Email from Professor Burton: Checking in June 29, 2011

Here is the last update I have received from my field study faculty mentor, Dr. Burton.  Apart from working on my honors thesis prospectus, this is what we have been talking about:

Rachel:

I've read all of your posts, even if I haven't commented much. I'm on
the road extensively during the next four weeks. Today and tomorrow,
Chicago.

First, kudos on making so many efforts to connect. I wrote a post about connecting yesterday, based in part on my reflections of what
you have been doing (and other recent students). You know I'm figuring
out the connect thing right beside you.

Connecting: SKJ Traveler Follow Up

Connecting with other travel writers is a very important part of my project and this blog, so I thought I’d share a follow up I had from SKJ Traveler, Shara, since the last blog post I wrote reviewing her website:

Hi Rachel. I really appreciate the write-up on my websites. This whole networking thing is a bit beyond me, to be honest. I'm a bit of an old fart and have no affiliations... I'm basically a hermit with no social or professional connections! I designated 2011 the year of trying to contact the outside world. I suppose I should just do a sort of Blitzkrieg sending out friend requests on Facebook, but it's just so not my style, and to be honest, even with the careful selection of strangers whom I contact (seeing people with similar intents on travel-related sites) it still makes me nervous. Ha. So not a child of the social media age! Anyway, it's a delight when I meet someone who is friendly and enthusiast and a kindred spirit. As it happens, I very recently decided to add a page to my travel website with external links and various "armchair" musings. I have the button up and intend to start adding content in the next week when I get some time. I will be sure to add a link to your blog at this time. Thanks again. Best – Shara

I just read through your Conclusions from Adventures in Ghana. Very thoughtful and thought-provoking, and I relate to a lot of it. I'm actually inspired now to perhaps vent some of my frustrations on my next Writing Life blog entry. I wrote an entire book, generally filed under "ethnographic memoir" about a village in China I spent time living in. A most horrible and depressing experience trying to get it published and I finally gave up. A number of your points in your Conclusions ring relevant to my experience. Anyway, I very much enjoyed reading your piece.

From there I got a post on my facebook wall linking me to her latest blog post (June 27, 2011) inspired by my Ghana conclusions, reflecting on her struggles with publishing a book.  

Pretty neat, eh?  It is nice to see that everything I did in Ghana can still be a leaving, breathing entity out there that others can benefit from outside of myself and the one person who might read my final written paper.  I am convinced that by having my conclusions in a blog format makes it so more people can benefit from it.    It makes me so happy that other writers are thinking, and caring, about the issue of authenticity and writing. 

Consume and Connect: Geshe Yonten and "Journey from Zanskar"

This post is part of the consume aim of my blog, but I’m also hoping that it will promote connecting not just for me, but for a good man and friend, Geshe Lobsang Yonten, in his mission to educate Zanksar.

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to watch a documentary put together by Geshe called “Journey from Zanskar.”  When India was divided up into Pakistan, there was also a portion of Tibet that was considered Indian, though the region, Zanksar, was religiously, culturally, and linguistically Tibetan.  Because of this the education system in some of these rural villages are missing out on a proper education and their culture is slowly being forgotten.

Geshe’s goal is to help combat that by educating the children in Zanskar.  His documentary was about a very moving experience he had getting 14 children to Manali and Dharamsala for their education and the trials and difficulties he encountered.  His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama told Geshe once that it was his responsibility as a monk to help reliving suffering.  Geshe comments that he took Bodhisattva vows, and even though he is not a Bodhisattva, he is determined to do his part to make the world a better place.

The documentary is fantastic, and Geshe Yonten is going to be touring the United States at various universities to show it.  I am hoping that we will be able to promote his mission enough so that we might also be able to get a viewing for him at Brigham Young University.

If you are interested in what Geshe Yonten is doing you can watch a youtube video, check out his website, be his facebook friend, like his facebook page, or contact his secretary putting together his schedule for when he comes to the United States.

French Fries and Field Studies

Here is another little something for the create aim of my blog.

It is called a French fry.  It looks like a French fry—but alas, it is not a French fry.  

In the same way that Skype is almost like seeing people from back home, the toilets are seemingly functional, and English hopes to be standardized among English speakers across the globe—a French fry is just not a French fry here in McLeod Ganj, because, well, it is just not home.  

This has been one of the largest frustrations I’ve had with this location for a field study.  Maybe it is because I keep comparing it to Ghana (which I recognize is a bad move—apples and oranges), but I have found that living in a village without the possibility of such luxuries is easier to stomach than having the possibility of them taunting you—posing as something familiar, but in reality, being more foreign than you could ever imagine.  I have no problem with being in unfamiliar territory and living without French fries, cell phones, hot showers, flushing toilets, and electricity for months or years of my life, but why are they pestering me here?

