Viral Trials

You haven't heard from me for the past few days because I've been sick.

Yep. For better or for worse, mine was more of a flu than the expected GI problems... But it was enough to keep me out of commission for about three days. Plus the first day of complete and utter denial of illness.

So I was the first one to suffer through the viral rights of passage, and now I'm feeling more much more entitled to embrace my own identity as a foreigner in this country. There is no way for me to meld into this society. Sickness has given me a fear and a realization of fragility. I need a barrier between myself and the raw-ness of this country. You can't try to push through and become local. I almost died…. Okay….I didn't almost die. Not even close. but it was still pretty bad.

At any rate, you've caught me feeling a little bit more than bitter.

Which brings me to the center of my sore feelings. Us girls are living in the college girls hostel, which was not unexpected. Boys aren't allowed in, ever, and, here's the worst part, we have a curfew of 10pm. If we're not back by curfew, they lock the doors and scold us when we get back. This is probably the most frustrating thing about living here. It is indescribably aggravating to feel like I have to be home by a certain time. I haven't had a curfew in almost a decade.

I feel trapped, caged in. We work all day, far longer and harder than a 9-5 summer internship, and then the boys get to have a relatively relaxing night out while the girls need to hurriedly finish up dinner and make it back before the warden condemns us. Our boys are as accommodating as they can be, but we weren't told it would be like this before we got here. We're coming here as equally empowered American women, we're working hard, and perhaps our struggle as foreign women in this country is harder, and now we have to be policed too. I'm not saying we need to stay out until 2AM. I just desire the freedom to move about as I wish, without being treated like a petulant child that doesn't know how to take care of herself. Even after days of being sick, my issue is still with this inequality. Discrimination, even in its most menial forms, has an odour and quality that is intrinsically repugnant. It becomes more stifling as the days pass.

Other than that, and my currently weak constitution, our project seems to be making headway. We had a press release picked up by REUTERS today. Check it out.

The rules of the road in Hubli

After spending about a week and a half here in Hubli, I think I have finally figured out the two fundamental rules of the road.

1) Cows always have the right of way



2) If there is no cow present, YOU have the right of way. Its survival of the fittest here. I dont think Michael Schumacher would even be able to cut is as close as they do here.

We also have figured out how many adults you can fit into a rickshaw. The count is at 6 right now with Sagar, Taj, or I sitting up front with the driver and the rest of the group (4) in the back. Here is Sagar getting acquainted with a rickshaw driver.

Whose Revenge is it, in India?

My stomach was hurting a bit when I got up for my customary morning run, but I decided to try it anyway. After 1 lap around the track, though, I knew there would be no running for today. I still felt okay to walk, so I headed out behind the junior boys' hostel to the railway tracks and followed those through some villages behind BVB college. I definitely got more stares than usual out there, and I wished I could just blend it, like the dead toad I almost stepped on. The smell of feces was strong along most of the track, and even away from the blaring horns of the busy streets there was a different kind of cacophony: cows mooing, chickens clucking, infants bawling. Every time I have seen the discrepancy between how the poor and rich populations live out their lives, whether here, or in Russia, or in China, or to some degree in the US, I feel a bit of sadness. I am often amazed at how people live, where they eat, where they sleep, how they raise their children and I am grateful for the truly blessed life I've led (I don't necessarily believe in a higher power, but I can't think of a better term for it). Not to say that people of lower socioeconomic status are all unhappy, but I can imagine how we could make life more comfortable and how we could provide more opportunities for all humans, if the values of our societies were different.
Anyway, I'll step off my silly little soapbox now and face reality---the reality of an aching gut. I turned to head back along the track, but as waves of peristalsis-driven pain racked my lower intestines, I realized I would never make it back to the girls' hostel in time. I managed to hold back the dam until I reached the C-lite building (the library and computer center where our office is). It was a slightly unfortunate time to decide I couldn't take another step, because the C-lite building only has Eastern-style pit toilets and NO toilet paper for women (I was silly enough not to bring any with me). Needless to say, I'll spare you the details. I'm not sure what today's agenda holds, but for me, there will be a quest for toilet paper, crackers and Sprite.

