Don't Have a Cow

You say jump, we say how high?!

My home in Udaipur

Saluting the troops

Hey again!

This week we celebrated India’s Republic Day. It was really special to be able to share in this important day. Republic day is the anniversary of the signing of India’s constitution. We thought we were just going to the parade, but once we got there we discovered that we had VIP tickets! We got to sit in a special covered area with some local important people. We literally walked in alongside the mayor of the city. There were floats that advertised some of the different programs the cities has implemented. People on the floats would act out different scenes. For example, on one float a man was teaching a group of female students. This represented the city’s efforts to promote education for girls. Some of the kids from the local schools did a performance out on the field. They wore all white, but their hats had the colors of the Indian flag. Afterwards a group of women in multi-colored saris danced. The city honored about 30-50 people who had done extraordinary things in the past year. One of the employees from Chitra (the consulting group that puts our program together) was honored for his work of bringing education to children in villages. When his name was called we all stood up and clapped and shouted for him. You’re probably thinking this is a perfectly normal way of celebrating, expect for that everyone else only did quiet “golf claps”. Everyone just turned and starred at us, it was pretty funny.

Riding around the city on my
Co-researchers scooter

After the parade we went to tour another fort that was 2 ½ hours from Udaipur. This place had monkeys out the wa-zoo! It’s fun to look at them from inside the car, but when you’re standing next to them or they’re jumping from tree to tree above your head it gets pretty intimidating! These monkeys are aggressive too; they've been known to take people’s cameras if you get too close. So yes, I do run whenever I see them. Even more prevalent than monkeys are cows. Prior to coming I heard that India had cows walking around, but I was not prepared for this. They are literally EVERYWHERE, including the middle of the street during rush hour. And because cows are holy to Hindus’ it’s against the law to kill them. Once they become old and run out of milk, their owners let them go and they roam for the rest of their lives. Hitting one with your car will get you in big big legal trouble. While walking places I not only have to watch for cars and motorcycles driving on any side of the road at high speed, I also have to watch for cows that could ram into me. It’s quite a sight to see traffic stopped up because a cow is in a busy intersection and has nowhere to go.

Fun with friends

The NGO I’m working with is called Jatan. They do work in Udaipur and many of the surrounding villages. They do everything from education to women’s empowerment to helping farmers better tend to their land. 2 other interns from Germany are also working with the organization. This is their gap year so they volunteer abroad for a whole year after high school. They introduced me to another really cool NGO that focuses on making India more green and sustainable. The artwork in the building is all made out of trash and recycled goods. I even bought some earrings made out of old cd’s. They believe in a culture of giving, so they feed people dinner and then you donate whatever you like. The food was all vegan and surprisingly I found it to be so delicious.

In the back of an auto (not the usual, this is a large one)

Monday was Maria’s 21^st birthday so we all went out for dinner to a nice restaurant on the lake. The view from outside was beautiful. On the way there we were struggling to arrange for an auto rickshaw to take us and agree to pick us up because many of them stop running after 7 pm  After about 15min of trying to secure 2 or 3 autos, we decided to try and ride “Indian style”. By this I mean we tried to see how many people were humanly possible to fit into one rickshaw. In the end, we squeeze all of us in one. 16 PEOPLE IN ONE AUTO!! It was really something to see, it resembled the clown cars that carry endless numbers of clowns. Along the way we sang (or shouted) some of our favorite songs from home. I couldn't see out the window, but I think it’s safe to say everyone must have been staring as we went by. We tend to create a “Little America” everywhere we go.

The Bride & Groom

The wedding stage

Some dancers at the wedding

Harsh, one of the Chitra employees, invited us all to his cousins wedding on Tuesday. We attended the sangeet party. It’s a get together of family and close friends where people preform and dance for the bride and groom. It’s not even the main wedding day, but it’s still a big ordeal (I think someone said 300 people were invited). There was so much food and everything is cooked fresh in front of you. The decorations were beautiful; the colors were light purple and cream. I can definitely see myself using the same color scheme for my wedding. We even got to take a picture with the bride and groom.

