HAPPY EASTER

Happy happy Easter to all of my friends and family! I wish all of you a wonderful day; I miss you all very much! While it was certainly difficult to be away from loved ones on Easter, today was just another testament to how incredible this shipboard community is! To start things off, Desmond Tutu said a sunrise service this morning which was an amazing Easter gift in itself! Today he was not dressed in his usual knee high socks, and blue baseball cap, but rather a beautiful burgundy cloak and a large silver cross hanging around his neck. cloak His words were special and inspiring as usual, and I’d say it’s pretty amazing to hear Easter Sunday mass from the Archbishop of Cape Town! On the procession out of the service, everyone was given a red carnation to throw into the ocean as a little celebration. That was very cool, to see hundreds of red flowers being tossed into the sea! Then it was back inside for breakfast, and a regular day of class.
We have only had three days on the ship since departing from Malaysia. There was only enough time to get a couple of papers done, and prepare for the next port. I think going to Vietnam is going to be eye-opening and challenging for many people. Instead of learning about how Britain’s rule negatively affected India, or the aftermath of Apartheid in South Africa, Vietnam is a country whose recent history is closely tied with the United States. I am leaving for Cambodia April 9-11, and I know that visiting the killing fields in the city of Phnom Penh will give me a new view of the civil war that took place there, and the role of my country in that.
I love you all so much, so take, care, and I will write again when I return from my adventure in Vietnam!

Malaysia

I had a great time doing South Africa independently, and left my Malaysia itinerary wide open to do the same. I decided to fly to the capital of Kuala Lumpur with a small group of friends. It is known as the “garden city of lights” and it sure did live up to that name. it was a quick fifty minute flight from the Island of Penang over to Kuala Lumpur, and while landing, I saw the most palm trees that I’ve ever seen in my life! It was gorgeous. Our cab driver confused us a little on the way into the city by explaining the way to Times Square for shopping, and how we have to go to the Twin Towers early to get a ticket up to the sky bridge. KL as it is commonly known, was indeed a lot like New York. It was a modern city, with lush green trees and parks intertwined with buildings. I could tell that the Malaysian people are very proud of the architecture, and see this place as a symbol of progress for their country.
Since Malaysia is the only predominately Muslim country that we are going to, we wanted to learn more about Islam during this trip. So, our group went to the national Mosque. We had to wear full length cloaks, and scarves to cover our heads, but got to go in and look at the beautiful building. I am fascinated by learning about other religions, so the pamphlets they had at the mosque were a wealth of information. We also went to an Islamic art museum which was another unique and stunning building in the city, and had a very complete collection of art and other artifacts. In KL, we noticed a reflexology ship on every corner, so after a long day of walking around we decided to try one. The thirty minute foot massage was an interesting experience. It actually hurt a little, but I learned which part of the foot corresponds to particular body parts, how to relieve stress and headaches! It was a overall a relaxing three days in the city, a very different experience than India had been just a few days prior. But it was nice to stay in a hotel, and get to take a wonderful bubble bath. The people I was with made the trip that much better, would love to go back to KL someday!

Dalit Overnight

Every sixth human being in the world today is an Indian, and every sixth Indian is an untouchable, a Dalit. Today there are 165 million Dalits (equal to more than half the population of the United States) and they continue to suffer under India’s 3,500-year-old caste system, which remains a stigma on humanity. However, Dalits are awakening. We are struggling against caste discrimination, illiteracy, and poverty; our weapons are education, self-empowerment, and democracy.
~An excerpt from Untouchables by Narenda Jadhav

One of the highlights of my India trip was an overnight in a Dalit village. First we visited the Delta School of nursing, founded specifically to give Dalit women the chance to continue their education build self-esteem. The students did a great traditional dance performance for us, and then we got time show them our silly American dances like the electric slide. We also got to play their favorite game of throw ball, similar to volleyball, and that was great! The founder of the school gave us an overview of Dalit history, and the struggles that many still face today. Later in the evening we went to the actual village where we would be sleeping. Several members from the community came out to greet us, and lead us around their village with pride. It was a little weird having people just come out of their thatch-roof houses and stare at us, but then again, I guess I was staring back just the same. I brought along a Polaroid camera so the kids could keep photos of themselves. They thought that it was magic, and got really excited, but it got a little chaotic because everyone wanted their own, and I didn’t have that much film. After a wonderful cultural performance by the villagers, we ended up sleeping on the cement floor of a school. It was a great night to really get to know our group from the ship, and share how we felt about the day. Overall, my time in the village was everything I had hoped for! I liked getting out of the city and meeting these people. It gave me a different perspective on India, and I learned a great deal about the caste system. It is difficult for me to understand how discrimination can be written into the ideals of a religion. In Hinduism, your caste is determined by your karma, or your deeds in past lives. If you are born as a Dalit, then you have bad karma, which means you did bad things in a past life. There is nothing you can do to change that, so you just accept it when others tell you are subhuman, and must be subservient to the members of higher castes. I’m still having a hard time making sense of the Apartheid in South Africa where the hatred and separation was based on skin color. So I really can’t wrap my brain around this kind of discrimination based on an abstract concept like karma.
Being back on the ship, I am surprised at how much I am missing India. I really loved my time there, and I just feel like there was not even enough time to scratch the surface of understanding this country’s complex history and cultural organization. I hope to go back one day to this wonderful, and unique place.