In “Street Hauntings,” a personal essay by Virginia Woolf, she identifies with a moth batting at flames or a light bulb—constantly trying to get to the core, but always condemned an outsider.  I can’t help but feel I can also relate in this moment.  Last night I was keenly aware of it.

I got home later than usual and decided to sit in the back room with my host sisters to watch some of their Hindi soap operas.  Bonding time.  I tried to squat next to them.  One sister insisted that I take her seat cushion.  I wouldn’t take it.  Neither did she.  It stayed on the floor between us.

First Comes Love, Then Comes... India?

Time to spill the beans—hold your breath, things just got really personal.

His name is Patrick.

Behind every post, every assignment, and every experience, there is a boy somewhere behind the scenes that I have failed to mention.  Go ahead—roll your eyes, I probably would have a year ago too.  This one is very important to me—and that is why I need your advice.  

Patrick and I have not been dating for very long, but it did not take much time to figure out that the whole lose your breath, lose your mind, Hollywood and novel type love is not just a fantasy.  Usually when I go abroad I put all relationships on hold in order to fully experience where it is I am going and really be there.  I’m a traveler, and a field study student—it is just what you do.  But with Patrick the thought of dropping him could never cross my mind.  The verdict?  Long distance relationship.  

I’m not very good or experienced with long distance relationships, let alone one from literally half a world away (give or take about hundred miles, as far away from you as humanly possible at 12,940 miles) with expensive and poor quality communication.  The first two weeks were hell, the first month a crash course, and I think now at month two in the field I am starting to figure out how to really balance a boy and a field study abroad—the two of which are both extremely important to me.  

Thankfully we are now both at a point where we can both enjoy our personal lives and support each other in our own corners of the world and really be present in our own lives apart.  Cutting back on the amount and volume of communication has been a big help, and we are also starting to realize some of the positives in our situation that other relationships don’t get to enjoy.  

Right now Patrick and I are in a really healthy place, but I think we could both use some advice if any of you out there who have any “been there, done that” thoughts. Does travel always compete with meaningful relationships, or is there room in our hearts to share?  I know this might sound silly for some of you more seasoned travelers, and maybe less so to the married folk, but I’d welcome any advice- because we'll probably be doing the long distance dance till the end of April. 

Honors Prospectus Thoughts

I feel like my honors thesis prospectus is currently at a stand still, but here is the last my faculty mentors and I have talked about it.

My honors mentor, Professor Bennion, said:

I think this is almost ready to submit. I've marked a few places where it needs to be clarified slightly.  I think Dr. Burton articulates clearly (as you do in this prospectus) the value of the blog.  You are lucky to have such a devoted mentor, one who has thought extensively about the effects of stories and of the new media.  I'm happy for this experience of working together.  When you revise this, send it to the two of us and Debbie Dean.  Maybe I'll try to print out the signature page and sign it, so that when the prospectus comes, she'll have my signature (I leave this Sunday for England).  Good luck.  You are a clear writer, very quick to see the implications of your wonderful project.

I made the revisions, and am now just waiting for the green light.

Professor Burton, my field study mentor and honors thesis referee, said:

Thanks for this. I saw John's comments and I'm glad you are developing things so well. I have to run right now and can't read your latest draft until a bit later, but I wanted to get word to you quickly about something. My current course has just finished, and we completed an eBook as a group project. You and I spoke about producing an eBook as a potential outcome for all of your work, and that's what I'd like to begin more specific conversation with you about. I think this would solve many of the concerns I had before. I've seen the way that my students used their blogs in a complementary way with the eBook, and I think it's a great combo. Anyway, I think this might be a very good model for you and we could discuss how the prospect of producing an eBook could shape your project, your thesis, etc. Whether it needs to reshape your proposal is another matter, as I think we need to quit revising and just get the thing approved. But those are my thoughts for now.

You can check out our eBook here: http://bit.ly/eBook295

Now that my Spring course is over I'll be able to respond to you and the other students in India with greater frequency, and I'm eager to do so as things are starting to develop for each of you.

I really like this eBook format.  I have yet to really dive into the book that Professor Burton mentions, but I will soon be doing a review on Goodreads.  I'm waiting to hear from the honors coordinators whether this format is okay for my project.

What do you think?

Skj Traveler: Connecting

Since connecting is a large part of the project that I am doing here in India and with this blog, imagine how excited I was to find a surprise friend invite on facebook.  Instead of desperately hunting down interesting travel writers and photographers, Skj Traveler spotted me first!

After browsing this facebook page I soon discovered that it is Shara Johnson/Simon's facebook page is for sharing some of her travel writing and photography.  On her website she has several publications listed (most of which are available to read full text, or at least an excerpt), and several great citations as well.

