Why did the tofu cross the road?

Road rules apply.

2010-10-08T02:27:00.000-07:00

OAB Update

After two weeks back to work I have won my battle with my NGO and they provided a computer for me that will host my job matching software. I was really beginning to think that it may never happen and that I would have to go home without seeing this year of work finally coming together. I have successfully set up the software in the office and I am now chasing the OAB around for people to train... I keep reminding myself that this is India and this is how things work. Come to think of it the Commonwealth Games fiascos in India over the past little while are a really good picture of how things in India get done. I notice again and again that things do happen but with little planning and last minute luck. It's sort of like this:

Don't talk about upcoming events, holidays, or goings-on until shortly before they happen.
Throw a plan together and execute quickly and sloppily without too much attention to detail.
Invite import guests and audiences the day before or the day of events.(In my case I hope my training is not like that)
Frantically call for banners, programmes, prizes, tiffins and flowers very close to the event.
Begin the event about an hour later than scheduled while still setting up.
Complete the event a little off schedule typically meeting your goals.
Rejoice that everything worked out despite the amount of stress and running around it took to get things done.
Don't learn from this process and repeat for everything that needs doing.

OK. So I realize this is a big generalization and yes I'm sure that not every NGO, business and person is like this in India but it is something that volunteers talk about again and again. This is how I have seen most programmes, workshops and seminars put together at my work and I have heard story after story from volunteer friends that add up to the same. At this point we just laugh and repeat our mantra “This is India!”

So, I am now again waiting on my NGO to provide me people to train... even though I handed them a paper with instructions, dates and times and all they have to do is “fill in names here”. My plan is to stay home writing out a plan for my training and making two manuals (one without pictures to be printed in Braille) and hope that my not being there will prompt them to do work for me.... it has worked in the past. At least I have something to keep myself busy.

Here are some stories and highlights of the issues with the facilities at the common wealth games. This situation highlighted perfectly how things are "planned" in India.

Dirty Washrooms Picture from www.theage.com.au

Collapsed Bridge Picture from www.heraldsun.com.au

JB

It has been a dream of mine to adopt a street dog since I came to India. After a lot of research, planning and finding a good vet in Bhubaneswar I was able to bring my doggie home. The experience has been bittersweet because I had picked out a dog that I called “Jaggy” (after Lord Jagannath) and told him that I would take him in from his street life when I returned back from Canada. He was living outside my work and I would visit him everyday... I have know him and his litter since they were nursing last December. Unfortunately I have not been able to find him since I have come back. I'm hoping he has settled down somewhere else and is not hurt or dead. I waited as long as I could (there are timed vaccinations I wanted done before Canada) and then chose another puppy that I had befriended that is actually from the same Mother... meaning that he is Jaggy's brother. So, Shea and I have named him JB as a tribute to our lost dog and I have had him with me at home and in the office for about a month. He is smart, playful and sweet. Can't wait to get him to Canada.

A day before I took him home.

Sleeping on his bed.

Exploring.

Song from title: Shirts and Gloves by Dashboard Confessional

I throw my hands up in the air sometimes. Saying "AYO!" Gotta let go! I want to celebrate and live my life. Saying "AYO!" Baby let's go!

2010-09-20T01:44:00.000-07:00

Home and Back Again

After a much need hiatus back in my home country I have returned to Bhubaneswar now more motivated and focused on completing my placement. I had travelled home to attend my sister's wedding and took a couple weeks to catch up with family, friends and camp (it's what Canadians do!).

Canada was a whirlwind of activity that was over all too quickly. It was hard to part with my loved ones especially my fiance for the third time this year but I am taking comfort knowing it is the last time... and I can really only describe this feeling by quoting no other then Homer J. Simpson: "NEVER LEAVE AGAIN"... even though I'm the one that is leaving.

Leaving had allowed me to rediscover India and really pinpoint all of the things that I will be missing when I'm home for good... aside from the obvious like my roomie Jen and my great friend Prangya. I'll give you the short list (in no particular order):

Volunteers (I have made some great friends and it will be hard to leave not knowing when and if we will meet again.)
My workmates and OAB members (I still have people that stop by my office and thank me for just being here.)
Food (such good vegan food.... and the "veg" and "non-veg" menus everywhere making it really easy to eat vegan)
My animal friends. (I have routines with certain dogs, cats and cows...including pets, snacks and general greetings. I doubt anyone else will be showing them the love and attention that I have been providing.)
Dancing at HHI Underground. (Our western-ish club hangout on Saturday nights where we do our best Bollywood dancing to pop-Hindi and our special cars home thanks to the wonderful management who always take care of us.)
My many rickshaw drivers who always go out of their way to say hello and get me where I'm going.

... I'll leave it at that. More to come on this subject as I'm settling in at home.

Highlights from my trip home.

Taking part in my sister's wedding. A truly amazing day.

Happily walking with alcohol in hand... nothing to be ashamed of here.

Playing games with niece and nephews.

Blowing out the candles on my vegan birthday cake.

Hearing the ringing of silence while staring out at beautiful Algonquin park. (no screeching horns, no chai-wallahs calling, no cows mooing, nothing!)

Song from title: Dynamite by Taio Cruz

I watch you braid your hair, you're from another time when the earth wasn't so angry and god was on our side.

2010-08-15T01:02:00.000-07:00

Social Work for Persons with Disabilities Book Launch

On the 7th of August my dear friend and workmate Prangya Behera released a book that she wrote entitled "Social Work for Persons with Disabilities". It was great to see her hard work come to fruition. The function was a success from start to finish and everyone seemed engaged and happy for her. The inauguration seemed to have all the components that one would come to expect at such and event in India:

1)A banner with the event name and date.
2)Esteemed guests that will sit onstage throughout the function.
3)A lamp pooja to bless the event.
4)Videographers and photographers.
5)News Station reporters.
6)Tiffin. (A box filled with Indian snacks. My favourite!)

Prangya's book is a collection of Indian law pertaining to disability as well as a guide for Community Based Rehabilitation(CBR) Programs. The book is meant for persons with disabilities, students of social work and social workers. She has been selling copies to individuals and is in contact with multiple universites in hopes to have professors use it as a teaching tool. Please contact me if you wish to know more about the book and I will put you in touch with the author.

The Banner.

Presider of the function.

Lighting the Lamp.

Unveiling the book.

Buying the book after the function.

Lunch time offering song

Every day at the OAB (while school is in session for the visually impaired students) there is lunch served in the canteen. Before eating a song is performed to offer their lunch to the gods. Only after this offering can everyone enjoy their food. Hearing the singing always puts a smile on my face. Here you go...

Hindu offering song.

Flag Hoisting Ceremony

August 15th was Independence Day in India. This year marked the 53rd celebration of being free from British rule and India's birth as a sovereign nation. In India it seems that holidays are to be spent with co-workers and family. A typical holiday involves heading to work early to celebrate with colleagues before heading home to celebrate with loved ones. My work is no exception, so I got up extra early and made it to the hoisting ceremony for 7am. It was a lot of speeches, songs and chanting around the flag.

The hoisted flag.

Ceremony around the blessing powder placed on the ground.

Indian National Anthem

Song from title: Temazcal by Monsters of Folk

I drove five-hundred thousand miles to find a world unlike my own and now the middle of nowhere seems like my home.

2010-07-31T02:05:00.000-07:00

Bakul School Foundation Canadian Story Time

July 17th was my debut as the Canadian story time teller. I made a power point presentation which seemed to go over well with the kids. There were no words, just pictures of me, my family, friends, Niagara Falls, Toronto, snow and Canadian landmarks and animals. I wanted the children to understand a little about me and where I'm from. I also explained our flag and the maple leaf which was a good segway into maple syrup and the pancakes that I had made for everyone. The food was a real hit and I had kids coming back for seconds.

Finding Canada on the globe.

AnnMarie's life in Canada presentation.

Kids eating up the pancakes.

Love his face!

I read them a Robert Munsch book called Purple, Green and Yellow. It was a fun story and the kids seemed into it. I was even asked for two autographs post reading! I'm a star! So, it is now my mission to beef up the book collection with some more stories by Canadian authors. They definitely need more Munsch! I'll be flying some books back with me after my sister's wedding next month so please feel free to pass on titles and authors... or even books.

The book.

Reading!

OAB Update

Progress or no progress? that is the question. Things work sooooo slowly here. I actually staged a one day strike saying that I was not coming into the office until the new administration was ready to sit down and see a software demo from me. They kept pushing the meeting off and not showing up and making excuses so I got a little desperate. One day off work and they were ready to see the software. Now they are getting quotes for servers based on my specs and have plans to open a job matching lab. Seems to me like they were impressed with how well it worked with the screen-reader.

After the meeting they even narrowed my role over my last three months here.
1.Set up the job matching web application.
2.Training staff how to use it
3.Train staff/members computer skills (I get to train the elite computer users on more advanced computing techniques so that they can pass down their knowledge in the future.)

So now I am awaiting the server(for 1.5 months!) and doing as much training as I can. Feeling a little frustrated but hope that things are on track before I leave for Canada for my sister's wedding.

Song from title: My Hotel Year by The Ataris

The choo-choo train left right on time. A ticket costs only your mind.

2010-07-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

Rath Yatra

July 13th was the festival of Rath Yatra which centres around Lord Jagannath. This festival recreates a trip that the god took to his aunt's house and gives a chance for non-hindus to see Jaggy pulled through the streets on a wooden chariot along with his brother and sister. The largest gathering for this celebrations happens to be in Puri which is a beach-town near by Bhubaneswar. Millions of people from all over India and the world make the pilgrimage to Puri in cars, trains, planes, motorbikes, cycles and on foot. Some people walk for days and days. Luckily my group reached Puri by air conditioned car.

The carts at the starting line.

The growing crowd.

Religious dancing.

The crowd was huge! (I've heard approx 1.7 million) There were groups of people singing, praying, chanting and dancing in the street. There were lots of volunteers for the event including water sprayers, medical professionals (I noticed the Red Cross was a presence) and lots of businesses giving away food. The crowd was a little intense for us and we managed to score a roof top spot for the main event. Even though we were far enough away from the beatings of police and the general stampede Lucy managed to get hit in the head with a sacrificial coconut from Jagannath's chariot. On the ground it is considered very auspicious to grab the ropes and help lead the gods on their journey but people were over enthused and attempting to pull at the wrong times and the police were beating them off the ropes with batons and full 2L water bottles. We could hear the contact of their weapons from the roof top.

Police manning the restricted ropes area.

Pulling.

Cart getting closer.

