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Shital Tripathi (From India)

Are there any stories about the day of your birth?

YES, According to Lunar calendar, my birth day was "anand chaudash" which is the last day of 14 day long "Ganesha utsava", a religious festival described above. That day people finish the worship of Lord Ganesha and pray him to give peace and prosperous year.

What do you miss about your country?

I miss people the most. My family, my friends. I have food, shelter and clothing here, along with the great opportunity to study and build my career. But I miss my land, water and air!

What do you think of when you hear the name of your country or place of origin? (Be as descriptive as possible)

A place of unity among diversity of people. A land of Mahatma Gandhi and Gautam Buddha. A nation with the slogan " SATYAM EAV JAYATE" means Truth only wins! A place with a rich history and rich culture. A place where around 36 languages are officially approved! A place where people are totally different with respect to their languages, religion, traditions, customs etc., but still do believe in "VASUDHEV KUTUMBAKAM" means the whole earth is a family of human beings. A place where kids are taught virtues of globalisation from basic. As the three colours of the Indian flag signifies, green-prosperity and progress, white-peace, orange-strength and power, all these virtues come in my mind with proud for being an Indian in my mind when I hear the name of my country.

At the same time, women with 'bindi ' on her forhead, winning beauty contests, cultured with traditions, shy, but strong and capable to die on call by nation of humanity comes in my mind.

A place where Mother made her home.

A place where music, poetry, dance, painting and literature etc. art is worshipped by great artists such as Pundit Ravishankar maharaja, ustad Bismillah khan, Ravindranath Tagore, Pundit Gopishankar, Mrunalini sarabhai, Arundhati Roy etc.
A place having large filmmaker industry called "bollywood". Making about 1000 movies per year!
A place of people like Dr. Vikram sarabhai a great scientist and Mahatma Gandhi comes in my mind when I hear the name of Gujarat, the state where I belong.
At the same time, some painful things, past with invaders and present with serious conflicts with neighbours and brothers come in my mind. But being taught "peace" as the main virtue of life, academically as well as by the religion by birth, and by the Nation's father Gandhiji, I feel optimistic to see my nation coming out of conflicts soon to then resolve other problems such as poverty ill-literacy and population etc. hindering the progress of this developing country.

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Marilia Samara (From Greece)

Are there any stories about the day of your birth?

What do you miss about your country?

The sea, the sun, the air, my mom's singing, the language, my grandma's fresh baked bread and pies.

What do you think of when you hear the name of your country or place of origin?

Depends. A lot of the times I just think of the blue water in a secluded beach or the top of a mountain. Sometimes I am also picturing one of our great poets in that setting.

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Gita Patel (From India)

What do you miss about your country?

Close relationships, family closeness, respect shown to elders, friendships, a slower pace of life, simpler life , family support, more caring and nurturing environment.

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Mary Mei (From China)

Are there any stories about the day of your birth?

I was 8 days late and my mother was in labor for 72 hours. My parents always tell me how awful I looked after I was born. It was a really hard birth, and apparantly, they needed some form of apparatus to suck me out--in doing so, my head probably got elongated temporarily. In the baby nursery, I was put next to a baby who was born via C-section and had a nice round head, making my apparant deformity more obvious. My parents and the entire family used to be very amused by all this.

What do you miss about your country?

I think I really miss just hearing Chinese being spoken. It gives me such an endearing feeling to hear my native tongue, and it has a tendency, particularly here in school, to make me feel a lot closer to a person were we to be speaking in Mandarin. I grew up in Beijing and came to the United States when I was 6 years old. However, visiting China every other year since then, I've really grown to love the culture, the food, and the people. It never fails to impress me at how ambitious, positive and enthusistic the CHinese are. I think that in the United States, there is a lot of implicit racism against Asians, which, while not overt, still can be felt, but cannot always be called on. I think there's always a feeling of not quite belonging, of noticing how you might be the only Asian amongst "white people." A lot of what I miss is very abstract and not very tangible.

What do you think of when you hear the name of your country or place of origin? (Be as descriptive as possible)

I think becuase I've heard China often spoken of in very negative contexts, I tend to get very defensive. Many Americans assume that it's an awful place where people are miserable because of the Communism and such, and having first hand knowledge about it that tells me things contrary to these assumptions, I get very frustrated and protective. I think a lot of my grandfather on my mom's side, because he has represented to me to be someone who has the history of CHina written all over his face and life. I think of the crowded and ridiculously warm night markets with a whole street lined with food and people hunched over large bowls eating, sweating because of both the heat and the spices in their noodles.

I think of the long train rides I've taken, definitely some of my best memories. To get from Beijing to Xian and then Xian to Nanjing to visit relatives, my parents and I would take the train--these trains have beds/cots. The rides are usually overnight, and we pass through the countryside, over the Yangtze River, throuhg large mountains. I love to look out the window and see the rice paddies, the sheep, the cows (which I found so astonishing when I first saw them) at the side of the tracks. I'd see people walk along the tracks with their kids, men working in the fields, little huts/cottages. My father would try to make me identify the differnt types of crops that were planted. At each train station, I 'd want to buy the delicious delicacies they sold on the station platform--we'd always pass through this one town that was known for it's roasted chickens. Sometimes, the train would pull in to that station at some wee hour of the morning, and I'd still get up and buy a chicken with my dad for future comsumption. We'd strike up conversations with the passengers who occupied the cots next to us. These conversations were actually really interestig--you met everyone from all walks of life. During these train rides, I really really feel like I was seeing a mosaic of China.

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Graziella Parati (From Italy)

Are there any stories about the day of your birth?

Yes well, my mother is a traditional Italian woman so she called the cab to go to teh hospital and have me only after finishing irining everything she had to. Only after calling the cab she woke up my father. I was born half in a taxi with my mother praying to receive the "grace" of reaching the hospital. That's why my name is Graziella! She barely made it, I was born in the emergency room of the hospital. My mother says that I was born clutching my little samsonite bag and started my life of travels.

What do you miss about your country?

The critical attitude that people have about their political system. Questioning everything is the rule not the exception. I miss the lack of nationalism which is indeed a negative word in Italy. Italians know where it can lead.

What do you think of when you hear the name of your country or place of origin?

It is the place where part of my identity was formed and where part of me still lives. It is the location of familial ties and where I can express myself in both Italian and dialect. It is also a place where I can only live for a limited amount of time as the ideal life-condition for me is to keep moving. My home is in movement. I am at my happiest when I am leaving some place, I can feel happiness in my stomach when the plane takes off. I am neither here nor there. Here and there are only temporary terms what is permanente is for me, paradoxically, movement. There is Italy where I live for three months every year. I think of it as "home" and "not-home" at the same time. West Lebanon is the same: a temporary location where life is comfortable.

There is a stupid movie which is a remake of an Italian movie from the 30s. "A walk in the clouds" has a Mexican character, a wine grower, played by an Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini. IN a dialogue in the movie he says: "Don't think that because I speak with an accent, I also think with an accent." Well the point is that I do think with an accent and both in Italy and in the US my accent is unerasable. Could there be a place I can call home if in every place my difference is always there?

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For more information, please contact Susan Callaghan, Outreach Assistant, at (603) 646-2010, or by email: Susan.Callaghan@Dartmouth.EDU.

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LINKS: HOPKINS CENTER FOR THE ARTS | DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

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Presented by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, and additional funding from Dartmouth’s Tucker Foundation.