SAJA: Day One

I feel like a geek. I'm seeing reporters I only hear about--it is weird to see a face with a byline or title. A SAJA board member is sitting next to me and eventually I'll get the balls to talk to her. I feel so young, new and fresh. I feel like I am putting on a mask and trying to act like a reporter. On the flight over here I sat next to a flight attendant who asked me what I did--telling her I was a reporter in Spokane was exhilarating.
Can't wait to say it and actually mean it.
Today, day one of the SAJA convention, has been fairly mild but already exciting. I attended the SAJA board meeting and got the tail end of the 'how to make the most of the convention' meeting. (I wish I could have gone to that more) The board meeting was exciting--I'm leaning that SAJA is a volunteer organization and again, seeing the faces that work so hard for the benefit of south Asian journalists really hits home.
This is quite a remarkable group. John Laxmi who handles the finances of SAJA said that SAJA gives money to journalists (ie-scholarships and grants) but it's not to just give money to a journalist, it's (perhaps) reimbursement money for a journalists who just went to South Asia to cover the tsunami. Not about collecting dollars but reporting the truth.
There was mention of redesigning the website and I will be happy to admit that was the first thing I wanted to mention when I got into the meeting. SAJA's website is extremely confusing--especially when it came to the convention information. I didn't know what I had to pay for and what came with my early registration ticket. Oye ve.
Sree told us that it is mostly him who is doing the upkeep of the website but they are looking for volunteers to help. I am almost tempted to learn a web-design course just because I am finding that more and more newspapers I work at (college paper, internship papers--both big and small) are in need of web designers. It's all in part of the fusion between new media and print. It's not just ink on paper anymore...
I was also happy to hear of new organizations that are working with SAJA such as the Muslim American Journalism Association and the Arab American Middle Eastern Journalism Association. There is a workshop here that I don't think I will be going to but would like to if I had more time about how to cover Islam. I think workshops like these should be offered to all journalists new and old. It's something they miss out on a lot. A Washington Post correspondent from Iraq told my class in Washington D.C. that knowing the culture you cover is one of the most crucial things you can do. I'm glad to see many non-South Asian members here at the convention too!

Scared SAJA

I never thought I would get the chance to go to SAJA's annual Convention in NYC. I've been a member of SAJA for nearly four years now-- but hesitantly. The South Asian Journalists Association is a great organization that provides South Asian Journalists with not only job opportunities but forums and discussions about South Asian topics. It also updates members on events happening throughout the country and can be used as a network for budding journalists, such as myself.
Hesitantly--why you may ask. I'm here to tell you that being in a room full of Indians is strange for me.
Yeah--weird--I know.
I've been brought up in the United States and have lived in predominantly white American neighborhoods and attended predominantly white public schools (with the exception of college...it's private...so...it's even MORE white...). For the majority of my life I've been surrounded by white Americans and there is something comforting about that--oddly enough. I think my problem is this: For the 20 years I've been alive I've always lived outside the box; been the one that makes a statement (without saying anything); always have been the minority.
When I first signed up for the Convention I was elated! I was beaming with joy at the fact that I will be surrounded by fellow journalists who strive for diversity and have the same passion and dream to see newsrooms around the country diverse with not only South Asians but with other races as well.
But now, the Convention is approaching and my stomach is doing flips. I feel the same way I felt when my flight from Germany was landing in Mumbai--minutes away from seeing the family I always heard about. Inches away from the city my father told me stories about, the people my parents can truly connect to. I am so distant from that life, those people.
I am very proud to be Indian but I am nervous to be in the same room with people who probably can relate to India better than I will ever be able to. It is what holds me back from truly connecting with Indians. I get nervous around Indians. I feel like they judge me as an ABCD.
I feel like the family member who hasn't shown up for the last 20 family reunion picnics and suddenly pops out of nowhere. I know, I'm paranoid--I'll get over it.
In the end we're not Indian or American or Indian American--we're just journalists.