I just walked into my room and was welcomed by literally hundreds of ants...dead and alive, all over my floor and two of my chairs and my table. Apparently this "happens" when the weather changes. Gross, gross, gross.
Now, me 4 months ago probably would have cried and ran the other way. Luckily my threshold of gross, gross, gross has increased (did you know that when a gecko is threatened their tail falls off as a defense mechanism but still wiggles around?? gross, gross, gross).
So, I got my broom and got busy. Now I still see some wondering around but there is nothing more that can be done, except perhaps to shower and wash off the ants I feel crawling in my hair.
I THINK it might be time to come home for a break :)
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Winter in India
Recent Happenings:
1. Winter in India – I’m not sure one can really call a high of 80 and a low of 50 degrees “winter”, but to Indians, it is. November through January are the winter months, when all of a sudden you start seeing women put sweaters over their saris and walk around shivering at night. It really is funny because the westerners here are still walking around in tee-shirts. Their bodies really are acclimatized in a different way. My body is somewhat used to the heat now (although when it hits 115 in February, I might be thinking different).
2. Cooking – It is a challenge to cook without measuring cups and in an oven that has no real temperature setting. It is more of a challenge to cook something you never have before in such a setting. As I attempted on Thanksgiving with a pecan pie (as pictured here). While everyone seemed to like it, it was nowhere near as good as my Aunt Gail’s. Plus I think it should have cooked a lot longer but I had no way of knowing having never cooked one before. Thanksgiving dinner turned out to be really good, pretty close to an American dinner as I would think we could get, given there are no turkeys to eat here. We did have stuffed chicken, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and corn.
3. I have become a pool shark – Just kidding. But my skills have improved as its one of our only forms of entertainment. There is a “party room” that we use occasionally for people’s birthdays, “going away” parties, etc. While I don’t think of myself as good at pool, I’m certainly better than a lot of the people coming through here. I look forward to showing off my new skills at Buff in the near future.
4. The Metric System – I think it is annoying that the U.S. is on a totally different system than the rest of the world. Why must we always be different? People walk around talking in kgs, kilometers, Celsius and I have no idea what to think. I was in Pune last weekend and using the treadmill at the healthclub in my hotel, running who knows how fast and who knows how far, at one point I decided to just run a 5k because I do know that distance!
5. Coffee Mugs – It is interesting that a coffee mug made in China costs what I would estimate about $6 from Target, and yet, .75 cents in India…quite a bargain.
6. Hole in the Wall – This morning I noticed a big pile of dirt behind my mini refrigerator. They are doing construction outside my building so I figured out quickly where it was coming from. The most disturbing thoughts I had were: 1) how long has this been here? 2) where has the family of critters/snakes set up camp in my room? and 3) how could these workers not realize they had knocked a hole into my wall?
1. Winter in India – I’m not sure one can really call a high of 80 and a low of 50 degrees “winter”, but to Indians, it is. November through January are the winter months, when all of a sudden you start seeing women put sweaters over their saris and walk around shivering at night. It really is funny because the westerners here are still walking around in tee-shirts. Their bodies really are acclimatized in a different way. My body is somewhat used to the heat now (although when it hits 115 in February, I might be thinking different).
2. Cooking – It is a challenge to cook without measuring cups and in an oven that has no real temperature setting. It is more of a challenge to cook something you never have before in such a setting. As I attempted on Thanksgiving with a pecan pie (as pictured here). While everyone seemed to like it, it was nowhere near as good as my Aunt Gail’s. Plus I think it should have cooked a lot longer but I had no way of knowing having never cooked one before. Thanksgiving dinner turned out to be really good, pretty close to an American dinner as I would think we could get, given there are no turkeys to eat here. We did have stuffed chicken, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and corn.
3. I have become a pool shark – Just kidding. But my skills have improved as its one of our only forms of entertainment. There is a “party room” that we use occasionally for people’s birthdays, “going away” parties, etc. While I don’t think of myself as good at pool, I’m certainly better than a lot of the people coming through here. I look forward to showing off my new skills at Buff in the near future.
4. The Metric System – I think it is annoying that the U.S. is on a totally different system than the rest of the world. Why must we always be different? People walk around talking in kgs, kilometers, Celsius and I have no idea what to think. I was in Pune last weekend and using the treadmill at the healthclub in my hotel, running who knows how fast and who knows how far, at one point I decided to just run a 5k because I do know that distance!
5. Coffee Mugs – It is interesting that a coffee mug made in China costs what I would estimate about $6 from Target, and yet, .75 cents in India…quite a bargain.
6. Hole in the Wall – This morning I noticed a big pile of dirt behind my mini refrigerator. They are doing construction outside my building so I figured out quickly where it was coming from. The most disturbing thoughts I had were: 1) how long has this been here? 2) where has the family of critters/snakes set up camp in my room? and 3) how could these workers not realize they had knocked a hole into my wall?
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thoughts on Thanksgiving
There is a lot I don’t write about in the blog…mostly because it is difficult and hard to express. But on this Thanksgiving Day, I can’t help but mention some of things I am seeing on a daily basis that make me thankful for all I have, my friends and family, and the good things in my life. I often pass a woman plagued with leprosy, she has no hands and barely any feet, she wonders around our campus and I’m not sure what exactly she is doing. Every morning and evening, I pass little girls ranging from 5 to 15 years carrying tin cans of water on their heads, they place them on top of a cloth so that it isn’t directly on their scalpel. While most kids their age should be playing in school, these girls are carrying the only water their family will have for the day. When I run in the morning, I see women doing laundry in the river, they have no other “washing machine,” such a concept is very foreign for people without stoves, microwaves, or many of our conveniences. I see pigs wandering about because they are the only “garbage collectors” that come in this area. I pass by a little boy that is walking on gravel and yet has no shoes.
