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(08/21/13 3:38am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>My first month in India was a cultural learning curve.Since arriving in Hyderabad in early July, I have learned how to eat rice and daal with my right hand, haggle for prices with auto drivers and properly match a kurta to my outfit.More than anything, I learned this city is full of interesting juxtapositions.IT giants and internet companies, including Google, are located in an area known as HITEC City, or Cyberabad.Down the road, Shilparamam, an arts and crafts culture village, sells traditional South Indian handicrafts. Locals can enroll in classes to learn art forms, and visitors can explore the sculpture gardens.Old City, another section of Hyderabad, has a population that is nearly 60 percent Muslim — unusual in a predominately Hindu country. Glittering saris peek out from underneath burqas in the bustling markets.Before leaving, people usually responded to the news that I was studying at the University of Hyderabad with excitement or trepidation.Western media tends to portray India as an exotic land full of bright colors and spiritual people or a country struggling against poverty and violence.I was asked numerous times if I felt safe being a woman in India. A large portion of our orientation was devoted to safety, but the advice was similar to advice given to women anywhere — don’t walk around alone at night and be aware of your surroundings.Some stereotypes about India have turned out to be true. Water buffalo, initially mistaken as cows, tend to wander through streets and near shops in my neighborhood. They occasionally block traffic.I’ve accepted their presence because they provide the milk used to make delicious chai.With four months still to go, I know I have a lot left to learn in Hyderabad. It would be a shame if I left the city without being able to speak authoritatively about where to find the best vegetable biryani.—kmthacke@indiana.edu Follow columnist Kate Thacker on Twitter @katelynthacker
(08/20/13 6:32pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>My first month in India was a cultural learning curve.Since I arrived in Hyderabad in early July, I have learned how to eat rice and daal with my right hand, haggle for prices with auto drivers and properly match a kurta to the rest of my outfit.More than anything, I learned this city is full of interesting juxtapositions.IT giants and internet companies, including Google, are located in an area known as HITEC City, or Cyberabad.Down the road, Shilparamam, an arts & crafts culture village, sells traditional South Indian handicrafts. Locals can enroll in classes to learn art forms including sari embroidery and sand painting, and visitors can explore the sculpture gardens.Old City, another section of Hyderabad, has a population that is nearly 60 percent Muslim — unusual in a predominately Hindu country. Glittering saris peek out from underneath burqas in the bustling markets.Before leaving, people usually responded to the news that I was studying for a semester at the University of Hyderabad with excitement or trepidation.Western media tends to portray India as an exotic land full of bright colors and spiritual people or a country struggling against poverty and violence.I was asked numerous times if I felt safe being a woman in India. A large portion of our program orientation was devoted to safety, but the advice was similar to advice given to women anywhere — don’t walk around alone at night and be aware of your surroundings.Some stereotypes about India have turned out to be true. Water buffalo, initially mistaken as cows, tend to wander through streets and near shops in my neighborhood. They occasionally block traffic.I’ve accepted their presence because they provide the milk used to make delicious chai.With four months still to go, I know I have a lot left to learn in Hyderabad. It would be a shame if I left the city without being able to speak authoritatively about where to find the best veg biryani.— kmthacke@indiana.edu
(06/16/13 6:24pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>June 12 was our last day in Eldoret, Kenya.It was our last day seeing our partners and the last chance to change anything about our reporting. It was the last time our two classes will have met together as one.The professors of both IU and Moi University organized a great going away party for the Hoosiers.There were pictures, speeches, singing and thank-yous that lasted the four-and-a-half hours we were there.We all met in the banquet hall where our meal was catered in.In America, we eat, chat and snap pictures all at the beginning to get it out of our system before the serious part comes, right? Well, not in Kenya.Many speeches were made one after the other, each one getting more emotional as they went on.The dean of Moi University as well as the Chancellor and heads of the Department of Communications also came out to thank us for the reporting we have done and the lives we have touched.It was interesting for us, the Americans, to be thanked for the trip. For us, the trip to report on HIV and AIDS was an unbelievable opportunity to experience a new culture and work alongside a foreign counterpart.We had a duty to report and tell stories to the best of our ability, and we could not have done as well without the help of the Moi staff.But it was everyone from Moi who was thanking us to no end.The dean thanked us for coming, for making this relationship with the two schools the best it could be.The night really made us see just how important our work was to Kenya and its citizens. It was definitely an experience I will never forget.After speeches made by the professors, everyone was moved to tears by two talks spoken from our masters students, Michael Ollinga and Heather Robbins.They talked about how the relationship between the IU and Moi students was quickly transformed into a friendship rather than working partners.We were able to exchange small gifts to each other, the Americans giving away IU gear and trinkets and the Kenyan students giving us Moi University mugs.Then, after a surprise song sung by two Kenyan girls, we were able to wipe away our tears and enjoy our last meal together.Goodbyes are the same in Kenya.Tears, sad smiles and knowing we might never see each other again loomed over us.Many hugs were exchanged and we made sure our “Friends” status on Facebook was established before we finally departed the banquet hall.“Goodbye is never painful, if we know we are going to see each other again,” Ollinga said at the end of his speech.For this group, I know that is true.– campbjes@indiana.edu
