My Delhi Days

I am now nearing the end of my stay in Delhi, as tomorrow I will be flying off to Bhutan. I must say that after two days in Delhi, Bhutan cannot come soon enough!

Delhi is definitely leading the list of most unpleasant cities I have ever been to. This is unfortunate as I had high hopes for my visit to India. My disappointment in Delhi may be because my expectations were high, but I do not think I could possibly judge the whole of India from Delhi alone. This would be like judging the entire United States from a two-day visit to NYC – obviously I don't think any American would appreciate that – so my expectations for other places in India will remain high as I hope to visit more places away from big Indian metropolises.

 The unfortunate timing of my visit was probably a factor in my opinion of Delhi. What I mean is that I came to Delhi at the height of the summer season, and both days I walked around Delhi reached around 110 degrees (the "feels like" temperature) with high humidity and a searing sun that seemed to ignore the perpetual haze that blankets the city.

When you first hit the Delhi streets, the aroma is the first thing to hit you. The smells are hard to separate into their elements – and eventually they just become the aroma of Delhi – but I would categorize it as a combination of jasmine, urine, sandalwood, feces, curry, garbage, turmeric, and other incenses and spices that are unfamiliar to me. It is an arresting combination to say the least.

The smells and the weather I can tolerate, but what made Delhi unpleasant was the constant harassment from people on the streets. If there is such a thing as "white racial profiling," I definitely experienced it. If you come to Delhi, you will have to constantly fend off your peace of mind from people trying to sell you things, trying to get you to come to their "tourist office" (there is only one official tourist office), trying to take your photo (for a price), trying to get you to take a photo of them (for a price), trying to give you a personal tour (for a price), trying to get you to ride their rickshaw/autorickshaw/taxi, trying to steer you towards a shop/mall/emporium/market, etc. etc.. Besides the constant harassment, these Delhi "entrepreneurs" will also consistently grossly overcharge you. I quickly learned my lesson at the airport when I was sold a taxi ride that ended up costing me 1000% more than it should have. My excuse was that I was tired and a Delhi neophyte, but I should have known better than to go with a guy trying to sell his taxi. ALWAYS – I cannot stress this enough – pre-pay a taxi fare at an airport office rather than let some guy on the street whisk your luggage away.

These are personal preferences, of course, and some people may enjoy the hustle and bustle of Delhi. I, for one, prefer that people left me alone while I travel and tour. Even while visiting the Red Fort, which I paid money to enter, I was harassed by people. They are persistent too, and I was followed by one group of male teenagers almost the entire tour. So here's an example of what I'm talking about:

• Got out of the metro stop near the Red Fort, harassed by autorickshaw drivers to take me to the Red Fort (seriously, they won't leave you alone)
• On route to the Red Fort, on the street was told to enter this shop or buy this postcard or use this service (they even offered to clean my ears!)
• Right outside of the Red Fort, I was harassed by people selling postcards, souvenir booklets, water, personal tours, and people claiming they could get me in "for free"
• After buying my ticket FROM THE TICKET OFFICE, and entering the Fort, there are a series of vendors that will call out to you to come see their wares, I fought my way through that
• Once inside the Fort, numerous people asked to take my photo, wanted to give me personal tours, etc. (including the boys that followed me around and never stopped talking to me)

I have encountered cultures where street haggling and selling is a way of life – like in Zambia, for example – but never before have I encountered it in an unfriendly and aggressive manner like in Delhi. Like I said, I really wanted to like Delhi, but these experiences really turned me off from recommending it to friends and family.

The street noise is another un-selling point. Delhi drivers honk their horns ... all the time. Mostly this is because no one seems to follow basic traffic rules such as being in a lane, or stopping, or yielding to pedestrians. Because of this, the drivers honk their horn to let other drivers/pedestrians know that they are there. With jam-packed roads full of drivers letting other know "they are there," the noise is overwhelming. Eventually, if you are out there long enough, it will become white noise ... albeit very loud white noise.

It is unfortunate, as well, because Delhi does have some things to offer in terms of culture and history. Yesterday I visited the India Gate, Indian Parliament, and the National Museum. Today I went to the Red Fort, a sprawling complex built by the Mughals several hundred years ago. These would be neat things to see, and I would have spent more time looking at them and seeking out other historical treasures, had it not been for the harassment.

