One of the most important and rewarding parts of exchange is learning a language. I am not doing very well in this department. Language is the reason I wanted to become an exchange student and after being here for over 2 months I could not conjugate a verb or make a proper sentence. I am truly embarrassed by my language level. There is so much English in India. Almost everyone is fluent in English. People of the younger generations even think in English. Most Bollywood music is half in English. Television is often in English. Street signs and advertisements are written in English and Indians often watch American movies and listen to American music. I am not immersed in Gujarati or Hindi at all. Yes, everyone speaks Gujarati and Hindi but I am never forced to use their languages. I use Gujarati or Hindi whenever I know the word but most people find it ridiculous that I try to speak their language. When I tell people that I want to learn Gujarati or Hindi they tell me that it is very silly because they are “worthless” languages. My school is also taught in English. Against much opposition I have decided that I must switch to a school that is taught in Gujarati. Everyone except my friend from New York is convinced that I am crazy and it will be a complete waste of my time. Not many people are supportive of my decision, but I feel it is the right thing to do. I will kick myself if by the end of my exchange I cannot communicate fairly well in Gujarati, and it is insulting to go to a foreign country and speak your mother tongue. Many people in America speak Spanish but if a foreigner comes to America and tries to communicate in Spanish people are very offended. I am doing exactly this and I do not think that is okay. To go to a school in Gujarati is the only chance I am going to have to be completely immersed in the language, and the only hope I have of learning. Unfortunately exchange students in India stop going to school in November because of festivals and trips. I do not have very much time in that school but it is better than what I am doing now. My school is pretty much a waste of time except for the friends I have made. One out of ten exchange students that come to India learn the language and that really scares me. I know that it is possible to be that one and I will work very hard but I refuse to learn by studying through books. I came here to experience the culture not read about it. I understand that the English language is a huge part of Indian culture because of the British, but the native culture is also important. Even though sometimes I am very frustrated by all of the English here I have to be thankful for it in many ways. Indian culture is drastically different than any western culture and if no one could communicate and explain things to me I would be 100% lost right now. I am fairly lost even though I can communicate semi-fluently. I know I should not beat myself up too much because I am making every effort I can to learn the language. Things may not work out perfectly and I may not ever be fluent but there are so many other things to experience in India. I cannot let my lack of language immersion make me bitter towards my experience because there is a world of opportunities here. Language may not be in the cards for me but my life is not over. I still have a good 80 years left of living. I have plenty of time to go to Japan or the Philippines where there is not a word of English. I will make the best of the opportunities I am given here, even if that doesn’t include language. Other than the language I feel that I am adjusting to the culture well and I am really enjoying my time here. I am giving up on the language, but I am done beating myself up about something that is out of my control. I do not think switching to Gujarati Medium will solve my problem but it is a step in the right direction.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Ganesha Chaturthi
My second Indian festival! Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated for 10 days. Ganesha the god that removes all of the obstacles from one’s life is brought to everyone’s home for 10 days. Every family and every neighborhood has a Ganesha Idol. Some of the Idols are very extravagant. There was a 9 foot tall Ganesha in my city that had a crown and gloves made from 100% real diamonds and gold! Every Ganesha is also given a shrine that honestly more closely resembles a palace. Every night we do Puja (prayer) to the Ganesha. We chant things in Sanskrit and the whole community gets together. I do not understand most of what happened but it had a very joyful atmosphere. Every day has a different theme and color. Ganesha’s clothes are changed every day from red to blue to green to purple to white to orange. Many women from my society made beautiful Prasads (offerings) from fruit, vegetables and pearls. This festival was started in Maharashtra (the state below mine) during the British rule. The hope behind Ganesha Chaturthi was that if everyone could gather together and pray for the British to stop their rule over India then Ganesha the remover of Obstacles would grant their wish. All that they had to do was pray and at the end of the ten days the entire city gets into the streets to throw over 6,000 Ganesha into the river! No one could give me a clear explanation as to why we throw him in the river but almost nothing has a clear answer in India so I am basically used to that by now. The government has made a rule that the Ganesha idols can only be made from materials that are biodegradable but it is not very well enforced. Many Ganesha idols are made from plaster of paris. Biodegradable or not that is a lot of material to be dumped into the river within 24 hours. This festival is catastrophic for the environment. People burst firecrackers and there is garbage EVERYWHERE! The morning after the festival you could not see the road, and the air was thick with smog because of the masses of gas guzzling trucks carrying the Ganeshas on the road. But if I forget about the effect on the environment which I have a very hard time doing it was wonderful. Every person was on the street celebrating. It is a really powerful atmosphere. People were crying because they had to say goodbye to Ganesha and then there was dancing and food and music and everything else you could imagine. Again I felt very clueless about things but it was a beautiful festival and I am happy to have been a part of it.
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