These are the sights I see on a daily basis that keep me grounded and keep me remembering why I am here. I am so thankful for all of you, my family and friends. On this Thanksgiving, I ask you to take a moment and recognize how lucky you are. Sometimes we all forget the lottery we won being born in America. Whatever stresses we may have in life, remember that a roof to sleep under, some food to eat, a little bit of clean water, and a supporting family, are really all that we need. Nevertheless, with some education and basic health care, its amazing how much good can be done for so little. When people can think beyond just eating and sleeping, their lives begin to change. Its amazing to see that happen here.
Much love to all of you from CRHP. And a little plug for all that is done here, visit www.jamkhed.org and you can give online. Happy Holidays, and I look forward to seeing many of you soon!
These are the sights I see on a daily basis that keep me grounded and keep me remembering why I am here. I am so thankful for all of you, my family and friends. On this Thanksgiving, I ask you to take a moment and recognize how lucky you are. Sometimes we all forget the lottery we won being born in America. Whatever stresses we may have in life, remember that a roof to sleep under, some food to eat, a little bit of clean water, and a supporting family, are really all that we need. Nevertheless, with some education and basic health care, its amazing how much good can be done for so little. When people can think beyond just eating and sleeping, their lives begin to change. Its amazing to see that happen here.
Much love to all of you from CRHP. And a little plug for all that is done here, visit www.jamkhed.org and you can give online. Happy Holidays, and I look forward to seeing many of you soon!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Cursed Rain
We have had some unhappy developments this week...all due to an unexpected 4 days of thunderstorms. After weeks of pure sunshine, some clouds rolled in and refused to leave. There was even a cyclone warning in Bombay. This is very odd for India in November. Thank you global warming.
1. EVERYTHING IS WET. My floor, my sheets, my towels, everything. Nothing will not dry. My room smells like mildew. I did laundry 3 days ago and I have yet to have a completely dry pair of underwear in the morning. Not the most pleasant experience.
2. I HAVE A PURPLE TOE. So yesterday while I was working with Ravi, Boomer, who is my friend, and the Arole's german shepherd, came in from being outside and like any dog walked around sopping wet. I got up later to go to the bathroom without thinking of the floor. This being India, I had no shoes on. You can tell where this is going. I slipped across the floor and rammed my toe into some drawers. It is very purple and hurts like hell. Luckily, being surrounded by medical staff, I was taken care of. Today I went to get an x-ray and its not fractured. It was the easiest medical experience of my life. In and out of our hospital in about 30 minutes, x-ray and all. This would have taken 5 hours and $500 in the U.S.
3. SNAKES. Apparently do not like when their underground homes get wet and they come outside. A woman saw one outside her room tonight. Anyone that knows me, realizes I am not thrilled with this. I hesitated on coming back to my room at all tonight, and only did so with the company of one of the staff boys who I made walk in front of me all the way home. This is not a good development.
Hopefully the sun will be out tomorrow!
1. EVERYTHING IS WET. My floor, my sheets, my towels, everything. Nothing will not dry. My room smells like mildew. I did laundry 3 days ago and I have yet to have a completely dry pair of underwear in the morning. Not the most pleasant experience.
2. I HAVE A PURPLE TOE. So yesterday while I was working with Ravi, Boomer, who is my friend, and the Arole's german shepherd, came in from being outside and like any dog walked around sopping wet. I got up later to go to the bathroom without thinking of the floor. This being India, I had no shoes on. You can tell where this is going. I slipped across the floor and rammed my toe into some drawers. It is very purple and hurts like hell. Luckily, being surrounded by medical staff, I was taken care of. Today I went to get an x-ray and its not fractured. It was the easiest medical experience of my life. In and out of our hospital in about 30 minutes, x-ray and all. This would have taken 5 hours and $500 in the U.S.
3. SNAKES. Apparently do not like when their underground homes get wet and they come outside. A woman saw one outside her room tonight. Anyone that knows me, realizes I am not thrilled with this. I hesitated on coming back to my room at all tonight, and only did so with the company of one of the staff boys who I made walk in front of me all the way home. This is not a good development.
Hopefully the sun will be out tomorrow!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Village Across the Street
It is hard to believe November is already here. Diwali has come and gone (picture of lights attached) and the nightly firecrackers have become more rare, making evening more peaceful, now just those damn birds to contend with. I feel the days going by fast and often have to think twice to remember what day it is, mostly because the days are the same. I have a good routine going, and while I certainly miss a lot about DC, things are going well here. Work is good, October was report month, so I worked on numerous reports going to donors, and we also had the annual meeting which took some prep work. There are also an increasing number of visitors coming (a good thing!) but that takes a lot of organization, planning, etc. I now give new comers orientation, get them settled, etc. We just had 4 med students arrive this week, nice to have some new (somewhat older) faces around!
Yesterday I had a big, startling reminder of why I am here. It was motivating and heartbreaking at the same time. I went with two of the new med students to the “village” across the street from our campus. I never forget where I am, thanks to the women passing me with jugs of water on their head, people going to and from the hospital, yellow daal for lunch every day, and men staring at me constantly, I know I'm in India. But the India I'm living in isn't necessarily the country most of the rural population lives in...I have a toilet, running water, and more space than most families have.
