Interlaced: A blog about anthropology

[anthropologydaily]

Ancient human IQ can't be measured in the brain, but somewhere else — study

https://theconversation.com/how-smart-were-our-ancestors-turns-out-the-answer-isnt-in-brain-size-but-blood-flow-130387

How did human intelligence evolve? Anthropologists have studied this question for decades by looking at tools found in archaeological digs, evidence of the use of fire, and so on, and changes in brain size measured from fossil skulls.

However, working with colleagues at the Evolutionary Studies Institute of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, we have found a new way to estimate the intelligence of our ancestors.

By studying fossil skulls, we determined how much blood – and how much energy – the brains of ancient hominins required to keep running. This energy use gives us a measure of how much thinking they did.

We found the rate of blood flow to the brain may be a better indication of cognitive ability than brain size alone.

[wheelygoodteddys]

This Muslim Woman Is Redefining Hijabi Fashion In Japan With Her Gorgeous Instagram Photos

“I want to show that Muslim fashion is something that goes beyond the boundaries of religion and that anyone can empathize with and enjoy it.”

By Saori Ibuki and Kassy Cho

Although her Indonesian Muslim parents never pressured her to wear a hijab, Rahmalia Aufa Yazid always figured that she would eventually end up wearing one.

Born and raised in Tokyo, she initially didn’t feel that strongly about Islam, so she had followed her parents’ lead when it came to the religion.

When she finally decided to put on a hijab at age 18, it felt impersonal to her, and Yazid struggled with dressing in it.

Although her Indonesian Muslim parents never pressured her to wear a hijab, Rahmalia Aufa Yazid always figured that she would eventually end up wearing one.

Born and raised in Tokyo, she initially didn’t feel that strongly about Islam, so she had followed her parents’ lead when it came to the religion.

When she finally decided to put on a hijab at age 18, it felt impersonal to her, and Yazid struggled with dressing in it.

“I felt that the hijab was a religious item of clothing, so I was choosing my clothes to match,” the 24-year-old freelance creator, who posts under her Instagram handle @aufatokyo, told BuzzFeed News.

As a result, she found herself missing out on popular Japanese fashion trends and feeling out of place in school, where she was the only hijabi student in her major.

“Not only did I stand out as someone with foreign heritage, my daily outfits now consisted of my mother’s old hijab and outfits that were totally different from designs and colors that were popular in Japan at the time,” she said.

“Although it was my choice to wear the hijab, I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel as though the hijab was, instead, wearing me,” she said.

All that changed when she encountered the work of Hana Tajima, a mixed-race British and Japanese designer who converted to Islam in her teens.

It was only after she saw Tajima’s Uniqlo modest wear collection that Yazid realized modest fashion didn’t have to feel out of place in the streets of Tokyo.

“Her fashion didn’t feel like it was trying to be particularly gorgeous, vivid, or even traditional,” Yazid said.

“That was the moment the hijab changed from an impersonal, religious item of clothing to something that was true to my life,“ she added.

Yazid now combines Muslim and Japanese fashions in the city of Tokyo, sharing her self-portraits on her Instagram to her 14,000 followers.

She calls Tokyo a “cold and restless city,” where people dress in neutral colors of black, white, beige, and khaki and where bright colors and striking patterns are rare.

She styles her hijab the way that Japanese people style their hair — to match their outfit and mood for the day.

Just as Japanese people vary their hairstyles, from straight to bobbed, wavy to short haircuts, Yazid uses different colors, materials, and wrapping methods to switch up her look.

For example, the hijab can be wrapped asymmetrically to create an effect that’s similar to that of bangs being swept to one side, she said.

“I also add accessories to create a more lively look,” she said. “I like hats, so I often wear a beret over the hijab.”

For Yazid, Islam’s restrictions against women showing skin is the part she enjoys most about fashion.

Because hijabi fashion doesn’t allow women to show off their neck, legs, or figures, it’s a lot more difficult to come up with an outfit that still achieves an overall balance, she said.

“But for me, that’s part of the fun,” she said. “It’s like solving a puzzle.”

Her work has led to an increased sense of her pride in her Muslim faith in a country where Muslims are a small minority, she said.

Yazid said she wants to use her work to show people that they can wear a hijab, live a normal life, and not look out of place in the city.

Since then, she said she’s received many comments from people who said they’re inspired by her work.

