Next week when my direct supervisor, Mr. Rakesh Pandey returns, I believe my fieldwork in the slums will begin. Although I am slightly anxious for how it will go, my nerves were really calmed after I met two other American interns that Shramik Bharti has. Although their programs are different (Maternal Health) they have already traveled to the slums and worked with Shramik Bharti for a month. They only had positive things to say and they have given me some helpful advice about who I should talk to specifically if I'm having computer problems, or what I should wear in the slums, and other things of that nature. Although today is their last day, it was really great to have one of my work weeks overlap with theirs and be able to get some advice and help from people that are coming from a similar background and culture that I am.

Outside of the work front, things have also been going really well. Although I have been struggling a bit with the humidity, I am absolutely loving eating mangos everyday. They have quickly become my favorite fruit. I am also happy to say that I am starting to pick up small Hindi phrases and I get so excited when I understand what people are saying. Communicating with autoricksaw drivers has become increasing easier and I am just really enjoying mindset that so many of the people I have met here have. The other day for example, one of the leaders of the Community Health programs, Ms. Sandhana came into the office and asked the group of people I was in the room with if we wanted to go get ice cream. She said that we had been working all day and week long and that we needed to take a break sometime. Thats exactly what I mean. The people I have met and worked with really seem like they want and try to take the time to enjoy themselves and get to know the people they work with. I guess I just really like their attitude and mindset. They are so appreciative, hardworking, and happy despite all of the hardship that they see everyday.

We flew on Etihad airways which had extremely nice service. We had a layover in Abu Dhabi and we were even able to eat with a friend of ours family that lives there. After that we had a short flight to India (around 3.5 hours) and arrived in the airport completely exhausted but excited. The airport was just as gorgeous as everyone said it would be. It was also interesting because going from Turkey to India was such a transition. Aside from the lack of English speakers in Turkey, parts of it seemed like the US. I think that is partially because we spent a lot of the time in the major cities, but regardless I felt very comfortable traveling there and didn't experience a lot of culture shock. India has been pretty different, it is truly unlike any other country I have ever seen, and so completely opposite of what I'm used to. I have stood out before but never like I feel like I do in India. Luckily having family in both Kanpur and Delhi has helped make the transition so much easier and I was able to go to some markets and pick up some Kurthas (Indian style shirts that are made from very light cotton material) that help me blend in a little more. Going to the markets I realized I needed to brush up on my bargaining skills. It helps that I have read a lot (and been warned by my family) not to carry a lot of money around because of pick pockets, so when I don't have a lot on me I end up window shopping and the vendors realize the have to lower the prices or I won't buy anything. Its amusing and slightly overwhelming how much attention we unintentionally attract. People ask to take our pictures, and where we are going, do we want to see their shop, go on this tour or that, do we need help, take this ricksaw, etc. etc. Walking through the streets of Old Delhi is quite the experience. Its remarkable how different Old and New Delhi are. Its as if they are in different centuries almost. The latter has large buildings with gardens, trees, and nice cars while the former is extremely crowded and filled with rickshaw drivers, people lying in the streets, vendors and small shops, litter, and cows and dogs in the street. I am equally impressed and terrified of the driving in India. I wonder how people learn to drive without using their sideview mirrors or lanes. I also think that honking has a much different meaning here. People honk all the time and I think that it is an indication of where a car is (as opposed to being angry at something a driver nearby did like its commonly used for in the States) but I don't think I will ever figure out how drivers don't get confused by all noise. With so many cars that are constantly honking, its easy to get lost in the commotion even as a pedestrian or in the passenger seat.

I was really fortunate to hear about this new tourist bus (its called HOHO as an acronym for Hop On Hop Off) where there are tour guides on the bus that come around to stops every 45 minutes and tourists can just get off at the attractions they want to see and spend as long as they'd like because the bus services goes from 8am to 715pm. I got to see the Red Fort, Jama Masjid, the old fort, Humayan's Tomb, Dili Haat, Connaught Place, Chani Chowk, Qutab Minar, and many others. It was truly wonderful and I enjoyed myself a lot. It was nice to be able to see things on my own tempo, and then go on an air conditioned bus while traveling between places (it was around 102 F when I took the day trip). One thing that I learned the hard way is never to travel without an umbrella during the monsoon season. While visiting the old fort, it started to get cloudy and as Michael and I were waiting for the bus to pick us up it started pouring. Saying that it rained cats and dogs would be a vast understatement. Even though we were only outside for 10 minutes or so we were completely soaked, and it was the only time I didn't enjoy the air conditioned bus. Aside from that I also thoroughly enjoyed myself in Janpath, a smaller portion within Connaught Place, where I was able to find a lot of small handicrafts. While walking down the streets I saw a monkey eating McDonalds fries on the street. I stopped to take pictures and pretty soon after it ran up to a street vendors cart and grabbed down a bag of lays and doritos, ran back up to the building and climbed all the way up to the rough where it ripped open the bags and started eating the chips. Walking through the streets is so crowded and busy, and it seems like everyone has places to go--but for five minutes a large crowd paused to watch the monkey and the street was full of laughter at how sly he had been.

