Now...back to food...I've been meaning to post pictures up. Take a look see!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Food
It has been a long time since I've posted. Every time I sit down to write something I just don't know where to start because there's a lot going on and not a lot going on all at the same time. Confusing, I know, but to give you the skinny: Work - moving along and learning more about what it's like to navigate in a big organization (processes are slow and patience is a must); Personal - meeting with friends on the weekends (we go out to eat and shop and just hang out...huge sources of comfort here) and I still haven't gotten sick yet (knock on wood); Weather - it's summer and it's freakin' hot and sweaty! (You'd think I would have great skin after all this sweating, but I'm not entirely sure that's the case here). Overall, I am having an incredibly rich experience here and it's quite challenging all at the same time. Some days are good, some days are tiring and frustrating, and some days are inspiring. I am learning a lot, but I do miss home and think sometimes how nice a teletransporter would be for just a short bit.
Now...back to food...I've been meaning to post pictures up. Take a look see!
This is one style of the Indian Thali. In some of the restaurants, each dish is served in its own little metal bowl on a big plate. All the small side dishes vary from restaurant to restaurant and meal to meal. In Kerala (and perhaps in other places in India), they call the thali "meals", so if you order "meals", you would get something like this.
This was at a really good family owned road side restaurant in Tamil Nadu. The pots you see on the left are traditional clay pots where they cook the rice and other dishes. They also cook eggs in the big iron ladles that you see sticking out from underneath the pots. They crack an egg in the ladle, scramble it, and stick it in the wood stove to cook. Interesting way to cook an egg! It was really good. The woman on the right is one of the owners of the restaurant.
This is a Sadya, a traditional meal in Kerala served on a banana leaf. Each side dish is served in a particular order and it can be vegetarian or non-vegetarian. Traditionally though, I believe it is vegetarian. After you finish the meal, you fold the banana leaf to show you are finished. I learned that in Tamil Nadu, if you fold the leaf toward you, it shows thanks and that the relationship is in good standing and/or you enjoyed the food and if you fold the leaf away from you, it shows that you either did not enjoy the food or that the relationship is not in good standing.
A double banana! The superstition is that if you eat this, you will have twins.
Kozhukattai (I think it's pronounced: ko-ru-kut-ta..."zh" is an "r" sound here). These are super yummy steamed snacks made of rice flour, ground coconut, sugar, and salt. Many people also put jaggery in them. This was my first attempt at making them when I first moved into my apartment. The yellow hand tool that you see is used to scrape the insides of a coconut to get coconut shavings.
Now...back to food...I've been meaning to post pictures up. Take a look see!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
I love the beach
I went to Varkala Beach a couple weekends ago and it was oh so nice! I was meeting up with a friend who was spending her last week in India at the beach. Varkala is located about a 4-5 hour train ride south of Thrissur (1 hour north of Trivandrum). We stayed in an area called The Cliff and it's a bit like being in a bubble in India because it's so different than what I normally experience on a day-to-day basis. The atmosphere is relaxing, the view is gorgeous, and the food is delicious! Truly a nice get-away destination.
It was hot, humid, and simply wonderful being here. There is nothing like swimming in a warm ocean...surreal even since I grew up along side a cold ocean:) It is hands down one of my favorite things in the world. They call this part of the beach the Cliff. There's a path way that winds its way along the cliff with a beautiful view of the Arabian sea on one side and many quaint restaurants and shops on the other side.
This reminds me of home (minus the heat and humidity). Pretty, isn't it?
My friend rented a scooter and we went on a scooter ride for the day. It was so much fun. We rode along side the Arabian sea, passed a small fishing village, and enjoyed being on the open road with the warm wind brushing our faces. As cliche as that sounds, it really was quite fabulous :) Not to mention being on an open road here with few cars on the raod is an enjoyment in itself.
This is a section of the open road we rode on.
In the morning, the local people go fishing to make their catch for the day. This is one way they go fishing here. The men on the shore line up by the net to make sure the net is aligned and the net is then brought in to the ocean by a few boats that sit out from shore. At one point, when the fish must have started entering the net, birds starts circling. One of the men out in the boats was waving a stick around in the air to scare the birds away and some of the other men who were in the water helping to guide the nets were slapping the water to keep the birds away as well. The process involved at least 15-20 people including others who were helping to pull the nets in.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
I Stand Corrected, Confused, and Humbled
You might think that I'm going a little crazy...well the truth is that I probably am a little :) It's been a roller coaster of a week with work and cultural frustrations. I feel like the ground is coming back under my feet, but is this what we call finding middle ground because it sure is exhausting.
