Malo, or hello in Xhosa!
As usual it has been a while since I last posted and I have so much to tell! I moved into the Bo Kaap on April 6 which was wonderful. My host parents are great! My host mother is named Faiza and (regretfully) I still cannot decipher my host father's name! I am staying with my friend Lori from the program and we basically have our own apartment. Faiza rents out the middle floor of her house with boys on one side and girls on the other. Lori and I have our own bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. It is really nice to have our own space yet still spend time with a family. On the bottom floor of the house lives Faiza's daughter, her husband and their 3 children who have been very nice and welcoming as well.
From April 6 until April 13 I stayed in the Bo Kaap and had regular classes. During that time I learned a lot about Apartheid as well as the current HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa. We also visited a township called Khayelitsha for a day and spoke with a man who runs a faith based HIV support group for men. During the weekend I visited Cape Point which was very beautiful and nice to walk around especially because we had gorgeous weather. The only bad part was we had to watch out for all the baboons because they were really vicious and would just come up to you and steal your food! We were also going to try to see the penguins but unfortunately it was closed by the time we got there. On Sunday, I hiked up Table Mountain with a small group of girls. It was really great because we went early enough to avoid the heat. The hike to the top was only about an hour and a half but it was really steep so I felt like I finally got a good workout in! The view from the top was spectacular, overlooking the entire city and ocean.
On Monday, I moved to Zwelethemba. Zwelethemba is a black township that sits outside of a city called Worcester in the Western Cape. A township is a community that was set up during Apartheid where non-whites were forced to live and still live today. There are 20,000 people living in Zwelethemba today and many people speak Xhosa as their first language as well as English and Afrikaans. I stayed with a woman named Thembsy, her daughter, her granddaughter, her two grandsons and one great granddaughter (plus any extra family or non-family members who dropped in frequently). It was a busy household to say the least, especially with the addition of four IHP students! We were also in Zwelethemba for the week leading up to election day and election day itself (April 22) which was a very exciting time because there were many different rallies and campaign events daily. In Zwelethemba we had regular classes as well as meetings with community members and a service learning project. The best part about Zwelethemba was all the children. There were tons of children who were very curious about us and who loved to talk and play with us. The first day I was there I was sitting down talking on my cell phone when eight children age 3-10 came up and started touching my hair and my clothes. They loved playing with my hair and giving me back rubs which was very welcomed although at times a little overwhleming. Although everyone in Zwelethemba was extremely welcoming and friendly it was overall a very difficult experience for me to live there because I saw the reality of Apartheid and how the struggle still continues for many people today in terms of housing, employment and other factors.
On election day we presented our final projects for a class called Health and Globalization (where we made 3-D models of how we think about globalization and all the health effects) and then we went to Kirstenbosch botanical gardens. The gardens were beautiful and relaxing to walk around and think about our time in Zwelethemba. That evening we moved back into our homestays in the Bo Kaap.
Now, we have one week of case studies. For my South African case study I am working with an organization called People's Health Movement (PHM) on a campaign called The Right to Health. The idea is that the right to health is more than just the right to access health care but is much broader and includes the right to proper housing, water, employment and environment. Our goal is to develop and produce a pamphlet for a PHM conference happening on May 11-12 in South Africa explaining the right to health. It will be very challenging but hopefully will all work out in the end.
On May 3rd I leave for a retreat in Malmesbury where we have time to relax and also to evaluate the program with someone from IHP. After the retreat we spend one night in a hostel and then leave for the U.S. on May 7th! I am really looking forward to going home but also sad to leave South Africa. I can't believe the semester is almost over!
As always, please feel free to e-mail me and I will try to respond after I write my final paper this weekend!
Love,
Barbara
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
SOUTH AFRICA!
Hello!
I have arrived safely in Cape Town! I cannot tell you how happy I am to be here! It is absolutely gorgeous and we are staying 2 blocks from the beach. But first, I will tell about the rest of China...
Our "rural" stay did not end up being rural at all. We drove about 30 minutes south of Changsha and stayed in a huge hotel (that may have also been a brothel!) where over 1 million people live. Apparently there was a huge misunderstanding between our faculty and the country coordinators over what rural means. In the end, it looks like we should have said we wanted to stay in the "countryside." During our stay we visited hospitals, schools and local centers but basically it was the same information we had received before. During this time we also had to write our culminating papers for China so everyone was very stressed and had to spend time writing. Because Josh (our faculty fellow who is 26 and travels with us) is amazing and felt sorry for us he organized for all of us to stay in a more remote location for our last night.
We arrived in a place that at least had a lake and some green space to walk around. We had a meeting right after we arrived when all of a sudden our country coordinator Mr. Li runs runs in and interrupts us. He announces there has been an emergency and that the local police our coming to our hotel. He then proceeds to tell us about how we must go back to our rooms lay out all our belongings on our beds and come back immediately to write a list of everything we posses. At this point we all start to worry a little bit because we had no idea what was going to happen. We all went back to our rooms and unpacked our bags (while stuffing our valuables into our pockets). When we went back to the meeting room Mr. Li told us we had to go outside and line up in two lines to be questioned about where we had been and who we had talked to since we arrived. At this point I got pretty nervous because I really had no idea what was going on and I didn't like the idea of being questioned. We went outside and lined up and as we were standing there waiting for the police Mr. Li shouts, "Aprils Fools!" It was great, we were all just laughing because we were so relieved. We found out later the reason Mr. Li had seemed really nervous was because it was the first time he had ever lied to anyone!
On Friday morning we woke up at 5 a.m. (after having gone to bed at 4 a.m.) and left for the airport. We took a one hour flight to Hong Kong where we got to spend the day. My friends, Mariam, Abby, Sami and I took a train from the airport into central Hong Kong island. The city was great and very modern looking with huge skyscrapers mixed with little markets and shops. In the city we met up with Abby's brother's girlfriend named Sarah who is living and working in Hong Kong as a stock trader at a big investment company. Sarah was so nice and took us to lunch at a restaurant called Life where we ate the most delicious sandwiches. We were all so thankful to have American food! After lunch we walked around and looked at some markets but I didn't end up buying anything. We also ate dinner with Sarah and then headed back to the airport. I am so glad I had the opportunity to see Hong Kong even for a day and it is somewhere that I would definitely like to go back to.
We took a 13 hour flight from Hong Kong to Johannesburg which is the longest flight I have ever been on but at least I was able to sleep for most of it! After that we had to take another 2 hour flight to Cape Town. In Cape Town we were picked up by Chris who is our country coordinator but also the program director. He is great and took us to an organic farm to eat lunch which was amazing after eating all oil in China.
Now, we are staying at a hostel in Sea Point (2 blocks from the beach!) just for 2 nights before we move in with our families. Cape Town is gorgeous with dramatic mountains and beautiful beaches. The weather here is great, sunny but not to hot. This morning we woke up and had a great breakfast of eggs and french toast right on the beach, it felt like vacation! Now, we are going to do a little shopping and check out some sites. I am so excited to be here and really looking forward to the next 5 weeks.
On Monday we move into the Bo Kaap which is a working middle class neighborhood where mostly Muslim families live. I can't wait.
Please feel free to send me an e-mail anytime, I will try to respond if time allows!
Love,
Barbara
I have arrived safely in Cape Town! I cannot tell you how happy I am to be here! It is absolutely gorgeous and we are staying 2 blocks from the beach. But first, I will tell about the rest of China...
Our "rural" stay did not end up being rural at all. We drove about 30 minutes south of Changsha and stayed in a huge hotel (that may have also been a brothel!) where over 1 million people live. Apparently there was a huge misunderstanding between our faculty and the country coordinators over what rural means. In the end, it looks like we should have said we wanted to stay in the "countryside." During our stay we visited hospitals, schools and local centers but basically it was the same information we had received before. During this time we also had to write our culminating papers for China so everyone was very stressed and had to spend time writing. Because Josh (our faculty fellow who is 26 and travels with us) is amazing and felt sorry for us he organized for all of us to stay in a more remote location for our last night.
We arrived in a place that at least had a lake and some green space to walk around. We had a meeting right after we arrived when all of a sudden our country coordinator Mr. Li runs runs in and interrupts us. He announces there has been an emergency and that the local police our coming to our hotel. He then proceeds to tell us about how we must go back to our rooms lay out all our belongings on our beds and come back immediately to write a list of everything we posses. At this point we all start to worry a little bit because we had no idea what was going to happen. We all went back to our rooms and unpacked our bags (while stuffing our valuables into our pockets). When we went back to the meeting room Mr. Li told us we had to go outside and line up in two lines to be questioned about where we had been and who we had talked to since we arrived. At this point I got pretty nervous because I really had no idea what was going on and I didn't like the idea of being questioned. We went outside and lined up and as we were standing there waiting for the police Mr. Li shouts, "Aprils Fools!" It was great, we were all just laughing because we were so relieved. We found out later the reason Mr. Li had seemed really nervous was because it was the first time he had ever lied to anyone!