Crystal meets people and smells

India is a land of scents. From the moment I stepped off the plane, various fragrances, each so much stronger than their US counterparts, both assaulted and wooed my nose. Pungent and spicy, musky and dank, putrid and rotting, sweet and delicate--I am constantly amazed at how, from one second to the next, different smells greet me, waving pleasantly or cursing as they pass by on their osmotic journey.

I met a few really cool people today. After my morning run around the track (have I ever sweat so much in my life?) I was walking back to the girls' dorm when an older Indian man, dressed in an off-white kurta, bowed to me, palms together. "You're American," he said, "come talk to me." He explained that he had travelled the world in his younger days, and had seen much of the US, Canada, Japan and Australia. "Three months," he said proudly in near-fluent English, "I saw the US. Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles." He explained that he was a social worker, traveling with doctors. He also said that while I was here, I should do my best to learn the Indian culture, see what was good, and take it with me. "In our religion," he said, "we are all one. You and me are one. There is no difference. Learn why we put dots here and there, or why we wear bangles on our wrists."
I'll do my best, but I am handicapped without even a rudimentary knowledge of Kanada or Hindi. When I come back to India, and I'm fairly sure I will, I will have studied some Hindi first.

On my way back to the room, I stopped to talk with a few of the female engineering students, which I hadn't really had time to do before. I was amazed to find out that they were told we wouldn't talk to them! From now on, I am going to make an effort to reach out more, find out more about the young women studying here and how they see the world. They have all been really nice so far, and eager to talk even though they have exams for the next two weeks. I even had one (I forgot her name, I am so bad at remembering any names, especially foreign ones) ask me for an autograph before I left. I tried to explain that I was just a student, like her, nobody special. But she persisted in asking, so I suppose if she comes back with pen and paper in hand, I will oblige her. I find the curiosity that surrounds us admirable--I don't mind the stares, or questions, or even the older cleaning ladies who touched my hands and my pony tail (I'm sort of used to it--plenty of staring, hair touching, and face-measuring happened in China and South Korea). In fact, it is kind of fun. Perhaps I should be a little bolder in my curiosity, to learn as much as I can while I'm here. It is hard being a young woman, even a married woman, because there isn't as much freedom in interaction with men. I sometimes wonder if I should even look the men I pass by in the eyes, let alone stop and talk to them. I really want to try cricket, or play some other sports, but that is pretty darn taboo. We ignored that taboo in Korea, but I feel like it is much more ingrained here, and as much as possible, I would like to learn and not offend. And, I would just like to add, I'm really missing wearing shorts and staying out past 10 pm, both of which are not okay for women here.

Rain Rain Go Away

It's raining outside. The weather has been great and I solely attribute this rain to our constant appraise of how nice the weather is. Today is going to be our first relaxing day. We have many errands to run. All of our material is finished so right now we are in the process of translating, editing, printing, and setting up our appointments in schools and clinics. This is the boring administrative part but in India that can be the roughest. For translation we are working with a center that trains operators at call centers on how to speak English! We are hoping that for payment we can teach the English accent at call centers. How sweet would that be? We slowly upload our materials to the blog so you can see them. I am starting by posting our motto (above left). It was graciously professionally designed by Lotus and Ash Design (Jeff's sister). It will be both a poster in itself and on all of our documents. The other logo is one I unartistically designed and that will be on the back of our pamphlets.
Also our new target population is 6-8th graders however the purpose of our study will be to find out exactly when these kids are begining to get exposure to gutka. We originally thought that paan (a delicious candy stuffed leaf) was causing all the oral cancer however have learned that in the 90's a new product called gutka was created. It looks like sand but tastes like a desert and is filled with carcinogens. Apparently it is more addictive that nicotine and we have shifted our focus to it.
That is enought detail on our project for now. Today India plays Pakistan in cricket. Being that I am the only one with a full understanding of the sport, I am going to teach everyone the rules. I am excited as I am sure all of India is! Go India!

