Leaving Bangalore

It’s been a wild ride.  I’m now officially departed.

I’m taking a short holiday now with my mother in Lille, France.  Please write to us by e-mail.

 

see you all soon.

Getting Close

Journal Last days

Monday and Tuesday were very fast days. Both days I worked all day on getting the strategy document into a final form. Each objective had to be in a form that the team could understand, and then put into a log frame. The log frames needed to be filled in by the entire team at a workshop we would also have to design for Wednesday. It seemed like an easy job, but it ended up taking up the whole of both days.

Wednesday was a very important day. It was the day the entire trafficking team did a workshop that would put a backbone on all our theoretical ideas. We rented a conference room outside the office so we could concentrate.

The day started off with a participatory learning activity so the staff could begin to engage in the workshop. This activity was supposed to take about 2 hours. It ended up taking more like 4 hours. Though time became an issue as a result, it did not matter too much because the team was deeply engaged. They would discuss each topic very deeply, on a level I had not seen before. They would debate and argue with one another, then someone would translate for me, then they would do it some more. Each topic was developed and trotted out by the team as a collective. For each discussion the team also produced a chart. The activity in the end resulted in a clearer view of the team from the team’s perspective.

It was 1:00 PM by the time we actually got to the log frames. These, compared to the PLA were very dull and sleep inducing. We had a very difficult time keeping people interested. It seemed as though the group had met their threshold of deep thinking by 3:30 PM. At this time an attempt was made to fill out another log frame, but it was futile. The group was spent.

Thursday was a day planned for fun. I decided to plan a trip to Chennai for the entire trafficking team to say thank you. It has been a wild ride in India and with Oasis and I wanted to express my gratitude for everyone letting me live and learn among them.

When I returned from Chennai the last time some of the staff said that they desperately wanted to go there next time we went. Unfortunately after I introduced the plan to take them there people did not seem that excited. Around every turn the other members of the team seemed to want to do something else than what was planned. In many cases I am adaptable, but in the cases that were presented on this trip I was not adaptable. It was difficult at points, and I felt fine at others. I guess I’m still learning to work in groups.

We ended up going the Mahabalipuram, a beach just south of Chennai, on Friday. The beach was ok. The water was super warm. It was probably really dirty but I decided I did not care so I ran and jumped in any way. A man walking by on the beach asked me to come back in because he was scared that I could not swim and would be taken away by the waves. As I looked up at the shore I also notice no one on the team wanted to swim. Soon I figured out that no one on the team was very confident in water. Though I never went out to a point where I actually had to swim, they were not confident to follow me.

I went back and escorted Gopi out into the chest deep surf to show him that it was fun. Then I did the same with Anil, and Mani, and Geetha. After a couple minutes in the water they all gained their courage and played to their heart’s content. I realized that it wasn’t exactly that they could not swim, it was just that they thought the ocean was too dangerous.

That night we drove through the night to get back to Bangalore. On the way we got two flat tires, endured the rain on some crappy roads (and some nice roads), and not much sleep. I reached home by 2 AM, collapsed on my bed and slept. The trip to Chennai did not go as planned. In fact we never actually made it to Chennai at all. This was ok. It was fun. I only have 6 days left and I am glad I got to bond with the team on a road trip before I left.

The weekend was spent mostly compiling my work and doing some shopping in town. Before I leave I wanted to find some of the best food in town. A worthy cause I think.

This week in the life of me.

After Chennai

Monday

 

I did not go to work on Monday until about 4:00 PM.  I was not feeling good (again) from all the traveling.  Chennai and Vellore are very hot, and for some reason my body gets sick in hot weather.

 

At 4:00 Anita called me and asked if I wanted to go visit the Deputy Inspector General at the Corps of Detectives (her initials – MK).  I said of course.  This women is probably our most powerful advocate in law enforcement.  I was there the first day Anita (and Oasis) met with her, and I wanted to go every time possible.  We had not seen MK since the last raid and wanted desperately to talk with her how that went.

 

When we arrived at the meeting we were immediately ushered in.  Anita informed me that MK had called her, not the other way around.  MK wanted us there.  It was nice not to have to wait forever in the lobby also.

 

When we walked into the office there was a meeting going on.  I recognized several of the men that surrounded MK’s desk as people we have also talked to.  Anita and I sat on the couch and quietly waited for our turn.  I felt very privileged to be sitting there in that office.  MK seemed to be treating us more and more like peers.

 

When it was time to talk to MK she was very kind.  She spoke to Anita and I in English in a very relaxed manner.  She laughed with us, and was also serious about how she wants to move forward with the dedicated anti-trafficking squad.  It seemed also that she had been talking with a lot of other NGO’s in the city with the same interests as us.  It was good to see a person in law enforcement really being proactive about the issues.

Her request for us specifically was to give her the information we had.  She wanted descriptions of cases, FIR numbers, names, dates, addresses, and short narratives on each raid.  She also wanted to know what our intelligence was telling us about the flow of traffick within and out of the city.  She wanted this by Tuesday.

 

Anita and I left very encouraged with this meeting.  We finally felt like things were moving in some direction toward a better future.  Unfortunately one of the cases we are ready to move on will require cooperation with the local crime branch.  This is bad because in all likelihood the pimps will be tipped off and we will miss the girls we know are there.  We have to understand that systemic change happens slowly, and we will have to operate as best we can until the system does change.

 

As we were trying to flag down an auto to get a ride home Anita got a text from one of the most influential politicians in Karnataka.  He (KBG) is a member of the state legislative arm and will surely be in Delhi in the near future.  The best part was HE contacted US.

 

Anita called back and set up a meeting for that night with him at 9:00 PM.  There goes my dinner plans with Vinitha.  But this meeting is very difficult to get so I did not want to miss it.  We called a cab to take us the 25 KM out to his home office.  On the way we picked up Meena Jain of the Child Welfare Committee.  She, I guess, was the one that asked him to contact us.