On Friday morning we woke up at 5 a.m. (after having gone to bed at 4 a.m.) and left for the airport. We took a one hour flight to Hong Kong where we got to spend the day. My friends, Mariam, Abby, Sami and I took a train from the airport into central Hong Kong island. The city was great and very modern looking with huge skyscrapers mixed with little markets and shops. In the city we met up with Abby's brother's girlfriend named Sarah who is living and working in Hong Kong as a stock trader at a big investment company. Sarah was so nice and took us to lunch at a restaurant called Life where we ate the most delicious sandwiches. We were all so thankful to have American food! After lunch we walked around and looked at some markets but I didn't end up buying anything. We also ate dinner with Sarah and then headed back to the airport. I am so glad I had the opportunity to see Hong Kong even for a day and it is somewhere that I would definitely like to go back to.
We took a 13 hour flight from Hong Kong to Johannesburg which is the longest flight I have ever been on but at least I was able to sleep for most of it! After that we had to take another 2 hour flight to Cape Town. In Cape Town we were picked up by Chris who is our country coordinator but also the program director. He is great and took us to an organic farm to eat lunch which was amazing after eating all oil in China.
Now, we are staying at a hostel in Sea Point (2 blocks from the beach!) just for 2 nights before we move in with our families. Cape Town is gorgeous with dramatic mountains and beautiful beaches. The weather here is great, sunny but not to hot. This morning we woke up and had a great breakfast of eggs and french toast right on the beach, it felt like vacation! Now, we are going to do a little shopping and check out some sites. I am so excited to be here and really looking forward to the next 5 weeks.
On Monday we move into the Bo Kaap which is a working middle class neighborhood where mostly Muslim families live. I can't wait.
Please feel free to send me an e-mail anytime, I will try to respond if time allows!
Love,
Barbara
Thursday, March 26, 2009
more of Changsha!
Ni Hao!
I hope this post finds you well. I am currently sitting in an internet cafe in Changsha filled with tons of young "gamers" intensely playing computer games while sucking back pop and cigarettes! What an experience. They have even diagnosed a new issue in the field of mental health called something like "pathological internet use."
Changsha has been interesting to say the least. A typical day begins at 8:30 a.m. with a 30 minute Chinese lesson taught by our country coordinators. I have only learned how to say, "I am an American" and "I eat vegetables." Otherwise I have been an utter failure at learning Chinese. After Chinese lessons we will have a guest lecture come talk to us from the CSU School of Public Health. Lecture topics have ranged from The New Rural Cooperative Medical System, to Traditional Chinese Medicine to Maternal and infant health care. The problem we have faced with the guest lecturers is that many can read and write English well but do not feel comfortable speaking and cannot understand the questions we ask. This has led to all the guest lecturers preparing general power points and reading directly from the slides. Overall there have been some pretty tedious lectures and many students falling asleep in class!
After lecture we have a 10 minute break and then we have a lecture by our faculty members. Our faculty classes are really coming together and we have had some great class discussions lately. After class we have time for lunch. Our new favorite lunch spot is "the noodle lady." She sells delicious noodles from a cart on the side road. The road leading up to the noodle lady is crazy! It is lined with all types of vendors selling blood worms, live chickens (and chickens being slaughtered!), eels, skinned fish, intestines as well as some tamer items like banana chips and other fruits and vegetables.
After lunch we generally have a field trip. The field trips have been extremely wierd. First, every place we go the administration puts on a big show for us. We are generally greeted with bottle waters and candy as well as elaborate power points. We also realized that they have been clearing places out for our arrival. For example, as a class we visited a Maternal and Child hospital and it was basically empty but when I went back on my own the place was bursting with people. Also, every place we have gone has a huge banner welcoming us and then we are required to take millions of pictures in front of the banner with all the important people from the hospital or school. We definitely have a feeling that we are not really getting a full picture when we visit different places. We have also hit some uncomfortable points in asking questions that administrators clearly do not want to answer. Although at times this can be extremely frustrating I have learned a lot from what people aren't saying as well as what they are. Also, one of my friends on the trip who speaks Chinese said that when you talk to people on the street they are willing to talk about any subject (even for example, criticism of the government) but because we are going on official visits we are receiving "official" information (straight from government policies).
I just finished up my case study on Maternal and Child Health. We ended up looking at social support for pregnant woman which was interesting but quite difficult because of the language barrier. The case studies were extremely different this time, we had no structure and were just given two days to develop a reserach question and begin to answer it. Our group had a lot of difficulties like getting kicked out of a hospital by security and getting yelled at in Chinese on the street by a woman! Overall, it was a good learning experience especially about the frustrations of trying to conduct research in a foreign country!
Now, we are about to leave for our "rural" stay. I say "rural" because we are actually going to a small town that may actually be fairly similar to Changsha. Our country coordinator did not think we could handle a "real" rural situation and was appalled to hear that we had slept on the floor during our rural visit in India! I think it is hard because this is the first time IHP has ever been in Changsha so everyone is still trying to work out the kinks.
It is incredible how fast China has flown by. We leave for South Africa on April 3rd right after our rural stay! I don't feel like I ever really settled into China the way I did in India. I am still trying to put together all the pieces of what I have learned. I am looking forward to South Africa though and the last phase of my study abroad. I can't believe I will be home in just six weeks!
Thanks for reading. My next post will not be until I am settled in Cape Town. I hope everyone in Colorado is surviving the blizzard!
Love,
Barbara
I hope this post finds you well. I am currently sitting in an internet cafe in Changsha filled with tons of young "gamers" intensely playing computer games while sucking back pop and cigarettes! What an experience. They have even diagnosed a new issue in the field of mental health called something like "pathological internet use."
Changsha has been interesting to say the least. A typical day begins at 8:30 a.m. with a 30 minute Chinese lesson taught by our country coordinators. I have only learned how to say, "I am an American" and "I eat vegetables." Otherwise I have been an utter failure at learning Chinese. After Chinese lessons we will have a guest lecture come talk to us from the CSU School of Public Health. Lecture topics have ranged from The New Rural Cooperative Medical System, to Traditional Chinese Medicine to Maternal and infant health care. The problem we have faced with the guest lecturers is that many can read and write English well but do not feel comfortable speaking and cannot understand the questions we ask. This has led to all the guest lecturers preparing general power points and reading directly from the slides. Overall there have been some pretty tedious lectures and many students falling asleep in class!
After lecture we have a 10 minute break and then we have a lecture by our faculty members. Our faculty classes are really coming together and we have had some great class discussions lately. After class we have time for lunch. Our new favorite lunch spot is "the noodle lady." She sells delicious noodles from a cart on the side road. The road leading up to the noodle lady is crazy! It is lined with all types of vendors selling blood worms, live chickens (and chickens being slaughtered!), eels, skinned fish, intestines as well as some tamer items like banana chips and other fruits and vegetables.
After lunch we generally have a field trip. The field trips have been extremely wierd. First, every place we go the administration puts on a big show for us. We are generally greeted with bottle waters and candy as well as elaborate power points. We also realized that they have been clearing places out for our arrival. For example, as a class we visited a Maternal and Child hospital and it was basically empty but when I went back on my own the place was bursting with people. Also, every place we have gone has a huge banner welcoming us and then we are required to take millions of pictures in front of the banner with all the important people from the hospital or school. We definitely have a feeling that we are not really getting a full picture when we visit different places. We have also hit some uncomfortable points in asking questions that administrators clearly do not want to answer. Although at times this can be extremely frustrating I have learned a lot from what people aren't saying as well as what they are. Also, one of my friends on the trip who speaks Chinese said that when you talk to people on the street they are willing to talk about any subject (even for example, criticism of the government) but because we are going on official visits we are receiving "official" information (straight from government policies).
I just finished up my case study on Maternal and Child Health. We ended up looking at social support for pregnant woman which was interesting but quite difficult because of the language barrier. The case studies were extremely different this time, we had no structure and were just given two days to develop a reserach question and begin to answer it. Our group had a lot of difficulties like getting kicked out of a hospital by security and getting yelled at in Chinese on the street by a woman! Overall, it was a good learning experience especially about the frustrations of trying to conduct research in a foreign country!