This is a neighborhood that really didn’t exist before CRHP and has a pretty diverse mix of people living there. Some staff members, as well as migrants that have settled here, there is a range of fairly well-off (by Indian standards) to very poor. It was great to see the good CRHP does in helping to build houses, especially for their staff. They require staff to save a certain amount of money (what amounts to about $200 US) and then they help build a house and try to get them to put off marriage. We saw one guy’s house who works here and had just gotten married two weeks ago, he was 22 and she was 17. Not so much putting off marriage! I met another staff member’s wife who had just had a baby a few weeks ago, he was bundled up in blankets, which is funny because its still in the 80s here!
CRHP did help put in a water well, but unfortunately a politician in the area took the pipeline for himself, now the women walk over to our campus to get their water.
We passed goats, pigs, cows, dogs, and cats throughout our walk. Women cooking over a fire and chopping vegetables, all outside their one or two room houses. Houses that were only one-room and yet had a tv. Kids with no clothes, but parents with a satellite dish.
We met a family that had 6 children. The mother had died and the father had left to “go work.” They were being raised by the grandfather and the oldest daughter, who is 14 and leaves every morning to go work as a farm hand. They live under a tarp, in an area that equates to a square that could not have been more than 5 x 5 feet. It will take CRHP $4,000 to build their house and it is going to be first priority for our fundraising campaign.
We met a woman and her husband. He used to drink a lot and last year he poured kerosene on her and started a fire. She has burns on her arms, neck, and part of her face. Her husband stopped drinking and was standing right next to her.
The truth is really nothing that can be written or even shown by pictures. A very real reminder of all we have in our country. A nagging question of how can so much of the world have so much, when so much of the world has so little? It was a lot of perspective in a short amount of time. But instead of walking away and wondering what I could do, I knew that at least for this time, I was already doing something.
Yesterday I had a big, startling reminder of why I am here. It was motivating and heartbreaking at the same time. I went with two of the new med students to the “village” across the street from our campus. I never forget where I am, thanks to the women passing me with jugs of water on their head, people going to and from the hospital, yellow daal for lunch every day, and men staring at me constantly, I know I'm in India. But the India I'm living in isn't necessarily the country most of the rural population lives in...I have a toilet, running water, and more space than most families have.
This is a neighborhood that really didn’t exist before CRHP and has a pretty diverse mix of people living there. Some staff members, as well as migrants that have settled here, there is a range of fairly well-off (by Indian standards) to very poor. It was great to see the good CRHP does in helping to build houses, especially for their staff. They require staff to save a certain amount of money (what amounts to about $200 US) and then they help build a house and try to get them to put off marriage. We saw one guy’s house who works here and had just gotten married two weeks ago, he was 22 and she was 17. Not so much putting off marriage! I met another staff member’s wife who had just had a baby a few weeks ago, he was bundled up in blankets, which is funny because its still in the 80s here!
CRHP did help put in a water well, but unfortunately a politician in the area took the pipeline for himself, now the women walk over to our campus to get their water.
We passed goats, pigs, cows, dogs, and cats throughout our walk. Women cooking over a fire and chopping vegetables, all outside their one or two room houses. Houses that were only one-room and yet had a tv. Kids with no clothes, but parents with a satellite dish.
We met a family that had 6 children. The mother had died and the father had left to “go work.” They were being raised by the grandfather and the oldest daughter, who is 14 and leaves every morning to go work as a farm hand. They live under a tarp, in an area that equates to a square that could not have been more than 5 x 5 feet. It will take CRHP $4,000 to build their house and it is going to be first priority for our fundraising campaign.
We met a woman and her husband. He used to drink a lot and last year he poured kerosene on her and started a fire. She has burns on her arms, neck, and part of her face. Her husband stopped drinking and was standing right next to her.
The truth is really nothing that can be written or even shown by pictures. A very real reminder of all we have in our country. A nagging question of how can so much of the world have so much, when so much of the world has so little? It was a lot of perspective in a short amount of time. But instead of walking away and wondering what I could do, I knew that at least for this time, I was already doing something.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sundays
Sundays are the only day "off" for Indians, the only non-work day. Sundays are a day to rest, a day to be with family, a day to relax (and apparently for the majority of Indian men, a day to drink a lot and go to work hungover on Monday, ah see, we aren't all so different).
Here, Sundays are pancake day, reminiscent of my own childhood where Sundays were also pancake day, or more often, Dad's french toast. Sundays are also biryani day, a nice break from our standard lunch of rice and yellow dahl.
Sundays are nice.
Today I went to the market and stocked up on apples and oranges. We got caught in a wedding procession, which was a big truck with loud speakers going through the town and a group of about 15 men dancing and singing in front of it. Where the woman was, I do not know. As we walked along and tried to make it through the group and get back to campus, I had one of many instances I have here where I say to myself "damn, where is my camera?"
Anyone that knows me, knows how much I love a little rooftop happy hour. My friends and I in DC are frequent takers of the rooftop bar, and luckily, there are many for us to choose from, one of the best being at my old apartment building where Kristen and I would frequently head up with a glass of wine and debrief our days.
So today I decided to have my own rooftop happy hour. Armed with my book and a nalgene bottle with some beer I headed to the roof of the building next door to watch the sunset. It was, in a word, beautiful. Its still 80s here and there was not a cloud in the sky. I looked out at the lush green fields and saw a man with his herd of goats, and listened to the sound of people driving by, talking, in the village background. I looked out at the campus, and felt incredibly lucky to be here. While its no Bristol House, its not half bad.
Then the birds came. Lots and lots and lots of birds, making lots and lots of noise. They drove me to retreat to the safety of my room. I guess they want to have their happy hour too.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Only in India...no, this is not a joke!