 

We arrived at KBG’s house and went in to sit and wait for him to arrive.  He was fitting us specially into his busy schedule and making a trip home just for this.  When he arrived I noticed he was young (about 35-40) and very intelligent.  He was probably educated in the US based on his English accent.

 

We spoke with him about our strategies and how we need the government’s help in some areas.  He sat there and listened to every word we said.  He was incredibly kind, and patient with us.  But he was also practical.  He told us that the government knows about the issues that we are bringing up but simply asking any politician to “address child abuse and trafficking issues” in parliament is simply too vague.  He needs specific things to bring to the floor.  He needs us to prioritize for him so that he can bring something concrete.  We all understood that the issues were large and not truly reducible to bullet points, but we would have to work in a way the political system understand if they are going to listen.

 

He gave us some pointers and offered his support.  For someone as famous, and powerful as KBG it was flattering to see how he handled himself with people he does not even know.  I’m sure he sees people like us everyday, and probably gets a little tired of altruistic lobbying.  But he was still sympathetic to the issues, and genuinely concerned with what we had to say.  I was impressed, and hope this contact grows into something more in the near future.

 

Tuesday

Tuesday was a crazy day.

You know those days when you have an assignment due, and you find every reason to not do it?  Then distractions seem to come in waves that keep you “legitimately” from finishing your work. Tuesday was one of those days.

Anita and I sat down to do the reporting for MK but found it very difficult.  I first tried to sort through the case files we had in the office but could not find the information we needed.  The case files were hard copies in binders with no apparent organization.  Anita tried to get the electronic case files from Mumbai, but that also proved very difficult.  By lunch time I looked at the spreadsheet and notice I only had 4 cases represented.

 

I looked at Anita with a slightly defeated look and said, “I don’t think this is good enough.”  He smiled and we continued our work.  After hours of distractions and poor work on my part I looked at the piecemeal spreadsheet cringed and printed it out.  It had 35 cases, and most did not have complete information.  But it was time to go in to see MK so we went.

 

We again walked into the office right away.  I had the map of the trafficking routes under my arm, and the spreadsheet in my computer bag.  She immediately asked for the spreadsheet.  I gave it to here and she kind of chuckled as she said this was useless to her.

 

Remember the time you walked into math class after having done your homework in the hallway right before class.  The sheet of paper usually had a couple holes in it from trying to frantically write things down that at least looked right.  As you handed the paper in the teacher looked at you and said,

 

“Barry is this your homework.”

“Sure Mr. B, what seems to be the problem?”

“Either you don’t have a clue how to do math or you did the wrong page.”

“O gosh, sorry Mr. B.  I did the wrong page.  Gee I’m sorry.  I do it again for class tomorrow.  What was the assignment again?”

 

That’s how I felt, and I played it that way.  I felt a little guilty, but I needed to buy some time.  This assignment from MK would take at least a couple more days, probably more like a couple weeks, but we did not have that luxury.  She gave us a couple more days, so I’ll have to really get my act together my Friday.

 

Wednesday

 

Wednesday was a good day.  I hopped on the work for MK and worked hard all day.  Of the 5 requests she asked for, I completed 3 of them today.  They were the easiest ones, but I’m not holding that against me.

 

Wednesday was also Papa John’s day for the office.  I wanted to do something for the office some time now.  Anita had told me that papa john’s had a buy one get one free deal so I pounced on it.  I bought some pizza for my friends here and we had a good old fashion pizza party.  In India food is a far more special thing than in the US.  The way everyone thanked me for this gesture was very humbling.  They were so thankful.  I will miss them when I go home.

 

On a short sidenote.  It rained really hard today and I did not get stuck in it.  hooray for me!

wed, thurs, friday

Wednesday was another hilarious day filled with things that did not go quite like they were planned.  First thing in the morning I decided to take a dip in the pool.  Unfortunately I had no bathing suit.  Fortunately for me I did have some pants that I thought would be a perfect bathing suit.  I jumped into the pool in pants and swam around for about 15 minutes.  During that time I noticed that a man was standing and staring at me.  It was awkward, but being a foreigner in this country I have gotten used to it so I try to ignore it.  After 15 min. he came over and said something to me in Tamil.  I did not understand, and then he tried in broken English.  Supposedly I was not allowed in the pool.  I was afraid it was the no-pants in the pool policy I was breaking, but alas is was my entire body that was not allowed.

I got out right away and went to my room to get ready for the day.  During my shower time the same guy came up to my room and peeked his head in room door while I was still in the bathroom taking a shower.  He did not come into the room at all but I heard his voice saying something.  It was really creepy.  When I got out of the shower I assumed he had left, but I kept hearing a gentle knock on the door.  I opened it after I put some clothes on and the guy was standing outside the door.  He had a bill for using the pool in his hand.  He asked for 150 Rs. Then he attempted to walk in the door as I went to get some money.  I stopped him there and told him to wait outside.  I gave him the money then he left.

Our first meeting was with an organization in town that focused on child abuse in Chennai.  It was a two person operation and a rather impressive one at that.  They have published a great deal of training material, books, seminars, and other things.  They handle many cases and have good contacts.  When we spoke to them, however, I quickly determined that they were not ready for partnership with us.  One of the staff was very negative, very critical, and very much opinionated on how everyone else is wrong with how they do their work.  I truly believe she was quite good at what she did and had a lot to offer.  The attitude, however, would be difficult to work with.

We went back to the office to have lunch before we went to our next meeting.  The afternoon meeting was with an organization called Rescue.  Unfortunately it was my turn to sit this meeting out.  It is not always good to enter a meeting with another NGO with an army of staff so I sat out and let others go in.  Those in the meeting said it went well.

After this meeting there was a mad dash to the train, then off to Vellore for the calm between the storms.

