I'm leaving today for a 3 day homestay in the village of Simayal. I won't have internet for a couple days. Wish me luck!
love,
Z
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Photos
 |
| From India-General |
Parvati (left) (and her granddaughter) and Roshni (right)
You need to click on the photo to see it in full.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ZyanyaKB/IndiaGeneral
Women Only.
May 17, 2008
I went on 2 interviews today. These women amaze, confuse, sadden, and frustrate me.
…
I've had to change my fellow students' plans by stealing my translator, Radha, back from them. I must have a female translator, and she’s the only one; they’ll have to find someone else. In my case it's women only. I'm asking sensitive questions about personal health, and I want them to share as much as possible. I must try to remove any obstacles, such as having men present.
As I’m walking along the path to reach the community of Meora, with Radha and CHIRAG employee Naomi, I’m so excited. I’m thinking about all the health issues I’ve been researching that women commonly deal with here. I’m wondering what my exchanges will be like. What will I learn from them? How much will they be willing to share? Will they feel comfortable with me? I’m approaching with an unidentifiable, strong, feminist pride, I’m not exactly sure where it is originating.
My goal is to learn about the healthcare seeking behavior of women in the area. I’m examining any possible relations of their behavior to age and literacy/education levels, as well as find out the differences in when they seek healthcare compared to their husbands. The ladies I am researching are all members of Women Self Help Groups (SHGs) that have been established by CHIRAG; the groups empower women to meet together and make decisions.
It’s us three women, going to meet with women. Women listening to women, women interested in women, women caring for women. We are empowering each other and ourselves.
This is awesome… Women Unite!
We approach the home of Parvati. She’s 65, has 6 children, and has completed 5 years of school. As we enter the patio of her home we find her sitting on the ground massaging a very swollen knee. It looks painful and she tells us it hurts to walk. She applies copious amounts of Omni-Gel, “Fast working pain relief cream!”
She’s happy to speak with us and invites us onto a rug outside, in the shade. I’m so excited and can’t stop smiling while trying to appear amiable and respectful.
I’m grateful to have Naomi with us on this first day. Radha is wonderful, but she’s only 20 and with limited English skills it’s nearly impossible for her to convey names of illnesses and symptoms to me. Naomi has worked with women’s health for 17 years, her English is also limited but she translates gallbladder stones, high blood pressure, ultrasound, arthritis, and more effortlessly. An entire medical history quickly unfolds.
3 months ago Parvati was diagnosed with gallbladder stones. After going to several local clinics she headed to the Haldwani hospital. They ran tests and told her she needed an operation. However, her blood pressure was high so she decided to postpone the operation and return home with painkillers.
I ask her if she has had any RTIs (Reproductive Tract Infections, they are extremely common amongst women here). She says yes, as well having had a PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease). She went to a local ayurvedic doctor for the PID originally and was given a tonic to take. She didn’t like the taste of it so she only took half. She has seen a gynecologist at a health camp and was given 3 days of “antibiotics,” which she took, but it didn’t make the PID go away. She now takes pain medicine and has her daughter-in-law massages her lower back with ointment. If the pain is really bad she can go to a clinic for an injection. She has accepted the persistent PID pains, though she does not acknowledge she still has PID, simply that it still hurts; she does not seek treatment for it anymore, only relief.
She has joint pains, which she treats with oil, salt, and she gets painkillers for.
She is living with constant pain from the gallbladder stones; her abdomen is large and bloated. She’s not sure when she will go for the operation. Naomi explains the longer she waits the worse it will be. For now she uses painkillers to cope, she doesn’t like the idea of staying in the hospital for so many days to wait for her blood pressure to drop. The way she speaks of going to refill her prescriptions and her general practices, I can only imagine her body is addicted to the painkillers.
We are joined by Roshni. Roshni is 33 years old, has also completed 5 years of education, and has 3 children. When Roshni was 18 she had her first child and developed an RTI (they are even more common after childbirth). She went to an ayurvedic doctor for treatment, but it persisted. She saw several doctors, but male doctors don’t examine, they only prescribe medication. Finally, a year later a female doctor properly examined her for the first time, at a women’s health camp. She was again diagnosed with having an RTI and given a set of antibiotics. They didn’t work.
