Linda's meeting with her father's friend in Kolkata appeared in the USIEF bulletin:
http://www.usief.org.in/USPSummerSeminar/newsletter/August10/CROSSING_THE_SEAS.htm
Enjoy!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
July 23-27 Kolkata (Calcutta)
Friday, July 23rd was a full day. We flew from Chennai to Kolkata, arriving at our hotel at 2 p.m. After a quick lunch, we took our bus to the American consulate, which also houses USIEF, the organization that manages Fulbright programs in India. After a formal greeting by the the Chief Consul, we had a PowerPoint orientation to Kolkata.
Next we traveled to the home of a family friend of Shoheni, one of our USIEF guides for Kolkata and Varanasi. Shoheni taught high school science prior to her job with USIEF, and one of her former students lives with several generations of relatives. They call themselves a conjoined family. We arrived at the home, actually a 3-story apartment building with a rooftop terrace. At each landing, one of the women of the family greeted us. We filed into a small living room and met Purbita, a daughter-in-law. The head of the family is the surviving eighty-year-old of two brothers who married two sisters. The family includes four sons and wives, and several of their children and spouses--twenty-two family members altogether! The relatives of working age all have professional jobs and juggle household chores and cooking responsibilities in addition to their careers. After tea, we were escorted to the rooftop, where we were served a traditional Bengali vegetarian dinner while one couple sang Indian songs accompanied by the harmonium.
On the way into the house, the most amazing thing happened. One of the four sons greeted us and by way of conversation mentioned that he’d gone to law school in Lansing, Michigan in the mid-1980s. One member of our group said, “Oh, we have a teacher in our group from Lansing.” We passed the word to Linda, and she introduced herself, asking ”Did you meet any Indians when you were in Lansing?” He said, "Yes, I knew Harold Mondol. He was like a mentor to me.” Linda screamed¸ “He’s my father!” Mr. Chakrabarti said, “Are you Linda?” When she said yes, he replied,” You were at my graduation!” Linda “skyped” her dad the next day. He had tears in his eyes when he heard that Linda had visited the home of his old friend. It truly is a small, small world!
Saturday the group visited a Muslim school and took a tour of the city. I spent the day in the hotel room with an attack of “dehli belly” that I attributed to drinking “filtered” tap water in Chennai. Fortunately for our schedule, I also was able to spend Sunday resting and recovering. I think I’ve already mentioned that the pace of this trip has been a challenge even for the most hale and hearty among us!
Our Kolkata visit also included more school visits and a demonstration of west Bngali Patua scroll painting. Since I was sick on Saturday, I missed the visit to the Missionaries of Charity, so I used my free time before we left for Varanasi to visit there. I was greeted by two Sisters who escorted me to Mother Teresa’s tomb. Seven novices were sweetly singing the liturgy for Holy Communion. The room where Mother Teresa died at 9:30 p.m. on September 5, 1997 is preserved as it was that night--just a plain simple room with a cot and a dresser, and a picture of Jesus on the wall, along with a crown made of thornes from a Nevada desert. A young man standing by the door quietly wiped tears from his eyes. I too stayed at the door of her modest room thinking about the impact this one simple woman had upon the entire world.
Next we traveled to the home of a family friend of Shoheni, one of our USIEF guides for Kolkata and Varanasi. Shoheni taught high school science prior to her job with USIEF, and one of her former students lives with several generations of relatives. They call themselves a conjoined family. We arrived at the home, actually a 3-story apartment building with a rooftop terrace. At each landing, one of the women of the family greeted us. We filed into a small living room and met Purbita, a daughter-in-law. The head of the family is the surviving eighty-year-old of two brothers who married two sisters. The family includes four sons and wives, and several of their children and spouses--twenty-two family members altogether! The relatives of working age all have professional jobs and juggle household chores and cooking responsibilities in addition to their careers. After tea, we were escorted to the rooftop, where we were served a traditional Bengali vegetarian dinner while one couple sang Indian songs accompanied by the harmonium.
On the way into the house, the most amazing thing happened. One of the four sons greeted us and by way of conversation mentioned that he’d gone to law school in Lansing, Michigan in the mid-1980s. One member of our group said, “Oh, we have a teacher in our group from Lansing.” We passed the word to Linda, and she introduced herself, asking ”Did you meet any Indians when you were in Lansing?” He said, "Yes, I knew Harold Mondol. He was like a mentor to me.” Linda screamed¸ “He’s my father!” Mr. Chakrabarti said, “Are you Linda?” When she said yes, he replied,” You were at my graduation!” Linda “skyped” her dad the next day. He had tears in his eyes when he heard that Linda had visited the home of his old friend. It truly is a small, small world!
