Chapter IV: Subhadra...

Hi there!

Busy, busy week! Let's start with a little bit about Hinduism. After Srini's effortless attempts to explain me some of the Hindu deities, I came to the conclusion that it is impossible to recognise every symbol and god/ess in just two weeks time... (yes, today's 14 days since I arrived). One thing is for sure, there's not only one deity (like Catholicism ), and there are different asigned roles for each deity, as well as family bonds among them, even aliases for a single deitiy. Srini explained me some of the main Hindu deities by drawing their bonds in a piece of paper which, unfortunately, I don't have right now, so I cannot explain what I learned that day.

So yesterday (29th) was Krishna's birthday. Hindus fast for the whole day (28th) to focus on this festivity until 00:00 on the next day (29th) were all the people gather at the temple and pray for Krishna. It's also the end of their fasting time so they have lots of food and even Hindu music. I could see dozens of people gathering at Venugopal temple (near my house), even with an unexpected downpour above their heads. They queued at the entrance of a small cabin where the statue lays and people offer herbs to it as a worship.

Yesterday we all gathered at the MCES and went to an office to celebrate Krisha's birthday. We stood in front of a small wooden Krishna temple and listened to a man dressed in typcal Hindu outfits chanting some prayers. Then we were given some flowers or small green leaves to be offered to Krishna's statue while a young cute girl sang some words in Hindi or Kannata (I don't know how to distinguish them). After the Pooja (celebration), we had some Indian sweets and went back to work.

And big news! Yesterday I had my first lecture at university. For one hour I spoke about Spanish culture and socio-cultural impact across History. I explained a little bit about Spain's history, from the foundation of Cartago Nova by the Phoenicious until the glorious Spanish empire and its decadence. They were quite amazed by our traditions (San Fermines, Tomatina), our Islamic invasion and its vestiges across the south, and also some of the Spanish inventions that are more popular nowadays: table football, mopping stick, submarine... We ended up watching some videos about Fogueres de Sant Joan, San Fermines and even Paco de Lucía playing "Entre dos aguas". A short journey through our different architectonic currents, artists, golden century, landscapes etc. After explaining all these concepts I though to myself how lucky I am for having the chance of knowing my culture, for understanding our history and for how rich and multicultural we are if compared to other nations. I don't feel patriotic, I don't feel proud. One cannot feel proud of something that happened by chance, we didn't choose to be born in Spain, it's all about luck. So I can only think of fortune when I think about this. Still there are tons of people who ignore our History and our culture, who just live the present without caring about how things evolved up to now. We must acknowledge the importance of knowing our past to understand what's going on at present.

And drawing this post to a close, yesteday evening we went to Udupi! Udupi is the main city near Manipal, just 6 km far from here. Lots of people celebrated Krishna's birthday there. We visited the temple and its amazing pond. There were a lot of things to be learned but, seriously, I just cannot learn everything at first, it will take me some time... We saw a show where some young boys dressed like tigers and danced in circles while music just played by some. We had a nice stroll around Udupi's streets among the crowds, it quite resembled like fairs in small towns from La Mancha: men selling tacky (very tacky) souvenirs, street food, kids playing with balloons, lights... And here I come to the most exciting fact of the day. I finally saw my first elephant!!! Its name is Subhadra (as in the title) and apparently it sleeps at Udupi's temple (meaning that I can go and visit her everyday!!!). The coooooolest thing of it was that people gave money to Subhadra in order to pet her. Then, the elephant would touch your head with the tip of her trunk, and later (how cool), the elephant gives the money to its owner (LOL). Basically, the elephant works as a money-maker machine. Still I've got to love it.

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Quick update: I went to the FRO (foreign registration office) at Udupi to sort out all my paperwork. The VERY KIND policeman (notice my sarcasm) told me to go back to Spain and issue another visa for me because mine was wrong. Apparently, after learning how to read a **** text, he realised I was right so my Employment visa is completely valid for my stay (it was just some strange exception concerning language trainers). Btw, I have 40 pupils so far which will be divided into two batches. Next monday I'll start my Spanish lessons, so I will tell you how it is going. Stay tuned and...


SUBHADRA!

    Subhadra taking a walk around Udupi. I'll visit her more often, I promise

    Udupi's temple pond. Beautiful, huh?

Chapter III: First week in India.

Today it's been a week since I arrived to India for the first time. To be fair, things are going pretty well, better than expected if I am permitted (of course I am, it's my blog lol). I mean this because I never thought I was going to adapt so quickly to this whole new way of living, especially only in a week time. Now I know that if you are to take an "otto" or Indian rickshaw (sort of a taxi, http://winnersdelhinews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/auto-rickshaws.jpg) you need to be aware of the price, for many times the driver will try charge you more money on the real price of the trip (tip: never ever pay more than Rs100 for a local trip). It is also widely known that if you search for something in India, that doesn't mean you're going in the right direction. Indian cities are constructed out of the blue, with no planifications. Manipal doesn't even have street names, they work fine with landmarks. That means that if you are receiving a letter, the postman won't usually know your address, instead he will call you and you'll meet him/her at a landmark nearby, e.g. near the police station. I know it's crazy. This may account for the way people drive in here. They can overtake whenever possible (by possible they understand risking your life a few times), push the horn ceaselessly and shout curse words to stray dogs on the road if necessary.