So it was my "Friday" today. I work Monday through Saturday and have been looking forward to a weekend of spending it with friends in Kochi. To get to Kochi, I normally take the train down and then a bus. A friend from work usually accompanies me because he travels along the same route. Today, we were fortunate and caught a ride from another colleague who dropped us off in a nearby city where I was able to catch a direct bus....and do you know where we sat??? The back of the bus! Yes, the back! When I first got on the bus, I immediately went to the rows reserved for women thinking my friend would sit in the back. Instead, he says that we can sit in the back of the bus so that we can sit together. Completely puzzled by this, I asked him if he was sure that was ok. And he said, "Yes Yes. Come." The bus was fairly empty so there were plenty of seats open. We sat down and I honestly felt a little uncomfortable, like I was breaking a rule or something. I explained to him what I thought I had learned about riding the bus along with my observations and he explained to me that women can actually sit anywhere in the bus but the front row seats are reserved for women only. What?! I explained to him that the whole time since I've learned to ride the bus I thought women could only sit in the front. And yes...that's true...only women are allowed to sit in the front, but they can also sit in the back. The first time I rode the bus, I was directed to the ladies section, and all the ladies were sitting in the front, none in the back and this has been my experience since then. Also, from my observation, on many of the buses I've seen, you don't actually see many (if any) women sitting in the back of the buses. Majority of the time they only sit in the front, unless the bus is fairly empty and/or they are with someone they know. Seeing a woman sitting in the back of the bus is a little bit like seeing a yellow cherry in a bowl of all red cherries. It sticks out. So today's new learning is that women CAN sit anywhere in the bus and the front is reserved for women only, but they choose to sit in the front because it's safer or easier? Now I really don't know.....
After this experience today, I've learned my first anecdote to my cultural frustrations, question the frustrations! And don't ask just one person, ask a few to confirm and get a better understanding. Let the questioning begin :)
As I am learning more and more about Indian culture and this is probably true for any culture is that it is layered with complexities. Even when I thought I had learned and I thought I knew, it just wasn't what it seemed.
Here's to a good weekend and another humbling experience.......
And by chance, we ended the evening tonight by watching Gran Torino. Good timing I would say!
So it was my "Friday" today. I work Monday through Saturday and have been looking forward to a weekend of spending it with friends in Kochi. To get to Kochi, I normally take the train down and then a bus. A friend from work usually accompanies me because he travels along the same route. Today, we were fortunate and caught a ride from another colleague who dropped us off in a nearby city where I was able to catch a direct bus....and do you know where we sat??? The back of the bus! Yes, the back! When I first got on the bus, I immediately went to the rows reserved for women thinking my friend would sit in the back. Instead, he says that we can sit in the back of the bus so that we can sit together. Completely puzzled by this, I asked him if he was sure that was ok. And he said, "Yes Yes. Come." The bus was fairly empty so there were plenty of seats open. We sat down and I honestly felt a little uncomfortable, like I was breaking a rule or something. I explained to him what I thought I had learned about riding the bus along with my observations and he explained to me that women can actually sit anywhere in the bus but the front row seats are reserved for women only. What?! I explained to him that the whole time since I've learned to ride the bus I thought women could only sit in the front. And yes...that's true...only women are allowed to sit in the front, but they can also sit in the back. The first time I rode the bus, I was directed to the ladies section, and all the ladies were sitting in the front, none in the back and this has been my experience since then. Also, from my observation, on many of the buses I've seen, you don't actually see many (if any) women sitting in the back of the buses. Majority of the time they only sit in the front, unless the bus is fairly empty and/or they are with someone they know. Seeing a woman sitting in the back of the bus is a little bit like seeing a yellow cherry in a bowl of all red cherries. It sticks out. So today's new learning is that women CAN sit anywhere in the bus and the front is reserved for women only, but they choose to sit in the front because it's safer or easier? Now I really don't know.....
After this experience today, I've learned my first anecdote to my cultural frustrations, question the frustrations! And don't ask just one person, ask a few to confirm and get a better understanding. Let the questioning begin :)
As I am learning more and more about Indian culture and this is probably true for any culture is that it is layered with complexities. Even when I thought I had learned and I thought I knew, it just wasn't what it seemed.
Here's to a good weekend and another humbling experience.......
And by chance, we ended the evening tonight by watching Gran Torino. Good timing I would say!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Is it putty or "pooty"?
It's been a long time since I've put up a post. Every time I've sat down to write one, I just didn't feel like I knew what to say because so much has happened (is happening) that I simply didn't know where to start. Blogger's block I guess. Anyhow…I'm back.
