Amazing day

So last Friday went to Kowdipally to see the site for CARPED's Quarter Acre Project. The project is taking a quarter-acre of land and showing ways that a family can live safely and improve their overall health by diversifying their diet and improving sanitation. Some ideas for the project are a soilet, a sanitation system like a septic tank except it doesn't need to be drained, it drains naturally. Another idea for the building is having an adobe stove. Did you know that the World Health Organization lists indoor fires and cooking over an open flame the number two preventable cause of diseases and death in third world nations? I didn't either until looking it up! So an adobe stove creates a way to create a stove that funnels the heat and channels a fire so that it can have more pots cooking over a hotter flame and it reduces risks associated with indoor fires because it minimizes the size of the flame and funnels the smoke outside. Another part of the quarter acre project is setting up gardens and trees to create a sustainable and nutritious way for a family to live. Most families only grow one crop and as a result are malnourished A square foot garden or many small gardens can help a family diversify their diet. Another part of the project is helping to set up a chicken pen or a place for cows or goats for milk. It's an interesting project that is going to be awesome if it can go through all the way! But anyways, enough about the project! On to the day!

It was so amazing to see the rural areas for the first time!

And it was the first day that I was able to keep down water! Woohoo!!! India + stomach issues = great weight loss plan?

So we went on a bus for like an hour ride. It was pretty fun except the whole nauseated + moving vehicle + stuffed with people + hot = green Casey.

Thankfully I was able to get a seat by the window. And I'm glad that I did. Look what I found at the bus stop!

The American flag! (The kid's kerchief has it...)

So after two hours riding on a bus we finally get to Kowdipally. What do I see?

Mmmm... trash! (And the first pigs I've seen in India)

It's also fun to see different vehicles here. They always seem to be loaded to bursting.


So we get to Kowdipally and meet up with our local contact at the CARPED office.

Tada! CARPED office complete with Hindu deities on the balcony! While our guide was Muslim....

Yay diversity! Oh and continuing with things you didn't know, apparently tobacco will cause a scorpion to kill you with cancer

See? So random....

So we got into the autos Indian-style. What is Indian-style you ask? Why it's the most safe way of traveling! You see, autos have no seat belts, so the best way to travel is to pack it in. So we did. :)

The back:


The front:


This was the first car. I hopped in the second one. So of course I hopped in the back. :D


Melanie and Eunyhe! (She just got here two days before this picture was taken)

Trying to get that angle in a moving vehicle is hard....

So it was fun being in the back because I could take fun pictures of the road and the fields despite the bumps and lack of good quality roads.


Cows carrying straw.


There was a random band playing. So fun!

So we finally get to the quarter acre plot and get out and see some men chilling underneath a tree.

People here sleep EVERYWHERE

So we're excited to see the plot of land because all around are fields.



See? nice fields


Other nice fields

And then we get to our plot of land where we're going to revolutionize this village and help teach them how to live a more sustainable life!


After we figure out a way to clear the land....

Cows maybe? Water buffalo? Strong manly behavior? Yeah... it's a problem.

So after seeing the site, we went to a village to see how the people lived and to see where they had meetings for the women. It was SO much fun!


Cricket, I swear kids EVERYWHERE in India are playing this


so cool to see such balance


walking out to see the villagers. I love Ale's bookbag. She's traveled around Europe and has the patches to prove it. :)

So we go out into the fields and meet up with the women. Oh. My. Goodness. They are absolutely GORGEOUS! They have the most beautiful outfits and jewelry. And it's so great to see them smile and laugh. :) We took a few shots with them.










Proof that I was there :P It was a little chaotic taking pictures with the kids


And yet I still got some awesome shots.


Cooking over an open flame


The main house


Some of the older women


Making chapati


And Melissa making her second baby cry...

The funny thing with babies in these remote villages is that the first time they see white people they don't know what they're seeing so they cry. It's kinda funny/sad at the same time.


Sitting outside a hut


The beautiful decorations of the doorways


Grinding grain (love that I caught her smiling... the people here don't smile at cameras)


So striking.


Cutting up garlic and ginger


I got her to smile! :)


The houses


A few generations apart

It was fascinating to see this village where they had electricity for cell phones and yet no running water and the bathroom was little more than a hole in the ground. That plus the way they cooked food was so primitive. It was great to see and learn.

But about the time we were leaving the temperature dropped ten degrees and started getting super windy and thundering. On the way back it started raining. That's not the best for when you're in the back of an auto. I didn't get too terribly wet, but enough to be grossed out from the dirt.