Delhi was great but I was excited to leave for Kanpur and begin my fellowship. I took a train from New Delhi to Kanpur and the ride was quite enjoyable. I had a samosa for the first time in ages and got to see some of the countryside as we drove past. The only major struggle I had was finding my cousin when we reached the train station in Kanpur. It was extremely crowded and there were no foreigners around so we both became a big spectacle. None of the people I asked for help spoke English and I was having a hard time finding a public phone. I was beginning to get really nervous because it was late and I didn't have many rupees on me but fortunately after an hour we found my cousin. Things have gone very smoothly since then. I had my first day of work today and it primarily consisted of familiarizing myself with the history of the water aid programs that Shramik Bharti (the NGO I'm working with) has implemented in the last three years that it was worked with another international organization WaterAid. The facilities are nice and everyone we have spoken with so far has been very accommodating and helpful with any questions I have had. I am excited for what the following week has to offer. For right now I'm just enjoying the food (especially mangos) and chai and trying to pick up some Hindi, I'm hoping by next week I'll have made more progress!

The non-governmental organization that I chose to work with, EduCARE India, is relatively young and has some problems with organizational efficiency and human resources. The majority of its social programs and development is performed by international interns/employees that are only here for a year or two at the most. The transition process has not been perfected, so for a large part, when someone comes to work for EduCARE, they end up planning and determining their own work projects. This means that many mistakes are made, and EduCARE's micro-finance projects have been no exception.

This past Thursday, I was able to sit down with the project director of EduCARE in Punjab, Mr. Bhullar, and the operations manager, a woman who has been involved in research about Self Help Groups in the villages around here. I learned more details about what I have read about in documents and reports. Past interns have designed micro-finance schemes, found them successful from the get-go, and become over-confident. Mr. Bhullar has tried to push the direction toward different forms of micro-finance than simply lending to a list of clients. There is something that he calls Integrated Microfinance for Micro-Enterprise and Livelihood Sustenance as well as something called ROSCA, rotating savings and credit association.

EduCARE has a focus currently on specifically assisting the sustainable development of marginalized communities within Punjab, since it is a relatively wealthy area. Those who need the most assistance here are not the general population but groups like poorer women, migrant communities, and another group called the Rag-pickers. This latter group are marginalized because their profession is lowly and not very profitable even though it is their best option for sustenance: separating recyclable plastic from all other trash and selling it to recycling middle-men in the city. Anyway, since this is EduCARE's focus, it seeks to use micro-finance as a tool toward assisting these groups, and learning the details of this strategy continues to be very interesting, and I am learning about other NGOs in the area that do similar, if slightly different things.

The plan for the next few weeks is to do a lot more analysis of EduCARE from an outside perspective, trying to understand how it fits in to the incredibly huge web of other NGOs as well as government programs designed to help the same people that EduCARE seeks to help.

PS I am just realizing that this post wasn't very fun and didn't tell much about my activities and experiences. I'll try to tell about some of that next time!

Upon arriving in India I was slightly disappointed with the organization. The housing situation in one of the cities was not ideal, the organization seemed disconnected and the man who led the entire operation (and only one of two full-time employees, both of whom are the only Indians in the organization) loved to hear himself speak and seemed ineffective as a leader. Almost the entire organization and their social programs are run by young international volunteers who stay anywhere from a year at a time to 6 weeks. There are three centers in three villages, the larger Adampur, the small Dosarka, and the very small Janauri where they speak Hindi instead of the traditional Punjabi. Currently there are 25 interns and generally each intern helps with 2-3 projects. EduCARE does work with sanitation, a Girls Club that is part of their Women Empowerment initiative, a form of Micro-Finance (ask my friend Martha for more info on this!), an organic farm, an alternative fuel and recycling program, a Migrant Empowerment, and an after school program for both middle-class Punjabis and migrant children. The organization also offers English classes that primarily address increasing global awareness.

So some things that work in this organization:
-Each intern is given a lot of freedom to do what ever they want. If I wanted to start a basketball team with the migrant children, and I had the drive and materials to do so, I could. I do not really want to do this but it is awesome that I have this level of freedom.
-There are many projects to help out with and there is never a lack of things to do (I am busy allll the time!)
-As an intern, you can see the personal development in the students and children you work with over a month time-span so the work can feel quite rewarding.
-The organization strives to be self-sustainable which it mostly reaches - it is neat that the organization does not want to rely on outside funds. Mr. B (the man who runs everything) constantly repeats the mantra, manpower, materials, money! In that order of importance!
-Finally, the organization stresses the importance of leading by example. The interns and our houses use environmentally friendly cleaning supplies and we encourage the locals to reuse materials. We also have our bio-fuel plant (remember the time I spent all weekend scooping poo? it was for that plant...) and we realize how our own actions can influence the local population - both negatively and positively.