I've been in India now for just over 3 months. It's hard to believe because it actually feels like it's been much longer. Not in a negative way, but more so because I'm learning so much and still adjusting to the culture. I've settled into my apartment now and have taken care of a few essentials:
1.) Purchasing caulking and wall putty (which I've learned is pronounced wall "pooty" here). This is to seal all the cracks and holes in my apartment to keep the bugs from invading the inside. They're relentless little suckers. You might be thinking that I went to a one stop shop hardware store to pick up these items, but that is not the case. I first had to ask my co-workers where I could find caulking (they call it "sealant" here) and wall putty. Before they could tell me, I was asked a series of questions on why I was buying these items, whether I was scared of bugs, and why am I not hiring someone to do all these things for me. After this 20 minute conversation, they told me where to buy these things….want to know where? It's at the place next to the stationary shop on the road just before the main entrance of the market, near that one pole. Road signs here are not a big thing, so in order to get somewhere, you have to use landmarks and that's how most people give you directions. After some clarification, I went on my search and actually found the shop with the sealant and the caulking gun! You can imagine my delight when I found these two items. The shop unfortunately did not have the wall pooty, so I had to ask the shop owner where the wall pooty was. Do you want to know where that is? It's at the paint shop that's next to the fruit shop on the main street in the market. This is almost as bad as telling someone in Seattle to meet you at the Starbucks on the corner of the street. After some further clarification from the shop owner, I continued my search and yes…I did find the wall pooty at the paint shop near the fruit shop!
2.) Getting my landlord to come over and fix my leaky faucet that was attracting thirsty critters*
3.) Getting an exterminator to come over to spray the outside and inside of the apartment*
*These things might sound like a no brainer, but here, at least in my experience so far, it's hard to say if and when someone will show up, when they say they will.
Although these three things seem like the most simple of tasks back home in the US, as a foreigner in India in a small suburb, these types of accomplishments are like little gold nuggets here. Included in the gold nuggets category would be learning how to use public transportation and figuring how to get purified water delivered to your house.
I can say now that I'm getting the hang of living here, which has provided me a lot of comfort. I'm even used to all the little sounds my apartment makes (or the neighbors upstairs make) that used to freak me out.
But you know how everyone says that there's this honeymoon period when you first arrive in a country…well, I believe I'm past that part now. In between getting the hang of living here and learning about the culture, some of my frustrations about the culture are surfacing. I don't want to go into a full blown rant about my frustrations, so I'll just give you a few highlights of where some of my frustrations are coming from:
1.) When riding the bus here, women can only sit at the front of the bus. On some of the buses, the first three or four rows on the right side are where women sit. They are not supposed to sit anywhere else on the bus. On other buses, they get the front part of the bus. Imagine a bus being split into thirds, the women would get the first third of the bus. (As an FYI, every part of India is different, so not all areas of India are like this.)
2.) Having male friends or male relatives coming to stay at my apartment with me (unless it's my husband or unless they are accompanied by their wife) is not encouraged. It has the potential of jeopardizing my reputation at work, jeopardizing my work's reputation, among other types of covert actions that I might not know about but effect the environment around me (which in turn effects me).
3.) Overall how ultra conservative/sensitive it is here that even the most subtle of actions and words can have serious implications for you. The implications can be subtle or in your face, but most at least from my observations are subtle….a bit like an iceberg effect.
I do have other frustrations that are surfacing as well but the part I am struggling with the most right now is trying to find understanding in my frustrations. I'm searching for middle ground at the moment because I can feel my frustrations building a wall between me and my continued learning about the culture. I thankfully have made a handful of good friends here who I can confide in and who have provided support for me in ways that have prevented me from doing really stupid things or prevented me from continuing to do stupid things. This is in addition to humorous anecdotes which you can't get enough of here and background information that reminds me that India is made up of so many different cultures and languages that things are not always what they seem. So the struggle continues……but at least I can comfortably sleep on it with my "sealant" and wall "pooty" at hand.