Saturday the group visited a Muslim school and took a tour of the city. I spent the day in the hotel room with an attack of “dehli belly” that I attributed to drinking “filtered” tap water in Chennai. Fortunately for our schedule, I also was able to spend Sunday resting and recovering. I think I’ve already mentioned that the pace of this trip has been a challenge even for the most hale and hearty among us!
Our Kolkata visit also included more school visits and a demonstration of west Bngali Patua scroll painting. Since I was sick on Saturday, I missed the visit to the Missionaries of Charity, so I used my free time before we left for Varanasi to visit there. I was greeted by two Sisters who escorted me to Mother Teresa’s tomb. Seven novices were sweetly singing the liturgy for Holy Communion. The room where Mother Teresa died at 9:30 p.m. on September 5, 1997 is preserved as it was that night--just a plain simple room with a cot and a dresser, and a picture of Jesus on the wall, along with a crown made of thornes from a Nevada desert. A young man standing by the door quietly wiped tears from his eyes. I too stayed at the door of her modest room thinking about the impact this one simple woman had upon the entire world.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Fulbright in the News
The Fulbright Summer group's visits to Pune and Ahmedabad were covered by media there. See the following news articles:
Monday, June 28, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Money and Food Question (sorry....)
Okay....so I have read that "most meals while in the country" will be covered by the program. I'm curious when it states "dinner on your own" what will the average dinner cost be for us?
Just wanting to make sure I plan accordingly...to be prepared. I know you've also recommended bringing $300-$500 "spending money". Does that amount include what we'll spend on meals and tipping that was discussed? Then we plan on bringing other funds for whatever gifts/artifacts we would want to purchase to bring back with us?
Sorry to be so picky....just trying to clarify...better safe than sorry.....
Thanks for all you do!
cheers,
linda in lansing
Just wanting to make sure I plan accordingly...to be prepared. I know you've also recommended bringing $300-$500 "spending money". Does that amount include what we'll spend on meals and tipping that was discussed? Then we plan on bringing other funds for whatever gifts/artifacts we would want to purchase to bring back with us?
Sorry to be so picky....just trying to clarify...better safe than sorry.....
Thanks for all you do!
cheers,
linda in lansing
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Gifting Items - Your Thoughts?
Hey, Linda here from Lansing, Michigan. I'm just curious about what gift items some of you have gotten already, or are thinking about? I'm sort of still perplexed. I have gone to a local store "Michigania" that has lots of nice items. There is an AWESOME coffee table book, however that would get a bit heavy! There are some nice engraved pen/pencil sets with our local flower/bird, etc, there are also nice ceramic trivets for serving hot food on, nice hostessing gift I suppose. I'd love to hear some other ideas? Are nicer state specific coffee/tea mugs a good idea? Or will that be too little?
What are some thoughts on gifts for the children/students? I have heard pens/pencils....but does that mean going to Staples and buying those things? Or should be find special ones? Maybe I'm overthinking the whole thing.....love to hear others thoughts.
cheers,
linda
What are some thoughts on gifts for the children/students? I have heard pens/pencils....but does that mean going to Staples and buying those things? Or should be find special ones? Maybe I'm overthinking the whole thing.....love to hear others thoughts.
cheers,
linda
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
More advice on staying in touch with home....
Connie (who will be at the PDO) just wrote me:
"One more thing: I think I forgot to mention that several of us who had netbooks or laptops SKYPED with our families during the trip. It was easy to do with the connections at the hotels.
Also, I saw an ad for a CYSCO (sp?) wireless modem that looks like a thumb drive, and perhaps people will want that. A friend of mine in India had one last year and he could access the internet via a satellite anywhere.... Amazing technology!"
Friday, June 4, 2010
More advice from Past Participant
Good Friday Morning.....