The 2 Nicoles at the wedding!

I am now back in the village for my second stay. I’m here for 3 days, 2 nights. This time I choose to do my research on the life of a frontline healthcare worker. Because the village I live in (Rilmagra) is so big, I went to the neighboring village of Mora 3km away to talk to the health workers. The only healthcare worker the village has is one ASHA worker. She gives people medicine for common ailments and attends to pregnant women and newborns, but she only has minimal health training. There is a nurse that comes to the village, but she is only there twice a month. Since there is a lack of health workers, I think I’ll transfer my project to Rilmagra tomorrow.

My host brother in the village

I know I've said this before, but we have a special group. Something hilarious happens every time we hang out. We couldn't even depart for our separate villages this morning without hugging each other and repeating how much we’d miss one another. You’d think we were going to be apart for weeks. I really do believe we have separation anxiety!

At this very moment a cow is trying to head-butt its way through the gate of our house. This is India!

Until Next Time,
*Nicole

P.S. The number of people asking to take pictures of/with us has only increased. Usually people just try to sneak pictures of us without even asking. Earlier this week a man asked me to take a picture holding his baby girl. Talk about odd experiences. 

It's Good to be Home!

Interview at the village Anganwadi

My Co-researcher Shivani and I

My village home

Just returned from my first stay in the village! I wasn't there very long (2 days, 1 night), but I enjoyed my time. The biggest struggle is that my host family there doesn't speak English so it’s hard to get close to them. I have a co-researcher from a local college in Udaipur who goes with me to the village and translates, but I wish I could connect more personally with the people. I decided to do my first project on child health; I interviewed the head of the village Anganwadi (nursery), the Asha worker (village health assistant), 5 mothers with children, and 2 doctors at the community health center. I think we were successful in scheduling interviews and getting all our questions answered, but there didn't seem to be too many problems in the village (I’m happy about this, but it makes my project slightly more difficult). One of the ladies was so impressed that I was dressed in the appropriate attire and had Indian food packed in my lunch tiffin (packed by mommyji of course). I guess a group from abroad came to the village earlier and weren't very culturally sensitive. It’s nice to know that I’m not seen as a tourist. Not that I have anything against tourist, I just think once you take public transportation, eat the food every day, and live with a family you graduate from tourist to “temporary resident.”

Some after school fun

I really missed my urban host family while I was gone. Udaipur is comfortable now and this is home. It warmed my heart when I was dropped off and my host sister left her friends and ran to meet me at the end of the street to help me carry my things into the house. Mommyji was busy in the parlor with 3 clients, but she stopped to welcome me back. My family is just so cute, I am happy to be back.

Can't keep Americans away from our fast food

We are totally in academic mode now that our projects have begun. Denzell and I collaborated for our urban inquiry and focused on how globalization has affected the food in India. We went to two different malls and interviewed managers, workers, and customers at fast food restaurants. Udaipur has 4 fast food places and we went to all of them: McDonalds, Subway, KFC, and Pizza Hut. Of course we had to eat along the way haha. We originally wanted to interview the workers to see if they were treated fairly and if the company actually followed its policies, but we weren't able to separate them from their managers. It was obvious that the managers were worried about their image. One of the managers (I won’t disclose which) even told me that they “don’t sell junk food. It’s good and nutritious” Trust me…that was a lie!

We had a guest speaker for one of our lectures this week. She is an expert on the Indian caste system and she really sparked my interest in it. I couldn't help but relate the caste system to race in America. One of the biggest difference with the caste system is that you cannot look at a person and tell what caste they are from. While India is a “caste-less” society by law, it is still very much alive socially, especially in the villages. I might even do my final research project on something dealing with this highly complicated system.

View from the City Palace

Our group got a chance to visit Udaipur city palace earlier this week. I couldn't get over how big it was. Half of the palace is open to tourist and the other half is still used by the royal family. While the family has no political power, they are cultural royalty and are widely respected. The different personalities in our group create for excitement everywhere we go. We just can’t help but come up with a new inside joke each time we get together.