Pregnant woman uses train toilet, baby slips out
Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:31pm EST
AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) - A newborn baby girl survived an ignoble birth after slipping down the toilet bowl of a moving Indian train onto the tracks when a pregnant woman unexpectedly gave birth while relieving herself on Tuesday.
"My delivery was so sudden," said the Bhuri Kalbi, the mother of the infant, born two months prematurely. "I did not even realize that my child had slipped from the hole in the toilet."
Kalbi, a 33-year-old woman from a village in Rajasthan, fainted on the toilet seat after the birth for a few minutes before waking up and alerting her family.
"They stopped the train and ran on the tracks to find the baby," she said, speaking from her hospital bed in the western city of Ahmedabad.
Railway staff at a nearby station were alerted and soon found the newborn girl lying uninjured on pebbles by the track. She is now in intensive care because of her premature birth, doctors said.
Most toilets on Indian trains are filthy chutes emptying directly onto the tracks.
Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:31pm EST
AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) - A newborn baby girl survived an ignoble birth after slipping down the toilet bowl of a moving Indian train onto the tracks when a pregnant woman unexpectedly gave birth while relieving herself on Tuesday.
"My delivery was so sudden," said the Bhuri Kalbi, the mother of the infant, born two months prematurely. "I did not even realize that my child had slipped from the hole in the toilet."
Kalbi, a 33-year-old woman from a village in Rajasthan, fainted on the toilet seat after the birth for a few minutes before waking up and alerting her family.
"They stopped the train and ran on the tracks to find the baby," she said, speaking from her hospital bed in the western city of Ahmedabad.
Railway staff at a nearby station were alerted and soon found the newborn girl lying uninjured on pebbles by the track. She is now in intensive care because of her premature birth, doctors said.
Most toilets on Indian trains are filthy chutes emptying directly onto the tracks.
Pics from Pune
Here are some pics from Pune --- the pollution was so bad that we really had to cover our mouths to not breathe it in, it literally made our eyes water. Awful!! Also some pics from the streets and our night out.
Dry WHAT? This Would Never Fly in America...
This week I got out of dodge with a much-needed trip to the big city. My friend (who was leaving here to travel around the rest of India) and I left Monday morning for two delightful days of shopping, sightseeing, and good eating and drinking (read: we were going to get to actually choose what and when we ate) in Pune. The car ride was uneventful (or as uneventful as any car ride can be in India). When we asked to make a pit stop, our driver diligently pulled off to the side of the road, hell, men pee everywhere, why can’t women too? Equal rights baby! So off we go to hide behind a tree, all was well until my walk back to the car when I stepped on a thorn that went through my flip flop. Ouch. Thank goodness for my tetnus shot, no permanent damage done.
So we arrive in Pune around lunch time and check into our hotel. It is at this point that I get a call telling me that, oh yeah, its actually election day tomorrow and everything (all shops, etc) are closed the next day. Oh really. So off we go to do a full afternoon of shopping to make sure we get everything. Of course, the first order of the day was a trip to the “German Bakery” for a latte. This little restaurant is right next to Pune’s big “meditation center” which is filled with Westerners (mostly older from what I could tell) who go to learn yoga and do who knows what (you have to take an instant HIV test before even entering…something tells me more than yoga is going on in there…).
After lunch we went to a department store (who-hoo), book store, western grocery store, and mall. It was great, 4 weeks without any retail therapy had been tough, luckily I rectified that and made exciting purchases like coffee and soap. At the grocery store we had intended to buy a little wine to celebrate our trip, it was at this point that the bomb dropped. Monday and Tuesday were DRY days. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? We quickly learned that yes, the entire city was not selling any alcohol on Monday or Tuesday because of the elections. Apparently Indians + drinking + elections = lots of violence. Our dreams of a nice cocktail at dinner were quickly dashed, what the hell kind of place is this??? After an hour of hating India, we got over it and also learned that dry day was up at 5pm on Tuesday, whew. Plus, we thought, what better way to spend Tuesday than to go sit by the pool at one of the nice hotels. Great idea, way to make lemonade out of lemons!!! So, we went on to enjoy a nice dinner out. It was about 10pm when the monsoon hit. What the heck? Someone up there must not like us. So with the pool out and nothing open, we wondered what the heck to do the next day.
So on Tuesday, we went to the zoo, which thankfully decided to stay open despite election day. It was actually a pretty nice zoo, lots of green space and plenty of room for the animals. No commercialization like you would find in the U.S., in fact you couldn’t even buy a bottle of water if you wanted. But there were about 25 toilets, more than I think they have in the rest of India. I saw a leopard up close. He was fat. I didn’t know leopards could be fat but this guy was. They also had a snake park which was cool/terrifying. They also had an “extinct animal” graveyard that actually had graves of animals that had gone extinct with a picture up. Then there was an open hole in the ground for the White Tiger, which I guess is on the list…sad.
After that we headed to the upscale hotel in Pune for a nice lunch and to sit and chill (and pray the sun might come out). It didn’t, so I got a pedicure while Simone read in the lobby. And finally, 5pm rolls around. After putting on our Sunday best, we headed to this area called “ABC Farms” which is popular with the students. Basically it’s a little alcove populated by a half dozen restaurant/bars. Most of them didn’t open until 7, but since we were such eager beavers we were there by 5:45pm. Luckily, the Iranian jazz bar we had planned on going to anyway happened to be open for business. So there we went, and there we stayed for many hours. It was lots of fun. As is typical in India, we ended up chatting with some locals, who also happened to own that very cool bike on which I took my first (and probably last) motorcycle ride. Eventually we left ABC Farms and walked down to what they said was “a cool bar.” As we approached and saw a giant pyramid that read “Hard Rock Café” I thought, ooooh no. Won’t do it. Luckily, the place we were headed was behind there. It was so cool – I literally thought I was in Vegas (minus the fact that it was a Tuesday night and closed at 11:30pm.) They had pools in the middle and loungy couches everywhere, the downfall was the prices were just like Vegas too…
All in all a great trip. Simone went on her way Wednesday morning and I headed back to the village rejuvenated. I have spent this week working on marketing materials and an abstract submission for a global health conference. I had been scared of submitting abstracts but they really aren’t so bad.
