Thursday, May 31, 2007

Deaf, Deaf World

Highlights:
- lots n lots of water
- beautiful pashmina scarves
- seeing the smiling children outside NIHH - the pregnant dog who kept wanting us to shake her paw
- visiting NIHH and seeing an ISL interpreter, could tell she was an interpreter right away! There's something about the way interpreters sign and carry themselves that must be universal..
- walking into the ISL classroom and standing there all excited and anxious to do more than just introductions. "Americans look just like Hollywood! So big and tall" Really? That's how they view all Americans? Hope to change that; hope we already did with our cafeteria visit, where we pulled up chairs n tried to communicate thru ISL, ASL, and pantomime. They were all so friendly!
-experiencing auto rickshaw, finally
- our first lightning storm/rain (not even close to monsoon weather apparently)
- seeing dj break up the soon-to-be fight among the children that Raj gave our leftover pizzas to

Lowlights:
- the slums
- feeling all the beggar children constantly following me, tapping any part of my body in their reach. I almost felt violated, but then I started thinking about how we were just waltzing thru their homes, their streets, their lives. We asked for it in a way.
- when the older woman grabbed my arm really hard and lay her head in the crook of my arm and refused to let go. Anthony had to pull her free of me because she was pulling on me so hard. I was scared ..but in hindsight what could she really do?
-scary street crossings!
- overpowering smells and the heat, of course.. Unexplainable

What do I think so far? I don't know.. Interacting with the deaf indians was the best part of yesterday, and I think many of us are somewhat exhausted, physically and mentally, by Mumbai. It's hard to put into words how I feel each moment I experience something I will never see or get in america. Maybe over time I can explain better.
-avi

Surij and Raj by Aaron

This morning, we met up with an ISL teacher, Surij, who was willing to show us around Mumbai especially the slums because we were eager for a sense of reality in India. DJ and I had already walked through some slum parts near the Dobi Ghats cloth wash district. Other delegates didn't so that was an eye opener. The climate was full sun with temperatures averaging above 110 degrees with 90 percent humidity so imagine the sweat poring off of us. I personally drank 6 liters of water and peed only once so that means my shirt was soaked right through. We bumped into a deaf man who was a friend of our friend while we were in line to purchase tickets at the train station. His name was Raj, a tax agent, and he was from Tamil in south India. Surij told him what we were planning on doing and he was eager to join and learn more about us while showing us around. He was totally friendly with all smiles always happy to help out at the vending stands with buying bottled water and keeping an eye on traffic (several delegates had near accidents already). He pulled me out of the way real quick once cuz I looked to my right while I should have looked on my left because a bus was coming right at me at full speed!

We took a train to the Bandar district, basically full of slums and was also home to the National Institute of the Hearing Handicapped. We were just surprised at the raw deal of life as lived by thousands of these people penned up in run-down shack/buildings with narrow pathways between houses. Goats and chickens were roaming loose amidst barefooted dirty children in threads laughing at the deaf tourists walking their way. They love having pictures taken since they get to see themselves on the digital camera. Our sense, namely smell, was assaulted with the overpowering stench coming from public bathrooms we passed by. Whenever someone stepped out the door, Raj hurried whoever was close by away because he knew we weren't used to that. That really hit me.... Americans are lucky to have basic plumbing so we have good hygiene. Here in Bandar, animals defecate and urinate everywhere and men just take a piss wherever they please in a corner or on the railway. Lizzie as well some others wore sandals and their feet by lunchtime was covered completely in dirt and grime. There is NO hygiene so we all were constantly rubbing Purelll hand sanitizer whenever someone shook hands or beggar children grabbing our hands begging for money to be able to eat. Imagibe 6 year old girls holding half-dead babies who were obviously malnourished. It was hard because we see it every day all the time. I was a bit peeved because all the delegates including myself were become immune to the pleadings of gypsies like all other Indians. I thought to myself that isn't how we do things in America, but then I wondered how would America as a nation deal with it. Don't judge now till you come to India and have a beggar pulling your pants asking for one Rupee (0.02 cent value roughly) knowing if you give one now, six more will come in a few seconds.

