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!