Work related blog

This week has been jumbled, confusing and stressful at work. It is our first week all together, working as a team, and it's going great. We each have very specific specialties that the Maitri staff can utilize which is useful because there is not a whole lot of overlapping of assignments. While our specific tasks were initially confusing and up-in-the-air, we have finally been given some clarity and detail. It feels good to know exactly what my assignment is, but also somewhat intimidating, as I feel like my project is huge...much larger that I had originally thought.

I am putting together the entire Punjab police workshop on HIV prevention. This will target women and children who's husbands/fathers are in the police force. Similar to the problems that the armed forces face, police officers are often stationed near areas where prostitutes frequent, and they often engage in unsafe sex. It is my job to come up with the three phases which should be conducted over a period of one month. The first phase is a survey of demographics and basic knowledge, as well as an educational presentation on HIV. I've put together a powerpoint presentation and a skit for this portion of the workshop. The second phase will be conducted in small groups of women over the course of two days. It is my goal to create a support group for women who may be suffering. Because many of the women and children who are affected with HIV are judged and discriminated against, I am also implementing activities to promote self-esteem and teaching these people their rights as human beings so that they can live in dignity. I have also written two skits and included plenty of group discussion time during this phase. We will also be hiring counselors who have expertise in this sort of training. The third and final phase I have yet to put together, but the purpose is to come up with some sort of analytical findings to measure the effectiveness of the workshop. I'm happy that they have confidence in me and that they are willing to give me such a large bulk of work, I just hope that I can live up to/exceed any expectations that they have. It is intimidating that my original design will be judged by the specialists involved in phase two and that the effectiveness will be measured in phase three. Luckily, I feel like I have support from the other interns and they are being helpful in brainstorming different ideas and topics to discuss.

I also found out that I am going to be working in the classroom quite a bit. Today we worked on a permanent schedule that the students can rely on and a curriculum that will be taught according to the level of student. I think that the structure and organization will do wonders for these kids. Their eagerness to learn astounds me and I realize what a privileged life I have lived. Despite the fact that I faced my own barriers and had challenges to overcome, these children make me realize just how luck I have been .

Time to sleep. Early morning tomorrow. We may be going out of town this weekend, but we have to go to the train station at 7:30 to see if we can get last minute tickets. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but it would be great to get out of the city and check out another part of India.
Peace.

I like to eat. eat. eat.

Today I had a series of oral orgasms. No joke.

FIRST, this morning I woke up and had half of a plain bagel with cream cheese. After a whole week of heavy Indian food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, this simple piece of bread and cheese was like eating...well...a really good bagel and cream cheese. My "groggy-morning" self was able to wake up with satisfaction instead of being put back to sleep with a greasy potato and onion chapati and toast.

THEN, for lunch we had this cheese and tomato dish. I could write a novel about the way the cheese crumbled on my tongue and the creamy rich flavors sat in my mouth. I wanted to enjoy the flavor over and over again. The richness was just rich enough to give way to a lightness at the end-a true delight.

NEXT, after a long day at work, we came home and Janaki (our cook) was busy in the kitchen making dinner. Ugh. She wouldn't be done for another two hours and I WAS HUNGRY NOW! If only I could make my own meal....ALAS!!! She presents a huge glass bowl filled with sliced melon. Now, if I could rate this melon I would not hesitate to give it five HUGE stars. This melon was so sweet and soft, it dripped from my fork and into my drooling mouth. I'm pretty sure I gobbled up half of the bowl (much to my roommate's dismay, I'm sure.)

FINALLY, for dinner we had plain buttered chapati with this vegetarian yellow curry. Those of you who know me understand that I can eat with the best of 'em.....but you would have seriously been impressed with the way I took down four of these burrito sized portions. OHMYGOD it was SOOOGOOD!!!

Oh man. People curious about the food in India...it's JUST. THAT. GOOD.

And, the perfect discovery to be coupled with my day of eats....A GYM! Right next door to our apartment complex is a public school and apparently we can use their gym for free. Granted, their treadmills are falling apart and there are only two sets of free weights that match. However, exercise. I love to sit and relax, but my body gets restless-especially with the lack of dancing. Who knew I'd miss dancing?!?!? Peculiar.

Photos from our first weekend...

