Washington, D.C. , England , Tanzania , India , New Zealand , Mexico

Washington, D.C. Letter Home
September 22-October 6, 2005

Composed by: Bart Admonius, Adele Melander-Dayton, Hillary Lowenberg, and Elizabeth Koltai

Faculty Advisor: Warren Dixon


IHP Song (to the tune of Home on the Range)

Oh we are in DC
And we’re like family
But we have only been here two weeks
We had lots of fun
And we have only begun
And we hope we each find what we seek
Ay, IHP
We had one course in Anthropology
We are all relativists
So we can all co-exist
And we all wrote ethnographies
In Ecology
We learned to live sustainably
And our professor can compost her poo
For the second half of the year CharlotteWill reappear
We will be one big tree-hugging crew
Ay, IHP
Political Economy
We went to the World Bank
And Ulrich was frank
And Eric brought his posse
How short it has been
Only two whole weekends
We already know each other too well
Respect all the norms
In their various forms
And we’re sure that this year will be swell.

The first Saturday in DC, all twenty eight of us joined together for class in the morning, and then most of us hopped on packed metros and caught the tail end of the march against the Iraqi War. No one got arrested. One member of our group spoke over a megaphone and riled us up. Some joined the beat of African and Caribbean drums, danced, and revived 1960s peace songs and chants. All enjoyed (or so they appeared to have) the day’s events and many stayed for the free concert following the march.

Throughout the two weeks we spent in DC, we met with various IHP alumni (Justin Cockrell, Larry Cooley, Leah Kabran, Edward Lebow, Valeria McFarren, Nathan Randall, Jennifer Rock, & Lanna Walsh) in settings such as panels, nights out on the town and guest speakers. It was interesting to hear what their experiences were like on IHP in the past and how it has changed since our program began over 30 years ago. We also met with academic speakers who specialized in environmental, cultural, or political issues. Mac Chapin, who wrote the controversial article “A Challenge to Conservationists” criticizing the large conservation NGOs (known as the BINGOS), briefly touched on the impact of his article. His speech, however, focused on his organization, Native Lands, which aids indigenous peoples in creating maps of their area to use as a political tool to gain land rights. Julie March from USAID talked about how her agency works with grassroots organizations in developing countries to make sure that the people in need actually get the agricultural assistance granted to them.

One afternoon, our group visited environmental organizations. We visited Coop America, which organized the Green Festival that many of us had attended the weekend before; Friends of the Earth, which lobbies the government to reform their environmental policies; the Sierra Club, which has the biggest membership of any US environmental organization; and the Society for Conservation Biology via the World Wildlife Federation. We learned a lot about different types of environmental organizations and possible internships for when we return to the US in the spring. Having just read several articles critical of the mainstream environmental movement, we expressed many views on the organizations when we reconvened.

We found even more controversy when we visited the World Bank. There, we met Ulrich Zachau, director of the Latin American Division; McDonald Benjamin, the Sector Manager for Social Development; and Jocelyne Albert, the Environmental Facilitator for Latin America. The spectrum of their viewpoints and approaches to the World Bank and economic policy, as well as their relative influence within the bank, gave us some insight into the inner workings of the organization. Ulrich appeared to represent the neoclassical model of economic development. At one point, he said, “Sometimes we were right. Sometimes we weren’t quite right. But that’s okay, we tried.” Mc Benjamin settled the fears some of us have regarding the Bank’s influence by telling us not to “overestimate the impact the World Bank can have.” Jo Albert was a strong environmentalist and seemed to be using the Bank by working through it to achieve larger change. Although some of us worried about how much influence she could really have because her program was not as well supported as others, many of us admired her will to keep working at it. Overall, the visit to the World Bank was very thought provoking.

We also had the opportunity to hear from Jim Colby, a representative from Arizona and the chairmen of the subcommittee on Foreign Spending within the House Appropriations Committee. An IHP alumnus, Colby is also an ardent supporter of free trade, social security reform, and increased legal immigration. His proposal that Mexico needs to consolidate the ejidos (small, peasant owned farms) into corporate farms and his economic viewpoints provided much fodder for heated discussion.

DC was great, but we are excited to leave the country and get to England. We have only been together two weeks, but we are already forming strong bonds. We have heard so much about what IHP is and how we will change and we are ready to get on with the program. We miss you all that are back home...please keep sending letters.

Rethinking Globalization 2005-2006


England Letter Home
October 7 – November 4, 2005

Composed by: Andrew Bunyard, Daphne Clyburn, Katharina Kempf, Clay Neal, Nicole Sugerman,

Faculty Advisor: Warren Dixon

Dearest Family, Friends, and Onlookers:
Upon our arrival in Heathrow airport, we were surprised to discover that we were not expected to arrive until the following day! Responding at the speed of lightening, our faculty and fellow arranged for us to stay outside of London for the night, allowing the group a bit of much needed rest and, for a few, to pop into the city. The next day, we were back on schedule and arrived on time in Cambridge to meet our host families. As we were placed all around the city, we met at a central rental place to get bicycles for the two week stay. These became a vital part of our mobility.