Taj and Sagar go to the Dhobiwalla...

So today Sagar realized he was out of shirts and socks to wear.  Hence we took a trip to the dhobiwalla.  A dhobiwalla is a "washerman"...or woman.  We had a good time walking down a dirt path to the more "authentic" part of Hubli, dodging massive cows with rather large horns.  It is much less commercial around there and seems more like the India I remember from previous trips.

We met with one of the doctors here who is going to help us do research, and the meeting went well.  There were a few minor adjustments that need to be made to the materials we made yesterday, and we took care of that today.  We also got to meet a couple of residents in maxillofacial surgery, and learned that during their internship year they worked from about 9am to 3pm.  I'm seriously thinking about doing my residency in India now.

While waiting for the surgeon to come out of the OR, Sagar, Crystal and I decided to go get some food.  It was the first time we ate at a street side restaurant since we've been here. Hopefully everything works out ok, or we will be fully acquainted with the Indian plumbing system in the coming days.

Since we have worked so hard in the past couple of days, we are going to enjoy ourselves tonight and splurge a little bit...Pizza Hut it is!

-Taj

"Mama, I'm feeling chakkar..."

We spent most of today finishing all of our materials for our project including a gameboard, pamphlets, posters, and a comic strip. We will post some pictures of our materials when we are done. We are all pretty exhausted and ready to have a nice cold Kingfisher. Stay tuned for more entertaining posts...we just lack inspiration right now.

Everything is a production in India

Every little task you try to do around here becomes a big production. For example, we were in line for checkout at Big Baazar the other day, and there was some kind of problem with an item that the person in front of us was trying to buy. About 10 employees, a literal swarm, buzzed around the item trying to figure it out. Meanwhile, the other four checkout lanes remained closed and the boys and I waited for another 10 minutes before giving up and checking out downstairs.

So like that, our work on our project has progressed in a similar slow roundabout fashion. But we are progressing, and things are slowly but surely picking up speed.

Our first big step was meeting with a man who is conducting a very similar project in conjunction with the Deshpande foundation. With his help, we've parsed out the various steps we need to take in order to get formal approval to give presentations to school children. He set us up with contacts and seems really excited about what we're doing. Our entire process would have been far more arduous, had he not been there to guide us.

We've also met with a local doctor who has been advising us on how to conduct the clinical aspect of our project. We met him at his hospital, and he showed us the Operating Room in his 30-bed clinic. Words cannot adequately characterize the difference between an American OR and the one we saw here. Let me put it this way. We were required to walk barefoot into the OR. It was more similar to one of our regular physician examination rooms than our sealed off, sterile ORs. It's amazing how people must make do here. Or amazing how much excess we have in the US.

At any rate, after four days here, we have much more of a schedule and we have specific goals to accomplish. It's definitely going to be helpful to have the other two fellows here. Unfortunately, they were delayed in shanghai, so they won't get here until at least tomorrow. But really, our days have been full with work and we pass out usually between 10pm and midnight, so we're doing as well as can be expected, I suppose.

- Mairin

* pics courtesy of Jeff

Hubli: The City

As promised earlier, below are some pictures and commentary from our trip into Hubli.

But first...here is a picture of Sagar getting acquainted with the short handle broom. Clean up Sagar, sweep like you've never swept before



Now...we present Hubli...


The rickshaw...3 wheels and 50ccs of fury





Cows grazing in the street...pretty standard


Heaven is a shop dedicated solely to making fresh potato chips. We all thought we were losing weight on this trip...this may prove to be impossible.


In Hubli there are many different ways of getting around. Walking, bikes, motorbikes, scooters, rickshaws, bullock carts, and tractors.


