A day in New Dehli

Starts early with the distance sweet sounds of a mosque calling the faithful to prayer.

Monkeys are heard sashaying outside my window, probably heading for a nearby restaurant that may have tossed some uneaten food. Birds are everywhere with distinct, different and unusual songs.

There's laughter and discussions passing by with the Doppler Effect.

My room has a TV; I only turned it on once when I arrived. It features few channels broadcasting mostly upbeat Indian music which I have come to enjoy. It's fun and now I tend to bounce to the rhythm. I have some favorite TV shows back home, but have not missed them. I tried to watch one online, but programs can't be viewed in other places so they are blocked.

I never thought I'd say this, but I have come to like curry. Before arriving. Um, no. Today? It's great, especially being used in so many ways and here it does not scream at you; it just mixes well with other spices.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served at the hotel for students at which we are staying. They have served food to Michael and me in our rooms, but we prefer to eat in the dining room. The men who work here are very conscientious, courteous and take very good care of us. Some of the meals have been *outstanding!* Indian desserts are the best.

It takes 2 full days for laundry to return to us at the hotel, but it's clean and *soft,* not harsh or stiffly starched.

I'll have photos of where we're staying soon - Michael has this habit of making everything he shoots look *beautiful,* much better than it actually appears in real life. I'll mention this again as I post the pictures...

We also visited a tailor in Jaipur; they made me an outfit for me at a very reasonable price, and I bought two more ready made. All with Nehru/Mandarin-type collars, generous jackets and loose fitting pants. When I return, you will definitely feel the Indian influence in my wardrobe!

Many Indians wear scarves - men and women. I often wear scarves and mufflers already, but I can see how they make it a fashion statement as well as a practical way to stay warmer.

It has been unseasonably cool this year so many people wear gloves to ward off the cold. The weather is attributed to the global climate crisis.

We visited an open market - too briefly - but we'll be back to shop at a new one soon. A MacDonald's restaurant is about one block away from the hotel. Michael and I will stop in before we leave - obviously they do not serve burgers, here!

I can't ever imagine driving here, but our driver, Singh, is brilliant. Michael and I cannot get over all the human, vehicle and animal populations that converge on the roads. We've encountered one stop light. Red light means "danger-use caution" not necessarily that you must stop.

We make it to our destinations in record time because there is no stopping. Everyone continues to push forward without benefit of traffic cops, signal lights or stop signs. And there's no road rage. Everyone is of one mind - that we are all trying to get somewhere in the shortest time possible, so everyone is polite and doesn't take anything - like being cut off - personally. No one has any more right to be on the road than anyone else.

That includes: horses, camels, donkeys, trucks, buses, tripeds, bicycles, dogs, pedestrians, elephants, cows, pigs, goats, cars, motorcycles, hand-pulled carts, monkeys and more.

Oh, and if you have to go the other way, against traffic, because.... well, because you need to? Feel free. No one thinks you're a putz.

Michael saw someone actually get out of a car in the midst of wild traffic - coming back in about 20 minutes to retrieve his vehicle.

I've not seen any accidents, yet, but a motorcycle did smack our car a couple days ago in Jaipur. Everyone got out, assessed the non-damage, agreed it was no big deal and we moved on. No insurance companies notified, no police called. They handled it amicably on their own; the motorcycle driver taking responsibility, our driver seeing that no real damage was committed and we all move on.

Because of this free-for-all art, everyone seems to be more alert to others while they're driving.

This is one of the reasons I see India as a very progressive state. I swear, I have been teeming on road rage in the US when. traffic. does. not. move. Because of all the traffic signals and people interfering with us being able to reach our destination in as short a time as possible.

The US is far too up tight to incorporate India's driving skills and patterns, but when I'm back home, stuck in traffic now, I shall reminisce about how sweet it was to just go someplace in India without someone trying to control drivers and traffic so much that our progress is continually hindered or even halted. It's actually bad for us psychologically and physically, for our businesses and commerce. But I have the feeling traffic engineers would consider India's free will driving near barbaric, when the reverse is actually true.

Next week I'm with the girls and faculty again at the Rai Foundation school for girls. I'm speaking about bias in journalism - how it can be avoided, no matter how intensely you feel about a subject, as well as a couple other subjects and finishing the story of the little girl who could!

