October is indeed a very festive time for all of India. Two holidays in the beginning of the month, one called Desra, and on October 15th - 17th, the festival called Diwali takes place (also called the Festival of Lights). Kids get 15 days out of school, working folks get the Monday following the festival off, for more time to spend with family. This time of year for Indians could be compared to our holiday season, kind of like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years all wrapped into one. Each day there is a different set of events and celebration, but the general theme is to eat as much food as you can and blow up as many firecrackers as you can. Being a lover of Independence Day myself, and things that go boom, I had to try out some of these Indian firecrackers. Now I realize why they are illegal in most states. In fact, the fireworks here would probably be illegal in all of the U.S. Even the small firecrackers are loud enough to make your heart race, and I lit a few off pretty darn close to my face. The problem is with the fuses...they burn to quick to get adequate distance, so lighting them and running away will simply not do. Ergo, I would light them in my hand and throw....as fast as I could. On one occasion, the fuse was so faulty it blew up before I could get it completely out of my hand, and I am so thankful that I still have all my fingers with no marks of any kind.
Aside from having a bit of a festival by myself, the girls and I also took a trip to Pune by bus. The bus ride takes about 4 hours, and the travel there really exasuted us, because you can't forget the auto rickshaw ride to our hostel which was the bumpiest ride I have ever been on. Our hostel was perched atop a huge hill, about 30 minutes outside the city, and gave us a grand view of the nearby scenary. After we were settled in our room, into the city we went where we spent the day walking around shopping (the girls shopped, I got a beer.) and seeing more Diwali festivities. We had lunch and dinner in the city, at Domino's Pizza and McDonald's respectively. It was great to get some food that wasn't loaded with chilis and spices, a little taste of the glory you could say, even if the burger I had at McDee's was some kind of spicy chicken thing. The fries were just like home :]
If the firecrackers I did by myself were not enough to blow out my typanic membranes, the rickshaw ride through the city at night was. As soon as it got dark, the city lit up with loud bangs and mortars in the sky; a beautiful sight but also complete chaos. A few times we actually ran over a few exploding cherry bombs. Paper schrapnel doesn't hurt, but it scares the hell out of ya, nonetheless.
let er fly,
Reid
Monday, October 26, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Alibag or bust
ok, so, there is a lot going on, and much to update. So many praises, but many frustrations as well.
We are definitely feeling like we are more into a routine now, but I for one am not pleased with the routine itself. The first two weeks we were here, the three of us were more or less guided around town, into the CFI office, and through some introductory field work in villages. This had its pros and cons, but we had a general idea of what we were doing for the day, and we were occupied with the task of getting to where we needed to go. Now, there does not seem to be any criteria or even requirement to work, it really all depends on our personal motivation to get going and take on a task. Don't get me wrong, I am motivated in just being here...I am so eager to learn more about the medical world, as well as the different aspects of social work. And I am learning, and contemplating, and questioning things I had never questioned before. It's good. The amount of personal reflection I go through in one day is amazing, and I could not get this kind of experience anywhere else. I will share more of this personal reflection later, but the point I am trying to make is that it's like I just showed up for the first day of kindergarten, and there is no teacher. I get to school with my lunch pail and I'm so jazzed to color with crayons and eat paste, take a nap, and learn my left from right, but there is no one there to tell me what to do. Now, as exciting as that freedom may sound, it can become chaos very fast. It would just be nice to have some direction on a daily basis, as opposed to a few suggestions of what to do in the day. This is one thing I definitely need prayer for, in that I would have tolerance for the way they do things and that I would learn to take initiative on things even though I don't know how to do them. It is hard to explain just how different it is here, with all the cultural challenges, climate, religion, and the STARING. We were always taught not to stare in the states, and sometimes it frustrates the heck out of me when every person on the block is looking directly at me with no expression at all. Just something to get used to...