After a calm and warm weekend with our host families, and after getting to know Cambridge, we began our daily educational meetings at the Botanical Gardens, which were beautiful despite the fact that they represent the legacy of British colonialism. Besides classes with our professors Mary Glenn, Jessica Seares, and country coordinator Peter Bunyard, we heard from many guest lecturers such as - Nigel Knight, Euan Nisbet, Ian Hodge,Tony Juniper, Gabrilele Muzio, Valerie Kapos, andTim O'Riordan. Some major themes that carried throughout our educational experience in Cambridge were Gaia Theory (the concept that the Earth is a self-regulating organism), agricultural policy and science, the history and policy of the EU, Amazonia, anthropological lenses and ethnographical research, and environmental philosophies. A pure delight was having a discussion with the founder of our IHP program and "The Ecologist" magazine, Teddy Goldsmith, along with his wife, Cathy, and his nephew and current editor of "The Ecologist," Zac. Along with our heavy but interesting course work, we had time to explore the cultural opportunities Cambridge has to offer. Punting (a type of boating involving a long pole used to direct and steer a boat along the river), pub culture, charity shops, the local market, tours of the colleges, and a choir performance in King's College were some of the more popular activities. During our one precious weekend, many took the opportunity to go to London and stay with the Goldsmith's (the family of one of our students), while others went to the Norfolk Coast or stayed around Cambridge.

Host families were generally a warm and positive experience. We had the good fortune to live a more efficient lifestyle (i.e. most families buy local and organic produce, own only one car, hang clothes to dry, and seem to be more aware of pressing environmental issues) and to get to know our families very well. Our last day in Cambridge was spent sharing performances we created to reflect our time in the city. These included songs, an introspection, a musical comedy, a thought provoking debate, and many creative skits. We departed the exciting center of learning anticipating a change of pace for our next stop, Withiel, a rural village in Cornwall.

Cornwall was simply enchanting. From artists to woodworkers to farmers to horse whisperers, we bunked up with many different hosts and certainly gained a lot from our experiences with them. After a weekend spent relaxing at our homestays, we began classes in the village hall at the top of a very steep hill (characteristic of the Cornish countryside). The first day of classes, one group of students got lost on their way to school because they decided to invest their trust in their family dog's knowledge of the area. Despite Jem's (the dog) lack of directional prowess, she became a permanent member of our group following us to site visits and outings, and attending class each and every day. We were very excited to have another new member added to our bunch; our new economics and development professor, Louise Crossley, joined us in Withiel! We were eager to meet the one professor who will be with us throughout our entire journey, and are very happy to have her with us now.

In Cornwall, we heard from a multitude of speakers, such as, Peter Herring, Dereck Lord,

Carol Trewin, Mike Cherry, Angela Maldonado, Tony Liddicoat, Gwen Millet, Keith Benson (Mary Glenn's Husband), and Satish Kumar. Satish is a peace activist who, in 1962, walked from India to the United States, via Moscow, Paris, and London, barefoot and without money to raise awareness about the horrible impacts of Nuclear weapons. Aside from classtime, we went on a variety of field trips, including a visit to Mike Cherry's dairy farm, Tino Rawnsley's coppicing wood (coppicing is a form of sustainable timber harvesting), Bodmin Moor and Pentire Point (both historical and beautiful geographical areas), and the Eden project (a series of biodomes which offer an even more striking example of the lingering legacy of colonialism). On our off time, we trampled through the stinging nettles and muddy grazing fields in our Wellington boots picking wild blackberries and appreciating the thoroughly managed landscape. Some exciting events were an IHP birthday celebration, and a celebration of Samhain, the Pagan new year honoring the dead. Our time in Cornwall culminated in a farewell party involving all of our homestay families, students, faculty, an Eastern European folk band - Three Daft Monkees - and delicious food and drinks provided by our host families and ourselves.

All-in-all, England was a very foundational experience, preparing us for the next seven months. Though we will surely miss clotted cream, butter, and whole milk, we are truly looking forward to the eye-opening experiences to come. In closing we would like to introduce you to our new personas which reflect the international focus of our program:

Erika: Coast - E - Rika
Adele: New Adelhi
Hillary: Hillarusalem
Andie (Gersh): Los Andies
Andy (Saltzman): Los Andyles
Katharina: KathaReno, Nevada
Lizzy: New LizZyland
Heather: Heathleham
Jessica: Jessapotamia
Nicole: Nicolombia
Katie: Katiemandu
Zeno: ZeNorth Korea
Nate: Nate Britain
Daphne: The Daphnillippines
Corissa: CorIsrael
Amit: Amitsachusetts
Ashley: Ashlegypt
Andrew: Andrewzykstan
Noah: Noah Scotia
Kimiko: Kimikokomo
Alex: Alexembourg
Evelyn: EvelYndia
Maryam: Maryamar
Clay: Maclaysia
Susannah (Anz): Anzania
Elizabeth: Elizabethiopia
Bart: Bartswana
Jessica Seares (our professor): Seares Leone
Mary Glenn (our professor): Maritania
Louise Crossley (our professor): Louisiana
Charlotte Sunde (our professor): Sundan
Warren Dixon (our fellow): the Warren Dixon Line

Cheers!

The England Team (Maclaysia, Kathareno, NV, Andrewzykstan, Nicolombia, and The Daphnillippines)


Tanzania Letter Home
November 5-December 9, 2005

Composed by: Kimiko Ebata, Corissa Krueger, Jessica Rodgers, and Andrew Saltzman.

Faculty Advisor: Warren Dixon

Jambo! Mambo! Karibu! Habari! Sopai! Yeiyeo Takawenya! Translation: Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello mother! This is how we learned to greet everyone on the streets... and their mother, here in Tanzania (Yeiyeo Takwenya is KiMaasai for “hello mother”.) Most of our mothers were normally good because that is the only response we understood.