Photographer Michael Conner will be conducting another camera workshop as well. The faculty and students are eager to learn about his first class equipment! I'll take photos of that for you!

I *hope* I feel better tomorrow. Michael has also succumbed to this cold/flu. We're trying to find some place that offers health massages - that may help. Medical care has been offered, and if we are not feeling tip top tomorrow, we'll see a doctor.

Meanwhile, we're taking care of ourselves, resting, drinking lots of bottled water, taking advantage of all that comes from being still and gearing up to get out and about again, discovering all we can about the splendor of India!

Namaste.

Back to New Delhi a day early....

I exhausted myself (7 workshops, seminars and talks for the girls and the faculty in two days) and am sick with what feels like a typical cold/flu with a severe sore throat. So it's back to New Delhi to recuperate, then see more sights and return to the Rai School for Girls next week to finish my work and celebrate an anniversary with them.
I'll also be meeting with a filmmaker who wants to do a documentary about this unique and marvelous place.
Yesterday I showed my comedy feature The Whole Truth - my host insisted the girls see it, even though many don't speak English well and I wasn't sure if it would translate, since it's a satire on the American judicial system. He thought just seeing my film, which is well made with some fine acting, would be an additional inspiration for them.
Well, they got *all* the sight gags! There's a lot of physical comedy in it; they laughed at every one of them. And even if they were being polite, they still applauded enthusiastically at the end - twice. Once at the end of the film, again at the end of the credits.
They have a mass communications department here - journalism for TV, newspapers and radio. Being a former journalist (wait - a journalist is an unemployed reporter, so I guess I am *still* a journalist!), I was asked about the difference between India and US journalism.
I told them I find that India has far more international news than the US; that Americans by and large are not informed or informed accurately about other nations and all too often that leaves them more ignorant of the world at large. The reason for this is because US news departments believe that Americans are not really interested in "foreign" news and that they go for ratings and sales first, which influences their decisions.
It may not even be the truth - that is, if they were exposed to actual news from other nations they might well be interested and ratings/sales would increase, but it is assumed they're not because the stories they present from other nations don't seem to boost ratings or sales.
My belief is that it's the type of news they present, not the actual news of the nations themselves.
Practically all other nations know about the US and present US news. However, that door does not swing both ways - and the loser is the American public, as well as American media who could increase interest in their media if they reported the actual news from other nations.
Also, there are no "hate talk" radio stations in India with ultra strong political biases.
Censorship is an issue of their *own* news in China, Tibet and other governments who uber-control their people. And often that is accompanied by biased accounts of news from other nations.
Censorship happens in the US by the omission of valuable news in favor of gossip, celebrity stories and the like based on the belief that there's no interest in "real" news, even if that means we leave the public poorly informed.
A democracy (or democratic republic) relies on well informed citizens, but when money precedes the best interest of the nation, unwitting censorship and bias prevail.
On a separate note, much as this is a nation heading toward superpower status (I think any nation with nuclear arms already has "super powers"), there are interruptions of water service, electricity, wifi connections, no hot water on tap in many locations (at the school we are brought one or two buckets of warm water with which to bathe or shower), and no sitting toilets in numerous locations. They have squat toilets, which is basically a hole in the ground (they are also used in Europe, Asia and other nations). My aim is getting better.
Thus far at the school I've discussed: my problem-solving book The 100% Solution, showed them how to put together a personal business plan (as opposed to a business-business plan), which was not only the key to all the girls opening up - declaring their life purpose - but also a perfect addition to their academic business classes. One of the business faculty members told me she had never heard of such a thing and how valuable she sees it can be; she's adding it to her curriculum.
I chatted with faculty about their work and goals; I started the story telling process with the girls, about a little girl who started with nothing and ended up happier than she ever dreamed. We'll finish that next week, preparing to record it with sound effects and music.
I showed The Whole Truth and discussed all aspects of filmmaking.
I chatted with a large group of girls who want to become writers - I explained everything from novel writing to journalism to TV writing to screenwriting to essays, short stories, romantic stories, poetry and more. I'm meeting with writers again when I return next week.
Because there are so many girls from such a variety of nations, just about everyone has a different accent - when I'm rested, I can follow easily. When I'm not, it's difficult to translate quickly, and some of the girls who speak English well help me out.
But for now? Time to get some R&R so I can get cracking on some sight seeing and more time at the Rai Foundation School for Girls.
Shortly after returning to our hotel in New Delhi, eight monkeys frolicked underneath my window!
I love this place!

