Jason and I (mostly Jason) were interviewed for a local paper in Srinagar. We were shopping in the market, looking to buy cds of local musicians, when a journalist overheard us and asked us a few questions. After hearing that Jason was doing his PhD research on Gharwal music, he asked if we could go with him next door to sit and talk because he wanted to write an article about it. We agreed and were led to a patio and given chai. We talked for a bit while he had two other men wrote down what we said (he translated it into Hindi for them) and we posed for a few photos.
Then he asked if we could talk for a few minutes to his English class that was next door. We agreed and talked to them about the importance of learning English, what challenges they might face if they were to go to America to find work, and how the educational systems of the two countries differ. That sounds like a lot but we were very brief and not as eloquent as I make it sound. I have no idea if they understood what we said or not. I don't think there English was very good yet.
The whole thing was a weird experience but fun. A couple of things that I noted: students all stood when we entered or left the room and waited for us to sit before being seated, most of them were studying hotel management, humor is difficult to communicate.
In India, most marriages are arranged. The bride and groom sometimes don't even meet until right before the wedding. Marriages that aren't arranged are called "love marriages". The journalist asked if we had a love marriage and we said yes. He asked if there were arranged marriages in America. It's kind of funny to me that Jason and my parents didn't meet one another until the week before our wedding and how that must seem so foreign/backwards to Indians. I tried explaining that to the journalist but I don't think he understood me.
Then he asked if we could talk for a few minutes to his English class that was next door. We agreed and talked to them about the importance of learning English, what challenges they might face if they were to go to America to find work, and how the educational systems of the two countries differ. That sounds like a lot but we were very brief and not as eloquent as I make it sound. I have no idea if they understood what we said or not. I don't think there English was very good yet.
The whole thing was a weird experience but fun. A couple of things that I noted: students all stood when we entered or left the room and waited for us to sit before being seated, most of them were studying hotel management, humor is difficult to communicate.
In India, most marriages are arranged. The bride and groom sometimes don't even meet until right before the wedding. Marriages that aren't arranged are called "love marriages". The journalist asked if we had a love marriage and we said yes. He asked if there were arranged marriages in America. It's kind of funny to me that Jason and my parents didn't meet one another until the week before our wedding and how that must seem so foreign/backwards to Indians. I tried explaining that to the journalist but I don't think he understood me.
No comments:
Post a Comment