It's hard to believe we have been here for over a week, but then again, it is starting to feel more like home. After spending three days in the bustling, noisy metropolis of Mumbai coming to the ECC was like driving into a tropical retreat center, complete with beautiful flowering trees, tropical plants, birds and other critters too numerous to count.
The Ecumenical Christian Center is located in Whitefield, which is essentially a suburb of Bangalore located just east of the city. After driving down a narrow two-lane dirt road and through the gate, we found ourselves on the campus of this center which has been hosting St. Olaf College students for 40 years now. We have very comfortable single-story dormitory style housing in a building called "Dialogue House", which includes a classroom and a lounge. A short walk across the campus takes us past the library, past the sports field and to the dining hall. Each day I encounter lizards, toads, sweet smelling trees and flowers, fruit trees, and hear so many different bird calls it's like living in an aviary.
Most days include three class session, two in the morning with a tea break. And another late afternoon, culminating in a tea break at 4:30 that keeps us going till our 7:00 dinner. In-between the class session and on the occasional afternoon off, we all have been enjoying games outside with members of the ECC community. Most staff live here with their families so there are lots of children and teenagers to participate in group games like soccer, volleyball, and badminton. Today some of the group is learning how to play cricket. The rest are shopping for saris. The only downside to the ECC is that we are rather isolated from access to the greater town (which can also be an asset depending on what you want to do). Shopping and finding other activities requires a bit or organizing and time.
Last week we took a three-day field trip to Tiruvannamalai, which is about a 7 hour bus ride southeast from here. Actually, we didn't know it was that long. We were first told 4 1/2 hours, then 6... We are beginning to refer to things happening on "Indian time". A 30 minute hike? Plan for 90 minutes.
Actually I am not complaining. The trip was well worth the effort. We stayed in a hotel there, but were hosted by the staff at Quo Vadis, an interfaith dialogue center run by a group of Christians from the local Lutheran Church. Their facility was marvelous, especially well-created to suit their mission, which is to foster dialogue between people of different faiths and to promote understanding and build relationships and cooperation across religious lines. They have a three-story building which houses a tea-drinking area with wifi, a library, and their offices. Behind that is a small meditation hut, a thatched roof gathering spot, and a cafe built with reclaimed materials. They are especially interested in using art to facilitate dialogue, so there are sculptures and paintings from artists of different faiths scattered around. The whole place is so beautifully done we were happy to spend time there reading and meditating in our free time between tours. The town itself is known for the mountain it sits next to, which is a sacred place for Hindus. There is a very large temple compound there that is 1800 yrs old, which we visited and toured. The relationship of respect that has been fostered between the priests of the temple and the pastors at Quo Vadis was evident because we were given access to some places most Indians aren't even taken to. We were given flower wreaths to wear (think Hawaii), and both red and white bindis(the dots between the eyebrows).
Other places we visited were ashrams and yogic centers where guides showed us how these communities live and stay faithful to their guru. One of our tour guides was a 70-year old German woman who moved to India permanently 6 years ago to be at this particular ashram. It would have been great to get a little more of her story! We also climbed the mountain part-way to get a glimpse of the trek that the faithful Hindus take. Actually, most of them circumambulate the mountain since it is so holy they don't even want to walk on it. The ones who hike up do so without shoes just as they would enter a temple.
We also visited a school network run by the Lutheran Church. We saw a building being built there that is being sponsored by the Bethel Lutheran Church in Northfield. Their schools are set up specifically for children rescued from situations where they've been sent to work rather than attend school. Classes for their parents are also available, especially mothers who head single-income households. Most of these come from the lowest castes and it is probably their only chance to get education and improve their situation long-term.
There are so many experiences here I can't get them all down, but India is quite a fascinating place and the more I see, the more I realize how complex it is! There are things I just can't quite wrap my head around, like the caste system (some people aren't allowed to wear shoes or ride bikes because of their caste. Really?) and the amount of garbage everywhere. Watching cows in traffic is hilarious. The head bobble is still disorienting. I've been told it means, "Yes, okay, that's right." but it still looks like "I don't know" to me. If you've never seen it, think bobble-head doll. It takes practice to do it right.
One last note, for those of you wondering about the rabies shot ordeal, Christoph received the last of his 5 rabies injections today! We are very glad to be done with that. He had three shots in Turkey and the last two in India for a cat bite he received in Turkey. One benefit is that we haven't had to remind anyone (except Julia that is) to stay away from the monkeys here. One set of shots is enough! Except for a few reactions to funky food we are all healthy at the moment.
I'm off to be fitted for a sari. Diwali is coming next week and I want to be appropriately dressed! What is Diwali? All I know for now is that it is a big Indian festival involving fireworks and dressing up. I'll figure out the rest all in good time.
Note: Although there are now laws prohibiting the grossest forms of inequality that the caste system fosters, we've been told that culture and society are stronger influences and that most times the laws are not inforced.