Things that do not work for the organization:
-There is too much freedom. Oftentimes interns arrive and they have no idea what they are doing or how to do it. There is often little instruction and not enough training upon arrival.
-Conflicts of interest and egos. While I respect most of the people in this organization, because so few people work here long term, I think that personal relationships and egos get in the way of being an effective organization.
-Typical organization woes: over planning, too many google documents, too many meetings and too little action taken, and an over-extension of resources and manpower.
-The main man, Mr. B, touts a goal of 40% efficiency. Wow, that is a large number to strive to attain... I could continue but let's not get too negative.

So I'm working on Girls Club and the Migrant Empowerment initiative. Mostly I do education with girls and migrant children. I also decided to help out the organization and teach English classes (something I had not intended to do nor something I feel very good about, it feels a little like linguistic imperialism).

My research through CSAS is focused on my observations of how globalization has affected education here in Punjab. More generally, the effect education has had within the empowerment of marginalized communities such as the women's empowerment and migrant empowerment programs through EduCARE.

Some quick general observations:
-Punjab is a relatively rich state of India with a high immigration rate abroad, the affects of globalization are seen in their farming techniques, school, and in the slow change of some aspects of their culture to a more Western influenced life style. Still, many of my English students maintain that they value their own traditional culture higher than Western culture. At the same time, people are extremely obsessed with trying to go abroad that they seem to try to immerse themselves in a more Western lifestyle. It goes both ways.
-Students are very interested in our organic farming techniques - which I found a little surprising - which shows how a current Western ideal has a far-reaching positive global effect
-Also surprising, I've been able to observe and research a lot from the English classes that are discussion based. The organization stresses teaching with a global focus so we discuss topics such as love marriage vs. arranged marriage, poverty, global warming, developing economies, etc. It is interesting to learn the student's perspectives as well as how they view different topics and themes based on their culture or home life.
-Some of the techniques we try to empower the girls in Girls Club do not work because of cultural differences. Sometimes it doesn't seem like we are accomplishing all that much either, but at the same time, it is a big deal just for these girls to have a space that is just for them. It is a big deal to be allowed to leave the house and hang out with other girls to learn and play games or sports.
-Finally, for the migrant children, the educational component with them is essential. We cannot establish trust within the migrant community without first reaching out to the children. This is easily done by teaching them English and math skills meanwhile playing games and singing songs with them. Once we have their trust we slowly gain their parents trust. Through this we can implement other social programs and involve the migrant communities - especially the trash picking communities - with our sanitation projects.

I'm hardly explaining these or getting into the meat of the issues but I thought I'd quick jot down my observations here to give others an idea of what I'm observing and researching.

Despite my excitement, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t ridiculously nervous as well. I am going to be seeing a lot of my family and I won’t have my father to tell me who everyone is, how to address them, or how to get around. I don’t have the comfort of having someone personally take me around that speaks the language. But I like challenges and I have always valued being independent---plus it helps that I have worked on conquering that particular concern while in Turkey because I’ve managed to get by and travel every weekend without knowing any Turkish to start off with. It’s actually humorous how much better at charades I’ve gotten. Although when I really think about my biggest concerns, getting by isn’t even really one of them. I mostly nervous for how I’m going to feel after working in the slums and witnessing poverty daily. I want this experience so badly, and I truly think that traveling is one of the most life changing and eye opening things that a person can experience. I have no doubt that working with a water sanitation unit for a nongovernmental organization will enlighten me and make me more grateful for what I have but I still can’t help but to be nervous. Nothing I have seen in my travels has ever compared to the memories I have of the poverty I witnessed in India. I always found myself wondering how I could be so fortunate and have so many things when so many other people do not even have food or water. The fact that food and water are even luxuries astounds and disgusts me and it’s something that I know will have a hard time being reminded of everyday. I just want to learn as much as I can and soak up whatever information I’m able because I want to find a way to give back in my life, much like our generous donor has done with us. I know that I’m fortunate for not only what I have and what for I know I will learn from my experience—but I hope that I’m lucky enough to be able to make a positive impact where I am as well. I guess only time will tell but for now I’m going to try to stay hopeful and just work on making my transition from Turkey to India as smooth as possible.

The most important aspect of my trip to India was the chance to stay in one area of the country and truly get to know people here. This is what separates all the Summer in South Asia fellows from tourists who might hop from one city to another trying to see as many heritage landmarks as possible. While sightseeing is always fun, you arguably learn very little about the place you visit because this approach does not lend itself to getting to know people on a deeper level. After a month in Mysore, it saddens me most to think of leaving all the people that I have worked with.

The data-collection portion of the study thankfully concluded very well and we reached our target range of participants. I have already planned to meet with Dr. Madhivanan when I get back to Michigan to discuss next steps for the project so I hope the research will keep me busy straight up to the start of the school year. I presented some preliminary findings to the staff on my penultimate day in Mysore and was glad to share some of the work with everyone and have the chance to answer questions and begin preparing to write a detailed summary of the conclusions and implications from the research.