Tonight is the start of Diwali, the biggest holiday in India, the “festival of lights” – that sounds familiar!
So we arrive in Pune around lunch time and check into our hotel. It is at this point that I get a call telling me that, oh yeah, its actually election day tomorrow and everything (all shops, etc) are closed the next day. Oh really. So off we go to do a full afternoon of shopping to make sure we get everything. Of course, the first order of the day was a trip to the “German Bakery” for a latte. This little restaurant is right next to Pune’s big “meditation center” which is filled with Westerners (mostly older from what I could tell) who go to learn yoga and do who knows what (you have to take an instant HIV test before even entering…something tells me more than yoga is going on in there…).
After lunch we went to a department store (who-hoo), book store, western grocery store, and mall. It was great, 4 weeks without any retail therapy had been tough, luckily I rectified that and made exciting purchases like coffee and soap. At the grocery store we had intended to buy a little wine to celebrate our trip, it was at this point that the bomb dropped. Monday and Tuesday were DRY days. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? We quickly learned that yes, the entire city was not selling any alcohol on Monday or Tuesday because of the elections. Apparently Indians + drinking + elections = lots of violence. Our dreams of a nice cocktail at dinner were quickly dashed, what the hell kind of place is this??? After an hour of hating India, we got over it and also learned that dry day was up at 5pm on Tuesday, whew. Plus, we thought, what better way to spend Tuesday than to go sit by the pool at one of the nice hotels. Great idea, way to make lemonade out of lemons!!! So, we went on to enjoy a nice dinner out. It was about 10pm when the monsoon hit. What the heck? Someone up there must not like us. So with the pool out and nothing open, we wondered what the heck to do the next day.
So on Tuesday, we went to the zoo, which thankfully decided to stay open despite election day. It was actually a pretty nice zoo, lots of green space and plenty of room for the animals. No commercialization like you would find in the U.S., in fact you couldn’t even buy a bottle of water if you wanted. But there were about 25 toilets, more than I think they have in the rest of India. I saw a leopard up close. He was fat. I didn’t know leopards could be fat but this guy was. They also had a snake park which was cool/terrifying. They also had an “extinct animal” graveyard that actually had graves of animals that had gone extinct with a picture up. Then there was an open hole in the ground for the White Tiger, which I guess is on the list…sad.
After that we headed to the upscale hotel in Pune for a nice lunch and to sit and chill (and pray the sun might come out). It didn’t, so I got a pedicure while Simone read in the lobby. And finally, 5pm rolls around. After putting on our Sunday best, we headed to this area called “ABC Farms” which is popular with the students. Basically it’s a little alcove populated by a half dozen restaurant/bars. Most of them didn’t open until 7, but since we were such eager beavers we were there by 5:45pm. Luckily, the Iranian jazz bar we had planned on going to anyway happened to be open for business. So there we went, and there we stayed for many hours. It was lots of fun. As is typical in India, we ended up chatting with some locals, who also happened to own that very cool bike on which I took my first (and probably last) motorcycle ride. Eventually we left ABC Farms and walked down to what they said was “a cool bar.” As we approached and saw a giant pyramid that read “Hard Rock Café” I thought, ooooh no. Won’t do it. Luckily, the place we were headed was behind there. It was so cool – I literally thought I was in Vegas (minus the fact that it was a Tuesday night and closed at 11:30pm.) They had pools in the middle and loungy couches everywhere, the downfall was the prices were just like Vegas too…
All in all a great trip. Simone went on her way Wednesday morning and I headed back to the village rejuvenated. I have spent this week working on marketing materials and an abstract submission for a global health conference. I had been scared of submitting abstracts but they really aren’t so bad.
Tonight is the start of Diwali, the biggest holiday in India, the “festival of lights” – that sounds familiar!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Things You Would Not Expect to See on a Motobrike...
1. 2 men, 1 microwave
2. 1 man, 1 woman, 2 kids, 1 baby
3. 2 men, 3 goats
4. 2 men, 1 bicycle
5. 1 man, 20 lbs of potatoes
6. Me
2. 1 man, 1 woman, 2 kids, 1 baby
3. 2 men, 3 goats
4. 2 men, 1 bicycle
5. 1 man, 20 lbs of potatoes
6. Me
Friday, October 9, 2009
Pumpkin Spice
The days are coming and going, and I'm pretty settled into a routine, guess that happens whether you are working in the states or in the middle of India, but certain people called me a blog slacker (not naming names), so here goes. I guess my main observation is that I miss Fall (read: I miss the first chily day where I can order a pumpkin spice latter from starbucks!) We are still hitting upper 80s here on a daily basis and sine Fall is my favorite season, I am missing it! The monsoon is hopefully winding down, it POURED most of last weekend. Normally I'm a big fan of rain when I'm safely inside, but here, even when I am safely in my room, the water comes through my front door and is VERY loud on my tin roof making sleeping a tad difficult. But, the rain is great for the farmers here so I can't complain much.