Now, we are about to leave for our "rural" stay. I say "rural" because we are actually going to a small town that may actually be fairly similar to Changsha. Our country coordinator did not think we could handle a "real" rural situation and was appalled to hear that we had slept on the floor during our rural visit in India! I think it is hard because this is the first time IHP has ever been in Changsha so everyone is still trying to work out the kinks.
It is incredible how fast China has flown by. We leave for South Africa on April 3rd right after our rural stay! I don't feel like I ever really settled into China the way I did in India. I am still trying to put together all the pieces of what I have learned. I am looking forward to South Africa though and the last phase of my study abroad. I can't believe I will be home in just six weeks!
Thanks for reading. My next post will not be until I am settled in Cape Town. I hope everyone in Colorado is surviving the blizzard!
Love,
Barbara
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Changsha!
Ni hao from Changsha!
Sorry it has been ages since I have written! So much has happened I don't know where to begin.
I will start with leaving India. Leaving India was very sad. I was very comfortable in my homestay, I knew my way around the city and I loved the food. We had a fun farewell dinner with all the students and host families which was a nice way to end. Even though the next day Abby and I still had to finish up our final papers for India! We left on March 5 at midnight and took a 3 and a half hour flight to Bangkok. We then had a 6 hour layover in the airport in Bangkok which was pretty awful because we were all so tired and many of us felt sick. We tried to sleep on the floor but it was freezing! After that we took a 4 hour flight to Beijing.
Beijing was great! We stayed in a hotel by the drum and bell towers. The first full day in Beijing we went to the Great Wall. It was incredible. We hiked up hundreds of stairs surrounded by trees and mountains which reminded me of home. When we got to the top we were able to walk all along the wall and up into the towers. I have some great pictures! The end was the best part. We rode down an alpine slide on sleds! It was really fun. At the end we walked around and bought dried fruit and t-shirts. The next day in Beijing we went to Tiananmen Square and a city planning musuem. That night I also went with a few people to look at the Olympic venues. It was a little dissappointing because the water cube wasn't lit up but it was still great to see and to remember the Olympics! The next day we went to the Forbidden City which I am sorry to report was a little underwhelming. I think I just didn't really appreciate it enough because my knowledge of Chinese history is quite limited. That evening we took a 13 hour overnight train to Changsha. The train was an experience! It was quite cramped because we decided to keep all our luggage with us in our sleeping cars. I slept on the top of a three tier bunkbed which turned out to be fine.
In Changsha our entire program is affliated with Central South University or CSU. It is so funny because everytime someone says CSU I immediately think of Colorado State University! I am still trying to find t-shirts that say CSU on them for my friends who go there! CSU has an enormous campus with over 30,000 students. We stayed at a hotel on campus for the first 3 nights.
Now, I am moved in with my homestay family. My homestay partner is Sarah! She goes to Wake Forest and is studying health and exercise. She is also a personal trainer which is awesome because we have started to work out together! Our homestay mom asked us to call her Miss Wang! Miss Wang is great. The first day all the parents came in and everyone looked fairly "normal" but Miss Wang was wearing red pants with a neon yellow jacket and has crimped reddish hair with straight across bangs! She has a daughter who we call Lily who is 19 and is a sophmore at another University in Changsha. We are staying in their apartment where Sarah and I have our own rooms. Because I know some people are curious...we have a squat toilet! The only bad thing is that we are absolutely freezing! Inside it is very cold and everyone wears wool socks and down jackets. After I finish typing this I will go put my gloves back on!
Changsha is quite different from Bangalore so far. First, the way our program is run is much more strict. In India, time is a fluid concept and lateness is not an issue at all. Here, we have to be early everywhere or else it is considered very rude. We also have to "count off" (we are each assigned a number and count in order to make sure everyone is present) extremely often. You must stay with the group at all times! The classroom is much more formal. Also, we are treated like celebs! The first day we were here the newspaper came and took a bunch a photos for the paper. Also, there is a 40 ft giant banner hanging from the library that says "CSU welcomes IHP US Students" It is crazy!
One thing I have to write about is the food. So far, I hate to say it but I am not a big fan of the food. It is just really oily and fried. There is also a lot of meat which I have not been eating and didn't really want to eat but seems impossible here not to eat meat. We have even seen dog on the menu! On a funny note, one night when we went out to dinner there were some hilarious translations from Chinese to English including: Black Fungus, Spicy cattle hoof ligament, Oil pig ear wire, the spinach mixes peanut, incense mixed with pig heart, northwest sheep face, heat the oil splash at similar stick the noodles, the oil sprinkles leatherbelt noodles and cook like cat ear the noodles (perhaps my fave). I have some great pics of the menu and everytime I look at them I crack up!
Well, hopefully I will be able to write more now that I am in one place! As always, thank you so much for sending e-mails. I really enjoy reading them and hopefully will have time to write back.
Love,
Barbara
Sorry it has been ages since I have written! So much has happened I don't know where to begin.
I will start with leaving India. Leaving India was very sad. I was very comfortable in my homestay, I knew my way around the city and I loved the food. We had a fun farewell dinner with all the students and host families which was a nice way to end. Even though the next day Abby and I still had to finish up our final papers for India! We left on March 5 at midnight and took a 3 and a half hour flight to Bangkok. We then had a 6 hour layover in the airport in Bangkok which was pretty awful because we were all so tired and many of us felt sick. We tried to sleep on the floor but it was freezing! After that we took a 4 hour flight to Beijing.
Beijing was great! We stayed in a hotel by the drum and bell towers. The first full day in Beijing we went to the Great Wall. It was incredible. We hiked up hundreds of stairs surrounded by trees and mountains which reminded me of home. When we got to the top we were able to walk all along the wall and up into the towers. I have some great pictures! The end was the best part. We rode down an alpine slide on sleds! It was really fun. At the end we walked around and bought dried fruit and t-shirts. The next day in Beijing we went to Tiananmen Square and a city planning musuem. That night I also went with a few people to look at the Olympic venues. It was a little dissappointing because the water cube wasn't lit up but it was still great to see and to remember the Olympics! The next day we went to the Forbidden City which I am sorry to report was a little underwhelming. I think I just didn't really appreciate it enough because my knowledge of Chinese history is quite limited. That evening we took a 13 hour overnight train to Changsha. The train was an experience! It was quite cramped because we decided to keep all our luggage with us in our sleeping cars. I slept on the top of a three tier bunkbed which turned out to be fine.
In Changsha our entire program is affliated with Central South University or CSU. It is so funny because everytime someone says CSU I immediately think of Colorado State University! I am still trying to find t-shirts that say CSU on them for my friends who go there! CSU has an enormous campus with over 30,000 students. We stayed at a hotel on campus for the first 3 nights.
Now, I am moved in with my homestay family. My homestay partner is Sarah! She goes to Wake Forest and is studying health and exercise. She is also a personal trainer which is awesome because we have started to work out together! Our homestay mom asked us to call her Miss Wang! Miss Wang is great. The first day all the parents came in and everyone looked fairly "normal" but Miss Wang was wearing red pants with a neon yellow jacket and has crimped reddish hair with straight across bangs! She has a daughter who we call Lily who is 19 and is a sophmore at another University in Changsha. We are staying in their apartment where Sarah and I have our own rooms. Because I know some people are curious...we have a squat toilet! The only bad thing is that we are absolutely freezing! Inside it is very cold and everyone wears wool socks and down jackets. After I finish typing this I will go put my gloves back on!
Changsha is quite different from Bangalore so far. First, the way our program is run is much more strict. In India, time is a fluid concept and lateness is not an issue at all. Here, we have to be early everywhere or else it is considered very rude. We also have to "count off" (we are each assigned a number and count in order to make sure everyone is present) extremely often. You must stay with the group at all times! The classroom is much more formal. Also, we are treated like celebs! The first day we were here the newspaper came and took a bunch a photos for the paper. Also, there is a 40 ft giant banner hanging from the library that says "CSU welcomes IHP US Students" It is crazy!
One thing I have to write about is the food. So far, I hate to say it but I am not a big fan of the food. It is just really oily and fried. There is also a lot of meat which I have not been eating and didn't really want to eat but seems impossible here not to eat meat. We have even seen dog on the menu! On a funny note, one night when we went out to dinner there were some hilarious translations from Chinese to English including: Black Fungus, Spicy cattle hoof ligament, Oil pig ear wire, the spinach mixes peanut, incense mixed with pig heart, northwest sheep face, heat the oil splash at similar stick the noodles, the oil sprinkles leatherbelt noodles and cook like cat ear the noodles (perhaps my fave). I have some great pics of the menu and everytime I look at them I crack up!
Well, hopefully I will be able to write more now that I am in one place! As always, thank you so much for sending e-mails. I really enjoy reading them and hopefully will have time to write back.