I observed Surij and Raj dealing with hearing people using pantomime and facial expressions. The message always got through and quickly as well. This surprised us since we in America are always demanding interpreters to facilitate communication due to hearing A.mericans for the most part don't meet us on our level. They expect us to come up to their mode of communication and still comprehend everything. Indians by nature, are a gesture-ful nation so even us delegates did not have an impossible time ourselves negotiating cab fares and haggling over the price of shawls like Sarah, Avi, Kenny and DJ.

Surij took us to the deaf school, National Inst. Of the Hearing Handicapped where we met a few Deaf Indians educated in Indian Sign Language, rare now due to preference of oral method in schools. The delegates met with students afterwards in the cafeteria and we chatted for a while learning about each other. ASL and ISL users could read each other pretty good with the occasional explanation for a sign. This excited us because we finally had an opportunity to meet some of the people we would be working with at the workshops next week. Many were asking about America, our schools, families and friends and what degrees we were pursuing. Some were surprised that some pursued Bachelor's degrees. We left the school feeling good, then once we stepped out of the school walls, our spirits were downed a bit....the school was in the middle of slums and shack shops.

Raj, one of our guides, mentioned he was happy we came as Deaf Americans because hearing Indians are fascinated with Americans and will go out their way to meet us. The fact we are deaf and use sign-language did not deter them at all and perhaps make them really see their own deaf people with different eyes. They always congregate around us watching us sign and looking at our skin colors and manner of clothing. They do not do so with their own deaf. Perhaps they will see Indian deaf as potentials instead of "cases of bad luck" since the GRO delegates appear confident, "well-off" and full of Rupees with major contributions to India in the future with the right education and resources. I cannot wait to see what comes as a result of the workshops next week as we address this issue.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Amazing Race- Mumbai by Aaron

Our first full day here in Mumbai was quite an adventure as well an eye opener to the realities in other nations outside of North America. Eight of us partnered up to explore the city and encounter the cultures that take up residence here to fully prepare us for what is to come in the followinng weeks. DJ was my partner and we had a great time walking through the hustle and bustle of people and automobiles. Its truly different than any American city--and some similarities that would be overlooked. We started our day at 10 am by havinjg my wrist tied with this yellow and red dyed yard by some brahman who we happened to pass by. Some disagreement occured and this young man walked by and heard us talking so he stepped in to offer explanations. I mentioned to him that DJ and I were deaf and he replied "That is bad luck." My thoughts were like "uhhh? What did u say?" So I realize one issue deaf people in India need to overcome, and that is ignorance and superstition. I hope that this GRO workshop will allow us to have a dialogue on how to educate people concerning this. This is different from religion itself. Religion is very vibrant unlike lukewarm America. There are mini shrines on trees, street corners, a little storefront for people to give presents to the god with flowers, small candies and incense. This was just like right out of a National Geographic special. One man we met on the streets was happy to show us around by taking us to a lime juice stand and bought us some fresh lime-ade. We were hestitant at first due to the water and it didn't look very clean, but in the end, we drank it all much to our surprise. Raju was his name and he was a consultant for a school bus company and he'd just finished his day. We walked over to the shrine of Baba's grave on this island that was connected by a causeway lined with beggars, cripples and sellers. We took off our shoes and washed our feet and hands before going inside. There was a tomb right there covered with silk coverings brought as gifts by devotees as well flowers and candy. People were kissing the lower end of the casket and kissing and bowing on it and we did as well since Raju seemed to expect us to do so.. We also went to a temple to pray to three gods for money and success. This temple was so sprawled out with its own security checking everyone who walked through. We walked up to pay our respects to three golden statues of Lakshmi, Shiva and one other god. The brahmans attending the gods dipped his finger in this red powder and dipped our foreheads and gave us sweets to enjoy. The whole atmosphere just blew my mind away.... The throngs of worshipers coming in bringing flowers and coconut as offerings to gods dressed up and garnished with all flowers, both whole and petals. The crowds were tough to deal with since America is more spaced and we have bigger personal space. India is so crowded that there is no real privacy, and people tend to congregate around people having issues. Everyone joins in and offer advice to simply stand and listen. That was the first hard thing I had to get used here since my traveler's checks did not go through at first and suddenly, I had ten people standing around staring at the money and all. Imagine how uncomfortable I was, and you yourselves as well. But nothing bad happened, and positive results do arise sometimes. There was so many shock factors that all GRO delegates discussed--poverty and beggar children, many Indians pay no attention while it tears at our hearts. The city is soo polluted and littered. People are so used to littering that there is really no public garbage cans and indoors, its all one-gallon sized garbage bins so imagine trash in all places. I threw a plastic bottle in a bin at this outdoor food court on Chowpatty Beach. Someone saw me and laughed saying that was not necessary at all. Last but not least of all was the personality of people, noone seemed shy at all and it was not too challenging communicating with hearing Indians since gesturing is common. All of us could get around the city using gestures and writing on paper especially during negotiating prices. Okay it is 4 am and I need to turn in so good night!