Thursday

Thursday was my chance to breathe.  I had been travelling so much and trying to organize things remotely that I was losing a little sanity.

This week I was responsible for making sure some Americans coming in had a place to stay and a meeting time at the office at the end of the month.  Booking a hotel seemed easy back home, but here is was a three week long ordeal.  One of the staff told me if I booked it the room would cost more because I’m American.  I trusted him so I asked if he would do it.  A week later nothing had happened so I asked again.  He found some options for rooms and showed them to me, and I said they were way too expensive.  He found another and I said that was ok, and asked him to book it.  A couple days later (as I was leaving for Shillong) he called and said he had not done it yet.  While in Shillong I did not have a phone to call him.  When I got back I found out he passed the duty on to someone else.  That someone else had not done it yet either.  This was beginning to get difficult.  I then went to the latest person and made sure she was on it.  She said yes.  A couple days went by and the American group e-mailed for a confirmation.  I called the staff member and found out she had not found a room yet.  I asked her to get it done ASAP.  She did.  The room was now (sort of) booked.

I called her again for an address.  She said she did not know it.  I sent out the confirmation e-mail anyway.  These Americans come in one weeks time.  I hope they are ok with how things seem to work here.  No address, just some vague guidelines on how to get there.  A phone number that no one seems to be picking up.  It is really frustrating to me sometimes when exact plans cannot be made.

Thursday is when this all came to a head.

Thursday also was sort of a relaxing day.  I did not have to do a whole lot, and I was not in a very large city.  There was peace and quiet.  It was really hot, but the quiet was enough for me.  I ate, and drank juice, wrote in the journal, read, and took a nap.  It was a good day.

At the end of the day however things got crazy again.  This situation unfolded and I could just see the craziness from mile away.  I will not go into detail here, but I will say that it was nobody’s fault.  There was simply a lot of miscommunication between a lot of people, and the sort of relaxing day turned into a sort of hectic night.

Friday

Friday started at 4 AM. I went to the train and traveling to Chennai again.  This train was very crowded, and kind of slow.  There was no A/C either so it was kind of stuffy.  When we got to Chennai Anita and I went to get some breakfast.  After some dosa and eggs we went to the first meeting with the Department of Social Defense.

The man and woman we met here were extremely helpful.  They knew about trafficking and also gave us good input on how, if we were to start a new program in Chennai.  It was nice to finally talk to someone that might want Oasis to be around.   The purpose of the meetings all week were to establish whether an anti-human trafficking team would be welcome in Chennai and more importantly is it needed?

The first round of meetings were discouraging.  The child abuse organization thought NGO’s are all wrong, and the police thought there was no issue in Chennai.  The second round now said there was a problem, and the Oasis would do well to assist in the areas where the government and other NGO’s are not currently helping.

We all walked away from this meeting encouraged.  The DSD said that aftercare and repatriation of Bangladeshi girls was their most pressing need.  Outreach and Rescue were still needed, but aftercare was the biggest gap.  This seems to be a pattern.  These girls are found, rescued, and then they get lost in the system.  The frustration with NGO’s that the lady working in child abuse cases is well warranted.

Our next meeting was with a high police official at his office.  I had been to the police before.  In fact we had already seen someone on Wednesday and that meeting was awful.  This guy, however, had a bigger office which told us that he was much higher up.  I was praying that we would not have to sit there and wait for too long.  I was so tired.

When we walked into the office one of the office assistants took our cards and walked into the police inspector’s office.  We only waited about one minute.  He called us in right away.  We all say down in very comfortable chairs and told him why we were there.  He began right away to thank us for coming and explain the trafficking issue from his point of view.  He made sure to speak to all of us in the room (me, Anita, Vasu, Danny).  He spoke to us all like equals, and really expressed an interest in partnership.  Usually when I walk into these situations I pull out my notebook and take notes.  This time I engaged in the discussion.  He asked me questions and really wanted to know my opinion.  He joked around with us, and really gave us a lot to think about.  At the end of the meeting he even gave us a little assignment; assist in the repatriation of Bangladeshi girls they have had in custody for a year.

I walked out of this meeting feeling for the first time that being an American was different not necessarily a bad thing.  He seemed genuinely interested in what Oasis was doing, and for me he also showed interest in my studies and what I was learning about India.

By the time we left the police offices it was already 6:30, and our train was an 8:00.  We had just enough time to get something to eat and then catch the train.

When we got to the train Anita said that our tickets were unreserved.  That was ok by me since an unreserved ticket only cost about $2.  The unreserved seating thought was either in the front of the train or the back.  The back, as we walked by, was overflowing with people so we walked to the front.  The front was also overflowing.  It was still an hour before the train was supposed to leave.  Our choices were to cram in an just suck it up, or to find an open seat in the sleeper car.

Fortunately we were getting off at Katpadi (sp?) and the train was going all the way to Kerala. If we could find a reserved seat of someone who was getting on at Kerala we would be sitting pretty.  Unfortunately for us there were plenty of others with that same idea and every time we found a seat like that there was already someone like us in it.  Finally we found a seat. As the train was pulling away someone with the ticket to that seat came and said that the seat was his.  He was very gracious and let us share it as he just went and laid down in his loft above the seat.

The train ride was a mix between struggling to get comfortable and fighting the urge to just pass out from exhaustion and trying not to sleep so we didn’t miss the train station.  We arrived at the station at 10:00.  I went into the house ate some Biryani and passed out in bed.

After Shillong

After Shillong.

When I returned home from Shillong things seemed to happen in the same progression as every other time I traveled in India. I got a little fever for a day. In that day I slept for about 20 of the 24 hours. By Sunday I was still tired, but feeling good enough for church and social interaction. By Monday I was ready to go at it again.

Monday Anita came back from the U.S. at 5:00 AM. There was no time for rest for her. We went to 2 meetings on that very same day. One was cut short because the person we were meeting did not come to work that day. The other went a bit long but at least it was at a coffee shop so I could get a cappuccino and a muffin to carry me through.

