"Are there puppies in the America too?!"

As promised: My Internship in India, Playing With Puppies Edition
Ok, not exactly. I swear, I do have a real internship, but come on....

ADORABLE!

Just a few yards away from the hospital, there is a little shed housing four of some of the cutest puppies I have ever seen! One afternoon, Brie, Joseph and I were walking back from a ice-cream-snack-break on the school's playground (yes, we sometimes go to eat Popsicles while playing on the teeter-totter... what of it?), and we heard some whimpering.  With a closer look, we saw them! Four cute, and very tiny, puppies.

The entirely black one is my favorite :)

Given that their home is so close to my home... I often go to check if they are awake and playing outside.  I am careful not to get too close when 'mama' is around, for fear of 1) rabies and 2) rabies... but if they are out, it is fun to see them trip clumsily over their paws, nervously come up to lick my fingers, and occasionally alow me to hold them and love them immensely. It is truly one of the highlights of my days here.  The best is when kids are hanging around the shed too (what?! kids and puppies hanging out with me = perfect life).  As seen in the title of this post, the kids get really inquisitive by my interactions with the puppies.

On a few other positive notes...

My internship is going really well! I have made a lot of progress on my manual, and I have generated some interesting data based on some of the surveys I created.  Next up on my internship check-list: to meet with the mothers/female family members of the girls and initiate a discussion AND host a "how to care for yourself during menstruation" demonstration session.

Brie, Joseph and I are going back to Mysore to join the others for an Indian Thanksgiving: Pizza Hut Rs. 99 Weekday Special! (though, I will be missing my mom's dressing and sweet potato pie INCREDIBLE amounts)

Given the previous note.. I have started going for runs again! That's right... I am running. Legitimately. And eating better. And doing ab workouts/crunches every morning.  I suppose something has to make up for my ice-cream-snack-breaks and pizza excursions...

Also, I will be home in 3 weeks from today!

Sunsets and Scenery from Sargur

 An Upstream View, just from the Hospital

 A view from the Hospital Parking Lot

Views from under the great Pepul Tree!

I know it should be hard to feel homesick when this is what I get to look at everyday (plus, it was 80 degrees this afternoon!) but nevertheless, I am ready for some New England again.

Although, hopefully I can get some pictures of the puppies that were just born outside the hospital... because I could stay here forever if I got to play with puppies all day.  Maybe I will just change my internship to: Dog Whispering? 

I'm Living in a Hospital...

It's been a while, but I am currently on phase three of my time here in India; the phases, of course, going something like this: 2 months of class, 1 month of travel, and 1 month of an independent research project/internship.  In a way, it is crazy how the time has passed.  At the same time, I am feeling so incredibly homesick at this point that I cannot wait to be back little 'ole Henniker, NH.

I am spending much of my final month in a rural village south of Mysore called Sargur.

Mock my high-tech image of the town... 

I took it myself

Way down on the bottom of the image is the Vivekananda Memorial Hospital, the place I currently call home.  I will admit, it is a little strange living in a hospital - and people aren't kidding when they compare bad food to hospital food (*ahem, I mean.. it is delicious).  Nevertheless, Brie, Joseph and I have settled into the little "guest room" nook at the top of a dark and semi-sketch ramp (only at night) and have been enjoying our time here.  

My internship is developing day-by-day, but hopefully at the end of 4 weeks I will have a project to show for all the work I have done.  In short, I am creating a teaching manual (i.e. some form of curriculum guidelines) for the Viveka School of Excellence, right next door to the hospital, regarding early female reproductive health.  After doing a bit of research on my own (especially after a few lectures during the course of my school semester) I learned that a large percentage of girls drop out of school once they being menstruating.  When I inquired about this issue further, a teacher told me it is because many schools do not have the proper facilities for the girls to feel comfortable during their period.  That is, there are inadequate bathroom facilities; sometimes there is only an open field that everyone uses.  Moreover, many girls come from families that cannot afford proper sanitary napkins/pads...if they even know those exist.  Many girls use reusable cloths, and given certain religious/spiritual restrictions for a girl during her period, many girls are unable wash/dry these cloths properly (with the family wash), which causes severe infection.  Education on reproductive health (that is, puberty) is scarce, if ever mentioned, in India.  The topics are taboo, and often, girls don't know anything about their changing body until it changes.  When I learned about all this, I was astounded and really wanted to dive into the issue (even though I am a child and still giggle when someone says 'period').

So far, I have met with some of the female teachers at the school and have started the foundation for my project by conducting some interviews and creating surveys.  My aim is to gather information based on what people do know and what people do not know so that I can create a manual that will approach the issue in both a scientific but culturally sensitive manner. Although I am running into incredibly challenging situations (aka, people do not like talking about this issue... that is obvious), I am working with a doctor and several teachers at the school who seem engaged and willing to help me.  One teacher in particular has really shown an interest because she feels like it is an issue for the girls at the school.  I still have a lot to accomplish, the most challenging coming up this Thursday: actually talking with the young girls.  I am hoping for some good feedback so that I can begin designing the manual.  It is a tough undertaking (1. the nature of the topic and 2. because I have a lot to do in the remaining 3 weeks), but I am eager to leave something of value behind for the community here.  Besides, no girl should have to feel like she needs to drop out of school.  Especially for something as manageable as a monthly period.

A Look Back: Chronicling My Journey Through Photographs

 Picking cherries from a tree with kids from the Shanti Bhavan School in Tamil Nadu

 A view from the backside of the Taj Mahal in Agra at sunset

 A man and woman enjoying the sacred waters of the Ganga in Rishikesh

Maharishi Mahesh Ashram (where the Beatles recorded The White Album) in Rishikesh

 Apparently, a career in Rishikesh

No thank you, Ear Cleaning Man...