We arrived in Tanzania with our brave teacher Louise after flight complications which split the group into two. The abandoned members soon forgave us, and we were all joined together in the town of Moshi that evening, where we were greeted by our Tanzania program coordinator, Fatma Alloo, and her crew: much respect to Sharifa, Munira, and Munira. Fatma, self described as the Queen, and later described by group members, as the beautiful mermaid, welcomed each of us with the hope that we would still feel at home. To kick-start that process, she gifted us each with an item of the local wardrobe: kangas (clothes which speak) for the women, and kikio (a bathrobe/ Zeno’s shirt for a month) for the men. We were then invited to join a drum / dance group from the town as a celebration of our arrival. Here, under a starlit sky at the base of Kiliminjaro, we joined together, tarantulas creeping underfoot, and realized that none of us foreigners ever move our hips like that.

The next day we were invited to learn some more about our surroundings and explore the city. Many students ventured into the markets, where they were “befriended” by a wide array of the local “artisans,” each selling suspiciously similar “original” pieces of artwork and jewelry. The streets in Moshi were lined with colorful flowering trees, and crowded with vans and buses, each containing at least one man hanging out the doorway shouting.

From here our first week of class with our cream of the crop speakers, including our Indian coordinator Smitu Kothari, who spoke about social movements, and our future Maasai coordinator Alais Morindot, who passionately described his own life story. Fatma – the Queen – also described her own moving journey which led her to take up the fight for women’s rights. In addition, we were joined by Peter Maina from the University of Dar Es Saalam, who spoke on land rights. It was an intense week of introductions, broken up when necessary with tea and cookies, so we could “digest” the information better. It was nice to have a preordained time for fundamental discussions about discussion itself.

Now, a quiz! What’s green, sharp, is prime for cutting when drooped at an angle of 45 degrees to the ground, and is considered the saving grace of Tanzania’s agricultural sector? Is it a. Sissaal. b. Sieesal c. Ralph Nader or d. Sisal? Yes...it’s Sisal (spelled correctly). A Sisal farm cooperative was the destination of our 12 hour fieldtrip. Here, under an enormous tree, where the farmers had set up an outdoor classroom for us, we had a discussion between students and locals, in a mix of Swahili, English, and translations. The Sisal coop had gifted each of its farmers a plot of land to own, and through such ownership they increased their set of rights.

While in Moshi, we were also taken to the Moshi coffee curing factory, led by our guest lecturer, Mathew Diamond. Here we were able to interact with workers and learn about the ongoing struggles of an aging cooperative system, created in the Nyerere Socialist era; a model that has failed to keep up with the rapid rate of privatization and changing ideologies of present day Tanzania.

During our free time in Moshi, we enjoyed several of Tanzania’s local brews at the Green Garden Bar, where many local friends were made. The friends included Ayubu and Gerald – teachers at the school next door where we would later unexpectedly sing and dance improvised routines before 600 gawking secondary school children. What a rush! Soccer games were also played with our local friends in a field of thorns that deflated our ball, all the while by being observed by a goat tied to the goalpost. Basketball was also enjoyed, along with frisbee.

Saturday evening in Moshi a group of 11 or so braved the Moshi bus system and caught a bus to Arusha where they were greeted by Gemma Sisia, the Australian founder of the School of St. Judes. The group spent the night there and the next morning went out to pick up children waiting for the buses at the ends of long dirt roads in the middle of dilapidated slums, bright-eyed and adorned in blue sweaters and bottoms with blue St. Judes hats on their heads. The school is a factory for creating an intellectual elite or a warehouse for potential, depending on how you look at it.

Some of the group there had a chance to meet up with Pete O’Neal at his African-American community center outside of Arusha. Pete O’Neal was once a founding member of the Kansas City chapter of the Black Panthers and was forced to flee the country to escape jail time for formulated, trumped-up gun charges. Taking the positive spirit of the Black Panther party with him, he finally settled outside of Arusha to set up a community center which promotes adult education, creative exploration of alternative life-styles, and other forms of empowerment for the surrounding community.

As the Monty Python boys say: “And now for something completely different”. You roll over in the pitch black stale-smoky darkness and open your eyes. Two boys covered in red checkered blankets lie next to you, still sleeping silently on their cow hide bed. You are inside an engahe (mud house), during your Maasai boma stay. Just as you think that you feel fleas gently doing a dance on your leg, your momma rises from her bed where she sleeps with your “sisters” and the rest of your family, and kneels down in the middle of the house on the compressed dung floor, to create light by igniting wood with the glowing red ambers that had been saved from yesterday’s fire. As your brothers slowly sit up and put on their sandals, already dressed in their blanketed robes, you realize that it is time to grab your engudi (staff) before your momma drapes a blanket over you, and you and the boys head to take out the cattle and goats as the sun rises in the bleak hours of the Tanzanian morning.

For many of us, this is how our day started during our three night homestays with Maasai families. Of course for the women in the group, things were a bit different, because not all of them took out the cattle, but, we believe that you all get the picture. Our time spent in Arcaria village with the Maasai, was a very different experience for each person in our group, yet we think it is fair to say it was moving for us all, IHP and Maasai alike.

Some found the time challenging, while others found it smooth. We had five or six translators floating around to help us with the language barrier and a few of the families we stayed with even spoke a little English, which helped us all get by on our five Ki-Maasai words: sopai (a general greeting), eppa (the response), yeiyeo takwenya (as mentioned earlier), ashe naleng (thank you very much), and perhaps most used of all aritoke (may I help). However the majority of the time with our Maasai families was spent in silence staring at one another through the smoky darkness, building a relationship stronger than any one language could communicate. Some of our group were a little more... how do we say... adventurous with our language use, speaking long English monologues to non-understanding families like: “How was your day? Mine was great! Thanks for asking...”