Love,
Barbara
Friday, February 27, 2009
Kerala
Namaste,
Hello everyone! I hope this blog finds you well. I am in Kerala now which is a different state of India on the western coast. On Monday morning we took a 6 hour bus ride to a place called Kannavu. From my limited understanding Kannavu used to be an alternative school for tribal children but now is really more of commune. There are about 6 adults (ages 20-25) taking care of all the land and about 10 children. It was kind of a strange situation and in the end I am not sure exactly why we went there. We slept on a concrete floor for 2 nights and were freezing! During the day we had one class but we also helped garden, gather firewood, harvest bamboo rice, clean and take care of the children. The best part was at night when we would all dance tribal dances in a circle around two guys playing drums. I have some great videos on my camera of my teachers wildly dancing!
On Wednesday, we drove to a town called Kalpetta where we stayed at a gorgeous hotel called Green Gates. It was a very "Western" hotel and even had a pool that we went swimming in! There, we did our oral and written evaluations of the India program with our country coordinators Leo and Bhargavi. It was very comfortable and a welcome change from sleeping on the floor.
Now, I am on vacation! I am with 6 other girls from the program and we are traveling in Kerala. On Friday morning we went to a wildlife preserve park and drove around. We saw many different types of deer, birds and a herd of elephants! After that we drove down to a city called Alleppey. The drive took about 8 hours which felt quite long! We had a large SUV with a driver named Anthony. When we arrived we had no idea what to do but luckily we found this great "homestay" called Sona. We called and asked if they had rooms and when we arrived the owners were standing outside waiting for us. We are in small little houses with one room with a queen bed and a "Western" bathroom. This morning, the owner (who I think is named Joseph) made us banana crepes! It was so nice. Alleppey is the hottest place ever! I have never been so hot in my life. You are constantly covered in a layer of sweat even if you have just taken a freezing cold shower. The big draw of Alleppey is the backwaters. There is a system of canals that run inland along the coast. Tomorrow, we are taking a houseboat all day and overnight along the backwaters. I am very excited because we found a list that said it is one of the things you must see before you die. Also, I think it will be a little cooler on the water.
Sorry this is a bit rushed. I am splitting internet time with a few other girls and don't want to hog the computer. Thank you so much for all the e-mails I have been receiving! As an update, I will be on vacation until March 4th. On the 4th we have a farewell dinner with the entire group and all our homestay families and then we leave late on the 5th for China! It is crazy how fast everything is going by!
Love,
Barbara
Hello everyone! I hope this blog finds you well. I am in Kerala now which is a different state of India on the western coast. On Monday morning we took a 6 hour bus ride to a place called Kannavu. From my limited understanding Kannavu used to be an alternative school for tribal children but now is really more of commune. There are about 6 adults (ages 20-25) taking care of all the land and about 10 children. It was kind of a strange situation and in the end I am not sure exactly why we went there. We slept on a concrete floor for 2 nights and were freezing! During the day we had one class but we also helped garden, gather firewood, harvest bamboo rice, clean and take care of the children. The best part was at night when we would all dance tribal dances in a circle around two guys playing drums. I have some great videos on my camera of my teachers wildly dancing!
On Wednesday, we drove to a town called Kalpetta where we stayed at a gorgeous hotel called Green Gates. It was a very "Western" hotel and even had a pool that we went swimming in! There, we did our oral and written evaluations of the India program with our country coordinators Leo and Bhargavi. It was very comfortable and a welcome change from sleeping on the floor.
Now, I am on vacation! I am with 6 other girls from the program and we are traveling in Kerala. On Friday morning we went to a wildlife preserve park and drove around. We saw many different types of deer, birds and a herd of elephants! After that we drove down to a city called Alleppey. The drive took about 8 hours which felt quite long! We had a large SUV with a driver named Anthony. When we arrived we had no idea what to do but luckily we found this great "homestay" called Sona. We called and asked if they had rooms and when we arrived the owners were standing outside waiting for us. We are in small little houses with one room with a queen bed and a "Western" bathroom. This morning, the owner (who I think is named Joseph) made us banana crepes! It was so nice. Alleppey is the hottest place ever! I have never been so hot in my life. You are constantly covered in a layer of sweat even if you have just taken a freezing cold shower. The big draw of Alleppey is the backwaters. There is a system of canals that run inland along the coast. Tomorrow, we are taking a houseboat all day and overnight along the backwaters. I am very excited because we found a list that said it is one of the things you must see before you die. Also, I think it will be a little cooler on the water.
Sorry this is a bit rushed. I am splitting internet time with a few other girls and don't want to hog the computer. Thank you so much for all the e-mails I have been receiving! As an update, I will be on vacation until March 4th. On the 4th we have a farewell dinner with the entire group and all our homestay families and then we leave late on the 5th for China! It is crazy how fast everything is going by!
Love,
Barbara
Thursday, February 19, 2009
India Case Study
Namaste,
I am back from my case study in rural India! It was a really great experience with my only complaint being that it was too short! Our group consisted of 7 students, a member of the Environmental Support Group (ESG) staff named Divya and one of our professors named Farrah. We left early Sunday morning in a 15 passenger van for B.R. Hills which is a rural area about 7 hours southwest of Bangalore. The van ride was crazy! As soon as we got out of the city the roads became incredibly bumpy and curvy (luckily I took some Dramamine before hand!). Our van driver was very experienced and drove really fast so that when we hit the bumps we would fly out of our seats! The scenery was beautiful, filled with lots of open land for farming and forests.
Finally we made it to a Primary Health Center (PHC) somewhere in B.R. Hills. The PHCs are Indians main way of providing health care. They are funded by the government and are usually free of charge (or a small fee) for the people who use them. The problem is that in rural areas the PHC is supposed to serve more than 100,000 people spanning over 400 kilometers of hilly and rough terrain. The PHCs also have limited resources in terms of doctors, nurses, medicine, beds and technology. This specific PHC we visited was relatively well equipped thanks to a doctor named Dr. Prashant whom we were able to meet. He has worked hard to make the facility nice and more accessible. He was also the first to start any kind of mental health clinic in the region. Dr. Prashant explained that in a region that contained 100,000 people there were no psychiatrists. Instead, people who had mental health issues would see a local healer and sometimes they would be beaten to try to get evil spirits out of them. Dr. Prashant set up a mental health clinic at the PHC and has worked hard to create awareness that mental health issues can have biological causes and can be treated with drugs. He also worked with local healers to form a partnership where the healers can refer patients to the clinic. It was quite an inspiring story and gave me hope that one person can make a difference!
After visiting the PHC we went a bit further to Vivekanada Girijana Kalyana Kendra (VGKK) which is a school, hospital and vocational training center for people of the Soliga tribe living in B.R. Hills. A doctor named Dr. Sudarshan started VGKK in 1979 inspired by the Patron Saint Vivekanada. At first, he came in just to provide so called "Western" medical care but soon realized this was not enough and would not help the tribe become self sufficient and slowly developed his idea into what VGKK is today. The main focus of VGKK is the school which 500 tribal children ages 5-16 attend and 200 children live at. We stayed in guest huts on the campus. The campus is very serene and beautiful, surrounding by large hills and forest.
We felt incredible welcome at VGKK and loved meeting all the children. On Monday morning we woke up at 5:45 a.m. and went on a hike with Dr. Prashant to bird watch. It was a bit chilly but nice to finally get in some exercise! We were able to watch the sun rise over the forest which reminding me of Colorado a little bit! We then went to breakfast. We ate all our meals with the children in a large "dining hall." The dining area is a large room with girls on one side and boys on the other. Everyone sits on straw mats facing each other and everyone brings their own plate. After the children sing and pray some boys bring around large buckets full of rice and scoop the rice on to your plate. It is cray how much rice they eat! Tiny little girls with skinny little arms and legs will eat mountains of rice! Breakfast was spicy rice with peas in it. Lunch was quite different. We ate something called Raggi balls which are made of a millet (grain) that is pulverized and mixed with water to make a dough ball. You are given a large ball and some sauce called Samba. You then tear of pieces from the big ball and make bite sized balls. You dip these smaller balls into the Samba and then swallow them whole! The thinking behind this is first that Raggi is not tasty at all, second is that if you swallow it whole you can eat more and therefore get more nutrition (raggi is full of good things for your body!). I found it the very unsatisfying and was left hungry! Dinner consisted of white rice and some kind of sauce and maybe a roti (tortilla).
