Wow. I haven’t written in a while. Sorry about that. I have been busy but mostly I haven’t written because I haven’t had anything good to say. These past couple weeks have not been good. Suffice it to say that I am tired of being taken advantage of and underutilized. But actually the end of this week got better. I talked to Mel about it (I was hoping that that wouldn’t have been necessary but it was) and she had a meeting with my teachers and the head of the department. To my horror, it was just MY teachers and didn’t include Joel’s teachers which means my teachers knew that I was the one complaining (they told me this later) and that I wasn’t too happy. I was horrified. That’s not how the meeting was supposed to go. It was supposed to be a general meeting with all the teachers and just giving them suggestions for improvements. I was horrified but glad that I spoke up because I did not want to spend my last weeks here grading papers (which is what I had been doing).

Thankfully, the teachers weren’t too upset at me (at least not to my face) and I finally got to do more. I got out of the classroom and into the library working with small groups of students, which is what I was doing before. I’m not sure why I stopped doing that but for some reason after I got back from holiday, everything was different.

So the last couple days this week were good which was good since I think I was at my breaking point. There are still other frustrations like why the government finds it necessary to teach two different kinds of number systems to the kids (our teachers choose Egyptian hieroglyphics and Roman numerals). It seemed like a waste of time but at least I was out of the classroom and actually I taught an English lesson and it went really well. That is amazing for me because usually I struggle a lot with English (who made up these rules anyway?). The students struggle a lot with comprehension and answering questions in complete sentences. Often they just copy sentences out of the passage instead of actually understanding what is being asked and how to answer it. But I broke down my lesson a lot and we went through the story several times and even though it took an hour and half, they wrote their sentences beautifully and seemed to comprehend. That’s a big step forward.

Yesterday was a really nice day. Sarah, one of the long term intern and I went into Cape Town via the train. It took two hours. It wasn’t bad though because we were in no rush and we did eventually get there. We even meet this coloured man who talked to us almost the entire way and he made the ride seem much quicker. Once we got to Cape Town we headed for Green Square Market where I started negotiating the prices for the things I wanted. I always enjoy doing that. I wish we did that in the States. It’s so much more fun. Unfortunately the thing I really wanted, these awesome pants in a ton of different colours, that price was not up for negotiation. It took some of the fun out of it but I am very happy with my purchase. I also bought my fiancé (still have to get used to that) an ostrich egg, which I was able to get a good price on.

After the market, we went and had lunch on Long Street at this amazingly cheap and delicious 24/7 Indian restaurant. It is a little piece of heaven. They give you so much food! My chicken tikka masala and garlic naan was delicious. Sarah and I were both very full after that meal.

After lunch we met up with Angie, one of the girls from our house who was staying in Cape Town for the weekend. We decided to go to the beach since it was such a gorgeous day. I suggested we take the minibus because they’re super cheap and I personally think they’re a lot of fun (even if they are dangerous). They try to cram as many people as possible in a tiny minibus and that’s exactly what they did to us. I was fine because we were only cramped for a bit before more room opened up.

We ended up at Camps Bay and if you ever come to Cape Town you must go there. It is gorgeous. It’s in a very wealthy part of Cape Town and the beach is beautiful. Yesterday the water was freezing but Angie and I jumped in anyway and it felt great after being in a stuffy minibus. We couldn’t stay long because Sarah and I had to catch the train back home but we soaked in a few rays and even got some smoothies before getting a cab back to Cape Town. We made our train no problem.

Our ride back was less eventual since it was shorter but we were joined by this mother and her three adorable daughters. One of the daughters was cracking me up. She kept trying to steal a balloon from her baby sister and then when that failed tried to get a balloon from someone she didn’t even know. Finally the girl with the balloon gave it to the little girl and she was very pleased with herself. It was hilarious. It was wonderful Saturday.

Wow. I haven’t written in a while. Sorry about that. I have been busy but mostly I haven’t written because I haven’t had anything good to say. These past couple weeks have not been good. Suffice it to say that I am tired of being taken advantage of and underutilized. But actually the end of this week got better. I talked to Mel about it (I was hoping that that wouldn’t have been necessary but it was) and she had a meeting with my teachers and the head of the department. To my horror, it was just MY teachers and didn’t include Joel’s teachers which means my teachers knew that I was the one complaining (they told me this later) and that I wasn’t too happy. I was horrified. That’s not how the meeting was supposed to go. It was supposed to be a general meeting with all the teachers and just giving them suggestions for improvements. I was horrified but glad that I spoke up because I did not want to spend my last weeks here grading papers (which is what I had been doing).