One of the gorgeous Saris at the wedding

Host Sister Reenu & I at the wedding

I finally got to go to an Indian wedding!!! It was nothing short of extravagant. Everything was big. There was a ton of food and even more people. The weddings are held outside in very large open spaces. The bride and groom sit on a stage as if they are sitting on a throne. There are lights and decorations everywhere. The women were extremely dressed up in gorgeous outfits. Who knows, I may walk down the aisle in a long white sari.

The bride and groom

I eat so much Chapati I wouldn't be surprised if I turn into it. I thought I ate it a lot in Uganda this summer, but that was nothing. It is customary to eat it here with basically every meal. I should be tired of it by now, and maybe I am, maybe it's just a habit now but a meal doesn't feel complete without it. 

Mommyji making Chapati

Mommyji pretending to let me help in the kitchen

Tomorrow is India’s Republic Day! We are going to one of the parades in the city. I can’t wait to take part in yet another fantastic cultural experience.

Until Next Time,
*Nicole 

So many beautiful sunsets

Lunches from Mommy-ji

We made it into the city's newspaper!

So much can happen in a matter of days. I knew I’d regret not blogging sooner, but there just isn’t enough time in the day! We are completing our first week of class and everyone is settled into their homes. Here is a typical day for me: 

• 7:15am wake up
• 8:30am catch an auto to school
• 9-10:45am Health Class
• 11:15am- 1pm Development Class
• 1-2pm Lunch
•  2-3pm Hindi Class or sometimes meetings
• After the official day is finished some of us hang out at school, or go to places in town
• Home by 7pm, do some homework, and hang out with my family
• 9:30-10pm dinner (much much later than anything I’m use to)



It's always cartwheel time in my mind

• Sleep and repeat

We get around the city in autos. A motorcycle with a carriage-type of attachment is the best way I can think to describe them. I’m finally starting to feel more comfortable taking them to get around and I even took a public one for the first time today! It makes me feel like I actually live here in Udaipur when I take public transportation to my actual house, not a hotel. I may be a foreigner to the community, but I feel far from a tourist.

Sight seeing

This week we’ve been taking survival Hindi classes in the afternoon. As much as I would love to learn the language and be at least somewhat conversational, I think my brain is suffering from language overload! I already mix up Spanish and Italian, but now Hindi too?! Somehow I’ve managed to only remember random words and bits and pieces of phrases, but I’m not giving up. My goal is to be “shopping fluent”, aka I want to be able to effectively bargain! I absolutely cannot wait to go shopping. India is so full of beautiful colors; I love all the outfits the women here wear. I need a nice Sari to take back to the States with  me!

My room

My host family and I are really comfortable with each other now. I think we’ve passed the awkward phase, thank God. They insist that I have all the privileges of their children and should not be afraid to ask for anything. My host siblings call my host mom “mommy-ji” ß (That’s the best way I can think to spell it), so she has me call her that as well! It’s really cute. She is an incredibly hard working woman. She has a big room in the house with a separate outside door that is her beauty parlor. It’s called Raj’s Parlor. I don’t usually get to see her work because I’m at school, but on Sunday while I was home I saw women going in and out of the parlor. Not only does she run her parlor, but she also does virtually everything in the house! Mommy-ji is a real “mom machine”. She cooks 3 fresh meals a day for her 3 kids +me and her husband EVERY SINGLE DAY. She also washes dishes, cleans the house, does the laundry, and keeps everyone on the straight and narrow. When she sits down to rest it’s never for too long. Women like her are what they call super moms! Somehow, in the midst of all her work she finds time to check on me and make sure everything is okay. I’m not sure I’ve met anyone more accommodating. It’s like every time I sit down at the table and get my plate, she holds her breath until I give my approval of the taste. All of her food has been delicious; I’m just still trying to handle the general spiciness of Indian food. She even packs my lunch every day when I go to school. It’s like a surprise every time I open my lunch bag.

