Out in the Field

With my job here I have the opportunity to travel around the state of Maharashtra. In an official capacity these are monitoring visits to evaluate how the program is doing in the field and to implement a volunteer management database. I get to go way off the beaten track and stay in villages that are beyond the reach of the Indian railway system, a very extensive system that is the world’s largest employer. These villages have been several hours away so traveling requires leaving the night before, spending the night on the bus, and arriving early in the morning to start a full day of field visits. After two full days of going from village to village we spend another night on the bus to come home and leave to start all over again. I’m a pretty light, fickle sleeper so I’m usually exhausted before the work day even starts. However I’m grateful for the opportunity to see how people outside of the major cities live. It’s been an eye-opening experience to say the least. Language is more of a barrier since fewer people advance in education. Through some tireless translation I’ve learned several of the obstacles that people must overcome.

In one village I visited were campaigns addressing three main issues: violence against women, caste discrimination, and education. In my field visits I didn’t meet a single woman, all meeting participants were men. Women in civic and social participation is abysmal, and their absence was disheartening. However there is a small group of women raising awareness about violence against women. Caste discrimination is present in urban areas, but it is in full force in the rural areas I visited. One brave young man from a lower caste campaigned for an open position on his village council but was defeated due to opposition of his caste background. He continues to campaign for social awareness and now serves on three village committees (unelected positions.) Another issue is education, families move where the crops are so their children do not receive consistent schooling. The organization I was visiting has set up programs for education gaps so children can make up for lost school time.

However I had some great Indian food, I’m getting decent at eating with my hands now, although I haven’t quite mastered only using my right hand. Traditionally eating with your left hand was seen as unclean, although this is not prevalent anymore. Tearing roti with one hand is pretty challenging and I don’t think I’ll master single-handed eating before I leave. 

Most meals consist of wrapping roti around an assortment of vegetables, using your hand of course.

Community center where one of the field meetings was held. The smoky column in the back is a Hindu shrine.

Women right beside the meeting who didn't want to participate, but wanted me to take pictures of them!

On my last day of field visits I came back by myself. Getting home involved taking a bus to Mumbai and another bus to Navi Mumbai. I thought to myself, taking a bus to Navi Mumbai doesn’t make sense because I could take the train and I’m sure there will be gridlock traffic. As the bus entered Mumbai, it turns out there was gridlock traffic. The conductor yelled out if anyone wanted to get off at Kurla. I have only been in Mumbai once but I recognized the name as a stop on the rail line I could take directly into Navi Mumbai. I said I wanted to get off the bus, so I leaped over a three foot wide puddle to land on the muddy streets of Mumbai. At this point I had been on the bus for five hours, since seven that morning, and was exhausted from days and days of field visits and traveling. The bus driver pointed me the way to the railway station and off I went. The sheer amount of people on the street would have been overwhelming enough, but navigating the traffic and muddiness tested my resolve. When I decided I was just going to get my feet muddy I almost ran into a cow and its huge pile of “fertilizer.” I then realized that I don’t mind mud on my feet but I do mind stepping in piles of fresh cow dung. Unfortunately there is no way to distinguish regular street mud from cow mud so I picked my steps carefully toward the train station. I tried three times to get an auto rickshaw to take me but it was just too close to be profitable for them, yet just far enough for me to know I had to focus on my end goal. About 15 minutes into my trek I was able to get a tuk tuk and got dropped off at the train station, where I was confronted with a mass of people which apparently were eight separate lines for the tickets. These eight lines were spilling out onto the streets. Completely disheartened I decided to ask two gentlemen where I could get a bus to Navi Mumbai. They asked why I would ever want to take a bus as that would take 2-3 hours with traffic and a train is only half an hour. I pointed to the line and they understood. One of them handed me a coupon and said, we need to find more. I had no idea what he was talking about but followed their lead as they began asking people for more coupons. Apparently these coupons are prepaid, and stamping them in a little machine at the station with the correct amount for your ticket will act as your train ticket. They asked several people if they could please spare a 10 rupee coupon, a 5 rupee coupon. I didn’t think this would work, why would people willingly give up these golden coupons that let you get onto the train without having to stand in a 100-person line? But it did, it did work. People did give these men their coupons. In about three minutes we had enough for my train fare, in fact we had more than enough. The men stamped my coupons and I ran toward the platform. I made it onto the next train and decided not to sit, but stand near the open door and get some fresh air. I had been reading articles on how sitting is bad for you and after sitting on buses for several days I decided I could stand for half an hour. I got to home/work just before lunch.