Wheels of the carts. It is very auspicious to die by throwing yourself under the wheels. Thankfully, this did not happen this year.

Priests and holy people on the cart. (Apparently they pay lots of money to be there)

I enjoy the wooden horses that are ceremonially whipped.

Food thrown from the carts is shared in the crowd. Yummy coconut!

Cart Pulling in action!

We made our way through the crowd after the chariots passed on our way back to base (aka Lucy's place) and I could not believe the blatant groping. Men were grabbing at my boobs, my butt and anywhere they could get their hands. I thought it was ridiculous and it sucks that that sort of behavior might stop me from seeing events like this in the future. All in all it was a good day.

Cooling off with my complimentary cardboard visor and water pouch.

Song from title: My Name is Jonas by Weezer

I see your true colours shining through...

2010-07-19T00:07:00.000-07:00

Bhubaneswar PRIDE

Saturday the 3rd was a busy day. On my way to meet with my friend Sujit to discuss my future story telling at his foundation I met up with the Bhubaneswar Pride Walk 2010. It was really a sight to been seen in this sometimes backwards state. I was feeling kinda bummed that weekend because I was missing Toronto Pride which really is one of the best weekends in my city. So, I was thrilled to see men wearing wigs, make-up and saris! Women were a presence as well but none in elaborate clothing. Everyone looked fabulous! As happy and great as everyone looked I had to remember that this event is less of a celebration of lifestyle and more of a fight for equal rights. People involved with the walk handed out pamphlets about LGBT rights and lifestyles. I noticed a large number of police but I didn't see any one trying to interfere with the walk or be disrespectful. I stood beside the group and their giant rainbow flag and chanted "same sex same rights!" before I had to be on my way. It was really spectacular to see this movement here.

The Pride walk coming up to Ram Mandeer.

Pride Truck.

Rally (which VSOers are supposed to avoid) so I took my pics and got out of there.

Bakul School Foundation Story Time

I visited Bakul School Foundation shortly after the meet-up with the Pride Walk to see fellow volunteer Paul read an Australian story for English story time. Only two children came but the show went on. I have agreed to a reading on July 17th and plan to read a Robert Munsch book.

Paul pointing out Australia on the globe.

Paul reading the story.

I'll also have the opportunity to share a little bit about my home country before the story begins. I will be pointing out Canada on the world map and showing off the flag. I also want to talk to the kids a little bit about animals and being a vegan so I will come ready with pictures of Canadian animals like moose and beavers. I'm also planning to make some pancakes to be topped with some real Canadian maple syrup I have in the house. I figure I will share some of this precious commodity because it is for an educational purpose. More to come after my story session. Learn more about Bakul here.

Poster for the reading featuring yours truly.

Kolkata Part Two

This past weekend I traveled with some fellow Bhubaneswarians to Kolkata. It was a time to relax with other English speakers and enjoy the perks of a big city. We visited an art gallery (where I purchased a gorgeous purse), a mall that had a Lush (where I purchased None of your Beeswax Vegan Lip Balm) and we sat for hours talking in the local coffee shop (partly because the service was so slow and partly because it was nice to be around some many other expats). Other highlights for me were: taking the subway, eating at McDonald's (vegan options of course) and sitting around the Sunflower singing and playing songs. I really love the feel of Kolkata and hope that I can return there at least once more before I leave India.

Pictures from the weekend:

Passing over Howrah bridge.

Our lovely accommodations.

Salty lime sodas being made.

Peter Cat menu. Love the name of this restaurant.

Peter Cat food... which I think made me sick but it was still really good!

Viva la communism!

Cool cemetery.

A man walking a goat and a monkey. Funny to see but the reality is animal exploitation.

Song from title: True Colours by Cindy Lauper

People don't dance no more, they just stand there like this. They cross their arms and stare you down and drink and moan and dis.

2010-07-07T05:05:00.000-07:00

IPAP Meeting

Lucy, Jen and I all attended an meeting for IPAP( International Partnerships Agreement Programme) which equates to a network of NGOs in Orissa. The meeting was held over two days at HHI... which coincidentally is the hotel with the night club where we dance. It was interesting to see the place in the light of day. The goal of IPAP is for all civil society associations to come together and work together for advocacy programs that address social exclusion. Now, it seems to me that us volunteers were invited to see how it all works but were not encouraged to really participate. We mainly just sit there to give the appearance of an international presence. That's fine with me because I think the ideas and game plan should come from the NGOs themselves.

Not a conference without a banner.

I have issues with these sorts of conferences.... for one they never start on time. Once we had one start over an over and a half late just waiting for people to show up. Usually these things run behind schedule and you end up skipping sections and discussions entirely. Second, they are always in nice hotels...nicer than they have to be and I feel that the money in these programs should and could be better spent. Everyone likes conferences and they may be a perk in the corporate world but for the non-profit and NGO sectors they can be frivolous. How do you justify these lavish events to your donors? So after two days of discussion I am not really sure what conclusions were reached.

OAB Presentation.

The one thing I made note of was how they plan to continue their planning and discussion: email. This is a sore note for me because the NGO that proposed the idea has yet to respond to a very well written, researched and helpful email that I wrote to them. They asked me to be involved with a software project and so I wrote to them and did not receive even an acknowledgment...They claim to have never received it which is an excuse I hear again and again... if you don't know how to check a junkmail folder then perhaps you shouldn't be using email as a means of communication for your NGO! After late meetings and lost emails I am totally unmotivated to help them with this project. I'd rather work for my NGO where I feel appreciated and valued. (Ok, bitch session over.)

Meet Hercules

I purchased a gently used bicycle from an existing volunteer and I have started riding my bike to work on the crazy streets. I got into a small accident on my first day riding to work. I met head on with a motor bike who was of course heading in the opposite direction on the wrong side of the road. I was on the shoulder (where cycles should be) and about to duck behind a rickshaw that was pulling out. Then a motor bike came swerving around the rickshaw and slammed into my bike. The bike took the brunt of the trauma. I walked away with a few bruises on my shin. If a pedestrian had been there I think they would have sustained some more serious injuries. The bike is a little warped but I got him patched up.

My trusty cycle.

The name running across the frame of the bike is Hercules and after he so graciously saved me from getting hurt I think it seems appropriate to stick with that.

Another 'typical' lunch at the OAB

Last Friday there was a buzz in the air about lunch at the OAB. Apparently a man decided to donate lunch to our organisation that day. I asked around but could not find out why exactly he had decided to do this. It looked to me like the food actually came from a temple because it had been cooked in clay pots. There were various veg curries and tonnes of rice. Everyone at the OAB filed in to our "special events" room and took a seat in a very orderly fashion without being directed. I help set out plates and scooped food for as many as I could before I was told to sit down and eat myself. I enjoyed pitching in and making sure that my VI peeps get fed before I can sit and relax. The food was really good and I hope that we can have it again soon.

Various veg dishes that all sort of look the same... tastes were very distinct though.

Rice getting portioned out.

The final product.

Song from title: Whoo! Alright- Yeah... Uh Huh

Twenty years asleep before we sleep forever.

2010-06-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

Traffic laws getting enforced?

A little while ago on my way home with my roommate Jen I witnessed a rare phenomena at Kolpana Square. The police were actually pulling over motorbikes for violating the helmet law. In Bhubaneswar (and I think across India) it is mandatory for the driver of a motorbike to be wearing a helmet. This law is seldom enforced and tonnes of people break it. It was nice to see people receiving their fines and warnings... so I took a few snaps of the displeased offenders.

Tickets being handed out.

Before you ask, the law is indeed only for the drivers of the motorbikes. Passengers are free to ride without a helmet. I am not sure of the reasoning behind this because I feel that passengers are just as likely to receive a head injury in the case of an accident.

Jens' Birthday

My roommate Jen and another Bhub volunteer also named Jen have birthdays that are two days apart. So we threw a joint birthday party for them. Jen G. (my roommate) cooked up some meat delicacies while I made sure there was vegan food for all. We spent the night chatting over drinks and eating way too much food. The birthday celebration was official when Lucy went around smashing cake into the faces of the birthday girls.... a long standing Indian tradition.

Jens' feed each other cake.

Jen G. getting cake-faced by Lucy!

My animal friends

I have been in India for almost eight months and I am still fascinated by the animals that I see everyday. I constantly find myself watching the cows, dogs, goats, and pigs that can be found on the streets.

Pigs in Koraput.

At work I have a routine. I get in, settle down and try to cool off. As I am setting up my computer and waiting for it to start up I walk to the back of the OAB and whistle. I have about four pups that come running and I run around with them and make sure that they get some water. Everyone at the OAB refers to those puppies as "Madam's dogs".

Cows are everywhere and seem to have more of a presence on the street now that the weather is cooling off. I really enjoy how the cows make a claim to their space and will lay down for hours in the middle of streets and intersections. Cows learn quickly that nobody will mess with them so they walk confidently into moving traffic knowing that the cars and trucks will avoid them. In India it is the responsibility of the public to care for the street cows. I take on this tradition and hold on to left over fruits and vegetable pieces and feed my "regular" cows as often as possible. Most of the cows I see are in poor health and in desperate need of more than just food scraps.

Cow in the middle of a busy street. (Lewis Road near Ravie Talkies Square)

Song from title: Set Yourself on Fire by Stars

Life is too short so love the one you got 'cause you might get run-over or you might get shot.

2010-06-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

It's Koraput-town

Recently I travelled to Koraput with some of my Bhubaneswar Posse to visit some VSO volunteers. They promised us food and fun and we promised to get them random and luxurious items from the big city. Such items included muesli cereal, Earle-gray tea, maple syrup, wine and baguettes. Margret and Jan were in the midst of leaving and therefore holding an auction to sell some their household items to raise money to benefit girl child education in Ramgiri. I scored a few things for my kitchen in exchange for some wine.

Bhub Posse looking fresh after our 14-hour train journey. (Photo courtesy of Paul Drielsma.)

Sarah, Susie and Corey.

The weekend was wonderful. The weather stayed nice and cool with only a bit of sunshine. We had a top notch tour from our guide Jan at the Koraput Jagannath temple. We had a blast checking out the local market that was bustling on Sunday afternoon.

Going up the steps to the Jagannath Temple.

Jagannath (far right) with his brother Balavadra (far left) and sister Suvadra (centre)

Koraput Market. (Photo courtesy of Paul Drielsma.)

It was nice to catch up with volunteers and relax with good food, friends, music and gorgeous scenery. Kudos to Magaret, Jan, Gina and Corey for the lovely meals!

Koraput sunset over the hills.