Michael pets a snake...

My traveling partner, Michael Conner is afraid of snakes.
So when we came across a couple of snake charmers in Jaipur, India, he practically jumped in my arms!
Our guide convinced him this cobra was "rubber. Not real. Pet him!"
Actually, lots of so-called snake charmers in India use rubber snakes to collect money from gullible tourists. The snake charmer pushed the head of the snake to prove it was fake. I took pictures of the snake to determine the truth - close up, rubber snakes do not have real eyes.
So Michael, shaking, touched the cobra's head as the charmer winked at our guide. Michael, despite his misgivings, was pleased that he petted the snake, proving it wasn't real. He could relax.
As we walked away, I looked at this tight close up I took of our cobra friend on the camera.
The guide laughed - hard.
"Take a look, Michael," I said. The close up of this real live snake speaks for itself.
Michael can't stop reliving the sensation of the real live cobra that he "petted."
We laughed - and now Michael's not quite as afraid of snakes! (Photos by Colleen Patrick)

Kiss "shy" good-bye!

OK, I was cautioned that the girls - some 700 from 20 nations, many of whom speak little English - at the Rai Foundation School would take work for me to "draw out." That they would be quiet. Shy. Fearful. Hesitant. Skittish. Timid. Diffident. Afraid to speak up.
The girls told me they had been. Until now.
I have no idea what I said to change that, but... look at them now!
These are the leaders of tomorrow - the world will be in very good hands.
Photos by Michael Conner.

India's rocking my world

Yesterday morning we got a stark reminder that India, while moving rapidly toward becoming a first nation superpower, is still a "third world" country. We awoke to no running water in the hotel. Normally the water pressure is very low and there is precious little hot water, but there is water for washing, brushing teeth and such.
Thank heaven I brought baby wipes.
Off for the long ride to Jaipur (Jay'-purr) at 5am, we could still see the beautiful countryside en route even in the dark.
Because we've been riding around so much, it's clear that India - whatever its economy is experiencing - is heavily investing in its infrastructure. There are major road, water, new parks and other projects going on around the clock to enhance the nation and its people. This is a country planning for a successful future while putting its people to work in ways that benefit all its citizens.
This may be too much of a generality, but the workers we've seen doing their jobs appear to have a near reverence for the task at hand. There's no hanging around or attitude, just consistently performing the tasks in a near respectful manner.
Jaipur is the tourist Mecca of India. And in any tourist spot here, people are always beseeching you for money. Whether it's selling trinkets, getting their photo taken, begging, handing out paper as you enter a public toilet, nearly everyone - it seems - asks for money. I believe it's in part because just about everyone considers themselves an entrepreneur here, and there's nothing that seems to impede the free flow of business.
Mind you, I would not recommend opening a designer decorative lamp boutique in any of the places we've visited so far, but whether it's an independent fruit stand, snack business, or service, there's a stroke of entrepreneurship that feels like it's part of the nationality.
Apparently this is a relatively new phenomenon in India after the economy of it's former #1 trading partner, the USSR, collapsed in 1991. But the people have caught on to the precarious life of running independent businesses, often of a limited size, in a big way - leading to the India's invention of hotmail.com, the Pentium chip and other international phenomena that have paid off royally for its economy and workforce, resulting in Western nations "outsourcing" billions of dollars' worth of work here as well as creating new enterprises.
Animals.
Everywhere we go, there are animals. And though most are allowed to run freely, all have owners except the monkey. Monkeys are free of any human possession. But goats, cows, pigs, dogs, camels, horses and the rest all have owners responsible for their welfare. I've yet to see a cat, but I've only been here 4 days.
Mercifully, I got some dog petting time in yesterday - a gorgeous Great Dane, Jenny, owned by a Hindu family who invited photographer Michael Clonner and I to visit their spiritual celebration last night in their home.
It was an honor to be invited in the home of these wonderful people, thanks to our guide who took a personal liking to us, eliminating any preconceived notions he previously held.
Visiting Amber Palace (said to be grander than the Taj Mahal), we learned that the undoing of two ruling kings "back in the day" was their ego. That because they fought each other for top dogship - they weakened themselves to the point that a third party (the Moguls) came in and easily defeated the already beaten down feuders.
I couldn't help but think of the Republican split with Tea Partiers, as well as the toll taken by the bitter rhetoric between Republicans and Democrats. If history once again repeats itself, stay tuned for a third party takeover!
I'll have more about our long day in Jaipur with some funny stories later, after the photos are downloaded. We've taken *hundreds!* But I'm only showing those that you wouldn't see anywhere online or in a tourist book!
Having a late dinner with our hospitality hostess at the School for Girls (who has a terrific sense of humor!), I was brought up to date on the girls and women here. There are 700 from 20 nations, skewing older than I expected - from teenagers to 35 (and a few African women up to 45). Some are afraid to speak - for fear of being beaten. Not here of course, but that is their experience where they come from. So getting them to participate in interactive workshops I'm conducting will be the challenge. I'm staying in full-tilt coaching mode rather than switching between teaching and coaching until everyone feels safe enough to speak freely.
In just five years the school has been running there has been a phenomenal impact by its graduates. Girls are asking to marry older (one of the most severe problems for poor nations is girls marrying too young), they are either working in their villages or have left their villages to have meaningful jobs as well as more positive, healthy relationships since they now know how to stand up for themselves.
I meet with the head mistress this morning to outline all I'll do, how I'll do it an when after breakfast.
One big lesson for this American: after drinking *real* chai tea? I'll never have the American version again - it just won't satisfy!
Namaste!