Today, 15 years later, Roshni still suffers from the original RTI. I can’t imagine what pain, infection, and disease this prolonged illness has caused by now, and will cause in the future. I don’t understand why none of the medications have worked for her. Naomi is giving her advice in Hindi, I ask her to explain what she is saying. She tells me that every time Roshni has been provided with or purchased medication she takes about 2 pills and proceeds to throw the rest away. I am literally horror-struck. Roshni insists that the pills don’t work. She takes one and nothing happens. She doesn’t like pills anyway, so if they aren’t working she’s not going to keep taking them.
She’s suffered for 15 years with this burden of pain and neglect hiding under her sari. I ask her what she will do now and she replies, “I want to feel better, I want relief, but what can I do?”
...
I leave Meora exhausted, but thinking a million things. During the interviews I had been concentrating on my questions, understanding responses, and taking notes. I began to really process everything as we walked.
What had I been expecting? For these women to tell me, “I know I don’t take proper care of myself, but I really want to, it’s just so difficult.” I don’t have the money, my husband doesn’t let me, there are no female doctors, the resources aren’t available… These excuses would seem so much easier for me to understand, for me to think of solutions to. But these women are not giving me any of these excuses. Instead, I’m hearing that the reason they are suffering daily pain and ill health is due to fear, ignorance, isolation, and family values. Issues I can’t begin to approach, issues that are intangible and ingrained in society, issues I was hoping would have begun to be broken down in this area with the help of the SHGs and CHIRAG.
I feel defenseless to the waves of emotions passing through my mind and heart: anger, sadness, confusion, love. I was hoping for an intense cultural experience while conducting my project, one of the reasons I chose this topic. But this is more personal then I was expecting, and these were only the first 2 interviews of my planned 17 women.
My final realization as I’m in the jeep heading back to Sonopani with my peers, sharing our day’s experiences… Contrary to my initial thoughts, I now understand,
These women are not empowered, they are alone.
I went on 2 interviews today. These women amaze, confuse, sadden, and frustrate me.
…
I've had to change my fellow students' plans by stealing my translator, Radha, back from them. I must have a female translator, and she’s the only one; they’ll have to find someone else. In my case it's women only. I'm asking sensitive questions about personal health, and I want them to share as much as possible. I must try to remove any obstacles, such as having men present.
As I’m walking along the path to reach the community of Meora, with Radha and CHIRAG employee Naomi, I’m so excited. I’m thinking about all the health issues I’ve been researching that women commonly deal with here. I’m wondering what my exchanges will be like. What will I learn from them? How much will they be willing to share? Will they feel comfortable with me? I’m approaching with an unidentifiable, strong, feminist pride, I’m not exactly sure where it is originating.
My goal is to learn about the healthcare seeking behavior of women in the area. I’m examining any possible relations of their behavior to age and literacy/education levels, as well as find out the differences in when they seek healthcare compared to their husbands. The ladies I am researching are all members of Women Self Help Groups (SHGs) that have been established by CHIRAG; the groups empower women to meet together and make decisions.
It’s us three women, going to meet with women. Women listening to women, women interested in women, women caring for women. We are empowering each other and ourselves.
This is awesome… Women Unite!
We approach the home of Parvati. She’s 65, has 6 children, and has completed 5 years of school. As we enter the patio of her home we find her sitting on the ground massaging a very swollen knee. It looks painful and she tells us it hurts to walk. She applies copious amounts of Omni-Gel, “Fast working pain relief cream!”
She’s happy to speak with us and invites us onto a rug outside, in the shade. I’m so excited and can’t stop smiling while trying to appear amiable and respectful.
I’m grateful to have Naomi with us on this first day. Radha is wonderful, but she’s only 20 and with limited English skills it’s nearly impossible for her to convey names of illnesses and symptoms to me. Naomi has worked with women’s health for 17 years, her English is also limited but she translates gallbladder stones, high blood pressure, ultrasound, arthritis, and more effortlessly. An entire medical history quickly unfolds.
3 months ago Parvati was diagnosed with gallbladder stones. After going to several local clinics she headed to the Haldwani hospital. They ran tests and told her she needed an operation. However, her blood pressure was high so she decided to postpone the operation and return home with painkillers.