OAB Update

I finally had a chance to sit down with my new secretary. It turns out that I had already met him a few times but I just didn't know his name. So, it seems he is interested in my job matching software and wants to improve his computer skills. I advised him to employ one of the OAB members to train him on basic computer skills and then I will show him how my software works. I'm trying to get him to utilize people that stay at the hostel so that they can earn and not have to rely on the OAB so much. I'm not sure that it was well received because they would rather have the help for free.

Otherwise things are going well. I have taken on a light project which is reformatting all the computers in the lab and making them consistent. I should be finished soon.

I'm A Botanist

While in Koraput Margaret handed out the last of her herb seeds to us visitors. I have since started an herb garden on my front porch. I even took a short walk around the neighbourhood collecting cow pies to fertilize my plants. I did have some strange looks that day as I was scooping it up into a bucket on the street. Apparently this job is reserved for lower caste people. I even had a guy come and ask me what I was up to. Regardless, it seems to be working because my herbs have been planted for one week and I am seeing some of them spring up. I just hope I can keep them alive!

Day 1.

Moon flowers after 1.5 weeks. The only plant I can not eat.

Arugula after 1.5 weeks.

Song from title: What I Got by Sublime

This is a call to arms to live and love and sleep together. We could flood the streets with love or light or heat, whatever.

2010-06-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

Tukuli's Wedding

I recently attended a wedding reception for a colleague of mine. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the ceremony because it was held in Cuttuck (about a 45 min drive away) and rains had spoiled our plans to attend. The reception was a couple days later and held at the OAB. I really like weddings here. Basically there are no seating charts or even enough seats for all the guests. It is buffet style eating with two buffets of course: veg and non-veg. This wedding even had a Gup Chup booth and a Chaat booth. Mmmmm good eats. Most guests come, present gifts, eat and go. A reception is more like a revolving door of friends and well wishers. I stayed under two hours and got a chance to mingle with friends from work and meet many people who were interested in the foreigner at this affair.

I took this event as the perfect opportunity to buy myself a sari. Auntie, which is what I call my land lady, helped me get dressed.

Veg food on a banana leaf plate. So good!

Presenting gifts to the bride and groom.

A pan of the wedding.

OAB Elections

June 6th was the day that all members of the Orissa Association for the Blind came out to vote for the NGO's top positions. I gladly went into the office on that Sunday to observe how they did it. I even took over some of the responsibilities to give my workmates a break. For a while I crossed off names (which I pronounced horribly!) and helped people into the voting area. It was a real treat to see the proud faces of everyone contributing to this organisation that fights for them. The amazing energy in the building that day was something only to be experienced.

The actual voting was interesting to learn about. All of the voting members were given a specified number of cards which had their identity number on it. After being marked with ink on their hand (to show they had voted) the members went being the curtain where there were various boxes for all the elected positions like general secretary, president and treasurer. The boxes were marked in Braille as well as large print English and Oryia with the names of the candidates. The voting member then would drop their card in the prefered box.

Members getting identity cards and numbers.

Crossing people off the list.

Confirming identity outside of the voting curtains.

Later that evening I received I phone call from my friend Prangya to inform me that the general secretary position (that of my boss) had went to his opponent. The office is closed until June 16th and I am a bit nervous to try and establish a relationship with the new secretary...as he will probably be extremely busy settling into his new role. I guess I will just have to wait and see.

Song from title: The Youth by MGMT

There's things I want. There's things I think I want. There's things I've had. There's things I wanna have.

2010-05-18T15:58:00.000-07:00

6 Month Reflection

May 10th marked my six month anniversary of being here in India. Passing this point has been great for my mental health. I feel as though I'm on the home stretch. In my short time in this incredible country I have learned so much about myself and about life in a developing country. Getting the chance to live “inside” another culture has been frustrating, rewarding, confusing and fun! I have learned a lot about different religions, politics, family relations, music, dancing, and art. AND the food is amazing!

There is not a day that goes by that I am not truly reminded of why I'm here and why I chose to be a volunteer. Everyday I see hungry people, people with leprosy, uneducated people, unclean streets, dirty drinking water, and shoeless children roaming the city picking up trash. Persons with disabilities are treated as second class citizens. Girls and women are passed over for opportunities that are given to boys and men simply because of their gender. These issues and more are faced by the majority of people in the world. Most people do not live like we live in the west. Most live like people in India. Despite all this I feel hopeful that these things will change. That's why I'm here after all. I'm hoping that my small contribution to this one NGO will make life better for some and inspire others to continue with this movement of change.

In Canada I sometimes felt alone with my concerns about those who are struggling and suffering in the developing world. I was kept awake at night thinking about hunger, child labour, female infanticide, people dying of diseases for which we have a cure... and the list goes on. (All this on top of my usual concerns for animal rights. :P) I got tired of all this thinking, philosophizing and worrying and decided that I would be active about it. Hence my interest in volunteering.

Thinking about life at home I understand why it is so easy to ignore this suffering. We don't see it... or if we do happen to catch a glimpse of it on tv we think to ourselves 'isn't that too bad' and then carry on without responsibility and without conviction. If one person suffers then we all suffer. In this mindset I am not a woman, a Canadian, a software developer, a marathon runner or a vegan. I am a citizen of the world. I am trying to find that human connection that goes beyond our the superficial way in which we often define ourselves. It was not my choice to be born in Canada. However, through my random luck I have the privilege and opportunity to be able to improve life for a small few and in doing so I hope to inspire others to do the same.

All that being said. I am not without gain from this experience. No one is that altruistic. (Nietzsche would say that ALL of my actions and thoughts are self-serving). Getting involved with VSO has allowed me to meet some pretty spectacular people. Volunteers that are willing change their lives in the hopes that it brings about something positive for someone else. So, I no longer feel alone in the way that I think. I have met some wonderful employees at the OAB who are truly inspiring and really think outside of the box. I have made connections with people that I hope are life long and I already dread having to say goodbye when the time comes. For the first time in my life when I come home from work at the end of the day I feel good about what I am doing. I get to serve and advise people that are truly deserving and I feel really appreciated by them.

This experience has also allowed me to examine the relationships with my friends and family back home. It's very humbling to have unwavering support from those I love. I am constantly getting words of encouragement and I want to say that every letter, card, drawing, email, chat message and skype call are appreciated. Without this I would not be as successful as I have been. Thank you to all that read this.

Here's to another fabulous six months!

Song from title: Just Looking by Stereophonics

Somethin's shakin' early in the mornin'. People movin', tryin' to be free. If you listen you can hear them. Don't they sound like you and me?

2010-05-10T22:48:00.000-07:00

Getting back to work

Heading back to the office after vacation is always difficult. Knowing that my time here is finite and going by faster than I had imagined made me feel anxious to get back to work and see my co-workers. I found that it was best to throw myself back into my normal routine right away which meant going back to the gym after two weeks off. I'm happy to report I survived parting with Shea (again!) and everything feels back to normal.

Work has picked up since I got back. I was able to set up a file share for the office on an old computer that was not in use. I also plan to use this computer as my server for the internal web application that I am writing. I hope to be done writing code within a month. Testing to follow that. I hope to start training staff on how to use the software and have them help out with the testing. So far I feel that I have been able to be very productive with my work, possibly because until this point I have not had to rely on others to get things done. I'm really hoping that the OAB will be able to dedicate time to learning how to use this software along with other computing basics. The training phase of the work will make or break my placement... if the software is never used then my placement objectives will not have been met. However, I have passed on a wealth of information outside of my goals on paper that I feel good about.

Tidbit of everyday life: laundry

Ok, some of you may or may not know that most people in India do laundry by hand... and I am one of them. So, for the last six months I have learned to soak, scrub, rinse, hang and repeat every couple of days. Never again will I complain about having to run to the basement to “throw a load in”. I now have to spend hours of my week getting my clothes, towels and sheets clean. Here's how I do it:

Supplies: bucket, soap and a scrub brush. (I happen to use 3-4 buckets and separate my colours.)

Soak clothes overnight and remove water.

Scrub clothes vigorously paying special attention to armpits, pant cuffs, etc. and rinse thoroughly.

Proceed with clothes to the roof for drying.

Roof!

Scan neighbouring balcony for the creepy guy that watches me hang my clothes. For once he is not there!

To save on clothes pins be sure to overlap adjacent items.

Wait 2-3 hours for the sun to do it's magic and then collect. Voila!

Next time you do your laundry give your washing machine a little hug for me. Let it know it is appreciated.

Song from title: Somethin's Shakin' by David Wilcox

Your smile is fine and it's just like mine and it won't go away.

2010-04-30T02:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's been about a month since my last post... I know blogger's faux pas number one. However, in my defense, I embarked on an intense India tour during the hottest season. To make up for my lack of posts this past month here is blogger faux pas number two: an extremely long post about the awesome adventure I had with Mr. Michael Shea! As a special treat Shea agreed to help out and guest write about our West to East journey across this incredible country. Enjoy!

Delhi

Shea writes:
My first stop in India was the city of Delhi, and it was there that I first noticed many features of India that I became used to (or at least not terrified by) over the next two weeks.

First of all – India is full of people! So many people, everywhere, all the time! All of them want to look at you, although the staring isn’t as bad for men as it is for women. If I stared back at a man looking at me, he would usually drop his gaze before too long. Lots of them also want to talk to you. I must have said No (or the Hindi equivalent, “Nah / Nahi”) more times during my stay in India than I ever have before in my life. Adults are very talkative – sometimes they’re trying to sell you something, or convince you to go visit a store that they get a commission from, and sometimes they just want to know where you’re from, or to take a picture of themselves with you. Children yell hello at you, and are entertained if you yell it back.

Secondly, India is full of smells both good and bad (maybe a bit more bad than good, though) and garbage. There is garbage everywhere! At first I tried to find receptacles to put my trash in, but after the first day or so, I generally settled for finding pre-existing piles of garbage. Cows and dogs eating garbage is a common sight.

Delhi’s traffic is, in a word, chaotic. This is the case everywhere, but I think it was worse in Delhi than anywhere else. Rickshaw drivers in Delhi were extremely lazy – they would often just refuse to go where you wanted to, without even discussing the price.

Highlights of my visit to Delhi:
· Parawthe Wala. The paranthas at this place were the tastiest food I had in India and, therefore, the tastiest food I have ever had. As far as I can tell, a parantha is some sort of fried dough with “stuff” cooked into it... like, bananas or tomatoes or onions or whatever. And they give you some other stuff to dip the parantha into. Mmmm.

Paranthas: 1 cashew and 1 tomato.