Some of them have begun wearing hijabs, while others have told her they want to learn more about Islam.

“Hijabi fashion — Muslim fashion — transcends the boundaries of religion and can be a source of enjoyment for anyone,” she said. “It’s something that all women who want to look beautiful with can empathize with and enjoy.”

She added, “I want to use what I do to improve people’s understanding of Muslims, change biased views about the religion, and help people realize the value of living in a diverse society.“

“I want to show myself, a Muslim, living strong and beautiful, through my art,” she said.

[bubblegum-pwussay]

She dress better than half the fashion blogs I swear

[thefingerfuckingfemalefury]

<3 SO COOL <3

[interlacedblog]

updates, peace corps, and anxieties

Okay so I don’t use this blog as much as I planned to when I started it. I wish I was the kind of person who can regularly post online but that’s difficult for me. Anyway, I don’t remember what I last wrote about but I probably didn’t talk about my trip to Romania last summer. Maybe I’ll find time to write about it and post some pictures but it was a month-long archaeology field school in a culturally Hungarian region of Transylvania. Super cool, and I want to share it if I find motivation.

I also graduated college so now is the time to figure out what I’m doing with my life and career. After a lot of back-and-forth I decided to apply for the Peace Corps. It’s what I thought I would do after graduation when I came in as a freshman but I changed my mind a lot over four years. I came back to it though after starting a new job and watching my coworker prepare to leave for Sierra Leone. I’m applying to teach English in Nepal since that’s the closest I can get to India. My long-term goal is to do some kind of NGO or field work in South Asia so Nepal felt like the right choice. And I’ve applied; I’m waiting for my interview date. I’m really hoping I get in but at the same time I’ve had a lot of conflicting feelings about what Peace Corps represents. In the early 1960s, it was a super progressive thing to do but now, in 2019, I’m questioning whether it’s not a little problematic in its goals. I’ve read articles about why the institution as a whole and their use of the word “service” carries implications of American egoism but it’s so revered by the liberal arts school I graduated from that it must still have some virtue. I’m especially wary of the goals of the English teaching job (”Strengthening community support for English language learning”). When I read that I found myself asking why it’s so crucial for Americans to travel to rural Nepali villages in order to establish a routine of English speaking. I understand the argument that it provides opportunities to those who want to leave the village in search of better employment, but encouraging that deepens the problem that many rural areas all over the world face- they start to die out because all of the young adults are no longer there to sustain them.

I’ve discussed this with a friend of mine and they think that going would be good for me, and that being conscious of my privilege as a white American might help me perform my duties in a more sensitive way. I decided to write a post about this because I want to know if any of you out there have had the same thoughts, if you’ve volunteered for Peace Corps or not. I’d really like to hear what other people think about this issue.

[alliluyevas]

National Geographic on Facebook: this is a facial reconstruction of a teenage girl who lived 9000 years ago based on her remains!

half the comments: men criticizing her looks and saying she’s unattractive and mannish

[alliluyevas]

anyway this is the reconstruction and I always enjoy seeing the faces of prehistoric humans and how much we have in common over thousands of years despite how incredibly different our lives are. I support her and I think she looks wonderful.

[interlacedblog]

Another Greek Crisis

By now most people have heard of the impending “Day Zero” in Cape Town, South Africa- the day when they will officially run out of water. Water scarcity is rapidly becoming a problem all around the world; most Westerners will imagine places in Asia and Africa as water-scarce, but even Western cities as “developed” as London could be in the same boat as Cape Town. And it turns out that London isn’t the only European city. The whole country of Greece (along with Spain) are on a list of countries that will experience “water stress” by 2040.

In particular, the Aegean islands of Greece were hit hard in the summer of 2007 and had to receive shipments of bottled water from Athens to accommodate not only the islands’ residents, but all of the tourists as well. According to my source, the prefect of Cyclades said the islands had “warned the central government that this would happen months ago, and now we are struggling to meet demand.”

As recently as 2015, an article comparing Greece’s growing water crisis to that of California’s attributes the problem to a rapidly growing population. Another added stress came with the flood of refugees from conflicts in Eastern Europe, along with the general uncertainty of Greece’s economy these days.

