01.12.11
Some More Pictures!
Ajunta Caves
The Crew!
bonfire!
also, i think i’m becoming addicted to chai (indian tea) seeing as how we get served it like 2-3 times a day.
Internet Disruptions Cause Many Blog Delays…
that and laziness.. or well also the fact that i’ve been super busy! So much has happened in the past week that i do not even know where to start. Aside from the 3 day internet power outage, we’ve been out making daily trips to villages and shopping in town, as well as heading to the city of Auraungabad to see the caves at Ellora and Ajunta.
so we’ve visited 2 villages so far. On our first visit to a village, we followed Dr. Shoba (the daughter of the people who started CRHP) around as she showed us various important parts of the village as well as introduced us to a village health worker. On our second village visit, we followed the village health worker around as she went from home to home seeing her patients and explaining to us what was going on. We also met with the Women’s Self Help Group which is a group created by the women of the village, which helps lead to empowering them as well as giving them a more vocal role in the village. On Saturday, we headed out early in the morning to Ellora, where we saw some lovely caves. There were three types of cave categories: the Hindu Caves, the Buddhist Caves, and the Jain Caves. We were only able to see the first two caves, which was still pretty cool. (also, we ate at a restaurant and i was finally able to see some MONKEYS! they were just roaming around hopping from car to car. pretty cool). We also were able to see the Bibi Ki Maqbara which is a mausoleum. That night we went to Aurangabad and stayed overnight at a hotel. The next morning we headed out to the Ajunta caves which were all Buddhist. The view was seriously, amazing.
In addition to our lovely trips, we also had a party last night, in our honor. The party was on the roof of Dr. Shoba’s house where there was a really big bonfire (as well as a super huge dog that thankfully did not come near me.) It was pretty nice. Ended the night with an AWESOME RIDE on a vespa 😀 seriously, I need to find me a vespa once i get back to NY. love it <3
Also, enjoy the lovely pictures below!
MONKEY!
Ellora Caves
01.04.11
“You expected the cars to stop for you? Welcome to India!”
So I have finally found time to post another entry on this blog (aka I’ve finally been able to connect to the wifi from my room instead of the library). After a long 15 hour flight to Mumbai (seriously, why are airplane seats so uncomfortable!?!) we were finally able to get out and get our first experience of India. As soon as we walked out of customs we were hit with the hustle and bustle of the fast paced Mumbai life. Cars were zooming around left and right honking their horns and flashing their lights whilst we tried to cross the road. (yeah.. we thought they would stop for us… guess not!) But we made it out alive and managed to get into the van that was going to drive us 8 hours into the village of Jamkhed. Now some things you must know about India, 1. there are stop signs/traffic lights only about 5 minutes away from the airport, and nobody actually stops at them; 2. those traffic lights basically end up disappearing once we get on to the main road; and 3. indian drivers basically drive as if they’re in an intense race (aka it felt like we were legit going 100 mph. apparently it was 100 km/hr but i highly doubt that was true. because it felt like we were on a roller coaster ride.) So clearly, I was not sleeping on this car ride, however I didn’t really mind. Even though it was dark outside I was able to take in the scenery and really enjoyed the view along the highway. Once we got into the main village area the rural side of India began displaying its colors and it was a really interesting contrast from the crazy hustle and bustle we saw in Mumbai. (pictures will be uploaded soon).
We ended up getting to the CRHP campus at around 5am so that basically meant I wasn’t about to get much sleep.
Our suite is compromised of three bedrooms and two bathrooms as well as one common area. and it opens up to a balcony with a really nice view. One thing I loved was the calm quiet view (well..minus the really loud obnoxious crows.. but they disappear after a while) we get from the balcony. I can definitely foresee many mornings being spent out there.
Overall the CRHP campus is really nice, and I thought it was quite calm and peaceful, but according to our professor it will change and become more busy soon so we’ll see how that goes. Also, we went in to town today to go sari shopping, and it was quite exciting. We need saris for this event that is going to be held soon and so we figured today was a prime time to go. I’m really quite excited about wearing my sari (it’s so pretty!). Pictures will definitely be coming soon!
12.30.10
Only 4 Days Left!
Only 4 more days until I’m off to Newark Airport to board our flight to India! The anticipation is building and I’m pretty much hyped and ready to get out of this country and head to warm and sunny villages of India. I wish I could say i’m packed and ready to go, but my suitcase lies open on my floor, half empty as I type this right now. I don’t want to overpack, but I feel like I’ll end up not packing the one thing I’ll end up needing the most. Or watch me end up packing clothes that I won’t even wear. Ah, the various dilemmas that come with packing.
So I suppose I should mention what exactly it is that I’ll be doing in India.
I, along with 7 other students, will be travelling to the village of Jamkhed, located in the state of Maharashtra, in India for a Global Health study abroad. We will be getting credit for an Anthropology course, but our main focus will be primary healthcare, specifically in the rural setting. We will be staying at the Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) center, which was created by two extremely ambitious and talented doctors, Raj and Mabelle Arole. Along with our day to day classes, we will be making trips in to the villages to observe firsthand, the everyday activities of the local village healthcare workers who have been trained by CRHP. The majority of these village healthcare workers are women who have made many breakthroughs and transitions in order to get to where they are today. In addition, we will be making a trip to the archaeology site at Ellora and Bibi Ka Maqbara in Aurangabad where we will learn about the history and culture of India.
I’m pretty excited about the entirety of the program and hope it’ll be as phenomenal as it sounds!