On Monday, we had a tour of the place and were able to see the hospital and training centers as well as a food processing plant, small farm and classrooms. The best part was interacting with the kids. They were so excited to see us and talk with us. Although they spoke limited English and we spoke almost no Kanada (the local language) we were still able to point and communicate names, ages and other basic information. On Tuesday night we had a cultural performance in the main courtyard with a bonfire. The kids showed us traditional dances and songs. Then we were asked to perform! The seven of us sang the Star Spangled Banner and "Ain't no Mountain High Enough." It was the best night of the trip! I made friends with some 11 year old boys who showed me how to dance. I taught them the Macerena! This one boy told me that I was "beautiful like a tiger!" which was really cute and I took some pictures with him!
On Tuesday we drove to Mysore (about 3 hours from Bangalore) and visited an ASHA training center and mental health facility. An ASHA is a woman who is trained as a social activist for a village. Asha means hope and is a new government program to help improve the health of rural villages. Each ASHA covers an area of 1000 people and helps the community by teaching them about personal hygiene, sanitation, traditional medicine, immunization and encourages them to use government institutions such as hospitals if they are sick. We were able to meet some women who were being trained as ASHAs. There training is done through songs and role plays. They sang us the theme song for the National Rural Health Mission and showed us a role play (with song) about convincing a mother to immunize her baby. It was all in Kanada but we had a translator who explained everything to us afterwards. It was really interesting and great to see. After, we went to a mental health institution called Manasa. It was a bit disturbing because the man who showed us was not very compassionate and started pointing at people and calling out their diagnosis. It was quite different from anything I have seen in the U.S. and an eye opening experience.
That night we stayed at a small hotel and left early the next morning for Bangalore. Overall it was a interesting experience and I definitely learned a lot. It was nice to get out of the classroom and see what we have been learning about.
Now, we leave for Kerala this Sunday (Feb. 22) which is a different part of India about 11 hours from Bangalore on the western coast. From Kerala we leave for our vacation. I am planning on staying in Kerela with 6 other girls for vacation and going on a backwater house boat tour, going to the beach and getting a traditional ayurvedic massage! Hopefully I will have Internet access throughout my time so I will be able to stay in touch.
Well, this is an incredibly long post. I hope you enjoyed it. I feel I have so much more to tell! Please e-mail me with any questions or leave a comment if you have a g mail account. I am always interested in what everyone else is doing too!
Love,
Barbara
I am back from my case study in rural India! It was a really great experience with my only complaint being that it was too short! Our group consisted of 7 students, a member of the Environmental Support Group (ESG) staff named Divya and one of our professors named Farrah. We left early Sunday morning in a 15 passenger van for B.R. Hills which is a rural area about 7 hours southwest of Bangalore. The van ride was crazy! As soon as we got out of the city the roads became incredibly bumpy and curvy (luckily I took some Dramamine before hand!). Our van driver was very experienced and drove really fast so that when we hit the bumps we would fly out of our seats! The scenery was beautiful, filled with lots of open land for farming and forests.
Finally we made it to a Primary Health Center (PHC) somewhere in B.R. Hills. The PHCs are Indians main way of providing health care. They are funded by the government and are usually free of charge (or a small fee) for the people who use them. The problem is that in rural areas the PHC is supposed to serve more than 100,000 people spanning over 400 kilometers of hilly and rough terrain. The PHCs also have limited resources in terms of doctors, nurses, medicine, beds and technology. This specific PHC we visited was relatively well equipped thanks to a doctor named Dr. Prashant whom we were able to meet. He has worked hard to make the facility nice and more accessible. He was also the first to start any kind of mental health clinic in the region. Dr. Prashant explained that in a region that contained 100,000 people there were no psychiatrists. Instead, people who had mental health issues would see a local healer and sometimes they would be beaten to try to get evil spirits out of them. Dr. Prashant set up a mental health clinic at the PHC and has worked hard to create awareness that mental health issues can have biological causes and can be treated with drugs. He also worked with local healers to form a partnership where the healers can refer patients to the clinic. It was quite an inspiring story and gave me hope that one person can make a difference!
After visiting the PHC we went a bit further to Vivekanada Girijana Kalyana Kendra (VGKK) which is a school, hospital and vocational training center for people of the Soliga tribe living in B.R. Hills. A doctor named Dr. Sudarshan started VGKK in 1979 inspired by the Patron Saint Vivekanada. At first, he came in just to provide so called "Western" medical care but soon realized this was not enough and would not help the tribe become self sufficient and slowly developed his idea into what VGKK is today. The main focus of VGKK is the school which 500 tribal children ages 5-16 attend and 200 children live at. We stayed in guest huts on the campus. The campus is very serene and beautiful, surrounding by large hills and forest.
We felt incredible welcome at VGKK and loved meeting all the children. On Monday morning we woke up at 5:45 a.m. and went on a hike with Dr. Prashant to bird watch. It was a bit chilly but nice to finally get in some exercise! We were able to watch the sun rise over the forest which reminding me of Colorado a little bit! We then went to breakfast. We ate all our meals with the children in a large "dining hall." The dining area is a large room with girls on one side and boys on the other. Everyone sits on straw mats facing each other and everyone brings their own plate. After the children sing and pray some boys bring around large buckets full of rice and scoop the rice on to your plate. It is cray how much rice they eat! Tiny little girls with skinny little arms and legs will eat mountains of rice! Breakfast was spicy rice with peas in it. Lunch was quite different. We ate something called Raggi balls which are made of a millet (grain) that is pulverized and mixed with water to make a dough ball. You are given a large ball and some sauce called Samba. You then tear of pieces from the big ball and make bite sized balls. You dip these smaller balls into the Samba and then swallow them whole! The thinking behind this is first that Raggi is not tasty at all, second is that if you swallow it whole you can eat more and therefore get more nutrition (raggi is full of good things for your body!). I found it the very unsatisfying and was left hungry! Dinner consisted of white rice and some kind of sauce and maybe a roti (tortilla).
On Monday, we had a tour of the place and were able to see the hospital and training centers as well as a food processing plant, small farm and classrooms. The best part was interacting with the kids. They were so excited to see us and talk with us. Although they spoke limited English and we spoke almost no Kanada (the local language) we were still able to point and communicate names, ages and other basic information. On Tuesday night we had a cultural performance in the main courtyard with a bonfire. The kids showed us traditional dances and songs. Then we were asked to perform! The seven of us sang the Star Spangled Banner and "Ain't no Mountain High Enough." It was the best night of the trip! I made friends with some 11 year old boys who showed me how to dance. I taught them the Macerena! This one boy told me that I was "beautiful like a tiger!" which was really cute and I took some pictures with him!
On Tuesday we drove to Mysore (about 3 hours from Bangalore) and visited an ASHA training center and mental health facility. An ASHA is a woman who is trained as a social activist for a village. Asha means hope and is a new government program to help improve the health of rural villages. Each ASHA covers an area of 1000 people and helps the community by teaching them about personal hygiene, sanitation, traditional medicine, immunization and encourages them to use government institutions such as hospitals if they are sick. We were able to meet some women who were being trained as ASHAs. There training is done through songs and role plays. They sang us the theme song for the National Rural Health Mission and showed us a role play (with song) about convincing a mother to immunize her baby. It was all in Kanada but we had a translator who explained everything to us afterwards. It was really interesting and great to see. After, we went to a mental health institution called Manasa. It was a bit disturbing because the man who showed us was not very compassionate and started pointing at people and calling out their diagnosis. It was quite different from anything I have seen in the U.S. and an eye opening experience.
That night we stayed at a small hotel and left early the next morning for Bangalore. Overall it was a interesting experience and I definitely learned a lot. It was nice to get out of the classroom and see what we have been learning about.
Now, we leave for Kerala this Sunday (Feb. 22) which is a different part of India about 11 hours from Bangalore on the western coast. From Kerala we leave for our vacation. I am planning on staying in Kerela with 6 other girls for vacation and going on a backwater house boat tour, going to the beach and getting a traditional ayurvedic massage! Hopefully I will have Internet access throughout my time so I will be able to stay in touch.
Well, this is an incredibly long post. I hope you enjoyed it. I feel I have so much more to tell! Please e-mail me with any questions or leave a comment if you have a g mail account. I am always interested in what everyone else is doing too!
Love,
Barbara
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
more from Bangalore!
hello everyone,
Well it has been a while since I have written so I have much to tell! I am doing well and really enjoying my time in Bangalore!
I have been extremely busy and a bit overwhelmed by my classes. We begin our classes everyday at 9:00 at a place called Mobility India. Mobility is a center and school for differently abled adults and children but we are basically just renting a space to have our classroom. We generally have one class in the morning (I am taking 4 classes) and then a coffee/teas break. After break we generally have a guest lecture. We have had a variety of speakers come with some better than other. We have heard from an urban planner, a doctor that works with tribal people in India and a bio ethicist. Additionally Bhargavi and Leo have talked to us about Indian food (and the healing powers of certain foods) and waste management (with a focus on Biomedical waste). After the lecture we have lunch and after lunch we either have another lecture or class or a field visit. For the field visits we have walked through neighborhoods (to understand city planning and implications for public health), visited local traditional markets, went to a biomedical waste management unit and visited a hospital outside of Bangalore.
