Spiritual India in Chicago

This summer, I also got an opportunity to visit couple of Indian temples in and around Chicago, which I earnestly wanted to go to since I came here. Last weekend, I visited ‘Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple’.






This temple is located in the south of Chicago. My friend, Sneha, and I took BSNF Metra (http://metrarail.com/metra/en/home.html), which is used to travel within the state of Illinois. We started at 7 in the morning, took 8.30 am train from Union station on Canal Street. The train journey from Chicago downtown to Aurora railway station is of approximately one hour. It takes 10 minutes by cab to reach to the temple, and approximately 30 minutes by foot. We chose to go by a cab.
The shrine is very beautiful; it is built in traditional south Indian style and resembles the holy Balaji Temple of Tirupathi. The temple was extremely calm and pleasant with devotees trickling along. The silence in the temple accentuated the rhythmic chanting of ‘shlokas’(Indian religious prayers and songs) by the sages. The chants filled my heart with tremendous positivity and strength. After the prayers, we sat in the temple for a while enjoying the divine and ethereal beauty of the temple. After ‘darshana’ (prayers and offerings) we went to the temple’s canteen to have some South-Indian snack. We had ‘Idli’ - a south Indian savory cake popular throughout India (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idli), ‘Medu-Vada’ – (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medu_vada), and ‘Sambar’ - a vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambar_(dish)). The snack reminded me of India so much that I truly miss everything……sometimes!!

There is also ‘Shirdi Sai Samsthan Temple’ in the vicinity, so we chose to walk down to the Sai temple - http://www.saisamsthanusa.org/newsite/aboutus.htm.

We reached there by noon and got to attend the afternoon prayers. This temple is simple single storied with a big idol of 'Lord Sai’. The idol is placed in the main hall, and it resembles the one at Shirdi, India. After the afternoon prayers were over they served ‘prasad’ (snack served at temple) of tamarind rice, lemon rice, porridge, and yoghurt rice. At this temple, the food is usually prepared at the temple, or sometimes it is a potluck lunch by the devotees. After a wonderful lunch at the temple we called for a cab and took 2.20 pm Metra (BSNF) back to downtown Chicago. It was one of the divine Sundays, spent in the holy temples, enjoying the essence of spiritual India in Chicago.

Recreation and revival this summer

After a 3 week summer break, my summer classes start the first week of June. Even though I had my practicum during the break, it was a good respite from assignments and studies. During summer break, my friends and I spent most of our weekends hanging out and playing board games. One of our friends had arranged some of the most interesting board games like ‘Ticket to Ride’ and ‘Settlers of Catan’. I had learned to play ‘Ticket to Ride’ during the international board game night event at my school. This game is an interesting and innovative way to learn about different parts of the United States. One has to build train routes from one state to the other and whoever makes longest route covering maximum number of states wins the game. It may sound very simple, but it involves lots of strategical and meticulous planning. I thoroughly enjoy playing this board game. In fact, I think, I hope one day to find an Indian version of ‘Ticket to Ride’.




‘Settlers of Catan’ is one of the most complex board games I have ever played; it wasn’t that easy to learn this game as it involves many rules. The game is about building your cities and establishing a settlement that has knights and resources, so that when pirates or a barbarian attacks the city is capable of surviving the attack. Consequently, you earn more points. Playing board games is one of my favorite recreational activities. All of us had a fun time playing, strategizing, and competing against each other. The snacks and drinks added to the board-game gala!!

Another yummy day-out in summer!

My friend, Amrita and I went to The Counter, a special burger restaurant. There you are greeted with a clipboard that outlines an extensive list of patty (vegetarian and non-vegetarian both), cheese, toppings, and burger fixings that includes type of breads that will allow you to build your own exclusive burger. I tried Veggie Patty (rice and black-eyed beans) with some roasted red peppers, tomatoes, grilled pineapple, and dill pickle chips (pickled cucumber: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dill_pickle) for my toppings. I chose a basil pesto sauce and English muffin bun to complete my burger. I was apprehensive about how the combo would taste, but to my surprise, the burger actually turned out to be delicious and it gratified all my curiosity to try my style of unique burger. Along with good range of burgers, this place has a warm ambience, making it a nice place to hangout with friends and family.

http://www.thecounterburger.com/concept/

Two semesters down

I am glad that I am done with my final exams for spring semester, and with that my first year of graduation. Now, I will have a summer break for a month, and my summer classes will start from June. However, my summer practicum will continue through out May.

I have been doing my practicum at a learning academy with children with behavioral and developmental challenges for 6 months now. At my practicum site, I have had a good opportunity to experience the US education and work culture. I have picked up some commonly used US terms like “pop” for carbonated drinks/soft drinks and “garbage can” for dustbin. I have also learned to write dates as mm/dd/yy instead dd/mm/yy. I try to use culturally relevant terms to communicate with the children and colleagues effectively. One time while giving an instruction to the children, I said, “Please stand in a queue.” All the little kids stood there staring at me. Soon one of my colleague prompted them, “Boys and girls, line-up please.” My colleagues and I had a good laugh at this.

Its fun that how simple things are communicated in different ways across different parts of the world. Indians may face initial faux-pas in the US because we are trained in the UK English; nevertheless, people here are quite open to diversity and variations. And, it has been easier for me to learn these cultural nuances with the help of my supervisors and colleagues at work. We work hard for the whole week and socialize on the weekend, which provides me with some more opportunities to clarify and adjust to cultural differences in the U.S.

Although these are minute differences between the cultures, I find it interesting to mention it on my blog. I am sure many of my international friends would have had similar experiences. However, I feel it is priceless to travel abroad for further studies as it broadens ones horizons, adds to the cultural experiences, enhances intercultural communication skills, and shapes the ability to adapt and learn.