And just as the homestays started to get too intense, we would all meet back at Alais Morindatt’s western style boma each day where we would eat lunch, relax, shower (some of us, that is!), use the convenience of the pit latrine, and read and prepare for class. The classes were mainly led by Alais himself, who would share his life stories to inform us about land, economic, and cultural issues that Maasai were and continue to face due to the global “village’s” encroachment on their own village. A major issue, especially during the season we were there, was water and water access which sadly denied us of the welcoming Maasai gift of a drink of cow’s blood straight from a cow’s neck. One day we were able to visit a water dam project that the village was building and we met with the elders there to discuss the issues. On other days of class we were joined by speakers such as Maanda and Nathan, to discuss other difficult issues such as the clash of traditional culture and “modern” human rights’ ideologies (concerning things such as female genital mutilation).

After we had all finished our assignment for the area, a paper on the future potential for pastoral lifestyle of the Maasai, we joined some elders and the chief around the fire to say goodbye. Out of the dim-lit starry sky, rain began to trickle onto the dry African land.

The national parks of Tanzania presented our group with new beauty, new challenges and new issues to study. We prepared for our safari by learning from articles, books, and lectures on the issues surrounding conservation and tourism in the parks and in wider East Africa. We began with a visit to Oldupai Gorge, the site of the earliest humanoid footprints found to date. The next day we visited the Ngorongoro Crater, an amazing microcosm of an historical East African ecosystem, complete with elephants, lions, wildebeests, zebras, ostriches, foxes, hippos and warthogs, all in their natural setting. There were even some golden eagles that tried to steal our Jolly Rancher- jammed white bread out of our hands! We camped under a beautiful old tree on the rim of the crater (caldera), then went onto the Serengeti, where we spent the next day and a half. There we saw all of the things we had hoped to see: long graceful groups of giraffe, pods of elephants, lounging cheetahs, leaping gazelles and impala, and even a blithely skulking leopard. We also saw things that troubled us: luxury hotels using huge amounts of scarce water, landscapes altered for mass tourism, and jeep after jeep of khaki cargo-pocketed ‘mzungus’ (foreigners/white people) with cameras ready, African drivers, and money flowing. It was hard to decipher where we fit into this picture, being students studying the system with a critical lens, but also playing the role of the ‘rich Westerners’ ourselves. It was also troubling to think that the very conservation that removed the Masaai from their land (and the state still perpetuates violence in the name of conservation) was allowing us to see such beautiful land and wild animals. This conflict was especially poignant considering that we had woken up in bomas only two days earlier: wearing Masaai clothes, answering to Maasai names and participating as sons and daughters in daily Masaai life. We couldn’t morph back into jeep-riding, camera-toting, quick-dry Westerners that easily! During this part of Rethinking Globalization, we were forced to rethink the meaning of ‘indigenous,’ ‘tourist,’ and even ‘nature.’

We left the Serengeti on Thanksgiving Day, and drove to Lake Manyara on our long trip towards the ocean. Fatma, Munira, and Mauley Tours organized a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner for us: complete with turkey! Lake Manyara itself was beautiful. Some highlights were the flocks of thousands of flamingoes, playful baboons and an excellent class discussion in the middle of the tour. All told, our IHP safari was interesting, beautiful, and conflicted just like the rest of our year so far.

Once we reached Bagamoyo’s seaside Badeco resort, the group reacted with feelings of awe, excitement, and utter disbelief. The beauty of Bagamoyo’s landscape was found in its endless beaches, from the white sand to the turquoise water. Upon our arrival, we couldn’t wait to escape the claustrophobic van – the gates to this natural heaven awaited! Although our relaxing time-off was short-lived, we found many ways to make the most of it! We enjoyed the Indian Ocean and the many activities it had to offer, from dhow excursions and snorkeling to simple fun in the waves. We also indulged in the variety of food that the luxurious Bagamoyo resorts had to offer – especially the juicy burgers that some had been craving for so long.

Our studies took place at the Bagamoyo College of Arts, conveniently located right next to the beach! Our coordinator of the Bagamoyo program, Mr. Godwin Kaduma, was not only a reputed actor, but he also played a significant role in founding the college. Mr. Kaduma has a lifetime of achievements under his belt! At the college, he spoke about the development of Swahili as a language and its role in the shaping of the culture. The headmaster, Juma Bakari, opened up discussion about theatre and its influence on social development; a theme we examined throughout our stay in Bagamoyo. We also felt very honored to have some of Tanzania’s leading feminists come and speak to us: Salma Mouldini and Ananilea Nkya, both from FEMACT, spoke to us about the increasing efforts of women in their social movement to implement change through the media. While at the college, we were also given the opportunity to interact with faculty of the College of Arts. We learned about the roles of music, dance, and theatre in social movement in Tanzania.

Outside of the college environment, we were able to enrich our understanding of Bagamoyo through our diverse homestay experiences. As was the case throughout our Tanzania program, our homestay families all seemed to open their doors and their hearts to us in a way that gave generosity a whole new meaning. We were also able to experience another side of ‘the Bag’ in the many different excursions we decided to take for our last weekend in Tanzania. Some students chose to go to Dar Es Salaam, some decided to stay in Bagamoyo, but the majority of the group decided to explore the exotic island of Zanzibar.

