Farewell India: weeks in review

Conducting interviews

Fun with family

This is exactly what I said I wasn’t going to do. I wasn’t going to let numerous great experiences go by and not blog about them, and that’s just what I’ve done. It would be impossible to talk about everything, so I’ll just touch on some highlights.

Siblings

I finished up my research in the village and completed my presentation and research paper. My research was on “Female Autonomy within the Household in Rural India”. I wanted to see if women’s decision making power within the home varied according to age at marriage, class, caste, education, and profession. To sum up my results, I found out that in-laws play a much bigger role than I could have ever imagined. When in-laws were present in the home, women generally tended to have less decision-making power. In addition, all of the women that experienced domestic abuse either lived with their in-laws or the abuse stopped when the in-laws moved/passed away. I’m willing to share my paper with anyone who would like to read it.

M village fieldworker

I didn’t realize how sad I would be to leave the village. I wasn’t that close with my village host family because it was hard to make a real connection with them due to the language barrier. However, I did get close to people who worked with my NGO, Jatan. While they also didn’t speak English, they came with me on some of my interviews and really helped me find women to talk with. Most of them don’t have Facebook or even email addresses so I had to cope with the fact that I probably will never see them again.

Farewell Dinner

Unlike my village family, I was able to get very very close with my host family in Udaipur. They showed me incredible hospitality and I was so comfortable in their home. It was so nice to come home every night to the same family and a room that truly felt like my own. They are the reason I didn’t feel like a tourist once in Udaipur. I have a second family that really loves me. They dropped me off at the train station Thursday night. It was filled with high emotions, long hugs, and goodbyes. I watched through the window as Mommyji ran alongside the train as it began to move. I’ll never forget that woman.

Prior to leaving we had a farewell event on Wednesday night. The event included our host families, professors, and co-researchers. Everyone got all dressed up, it was a blast. Girls showed off their sarees and the boys all wore kurtas. I love getting dressed up, I can’t wait to wear my saree back at home. Ajay and I spoke on behalf of all the Duke students and thanked everyone for making this an incredible 2 months.

Elephant ride

Taj Mahal

We are now back in New Delhi, site seeing for the last time in India. Before coming here we went to the city of Jaipur and got to ride ELEPHANTS!! It was like a life dream come true, so much fun. Then we went to Agra and saw the Taj Mahal, another dream! This trip has afforded us the opportunity to see so many great wonders of the world.

My beautiful Indian family

As I’m writing this we are on our way to our last market in India and our flight leaves at 3:20am Wednesday (tomorrow). I’m just not ready to leave. The time has flown bye and I’ve loved every minute of it (well, maybe not this recent heat). India has been so good to me and all of us in the group. I can definitely see myself returning here one day.

Dear India, I love you J

Until Next Time,
*Nicole

P.S. Dear China, hello. I’ve been awaiting your excitement and all that you have to offer.