Thankfully, the teachers weren’t too upset at me (at least not to my face) and I finally got to do more. I got out of the classroom and into the library working with small groups of students, which is what I was doing before. I’m not sure why I stopped doing that but for some reason after I got back from holiday, everything was different.

So the last couple days this week were good which was good since I think I was at my breaking point. There are still other frustrations like why the government finds it necessary to teach two different kinds of number systems to the kids (our teachers choose Egyptian hieroglyphics and Roman numerals). It seemed like a waste of time but at least I was out of the classroom and actually I taught an English lesson and it went really well. That is amazing for me because usually I struggle a lot with English (who made up these rules anyway?). The students struggle a lot with comprehension and answering questions in complete sentences. Often they just copy sentences out of the passage instead of actually understanding what is being asked and how to answer it. But I broke down my lesson a lot and we went through the story several times and even though it took an hour and half, they wrote their sentences beautifully and seemed to comprehend. That’s a big step forward.

Yesterday was a really nice day. Sarah, one of the long term intern and I went into Cape Town via the train. It took two hours. It wasn’t bad though because we were in no rush and we did eventually get there. We even meet this coloured man who talked to us almost the entire way and he made the ride seem much quicker. Once we got to Cape Town we headed for Green Square Market where I started negotiating the prices for the things I wanted. I always enjoy doing that. I wish we did that in the States. It’s so much more fun. Unfortunately the thing I really wanted, these awesome pants in a ton of different colours, that price was not up for negotiation. It took some of the fun out of it but I am very happy with my purchase. I also bought my fiancé (still have to get used to that) an ostrich egg, which I was able to get a good price on.

After the market, we went and had lunch on Long Street at this amazingly cheap and delicious 24/7 Indian restaurant. It is a little piece of heaven. They give you so much food! My chicken tikka masala and garlic naan was delicious. Sarah and I were both very full after that meal.

After lunch we met up with Angie, one of the girls from our house who was staying in Cape Town for the weekend. We decided to go to the beach since it was such a gorgeous day. I suggested we take the minibus because they’re super cheap and I personally think they’re a lot of fun (even if they are dangerous). They try to cram as many people as possible in a tiny minibus and that’s exactly what they did to us. I was fine because we were only cramped for a bit before more room opened up.

We ended up at Camps Bay and if you ever come to Cape Town you must go there. It is gorgeous. It’s in a very wealthy part of Cape Town and the beach is beautiful. Yesterday the water was freezing but Angie and I jumped in anyway and it felt great after being in a stuffy minibus. We couldn’t stay long because Sarah and I had to catch the train back home but we soaked in a few rays and even got some smoothies before getting a cab back to Cape Town. We made our train no problem.

Our ride back was less eventual since it was shorter but we were joined by this mother and her three adorable daughters. One of the daughters was cracking me up. She kept trying to steal a balloon from her baby sister and then when that failed tried to get a balloon from someone she didn’t even know. Finally the girl with the balloon gave it to the little girl and she was very pleased with herself. It was hilarious. It was wonderful Saturday.

So last night was a surprising and eventful one. After not being able to sleep for most of the night, for multiple reasons, I awoke to a noise coming from converter that I had my computer charging on. Well, subconsciously I hit the charger from my computer and less than five minutes later the whole wall went up in flames! Well, maybe not the whole wall. The converter and wattage box that I had plugged in caught on fire to my surprise and I grabbed the charger out in what I thought till later was just in time. I mean it is not charred and melted like the converter and box, but it is not working. So I am wasting precious time typing right now because I don’t know when I will get a new charger.

Other than waking up in a fright last night, the past week has proved to be a successful week full of meetings and visits. At the end of last week, I visited a crafts center in a village a ways from my own in order to see the large-scale center that exports to overseas accounts. It was amazing to see the ingenuity and efficiency that has gone into creating such a well-oiled machine. First the women are on salary and are only given holidays and a certain amount of days off, versus the lack of accountability on how often the women work at our center. The women are specialized in different areas of the center and work together to produce fine quality products that are then sold in the shop and exported. Nila Moti, the other center, employs 70 women from 9 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. The biggest difference other than size and efficiency was that the organization that started the program is a constant force in the process and sends someone to work there and check on operations multiple times a year. At Sunder Rang, the organization that gave the money and set up the center has left the project to be run and overseen by whoever can help out, and that doesn’t always allow for efficiency and skill sets needed to manage a project. I am hoping that we can find a manager before I leave, because the fears that I have for the center being left behind are an impending doom if no one comes along to replace me.

