I have an extremely long list of things I am thankful for this year, but among some of the many things my list includes:
-being given a thanksgiving meal in India
-all of the amazing friends I have made this semester
-every experience I have had since stepping foot on Indian soil (positive, negative, devastating, hilarious, joyous, and everything in-between)
-not experiencing a rainy day since the beginning of October!
-not needing to wear a jacket in November
-STILL WEARING SANDALS
-the amazing support system I have had through every meltdown I have gone through this semester
-The Alliance Staff who always make the efforts to make us feel at home and organize many opportunities for us, even going as far as to find what I believe may be one of the only ovens in Pune so we could bake pies this evening
-the lack of Delhi Belly in my life!!! (yay for no awkward stomach issues!!)
-competent and pleasant Rickshaw drivers, especially in those instances where you have no idea where you are going but hope to God your driver does and isn’t just taking you for a 80 rupee extra ride through scenic Pune
-Being safe, sound, and happy
-MAKING IT OFF OF SLEEPER CLASS DURING TRAVEL WEEK
-waking up every morning knowing that the sun will be shining, my water is clean, tea will more than likely not end up on my back, I will eat delicious food, and have an excellent day
-the fact that laughter is contagious…and highly complimented!
-my host family, who has really become a wonderful part of my experience in India…I will be forever thankful for the surprise pineapple we got last week as well!!
-the many other things I am forgetting to say or that would take up waaaaaaaaaay too much of a blog to post!
-YOU FOR READING THIS!!!!
Dream.love.discover how thanksgiving is done in India,
I have successfully survived my first two weeks as an Intern!!!
As the Alliance is divided into two parts, the end of travel week brings about the beginning of our internship period. Although we had all met with our organizations a few times before beginning full time, I don't think many of us were expecting all of the surprises our lives as interns would hold.
So, just how did we get here, two weeks into our internships? Let's take a crash course in Becoming an Intern in India 101. Upon our decision to apply to the Alliance, we are asked to also submit a resume and submit a document describing the nature of the work we would wish to do. My resumeoutlined some Environmental Research projects, my recent involvement with my school's Wilderness Program, a winter internship with Habitat for Humanity, distinguished scholarships, academic focus, etc. In my letter of intent, I noted that I would like to work with an environmental issues/awareness group that was locally focused in order to see how India is handling the environmental issues it faces as it globalizes and develops. In previous studies I have had some experience in research projects that look at environmental change and as I am interested in globalization and development, as well as the environment, I thought a group such as the one I desired to work for while here for the semester would be a perfect meshing of all of my interests.
When the Alliance receives our applications and makes the decision to accept students, they take a look at these documents and get to work on linking us up with an organization they feel meets our interests. They also work to arrange for the organization to have a set of projects or tasks for us to complete if they agree to take on interns for the last month of our semester.
At the beginning of October, we all meet as a group and are guided through what is expected of us during our internship period. We must keep a daily journal highlighting what we have done, what we have learned, as well as any obstacles we have faced, questions we have, etc. We are also responsible for keeping a time sheetwhich marks hours we are with our organization (in the office or in the field), have worked on our internship journals, and even a few mark-ups for travel time (they've gotta cut us some slack somehow, right?!) At the beginning of our internship period we have to submit aninternship proposalwhich gives background on the organization, the roles of our "co-workers", the project(s) we will be responsible for completing, and how it links up with our current academic and future goals. We must also submit what is referred to as an Academic Paperat the end of our internship period which discusses what we did, what we have learned, how it will help us in the future, etc.
.....and now for the interesting part!!!! WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING?!
For my internship, I have been assigned to Parisar, an NGO in Pune focused on lobbying and advocating for sustainable development with an emphasis on issues in urban areas. Parisar's main focus as of late has been on the issue of sustainable transport (increasing the city's walkability, cyclability, increasing the quality of bus services, etc. in order to encourage people to use more environmentally-friendly modes of transportation).
My particular project is focused on creating a method for assessing the BRT system in Pune. BRT stands for Bus Rapid Transit. In essence, a BRT is supposed to run similar to that of a metro system, instead using buses and above ground BRT-only designated lanes, to increase its efficiency and the quality of service. Parisar has done lots of work assessing the city buses, run by PMPML, developing and conducting surveys, defining service parameters, and quantifying the data in order to create a comprehensive report. It is their hope that I will be able to do the same for the BRT system or at least lay down the foundation for such to occur before my last day in December. I came into the organization knowing nothing about the BRT, but had to quickly become a near-expert on the topic in order to understand the services it should be providing and how to assess whether or not users' needs were being met. I have spent the past few weeks immersing myself in all things BRT-watching videos, reading assessments of other BRT systems in India as well as around the globe, deciphering guidelines, conducting research, asking questions, and getting down to business!