And switching to other issues, I've already had my first lecture here. Professor Praveen spoke about European literature from the ancient ages (Greece and Rome) until modernism. We had great reflections with him, sharing our thoughts and perceptions about what we understand by literature, constructing general views of past eras and exploring the different ideas of some of the greatest thinkers in History: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelo, More, Ockham, Da Vinci, Rafael, Camus, Hesse, etc. It's simply amazing to recreate part of the history of Europe from its literary works. There are so many things yet to learn, thinking currents, ideas, masterpieces, wars, empires... From the craddle of civilization to the obscure times of the middle ages (you just can't imagine how sad it is to talk about Spanish inquisition) until the "boom" of artistic currents of the twentieth century. Sometimes I think I would love to live enough to know more about every single thing that has influenced us to come to where we stand now, from the ancient works to the most modern pieces, *sighs*...

Also, two days ago was the festivity called "Rakhsha Bandhan". This day commemorates the bond between brothers and sisters. Sisters tie a thread on the brother's hand, meaning that the brother will protect the sister for the rest of their lives (beautiful huh?). Fortunately, my new friend Akash gave me a spare thread for me (which is currently tied on my left wrist). I'll try to upload a picture of it as soon as possible.

More about Indian rituals. As I told you in the first post, I'm going to an Indian celebration this sunday. One of my colleagues is moving to her new apartment and they have a celebration for it. So finally I could find a picture of it to share with you:

Please notice the swastika symbol. No, they are not nazis lol. Most of Indian people don't even know who Hitler was. The swastika symbol has Indian origins. It may have several meanings, though the most accepted one is "welfare". Together with the Om and the Sri, these are some sacred symbols in the Indian culture.

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Quick update: finally got 3G on my phone. Still need to arrange the computer dongle (USB stick). We're planning a trip to Bangalore for next thursday, it's one of the most important cities of Karnataka. Tomorrow we'll be probably having an international dinner at Stefano's. I'll try to cook some Spanish omelette and other Spanish meals if I find the right ingredients. I'm also organising the Spanish A1 level for the first semester and sorting out my registration paperwork at the police station. Stay tuned for more and...


NAMASKARA!

Chapter II: "Let it be out"

Adapting to the Indian culture is not easy if you've never escaped a Western country. Cross-cultural gestures, words and customs occur far more often than expected, which lead you to think that you urgently need to read a book like "India for dummies" or something similar. It is unbelievable the amount of things that one can learn in just one day here. As I told in the previous post, I don't think I'm ever going to learn enough of this culture.

Let's start with food. A great percentage of south-Indian population is veg-oriented. Yes, there is meat here, but if you ask for other than chicken, it will probably cost you an arm and a leg, plus the difficulty to come across the right restaurant. Overall, Indian food tends to be very cheap and you can get huge quantities for the cost of one euro (or two if you are really hungry). Uni menu can cost you 45Rs (rupees) which if compared to euros it is like 50 cts or so. This menu (veg one) includes rice with dried fruits, beans, cheese and roti (Indian bread, like the one we use for kebabs in Spain). I must admit I've grown a dangerous addiction to this kind of bread. It is called "Naan" when you eat it fried in butter. Among other things, I've also tried "Thali" which is a combo of different Indian meals. Obviously, everything is utterly spiced with Indian flavours like turmeric (cúrcuma), tamarind, coriander (cilantro), mustard seeds and an endless list of Indian spices yet unknown to me. Indian menu usually goes accompanied with a glass of natural yogurt, sometimes seasoned with lime or cinammon. Here are a few meals I've tried (and I remember):

- Thali: as described above
- Roti: Indian bread (pan de pita)
- Naan: Indian bread fried in butter
- Dosa: sort of an Indian crêpe filled with vegetables (for example)
- Masala: means sauce
- Dal: pulses
- Tandoori: means cooked in Indian oven (don't even know what that is but something like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandoor)
- Tikka: way of cooking meat. Ex. chicken tikka masala = chicken with sauce at tikka style.

As you can imagine, Eastern customs for eating broadly differ from those in the West. Most importantly, Indian people eat with their right hand, they never ever use their left hand for eating (I'll explain it in some other chapter). Unless the dish requires a spoon (soups), everything is eaten with one hand, from rice to roti or beans. That's why they eat with roti, because they tear it in several pieces (with one hand. I'm getting used to it) and they grab the food using their hand covered in roti. Furthermore, Indian people tend to share their dishes so that they ask for different meals and then everyone tries a portion from every dish (closest thing to tapas I've ever seen). All in all, I must admit that Indian cuisine is a delicatessen in every sense, for although it takes your digestive system a while adapting to its flavours, the melange of different Indian spices together with its colours and smells makes eating a mystic experience (unless you go to KFC or Domino's. I've done it twice here).


