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