first week over

NAMASTE,

I am officially now done with my first week of work at Jagran Jan Vikas Samiti. JJVS is an NGO in Udaipur that specializes in traditional health medicine, microfinance, and rural community development. During this week at Jagran, my team and I have just been observing the staff and reading over the last couple of annual reports. We also have been analyzing the case studies of past interns at Jagran. Jagran is like a family, literally. The NGO has two cows and 2 dogs. The big cow is named Dr.Guy and her baby is called Baby Guy, creative I know. The entire staff eats lunch together every day upstairs on the patio. It can be awkward at times because only like 25% of the staff knows english but everyone is very welcoming, warm, and giving. There is a very real sense of passion at Jagran. Even Namra(probaly butchered that spelling) who cooks and cleans the place, is treated as an integral part of the team. I am sure that I am going to like working at Jagran, and not just because of the frequent chai tea breaks. My team and I have discussed a couple of different project ideas with the director Ganesh. We are thinking that our initial idea of doing a microfinance project, might not be needed at this time. Most of the grants for microfinance are now going to for-profit companies and slowly slipping away from NGO's so that may not be a sustainable idea at this time. Tomorrow we leave to visit the village of Valli, where Jagran has done considerable work with community self-help groups and with the gunis (herbal medicine men). We intend to stay and observe in the village for at least 3 days. Hopefully this will give us more of a sense of what Jagran's target community really needs at this time and what the strengths of this community are.

-Funny story. As soon as my boss met me he asked if I was from Africa, nice. Once I told him I was from the US, he said ok. Then two hours later he asked if I had American citizenship. I said yes, I think for like 7 generations now or whenever slavery was lol. Wow, and people wonder why minorities dont study abroad lol, truthfully it was pretty fun. You can't blame people for not knowing, all you can do is educate them about your culture and hopefully they will do the same for you.

-Last night after work we went to a Saturday cafe at another NGO called Shikshanter. Shikshanter was started by an Indian guy from chicago who went to brown and harvard. He decided to move back to India because the US was too materialistic for him. His cafe is basically where all the artsy people of Udaipur come to meet for a meal and where "their hearts can grow". The food was pretty good, spicy though but it is India so what can you expect. All I have to say is SPICY IN, SPICY OUT. Moving on lol, I met a group of students taking a filmmaking workshop at Shikshanter that were from all over India. Some were from Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai. Go pull out a map of India, those cities span the whole thing. I also made a new friend. His name is Mishal(spelling?) and he is a struggling artist here in Udaipur. He showed me some of his work and it was great, very political and radical. A lot of his work is very critical of the modernization of India and the relations between India and the US. I feel like the only reason he did not hate me as an American is because I am not white lol.

-On Friday, I had Hindi class after work at my teacher's house. This lady is loaded! One of the pics above is a shrine in her house to a particular Hindu goddess. Most houses here have at least one shrine inside to the god or goddess that the family chooses to represent them. A lot of people here also fast on certain days to honor that god or goddess. Sound familiar?

Will update more soon, NAMASHKAR(a variation of NAMASTE that is also widely used)!

udai niwas roof

NAMASTE,

pic as promised! this is the from the top of the Udai Niwas hotel in the Old City part of Udaipur where I was having breakfast while waiting for my clothes to be made.

first morning in new home (late)

Namaste,
-the past three days of orientation were very eventful. I will never get over seeing all the donkeys, horses, camels, cows, and dogs roaming the streets. India is like a different world. The people are all so friendly and proud of their culture. The beautiful colored saris, the jewels, the incense, the music, the dancing, the spices, the smells! It is all so overwhelming. During orientation I met with many experts on Indian development work in Udaipur, many of whom had over 30 years of experience in the field. It was weird that these people who knew so much were actually asking my opinion about community development. I feel like I am gaining so much more from this experience than I could ever hope to give. Many of the experts I met with have a lot of pride in traditional Indian culture and values, and some of them also disagree with efforts to Westernize India. There is a saying here that India has enough for everyone’s need but not enough for anyone’s greed. That is so true. 1/6 of the world’s population lives on the relatively small subcontinent of India. If India is going to continue to thrive, it has to stop trying to westernize. The people of India have been sold the American dream but they are chasing it at the expense of their culture, and it is just not sustainable. But who am I to say this? I have experienced the benefits of full economic development my entire life and now I want to deprive others of the same opportunity? I feel so conflicted about development in India because everyone I meet seems so happy here. I have met people with a level of personal fulfillment that is unheard of in the states, so why am I here trying to change their way of life. I hope to come to terms with these thoughts and learn more in my remaining weeks here.
- I moved in with my host family last night and I love our house/apartment. There is a garden/terrace that is beautiful for sitting on early in the morning and late at night. I share a room and bed with Radha, an intern at Seva Mandir in Udaipur. My host mother, Geeta, does not know much English but she is a very sweet woman. Last night she made my favorite dish, vegetables fried in curry starter. This dish is usually cooked after a rain for good luck and is very delicious. Geeta is an excellent cook and she has promised to teach me to cook many traditional Rajasthani dishes. Yay!

first 3 days (late)