I've been in India now for just over 3 months. It's hard to believe because it actually feels like it's been much longer. Not in a negative way, but more so because I'm learning so much and still adjusting to the culture. I've settled into my apartment now and have taken care of a few essentials:
1.) Purchasing caulking and wall putty (which I've learned is pronounced wall "pooty" here). This is to seal all the cracks and holes in my apartment to keep the bugs from invading the inside. They're relentless little suckers. You might be thinking that I went to a one stop shop hardware store to pick up these items, but that is not the case. I first had to ask my co-workers where I could find caulking (they call it "sealant" here) and wall putty. Before they could tell me, I was asked a series of questions on why I was buying these items, whether I was scared of bugs, and why am I not hiring someone to do all these things for me. After this 20 minute conversation, they told me where to buy these things….want to know where? It's at the place next to the stationary shop on the road just before the main entrance of the market, near that one pole. Road signs here are not a big thing, so in order to get somewhere, you have to use landmarks and that's how most people give you directions. After some clarification, I went on my search and actually found the shop with the sealant and the caulking gun! You can imagine my delight when I found these two items. The shop unfortunately did not have the wall pooty, so I had to ask the shop owner where the wall pooty was. Do you want to know where that is? It's at the paint shop that's next to the fruit shop on the main street in the market. This is almost as bad as telling someone in Seattle to meet you at the Starbucks on the corner of the street. After some further clarification from the shop owner, I continued my search and yes…I did find the wall pooty at the paint shop near the fruit shop!
2.) Getting my landlord to come over and fix my leaky faucet that was attracting thirsty critters*
3.) Getting an exterminator to come over to spray the outside and inside of the apartment*
*These things might sound like a no brainer, but here, at least in my experience so far, it's hard to say if and when someone will show up, when they say they will.
Although these three things seem like the most simple of tasks back home in the US, as a foreigner in India in a small suburb, these types of accomplishments are like little gold nuggets here. Included in the gold nuggets category would be learning how to use public transportation and figuring how to get purified water delivered to your house.
I can say now that I'm getting the hang of living here, which has provided me a lot of comfort. I'm even used to all the little sounds my apartment makes (or the neighbors upstairs make) that used to freak me out.
But you know how everyone says that there's this honeymoon period when you first arrive in a country…well, I believe I'm past that part now. In between getting the hang of living here and learning about the culture, some of my frustrations about the culture are surfacing. I don't want to go into a full blown rant about my frustrations, so I'll just give you a few highlights of where some of my frustrations are coming from:
1.) When riding the bus here, women can only sit at the front of the bus. On some of the buses, the first three or four rows on the right side are where women sit. They are not supposed to sit anywhere else on the bus. On other buses, they get the front part of the bus. Imagine a bus being split into thirds, the women would get the first third of the bus. (As an FYI, every part of India is different, so not all areas of India are like this.)
2.) Having male friends or male relatives coming to stay at my apartment with me (unless it's my husband or unless they are accompanied by their wife) is not encouraged. It has the potential of jeopardizing my reputation at work, jeopardizing my work's reputation, among other types of covert actions that I might not know about but effect the environment around me (which in turn effects me).
3.) Overall how ultra conservative/sensitive it is here that even the most subtle of actions and words can have serious implications for you. The implications can be subtle or in your face, but most at least from my observations are subtle….a bit like an iceberg effect.
I do have other frustrations that are surfacing as well but the part I am struggling with the most right now is trying to find understanding in my frustrations. I'm searching for middle ground at the moment because I can feel my frustrations building a wall between me and my continued learning about the culture. I thankfully have made a handful of good friends here who I can confide in and who have provided support for me in ways that have prevented me from doing really stupid things or prevented me from continuing to do stupid things. This is in addition to humorous anecdotes which you can't get enough of here and background information that reminds me that India is made up of so many different cultures and languages that things are not always what they seem. So the struggle continues……but at least I can comfortably sleep on it with my "sealant" and wall "pooty" at hand.
Friday, December 2, 2011
New Friends
I unfortunately haven't had the chance to spend much time in my new place as much as I would like since I've been traveling around doing market research. Almost done though and then the next stages of the project begin. However, in the time that I've been at my apartment, I've made some new friends. Let me introduce....
The Evader. These little lizards stay along the walls mostly. Sometimes I see them on the counters but that's rare. The noises they make are a big clicking sound...at least I think that's them. I don't mind them so much. I like to watch how they scurry along the walls. I wish they would eat more bugs though.
The Unexpected Guest. This frog came from underneath my door and planted itself on the wall. It then hopped across the floor, onto another wall and onto my suit case. I eventually had to go get a broom and direct it toward the door.
I don't have any pictures of the kitten I found in the back room after the first night I stayed there nor the ants who I call the opportunists. As I mentioned before, they're busy little suckers and can carry a lot of weight. I wish they would carry my mop and broom and help me clean my floors, but I guess you can't have everything.
The Evader. These little lizards stay along the walls mostly. Sometimes I see them on the counters but that's rare. The noises they make are a big clicking sound...at least I think that's them. I don't mind them so much. I like to watch how they scurry along the walls. I wish they would eat more bugs though.
