Why first impressions are not always right

If Indian food is a religion,
then I'm a follower

On our way back to Delhi, in the fading light of a long, lethargic day in the car, a white on red sign came up repeatedly as I was gathering my thoughts on India. It said: “Six laning in Progress. Any Inconvenience regretted.”

One of the small pleasures I’ve had on this month long trip to India is reading signs which almost invariably have a spelling mistake. A good one I read recently was ”Jents Only” printed on a watered down piece of wood in front of a tiny barbers shack with no door, 2 swiveling chairs that must of seen the time of maharajas and a strong smell of barbers cream. Anyway that’s where I got my haircut in Pushkar. It was a swift, professional haircut followed by a 10 minute ayurvedic head massage for the joke price of 150 rupees (3$).

The sign added something to my experience.

No Vanilla in the sky of Khuri at sunset

 “Six laning in Progress. Any Inconvenience regretted.” To me that’s India in a nutshell. At this point I must confess my knowledge of India is based on a short and limited experience in the country. To understand what I mean let’s go back in time a little. I think it is fair to say the Indian “sub-continent” is a political miracle. It went from 532 kingdoms during WWII to 1 country in 1946. It is also a testimony to the greatness of what can be achieved by visionary leaders.

But then again as someone said: You get the politicians you deserve.

Alleys in Pahar Ganj, Delhi

Like a poem by Baudelaire or a Nietzsche philosophy book, India can be be intimidating at first. Its depth, complexity and diversity so hard to grasp for a child of the "culture pub" (advertising generation) like me who is hammered with the message that appearances are what matters. The numerous scammers, touts and hawkers probably won’t help either. You get suspicious and even cynical pretty quickly around here. But once you get past that and if you are lucky enough to have time to meet and enjoy a non commercial relationship with Indians it is worth it. We met here with people like Dr Vandana Prasad, who is among the most generous, spiritual and graceful people I have met.

The feeling I had when sharing with these people was privilege and it somehow made me feel at home, among all this exoticism, bright colors, startling smells and human chaos.

Trying to understand what I love about India, it is simply its character and dignity; I guess that's what reminds of my home "La France". It reminded me of my best friends favorite movie quote: “Just remember the sweet is never as sweet without the sour”

Take Care,
Will

SMIIIIIILE!!

Last week in Delhi, we met with the minds behind the Smile Foundation….and it gave us something to smile about.  Not only was it refreshing to learn about their “business model” approach to philanthropy, but their heartfelt call to arms for all successful business people within India to help their fellow citizens.  Their focus: children’s health and education, two key factors that lie at the core of development.

Smile’s “social venture philanthropy” model allows them to approach effective peanut-sized NGOs as if they were budding entrepreneurs.  They don’t talk charity, they talk business - partnering with NGOs and expecting a socially-rewarding return on investment (that being better access to health and education programs for marginalized children).  Aware that community-based NGOs often know what’s best for the community - as it’s usually theirs as well - the Smile Foundation has sought out over 100 health and education NGOs to “seal the deal.”

Will and I were able to visit two of their partner projects during our time in India and were more than impressed.   Not far away from our hotel in Delhi, was the Salaam Balaak Trust, which educates, supports and shelters some of the 100,000 street children in India’s capital city.  They offer tours of Delhi and an insight into street life from former street children for only $4, which I recommend to everyone.  We were surprised to learn from our guide that the majority of kids that take the street are NOT orphans, but children that have run away from abusive homes.  They value their independence, above anything, and find ways to survive with next to nothing.  Considering their strength of character and fighting spirit, just imagine the enormous potential of such children when given an opportunity to go to school, to improve their situation…

Another partner project we were able to visit was the Smile on Wheels mobile hospital in Jaipur. Their team graciously allowed us to tag along for a day to film them in action as they traveled to various slums. There, they announced their arrival over loud speakers, and waited for some of Delhi’s poorest to line up outside their truck, awaiting medical consultation and prescriptions.   It was on this day when I truly understood why the Smile Foundation had picked their name.  One could think that it refers to a child’s face once they are given access to education and proper health care, but in fact, it refers to the children BEFORE the help ever arrives.