orphanage visit

I was amazed at how close I got to my Catholic faith in a place that is over 85% Hindu. First was the incredible opportunity to visit St. Thomas Basilica. This is one of only three cathedrals in the world that stands over the tomb an apostle of Jesus Christ! St. Thomas came to India in 52 A.D. to spread the word of the Lord, and died there as a martyr only twenty years later. I got chills while walking down beneath the church where the tomb lies, just thinking about being so close to someone who actually touched Jesus. It was a very special time for me to pray for my Uncle Tom, a priest in Alaska who touches lives every day with the love of Christ!
Another day we went to Missionaries of Charity Orphanage, known simply as “Mother Theresa’s House” to locals. Zig-zagging through the streets of Chennai India on a crazy rickshaw ride, I was armed with the usual bubbles, stickers and toys that I bring to other orphanage visits, and ready to play! But as it usually goes, God had other plans. He doesn’t need material things to work, and sometimes it is easy to forget that. Just a simple touch can change a life. It is hard to explain the deep connection that I felt with the little boy whose head lay in y lap. His whole body was crippled by polio and he could hardly move at all. All I could do was sit there, stroking his arm and constantly wave the flies out of his open mouth. That was enough. Soon his body became more relaxed, and his hand finally loosened from a clenched fist.
Of the seventy or so kids who reside in the orphanage the vast majority have severe mental or physical disabilities. For some, their mothers didn’t get pre-natal care and abandoned them shortly after birth. Others are enduring the side- effects of incest, which is still practiced in rural parts of India. And still others are suffering from traumatic early life experiences of abuse or neglect. The workers have actually found many children by looking in dumpsters around the city.
Yes it was heartbreaking to see these kids so helpless and so weak, but it was also heart-building to be there and for the first time, really understand the value of every human life. I am usually the one who can’t watch the operating scenes in Grey’s Anatomy, so I was kind of surprised that it was never hard for me to look at the children. I wanted to see them. No matter which way their limbs were deformed, no matter if they couldn’t hear me, or talk to me. Their lives have a purpose, an intrinsic value, just like the rest of us. Mother Theresa dedicated her life to helping the most wretchedly poor, the most severely crippled. She did not turn away from anyone, and being in her orphanage, I was challenged to do the same. I loved listening to the nun’s funny anecdotes about Mother Theresa’s visits there, and their passionate testimonials of why they do this kind of work. The pure selfless goodness that they have to take care of these children 24 hours a day seven days a week is nothing short of miraculous, and a result of an incredible undying faith. The people inside Mother Theresa’s house gave so much to me in the short time I was there, more than I could ever give back to them. I witnessed God working at his best, and that was pretty amazing!

Welcome to India

India was a thrilling, at times overwhelming bustle of activity. Little orange rickshaw taxis flooded the streets (I will never complain about the San Diego traffic again!) With three times the population of the United States living on a third of its land, India will surpass China as the most populated country in the world. My five days there flew by, but I was able to do so much! The population density in the city of Chennai was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. It is also known as the city of billboards, so between the people and the advertisements there was constantly something interesting catching my attention! Gram, you would LOVE people watching there!
It was surreal to drive by the second longest beach in the world, that I had seen news coverage of a few years ago when the tsunami hit. I loved learning about Gandi and his nonviolent resistance that lead a revolution to freedom in global studies. I felt like an Indian princess when Katie and I went shopping for sarees, went to a welcome reception with Indian university students. I visited colorful Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva, Visnu, and Ganesh, and even watched monkeys share in picnics at a community park. I won’t go into the details on everything, but here are a few things will give you a good idea of how I spent my time in India.