The meetings ended up also generating some good opportunities in advocacy on a government level. Although I do not really understand how this is going to pan out, I am excited at the opportunity.

Tuesday Anita, Christine, and I went to Chennai to have some more meetings. The trip was really a comedy of errors. First we had tickets on a train in the morning, but they were not confirmed or waitlisted. In India this means that you have a spot on the train but you do not know exactly where. To fix this problem we would have to go early to the train and see if we could get confirmed in the morning. When we got there we realized everyone on the wait list in line before us and after us got seat; we did not. We would seriously have to hop on the train and hope that a seat opened up or else we would have to stand for the 5-hour journey. Luckily seats did open up; not together, but they were seats.

In Chennai we got to the YMCA where we were staying and quickly put our stuff in the rooms and then went to the office. At the office for some reason I was feeling very tired. As people were talking about the schedule for the day I was nodding off. I felt bad, but my body was rejecting the entire reality of me being awake.

We were supposed to have a meeting with an NGO and the police that day. The NGO got moved to Wednesday, but the police meeting was still on. I was somewhat dreading the police visit because of my previous experiences there. The police visits always went the same way. We walk in and ask to see the person we are meeting with. The secretary (or whoever) says that the person is busy or in a meeting and says they’ll be there in 5 minutes. We then sit down. 15, 20, 30, sometimes an hour pass before the person comes in to the meeting. That person then sits down facing us while talking to someone else in the office or on the phone. We wait for another 5 or 15 minutes then they talk to us. Sometimes they listen, but most of the time we do the majority of the listening. It’s tough because the meeting sometimes goes off track right off the bat and there is no ability to reign in the conversation. This is difficult because the meetings are meant to foster mutually beneficial partnerships, but they end up becoming something else.

This meeting we very much in line with our previous ones. We met with a woman who was from a department that probably was not quite in line with our work. She then gave us a long discourse on how there was not that sort of problem to be addressed in her city. Again my body rebelled and also fell on the floor in a slumber.

We left his meeting a little unsatisfied, but hopeful. Hopeful because that night we had planned to go bowling. We got to the alley around 9:30 PM and bowled one game with about ten people from the Chennai office. It was great fun. After bowling we went to Pizza Hut. My first time in India. Pizza was lovely. I fell asleep quickly this night.

Shillong

Journal week 9

Shillong

The morning I went to Shillong I got up around 6:00 am to finish packing and then got in the cab to go to the airport.  This airport ride was interesting because it was at a normal hour.  The last couple times I had gone I was picked up at 3 or 4 am. It was nice seeing the sun.

The plane to Shillong would last about 4 hours with a quick layover in Calcutta.  The plane boarded late, and then I found out I was a little taller than most Indians (this being most noticeable by how my legs hit the seat in front of me).  When the place arrived in Calcutta we had to stay in the plane.  It was an interesting development, because I was so used to de-planeing for layovers.  During this time I searched my pockets for my wallet, phone, and keys.  Unfortunately my phone was not in the place I remember it.  I quickly hit the panic button.  I frantically searched around me; under the seats and in the cushions.  I asked the people in front and behind me.  They all said no phone.  After about 6 min. of sweating it out the guy in front tapped me on the shoulder and said he found it.  Finally.  That was a close one.

The ride from Calcutta to Guwahati was only about an hour.  I went to get my checked bag then I walked outside to find the cab.  The guy was waiting for me with my name on a piece of paper.  I felt nice and important.  The guy’s name was Morning Star Sumer.  I love that name.  He was a local from Shillong and on the long drive to Shillong he told me about the local state.  The drive was on a skinny rode.  It was very winding and scary.  Morning Star was very skilled at driving so the ride wasn’t that bad.

Shillong is a very large town.  It was far bigger than I expected.  The place I was staying was located on a sprawling university campus.  I was in the guesthouse.  It was very nice.  There was plenty of room, and plenty of comfort.  The problem was that my phone did not work at all.  I could not call Amena, or Antonia, or anyone.  I was now stranded about 30 min out of town in a very nice guesthouse.  Could be worse I thought.  The lobby luckily had WIFI and it was really fast.  I got out the computer and e-mailed every contact I had so they would know I arrived.

Saturday came and Antonia showed up at the guesthouse around 10 AM.  That was very kind of her.  She had been trying to call me but since the phone didn’t work there was never an answer.  We walked around the campus a bit, then we called Morning Star to see if he could take us to some sites near the city.  He was busy so we just called another cab.

By 11:00 we were headed to elephant falls.  It was a nice location. Honestly a little less dramatic than I was told it would be, but nice nonetheless.  We walked around and took some pictures for a little as we caught up on practicum stories.  She has had a very interesting experience thus far also.

Next we went to Shillong peak.  It was more of a hill overlook.  From here you could see a panoramic view of the entire city.  It was really nice.  Shillong is nestled in the hills of the countryside.  It is spread out over quite a large area.  You can see pictures of it on facebook.

By this time I was getting tired and so was Antonia so we decided to get something to eat.  We went to City Dhaba restaurant.  There was actually a wait.  I guessed the restaurant must be very good if there was a wait.  Fortunately my suspicions were correct the food was delicious.  I heard the food in NorthEast India was different than that of South India.  Funny thing was I ordered Chinese food so it was more like Magic Wok back in California.

After dinner I went back to the guesthouse.  Antonia and Amena and I had made plans to go to the same church service.  They told me to meet them at the City Dhaba restaurant at 12:20 PM.  I told them I could do that.  All I needed to do was get a cab, and I didn’t have to get up early.

Sunday

Sunday started out nice and slow.  It felt like a holiday.  I ate breakfast, checked my e-mail, and watched the University of Michigan football game online.   Around 11:00 A.M. I left the guesthouse to go find a cab out by the gate.