So what is the Greek government planning to do between now and 2040? This source says that a water shortage in Greek/Turkish Cyprus could be a way to bring peace to the country. The implications this has on power dynamics and politics is not lost on me, and the article gives the opinions of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots as to why this might not be a perfect solution. The mainland and islands of Greece proper are considering solutions like desalination plants, and the less-desirable option of shipping water from water-abundant locations to the water-scarce. At this point, it seems like we can only wait to see how this will play out; 2040 is only a short 22 years away.

[interlacedblog]

More ANSO stuff!

Hello, I’m back with a part 2 to my original ANSO blog created for my intro class last spring. This year, I’m taking a class called “Examining the Anthropocene” and will again be writing regular blog posts for it.

Here is the link to the site I’m using for class, but I’ll also transfer my posts to this tumblr as well:

https://wordpress.com/post/interlacedpart2.wordpress.com/15

[interlacedblog]

World Hijab Day debrief

Sorry, I knew I would get too busy to write again on the same day- it’s midterms time.

First, what I experienced while wearing the hijab:

In some ways, I was a little familiar with how it felt. While abroad, we’d sometimes have to cover our heads with our scarves before going into certain places of worship. The hijab was slightly different though, because it was more secure and tight-fitting around my neck than just loosely draping it as I had done before. My first impression was a sense of comfort; I felt like I was in a constant hug and I think that did contribute to a feeling of spirituality while wearing it. It felt very natural, though there were times where I felt very stifled and claustrophobic for having fabric against my neck for so long. In addition to this, it took some time to adjust to the things in my peripheral vision, but I could relate this to when I started wearing glasses. I wondered if those who wear them every day experience the same love-hate relationship with the actual, physical scarf. Besides the personal sensations and emotions of wearing it, I did not experience much else. I know people noticed me wearing it, because I don’t normally, but no one asked me about it or commented on it. I was a little surprised because this was on Thursday, when I have both of my ANSO classes. I thought for sure we’d discuss World Hijab Day in my theories class. I think if I had gone off campus for anything, people from town might have brought more attention to it. I do feel privileged, that I can wear it and still be relatively unnoticed, when women all over the world experience varying sentiments that often hurt them in some way. I also developed more of an appreciation for hijabi athletes when I was at play rehearsal; we were doing movement exercises and it got very hot very fast.

Now I’ll write about the debrief session held by Islamic Club. (I’ll warn you, I did end up writing a lot for a tumblr post.)

We all sat around a large table so that everyone could see each other and discuss what we experienced. There was a kind of consensus that we all felt a little nervous before stepping out of the house; personally, I was afraid that I would be insulting someone, which was the opposite of my intention going into this. It also seemed common that we didn’t get a lot of comments from other people- a couple girls received positive to neutral comments but nobody had any negative confrontations. One woman who works in the campus library said she got a lot of compliments on the color of the scarf on her, while others were asked questions about how they did their hair. All of us could relate to another thing: feeling like we were the only ones wearing a hijab. Many of us didn’t share classes or similar schedules; I saw one other girl the whole day who was wearing the green scarf we were given, and I think she only saw me and maybe one other person. While sharing what we non-Muslims went through, three members of Islamic club formed a sort of panel to share their experiences as Muslims. One girl is Moroccan and is an international student from France, where it is against the law to wear the hijab in public. She willingly wore it for a time when she was younger but was basically forced to stop wearing it, resulting in complicated emotions while wearing it again for WHD. Another student, whose parents emigrated from Ethiopia, wears the hijab every day by choice. She said she didn’t use to as a teenager and child, and her twin sister chooses not to, but now she prefers it. (Also, she plays soccer and is really cool in general; I was glad I finally got a chance to meet her.) Thirdly, we got a male perspective from another international student from Pakistan. He has no sisters, but his mother actually used to design and wear custom hijabs. She now chooses not to wear them due to an ultimatum given to her that they must be plain and black, since her creations attracted too much attention.

So, we talked about a range of topics both specifically about the veil, and more generally about Islam and what it’s like to grow up with it. One that came up was about the choice of covering or not covering. They talked about people with good intentions, who actually take away their choice to cover by saying, “You don’t have to feel like you must wear that,” or “If your father is abusing you and making you cover, you can talk to me about it.” Things like this are well-intentioned usually but are really very rude and insulting, especially to suggest that someone’s parents are abusive simply because a girl is wearing something indicative of her religion. When I was still involved in Christianity, no one ever batted an eye at my cross necklace, no one ever pulled me aside to ask about my life at home. In a similar vein, we also discussed some brands of (white) feminism that aim to liberate Muslim women from their oppressive veils, when they are really the ones who are oppressive because they take away the woman’s choice to cover. During this, my previous question was answered in a way; yes, a woman’s relationship with her veil is complicated, because of interactions with outside groups.