On to the greenhouse: Sandy, the older volunteer, and myself visited a farm outside of Jodhpur a few days ago and had a superb visit with the farmer. After getting so frustrated over people who claimed to know everything, but really knew nothing, it was a breath of fresh air to find the true expert on all things plants. I was a bit worried that we would not get the information that we needed, but once we arrived, the translator and farmers started answering every question we had with in depth demonstrations around the farm. While we are not planning a large-scale farm like he was overseeing, he still knew how to plant and cultivate in the arid desert of Rajasthan and offered to come to the village and help train when the time comes. I can’t explain the relief that I had when I left the farm knowing that all hope was not lost and that the greenhouse really is possible. The next step, however, is trying to get those involved in the village to actually start the work and get the plans implemented.

First things first, we have to test the soil to the PH levels and salt content to know if we will be able to plant in the soil. We are expecting to have to bring in soil from other areas because the salt level is quite high, or so we have been told. This week’s goal was to start the compost in the hotel grounds so the vegetable scraps and other compostable materials can go straight from the kitchen to the compost bins. Someone at the hotel will have to be charged with the responsibility of making sure only specific items are allowed in the bins while at the same time keeping it moist and turning it over as to not get overheated.

The village has been very loud and busy lately and the center has been just the opposite. Most women are missing from the center for the past week or even up to two months for some of them due to wedding preparations. One of the girls from the center is getting married this weekend and we have all been invited to celebrate! I know I will be the entertainment because they all love to see the white girl dance, but I am excited to go to a village wedding. I don’t know how different it will be from the city weddings I have been to but I am about to find out. Tonight is the first night of the wedding. Well it is the dinner that the family puts on to start the celebrations and tomorrow through Saturday, three days, will be the festivities. All I know is I am going to be decorated and made to dance more than I want, but I just feel special because I was given an invitation like they give to their relatives and friends.

The word expert evokes a certain degree of respect and awe to most people. It is like the words connoisseur and specialist, they all try to differentiate those who know the most from the others who would like to know more. In India, however, the word expert describes those who at best have a degree, and yet most of the time they don’t. I am not saying that all those who claim a superior knowledge do not possess such, but most do not.

As the long-term intern, coming after two short-term interns from the summer program, I have the duty to complete the proposed projects that were funded. I am working on both getting training for the women at the center and now to build a greenhouse in a village that has no experience in growing small-scale vegetable gardens. In this area of Rajasthan, there are only 5 main crops, mostly grains, which are grown and on a very large scale expanding over the vast desert plains around the edge of the Thar desert. Being a white female in a male dominated society, where I cannot speak the language, I have been in need of help getting the materials and plans for the greenhouse together. There is one specific contact that the past intern has worked with, Mr. Dwivedi, who has agreed to help in whatever way possible, and has great English skills. He also works with the agriculture department and has contacts for certain necessary items.

Mr. Dwivedi has put me in touch with experts who are more than willing to help in the greenhouse endeavor, for a hefty price… That is the kicker. We are building this greenhouse to help people in the village of Chandelao, whether it be directly through job procurement or the availability of fresh vegetables at lower costs. The so called “experts” that have either come to the village or met with us in Jodhpur have expressed interest in building or helping with the greenhouse but only if we can build it larger than we have proposed, so they can make more money. On top of that, they do not seem to know what they are talking about. Unfortunately, in Indian society when a business meeting happens, they all agree on topics that are either not going to work or agree just to agree. After the meeting, however, the plans never get done, because even though they agreed in the meeting, they didn’t really mean their affirmations. I did not realize this until my host father explained it to me. This makes life difficult.

Per discussion with an “expert” on building greenhouses, we visited the CAZRI in Jodhpur. The Central Arid Zone Research Institute is a large-scale research institute where the administrators and scientists do experiments and research on possible uses and growing techniques for dry arid zones, such as Rajasthan. They have other projects as well, but these were the most relevant to what we were looking for. Another volunteer and myself went to check out CAZRI and see the “greenhouse” that the “expert” had built. When we got there, being women, the only person who was spoken to or answered was the older man who is volunteering at Chandelao and helping me set up the greenhouse. I did not feel put out or hurt at all by this because I was used to it, but it is still something I should express to explain the situation.