Sagar just before testing whether people have the right-of-way when crossing a pedestrian "crosswalk"


As you can see, crosswalks here are merely a suggestion.


Sagar and Mairin exploring the city. Sagar gets the look of "where the hell is he from", Mairin gets the not-so-discreet stare down from every male in the city , and I represent 100% of the half chinese, half Irish population. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of it yet, but for those of you that have been proponents of me growing out a fu-man-chu style beard, I am on day 6 which has translated into random patches of facial hair. I am hoping there will be union soon.


Lastly, we discovered the equivalent of Olde English Malt Liquor here in India: Kingfisher Premium Strong. I am considering starting a movement here to bring the brown paper bag into style. Without it, it is lacking some of that ye Olde English charm.

As commented on by Sagar earlier, we found a basketball. In his first pick up game (at 7am this morning), apparently traveling is legal, there is no defense, and everyone shoots jump shots (without jumping)...so its just like the NBA. We hope to introduce American style street ball in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned for more...

Sagar: Day 3

Hi everyone,
So it seems we are getting settled in and have actually begun work on our project. We will give you a full update soon. We are still in the planning stages for our pamphlets and board game. Today we met with Dr. Ravindra whose NGO is doing almost EXACTLY what we plan on doing in schools. He is going to be a perfect partner and is excited we are willing to help. He gave us advice on how to get the city's approval and apparently, being American, we have a good chance at getting it quickly. Tomorrow we are meeting with a representative of Vaatsalya Hospitals (www.vaatsalya.com). Those of you interested in healthcare should check out their website as it is an innovative company that brings health care to the undeserved in a unique way.
Last night we went out to explore the city and it was quite an adventure. Jeff found a basketball...he's been dying to find one since there are basketball courts. Randomly enough the only basketball here was a 'Michigan Wolverines" ball....the only one. We'll also update you on our trip around town later today. Take care and keep reading and providing your comments. We hope that while we are designing our pamphlets we can get input from our readers and make it more a community based effort! Stay tuned

Sagar: The Life and Times of Us

Hey everyone,
So we are getting many things done here...unfortunately not many of them have to do with our project and instead they are more so involved with getting ourselves settled in. Today we went to Big Bazaar (the Indian version of Walmart) and bought some good stuff. I am proud to say I bought an immersion water heater. You can see below in Mairin's post that her shower only gives her cold water. All I say is that at least she has a shower. Jeff and I are stuck with a bucket...and a smaller bucket. Hopefully this heater doesn't melt anything and we get some warm water. I'd have to say the highlight of our trip was soon after settling into our dorm (which Jeff noted resembles an American prison in many ways: all concrete, the doors can be locked from the outside, and everything including the cots is made of grimy metal) we decided to go on a search for Mairin. We went into the office and found someone who would take us to get her. As we walked out the door he pulled out his keys and sat on his bike. Jeff and I immediately looked at each other and realized we would be sitting back to back to back on a scooter. As we turned onto the main street holding our breaths that we didn't tip over or hit a cow, we saw Mairin and although I expected to see her laugh at the sight of me holding onto Jeff's waist and Jeff holding onto the waist of a man he had never met before, she simply sent an expressionless stare of shock back at us before she cracked a smile. Jeff is about to post a plethora of awesome pictures so stay updated. Also I know we were planning on uploading video however it looks like youtube is blocked on our internet server...

Sweating where I didnt know it was possible to sweat from...

For my first post on the blog, I am going share a couple of my initial observations and some photos for your viewing pleasure.

Observation 1:
Being able to watch the NBA finals in Bombay was one of the best things I could have wished for ("tanks to technology")...until the game actually started. Elation quickly turned to depression.

Observation 2:
Apparently it is completely normal to pull over along the side of the road and pee if you need to. So far the count is at 10 within the 24 hours we have been here. Awesome.