Leaving Tanzania inspired a mix of emotions within the group. Some were very ready to move on, while others had a more difficult time for a variety of reasons. Many of us had developed close relations with out local friends and our program coordinating team, so it was natural to feel torn. (It’s the story of IHP; sooner or later we’re going to have to learn to leave, whether we like it or not!) On a more serious note, the entire group was emotionally vulnerable as we said our goodbyes, because we were forced to say farewell to a fellow colleague and good friend. We left Tanzania with the hope that India would bring new energy, excitement, and enriching experiences.

Love from us.

India


India Letter Home
December 10, 2005-January 27, 2006

Composed by: Heather Diaz, Andrea Gersh, Noah Link, Elizabeth McDonough and Nathaniel Reister

Faculty Advisor: Warren Dixon

Our group stumbled into the chilly Mumbai airport, hours late for our original connecting flight. With the whole morning ahead of us we set off to get our first taste of real Indian food, chai would be served free at every class and meeting, glucose biscuits, and even complimentary roses. We crashed, snuggled and tried to sleep on the not so clean airport beds. Arriving in Delhi that night we were happy to see our coordinator Smitu Kothari again and meet his assistant George and our anthropology teacher Savyasaachi. They welcomed us at our accommodations, the Indian Social Institute, with garlands and forehead blessings. In the morning many of us took our only real free time in Delhi to go out and explore. Our first autorickshaw rides were a thrill that would become tedious by the end of our seven weeks.

After quick glimpses of such wonders as the Red Fort, Jama Masjid, and the India Gate, it was time to move in with our host families who which were spread out across the expansive metropolitan area. Each day, after a long struggle to direct Hindi-speaking cab and rickshaw drivers, who were all inexplicably unfamiliar with Delhi’s major roads and non-functioning meters, we gathered for a long day of class (roughly 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.). In Delhi, we had hands on learning in map skills and bargaining. We were joined by five Indian students: Libemo would stay behind in Delhi, Utpal and Ankita stayed with us until vacation, and Pummy and Isha even missed school so they could return after break.

Our classes were filled with guest lecturers from such distinguished people as Arun Kumar, Asish Nandy, Kalyani Menon, Imtiaz Ahmad, and Sanjak Kak on political economy in India, women’s rights, minorities, the caste system, and the Narmada anti-dam movement. We visited the Centre for Science and Environment, an NGO head-quartered in Delhi, and saw its rainwater harvesting system. After an intense week of learning (struggling to hear over the booming techno music from the Air Force academy across the street), we were ready for a party! We went from class to a Sufi music performance and then to Smitu’s office where we enjoyed a night of fun, snacking, and dancing. On Saturday morning, we met to head south to Agra. We spent a long day waiting while some toured Agra’s various monuments and others were sick. At dusk, we finally reached the Taj Mahal, magnificent as promised in the hazy light. From Agra we boarded an overnight train to Sevagram and slept soundly in the luxury of 3AC (three-tiered air-conditioned). Our next train trips would not be so easy (foreshadowing!).

Sevagram is the site of one of Mahatma Gandhi’s most important ashrams: what he called stations for “experimentations with truth.” Here we learned about the Gandhian economic model: minimal trade, simple living, “bread labor,” and self-rule. Our reactions ranged from admiration to horror. We saw the weaving of khadi (handspun cloth), a centerpiece of Gandhi’s philosophy, which became the hottest new IHP attire. We also learned the beginnings of yoga with earlier morning classes with Saachi. Interest waned when most were unable to wake up at dawn to do headstands.

After Sevagram, we traveled to Ajay and Yogini Dolke’s organic farm. Our last stop before vacation was the village of Mendha (Lekha). Menda is a tribal community that earns its livelihood by harvesting products from the forest. Its uniqueness comes from its renunciation of ownership by India and declaration of self-rule. The village is fully autonomous and creates all of its own laws and has ownership of its lands and natural resources. (Otherwise, all forests are considered the property of the central Indian government.) Members of the community took us on walks through the village and the forest to learn about how they use the forest to sustain themselves. We split up to have dinner in the homes of different villagers, and the spicy food sent most of running back home to the toilets they’d built for us. We had many sessions under the trees or in the chilly community house with the heads of the village to learn the intricacies of their governing body and how they took control of their own destinies. We were all excited to see an example of the village that actually works, especially after our visit to Dorli. From Mendha we headed to Nagpur, where we split up for vacation. Some headed south to the city of Gokarna in the state of Karnataka and stumbled upon a hippie ocean paradise. Others ventured north to a house in the Himalayas only to find ashrams and amusement parks that didn’t quite work. Some had a desert vacation in Rajasthan to see forts, ride camels, and travel in shag-carpeted buses. The rest had families and friends that shipped them off to various exotic locations: Barcelona, Germany, Dubai, Pakistan, and other places in India. We all converged back in Mumbai with tons of stories and tons of new stuff, especially Bart.

At Nature Trails, we were hosted by Leela and Ashok, who set us up in a lodge filled with bunk beds usually meant for children at summer nature camp. Fabulous! During the hours of electricity, we watched powerpoints on biodiversity, big dams, and spirituality. The spirit of summer camp infused our free time, too, which was spent in the tree houses, on the trampoline, at the picnic table, or by the swing sets. We made natural dyes from beets (pink), turmeric (yellow), and henna (puke green) and played Holi, pelting each other with pasty colors until festivities degenerated into a swimming pool-based melee. The farm also offered us the chance to do some bread labor. Students helped harvest and press sugar cane into juice and mulched the fruit trees. For Nicole’s twentieth birthday, we planned a scavenger hunt through Nature Trails culminating at the clothesline where we hung descriptions of each person’s perfect date with Nicole. And our spring semester anthropology professor, the astute and illustrious Amy Todd, also arrived while we were at the farm. We were also joined for a week by IHP Assistant Director, David Lamitie, who we affectionately called “the DL.” (Hi David!)

