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.