And we're off.....

Another full day of orientation today, so much so that I'm too tired to write about it tonight! However, one of my colleagues made a great map of where we're going, so I'll leave you with that tonight, if I can figure out how to upload it here. She's going to be adding hot links to each of the cities we're visiting, so you can get all the facts about the places there. You know I'm all about the story, and let the facts take care of themselves, so this is perfect for me.
Namaste.
Ok, too tired to work on how to paste in this map tonight,so here's the link. Maybe tomorrow!
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&source=embed&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110311315786901465876.000465cc8f2b03abb1d1c&ll=19.311143,81.035156&spn=22.020805,51.855469&z=4

NAMASTE!

NAMASTE from Madison, Wisconsin!

I'm on the first leg of my journey, the 3 day pre-departure orientation in Madison, Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin has an excellent Center for South Asia that is hosting our orientation.

There are 16 teachers total in our group, and there is a wealth of experience and congeniality that promises to be helpful in the next 5.5 weeks.

We had a very full first day, with many guest speakers on topics such as ancient history and its relevance to Modern South Asia, the religious traditions of South Asia, and the Art and Architecture of Indian Cities. We've had beginning lessons in Hindi (I can tell you my name, and also that I'm fine, and an American!) It's been a lot of information, but very well presented, and all very interesting. Some interesting facts from today's lectures....

• the very positive meaning of the swastika symbol in India as representing order out of chaos....take the cosmos, divide into four, and turn it around until it makes sense.



• Hindus don't adore idols, but the ASPECTS those idols represent



• Islamic art is more surface level and flat, more put on the earth, as compared to Hindu art, which is more sculptural, organic, and of the earth



• 10 + 2 + 3: The shorthand for the Indian education system: 10 years of school from grades 1-10, then 2 additional years, then 3 for undergraduate work



• Monsoons are something the people of India look forward to and celebrate when they arrive, as they cool the oppressive temperatures of May and June (It's remained so hot that they've postponed the beginning of the school year a week in Delhi!)



• Music in India is distinguished by its rhythm and melody, and unlike Western music, has no harmony

Enough facts. I promise this will get less teacherly as we finish our orientation and begin traveling, but I rather think those facts are interesting, and hope you'll agree.

Our first evening here we were treated to a musical performance of both North and South Indian singers and tabla (special Indian drum, more later!) player. My project proposal I wrote as part of my application process was to write a unit of instruction about Indian music, so I hit the jackpot on the first night! I spoke with one performer after the concert, and she offered to change her teaching schedule so that I could come watch a children's music class during my free time tommorow. She was very gracious, and her husband offered to pick me up at the hotel and take me to her studio. I may not need to leave the Midwest to get a good start on my curriculum writing!

I would like to try ending each blog with a short story about one of the Hindu deities, because I find them pretty fascinating. Today's featured deity is Ganesha (see both my profile photo and the picture below.) It's appropriate to begin with Ganesha because he is the god who is prayed to before beginning any task, like a journey, or a business venture, or a journey... Ganesha has some famous parents, Shiva and his wife, Parvati, and is easy to recognize because of his elephant head, about which there are several accounts. Ganesha brings good luck and clears obstacles, which is sometimes symbolized by an ax in his hand (he's not messing around!). I also particularly like Ganesha because he is purported to have a sweet tooth, so we are kindred spirits.

BTW, I'm new to this blog world (a reformed skeptic!) so I'd appreciate any tips for improvement. Our next stop is Delhi. We'll leave Madison on Wednesday, July 1, and arrive in Delhi on the 3rd, I believe. I'll have more photos to share when next I post. Let me know if you'd like a notice of when I post. I haven't figured out if there's a way to do that automatically, but I there's a way for gmail users to have gmail give you an alert when I make a new post, I think....Like I said, I'm a beginner!