Walking around CAZRI, we soon found out there was no small-scale greenhouse that we had been led to believe we would get to see while visiting the institute. The greenhouse that was shown to us was a concrete structure with sprinklers and fans built into iron for irrigation purposes. Being that the budget is around $1500, the greenhouse shown to us was out of the question and more of a waste of time. But I was glad to see the center, because walking around we saw the way they have been traditionally teaching others to grow and compost. Being that our original ideas of composting and building a hoop-house style greenhouse still seem most relevant in the arid climate and budget we have to work with, we will not be following the advice from the “experts” and building the cheap version that will work just as well as the expensive and large-scale versions.

Now to implement… Teaching people who have no experience and or knowledge in growing will be a difficult task. That is why I am keeping extensive track of the steps we take to build and run the greenhouse so an operations manual can be written with pictures and descriptions clear enough for the new employees to understand, and hopefully implement in other areas.

Other than the greenhouse, I have been getting quite a few invitations to be involved in the village. The younger girls are always inviting me to chai and the other day even brought me to one of their homes to see a newborn baby. One of the unmarried girls from the crafts center is getting married soon and I have been invited to the 3-day wedding! I have been to multiple weddings in Jodhpur this wedding season, but this will be their first that I have been invited to in the village. Although I am sure that people would have invited me into their wedding if I were passing by, I would not feel comfortable if I did not know anyone at the wedding. This has happened many times in Jodhpur: I walk by somewhere that a wedding is taking place and someone tries to get me to join in on dancing or just coming into the festivities because I am white and a nice addition to the celebration. I am excited for the village wedding and appreciate how much the women are trying to include me in their daily affairs.

It was way too difficult to pick just a few pictures of the older kids because they are so cute. They will seriously steal your heart away.

First up is Nugget. Yeah, that’s right. Her name is Nugget and don’t let that innocent face fool you, she is a handful to say the least. She’s adorable though and I love her. She has a brother and a sister (that I know of). Her brother is the adorable Anathi, featuring in my last post and Nobulelo is featured here. Nugget is super smart when you get her to listen and sit down but that’s the problem she doesn’t sit down or listen, she runs around and has a habit of hitting you on the bumb. What a lady!

Next up Nombulelo. Isn’t she gorgeous? This girl is too cute and she has the sweetest little voice. She’s not as much trouble as Nugget but she gets into her fair share of trouble. I love this picture of her because she looks so happy.

And then there’s Athula (the rest of the pictures are below). She has the most beautiful skin! I had the privilege of working with her for a bit one to one and she’s very smart. She was a joy to work with and she always looked forward to our one to one sessions. Can you tell how much I love these kids?

 

 

This one is just me and my girls: Aseza, Nugget and Nombulelo. Aseza is probably my favourite. She is such a character and we always have so much fun together.

Next is Siyabonga, Mama Lumka’s grandson. Mama Lumka is the woman in charge of both the orphanage and the nursery, in case I haven’t mentioned that before. You see this kid everywhere: at the orphanage and at the nursery. He’s super cute and has the best smile.

And that cutie is Masithembe. I haven’t spent much time with him but he is super cute.

And last but certainly not least is Yofeza. For the first few months that I was here he always looked sad but I saw him. But he has a beautiful smile and he’s a sweet kid.

Well, that’s all for now. There are more kids are the orphanage but I don’t have pictures of them yet. I’ll be sure to update you guys real soon. I get to see my kids on Friday. Can’t wait!

 

 

 

 

It was way too difficult to pick just a few pictures of the older kids because they are so cute. They will seriously steal your heart away.

First up is Nugget. Yeah, that’s right. Her name is Nugget and don’t let that innocent face fool you, she is a handful to say the least. She’s adorable though and I love her. She has a brother and a sister (that I know of). Her brother is the adorable Anathi, featuring in my last post and Nobulelo is featured here. Nugget is super smart when you get her to listen and sit down but that’s the problem she doesn’t sit down or listen, she runs around and has a habit of hitting you on the bumb. What a lady!

Next up Nombulelo. Isn’t she gorgeous? This girl is too cute and she has the sweetest little voice. She’s not as much trouble as Nugget but she gets into her fair share of trouble. I love this picture of her because she looks so happy.