When Alex, Stefano, Nikita and me were dinning at Udupi's veg restaurant "Woodlands" I couldn't help asking for almost every dish coming to our table. At a certain moment, Alex said the sentence that works as a title in this post: "when you are in India, avoid stereotypes, prejudices and thinking about your past experiences. Don't try to question everything, just let it be out, accept things the way they are, then you'll understand how people live in here". Amen to that.


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Quick update: hopefully I'll be getting my SIM card and internet dongle (USB modem) by this afternoon. House is looking nicer once I bought some mosquito plug repellents and air fresheners. I'm still on my search for a fridge (checking bargains), I might start cooking some Indian food after a while. I've still got tons of things left to tell you, wait for the next post, I didn't want to spoil the beauty of Indian cuisine with other experiences. Stay tuned and...


NAMASKARA!*

*(Namaste in Kannada language, the one spoken in the region of Karnataka)

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life...

... for me, and I'm feeling good.

Greetings my readers! Here I will start narrating my experiences about this academic course at Manipal university. Even though most of the readers will be Spanish (for sure), the purpose of writing in English is that of polishing my writing skills, mainly because I'll be studying a PG diploma here at the MCES (Manipal Center for European Studies) and I need to get rid of this "English uselessness" appearing at non-academic periods (summer). However, I will write some posts in Spanish from time to time. Either way, I will be uploading pictures in every post (as soon as I get my new camera).

Honestly, the trip to Manipal was not a piece of cake. First flight running from Madrid to Dubai lasted around 7 hours, though the Emirates' Boeing 777 provided interactive screens for every seat (and also a blanket, a pillow and a stereo headset). As can be guessed, I watched Toy Story 3, Family Guy, G.I. Joe (just The Rock shooting Pakistanis) and listened to Led Zeppelin all way through. First layover was pretty short as flight was delayed for an hour and a half, so I got some time to open facebook and send a couple of messages. Next flight ran from Dubai to Bengaluru (Bangalore in Spanish), lasted about 4 hours and spent the whole time sleeping as it was at night. Once arrived, had to fill some documents for foreign and Indian people (crazy) and hand them in at the immigration register. Strange remark when one of the guards guided me to the baggage claim and instead of saying goodbye he mumbled "tip". Apparently it's something normal they do with foreigners, just offering your services for the easiest thing possible and asking for a tip (which I find it's very normal, but quite unexpected from a member of the airport staff). Anyway, still had 3 hours till the next flight to Mangalore in a turboprop airplane (yes, scary as fuck). Once arrived there, I shared a cab with a guy I met while picking up my suitcase (very nice btw) and here started one of the craziest rides I've ever had in a car: cows on the street, dogs on the pavement (basically the earthy sides of the road), caged hens, palm trees with with weird fruits, very heavy rains, tropical rainforests, potholes everywhere, and the most startling detail: every single driver was pushing the horn for no apparent reason. According to my new friend, it's because:

- They want to overtake
- There is a dog/cow crossing (or trying to mate) the road
- There are people crossing the road randomly, namely dodging kamikazes.
- No reason. They just do it for fun.

So as you can imagine, Indian cities and towns are usually a combination of all things above mentioned. Very noisy and hectic. Still there are things that make your day pretty easily: three to four students in the same motorbike (no helmets), a guy driving a motorbike with his passenger holding firmly a hen by its neck, an old man driving with one hand and holding a huge barrel under his arm, etc. I don't think nothing isn't going to surprise me here, there are many things to discover.

Ah, my house is sort of a zoo. I've already killed my first anopheles (Malaria mosquito) - this one goes for you Ignacio-, four spiders (yes, big spiders), and other sort of flies and mosquitos. Big thanks to Tagirem who has left me some repellent and a useful mosquito net for covering my bed at night. Apart from that, the house is quite nice. There are about six rooms in total: two bedrooms, lounge, kitchen, bathroom (Indian one, aghhh) and a laundry room. Although it seems quite empty now, it'll look perfect as soon as I clean it a little bit and decorate it  while playing old rock from the 70's (sweet home).

So life here is getting better, even though I couldn't help feeling uneasy at the beginning, now I'm meeting new people at the MCES (Manipal Center for European Studies) who show me the premises of Manipal University and take me to the food court for having lunch (my first Indian meal, not as spicy as I thought, but specially seasoned. 6 different meals for less than two euros) and a chocolate ice cream (ice cream costs twenty around twenty cents)

 Tonight we're going out and I've already been invited to an Indian celebration: new house for one of my colleagues. All in all, I know it's crap being alone at home fighting animals (there are kobras, Indian vipers and pythons on the grass), but I'm sure I'll be perfectly adapted in one week or two. Meanwhile, I need to get hold of an Indian SIM card and an USB modem so that I can use facebook at home (uni doesn't allow students to enter certain webpages like facebook or youtube).

I guess this post is about to end. Thanks for reading up to here. I'll try to keep this updated with pics and more experiences. Take care and...


... NAMASTE!