After days of being in the field and being astonished at the resolve of these people trying to make a difference against all odds, I was completely blown away by the kindness of these two men and all the strangers they asked for coupons. I’m sure they had somewhere they could have been, but these men went out of their way to find coupons for me; they did something for me I’m sure they wouldn’t have normally done for themselves. And yes, several people said no when asked if they could give up coupons, but many people said yes and some people even volunteered their coupons. I was just blown away. Yes people in India and everywhere face harsh adversity, but they have kindness that I haven’t seen often. Yes India can sometimes be dirty, but it has a clean heart.

Cows blocking my path to the bus door.

This is what I mean when I stood and got some fresh air on the train.

Expats and the Monsoon

Before coming to India I told myself I would make an effort to make friends with locals and limit the number of American friends I had. After leaving France I wish I had spent more time with French people and made some French friends. Part of an international experience is making international friends and speaking the language right? Well in India I have found it a little harder to make local friends. Firstly, men and women don’t usually hang out together so that eliminates half the population. Because of this, I’ve found that their attitude and interaction toward me tends to feel awkward and uncomfortable. I’m thinking that if single men only associate with women for romantic reasons, then that’s the way they are accustomed to interacting with women. Also, I’ve found that our interests and preferred topics of conversation don’t usually align so that is another obstacle to overcome. Anyway so that leaves women. But walking around India you will notice there are very few women just walking around outside. Add to this the same difficulty with topics of conversation and language and there is a real difficulty in meeting people.

After spending the day working with locals, I’ve decided that it won’t be so bad to have some expat friends here. It’s not France where I would spend class time and free time with Americans, here I can spend work time with locals and free time with Americans. So I’ve found a great group of women, all who are here because their husbands are here for work. This is the main difference between us but it’s been great talking with people who are going through the lifestyle changes I am. One of them is an American who has opened a shelter for street children (www.tenderhands.org). The best part may be that she also runs an American bakery, the proceeds from which benefit the shelter. This bakery is amazing, I have been missing American desserts the whole time I’ve been here and now I get to treat myself to the cupcakes, pies, and cookies I’ve been missing. I get a taste of home and supporting a good cause. Can’t get much better.

Otherwise the legendary monsoon has arrived. I was told the first couple days would be worse than the heat because it would be combined with the rain, making you feel like you’re in a steam room. But, knock on wood, it is now very cool. The cloud cover provides a buffer for the heat and there is a very refreshing cool breeze that comes with the rain. The only down side to the rain is that all the streets are muddy and going anywhere will mean you get soaked. Oh well, so far I am enjoying the relief from the heat. Hopefully I won’t be discouraged to do my regular grocery shopping. My coworker told me which shoes to buy for the monsoon. When we think of footwear for the rain we think of rain boots and galoshes so that our feet and clothes stay dry. He told me I should buy sandals made out of either rubber or plastic that have straps both around my foot and heel. The sandals are so that your feet will dry more quickly once you get out of the rain, and the rubber and plastic is so your shoes will also dry. Most shoes here are sandals, and most of these sandals only have on strap going across the top of your foot. However it is important to have these two sets of straps because when you walk on the streets, the water and mud levels will rise, and you risk getting your shoes stuck at each step because of the mud. Thus, the two straps will secure the shoes to your feet, and your feet, shoes, and pants will dry with the mud caked on them. I love the approach. In the States we avoid getting wet at all, with galoshes that sometimes go up to our knees or higher, and making sure we tuck our pants in. In India, you know you’re going to get wet, avoiding the water is almost impossible so face the problem head on and make preparations to make the aftermath easier. It’s great, I just need to get used to being muddy sometimes.

My awesome monsoon-proof shoes.

The view outside the entrance of where I work/live.