A second big topic that came up a lot was interpretation: of the Quran as a whole, of the specific verses on women and how they should present themselves, and of practicing Islam. The student from Pakistan shared his interpretation: he reads the particular verse about covering as “cover what is beautiful.” This, rather than the translation “cover your bosom,” becomes more open-ended. He says this is where the individual must look in a mirror, decide for themselves what they think is beautiful, and cover that. For some, this could be their hair; for others it is their whole face. In this reading, it gives the person more of a choice over how they practice their spirituality. This is something that came up in a range of subcategories, though- how do people decide how, where, why, and when to use the veil? And who should give the verdict on these questions? This is something all religions can relate to and is a major question that feminists in particular are asking. The students told us it’s a difficult decision for their parents to make as well, especially girls’ fathers. This can be for many reasons; post-9/11 sentiments in the US, wanting their child to fit in at school, they might find it a symbol of oppression, etc. Our Ethiopian-American student said that her father was hesitant when she decided to start wearing the hijab too.

Our debrief session also served as a place to ask questions about things of which we were curious. Someone asked about the process of spiritual learning for a child growing up Muslim. Like in Christianity, there are Islamic Sunday and Saturday schools where the children will begin by learning Arabic so that they can read the Quran. The French student said she never attended this, while the other two did with different experiences. These classes can often be expensive, so some families choose to educate the children themselves, while other classes may be done through the academic school itself, depending on where the family lives. They mentioned that a lot of families throw parties or give gifts to the student when they finish reading the entire Quran, kind of like Bar/Bat Mitzvahs in Judaism. They said this is a kind of status within their communities, when the child can recite (but not necessarily memorize) verses of the Quran. (The recitation must be done in Arabic in a specific, melodic way, which can be quite difficult if the person is not from an Arabic-speaking background.) Here, one student said that she dislikes this system, because the child learns their verses with the intention of being rewarded and thus does not remember anything in the long-term. She said to “know why you’re doing it, not for your parents,” and it will be a more spiritually-fulfilling experience.

From this, we began to talk about an individual’s struggle with their faith. Something all three students mentioned was that they did not have a choice in anything; they were born into Muslim families and so that’s what they had to learn. I don’t mean for this to be interpreted as “Islam is bad because they force children into it.” It’s no different than the other girls who participated in WHD who went to Catholic school all their lives- some families hold their religion to be an important part of their identity. For me, I grew up loosely Protestant, and when I began to question things my mom was okay with me moving away from that. Now that I have gotten over my atheist-teenager phase, I have begun to explore Reform Judaism and it’s been a great experience so far. Anyway, as our Muslim student panel told us, “it’s an ongoing process.” Like people of all faiths, they went through a time of wondering why they did certain things, or why they wore this or didn’t eat that. The spiritual director of Knox, who was present for this event, said that questioning your faith is a very healthy thing to do, and oftentimes strengthens it. This contrasts with fundamentalist movements, which condemn such thoughts. I suppose this works for some people, but I’ve found that fundamentalism can lead to the religious extremism that divides diverse people rather than bringing them together. Someone else mentioned that struggling with your faith is like a certain blue fish we all know: you just have to keep swimming, because if you don’t, you’ll drown. And if you feel yourself drowning, just remember to keep moving and growing and trusting in yourself and your faith.

Happy (now belated) World Hijab Day!

[interlacedblog]

Also!

I definitely have more pictures from India to share, it’s just a matter of sorting and editing them.

[interlacedblog]

Hello again!

I realize it’s been a long time since I’ve posted last but everything has moved so quickly since my return to the US. This term has been especially busy too, as I am in two anthropology/sociology classes this term, which I will definitely write about when I get the chance.