I would also not recommend the place that I stayed: Treetops Bed & Breakfast. When I arrived (from my extremely expensive taxi), some staff let me in and carried my bags into the living room. They didn't speak any English and I still haven't figured out where the owners are (with whom I booked the stay, and who DO speak English). I was confused from the get-go, and it never really let up as they shuffled me from one room to the other and didn't say anything or give any of the check-in information. In fact, I had to ASK them for a key. The whole thing was weird. Eventually, I figured out that they would serve breakfast around 9am, so I came down to the dining room then but no one was there. After sitting there for awhile, I wandered into the kitchen and eventually figured out that I had to tell them what I wanted. Soon after, a nice French couple came down that were staying in another room. They had done a lot of traveling – both in India and in other places – and they were equally weirded out by this place.

As I write this, I am actually at the Radisson near the airport. There was a confluence of factors that lead me here this evening. First of all, I had asked one of the B&B staff if I could get a taxi for tomorrow morning at 8am to take me to the airport for my Bhutan flight. He seemed very confused about the whole thing, and I was never confident that he would/could get me there on-time. Second, the B&B is in a neighborhood in South Delhi that isn't very pleasant and there are no restaurants nearby. I actually went without supper last night as it was dark and I wasn't too keen to wander around at night. I wanted to avoid that tonight as there are several restaurants in this hotel (that do not require me to wander around in the humidity and the dust and the smells). When I went back to get my bags, no one was around again so I'm not sure how or if I pay for my one night. The Radisson is expensive, even by American standards, but they have excellent service, amazing rooms, rain showers (!), and – most importantly – complimentary airport shuttles. I think it was worth a little peace of mind. I was so desperate to get out of South Delhi that I even stuffed an autorickshaw full of my bags and we puttered along many kilometers to get here. (I tried to book a taxi, but was having troubles as they wanted a mobile number and I kept telling them that I didn't have one in India.)

...

After reading through what I just wrote stream-of-consciously, I want to apologize to the reader for such a negative tone. Normally, I am not one to complain but I guess I had just had it with Delhi. I want to also implore that I am not a picky tourist; expecting cleanliness and luxury. It is just unfortunate that the color of my skin invited harassment because they think I have money and no wherewithal. Actually, I barely saw anyone at all that wasn't Indian.

If you do go to Delhi, I would recommend taking the Metro. It's pretty clean and efficient and you don't get harassed by anyone (although you will get some stares as I don't think foreigners take the metro much). However, be warned that when you exit the metro station you will be extremely disorientated because nothing is marked and you will have no idea where you just exited to. Maps are pretty useless because streets just aren't marked well, so you will have to navigate by instinct. (I got lost a lot, but also found that I could use the sun to at least give me the right direction ... thanks Boy Scouts!)

It seems weird to say, but I would actually recommend trying an Indian McDonald's. For lunch today I had the McSpicy Paneer with Puri Puri Fries. Here are some other awesome additions to the Indian menu: http://www.mcdonaldsindia.com/menu.html For some reason, McDonald's is always better outside of the United States. Maybe it's because in other countries it is a place that people choose to go, rather than a restaurant of desperation.

I think Bhutan will be very different for many reasons, and all of them are reasons that I am looking forward to going there tomorrow. First of all, Delhi packs in 12.8 million people, which is 18 times larger than the entire population of Bhutan. Second, I am confident that cultural norms will be more peaceful and friendly. Third, the climate will be more pleasant and there will be big mountains in the scenery!

Here are some pictures (click to make bigger):

 Walking towards the India Gate. Notice the ubiquitous green and yellow autorickshaws. 

One of the parliamentary houses. 

Closer to the India Gate. 

One of the most important relics in the National Museum: the original reliquary containing the ashes of Buddha (in the jars below the stupa).

Typical street in Delhi. 

The Lahore Gate, entering the Red Fort. 

Pictures from inside of the Red Fort. 

Fortunately, an Australian couple was standing next to me and thought I should have a picture of myself. Fair enough. 

Next time I write you, I will be in Bhutan! 

An afternoon in Helsinki

The travel adventure has officially begun! After a somewhat hectic last week in Minneapolis of packing, moving, and trying to see friends, I bid farewell to the United States on Thursday and landed in Helsinki, Finland this morning.

The drastic transition from American life to South Asia has been somewhat delayed by this stop in Finland, so it doesn't seem quite real yet. I have been to Europe several times, so it does not seem so strange to begin with. Also, the Finnish basically look like fashionable Minnesotans. In fact I was mistaken for a Finn several times as they launched into Finnish and I gave them a blank stare.

This sign is warning you to not attempt to read or speak Finnish. 

I took a taxi from the airport and arrived in the heart of downtown, which is centered around a promenade named Esplanadi. It was slightly reminiscent of the La Rambla in Barcelona, only with less creepy human statues and more wind ensembles. I walked down the length of the promenade, which was pleasant because it was a pleasant day (partly cloudy and 65!), but mostly there were trendy shops that I wasn't interested in exploring. 

Esplanadi. 