I asked a past participant about her experience with using emails and phones on the program and here was her reply:
I asked a past participant about her experience with using emails and phones on the program and here was her reply:
"Many people brought netbooks or small laptops with them to communicate with people at home. I did not have a netbook at the time, but wish I had. I had access to internet in almost all hotels but it was expensive [I have asked her to let us know how much was expensive]. Personally, I would have rather been able to type up an email on my laptop an then send it using the smallest increment of internet time. (Most hotels charged by the minute.) Some even charged for the time it took to write an email in a word program because the hotels charged for the use of the computer.
Many people were also trying to write blogs, which was easier to do when they had a personal netbook. As for myself, I splurged on the hotel internet costs about twice a week. I also had international cell phone service that I only used a couple times."
Many people were also trying to write blogs, which was easier to do when they had a personal netbook. As for myself, I splurged on the hotel internet costs about twice a week. I also had international cell phone service that I only used a couple times."
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Answering some questions
Hello Everyone,
Yesterday I had a phone call with a participant who asked some good questions, and I wanted to share my responses with you:
Q: are sleeveless shirts appropriate for women? what about the length of skirts?
A: You will see some Indian women wearing sleeveless shirts and blouses - however it is not the norm. It is very rare to see and Indian women in a mini-skirt although in big cities (Bombay) you might see some young women with short skirts. I always advise women to wear more moderate lengths at the knee or mid-calf. It is not appropriate to wear sleeveless shirts or short skirts if you are visiting religious sites. It is also important that your shirts and skirts are not see-through.
Q: should I bring my own cell phone or buy one in India?
A: You need to check with your cell phone provider if your cell phone can be "unlocked" for use in a foreign country. If so, you will be able to purchase a sim card fairly easily. It is possible to buy used cell phones in India - but I am not sure if you will have the time to take care of this as there is a process in enrolling in a plan, etc. All over India you will find "STD/ISD" signs which indicate that the shop/store has a pay phone that you can use to call internationally. This is fairly cheap and easy and these shops/stores are open at all hours of the day and night. You will also have phones in your hotel rooms but do be aware that hotels have a surcharge and will charge a higher fee than the independent shops. What I have advised people in the past is to make a very quick call home from the hotel - and then give the number for your family/friend to call you back (be sure to give them your room number).
Q: are there laundry facilities available in hotels in India?
A: You will be staying in 3-5 star hotels all across India. I can not tell you 100% that all hotels will have laundry facilities - but for sure many will. It is important that you have at least 2-nights in a hotel to use these services as mostly clothes are line-dried. Do be aware that in India anything that you send to the dhobi (laundry person in Hindi) will be ironed. So, do not give anything that should not be ironed. Also, be aware that some dhobis use a "whitening" soultion that sometimes makes whites turn a bit blue.
Yesterday I had a phone call with a participant who asked some good questions, and I wanted to share my responses with you:
Q: are sleeveless shirts appropriate for women? what about the length of skirts?
A: You will see some Indian women wearing sleeveless shirts and blouses - however it is not the norm. It is very rare to see and Indian women in a mini-skirt although in big cities (Bombay) you might see some young women with short skirts. I always advise women to wear more moderate lengths at the knee or mid-calf. It is not appropriate to wear sleeveless shirts or short skirts if you are visiting religious sites. It is also important that your shirts and skirts are not see-through.
Q: should I bring my own cell phone or buy one in India?
A: You need to check with your cell phone provider if your cell phone can be "unlocked" for use in a foreign country. If so, you will be able to purchase a sim card fairly easily. It is possible to buy used cell phones in India - but I am not sure if you will have the time to take care of this as there is a process in enrolling in a plan, etc. All over India you will find "STD/ISD" signs which indicate that the shop/store has a pay phone that you can use to call internationally. This is fairly cheap and easy and these shops/stores are open at all hours of the day and night. You will also have phones in your hotel rooms but do be aware that hotels have a surcharge and will charge a higher fee than the independent shops. What I have advised people in the past is to make a very quick call home from the hotel - and then give the number for your family/friend to call you back (be sure to give them your room number).
Q: are there laundry facilities available in hotels in India?
A: You will be staying in 3-5 star hotels all across India. I can not tell you 100% that all hotels will have laundry facilities - but for sure many will. It is important that you have at least 2-nights in a hotel to use these services as mostly clothes are line-dried. Do be aware that in India anything that you send to the dhobi (laundry person in Hindi) will be ironed. So, do not give anything that should not be ironed. Also, be aware that some dhobis use a "whitening" soultion that sometimes makes whites turn a bit blue.
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