Anyway, I also wanted to share a little bit about our adventure to Alibag, a town on the Arabian Sea about 20 km away from Pen. Last Saturday, Kelly and I (Jessica was not feelin' fine) hopped on a bus headed for Alibag, costing us each a whopping 20 rupees. *Just a reminder, 1$ = ~45 rupees * It was so great to get out of our town for a few hours and just explore. We ate lunch in a nice restaurant, had some kabobs and other delicious food, and the best part: a cold, refreshing 650 mL Fosters! All for about 350 rupees each. Then we made our way to the beach, took some pictures, gathered some shells, and took turns swimming/watching our bags. We had a blast, and nice to get some salt on the skin that wasn't from sweat ;] Here are a few pictures:
Playin ball with some locals:
Sunset from our balcony in Pen:
Let 'er fly,
Reid
We are definitely feeling like we are more into a routine now, but I for one am not pleased with the routine itself. The first two weeks we were here, the three of us were more or less guided around town, into the CFI office, and through some introductory field work in villages. This had its pros and cons, but we had a general idea of what we were doing for the day, and we were occupied with the task of getting to where we needed to go. Now, there does not seem to be any criteria or even requirement to work, it really all depends on our personal motivation to get going and take on a task. Don't get me wrong, I am motivated in just being here...I am so eager to learn more about the medical world, as well as the different aspects of social work. And I am learning, and contemplating, and questioning things I had never questioned before. It's good. The amount of personal reflection I go through in one day is amazing, and I could not get this kind of experience anywhere else. I will share more of this personal reflection later, but the point I am trying to make is that it's like I just showed up for the first day of kindergarten, and there is no teacher. I get to school with my lunch pail and I'm so jazzed to color with crayons and eat paste, take a nap, and learn my left from right, but there is no one there to tell me what to do. Now, as exciting as that freedom may sound, it can become chaos very fast. It would just be nice to have some direction on a daily basis, as opposed to a few suggestions of what to do in the day. This is one thing I definitely need prayer for, in that I would have tolerance for the way they do things and that I would learn to take initiative on things even though I don't know how to do them. It is hard to explain just how different it is here, with all the cultural challenges, climate, religion, and the STARING. We were always taught not to stare in the states, and sometimes it frustrates the heck out of me when every person on the block is looking directly at me with no expression at all. Just something to get used to...
Anyway, I also wanted to share a little bit about our adventure to Alibag, a town on the Arabian Sea about 20 km away from Pen. Last Saturday, Kelly and I (Jessica was not feelin' fine) hopped on a bus headed for Alibag, costing us each a whopping 20 rupees. *Just a reminder, 1$ = ~45 rupees * It was so great to get out of our town for a few hours and just explore. We ate lunch in a nice restaurant, had some kabobs and other delicious food, and the best part: a cold, refreshing 650 mL Fosters! All for about 350 rupees each. Then we made our way to the beach, took some pictures, gathered some shells, and took turns swimming/watching our bags. We had a blast, and nice to get some salt on the skin that wasn't from sweat ;] Here are a few pictures:
This was actually take in Murud, a smaller town a few km south:
Playin ball with some locals:
Sunset from our balcony in Pen:
Let 'er fly,
Reid
Monday, October 5, 2009
CFI
I feel like I did not do CFI (Children's Future India) justice in my last post. I highlighted most of the flaws that I have seen, and not the good stuff. Believe me, there is an incredible amount of good stuff done by this organization. It is important to point out that the backbone of what is done at CFI is the sponsorship program. This is a program set up to help children in the area, both in the city and in rural villages, get education and healthcare for absolutely no cost to their family. The program was set up and is funded by an organization in Norway, and they contribute the funds necessary to sponsor over 3,000 kiddos. The sponsoring takes the kids all the way through higher education, or graduate school or whatever they might need to specialize in something, up to the point where they start their career. It is amazing to see the social workers here dedicate themselves to meeting the children and constantly writing progress reports, modifying what any particular child may need.
In addition to this department, there is a department for HIV/AIDS awareness, general social work, women's community, healthcare, and they even have their own hospital, where residents can get treatment and surgeries for free. More details on the intricacies of CFI later....
let er' fly,
Reid
In addition to this department, there is a department for HIV/AIDS awareness, general social work, women's community, healthcare, and they even have their own hospital, where residents can get treatment and surgeries for free. More details on the intricacies of CFI later....
let er' fly,
Reid
Sunday, October 4, 2009
No dog is neutered and all cows have diarrhea...
