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
Friday, February 27, 2009
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
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