And then there’s Athula (the rest of the pictures are below). She has the most beautiful skin! I had the privilege of working with her for a bit one to one and she’s very smart. She was a joy to work with and she always looked forward to our one to one sessions. Can you tell how much I love these kids?

 

 

This one is just me and my girls: Aseza, Nugget and Nombulelo. Aseza is probably my favourite. She is such a character and we always have so much fun together.

Next is Siyabonga, Mama Lumka’s grandson. Mama Lumka is the woman in charge of both the orphanage and the nursery, in case I haven’t mentioned that before. You see this kid everywhere: at the orphanage and at the nursery. He’s super cute and has the best smile.

And that cutie is Masithembe. I haven’t spent much time with him but he is super cute.

And last but certainly not least is Yofeza. For the first few months that I was here he always looked sad but I saw him. But he has a beautiful smile and he’s a sweet kid.

Well, that’s all for now. There are more kids are the orphanage but I don’t have pictures of them yet. I’ll be sure to update you guys real soon. I get to see my kids on Friday. Can’t wait!

 

 

 

 

This week has been crap to be perfectly honest. It has been overwhelming, draining, exhausting...I could go on but no one wants to hear about my bad week so let’s focus on the positives like talking about the rest of my day last Friday. It was a great day. Every two weeks we get to go to orphanage and seriously I count down the days until I get to see my kids again. They are so cute. So this week instead of me focusing on my words and then adding pictures, this post will be heavy on the pictures and light on the words. Changing it up. Plus you have got to see these kids. I’m in love. I get to see them again in a week and I can’t wait!

First up is Ricardo. Before I left for holiday Beth had me write profiles for each of the babies so I’ll let you imagine baby Ricardo telling you all about himself:

My name is Ricardo and I’m awesome! I enjoy walks to the chicken coop or around the orphanage. I’ll even show you around (so please don’t pick me up)! I can say “teacher” and I will say it often. I like to play catch and practice kicking the ball. I’m a very happy baby and it doesn’t take much to make me smile. Give me a raspberry on the belly and I give you the best smile ever!

Ricardo is adorable. You can’t see it in this picture but he used to have the cutest baby dreads ever. They shaved all the kids’ heads over holiday 🙁 Not sure why. But I love this picture because he was obviously going to town over whatever they were eating for lunch. Love him!

 

This cutie pie is Xabiso. It’s pronunced with a click but it’s pretty much impossible to explain how it goes without actually just saying it. So suffice it to say that the X is his name gives it a click. The other letters in Xhosa that give clicks are C and Q. Here’s his profile:

My name is Xabiso and I generally have a sad face but when I smile, I light up the room. I like tickling, sliding and swinging. I love music so give me a bell and I’ll show you what I can do. I also enjoy playing ball and I’m practicing to be the next big soccer star, so let’s get that soccer ball out! I can walk (obviously) so please don’t pick me up. Generally when I don’t get my way, I’m not happy but I can easily be soothed. I can also say “teacher” and I’ll show you the ropes around here.

Xabiso is a character. He loves being picked up and will cry unless you either walk away or pick him up but he is too cute. It’s awesome to see him progress because he only started walking last year!

Next up we have Lisa Khanya. The only girl among the babies. She is a hand full! Enjoy her star studded profile:

My name is Lisa Khanya and I’m a diva. I’m pretty happy if I have a bottle in my mouth but if you take it away from me, watch out! I will not be a happy camper. I can sit on my own no problem but I need a lot of coaxing to crawl. I like blocks and listening to stories. Generally, I’m very shy and quiet unless I don’t get my way.

I worked with Lisa Khanya for a few days and for the life of me I couldn’t get her to crawl. Thankfully she has made lots of progress since the holiday and is crawling around and even walking with some help. She is a great big tub of love 🙂

Last but certainly not least in baby Anathi. I think he could definitely pass for my child and no one would know the difference. I absoultely love this picture of me and him and more importantly his sister, Nugget took the picture (more on her later). Enjoy his profile:

My name is Anathi and I’m probably the cutest baby you’ll ever meet. Plus I’m generally a very happy baby and I love playtime! I’m teething right now so I will put everything in my mouth. I can crawl and stand up with your help. I love to cuddle but be careful because I have very sharp nails and I will scratch you. I’m very curious about the world and love playing with toys that make a lot of noise. Give me a rattle and I’m set!