After the presentation, I tried to take advantage of my last night and visited my new friends at Devaraja market. Just the night before I ran into a merchant at the busy market center and ended up having a two-hour conversation with him. I was passing his oils shop and, most likely out of intrigue that I was a Westerner, he called for me and asked me to sit with him and have some chai. He told me about a book he was writing about LGBT issues in India and the taboo associated with them and I was really intrigued because my study also dealt with taboos that pertain to sexual health issues in the country. We talked, asked questions, and simply enjoyed each other’s company. It was really refreshing to have such an in-depth conversation with someone from across the world and learning that some issues really are universal. It was another chapter in the book of human connections for me.

I also had the chance to connect with other life in India. After finishing a load of laundry late one evening earlier last week, I put my clothes out to dry and hoped the dry and fairly hot night would leave me ready-to-wear clothes the next morning. I checked very early and left them for a couple more hours since they were still damp. While working with Dr. Reshma at around noon, Siddhu peered through the window and yelled, “Nader…laundry…monkeys!” I ran upstairs and found a group of at least ten monkeys playing on the clothesline that my laundry was hanging on. The monkeys were also hanging on my laundry and trying it on! They were very smart and I thought I should capture this memory and I grabbed my camera and recorded a video of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQhw-oIXxtI. They took some souvenirs for themselves, but none of those clothes were very expensive and I easily managed the last week without those clothes so seeing my monkeys play with laundry was more enjoyable to watch than anything else.

1. On one of my first long bus ride experiences, I sat at the very front of the bus where I was inline with the driver. I was privy to seeing his crazy driving antics whereas before I only felt the dangerous swerves he made in and out of traffic. I saw first hand how he dodged bicycles, pedestrians, motorbikes, trucks, other huge buses, cars, and cows on the narrow two lane Punjabi roads. His face remained unchanged as he blared that ridiculous horn all the way down the road.
2. My personal space bubble is constantly invaded by the five people pressed against me and sometimes on top of me. The buses can be so crammed people ride on the roof. If another passenger isn't pressed up against me, then it's the bus attendent who collects money. These attendants have a tendency to sit on me or run into me when the driver makes an especially daring move and must quickly brake. It usually results in some awkward contact.
3. Both the bumpy roads and the crammed buses make for a motion-sick Julia. And I'm not the only one as evidenced by the trials of vomit that can often be seen outside windows on the exterior of the bus.
4. The language barrier constantly terrifies me when I'm not totally sure where I'm going. I have had to do many transfers on local lines and I constantly repeat the name of the city where I'm headed in order to confirm and re-confirm (and usually re-confirm again) that I'm headed in the correct direction. Usually I just have to trust the bus attendant that he's not taking me to the wrong city and putting this kind of trust in one man terrifies me. Little seems more scary than being stranded in rural India at night with no idea where the heck I am and when the next bus will come.

However, I've had a recent change of heart. On a bus journey I take at least once a week, I admired the beautiful orchards, fields, and small towns that flew past outside. The window was open and a cool breeze offered me a relief from the heat. I sat surrounded by curious Indians who wanted to know more about myself and the other Westerners with me. Adorable babies with big beautiful eyes lined with kohl returned my smiles and would sometimes respond when I questioned, "tera naam hai?" It was beautiful. It was the one hour that day I had taken time to sit down and relax. I began to love the rhythm and energy of the buses here in Punjab.

I have also met some incredible people on the buses. The other day a woman about my age struck up a conversation with me. She had excellent English and she was eager to practice it. She wanted to know about my home, what I was doing in India, where I went to school, etc., etc. She was amazed that I was to travel to other countries alone and professed a desire to travel abroad some day, although she thought it was unlikely. I told her to stop by the center of the NGO I'm working with and she surprised me with a visit the other day. It turns out that she is a police officer in a large town about an hours bus from where I live. It was refreshing to meet a young person so dedicated to changing her state and country. I was also excited and relieved to get the contact information for a seemingly well-intentioned police officer - something of a rarity.

Even the garish decorations of the buses add to their charm and I find that I like these tin metal cans packed like sardines more and more. Although I prefer hitchhiking in the backs of trucks or riding motorbikes, the buses remain a favorite of mine despite their many draw backs. I guess this might have to do with the fact that the buses cannot give me a second degree burn on my calve as motorbikes have done. That and I don't have to be male in order to successfully flag down a bus as is the case with hitchhiking... Regardless, riding Indian buses is all a part of the experience and my time here would not be the same without them.

All in all, many aspects of India that I initially dislike or resist, have a way of surprising me by enriching this amazing experience for the better.

So, for the first week it was hard for me to decide whether or not I liked where I was in Punjab or what I was doing at the NGO or whether or not I wanted to escape north to Mcleod Ganj where I was promised a cooler climate. The heat is blazing hot and I can never escape it. I work in it, I build stoves and shelters in it, I teach in it, and then I go home and live in it. There is no air conditioning in rural Punjab (or not at my poor NGO anyways) and power cuts are frequent. However, my body has adjusted to the heat and I've grown to really love the village I'm living in, the people I work with, the constant stream of chai filling my belly, and the music, sound, and noise that surrounds me 24/7. I even like the buses here - which at first terrified me because I thought about how likely it was I would die in the crammed tin can on wheels swerving about the road. India - or Punjab more specifically - is growing on me and life seems completely normal now after some initial shocks.