...I guess the even bigger question is,"What have you accomplished so far?!"
Considering I came into my task knowing nothing about my subject matter and am slightly behind the scheduled time-table, I would still say adequate progress is being made. I have been flooded with guidelines, other assessments of BRTs, and videos in order to be familiar enough with BRT to do the work required. So far, I have worked with the organization to: define the parameters of the BRT (how we will assess the BRT based on certain standards for savings on travel time, reliability, comfort, convenience, accessibility, affordability, and the identity of the BRT), create a User Survey (which will provide user feedback on their experience with the BRT and highlight areas of improvement necessary for the BRT to be efficient and provide better service), create Observation Checklists for the Surveyor (which will be used to provide the organization's point of view in regards to necessary aspects of the BRT, and prepare a presentation on the process thus far. Not too shabby, huh?
So....what's next?
In my last few weeks here, I will be going out into the field to conduct my surveys (once they have gotten final input and have been revised for what I can only hope will be the last time!), which will hopefully allow me to gather enough feedback to write a report on the current state of the BRT. Because of the shift in my time-table, however, it is looking like the more realistic goal for me personally will be to get in the field, conduct some surveys, and put together a report on what information I have gathered so far and where the project will continue from there. It is a total bummer that I won't get to see the whole project through, but I will have gained some great skills and can eagerly wait for the final report to come out a few months after I leave!
**The first part of this video talks about designated bus lanes, a crucial component of all successful BRTs, the second half is also very interesting, discussing a PRT (personal rapid transit system) being developed for a city under construction (Masdar City) in Abu Dhabi
As I embark on researching to write my final paper for Environmental Perspectives (Virtual Water in India anyone???) I have of course decided to take a moment to further procrastinate and post some photos from our final Environmental field trip. Although I was very sleepy (as we had all just gotten back from very exhausting travel week adventures), the field trip ended as all environmental field trips this semester have.....wonderfully.
We spent part of the day on the bus: touring the outskirts of Pune, visiting damns, learning how to cut rice plants with a sickle!, standing outside of a sacred grove (because I'm a female and only men were allowed in this particular grove) to look at bats ("ya, bats" <----note the Environmental Inside Joke here), checking out implemented wells in rural villages,& begging the professor to make an ice cream stop (we're still children clearly), and the last part of the day on an organic farm run by the professor's son learning about organic farming techniques and helping to plant some of the young plants! After our hard work (and I say this in all seriousness since it involved my hands being covered in dirt and organic matter as I'm assuming there was some wonderful fertilizer mixture involved) we were treated to an excellent dinner-the perfect ending to a class that has spent a semester being full of equally as excellent surprises! The only thing we were missing that day was some great professor-led meditation...
(No big deal, Sai's just using her sickle skills to harvest rice...)
(In India even when doing field work you must look beautiful!)
(Bats, ya, bats)
(I couldn't help but notice the contrast in the blue hat/yellow glassescombo....but also note the "hut" in the background. Previous to coming to India that is what I would have pictured inhabitants of a tribal village living in)
(We all know how much I love cows. These little guys are pure, native, Indian mooers!)
(Making fantastic use of space as any efficient farm should-growing some sort of hanging spinach, if I recall correctly, while using the ground space to grow one of my favorite herbs...MINT!)
(The planting Dream-Team combo of Maya Fe and Brenna: poke holes, fill with water, clear space for plant, place sproutling, REPEAT! )
(This is exactly how my hands became all kinds of filthy before dinner!)
Almost a month ago we were given a two day week, sent on our first train ride, and made our way to Mumbai. I cannot believe how quickly time has flown by! Although it had already been the second time we had been in the city, as we had all landed in Mumbai but had been sheltered from the city in our one over-night before heading to Durshet, I was excited to spend a few days out of Pune exploring the Commercial Capital of India. We were given lectures on Mumbai's transition from textile mills to malls, Dharavi (known as "Asia's Largest Slum"...until recently), got a tour of a Potters' village (where they made pots galore!), Dharavi's recycle center, a lesson on being visually impaired, and a Q&A on all things India....with some great lunches in between!