We are often overwhelmed with commercials from humanitarian organizations, urging us to give money to “little Johnny” in X country, appealing to our emotional guilt while watching tears roll down his face.  Yes, I agree, it is completely depressing!  The commercial ends leaving viewers with the idea that these children should be pitied, that they are simply sad, poor kids, waiting for you to rescue them.  I assure you this is not the case.  While we visited the slum neighborhoods in Jaipur with the Smile on Wheels team, tons of smiling children came out to meet us – curious, energetic, and playful.  After many “I like you”s in broken English, a few kisses on the cheek, and numerous requests for our signatures (don’t ask me why), I was having so much fun I almost forgot about the dire conditions surrounding us.  A goat and some pigs poked around the hills of garbage lining the road, the smell of urine wafting by us, the filthy clothes the children were wearing.   But to them, none of that really mattered, they were happy with what they had, they were smiling.  And I was smiling just being around them.

The Smile Foundation bases its work on five core principles: scalability, accountability, sustainability, communication, and transparency.  To me, their method is effective because they are supporting pre-existing small-scale NGOs, who have already carefully addressed how to solve and approach the needs of their community (ex. The mobile hospital).  The funding they are given isn't for laptops or 4x4s but basic needs to get them off their feet.  I would recommend anyone visiting India, to get in touch with the Smile Foundation and learn more about their projects!

Smile Foundation's Website
*** - Check out the "I am Kalam" trailer, sponsored by the Smile Foundation.

Why we travel...

The blog you are about to read probably won’t be very satisfactory...

Have you ever been on holiday that doesn’t feel quite like you had imagined? I have. Something my friends and I learned and used a lot when we did door to door sales a few years ago is the “expectations gap”.  It is the gap between your expectations and reality.

The ethics of triggering an expected reality to enhance a person’s later appreciation of say…a blog, are arguable but beside the point. Let’s get back to that weekend you took off where the church wasn't as beautiful as your guidebook led you believe, the sky not as blue, the room not as new, etc.

I have had this feeling at some points in my past travels and tried to understand why… I keep reminding myself how fortunate I am to be on such an adventure. I am sharing it with my favorite person and we have had less than 5 days of rain in the past 8 months of our lives. Not to mention the unique places, people, foods, etc…In a nutshell, I am spoiled. So what could be missing?

I love learning. My favorite way of learning is reading books! I’ve found that the place I am greatly influences the book I choose and the light in which I apprehend it. And in turn the books I read excite my imagination about new places I want to understand. I think turning pages in an unfamiliar setting makes me more receptive and in touch with my emotions therefore more prone to appreciate my surroundings.

So I now make more time for picking and reading books while I am travelling. Some people could argue that you are missing out on the place you are by reading a lot while on holiday. If you spend the week in your room reading the Harry Potter series this is true. However I found reading in Udaipur made me more in touch with the city, more appreciative of its architectural wonders, street action and atmosphere and eliminated any expectations gap. You start noticing lots of little things that didn't mean anything before…

Next time I go on holiday I will ask myself what books turned my imagination and curiosity on and why. There is no rule to choosing my next destination. My parents dragged me on walks their whole life. I recently read about Van Gogh’s new vision of Provence and how it transcended his predecessors approach to depicting it. I would now love to take a walk down the Van Gogh trail. It visits the main places the painter chose as symbols of his new home, compare them to his paintings and analyze what he decided to emphasize as representative of the place. See Mom, Dad, your efforts finally paid off …

If I am a fan of Jet Li movies a boxing school in Bangkok will be a kick ass holiday for me. If I am really into Asian food why not volunteer as a language teacher at a school in Laos for a couple weeks. The kids will teach you the local names of the ingredients and teach you to master the wok and chopsticks!

My only rule is: No plan. Because planning means building expectations. Take the time you need to really see, live and breathe the place you are in. And follow your instinct. You might find you don’t like it but you will hopefully be more aware of why. You might also never want to leave.

What I am looking for in my travels is happiness. And I've found the best way I found to do that is to pull on the thread of my own curiosity and follow it where it leads me. I finally understood that what matters isn't the destination it's the journey. To compensate my inability to express myself, here are a few wise words that sum up my rambling.