A parade on the way home...the fragrant rose petals were tossed into the air and stuck to the people's sweaty arms who were celebrating the event
The Sikh temple
Humayun's Tomb (which inspired the Taj Mahal)
Isa Khan's Tomb from a bird's-eye-view. This is where the bats were right above our heads! EEK!
An archaeological site in Lodi Gardens

I’ve included some pictures of our outing from last weekend. On a side note, I’m on Skype now, so let me know if you have it and we’ll chat!

Charming Encounters

So there is this kid that comes to school at Maitri and I’m so taken with him. He’s one of the most charming little boys that I’ve ever seen. He has the largest watermelon slice of a smile with teeth that look like white pieces of trident gum. Every time I talk to him, he reaches out for a handshake and seems to get complete satisfaction out of a high five. It makes my day.

I had my first memorable encounter with this Indian man tonight. Nancy needed to fix her phone & the man that was there to help spoke fluent English, so I didn’t feel like I had to keep asking him to clarify himself. (That always makes me feel like a major ass.) We talked about computers and cell phones and he told me about how he can get hook-ups on all of this pirated software. It wasn’t so much that I cared about the software schemes and whatnot, but he was just friendly and genuine. He gave me his business card and then started to talk about being Sikh and how his last name Singh is really common for Sikh’s….and blah dee blah dee blah. It’s hard to explain, but talking to him tonight put me at ease and in a warm mood. When I travel I put my guard up and don’t allow myself to trust anyone. I act indifferent and at times unfriendly because I hate being taken advantage of. I sort of hate that I naturally do this because it makes it near impossible to meet anyone without a formal introduction from a mutual friend. But this encounter was different. Maybe it was because my belly was full and I was feeling sleepy and was not in the mood to play tough-guy. Maybe it was because his friendly demeanor dissolved my wall. Either way…it was nice.

Peace, love and ice cream

Today was sight-seeing, tourist day. Nancy and I were getting ready to start a fun-filled day that we had planned last night, when Johnny and Jenny showed up at our door! It’s great to have them here so that the whole team is finally together. I was surprised by their willingness to drop their bags and come with us after an early flight.

First, we went to a Sikh temple called Gurud Wara. There was a crowded mob of chaos outside of the temple doors and as we trekked through the jumble of vendors selling silver Sikh bangles and worshipers, we took off our shoes, washed our feet in the fountains, put scarves over our heads and entered. As I looked around this expansive veranda of holy space, I became so overwhelmed with a feeling of spirituality. It is the closest that I have come to this feeling in my life and though I’m not ready to whip out the bible, I think that there is some spiritual element that I may be missing in my life. As people laid out to nap in the shade, others rinsed their bodies in the pool in the center of the temple to rid their sins or just be blessed by the holly water. Some women smiled at me, and I smiled back even though it made me feel like a stupid tourist invading on something that I didn’t understand. Men just stared as we walked by and children paid little attention. At certain moments, like stepping through a doorway, people would bend down, touch the ground and bow. I wasn’t sure if I should mimic the action and since I didn’t want to be disrespectful, I didn’t, but now that I think back to it, I wish I had. Maybe it was more disrespectful to walk through the doorway without bowing. The best part was being in the presence of a holistic love of God.

After the temple of chaos and love, we took an auto rickshaw to Lodi Gardens. It is the equivalent of Central Park in New York; enormous trees bend over dirt and semi-paved paths, skinny chipmunks scurry across the road, and vendors sell ice cream to help you bear the heat. There were a few historical archaeological sites with old tombs that I took pictures of, but we were restricted from entering. After a short walk in the blistering heat, we stopped in Lodi Garden Restaurant. The place was fancy shmancy and we felt like we were walking back into a hidden oasis, complete with air conditioning. I had an Italian-inspired pasta dish and a lot of complimentary bread. I think I needed a break from Indian food. I realize now how much it will lose its appeal when I return to Salt Lake City.

The next thing on the list was visiting Humayun’s Tomb which is the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. Despite the fact that I could care less about the dates, names and stories behind the monuments, I can’t help but let my imagination wander and picture myself living in the days when people got buried in tombs the size of castles. The architecture was elaborate, though cracking and falling apart at the seams and the buildings had an overpowering stench of piss. One of the tombs that we entered had a dark, steep, stone staircase with tall walls. As I stood to get a glimpse of the coffins from a birds-eye-view, Johnny looked up and saw a bat dangling right above my head. Startled, I quickly jumped out of the way. I’ve decided that bats are alright, as long as they are not two inches away from me.