Before our Pune homestays, we split into two groups and traveled to Kolwan and Amba River valleys. Being in small groups was really refreshing, and we got the chance to see watershed management at the village level. We hiked to sacred groves and visited the temples of their fierce female protective deities. Hillary was the first woman to participate in the rituals at one of the temples. In the forests, farms, and houses we heard and saw what water conservation meant in people’s daily lives. All of our studies about dams were made so much more real by our village visits.

We arrived in Pune straight from our field trips and met with Asish Kothari and Sunita Roa, our Pune coordinators. The time we spent in our city homestays was relaxed and laden with days off. Most of us spent our days off with our homestay families; some stayed in the city and others traveled for daytrips to the surrounding hills. We also had some classes in Pune. It was here that we got our first look at IT in India as well as a brief focus on public transportation—sorely needed in such a congested city with 6 million people and more cars than Mumbai. We left class in great spirits, gathering in the park of the local university to sing songs, dance, and read poetry. After a spellbinding show of Bollywood dancing by assorted children, Sunita revealed in a rousing version of “Down by the Riverside” that she’d lay down her watermelon seeds.

Our final destination in India was Mumbai. It was here that we had our retreat and synthesis of the India program. In between visits to Café Mocha, the hookah bar which had become our group hang-out, we had a lecture on the Bollywood movie industry and spent time recovering and socializing at the Jesuit retreat centre, Vinayalaya. We also went to visit the nature conservancy centre in Mumbai as well as an encroached national park inside the city limits. On one of our visits we stopped by a Bollywood set where many of us tried to be extras in a western commercial. Our India coordinator Smitu threw a farewell party for us at a karaoke bar where we danced and sang the night away. Smitu loves to sing, and Saachi loves to dance! So, ask for pictures. Thanks to the whole coordinator team for making our stay a memorable experience.

India happened while we were in transit: cars, trains, buses, boats, rickshaws, camels, horses. There’s a story for every trip, good or bad, but always better in retrospect. Through it all, we would not have survived without the kindness of strangers, just like Blanche DuBois. We each carry in our minds the nameless faces and memories of strangers who saved our lives or just made them easier: that guy who gave up his seat, the family that invited us in for tea, the men who pulled us onto the speeding train, and the children who shared with us their secrets. We wonder how we would respond if those same faces showed up at our door? We got tired of saying no to those who sought our hospitality. So how do we give back? The coin at the bottom of your purse, the hot meal they saw you buy, a donation to their community? We leave with more questions than answers.


New Zealand Letter Home
January 28-March 17, 2006

Composed by: Evelyn Aguilar, Amit Dorf, Ashely Fuller, and Susannah Rodgers

Faculty advisor: Warren Dixon

Tena Koutoa, Tena Koutoa, Tena Koutoa Katoa

(This is My Greeting to All of You)

Kia Ora from Aotearoa, Land of the Long White Cloud

Greetings from New Zealand.

Wellington, NZ was reluctant to take us in from India; its weather diverted our flight to Auckland twice, before letting us safely land. Third time’s a charm as they say. Three flights, and three days later, culture shock hits us immediately. We had already gorged ourselves on the complimentary hotel buffet in Auckland – the one positive side to diverted flights – but it took a while for our heads and hearts to catch up with our stomachs. We felt a world apart, and we were!

Food may have been one of the first things to really “hit’ us. We drooled and become unbelievable giddy at the site of steak, gigantic grilled Portobello mushrooms, couscous, and black forest cake. Such an abundance of food from all over the globe! It just didn’t feel right after India. Where did it all come from? How was it grown? A couple of us refused to go back to conventional use of silverware, finding we still had a strong affinity towards eating with our hands!

And wait-wow! We are no longer a walking curiosity to be stared at as we were in Tanzania and India. One student expressed, “I feel disconnected here, people do not seem to care about my family or where I am from, and they just say ‘hi’. We look the same, just the accent differs.” Being a Latina who looks Indian I feel a bit of the opposite. I was able to blend in in India and Tanzania (which has a sizable Indian population and influence). I often got mistaken for a tour guide when walking with my fellow I.H.P.ers. Now in N.Z. I am the one to constantly get asked where my family is from and how I grew up. Funny how the way I look causes me to experience each country somewhat differently than most of my classmates. Otherwise transition went quite smoothly the first couple of days as we settled into our green-party home stays and soaked up the strong U.V. radiation on the coast of beautiful Wellington. –Evelyn

After initial foundation lectures and a short homestay in Wellington, we moved on to the Tainui Marae in Otaki. We were greeted by the community with a traditional Maori powhiri (welcoming ceremony). For three brief days we took part in their community, an experience that both challenged and encouraged us tremendously. New Zealand has repeatedly challenged our paradigms and ‘ways of knowing’ what we know. We were honored to hear from two of our peers, Caleb Royal and Pataka Moore, two young Maori men who have committed themselves to re-learning and preserving the traditional wisdom shared among their/our grandparents generation. They are standing as a rare bridge across two generations and two inherently different world views. They have forged a way in their community in ways we are just beginning to dream of repeating. And as we snuggled into our sleeping bags that night, our day with Caleb and Pataka was complimented by a ‘bedtime story’ lecture from an elder of the marae.

Many expressed how healing this experience was on both personal and group levels. When scenery and faces change everyday, it is a constant challenge to find a sense of home. But in this place, with these people, a sense of familiar comfort emerged. It will be our challenge to take that spirit with us and reproduce it elsewhere.

