I can't remember all the times I've tried to tell myself to hold on to these moments as they pass.

Week One

Considering it was my first week on the job I was surprised that the OAB actually had something for me to do. We are told in ICO that building relationships with our work colleagues is of the utmost importance... and to focus on this rather than on specific tasks or even trying to imagine how you are going to complete your placement objectives. All week I was working with the computer instructor, Samad. He had a free week because his students were all writing exams. I was teaching him how to perform some tasks in Microsoft Excel and Access. He is a very polite man and a very keen learner. It is his job at the OAB to teach basic computing to the blind... some of which have had absolutely no experience with a computer. I felt the work I was doing in week one had a direct impact on the capacity of the organization to better train it's associates for potential job placement. I left the office everyday last week with a big smile on my face knowing that I have already positively influenced someone in the organization.


The gates of the OAB.


This cow is always around work.

Training Week (Week Two)

On Monday I arrived at the office not knowing that this was the starting day of a seven day computer training program for blind school teachers. This is the first time that the program has been done. The program starts the training at a very novice level and will eventually result (after many 7 day sessions) in the blind teachers imparting this knowledge to their students. (The ones lucky enough to have a computer in their schools.) There was an introduction ceremony that they included me to be a part of as I will be hanging around the lab and helping with instruction. I got to help light incense for a puja for the god Jagganath. Putting it in Judeo-Christian terms, a puja is a ritual like a blessing or praying. Jagganath is a deity who is well known in Orissa. He is known as the principle god of Orissa and is thought to be a re-incarnation of Vishnu. Vishnu is the head of the Gods in Hinduism. This puja is done whenever a new thing is started. At least this is what I understand. So, this is how we began the training week. Starting the program with this puja is like praying to bring good luck to the program and they believe that it will help make it successful.


Participating in the puja. Although you can't see, my shoes are off as part of the ritual.


Learning the basics of computer hardware.

Democratic Elections at the OAB

I found out that the OAB is a democratic NGO. This means that every three years there is a vote for those holding membership cards of the OAB. There are some 800 people across the province that participate in this. Only vision impaired people can be members of the OAB and so from this pool the candidates are nominated. I am lucky enough (perhaps unlucky if it really affects my role!) to be here through the election process which happens in June. I am happy to work for an NGO that operates in this way.


Statue of Lewis Braille at the OAB. I'm sure he would be proud of the politics.

I don't know what I'm doing!

So, my boss, the secretary of the OAB, gave me the task of putting together a "Rehabilitation Scheme" for disabled persons in India. This scheme is going to be considered by the state government. This scheme is to outline services and policies to be implemented by the public and private sectors for the inclusion of disabled persons. My first response was that is should be called an "Integration Scheme" because the language of the former suggests that persons can be cured of their disability... he listened to my suggestion but did not really respond to it. So, he gave me a booklet, from Canada actually, called "Bridging the Gap, Government of Canada Programs and Services of Interest to Canadians with Disabilities" as a guideline. I think I am tackling the task alright, my biggest problem being my ignorance of policies and schemes already in place. We are going to have a meeting about that next week.

My new best friends

My office has dogs! Dirty, strayish dogs but they enjoy the company of people and consider the halls of the OAB to be home. Kalu ("Blacky") is a vision impaired dog (he is missing an eye) so he fits in well.... he really resembles my family's dog Ben... just thinner.


Kalu.

Also, out back on the grounds there is a litter of young pups, 9 of them to be exact. One of them in particular has taken a liking to me and lets me pet him... I'm trying to be careful not to let him lick, scratch or bite me for fear of rabies. (Even though I am vaccinated the treatment plan has to be quick and it is lengthy, involving lots of needles) My research suggests that a dog has to be acting like it has rabies to spread it... someone correct me if I'm wrong! Anyway, my landlord is not fond of dogs but I want to see if I can adopt the one puppy with hopes of immigrating him to Canada upon my return. This is all dependent on the laws, vets, and landlord situation working out... that is a lot of factors.


The puppy posse.


My little guy.

Raw Mandeer

Mandeer is the Hindi word for temple. So, I was brought to Raw temple by a co-worker named Praygna. She showed me around and I asked if it would be alright if I could snap some pictures. (I got a couple but I didn't want to take too many, people were already staring at the foreigner.) It was neat to see how they pray to different gods as this temple housed shrines to a number of them. I had to wash my hands before entering and check my shoes at the door... for the cost of 1 rupee. People were all over the place, sitting on the floor, standing, lighting candles, and all engaged in personal prayer. It was interesting to watch.


