Sangam
Tuesday, July 3, 2007 SHANNON
We arrived safe and sound at the Sangam cultural center outside of Bangalore after approximately 30 hours of traveling. Our flight from Chicago to Mumbai was delayed, so we had to reschedule a later flight from Mumbai to Bangalore. Once we landed in Mumbai, we missed the shuttle to take us to the domestic flights terminal. Marcie was stuck in the international airport because her bag was lost. So, we took taxis, but each taxi could only hold three people. My first experience of driving in India was unforgettable. It was pouring rain to the point that I could see nothing out of the windshield. The taxi driver periodically wiped the inside of the windshield in attempt to see. Also, instead of stopping at intersections, etcetera, Indian drivers simply swerve around obstacles. My taxi transported me, Sarah, and Sonali. We arrived at the terminal, but our taxi had been separated from Jake’s. Eventually, Sonali asked someone where the Air India terminal was, and we were able to get there after experiencing much excitement, and the group was safely united. We had successfully survived our first experience of chaos in India. However, we missed the flight we were scheduled for. The next flight left three hours later, but we couldn’t confirm our seats until about five minutes before the take off time. However, during the three hours of waiting, we started a game of “the human knot.” When I twirled under someone’s arm and was facing towards the windows, I saw a full audience gaping at us. We finally got on the plane, only to find out that it was raining too hard to take off, and we had to wait for the rain to subside.
Once the plane had taken off, the man sitting next to me asked me where I was from and about the SAGE program. I showed him pictures of my dog, and he told me a little bit about his life in India. “Mumbai has the best drivers!!!” he announced proudly.
We got a warm welcome at the Sangam arts center, and were greeted with a delicious Indian meal. We all decided we were ready to plunge into Indian culture and eat with our hands. There are four pets at Sangam: two dogs and two cats. The cats love to snuggle together, and one dog, Zenu, always has a coconut in mouth, ready to play fetch. Sangam is a beautiful setting, and its peacefulness calmed me after such an exhilarating day!
Wednesday, July 4, 2007 SHANNON
Happy Fourth of July to everyone at home! Today, we saw a very different kind of celebration on the way to a nearby temple. In the center of a village, we saw that everyone had congregated for a Hindu celebration of some kind. We took a break to look around and interact with the people. I went up to a group of young girls, who were very excited to have their picture taken! Twelve year old Namya spoke some English and was able to talk to me.
We visited the temples devoted to Siva in the Nandi hills. There is one temple at the top of the mountain, Yoganandishwara, and one at the bottom, Boganandishwara. We participated in the Hindu ritual of being blessed before the icons of Shiva and Parvati. We also had our first experience with wild monkeys! As soon as we exited the van, they began climbing all over it, trying to find a way in. They were also quite interested in our picnic lunch.
On the way home, we stopped along the roadside to have a taste of fresh coconut! I like the milk very much, but I didn’t find the slimy white meat very appetizing. We arrived back at Sangam for another delicious meal and have an evening ahead of us of more orientation activities.
Thursday, July 5, 2007 SHANNON
We had a quiet day today, staying home at Sangam. For the morning and afternoon, Jyoti, the founder of Sangam, lectured about the history of Hinduism and archetypal religious symbols. Thanks to my English teacher, Ms. Frommer, I know a ton about Jung and archetypes! The lectures were very enlightening, and gave us a sense of Indian teaching methods. To give an example, Jyoti talked about the six-pointed star, known commonly as the “star of David”. In Hinduism, this star is often present and is known as the “star of Lakshmi”. We spent a good deal of time discussing mandalas, and had the opportunity to create our own! A mandala is a representation of the cosmos that helps to describe the order of the world.
In the evening, we did sensory activities to help us tune in to our new surroundings. However, I fell asleep for this part of the day. Fortunately, I was able to sleep through the night and am excited for a full day in Bangalore on Friday!
Friday, July 06, 2007
Hello Everyone!! Aashika here!!!
Today was an exciting day. Everyone was so happy to go shopping, especially me. Not only did I get new clothes, but I realized that I have a new shopping buddy, Sonali. She helped me to find some really nice clothes. Her bargaining thankfully got better as we continued to shop.
When we first went to the market, Sarah and Sonali wanted to buy mangoes. At first they cost rs.100, but they talked them down to rs. 80. BIG difference…. Haha so we got TOTALLY ripped off – whoooops! So anyway, the rest of the day was all smiles J! We all sportin’ some new threads – we fresh to death!! So then, on the van ride back home, we decided to heat it up and started bumpin’ in the van to Ricki Martin – we got some CRAZY looks from the local villagers – haha Bollywood Dance Partay!! When Imo and Marcie stopped to get something from the store, we were in the van with music blaring, just breakin it the heck downnnnn. We got stared at sooo much!! There was this one kid…oh wait I just remembered! Marcie did the sweetest dance like a few minutes ago. Dannnnngggg. Now, it be 8:30 and Jake done took the speakerz so we cant listen to Bob Dylan. Aiight foolz, time 4 da fashun SHOOT!!! Out.
-Aashika
*interesting addition: just now while playing a charade type game, the cat dragged in a mouse. He began to play with it, and ended up batting it so hard it flew through the air in a perfect arc over the food. Aashika shrieked and jumped on me, and when I looked over, Amber had perched on Sara’s chair, with Megan hiding behind it. The room was filled suddenly with shrieks and laughter as everyone stared at the dead mouse. -Sonali
Saturday, July 7 SHANNON
This morning, we began the day by learning some chants from Jake. We then did a scavenger hunt around the village, looking for religious and cultural symbols.
One of the highlights of our stay at Sangam was the time we spent this afternoon at a nearby girls ashram. We split into two groups and each worked with 35 girls. They ranged in age from 4-17, but all were equally intelligent and compassionate. It was amazing to see how eager they were to teach us, learn from us, and to care for each other. After playing hot potatoe, duck duck goose, and freeze dance, the girls put on a small performance of a folk song and dance about the harvest. We connected very closely with them, and it was hard to leave.
Tonight, we are taking the night train to Kerala to begin our stay at the Vijnana cultural center. We are excited to begin the next part of our journey but will miss both Sangam and Imo and family.