What I most enjoyed about Shara's website was what she wrote in her bio.  She says that she "does not wish to confuse the reader into wondering what really did or didn't happen" because she comes "from a rigorous nonfiction school of thought that if it didn't happen [she does] not write that it did.  She also notes that "a common problem in nonfiction writing is knowing how much to trust the author," and that when she does not have enough to write a full story she drops it instead of fudging her way through it.

I guess I really relate to this, and it is refreshing to see that someone right off the back is coming out and saying, hey, this is a limited medium.  It reminds me a lot of what I was doing in Ghana with the authenticity of travel documentation and some of my conclusions I drew.

In addition to photography and a Trazzler site, she also has a blog embedded into her website with current writings.  While she does not have a place for others to post comments, she does post very frequently and has a very fun, unique writing style.  You should check it out when you get a chance.

Connecting: For REALS

Connecting is one of the main aims that I am supposed to work on with this blog.  Of course I saw value in it, for professional networking, meeting others with similar interests, and just tapping into sources that I otherwise wouldn't have discovered without making the effort, but here is one thing I did not anticipate.

Real connecting on a personal level.

Last week I got this message from my grandma, who I am starting to realize might be my number one fan:

I had to give a talk in Relief Society on Sunday on Grandmothering.  I talked a lot about my wonderful grandchildren, and, and I bragged a lot about you being in India, and having all those wonderful encounters.  I JUST HAD to read them your "Snot and Stories" blog.  They're still laughing.  Hope you don't mind.  One lady came up to me afterward and said that you really have a talent for expressing yourself. I agreed completely with her.  We are loving reading your blog, and hope that the rest of the time you spend in India will be wonderful and fruitful for you.  We love you very much.  Hang in there -- the time left will just zoom by.

That wasn't the only comment I received either since sending links in my weekly emails home.  My Okasan (stepmom) told me that she has shared some of my posts with people at her work, and one of her employees, an aspiring writer, after reading my blog was all inspired to change her work schedule around so that she can use the morning for writing.

It is hard to imagine having that kind of an impact on anyone or anything really, especially when my official blog followers are slim and my comments, though increasing in frequency, are not where I probably need to be for my project.  But from the sounds of it I have a lot more blog followers than I realize. 

I guess this was just an important lesson for me.  I can use to writing to connect not just with people with similar interests, but with those who already know me- people I always hoped would understood me a little bit better.  I tend to be pretty shy and socially awkward, background noise in big groups and family parties, but for the first time in my life I feel like my writing can really help me to bridge those gaps and show that I really do care.  Really do have thoughts.  Really do feel.

This lesson really hit home.  Literally.

(Photo/Drawing credit goes to Perspective Press Inc.)

Goodreads.com

If you have not noticed, I love to do all of my book reviews on Goodreads.com.  The best way I have to describe it is that it is like a facebook for book lovers.  It is fabulous for making recommendations, keeping tabs on those books you always wanted to read, writing comments, reading reviews from real people, finding books by authors you like, and for connecting!  It is the online book club. 

I've decided to look more into the benefits of Goodreads.com, mainly in the benefits of connecting for my project.  This is a great way to network and to improve my reading experience.  For example, I was debating if I wanted to read The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama or The Art of Happiness, also written by him.  Thanks to Jenny's review, I decided to stick with the autobiography.  It was just the advice I needed- something from a real person who has read both instead of just relying on the little blurb on the back covers to help me make my decision.  Hopefully some of my reviews will be just as helpful for someone else. 

If you like to read or would like to be a bit more organized in your reading, I recommend it.  Add me as a friend if you do!

Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand

Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book started off really well, but for whatever reason as it went along it seemed more and more unreal to me. In Mulk Raj Anand’s defense, talking about the caste system and untouchability in India is no easy subject to write about so that a Western audience could comprehend, but I think he just missed the mark. I cannot imagine this world because I feel like it does not exist (in the book, I have no doubt that it did and may still exist in present India or that these instances he describes happened frequently). Maybe it was the compilation of all of the bad things that happened to our main character, Bakha, in one single day that made it so unbelievable to me, but aside from this complaint, let’s look at some other things I took home from reading Untouchable.

Since I am currently in India, the topic is already very fascinating for me. I wonder how the modern India looks and how caste functions. It may not look how it did when Anand published this almost a hundred years ago, but I can’t help but think about it when I walk down around town and see someone sweeping the street. Who is he? Does he have to do that? Who pays him? What is his life like? These are all things I might have easily overlooked if I had not read this book. I am left with more questions, which is always a good thing.