And then, there was vacation…! Ten glorious days to explore this marvelous island. Many of our over-achievers spent the time “willingly working on organic farms” throughout the country. When we return home and casually speak about WOOFing, this is what we mean. This experience was met with mixed reviews. Some found invaluable lessons to be learned about getting connected with the earth, the intricacies of bio-dynamics, and the reward of good hard work. Others found the experience extremely challenging. Many students were lucky enough to be visited by family, and began the difficult process of articulating exactly how and why this year has changed us. This experience too was met with mixed reviews! Some of us rented cars and explored the islands, and some just caught rides in other people’s cars. All in all, our experiences lent themselves to some fabulous stories, the details of which are too numerous to share here. –Ashley

We reunited as a group in Nelson, hugged each other and expressed our affections as though we hadn’t seen one another in years, and headed off to Golden Bay to spend four days with the Tui Community. Though some were under the false impression that by “Tui” we meant Tui Beer Co., we arrived and encountered the crunchy, ex-hippie, intentional living community that goes by the same name. During our time there we mastered the fine art of compost heap-building. We took pains to balance our layering of carbon and nitrogen elements. This provided several opportunities for our faculty and coordinator to effectively fling horse manure at us with pitch forks. Additionally we took part in worm-farming and helping out in the community garden. We had the privilege to hear from John Broomfield, author of Other Ways of Knowing, who spoke to us about how various knowledge systems can be used as tools to understand the world and our place in it. Perhaps the most important thing at Tui was the community atmosphere we witnessed and in which we were allowed to participate. Around a campfire one night many of us shared the aspirations and inspirations we felt towards our own plans for when we come home. We were able to share what we had experienced from their community, what we felt about our own little traveling community and how special our little community of world travelers really is. –Susannah

From Tui, half the group headed on to Nelson, while 13 of us stayed behind in Golden Bay. Our program was coordinated by the one and only Sol Morgan, organic grower extraordinaire. We were introduced to some real pioneers in issues of sustainability, organics, sprouting, permaculture and community involvement and initiative. As we gabbed on about the award-winning compost toilets at the Mussel Inn, I had to pinch myself to remember this is actually class! –Ashley

The Nelson field trip emphasized sustainability in urban environments. We heard from speakers on waste management (Waste = Bad. Reducing, Reusing, Recycling = Good), anti-advertising campaigns (the psychology of consumerism), marine life management and eco-houses. Highlights from the week include our phenomenal homestays with members of the Green Party and our tour of Waimarama Organic Garden. The icing on top was the rare privilege of visiting Delaware Bay where Andrew Stevens, the kaitiaki (guardian) of the land spoke about the history of land management rights between Maori groups and governmental bodies. It was an amazing experience I am honored to have been a part of. –Anz

And so it is with further mixed reviews that we pack up again to head off to Mexico. We are all very aware that the end of the amazing journey is drawing near, and so we tuck the head and drop the shoulder, and prepare ourselves to hit the ground running for this final home-stretch. We thank home for all your love and support and can’t tell you how excited and nervous we’re all becoming at the thought of seeing you all again real soon.

With love, respect, and many more stories to come… us.

Tena Koutoa, Tena Koutoa, Tena Koutoa Katoa

Mexico


Mexico Letter Home
March 17-May 9, 2006

Composed by: Maryam Arif, Erika Merrell, Katherine Goldstein, and Zeno Goldsmith.

Faculty Advisor: Warren Dixon

We arrived in Mexico City after having St. Patricks Day twice and a brief stint in Los Angeles where students took the chance to go to McDonalds and other students took the chance to look down at the students who went to McDonalds. Many people saw friends and relatives in Los Angeles on our brief layover and one of us missed the plane and ended up spending an extra day in the city. On our arrival in Mexico City, we were greeted by our moon goddess Mojdeh who from the floaty genius of Peter Horsley swooped down and took care of us. Mojdeh greeted us with kisses, folders, stipends, and a guide to Mexico City. We went back to our hotel to sleep the traveling off and prepare for the all-night party the next night. Our two days off gave us a chance to explore Mexico City and all the largest city in the world has to offer. This included the Diego Rivera museum in the governor’s palace where we brushed up on our Mexican history and were shocked and excited about the institutionalized revolutionary fervor we saw in his paintings. Others looked at Aztec ruins and jumped right into eating Mexican street food. We were located very close to the Zocolo, the main square. The next day we were transported into our Santo Domingo homestays. Santo Domingo is a low-income neighborhood in Mexico City that was built up by the residents after an occupation of land that was basically volcanic rock in the 1970s and built up the sewage and houses from the ground up with an extremely strong community organization. We stayed with members of the community organization; the first and second generation of the original builders of the community. We all lived within one block of each other and had classes at a central location, La Escuelita (the little school) which holds computer classes, English classes, a library, a printing press, dance lessons (IHP even experimented with salsa classes, some a lot better than others) and an internet café. This is where we first met the esteemed Gustavo Esteva, who greeted us warmly with some Mexican history and the idea of Mexico profundo (the masses) and Mexico imaginario (the elite) which we held onto during our whole time in Mexico. Our homestay mothers varied in age and involvement but we all had very good homestays and were heavily immersed in a community.