Rain

We finally got back to the bus station and then it cleared up as we rode back. I got a seat by the window and was able to take a picture of a monkey! We've seen them before but I've never had my camera around.


These things are mischievous.

Overall it was a great and informative trip into the lives of rural Indians.

Leia Mais…

Progress

So... today was the first day that I really felt human. Yay stomach sickness!

So remember how I ate beef the other night? Yeah... I spoke too soon when I said I kept it down.
Which was a shame, it was quite tasty... if a bit chewy.

So I FINALLY had a morning where I didn't throw up and I was able to eat something!

Huzzah!

So what did I eat?

This:

Glorious, wonderful naan...

And what are those chunks in it? Garlic. Mmmmm.... There seriously must have been at least 2 cloves of garlic in the bread. So. Unbelievably. Yummy.

And the sad thing is that those two pieces of naan are the biggest meal I've had all week... combined. Don't you love sickness? I've felt like a zombie.

And for the record, no it is not related to the E. Coli breakout in Germany *coughMOMcough* I don't even think we get anything imported from Europe besides Nutella. And if there's something wrong with the Nutella, well, them's fightin' words!

So anywho, it's just run of the mill, I'm-in-a-foreign-country-getting-used-to-the-minerals-and-strange-bacteria-sickness. That and lack of sanitation. It's mostly clean right?

Anyways, so today was also the first day I've been out of the house since sunday. (Wohoo!) I went to get stuff to make spaghetti for sunday dinner. (Why are you making sunday's dinner on Thursday?) Well, since spaghetti from scratch takes a bit, I needed to have at least 4 hours to work on it (darn chopping veggies). I won't be at the house that long for the next few days with the exception of sleeping. Tomorrow we're going to Kowdipally to look at the site for CARPED's Quarter Acre Project.

I'm actually really excited to go for a few reasons. a. I'm in charge of this project and need to see the layout of the land before I can go further b. it's getting out of the city c. it's getting out of the house which given the past week is fantastic.

In addition to that, my other project, the Polavaram Dam project, is having a huge meeting on sunday. The guy in charge of it would like me to be there for that and also on monday to see some of the villages. It'll really help to solidify the project and see what we can do to help. Also it's an 8 hour journey, so once again getting out of the house. It's also neat because this is really getting out into the countryside. I'm super excited for it. :)

So today was fun and I felt human again. It was also kinda special because today was Brandon's birthday (Hurray!) and he got to see his (soon-to-be-within-the-week) fiance Sirisha. It was cute. We got him a cake and sang to him and then he went off to hang out with her after he had done all of his meetings and he's going to be with her family all this weekend. They're so adorable. And it was nice to see Sirisha. When I came into the living room she was like CASEY! and jumped up and gave me a big hug. It was much appreciated. :)


Brandon eating the rose


Cutting up the cake for everyone... it wasn't that good. Cakes here are SUPER watery and this one was soggy. :( But cake is still cake and Brandon was happy for the birthday surprise.

I hope tomorrow continues to be better as I recover. One bonus though is that all of my clothes are looser now! I guess that's one way to lose weight? Oh well, off to Kowdipally tomorrow!

p.s. If you are into gardening/sustainable living whatsoever, get this book. It is AWESOME. I've read it cover to cover and it's inspiring. And it's the basis for the CARPED project. :)



Oh, and look it's on sale at Amazon!

Leia Mais…

Days flying by

Wow... I cannot believe that it is Thursday already! Where did the time go?! Have I really been here for 2 weeks tomorrow?

Holy cow.

India is so crazy and so much fun. I find I'm finally adjusting to the weather (yay!) and the spices (mmm) and even arguing with rickshaw drivers over prices and where we're supposed to go. :)

So some summary of the past week or so. I've met with a lot of partners and figured out what I'll be doing (mostly) with them and with the other team members.

So I am the project lead with CARPED for the Quarter Acre project. We're basically going to be showing how a poor family can live off of that small amount of land. But that means building a mud house (that should be interesting), adding a soilet (more on that later), adding an adobe stove and having square foot gardens in the back yard! It should be fun but a lot of work.

I'll also be working on the Polavaram Dam project. I'll be helping to analyze the impact of the dam on the tribal cultures that will be displaced. That should be fascinating.

I'll also be working with the MV Foundation with doing murals on the school walls. That one isn't set in stone yet, but we'll see how it goes!