....these are just two of the many differences between the U.S. and India I have noticed so far. It is fairly inconvenient when, every place you walk, you have to be on the lookout for piles of fecal matter from dogs, cows, or goats. Kelly, one of my fellow interns, hopped out of our truck the other day and her foot planted right into a glob of the good stuff, which is especially unfortunate because it is mostly runny in nature. Taking a walk to the market to get some bananas just may have a few surprises :]
Anyway, I want to give you an idea of what I am actually doing here, as that was actually pretty unclear even to me before I arrived. I'm not even in the same city as I previously thought...I am in Pen, if you are wondering. The two other interns and myself work for an organization called CFI, or Children's Future India. This multi-faceted NGO has buildings in most of the states in India, with sub-unit office buildings in the different districts of the states. We are in Raigad, Maharashtra. I must say, it has been overwhelming getting to know this organization, as we are constantly working with different people every day. On top of that, each department of CFI has its own project going on, and there is little communication between departments. This works for them, because they know the needs of the community and do not need coordination or approval the other departments. So we are stuck sometimes, being told to work with a specific department and that department not even knowing we are there. Needless to say, we have gotten used to waiting and making small talk in the office with our very poor Marathi.
Sharad, our program supervisor, does direct us where to go for the most part. The first week, he would have us meet a social worker, and we would travel with that social worker to a village, or migrant worker camp and give a seminar on HIV/AIDS. Let me be clear though, we never have any idea of what they are saying or doing...we just follow and they explain later. It has been beneficial when the social workers bring brochures to help explain how to prevent disease and the misconceptions about it; they have pictures, so it gives us some idea of what they are telling the residents. The second week, we worked with a doctor and accompanied her in the mobile health vans (not actually vans but an SUV). This was an interesting. And very exhausting. In this situation, not having very much Marathi or Hindi was extremely challenging. The mobile vans only go to VERY rural villages where the people there speak little to no English. We would basically ride with the doctor and driver to the village on a less than comfortable bumpy road, take pictures of the beautiful scenery, get ogled by the villagers, watch the doctor give out medicine, and go home. The heat and humidity does not help either. While we did indeed feel quite useless, it was a big reminder that we are here to observe, not necessarily to help...but my hands-on nature compels me to learn a few more words in Marathi. I know there is something to be gained from hearing only a few medical words and getting somewhat of an explanation from the doctor about what problems and diseases that these villagers face.
Village pictures:
Well, we have a new week in front of us, and I have no idea of which department we will sample in, but I am ready to rock. All three of us are feeling a little more settled in now, and definitely able to talk about our frustrations together.
A quick word about the food....it's kinda like Mexican food: it makes your nose run and goes right through ya.
let er fly,
Reid
Anyway, I want to give you an idea of what I am actually doing here, as that was actually pretty unclear even to me before I arrived. I'm not even in the same city as I previously thought...I am in Pen, if you are wondering. The two other interns and myself work for an organization called CFI, or Children's Future India. This multi-faceted NGO has buildings in most of the states in India, with sub-unit office buildings in the different districts of the states. We are in Raigad, Maharashtra. I must say, it has been overwhelming getting to know this organization, as we are constantly working with different people every day. On top of that, each department of CFI has its own project going on, and there is little communication between departments. This works for them, because they know the needs of the community and do not need coordination or approval the other departments. So we are stuck sometimes, being told to work with a specific department and that department not even knowing we are there. Needless to say, we have gotten used to waiting and making small talk in the office with our very poor Marathi.
Sharad, our program supervisor, does direct us where to go for the most part. The first week, he would have us meet a social worker, and we would travel with that social worker to a village, or migrant worker camp and give a seminar on HIV/AIDS. Let me be clear though, we never have any idea of what they are saying or doing...we just follow and they explain later. It has been beneficial when the social workers bring brochures to help explain how to prevent disease and the misconceptions about it; they have pictures, so it gives us some idea of what they are telling the residents. The second week, we worked with a doctor and accompanied her in the mobile health vans (not actually vans but an SUV). This was an interesting. And very exhausting. In this situation, not having very much Marathi or Hindi was extremely challenging. The mobile vans only go to VERY rural villages where the people there speak little to no English. We would basically ride with the doctor and driver to the village on a less than comfortable bumpy road, take pictures of the beautiful scenery, get ogled by the villagers, watch the doctor give out medicine, and go home. The heat and humidity does not help either. While we did indeed feel quite useless, it was a big reminder that we are here to observe, not necessarily to help...but my hands-on nature compels me to learn a few more words in Marathi. I know there is something to be gained from hearing only a few medical words and getting somewhat of an explanation from the doctor about what problems and diseases that these villagers face.
Village pictures:
Well, we have a new week in front of us, and I have no idea of which department we will sample in, but I am ready to rock. All three of us are feeling a little more settled in now, and definitely able to talk about our frustrations together.
A quick word about the food....it's kinda like Mexican food: it makes your nose run and goes right through ya.
let er fly,
Reid
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