Please help my beautiful sisters go to college

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting Kohima, Nagaland, India to meet Ganesh's family for the first time. Kohima is a lovely hill district in Northeast India, bordering Burma and Bangladesh. It is about as far Northeast as you can go while still being within India borders.
As we made the journey to the luscious hills of Nagaland, my eyes were mesmerized by the sight-- for I had never seen such a wondrous place in all my life. I found the vegetation and climate to be quite similar to that of Michigan. Similar flowers and plants like the marigold and hibiscus... rows and rows of pine trees. The nightly spring thunderstorms. It is the closest thing I will find to home-- not just for the familiar plants and weather but rather, the beautiful people I met along the way.

This post is not intended to be a play by play of my experiences in Nagaland (that will come soon) but instead, to ask for your support.

All my life, I dreamed of having a younger sibling to care for. Being the youngest of four children, I knew that would never happen... biologically anyway. Now, I am honored to say, I have two brilliant younger sisters named Parvati and Jyoti Pariyar. My short time being in their presence and observing these two, I came to find that they are truly the most caring and kind teachers a student could ever ask for. Sitting around a table of ten to twenty middle/high school students studying for exams, it was evident how well respected these two young women were among their peers. For more than three years, Parvati and Jyoti have tutored students in all subjects and all ages, to ensure the youth of Kohima keep to their studies. They have helped many 12th graders pass their final exams and move on college and be successful working citizens of the world. The young women support their parents and pay for their own tuition/school material fees with the money they make tutoring more than twenty students.

Due to financial reasons, Parvati, who graduated one year ago, was unable to attend college after high school. Graduating at the top of her class and scored at the top percentage in all of Nagaland, it is an understatement to say she was disappointed to take a gap year. But that didn't stop her from learning... Parvati has continued tutoring students and in her free time, studies subjects like physics, chemistry and other sciences. Her dream is to become a doctor one day and I have no doubt she will be very successful in her future.

Jyoti, the youngest Pariyar sibling has just finished high school this month and also received high marks (in the second division in all of Nagaland). She is eagerly waiting to continue her studies and dreams of becoming a nurse one day.

The two sisters will move to Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India (a few hours south of Chennai) next month to begin their college careers at DKM Women's College (Dhanabagyam Krishnaswamy Mudaliar Women's College). Parvati will pursue a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology and Jyoti will pursue a Bachelor of Science in Food Sciences & Nutrition.

I am pleased to say that I will be supporting these two brilliant minds as much as I can but my contribution only gets them so far (covers their tuition and housing for 6 months-a year).

So that is why I am asking you, from the bottom of my heart, to please support my family and donate as much as you can to the Parvati and Jyoti Pariyar college fund. Any amount helps!

Visit http://gogetfunding.com/please-support-my-sisters-in-continuing-their-education/ to help these brilliant ladies flourish into strong, independent young women so they can support themselves and their family.

                             

This is an old post I forgot to publish. I have been in India for one month now. Still happy and healthy but melting day by day. Two days ago, I returned from Kohima, Nagaland where I met Ganesh's lovely family and visited his beautiful home town in the hills. When have the chance to properly reflect on my experience and put into words how much this trip meant to me, you will hear about it.

Warning: part of this post may be somewhat graphic or seem way too personal for public viewing but there is no holding back in a place like India, where the word "privacy" means very little. Please remember, this post is all in good fun and not meant to offend anyone.

Well folks, you know you've spent a good amount of time in India when you fearlessly leap in front of traffic to cross the street and watch as even the local people are too scared to do it. See, in contrast to our nicely organized car lanes, drivers freely swerve in any direction there is space. It may appear unsafe but really, they are just accommodating for the billions of other people trying to get somewhere. I mean, it is so hard to get from one place to another, but if drivers actually followed lanes here and actually stopped at stop signs, it would be near impossible to get around. You also know you have spent a decent amount of time in India when everything sounds expensive to you... I paid rs. 1200 (less than $20) to see a doctor... in a hospital... without health insurance and I was unhappy about it. But then I remember that this scenario would never be possible in the States. I would rather walk several kilometers in the blazing sun to save the $1-2 it would cost me to take a rickshaw/cab to my destination. However, maybe this is more for my dignity since I am overcharged

It will always amaze how quickly us humans (animals) acclimate to an unfamiliar environment.

I wouldn't be able to call myself a legitimate journalist if I wasn't willing/open to trying new things at least once, however, there are certain cultural differences that can be very challenging adjustments. The "Indian toilet". Imagine a porcelain toilet that you're used to without the bowl... or seat... and you are left with a small hole with a small rim to place the feet in a squating position over the top. Although I am quite used to this now, it can be tricky at first. These were my first thoughts about it years ago: The hardest part, I would say, is knowing where to place your feet and still hit the hole-- especially women whose aim in a squat-pee is sub par... but even worse is staring at your own shit as it hits the clear bottom. The real mystery though is squating long enough without your feet/legs going numb. The Indian toilet, one can get used to after some practice... but growing up with toilet paper as the norm, I cannot come to terms with the idea wiping shit onto my own hand and find a way to successfully wash it with a bucket of water. It goes against the laws of gravity to perform such a task-- cupping a small amount of water in your palm and then proceeding to get said water to your back end before it drips off the side of your hand... I applaud this population for performing the above tasks without any problems. Now, some of you may read this and your first thought running through your mind will be "white privilege... white privilege" (even reading this through again, I feel that way and hesitate to post it) but please know, this is not meant to offend anyone. I respect these cultural differences for what they are-- differences that highlight how diverse our world truly is and I feel blessed to have experienced them first-hand. If we can't find a way to laugh at our ignorance about them, we will come to accept them as normalcies. On the contrary, you should know, locals think we are the disgusting ones for wiping our bum with a soft piece of paper rather than washing our assholes. In fact, they are absolutely horrified to know that people in the western world have shit stains in their underwear due to lack of cleanliness... ;)

One more cultural difference that I find very interesting is using "thank you". This article explains it better than I ever could. Very interesting read and so relevant in my life right now... I feel rude if I don't say "thank you" for just about anything because that's how I was raised.. but most people either seem annoyed or ignore your "polite" gesture. Even Ganesh's family tells me "there's no need to say thank you here... we're all family" but for me, I just want them to understand how much they are appreciated!

                                 Cows roam free in the streets and rummage through the trash.

                               The heat is so intense most days, I find it best to walk in the evening
                               when the sun is setting and the breeze roles in

                             

                               The apartment complex where I am living