My days are pretty packed and after Abby and I walk home we generally like to try to check our e-mails at "Cyber Jungle" (where I am now!). We usually get home at about 6:30 and we then do our homework and help cook dinner. Despite this schedule we have found time to do some fun stuff as well! Last Thursday we went to an Indian wedding reception with Gita and Nikhil. It was so much fun! At first we were thinking it would be inappropriate for us to go but Gita assured us that in India when you are invited to a wedding you are also allowed to bring your friends! When we got there we were greeted with mango milkshake and pineapple. We then waited in a long reception line to see the bride and groom. Abby and I were a bit of a spectacle. First, I should mention that Abby shaved her head! It looks amazing and she pulls it off great but we have been getting a bit more attention lately. We were the only white people there and between my blond hair and Abby's shaved head people could not help but stare! Also, there was a camera guy there who definitely filmed us a lot more than anyone else! When we finally got to the front of the line we were really nervous because we felt like we shouldn't be there but the bride was so nice. She was extremely friendly and thanked us for coming. After that we went downstairs and ate a huge Indian feast with traditional banana leaves as plates. We also got coconuts as party favors! Overall it was really fun and Gita even gave me the fancy wedding invitation to show everyone back home.
We also went to a play on Friday night we Nikhil and Nandini. It was written by an English man and performed in English so that was good! It was nice to be in a cool theater and they were playing American music at the start and finish like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Justin Timberlake! On Saturday, we went over to Gita's sisters house to have a cooking lesson. I really like Indian food!! I am so excited I wrote down a few recipes and will cook them for everyone (as much as I can cook, which is not much). Everything is based around rice and dahl and I have been eating completely vegetarian. I think I am going to eat mostly vegetarian for the rest of the trip and perhaps at home too!
We leave for our case studies this Sunday. I am going to Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (yay Kendra!) which is a place about 5 hours from Bangalore and has a school, hospital and vocational training center for tribal people. I really don't know much about it but am excited to have more time to explore something in depth and finally put to use some of my community research methods (haha Anna and Bay!). There are 7 of us going and I really have no idea where we will be sleeping or if a faculty member is coming with us (they like to keep us on our toes by slowly leaking information!). We will be staying at our case studies until Wednesday (Feb 18).
Well I hope this was informative and gave you a little picture of my life. I have many more stories to tell and will try to post some more in depth stories soon. Please e-mail me if you have any questions! I miss you all and can't wait to cook you some delicious Indian food!
Love,
Bar
Well it has been a while since I have written so I have much to tell! I am doing well and really enjoying my time in Bangalore!
I have been extremely busy and a bit overwhelmed by my classes. We begin our classes everyday at 9:00 at a place called Mobility India. Mobility is a center and school for differently abled adults and children but we are basically just renting a space to have our classroom. We generally have one class in the morning (I am taking 4 classes) and then a coffee/teas break. After break we generally have a guest lecture. We have had a variety of speakers come with some better than other. We have heard from an urban planner, a doctor that works with tribal people in India and a bio ethicist. Additionally Bhargavi and Leo have talked to us about Indian food (and the healing powers of certain foods) and waste management (with a focus on Biomedical waste). After the lecture we have lunch and after lunch we either have another lecture or class or a field visit. For the field visits we have walked through neighborhoods (to understand city planning and implications for public health), visited local traditional markets, went to a biomedical waste management unit and visited a hospital outside of Bangalore.
My days are pretty packed and after Abby and I walk home we generally like to try to check our e-mails at "Cyber Jungle" (where I am now!). We usually get home at about 6:30 and we then do our homework and help cook dinner. Despite this schedule we have found time to do some fun stuff as well! Last Thursday we went to an Indian wedding reception with Gita and Nikhil. It was so much fun! At first we were thinking it would be inappropriate for us to go but Gita assured us that in India when you are invited to a wedding you are also allowed to bring your friends! When we got there we were greeted with mango milkshake and pineapple. We then waited in a long reception line to see the bride and groom. Abby and I were a bit of a spectacle. First, I should mention that Abby shaved her head! It looks amazing and she pulls it off great but we have been getting a bit more attention lately. We were the only white people there and between my blond hair and Abby's shaved head people could not help but stare! Also, there was a camera guy there who definitely filmed us a lot more than anyone else! When we finally got to the front of the line we were really nervous because we felt like we shouldn't be there but the bride was so nice. She was extremely friendly and thanked us for coming. After that we went downstairs and ate a huge Indian feast with traditional banana leaves as plates. We also got coconuts as party favors! Overall it was really fun and Gita even gave me the fancy wedding invitation to show everyone back home.
We also went to a play on Friday night we Nikhil and Nandini. It was written by an English man and performed in English so that was good! It was nice to be in a cool theater and they were playing American music at the start and finish like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Justin Timberlake! On Saturday, we went over to Gita's sisters house to have a cooking lesson. I really like Indian food!! I am so excited I wrote down a few recipes and will cook them for everyone (as much as I can cook, which is not much). Everything is based around rice and dahl and I have been eating completely vegetarian. I think I am going to eat mostly vegetarian for the rest of the trip and perhaps at home too!
We leave for our case studies this Sunday. I am going to Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (yay Kendra!) which is a place about 5 hours from Bangalore and has a school, hospital and vocational training center for tribal people. I really don't know much about it but am excited to have more time to explore something in depth and finally put to use some of my community research methods (haha Anna and Bay!). There are 7 of us going and I really have no idea where we will be sleeping or if a faculty member is coming with us (they like to keep us on our toes by slowly leaking information!). We will be staying at our case studies until Wednesday (Feb 18).
Well I hope this was informative and gave you a little picture of my life. I have many more stories to tell and will try to post some more in depth stories soon. Please e-mail me if you have any questions! I miss you all and can't wait to cook you some delicious Indian food!
Love,
Bar
Monday, February 2, 2009
Bangalore!!!!!!
Namaste from Bangalore!
Well I am finally in India and am very happy to be here! We left Geneva very early Tuesday morning and took a short flight to Frankfurt Germany. We then flew 8 hours to Bangalore and after going through customs took a hour and a half bus ride to Vidya Deep College where we stayed for 3 nights. Vidya Deep College is a small theology school located in North Bangalore. It is not typically used as a hostel but our country hosts have a good relationship with the school and so they let us stay. The school is incredibly peaceful and somewhat Spartan. There were two people to a room and the beds were a solid metal base with a 2 inch think cushion on top. We did have a flush toliet and toilet paper provided (not typical of most places in India). As with most places in India they use bucket showers. The college uses solar panels to heat water during the day and when you want to shower you go in the hallway and fill a large bucket with warm water and take it back to your bathroom. The bathroom just have a drain in the corner and you take a little smaller bucket and fill it with water and dump it over your head. It is a little difficult to get used to but it is a great way to conserve water! A cook prepared all 3 meals for us using "safe" water and less spice than normal which we were all very thankful for. We ate traditional Indian meals always and had a lot of rice and dahl (sorry if I am misspelling this) and chipate (which is a lentil tortilla). I really like Indian food so far and am getting used to the spicyness!
In our 3 days at Vidya we met our country coordinators and got to know the city a little bit. Our coordinators are named Leo and Bhargavi and they work for a NGO called Environment Support Group (ESG) in Bangalore. They are very nice and have been extremely organized (although running on Indian time which is a bit looser than American time!) and helpful in the adjustment to India. Bangalore is a crazy city! There are so many cars and people! The traffic is constant and exhausting. The rule of the streets is the bigger vehicle has the right of way. Pedestrians never have the right of way. Also there are no lanes, stop signs or for the most part streetlights. It is actually chaos. Also, everyone constantly honks. Instead of turn signals people honk and everyone honks at pedestrians. To cross the street you must literally run in between the gaps because no car will stop for you. I cannot count the times I or one of my friends has almost been hit. Despite this crazy traffic (and air and noise pollution) I am still having a good time and enjoy walking around. The women here wear the most beautiful clothes and I have already bought 3 colorful Kurtas (longish tunic tops)!