The Unexpected Guest. This frog came from underneath my door and planted itself on the wall. It then hopped across the floor, onto another wall and onto my suit case. I eventually had to go get a broom and direct it toward the door.
I don't have any pictures of the kitten I found in the back room after the first night I stayed there nor the ants who I call the opportunists. As I mentioned before, they're busy little suckers and can carry a lot of weight. I wish they would carry my mop and broom and help me clean my floors, but I guess you can't have everything.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Field Visits!
This has got to be one of the coolest most intriguing jobs I have ever had. I am doing market research out in the field for three weeks for the micro energy program. The short term goal of this research is to find the best areas where we will launch our pilot programs. Despite the constant traveling I have to do for the research, I love this work and could do this type of work all the time (assuming I get to have a rock star team)!
Last week I was in Kerala, this week I am in Maharashtra (Central India), and next week I will be in Tamil Nadu (Southern India, state next to Kerala). These are the three zones that ESAF provides services in. We want to launch pilot programs in all three zones which is why I am traveling to all of these areas now.
To give you a brief intro on the structure. Each zone has a number of branches (i.e. Kerala has 91 branches) and each branch has self-help groups (SHGs) that they manage (i.e one branch might have 230+ groups, and another branch might have 100 or less depending on how new they are and what area they're in). Each group has anywhere from 10-30 members (these are the micro loan borrowers who are all women). Each branch has field officers who five days a week go out to all of the groups to collect the loan payments from the self-help groups. Each field officer on average visits 5-6 groups per day. This comes to an average of 100-200 members per day that they visit! Much respect to the field officers. This is a special group of people who can do this type of work!
Now that you have this in mind, my research consists of going out into the field with the field officers (along with my translator and driver) and conducting focus groups at each of the SHGs. I give a brief intro, ask the group questions related to their energy use, introduce the products and do demos and then ask them to rate the products from most to least important.
In doing this type of work, I've learned that a smile goes a long way. I've also learned that having a translator who loves this type of work, really enjoys being with people, is outgoing and personable, and has a curious mind is the best fit for this type of job. My translator in Kerala was exactly this and he was invaluable to the research. Between him, the driver (who is an expert at dodging around in the traffic AND getting us to places on time), and myself we had a rock star team! I wish I could take them everywhere with me when doing this research. I am in Central India now and will start my field research tomorrow with a different translator and driver and I'm sure my experience will be just as rich as my experience in Kerala was.
We met with several SHGs here. Not all the members were present but there were several representatives from about four different groups.
This is me, my translator and some of the SHG members. We gave our presentation two times this day in front of about 125 people both times! It was an exhilarating and energizing experience!
The most fascinating part about this part of my job is the insight I am getting on the culture, people, local living, and the conditions many of the poor and marginalized communities in this country live with. The women who I have met in these groups have been open, welcoming, and sincere. The questions in the focus groups generally spark some conversation and this is where I get to learn the insights about the culture on a more personal level. My translator of course helps describe the details to me. This experience as a whole is both eye opening and humbling. It's also an opportunity to meet people and experience parts of the country that I would never see (at least not in this capacity).
For me, getting to be a part of improving a family's way of living and getting to experience their reactions and understand their needs are part of what makes this job so fulfilling. Reading case studies and stories about this kind of work is one thing, but it does not even compare to being a part of it on the ground.
Last week I was in Kerala, this week I am in Maharashtra (Central India), and next week I will be in Tamil Nadu (Southern India, state next to Kerala). These are the three zones that ESAF provides services in. We want to launch pilot programs in all three zones which is why I am traveling to all of these areas now.
To give you a brief intro on the structure. Each zone has a number of branches (i.e. Kerala has 91 branches) and each branch has self-help groups (SHGs) that they manage (i.e one branch might have 230+ groups, and another branch might have 100 or less depending on how new they are and what area they're in). Each group has anywhere from 10-30 members (these are the micro loan borrowers who are all women). Each branch has field officers who five days a week go out to all of the groups to collect the loan payments from the self-help groups. Each field officer on average visits 5-6 groups per day. This comes to an average of 100-200 members per day that they visit! Much respect to the field officers. This is a special group of people who can do this type of work!
Now that you have this in mind, my research consists of going out into the field with the field officers (along with my translator and driver) and conducting focus groups at each of the SHGs. I give a brief intro, ask the group questions related to their energy use, introduce the products and do demos and then ask them to rate the products from most to least important.