· The ear cleaning guys in Cannaught Place. These guys wander around the park and strike up conversations with foreigners. They show you their little book containing testimonials from all of the other folks who have undergone ear-cleaning. Then they offer to just take a look in your ear. Do not allow them to do this, unless you are willing to actually have the full cleaning - it is very hard to say no to a person who has a sharp metal stick stuck in your ear. Anyway – the guy pulled all sorts of gross muck out of my ear, and then wiped it on his hand and showed it to me, to demonstrate just how gross my ears really were. While this was going on, a shoe cleaner guy, presumably smelling blood in the air, came by and cleaned my shoes for me. Since I still had the sharp stick in my ear, I was also unable to protest this vigorously enough, and ended up paying for a completely useless shoe cleaning as well. All told I think the experience cost me about 5 bucks.
· Seeing my lovely fiancée, AnnMarie, for the first time in over 5 months!

Touring Old Delhi via cycle richshaw.

Jaipur aka The Pink City

AM writes:
We woke up early to board our AC bus to Jaipur and, after our driver circled a few times, we found the bus stand. We also showed up empty-handed after the internet said that we didn't need to print our tickets... this created a slight problem but luckily I asked the staff at the bus stop to check the manifest for our names, and they let us board. It took about 6 hours to reach Jaipur but we were kept company by a friend, Vijay, that we made on the bus. He also helped negotiate a rickshaw to our hotel, Umaid Bhawan which was really lovely. We began and ended our days in Jaipur in the great pool at our hotel which neglected to post a "no diving sign" that we took full advantage of. The breakfast buffet was served on the roof and was really tasty. Shea and I both loved our stay at the Umaid and so I feel the need to advise future travelers to stay there too! (book with Expedia and your breakfast and internet are included!)

View from our balcony.

Elephant wall paintings in our room.

The heat in Jaipur was intense so we hired a driver in an AC car to tour the city. He took us to various temples and mahals. My favourites being Hawa Mahal and City Palace. The architecture of the city is amazing and colourful! At the end of our tour our driver took us to his uncle's silver jewelry shop where we purchased some lovely bracelets for our sisters. I want to add that I considered cutting Jaipur out of our tour to save some time but I am glad we did not. I found the city to really have a unique look and feel.

Albert Hall Museum.

Getting out of Jaipur was an experience. We had booked a bus to Agra only to get to the bus stand at 8am and find out it was cancelled due to some sort of road closure. This was stressful, as we were booked on a train out of Agra that night. We headed for the train station, where we found that none of the trains would fit our schedule... meaning they wouldn't leave us enough time to see Taj. So, feeling defeated and a little distraught we started walking away from the train station to find an ATM because we were light on cash. After walking for about ten minutes we came upon a man at a table with an umbrella and signs with pictures of buses. I asked him if he could get us to Agra and he informed us that the bus was leaving in 1/2 an hour. We purchased our tickets and grabbed a rickshaw to the bus in plenty of time. This bus was very local and had no AC. So we embarked on our slow moving journey through the back roads to Agra in the sweltering heat for seven and a half hours. We were basically trapped in a metal box in the middle of the desert in 45+ weather. I started to feel very panicked about the heat half way through the journey but there was nothing I could do. Luckily we made it to Agra without me breaking down. Shea was a trooper!

Agra

Shea writes:
I don’t know much about Agra. Frankly, we didn’t see very much of the city. We heard that there isn’t much to do there other than visit the Taj Mahal. So, we got in, we saw the Taj, we ate at the local Dasaprakash, and we got out.
We arrived in the city around 4:00pm, I think, and got to the Taj around 5:00, arriving at the West gate. We checked our bags at a nearby bag-checking place (they don’t allow you to bring large bags into the grounds of the Taj Mahal). The lineup at the West gate was enormous. We paid some guy 150 rupees to bring us to a different gate, where we skipped the line. I don’t think we needed to do this, though... There didn’t seem to be a lineup at the East gate, so we probably could have just walked over there and gotten in quickly, if we had known.

The Taj Mahal itself was amazing, and is the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t seem real when you see it – the lines are so perfect, the curves are so smooth, it looks like it’s painted on the sky. We took the obligatory picture of me “dangling” the Taj from my grip. There are signs up saying that you shouldn’t take pictures inside the Taj itself. We chose to respect Indian culture, but most of the Indians there were snapping photos left and right anyway. The inside is okay, but nothing to write home about. Sadly, not even the grounds of the Taj Mahal were completely free of garbage, but they were at least cleaner than anywhere else I saw in India that wasn’t inside of a hotel.

Mighty Shea is so strong!

Leaving Agra, I got to experience my first overnight train ride in India. We booked two berths in “3AC” (third class, air-conditioned). This is the way to travel! They really blast the AC in there. Each car manages to actually fairly comfortably seat (or sleep) 8 people – 3 bunks on two walls, 2 bunks on a third wall. The upper bunks fold up, allowing the lowest bunk to be used as a seat during waking hours. I slept like a baby as the motion of the train rocked me to sleep. Somehow, it reminded me of camping.

Shea getting comfy in his berth on the train to Varanasi.

Family that we befriended on the train. The kids loved watching Avatar: The Last Airbender on our laptop... actually the adults did too.

Varanasi

Shea writes:
If not for the poor quality of the air here, I would really have liked this city. The streets are chaotic, especially in the old city by the ghats, but they’re more pedestrian-friendly. They don’t allow motorized vehicles into the old city.

Veggie "burger" from "Burger King".

Varanasi sits on the west bank of the Ganges. They have two “burning ghats” in the city (fyi: a ghat is something like a dock – it is a broad set of steps leading down to the river). The burning ghats are where they burn the bodies of the deceased. We heard all about the ghats repeatedly, from two different sources – one at each ghat. Naturally, each of these sources first informed us that they didn’t want any money and just liked talking to people, and then asked for something when the story was done (the first asked us to visit the shop he worked at, and the second asked us for a “donation” to his hospice).

The residents of Varanasi bathe in the Ganges, but I certainly would not want to do this. In addition to the standard pollution, this river is also full of whatever bits of people don’t get completely burned up in the funeral pyres.

Every night in Varanasi, there is a celebration at the ghats. I’m not sure why they have this celebration, but hey, it seemed like a good time the one night we checked it out. We also took a boat tour after dark, to see the ghats from the river. That was fun. Oh, and we managed to get up early enough to see the sun rise one morning. Unfortunately, the smog interfered with the view, and we weren’t really able to see the sun until after it had risen.

Sunrise through the smog.

Boat tour. (notice cremation happening in the background)

View of the nightly puja at the ghats from our boat.

There is far too much burning going on in Varanasi. Burning ghats. Burning piles of garbage in alleyways. Furthermore, people there seem to do some sort of burning paper ritual when they open their stores. They need to stop burning so much stuff. The air there was so thick with smoke all the time that you can see it in the air if you take a picture with the flash on at night.

Kolkata

AM writes:
Arriving in Kolkata I felt a little nervous having heard about the theft prevalence at Howrah station but I soon learned that the risk is low if you just keep an eye on your stuff. We wanted to buy our tickets out of Kolkata before leaving the station so, after being misguided by many people for about half an hour, we finally found the right line to wait in. It was a long process of line jumping and paper work, but we managed to get our tickets. We grabbed a cab (that was stuck in traffic for a solid hour) to the awesome Oberoi Grand, a swanky 5-star hotel... we felt we needed a treat. This hotel was amazing... so much so we had trouble motivating ourselves to venture outside. The pool was fantastic and every time we swam we were served with water, towels and sunscreen! The food was also amazing. They even had soy milk for the cereal! I had breakfast dosas and cornflakes topped with almonds, cashews, pistachios and walnuts! Shea had waffles, croissants and donuts!

Fancy Room part 1.

Fancy Room part 2.

Pool lounging at the Oberoi.

We did manage to venture out and see the usual tourist spots like the Victoria Monument, Eden Gardens and Mother Teresa's house. We even braved the subway system to go out to dinner. We tried traditional Bengali food and we loved it! Bring on the sweet rice! We also spent time shopping in New Market which was very close to our hotel and we met up with Joyce (a VSO vol based in Kolkata) at the Blue and Beyond Roof Top Restaurant where we dined with a great view of the city.

Victoria Monument.

View of Kolkata from the Blue and Beyond Rooftop Restaurant.

Children we met in a park while walking home from Mother Teresa's house.

For our last dinner in Kolkata we ate at the fancy Thai restaurant in the Oberoi and it was fantastic! The only restaurants in Orissa are Indian and Indian-Chinese, so it was nice to finally get some different flavours. This restaurant had a Basil Tofu dish and I was all over it! Shea had green veg curry which was also a delight.

To get back to Howrah station, we had the Oberoi staff flag a taxi, and we agreed to pay the driver 100 rupees. We were expecting the ride to take about an hour due to heavy traffic, but our driver was totally insane. He was weaving in and out of traffic, driving on the sidewalk, and at one point got out of the car and bargained with bus drivers to let him cut into lanes. All the while he was blaring what Shea and I assumed was Hindi-Christian rock (this was because of the Jesus pooja he had going on his dashboard... Jesus on the cross all lit up in pink and purple!). We made it to the train station in nine minutes... which meant our driver tried to ask us for more money... we stuck to the agreed upon price though. Nice try!

Puri/Bhubaneswar

Shea writes:
The last stops on our trek were Puri, followed by Bhubaneswar. I liked both of these cities.

Puri is a sleepy little beach town on the Bay of Bengal. We stayed at the Hans Coco Hotel. This hotel had a sweet pool, but terrible customer service. We had to ask them repeatedly for a “Do Not Disturb” sign for our room, and they were jerks about our second breakfast. We arrived early the first day, and they told us to go ahead and have breakfast. Then the second day (on which we checked out), they told us to once again go and have breakfast, but then tried to charge us for it. They didn’t really seem to understand that, even though they were probably legally correct, they were being dicks and should really just let it go. Eventually I told them that I would pay for the meal and never stay at their hotel again, and then they agreed to remove the charge. Oh, they also charged us 300 rupees when Am’s friend Lucy came to swim in the pool. Boo - cheap behaviour from a hotel that should have been on the classy side.

Other than that, our stay in Puri was very nice. We swam in the pool. We meandered through the town during the day. This was probably the wrong time to do meander, though – the town was mostly closed down during the day, but seemed fairly active in the evening. We played in the surf on the beach – the waves were fierce, though, so we didn’t go out very far. And we met up with Lucy for dinner at Lemon Grass, which was a nice outdoor restaurant.

