Indian Village Home Stay

Monday, November 09, 2015
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India



This week we left the quaint and relaxed lakeside city of Udaipur (relaxed as far as Indian cities go) for the desert village of Jhadol

At first glance, this small community of less than 100 seemed sleepy and simple. The group soon learned that the villagers were anything but. Their colorful and foreign culture baffled us at every turn, and we loved every second of it.

Mornings in the village were spent teaching English at the all girls elementary school. The girls spoke almost no English, making teaching difficult and occasionally awkward. Thankfully, the kids were very eager to learn and overjoyed to have us as guests. 

Sam and Sean experienced success by singing "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey repeatedly and having the class copy them. Other teachers played a lot of pictionary. Even though it was challenging, we greatly enjoyed the experience and had a lot of fun.

One afternoon, the group went on a scavenger hunt in the local market. We were told to find an unknown object, discover its use, and show it to the rest of the group . Our findings were eclectic and unusual. They ranged from makeshift incense holders and Diwali decorations to an assortment of Indian gels and creams, and even cow jewelry. We had a lot of fun exploring the exotic market and practicing our Hindi phrases on the locals. They were confused and intrigued by our presence. We drew curious stares from all the shoppers, but still felt welcomed and appreciated.

Even though we are in India, we didn't forget about Halloween. Tim and Alex surprised us with 3 pumpkins, which we carved and displayed to the students. We presented them at a bonfire, where we shared more American traditions with the school. We passed out candy to all the girls and tried to get them to sing campfire songs with us. The songs weren't too successful, but they enjoyed the sweets.

Most of our afternoons were spent at the work site next to the school. We were tasked with plastering the walls of an addition to the school kitchen . It was like building a sandcastle, except A LOT harder. The skilled laborers we worked alongside enjoyed watching us attempt to learn the art of the trowel. The technique was difficult to grasp, but the few master builders among us were able to catch on. After work, the group would lounge on the roof drinking chai before returning home for dinner.

Our home stays were very different than the previous ones. The families spoke almost no English, so our interactions were limited to hand movements and smiles. One of the few English words they knew was "dance". They never missed an opportunity to have us make fools of ourselves on the dance floor while they laughed and cheered us on. 

When we weren't dancing, we were making Roti over an open fire, moving rocks, and shoveling cow dung with our hands. Much of village life was new to us, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

Our time in the village was not only a time of bonding with the local Indians, but within the group as well . A lot of our free time was spent playing games and holding meetings as a group. We learned a lot about each other and became closer as a result. 

Austin


 

Comments

2025-02-14

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank