As expected, work has really picked up in the last few weeks and after two months of putting my research somewhat on the back burner in order to do whatever Veerni needed, I am finally conducting interviews, observing HIV/AIDS discourse at local hospitals and NGOs, watching shows about child marriage, etc.
This week, I started by spending two days shadowing the HIV/AIDS counselor at the local government hospital. Though locals will say that the care at the hospital is one of the best, the place was pretty appalling. The floors and walls were absolutely filthy and people were camped out on the floor throughout the building (either waiting for care or waiting to visit their friends and family). One day, the power went out six times in two hours (at which point, I stopped my tally). I'm assuming (a.k.a. I desperately hope) that the ICU and surgical wings are hooked up to a generator, but the section I was in certainly was not.
During one of the days I was there, a woman from one of Veerni's villages was in the ICU for kidney failure. She was awaiting dialysis, so I went with the nurses and social worker to visit her and make sure everything was going well. The ICU was luckily a bit more clean than the rest of the hospital (which is not saying much), but I was truly shocked when we had to leave our shoes at the door. Granted, in India, it's thought that shoes are absolutely filthy and must be left outside before entering homes, temples, and even some shops. But to do this when entering a hospital wing?!? I cannot even begin to explain how uncomfortable and strangely vulnerable it felt to be walking around barefoot in such a place.
The HIV clinic was really fascinating as well. In terms of confidentiality, they seemed to do a terrible job (the desk was cluttered with stacks of booklets outlining patients' CD4 counts, ART, etc. without anything hiding the name and the village name that was printed on the top of each book). But in terms of everything else, the place seemed to be doing a good job of documenting each case very clearly and of providing care in a relatively efficient manner.
The waiting room was crowded, mostly with men, but with many women and children as well. The walls were covered with the standard HIV prevention posters, explaining how to put on male and female condoms, how one can and cannot get HIV, etc.
In terms of the people I met in these two days, many were married women (usually in their 30s), and usually with one HIV positive child in tow. Many also traveled many, many miles to come to the hospital (some from a city that's a 7 hour bus ride away), and glimpsing at the charts, it was clear that many had stopped their meds for a period of time because they couldn't get to the hospital.
One woman we met was a recent widow (her husband died of AIDS related causes a few months back) and she was just finding out she was positive at the age of 25. She was there with one of her children.
Another person (a young man) came in because he has an HIV-positive brother with psychiatric problems, who apparently bit him really hard on his arm. The viral load of saliva is slim to none, but apparently, his brother was bleeding from his mouth, so the counselor needed to administer counseling and PEP.
The one amazing thing about the Indian system is that ART is administered for free, and as far as I could tell, this actually is true. But with lack of food and the need to spend a lot of time and money getting to the hospital, adherence is certainly an issue.
Yesterday, I also started my interviews in the villages! I interviewed six women in a village about 60 km from Jodhpur. The women were extremely eager to talk and, to my pleasant surprise, were not the least bit embarrassed when asked about sexual issues. One surprising thing (though not surprising given the statistics for the region) is that only 2/6 of the women had ever heard of HIV. This village in particular does not have any diagnosed cases, but I still found this to be quite shocking.
In terms of child marriages, it is as commonplace in the region as the statistics lead you to believe. All but two of the women were married well before eighteen and two of the women specifically mentioned that they were "given to their husband" to consummate the marriage prior to their first menses (one was 12, the other was 15).
The interviews, as you may expect, were extremely moving. I will definitely tell more personal stories later, but quite frankly, I'm pretty emotionally drained from just these six. What was wonderful, though, was that at the end of the interviews all the women seemed to gather together and were so grateful to have their stories heard. They were also all eager for me to tell their stories abroad. It was something I didn't quite expect, but it felt wonderful. According to these women, they discuss sex and some of these issues with friends in their community, but they are not often given the chance to talk about their fear on their wedding day or the state of their marriage.
Yesterday, I also interviewed a man who runs a local NGO that deals with HIV/AIDS in Jodhpur, particularly with sex workers (as I said, when it rains, it pours). While most of what I learned was not new, we did discuss the government's role (or lack there of) in all of this and it was fascinating. I will be going with him to his fieldsites in the upcoming week, so we'll what that has in store.
And finally, also yesterday, Govind introduced me to Balika Vadhu, a brand new, extremely popular Hindi soap opera. It is set in rural Rajasthan and, quite perfectly, follows the life of a newly-married 12 year old girl. I kind of adore academic analyses of popular culture and was thrilled to find that there is currently a hugely popular TV show about child marriage! (It literally came out a month after I got here, and no one told me about it until last night. I now have to track down scripts or a DVD or something that I can get translated).
Well, that's it for now. As you can see, when it rains, it pours (after two months of struggling to get stuff together, I did an insane amount of work in just a few days).
I'm heading to Jaipur for the weekend (to visit a resource library on maternal health and then to sightsee) and then I will be spending part of Monday and Tuesday in Agra, finally gazing admiringly at the Taj Mahal.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Smita's wedding!
On Thursday afternoon, I received a wonderful call: Apparently over chai that morning, my engaged friend Smita decided to get married on Friday (years before even she originally planned). It was certainly unexpected, but long story short, to everyone's amazement, Veena and Smita managed to put together a beautiful and intimate wedding for Vinay and Smita in Veena's backyard all within 24 hours!
Also to my amazement, I was asked to be a bridesmaid! So I rushed to get a silk sari made (you need to have the blouse and petticoat stitched to fit) and was adorned with the necessary henna in time for the ceremony.
It was lovely afternoon wedding and it was fascinating to be a part of a Hindu ceremony. Though I only understood bits of it, the ceremony seemed really beautiful and included a moment when each member of the couple led the other around a fire, a prayer as the couple took their first steps together, and a moment at the end when the guests threw petals upon the new couple (not too dissimilar to Western traditions of throwing rice and candy on couples as they wed). And as is apparent below, Smita was absolutely glowing throughout the day!
Here are just a fraction of the hundreds of photos I took (as well as some hijacked from my co-bridesmaid, Lillian). Enjoy them! (And congrats again to the beautiful couple!!!!)
Smita looks terrified in this photo, but it's actually a complete misrepresentation: I caught her in the photo like a deer in headlights (and she was smiling seconds before and after I snapped this). But it is an amusing photo of the classic bride looking scared just minutes before her wedding
Lillian getting ready for the ceremony (with some bling of her own, in the form of super-large and super-expensive earrings on loan from a local jewelry shop)
Veena shows off just one of the many pieces of bling that Smita was wearing...this one is an anklet
Putting on the bindi
The bride's last phone conversation as an unmarried woman (with her mother)
The draping of the bridal sari
Smita looks gorgeous, no?
Vinay leading Smita around the fire
Taking their first steps as husband and wife
Posing in my sari (ignore the broken nose, please!)
With the bride, pre-ceremony
From left: Myself; the groom, Vinay; Veena; Smita; Lillian
Bridesmaids!
Getting pumped in the rickshaw
Also to my amazement, I was asked to be a bridesmaid! So I rushed to get a silk sari made (you need to have the blouse and petticoat stitched to fit) and was adorned with the necessary henna in time for the ceremony.
It was lovely afternoon wedding and it was fascinating to be a part of a Hindu ceremony. Though I only understood bits of it, the ceremony seemed really beautiful and included a moment when each member of the couple led the other around a fire, a prayer as the couple took their first steps together, and a moment at the end when the guests threw petals upon the new couple (not too dissimilar to Western traditions of throwing rice and candy on couples as they wed). And as is apparent below, Smita was absolutely glowing throughout the day!
Here are just a fraction of the hundreds of photos I took (as well as some hijacked from my co-bridesmaid, Lillian). Enjoy them! (And congrats again to the beautiful couple!!!!)
Smita looks terrified in this photo, but it's actually a complete misrepresentation: I caught her in the photo like a deer in headlights (and she was smiling seconds before and after I snapped this). But it is an amusing photo of the classic bride looking scared just minutes before her wedding
Lillian getting ready for the ceremony (with some bling of her own, in the form of super-large and super-expensive earrings on loan from a local jewelry shop)
Veena shows off just one of the many pieces of bling that Smita was wearing...this one is an anklet
Putting on the bindi
The bride's last phone conversation as an unmarried woman (with her mother)
The draping of the bridal sari
Smita looks gorgeous, no?
Vinay leading Smita around the fire
Taking their first steps as husband and wife
Posing in my sari (ignore the broken nose, please!)
With the bride, pre-ceremony
From left: Myself; the groom, Vinay; Veena; Smita; Lillian
Bridesmaids!
Getting pumped in the rickshaw
Sunday, August 24, 2008
We got a puppy!
Okay, so I will probably write at least one more post today, but for now:
We got a puppy at Durag Niwas!
His name is Chili and he is a miniature Dachshund. He is absolutely adorable.
It's been fun to watch him try to figure out how his own body moves (he's still quite intimidated by his own legs, it seems), but he is quickly becoming less frightened and more playful.
And little Ayoush is fantastic with him. He sings the puppy to sleep (with the same songs that his mom sings to him) and seems to be completely in love...but then again, how could you not be in love with a Dachshund puppy?
Chili fell asleep on my lap and started barking in his sleep...
We got a puppy at Durag Niwas!
His name is Chili and he is a miniature Dachshund. He is absolutely adorable.
It's been fun to watch him try to figure out how his own body moves (he's still quite intimidated by his own legs, it seems), but he is quickly becoming less frightened and more playful.
And little Ayoush is fantastic with him. He sings the puppy to sleep (with the same songs that his mom sings to him) and seems to be completely in love...but then again, how could you not be in love with a Dachshund puppy?
Chili fell asleep on my lap and started barking in his sleep...
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Udaipur
I just had a really amazing weekend, so prepare yourself for an extremely long post.
I decided to go to Udaipur, a town about 7 hours from Jodhpur, known as the romantic heart of India. And it was pretty amazing.
Though touristy, it was a lot more relaxed than Pushkar (perhaps because of the holiday) and was extremely walkable. Sure, there were annoying shopkeepers and rickshaw-wallahs, but the streets had less cows (and less cow poop) on them than most and it was hilly, which was a pleasure after the midwest-like Jodhpur. It was also a chilly 30 degrees (86 F), which yes, actually caused me to reach for a long sleeved shirt, but which was also really lovely.
I took the night bus on Friday, which leaves at 10 p.m. and arrives at 5:00 a.m. It was surprisingly comfortable, except for the fact that I was the lucky person who got to sit in front of a man who snored incredibyl loudly the entire way. He also slept straight through the 7 hours, which meant I was not given the luxury of sleep.
Though a haven for budget travelers and backpacks offering rooms at less than $4 a night, my guesthouse was great. Being one of the oldest in Udaipur, it had an amazing view, despite the fact that lakeside properties are usually monopolized by luxury hotels, and there were a lot of interesting guests there.
Gorgeous, no? I sat out on the guesthouse's terrace for hours just to take in the view
On Saturday, I started my day by doing a four hour cooking class at a local place called Spice Box. It was really fantastic. We learned how to make palak paneer, chapatti, paratha, poori, vegetable cutlets, malai kofta, biryani, etc. and were taught all about Indian spices along the way. The teacher was also great because, without me saying anything about my veganism, he always made sure to tell us that you could substitute soymilk in certain dishes, use soft tofu instead of paneer (by soaking the tofu in lemon juice to get the right taste) and, if replaceable, he told us what spices we could subsitute for ones that may be more difficult to find at home. It was hands on and it culminated with lunch, entirely comprised of the dishes we made. We got to take the recipes home (and I bought a very cheap, small Indian copper pot from him), so hopefully I will replicate it all soon.
Trying my hand at making malai kofta
After the cooking class, I went to the City Palace Museum. Again, it was gorgeous with amazing views. As it was a holiday, it was jammed packed with Indian tourists, but I went through leisurely with a really great audiotour in hand. As usual, I was struck by two things: the fusion between European and Indian styles (for instance, rooms generally Indian in style, which also incorporated ceramic tiles brought over by the British) and the amazingly intricate lattices used to keep women in purdah.
They had these creepy figures of the Maharaja throughout the City Palace (so that you could picture him in the study or the bedroom). Strangely, the top was a poster and the bottom half was three-dimensional, with real shoes and wooden legs (?)
Of course, the view from the City Palace was also breathtaking
Hand-carved lattice for maintaining purdah
In the middle of the courtyard was a cage for tigers, filled with human children
One example (and a fairly poor one) of the melding of European and Indian styles--Ganesh surrounding my British tiles
Apparently they used to dress the horses up as elephants before going into battle, the idea curiously being that the elephants used by the enemy would not charge/stampede their own young
After that, there was little to do (given that everyone was going home for the holiday), so I went shopping! I got a ton of great stuff (at incredibly low prices) and was extremely thankful when the shops weren't open on Sunday (a rarity in India, but its dependent upon the city), because I would have been tempted to spend a lot more money. Mostly, there were places selling silver jewelry, handcrafted notebooks with silk covers, scarves, handmade Indian shoes and sandals, and standard backpacker clothing.
On Saturday evening, I was excited to see that there was a cultural show at a local haveli, and even though I didn't have high expectations, it was really great. It began with some traditional Indian music and then included various Rajasthani dances and a fantastic puppet show. Unfortunately, they charge for you to bring in a camera in many places in India, so I opted out for the show, but I wish I hadn't. The first dance was essentially an old woman with cymbals placed on various parts of her body swinging a spoon in a way that hit the cymbals in perfect time with the music. She was accompanied by a sitar, a singer, and tabla. The second was a woman dancing with a bowl of fire on her head. She ran around, spun, etc. while the audience held their breath in fascination/horror. The third was an old woman who danced with multiple pots balanced on her head. I remember being extremely impressed when women in Ghana walked around barefoot with giant pots of water on their heads while cradling multiple babies in their arms, but this almost topped that. She started with one pot that probably holds roughly six gallons of water, but soon she had a stack of ten pots on her head and the stack was a few feet taller than her. As if this wasn't impressive enough, she then stood on glass, while balancing all of the pots, and even ran around the room like this.
It was also great to hear Indian folk music. While I can't say I really like Indian folk music (the singer wails in a high-pitched way that isn't too pleasant), the percussion was really good and this made it fairly enjoyable.
On Sunday, things were closed so I spent a fair amount of time just taking in the view and reading. I found an amazing little bakery (where the cooks were European trained and therefore knew how to make real cake and iced coffee) and then went and got a 45-minute full-body Ayurvedic massage (costing only $12). The massage was interesting, involving a lot of oil and fairly light pressure. Supposedly, it helps your body release toxins, so you're supposed to leave the oil on your body until the next morning. It culminated with an amazing scalp massage though, which alone was worth the $12.
Some other fun facts about my weekend in Udaipur:
-It's sadly a top spot for disaster tourism, as the beautiful lake around which the town is built is expected to dry up within 25, and maybe even only 10, years. It was devastating to see how low the lake is even now, in monsoon season, especially because there are water marks showing what it used to be and I imagine it was gorgeous.
-I got my fair share of interesting come-ons here, including the completely unoriginal, but well-delivered "Excuse me, but did you injure yourself? (Pause) Because it must have been a long fall from heaven." The best though was probably this:
Guy: Excuse me ma'am, are you looking for a rickshaw?
Me: Nahi.
Guy: Are you looking for a cold drink?
Me: Nahi.
Guy: Are you looking for a guesthouse?
Me: (No response)
Guy: Are you looking for love?
Me: (Burst out laughing)
-I was swarmed by shopkeepers who, upon hearing I was American, wanted to discuss Phelps (or "phellups" as they called him) and were curious to know if I knew him. They worship him here.
-India has been invaded by the French these past few weeks, and it was simply impossible to go anywhere without seeing a giant group of French tourists. Sadly, the giant French high school group visiting my guesthouse seems to be completely offended by spicy food, so our food has been entirely toned down (read: made tasteless) for the week.
-I had some of the best food yet in Udaipur, including Rajasthani chickpea dumplings (which essentially ended up being Indian-spiced falafel balls in a masala curry sauce)
-The James Bond film, Octopussy, was filmed in Udaipur (as were parts of Darjeeling Limited and some other famous films) so every low-end restaurant proudly shows the movie to its guests. They are extremely proud of Octopussy...almost embarrassingly so.
-Take note: When a bus gets full in India, they start putting people first in the aisles and then on the roof. I luckily had a reserved seat (though it was disquieting to hear the tapping of people moving around on the roof).
I decided to go to Udaipur, a town about 7 hours from Jodhpur, known as the romantic heart of India. And it was pretty amazing.
Though touristy, it was a lot more relaxed than Pushkar (perhaps because of the holiday) and was extremely walkable. Sure, there were annoying shopkeepers and rickshaw-wallahs, but the streets had less cows (and less cow poop) on them than most and it was hilly, which was a pleasure after the midwest-like Jodhpur. It was also a chilly 30 degrees (86 F), which yes, actually caused me to reach for a long sleeved shirt, but which was also really lovely.
Not many cows in Udaipur, but there was the occasional elephant
I took the night bus on Friday, which leaves at 10 p.m. and arrives at 5:00 a.m. It was surprisingly comfortable, except for the fact that I was the lucky person who got to sit in front of a man who snored incredibyl loudly the entire way. He also slept straight through the 7 hours, which meant I was not given the luxury of sleep.
Though a haven for budget travelers and backpacks offering rooms at less than $4 a night, my guesthouse was great. Being one of the oldest in Udaipur, it had an amazing view, despite the fact that lakeside properties are usually monopolized by luxury hotels, and there were a lot of interesting guests there.
Gorgeous, no? I sat out on the guesthouse's terrace for hours just to take in the view
On Saturday, I started my day by doing a four hour cooking class at a local place called Spice Box. It was really fantastic. We learned how to make palak paneer, chapatti, paratha, poori, vegetable cutlets, malai kofta, biryani, etc. and were taught all about Indian spices along the way. The teacher was also great because, without me saying anything about my veganism, he always made sure to tell us that you could substitute soymilk in certain dishes, use soft tofu instead of paneer (by soaking the tofu in lemon juice to get the right taste) and, if replaceable, he told us what spices we could subsitute for ones that may be more difficult to find at home. It was hands on and it culminated with lunch, entirely comprised of the dishes we made. We got to take the recipes home (and I bought a very cheap, small Indian copper pot from him), so hopefully I will replicate it all soon.
Trying my hand at making malai kofta
After the cooking class, I went to the City Palace Museum. Again, it was gorgeous with amazing views. As it was a holiday, it was jammed packed with Indian tourists, but I went through leisurely with a really great audiotour in hand. As usual, I was struck by two things: the fusion between European and Indian styles (for instance, rooms generally Indian in style, which also incorporated ceramic tiles brought over by the British) and the amazingly intricate lattices used to keep women in purdah.
They had these creepy figures of the Maharaja throughout the City Palace (so that you could picture him in the study or the bedroom). Strangely, the top was a poster and the bottom half was three-dimensional, with real shoes and wooden legs (?)
Of course, the view from the City Palace was also breathtaking
Hand-carved lattice for maintaining purdah
In the middle of the courtyard was a cage for tigers, filled with human children
One example (and a fairly poor one) of the melding of European and Indian styles--Ganesh surrounding my British tiles
Apparently they used to dress the horses up as elephants before going into battle, the idea curiously being that the elephants used by the enemy would not charge/stampede their own young
After that, there was little to do (given that everyone was going home for the holiday), so I went shopping! I got a ton of great stuff (at incredibly low prices) and was extremely thankful when the shops weren't open on Sunday (a rarity in India, but its dependent upon the city), because I would have been tempted to spend a lot more money. Mostly, there were places selling silver jewelry, handcrafted notebooks with silk covers, scarves, handmade Indian shoes and sandals, and standard backpacker clothing.
On Saturday evening, I was excited to see that there was a cultural show at a local haveli, and even though I didn't have high expectations, it was really great. It began with some traditional Indian music and then included various Rajasthani dances and a fantastic puppet show. Unfortunately, they charge for you to bring in a camera in many places in India, so I opted out for the show, but I wish I hadn't. The first dance was essentially an old woman with cymbals placed on various parts of her body swinging a spoon in a way that hit the cymbals in perfect time with the music. She was accompanied by a sitar, a singer, and tabla. The second was a woman dancing with a bowl of fire on her head. She ran around, spun, etc. while the audience held their breath in fascination/horror. The third was an old woman who danced with multiple pots balanced on her head. I remember being extremely impressed when women in Ghana walked around barefoot with giant pots of water on their heads while cradling multiple babies in their arms, but this almost topped that. She started with one pot that probably holds roughly six gallons of water, but soon she had a stack of ten pots on her head and the stack was a few feet taller than her. As if this wasn't impressive enough, she then stood on glass, while balancing all of the pots, and even ran around the room like this.
It was also great to hear Indian folk music. While I can't say I really like Indian folk music (the singer wails in a high-pitched way that isn't too pleasant), the percussion was really good and this made it fairly enjoyable.
On Sunday, things were closed so I spent a fair amount of time just taking in the view and reading. I found an amazing little bakery (where the cooks were European trained and therefore knew how to make real cake and iced coffee) and then went and got a 45-minute full-body Ayurvedic massage (costing only $12). The massage was interesting, involving a lot of oil and fairly light pressure. Supposedly, it helps your body release toxins, so you're supposed to leave the oil on your body until the next morning. It culminated with an amazing scalp massage though, which alone was worth the $12.
Some other fun facts about my weekend in Udaipur:
-It's sadly a top spot for disaster tourism, as the beautiful lake around which the town is built is expected to dry up within 25, and maybe even only 10, years. It was devastating to see how low the lake is even now, in monsoon season, especially because there are water marks showing what it used to be and I imagine it was gorgeous.
-I got my fair share of interesting come-ons here, including the completely unoriginal, but well-delivered "Excuse me, but did you injure yourself? (Pause) Because it must have been a long fall from heaven." The best though was probably this:
Guy: Excuse me ma'am, are you looking for a rickshaw?
Me: Nahi.
Guy: Are you looking for a cold drink?
Me: Nahi.
Guy: Are you looking for a guesthouse?
Me: (No response)
Guy: Are you looking for love?
Me: (Burst out laughing)
-I was swarmed by shopkeepers who, upon hearing I was American, wanted to discuss Phelps (or "phellups" as they called him) and were curious to know if I knew him. They worship him here.
-India has been invaded by the French these past few weeks, and it was simply impossible to go anywhere without seeing a giant group of French tourists. Sadly, the giant French high school group visiting my guesthouse seems to be completely offended by spicy food, so our food has been entirely toned down (read: made tasteless) for the week.
-I had some of the best food yet in Udaipur, including Rajasthani chickpea dumplings (which essentially ended up being Indian-spiced falafel balls in a masala curry sauce)
The gorgeous view from the amazing restaurant
-The James Bond film, Octopussy, was filmed in Udaipur (as were parts of Darjeeling Limited and some other famous films) so every low-end restaurant proudly shows the movie to its guests. They are extremely proud of Octopussy...almost embarrassingly so.
-Take note: When a bus gets full in India, they start putting people first in the aisles and then on the roof. I luckily had a reserved seat (though it was disquieting to hear the tapping of people moving around on the roof).
And finally: Just read the list in the photo (this is from a really nice restaurant, btw)
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Another soiree, another strike
Last night, I got the chance to attend and really interesting and fantastic party. The woman who will be my translator for the interviews was excited to have her seven-month-old grandson in town and invited over roughly twenty-five people to celebrate! The event was catered and my plate was stacked high with some of the most delicious food I've had since I've been here. The grandson was adorable. And the company was really interesting. The son whose baby we were celebrating is married to a British woman, lives in Delhi, and works as an accent neutralization specialist. I wish I had a chance to ask him more questions about his job, but there wasn't much time. The other son is an technical engineer who works for one of the American companies that outsources to Delhi (so essentially, he runs IT for an office located in Europe). It was really fascinating...and here is the picture of the adorable spiky-haired child, in the arms of my friend, Smita.
And today was another strike day (which is why I can blog at 2 in the afternoon). A number of people were unfortunately killed in Kashmir yesterday, and it seems like whenever any religious-political clash happens anywhere in India, people of the same political party strike in solidarity. So I'm home for my second strike day this summer, and I'm staying in to avoid the potential chaos (although no violence has broken out at all, these political groups apparently threaten shopkeepers who don't abide by the strike).
And today was another strike day (which is why I can blog at 2 in the afternoon). A number of people were unfortunately killed in Kashmir yesterday, and it seems like whenever any religious-political clash happens anywhere in India, people of the same political party strike in solidarity. So I'm home for my second strike day this summer, and I'm staying in to avoid the potential chaos (although no violence has broken out at all, these political groups apparently threaten shopkeepers who don't abide by the strike).
Monday, August 11, 2008
Some more ramblings...
Mmmm Masala
I love spicy foods and, even though they often tone it down for foreigners, I've had my fair share of spicy dishes since I've been here. What's so cool though is that all the American foods they import are kicked up a notch and you can find virtually anything "masala flavored." Masala, it turns out, just a generic term for a mix of spices--nothing specific, as I previously thought. So far, I've had masala flavored chips (very, very spicy), masala topped pizza (amazing!) and, when I peaked in a McDonald's out of curiosity, I saw that they have masala spiced fries. But my favorite masala-flavored anything is:
Masala cup o' noodles!
Delicious!!! Firstly, as a college student who generally misses out on the cup o noodles in the states due to hidden animal ingredients, I appreciate that the Indian ones are always vegetarian (and clearly marked). Secondly, these are truly yummy and cost next to nothing.
Elance
This week has been all about the finishing touches on my interviews (to start next week and continue basically until I leave). As I prepare, I have been trying to find a transcriber, because I have grant money from Human Development to hire someone to take over this pesky and tedious task. Well, let me just say: Elance.com has answered my dreams! It is a site that networks potential employers with a whole bunch of freelancers for everything from translation/transcription to graphic design. They have this awesome (and free) system where you post a project and either invite specific people to bid on the work or open up the project to the whole network, so anyone can bid. At a certain point, you pick the person you want to do the work and hire them, and using paypal.com, they facilitate the transaction. It's been fantastic so far and because you review individual freelancers, it also seems to have some reliable measurement of quality, which is great. Anyways, there's my plug. Hopefully some of you can use this wonder...
Henna
Work was long and tiring today, so I was looking for something relaxing, but interesting, to do this afternoon. And because I clearly want to stand out here even more than I already did, I went to the local salon and got my hair henna-ed. I'd done it twice before (once, in Thailand, where Daniel and I washed it off in the Pacific Ocean) and was excited about doing it again, without the messiness of bright red hands and stained towels. It's totally fine, but I am now very much a redhead. Luckily, it will wash out before I get home, because it is a bit shocking.
The salon was really interesting though. The girl who got a haircut next to me left and then her hair was promptly swept up and gathered up into a ponytail. I'm not sure what they're going to do with it (I hear that the human hair extensions people buy in the U.S. often come from India, so perhaps it's being sold).
I love spicy foods and, even though they often tone it down for foreigners, I've had my fair share of spicy dishes since I've been here. What's so cool though is that all the American foods they import are kicked up a notch and you can find virtually anything "masala flavored." Masala, it turns out, just a generic term for a mix of spices--nothing specific, as I previously thought. So far, I've had masala flavored chips (very, very spicy), masala topped pizza (amazing!) and, when I peaked in a McDonald's out of curiosity, I saw that they have masala spiced fries. But my favorite masala-flavored anything is:
Masala cup o' noodles!
Delicious!!! Firstly, as a college student who generally misses out on the cup o noodles in the states due to hidden animal ingredients, I appreciate that the Indian ones are always vegetarian (and clearly marked). Secondly, these are truly yummy and cost next to nothing.Elance
This week has been all about the finishing touches on my interviews (to start next week and continue basically until I leave). As I prepare, I have been trying to find a transcriber, because I have grant money from Human Development to hire someone to take over this pesky and tedious task. Well, let me just say: Elance.com has answered my dreams! It is a site that networks potential employers with a whole bunch of freelancers for everything from translation/transcription to graphic design. They have this awesome (and free) system where you post a project and either invite specific people to bid on the work or open up the project to the whole network, so anyone can bid. At a certain point, you pick the person you want to do the work and hire them, and using paypal.com, they facilitate the transaction. It's been fantastic so far and because you review individual freelancers, it also seems to have some reliable measurement of quality, which is great. Anyways, there's my plug. Hopefully some of you can use this wonder...
Henna
Work was long and tiring today, so I was looking for something relaxing, but interesting, to do this afternoon. And because I clearly want to stand out here even more than I already did, I went to the local salon and got my hair henna-ed. I'd done it twice before (once, in Thailand, where Daniel and I washed it off in the Pacific Ocean) and was excited about doing it again, without the messiness of bright red hands and stained towels. It's totally fine, but I am now very much a redhead. Luckily, it will wash out before I get home, because it is a bit shocking.
The salon was really interesting though. The girl who got a haircut next to me left and then her hair was promptly swept up and gathered up into a ponytail. I'm not sure what they're going to do with it (I hear that the human hair extensions people buy in the U.S. often come from India, so perhaps it's being sold).
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