Observation 3:
Showering with a bucket and cold water is breathtaking...literally.

Observation 4:
Everyone here dresses like an LA hipster. Either it is completely by accident or they are an ironic inspiration


On the way to Mumbai airport...a familiar sight


Don't let the propellers fool you. Kingfisher Airlines needs to come stateside.


The first 3 fellows


Traffic in Hubli


Our room


Here I am making our room mosquito proof with a polyester sheet and clear tape. Innovation and engineering at its finest.

Stay tuned...

Zen and the Art of Showering

I woke up at 4:30 this morning, and by 5:00 I decided there was no going back to sleep, so it was time to get ready for the day. I turned the shower on and played with the dials, trying to find which one made hot water. India, it turns out, is not as hot as you may imagine. The mornings are quite cool, and I was not enthusiastic about the idea of a cold shower. The water went from icy cold to cold, and I knew this was all I was going to get. I gingerly inched closer to the water, trying to ease myself into the frigid downpour but this maneuver was useless. There was no other way. I held my breath and stepped in.

It was as if my body thought I might just die in that moment. My heart was racing, I was gasping for air, my body was confused. But after a few moments of misery, I could feel my body getting used to it. The water was still cold and unpleasant, but I was no longer panicking. By the end of the shower, the water felt not quite pleasant, but certainly not wholly unpleasant either. Just simple acceptance of the condition.

It struck me that this was a perfect metaphor for how our experience in India will be. There is no way to prepare for India. No way for us, in our land of high-speed access and fast food, to dip our feet in the water. And having landed here yesterday, that initial panic quickly set in. That physiological response. I'm in a country where I am unfamiliar with the customs, the language, the social boundaries, everything. I have never felt more defined by my gender. And in a land where for once, my skin color puts me in the majority, I am still a vulnerable outsider. Yesterday was a day of sheer trepidation.

Yet I'd be lying if I said I don't feel a connection with this place. Something in my blood pulls me towards it, even as my mind fills with doubts. And I think at the end of the day, that's why I'm here. Because India, for me, is the Motherland. Even though I grew up in a different world, she was always a part of it. And this is an experience that I needed to have. This is my pilgrimage. And I'm sure that the water will begin to feel less cold.

- Mairin

Sagar: Update

I am posting this from the airport in Hong Kong. We have a 2 hour layover before our second flight leaves to India. All of us talked our way into the Cathay Pacific business class lounge and we are just relaxing. It is pouring in Honk Kong...the classic tropical summer storm. The city looks alive and I wish we could leave the airport and go exploring in the city...no distractions though as we need to stay focused on our trip to India. I just called my friends in Hong Kong (Fouad Samra and dave Namdar) and they are both doing well even though its almost 9PM and Fouad is still at work and Dave is looking to get out of the hustle of the investment banking lifestyle. (for those of you that wanted the Fouad/Dave update). We will be posting more when we get to Hubli. We land in Mumbai at 1:35Am and are staying at the Bestwestern before our flight to Hubli (on Kingfisher Air...that's the Indian equivalent of there beign a Coors Light Air). Keep comign back for updates! -Sagar

Time to Go

Welcome to our blog. We are keeping this blog to share our journey through India with our friends, family, and those interested in a hope that our impact in India extends far beyond those whose lives we touched and the experiences we shared. Our journey will be arduous in a physical, emotional and perhaps spiritual manner however I know we are all equipped with the tools to learn the most from our trip. Tomorrow, Jeff, Mairin and I (Sagar) will be departing on Cathay Pacific. We have a 12 hour layover in Mumbai and we will simply be checking in at the Best Western and sleeping for a few hours. We then take Kingfisher Airlines to Hubli and let the fun begin! We know what we want to do, why we want to do it, but have yet to figure out the how. We will spend our first few weeks planning our educational presentations, materials, and setting up our meetings. This blog will provide you with prose, video, and a photos to share our experiences. Check back often!