In doing this type of work, I've learned that a smile goes a long way. I've also learned that having a translator who loves this type of work, really enjoys being with people, is outgoing and personable, and has a curious mind is the best fit for this type of job. My translator in Kerala was exactly this and he was invaluable to the research. Between him, the driver (who is an expert at dodging around in the traffic AND getting us to places on time), and myself we had a rock star team! I wish I could take them everywhere with me when doing this research. I am in Central India now and will start my field research tomorrow with a different translator and driver and I'm sure my experience will be just as rich as my experience in Kerala was.
The most fascinating part about this part of my job is the insight I am getting on the culture, people, local living, and the conditions many of the poor and marginalized communities in this country live with. The women who I have met in these groups have been open, welcoming, and sincere. The questions in the focus groups generally spark some conversation and this is where I get to learn the insights about the culture on a more personal level. My translator of course helps describe the details to me. This experience as a whole is both eye opening and humbling. It's also an opportunity to meet people and experience parts of the country that I would never see (at least not in this capacity).
For me, getting to be a part of improving a family's way of living and getting to experience their reactions and understand their needs are part of what makes this job so fulfilling. Reading case studies and stories about this kind of work is one thing, but it does not even compare to being a part of it on the ground.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
I'm in!
On the living front:
I spent my first night at the apartment last night and it felt nice waking up in my own place! My first night, I was inaugurated with two short power outages, a ton of bugs flying in right when I opened the door and turned on the lights, and a clean place. Power outages happen pretty often here, but in my experience so far, most of them have only lasted 10-15 minutes. The longest one I've experienced was several hours during the day, but most are short. I am SO glad I spent the time over the weekend cleaning up. It helps a lot with settling in. Not to mention my roommates helped move all my luggage over too, which was so nice of them. And one of them helped me clean on Sunday which was awesome.
The bugs are relentless here! I'm starting to get used to them, as long as they're not on my stuff or me:) Remember the ants I posted about earlier? Well after killing some of the bugs that flew in (which landed on the floor), the ants went crazy all over them. At first I was kinda grossed out and then I was kind of amazed. I watched them for a good 10-15 minutes doing their work. They're busy little suckers. They remind me of really stressed out people running around with a million things to do. By morning, the bugs that flew in that I killed were gone as were the ants. I assume the ants must have carried them away somewhere, outside I hope :)
A couple of hours after I moved in, I heard a knock on my door. Of course it was dark outside and I'm all by myself, so I jumped when I heard the knock and contemplated for a few minutes whether I should open it because I didn't know who it would be. The second bedroom looks out to the front porch and I don't have a seeing eye hole on my front door, so I use the second bedroom as a way of scoping out people. I saw some kids and thought it was the girls from upstairs, but it turns out it was my neighbors from a couple houses down. It was a mother, her 3 kids, and her niece. They came over to introduce themselves to me, which I thought was so nice and comforting. Apparently her kids had told her about the new foreigner who moved into the house down the road and they told her that they should all come over. The kids are the real eyes of this neighborhood :) I invited them in and we chatted for a bit. The kids were so curious and cute and the mother was really nice, open, and friendly. It was a good feeling for the first night.
I can hear the family upstairs most of the time. Mostly muffled voices and them walking around or moving chairs, but I like it. The girls from upstairs came down and introduced themselves to me over the weekend when I was cleaning. I'm a deep sleeper and hearing the noises is comforting because I know I'm not completely alone.
Today I purchased some pots and pans, so now I can start trying to cook some Kerala dishes! One of my favorites is this breakfast item called kulkutta (pronounced, cool-cutta). I've probably butchered the spelling. They're steamed rice balls with coconut and sugar inside. They're made with rice powder mixed with boiled water and some salt and ground coconut and sugar. You roll it all up into a ball and then steam them. They are soooo good. Love them! The ground coconut here in general is really good and is mixed with a lot of different dishes.
There are little noises I have to get used to and like most houses here I imagine, there are sometimes little gecko type lizards that crawl along the walls. It's kinda fun to see them scurry along. Sometimes I see two of them scurrying along together.
I also woke up this morning to a crying baby kitten trapped in the work area room. The room is just outside the kitchen where a washer would be if there was a washer. I'm not sure how the kitten got in there. Perhaps it snuck in during the weekend when I was cleaning because I had the back door open. If that's the case, it was there for about a day:( I used a broom to direct it out the back door. Poor thing was so scared, but I didn't want to pick it up because a lot of the cats here are feral and carry a lot of diseases.