I also liked Bhubaneswar. We stayed at the Trident hotel there, which was good, but not nearly on the same level as the Oberoi Grand in Kolkata. We visited the OAB, and I got to meet Kalu the dog, and also the random puppy that AnnMarie befriended, and AnnMarie’s office-mate Pragyna.

Dinner with my Indian family. Aka my landlords.

We went out dancing at the HHI club on our one night in Bhubaneswar. That was a blast. I think there were maybe 8 of us, but we still outnumbered all the other clients in the bar. The DJ started out playing mostly retro, but switched to more “continental” music when asked to do so. The French guys that Am and her friends know bought all the drinks (basically, we could just go to the bar and order whatever we wanted, and then they picked up the tab at the end of the night). So if any of your French guys are reading this – thanks!

Shea in the front of the rickshaw where men belong!

Song from title: Rosey and Grey by Lowest of the Low

She sits down on the sidewalk and bites her bottom lip and spends the afternoon willing traffic lights to change.

2010-03-31T05:20:00.000-07:00

On the weekend I took a trip to the village of Bahanaga with my friend and co-worker Prangya. I had a great time and I felt that I had to keep pinching myself to feel like it was really happening.

Train

The train ride from Bhubaneswar was about four hours and we had general tickets. This meant seating with no A/C. It was warm but bearable. At least we had seats. On the way home it was standing room only for a couple hours.

Bahanaga and Barikpur

We arrived at Prangya's home around 9:30pm in the middle of a scheduled power cut. Her mother was busy making us dinner and I was introduced to her brother, Jitu; the neighbour, Damayaanti; and Damayaanti's son, Babulu. In the village neighbors are like family and the two families cook and eat together everyday. All of the cooking is done on an open fire outside. They made me a mixed vegetable dish and some naan that night. It was really amazing. We spent some time visiting and got to bed around midnight. The family insisted I sleep in my own room (the house only has 3 rooms) so I thought it was very generous.

The next morning I woke up early and had a chance to look around the property. I was taken to the pond nearby where people swim and bathe. Luckily, Prangya's family had a make shift shower stall where I had privacy for my bucket shower... I just couldn't fully stand up in it.

Damayaanti while cooking breakfast.

Making friends with the calf.

Calf's mom.

Brushing my teeth was even an experience. Her brother Deepak (whom I have met a few times now) insisted that I try an all natural tooth brush that is basically a stick from a tree they called “dantakathi” in Oryia. So, I was instructed to chew one end of the stick until it was soft like a brush and used it to brush my teeth. The taste was bitter but apparently it is very good for your teeth.

Toothbrush prep.

Trying it out.

Before heading out on our long day we visited a temple that was near by and made some offerings.

Posing as instructed.

Priest.

We started our journey around 9am. We had rented a car for the occasion. I was taken to meet many friends and relatives in Bahanaga and Barikpur (a close by village where Prangya grew up). The villages are mainly dirt roads with mud huts that have straw roofs. Everyone I met was really interested in me and wished to shake my hand. I was told that I was the first foreigner to visit the village. I even had children following me around. The kids got a kick out of my camera and laughed when I would make faces at them. I found the curiosity of people in the village to be more genuine and friendly when compared to the menacing stares I get in the city. It was a welcome change of pace.

Babulu and Deepak.

Typical village dwelling.

Kids following me around.

Shy girls.

Panchalingeswar Temple

The first site of the day was Panchalingeswar Temple which is located in Nilagiri, Parbat at the top of a gorgeous hill. We hiked up the hill and took rest in the shade and bought snacks on the way. When we reached our destination there were people lined up and sticking their hands in to some water. Nearby there were priests making offerings to the god Shiva. Prangya and her family insisted that I line up to have a go at the water fall. This water fall has been flowing constantly for hundreds of years and when you reach in you are to find the five lingeswar (parts of the god Shiva). I reached in and felt around and found five distinct rocks. This meant good luck for me meaning that I get what I desire. (I suppose it is sort of like a wishing well.)

Feeling for the rocks.

Priests making offerings to Shiva.

View from the hill.

Jagannath Temple
Our next destination was the Jagannath Temple in Nilagiri. I entered the temple and followed suit of my company by hugging a large wooden post. This represents the guard of Lord Jagannath. Jagganath is the top god in Orissa and I got in trouble for not sitting properly to show respect. I had to switch to lotus position from having my legs stretched out in front of me. I was quickly forgiven of my ignorance. This temple is where we had lunch. We partnered up and shared plates because the amount of food was too much for one person. We sat on the ground and ate with our hands. I was laughed at for dropping rice all over myself. I was a good sport though.

Prangya and her mother.

Eating with my hands.

Chandipur Beach

Our last stop was a beach on the Bay of Bengal at Chandipur. The beach was vast and you could walk out into the water for a couple of kilometers. We walked pretty far and the deepest water was up to your ankle. It was beautiful.

In the water facing the shore.

Deepak, Prangya and Jitu.

Tiny crab guy covering his hole with sand.

When we got to shore we had snacks of Muri and Kurkure. We had to fend off goats for our snack. The goats hang out on the beach and pester people for food. They were pretty cute so we took turns feeding them.

Goat feeding.

On the way back from Chandipur we stopped for Dosas... the perfect end to a perfect day.

Song from title: Exiles Among You by The Weakerthans

Who's using who? What should we do? Well, you can't be a pimp and a prostitute too.

2010-03-22T01:05:00.000-07:00

PAR

The second week of March was the annual Program Area Review for VSO. It was held in Puri, a touristy beach town that is about 50k from Bhubaneswar. This meant that ALL the VSO volunteers from across the country came to talk about the future of VSO (at least for the next few years). The days were filled with meetings which entailed power point presentations, brainstorming and role playing. Nights were filled with fun mischief. It was nice to meet up with old friends and greet the batch of new volunteers that had arrived just days before. There was much time spent swimming, drinking, playing music and eating. Memorable highlights were the magician, Marco-Polo (poor Tim (a new vol) just couldn't catch anyone!) and a combo game of spin the bottle/truth or dare. The one down side to the time spent in Puri was the food poisoning... about 15 volunteers (OF COURSE including the VEGAN!) got pretty ill.

Paul and Mark jamming.

Oryian dance show.

Weather

It's getting hot and hazy here in Bhubaneswar. For instance, there is a high of 44 today. It is a bit of a struggle. I mean, I am alright with limited exposures... even a few hours out in the middle of the day is fine as long as I get back to my AC'd room. I'm so glad that I was able to purchase one... it is a real luxury item but I'm pretty sure I would be miserable with out it. Work is becoming difficult due to the heat as well. I really start to feel it around 2pm and want to go home. The two ceiling fans in my office just don't cut it so I have been working from home about 1-2 days a week lately. Also with the approach of summer there are regulated power cuts to save energy. Like clockwork the power in my half of the city goes out at 5pm and comes back on at 6pm. (I've heard the other side is cut from 4-5...)

Check out the graph!

Let's take a walk: tidbit of everyday life

It was suggested in a media presentation at PAR to try and capture moments of everyday life to share. I decided to video my walk to the gym. Enjoy!
(I'll try to include these tidbits more often)

Song from title: Icky Thump by The White Stripes

If you're drowning you don't clutch no straw.

2010-03-10T05:31:00.000-08:00

OAB Update

Late in February the OAB lost one of its members. At the age of twenty-four Amrendra Prasad died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack. He was an active member of the OAB who helped organise workshops and conferences. I had only met him a few times but I remember him as motivated and positive. Members of the OAB consider each other family and it was tough to see so many of my colleagues and friends grieving. Prasad's body was even brought to the office/hostel on the day of his death so that all had a chance to say goodbye. This entailed lining up and placing flower garlands around his neck. While the loss is very sad it allowed me to see just how connected everyone at the OAB is to one another. Prasad will be missed.

Body wrapped in flowers.

Memorial ceremony.

My work has been going well. I was asked to make a report about my contributions so far and I thought it necessary to also comment on the things that I have planned to achieve. I feel that this is helping to focus my role. My boss was impressed at some of the things outside the scope of my placement objectives that I would like to change. Waste management being one of them. I am finished scripting my database and now I am moving on to writing a web application. This web application has to be accessible for those who are completely blind. I've been researching and I have a plan but any resources or tips from developers out there would be much appreciated.

Holi

March first was the Hindu festival of colours called Holi. To celebrate people take to the streets armed with coloured powders and water. The morning is spent adorning everyone in sight with the colours either by rubbing it on faces or shooting it from guns. I spent Holi on the beach in Puri with great company and we had a blast decorating each other.

Holi Wikipedia

Holi ammunition.

Getting hit.

Holi posse.

Cautionary Tale

Late in the afternoon on Holi I left my friends at the hotel to have a short swim at the beach. I knew that going solo would entail answering lots of questions from locals about where I'm from and what I am doing in India. I actually was having a nice time chatting with some people I met out in the waves. After I had moved on and was enjoying the water a man stalked me and when I wasn't paying attention he waited for a large wave and then dove at me. He was hugging my waste as I was recovering from the wave. I reacted quickly by standing up, swinging him around, and socking him one on his jaw. I was yelling and causing a scene as he stood there looking shocked. I felt provoked and it put me in self defense mode. I'm fine and luckily nothing else happened afterward. I left the beach shortly after the incident. This is the sort of thing that can happen anywhere and I thought it would be wise to tell of my encounter to remind other volunteers and people in general to always be aware of their surroundings.

Song from title: Lazy by Deep Purple

This is one for the good days and I have it all here in red, blue, green.

2010-02-25T08:15:00.000-08:00

Delhi Trip

I came to New Delhi on the 14th of February to participate in the PAR (Program Area Review) planning meeting for Disability. My roommate Jen accompanied me and we went to work hard all day and shop hard all evening. Woohooo for Sarojini Market!

Sarojini Market.

We also had a very productive time at the VSO office. We will be helping facilitate the meeting in Puri next month. The meeting will help flesh out the general direction of development projects for VSO over the next few years. Very exciting!

Wedding Season

OK, so the winter months are the wedding months. I've heard it is because the weather is comfortable enough to celebrate properly... otherwise it is way too hot. I have been seeing wedding parades almost daily since my arrival. Weddings entail loud music, tonnes of guests, mountains of great food, intense dancing and fireworks. They really know how to party here.

Bride and groom at a wedding I was randomly invited to near the OAB.

Reception with lots of great food.

Parade!

Song from title: Videotape by Radiohead

Our robot masters will know how to clean this mess up and build a better world.