I ask her if she has had any RTIs (Reproductive Tract Infections, they are extremely common amongst women here). She says yes, as well having had a PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease). She went to a local ayurvedic doctor for the PID originally and was given a tonic to take. She didn’t like the taste of it so she only took half. She has seen a gynecologist at a health camp and was given 3 days of “antibiotics,” which she took, but it didn’t make the PID go away. She now takes pain medicine and has her daughter-in-law massages her lower back with ointment. If the pain is really bad she can go to a clinic for an injection. She has accepted the persistent PID pains, though she does not acknowledge she still has PID, simply that it still hurts; she does not seek treatment for it anymore, only relief.
She has joint pains, which she treats with oil, salt, and she gets painkillers for.
She is living with constant pain from the gallbladder stones; her abdomen is large and bloated. She’s not sure when she will go for the operation. Naomi explains the longer she waits the worse it will be. For now she uses painkillers to cope, she doesn’t like the idea of staying in the hospital for so many days to wait for her blood pressure to drop. The way she speaks of going to refill her prescriptions and her general practices, I can only imagine her body is addicted to the painkillers.
We are joined by Roshni. Roshni is 33 years old, has also completed 5 years of education, and has 3 children. When Roshni was 18 she had her first child and developed an RTI (they are even more common after childbirth). She went to an ayurvedic doctor for treatment, but it persisted. She saw several doctors, but male doctors don’t examine, they only prescribe medication. Finally, a year later a female doctor properly examined her for the first time, at a women’s health camp. She was again diagnosed with having an RTI and given a set of antibiotics. They didn’t work.
Today, 15 years later, Roshni still suffers from the original RTI. I can’t imagine what pain, infection, and disease this prolonged illness has caused by now, and will cause in the future. I don’t understand why none of the medications have worked for her. Naomi is giving her advice in Hindi, I ask her to explain what she is saying. She tells me that every time Roshni has been provided with or purchased medication she takes about 2 pills and proceeds to throw the rest away. I am literally horror-struck. Roshni insists that the pills don’t work. She takes one and nothing happens. She doesn’t like pills anyway, so if they aren’t working she’s not going to keep taking them.
She’s suffered for 15 years with this burden of pain and neglect hiding under her sari. I ask her what she will do now and she replies, “I want to feel better, I want relief, but what can I do?”
...
I leave Meora exhausted, but thinking a million things. During the interviews I had been concentrating on my questions, understanding responses, and taking notes. I began to really process everything as we walked.
What had I been expecting? For these women to tell me, “I know I don’t take proper care of myself, but I really want to, it’s just so difficult.” I don’t have the money, my husband doesn’t let me, there are no female doctors, the resources aren’t available… These excuses would seem so much easier for me to understand, for me to think of solutions to. But these women are not giving me any of these excuses. Instead, I’m hearing that the reason they are suffering daily pain and ill health is due to fear, ignorance, isolation, and family values. Issues I can’t begin to approach, issues that are intangible and ingrained in society, issues I was hoping would have begun to be broken down in this area with the help of the SHGs and CHIRAG.
I feel defenseless to the waves of emotions passing through my mind and heart: anger, sadness, confusion, love. I was hoping for an intense cultural experience while conducting my project, one of the reasons I chose this topic. But this is more personal then I was expecting, and these were only the first 2 interviews of my planned 17 women.
My final realization as I’m in the jeep heading back to Sonopani with my peers, sharing our day’s experiences… Contrary to my initial thoughts, I now understand,
These women are not empowered, they are alone.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Welcome to India.
As a traveler, whenever you meet an Indian, no matter who they may be, a hairdresser computer engineer, bus driver, anthropologist, or chai-stand owner, they will always ask “Is this your 1st time in India?” And with the response, “Yes,” it immediately seems to follow that they disqualify any other experiences in life you may have had. Suddenly you are perceived as a child, seeing the world properly for the first time. It’s not as though they are passing judgment, as much as they are simply very excited for you (and full of advice).
This is the first country I’ve been to where I don’t say “you’re country is very beautiful” and receive a modest “thank you.” Instead the reply “yes, it is,” is more common. Everyone is highly aware of the problems of the country, but also of the experience offered by the society and culture for travelers (both Indian and foreign).
The lesson: If you haven’t experienced India you are not fully qualified to remark on life. But it’s "o.k.", because you are here now, in Bharat, and soon you will know.
This is the first country I’ve been to where I don’t say “you’re country is very beautiful” and receive a modest “thank you.” Instead the reply “yes, it is,” is more common. Everyone is highly aware of the problems of the country, but also of the experience offered by the society and culture for travelers (both Indian and foreign).