 Meals cooked over a fire in the village of Maheshpura (just outside Jaipur) on the farm
 

 The Old Pink City of Jaipur

 A woman worshiping in the Se Cathedral of Old Goa

The view of a river in Old Goa 

(it was prettier than the view of the ferry crossing the same path)

Traveling Around India: Update Part Three

I am back in Mysore to write this third and final update regarding my independent travels around India. It was a long (16 hour) trip back to Mysore, but I was coming from the beach in Goa... so I will not complain. Looking back, I really did have such a wonderful experience. Even though there were a few issues, stresses, and road bumps along the way, there was also a lot of beauty and I made some incredible memories. To me, it is crazy enough to think I am through the first week of November, let alone 3 months into being abroad!  I will try to recap the third week of my travels... though I will warn you, it had a lot to do with me being lazy.

Welcome to Anjuna Beach, Goa
...I know

Very few college students (especially college students from freezing-cold Syracuse, NY) can say they enjoyed a few days hanging out on a beach in November.  Also, when that beach is alongside the Arabian Sea... magical. My travel path begins with a flight from Jaipur, Rajasthan to Vasco, Goa. Of course, my flight was delayed 2 1/2 hours.. but once it was up in the air, the flight was smooth sailing and quick.  When I landed I knew my time in daylight would be limited. I noticed 3 other ladies (all traveling by themselves) trying to figure out how to share a taxi. I learned all four of us were going to different places, but all four of us were heading to beaches in Northern Goa. Instead of trying to navigate the state myself, I asked to join them. The ride was a bit cramped, but it was significantly cheaper than trying to figure things out on my own AND I shared a ride with women from Germany, Israel, and Sweden (with ages ranging from 24-65!)

Joseph met me in an alley just short of the beach in Anjuna, Goa. He and 7 of the others were just about the eat at a place called Moon Star (also, 90% of the group ate together that night!) It was very nice to see everyone's familiar face, and to exchange travel stories.  Also, the food was delicious. (safe to assume I ate my weight in food at this restaurant too..)

My time in Goa was very relaxing. Goa is a western state (a very, very, small western state) with a lot of Portuguese influence. The Portuguese colonized the area and brought many different ways of thinking, landscape designs, and foods - they were also there until the late 1960's, well after the rest of India's independence in 1947.  Over looking the Arabian Sea, the entire geography of the state is beautiful. Not to mention warm, sunny, humid, touristy, and fun.  I spent a great deal of time hanging by the beach (with a cocktail in the evening time was also pretty cool), swimming in the warmest ocean I have ever been in, eating (give me a break... they had delicious pizzas, scrambled eggs and ice cream), and ...to be honest... sleeping. It felt so good to sleep in/take mid-day naps, and just lounge around. It was also wonderful to be sharing a room with people again - and always reuniting with everyone for meals. Also, I will admit, it is so much more relaxing/low pressure/fun to be able to order a drink with dinner.

Sometimes I forgot I was in India...

 ...and then I saw cows on the beach and remembered, "oh, right, I am"

 The group of us getting lunch at the Moon Star Restaurant

 There was such a noticeable fusion of Indian/Beach/Portuguese Culture in Goa

 Everywhere...

On Friday, a small group of us ventured a few kilometers away to the township of Old Goa.  Old Goa is known for its high concentration of Christian churches and cathedrals. The area was beautiful and definitely stood apart from the other parts of India that I saw.  We walked around the small town and popped into the various churches to look at the intricate and ornate designs, both inside and out.. Although it was an incredibly hot day, the trip was well worth it - and we got to figure out the local bus system a little better before making our way back the Panaji (the capital) to catch our final buses back to Mysore.

 The inside of this one, Church of Saint Cajetao (pictures inside below) was by far the most beautiful

Everything was so well kept... and to think services are no longer held there

As someone who is not very religious, but fascinated by religiosity, I found the trip incredibly inspiring. It was also interesting to me to be in such a Christian part of India - yet feel the more traditional Indian fusion integrated into the Cathedrals and landscape.

Goa, I think, was a wonderfully low-key and relaxing end to my individual journey around the country. Although I am incredibly tired, have a lot of laundry to do (and by laundry, I mean a lot of de-funking my clothes to do) and just a short time in Mysore before I head off to Saragur for my internship (eep.. tomorrow!) there are still many places I wish I had time to explore. There is simply too much to see in India. Despite all of the confusion and craziness in navigating my way around, I know I grew as a person. I grew as a traveler, as a woman, and someone who can now DEFINITELY do things on her own; I grew as someone who no longer cares about smelling good or looking good. I grew more comfortable in using squatting toilets and/or ANYTHING available. I grew more fearless and confident in my decision-making abilities. I also saw some beautiful places and met some incredibly friendly and interesting people.  There were many things along the way that made me frustrated, but there were many things along the way that had me stop and think about who I am as a person, what I want from life, and simply: to just enjoy being in one confined moment in time.  There is so much in life we can rush into, plan for, and dream of. For once in my life, I loved just being a student, a visitor, a traveler, a passenger, a volunteer, a farmer, a friend, an observer, a tourist, a beach bum, and above all: Sarah. Corney as that may seem, the past 3 1/2 weeks opened my eyes to more things about myself than I ever could have asked for.  In addition, I had a pretty sweet vacation in the middle of a college semester and got to traverse India.