yet to get sick and have remained safe. God is good all the time……and all the time God is good! J

Maria and I

Don't Have a Cow

You say jump, we say how high?!

My home in Udaipur

Saluting the troops

Hey again!

This week we celebrated India’s Republic Day. It was really special to be able to share in this important day. Republic day is the anniversary of the signing of India’s constitution. We thought we were just going to the parade, but once we got there we discovered that we had VIP tickets! We got to sit in a special covered area with some local important people. We literally walked in alongside the mayor of the city. There were floats that advertised some of the different programs the cities has implemented. People on the floats would act out different scenes. For example, on one float a man was teaching a group of female students. This represented the city’s efforts to promote education for girls. Some of the kids from the local schools did a performance out on the field. They wore all white, but their hats had the colors of the Indian flag. Afterwards a group of women in multi-colored saris danced. The city honored about 30-50 people who had done extraordinary things in the past year. One of the employees from Chitra (the consulting group that puts our program together) was honored for his work of bringing education to children in villages. When his name was called we all stood up and clapped and shouted for him. You’re probably thinking this is a perfectly normal way of celebrating, expect for that everyone else only did quiet “golf claps”. Everyone just turned and starred at us, it was pretty funny.

Riding around the city on my
Co-researchers scooter

After the parade we went to tour another fort that was 2 ½ hours from Udaipur. This place had monkeys out the wa-zoo! It’s fun to look at them from inside the car, but when you’re standing next to them or they’re jumping from tree to tree above your head it gets pretty intimidating! These monkeys are aggressive too; they've been known to take people’s cameras if you get too close. So yes, I do run whenever I see them. Even more prevalent than monkeys are cows. Prior to coming I heard that India had cows walking around, but I was not prepared for this. They are literally EVERYWHERE, including the middle of the street during rush hour. And because cows are holy to Hindus’ it’s against the law to kill them. Once they become old and run out of milk, their owners let them go and they roam for the rest of their lives. Hitting one with your car will get you in big big legal trouble. While walking places I not only have to watch for cars and motorcycles driving on any side of the road at high speed, I also have to watch for cows that could ram into me. It’s quite a sight to see traffic stopped up because a cow is in a busy intersection and has nowhere to go.

Fun with friends

The NGO I’m working with is called Jatan. They do work in Udaipur and many of the surrounding villages. They do everything from education to women’s empowerment to helping farmers better tend to their land. 2 other interns from Germany are also working with the organization. This is their gap year so they volunteer abroad for a whole year after high school. They introduced me to another really cool NGO that focuses on making India more green and sustainable. The artwork in the building is all made out of trash and recycled goods. I even bought some earrings made out of old cd’s. They believe in a culture of giving, so they feed people dinner and then you donate whatever you like. The food was all vegan and surprisingly I found it to be so delicious.

In the back of an auto (not the usual, this is a large one)

Monday was Maria’s 21^st birthday so we all went out for dinner to a nice restaurant on the lake. The view from outside was beautiful. On the way there we were struggling to arrange for an auto rickshaw to take us and agree to pick us up because many of them stop running after 7 pm  After about 15min of trying to secure 2 or 3 autos, we decided to try and ride “Indian style”. By this I mean we tried to see how many people were humanly possible to fit into one rickshaw. In the end, we squeeze all of us in one. 16 PEOPLE IN ONE AUTO!! It was really something to see, it resembled the clown cars that carry endless numbers of clowns. Along the way we sang (or shouted) some of our favorite songs from home. I couldn't see out the window, but I think it’s safe to say everyone must have been staring as we went by. We tend to create a “Little America” everywhere we go.

The Bride & Groom

The wedding stage

Some dancers at the wedding

Harsh, one of the Chitra employees, invited us all to his cousins wedding on Tuesday. We attended the sangeet party. It’s a get together of family and close friends where people preform and dance for the bride and groom. It’s not even the main wedding day, but it’s still a big ordeal (I think someone said 300 people were invited). There was so much food and everything is cooked fresh in front of you. The decorations were beautiful; the colors were light purple and cream. I can definitely see myself using the same color scheme for my wedding. We even got to take a picture with the bride and groom.

The 2 Nicoles at the wedding!

I am now back in the village for my second stay. I’m here for 3 days, 2 nights. This time I choose to do my research on the life of a frontline healthcare worker. Because the village I live in (Rilmagra) is so big, I went to the neighboring village of Mora 3km away to talk to the health workers. The only healthcare worker the village has is one ASHA worker. She gives people medicine for common ailments and attends to pregnant women and newborns, but she only has minimal health training. There is a nurse that comes to the village, but she is only there twice a month. Since there is a lack of health workers, I think I’ll transfer my project to Rilmagra tomorrow.

My host brother in the village

I know I've said this before, but we have a special group. Something hilarious happens every time we hang out. We couldn't even depart for our separate villages this morning without hugging each other and repeating how much we’d miss one another. You’d think we were going to be apart for weeks. I really do believe we have separation anxiety!

At this very moment a cow is trying to head-butt its way through the gate of our house. This is India!

Until Next Time,
*Nicole

P.S. The number of people asking to take pictures of/with us has only increased. Usually people just try to sneak pictures of us without even asking. Earlier this week a man asked me to take a picture holding his baby girl. Talk about odd experiences.