2010-02-19T03:16:00.000-08:00

Tribal Fair

I had the opportunity to attend a tribal fair and it was really interesting. There was much to do and see about the day to day living of people in rural areas. I enjoyed dances, sand sculptures, paintings and many pickle chutneys. Mmmmm.

Tribal dancing.

Figures depicting cultivation.

Giant sand sculpture.

Life Gym

I joined a gym that is very close to my home. I can walk there in under 5 mins. I have been going regularly for the past month and I am quite pleased with the facilities. I thought that I wouldn't be able to exercise in this capacity in India and I am happy that I can stay fit. I have been having some trouble with the dress code. I was told that tanks and shorts are not allowed. BUT I have seen many men wearing tanks so I asked why this rule only seems to apply to me. They could give me no reasonable answer so I informed them that when they enforce the dress code for the men that I will comply. I've been wearing tanks since and I have had no problems from management or other members in the gym. It is hot as hell in there!

Check out the sexy posters that cover my gym.
AHHHHHHH!.
Make your babies run abnormally fast!.

OAB Update

Work is still slow going. I finally got an internet connection at my desk. This is because I went out one day while frustrated and bought a wireless router and set it up myself. I am currently waiting for reimbursement for my purchase from the OAB. I still have to sit down with the secretary and flesh out the details of the web application that I would like me to write. I have started scripting the database side of it... because it seems straightforward.

All I want is to get my Secretary alone for twenty minutes without the interruption of phone calls or others dropping in. So far I have yet to do this. Like I say every week, "maybe this week". Despite not getting alone time with the big cheese the OAB keeps me busy. I have been helping teach the functions of Zoom-Ex/Office to staff so that they can scan books and convert them to audio or printable Braille format. I have also been teaching the computer instructor more functions in Access. As well, I have been helping with general computer inquiries from administrative staff.

Here's some faces from work... "Madam likes to take snaps".

Song from title: Citizens Of Tomorrow by Tokyo Police Club

In space two receivers turn away.

2010-01-31T04:06:00.000-08:00

Puja Time

January 20th was the puja for Saraswati, the god of learning and wisdom. I spent the day at the office although little work was done. I accompanied my counterpart to the "receiving" part of the ceremony. Basically this involved food offerings and a blessing. I was anointed with a red mark on my forehead and clavicle. Hindus believe these marks represent the essence of the god within you, meaning that she would be in my thoughts and in my words for the rest of the day. After the markings I was presented with a candle tree where, after watching everyone else, I swept my hands over the flame and brought the heat over the top of my head. I'm pretty sure this signifies the receiving of the god. Afterward I was given flower petals which I threw at the statue of the deity.

(picture to come soon of me with the red dots... currently on the roommate's lent out camera)

Pushin' in at the bank

I went to the bank and the line ups were utter chaos. I was with an employee from the OAB who volunteered to stand in line for me while I waited. Good thing because I don't think I have what it takes to get to the front of the line. The lines were long and loud and when a new window opened up it caused a stampede of men. Insane! I did not see a women in the 60 or so people.

All Orissa Student Union of the Visually Impaired

On Saturday the 23rd I accompanied the OAB to the 4th annual function of the All Orissa Student Union of the Visually Impaired. This event was held in Cuttack at Orissa's oldest university, Revenesha University. My role was to show the honoured guests how to use a piece of hardware and accompanying software called Zoom-Ex/Office. This system can take any printed material like a book, magazine or prescription bottle and scan it into the computer allowing for text to speech and magnification functions. My small presentation was well received and hopefully it will lead to a workshop at the OAB for members of the different universities to come and learn how to use this system first hand.

The line of presentations of visually impaired technology. You can see Samad giving a JAWS demonstration.

OAB members interviewing about the conference.

Republic Day

Tuesday January 26th was India's 61st anniversary as a country free from British rule. There was a flag hoisting ceremony at work that I missed because I like sleeping. It seems that when there is a holiday people show up to the office around 7 or 8 … far from the normal time of 10. I did however capture a few shots of the flag and the blessing powder surrounding it. I basically went into the office, greeted my co-workers, ate and then had the rest of the day off. I don't think that I have worked a full week in the 7 weeks that I have been at the OAB.

Flag.

Blessing powder.

Song from title: Two Receivers by Klaxons

That far off feeling. That up close kind of ache. Some white screen reason to look the other way.

2010-01-19T04:26:00.001-08:00

Inside the Government

OK, so I am starting this blog post from within the Orissa State building. My secretary has abandoned me to represent the Organisation in a meeting about the rehabilitation scheme that I wrote.... I was not aware that I would be the one proposing it to the government... without anyone else from the OAB! I am in a room with mostly men... about 15 of them and one other woman. The meeting was to start at 3pm … we showed up at 3:10pm to an empty room.

Scary government building.

It is now 3:46pm... still not started. I had no idea that I would be doing this upon arriving at the office this morning. Also, everyone in the room is casually chatting, in Oriya, and none of them have made an effort to say hello to me... hence the blogging. Oh and about 15 mins ago a man handed me a sheet to “sign in”... after I wrote the details like my name and organisation, he took it over to his seat and read it with his neighbour for about 5 mins before actually passing it along. He could have just asked me what the heck I was doing here.

After all was said and done there was not much to report about the meeting. It was more of an open discussion about a power point presentation they gave. The presentation was in English and the discussion was about 50/50 of English and Oriya. They presented a draft of ideas for the rehabilitation scheme and the NGO representatives were there to critique them. I did my best to pipe up and make sure the vision impaired are included in the scheme but it was hard. There were multiple conversations happening at once and they all seemed to talk over each other... not like any meeting I have had in Canada.

Feeling better on the lawn outside, after the whole ordeal.

OAB week 3 and 4

The last couple weeks at work have been a little slower. I have done some training with Samad on how to write queries in access and I am still attempting to find a suitable and free email client for someone who is 100% blind. I was disappointed to learn that gmail is not very accessible. I have also started to download books for the OAB from free online sources and I will be printing them in Braille for the library here. As for work that is about it. I finally got the chance to sit down and talk to the secretary this week about starting to clean up the computers in the lab and begin designing the job matching software that they need. Exciting!

Cave Exploration

Jenissa, Lucy and I took a trip to the Khandagiri Caves which is the site one of many temples here in Bhubaneswar. These caves were carved into the side of a hill and lead up to a temple. It was nice to do something that was equivalent to hiking back in Canada. The only downside being the garbage everywhere. We did take a wrong turn and exited the grounds via a construction site with a helpful man who let us pass through.

Ahhhhhhh! Face rock!

Jen(my roommate) and I posing at the caves.

Happy Birthday Louis Braille

It was the 201st birthday anniversary of Louis Braille on January 4th. The OAB had prepared a remembrance and celebration ceremony that night. Again, I got to light candles for the puja and was presented with flowers. Most of the speeches were in Oriya so I tried hard to listen for words that I knew and just clapped when everyone else clapped. The OAB was presented with some materials for learning by one of the Orissa state ministers that I had a chance to sit down and speak with for a little while. He told me that Canada has one of the best (if not the best) democratic system in the world. He seemed to have nothing but good things to say to me about my country and he was very eager to do so.

Louis Braille puja table.

OAB members making music.

Receiving stereos.

KISS Sports Awards Ceremony and Cocktail Dinner

A simple request to grab a drink on the weekend turned into an unexpected series of events. I had asked my friend Vicky if he wanted to meet some of the other volunteers in the area over drinks this weekend and he invited us all to a cocktail dinner at the Mayfair in honour of some university students from England.

That afternoon we also went to KISS (the tribal school) for a sports award ceremony. Little did we know that we would be as involved in the ceremony as we were. On the way in we walked past a massive field filled with children waiting for the ceremony to start. As we raised our cameras to take a few pictures ALL the children started to wave at us. It was a wonderful greeting by the 1500 or so kids. We were sat on stage with the esteemed guests and we were presented with garlands and a gift of a painting made by the students. We were acknowledged in the greetings and the closing words. After the awards were handed out we were etertained by songs, dance, yoga, and gymnastics.

Clapping students.

Sitting on stage with all the other esteemed guests!

Crazy kid pyramid.

Afterward, we went home to get ready for the dinner... which was easy since Vicky lent us his fancy car and driver for the afternoon and evening. How generous! The dinner was wonderful... it was nice to enjoy a cocktail with food and not have it seem out of place. We got the chance to meet the British High Commissioner who was surprisingly easy to get on with... I was the only person who's country he didn't poke fun at. Go Canada!

Song from title: Map of the World by Monsters Of Folk

Oh the weather outside is frightful.

2010-01-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas at the Mayfair Lagoon

Two other volunteers (Jennifer and Lucy) and I stayed at the wonderful Mayfair Lagoon for the nights of the 24th and 25th. We dined on fancy food and lots of it! On Saturday we all had booked spa treatments to help distract us from being so far away from our families on Christmas day. I had a pedicure and a very interesting massage.... I left that massage feeling tenderized (that tiny Indian woman had fists of steel) and slightly sexually assaulted... ask me for the details if you want them. Haha. I swam on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day... in the mermaid pool! Santa greeted me at the pool and presented me with a mint. I was really hoping for a candy cane but it did the job.

My feet and the mermaid pool.

I want to be where the people are...

Best Christmas gift ever: (lyrics below)

Oh AnnMarie

[chorus]
oh annmarie, you are the one i'm dreaming of,
though you're far away today, there is no other that i love.

oh annmarie (oh annmarie), it is to you i sing this song,
though you've travelled off to india and took my heart along.

[verse]
the days are long, the nights are cold, my love is far away.
but i'll stare down all this lonesome time, and to the hours i'll say:

through tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow for a year,
i'll be waiting back in canada, and loving you from here.

[chorus]

[verse]
oh you've gone to teach the blind folk how to use computers well,
and you'll write petitions, man, you'll give their government some hell!

and you never give up hope through all the trials that you face
you're an inspiration, darling, to the human raaaaace,

[chorus]

We had Christmas dinner at the Chinese\Thai restaurant and we ordered a bottle of sparkling wine. It was the first time that I have ever spent Christmas outside of my parent's house. While I still would have rather been home I had a good time and skyped with my whole family for a couple hours that night.

Christmas dinner. (clockwise: Me, Prangya (my colleague at the OAB), Evans (VSO), Jennifer (VSO), Lucy (VSO))

Perhaps after the wine?