On the work front:
Things are going really well! I very much enjoy this project! It's complicated, challenging and fun. There are so many components to this project. Most of the time I feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants and figuring out things as I go. The good thing is that I have a fairly good understanding of the basic framework so the planner in me helps set all the deadlines and then I just run with it :) I conducted my first focus group today with a group of about 23 micro loan borrowers, all women, at a branch about an hour away from the office. On the way, we wound through many different neighborhood areas in Thrissur and passed by some rice fields. There are a lot of small streets here and there are not always street signs available so people give directions by using landmarks. Perfect for me because I'm a landmark person :) When driving to different places and you don't know where you're going, the trick is to start heading in the direction of the place and then stop every so often and ask people along the way where the place is. You get there eventually and this generally proves to be the best method because some times places can be pretty hidden. I also saw a sign on the way that said "EFC" which stands for Eastern Fried Chicken. Ha! The KFC of the east! To all my KFC lovers out there, I've found your spicy counterpart.
When we got to the office, which was across the street from this place I saw was giving karate lessons, it was loan disbursement day so a lot of the women were there ready to collect their loan disbursements. (I wish my office wasn't so far away because I think it would be fun to take some karate lessons.) A co-worker came with me to help translate and I had all my sample products with me. We laid them out on the table and while some women were getting their disbursements others were sitting and listening to our presentation and answering the focus group questions. It was really fun and interesting. I got a lot of good initial insight about the clean energy products we are wanting to distribute and create loan products for. I also learned a bit more about the operations of the organization which was great! I will be conducting focus groups for the rest of the week in Kerala and I will also get to go out in the field and meet the different self-help groups with the field officers which will also be really interesting. Next week, I will do the same thing up in Central India (a totally different world from Kerala is what many people have told me).
I had a really embarrassing moment last week when I presented my first management meeting in front of all of the area managers of Kerala. I was wearing a v-neck t-shirt (one of my favorites) and I had no idea that it was too low for Indian standards until the next day when one of my roommates made a comment! When my roommate told me, at first, I thought, "Ok. No problem. No more low cut shirts" and then I came to realize that it was the same day of the meeting AND they posted pictures of the meeting to commemorate the launch of the Micro Energy Program. I was mortified! Here's the foreigner that doesn't know any better. I ran into my roommates room that night and showed them the pictures. We all just laughed about it because what's done is done, just don't do it again :) I told them that they HAVE to tell me next time I do something embarrassing BEFORE I go out in public:)
From then on, I've learned that a big part of Indian style dress for women means covering up your breast area because people at the office have even started commenting that they like that I've started wearing Indian style clothing. My roommate also told me that people from the office have also come up to her to ask her if she said something to me, which she did thankfully :) Anyway, we had a good laugh about it together because I told her I got some comments too. They're actually still the same clothes I brought, but instead of wearing the scarf around my neck where the two sides hang down in front, I wear my scarf so that the two sides hang down the back and the part that dips down in front covers the top half of me. Nothing too tight and nothing that reveals too much. Dressing the local way is a way of gaining respect here, so I am VERY glad that I made this mistake early on before meeting the self-help groups. I wonder what other embarrassing things I'm doing :)
I spent my first night at the apartment last night and it felt nice waking up in my own place! My first night, I was inaugurated with two short power outages, a ton of bugs flying in right when I opened the door and turned on the lights, and a clean place. Power outages happen pretty often here, but in my experience so far, most of them have only lasted 10-15 minutes. The longest one I've experienced was several hours during the day, but most are short. I am SO glad I spent the time over the weekend cleaning up. It helps a lot with settling in. Not to mention my roommates helped move all my luggage over too, which was so nice of them. And one of them helped me clean on Sunday which was awesome.
The bugs are relentless here! I'm starting to get used to them, as long as they're not on my stuff or me:) Remember the ants I posted about earlier? Well after killing some of the bugs that flew in (which landed on the floor), the ants went crazy all over them. At first I was kinda grossed out and then I was kind of amazed. I watched them for a good 10-15 minutes doing their work. They're busy little suckers. They remind me of really stressed out people running around with a million things to do. By morning, the bugs that flew in that I killed were gone as were the ants. I assume the ants must have carried them away somewhere, outside I hope :)
A couple of hours after I moved in, I heard a knock on my door. Of course it was dark outside and I'm all by myself, so I jumped when I heard the knock and contemplated for a few minutes whether I should open it because I didn't know who it would be. The second bedroom looks out to the front porch and I don't have a seeing eye hole on my front door, so I use the second bedroom as a way of scoping out people. I saw some kids and thought it was the girls from upstairs, but it turns out it was my neighbors from a couple houses down. It was a mother, her 3 kids, and her niece. They came over to introduce themselves to me, which I thought was so nice and comforting. Apparently her kids had told her about the new foreigner who moved into the house down the road and they told her that they should all come over. The kids are the real eyes of this neighborhood :) I invited them in and we chatted for a bit. The kids were so curious and cute and the mother was really nice, open, and friendly. It was a good feeling for the first night.