A Tibetan Wedding in India

“Same same, but different.”  This is a common Tibetan saying directly translated into English.  This morning I went to my first Tibetan wedding, and while there are many differences from the weddings I have attended, the feelings and thoughts I think when attending a wedding were the same.  A great “consume” activity if we are talking about being a student of Tibetan culture.  

We were invited to this wedding by Elizabeth because it was a member of the host family she is staying with.  The extended family came over to discuss if this girl would be allowed to marry the boy (being a love marriage vs. arranged), and once they agreed it was okay they threw the whole thing together in two days!  Compare that to the countless hour and stress that goes into planning out a wedding in the States. 

In India Tibetan weddings are much different.  My host sister told me that in Tibet they last fifteen days.  This one just lasted all day. 

The program said that it started at 9, but that was far from the truth.  Polychronic time and whatnot.  We were going with the family and did not arrive at the reception hall until 10.  We sat around and ate snacks (Tibetan cookies, rice, and some derivative of trail mix) until it was time for the scarf ceremony.  There was nothing too fancy or formal about this.  The couple sat near the alter of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and people would form a line and drape white scarves over the couple and the members of the family.  There were no vows exchanged, no grand gestures for complex formalities, but you could tell it was still very important.  The bride wore a silk red chupa (a traditional dress), and both her and the groom wore some special Tibetan hats made of fur.  People showed up in jeans and t-shirts of chupas.  It was so much more relaxed in general than the weddings I am used to—the one I have dreaded planning for myself most of my life.  

Since we had a few hours to blow we played some cards that they handed out.  Kristen had us play a silly fortune telling game with different boys we could potentially marry.  It was the perfect setting.  After a few rounds of that we all talked about what is happening in our current dating lives, how these relationships came to be, first kisses, and all of those other feelings that come creeping up when you are at a wedding.  We talked about dream weddings and ideal honeymoon destinations.  I don’t know why I struggle so much coming to terms with any one of these ideas for myself.  Call me crazy, but I think the most romantic kind of wedding is an elopement.  If you could guarantee that my wedding could be as relaxed and enjoyable as this Tibetan couple’s wedding though, I think I could be more than happy with that kind of arrangement.  

After the scarf ceremony there was more eating.  Then more eating.  Lunch was served, but we left shortly after that.  It was good food, but after a pancake breakfast and the snacking I had a hard time stuffing it all in.  I assume that the eating would go on till dinner (which was supposed to start at 6).  While we did not attend the rest of the festivities, I am very grateful for Elizabeth and her family for inviting us.  

Oh love… I’m quite sappy today.

Adela  and Myra

Third Time Seeing His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet

Last weekend the Dalai Lama came to the TCV (Tibetan Children's Village where Kristen volunteers) for some teaching.  It lasted two days, and each day a group of us hiked up the hill to tune into some static English radio translations.  Sadly, most of it went over my head, but I enjoy learning about Buddhist philosophy.  It gives me a great appreciation for this religion and confirms my testimony in my own faith as a Latter-day Saint.

I'm including a video that Elizabeth took of His Holiness entering the TCV.  This was the third time we have seen him in McLeod Ganj and won't be the last!



Adela

Yoga and Meditation Teaching Class in McLeod Ganj, India

“Relax, normal breathe…”

“Try, try, try!”

“Yoga time happy time.  Relax time.  Enjoy feel...”

“First me… not like this, they are wrong…”

“Yoga time no any type of tensions…”

“Control your mind…”

“Head touch the knee! Head touch the knee!”

These are just some of the one-liners I am quickly learning from Om at the Om Yoga and Meditation Center.  As part of my “consume” aim, I thought I would share a little about it.  Kristen, Megan, Elizabeth and I joined yoga teacher training classes, and I could not be happier with this decision.  There are many places to find yoga classes or teacher training courses in McLeod Ganj and in all Dharamsala really, but the “Om Yoga Meditation Centre” is the best price, and so far from what I’ve observed, the best company.  It is run by Om and his wife Rita.  Rita was the Hindi teacher for the India field study group of 2010, and has quickly become a great friend.

Honestly, looking forward to yoga and meditation everyday is one of the best decisions I have made here in the field.  It is helping me with my body and also my mind, giving me more energy and optimism for my project, giving me something concrete to look forward to each day.  Right now I feel like a cripple on account of being the opposite of flexible, but I am looking forward to getting better and better each day.  Does anyone know how long it takes to improve flexibility, or different techniques that help get you there faster?  Any advice on how to do silent meditation would be helpful too...

Anyways, if anyone is interested in yoga classes, teacher training (100 and 200 hours available, as well as super amazing student discounts), Hindi lessons, or reiki healing classes in McLeod Ganj, India, check out the Om Yoga Meditation Center.  You can email them at om.yoga@ymail.com.