From Esplanadi, I walked up to the very prominent Helsinki Cathedral which is the tallest building in Helsinki. As in other major European cities, cathedrals are architecturally beautiful and interesting and Helsinki's was no exception. 

From the cathedral I walked down to the waterfront and into the daily market located along the water. I had a late lunch of fried smelt, boiled potatoes, and wafer bread. How Scandinavian! p.s. It was good – especially for street food. 

After lunch I wandered amongst the seller stalls for awhile, then took a water ferry to the Helsinki Fort, which is a UNESCO heritage site. I walked quickly through a portion of it; by this time in the afternoon I was tired and the weight of my bag was starting to get to me. The fort was interesting and a nice place for a stroll, but I didn't have the time nor the patience to really grasp the historical context of the things I was seeing. Apparently it is a holiday in Finland, so there were lots of people out and about (i.e. not just tourists). 

I am going to have to cut this post short since I need to get ready for my flight to Delhi. Just thought I would give you a brief tour of Helsinki as I experienced it in an afternoon. I really like this city, even though we barely know each other. This being my first time in a Scandinavian country, I am struck by the cleanliness, the orderliness, and generally the minimalist lack of clutter and ordination. I feel at home here. 

By the way, Helsinki Airport has unequivocally become my favorite airport in the world. It is incredibly clean, quiet, well-marked, high-tech, energy efficient, calm, and has free wi-fi (you hear THAT, American airports?!). Delhi will be a definite contrast. 

Two weeks to go!

(Memorial Chorten, Thimphu. I just want to roll around in snow right now.)

My thoughts turn almost constantly towards the Himalayas these days, especially as the heat of the global-warmed Minnesota summer melts my body from the inside out. One thing is for sure when we return to Minnesota: our apartment criteria will include air conditioning.

Despite the oven-like apartment, I am preparing to go in two weeks and beginning to pack and take care of logistics. There are so many little things to think about when you move abroad, and I'm sure that I will miss something that I will only begin to realize once I'm in Thimphu. If you want a window into what that's like, stop and think for a minute about every subscription, utility, and service that cycle through your life every month. Then imagine calling, emailing, or trying to figure out how to cancel each one of those (and these services don't want to get cancelled, so they make it extremely difficult to do so). Then imagine trying to figure out what to bring to a country you've never been, and that most people have never been. Then imagine taking all of your other possessions and packing them and figuring out where to put them. I make it sound worse than it is, but it is a lot of mental juggling to do.

Anyway...

I booked my stay in Delhi, and I found a great little place called Tree Tops (https://sites.google.com/site/treetopsbedandbreakfast/home) located in South Delhi. The Bed & Breakfast is run by Murad Ali Baig, a journalist and travel writer, and his wife Tannie, who is a chef and writes cookbooks. It should be a fun experience!

The other day I was told that I received a Travel Grant from the University. It's certainly not enough to cover even one plane ticket, but at least it's something extra. My time at the Institute on Community Integration is wrapping up as I submitted my last task the other day: a journal article based on the study we did around diploma options and graduation requirements for youth with disabilities. I also have a few other articles that are single-authored that I have been working on this summer that should be published soon.

Besides preparing to move to Bhutan and writing journal articles, I have also been teaching myself Comparative World Politics since that is one of the courses that I will be teaching in the autumn. It's not too much outside of my understanding, since I am interested (and, if I do say so, well-informed) on politics and world events. I am now just learning some of the technical definitions for things and specific theories such as Aristotle's classification of governments and Weber's classification of political authority. You know, stuff like that...

This weekend, Emily and I will be traveling down to Iowa to visit my grandparents (both paternal and maternal) as kind of a farewell tour before we leave. Should be an okay drive ... at least the car is air-conditioned.

One month before I go!

While I do not leave for Bhutan until July 19th, I thought I would take this inaugural blog post to explain the purpose and logistics of the adventure that is looming just beyond the horizon.

First of all, I have accepted a position as Lecturer at Royal Thimphu College (RTC), which is located just a bit outside of the capital city of Thimphu, Bhutan. Here is a picture of the campus (click on the picture to make it bigger) ...

Pretty decent, huh?

