[Cabs] Namaaste Jaipur Se! (Hello from Jaipur)

Esha Mehta esha.mehta at colorado.edu
Wed Jul 4 18:36:35 UTC 2012


Hi!

I finally have legitimate internet! Yay! It's too slow for skype, but
at least it's internet. Here what's been going on during my first few
weeks in India...

Some of you know this already, but others might not. I'm here in
Jaipur, India at the American Institute for Indian Studies and am part
of thier intensive language training program for Hindi. Basically,
it's summer school on steroids because we move super fast and are
completely immersed in the language. For example, my host mom doesn't
speak any English so not only do I have to use Hindi in class, but my
roomate and I have to use it all the time to communicate with her! So
crazy!

The first few weeks of class were pretty rough. I learned that there
is no such thing as a schedule and everything happens at its own pace.
In a way, it's refreshing because time isn't all that important like
it is back home. People are more relaxed here and the stress of
getting things done "on time" never seems to touch
them. As one can imagine though, it stinks to be on the other side of
"Indian Standard Time" or IST...where "you will get it tomorrow" might
actually mean next week or "this riksha will arrive at 1pm" might
actually suggest you bring some snacks with you because  by the time
you get home, it might be past dinner time! Haha! By the way, IST is
in no way related to "Esha time" where in which actual time is
slightly skewed about 20 minutes in the direction of "late." ;)

Seriously, it has been frustrating getting used to the pace of things
out here. I'm learning the Bharati Braille code officially now and
have to stop myself from getting all in a tizzy because things aren't
happening as quickly as they would in the states. It's a different
culture--a very different way of life.  I've realized how blessed I am
to have the access I do to accessible material when I need it and to
be in a place, where I can convert things myself if I need to. It was
a shock
(though it shouldn't have been) that there are no Braille plaques on
doors, or labeled elevator buttons, or even books in audio at the book
stores we went to. I'm not sure if it is that society overlooked these
things, or it's not of importance to them. I'm eager to find out
though. I wonder what it's like for anyone with any disability here
who actually lives here. There's a school for the blind in this state
that I will have to opportunity to go to and hopefully get some
guidance on how all of this works for blind students in India. I'm
hoping it will be a positive experience and show me how I can help
make things accessible for everyone. I learned that here in Rhagistan,
public schools are very wary of having blind students in theri school.
It's all about changing there perceptions about blindness because they
are very old school in their thinking and just don't understand. They
can't provide material for students in public schools and as far as I
can tell, there are no such things as a TVI. In major cities, like New
Delhi, blind students do go to public schools becuse they are more
well-equipped with embossers and things and seem more aware. It's all
about changing perceptions about blindness or any disability no matter
where you are in the world.

Exploring our little neighborhood shops was also an experience. My
first question as I walked down the street with some friends to go
shopping was, "where did all the pollution go?" I mean, it's not no
where near as clean as the U.S., but it's like 100% cleaner  than when
I went with my family 15 years ago. No roaming horses or cow crossings
here...just
street dogs and the occasional dead something or other that had the
unfortunate run-in with a scooter or rikshaa that led it to become a
dusty street pizza.

There's something about India that keeps you coming back despite the
poverty, acrid smells, crazy traffic, and intense heat. There's a need
for love and compassion here for all types of minorities. It's a
beautiful place with beautiful people. Though there are things that
really bother me like access for people with disabilities and the cast
system, I'm realizing that the smallest actions like giving a street
kid a piggy back ride or explaining blindness to a shopkeeper really
goes further than I could have ever imagined!

That's all for now....I hope you all are enjoying convention!

Take care,
Esha




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