Studying in the U.S. – How satisfied are you with your graduate program?

This week, The Chicago School (TCS) is conducting a Student Satisfaction Survey. TCS usually conducts this survey at the end of every semester. This survey aims to collect students’ opinion and feedback (U.S. students and international students) about the performance of all the faculty members across all the departments. Click here to see the previous survey result: http://www.thechicagoschool.edu/resources/content/1/8/6/6/documents/research_bulletin_april07_prelim_findings_student_sat_academic_survey.pdf.

Although I have had a positive experience at the school and with my faculty members so far, I know that there are some international students who have expressed concerned about the sensitivity of the faculty or professors towards international students. Additionally, I know that some of my classmates have expressed dissatisfaction about the Applied Behavior Analysis program, as it does not correspond with their expectations regarding the program. I am glad that the Office of International Research administers this survey so that students have a chance to express their concerns. The results of this survey are mostly made available online for students to view. It can also be helpful in providing prospective students with a more balanced outlook of student satisfaction than simply talking with one or two current students at an institution.

Often, on the basis of one negative experience many continuing students develop a strong attitude against the course or a particular faculty and may inadvertently share this impression with other peers further spreading the anxiety amongst other students; this may impact the decision of perspective students in choosing the program or the university. I think that relying completely on one or two student’s opinion may be highly subjective and detrimental. In such a quandary, I would suggest one must also refer to the “student satisfaction survey results” or “Performance Survey”, usually posted on university/college website under the column – “about faculty”. To my knowledge most of the universities in the U.S. often conducts periodic surveys and facilitate the objective information about the faculty and department services on their website especially for perspective students.

In the process of choosing an appropriate university or a program, one may also contact the department head or concerned professor to gain first-hand information about the course and the scope for international students; especially when you are selecting a course that is new for you and your background and exposure in that particular course is limited, for e.g. Very few students may have precise knowledge about applied Behavior analysis science, so may select on the basis of some or the other students’ opinion, and later may end up not liking the course or switching the field. However, I am not suggesting disregarding the continuing students’ opinion completely. I chose TCS and ABA program by relying on the combinations of information from website, professors of the program, and few continuing students.

Overall, I am satisfied with my program requirements. Although I may not be impressed by the entire curriculum in my program, I am learning significant things that are required for shaping my knowledge in the field of behavioral science.

Some countries are gifted with a massive ‘Civic Sense’!

I live on the UIC campus, and my grad school is in downtown, so I commute via CTA train everyday. Yesterday, on my way to college, I saw that two to three CTA maintenance men were swabbing and cleaning the station entrance area with disinfectants. Furthermore, ever since I have come, I have noticed that almost everyone, as young as 3 year old to 70 year old uses a garbage bin. I have hardly seen anyone litter around on the street. I find this highly appealing specifically because, this attitude is missing in many of my community people. It’s been years now that civic sense has been an issue of debate and discussion amongst young educated people in my country, focusing on inculcating cleanliness and hygienic practices within the community, using placards like – “Green Mumbai clean Mumbai”, “Your city is your home, treat it like your house”, Your community is not a garbage-bin”.

I realize that there are some antecedents that need to be considered before making such comparisons like: country’s infrastructure, population rate, economy. However, in my opinion, civic sense plays an important role in guiding such behaviors; it should be felt by every individual from within to keep the community environs clean. I call this attitude a ‘civic sense’, which is beyond any of the above antecedents. It is inculcated within the family and reinforced in the society. Government rules and policy and their strict implementations plays predominant role in shaping community sense – a sense of responsibility towards one’s state, country etc. I really wish that the young people who are working towards such a noble cause – ‘awakening the civic sense in every possible Indian’ will see a ray of hope one day. I dream of that day!

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

My spring break ended last weekend. On Friday, after my practicum, we went to one of my colleague’s place. On our way we bought some tortilla chips, salsa, and a bottle of sweet white wine. Afterwards, she prepared a delicious Mexican dish of chile, corn and cheese flautas for the dinner. It is a wonderful vegetarian dish that I surely hope to enjoy again!

After the Friday night gathering, I had a hard time getting up next day. But, when I got up and looked outside my window, I was astounded by the weather. The city was sun poking through the clouds made everything look like it was glistening from the rain that had fallen the previous. After I got dressed, Naomi and I had some Hot Masala Chai (Indian Tea) and breakfast and set out to explore Chicago for St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Usually St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, but the parade was held on the 13th since it was the weekend closest to St. Patrick’s Day.

St. Patrick’s Day is named after the most commonly recognized patron saints of Ireland. It became an official feast day in the early 1600s. It is widely celebrated in places where there are large numbers of Irish immigrants like: Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and Montserrat, among others.

The parade began at noon. All of Chicago was out on that day. There were hordes of people around the Michigan Avenue, where the parade took place. Everybody was wearing green; some were in green hats, some in green beads, while some were dressed entirely in green clothes, including green shoes. I was very curious to know about the association of the green colour with the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, so I gathered some information about it.



Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day. St. Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish. Hence, wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs has become a ubiquitous feature of the day. People say that in 1798 in hopes of making a political statement Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on 17 March with the phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing.

In addition to all the green clothing, the city of Chicago dyes its river green as well, and has done so since 1962 for Saint Patrick's Day. Originally 100 pounds of vegetable dye was used to turn the river green for a whole week but now only forty pounds of dye is used and the color only lasts for several hours.



Taking part in the St. Patrick’s Day festivities this past week reminded me how enjoyable it is living in Chicago. I love everything about this place--the spirit of its people, it’s many cultural celebrations, the climate and array of food. What a great way to end my spring break!