Adela

Connecting: Matador Travel

In addition to my new attempts at connecting that Derrick recommended I have also done a bit of my own research.  I came across a website called Matador Travel.  It is an online network for passionate travelers with different career and volunteer opportunities frequently posted.  It also offers plenty of opportunities for connecting.  The reason the site caught my eye is because there are places to post pictures, video, travel writing, and also blog posts.

Sounds great right?  I made a profile!  I'm still new and figuring things out, but I think there is a lot I can do with this site.  

The matador blog was a little disappointing to me because it won't let me just copy the link to this blog.  The website has its own place for people to write blog posts.  I think this is still a good idea though.  In the future I can just copy and past some of my better posts to my matador profile and then copy the URL to this India blog at the end of each posts.  That way I can network with people on this site but also get more traffic to this blog.

We'll see how it goes!  If you are interested in traveling, you should check it out and consider making your own profile.

Honors Prospectus Draft 4 (and final?)

And the fourth draft of my honors thesis prospectus!  I've just clarified a few things that Professor Bennion advised, but things are coming to a close.  If you have an comments or places that are unclear please let me know.  

A Portrait of Dharamsala:

An Honors Creative Writing Thesis Prospectus Exploring the Universal Importance and Nature of Stories

by Rachel Rueckert

Purpose:

            I propose to continue the research I began in Ghana last summer on a field study exploring the nature of stories and the authenticity of travel experience.  Encouraged by my findings, I have undertaken another field study, this time to Dharamsala, India, to follow up on some of my questions and gather material for a creative nonfiction project.  While my learning experiences in Ghana gave me the necessary foundation, this thesis will focus on my findings in India.  There are two parts of this project I hope to accomplish:

 First, I want to record stories from the population that makes up the unique city of Dharamsala, India through a collection of travel essays that focus on cultural anthropology.  Dharamsala is a Tibetan refugee settlement, home of the Dalai Lama, and a diverse city that welcomes people from all over the world.  In order to represent this location, I hope to blend both personal essay and analysis of anthropological material. 

The second part of this project I hope to accomplish is to maintain an academic blog as a companion to these essays both in the field and during the writing process.  My research in Ghana led me to the conclusion that keeping an academic blog improves the authenticity of travel documentation by providing multiple layers of representation.  This blog will highlight some of the limitations of my own subjective experience abroad to better understand the fragile nature of stories.  It will serve as an aesthetic anthropological tool, allow me to document my learning process, and encourage me to connect with others who can give me immediate feedback along the way.

Getting Ready to Submit

After sending the latest draft of my prospectus I received this email from my adviser, Professor Bennion.

"I think this is almost ready to submit. I've marked a few places where it needs to be clarified slightly.  I think Dr. Burton articulates clearly (as you do in this prospectus) the value of the blog.  You are lucky to have such a devoted mentor, one who has thought extensively about the effects of stories and of the new media.  I'm happy for this experience of working together.  When you revise this, send it to the two of us and Debbie Dean.  Maybe I'll try to print out the signature page and sign it, so that when the prospectus comes, she'll have my signature (I leave this Sunday for England).  Good luck.  You are a clear writer, very quick to see the implications of your wonderful project."

Yay!  I have sent off the funding paper and the submission form so it won't be too long now.   I'm uploading my newest draft and welcome feedback.  I'm sure there are a few things I can still work on.  It will be nice to get this out of the way and really focus on blogging regularly again.

Honors Prospectus Draft 3!

Here is a third draft of my honors prospectus based off of some advice I received from Dr. Burton.  The main changes are mentioned in my response to him, but the main difference is that I justified the importance of having a blog in addition to a conventional collection of travel essays.

A Portrait of Dharamsala:

An Honors Creative Writing Thesis Prospectus Exploring the Universal Importance and Nature of Stories

by Rachel Rueckert

Purpose:

            I propose to continue the research I began in Ghana last summer on a field study exploring the nature of stories and the authenticity of travel experience.  Based on my findings, I have undertaken another field study, this time to Dharamsala, India, to follow up on some of my questions and gather material for a creative nonfiction project.  There are two parts of this project I hope to accomplish:

 First, I want to record stories from the population that makes up the unique city of Dharamsala, India through a collection of travel essays that focus on cultural anthropology.  Dharamsala is a Tibetan refugee settlement, home of the Dalai Lama, and a diverse city that welcomes people from all over the world.  In order to represent this location, I hope to blend both personal essay and analysis of anthropological material.  Ideally these essays could stand alone, but my presence and personal narration will tie the essays together.