Candle tree inside the temple.

AG Square

My roommate Jen and I have taken to shopping at AG Square. This is a very local market. The crowded square is a maze of stalls that sell household items, electronics and food. It is narrow, dusty and made for people much smaller than me so I often get held up at a human traffic jam as Jen slips by... she is a tiny woman. The locals are always surprised to see us there and Jen (who has been in Bhubaneswar for 4 months and has a better grasp on Oryia) overheard a man ask a shop owner "What are these two doing here?". We had a good laugh. Out back there is a produce market where the food is of much better quality than at the local Reliance Fresh (a grocery store chain) and at a much better price. The catch is you have to bring your own bags to carry the produce home.


Out in front of the square.


Inside the square.


Behind at the produce market.

Song from title: Long December by The Counting Crows

It's all thriller, no filler.

Train Journey

So, I boarded a train in Delhi at 5:20pm on Monday and I arrived in Bhunbaneswar on Wednesday at 1am. The train was only supposed to be 24-26 hours but it was about 7 hours behind schedule. The ride was interesting. I was booked in class 3A which is a sleeper class with no privacy whatsoever... for the night I was in a top bunk stuffed beside my guitar case and I could not really move much. Although there were four volunteers on the train we were seated separately. So in the morning I went to find Jen and to my surprise she had 6 bunks to herself. So I quickly grabbed my stuff and spent the rest of the time with her. We were tired and getting antsy around 4:30pm thinking that the train would be arriving soon. We pulled into the station at 1:30am and had to organize cars and get to our respective apartments. My wonderful roommate Jen was up and helped me settle in. She is really sweet, she made me a welcome sign and had made me tea!


I spent the first half of my trip up on the top bed above the seats...squeezed beside my guitar case.


Bhubaneswar

The day after arriving I spent some time with my landlord's wife, Guyatri, who insisted on cooking me breakfast! That was pretty sweet. She has since cooked for me a number of times, taken me shopping, introduced me to shop owners near by and is always checking in. She wants us to feel like family and told me that I can talk to her for any reason. I feel very lucky to be living in her house. (Her and her husband Sarada have the upper floor) I am so grateful for my accommodations.


My room

What Service!

FYI: I dropped my laptop and had to get it repaired... which explains the long gap between posts! Anyhow, I called a laptop repair company and the man came to my house, tried to fix the problem, took the computer away and dropped it off a few days later all for 2000rps (approx 45.00CA).... I'm still waiting on a new hard-drive (another 3000rps) but at least my computer is usable. Home service is big here. I opened a bank account from the comfort of my living room!

Orissa Association for the Blind, Day 1

I left my first day at the office at 12:30pm, after arriving for 10am. I was shown around the building a little and told that my secretary (the big cheese) is in Delhi until Friday. I had some nice chit chat time with some of my future colleagues in Hinglish... everyone's English is so much better than my Hindi. I am also trying to pick up Oryia which is the language of Orissa. I was told that there are over 800 languages (dialects on top of that) spoken in India... someone help me!

Some of my colleagues were asking me what class/caste I am from in Canada and it was difficult for me to explain that those systems are not like they are in India. They wanted to know the professions of my parents and if I was married and had children. I was also asked how much money I make in Canada and how much I am making here...it is common to ask someone how much money they earn as well. I have been told these questions are not rude and not meant to invade my privacy. This is how people understand how to address me and act towards me, they need to know where I fit into their social strata. Plus, I suspect there is some plain old curiosity mixed in.

I walked into the office with one goal in mind, a goal that I could not accomplish in one day. I wanted to leave the office with a letter to finalize the opening of my bank account. The letter is to state that I am working for the OAB for one year. I needed this printed on company letter head. I asked if I could write the letter to get the ball rolling, so I did. Then, there were many phone calls trying to get a piece of paper to print it on... they could not get one. That didn't matter so much because a woman (apparently my subordinate) did not show up for work and she has the key to the computer lab where I would have printed said letter, if I had paper. I did however have lots of time to chat and meet different people, including some of the children that attend classes at the organization... they were reading braille and were excited to meet me.