Work is going well, we had a consultant here this week. She is a woman that basically built a non-profit from the ground up in San Francisco. She grew up in Pune, but has been living in the states, she is back for 4 months traveling and experiencing what is going on "on the ground." We had some great meetings and has she had really good advice for me on how to help build the fundraising structure here. It was a nice break from budgets and data sheets. She is coming back in November to stay for a couple of weeks so that will be great for us.
I took some time last week to see CRHP in action, a chance that most people working in NGOs in the states wouldn't always have. I spent one morning at the new hospital - - it looks so great. It is such a huge improvement from the old hospital. It wasn't overly crowded but saw some interesting cases, including 2 snake bites, 1 case of dengue fever, and a premie baby who after 21 days still only weight 1.7 ounces. Yikes. I also visited a few villages, its nice to get out into the community. Its also interesting for me because I'm looking at it from the a different side now. Instead of just watching and learning what the mobile health team is doing in a village, I'm now thinking, "how can I make a data sheet so that its easy for them to collect health data and easy for us to record it?"
Other than that, I am missing my DC life and my ladies, as one might expect when one moves to the middle of India. Although a little package from the states last week was a nice treat. Not only did I get to catch up on a few US Weeklys, but I'm still enjoying mini reeses that survived the journey (albeit a bit melted). The majority of other westerners here are YOUNG. While I realize I am not old, you really forget that 20 years old is YOUNG. Anyway, I can deal. I am very excited because on Monday I am running away to the big city. My buddy is leaving so I'm going with her and we are going to spend 2 days in Pune before she goes on to Mumbai. I am so excited for restaurant dining, a little shopping, and some espresso. There is a place called the German Bakery that supposedly has awesome coffee, that will be our first stop. We are also going to an Iranian jazz club. It will be nice just to have a change of scenery for a few days!
So, Dana and Liz, there ya go :)
Go Cardinals!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Things I love about India #1
This morning on my run I was joined by a white donkey with a hot pink stripe down his head and back (often animals are painted by their owners). Although "joined" may not be the right term. He (or she) was in front of me and started running when I approached. He would then slow down until I got closer and then would start running again. I found this as a nice motivation, almost like having a trainer that was trying to get you to keep running. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure this poor donkey thought I was trying to catch him, he finally veered off the road and into a field. Either way, it made things a little more interesting.
PS - As predicted, the "living in peace" thing is just not working. I'm now taking the opposite stance and holding strong. This is my room and I shall protect it with whatever force is necessary.
PS - As predicted, the "living in peace" thing is just not working. I'm now taking the opposite stance and holding strong. This is my room and I shall protect it with whatever force is necessary.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Can't We All Just Get Along?
I have decided after about 2 weeks here, that I am going to stop killing the bugs. Everyday I take out various species of bug and spider that are inhabiting my room. This is time-consuming and quite frankly, does not seem to help. I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps we can't all just get along? I'm going to try this for a day or two and see how it goes. My guess is I will be back to killing in no time. I certainly am not going to make Buddhist of the year here.
Things at the village are going well! I've settled into a pretty good routine, my meal times are set so I'm forced to get up in the morning if I want breakfast. This allows me to eat and be showered (and on a good day, having already gone for a run) and ready to work by 9am (with the first 30 minutes spent catching up on the news and email, just like I would in the US!).
A side note about running here...no one does it. Obviously. Indians here get plenty of exercise in their daily lives through farming, riding bikes everywhere, and just general work. They have no need to go out and run around, especially when its gonna be 90 degrees by 10am and you sweat all day anyway. My morning excursions are quite interesting as I share the road with buses, cars, bikes, goats, pigs, dogs, and who knows what else. I do get lots of stares from people and I can see it in their eyes "crazy white girl." I'm okay with it though, as long as they don't try to run me over. And hey, when I run by and see a guy crapping on the side of the road, my mind says "crazy indian man" so I guess we are even.
This weekend was the 39th anniversary of the organization, there was a nice ceremony with lots of locals in attendance. Its great to see how much this place means to everyone around here.
I've attached a few pics of my room, I still can't believe what great digs I have (bugs notwithstanding). I need something for the walls but I figure I will get that on my first trip into Pune. The girl in the pic is someone I've been hanging out with here that actually knows some of my friends from STL, they all went to the same college, small world!!
Things at the village are going well! I've settled into a pretty good routine, my meal times are set so I'm forced to get up in the morning if I want breakfast. This allows me to eat and be showered (and on a good day, having already gone for a run) and ready to work by 9am (with the first 30 minutes spent catching up on the news and email, just like I would in the US!).
A side note about running here...no one does it. Obviously. Indians here get plenty of exercise in their daily lives through farming, riding bikes everywhere, and just general work. They have no need to go out and run around, especially when its gonna be 90 degrees by 10am and you sweat all day anyway. My morning excursions are quite interesting as I share the road with buses, cars, bikes, goats, pigs, dogs, and who knows what else. I do get lots of stares from people and I can see it in their eyes "crazy white girl." I'm okay with it though, as long as they don't try to run me over. And hey, when I run by and see a guy crapping on the side of the road, my mind says "crazy indian man" so I guess we are even.
This weekend was the 39th anniversary of the organization, there was a nice ceremony with lots of locals in attendance. Its great to see how much this place means to everyone around here.
I've attached a few pics of my room, I still can't believe what great digs I have (bugs notwithstanding). I need something for the walls but I figure I will get that on my first trip into Pune. The girl in the pic is someone I've been hanging out with here that actually knows some of my friends from STL, they all went to the same college, small world!!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
globalgiving
We just joined a great group called globalgiving to raise money for one of our sanitation projects. Every little bit helps! Just $19 helps CRHP build a toilet for someone, please pass along to others! And...this helps me as well because the more toilets we can provide here, the less people I have to watch going to the bathroom on the side of the road.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
A beach in Goa...a world away
Goa now seems miles away (which in fact it is, an hour plane ride and 4 hours in a car to be exact, to the middle of...lets just call it rural India).