Today, I wanted to write a post about World Hijab Day, which is today as it turns out. Every year since I was a freshman, Knox Islamic Club has hosted an event to celebrate this day. Last night, I attended a presentation given by Chaplain Tahera Ahmad from Northwestern University (who is really cool, by the way- read her bio). She spoke on her experiences as a Muslim woman who chooses to wear the hijab, educated us on women in Islam and the verses in the Quran which mention women/covering, and discussed the hijab in modern feminism. At the end of the presentation, Islamic Club handed out scarves for those of us who wanted to wear a hijab today, to show solidarity with all the women who choose to wear it and with those who aren’t given the choice.

So, today I am choosing to wear it to show my solidarity with my Muslim sisters. I plan on writing a follow-up post to this tonight, after the debrief session.

Happy World Hijab Day! (and the start of Black History Month!)

[gogomrbrown]

I learned in a Latin Studies class (with a chill white dude professor) that when the Europeans first saw Aztec cities they were stunned by the grid. The Aztecs had city planning and that there was no rational lay out to European cities at the time. No organization.

[punkrockradio]

When the Spanish first arrived in Tenochtitlan (now downtown mexico city) they thought they were dreaming. They had arrived from incredibly unsanitary medieval Europe to a city five times the size of that century’s london with a working sewage system, artificial “floating gardens” (chinampas), a grid system, and aqueducts providing fresh water. Which wasn’t even for drinking! Water from the aqueducts was used for washing and bathing- they preferred using nearby mountain springs for drinking. Hygiene was a huge part if their culture, most people bathed twice a day while the king bathed at least four times a day. Located on an island in the middle of a lake, they used advanced causeways to allow access to the mainland that could be cut off to let canoes through or to defend the city. The Spanish saw their buildings and towers and thought they were rising out of the water. The city was one of the most advanced societies at the time.

Anyone who thinks that Native Americans were the savages instead of the filthy, disease ridden colonizers who appeared on their land is a damn fool.

[robotsandfrippary]

They’ve also recently discovered a lost Native American city in Kansas called Etzanoa It rivals the size of Cahokia, which was very large as well.

[interlacedblog]

oh hi, I’m home

I really wanted to write a post before leaving but they had us doing work for our ISP and other assignments until the last day and it was BUSY. I’ve been home for about five days now and I’m settled into my first apartment, near my school. I finally have free time and I always feel like I should be doing something after that hectic semester.

I really can’t come up with the words to describe these last four months of my life. It was such an incredible experience to leave my home and my comfort zone to go to the literal other side of the world, and what an adventure too! I met so many new friends and have a whole family there now as well; saying goodbye to my host mom was especially sad. I’ll really miss cooking with her (when she had something for me to do that she hadn’t already done). She’s such an amazing mom and all of us students felt that we were perfectly matched with our host families. And besides the people, I’ll miss Pune so so much. What a great place- there’s never a shortage of things to do. During the last couple weeks of the program, I was going to several kathak performances a week. This was mostly for my research project but also for my own personal enjoyment and learning. Pune has so much to offer for artists of all disciplines.

And of course I’ll miss the food too. I think everyone in the program was excited to go for the food and most of us really enjoyed eating it every day. Maharashtrian food is very different than the northern food that’s available in the US; it’s not at all as spicy and can actually be sweet at times. I loved it and I wish it would catch on at home so I can have a Maharashtrian thali more often. I did get a few recipes from my host mom though so I can make myself a simple meal of hers when I’m other-homesick.

Oh man and do I miss the weather in Pune now. I landed in Chicago and it was 20 degrees (F). It snowed the other day and now it’s been really windy and cold. I want those 80 degree days back with a gentle breeze and palm trees and refreshing mosambi juice. I’ve never liked Illinois winters and being in India during the transition weather did not help. The nice thing here though is that I can wear sweaters again and not sweat through them by noon.

But overall, it’s good to be home. By the end of the semester, I was ready to go home. It was a perfect feeling of closure for this particular trip and I can’t wait to go again in the future. I’ve seen a few of my friends at home that I missed a lot and now I’m living with my good friend in Galesburg; for once I’m actually excited for Christmas and to see family. Among a million other things, this program definitely taught us all to appreciate our support system at home. You don’t realize what you have until it’s all unavailable to you from that far away. I guess that can be a main theme that I learned: appreciation for what I have. The average American has so many luxuries that they take for granted as everyday items- like bathrooms and toilet paper and clean water. I became so aware of all these luxuries during my time abroad; the Swachh Bharat movement is aiming to make clean bathrooms available to all Indians but that’s really ambitious feat when you look at the number of people still lacking basic facilities. And then there’s the number of people who don’t even have clean drinking and bathing water. Of course all of us students never had to worry about things like that but learning about these issues in class and then seeing them in person helped me realize just how privileged Americans really are, and most of us don’t understand that. In this way I think studying abroad (in a place out of your comfort zone) is really important. It forces you to learn hard truths about the world and yourself to the point where you become so open to learning and taking in every experience.