The second part of this project I hope to accomplish is to maintain an academic blog as a companion to these essays both in the field and during the writing process.  My research in Ghana led me to the conclusion that a blogging format and the possibilities this new medium offers enhances the writing process but also improves the authenticity of travel documentation.  This blog will highlight some of the limitations of my own subjective experience abroad to better understand the fragile nature of stories.  It will also allow me to publish drafts, document my learning process, and connect with others who can give me immediate feedback along the way. 

India: A Million Mutinies Now by V.S. Naipaul

As part of my "consume" aim of this blog, I am writing reviews of the books I am reading.  Here is my latest one:

India: A Million Mutinies Now by V.S. Naipaul

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was the first book I read upon arriving in India. It was recommended to me by my friend, Jay, who said that this was a great representation of his first experience being in India, so I had it added to my directed readings course contract.


It is hard to sum up 500 pages worth of words, but I’ll try my best. This is about modern India, but a slightly dated version at that. While it is interesting (most of the time), thorough, and great at painting a sort of portrait for the reader of the complexity of this country, it is also very dark. It has a very negative tone to it and appears to be Naipaul’s trip to explore his own Indian heritage but at the same time note the “million mutinies” and overwhelming problems the country faces. I wonder sometimes if his commentary on Calcutta, about it being a dying city, and recognizing that because everyone is suffering is actually his opinion on the whole country (325). In general I would have liked to see if he had any positive experiences that were just not recorded here.

My Response to Dr. Burton

This is the response I wrote to the email from Professor Burton advising me on connecting and my honors prospectus.  

Professor Burton,

Thank you for your email.  After working on my third draft I’ve realized that I have really understated the importance of having a blog as a companion to the conventional travel essays.  In fact, I feel kind of stupid for making it sound like just another way of drafting, especially given my Ghana experience.  My whole project and inquiry conference presentation basically concluded that having multiple ways to represent an experience enhances the authenticity of travel documentation, and that is why I think it is so important to include my blogging in my prospectus—as a way to combat the creative writer that is prone to “romanticize through detachment and isolation” and more.  

I’m sending this third draft to you and Professor Bennion.  Hopefully these revisions have made the blogging argument more coherent.  After I post your email and this response on my blog I will link Professor Bennion to them so he can see where some of my recent changes are coming from.  I’m not sure if you two have had a chance to chat yet.  

I’ll continue on with the posts and work even harder on connecting.  So far I have not had a lot of luck with my first shot at Derrick’s advice, but I’ve found two other sites that might be helpful that I will comment on soon.  

As far as getting into discussions or arguments, how do you propose you get into those?  With the example of Matt, would I just comment on one of his posts and pose the question?  Either way, I’ll start devoting more time to reaching out and commenting on others blogs.  

This week I will also do a critique of my Ghana blog.  I assume this is using the rubric you offered as a page on your Digital Writer blog?

Thanks again,

Rachel

Honors Prospectus Advice from Dr. Burton

After sending Professor Bennion and Professor Burton a copy of my second prospectus draft I received this email back.  It also comments on where I need to improve in the connecting part of this project.

Rachel:

I haven't spoken with John, but I do think some kind of combo of creative nonfiction and blog is possible, and your proposal is getting there, but there are some clarifications needed. Since you are at the end of week four right now, you should probably press ahead as you've proposed in your methods and schedule. I'm happy to see the increased frequency of your blogging and to read the character sketches you've done so far, so press on regardless of proposal issues.

On methodology, since you are taking an anthropological approach and bringing in Geertz, it would seem you really must problematize your methods and modes of representation. You need to define and call into question the legitimacy and authenticity of traditional creative writing, writing that draws upon (exploits?) a population and potentially misrepresents it. In your case, I would expect this to bring in the relationship between the travel essays and the blog (does the latter help address the problems of the former, or merely deepen the distance from the storytellers?). These are all questions you are up for, especially following your Ghana focus.

Honors Prospectus Draft 2

So here is my draft after taking some advise from Professor Bennion, my honors faculty mentor.  He did remind me that this is a lot to take on.  That worries me, but I honestly don't know how to trim it down or how to crop out anything.  Just cutting out the five pages from the last draft was tough.  The main difference between this and my first draft is that the beginning is more focused into having three parts rather than two separate projects.  I also took out a lot on photography, and my avatars are absent in this version.  I trimmed down my qualifications, my bibliography, and my background and significance section the most.

I'm really excited and optimistic about where this is going though!

A Portrait of Dharamsala:

An Honors Creative Writing Thesis Prospectus Exploring the Universal Importance and Nature of Stories

by Rachel Rueckert

Purpose:

            I propose to continue the research I began in Ghana last summer on a field study exploring the nature of stories and the authenticity of travel experience.  Based on my findings, I have undertaken another field study, this time to Dharamsala, India, to follow up on some of my questions and gather material for a creative nonfiction project.  There are three parts of this project I hope to accomplish:

 First, I want to record stories from the population that makes up the unique city of Dharamsala, India through a collection of travel essays that focus on cultural anthropology.  Dharamsala is a Tibetan refugee settlement, home of the Dalai Lama, and a diverse city that welcomes people from all over the world.  In order to represent this location, I hope to blend both personal essay and analysis of anthropological material.  Ideally these essays could stand alone, but my presence and personal narration will tie the essays together.

