Man!
It's too much to all take in! So, I got a no-holds-barred tour of Auroville. All it did was serve to confuse me much more. I thought that by coming here I would gain an understanding of just what Auroville is and what the website means in all of the things it says. Instead, I am just more confused. I guess by the end of this trip I'll know what questions to ask, but I don't think I'll understand the place any better. I told my church that I would be able to explain Auroville to them when I got back. I think I'll have to recant that statement now and just give them a slightly more specific impression. Slightly.
There is great diversity here in culture, ideals and wealth. People here do not see eye to eye, their relationship with the surrounding Tamils is not rosy, too many people in Auroville are selfish to make it really work, and guests and newcomers like myself simply do not have the vision or understanding to make this place work. These are my impressions thus far; these are not facts. In some ways it is severely disappointing. In some ways, this is comforting to me, knowing that without Jesus, nothing works. Nonetheless, in many ways, the Mother's ideas and the ideas of her followers are honorable and beautiful. It makes me sad that they don't work better.
At the same time, I am seeing that my real purpose here is quite possibly to better understand the Tamil people and the culture of the Tamils within Auroville. Parasuramen, Raj, Hiyapan, Gita, Parimala, Partiban (all kids from Roy's) and I went for a three and a half hour walk to the Matrimandir and other places (pictures below). During that walk, I spoke with Parimala for most of the time. She is an 18-year-old who understands the Tamil and Indian culture and their attitudes towards women, strongly dislikes those attitudes, and plans to grow up differently. If one thing can be said for Auroville in her life it is that the philosophy of education behind Auroville is empowering. That to me is encouraging. At the same time, I am loving being a part of these kids lives, eating with them, working at school with them, living with them. Sometimes I have the eerie sense that I belong here.
As I taught in the school today, it was apparent that God has used many things to prepare me for this time. My time student teaching and teaching has prepared me to practice "structured improvisation" in the classroom and in life down here. My studies on Hinduism have greatly prepared me to understand some of the cultural ideals here. My reading up on Auroville culture has helped me to understand the aim of Auroville and thus has allowed me to ask the right questions. My one year of Hindi that I took (which is a different language than the Indians speak here), has prepared me to better understand the Tamil annunciations. My two months in Mexico several years ago has prepared me in more ways than I can mention. What a good thing God is doing in my life ( :
There's always so much more to say, but I am always too forgetful and impatient to say it here. I have a feeling that very few people who actually check my Blog read this far anyway ( : I more use it just for links to the pictures and videos. All that to say, here are some new pictures I have uploaded. One set is of the mini-tour I got compliments of Rajan (Indian born, raised in the UK). The other set is from the walk that the kids from Roy's and I took. It was one of my favorite times yet!
Mini-Auroville Tour: http://picasaweb.google.com/magicalmatt/TourOfAuroville#
Walk With Kids: http://picasaweb.google.com/magicalmatt/WalkWithChildren#
It's too much to all take in! So, I got a no-holds-barred tour of Auroville. All it did was serve to confuse me much more. I thought that by coming here I would gain an understanding of just what Auroville is and what the website means in all of the things it says. Instead, I am just more confused. I guess by the end of this trip I'll know what questions to ask, but I don't think I'll understand the place any better. I told my church that I would be able to explain Auroville to them when I got back. I think I'll have to recant that statement now and just give them a slightly more specific impression. Slightly.
There is great diversity here in culture, ideals and wealth. People here do not see eye to eye, their relationship with the surrounding Tamils is not rosy, too many people in Auroville are selfish to make it really work, and guests and newcomers like myself simply do not have the vision or understanding to make this place work. These are my impressions thus far; these are not facts. In some ways it is severely disappointing. In some ways, this is comforting to me, knowing that without Jesus, nothing works. Nonetheless, in many ways, the Mother's ideas and the ideas of her followers are honorable and beautiful. It makes me sad that they don't work better.
At the same time, I am seeing that my real purpose here is quite possibly to better understand the Tamil people and the culture of the Tamils within Auroville. Parasuramen, Raj, Hiyapan, Gita, Parimala, Partiban (all kids from Roy's) and I went for a three and a half hour walk to the Matrimandir and other places (pictures below). During that walk, I spoke with Parimala for most of the time. She is an 18-year-old who understands the Tamil and Indian culture and their attitudes towards women, strongly dislikes those attitudes, and plans to grow up differently. If one thing can be said for Auroville in her life it is that the philosophy of education behind Auroville is empowering. That to me is encouraging. At the same time, I am loving being a part of these kids lives, eating with them, working at school with them, living with them. Sometimes I have the eerie sense that I belong here.
As I taught in the school today, it was apparent that God has used many things to prepare me for this time. My time student teaching and teaching has prepared me to practice "structured improvisation" in the classroom and in life down here. My studies on Hinduism have greatly prepared me to understand some of the cultural ideals here. My reading up on Auroville culture has helped me to understand the aim of Auroville and thus has allowed me to ask the right questions. My one year of Hindi that I took (which is a different language than the Indians speak here), has prepared me to better understand the Tamil annunciations. My two months in Mexico several years ago has prepared me in more ways than I can mention. What a good thing God is doing in my life ( :
There's always so much more to say, but I am always too forgetful and impatient to say it here. I have a feeling that very few people who actually check my Blog read this far anyway ( : I more use it just for links to the pictures and videos. All that to say, here are some new pictures I have uploaded. One set is of the mini-tour I got compliments of Rajan (Indian born, raised in the UK). The other set is from the walk that the kids from Roy's and I took. It was one of my favorite times yet!
Mini-Auroville Tour: http://picasaweb.google.com/magicalmatt/TourOfAuroville#
Walk With Kids: http://picasaweb.google.com/magicalmatt/WalkWithChildren#
2 comments:
i didnt dissapear is that ive been very busy so i donthave time to work on my blog. anyway, i put videos on my website so that you can see what my brother and i do!!
Ana,
Well, you did disappear just a little bit, but you've reappeared ( : I checked out some of your videos, and they're amazing! I wish I could watch you in person. Maybe when I get back I'll be able to. When would be a good time for me to watch (like a competition or exhibition, or even a practice, whatever works)?
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