Here are some things I learned:
Indians aren't as crazy about Gandhi as you would think. Many of them feel that because he was of an upper caste he was sheltered from many of the realities lower castes such as Dalits faced. He was given a lot of credit for the same work many others, like Ambedkar, who we learned about in my Social Justice class, did. I have seen many houses decorated with a photo of Dr. Ambedkar as well as many necklaces in which he serves as the pendant.....but that didn't stop us from going to the Gandhi museum! There were some cool photos of artifacts such as his personal possessions as well as a letter he wrote to Hitler.
Throughout the years Mumbai has undergone a HUGE transition from a mill town to a thriving metropolis which has become a symbol of India's development to countries around the world
Potters can make a loooooooooot of pots
People can live with visual impairments and complete many of the same tasks we can...we just need to give them time. The onset of the technological era has brought about some great improvements to helping them adapt to the world around them and ease the difficulties they may face.
Sometimes, tea and cookies during a lecture saves you from falling asleep in a perfect nap-temperature room!
Of course, the most important part of any adventure I speak of are the pictures....here are a few!
When I first saw Mumbai in August:
(This is still one of my favorite India photos)
The Gandhi Museum (inside a home he worked from during the Partition):
(These are ALL of Gandhi's possessions...still missing some essentials if you ask me)
(Gandhi's preserved work-room)
Dharavi-"Asia's Largest Slum":
Potter's Village (and an adorable child!):
Spotted being PRECIOUS: this lil' guy!
Now for the pottery...
Last but not least...Dharavi's Recycling Center:
And this post wouldn't be complete without a beach full of litter!!!! (thankfully the beaches in Goa do NOT look like this!) <3
After spending the first 48 hours with no sleep, taking in many gorgeous sights, overnight train mishaps (aka nightmares of Sleeper Class and jumping into the train as it started to take off), SEEING THE TAJ MAHAL AND BASKING IN ITS GLORY (Be envious...see what I did here, with the green? talking about envy?! Clever, I know), learning to live life to the fullest and enjoy alllll of its pleasures (...or at least that's what we learned at the kamasutra temples), seeing alert peacocks with no sign of tigers (Ranthambore fail), eating some sketchy food (I actually found myself referring to places that sold awful, probably sickening, street food under a roof "a restaurant"), seeing more human waste than I ever want to see on a side-walk, driving through deserts, attempting to further discounts on well-haggled items after being told I have beautiful eyes (contacts), being told countless times I look Indian...by Indians, fending off rickshaw drivers, outsmarting our "tour-guide", soaking up the sun in Goa (my new favorite place. Who doesn't love fresh seafood and fruit brought right to your beach chair?!) it is safe to say Travel Week has left me a whole lot more travel-saavy, tan...and exhausted-effects which have managed to carry themselves into my first week back in Pune!
I know everyone is probably dying to see pictures from my travels, but I promise to have them up upon my arrival back to the states! Because I use a camcorder, I couldn't take pictures everywhere I went (like the Taj) and have to wait for friends to post photos I can steal to help fill in the gaps! Sorry!! But for now I suppose I can post some Jaipur and Khajuraho pictures. Say hello to the Amber Fort, a not-so-charmed snake, Jaipur's Floating Palace, a Rajasthani Block-Fabric maker, the world's largest sundial (very accurate at telling time!), and the Kama Sutra and Jain temples of Khajuraho!
(This is my friend Amber...Fort!)
(This snake was so uncharmed that I managed to snap a shot during the only millisecond they let him out of the basket before shutting him right back in for his nap!)
("My palace can float, can yours?" asked Jaipur)
(Fabric: Hand-printed block style!)
(THE LARGEST SUNDIAL IN THE WORLD....ok, a model of the largest sundial in the world!)
(Here's part of the actual WORLD'S LARGEST SUNDIAL)
(Kamasutra time! Thanks Hindu temples!)
(Carvings on the outside of the temples...beautiful and detailed to the point of awkwardness)
(Jain Temple!...I wonder if that's where their goal of lack-or-attachment to worldly possessions has any relationship with the phrase "Plain Jane"...I think "Plain Jain" would also make sense, no?)
(spotted on our way to a temple! Not on our tiger safari oddly enough...)