The lesson: If you haven’t experienced India you are not fully qualified to remark on life. But it’s "o.k.", because you are here now, in Bharat, and soon you will know.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Misc.
I really enjoy having to squeeze to the side on the path back to Sonopani because I run into a herd of goats and their herder, or perhaps a couple cows are blocking the path.
The birds here are incessant. There are many small song birds that fill the morning and evening with sound, along with many ravens and jays that fill the rest of the day with a variety of loud, rude sounds. But I think I'll miss them all when we leave.
Today we were told there was a leopard kill of a cow at a home nearby and it has returned to feed several times. Word is it's a very large cat and we've been told not to walk around at night. I was surprised no one had attempted to kill it, but Ashish said that it is illegal because it's an endangered species and not until the animal has killed 2 people can it be considered a threat to society.
-----
I've started going into the field to meet and interview women. It's amazing. The women are so friendly and hospitable to me, a complete stranger walking into their home, asking them personal questions about their health.
Yesterday I sat in a stone/mud home with a woman. My translator and I had already had chai at the previous house, and we didn't have a lot of time to stay, so we denied her offer for chai. But then she insisted that we had to take something sweet from her if we wouldn't have chai. So she proceeded to unlock a trunk in the corner of the room and pull out a little plastic baggy of sugar. We each took a spoonful from her in our right hand and downed it. yum.
I'm sorry I can't put up pictures, I have some good ones...
The birds here are incessant. There are many small song birds that fill the morning and evening with sound, along with many ravens and jays that fill the rest of the day with a variety of loud, rude sounds. But I think I'll miss them all when we leave.
Today we were told there was a leopard kill of a cow at a home nearby and it has returned to feed several times. Word is it's a very large cat and we've been told not to walk around at night. I was surprised no one had attempted to kill it, but Ashish said that it is illegal because it's an endangered species and not until the animal has killed 2 people can it be considered a threat to society.
-----
I've started going into the field to meet and interview women. It's amazing. The women are so friendly and hospitable to me, a complete stranger walking into their home, asking them personal questions about their health.
Yesterday I sat in a stone/mud home with a woman. My translator and I had already had chai at the previous house, and we didn't have a lot of time to stay, so we denied her offer for chai. But then she insisted that we had to take something sweet from her if we wouldn't have chai. So she proceeded to unlock a trunk in the corner of the room and pull out a little plastic baggy of sugar. We each took a spoonful from her in our right hand and downed it. yum.
I'm sorry I can't put up pictures, I have some good ones...
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Om nama shivaya
So I’m behind with my journaling but to catch up:
About a week ago we took a 4-day field trip a bit north of here. We drove to Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary where we spent 2 days. It’s a properly forested mountain and has been protected for about 40 years. It was nice to see more “lush” forest instead of the degraded and limited biodiversity we usually find here. The highlight of the trip though was our walk from Binsar to the Hindu pilgrimage town of Jageshwar. This was an 18 km hike along a well-worn trail through the mountains. Because it has been so dry over the past couple months everyone has been expecting forest fires to start, and they did when we got to Binsar.
During the beginning of our hike we were walking directly through several low intensity burns. The logs/trees and shrubs were still smoking and flames were crawling along the forest floor several meters from the path. It was really cool to see. Luckily though we walked through them all after an hour, or I probably would have started to become faint from the smoke. We arrived in Jageshwar after about 5 hours of hiking. The last part of the path took us trhough a beautiful deodar cedar forest along a stream that reminded me of home.
Jageshwar is a small town famous for a complex of over 100 small/large 1000 + year old temples and shrines. I’ve seen a lot of garbage in India on the streets, in huge piles, in rivers, buried garbage, garbage in the forests, in national parks, human waste… But it frustrated me to find copious amounts of trash strewn all over what is considered such a holy place. We attended the 7pm evening aarti (prayer) in the main temple, which was quite an experience. Here is an exchange I had with the priests as we were all sitting by the main representation of Shiva, waiting for the ceremony to begin:
Scene: about 7 students sitting around the shrine waiting for the prayers to begin with Dr. Asha (at the time, our translator). The conversation was passed between her.
I asked a question regarding priests abilities/training to read palms and such, I was curious if they did any types of predictions.