In order to complete these essays, I will be documenting my travels and learning experience in two different ways, both of which are viable methods to creating my final product as well as different ways of mediating my experience. 

One of these methods, and the second part of this project I hope to accomplish, is to keep a conventional paper journal.  I will be doing daily writing by hand in the field which I will reference in order to write my travel essays. 

The second way I will record my experience, which is the final aim of this project, is through an academic blog.  I am interested in comparing the conventional paper journal with this new interactive form that I believe enhances the traditional writing process and serves as a viable medium on its own.  This blog will highlight some of the limitations of my own subjective experience abroad to better understand the fragile nature of stories.  It will also allow me to publish drafts, document my learning process, and connect with others who can give me feedback along the way. 

By drawing from both of these modes of documentation I hope to add more dimensions to my thesis and have more material from which I will base my travel essays.  I believe that this project has the potential to help others learn more about Dharamsala, show that stories are universally important, encourage people to recognize stories within their proper context, and demonstrate how evolving digital media has enhanced the traditional creative writing process. 

Background and Significance:

Working on Connecting

Connecting with people is one of the main aims of this blog, and that goes a step beyond just pushing the “publish” button on blogger.  In order to do that, I’ve followed a bit of advice from Derrick Clements.  He wrote a post on just the thing that Professor Burton directed me to.

Blog comments- In order to do more connecting, Derrick would make sure to give feedback to others blogs.  If I do not get out and support other bloggers/writers, chances are no one is going to stumble into my own vacuum and make a comment.  I’m now devoting two hours a week to doing this kind of connecting.

Facebook- I now update my facebook page with various links to my blog.  It needs to be more consistent, and I should probably post some links on others pages who might be more interested, but so far this has brought in a lot of readers that would not have otherwise stopped by my blog.

Email Group- I thought this was one of the best ideas Derrick shared.  I did weekly emails while I was in Ghana last year and had a lot of people comment down the road that they were interesting and enjoyable to read.  I have felt very little connection to people back home now that I have switched to blogging as my main form of updating the people back home.  I’ve now started weekly emails home that have links to some of my blog posts so that I still keep people in the loop and give them a direction of where my experiences are being documented.

Private Facebook Groups- Okay, so I had no idea where to start, but I found a facebook group for travel writers called “Travel Writers Exchange.”  I have no idea if I am a welcome member, but it is supposed to be an online community for “travel writers, bloggers, and journalists.”  I have posted a link to one of my earlier entries and will be exploring other links on the site to hopefully gather some more contacts.  This was way out of my normal publishing habits, but I think it could be really beneficial.

Along with this I have been in contact with Tammy, founder of an NGO called "Everyday Exile."  I found this organization through a google search and learned that their goal is to create awareness about the Tibetan situation with the world through stories and photography.  Tammy will be in McLeod in the middle of this month and I am hoping to get in touch with her.

Derrick also said something about “other’s re-posting” which I did not quite get, but I’m going to try these first options and see where it takes me.  But for now, I think this is a great start to really get outside of my own bubble and connecting to a larger audience in a more meaningful way.

Rachel

Snot and Stories

I have a snot flinger for a host grandma.  We sit on the balcony together while I read and she flings visible amounts of mucus off of the second story of our complex with one swift motion with the back of her hand.  The leftovers she wipes underneath the chair without shame.  She is an eighty something year traditional Tibetan woman with unusually large pupils, long wire-like hair, and has facial features oriented not unlike a Picasso portrait.  I speak no Tibetan.  She speaks no English.  The barrier is so blatant it feels physical sometimes, reminding me that India, like all of us really, seem to be both defined and divided by religion and language.  

Our language setback does not discourage her from trying to communicate in some way or another.  The first week I was here she came walking into my room with a pair of woolen mittens.  She tossed them on the chair, looked up and appeared in shock that I was actually in the room, and backed out.  That was all.  The next week my host sister removed the mysterious mittens from my room.  

The next morning she stuck a bracelet on my arm, her wrinkly hands shaking as she tried to tie it securely on my wrist.  I did not know what to say.  I didn’t even know if it was actually for me or not.  I tried to show my appreciation with an awkward side hug, and that was probably the beginning of our relationship, because later that afternoon she felt free to tell me to move to a seat farther away from her because she was expecting a family friend within the hour.  