A long day in Jaipur, landing at the School tonight!

Starting the day at 4a.m., photographer Michael Conner and I spent a very long day in Jaipur, a tourist Mecca in India. More tomorrow with photos, but basically our day was filled with: elephants, camels, cows, pigs, monkeys, horses, goats, an astronomy/astrology park, peacocks, parrots, castles, palaces, a Hindu celebration and an art mart.
Sensory overload!
We ended up at the school for girls late - but a light dinner and great conversation about tomorrow awaited when I arrived.
More excitement tomorrow with photos!

India - driving, divine destiny, dining

Driving in India is a free-for-all art.
The steering wheel is on the right side of the car and the vehicle is supposed to be on the left side of the road. My deep breathing, namaste-type attitude has been a blessing for me but I recommend those with heart conditions not used to this phenomenon wear a night mask as you ride with your Indian traffic-wise driver doing the work.
It's no wonder so many people from this area of the world become taxi drivers when they come to the U.S. Compared to driving in India, New York City is a cakewalk. Seattle a joke. Pocatello a *nap.*
Drivers here honk constantly. As far as I can tell honking only relieves the driver's stress, because basically their honks go ignored. And beeps here are wimpy compared to US cars.
I mean, American horns go "freaking HONK!" Sending a MOVE OVER! GET. OUT. OF. MY. WAY. message. Here, automobiles are quieter, more polite, making a sweeter *beep* - as if to say "excuse me" "please to move over." With hundreds of honks going on simultaneously, Indian beeps create more of a symphony than a cacophony.
Ubiquitous on Indian roads: cars, tripeds, motorcycles with two riders (women ride sidesaddle on the back wearing traditional Indian garb) bicycles and smokers. Being allergic to smoke, I've been cautious and the places I've visited so far do not allow smoking in public areas.
Non-US airports have hideous "smoking rooms" for passengers, with glass walls for all of us to peer into the smoke-filled rooms, pathetic with nicotine-addicted prisoners trying to appear as if they don't care we see them contained in a sort of human zoo display, puffing away as we go about life. I wonder if this public display will give any of them cause to quit.
I was asked about my comment on yesterday's blog about seeing the visually shattering images of stark poverty alongside vestiges of material wealth and well-being. When I said I wasn't bothered by it, it is what it is, did I mean I experienced it as good or bad?
I replied that it is neither good nor bad, it is what it is and I'm not judging. If we see the God in everything, which is what the term "Namaste" means ("I see the God in you"), how can we judge?
It does not mean we need be passive, but it also means we do not try to force an explanation or rationalization of something that has no rationale explanation.
There are reasons Indian people believe that give them what they have or don't have as a birth right (or wrong) based in actions of the past (they believe in rebirth/reincarnation). So most (of course not all because like any nationality they are not all of one mind!) believe they are handed the lives they have - without feeling superior or inferior if they have a healthy outlook - and it is up to them to better their lot or live the life to which they were born.
Some born in rank poverty shrink in bitterness, others simply accept their lot and do not believe it will improve, others believe they can educate and work their way to a better life. To those born with material wealth, they can take what they have for granted, disrespecting their gifts, squandering their lives meaninglessly; they can take what they have, appreciate it and make the most of their talents and lives every day, sharing and raising the lot of everyone around them (which in turns gives their life true meaning and value), or they can simply do nothing except use what they have thoughtlessly, living empty lives.
Hmmm. This sounds like any culture on the planet, doesn't it? I think India portrays the contrasts and attitudes perhaps more vividly than other cultures. The contrasts are "in your face" rather than calculatingly hidden. I consider this more honest.
