The past week has been exciting, challenging, emotional, insightful and fresh. Fresh because I have never in my life experienced anything like this; but I am well aware of the fact that every week of GIST is going to be similar to this and I need to be ready to face it. Facing new places, new people, new stories and new changes in you is not an easy task. It involves a certain bit of self-awareness that one needs to have. I spent the past week doing an array of different things. It ranged from visiting many more Apsara dance schools, talking to more dancers, meeting with cultural officers at UNESCO, going to classical puppet shows, getting introduced to the Indian community in Phnom Penh, discovering the cheap and delicious eat outs around the city, watching documentary films about Thai brides at a local art gallery, meeting APLP alumni, attending an on-going 3 week dance festival of all the dance forms from around the country, having long conversations with my G10 classmate Sophia(with whom I am living with), attending street dance performances, shopping, managing my contacts, reading a books on the history of Cambodian art, attending a powerful play about Human rights, listing to stories of survivors, and attempting to understanding how the performing arts plays a part in all their lives. 

Art is a way of expressing yourself, but when it comes to dance, I think it is a little different. You can use your art form to express how you feel at that particular moment or about a certain issue. But the discipline of practicing a certain art is in itself a form of expression or in other words, venting. When I try and put myself in the shoes of survivors, orphans, artists who have lived out a single room for the past 30 years, I understand that not only can they use art to express themselves, but they can practice the same routine on an everyday basis to deal with the hardships that they are facing. And somehow that’s true, and it works! When things have been challenging for me, just coming home and practicing my dance has helped me a great deal. The past week has been tough but there is a certain joy that is coupled with it. A joy that can be experienced through art. 

I arrived in Phnom Penh and went straight from the airport to my first destination, FLOW orphanage. My research topic is on dance, why am I going to an orphanage you might ask?! Well... this orphanage is one of a kind. The primary method of upbringing in this orphanage is in teaching them about their own culture. So they go to the public school for 3 hours a day and the rest of the day is spent in learning about the different aspect of Khmer culture. They have an option to learn any of the following: Apsara dance, the instruments to accompany the dancers, the designing of the costume, the makeup and so on.

This is my first time in Cambodia, and my first time in an orphanage of this kind. I didn’t know what to expect and I went with a very open mind. What I got in return was a cultural experience of a life time. The Children there were incredibly confident, bright and every child I spoke to in some way or another expressed to me about how lucky they were to have something called HOME. Their love and respect for Madam Nuon Phaly(the founder) was also very evident. The more I talked to them, I realised that I was learning so much more from them rather than the other way around.

 I spent long hours watching them practice Apsara dance. The dancers were incredibly disciplined, motivated and proud to be Apsara dancers. The day I was leaving, Madam Phaly arranged for them to get into full costume and do a proper performance so that I could get to experience it. The children took almost half a day to practice and get ready for the short 20minute program, but that just showed how serious they were about what they were doing. After their beautiful performance, I did a short 10minute performance of Bharathnatyam for them. They seem to love it and it lead to me doing a whole dance workshop for them on Bharathnatyam. That was for me one of the best moments. Doing a workshop and telling short stories of love, and triumph over evil and teaching them how to express emotions through another art form was so heart-warming for me.

I left FLOW with a heavy heart, but I know I will go back and visit the kids very soon. Right now there is a lot of APLP G10 love in the air as I am with Sophia, Melissa and Trevor. Together I think we are creating bonds and memories that will take a lifetime to forget. 

The last two weeks have been absolutely great. At times it felt more surreal to me than anything else, and I did have to pinch myself some times to make sure it’s real. Right before I left Madras(my home town), I was as unsure as can be about GIST, but after being with group and Scott for two weeks, I sure feel much more confident and energized about it.

We started our GIST in Bangkok, which is such an amazingly vibrant city. It was my first trip to Bangkok and I was quite amazed at how developed it was compared to Indian cities. We met many interesting people, journalists, senior staff at UN ESCAP and so on. We also met our alumni, who were the sweetest and showered their love over us. Which is what is great about the APLP and EWC alumni is that, they don’t know you from Adam but you just need to meet them once and then it’s like your family.

We left Bangkok a week ago and have since been travelling to a new place every day. We first went to Sukothai, where saw some breath taking stunning 700 year old Buddhist temple ruins. We then went to Lampang to the elephant hospital. This was a relatively interesting experience. We saw an elephant draw itself on a canvas sheet, which I think blew our minds. These elephants are being taken care of very well but still I think making an elephant paint is to a certain extent abusive.

We thenmade our way to Chiang Mai, where one of Gisters, Joshua has studied and lived there for a fair amount of time. I definitely saw a different side of Josh. He seemed to have this spark in his eye and certain amount of excitement when we walked the streets of Chiang Mai. Guess that’s what happens when you share the city you love with your friends. And that definitely supports my belief that, you definitely understand a person better when you are in their home ground.

We then finally made our way to our destination, Chiang Rai. Small town, cosy, sweet people and very easy to get around. We met a very interesting couple Paul and Patricia, again through our alumni Orr. They seem to be doing some great work in terms of providing better education system in rural areas by introducing the Montessori system, water facilities for people in rural areas; they also help sell the handicrafts made by the village women to the western market. They are also one of the 4 companies in Thailand that practice fair trade. The work they do is definitely very tough but also very inspiring. I one day hope to do the same, in the field of preserving or sustaining the folk dance culture in rural areas of India.

Am looking forward to our last two days together, before we all go our own ways through SE Asia. As a group, we sure have become closer . I think we definitely have a better understand of each other’s likes, dislikes, pasts, deeper goals and personalities. Our Gist group, is very similar to our larger G10 class… very easy going, calm, and I think the word I am looking for is Chill but focused at the same time. It will be very interesting to see how as a group the dynamics change when we meet in Vietnam in a month for our rendezvous.

As for me, I am going to be in Thailand for a few more days after we all split, and then make my way to my destination Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Can’t wait to get on the field!