Priest: “Don’t worry about the future so much, worry about the present.”
Me (thinking: well that sounds familiar): “Right.”
Priest: “What is your favorite color?”
Me: Umm… Red.
Priest (thinks for a moment): You tend to agree more with your father than your mother.
Me (thinking: wow! That’s true. Wait a moment, he got that from my favorite color?): “Yes.”
Priest: When is your birthday?
Me: Sept. 22 1987.
Priest (he counts on his fingers and thinks for a second): Something happened when you were 7 years old, were you sick?
Me: I moved.
(Silence… At this point I couldn’t decide whether to be impressed or not, though I was very honored by his attention to me. He continued to stare at me for a while as I inspected my surroundings and thought about my religious beliefs, or lack there of.)
After a couple minutes:
Priest: “She has an inclination towards spirituality, I see that clearly.”
Me: "um, thanks, danyavad."
Me thinking: Ohhhhhhhh boy, mom's going to love this.
Me screaming in my head, with some sarcasm, though I can’t decide how much: “Mom! If you can hear me, a holy man in India just told me I’m spiritual. Turns out you were right!”
The prayers commenced from that point, which included a lot of Sanskrit songs, incense, flowers, water spraying, loud bells, fire, and the famous “Om Nama Shivaya” I have spent so many hours listening to from CD’s at home. Mom, I was thinking of you the whole time with a smile on my face.
Om Nama Shivaya
Om Nama Shivaya
Om Nama Shivaya
Om Nama Shivaya…
(I honor the divinity that resides within me)
Oh, and by the way I was later informed that the priest had also mentioned that the Hindu character Bhraspati resides high in my “charts.” Apparently he’s the Guru of the Gods. Cool, huh?
So we drove back the next day, stopping Almora for 2 hours to do some shopping. I got my haircut in a tiny tiny barbershop for 50rps ($1.25), by a jovial Muslim man who asked if I was Christian (knowing I was American).
I replied I was Jewish and his instant response was:
“Ah! We should be friends!”
I nominate him the next general secretary of the UN.
With my hair resembling that of a young boy I strolled around the bizarre and spent a blissful 15 minutes (truly a spiritual experience) using high-speed internet at a café.
More to come soon… please forgive any typos, it's dinner time and I'm in a hurry to reach my nightly feast.
About a week ago we took a 4-day field trip a bit north of here. We drove to Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary where we spent 2 days. It’s a properly forested mountain and has been protected for about 40 years. It was nice to see more “lush” forest instead of the degraded and limited biodiversity we usually find here. The highlight of the trip though was our walk from Binsar to the Hindu pilgrimage town of Jageshwar. This was an 18 km hike along a well-worn trail through the mountains. Because it has been so dry over the past couple months everyone has been expecting forest fires to start, and they did when we got to Binsar.
During the beginning of our hike we were walking directly through several low intensity burns. The logs/trees and shrubs were still smoking and flames were crawling along the forest floor several meters from the path. It was really cool to see. Luckily though we walked through them all after an hour, or I probably would have started to become faint from the smoke. We arrived in Jageshwar after about 5 hours of hiking. The last part of the path took us trhough a beautiful deodar cedar forest along a stream that reminded me of home.
Jageshwar is a small town famous for a complex of over 100 small/large 1000 + year old temples and shrines. I’ve seen a lot of garbage in India on the streets, in huge piles, in rivers, buried garbage, garbage in the forests, in national parks, human waste… But it frustrated me to find copious amounts of trash strewn all over what is considered such a holy place. We attended the 7pm evening aarti (prayer) in the main temple, which was quite an experience. Here is an exchange I had with the priests as we were all sitting by the main representation of Shiva, waiting for the ceremony to begin:
Scene: about 7 students sitting around the shrine waiting for the prayers to begin with Dr. Asha (at the time, our translator). The conversation was passed between her.
I asked a question regarding priests abilities/training to read palms and such, I was curious if they did any types of predictions.
Priest: “Don’t worry about the future so much, worry about the present.”
Me (thinking: well that sounds familiar): “Right.”
Priest: “What is your favorite color?”
Me: Umm… Red.
Priest (thinks for a moment): You tend to agree more with your father than your mother.
Me (thinking: wow! That’s true. Wait a moment, he got that from my favorite color?): “Yes.”
Priest: When is your birthday?
Me: Sept. 22 1987.