“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” Robert Louis Stevenson

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are." Samuel Johnson

Safe travels,

Will

Le Voyage

Ca fait un bout de temps qu’un “billet” francais n’as pas vu le jour sur ce blog mais la francophonie fait son come back – oups…son retour! Le timing est bon car nous finissons notre tour d’Indochine…

Cambodge

Nous avons commences par 2 semaines magiques au Cambodge ou nous avons eu la chance de ne pas etre sur le mauvais pont au mauvais moment a Phnom Penh. Nous avons pu rencontrer des etudiants/instits dans un quartiers defavorise de la capitale. Attention quand je dis defavorise il ne faut pas imagine la banlieue parisienne…ici pas d’immeubles, d’eau courante ou de système d’egouts. Pas d’allocs du gouvernement. Pas de violence non plus. Mais une population souriante et curieuse de notre presence, de petites echoppes desordonnees et pleines de charme. Des ruelles etroites et encombrees de scooters. Un peu intimide a notre entree, quelques heures plus tard l’atmosphere de cet endroit nous a fait regretter notre depart.

Passage oblige du voyageur consciencieux nous avons passe une semaine a Siem Reap dans le nord-ouest du pays pour visiter les temples, appeles « wat » en khmer.  Les temples étaient construit par les rois khmers en symbole de la puissance de l’empire. A son heure de gloire Angkor comptait environ 1 Millions d’habitants (a l’epoque Londres était une bourgade de 25 000 habitants).

L’impression que je garderais de notre visite est celle d’un pays en convalescence, traumatise par l’horreur des annees de la dictature Khmer. Un peuple aux gouts raffines et une nouvelle generation au sens de la mode tres francais.

Vietnam

Apres un petit tour tres intime avec un groupe de 20 touristes dans le delta du Mekong (je deconseille vraiment)et 2 jours sur les plages de Mui Ne a se dorer la pilule. Nous avons passes quelques jours forts sympathiques a Saigon en compagnie de ma petite sœur et Fabian (son alter ego teuton).

Puis direction Dong Ha, en pleine DMZ (Zone Demilitarise) qui constituait la zone tampon entre le Nord et le Sud Vietnam. Ici nous avons eu la chance de rencontre des enfants et de jeunes adultes qui ont survécus a des accidents lies a des mines anti-personnelles ou d’autres types d’explosifs qui datent de la guerre du Vietnam. En tant qu’americaine je pense que ca a été encore plus dur pour Emily.

Les conséquences des bombes et mines résiduelles, les modifications génétiques provoques par les armes chimiques utilises pendant la guerre forment le quotidien des vietnamiens.  Nous avons receuillis des recits personnels durs a entendre.  La je relativise le fait que j’ai explose mon appareil photo…

Laos

Khao San soup...the best!

Une nuit a Savannakhet, puis direction Vientiane la capitale pour 2 jours de rencontres passionnantes et touchantes avec les dirigeants d’Handicap International et quelques victimes d’explosions. Apres 10h de bus dans la montagne (j’ai vite range le livre) et des vues magnifiques de tous les cotes, arrivee de nuit a Luang Prabang. Cette ville a une histoire riche et fascinante et nous avons eu l’occasion d’apprecier le mode de vie local pendant une semaine. Entouree de montagnes recouvertes d’une couette epaisse de vegetation verdoyante, LP est une melange de nouveau et d’ancien. Relique du temps de l’Empire colonial francais, de grandes maisons blanches aux volets repeints de couleurs pastels traditionnelles locales, sont egalement un symbole de la transition relativement calme qu’a connu le Laos lors de son accession a son independance.

En bon français on se plaint tous le temps a la maison mais une fois partis ce sont les petites choses qui nous manquent immanquablement…

Pour l'enfant, amoureux de cartes et d'estampes,
L'univers est égal à son vaste appétit.
Ah! que le monde est grand à la clarté des lampes!
Aux yeux du souvenir que le monde est petit!

Le Voyage - Charles Beaudelaire