Christmas night while at the bar we were approached by another foreigner, Daniel, he was claiming to have not seen foreigners in Bhubaneswar even though he had been here for two months. It turns out that he is also involved in development work and is volunteering for a tribal school called KISS which takes the poorest of the poor tribal children and educates, feeds, dresses and houses them for free. He introduced us to his Indian counterpart Vicky who is currently a UN employee. Vicky invited us to tour the tribal school and it's sister university KIIT (which I believe supplies the funding for KISS). It was a great opportunity so we accepted and went to see what they do. All the kids were curious about us as we walked the campus. Many of them gladly smiled for photos. Vicky was interested in becoming professionally involved with VSO India and hopes to be a partner eventually employing VSO'ers in the school. We are putting him in contact with the VSO India head office.

KISS students smiling for the camera.

KISS students cooking their dinner.

Happy New Year

Just want to wish all of you out there a grand welcome to 2010. The volunteers had a small party at my place (beach plans fell through). We spent the night eating, drinking and watching the blue moon lunar eclipse. Sorry you had to miss it Canada, it was the middle of the day for you but it was not a full eclipse and was only interesting because of how rare it is. We cooked naan, pakoras, stirfry, salad, hummus, and I managed to bake an awesome banana bread for the occasion. I baked without any measuring equipment, half of the ingredients missing and in a baker that has a dial but no temperature indicators. It turned out surprisingly well, everyone loved it. Everyone was stuffed... we were eating leftovers for a couple days.

Yeah, I'm that proud.

For those of you that missed it. (Photo from http://newshopper.sulekha.com/philippines-new-year-lunar-eclipse_photo_1107776.htm_)

Puri

I finally got the chance to visit Puri, a small seaside town about an hour and a half bus ride away. (60k, I think) I went with Lucy (as she lives there) and Jen, the same vols from Christmas. We spent our time there eating at a diner on the beach and shopping in the touristy shops. Puri has a vast beach and I was able to wade in the warm waters at sunset. It was quite beautiful... too bad that the sand is covered in garbage.... as is everywhere in India. I think I will be heading back there despite the garbage for some swimming... fully clothed swimming of course but it will be nice when the 50 degree weather hits.

I'm standing in the Bay of Bengal.

Puri sunset.

Song from title: Let It Snow by... everyone?

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

2009-12-26T21:27:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-20T12:07:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-07T04:23:00.000-08:00

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

Those starving children, they ain't got no mother. There's pink flamingos living in the mall.

2009-11-29T05:23:00.000-08:00

Clothes

I finally got out and bought some Indian threads!! I purchased a churidaar kameez and a kutri. I really like them. It feels like I get to wear pajamas or hospital scrubs all day. Very, very comfortable. I now had something Indian to wear at the upcoming conference.

This is me leading the conference(details below) during an energizer. The theme was bollywood dancing!

VSO Strategic Workshop Conference

All the volunteers were invited to the VSO strategic workshop conference in Gurgaon last week. It was a great experience. The goal of the workshop was to help VSO form new objectives for development in India. Currently VSO works in three main areas: HIV & Aids, Disability and Participation and Governance. They want to expand the type of development work they do and not be limited only to these areas. There were a lot of current volunteers who have been in India for some time. I was able to learn a lot and even contribute here or there. There were many great speakers who highlighted the different images that India has; one of a shining and powerful India and one of an impoverished India. While India is one of the next great economic powers 450 million people live below the poverty line! (Less that $1.25 per day US) There is such a drastic difference between the rich elite and the working poor.

I don't really want to get into the specifics of the conference as the details of the development plan are still being worked out and a lot still has to be done... I fear of misspeaking. At the end of the conference the different tables were encouraged to write some sort of art to express all that we had learned over the two days. My group did a poem/play/interpretive dance thingy. There were prizes to be won for the best art which included western treats such as Oreos, Pringles, chocolate bars and popcorn. I am happy to report that my table won two of the three prizes. (we shared the treats with everyone anyway!)

The conference was held at the very posh Best Western Country Resort. I found it funny that a conference attempting to serve the needs of the society's most marginalized was held at a country club... not that I'm complaining. The grounds were outstanding! There was a tennis court, volleyball court, basketball court, badminton court, outdoor pool, lounging hammocks (where staff would stop to rock you!), gym (with treadmill!!!), spa and very conformable mattresses.... unlike the rock that I sleep on in the hostel. Oh and the all you can eat buffet lunches and dinners were exquisite. The rooms were also cleaned to a western standard (my favourite part!) We all felt so lucky to be invited to event.

Pool!

Don't disturb a hammocking Lucy! (my roommate)

AAA(Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan)

In Delhi there are about 150, 000 homeless people. That is practically twice the size of my hometown of Niagara Falls, ON. An astounding number. On Friday night the volunteers were invited to one of the AAA's homeless shelters, a partner of VSO. We got to see first hand the amazing work that they do with the homeless. In India, everyone in the country is entitled to 100 days of work provided by the government. An issue with this is, even if a homeless person finagles a job card which entitles them to this work, they have no where safe to keep their earnings. They have to carry it on them until they eventually lose it or get robbed.The shelter actually helps the homeless set up bank accounts and gets them ATM cards so that they will have a safe place to keep money that they earn. They help them get ID and can give them a permanent address, without which it is impossible to open an account.
(Article about program)

This group of shelters keeps 500 people off the street every night. A great accomplishment but only a small drop in the bucket. They explained that in the winter months they pitch temporary tents which can house 5000 people for the night. A significant increase. (I did mention in a previous post that in Delhi the temperature will go down to freezing.)

Hanging with the kids.

While touring the shelter we spent some time with some street children who had sought refuge there. The shelter actually gets them sent to school, feeds and baths them. It's really quite amazing. We spent a better portion of our time with them. (About 15 boys aged 6-14.) The children were really welcoming and so happy to see us! They had a chance to practice their English...and in return we practiced our Hindi. The spirit of these children was really amazing; all smiles and positive attitudes. They were curious about us and gave us all a chance to introduce ourselves, say we were were from and try and explain why we were in India. They patiently listened and made sure that no one was left out. They also introduced themselves.... paying attention to include everyone as well. What manners! I received a round of applause as I told them that I work with computers... they pointed out that the shelter provided them a computer to use. It was really funny. On my way out I taught them how to high five... when I held my hand up they didn't know what I was trying to do but they caught on really quickly! I had to exit from their room fast because I was overwhelmed by their attitudes and couldn't help but think about all the wonderful children in my life back home who are some of the same ages. I tried to choke back my tears in the hall... some other volunteers did the same. (I even well up now just thinking of it.)

Taj Mahal

Some of the group made plans to head to the Taj Mahal on Saturday... I couldn't miss this opportunity! Our day started bright and early with a 5am pick up(we rented taxis for the day) and then hit the road for our 5 hour journey to Agra. There we picked up a tour guide and headed to the Taj. Upon existing the cars we were told that the Taj Mahal was open to the public for free but only for the next ten minutes. We quickly jumped onto an awaiting golf cart thingy (no cars are allowed up to the grounds because of pollution) and practically ran toward the gate... but we made it. That saved us 750 rupees! Which comes to about 1/8 of our monthly volunteer wages. It was open from 9am – 10am for free because it was the Muslim holiday of Eid al-ahde. What luck! It was really spectacular. I know that when you think of Taj you think of the tomb but really the entire grounds were gorgeous! Apparently they do not usually have the fountains on but again since it was Eid al-ahde they were flowing! It was gorgeous and very very clean. Our guide Fiez was awesome too, the guides work based on how much you want to give them after the tour. I found this an odd system but since the entrance fee was waved we gave him a little more than planned. Also, If anyone travels to the Taj in the future I can give you the contact details of our guide. Just email me.

That's right... I'm holding it with very little effort.

Badte Kadam

Today we visited a street/working children centre, Badte Kadam, another partner of VSO India. It is a place where children can go to talk about issues they face and have a safe place to learn something new, grab a bite or just have some fun. Again, I am amazed at the attitudes of the children. We talked about the organization and how it was run by children for children. There are 7-14 year olds out there advocating for their rights and spreading the message to others. It really opened my eyes to just how sheltered I was... and still am for the most part. The children put together a play for us to demonstrate a collective story of growing up on the street. It was really neat.

Children performing play.

We spent some time asking questions and answering questions. We had the opportunity to explain the rights of children in our home countries. Basically, in the UK, Australia and Canada a child under the age of 15 (roughly) is not allowed to work and that school is compulsory for anyone under the age of 16(again, roughly). In India, this is not the case. A child of any age can work and most of the children on the street (some 10 million!!!) do not attend even basic education. We asked them what is the best thing we can do to help kids like them. Right away they told us to go to our governments and get them to lobby for more child rights in India. A very smart but not so simple answer. What astounded me the most was when a fellow volunteer asked the kids how they felt about hearing how children grow up in our countries. They responded that they were happy to hear that there are kids out there who have these basic rights and that have access to education. It brought tears to my eyes... they weren't jealous, or angry, or pitying themselves... they were happy for others. Truly outstanding!!

The kids went crazy with our cameras. They loved snapping photos.

Song from title: Money Lenders in the Temple by Conor Oberst

You'd have a happy life if you did the things you like!

2009-11-22T06:26:00.000-08:00

Placement Discussion

I finally got to have a discussion about the work that I will be doing in Bhubaneswar. For now, it seems that my placement is as I thought. The Orissa Association for the Blind needs me to (as far as I understand) write an application with interfacing database that will match jobs and people based on their skill set... sounds simple right? Well, the catch is that the program has to be accessible for the blind.. meaning that visually impaired people will be using my program. I have been researching how to do this but I am unsure of their resources at the moment and I have no clue what will be compatible for them. If any of you geeks out there have had experience writing accessible applications please send me an email with any info/resources that seem related. (I don't even know what language/platforms I will be using so throw any random things at me.) MANY MANY THANKS.

During the discussion I was told about my accommodations. I will have a roommate and a room in a flat waiting for me. My roommate's name is Jenissa and she is a physio-therapist volunteer from The Philippines. I got to talk to her on the phone and found out that she loves to clean. I think we will be a perfect match! Also, she is required to travel a lot for her placement and is only home about ten days of the month so I feel that I am getting the ideal amount of company and privacy. Apparently we have a living room, a dining room AND a large kitchen. I can't wait to cook for myself. We have been eating out for two weeks straight now... I can't handle all the curry! I am very excited and relieved to have my living arrangements all figured out.

My new living room! very posh!

Can't wait to scrub that kitchen down!