So...yeah. That’s about all I can think to say for now. I definitely have more pictures to share, but those will come in time. Revati took so many. Anyway, thank you to everyone who has been reading and following my posts. I would write all of this anyway to put my thoughts down into words but it’s nice to know that there are a few people who want to read them.

Keep exploring and learning,

Pete

[interlacedblog]

10 more days!

Once we hit the 1 month mark, the days have just been flying by. I have only ten days to write three papers and my research project on kathak. And this Friday I’m performing my dance at our farewell party. I’m so busy all the time and I’ve had so many conflicting feelings about the time I have left here. On one hand, I’ll be very excited to be done with the academic semester and all my work, and I can’t wait to see everyone at home. But at the same time I have family and friends in Pune now and I’ll miss them a lot too, not to mention the “winter” weather here!

One of our teachers has shared photos with us going back to the first week, so when I get a chance I’ll go through those and post the best ones. I might post a couple of my current assignments when they’re done too since at least one of them is supposed to be in blog format anyway.

This has been such a wild time and a valuable experience and I’m so grateful that I was able to have this opportunity. I think everyone who has the means should study abroad at least once, three times if you’re like my friend Julia from Knox who is also in India with me.

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1 & 2 : Getting a tiny camera done at the Pune Tattoo Festival

3 : Nilesh Sable from Zee Marathi!

4 : An actor from my favorite Marathi serial, Mazya Navryachi Bayko

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Halloween at ACM

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Nearing the end!

Well, it’s mid-November and we have about three more weeks in India and then the semester ends. The pressure has been building on all of us as our final assignments and papers pile up, especially for our research projects. That alone is a 25-page paper. So everyone has been really stressed. My research on kathak is going well but I still have a lot of work to do. And besides all this schoolwork, we’re trying to make the most of our last weekends here! It’s exhausting. I miss everyone at home a lot and I am excited to go back but I’ve been in Pune so long it feels like home too. I’ll miss my host mother a lot, and Revati and Patsy, and the friends I’ve made. I’ll miss waking up to the sounds of the rice steaming in the kitchen and all the Marathi serial songs playing from Aji’s room. I’ll miss so many things here I don’t think I can list them all or even describe some of them.

So many interesting things have happened since our Diwali break. We took a Friday field trip to Mumbai, which was really pretty but we didn’t have enough time there at all. Another trip was to a female-owned and -run quilting shop. They employ only women and make quilted comforters, bags, pillow slips, and more out of old sari fabric. I bought a quilt to bring home and I love it. The shop is called Quilt Culture and they do export, mostly to Spain right now. Last Friday we saw a Malayalam play and a Turkish mime (for real. a real mime. it was just as weird as you’d think); both were put on by IAPAR, a performing arts class that is held downstairs from ACM. The play was amazing and was performed with a blend of traditional and contemporary acting styles.

A few weeks ago I attended a dinner put on by the Guardian Minister of Pune where artists of all disciplines came together. I met several other kathak dancers (among dancers of other classical styles) and even two actors from Zee Marathi TV! Pictures will follow this post. At my next dance lesson, my teacher told me a screenwriter there saw me and said I was perfect for the lead in a film he wrote. I ultimately turned down the offer for personal reasons but if I had taken it, I would be coming back to India for filming. I thought it was crazy that I had been offered something like that but it’s also too much commitment this late in the semester when I really need to be focusing on completing schoolwork.

So basically it’s been getting really crazy and I’ll be happy to be done with the homework part of this trip, but I wish I could stay a little longer as a tourist. Unfortunately, my funds will not allow that. Also I have to be home for my birthday since I’m turning 21!

