Picnic Pictures

One is of the game with the bricks/dodgeball theme :) I should really find the name...

One is of Mahi - she is super cute and I am staying with her family.

Three-legged race!! ha!

The flowers were so beautiful - I had to post a picture of one :)

Picnic and Sickness...

Yesterday was a ton of fun - we drove about an hour to a development by one of the Rotarians - he is making villas. The archetect is the same person who designed the house i'm staying in - and it is beautiful. The villas are gorgeous as well. They set up a lovely picnic area with tables, food (of course), and music. We played soccer (football), flew kites, and played another game...as Scott (teammate) said, "Its like dodgeball with bricks and stuff..." :) I have a video I'll have to get on youtube somehow - it is hilarous! Mary, Carin, and I were in a race balancing a pot on my head (got about half way down and it fell off); Scott was in a race with a lemon in a spoon (he actually took 2nd place!), and Scott & I attempted a 3-legged race (didn't work so well since he's about a foot and a half taller than I am...but I'm sure it was entertaining for those watching!). So, we had fun. But, right at the end I started to feel ill and by the time we got home my stomach and entire abdomen area. So, they called the doctor and 20 minutes later I popped 2 pills. They helped a lot but I still had dry toast for dinner and went to bed early.

The hard part about yesterday was seeing the workers constructing the adjacent villas as we were all having fun. I felt so bad as they looked onto us and our games - the only way I can describe it is I felt the same way I did when I have previously read stories about slavery in the US. Obviously, these people are being paid but I can't imagine what they are thinking. I feel so akward - like I should go help them put bricks up or something. Its strange...I am not explaining how I reall feel well. I don't know if I can fully comprehend the situation to really write about it in the first place.

Today we are off to a bird sanctuary and a club meeting (presentation time!). I guess this sanctuary is a haven for migratory birds from Siberia...hopefully we will see a ton of birds.

Sabbath totally broken and it's only 9:30 :(

Its hard to be a "light which cannot be hidden" when I'm doing things like breaking the Sabbath. I realize that I have a strict schedule and Heavenly Father knows where my heart is and I knew this would be part of the deal, but I would hate to think anyone sees me as insincere. That's weighing on me at the moment.

On a better note, I'm staying at a wonderful home with a sweet family. Rohit started his own precision auto parts business that exports to the US. I saw so many of the same tools we use at the plant - why-why, fishbone, SPC, etc. It was pretty cool. Also their leadership does a basic LSW walk with the employees and has "bottleneck" meetings to discuss what the workers say are issues. Its nice to see so much involvement.

We were "Americanized" last night - we went to TGIF restaurant :) Scott, Mary and i shared a veggie pizza. Then Scott and I went for a quick walk around an adjacent mall to "decompress" for a few minutes. Every once in awhile I get those emails at work that make my blood-pressure rise and I know that I need to simply close them and relax a bit. With everything going on, that seems to be the best analogy of how I feel - except I can't close the email. Don't get me wrong, this is the most amazing experience but I feel like I'm not able to really comprehend the full ramifications of the siutation. There are such extremes - such poverty and wealth...Beauty and horror...similarities and differences...I'm just trying to absorb everything I can. I suppose it will hit me over months to come.

I'm pretty sure I got a new nick name - I think it is Spunky.... :) Made me think of Al and "spitfire". Hopefully I don't drive my teammates crazy...they didn't know what they were getting into :) I'm defiantly trying to be 'me'...no point in really trying to worry about what everyone else thinks....way too stressful. I figure that if I truly try my best to be true to myself then I will represent America and Rotary well. At least I hope...

Today we are off to a picnic - like I said Sabbath broken. Then, I'm not sure but I hope that we will spend some time with our families. I love the girls - Avni and Mahi - they are so sweet and fun to be around. Avni is about to turn 15, and Mahi is around 6...(not sure). The picnic should be fun - we have activities like kite flying, a 3-legged race, and tug-o-war. Pictures should be fun later! Luckily I got a bit of time to myself this morning and was able to listen to wholesome music and do a bit of scripture study. Its been *interesting* seeing all of the religions over here. That would be a whole blog entry by itself....

Breakfast time!!

PS. Thanks to everyone who is reading this - I've been getting some emails and it is awesome to see some friendly notes from home. I'll respond, I promise, I just need to find some time!! Love you and miss you all :)

Pictures from the car.

