Personal Global Impact

The past 2 1/2 weeks have been a swirling combination
of incredible sensations and experiences. Personally,
it's been amazing to watch SIFE grow over the past 4
years, and this global internship program seems like
the beginning of an amazing leap in our organizations
outreach and impact, that I am privileged to be part
of. Here are some thoughts on my experience in India thus far:

CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

1. The Wobble
The ins and outs of Indian mannerisms have been a fun
challenge to adjust to. Our team has coined the
"wobble" as a unique Indian gesture. The Wobble is a
rhythmic shake of the head moving the right ear
towards the right shoulder, and then moving the left
ear towards the left shoulder, back and forth. It's
not a nod, and it's not a shake. It's: "The Wobble."
In general, the wobble always means: Okay ("ach-ey" in
Hindi). Its intensity varies depending on its
implication:

One wobble = sure.
A few wobbles = ok.
many wobbles = of course!

At first, it was a very noticeable culture gab. As
initially the wobble can easily be interpreted as a
head shake meaning "NO." For example, when asking for
a taxi driver if he knew what direction to go, he
would answer "yes" with a wobble.

2. IDENTITY
Everywhere we go, our team is a spectacle. Traveling
alone, not as much (at least for myself). I have been
identified as a Muslim, Iranian, Israeli, and Enrique
Englacious.
A Muslim: because some assume that my Jewish knitted
cap ("Kippah" in Hebrew, "Yarmulke" [pronounced
Ya-mu-kah] in Yiddush) is misinterpreted as a Muslim
cap.
An Iranian: I believe because of my skin color, arm
hair, and facial expressions. This has happened more
often when Indians notice I am reading a book of
Hebrew text, and they don't know it's Hebrew.
Israeli: As many Israelis will vacation in India,
this is the most common identity assumption that
has been made about me.
Enrique Englacious: This only happened once when I
performed violin in front of several dozen high school
students at a cultural night. The music or way I
played must have reminded them of the singer.

3. MUSIC
- The music videos are hilarious! Fun and interesting
to watch at first, but then each song sounded just
like the others with the same theme, same ideas, same
dance styles.
- All the Rickshaw drivers play Hinid-techno music.
- We got to hear one "jazz" band at a nice restaurant,
and this experience made me really appreciate the jazz
we have in America.
- Tablas, Sitars, and Mandolines: We still haven't taken
the opportunity to listen to live Classic Indian Music yet!

4. FOOD
- You ask for mild, you get spicy. At our hotel, to
get non-spicy food you must request "plain" or "bland."
- When the city goes to sleep and cools from the long
day, the street cooks turn up the heat on their
make-shift burners and stoves at small booths by the
train station.
- Dominos tastes like Dominos. However in India, Dominos
marks every pizza box with a sticker that says either
"veggie" or "non-veggie." Also, because seperate ovens
are used to cook vegitarian and meat pizzas, the Dominos
here are almost kosher (except for the cheese - which is
hard sometimes even in America to find kosher).

EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES

1. WORK ETHIC
America's traditional full time job was 40 hours a
week in the 1990s (I believe the current full-time job
may be more than that now, but I'm not sure). In
India, I am told that a full work week is 80 hours!

2. NOMADIC LABORERS
Shiyla Naik, our mentor, shared with the term
"Nomadic Laborer" with us, and this gave me a whole
new perspective on overcrowding and poverty in the
city.
Yes, it's true that many that live in rural areas
are highly attracted to the urban lifestyle, flock to
the cities, and then get stuck or frustrated when
their pursuit of opportunity turns into a struggle to
just get by. But others, are villagers looking for
extra work to support their rural families. With no
intention of staying in the city, most of their
paycheck is sent back to their village families.
These nomadic laborers live in whatever shelter is
around, and don't bother to settle down, because they
are just following the construction sites and road
work that pays them more than rural work.

3. EDUCATION
It seems there is a much more visible separation
between the educated and working class here. A direct
example of this was in a train conversation I had with
a working class man and a college student. When I
asked the college student what he does, he answered
with confidence and direction, "I am a scholar of
engineering." When I asked the other man what he
does, his response was, "oh, I am just a worker." I
inquired further, "What kind of work?" He smiled, and
said, "I am just a worker."
(Sidenote: From a marketing perspective, it would be
much more important to advertise with much fewer
words, if any, as a much larger portion of the
population is illiterate).

::yawn:: gotta get some shut-eye, so that's all for now...

Take care,
Yoshi