India Preparations

The last week has been spent getting us ready for India. The voyagers are fortunate to have a faculty with a lot of India expertise.  Several of them have lived in India for extensive periods of time in their lives, and several of them have spent time in India on Fulbright Fellowships. Along with several of the students on the ship and two interport students from India who joined us in Vietnam, we got a full exposure to India.  That just let us understand a little better how complex India is.

We had Global Studies presentations on history, culture, language, music, religions, and geography.  Each on of these elements should be plural because, for example there is not just one culture.  The remnants of the caste system are just one part of the culture.  As new generations are born, family culture changes so that not all marriages are arranged.  A panel of students whose parents were from India gave a good look at the variety of views on marriage.  Then, the north is different from the south--in language (Tamil vs Hindu), religion and political stance.  But, family is still important everywhere.

The faculty presentations were not all unanimous on suggestions of how to dress and act.   Each night this week had a different "Explorer Seminar" on aspects of Indian society.  Mostly, the presentations helped us feel a lot more comfortable seeing this country.  Anticipating the poverty that we will see has been a bit troubling to me personally, and I've heard this echoed in conversatons with and between students.

Don Gogniat, prof of Global Studies gave us tip number seven for visiting a country:( nuber 6 was "sit on a park bench and watch things happen around you).  "Try to appreciate why, someone is smiling with you at any given moment."  I'll get back with you on the results of this approach.

We've had a group of 4th year med students and one resident from UVA Med School on board since the first day in Vietnam.  They were here to learn and to share some of their knowledge in Explorer seminars.  Two facuty accompanied them, and gave presentations to us.  This was a nice addition to the ship, and they did some time in the clinic to learn and to help out.  But they have to head back to Virginia after India, and we'll miss them.

One of the consequences of stopping the engines and drifting two days ago was the Dan Abel, Prof of fisheres, received permission to drag his plankton collection net for a brief period when we started back up.  He collected samples and then showed them under a microscope that was on the ship for his class. These images were captured on his computer in real time, and we got a close look at a bunch of the stuff that is in the water. I have to admit that this was the first brachiopod that I had ever seen.  All of these microscopic animals contribute to the food chain that eventually feeds us.  I like to think that the food chain stops with me.

Last night was the cultural and logistical pre-port.  Logistical went first this time and covered all the important stuff about when we dock, when and how we will do the customs clearance, what the health issues are (don't drink the water), where trips will leave, safety concerns, etc.  The cultural preport was a little different and included a lot more people this time, and as a consequence, it went long.  Everybody seemed to have something importantto say.  One of the best parts was a skit by the improv group.  They mimicked the wrong way to act in port, and they were hilarious. I hope, as a consequence, that everyone will now know to wear long pants and cover their shoulders.

Everyone is excited about seeing India, and everyone should be well prepared.