Priest (he counts on his fingers and thinks for a second): Something happened when you were 7 years old, were you sick?
Me: I moved.
(Silence… At this point I couldn’t decide whether to be impressed or not, though I was very honored by his attention to me. He continued to stare at me for a while as I inspected my surroundings and thought about my religious beliefs, or lack there of.)
After a couple minutes:
Priest: “She has an inclination towards spirituality, I see that clearly.”
Me: "um, thanks, danyavad."
Me thinking: Ohhhhhhhh boy, mom's going to love this.
Me screaming in my head, with some sarcasm, though I can’t decide how much: “Mom! If you can hear me, a holy man in India just told me I’m spiritual. Turns out you were right!”
The prayers commenced from that point, which included a lot of Sanskrit songs, incense, flowers, water spraying, loud bells, fire, and the famous “Om Nama Shivaya” I have spent so many hours listening to from CD’s at home. Mom, I was thinking of you the whole time with a smile on my face.
Om Nama Shivaya
Om Nama Shivaya
Om Nama Shivaya
Om Nama Shivaya…
(I honor the divinity that resides within me)
Oh, and by the way I was later informed that the priest had also mentioned that the Hindu character Bhraspati resides high in my “charts.” Apparently he’s the Guru of the Gods. Cool, huh?
So we drove back the next day, stopping Almora for 2 hours to do some shopping. I got my haircut in a tiny tiny barbershop for 50rps ($1.25), by a jovial Muslim man who asked if I was Christian (knowing I was American).
I replied I was Jewish and his instant response was:
“Ah! We should be friends!”
I nominate him the next general secretary of the UN.
With my hair resembling that of a young boy I strolled around the bizarre and spent a blissful 15 minutes (truly a spiritual experience) using high-speed internet at a café.
More to come soon… please forgive any typos, it's dinner time and I'm in a hurry to reach my nightly feast.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
midterms?
Stress! what is this feeling?
We had a midterm in ecology on Friday, we have 2 full essays due over the weekend that we were just given as a take home midterm for Sustainable Development, our proposals are due thursday, and our reflection is due friday. Plus I have meetings for my projects and with the teachers.
No time no time no time. That familiar feeling is creeping back from life in Seattle.
It's weird to be busy again.
Also, my dance performance has been cancelled, too bad. I was really looking forward to that.
It's gotten cold and rainy here again, but that's ok, it's a nice break from the heat and they really needed the rain here.
Hmm. I could really go for pizza right now....
We had a midterm in ecology on Friday, we have 2 full essays due over the weekend that we were just given as a take home midterm for Sustainable Development, our proposals are due thursday, and our reflection is due friday. Plus I have meetings for my projects and with the teachers.
No time no time no time. That familiar feeling is creeping back from life in Seattle.
It's weird to be busy again.
Also, my dance performance has been cancelled, too bad. I was really looking forward to that.
It's gotten cold and rainy here again, but that's ok, it's a nice break from the heat and they really needed the rain here.
Hmm. I could really go for pizza right now....
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Life in India
We’re being spoiled. Have I already mentioned that?
Here’s what a typical day looks like in the life of Z in India…
7:50 alarm goes off.
8:00 snooze goes off.
8:05 Roll out of bed, slip on clothes without having to worry about fashion, hair, or makeup and head up to breakfast.
What’s for breakfast?
Depending on the day we will have a choice of several of the following:
Fresh yoghurt (curd)
Paratha’s (like potato/spice stuffed pancakes, delicious)
Pouridge
Fresh Papaya/Apple/Banana
Omlette or Scrambled eggs
Fried Chapati with potatoes in sauce
Toast w/ Jam & Ghee (clarified butter)
And of course Chai.
Did I mention we always eat buffet style?
We walk after breakfast down a quaint 1km path to meet the Jeeps that take us to CHIRAG. CHIRAG’s new building complex is quite nice and we have class there from about 10-1pm. Sometimes class is watching a bollywood movie.
Lunch is at 1:30pm and consists of rice and dal (lentils) with a vegetable dish and chapati’s (flat bread). From here we can decide to walk back (if it’s not too hot or we aren’t feeling too stuffed from lunch) the 5km uphill or get a ride back in the jeep.
We’re usually back by about 3:30pm, in time for the 4pm snack:
Chai and either cookies, pakoras, or French fries (everyone’s favorite).