This whole study abroad experience has overall been really good, and that’s such an understatement. I can’t believe I had this opportunity and I’m so grateful for all the people that helped make it happen. I can’t stress enough how beneficial studying in a place different from your own is, not only for anthropology students but for anyone coming from a place of privilege. It really changes your perspective on a lot of things and you learn that your way isn’t the only way of doing things. And while cultures are vastly different everywhere in the world, humans are humans anywhere you go. It’s been especially hard being this removed from the US and to keep hearing about the all the shootings and political disasters happening at home. I wish I could give the experience I’ve had to every racist and xenophobic fool in the US so they could realize that people are just people and there is literally no reason to treat someone as less than that because of their color or religion or whatever. It’s just made me so mad reading all of Trump’s idiotic statements in our daily paper knowing that he will never change his point of view. It feels so dismal when a whole year has passed since he was elected and we’ve found so many reasons to impeach him but nobody in the position to remove him is doing anything. I’m also very critical of his recent comments on India. I saw that he celebrated Diwali in the White House and I laughed out loud because I know he doesn’t really care about Indians, either here in India or the ones in his own country. It’s purely political because of India’s and the US’s positions on Pakistan and China. And while that might be important too, I don’t think he can claim to be a friend of Indians when they face so much discrimination and injustice in the US, and he just doesn’t care! Anyway, I’ve gotten off track from my original post. I’ll post another round of pictures soon and maybe another text post before I leave. I still can’t believe how fast this semester has gone by.

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1. Hindu temple monolith at Ellora 2. Fort at Aurangabad 3. Waterfall near Ajanta caves 4. Painting on ceiling of cave 5. Inside a cave 6. Buddhist carvings

[interlacedblog]

update 2/2 - Diwali

So now I’m on holiday again, and the semester is half over. I had several grand plans for travel during my nine days off- Thailand, then Hampi, then Mumbai. Now I’m staying in Pune instead. It’s partly my unmotivation to actually plan and book a hotel, transportation, activities. It’s partly because I don’t think I can afford to go anywhere. Now that I’ve gotten to know the other students, who are currently in places like Agra, Delhi, Rajasthan, I know that they don’t have to worry about that kind of thing. For some, it’s modest and unnoticeable to those who wouldn’t know how to tell. For others, it’s not so subtle. I don’t resent them for having money because that’s clearly out of their hands. But I can’t help but feel different, you know? Besides the 12 days I was able to spend in France and Spain in high school, this is the first time I’ve been out of the country for this long and this far away. For other students, this is their second, third trip. Maybe I’m a little jealous. I can’t say if I’ll be able to take a trip like this again soon. I mostly got to study abroad because Knox applies a student’s financial aid to the program they join. So, it’s not costing much more than if I was on campus. I’m lucky, that I can do this, because I know there are other kids at school who wouldn’t be able to afford the difference in cost. Every day I’m here, in fact, I’m reminded of my privileges. It’s hard not to when the only other white/American people near me are the other students. Being a minority here has given me the smallest glimpse into what minorities at home must feel. The unwanted attention and stares that I get don’t compare to what minorities in the US have experienced for centuries. The difference is mostly that what I perceive as unwanted attention is really often meant as flattering, where I know it’s not for people at home.

And then there’s the poverty in India. Every day for a week at least it has rained. I love rain. I love storms, I love when they batter my windows and shake the house. I didn’t think of loving storms as a privilege until I came here. With news of the hurricanes hitting the southern US, I felt grateful that I lived somewhere that didn’t have to worry about rains destroying my house. Here, in Pune, seeing Mumbai flooding on TV made me think of all the thousands of people who call the footpaths their home. All the corrugated metal scrap houses that pop up wherever there is unoccupied space. Here I am, hoping for a violent, exciting storm, as I sit in my stone, Brahmin house. I never thought of rain as scary until I saw just how many people don’t have the option to escape it and stay dry. Poverty is so visible here. It’s a known stereotype of India. I don’t know exact statistics but I think the difference between poverty here and at home is visibility. Maybe Americans just aren’t physically seeing it. Here, it is so blatant and in-your-face that I think it becomes a desensitized topic. There’s almost an unblurred line between those who manage and those who can’t. And I think it’s easy to slip under that line of financial stability, easier than well-off Americans think. Even with good morals and hard work, a family can stay under that line. They can do everything right and still not succeed if that’s how the system is set up. People who don’t have adequate shelter really don’t get enough credit for all that they do to provide their families with a decent life. Certainly those who do have proper homes don’t appreciate them enough, if we can sit under our roofs and hope for a good, house-challenging storm, knowing that the house will win.