This is my disclaimer becuase they aren't very high quality. Still - you have to see a few of these...

Vocational Day - January 28th

Here are the pictures of the temple, McDonalds, and Britannia. Check out the menu for McDonalds - my favorite is the veggie surprise :)

The crazy thing is I don't really eat it in the states, and I had it in India! Here, they give you seasoning and a bag to shake your fries. I kept one of the seasoning packets to bring home - they tasted very good!

Hauz-Khas Village

This is the man made lake and monument that is over 800 years old. The little shops that were nearby reminded me of uptown in Minneapolis - 'posh'. The lake was beautiful but very polluted. I loved how you could really climb anywhere - no safety ropes!

January 28th pictures

Here are the pictures from the orphanage - the child Carin is holding is one of the chidren of the 16 year old girl I mentioned in my previous post. She was very cute and we were all surprised that she came to Carin!

The second is their method of making concrete - this was on the roof of the hospital and they would mix the water and mix with a crude shovel sort of thing. Then, it was placed on the round plate and carried on a man's head down all of the stairs to where they were working.

The third is a picture of the hospital in progres...

The last is the sign for the boy's house in the orphanage.

The website for this home is www.humancareint.org if anyone is interested. I really feel like we can do something to help as things are so cheap here but they truly need funds and support.

Wow!

I just arrived at my second home and it is truly incredible! My room has a huge bed, sofa, private bath, and walk-out. it also has wash clothes :) (just for Alex). I am really hoping for hot water!! It is so surprising that a minute before we pulled up we saw not so nice of areas and then we walk into this huge (must be 5000 sq feet at least), beautiful home. I'm staying with a Mechanical engineer, his wife, and 2 children. AND there is wireless Internet :) I felt inclined to hang all of my clothes up in the closet and truly unpack so that I am comfortable here. Its a good feeling.

Right before I arrived here, we went to a Rotary Public School (and in India public means private). It was incredible. They have 2000 students from K-12. The chemistry class was covering things I learned in gen chem. The physics class was covering things I learned in differential equations (2nd year of college) and these were 16 year-olds. No wonder these kids are brilliant! This school was started by a Rotarian in the 1980's and has grown from 4 classrooms to the current size. The students win many awards and are well versed in the arts. It was really cool to see these little bulletin boards around the school - they had great quotes, I wish I would have written them down! I thought about Julie a ton!

In about an hour and 15 minutes I will be picked up to go to a "modern shopping mall" that apparently has 4 floors and each one is a 1 km loop. hopefully I'll find something for the wedding. Then, we have dinner at a Rotarian's house and I am looking forward to sleeping!

The plans keep changing - instead of going to the Hero Honda factory, we are now going to go to 3 Rotarian's factories. One is in polymers/rubber (I'm super excited for that!), one in textiles (major exporters to places like the Gap), and another is in auto parts. After that we will have lunch and whatever else and it sounds like we will go to 3 Idiots tomorrow :) The long awaited movie....but apparently it doesn't have subtitles so who knows what it will be like.

The plan now is to organize my photos and "freshen up". More fun to come! But of course I'll post pictures first :)

Emotional Rollercoaster

This may be brief and the punctuation will be terrible because I'm in a car right now :) Tarun has this great little USB device that connects to the Internet anywhere and I'm taking advantage of it after visiting Britannia - the leading biscuit manufacturer in India. The factory tour was fantastic! I was very happy to hear they train and have HACCP, GMPs, and we spoke the same language. i felt at home there and saw equipment much the same as Chanhassen had. The processes are very similar but I was surprised to hear about their fantastic safety record even though all i had to wear was a hair net. It was great to see that they use the same standard Metal detector check pieces as well. I could go on for a bit longer but I'll spare everyone who is reading and not interested in all the details of biscuit making :)

Today started well - another freezing cold shower - very spicy breakfast washed down with fresh papaya. Then, papa took me to the temple (papa is the father of Tarun, I'm not sure of his real name at this point, but he said i was now family and could call him papa. he also invited me back and said out of the thousands of people and women he has met I'm the first one who doesn't drink alcohol...). I'm not really sure what type of temple it was but we did this thing called "pooja" (made me smile thinking of Pooja!) and everyone at the temple knew papa. he has been going since the beginning/establishment and he has special treatment. We were escorted around personally. we only spent about an hour there and did a few things that i completely don't understand and couldn't get any explanation for. we actually got gifts from them - fresh coconut, more flowers, bananas, and some little white sweets. it was interesting to say the least. I had a tough time because these people were literally worshiping idols and statues. i suppose i needed to experience this because i never did understand how one of the commandments could be to not worship any other gods. i always understood this as we had to put Heavenly Father first and although I had heard that people do worship idols, etc. it was an entirely different experience to see people literally worship them on 74 acres in beautiful, ornate, gold buildings while half a block down the street children are begging for money and the lower class is sitting in their makeshift houses. the contrast is truly mind-boggling.