As a lecturer in the Social Sciences Department, I will be teaching three courses for the autumn semester: Youth and Society (from a sociological/anthropological perspective), Comparative World Politics, and a Freshman Seminar course (basically an 'intro to college' type class). My contract lasts from the end of July until the end of June 2013. The Bhutanese school year is very similar to our own in the United States, with the exception that their winter break lasts for almost three months! Emily and I are planning to use this break to travel to other places in Bhutan and Asia. We will be housed on campus in a modern 2-bedroom apartment, which is fully furnished – a very nice arrangement for moving to a vastly different country indeed! One feature of the apartment that I doubt you can find in the United States is a sun porch that overlooks the Himalayas :)

Besides being a fantastic opportunity to live in a different country and gain some college teaching experience, the purpose of seeking out an opportunity in Bhutan specifically is that Bhutan is the location of my dissertation research. My dissertation is on inclusive education policy for students with disabilities in Bhutan and employs anthropological methods to study how inclusive education policies shape students and also how students and other Bhutanese shape the policies. (In anthropological parlance, this is called 'practice theory.') Perhaps the number one question that I get is: Why Bhutan? I have found this question hard to answer at times, especially for a person not in my field of comparative international education, because my answer tends to become fairly esoteric. However, perhaps I can assuage most of you here with an explanation. First of all, there are personal reasons that I chose Bhutan as a research site. It is a fascinating country that I have been interested in for a long time and, as a Buddhist, has meaning for me. Also, Bhutan is a country that is barely studied in terms of education policy and it benefits me professionally to be one of the few researchers to have access and expertise on Bhutan. Finally, Bhutan poses some very interesting characteristics that bring uniqueness to a dissertation on inclusive education policy. The school system in Bhutan is only about 50 years old, and inclusive education as a policy is very new. However, Bhutanese Buddhist culture presents some very inclusive practices inherently, so I am interested in how these dynamics play out in an inclusive education policy that is worded in a very 'Western' manner. Also wrapped up in the unique aspect of Bhutan to this study is Bhutan's now-famous Gross National Happiness indicator that drives its policies and its recent forays into democracy, modern technology, and globalization. As you can read, there are a lot of complex cultural interactions going on that makes for a very interesting ethnography! (At least, that's the hope.)

Plus, how could I resist trying to get to a place that looks like this?! ...

I had settled on Bhutan as a research site almost two years ago, but found that I put myself at a disadvantage because I had not been there, knew no one there, and managed to pick a country with one of the most restrictive visas in the world. So for the past two years I have been trying to make inroads on making personal connections with people and organizations in Bhutan. This has definitely been a trying process and Bhutan remained an elusive and distant dream. Just when I had serious doubts as to the efficacy of this project, I was introduced to the Dean of RTC through connections of a classmate of mine in the Master's degree program version of my doctorate. RTC moved quickly in interviewing me (via Skype) and figuring out if a position for the 2012-2013 school year was viable. And so by May I was offered a position – just as I was at the absolute breaking point in abandoning my Bhutanese dream.

As Bhutan is turning from a distant dream into an impending reality, there are a lot of emotions that I am experiencing. For the most part it does not seem real yet, although when I bought my plane ticket to New Delhi it definitely started to sink in. I am absolutely excited, but also nervous, but also overwhelmed, but also confident, etc..

One of the big unknowns of this whole Bhutan experience was whether or not Emily was going to come with me. She was waiting to hear back for a job position that she had interviewed for that would have been her dream job: labor and delivery nurse. That position was in Minneapolis and her intention was to stay here if she got the job (as she should!). Unfortunately, she did not get the job and made the decision to leave her current nursing job and come to Bhutan with me. Of course, there were a lot of conflicting emotions. We were disappointed that Emily didn't get the job, but also happy that we will be together next year. Ultimately, we were most happy that our future had some definition and we are now able to make plans accordingly. Finding jobs in Bhutan – especially in healthcare – from the United States is extremely difficult. So Emily is taking a big jump into the unknown and will try to find work in Thimphu once she arrives. There will probably/hopefully be a need for a Western-trained nurse with speciality in maternal-child health – even if the work is initially pro bono. I'll let Emily explain further in a future blog posting.

One last thing that I will address in this first blog post is the possibility of visitors while Emily and I are living in Bhutan. Many of you have asked me about this. As I mentioned above, Bhutan has one of the most restrictive visa entries in the world. The only way to enter Bhutan is either through a work visa or a tourist visa. Both are absolutely controlled by the Royal Government and issued very sparsely. Tourists to Bhutan have to spend a daily rate of $250 and be wrangled at all times by a Government-approved tour company. For immediate family, I believe that I can skirt these restrictions. However, for friends and non-immediate family it is a lot more unclear. I am under a probationary period on my work visa for the first 6 months, but I may be able to invite in friends to stay with us after that time (February 2013-ish). Whether or not I can save you from paying the $250/day is unknown. I will certainly let those that are interested know once I know myself. What is more certain is that if you want to come to, say, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, etc. it would be very easy for us to meet you there.

Well, that's it for now. Keep checking back for updates as I prepare for my departure. Thanks for your interest in this blog. I would love it if people left comments and feedback and made this site more interactive.

Best,
Matt