The gate was a ten-minute walk.  When I got to the gate I noticed there was about 20 people already waiting there for a cab.  I thought maybe if I walked down the hill a bit I could get a cab without as much competition.  I got about a quarter mile down the road and realized there was no way I was going to get a cab down there.  I walked back up to the crowd and asked one of the guys if that was the place to stand to get a cab.  He looked at me reluctantly and shook his head.  I assumed that meant I was correct.

One cab came up the hill and stopped by the crowd.  The people quickly rushed up to the cab and a bunch of them got in.  The car sat about 5 people but more like 9 got in.  It was a little intimidating.  I was praying that enough cabs would come by so I wouldn’t have to fight for a seat.  Cabs did not come.  Every 10 min one went by but one out of every two stopped.  Each time the scene was the same.  A crowd jumped in before I could ask the cab if they were going where I was going.  One cab did stop and listen to me, but as I opened the door to get in the cab he told me to get out because he was not going where I wanted to go.

This was frustrating.  I did not have a phone; I did not have a ride.  It was 12:00.  I was not going to make it.  I had to make a decision on what to do so I decided to walk back to the guesthouse to make a phone call.  By the time I got there I was already late for my meeting.  I asked the front desk guy if I could use the phone but he said no.  He told me that I could use a pay phone that was located in the next building over.  His directions were very vague, and I ended up walking all the way around the building sort of blazing a trail around the back.  I could find no phone.

I walked back to the guesthouse a little defeated.  I asked the security guard this time what the deal was.  He said, “oh yeah, it’s Sunday.”  I thought that such information would have been very helpful before sending me out on an impossible mission.  Again I asked him if I could use his mobile phone.  He said there was no credit on it, and that it would not work.  I said there must be a way to call to an outside number here, but he insisted that there was not.  I looked at the wall blankly and said, “so what the heck am I supposed to do now?”

After about 10 seconds of silence the guard said,  “we should use the office phone.”  What the heck!  Why wasn’t this offered the first time?  It was pushing 12:35 at this time and they were probably wondering where I was.  I went into the office with the guard and made the call to Antonia from there.  I explained to her what happened and they then decided to come out a get me.  I wish the office phone would have been offered 30 min. ago.

When Amena and Antonia and Amena’s son Keif came and got me it was about 12:50.  The drive back into town took about 20 minutes.  We were supposed to go eat lunch then make an ordination service of a friend of Amena’s.  The time was close so we looked for a restaurant near the church.  As we drove by the location Amena had in mind we realized, again, that it was Sunday and the place was closed.

We all chuckled as we realized how humorous the morning’s events had unfolded.  The whole purpose of having me come in to town was to save time; instead it did the opposite.  We quickly decided to just go to church and buy some chips to hold us over until the end of the service.  We reached the Presbyterian church around 1:25.  The service started at 1:30.  We were on time for the service, which made me happy.  As Antonia and I took a deep breath we simultaneously looked at the program and realized the entire service would be done in Khasi.  Just another fun twist.  We would definitely understand nothing going on in the service.

The service was nice.  It was also very long under the circumstances.  1hour and 45 minutes of a foreign language were taxing on my will to stay awake.  When the service ended I realized that I was also very hungry.  Fortunately we were going to the home of the man who was just ordained for a banquet.

When we reached I realized that the banquet would have plenty of food.  There were 5 or 6 of the buffet style hot serving trays set up on a long table in the patio area.  We sat down in the living room and met all the people we had just seen at the church.  The pastor that gave the main message, the newly ordained pastor, some of the visiting pastors, and other friends and family members. Everyone was very nice.

Around 3:50 Keif told Amena that we had to leave if we were going to make the church service.  I then remembered that we were going to her normal church service at 4:00.  The food was not quite ready yet, but we had to leave.  Oh well, I guess another couple hours would be fine without a meal.  This day was just a crazy mess, but I was really enjoying it for some reason.

We hopped in the car again and drove the steep and curvy roads that were beginning to define Shillong for me.  We arrived at the next Presbyterian church around 4:05.  The service had already started.  We grabbed a couple bulletins and searched for an open seat.  The only ones were obviously in the front row.  It’s always interesting walking in late to a gathering and having to walk in front of everyone, especially when you are the only one that looks different to everyone else.

This service was in English and was very enjoyable.  The pastor was nice too when I spoke to him after the service.  It was now time for us to return to the home of the ordained pastor we had previously left.  This time when we got there we went straight for the buffet.  It was lovely.

I ate until I was content.  The food was delicious, and interesting at the same time.  My favorite was the “pig’s head.”  It tasted like a fatty pork, but I could only imagine what it looked like before it was cooked.  We all laughed at the craziness of the events of the day.  Overall we all thought it was good.  It was a Sunday I would not soon forget.

Monday

Monday I asked Morning Star via Amena to come get me around 10:00.  I woke up, showered, ate breakfast and sat outside to wait for him by 10:00 am.  He arrived around 10:30.  He then told me that we should go meet Amena at her office around 10:40.  So we did.

Amena worked in the history department of the university.  Her office was very easy to find and she was waiting for us inside at the allotted time.  She then took Morning Star and I on a short campus walk and then to tea.  We talked a bit then she went back to her work

My plan for the day was to keep things very low key.  Morning Star, however, thought there was a couple places that I had to see so he arranged to take me to those places.  One was the dam and one was the sacred forest.  All I planned for the day was to see the city center areas, and go to a bakery named “Carmel” to get a cake.

The dam morning took me to was guarded by military personnel at the entrance.  There was no one else there.  It was a little interesting.  He knew some people who could get us into the property so we were allowed in.  The road down to the dam was long and winding.  The dam blocked a sizeable river and appeared to be the Shillong water supply location.  The dam itself was good size too.  I walked up to it and on top of it, and down some winding stairs to a catwalk that took us over the dam controls.  It was very interesting to get that close.

