Day 45- Cultural Pre-Port

Oct 12th

After a miserable Developmental Econ test in the morning, I recovered from midterms with a long nap. Later, while spreading my pent up energy and cheer all over the ship, I ran into Amog and Prashanth, the two Indian students traveling with SAS from Cape Town to Chennai for the sole purpose of helping us learn about Indian culture. (SAS does this for various ports throughout the trip, but I never had a chance to meet the Brazilian students.) They taught me some basic phrases, like ‘namaste,’ which means ‘hello’ or ‘I honor the divine in you.’ I tried to get them to teach me how to say, “Watch out! There is a giant tiger behind you!” but I couldn’t follow all the words. Even though there are 24 officially recognized languages, the most common languages in India are Hindi 40%, Tamil 6% (most common in Chennai) and English, so they taught me the phrases in a few different forms. Both students had great suggestions on what to see and do in Chennai, like going to see a Bollywood film (4-5 new films come out every week!) or going to a Moca hookah bar for snacks.

Cultural pre-port
During a series of lectures by various ship members, we learned about the various intricacies on Indian culture: When Indians nod their head “yes,” they do so by making a figure eight that looks like a wobbling motion that looks more like “no” to Westerners. Indian culture is marked by cultural pluralism, which preserves the traditions and customs over various overlapping groups. Arranged marriages are highly regarded, and considered a “meeting of minds” rather than a “meeting of hearts.” Education and inquiry are highly encouraged, so questions are normally always welcome. It’s not unusual for Indians to “adopt” travelers and show them their country out of pride. Women may experience places were they are segregated, and they must always dress modesty. (I’m particularly excited to see how “Naked Girl” is going to dress, since most of us have only seen her in hot pants and bandana “tops.”) Toilet paper is not provided in most places, nor are tampons widely available. Food tends to be spicy and causes the infamous “Delhi-belly.” It is highly advised to check bottle seals before drinking because it is customary to reuse cans and bottles. Coconut water is recommended as the safest thing to drink. Most Indians also primarily use right hands for eating, since the left hand is “unclean.” Professor Adhikari recommended that we eat from banana leaf at least once. We also have to be careful of touching chilies while eating and then touching our eyes. There are also various “superstitions,’ like “finding or loosing gold is lucky, while finding or loosing silver is unlucky” and sweeping after the morning is bad luck. You’re only supposed to wash your hair on certain days and we are supposed to step into houses with your right foot. Cultural pre-port ended with the Indian Music Class singing some traditional tunes for everyone’s enjoyment.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was finding out the Chinese stole karate from the Indian’s form of Kalarippayat in 1500BC. (Bastards!) My “low” was loosing a ½ hr of sleep because India wanted its own time zone to itself.