Our lunches from mom!

As a side note, I washed my hair (in a bucket) and wore it big and curly this week…As if I didn’t get a ton of stares before haha. I guess I’m a little surprised at how much I stick out in India. I didn’t think I would totally blend in, but at the same time I didn’t think I would be a totally surprising sight. I was expecting to get more stares in China (which I probably still will).

After class today some of us went to the new mall across town because they just opened up at KFC and Pizza Hut! It’s really hard to keep American kids from our comfort food haha. There is also a McDonalds at one of the other malls. The other day we went to a place called “American Diner”. They had pictures of famous Americans on the walls and the whole place was painted red, white, and blue. Only problem…there was no meat on the menu! We were all quite puzzled how it could call itself American, but have no meat (even the burgers and hot dogs were veggie). Nevertheless, I enjoyed my Coke float and it did make me feel a little at home.

Weddings are the big talk of our group. Even in the States I’ve heard people say that you must attend at least one traditional Indian wedding sometime in your life. A couple people have gotten invitations; apparently this is “wedding season.” I brought it up to mommy-gi and we (my host family but they’ll bring me) got an invitation today!! I am beyond excited. Weddings are huge festivals in India (this is actually an issue we’ve addressed in my development class because many people go into debt afterwards). As I type this I am listening to a wedding a street down from me. The music is so loud and there are a ton of people. The groom paraded through the street on a beautiful horse and people were dancing all around him. There were fireworks, lights, music, the whole shebang. My host brother said it will probably last until 1am…they sure do know how to celebrate.

This program is no vacation study abroad. Because we only take 2 classes at a time in each country, all of the work is scrunched into 15 classes. We have a substantial amount of readings every night. This part of 

Duke is definitely still with me, but I loving it (the experience, not the work).

The group

We’ve only been here for a week and a half, but I’m already wondering why I didn’t study abroad earlier! We have a great group of students and the people from Chitra (the consulting group here which helps put this program together) are absolutely incredible. This is such an amazing opportunity and I’m having the time of my life. Honestly, I don’t even want to think about going back to Duke.

Eyes getting heavy
Until Next Time,
*Nicole 

Night Trains and Palaces

Well a 12 hour train ride isn't half bad when you sleep half the time and can have good conversation. Our group cohesion is great! From my previous experiences, there is something special about getting a group of students together from different backgrounds and throwing them into a situation in which they are forced to rely on one another. I love how everything works itself out, it’s beautiful. Similar to my Duke Engage experience, I am enjoying the difference personalities. I can also appreciate my peer’s intelligence. It’s funny how we can go from talking about something trivial to ancient civilizations, current politics, or even the existence of big foot. I love the randomness.

Our bags being carried to the train

Once we arrived in Udaipur, our new home, we had 2 days of orientation. During orientation, we stayed at Chunda Palace. I believe I speak for everyone when I say that the hotel completely took our breath away. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. There is so much detail in every single mark on the wall, every painting,  and every chair. The hotel is true to its name, it is a palace. After we expressed our awe of the place some of our advisers informed us that it is only a 3 star hotel! I couldn't even imagine what a 5 star hotel is like, because I thought this place was heaven on Earth.

My hotel room

View from the hotel at night

Wednesday we had a very full day. We stayed at the hotel for orientation and heard from many different speakers including our 2 Indian professors (Dr.Sharad and Dr.Kirti, they are married) I didn't realize that we would be meeting our Indian student co-researcher. I was one of the first people to walk into the room and I’m sure I looked like a deer in headlights. No one told us that we would be meeting. I was very surprised when I walked in the room and all eyes were on me, curious if I was their partner. I really enjoy meeting my co-researcher Shivani. She reminds me of one of my friends back home. She is small, funny, and quirky. I am so thankful of this, because I will need her assistance in order to pull off my research this semester. We will live together in the village when we go for assignment. In the village, she will be the only other person that speaks English. All of the co-researchers are around 21 years old and are currently in college in Udaipur.