"Amazing Race: Mumbai"

Amazing Race

Well today.. Sarah and Lizzie set up this "game" where the whole team was divided into pairs of people, and we were each given envelopes with ten different tasks. After a run to the nearest xerox shop, each pair was armed with printouts of three maps of Mumbai, and the "mama hens" sent us all on our merry (slightly fearful) ways. We all had the same destinations, but they were ordered differently so that we wouldn't all be traveling in one big group. The goal was to get us to explore the city of Mumbai on our own, and to learn how to use the different modes of transportation (mainly taxis, trains, buses, and let's not forget good old fashioned walking). This day certainly accomplished that.

Several of the partners, including myself and Kenny, ended up with some surprise friends/tour guides. Kenny and I had a man from near the Gateway to India site who basically just started tagging along with us and helping us out a bit. At the High Courts, though, he asked for money and it took a bit of negotiating - not to mention willpower, since he really was a nice guy - in order to turn down his original amount (he had not informed us at all that he was expecting payment). Others had some interesting experiences as well: Mia and Anthony had a young boy show them the ropes at the train station, while David and Aaron had a businessman who led them to some of the sights.

Kenny and I were pretty determined to reach as many of the locations as we could. We sat down on the curb and tried to find some and circle them on our map printouts, but in hindsight most of us used face-to-face contact with the locals to find our way around. Our first two hours or so were spent wandering the southern end of Colaba, trying to find the Sassoon Docks and the Dhobi Ghats (not gnats!). A friendly guy ended up leading us to the docks, and we made our way up to the area where many people were sitting on the ground, cutting shrimp, crawfish, and other odorous fish I didn't recognize.. We came across a dead shark, ready to be cut up into sections, and wanted to take a picture badly! As we were discussing taking a picture, a woman watching us shook her head firmly and told us no, no pictures here at all. She had somehow managed to catch us signing "camera/picture" discreetly to each other. Observant! So we left, and walked loooong and far, passing a group of boys playing cricket in a playground, until we finally found the Dhobi Ghats. We wandered in the back alleys and finally came across the wide expanse of concrete washing pits. Laundry time - we each helped some men wash some pants (note: all the laundry workers were men, the opposite of what you might expect in America).

We also met a surgeon who was getting his shoes shined - he showed us how to get back to our neighborhood and to the Gateway of India) - saw a man wash his head with urine streaming out of a cow on the sidewalk, met Shabbari, were hassled by a vendor trying to get me to buy postcards for like 15 minutes straight, witnessed firsthand the shocking gap between the rich and the poor.. Imagine a covered sidewalk with glass lanterns next to stores like Louis Vuitton, Fendi, etc while scores of people are sleeping on the steps or in the streets. Imagine walking around with Shabbari (our tagalong) and passing the Taj Palace Hotel, an extremely high-class hotel, where the security guard shoved Shabbari into the street, either because he was walking with us Americans, or because he didn't want any poor-looking people obstructing the entrance to the hotel. We asked to see the Mumbai University library, but he couldn't come along with us. So many times my mind questioned things, but I couldn't verbalize them because who am I to comment on the actions of members of a culture completely different from my own?