The drive up seemed shorter than the drive down.  On the way we passed some cattle grazing, some dogs wandering, and some goats frolicking about.  Seeing such things had become common place here.  Sometimes I don’t even notice anymore.  At the top we drove onto the sacred forest.

The forest was not that far away from the dam.  We drove down a small, narrow road until we got to a toll booth and a gate.  The toll booth was filled by an elderly man who took his time walking to the window of the car.  He spoke with Morning Star for a little while and then lifted the gate.  We drove into what looked like a field and then parked.

The forest represented a very abrupt end to the rolling plain.  It was like a black and white cookie; the plain and the forest the way the trees created a definite line where the grassy hills ended and the forest began.  We walked along the edge of the forest for a ways to find an appropriate entry point.  When we found one Morning Star lead me right in.

The edge of the forest looked very thick.  Upon entering I realized the forest was not that dissimilar to the forest I remember in Michigan.  The main difference were the great amount of monolith rock formations.  The rocks were not all that big but there were definitely put there purposefully, and there were a lot of them.  We didn’t walk for that long or that far before we looped back around to head back.  Morning Star blazed a trail down a hill and up a stream to lead me back out of the forest.  The sacred forest was honestly a little anti-climactic for me.  But it was also still fun, and I was glad to see it.

Now Morning Star and I were heading back into town to look around.  He took me to Bara Bazaar, and Police Bazaar, and Carmel.  Again I was expecting something different than I saw in each location.  But again I was glad I got to see them all.  I returned home fairly tired, ate dinner in the dining room and went to bed.

Tuesday

Today I simply wanted to do nothing.  I told Amena that I would stop by and let her show me a little more of the campus.  I really enjoyed talking with Amena.  She is extremely intelligent and fun to learn from.   We toured the library and some more of the science buildings.  This chat was nice and relaxing.

I returned to the room to eat lunch then take a nap.  The rest of the day used up by sleeping and reading.  It was the perfect day.

Wednesday

Today Morning Star picked me up at 5:45 AM.  We then went into town to pick up Antonia and Keif before went to Cherrapunji.  The drive to Cherra was going to be long, but it was nice that Antonia and Keif were there to going in the conversation.

The first site we came to was a bridge and a lookout over a deep canyon.  The canyon was lined with green. It was a jungle ravine.  So different than anything I see in California.

Morning Star then drove us down the winding road on the edge of one side of the canyon until we reached the first waterfall.  This waterfall was touted as the 4^th highest in the world.  I believe it.  It was dramatic.  Another jungle ravine fell into a river valley.  The river fell of a stone cliff and became mist by the time it reached a turquoise pool at the bottom.

Keif asked if I wanted to climb down the steps to get a better view.  I said, of course.  We all then started walking down the 3 year old, uneven staircase.  The steps were concrete and steep and there were about 300 of them.  When we got to the bottom of the steps. Keif asked if I wanted to trek into the jungle to get closer to the bottom.  I said, of course.  We then trekked down steep, wet, muddy trail into the jungle.

I was having the time of my life.  I love hiking and the scenery here was great.  Unluckily Antonia was wearing old navy style sandals. They were really hindering her ability to get good footing.  But she kept on going.

After a while I Keif said that we should go back so that we will have enough time to do everything else.  I was a little disappointed because we were only about half way to the bottom of the falls, but I understood that it was best to turn around at this time.

The journey up was slightly easier than the journey down, but far more strenuous.  The group had to take several breaks because of the steepness of the trail.  It took about 20 minutes to reach the stairs again, and then another 10 minutes to reach the top.  At the top I bought some American style sour cream and onion chips.  It was tasty.

Next stop was a little 2-acre park.  It overlooked the border to Bangladesh.  The park itself was really nothing dramatic, and a little anticlimactic, but it was nice to look over the cliffs at the Bangladesh border.

Next stop was the cleanest village in India/Asia.  It took another 4 hours to reach this village.  When we got there I noticed that it was very nice.  It still looked like a village in India, but this one had landscaping lining the sidewalks and trash bins in strategic locations.

The village was small, and nestled tightly in the thick jungle.  We walked around a bit then went into a tree house and sat out on a canopy.  We chatted out there for a bit then had some tea and left.  The rush was for the purpose of getting back to Shillong before the curfew started the evening.  The curfew was for the Uranium mining protest in the area by the student organizations.

It took a while to get back into town.  The windows were down and the breeze was very refreshing.  I was finally able to stick my elbow out the window without fear of having it damaged by passing cars.  By the time we reached town it was 6 pm.  We went to Amena and Keif’s house first.  Fortunately Amena had prepared some food and we ate right away because the curfew started at 7 and we still had about 40 min. of driving.  I ate a lot, and I ate quickly.  As I walked out the door Amena gave me food to have later that evening.  It was so nice of her.

I arrived back at the guesthouse around 7:10.  It felt like midnight.  I walked straight up to the room took a shower and then ate the dessert Amena gave me.  I for some reason was not tired any more so I watched two movies.  By midnight I fell asleep.              This day was very exciting, but was mostly spent driving.  Regardless of the length and fatigue it enjoyed the day.

Thursday

Thursday was a wonderful day of rest.  I did nothing but sleep, read, and talk to Amena.  This is just what I needed.

week 8

This week started off like any other week.  Monday I came into the office and sat down to do some work.  Anita called me upstairs to have a quick chat on what was going to happen when she went to the US.  She then called each team upstairs to talk through the schedule with them also.  It was going to be weird with Anita gone.

In the midmorning/afternoon I sat again with Anita as we attempted to summarize parts of our strategy and budget for the donor.  They needed to have it done by 1:30 so they could Skype call and talk through any points that were vague or didn’t make sense.  I am quickly learning that funding creates a lot of stress for practitioners.  Having dedicated fundraisers would make life so much easier, especially if that dedicated person was really good at it.