My work right now is primarily teaching children at two agricultural migrant communities in Dosarka, Punjab, as well as a girls club in a village close by. I was actually roped into teaching an Intermediate English and while this was something I didn't want to do in India, I think it will aid my research. I want to look into how globalization and Western culture has or has not been influencing education in India, specifically marginalized communities. Punjab is one of the wealthiest states in India with one of the highest rates of immigration to other countries (primarily English speaking) such as the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Meanwhile, much of the culture remains fairly conservative and the main religion - Sikhism - continues to be followed by much of the population. In my class I'm gaining valuable insight into whether or not the students feel about learning English and how they feel about their own culture.

Well it is quite late here and I still have lots to do so this blog will have to be cut off short but I promise to post again soon!

I have been meaning to write in this blog for some time now, and it's about time I sat down to get it all out. Having received the Summer in South Asia grant, my project and mission has been to research and understand better how micro-finance is used a as a tool for women empowerment in rural Punjab as well as how 'micro-finance' is perceived in the area.

Specifically, since I, like Julia, am spending my time here with a sustainable development NGO called EduCARE India, the vast majority of what I am learning concerns how this NGO's micro-finance program has changed over time and why.

Coming to EduCARE, my understanding was that I would be helping a team to develop and test out a newer 'model' for their micro-finance operations. I assumed that I would be observing a Micro-finance institution at work, more or less. Since I have been here, however, I have learned that micro-finance is a loaded term even among NGOs. Rather than actually observing micro-banking or lending at work, I am instead coming to understand the struggle that development organizations face in determining whether to hop on board 'micro-finance' train and how exactly to do it.

To start this blog out, I'll write a little bit about what my over-all experience coming and living in Punjab has been so far. Specifically, I want to hit our trip here, our living conditions and diet, the people, transportation, and how I plan to continue with the fellowship project given my schedule here.

Julia and I flew from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Wednesday night (May 18th) and arrived in New Delhi's Indira Gandhi Airport the morning of Friday May 20th. In between was about an 8 hour layover in the Munich Airport. It's pretty incredible how much time we spent in airports. I kept remarking what nice places airports are. They are very 'chill' with many dining options and plenty of interesting people to watch. But spending 12 hours in the international terminal of the Indira Gandhi Airport waiting for a bus-ride to Jalandhar was a bit much. The highlight was befriending a few chauffeur-type Indian gentlemen who joined Julia and I as we were playing cards. They taught us a game called "Flash". Finally once we were on the nine-hour bus-ride to Jalandhar, Punjabi Bhangra music blasted out the entire journey. Julia had already gone deaf from rock concerts, but I was forced to wear ear-plugs despite the fact that the music was very good.

Once we moved in to a house with several other EduCARE 'interns' on the outskirts of the town of Adampur, it was time to experience living in Punjab. First of all, the temperature has generally stayed over 100 degrees (F) for most of every day. Second of all, Punjab is one of the most conservative states in India which means that women must always have shoulders covered and legs covered. We can maybe get away with wearing a pair of capris every once and a while. Third of all, no air conditioning, limited water supply, and having to drink only bottled water for the first week all made adjustment quite an ordeal the first several days. I managed to avoid extreme sickness, but after having a vegetable kabob (it wasn't what you think) on the second day, I felt quite nauseous the following morning.

Since then, I have adapted pretty decently. I've purchased some traditional, loose, green Punjabi pants, have started to boil water for myself in the mornings and add some green tea, and have come to even enjoy bathing with the bucket and cup that Zilka told us all about. The heat continues to keep my appetite at bay, but each day, it's easy to get bananas, samosas, vegetables, naan, or chapatis very cheaply right by the Centre where I spend most of each week-day.

The people here are very friendly and considerate. Punjabis speak, yup, Punjabi, and the vast majority practice the Sikh religion. In brief, this is a relatively recently formed religion (15th cent.). It is mono-theistic, probably a bit more similar to Islam than Hinduism. Like most religions, it's main values are faith and justice. About 75% of the world's Sikhs live in the state of Punjab, but it is one of the world's fastest growing religions. I am really looking forward to learning much more about it while I'm here, just like I'm looking forward to mastering more of the Punjabi language. Julia and I are living in an small village called Sotla, which is a maze of narrow cobblestone roads and Indian homes, which are incredibly open and airy. Most of our house, for example, is basically an outdoor patio and open terrace plus enclosed bedrooms. The Sikh morning (4am) and evening prayers literally blast through the air into our home. In Sikhism, sound and music are considered the best way to approach the divine and the loudspeaker prayers encourage personal meditation on the meditation of God and dispel negative thoughts.