I moved into my homestay on Saturday. I am with my friend Abby who is wonderful and goes to Bates. We are with a great family! Ram (pronounced Rom) is the dad and he is 61 years old. He is a consultant for disaster relief and crisis management and works all over the world. He is cutting back on the amount of time he works because it is a lot of travelling and so I think he will be here the whole time. He is really nice and talkative and love sports! We have been watching a lot of cricket and tennis. He is also a great cook! Gita is our home stay mom. She is really sweet and is always humming or singing. She works at a bank in the city. Gita is very progressive in some ways and very traditional in others. For example, Gita does not agree with the Caste system and is not religious but she still prefers to use a squat toliet and bucket shower even though the family has a flush toliet and a more Western shower. She has been very nice and likes to look at us and squeeze our arms. We also have a host sister and brother. Nandini is the sister. She is 31 and lives in an apartment in Bangalore. She is a designer and mostly designs homewares. She offered to take us shopping and hang out! Nikhil is the brother, he is 24 and lives at home. He is extremely nice and has made us feel more at home. He works but I am not exactly sure what he does. Abby and I have our own bedroom. We are sharing a bed but it is pretty big and we don't mind. We were also happy to see a flush toilet and shower!
Well this is quite long so I will definitely write more later. Thank you for making it this far! I hope everyone is well. Please email me if want to know more!
Love,
Barbara
Well I am finally in India and am very happy to be here! We left Geneva very early Tuesday morning and took a short flight to Frankfurt Germany. We then flew 8 hours to Bangalore and after going through customs took a hour and a half bus ride to Vidya Deep College where we stayed for 3 nights. Vidya Deep College is a small theology school located in North Bangalore. It is not typically used as a hostel but our country hosts have a good relationship with the school and so they let us stay. The school is incredibly peaceful and somewhat Spartan. There were two people to a room and the beds were a solid metal base with a 2 inch think cushion on top. We did have a flush toliet and toilet paper provided (not typical of most places in India). As with most places in India they use bucket showers. The college uses solar panels to heat water during the day and when you want to shower you go in the hallway and fill a large bucket with warm water and take it back to your bathroom. The bathroom just have a drain in the corner and you take a little smaller bucket and fill it with water and dump it over your head. It is a little difficult to get used to but it is a great way to conserve water! A cook prepared all 3 meals for us using "safe" water and less spice than normal which we were all very thankful for. We ate traditional Indian meals always and had a lot of rice and dahl (sorry if I am misspelling this) and chipate (which is a lentil tortilla). I really like Indian food so far and am getting used to the spicyness!
In our 3 days at Vidya we met our country coordinators and got to know the city a little bit. Our coordinators are named Leo and Bhargavi and they work for a NGO called Environment Support Group (ESG) in Bangalore. They are very nice and have been extremely organized (although running on Indian time which is a bit looser than American time!) and helpful in the adjustment to India. Bangalore is a crazy city! There are so many cars and people! The traffic is constant and exhausting. The rule of the streets is the bigger vehicle has the right of way. Pedestrians never have the right of way. Also there are no lanes, stop signs or for the most part streetlights. It is actually chaos. Also, everyone constantly honks. Instead of turn signals people honk and everyone honks at pedestrians. To cross the street you must literally run in between the gaps because no car will stop for you. I cannot count the times I or one of my friends has almost been hit. Despite this crazy traffic (and air and noise pollution) I am still having a good time and enjoy walking around. The women here wear the most beautiful clothes and I have already bought 3 colorful Kurtas (longish tunic tops)!
I moved into my homestay on Saturday. I am with my friend Abby who is wonderful and goes to Bates. We are with a great family! Ram (pronounced Rom) is the dad and he is 61 years old. He is a consultant for disaster relief and crisis management and works all over the world. He is cutting back on the amount of time he works because it is a lot of travelling and so I think he will be here the whole time. He is really nice and talkative and love sports! We have been watching a lot of cricket and tennis. He is also a great cook! Gita is our home stay mom. She is really sweet and is always humming or singing. She works at a bank in the city. Gita is very progressive in some ways and very traditional in others. For example, Gita does not agree with the Caste system and is not religious but she still prefers to use a squat toliet and bucket shower even though the family has a flush toliet and a more Western shower. She has been very nice and likes to look at us and squeeze our arms. We also have a host sister and brother. Nandini is the sister. She is 31 and lives in an apartment in Bangalore. She is a designer and mostly designs homewares. She offered to take us shopping and hang out! Nikhil is the brother, he is 24 and lives at home. He is extremely nice and has made us feel more at home. He works but I am not exactly sure what he does. Abby and I have our own bedroom. We are sharing a bed but it is pretty big and we don't mind. We were also happy to see a flush toilet and shower!
Well this is quite long so I will definitely write more later. Thank you for making it this far! I hope everyone is well. Please email me if want to know more!
Love,
Barbara
Monday, January 26, 2009
the end of Geneva
hello everyone!
This is my last blog from Geneva! I am very excited because we are leaving tomorrow for India. I think the group is very ready to leave the cold and bad food and get into our homestays.
This week we began our classes. The topics have ranged from climate change to health determinants to the definition of community. I am very excited about the combination of experiential and academic learning and ready to start my case study in India.
On Friday night a large group of us went out to a english pub right near our hostel! It was nice to spend time with the group outside of class and we all danced to a live band that played 70s disco music! It was really fun and the singers reminded me of the Dream Girls and had such good dance moves! The only bad thing was the bar was very smoky and made it hard to breathe. On Saturday we woke up to snow! It was pretty wet but was still very beautiful. I went with a few other girls to explore Geneva and look at a contemporary art musuem. We found a great little cafe and had the best meal I have had in Switzerland (soup and quiche!) The art musuem featured works by Slyvie Flurry who is quite modern and a little crazy in my opinion! It was great to see a little more of the city though. On Sunday I had a typical college student Sunday of laundry and homework. We had a few small papers to write and a lot of reading.
Overall, I really appreciated the opportunities I was given in Geneva to visit not only the WHO and the UN but also local health groups as well. I am really looking forward to going to Bengaluru (which is the more appropriate way to say Bangalore)! We will be staying in a hostel for just 2 days and then we will be moving in with our homestay families. All our homestays are in pairs so I am a bit nervous to see who I will be living with!
Thank you so much for all the emails, comments and letters (thank you Sharon and Terry!) They are really helping me cope with homesickness and I love knowing what is going on in everyones lives.
Again, I must apologize for all the spelling and grammar mistakes. When I have more time on the internet I will try to come back and edit.
I miss you all and hope everything is well.
Love,
Barbara
This is my last blog from Geneva! I am very excited because we are leaving tomorrow for India. I think the group is very ready to leave the cold and bad food and get into our homestays.
This week we began our classes. The topics have ranged from climate change to health determinants to the definition of community. I am very excited about the combination of experiential and academic learning and ready to start my case study in India.
On Friday night a large group of us went out to a english pub right near our hostel! It was nice to spend time with the group outside of class and we all danced to a live band that played 70s disco music! It was really fun and the singers reminded me of the Dream Girls and had such good dance moves! The only bad thing was the bar was very smoky and made it hard to breathe. On Saturday we woke up to snow! It was pretty wet but was still very beautiful. I went with a few other girls to explore Geneva and look at a contemporary art musuem. We found a great little cafe and had the best meal I have had in Switzerland (soup and quiche!) The art musuem featured works by Slyvie Flurry who is quite modern and a little crazy in my opinion! It was great to see a little more of the city though. On Sunday I had a typical college student Sunday of laundry and homework. We had a few small papers to write and a lot of reading.
Overall, I really appreciated the opportunities I was given in Geneva to visit not only the WHO and the UN but also local health groups as well. I am really looking forward to going to Bengaluru (which is the more appropriate way to say Bangalore)! We will be staying in a hostel for just 2 days and then we will be moving in with our homestay families. All our homestays are in pairs so I am a bit nervous to see who I will be living with!
Thank you so much for all the emails, comments and letters (thank you Sharon and Terry!) They are really helping me cope with homesickness and I love knowing what is going on in everyones lives.
Again, I must apologize for all the spelling and grammar mistakes. When I have more time on the internet I will try to come back and edit.
I miss you all and hope everything is well.
Love,
Barbara
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
more of Switzerland
hi!
I hope everyone is doing well. I am still in Switzerland at the Youth Hostel. It has been pretty chilly here with some rain (just like Providence!). I have been extremely busy here so Im sorry I have not been keeping up with e-mail (although i have read them and appreciate all the e-mails so much). I want to tell all of you about Switzerland. First, in Geneva everyone speaks French so I have had more difficulty communicating with people than I anticipated. Second, all people eat here is bread and cheese. For every meal. We have all been craving fruits and vegetables and finally found a super market where we could buy some. As you may know, Switzerland (and especially Geneva) is very liberal espeically in terms of services such as universal health care. Geneva brags that out of 190 ethnicites recognized by the UN, 188 are represented in the city. Yesterday, Monday, we had a group tour of the Old Town of Geneva. It is very quaint with narrow streets and little shops all around. We also saw the school that Calvin started and the church where he preached during the Refomation.