There is not too much to report from our time there, it was relaxing and beautiful. We got there by train and it was a gorgeous ride, our tour hotel was fine (we finally got some much needed AC!) and had a pool. We thought we wouldn't use the pool at all and just hang at the beach, but after about 30 minutes and numerous people asking to take our picture and trying to sell us stuff, we opted for the seclusion of the pool!
A little about beaches in India. Indians don't really go to the beach...well they do, but not like we do. They go and STAND fully clothed and just hang out. You look at the beach and there are just groups of people standing around in the 90 degree weather...if the occasional man does get in (because 85% of people in public are men, we don't know where all the women are hiding (well, we do, they are at home)), he does so in his underwear and then proceeds to walk around. They don't wear swimsuits! We also observed that if women swim in pools, they wear their clothes...no swimsuits either, I guess because of not wanting to show skin but it just is bizarre to see men in underwear and women fully clothed, another example of gender inequality here.
We had some great seafood and actually went out in Goa to a club called Tito's - apparently one of the most famous in India. Did some last minute shopping and just enjoyed sunsets and hangin at the beach...sadly no sightings of Jason Borne or his bridge. (FYI - Goa is in fact an Indian state made up of lots of little towns, so it would take a long time to track down that bridge :))
After separating from my last bit of America (known as Ashley), I made it to Jamkhed! Settling in great, my room is better than expected and it already feels homey, minus very blank walls but I'm hoping to get something to put up on it. Of course, I unpacked everything the first night, didn't take long! I am taking over the room of a doctor that was here for a year and just left so it is very nice (comparatively speaking...of course). I actually have a TV! And of the 500 channels I get via satellite, at least 6 are in English (Yes and Yes, Ash). I have had a couple of really good meetings so far and actually spent a full day working today! I have been excited to jump right in...there is A LOT to do. Today I read CRHP's Strategic Plan for the next 5 years and worked on an outline of projects. There are a bunch of people right here including a couple Americans, brits, Canadians, and brazilians, so there are always people to eat meals with, etc.
It is great being back! There have been some improvements in the dining hall, some of the outside area, and communications, but it also feels like I never left!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Heaven is a place on earth...
If heaven were a place on earth it would be the Park Hyatt in Goa. That is where we have been the last 24 hours, pure heaven. Makes the weeks of heat, bugs, trains, buses, pollution, and crowds seem miles away....we enjoyed a day by the pool, a pedicure overlooking the ocean, a delicious italian dinner with a true bottle of wine from Italy, a REAL bed, and an actual bath. It has been awesome. A great last day of our trip before I head out to the village, a place that could not be more different than this, that is for sure -- a true paradox as my father says, heading from the luxury of a 5-star hotel to a poverty ridden village in the middle of India, I certainly can say my life is not boring :) The reality of the my situation is hitting me and Ashley is really helping me not to totally panick and hide in bathroom!
Anyway, I will update more later about our time in Goa, etc. (AND POST PICS) but we have another hour at the pool (or should I say 3 interconnecting pools...) before we have to check out.
Next post from Jamkhed!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
From Ashley, To Whom It May Concern
The following is the email sent to Ashley's bosses alerting them to the fact she decided to postpone her flight and hang with me in a Goa for an extra few days...perhaps I will be sending a similar one in a few months (JUST KIDDING Mom!).
Hi. So the thing is....well, here's the thing. The 411. The skinny. The low-down. The information.
In a nutshell: I. Love. India. It's everything I hoped for and so much more. It's everything I've dreamed about for years.
So, I've decided to move here. I have enrolled in a yoga-training program which is set to begin immediately. I will begin studying yoga under some of the most famous yogis in the world. Also, as my luck would have it, I met the man of my dreams at the yoga studio. He is also a yogi---he is 6'4, drop dead gorgeous, dark brown eyes, jet black hair, speaks 3 languages, very well respected in the local yoga culture, he looks like something out of a ralph lauren ad (but with a yogi-mentality, of COURSE). He proposed, I accepted, and as soon as my training is done, we will set out for a "baby-adopting" trip-we will cover the whole of India. We plan to adopt at least 6 or 7 babies to start and then eventually grow our family. Our goal is to get up to at least 20 by 2011. Money will not be an issue as yoga teaching in India is quite a lucrative business, so please do not worry about how I will manage to feed all my babies. Rami (my fiance) also comes from a well-to-do family so we will be just fine. We plan to return to the states in June 2011 with all our children so they can have a glimpse of Washington DC and Texas. Please plan accordingly for our visit. Also please note that we will raise our children Hindu so do not even think about serving beef at any meal you may cook for us.
So I hope you will all manage ok without me. I am most concerned about Christy because she is more sensitive than the rest of you. Please take care of her. I also recommend daily yoga practice for each of you as it has changed my life.
Namaste.
ps. Ok ok ok ok ok I am KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!! The truth is I really do love india and it really is everything I hoped for and more. So I delayed my return trip by 2 days. I will be back in DC Wednesday morning at 8 and back in the office Thursday morning. A week from today. And the funny thing is, I'm not even sorry.
Hi. So the thing is....well, here's the thing. The 411. The skinny. The low-down. The information.
In a nutshell: I. Love. India. It's everything I hoped for and so much more. It's everything I've dreamed about for years.