We began our time in Santo Domingo with a walking tour around the neighborhood and saw how the community had changed. The students who spoke Spanish served as our translators. During our week in Santo Domingo we attended futbol games, learned the meaning of the word Pachenga, heard from a muralist and many wise and controversial talks from Gustavo, heard from a woman who worked for USAID and got the opportunity to debate our abstract anti-development ideas. Students spent one day trying to attend the water fair after our intense study of water conversation with interesting results. It cost quite a bit to have a stand at the water fair, so it was mainly corporations, the World Bank, and large international NGOs. Since there were large student demonstrations at the water fair the previous week IHP students were not allowed in unless they had an alternative form of identification. Many students also went to Teotihuacan on the solstice and watched the many religious ceremonies.

We also spent a day exploring the Museum of Anthropology, went to the subculture market, the Trotsky museum, the Frida Kahlo museum, and the museum of popular culture which had an excellent exhibit on the U.S.-Mexico border. Our final education of Santo Domingo was a Friday night meeting with the homestay mothers where we had an open discussion about the detrimental effects of drugs on the community.

That weekend, IHPers were busy-some exploring the Mexico City Jewish community, others going to a large lesbian march to be in solidarity with Mexican lesbians, and others went out dancing with Santo Domingo host mothers/sisters. Our grand finale in Mexico City, after a whirlwind of cultural immersion, Mexican history and many things to see and do was a Manu Chou concert in the Zocolo, who is now our new favorite musician.

After saying goodbye to our homestay families in Santo Domingo, we loaded the bus and headed for Oaxaca City, which would be our base for the remainder of the country program. There we settled into new homestays in Colonia Reforma, an upper-middle class neighborhood, eleven in one house and the others in smaller groups nearby. Our first week there, we took a tour of both the city’s government housing projects and its wealthiest neighborhoods, as well as attended classes with Gustavo and other guest lecturers (on religion, water, and indigenous communities). Some of us also used the week to grow more acquainted with the city, visiting handicraft markets, the ancient pyramids of Monte Alban, museums, cafes, and bars.

Vacation began after classes on March 31 and ran through April 9. Destinations ranged from Oaxaca City, where a few reunited with parents, to Mexico City, to Guatemala, to homes in the states. Others spent a beach vacation in Puerto Escondido, a town on the Pacific Coast renowned for surfing, while some interested in the Zapatista movement traveled to San Cristobel, Chiapas.

We returned from vacation to small group village stays, which we had chosen previously.
Village Stays:

In Santa Maria Yavacia, we spent our time in separate homes on the side of a mountain. We learned about the village’s history and its unique structure, where all residents are required to fulfill “cargoes,” or beneficial services to the community. We also talked to women in charge of an organization for local families, visited the health care clinic, and hiked from a cloud forest back down to the village. We attended many Good Friday processions and a water tasting festival, which were held at an old church across the valley from our homes.

San Andres Chicahuaxtla
A group of us went to the village of Miguel Hidalgo in a beautiful valley. We were put in home stays where we ate huge tortillas for every meal. We saw local women weave huipiles on backstrap looms. Huipiles are long handwoven and embroidered dresses worn by Triqui women.

The community showed us documentaries made for the villagers about AIDS awareness, waste disposal and traditional fiestas, and we saw Titanic, again! The most exciting part of the trip was a visit to a traditional healer where students had their “eggs read,” found out their animals and went for a temaskal, which is a story in itself. The temaskal is a holy cylinder made of wood filled with steam. A person gets in naked with a healer who whacks them with leaves. Torturous, relieving, ultimately pleasurable.

This was how the students felt about the village stay. “For the first time this year we were forced to question why are we in a place? What was our role? What is our position of privilege? Important questions that we will think about for a long time.”

Isthmus Village Stay
In the Isthmus, we were led by Sergio, the head of Unitierra, an alternative learning center in the CEDI office. Immediately we were transported down and then joined a protest against wind mills in a town called La Venta on Emiliano Zapata’s birthday. We were confused because most of our time abroad we have been very pro-alternative energy, but the wind mills are a development project that takes communal land away from the indigenous people of the village. It was an extremely inspiring to feel as though we were in solidarity with people fighting against development. We questioned this a lot in our time in the Isthmus, how one can be in solidarity with others and how one solution can’t fit all. We spent the rest of the time learning from Sergio and from the anarchist collective in the area, swimming, lying in hammocks, making a mud stove, and making friends.

Then we transported down to Oaxaca where for the next two weeks we met regularly in CEDI-the Center for Intercultural Encounters and Dialogues. We divided into smaller groups and had the opportunity to discuss issues of our choice like the role of media in activism, education in its alternative forms, alternatives to education and the role of NGOs in society. We also made field trips to the Zaachila market and COVORPA, an organization of young men who are exploring options to make a living. One of the projects included raising quails to sell their meat and eggs. The group went to Teotitlan del Valle, known for beautiful rugs made with natural dyes. We met with a woman’s cooperative and had a delicious meal of chili rellenos.

We were in Mexico when Mexican and other immigrants in the United States were fighting for their rights against the proposal for new legislation. We explored the question of migration, why Mexicans go abroad, how villages are affected by that and the benefits to their families in Mexico.

The wonderful and long-awaited Jessica Seares joined us for the retreat. The original plan was to spend the retreat in the Center for Alternative Technology where we would live in structures described as “horse stalls.” However we ended up in a hotel with a swimming pool and lots of open green space. Talking about re-entry into the U.S., the luxuries of the hotel helped make the transition smoother for some while others questioned the point of luxury, comfort and all the waste associated with that way of life.

We had one more early morning plane trip and then we were off on our last plane adventure. We said goodbye to our homestays as we thought about finally going to our home in the US. There were some fears and anxiety, but mostly just excitement about going home.