Yoga

Yoga outside the tomb

I am happy to report that I have attended all but one of the yoga classes so far... even though they begin at 6:30am sharp! We get to practice in Lodi Gardens with Suguna our instructor who has lots of experience. It seems so surreal that I get to practice yoga in a park at sunrise in freaking India! Satruday was the best.... since it is cold at that time of day... (I would say the temperature is bouncing around zero) we practiced inside one of the tombs (circa 1400s) AND when we entered the tomb there was a woman on mat in the corner playing a flute. She was producing authenticate and ancient sounding melodies...it was all very mystical. I'm happy to be inside because it is much warmer than the grass and it muffles the sounds of the parakeets... they are so loud that I sometimes cannot hear my instructor.

We have been trying our hand at laughing yoga.. which is exactly what it sounds like. It is used to strengthen your stomach and it has the added benefit of putting you in a really good mood.... some of us recorded a video.

Trip to Old Delhi

Roof top in Old Delhi.

Busy street in Old Delhi from the rooftop.

All of the volunteers took a trip to Old Delhi on Saturday. We had a tour arranged and lead by VSO volunteers that have been in Delhi for some time. The old part of the city is really fascinating. There were many shops filled with everything you can image. It also happens to be the world's largest free market of spices. The aroma of all those spices was overwhelming at times... people were coughing and covering their faces with handkerchiefs. The smells were intense. It was also really interesting to watch the men carry HUGE bags of spice and load them onto wagons. The marketplace was soooo busy and the streets were so narrow that I found it ludicrous that cycle rickshaws and scooters were allowed on them... we were in the cycle rickshaw (as arranged for us) and brushing past pedestrians and at times getting our tires caught on other bikes and various objects.

The cycle rickshaw drivers were fighting over our business... it was chaos.

Mmmmmm... our richshaw driver stole some yummy fruit for us as we passed by... not sure what it was called.

On the trip we visited a Jain temple... which was quite beautiful... no pictures because they do not allow cameras inside... here were some of the other rules: No shoes allowed inside. No leather allowed inside. No women on their period allowed inside. No bags allowed inside and a few more that I forget. It was quite the list. Luckily it was the right time of month so I kicked my shoes off and explored. The walls were mainly mosaic scenes and there were many statues and some sort of electric drum thingy that scared the crap out of me when it was set off. Apparently some of the columns and art in the temple dated back to the ten century, It was awesome.

On the way to the Jain Temple.

We stopped for a bite on Parantha Gaaliye (which means Parantha Alley) and I had one awesome cashew nut parantha... which is a savory bread with whatever toppings you would like. They are fried and served hot with different chutneys. Sooo good and soooo perfectly oily. Go try one today!

Parantha with various chutneys.

Song from title: The Dark Of The Matinée by Franz Ferdinand

I'd like to fall alseep to the beat of you breathing.

2009-11-15T17:53:00.000-08:00

Veg or Non Veg?

AH... it's so refreshing to be in a place where I feel that my diet is the default. All the restaurants here make distinctions on their menu between vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods. Often they will have two menus “Veg” and “Non Veg”. I love this. Of course I am still trying to be mindful of dairy, eggs and honey products but at least I always have a head start. My dosa count is 2 so far... think I should tally it up for the full year?!?!?

This is a dosa....Mmmmmmm.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

The car horns are insane in Delhi. It seems that everyone is honking at each other from every direction on the road. Cars here honk to get you out of the way and also to let you know that they are moving close to your car... close is an understatement. I can see clearly marked lanes on most roads but they are not strictly followed like back home. It is common where there are two lanes to have four – five streams of traffic. The cars, trucks, motor-bikes, rikshaws, cyclists and some pedestrians are all using the same space (… most streets DO have sidewalks) and they all sort of just flutter about and cut across at their whims... but they beep to let you know first....haha. I know when it is approaching sun up in Delhi because that's when the beeping becomes more frequent. I am writing this blog now from the roof of the ISI Residence and I don't think that there has been a single second where I could not hear a horn somewhere in the distance. :)

I snapped a photo of traffic on my way out to dinner one night...

Mera naam AnnMarie hai.

So far we have had two hindi lessons and it's not soo difficult. We are split into two groups (7/8) and taught Hindi for 3 hours on most of our training days. Hindi has many different sounds and pronunciations that are so different from any language I have studied before. One of the harder ones for me involves rolling your tongue back in your mouth and hitting the roof, gums, or teeth (yes, these are distinct sounds) with the underside of the tip of your tongue.... give it a try. Some in the group have come up with some tongue-ercises to help strengthen it. I have already been able to practice some of my Hindi while exploring Delhi. Most people that I have encountered are enthusiastic and like to help me say things correctly while others just reply back to me in English...

Also, we were given a brief lessen in Indian sign language by Jennifer, a sign language interpreter vounteer and Pintoo, a VSO India employee who is hearing impaired. I can now sign the alphabet in two languages!! I am picking up words left and right as I have always been keen on signing. I think I may try to learn some on my own so that I can have more in depth conversations with Pintoo at our next trip to the VSO office on Wednesday.

Welcome Dinner

Friday night was the VSO welcome dinner. The staff at the India VSO office took all the volunteers out to dinner at a South Indian restaurant... hence dosa number 2. It was great. During the dinner I had the opportunity to practice my Indian signing skills with Pintoo... I learned some news signs and I am getting better a reading and signing the Indian alphabet more quickly although it is really painful to communicate by spelling everything out no matter how fast do it. After-wards some of us stayed near the restaurant to visit a bar. (It is not really acceptable for women to be drinking in public in India but it seemed OK at this bar so I had a whiskey sour.) The bar had many levels and we mainly hung out on the roof top which was full of bean bag chairs and Christmas lights. After one very expensive drink we called it a night with a crazy cab ride home where we nearly ran over a cat near the hostel.... there was a collective 'whoooooooooaaaaa' as we swerved to avoid the kitty.

Me, Pintoo and Jen all enjoying a much welcomed drink. ;)

India Gate and Connaught Circle

The other volunteers and I took a trip to the Indi Gate and Connaught Circle on our first Saturday. We stopped at the Gate first and had a quick look around and snapped some photos, it's a momument... what else can I say? We then made our way down to Connaught Circle which is at the heart of New Delhi. It literally is a cricle too... look it up on google maps. This is where they have a lot of shops... mainly for tourists so the prices are a little high. The girls and I were eager to get to a scarf shop and we found one with a pretty good selection at a reasonable price (40rs per scarf... which would be just under a dollar. ) I purchased two... one blue, one green...they are Indian cotton. We strolled about the shops and stopped for lunch at an Indian/Chinese restaurant. I had a delicious fusion dish which turned out to be what I think is equivalent to veggie “meat”balls. They were balls of mashed veggies that were fried and prepared in a spicy schesuan sauce and they were delicious... a little burny but it was actually something I could handle. Mmmm, afterward the girls were tired and headed back to the hostel. I decided to stay to find some books and find some books I did... had a good read too :P

A market place near the circle.

I have decided to base my blog titles from song lyrics... lyrics from songs that I have listened to in and around the time of the post. I think this will help convey my mood and what I'm feeling... seems like something I would do eh? I have subtitles anyway... it seems that I have a little to say about a lot of things so this format seems to work best for me. Also, try listening to the songs I use for titles, I think it will help us stay connected. :)

Song from title: My Favourite Chords by The Weakerthans

to prove it wasn't chicken.

2009-11-11T17:44:00.000-08:00

Arriving in Delhi

I was tired but not sleepy and it took forever for my luggage to come round the belt. I was actually starting to wonder if it had been lost, luckily I was having a conversation with a nice Aussie that I had acquainted with during the flight... we kept each other occupied while waiting... (I have never lost luggage in the past so I always believe that my current flight will be the time that MY luggage goes missing.... everyone has a luggage nightmare story right?) After grabbing my baggage I headed to customs and made it through without a hassle. I remember reading that there would be a lot of people holding signs to pick up passengers... that was an understatement. It was crowded and I felt like there were a million signs... none of which said my name or VSO...I kept searching and retracing the signs for a good half hour. Luckily Nikki, another volunteer who had found VSO walked up to me and asked if I was AnnMarie... I so relieved. I suppose I have that volunteer look. There were eight of us arriving from Heathrow that night... it was nice to get talking to people right away. We made our way back to the Indian Social Institute, got some money, mosquito nets, first aid kits(which contain clean needles... just in case I am in need of one), general information about Delhi and our syllabus. I was also happy to learn that the next day was a free day to do as we pleased.

Looking out from the Indian Social Institute. Notice the cemented shards of glass along the wall... probably is as effective as it looks.

Exploring Delhi

We decided that 1pm would be an ideal time to meet... considering it was a little past 5am when we finally got to bed... (I tossed and turned for a few hours until finally I slept for a few hours.)

We met at one as planned and decided to check out the local shops and made note of internet cafes and places to buy soap and toilet paper. I found as we walked down the street we were gawked at a little and children would come come up to say hello. We stopped for a coffee in a more western looking shop which had air con and was playing Emimen. (*chika-chika* Slim Shady!) To my delight there was an item on the menu called the “Vegan Shake”. :D It was a delicious iced coffee. Mmmmmm. We continued on and explored Lordi Gardens which is a well known park that was filled with temples from the 1400rs, parakeets and a man trying to sell us tea every time we passed him... even though we kept saying 'no thank you'! It also has a jogging track (Score!) and is the park where we will be practicing yoga at 6am! After the park a volunteer called Jenn and I headed out to one of the internet cafes as we had been dying to check email and update twitter and facebook with status changes of our arrival. The connection was slow but not terrible. I had some teary moments as I read all of the well-wishing posts to my wall. I miss everyone so much.

Spirit house that can been seen from the 4th floor patio of our training building.

Breakfast and lunch are supplied through the hostel on weekdays so we embarked on our first journey to the local markets for supper. I suggested South Indian food so that the gang could have dosas which I love and none of them had really had before. After a frightening yet fun motorized rickshaw journey to the markets we found the restaurant. My tummy began to rumble as soon as I walked in the door as I had not eaten much since I landed... I think my lack of appetite was caused by the stress of leaving home and traveling but also from excitement of it all. Everyone loved their dinner and I ate every bite! After dinner we looked in some shops and I found Silk! (double score!) It was expensive by local standards as it is imported from the US but worth the 200rs to me. Although I have only been to a handful of shops I find all the shop keepers to be courteous, helpful and honest as most prices are fixed and marked on the items they sell.

We had fun bargaining for our rickshaw back to the hostel where the driver was trying to charge us 50rs even though it had only cost us 30 to get there. We settled at 40 and hit the road. Afterward the gang had a quick tea and a chat then headed to bed... which is where I am writing this blog from right now... well drafting it into OpenOffice Writer until I can be connected with my beloved internet once again... goodnight.