Transportation here has been a surprising joy. Indian buses may drive crazily, but they are endearing in many ways. First of all, the buses are always late. Inside the bus, decoration is gaudy, the music is obnoxious, the outfits of everyone on the bus are colorful, and the scenery is always interesting. Fellow travelers smile and help you understand where to get off for your stop. Oh, and the fare is incredibly inexpensive as well as reimbursed by EduCARE.

Finally, as far as continuing my fellowship project, my next step is to have a meeting with a woman in EduCARE who has already done a great deal of research into Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the villages around here. SHGs have been the most successful form of micro-finance and women empowerment in India. The basic idea is that a group of about 10 women come together to talk about their livelihoods and how to improve them. The micro-finance element comes in when they become a savings group, each contributing a very small amount on usually a monthly basis. Saved funds can then be lent out for emergency purposes or business ventures, given the agreement and approval of the entire group. There is much more to be said about it, but I will leave that for next time.

I’m still very disappointed in myself; after the first and only time he told me his name, I forgot very shortly after and never summed up the courage to ask him later. With our exchange of names and a look into his decal-clad rickshaw, we found we were both Muslim and got to talking a little bit about Muslim life in India, and he thought it would be cool to take me to some historical sites of Tippu Sultan, the last Muslim ruler in the area before the arrival of the British East India Company. My new friend served as my unofficial tour guide, and after about 15 kilometers (an absurd distance to travel in a rickshaw), we arrived at a burial ground for many members of Tippu Sultan’s family. There were several coffins adorned with colorful flowers and the whole site was very impressive. We continued to several other sites around the city, including an entire museum dedicated to Tippu Sultan. When he asked if I was interested in buying some silk or sandstone, two staple goods of the historic city, I gladly agreed and we started driving to one store he told me was particularly fond of.

As he had been doing on our previous stops, my friend/rickshaw driver/tour guide sacrificed other fares and parked the rickshaw to join me in the store, which has both beautiful silk cloths and an adjacent store filled with sandstone items with its own mini-factory. At this point I can’t remember if all the tips my friends and trip advisors gave me about shopping in India were shuffling through my head; what I can clearly remember is that none of those tips were put into practice, and very soon after I would wonder how I could possibly spend so much money.

The silk store was very nice and so were the merchants. They sat me down in front of a mattress they would stand, brought me a cold drink, and began showing me some amazing silk pieces that I wanted to get for my mother. My friend Eman, a Summer in South Asia fellow last June, wisely cautioned me to not show too much enthusiasm when I am presented with any goods, as this would tell the seller that I was overly-interested in buying the item, sacrificing any bargaining power I might have had (to be fair though, I think my bargaining power dropped as soon as they saw me). As I mentioned, this advice was not put into practice and I was beaming with every piece the merchant showed me. He of course assumed these smiles signaled a “yes” to the question of my interest in the item. He had stacked way too many pieces for me to take, and even after I pushed hard for him to cut the pile in half, I was still carrying too much. I bought several other things from the silk store, and when I was done, I handed my debit card with very little hesitation, partially arrogant with my dollar’s purchasing power and partially proud of my ‘bargain hunting.’ They actually had to split my bill in half because it was too large, so they swiped the card twice and my initial worries came but quickly left. The cashier kindly gestured me to the next shop, filled with sandstone items.

There were so many wonderful things here too and I had so many people to get gifts for, so I began plucking off small items like pens and lion figures assuming they would be relatively cheap, and again when I went to the cashier, I was fine with my slight splurge in spending since I took care of all of my gift-shopping. I went to the cashier and when the card wasn’t working, my worry officially set in. My card usually works even when there’s a slight overdraft, but this could only mean I had gone way too far. I was actually semi-relieved because I unabashedly gave them the false promise that I would come back another day perhaps and purchase the items, since I didn’t have cash with me. For some reason or another I told them I had enough cash to pay at the PHRI house to pay for the goods, and instead of trusting me to come back, they sent one of the young clerks in the rickshaw back to the house to get the money on the spot. After I had counted out the rest of my trip’s cash for the young fellow, I returned to my room and was glad my suffering could finally stop.

After a couple hours of working on my project, I logged onto my bank account to make sure there were no problems and my heart sank when I saw my statement showing a large number in parentheses that meant I overspent by a good amount. I didn’t spend THAT much money, I thought, and my clever, soon-to-be-proven silly detective skills pointed out that the card indeed did work on my final purchase and the store inadvertently asked for cash as well, doubling my purchase. I rushed downstairs to speak with the staff and to seek their help, and Dr. Reshma and Lakshman gladly skipped going home on time and accompanied me to the store to help me deal with the miscommunication. At the time, I really wished I could take a picture of the scene. To prove the mistake in the sale, the store managers kindly allowed me to log on to the computer with Internet access near the cashier to show them my bank account. They even brought me a 7-UP to sip while the computer was loading and I was logging in to my account. There were several people crowded around me at the computer, and I was worried that I would either upset these store workers who had helped me earlier or make a fool of myself. It took several minutes of shuffling through the bills and doing the Dollars-to-Rupees math to figure it out, but one smart worker finally discovered our (my) slip in thinking: the statement shown on my bank account was indeed a different purchase than the one I made in cash, I had simply confused the transactions since the amounts were only a few cents in difference. I went through everything I bought, added it up, converted it to dollars, and the clerk was indeed right. I had simply neglected one of the sales and, in hopes of minimizing my damages, tricked myself into thinking I was charged twice for a sale. Dr. Reshma and Lakshman were gladly explaining on my behalf the whole time before the discovery, but I grasped the whole ordeal very quickly and my heart sank even futher. I had dragged two of the PHRI staff from their families and wasted time of several of the workers so they could sort through my messy logic. I was embarrassed and began to get up from my stool but the workers insisted that I relax and enjoy the rest of my 7-UP. They overlooked all my insensitivity in asking them to explain themselves, and were persistent in asking me to relax and finish my drink. I don’t think I’ll ever forget what those last drops of 7-UP tasted like.

