Every year, the University admits a cohort of Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTAs) from around the world to assist with the teaching of University language classes and act as cultural ambassadors. These non-degree-seeking students work under the Fries Center of Global Studies and offer a nuanced international perspective on Wesleyan’s culture. 

The Argus sat down with one of this year’s 11 FLTAs, Aditya Raj, to talk about his experience and contribution to the Wesleyan campus as a cultural ambassador for India. Despite his official title as the University’s Hindi-Urdu FLTA, Raj is not an Urdu speaker and teaches only Hindi on campus, though these two languages are closely related. The following interview was conducted in Hindi and has been translated into English.

The Argus: Where do you call home?

Aditya Raj: I am from North India, from the state of Bihar. 

A: Could you tell us about your academic journey?

AR: I received my Master’s from Delhi University (DU) in English Literature. I received my Ph.D. from Patna University, concentrating in science fiction and terraforming, doing critical studies of the works of Kim Stanley Robinson, who is an American science fiction author. He lives in California now, and I’m actually trying to meet him. About 20 days before coming to Wesleyan, I received my doctorate degree—which made transitioning here less stressful, knowing I had my degree in hand. I have written eight research articles published on ResearchGate, and contributed two chapters in a published book, Ethnicity, Identity, and Cultural Diversity: Multiple Perspectives. I’m currently on a Fulbright scholarship to teach [at the University].

A: That’s amazing. Can you tell us more about what specifically you wrote about in this book? 

AR: Yes, in one of the chapters I analyzed how race and ethnicity are portrayed in the movie “Black Panther” (2018). If we look at most Marvel superhero movies, the protagonists are mostly white. I looked at how the Black superhero contributed to this franchise. 

A: What inspired your interest in science fiction and literature? 

AR: Well, actually, my interest was originally in the sciences. But I fell in love with literature. Up until 12th grade, I studied physics, chemistry, and mathematics. I wanted to study physics at Delhi University, and one of my alternatives at the time was English. I was admitted to the English department at Delhi University, but not physics, despite applying for many different cut-off options. At the same time, I didn’t have a lot of guidance for the application process, although my father—who is a professor but not at DU—and I tried our best. I don’t like to belabor things, so I decided to just study what I was admitted for. Since my childhood, I dreamed of becoming an astronaut. My father and I would talk about me aspiring for NASA and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). 

When I started with English, I didn’t enjoy it at all in the beginning. I never read the assigned novels; I’d write assignments by watching their adapted movies instead. After a year, I realized that what I was doing was wrong—I thought, “If I am studying something, I should commit to it.” People say there’s a lot in literature, so I gave it a chance. In my second year, I read Ramachandra Guha on environmentalism, which I loved. After a few discussions with my professors, I realized my interest was in the literary genre of science fiction, which was very novel to me. It was then that I understood that English literature is amazingly vast—you can write about anything from medical literature to posthumanism. I loved that. Here I found a second chance at life. Although I didn’t become an astronaut, through literature I could fulfill my passion for science. 

A: That’s such an interesting journey. Did you face any social challenges?

AR: My parents are very educated folk, and it was always their hope that I go into higher education, but specifically into civil services. I did try for the Union Public Service Commission, but I didn’t qualify. But really, I wanted to go into teaching. I’d ask my father, “Why didn’t you go into civil services then? Why did you become a professor? I want to be a professor just like you.” 

Many times I felt like I should give up—my friends were all getting jobs, getting married, settling down. And I did undergraduate education for three years, my masters for two years, and then my Ph.D. for five years. For a while I thought going into higher education was a mistake, but I eventually decided to trust the flow of things.  

A: Wow, that’s really remarkable, and now you’re here! From our experience as international students, India’s representation at Wesleyan is a bit polarized between Mumbai and Delhi. How do you plan to share Bihar’s unique culture at Wesleyan? 