One of the most fascinating parts of my day was visiting Mani Bhavan, a house where Gandhi lived and worked for a part of his life. The house was turned into a memorial, with many pictures, dioramas, articles, letters, and other artifacts. Many of us were especially moved by the display of two letters that Gandhi wrote, one to FDR, and one to Hitler. In both, his message was the same, although the presentation was different in each: practice truth and non-violence for the sake of all humanity.

We met up at Chetana, a vegetarian restaurant for dinner, and regaled each other with our stories of the day. After visiting the Sassoon Docks, Dhobi Ghats, Gateway of India, Taj Palace Hotel, Haji Ali Dargah, Mani Bhavan, Crawford Market, Victoria Terminus, Mumbai University, and the High Court, we all had a lot to share!

After dinner, we re-attempted going to Chowpatty Beach, which was a success this time. The girls split up from the boys, and we all had ice cream or kufji (sp?), and then Lizzie gave away the very first beach ball of GRO India 2007! We also got encouraged - some might say coerced! - into eating some maggai which didn't taste all that pleasant to picky ole me. Watching the two little kids get into throwing around the beach ball with us was priceless though - we kept seeing the older sister (no more than 4) on the beach with her family, ball tucked snugly under her arm.

Tomorrow some of us get up early for laughter yoga .. Should be interesting! Then it's off with Sujit to see other areas like Bandra and Bollywood Film Studios. Will all be traveling together again. For now I'm signing off though: my entire body is coated with dirt and grime, and I sorely need a shower! Love ya mom n dad!

-avi

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

A Long, Long Trip

Where do I even begin - 16 hours of flight time total, a layover at
Heathrow where I had an embarrassing experience trying to get a lunch
that ended up not even being worth the hassle, a truly shocking taxi
ride out of the airport into Mumbai, an attempted trip to Chowpatty
beach that ended up being step 1 of our diet plans, and a "Real World:
Mumbai" moment with two angry taxi drivers at midnight.

Don't get me wrong. I've loved every moment of it (okay welll most of
it) and am still just so amazed to be walking on Indian soil right
now. There have been a ton of eye-openers already, like the dogs
everywhere, the sleeping people on the streets, the insane driving,
the bathrooms with no toilet paper and a shower right in the middle,
the children and disabled who come right up to us and talk to us like
they know us, the smell of car exhaust lingering even inside designer
name shops that are right next to slumhouses.. Wow. It's not something
that I ever could've prepared for, but this time in Mumbai is
definitely preparing all of us for seriously sitting down and
tackling the issues that deaf Indians face.

- Avi

P.S. Know what else is interesting? Not long after a discussion (read:
heated conversation) occurs, boy do a lot of people join in! It's like
an invitation for everyone in the street to volunteer their opinion. I
can definitely see how the US is an individualist society, while India
is collective. Even in the poorest sections of the city, everyone
seems like family.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

1: The Waiting Game

Last shower at home, last "American" meal - delicious hamburgers and
corn on the cob! - and last load of laundry done before taking off to
India.. It still feels completely surreal that all 10 of us will set
foot on Mumbai within the next 24 hours. I'm sitting at Mia's house,
trying to take it all in, but something tells me it won't hit us (or
at least me!) until we're flying over the big ole Atlantic Ocean, or
until we walk off the plane and the first wave of heat hits us. I'm
curious about so many things: the culture, the food, the people, the
language, the markets, the beaches, the cities.. I don't really know
what else to say just yet, but one thing I know for sure: we're all in
for a completely different experience starting tomorrow.
-Avi

Let the Adventures Begin!!

Introducing Avi Haimowitz and Aaron Delbruegge as bloggers for Mumbai Moos.
The first posting is expected to be posted tonight, May 27th, 2007!
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