2008 Woodie Awards
India: A shocking experience
Blog dispatch from students in India
Jordan Belmonte
Issue: 7/14/08 Section: summer in india
Posted August 4 2008
I have felt very powerless these last few days. Knowing something and experiencing it has never been so drastically different. Before I came to India my friends and family constantly told me how shocking I would find the poverty and how drastic the difference between the very rich and the very poor would seem. Yet I did not have the scope of imagination to realize what that truly would mean. I did not foresee what that poverty would look like, smell like, or even feel like--to have a small child's hand tugging at you.
The drastic difference of the situation definitely shook me. India has been thus far the definition of a sensory overload. It is as if I stepped off the plane and all the rules were shaken up. The absence of women was striking; the lines on the road, so meticulously followed in the U.S. were ignored. In fact, the haphazardness of the traffic in Mumbai is representative of the general disarray of the city. In some way the chaotic essence of the city is exciting, in others depressing--all together it's overwhelming.
We are here on a mission to unveil different elements of communication in a developing country, and I am at square one. The words and demeanor communicated by the hotel staff often seem sharp and jarring to me. I constantly feel like I am messing up. The makeshift houses of the poor are built from old advertising billboards--covering the reality of the underprivileged and selling an air conditioned West to the rich.
We are encouraged to ask questions and be investigators of the world, of the human condition and the world of mass media. Yet the overwhelming nature of it all has made me unable to process everything enough to focus in on the moment and formulate questions. When preparing to write this, I felt initially stumped because no matter how eloquent my descriptions, or how well crafted my sentences, it would be false because it would utterly fail to capture the essence of the experience. Although I feel sentences alone fall short in commemorating this trip--I have decided to try through my pictures, my words and my memories to create a comprehensive story which I will recall as I take action and show that we are not powerless.
I have felt very powerless these last few days. Knowing something and experiencing it has never been so drastically different. Before I came to India my friends and family constantly told me how shocking I would find the poverty and how drastic the difference between the very rich and the very poor would seem. Yet I did not have the scope of imagination to realize what that truly would mean. I did not foresee what that poverty would look like, smell like, or even feel like--to have a small child's hand tugging at you.
The drastic difference of the situation definitely shook me. India has been thus far the definition of a sensory overload. It is as if I stepped off the plane and all the rules were shaken up. The absence of women was striking; the lines on the road, so meticulously followed in the U.S. were ignored. In fact, the haphazardness of the traffic in Mumbai is representative of the general disarray of the city. In some way the chaotic essence of the city is exciting, in others depressing--all together it's overwhelming.
We are here on a mission to unveil different elements of communication in a developing country, and I am at square one. The words and demeanor communicated by the hotel staff often seem sharp and jarring to me. I constantly feel like I am messing up. The makeshift houses of the poor are built from old advertising billboards--covering the reality of the underprivileged and selling an air conditioned West to the rich.
We are encouraged to ask questions and be investigators of the world, of the human condition and the world of mass media. Yet the overwhelming nature of it all has made me unable to process everything enough to focus in on the moment and formulate questions. When preparing to write this, I felt initially stumped because no matter how eloquent my descriptions, or how well crafted my sentences, it would be false because it would utterly fail to capture the essence of the experience. Although I feel sentences alone fall short in commemorating this trip--I have decided to try through my pictures, my words and my memories to create a comprehensive story which I will recall as I take action and show that we are not powerless.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 20
Joshua Treybig
posted 8/06/08 @ 1:02 PM PST
I think you really captured what so many of us were feeling. I know I was really depressed and overwhelmed the first few days. India is a LOT to take in, but I also feel and enjoy the optimism with which you conclude, its the only way to make this trip really worthwhile to move far beyond acceptance. (Continued…)
Kassi Rodgers
posted 8/06/08 @ 9:55 PM PST
What you spoke of represented alot of out initial feelings entering this country. There is the extreme sense of helplessness that you must confront each time you have to deny someone money after you have just eaten plentifully. (Continued…)
Veronica Martin
posted 8/07/08 @ 3:32 AM PST
this is a wonderful introduction to our time spent here in India, to the blog posts that will ensue... it is fascinating how each of us reacts in different ways and notes different circumstances that my not seem as prominent to the other. (Continued…)
Laurel Saito
posted 8/07/08 @ 4:18 AM PST
I have also experienced many of emotions already expressed. I feel like the first is shock, then (at least for me) depression, and finally finding some meaning out of everything we have seen. (Continued…)
Erica Webster
posted 8/07/08 @ 11:04 PM PST
this definitely is accurate portrayal of how i felt when we arrived as well. the chaotic pace of the city is still exhausting and im not sure if we'll ever really adapt to it within the short 3 weeks that we're here. (Continued…)
Kevin Wren
posted 8/08/08 @ 9:15 AM PST
You did a great job the emotional impact of the culture shock. I think the first and fourth photos show this very well. We are relieved getting off the plane and then we're shocked by the extremes of India. (Continued…)
Sean Milton
posted 8/08/08 @ 9:57 AM PST
Yes, the first couple of days were shocking and I felt that with you. I think now we are starting to adjust and I've seen you develop a sense within the craziness. (Continued…)
Jessica Miller
posted 8/09/08 @ 6:45 AM PST
I completely agree about the powerlessness that I think we are all feeling over here. I know that my only saving grace is that as the future leaders of the world, we actually can help make a difference, as cliche as that sounds. (Continued…)
Mat Lohr
posted 8/10/08 @ 3:54 AM PST
Mumbai is so overwhelming everywhere you go. From shopping to the taxi rides, but its that overwhelming feeling that really makes one fall in love with the city. (Continued…)
Melissa Heintz
posted 8/13/08 @ 8:04 AM PST
Wow, I know exactly how you feel! Within minutes of stepping off the plane I felt overwhelmed and helpless. I feel like there's so much going on in the city and even after being here for over a week things haven't slowed down much. (Continued…)
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