But to be historically fair, the European influence, perhaps intended to enhance the "civility" and culture of nations backfired, and did more than its fair share of destruction along the way. In the US and other nations considered colonies "in the day."
My host and I had this conversation yesterday. If you love intelligent conversation as I do, you would love it here because people have them constantly. Thoughtful, informed, open. AND, I'm happy to report that preconceived negative notions of Americans by folks here are doused by the minute after speaking with me. Several times they have responded, "Really? Most Americans.." "Interesting, most Americans I've spoken to don't understand.." etc., etc.
I'm staying at a hotel for students; I chatted with one who is with a group of Americans from MIT, studying disabled children here. He inferred that their studies of kids with disabilities has been eclipsed by learning so much more from the culture itself.
Caution! Anyone who knows me is aware that I do accents. I teach people how to create accents for roles they play as well as how to lose an accent if they need to (I once helped a budding psychologist starting to work in Seattle replace a thick New York/Jersey ["Noo Yak/Joisey"] sound with a "cultured western" accent). My East Indian friends in the US think I'm hysterically entertaining when I speak in my East Indian accent. They want to show me off to their kids for a laugh. Hey! They are laughing *with*, not *at!* ... well, I'm *pretty* sure.. '-)
At any rate, I have to remember NOT to do that here. No. First on my list of "Things NOT to do." 1. Use NO accents here. Not just the East Indian, but all except Canadian. Canadians seem to be non-controversial just about anywhere in the world I've traveled. So you see, Mireille? There is an upside to Canadians having a "nice" reputation!
Dining has been not nearly as dicey as I thought it might be. Turns out all the East Indian restaurants I've been frequenting actually do serve ... Indian food. I also had some Indian Chinese, which is a huge hit in the UK.
Best travel advice I've received: from my friend Nedra Gaskill, who was told by someone who lives here: take two Pepto-Bismol pills in the a.m. and again in the p.m. I'm careful to drink only bottled water, but one must brush one's teeth, etc., using tap, so there's no avoiding the water altogether. After being here nearly 24 hours, having two meals, brushing my teeth twice -no problems!
My traveling partner, photographer Michael Conner, arrives within a couple hours; I'm going with our driver/guide to pick him up. When I arrived after nearly three days' travel, I had shifted my sleep patterns to at least closely resemble India's. So whilst tired and rummy-silly at one point (Sorry, Lisa for the cyber-hanging, clingy hug, continually declaring, "I love ya, man! I love ya, man!") I went to bed early last night and do not feel in the least jet-lagged this morning!
Michael gets "housebroken" and rested up today after a brief tour of New Delhi; tomorrow it is off to Jaipur, then to the girls' school for three and a half days, then to Agra where we're taking pictures of the Taj Mahal with a full moon in the background. Then we see the Red Fort, the jail where Mumtaz Mahal was incarcerated after driving the national economy into the dirt from building the uber-dedication to his beloved wife. Ain't love grand? Centuries after it was built, the Taj lives on as a monument to a man's undying, phenomenal love for his wife, nay, to love itself. today no one even knows about that economic disaster thing.
And when he was put in jail, it was built so he could see the Taj, reliving his great love 24/7. Now *that* is civility!
I must give a huge shout out to my friend Lyndon Davis from Cowboys and Angels Styling Salon! Lyndon! Your haircut and new color scheme has been a *smash!* People who haven't seen me since you gave my hair a makeover will be shocked when I return - I've received several admiring glances! Thank you! It's fun to have one's hair admired with all those stares, I- wait. What is that *thing* hanging from my NOSE-!
'-)
Blog you tomorrow! No guarantees for photos because downloading them will take significant time since Michael is shooting RAW, with massive file memory. I won't, though, so, we'll see!
As my dear friend Rick Overton would say, "Namaste, Baby!"