The rest of the day was spent getting ready for the week without the boss.  I had to make sure my work would be in line with what Oasis needed.  Also we had to make sure the other volunteer in the office was not overlapping my work, but also had enough to do.  I ended up taking on a lot of logistical office duties.  This would give me a taste of what it was like to sit in Anita’s chair for a brief period of time.

Tuesday I went and sat in Anita’s office.  It was a lot quieter so I could make my phone calls without broadcasting them to the rest of the office.  Also there are fewer distractions so my work time can be more efficient.

This day went by very quickly.  I made some calls, sent some e-mails, complied some documents then all of a sudden it was 5:00.  At this point I decided to go downtown and walk around with Christine (the other American volunteer).  We did a little window shopping and talked a bit.  It was a good evening.  The traffic was bad on the way home so I did not arrive until 8 PM.  Vinu was ready for dinner already so I just sat down and ate.

The house has been a little different for the last 3 weeks.  Auntie Nellie (the older scrabble auntie) has been away at her son’s house for a while so I haven’t seen her.  Vinitha was gone to Goa for some time also.  Plus I was in Mumbai for four days last week.  So quite honestly I haven’t sat down to a meal at the house is some time.  This day was different still because Vinitha was sick.  So I pretty much ate alone.  She still cooked for me but did not feel well enough to eat much.

Wednesday Vinitha stayed home from school.  She cooked me breakfast but looked like she was very uncomfortable.  She had a sore throat and would probably just stay home all day.  I went to work at the normal time and went up to Anita’s office and sat in the quiet to answer some e-mails and get some stuff done.

Today was a day that I also noticed that I am very comfortable now.  I work well with the people in the office.  It is nice to have conversations about the work when I feel I know what I’m talking about to some extent.  My cultural observations now are forced.  I don’t notice things that are different from the US anymore.  Instead I simply live normally.

The day was long and hectic.  I finalized some more travel plans, and got caught in the middle of some financial messes.  The logistics of the day ended up taking up a lot of my time so I was not even able to get to my work.  It was just a crazy day.

The good part about the day is that I finally got my tickets for Shillong.  I will be traveling up there (northeast India) Friday.  Its supposed to be beautiful.  Everyone tells me the culture is very very different than that of Bangalore.  My friend Antonia is up there doing her Fuller practicum so it should be a fun time.  I’m going to fly into Guwahti and then will take a 5 hour cab ride down to Shillong. I will be staying in a University guest house which is supposedly on a sprawling nature filled campus.  I will be sure to update once I get there.

pictures

new pictures up on facebook

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=128361&id=551316113&ref=nf

Mumbai

Mumbai

Things have been going by very fast lately.  Monday I went to Mumbai to go to the Oasis leadership meetings concerning plans for the next year(s).  Oasis brought all the leaders from each branch of their work into one room to meet for two straight days.  The meetings were long.  It was interesting to see the dynamics that surface in meetings like this.  Planning meetings always seem to take on a certain feel for me.  This one was no different.  There were things people agreed on, and there were things people did not.  There were times when one subject stayed on the table for a long time, and other times when things went really quickly.  Overall it was a good meeting.  I was good to see the leadership at work.

Each night in Mumbai was when I had the real experience time.  The first night Anita, Becky and I went down to some place where there was a lot of street shops.  The ladies convinced me that the kebabs the vendors sold were legit.  Of course I had to try them.  So I did.  They were delicious, we all got another, and another.  Then Anita told me I had to try Pani Puri.  She said it was “water”.  I said, “giddy up”.

Pani Puri is a little puff ball of sorts that is filled with some sprouts/corn mixture then dipped in a sauce then pepper water.  Anita had to go buy a ticket then give it to the guy making the pani puri.  The guy gave her a little plastic container and she said you just hold it out and he’ll put one in there.  There were about 5 others standing around with these plastic containers.  After everyone was in place the chef guy started filling, and dipping these treats.  They were supposed to be eaten in one bite since biting it in half would simply drain all the water out of the treat.  The bite was quite large, but I found a way to handle it.  I had 3 and Anita had 2 while Becky video-taped the foreigner trying to fit in.  It was a blast.

Later that evening I went out to get copies with Anita for the meetings the next day.  On the streets there were thousands of people gathered in small groups of 50 to 100.  All the groups gathered around drum circles or loud dance music and were dancing.  Some of the groups followed slow moving cars and dance behind them as they slowing moved up the road.  Anita told me this was a festival and Mumbai celebrates it quite widely.  There were firecrackers exploding from time to time, and loud music blaring around every corner.  It was kind of fun.

One of the most intriguing groups I came across was a large gathering of girls surrounded by the young men.  The girls were dancing in the middle and the guys were dancing on the outside.  Every 30 seconds or so someone would through red dust into the air.  This eventually covered everyone in the dancing circle from head to toe.  The street was stained red also.  I tried to walk around it but found that difficult.  As I snuck through the frenzy I saw a couple girls in the back who were being treated for injuries.  I assumed they were trampled by the mass of people.  It was a very interesting night.

The second night in Mumbai was possibly the most fun.  Vasu took Anita and I to the Gateway of India.  The site is the location where the British first landed on the subcontinent.  It is a massive arch looking out in to the bay.  Behind it is the Taj Hotel and the rest of down town Mumbai.  Vasu said it would be fun to go out on a boat for a quick shoreline cruise; so we did.  Vasu is the type of guy I love to explore a new city with.  He is filled with historical knowledge, and seems to love his city.  To told me the significance of every building that I could see from the boat.  He explained what the military shipyard contained and the history behind that too.  As we got out far enough we could see the entire Taj Hotel.  He reminded me of the terrorists that held it captive for 4 days.  They killed many, as the country held its collective breath for days.

On the boat we got a call from Anita’s cousin and were invited for dinner.  It was already 8:30 and it would take at least an hour to get back.  Indians eat late.  But I’m getting used to that.