I gave myself a couple of weeks to write this blog because I knew anything I think to include in a post immediately would be extremely bitter. I definitely did not like India after contemplating how much I spent and how i got ripped off. My friends at PHRI estimated that I was charged probably four times as much than an Indian would have been charged, or at least have been to able to bargain for. But looking back now, I feel blessed for several reasons. First, my parents trusted me with enough money to cover for a mistake like this, and were only concerned with my safety as opposed to my bank statement. Second, the folks at PHRI were also very warm in reassuring me and showing me support. I was visibly distraught after the entire ordeal and they didn’t hesitate to pick me up. Looking back on how down I was makes me laugh because of how ridiculous it seems now, but I definitely appreciated their support at the time. There are about 25 staff members at PHRI, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I received about 10 different lectures about why I should ask that particular staff member to go with me when I go shopping and that I should have known better. Some were so concerned that the physical toll of shopping spree actually transferred to them; Siddhu, in his limited English, simply pointed to his head and said, “Tension, tension,” to say that he himself was upset and worried for me.

Sorry if this seems patronizing or redundant, I don’t mean for that. I do assume that everyone probably has better strategies (please share them!) but I really hope no one feels bitter for a couple days like I did. If anything, it’s just a reminder to be focused when you shop, lest you be generously offered a soft drink that you’ll have to drink with shame.

After two seven hour flights, one seven hour layover, a twelve hour wait in the Indira Gandhi Airport for a nine hour bumpy in a van, I arrived in Adampur. I am staying with interns who work for the NGO I'm also working with, EduCARE India. After a day or two adjusting to the immense heat here, I went to the office and began learning more about the organization. I will be helping with the Women's Empowerment programs and the Marginalized/Migrant Communities programs. These programs will help me conduct research on the affects of globalization on education in this part of India. It sounds like I will be moving to another village this coming week, one that is a little more rural. The NGO has several Centers, one in Adampur, Janauri, and another in Dosarka (where I will be moving).

Overall my adjustment to life in India has been fairly smooth although the first couple of days I was wondering what I got myself into! The heat is almost unbearable, it is so dusty, and I hate that I can only drink bottled water. However, because the people are so friendly, the food so delicious and the landscape and culture so intriguing, I stopped focusing on the intensity of the heat and tried to forget my cooler climate back home.

One of my first experiences with the friendliness of the Indian people was at customs in the airport. The men going over our visas offered Martha and I candy and although we initially refused, they insisted. I remembered that it is typically inappropriate in Indian culture to refuse gifts so we finally took some. Then while Martha and I waited in the airport for a van to take us from the airport to Jalandhar, Punjab, we started playing cards. A man who was waiting to pick someone up from their flight sat by us and starting talking with us about our card game and then we talked with him about what we were doing in India and about his own life in Delhi. Before we knew it, ten or so of his friends who were also there to pick up people from the airport, joined us and taught us a card game called Flash. It was basically a gambling game and as two American girls playing cards with ten or more older Indian men, we drew a lot of stares at the airport but it was a lot of fun. One of the men made me talk with a friend of his on the phone - bizarre, but funny.

Yesterday was my first official day working in EduCARES office (the only place I have internet connection) and after a day in the office and a delicious veggie burger for lunch, a group of us went out to the migrant camps. There are two camps in Adampur, one a snake charmer community and the other a “rag picker” community. Having worked with migrant farm-worker communities in the Michigan, I was excited to compare the differences and similarities between migrant camps and workers in Michigan and India. The camps here are relatively small (around 30 people but it seemed like it was less) and their homes very simple tent structures with tarps over the top. There is some weird competition between the two camps of people but I'm looking forward to working further with both, hopefully. So long as the snakes that the snake charmers keep in baskets on the ground don't escape...

Speaking of which, there are rattle snakes in the fields by our house. A little more threatening than the blue racers that I'm used to back in Michigan.

Well, that's it for now. Not too much to report yet! I have limited internet access so I may not be able to consistently post - that and I can't guarantee my posts will be very good quality because it is hard for me to concentrate in this heat. A final side note: I just had the most delicious meal of masalla dosa with a 7 Up. It is like a crepe filled with potato, onion, and some form of spices that you dip in other sauces. Delicious! I am loving the food.