I can hear the family upstairs most of the time. Mostly muffled voices and them walking around or moving chairs, but I like it. The girls from upstairs came down and introduced themselves to me over the weekend when I was cleaning. I'm a deep sleeper and hearing the noises is comforting because I know I'm not completely alone.
Today I purchased some pots and pans, so now I can start trying to cook some Kerala dishes! One of my favorites is this breakfast item called kulkutta (pronounced, cool-cutta). I've probably butchered the spelling. They're steamed rice balls with coconut and sugar inside. They're made with rice powder mixed with boiled water and some salt and ground coconut and sugar. You roll it all up into a ball and then steam them. They are soooo good. Love them! The ground coconut here in general is really good and is mixed with a lot of different dishes.
There are little noises I have to get used to and like most houses here I imagine, there are sometimes little gecko type lizards that crawl along the walls. It's kinda fun to see them scurry along. Sometimes I see two of them scurrying along together.
I also woke up this morning to a crying baby kitten trapped in the work area room. The room is just outside the kitchen where a washer would be if there was a washer. I'm not sure how the kitten got in there. Perhaps it snuck in during the weekend when I was cleaning because I had the back door open. If that's the case, it was there for about a day:( I used a broom to direct it out the back door. Poor thing was so scared, but I didn't want to pick it up because a lot of the cats here are feral and carry a lot of diseases.
On the work front:
Things are going really well! I very much enjoy this project! It's complicated, challenging and fun. There are so many components to this project. Most of the time I feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants and figuring out things as I go. The good thing is that I have a fairly good understanding of the basic framework so the planner in me helps set all the deadlines and then I just run with it :) I conducted my first focus group today with a group of about 23 micro loan borrowers, all women, at a branch about an hour away from the office. On the way, we wound through many different neighborhood areas in Thrissur and passed by some rice fields. There are a lot of small streets here and there are not always street signs available so people give directions by using landmarks. Perfect for me because I'm a landmark person :) When driving to different places and you don't know where you're going, the trick is to start heading in the direction of the place and then stop every so often and ask people along the way where the place is. You get there eventually and this generally proves to be the best method because some times places can be pretty hidden. I also saw a sign on the way that said "EFC" which stands for Eastern Fried Chicken. Ha! The KFC of the east! To all my KFC lovers out there, I've found your spicy counterpart.
When we got to the office, which was across the street from this place I saw was giving karate lessons, it was loan disbursement day so a lot of the women were there ready to collect their loan disbursements. (I wish my office wasn't so far away because I think it would be fun to take some karate lessons.) A co-worker came with me to help translate and I had all my sample products with me. We laid them out on the table and while some women were getting their disbursements others were sitting and listening to our presentation and answering the focus group questions. It was really fun and interesting. I got a lot of good initial insight about the clean energy products we are wanting to distribute and create loan products for. I also learned a bit more about the operations of the organization which was great! I will be conducting focus groups for the rest of the week in Kerala and I will also get to go out in the field and meet the different self-help groups with the field officers which will also be really interesting. Next week, I will do the same thing up in Central India (a totally different world from Kerala is what many people have told me).
I had a really embarrassing moment last week when I presented my first management meeting in front of all of the area managers of Kerala. I was wearing a v-neck t-shirt (one of my favorites) and I had no idea that it was too low for Indian standards until the next day when one of my roommates made a comment! When my roommate told me, at first, I thought, "Ok. No problem. No more low cut shirts" and then I came to realize that it was the same day of the meeting AND they posted pictures of the meeting to commemorate the launch of the Micro Energy Program. I was mortified! Here's the foreigner that doesn't know any better. I ran into my roommates room that night and showed them the pictures. We all just laughed about it because what's done is done, just don't do it again :) I told them that they HAVE to tell me next time I do something embarrassing BEFORE I go out in public:)
From then on, I've learned that a big part of Indian style dress for women means covering up your breast area because people at the office have even started commenting that they like that I've started wearing Indian style clothing. My roommate also told me that people from the office have also come up to her to ask her if she said something to me, which she did thankfully :) Anyway, we had a good laugh about it together because I told her I got some comments too. They're actually still the same clothes I brought, but instead of wearing the scarf around my neck where the two sides hang down in front, I wear my scarf so that the two sides hang down the back and the part that dips down in front covers the top half of me. Nothing too tight and nothing that reveals too much. Dressing the local way is a way of gaining respect here, so I am VERY glad that I made this mistake early on before meeting the self-help groups. I wonder what other embarrassing things I'm doing :)
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