We got off the boat and walked to the best street vendor for kebabs in all of Mumbai.  Anita ordered several items to take to her cousin’s house.  Vasu and I were getting tired, but that was ok.  We took the train back then got a rick to drop us off at her cousin’s house.  The rick got lost.  It was slightly humorous to me.  Eventually we did find the place and sat down to eat.

Anita’s cousin was very kind and spoke very good English.  Her husband was hilarious, loud, and also spoke very good English.  I had a great time eating more kebabs, sambar, rice, and talking with these new people.  I finished dinner by about 11:30 PM and went back to Vasu’s house to sleep.  Morning came early the next day.

Mumbai with Nigel

Day three was an eventful day.  Sujetha, Anita, and I accompanied a man named Nigel around the program sites in Mumbai.  This was the perfect situation for me.  Nigel was a consultant for a funding organization of Oasis.  He wanted to see how things were going so he could report back to the organization.  I was in a great position to learn how this process works.  I would also have the opportunity to see many of the programs in Mumbai.

The first place we went was a community where the operatives in Mumbai work with street children.  Because of safety issues I stayed in the car with Anita and Vadeep. It would have been unwise to take two European looking people into those neighborhoods together.  Instead Anita showed me to a sweets shop and introduced me to somosas, and a cashew candy.  Both were excellent.

When we left there we went to the government home.  This location was much smaller than the Bangalore counterpart.  It was cramped all the same though.  It housed only girls, and had a capacity of 40.  Sometimes however the home housed 200.  As we walked through we saw the bunk beds and the meeting room.  Oasis runs classes and helps with health care at this home.

When we reached the kitchen Nigel went in and started chatting with the girls who were cooking.  It was mostly small talk.  Then Nigel asked them if they had any questions for him.  They gave a fascinating answer: “I don’t know what to ask him, it’s because of white people like this that we are in this place.”  Obviously the comment was not referring to Nigel himself, but the observation was very heavy.  Are organizations that “rescue” girls from brothels doing the right thing?  Are the homes any better than the brothels?  Not from our perspective, but from the girls’ perspective?  Do we ever take the time to ask?

After this we went to lunch and then to Aruna.  Aruna is a program that reaches out to brothel owners, girls, pimps and the like.  They do not prosecute or run raids, they simply show love and compassion to the people in the brothel while they are still in the brothel.  This is a very interesting concept.  On one end of the organization we are prosecuting these people and on one we are simply loving them.  I think it is a great idea.  Some people do not.  Honestly I’m ok with that.

After Aruna the group drove around the red light district of Mumbai.  It was astounding how many brothels there were.  Every single building was a brothel.  At 4:00 there were already women outside waiting for customers.  It made me feel disgusting.  The brothels in Bangalore are quite a bit more hidden.  These are obvious and are wide open.  How can this be?  How can the government let this happen?  It is so obvious!

That night to take my mind off of what we saw we took a local Oasis staff to a shoe store to get some shoes.  He is a beneficiary of our street children program and is now running a half marathon to raise money for Oasis.  His story is incredible.  The least we could do was get his some shoes to run in.  It took a while to do so, but we got the job done.  Now Baboo is ready to train and run.  This was a good end to a very interesting day.

The Final day in Mumbai was a meeting with Nigel and some other Oasis leaders.  I took notes on the meeting for the stakeholders.  It was a good meeting.  I learned a lot about how NGO’s and funders interact.  The meeting was long, and by it’s end I was ready to leave and go back to Bangalore.  It was much less hot and humid and Bangalore felt more like home.  Unfortunately the plane was delayed and we did not arrive home until midnight.  Oh well.

The next two days I was a little feverish again.  Just like when I returned from Calcutta.  I stayed in most of Saturday, and felt better by Sunday (Oct 4). On Sunday I went to an event in Dodigunta where the chief minister of Karnataka was supposed to be.  He didn’t show up.  Prakash and Anita told me that is often the case.  The big-wigs send someone ahead to see if the event is prestigious enough for them.  If not then they give an excuse and done come.  That was ok by me I guess.

Overall I’m very thankful for the experience so far.  I have been able to see a lot of India, and a lot of what makes an NGO tick.  India has been good to me.  Hopefully I can offer something in return.

sept 23-24

September 23-24

I arrived early in the office on the 23^rd again to work on the strategy.  With all the distractions and other things to do we had only finished two of the six objectives.  The deadline was quickly approaching so today was crucial.  8:00 AM to Noon were prime working hours.  We finished five of the six in that time.

Lunchtime today was fun.  Lunch in the office is always a buffet.  What ever you bring is everyone else’s also.  We sat down today all together in the main room and ate and laughed together.  This office is like a family.  I really am enjoying it.

After lunch the community team went back to work and so did the AHT team.  By 7:00 we had finally finished most of the strategy, and had some fun Chinese dinner.  I think I may like the Chinese food better here than in the US.  If they had Mu-Shu then it would definitely be better.

I arrived home around 9:00 again.  Sleep was easy to find.

Thursday was going to be my half-day.  I had put in plenty of hours so I figured I needed some rest.  Unfortunately many of the office staff want me to stay after work and teach an exercise class.  Office exercise should be a fun time.  I really hope everyone actually shows up.

This is also my day to catch up on my blog.  So here it is.

Quick notes:

-       statistics are still going but on the back burner because of the strategy and some other ideas I am working on.  They will get done sometime soon hopefully.

-       I going to see my first management/planning meeting in the development world in Mumbai next week. I hope it is a good experience

-       Trying to plan trips to Chennai, and Shillong soon.  Chennai needs an assessment done in order to launch a new AHT team in the city.  I want to go to the city but don’t know if I have time to do a good assessment.  Shillong is near Bangaladesh and is in a source area for some girls that are trafficked to South India.

-       Overall really enjoying the time here.