The process has been seemingly slow, it’s been one week and I do not have an ounce of data that I can use for analysis. Not to worry though, as this was yet another lesson I’ve learned in this pursuit of knowledge. The preparation is absolutely critical and though it can take quite some time, it has made any success from the research possible. A couple of days after I arrived, I flushed out my protocol and interview guide for the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and received approval nearly a month after my initial submission. We followed the approval with two pilot studies and further modified the interview guide, mostly to accommodate the slight language and vocabulary barrier. The working title for the research is “A descriptive study of attitudes regarding reproductive health and hygiene among youth in Mysore, India.” The method of data collection will be in-depth interviews with males between 18-25. I became interested in this research after my initial meetings with Mr. Krupp, one of the co-founders of PHRI. The research and subsequent relevant clinical work has focused exclusively on women’s reproductive health issues, and the amazing work established here earned Dr. Madhivanan, the other co-founder, an international leadership award for PHRI’s ability to address AIDS issues in the area. I thought it would be interesting to look at men’s issues, since issues relating to men, though similar in some ways to those of women, has not been studied extensively in the area, so I hope that my work can be formative and give concrete material that clinicians in Mysore can possibly learn from. Given sexual health issues are very taboo here, I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that many issues are left unsaid for both men and women, so I hope even a fraction of the results we find are of use in shedding light on this important issue.

Recruitment is the first stage in this academic process, and I’m glad to see that we’ve made great strides in making contacts with possible participants for the study, especially given the fact that I am a foreign student with no relationships outside the walls of PHRI. Dr. Reshma Shaheen has played the crucial role of advisor and guide for the study and was extremely helpful with this portion of the project. We met with the Principal of one small degree college and even garnered the support of two department chairs at the largest university in the city. Everyone we have met with agreed to have us post flyers for the studies and were kind enough to offer their personal support in spreading the word. On our way out of one meeting, we met with a PhD student who said he would be able to get us 8 or more of his friends to participate, which is excellent given our relatively small desired participant pool. We exchanged numbers and I’m expecting a call from him soon to schedule our first batch of interviews!

The accommodations I have here are just about perfect. I am admittedly spoiled in many ways and this is evident in my always wanting ‘suitable’ living arrangements. I don’t think I could handle too many bugs or blistering heat, but at the same time I know a lot of my learning and personal development during this trip will come from stretching my comfort levels and forcing myself to try new things. So PHRI was perfect because I had a clean bathroom, filtered water, and reliable wifi (just got finished watching the Red Wings come back against the Sharks at 7 AM), but I still have the perfect opportunity to gain these experiences through the most important source, the people. It didn’t hurt either that the city layout, honking drivers and building layouts are very similar to that of Syria’s, a country I have been able to visit several times to see extended family. I’m generally very good at isolating myself and not opening up much when I don’t have to, so I’m curious to see how much I stretch myself given my very comfortable accommodations.

I’ve quickly learned one very important mindset held by most of the people here, a committed sense of duty. Yesterday afternoon on the way back from dinner at the nearby cafeteria, Siddhu rang the bell outside of the gate to call a member of his family to let us in. Siddhu is the full-time staff member at PHRI and he actually lives in the complex with his wife and young infant. His niece was inside and as she came to open the gate for us, I uttered my best attempt at a Kannada-English accent with a ‘tank-yoo,’ to which SIddhu told me describing his niece, “No English.” I thought this was curious because my handy phrasebook says that ‘tank-yoo’ is indeed the way to express gratitude in Kannada and it hit me (took long enough!) that such a phrase is obviously not canonized in the vocabulary in the Dravidian family of languages. Every time I say ‘tank-yoo’ (and I’ve had to say it so many times given how gracious my hosts are) I simply receive a nodding head bob and smile, but no ‘your welcome’ or it’s accented equivalent. The locals here by no stretch are lacking in courtesy by abstaining from using this simple vocabulary, but rather there’s simply no need for such phrases because in most cases no one feels they’re doing anyone any favors by being warm and friendly, it’s just the only way for them. Siddhu has literally made it his job to make sure everything has been perfect for me thus far and has left his family for lunch and dinner both days to ease the inevitable awkwardness that would result from walking into the hospital cafeteria by myself (I have yet to see another Caucasian or non-Indian for that matter thus far). And each time I try to tell him how grateful I am for his help, he simply nods and smiles like it’s no big deal. I can see myself going on and on with how it’s ‘no big deal,’ and how I would be ‘more than happy to help’ any foreign guest in the case they were visiting America for the first time and required some assistance. Not so much here in India. Siddhu has already taught me so much and I’m glad I’ve been able to learn the valuable lesson of lending a hand with sincerity and a sense of duty.
I’ve gotten plenty of rest and I’m definitely ready to get right to work. I’m writing as I sit outside with some toast and tea, and I’m finally going to meet Poornima Jay, the administrator here and the person I’ve been in contact with leading up to my trip. We’re going to meet about our initial steps in recruitment, hope everything starts off well!