AR: I definitely plan to discuss Bihar’s culture in the Hindi language classes I TA for. We do have class movie nights, which would be a good opportunity for this, but Bihar doesn’t as of yet have movies specific to it. Other than that, Bihar is known for three things: Chhath Puja, a religious festival; Litti Chokha, a savory Indian dish; and Nalanda University. Nalanda University is a historic institution run by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Students from China, Japan, and Korea study abroad there for linguistics. I, too, did a six-month French certificate course there. 

I am not sure how successful this would be, but I would love to spearhead an exchange program between Wesleyan and Nalanda University. Nalanda is a very international university and culturally significant, so if an M.O.U. (Memorandum of Understanding) or something like that could be signed, especially for the Hindi-Urdu classes taught here, that would be great. I am definitely trying to get the discussion started both here and back in India with my colleagues. I’ve also brought some Madhubani paintings here as gifts for the faculty. Madhubani paintings are a very famous art form from Bihar, and only natural colors are used. I’ve shared this with my class as well. I hope to share Bihari culture here as much as possible. 

A: Can you talk about your relationship with the FLTA community?

AR: My bonding with them is great. In fact, we were all playing a French game called Werewolves and Villagers until midnight yesterday. We also ate dumplings together, and they made sure to make vegetarian dumplings according to my dietary preferences. We are all going to New Haven soon. It’s working out pretty well for us.

A: What do you think of the vegetarian food here?

AR: If I’m being honest, I am still struggling with finding vegetarian options here. There’s only tofu; pretty different from the paneer I’m used to eating. They do try to incorporate tofu into the dishes here with certain spices. I like the spices, but it is just not that great for me. All the other vegetables that are generally available are very new to me, as I have not eaten them before, so I am still adjusting to it.

A: Do you miss home?

AR: Yes, of course, I’ve only been here a month. Especially during this time of Dussehra (an Indian festival), there are a lot of festivities and carnivals back home, along with jalebis (an Indian dessert), that I really miss. It’s impossible to find a jalebi here easily. 

A: What’s that one thing that you have had trouble with while transitioning here?

AR: I find the public transportation here pretty odd. It’s okay if you have a car, but if not, then there are some problems. You’d have to search properly for buses and their schedules. Back home, as soon as you step out, you’d be able to find a rickshaw or some other transport and would not really walk anywhere. Here, when I had to go to the Social Security Office, I had to walk there. There are times I walk to and from the grocery store, and I find this really weird. I don’t really have a choice other than that. Also, I’ve had some issues with returning my packages, because if they are from FedEx, they’ll have it picked up, but otherwise I have to go to their office to return them. It is so complicated at times that I don’t even return my packages. 

A: What are the similarities and differences between your home and Wesleyan?

AR: The system of learning here is very different compared to India. Back home, professors just deliver lectures, and most of them leave as soon as the session is over unless they have time left where students can actually ask questions. Whereas, here, when professors introduce a topic, they try to hold interactive discussions with the students. They are not similar at all in this context.

When I think of similarities, I feel people are really helpful everywhere. In India, when people see someone in trouble, they try to help regardless of the other person asking for it. But here, according to me, unless you tell people you need help, help won’t be directly offered. I largely feel that it is about the privacy concern here. But again, this is based on what I’ve heard and not actually experienced. 

A: Is there anything else about the FLTAs that you would like Wesleyan’s community to know?

AR: I’d like everyone to know about the events being hosted during the International Education Week from Nov. 18 to Nov. 22 and the Language Fair on Friday, Oct. 11. The FLTAs participate in these events, and so I want the outreach for these to be better so that more people can attend. These events are pretty important for the FLTAs, as they try their best to represent their culture, but there’s relatively little participation. 

A: Shukriya! (“Thank you” in Hindi)

Janhavi Munde can be reached at jmunde@wesleyan.edu.

Raiza Goel can be reached at rgoel@wesleyan.edu.

This interview has been translated from Hindi, and edited for length and clarity. 

“The Tongues of Wesleyan” is a new series in the Features section that amplifies the voices of the University’s Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTAs). Each article features a conversation held in the FLTA’s native language, translated into English by the interviewer(s). These articles hope to celebrate all languages spoken across campus and spark dialogue around the dominance of English in higher education.