Seriously have you ever seen a cuter baby? It is going to be so hard saying goodbye to all these beautiful little faces 🙁 But I won’t think about that now. For now I will cherish every single second Friday that never comes soon enough and is always over before I want it to be. Next post we’ll talk about the older kids. They will rock your world.

 

This week has been crap to be perfectly honest. It has been overwhelming, draining, exhausting...I could go on but no one wants to hear about my bad week so let’s focus on the positives like talking about the rest of my day last Friday. It was a great day. Every two weeks we get to go to orphanage and seriously I count down the days until I get to see my kids again. They are so cute. So this week instead of me focusing on my words and then adding pictures, this post will be heavy on the pictures and light on the words. Changing it up. Plus you have got to see these kids. I’m in love. I get to see them again in a week and I can’t wait!

First up is Ricardo. Before I left for holiday Beth had me write profiles for each of the babies so I’ll let you imagine baby Ricardo telling you all about himself:

My name is Ricardo and I’m awesome! I enjoy walks to the chicken coop or around the orphanage. I’ll even show you around (so please don’t pick me up)! I can say “teacher” and I will say it often. I like to play catch and practice kicking the ball. I’m a very happy baby and it doesn’t take much to make me smile. Give me a raspberry on the belly and I give you the best smile ever!

Ricardo is adorable. You can’t see it in this picture but he used to have the cutest baby dreads ever. They shaved all the kids’ heads over holiday 🙁 Not sure why. But I love this picture because he was obviously going to town over whatever they were eating for lunch. Love him!

 

This cutie pie is Xabiso. It’s pronunced with a click but it’s pretty much impossible to explain how it goes without actually just saying it. So suffice it to say that the X is his name gives it a click. The other letters in Xhosa that give clicks are C and Q. Here’s his profile:

My name is Xabiso and I generally have a sad face but when I smile, I light up the room. I like tickling, sliding and swinging. I love music so give me a bell and I’ll show you what I can do. I also enjoy playing ball and I’m practicing to be the next big soccer star, so let’s get that soccer ball out! I can walk (obviously) so please don’t pick me up. Generally when I don’t get my way, I’m not happy but I can easily be soothed. I can also say “teacher” and I’ll show you the ropes around here.

Xabiso is a character. He loves being picked up and will cry unless you either walk away or pick him up but he is too cute. It’s awesome to see him progress because he only started walking last year!

Next up we have Lisa Khanya. The only girl among the babies. She is a hand full! Enjoy her star studded profile:

My name is Lisa Khanya and I’m a diva. I’m pretty happy if I have a bottle in my mouth but if you take it away from me, watch out! I will not be a happy camper. I can sit on my own no problem but I need a lot of coaxing to crawl. I like blocks and listening to stories. Generally, I’m very shy and quiet unless I don’t get my way.

I worked with Lisa Khanya for a few days and for the life of me I couldn’t get her to crawl. Thankfully she has made lots of progress since the holiday and is crawling around and even walking with some help. She is a great big tub of love 🙂

Last but certainly not least in baby Anathi. I think he could definitely pass for my child and no one would know the difference. I absoultely love this picture of me and him and more importantly his sister, Nugget took the picture (more on her later). Enjoy his profile:

My name is Anathi and I’m probably the cutest baby you’ll ever meet. Plus I’m generally a very happy baby and I love playtime! I’m teething right now so I will put everything in my mouth. I can crawl and stand up with your help. I love to cuddle but be careful because I have very sharp nails and I will scratch you. I’m very curious about the world and love playing with toys that make a lot of noise. Give me a rattle and I’m set!

Seriously have you ever seen a cuter baby? It is going to be so hard saying goodbye to all these beautiful little faces 🙁 But I won’t think about that now. For now I will cherish every single second Friday that never comes soon enough and is always over before I want it to be. Next post we’ll talk about the older kids. They will rock your world.

 

This week has been an efficient use of time for the most part. Even though I took off two days in order to go to Jodhpur for Republic Day, which is one of India’s independence days, I have managed to get quite a bit done. The greenhouse, that had been forgotten about until I came poking around for it, has gotten underway and the center is working well, as usual.

Last weekend, after spending some time with the gals in Jodhpur, they informed me that my name had become a verb for multiple uses. What I mean by this is that while doing something that would usually be characterized as something that I would usually do or make someone do, that it was now considered “pulling a Hannah.” My name now has the verb attached to it meaning “to be firm and to ensure the desired results.” Due to take no crap, strong will, and won’t back down personality that I have, the others always make me bargain for things, get us the Indian price, and overall anything that may be a difficult maneuver. It is quite fitting for the way I have started to take care of things lately as well.