The heat is getting to the sticky, uncomfortable degree. Upon arrival back at the apartment, I took a freezing cold shower to rinse off my own evils. It was a productive day of sight-seeing though I know that we were a little ripped-off by the auto drivers. The other interns don’t negotiate prices very well, and while I am willing to go along for the ride and bite my tongue, I just imagine how pissed off Aviva would be at my lack of bargaining that she drilled me on in Africa.

Peace. Love. Ice Cream.

Khan Market

If you know me at all, you know that I am a girl that loves loves loves to sleep. I could be a professional sleeper if it were a profession. Also, jet lag is something that usually never ever effects me. However, it has while I have been in India. I really thought that I was going to have to start gluing my eyes and mouth shut because I'm pretty sure that Nancy would like to slap some earplugs in and tell me to shut up every night. However, I am slightly reassured that I am getting back on schedule because this morning I was able to sleep in for the first time in so long it pains me to say. Granted, I only slept in until 10:00 (again, if you know me at all you know this is not really sleeping in for me.) but still....it was more promising than waking up at 4:30.

I visited Khan Market today and bought some postcards. The market is not so much of a market as a run-down outdoor mall with zillions of little shops. Indian fabric stores and tailors, souvenir shops selling little ornate statues of various Gods, and auto repair shops with greasy men squatting around scratching their balls all make up this tourist attraction. The stores line a zig zag dirt path where stray kittens wander, motorcycles are being washed, and guards eye you like you are a kid in a candy store. The higher-end shops (like the fabulous and expensive interior design store that took my breath away) are on the top floors and you have to walk up narrow, steep stairs to gain access. It's totally worth it though because once you enter you are blasted by this heavenly gust of freezing cold air conditioning, which is a nice break from the heat.

Speaking of heat, it's starting to get much hotter than the first few days. It's still bearable, but I'm afraid I am starting to smell like an adolescent boy....or like every other Indian walking around. I'm embarrassed to admit that I once winced at the smell of a man standing a little too close to me. Now, I am that man with the horrible body odor. The truth hurts.

The best news of the day: I found an ice cream cart right below my apartment today. A vanilla ice cream stick covered in a hard chocolate shell is only about 30 cents. Maybe there is a God.

Rain is over, summer's here

Nancy, one of the other interns, has finally made it to Delhi so I'm no longer all alone. She got in last night at around 1:00 am and I couldn't stop talking her ear off because it had been so long since I had talked to someone in the evening! I was starting to feel really lame with how dull my evenings were....me, on the couch watching crappy shows on the Hallmark Channel. Lame.

I also met a new friend I like to call Mr. Cockroach in the bathroom. As some of you may recall, the first experience that I ever had with cockroaches was in my apartment, the Palladio my sophomore year. It involved some hysterics and calling my mom at 3:00 in the morning to hyperventilate. My second experience was somewhat similar, only 20x more embarrassing, because it was in my homestay in Rwanda and I felt like that stupid ass American who gets freaked out by a bug. I have to admit, I held it together quite a bit better this time when I opened the door to the bathroom to discover a cockroach about the size of half of my palm sitting there looking up at me. I swear he was thinking "get over it little Missy, I plan on staying here for a LONG time, and there isn't anything you can do about it." I merely cursed about 92 times, turned on the light in the bathroom and closed the door. Never in my life have I been more thrilled about having two bathrooms in my apartment. I also gave Mr. Cockroach a warning that he has until Sunday when Johnny (the male intern) comes and kills him.

Today was great. I woke up, ate breakfast, and went to work. I spent some time working on my presentation and most of the time in the classroom helping a couple kids with their reading. There are so many suggestions that I have to make the classroom run more efficiently. I think my experience working in my mom's classroom for my whole life will help me tremendously here. First, there were about 40 kids in the class today ranging in ages 3-16 in ONE ROOM. Talk about chaos! So, I suggested that since everyone was doing something different at all times that they split the classroom up into different sections. This was easy to do with the new tall bookshelves. Now, the one giant room is two normal sized rooms. Also, some kids seemed to be falling so far behind their peers, likely due to a lack of personal attention both in the classroom and at home. I suggested that I take a few kids at a time up in the office to work on vocab and numbers. That way, they can focus in a quiet environment. Tomorrow we are going to a wholesale market to get some school supplies. They are in such great need for pencils and paper I can hardly stand it.

I'm signing off for now. Peace.