Some of the Duke students woke up early this morning to watch the sunrise at 7:30am from the roof of our hotel. It was a perfect setting; the sun beautifully appeared from behind the mountains. As much as I enjoyed experiencing that sight, man am I paying for it now with my lack of energy! Today was an especially important day because we met our home-stay families for the first time. I was extremely nervous, there is always the fear of “what if they don’t like me”. 2 months would be a long time to be in an uncomfortable situation. I felt like my heart was in my throat as the different host families began making their way into the room.

The sun rise

I was finally introduced to my host father and brother. They are very kind and wanted me to know that I am very welcome in their home and they are happy to have me. My host father is an ex-army general and my host mother owns a beauty parlor. They have 3 children, an 18 year old boy and a 14 year old boy and girl that are twins. They live in a beautiful home that is about 15 minutes from my school. It was nice to get my own semi-permanent home where I can unpack and make it my own. It will take a few days to totally warm up to them, but I am in a loving home. The parents have told me that I have all the rights and privileges of their own children and if there is any problem at all to bring it to their attention. I have been observing to see how they act within the home. There are many small cultural things we learned in orientation and I would hate to forget one and offend someone. For example, we learned that you must eat with your right hand and not put your mouth in water bottles. This is called “Joota” and is highly frowned upon. I found myself almost sweating at dinner to remember not to use my left hand! The food was delicious, my host mother even asked me about all my preferences before she cooked so this might have been the first non-spicy (just like I like it) meal I've had since arriving in India.

Denzell and I after being greeted at the hotel

Now that this most nerve wrecking part is over, I can move on to trying to find my way around the city and not get lost on my way to class. My host father will be driving me to school for the next 3 days, but after that it’s my job to catch an auto! Lord knows I’m not the best with directions, so I’ll have to doing some serious praying about it.

There is something about being away from home that just makes me exhausted earlier.
So Until Next Time,
*Nicole 

Upon Arrival

One semester abroad, that’s all just one semester; it seems so arbitrary when you say it like that. But once you break it down, that’s 4 months away. Now I know I was abroad for 2 months this summer and wished I could have stayed longer, but it’s easier said than done. I guess I didn’t really think about the length until the night before I left. The nervous, anxiety, and jitters all suddenly kicked in. Don’t get me wrong I’m so excited, but 4 months away is quite a long time. Never once however did I think about not going, once I set my mind to something I want to go through with it.

Once I boarded the plane I suddenly had peace of mind. I got over the sadness of leaving and looked ahead to all of the amazing experiences that are awaiting me. There was only one thing between me and India…a 14 hour plane flight. I’m not one for long flights, but it wasn’t too bad. I sat next to an older lady who was convinced that if she spoke enough Hindi to me I would understand. Because of my previous trips abroad to places where I didn’t speak the language, I’ve gotten pretty good at deciphering words with body language and movement. I expect to be doing a lot of that on this trip considering I don’t speak Hindi or Chinese.

View from our hotel

Ready for a great 4 months!

We are now in a hotel in Delhi for the night. There are 19 students total in the program, but we are still waiting on about 8 people. Tomorrow we will all tour the city, and then take a 12 hour overnight train to Udaipur. (No, I am not excited for another very long trip, but I hope there will be beds on the train) From my room I can hear all the cars, trucks, and motorcycles driving past. Everyone honks constantly, it reminds me of Haiti and Uganda where signs and lines in the road are merely there and don’t mean much. So far the food has been pretty good, but kind of spicy. That’s definitely something I’m going to have to deal with since I have a hard time handling spicy food.

I’m still trying to take in the fact that I’m here and will be here for quite a while. My body is all thrown off with the time change and since I missed a whole night of sleep. Overall, everything is going well. I have so much to look forward to and I enjoy the people that I’m here enjoying this experience with. This is something the 19 of us will remember for the rest of our lives.

Until Next Time,
*Nicole