Every since getting frustrated with the way things had been going, I vowed that I would make a difference and not be just another intern/white girl in India who ended up coming here and not producing real results. Unfortunately the past interns left me with more work than necessary to complete which makes it impossible to do any projects that would have been more fitting in a rural setting/ impoverished area such as the area that I live in. I have begun to get leeway in both projects that were left in the abyss and forgotten about once the other interns left their 9-week stint in Chandelao this summer. After speaking with my organization and contacting our main office in San Francisco, I am now allocating the money that was going to be used to bring trainers from a nearby village with a large scale crafts center to teach the women, into hiring a tailor from Jodhpur to come and teach the sewing women some specific skills necessary for quality products. This is time consuming, however, because it requires me to rewrite the grant proposal in order to change the original use of the money and to do all the research and development necessary to bring the tailor to the village.

On the greenhouse front, we have begun the first stage, and with much prodding and “pulling a Hannah” the project is actually being implemented. This, like the other grant, was not properly researched by the intern and is now going to be changed quite a bit, though it will be the same usage. After meeting with a man in Jodhpur who works with the Indian Agriculture Department, the plans now seem somewhat concrete and we have a much better idea of the layout and plan for building the hoop-house style greenhouse. He will be helping us along the way and has given us a contact in the city to help find the materials needed for building, which Praduman (my host father) and myself will be meeting in town tomorrow to search for the materials needed at the current moment. Today, after imposing the necessity of starting the greenhouse, a man from the village has come to the plot reserved for this specific usage and has started digging the holes needed for the bases of the poles. The first step will be to dig the 2X2X2 pits and then cement in the bases made from 2” wide PVC pipe and rebar. At least this part of the project is getting underway. The composting is to start soon and hopefully we will get the greenhouse going soon enough.

Other than work, today was quite fun since two of the other interns came to the village to visit me instead of me traveling to Jodhpur. Julia and Emily had not been to Chandelao yet, so they had been wanted to see the village that I reside in before leaving India. Julia stayed the night last night and we relaxed at the hotel while Emily came and joined us this morning. While I still had to work a bit today, with cracking the whip at the pit digger (not really) and a bit of work at the center, I managed to play host quite well and took them around to see the village and points of interest as well as the center and the hotel. Once the bus came that they had to ride back to Jodhpur, it was quite full at 4 o’clock and I convinced them to try my favorite way of riding the bus, especially when it’s full: on top. They climbed up to the top and situated themselves according to my instructions, and much to the bus conductor’s dismay, and my assurances, off they went to enjoy the best views of the surrounding countryside, while not being squished in the ever so crowded rural bus.

The rest of the day was actually spent by me visiting multiple houses of the women/girls who work at my center. In the past, the only times I had visited someone’s home in the village, or surrounding villages, was with someone who spoke both Hindi and English. Even though I think they have asked me to join them before, I could never be sure of what they were asking of me, so I continued to play dumb and not know for sure. Today was different however, and the girls made sure I knew what they were asking and I followed them to their respective homes for chai and a visit. Even though we do not speak the same language and there was a lot of laughing that I was not exactly sure of the reasoning, I had quite a lot of fun joining them with their families for a while and looking over the family photos and being treated as a family guest for chai. I went to three different homes and stopped at others while we were on our way back, all of whom tried to get me in their homes for chai as well. I believe I have now started the trend of getting Hannah to go their homes… Tomorrow I already promised to visit two others. I have really been inducted into the community now, and it is nice to be treated as such instead of a tourist or unfamiliar face.

 

Thursday was picture day. I spent most of the break looking for Nosipho. Her hair is different! It’s so cute. It’s braided now with a red streak it in. Apparently that hairstyle is very popular here. I played with her for a while once I saw her and she saw my ring. Now keep in mind this girl NEVER talks to me, at least not in English. I have no idea how much English she knows but she pointed to the ring and asked “what’s this?” It made my day. I couldn’t believe she said that knowing that she never says anything to me in English. So cute!