This woman walked across the Himalayas to escape Tibet, but now she cannot walk down the congested street without waving her cane at oncoming traffic in a futile effort to get them to stop.  I want to talk to her, but no one translates.  She is a walking coffin of untold stories.  Probably a bit senile too, but there is still something about her that makes me want to sit near her and soak in her narrative.

For now, we are just balcony friends.  Me with my books and half formed thoughts.  Her with her snot and silent stories. 

Virginia

Aurm and Palm Reading

I met a gem of an informant last week.  He fits nowhere in the skeleton plan I had for my travel essays, but somehow gets his own category as an “unforeseen character.”  His name is Aurm, and he is a local shopkeeper from Nepal who sells traditional flutes to tourists.  Don’t tell him that though.  He hates being labeled as a “tourist hassle.”  

In fact, Aurm hates most things.  The ever rising pollution and symphony of horns from constant traffic, people who don’t care to hear his music that he actually writes and cares about, McLeod Ganj and his situation in life in general, the visa process, his ex wife, the litter in abundance, and particularly books and movies, which he sees as necessary for stupid people who need to have “a way to dumb down reality.”  From there he will motion to the street, “See this?  You have all the drama you’ll ever need right here.”  

There is something savory about his bitterness—a man better than his circumstances who is keenly aware of it.  Aurm seems nothing short of brilliant.  He speaks ten languages, writes music inspired by peoples voices, carves his own flutes, has great one liners, and enjoys reading palms in his spare time.

This is what mine says.  Apparently.

The first thing he noted was a freckle on my right palm.  “You will inherit a fortune,” he says.  I laughed.  I’d love to know where that is coming from, because I don’t foresee it.

“You are like water.”

“Like what?”

“Water.  Your feelings are like water.  Always on the move.  Restless and sneaky, going from one place and relationship to the next whenever it gets difficult.”

“Hmm… okay.  Go on.”

To Do or Not to Do

Hamlet was an idiot.  To be or not to be is a worthless question.  But to do or not to do?  Now that is really something.

               

 I’m a Mormon.  Maybe you are too, but likely not (if you are, then never mind, it just means I’ve failed again at this whole “connect” thing). Whatever you are, there is a well known story floating about LDS primary rooms and Sunday school chapels about the origin of our best known song, “I am a Child of God.”  The original version was changed from “teach me all that I must be” to “all that I must do.”  Why? It is not about being (I think, therefore I am, right?—but don’t tell the Buddhists I said that).  It is about doing.

 I could do a lot of things right now.  I’m in India; almost as far away as humanly possible from the place I sometimes consider home.  Some people call that America.  I call it the United States.  

 I could tell you all day about who I am being right now—that is easy. I’m being a twenty something year old, very confused child of God (since I already brought it up), lured far away from the comfort of familiarity, plopped down on this wood framed bed in Dharamsala India wondering what I should be doing right now.

See, and already we are merging into the doing.  What am I doing?  What should I be doing?

I can tell you what I thought I was doing.  I thought I was coming here to do an awesome field study project which would give me material for a honors thesis which would get me into a great masters program which would get me some job that I can’t seem to figure out which would all add up into this great awesome life experience that could never have happened if I did not follow these steps exactly. 

 Sounds great, right?  I think so too.  So remind me one more time how I get off this bed, leave this room, and manage to do something that will contribute to that? 

 Once you venture out of the big abstract words like freedom, achievement, adventure, and experience, it gets a little less triumphant sounding.  I could go to the “Movies and Momos” activity that some of my group members are going to, but that would imply a risk of disappointment.  Last time I went it was canceled.  And remember I don’t speak a lick of Tibetan.  It also means walking (and by walking I mean hiking up the Himalayas, literally) to the other side of town.  This is also a risky activity, considering the main roads are more like half a lane but manage to fit two cars, random cows, and lots of pedestrians filling in whatever gaps are left. 

 Maybe that is not so much what I am afraid of.  Maybe I just love the terrible urine smell from the bathroom next door or the playful fly running into my computer screen like the first three hundred times never happened so much that I would never think of doing anything else.  Besides, the constant pain in my intestines from some unknown source(s) is the perfect excuse for bed rest.  Who would want to leave this place?

 It’s depression or something, isn’t it?  That is so simplified.  Loneliness, but closer to lost.  Maybe it is the boyfriend.  Or that feeling I used to get when I surfed and caught a wave wrong—that terrifying feeling of being flung under a vengeful wave like the inside of an off balanced washing machine, where up is down and down is up and you have no idea which way to start swimming before you run out of breath.  Hmm, sounds like suicide, but that would give Hamlet too much credit. 

To do or not to do?  Let’s go back to the being question.  At least I know the answer. 

Virginia