On a side note, I really enjoyed being in the office. Being around so many blind people made me feel normal. This is because I am stared at all the time, everywhere I go. People are always interested in the foreigner and I can feel eyes on me constantly. I suppose I am quite the site as I am white and tower over most men here. At the office I am not noticed, people walk by me without a glance and it's great.

http://oab.org.in/


Samad, the computer instructor, teaching the keys on keyboard

Shared Rickshaw

On last thing. I really enjoy the auto-rickshaws here because they are shared... they pull over at major intersections and you tell the driver where you want to go and cram in with the other passengers. For me to get to work I have to take two of them and it 5 rps for each leg of the journey. So round trip to work everyday is 20 rps (just below .50CAD). I like that I ride to work with others and some will try and speak English and want to know where I am from. I enjoy meeting people along the way and get a chance to practice some of my Oryia and Hindi... they can hardly understand what I am saying... I guess I'm that bad. I do also have trouble understanding their English with the heavy accents.. .so I suppose it is the same for them. It's fun nonetheless.


Standard rickshaw

Song from title: Operation by Jamie T

I want a better place or just a better way to fall.

Indian Cooking Lesson

On the last day of ICO (In Country Orientation) the volunteers were given a lesson in Indian cooking. We were taught the basics of using a pressure cooker for dal and how to use a tawa to cook roti. I got to make a dosa as well! Oh and aloo ghobi too. It was also our job to cook lunch for the VSO office employees... they said the end result was great!


chop chop chop

International Volunteer Day

On one of my free days I attended a presentation at the oldest high school in Delhi, I want to say it was called Queen Mary's School? I was invited by another Canadian VSO'er, Liam, who gave a lovely presentation on volunteering and successfully got the children passionate about it. All the students were invited to come clean the Yamuna that following Saturday as part of International Volunteer Day. The presentation was great and I got to say a few words about where I am from, why I volunteer and what I will specifically be doing for my NGO here. The students really surprised me with their ideas about getting involved and their ideas about what can be done about climate change... as the theme for IVD was environmental. It was nice to be around youth who are creative, passionate and willing to give their time.


Liam presenting at the school

All the VSO volunteers in ICO were welcomed to participate in cleaning the Yumana River too. So early that Saturday morning we loaded onto a bus that took us to the filthy banks. We arrived to see hundreds (if not thousands) of people wearing gloves and boots sifting the sands and the water to collect garbage. It is a regular practice for people to bring their household waste and just toss it in the river... very different from anything I know in Canada. Even as we were cleaning people on the bridge that could see our efforts would dump their litter. I found this frustrating and yelled a little... in English but I think the message was understood, but not complied with.


Cleaning the river

Man, that water was dirty! It is shocking for me to see a body of water in that state. It looked black and it wreaked. I doubt that it could support any wildlife! So, we cleaned for a couple hours, which entailed sifting garbage and putting it into large bowls then dumping the bowls into piles on the beach... I never saw what came of those piles that we left behind. Even with thousands of hands we did not make a dent... and I mean not even a dent in the areas that we were literally standing on. The job is too massive for one day of effort. There needs to be more education about pollution, a service for people to get rid of their garbage (I suspect that most of this garbage comes from slums where regular garbage removal is non existent) and enforced laws about dumping. In a country with many more pressing issues I can see why ones like this get left out of the equation. The day was more about promoting volunteering than cleaning the river but I found the state of the water to be more than a little disheartening.


Yamuna water

At the clean up there were speeches and performances to keep us going. I really enjoyed the music and hung out close to the stage. I wished that I could have helped more but I was not feeling well that day... I stuck it out though. Performances were by Indian Ocean, Menwhopause and Terra Naomi. They were all quite good. I even got the drummer from Indian Ocean to autograph my my arm. Rock on!


:D


Indian Ocean

Ghandi Memorials

Finally, I made it out to some of the cities Ghandi memorials for Mahatma Gandhi. It was interesting to get a glimpse at a part of India's history. My favourite (albeit, in my opinion a little morbid) was the Mahatma Gandhi memorial where he was assassinated. It has in stone his last steps and a gazebo where he was shot. I enjoyed seeing where he lived for the last part of his life and was amazed at the small amount of possessions that he had left behind.


Ghandi's last steps


AM, where Ghandi died (I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to smile or what)


What he left behind when he died (sorry for the glare)

Song from title: Bukowski by Modest Mouse