Friday was an interesting day. Joel and I (the other long term teacher) had to do reading levels. Basically you give a child a page with a bunch of words on it (see below) and ask them to read the words to you. You have a list of all the words and you just check them off as they read or write an X if it’s wrong. It was interesting for me to see their different levels and learn some of their names. As a teacher’s assistant it’s really hard to learn all the learners name. There are so many of them (1) and 2. You never seem to work with the same ones, making it even more confusing. I suggested to Mel that we take all their pictures and have a resource with their pictures and names so I can learn them. Once they finish reading you count up all the ones they get right and that tells you his/her reading level. It’s very strange if you ask me. Who decided on the reading ages? And how did they decide on the words on the list? I guess I should look for the answers and get back to you on that. It was really interesting and I liked the fact that I got to learn some of their names. It was also a little strange that most of them got the word village right because I thought that was a hard one.

So the list below is what I give each learner. They read left to right all the way down, as far as they can go. I have to stop them after five consecutive wrong answers: that is a mispronunciation or just saying another word instead of the one written.

to	is	up	for
big	he	at	one
my	sun	went	girl
boys	day	some	his
that	of	am	wet
love	water	no	just
pot	or	now	things
told	sad	carry	village
quickly	nurse	beware	return
scramble	twisted	journey	lunch

 

If they do well then I give them this page of words which gets progressively harder. I was actually really impressed with some of them. As you might imagine encyclopaedia and steadiness were often mispronounced.

known	shelves	explorer	tongue
projecting	terror	serious	belief
events	emergency	refrigerator	steadiness
obtain	overwhelmed	universal	nourishment
encyclopaedia	unique	circumstances	fringe
formulate	motionless	theory	destiny
scarcely	exhausted	labourers	urge
atmosphere	apprehend	binocular	domineer
melodrama	economy	ultimate	reputation
humanity	excessively	philosopher	autobiography

 

Below is the chart used to calculate the child’s reading age based on how many words he/she reads correctly.

Words Correct	Reading Age	Words Correct	Reading Age	Words Correct	Reading Age	Words Correct	Reading Age
2	5y 3m	29	6y 8m	56	8y 9m	83	11y 6m
3	5y 3m	30	6y 9m	57	8y 10m	84	11y 7m
4	5y 4m	31	6y 9m	58	9y 0m	85	11y 9m
5	5y 5m	32	6y 10m	59	9y 1m	86	11y 10m
6	5y 5m	33	6y 11m	60	9y 2m	87	11y 11m
7	5y 6m	34	7y 0m	61	9y 3m	88	12y 0m
8	5y 6m	35	7y 1m	62	9y 4m	89	12y 1m
9	5y 7m	36	7y 2m	63	9y 6m	90	12y 3m
10	5y 7m	37	7y 3m	64	9y 7m	91	12y 4m
11	5y 8m	38	7y 4m	65	9y 8m	92	12y 5m
12	5y 9m	39	7y 5m	66	9y 9m	93	12y 6m
13	5y 9m	40	7y 5m	67	9y 10m	94	12y 7m
14	5y 10m	41	7y 6m	68	10y 0m	95	12y 9m
15	5y 11m	42	7y 7m	69	10y 1m	96	12y 10m
16	5y 11m	43	7y 8m	70	10y 2m	97	12y 11m
17	6y 0m	44	7y 9m	71	10y 3m	98	13y 0m
18	6y 1m	45	7y 10m	72	10y 4m	99	13y 1m
19	6y 1m	46	7y 11m	73	10y 6m	100	13y 3m
20	6y 2m	47	8y 0m	74	10y 7m	101	13y 4m
21	6y 2m	48	8y 1m	75	10y 9m	102	13y 6m
22	6y 3m	49	8y 2m	76	10y 10m	103	13y 6m
23	6y 4m	50	8y 3m	77	10y 11m	104	13y 7m
24	6y 5m	51	8y 4m	78	11y 0m	105	13y 9m
25	6y 5m	52	8y 5m	79	11y 1m	106	13y 10m
26	6y 6m	53	8y 6m	80	11y 3m	107	13y 11m
27	6y 7m	54	8y 7m	81	11y 4m	108	14y 0m
28	6y 8m	55	8y 8m	82	11y 5m	109	14y 1m

 

And 110 is 14y 3m but it wouldn’t fit nicely into my table (you understand). So not sure if anyone else will find this interesting but I certainly did. I am curious to find out who and how someone came up with this. I was going to write on the rest of Friday but this is pretty full so we’ll save the rest for another day (I know you’re all dying in anticipation).