In the afternoon we took a tour of the Red Cross musuem. The Red Cross was founded by a French man named Henry Dumont but he lived in Switzerland so that is why it is here. The story of Dumont is sad because he was a terrible business man and went bankrupt and lived his adult life in poverty until he was recongnized for his work with the Nobel Peace Prize just 10 years before his death.
Today, we were able to visit the World Health Organization in Geneva. We had a guest lecturer who was a doctor that worked to prevent HIV/AIDS. He had quite a strong accent though so it was a little hard to understand.
In the afternoon, a spokesperson from a local organization that works with HIV and AIDS patients came to talk to us about her work. After that, we went to a little Irish pub to watch the Inauguration. It was so amazing to watch Obama take the oath (even when forgetting the words). I was also glad that in his speech he spoke of the enormous challenges that are in Americas future (as well as to hear about changing the health care system and public schools). Although I know it will take time, I have so much hope and faith in what he (and we) can achieve!
Our days here are extremely full. We have breakfast at the hostel (bread and yogurt) around 7 30 and then we usually do not get back to the hostel until around 6. After we eat dinner we usually just talk, email or go to bed. The conversation outside of class has also been extremely interesting. There are so many smart people here with different perspectives.
Tomorrow we go to the UN and on Thursday we finally begin real class. I am actually really looking forward to going to India to have more of a routine and to be in warmer weather.
I am sorry my typing and spelling has been so horrible. This computer does not have spell check and this is a French keyboard so it is a bit different than I am used to. Please e-mail with any questions you have or just to say hi. I will try to get back to you if I have the chance.
Love,
Barbara
I hope everyone is doing well. I am still in Switzerland at the Youth Hostel. It has been pretty chilly here with some rain (just like Providence!). I have been extremely busy here so Im sorry I have not been keeping up with e-mail (although i have read them and appreciate all the e-mails so much). I want to tell all of you about Switzerland. First, in Geneva everyone speaks French so I have had more difficulty communicating with people than I anticipated. Second, all people eat here is bread and cheese. For every meal. We have all been craving fruits and vegetables and finally found a super market where we could buy some. As you may know, Switzerland (and especially Geneva) is very liberal espeically in terms of services such as universal health care. Geneva brags that out of 190 ethnicites recognized by the UN, 188 are represented in the city. Yesterday, Monday, we had a group tour of the Old Town of Geneva. It is very quaint with narrow streets and little shops all around. We also saw the school that Calvin started and the church where he preached during the Refomation.
In the afternoon we took a tour of the Red Cross musuem. The Red Cross was founded by a French man named Henry Dumont but he lived in Switzerland so that is why it is here. The story of Dumont is sad because he was a terrible business man and went bankrupt and lived his adult life in poverty until he was recongnized for his work with the Nobel Peace Prize just 10 years before his death.
Today, we were able to visit the World Health Organization in Geneva. We had a guest lecturer who was a doctor that worked to prevent HIV/AIDS. He had quite a strong accent though so it was a little hard to understand.
In the afternoon, a spokesperson from a local organization that works with HIV and AIDS patients came to talk to us about her work. After that, we went to a little Irish pub to watch the Inauguration. It was so amazing to watch Obama take the oath (even when forgetting the words). I was also glad that in his speech he spoke of the enormous challenges that are in Americas future (as well as to hear about changing the health care system and public schools). Although I know it will take time, I have so much hope and faith in what he (and we) can achieve!
Our days here are extremely full. We have breakfast at the hostel (bread and yogurt) around 7 30 and then we usually do not get back to the hostel until around 6. After we eat dinner we usually just talk, email or go to bed. The conversation outside of class has also been extremely interesting. There are so many smart people here with different perspectives.
Tomorrow we go to the UN and on Thursday we finally begin real class. I am actually really looking forward to going to India to have more of a routine and to be in warmer weather.
I am sorry my typing and spelling has been so horrible. This computer does not have spell check and this is a French keyboard so it is a bit different than I am used to. Please e-mail with any questions you have or just to say hi. I will try to get back to you if I have the chance.
Love,
Barbara
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Geneva
Bonjour from Geneva,
I made it to Switzerland! I just wanted to let everyone know that I am safe and sound at the Geneva Youth Hostel. Everyone seems great so far although we are all very jet-lagged and tired. We flew from Washington D.C. to London, London to Geneva and then took a tram to our hostel. Tonight we ate dinner at a fondue place that only served cheese fondue and bread for dipping. It was really good but not that satisfying so I went to a drug store and bought some gummy worms!
IHP has many things planned for us while we are here so I will be very busy. I already met one of our profesors because I was in the airport and some girls started to walk the wrong way so I shouted, "Nora!" and then the profesor said to me, "In Geneva we never raise our voice. Never ever" It was so scary!
Sorry my thoughts are so scattered. I am quite tired. I will be writing more soon.
love,
Barbara
I made it to Switzerland! I just wanted to let everyone know that I am safe and sound at the Geneva Youth Hostel. Everyone seems great so far although we are all very jet-lagged and tired. We flew from Washington D.C. to London, London to Geneva and then took a tram to our hostel. Tonight we ate dinner at a fondue place that only served cheese fondue and bread for dipping. It was really good but not that satisfying so I went to a drug store and bought some gummy worms!
IHP has many things planned for us while we are here so I will be very busy. I already met one of our profesors because I was in the airport and some girls started to walk the wrong way so I shouted, "Nora!" and then the profesor said to me, "In Geneva we never raise our voice. Never ever" It was so scary!
Sorry my thoughts are so scattered. I am quite tired. I will be writing more soon.
love,
Barbara
Monday, January 12, 2009
the beginning
hello everyone!
I hope this post finds everyone well. As most of you know I am going abroad for a semester with the International Honors Program (IHP). This semester I will be visiting Switzerland, India, China and South Africa to learn about their health care systems. There are 34 students in the program from universities all over the United States. While we are abroad we will be staying in hostels, dorms and home stays. This program does not allow us to bring computers so all of my school work will be done by hand. In each country we get to do a case study which includes field work. Although I am very excited I am also very nervous. I have received all my visas, vaccinations and pills and am almost done packing my one suitcase I am allowed to bring.
I will try to post on this blog as much as I can throughout the semester however my internet access may be limited in some places. I would really love to hear from everyone throughout the semester. Please keep me updated on your life, even if it is just a short e-mail! I am going to start using my g-mail account so e-mails can be sent to barbarappetersen@gmail.com (note the extra "p" for my middle name and the sen!) or barbara_petersen@brown.edu.
I can also receive letters (but not packages) at the following addresses:
Switzerland - Saturday January 17th to Tuesday January 27th
I hope this post finds everyone well. As most of you know I am going abroad for a semester with the International Honors Program (IHP). This semester I will be visiting Switzerland, India, China and South Africa to learn about their health care systems. There are 34 students in the program from universities all over the United States. While we are abroad we will be staying in hostels, dorms and home stays. This program does not allow us to bring computers so all of my school work will be done by hand. In each country we get to do a case study which includes field work. Although I am very excited I am also very nervous. I have received all my visas, vaccinations and pills and am almost done packing my one suitcase I am allowed to bring.
I will try to post on this blog as much as I can throughout the semester however my internet access may be limited in some places. I would really love to hear from everyone throughout the semester. Please keep me updated on your life, even if it is just a short e-mail! I am going to start using my g-mail account so e-mails can be sent to barbarappetersen@gmail.com (note the extra "p" for my middle name and the sen!) or barbara_petersen@brown.edu.
I can also receive letters (but not packages) at the following addresses:
Switzerland - Saturday January 17th to Tuesday January 27th
Barbara Petersen
IHP c/o Geneva Youth Hostel
28-30, rue de Rotschild
1202 Geneva - Switzerland
India - Wednesday January 28th to Thursday March 5th
Barbara Petersen
IHP c/o Environmental Support Group
105 East End "B" Main Road
9th Block, Jayanagar
Bangalore, 560069 INDIA
China - Friday March 6th to Friday April 3rd
Barbara Petersen c/o Li Xinhua
International Exchange and Cooperation Office
Central South University
Changsha, Hunan 410083
People's Republic of China
South Africa - Saturday April 4th to Thursday May 7th
IHP c/o Chris Colvin and Natalie Leon
For: Barbara Petersen
7 Alfred Street
Observatory 7925
Cape Town, South Africa
Well, I guess that is all for now! I can't believe I am leaving in just 4 days!
love,
Barbara
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