Things have been so intense lately with meeting after meeting with the partner and solidifying what we're doing. But it's fun to be able to drive around the city and realize I know where I am and recognize roads, landmarks, etc. It's also been fun to get to know the team better. We're a good mix of people and it's been really fun meshing so far.

Oh, and on friday we had our "initiation" ceremony where we were given food and not told what it was before we ate it.

Can you guess what it is? I figured it out and wasn't too happy with it...


But they made it up by giving us cake later. :)


Kinda makes up for the fact that we were served goat brains...

More later!

Leia Mais…

Meetings continued

So the past couple of week days have been busy with working and meeting up with partners.

Thursday we learned how to do a needs assessment. Basically what a needs assessment looks at is not only if a project would work but how and who would be connected, possible problems, etc.

It was really fascinating because we were all given the same company and then different areas to look up. We came up with different results and even then the answer wasn't conclusive to see if we should suggest for that company to start helping here.

It was a great exercise and helped us to figure out a process that will be important with other partners.

We also went over projects and wrote down who wanted to work on what etc and Melissa and Seth took our sheets and put together teams.

Friday we were told who was the project lead for the teams and also who was working with what.
I found out that I'm the project lead for a project with the MV foundation working on murals for the schools, the project lead for the quarter acre building project with CARPED and then I'm also the project lead for this project that works on analyzing the impact of a dam project in southern Andhra Pradesh. It's really exciting working on these projects along with a few others.

More later, I'm so exhausted.

I'll let you know about saturday and going to the Charminar later!

Leia Mais…

Meeting with partners!

The past two days have been really busy. We've been meeting with partners and finding out about their organizations.

On monday we went to the Nireekshana HIV/AIDS Clinic. It was interesting because they have a prayer service every day from 9:30-10:30 and we got there around 10:00. So we sat in for the service and they read things in English and Telegu. The man who was doing the english portion was a doctor who is living here with his wife and two girls. That's something interesting I've noticed here is that the few educated people/people I've met have two girls. Either way, I've been surrounded by cute baby girls for the past week. It was also interesting to hear about the AIDS problem in India. It's still common for people to get HIV/AIDS from transfusions. That's sad given the stigma against it here. It will be good to work with them. They're small but they do a great work. It was also neat to see that they had these beautiful embroidered silk bags. I got one for my camera as a bag. It's a pretty little purple one with a henna-esque flower.

It was also fun because we got to take a rickshaw there and back. It was so CRAZY. Oi, I remember almost hitting them in a car but then almost being hit while in one of them was intense. It was so much fun though! And now I've ridden a rickshaw! :D They're kinda funny though because they start up like a lever lawnmower (like one of the seated lawn mowers). A big disadvantage though is that it's so low to the ground that you're getting all of the exhaust fumes and that's a little suffocating at times. Either way, still fun.


Brandon, Angela and Melanie in the Rickshaw


Our Driver


This is pretty common

Oh, and we finally got Air Conditioning!!!!! AAAAAH. I'm so happy. I'm literally sitting here on my bed with the computer on my stomach and i'm not hot because i have air conditioning. Thank goodness! I'm so happy that it's pathetic. :P

I also went to the store today to get things for breakfast. I already had nutella and I got some bread and bananas to go with it to make sandwiches for the mornings. I realized that it only cost about $3 and it'll probably last me a week. Awesome. :D Bread here is 33 cents a loaf. Bananas were 66 cents. The other two dollars went towards nutella which is still cheaper than in the states. It was funny though because I went with Melanie and Ale and Melanie is afraid of crossing the street. We had to cross to get the bread and then i saw the banana vendor after i had already crossed back. So i just went ahead and crossed, grabbed the bananas and went back. It took all of two minutes but it was funny watching her face. I really lost my fear of crazy drivers in Jerusalem. I still don't trust Utah drivers though. :P

Yesterday (Tuesday) we went to one of the MBF Bridge Schools which helps children who have been in labor situations or who have never been to school catch up so that they can attend public school. It's a really interesting concept that could be applied to various places. We went to a girl's school. It was so much fun seeing the girls. We got to play with them in the rain. Brandon caught a gecko and they started screaming whenever he came to them. It was funny.


The School courtyard


The awesome lunch they gave us


such cuties!


Sirita on the left helped us with translation


escaping the rain


Waiting for lunch


I thought this was funny, the school randomly has these posters... Mao?

Later that night we had our meeting with CARPED. It was interesting to hear about the organization and what he's interested in. It's a lot of different things and incorporates culture, education and public health. It'll be neat to see how things work out.

It was a fun but exhausting day.

Leia Mais…