(05/30/13 12:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In fifth grade, my teacher told my parents I had an attitude problem. I still do sometimes, but in America we can all say that is a common attribute, right?I have been in Kenya for almost a week and a half, and I have never spent so much time shaking hands, saying “hello, good morning” and meeting so many new people. Walking down the street, vegetable sellers smile and say hello to us, the 12 white girls in missionary skirts and sunburned faces. Shaking hands is the initial greeting when meeting someone in Kenya, whether meeting him or her for the first time or seeing an old friend. Abraham Mulwo, a professor at Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya, told us not shaking hands upon introduction is extremely rude. When we met our Kenyan partners, the 12 Moi University students we are teaming up with to report on HIV/AIDS in Kenya, it was a long line of hand-shaking and awkward smiles as we tried to remember how to say hello. In Swahili, the official language of Africa, there are several different versions of greetings that we can say to people. “Jambo,” “Hodi” and “Sasa” all mean hello, and “habari yako” means “how are you?” So when being introduced there is a rushed blur of words and phrases and hopefully you responded with the right answer. “Just answer ‘nzuri’ to any question, and you should be okay,” IU School of Journalism professor Jim Kelly said. Nzuri means “good” or “fine” in Swahili. Bit by bit, we are picking up on the everyday phrases spoken by our partners and have learned that people pointing and yelling “Mzungo” at us, is not meant to be an insult. Our first encounter with this was passing a school bus filled with little boys coming home from school. With huge smiles on their faces they shouted, “Mzungo, mzungo!” like we were the coolest things on the road. Even when walking through the hospital and the AMPATH building (the organization between Indiana and Moi University) in Eldoret, and while reporting on our stories, we were all amazed at how open and willing everyone was to talk to us and share their story. The doctors make time out of their extremely busy days to explain the conditions of their lives and duties while working with the patients. Yesterday, my partner, Allylah Msenya, and I were personally taken to nutrition specialists by another contact to gain more information needed for our story. From there, we met with a client who was in the office to get her ARVS and monthly supply of food supplement. Though she only spoke Swahili, she was willing to talk freely about her status and troubles she faces in life. To Allylah, the openness and ability to easily find people who are happy to give you whatever help you need seemed completely normal.In America, I feel like journalists are stereotyped by what people see on TV. People think of the microphone in your face, imagining someone who only cares about getting the story no matter the cost. When talking to professionals back home, I try to take as little time as possible, seeing as they did not want to fit me into their day in the first place. Kenya is different. The doctors want to help journalists, the patients in the hospital want to tell their story and we, as journalists want to portray this as much we can. In America, there is a strong sense of secrecy in people, to shy away from others or ignore arising problems. In Kenya, the people of the hospital and AMPATH welcome all who need help or are there to give it. I almost feel like part of the community, and that is a good feeling. — campbjes@indiana.edu
(05/06/13 3:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This week, even the locals will feel like tourists. Visit Bloomington is inviting locals to “be a tourist in your own town” this week.Visit Bloomington, which promotes local tourism, is encouraging locals to visit newly discovered museums and restaurants or take part in a new activity in town.This appreciation of Bloomington establishments is part of National Tourism Week from May 4 to 12.Tourists to Bloomington spend an average of $279 million on lodging, dining and retail purchases, according to a press release.Tourist visits support nearly 8,000 jobs in Monroe County and have made Bloomington a top-ten employer in the hospitality industry, according to a press release.As a reward for participating in local business, the Visit Bloomington will give away gift certificates to locals for use at area restaurants and attractions.In addition to the gift certificate program, the Visit Bloomington initiative invites locals to participate in the Photo A Day Challenge throughout the month of May.Participants will submit photos pertaining to a daily word or phrase, posted at the Visit Bloomington blog page. Participants can use the hashtag “#visitbtown” when submitting daily Instagram photos for the challenge. Each winning photo will be featured on the City of Bloomington Instagram page.The Circles Initiative, a collaborative program between the South Central Community Action Program and Visit Bloomington, will also see recognition this week.The program will help one of the SCCAP’s leaders become a tourist in their own town. Bloomington will provide $350 for the SCCAP member and a friend to experience the town as a visitor would.The chosen SCCAP member will also track his or her progress from the Visit Bloomington blog.As a closing event to National Tourism Week in Bloomington, Visit Bloomington arranged an awards reception to honor local tourism professionals on Friday.Awards will be presented to local businesses and include categories like “best bar,” “best festival/event” and “best lodging.”For more information about National Tourism Week, go to www.visitbloomington.com. —Amanda Jacobson
(02/27/13 4:56am)
Caitlin O'Hara reports from the DMZ during studies in Korea.