NAMASTE,(
-I am nearing the end of my 3rd day in Udaipur. We have been having orientation with the Foundation for Sustainable Development (fsd) for the past 3 days and have been staying at a hotel here in town. On the first day we got selwar kameez sets made, they are very comfortable because it is like wearing pajamas all day! No saris yet, but I think I will get one tailored next week after I have started working. I am so excited to start working tomorrow at Jagran Jan Vikas Samiti and move in with my host family tonight. I met my host mother last night, her name is Geeta, and she seems very nice.
-Udaipur is known as the city of the lakes but many of the lakes are dried up right now. Monsoon season was supposed to have started about a week ago to refill the lakes but it has not come yet. If Udaipur does not have a strong monsoon this year the tourism that It depends on to sustain its economy will dwindle, and inhabitants will have less water with which to cook/clean/drink. It is sad to see places where there used to be lakes, as fields with cows grazing. The beautiful Lake Palace which you are supposed to take a boat to, looks like an elevated building on a field.
- But make no mistake, Udaipur is still beautiful. The city sits in a valley deep in the Aravelli Hills, so you are surrounded by hills on all sides and there is almost always a nice breeze. I love waking up early and going to have my breakfast on the roof of our hotel where I can feel the breeze and get a nice view of the city as everyone is getting up , it is nice to watch the city come alive. There are palaces, temples, and shrines all over the city, and the architecture is breathtaking.
-It is very hot and humid but my senses are so overloaded trying to take everything in that I seem to forget how hot I am.
-the director of fsd here, ROMA, is the daughter-in-law of my host mother so she will be living downstairs from me. Roma is so sweet and has truly looked out for me these past 3 days. She is a beautiful Indian woman about 32 years old and she is a Jain. I call her DeeDee which is a word for sister in Hindi. She is constantly teaching me Hindi words and trying to feed me new things. Today she took me for Indian ice cream, the flavor of which I just forgot but it was sooooo good. It was like a vanilla type flavor with nuts and raisins in it. Yum!

thoughts from the plane (late)

WARNING: For those of you that know me well, you know I am crazy. This blog will not operate like a conventional blog. I am going to say what I want when I want to say it, and it may not make sense all the time but that is ok. I want to document the way I am feeling on every step of this journey and feelings rarely make sense.
I am writing this as we fly over the Atlantic Ocean. I am going in the opposite direction than the one in which my ancestors first crossed this ocean in the Middle Passage. We have a layover in Frankfurt, Germany and in Mumbai before we reach our final destination of Udaipur, India. I am excited beyond words and even if I don’t want to admit it I am also very afraid. I am going to the far side of the world to learn and work with people in a culture entirely different than my own. What do I have to offer them? What do they have to offer me? These are the types of questions that I have contemplated for the past week at the Pre-Departure Institute in Chicago. Still no answer. There are some questions that no class can answer. Some things must be experienced to be understood.
I am going to miss my family so much during these two months. It really is about 6 months because I will only be home for about 4 days when I get back from India before I leave to Cape Town, South Africa for study abroad in the fall semester. My family and I are extremely close but I have to see the world, and on my own terms. I need to see how people live, work, and play all across this planet before I can truly know my place in it. I have been so blessed with so many opportunities in my life and I don’t want to waste a single one of them. Every moment of the next six months, I pledge to be a human sponge. I want to soak up everything. I want to learn from everyone I meet and teach them something as well.
Before this trip, the only foreign country that I have ever visited was Canada. However, I have travelled very extensively across the United States. I have dreamed of this day for many years, and now that it is finally here I am so overcome with thanksgiving to the Lord and to my family for all the sacrifices that they have made for me. I don’t feel like I am on the plane alone, I have the spirits of my grandparents and their parents with me. This will be the first time in India for all of us, and I am making this trip for everyone who can’t make it. I am trying to say something right now but I don’t even know how to articulate it into words. Not trying to sound lofty here but I have to get this off my chest. I grew up in a city with a 65% high school dropout rate. I talked to both of my prom dates and another one of my guy friends in the days before I left for India. As they updated me on everything going on in their lives, none of them are in school or pursuing their passions in any way. These are great guys. Funny, sweet, smart, and caring. What is wrong? I am no different than them, we want the same things out of life. And when I tell them about the things that I am doing they say they are proud of me, but I just want to tell them that they can do it too! Is it too late? My friends and family write these guys off as losers but I cant do it. I see them as victims of a broken system, a system which gives them a chance but secretly hopes they wont take it. I was not encouraged to succeed at my Catholic high school until my senior year when I had already proven myself as a gifted student and talented orator. So back to my point, this trip is for all my loved ones, friends and family. This blog will be your gateway into India.
I am going to post pictures of everything, starting with the ones from my plane. I love AIR INDIA, the stewardesses are all so pretty and they greet everyone saying NAMASTE. NAMASTE is the word in Hindi for hello/goodbye but it is more than that. It really means “I see you” and that “my soul is meeting your soul”. I think that is such a beautiful greeting. To meet someone and see into their soul encourages a spirit of brotherhood in humanity that many of us Americans are missing. My battery is going low but I might update again in the airport in Germany or Mumbai if I have time. Love you all. NAMASTE!

arrived in india

hey,
im safe in udaipur. more update and pics soon.

first day of training

It is 9:00 am and I am in class for my first day of training right now yay! I got the wonderful idea to take notes on my blog so that you guys can see all the interesting stuff I am learning about in my International Development: Community-Based Approaches class.
I. Asset-Based Community Development
II. Country Information and Development Legacies
III. Development Issues: Gender, Microfinance, Environment, Skills Training, and Global Health