So, I've decided to move here. I have enrolled in a yoga-training program which is set to begin immediately. I will begin studying yoga under some of the most famous yogis in the world. Also, as my luck would have it, I met the man of my dreams at the yoga studio. He is also a yogi---he is 6'4, drop dead gorgeous, dark brown eyes, jet black hair, speaks 3 languages, very well respected in the local yoga culture, he looks like something out of a ralph lauren ad (but with a yogi-mentality, of COURSE). He proposed, I accepted, and as soon as my training is done, we will set out for a "baby-adopting" trip-we will cover the whole of India. We plan to adopt at least 6 or 7 babies to start and then eventually grow our family. Our goal is to get up to at least 20 by 2011. Money will not be an issue as yoga teaching in India is quite a lucrative business, so please do not worry about how I will manage to feed all my babies. Rami (my fiance) also comes from a well-to-do family so we will be just fine. We plan to return to the states in June 2011 with all our children so they can have a glimpse of Washington DC and Texas. Please plan accordingly for our visit. Also please note that we will raise our children Hindu so do not even think about serving beef at any meal you may cook for us.
So I hope you will all manage ok without me. I am most concerned about Christy because she is more sensitive than the rest of you. Please take care of her. I also recommend daily yoga practice for each of you as it has changed my life.
Namaste.
ps. Ok ok ok ok ok I am KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!! The truth is I really do love india and it really is everything I hoped for and more. So I delayed my return trip by 2 days. I will be back in DC Wednesday morning at 8 and back in the office Thursday morning. A week from today. And the funny thing is, I'm not even sorry.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Numbers...
6 - liters of water we drink in a day
4 - men we saw urinating on our bus ride from Mysore to Hampi
10 - monkeys on the rooftop next to us during breakfast
40 - number of time people have burped, snorted, or spit in front of us
120 - cost of a 650 ml beer in rupees (less than $3)
unknown - ants consumed during dinner tonight
ah...India.
So we have spent the last couple of days in Hampi, an awesome little town on a river. Its surrounded by hills and rocks, really spectacular. Its also very small and easy to navigate (meaning the only thing we need to look out for in the streets is cows and bulls walking into us). We visited a temple yesterday and did a little shopping, I am happy to report I finally found my mumbai pants that I had been looking for! Ashley and I bought the two last pairs it seems. There is a great rooftop restaurant we have been eating at, tons of western food so easy on our stomachs. Apparently alcohol is banned here but leave it us Americans to find the "special drinks." Its called Kali Juice and is listed under fruit juices, but actually its whiskey, coke, and lemon...interesting, not really our taste though.
Today we had a busy day of sightseeing all around Hampi. There are a lot of old palaces and excavated sites to see from the 15th century. It is really amazing, I hope to post pictures soon! We saw the biggest Ganesh in India (a hindu god) which was cool. It was also like animal kingdom, cows, monkeys, goats, sheep everywhere. The most amazing thing we saw...or at least very entertaining for us was a male sheep running around a temple chasing a female sheep all around and trying to "do some business" if you know what I mean. It was quite disturbing actually because she was really not into it at all, but still, you don't often see "wild kingdom" in the middle of DC.
Tonight we watched a beautiul sunset from some of the boudlers. Tomorrow we had to Goa!!! Very excited about that, should be a great time and Ashley and I are plotting our site visits (meaning wherever Jason Bourne was)...
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
"I dig India"
Ashley's words earlier this week. We are having a great time! The trip is flying by and we have done lots since my last post. We left the beachside of Varkala and took a short train ride to the backwaters of Kerala. This is an absolutely breathtaking area of India, man made canals and lakes surrounded by palm trees and its just beautiful. They have houses along the banks and get around by boat. There is also quite a tourist industry now of "houseboats" that people would rent for a few days and are supposedly really nice. We took a boat ride to our homestay, which was actually like a guesthouse, it was the house of a really nice couple and they had 2 adorable little girls. The husband, Thomas (this is a very Christain area of India) took us on a walking tour through his village and around the rice patties. Rice and coconuts are the big products here. They also have this cocunut drink they call a "toddy" that is an alcoholic drink, not so good but they really like. We stayed the night and had some great south indian home cooking.
The next day we took a local bus to Kochi, one of the big port cities of the Western coast of India. The place we stayed was not great, not in the main area and our bathroom had other inhabitants...but it was fine. We spent most of our time in Fort Kochin, a ferry ride from where we were staying , which has a lot of Portugese and Dutch influences. We visited a synagogue, there used to be a lot of jews in this area and they actually have an area called "Jewtown." Now its just tourist shops because the jews moved to Israel once it became a state. There are only 13 jews left at the temple today. We also saw a Kathakali dance show, a famous type of theatre from Kerala. Elaborate costumes and they act out theatre through movements of the eye and body...very interesting. After the show we went to dinner at a local restaurant, thought to be okay by our leader...turns out not so much. The next day 3of our group was sick with food poisioning, luckily we were okay.
From Kochi we took an overnight train (I do not sleep well on trains...) to Bangalore and then a bus to Mysore, which is where we are now. Mysore is a fairly large crowded city, typical India. Lots of people, cars, cows, pollution, noise, etc. They have a phenomenal palace here that we saw yesterday, one of the most amazing I've seen. We also toured a local veggie market. We were so exhausted yeseterday, we literally in bed and asleep by 10:30. Today we had free time and Ashley and I went out to some factories this morning to see silk and incense made, it was pretty interesting. We just had the most amazing lunch of real western pizza. Our stomachs have been a little iffy lately so this was such a great find for us.
This afternoon we head back to Bangalore to catch our last overnight train to Hampi. We have 2 days there and then on to Goa, last stop!! Hard to believe how fast the time has flown!
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