The next 3 hours may be spent reading, playing Frisbee, learning to cook Indian food in the kitchen, having a Hindi lesson, or anything else you can think of.
Dinner is @ 7. I can’t begin to list what I may eat for dinner, but I can say it is always at least 3 dishes and delicious. We often eat traditional Indian (better then anything from an Indian restaurant in Seattle), but occasionally Vinod, the chef, will surprise us with pasta, Chinese, pizza, and more. Dessert is always sweet, often fried, and incredible. Again this is all buffet style.
I’m not losing weight in India…
I don’t have to clean my room, wash my dishes, or do my laundry.
I share a comfortable private one room furnished cabin with beautiful views and a private bathroom (w/ toilet paper!!!) with my roommate Amity. Some people are uncomfortable with the amount of bugs, but having lived in the jungle in Costa Rica for a month I feel quite well trained, as long as there are no mosquitoes I’m happy.
This next week though my schedule will begin to be much more dense. I will be having Indian/salsa dance practice nearly every other day. I will be going to the women’s self help group meetings some days in different villages with some possible overnight stays.
We are adding another class when Professor Patak arrives to begin lessons in Indian history. Occasionally I go to the CHIRAG School to teach dance and movement to 3-6 year olds. Also by the end of the month our 2 projects/papers are due.
And so the next month will be packed with dance, classes, study, social observations, ecological research and experimenting, plenty of reading and writing, and of course eating.
I’m looking forward to finally feeling busy, though in many ways I have really enjoyed the past month of relaxation and reflection.
Here’s what a typical day looks like in the life of Z in India…
7:50 alarm goes off.
8:00 snooze goes off.
8:05 Roll out of bed, slip on clothes without having to worry about fashion, hair, or makeup and head up to breakfast.
What’s for breakfast?
Depending on the day we will have a choice of several of the following:
Fresh yoghurt (curd)
Paratha’s (like potato/spice stuffed pancakes, delicious)
Pouridge
Fresh Papaya/Apple/Banana
Omlette or Scrambled eggs
Fried Chapati with potatoes in sauce
Toast w/ Jam & Ghee (clarified butter)
And of course Chai.
Did I mention we always eat buffet style?
We walk after breakfast down a quaint 1km path to meet the Jeeps that take us to CHIRAG. CHIRAG’s new building complex is quite nice and we have class there from about 10-1pm. Sometimes class is watching a bollywood movie.
Lunch is at 1:30pm and consists of rice and dal (lentils) with a vegetable dish and chapati’s (flat bread). From here we can decide to walk back (if it’s not too hot or we aren’t feeling too stuffed from lunch) the 5km uphill or get a ride back in the jeep.
We’re usually back by about 3:30pm, in time for the 4pm snack:
Chai and either cookies, pakoras, or French fries (everyone’s favorite).
The next 3 hours may be spent reading, playing Frisbee, learning to cook Indian food in the kitchen, having a Hindi lesson, or anything else you can think of.
Dinner is @ 7. I can’t begin to list what I may eat for dinner, but I can say it is always at least 3 dishes and delicious. We often eat traditional Indian (better then anything from an Indian restaurant in Seattle), but occasionally Vinod, the chef, will surprise us with pasta, Chinese, pizza, and more. Dessert is always sweet, often fried, and incredible. Again this is all buffet style.
I’m not losing weight in India…
I don’t have to clean my room, wash my dishes, or do my laundry.
I share a comfortable private one room furnished cabin with beautiful views and a private bathroom (w/ toilet paper!!!) with my roommate Amity. Some people are uncomfortable with the amount of bugs, but having lived in the jungle in Costa Rica for a month I feel quite well trained, as long as there are no mosquitoes I’m happy.
This next week though my schedule will begin to be much more dense. I will be having Indian/salsa dance practice nearly every other day. I will be going to the women’s self help group meetings some days in different villages with some possible overnight stays.
We are adding another class when Professor Patak arrives to begin lessons in Indian history. Occasionally I go to the CHIRAG School to teach dance and movement to 3-6 year olds. Also by the end of the month our 2 projects/papers are due.
And so the next month will be packed with dance, classes, study, social observations, ecological research and experimenting, plenty of reading and writing, and of course eating.
I’m looking forward to finally feeling busy, though in many ways I have really enjoyed the past month of relaxation and reflection.
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