I'm in India!

My traveling partner, photographer Michael Conner, got waylaid with plane connections, so won't arrive until tomorrow morning (he as the camera equipment, I have the clothes...).

The itinerary: Seattle to Philadelphia, to Rome (Italy), to Milan (Italy) from there to New Delhi. 2.5 days of near constant plane travel except for the 8 hour layover in Rome.

I saw the most fascinating sunset I've ever encountered flying from Rome to Milan last night. Deep rich ribbons of a purple red, layered with yellow, blue and black. Then witnessed one of the most sensational sunrises as we flew into India at dawn. The flight from Milan to New Delhi was one of the best I've ever experienced; Alitalia Airlines uses Boeing jets with larger, more comfortable seats; the flight attendants were wonderful, the food good, the movie and other entertainment selections impressive (I saw a Bollywood film that featured Bollywood hip hop music! It's great!). Overall, a pleasant surprise and one I look forward to repeating on the trip back.

My driver/guide picked me up at the Indira Ghandi International Airport and drove me around for some time; I have not been culture shocked as I'm told so many Americans are. It is what it is - a colossal mashup of extreme poverty and wealth; complete populations living on the street next to buildings that comfortably house many of their wealthy and middle class fellow citizens.

I also met my host, a man for whom I have considerable respect. He is a well known actor/director, philanthropist, business person and philosopher in India who believes that the education of girls and gender equality is the key to world peace and a stable international financial community.

We recover from our near three days of travel tomorrow; Monday we tour Jaipur, Tuesday we're off to the school for underprivileged girls (from 20 nations), which is a two and a half hour drive from New Delhi; girls who come from abject poverty (no food or water) who now have the opportunity to create new lives.

I'm screening my comedy feature film, The Whole Truth, for them and talking about filmmaking (I'm former president and international liaison for Women In Film/Seattle - don't know if I mentioned that). We'll talk about all the professions that go into making one movie. There's also some interest in my background as a journalist, the skills of which I'm happy to share.

Then I'm guiding them through an interactive creation - we'll make up the story of a little girl who was born with nothing but created a successful life for herself despite everything. I'm taking that story to a sound studio later to narrate it, adding sound effects and music. I'm including some of the girls (including one whose voice will be used as our heroine as a youngster) so they can learn more about sound production. We'll have copies made of the CD for every girl (there are 700) so each will have proof positive that something can, indeed, be made out of nothing!

We follow up with me talking about the philosophy of my problem-solving book The 100% Solution, which focuses on the solution rather than continually rehashing the problem and remaining stuck in it. The cause of the problem is exposed through this four-step system, so it can be dealt with in a way that replaces the problem with a new, healing and positive thought process. Each girl, faculty and staff member receives a copy at no cost.

It's going to be *so* much fun!

Because I've been so busy running miles through airports these past nearly 3 days, I've lost weight. And my relationship with food here will be different - I'm going to be working with girls whose families have no food or water. I want to appreciate every morsel I eat now; every drop I drink. Respect food more. In the US I believe we take cheap food for granted and just swill it rather than appreciate what it is, where it comes from and how it came to be sitting on our table and nourishing our bodies. Drinking water and eating will become more of a ritual, a near spiritual practice rather than just the occasion to fill up a nutritional need to keep the engine running.

Right now, however, I'm going to get rested up and look forward to Michael's arrival tomorrow morning!

Preparing for India!

Only a few weeks from heading out to India for three weeks. Brilliant photographer Michael Conner and I will be traveling throughout North India and the Himalayas between January 13 and February 5.

I'll be posting our photos and reports here, linking them to my Facebook page.

I'll also be working with disadvantaged girls in New Delhi; giving inspirational talks, presenting skills workshops, showing my feature film, "The Whole Truth," and discussing my book "The 100% Solution," a four step problem-solving system I devised.

All the girls, faculty and staff at the underprivileged girls' school have copies already at no cost.

My first journey to this great country, I am told lives are changed by visiting. Stay tuned!