Day 19: Conversations and Cravings
Tip of the day: at all cost avoid taking malaria pills on an empty stomach... it's just a bad idea. I thought that maybe after taking them for a month I wouldn't get quite so queasy doing this and so I took my pill anyways. But wrong-o. I felt pretty sick all day today. Note taken.
Today was one of those fascinating days where so little happened but so much happened! I didn't do very much physically. I had one Telugu class in the morning (I now have a list of vegetable words to learn) and a skype session with my mom. Then I did a very interesting interview (that I might tell you a little bit more about tomorrow after I transcribe it). And when I got home I just couldn't handle feeling that sick anymore so I went to sleep. And that's how most of the rest of the day was spent until dinner.
Dinner was the high-light of today. And I'm not talking about the food this time. It was all about conversations today. Strangely enough, for a group of 7 Mormon BYU students (5/7 of which are from Utah) we are all very, very different people with very different opinions. So our conversations get really interesting. In the past few days I've really learned the value of hearing different opinions.
I think that in the past few years I haven't had many chances to interact with people who have very different opinions from me. There have been some, but overall I have spend most of my time with my best friends-- the people that I share a lot of common opinions and goals and perspectives with. It's definitely more comfortable that way. But with this group of people we just can't seem to avoid voicing opinions :) And I am loving it because I'm learning that listening doesn't mean agreeing. And I'm also learning that you can learn a lot from other people's perspectives. My friend Sarah, for example, is a women's studies minor. She has lots of opinions and tonight I asked her to share some with me about the concept of beauty. I didn't agree with everything she said but she did say a few things that really made me think. Even if I don't end up with the same opinion as her I love hearing other peoples' opinions because they give me the chance to reevaluate opinions I haven't really deconstructed or analyzed in awhile.
The truth is that sometimes we don't think that hard about things and then suddenly someone's different opinion can remind us that we should maybe do some more thinking.
Today, I feel like I'm finally starting to understand how to have conversations with people who have different opinions without feeling like they might think I'm judging them if I voice an opinion that is different then theirs.
Maybe India is the perfect place for this realization. In some ways people here share opinions very freely. So maybe they are starting to rub off on us as we learn that we can still be at peace with each other even if we are not all alike.
Stéf
Ps. While I was sick today I watched Ratatouille for the first time... and now all I'm craving is french bread. I'm putting that on my list of foods I will promptly eat once back in America (along with Slab pizza and Jdawgs... and some really nice crunchy apples).
Today was one of those fascinating days where so little happened but so much happened! I didn't do very much physically. I had one Telugu class in the morning (I now have a list of vegetable words to learn) and a skype session with my mom. Then I did a very interesting interview (that I might tell you a little bit more about tomorrow after I transcribe it). And when I got home I just couldn't handle feeling that sick anymore so I went to sleep. And that's how most of the rest of the day was spent until dinner.
Dinner was the high-light of today. And I'm not talking about the food this time. It was all about conversations today. Strangely enough, for a group of 7 Mormon BYU students (5/7 of which are from Utah) we are all very, very different people with very different opinions. So our conversations get really interesting. In the past few days I've really learned the value of hearing different opinions.
I think that in the past few years I haven't had many chances to interact with people who have very different opinions from me. There have been some, but overall I have spend most of my time with my best friends-- the people that I share a lot of common opinions and goals and perspectives with. It's definitely more comfortable that way. But with this group of people we just can't seem to avoid voicing opinions :) And I am loving it because I'm learning that listening doesn't mean agreeing. And I'm also learning that you can learn a lot from other people's perspectives. My friend Sarah, for example, is a women's studies minor. She has lots of opinions and tonight I asked her to share some with me about the concept of beauty. I didn't agree with everything she said but she did say a few things that really made me think. Even if I don't end up with the same opinion as her I love hearing other peoples' opinions because they give me the chance to reevaluate opinions I haven't really deconstructed or analyzed in awhile.
The truth is that sometimes we don't think that hard about things and then suddenly someone's different opinion can remind us that we should maybe do some more thinking.
Today, I feel like I'm finally starting to understand how to have conversations with people who have different opinions without feeling like they might think I'm judging them if I voice an opinion that is different then theirs.
Maybe India is the perfect place for this realization. In some ways people here share opinions very freely. So maybe they are starting to rub off on us as we learn that we can still be at peace with each other even if we are not all alike.
Stéf
Ps. While I was sick today I watched Ratatouille for the first time... and now all I'm craving is french bread. I'm putting that on my list of foods I will promptly eat once back in America (along with Slab pizza and Jdawgs... and some really nice crunchy apples).
Stefanie, I went to an East Indian grocery store this evening. I noticed that all of the food imported from India is labelled in some Indian language AND French. I think there is a somewhat big French influence in India from way back. I wouldn't be surprised if you are able to find some French bread or baguettes - not like we have in Canada - but the real French deal. You should ask one of your interpreter about it. XXX
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