So, today has been good and eye-opening but doesn't compare to yesterday. yesterday morning we went to the AIIMS cancer center. It was part of a hospital subsidized by the government. This particular building was started by a Rotarian and the board of the hospital meets with a board of Rotarians from the district once a month to discuss extra funding that is needed. The director we met with in a very humble office, was in charge of preventative research. He said that 5 years ago 70% of the people who came to the hospital were untreatable because of the advance state they were in. now it has reduced to about 60% because of the education they are working on. Much more work is ahead. They are looking for funding to get a van and equip it with a machine to do mammograms. Breast and cervical cancer are the leading cancers for women. head/neck is for men in India. they also have departments on drug research and others in the hospital. it is a teaching institute and of the thousand of applicants just a handful are admitted each year. So, i imagined a beautiful hospital - as it is the best in the area - people come from neighboring countries for treatment, even the prime minister and other diplomats use it - but i couldn't believe what i saw. there were so many people everywhere - they come in from miles away for radiation. they have 8 rooms that are constantly full. there are nearby hostels that they recommend for the people who come for treatment during the day and have to go back at night. the hospital is 200 beds and there is a constant waiting list. if that's not enough, we saw where the major surges take place..NOTHING even resembling what we have in the US. the beds that people come out of surgery on are like gurneys with a small pad. we saw someone come out...she didn't look so good. It was really hard....and then, at the end we were taking a few pictures outside of the building and I saw a lady with her 2 children. when I turned around again, I saw her son in her arms, his eye bulging, red - the size of a 3-year old's fist protruding from his little head. She was simply holding him, waiting. this is one of many. while we were also there a man was lifted from his rolling bed to a rickshaw. I have no idea where he was going but he couldn't even really lift himself.

So then, to continue the rollercoaster, we went to Haus Kaus (spelling?) - and it was a beautiful area built about 800 years ago - large structures that now serve as a tomb and a nice man-made lake. the area was beautiful and unlike in the states - you could walk anywhere. It was a strange change to just go wherever I wanted. I have great pictures from it I'll post when i'm not in a car :) We had a fabulous lunch in an award-winning restaurant that overlooked a beautiful park just minutes walking away from Haus Khas. This was our up...

but then...we were again taken to a heart-wrenching but inspiring area - an orphanage and school for kids from a leper colony. They are not allowed to go to school so this amazing man has taken them in. he started this school years ago (i will get the details and website up soon!) and now he has over a hundred people living there. As if it isn't enough to have these children, teach them, provide food and shelter, he also has an room for the mentally unstable. These are the people whom society has taken advantage of or neglected. They all have some kind of issue and are quite unpredictable. one girl - age 16 - was raped and left on the side of the road. She had already had 2 children. One of the babies - who is 3 year old - was so very cute but obviously underdeveloped. she looked maybe 18 months...maybe. She came to Carin when we were sitting in the hall with all the children. She was so cute but it was absolutely heart breaking. He also provides a rest home for the 'elderly'. basically, its a place where people can die in peace. i think he said they lost 2 people last week alone. They can be brought in from the government or just found on the side of the street. he takes care of them - no questions. right now he is working on funding for an adjacent hospital. it is under construction. I'll post pictures, you'll never believe them. He still needs more funding and is constantly looking for help. He quit his job and he and his daughters (his wife passed about 4 years ago) live on site. There is no running water. Food is all donated. he didn't have a bed until last year. he has much faith in Jesus and the children attend church. it was sort of sup rising to see a Christian amongst everyone of the different faiths.

there are so many opportunities here to help and some very good people devoted to making this place better. i still find myself surprised at everything - I think i won't be able to fully comprehend everything for quite some time. So, now I just document it.

Well, this is quite long and i better check my email again :) I change homes tomorrow and I am not certain if i will have Internet access. Hopefully - and I will post pictures. Tomorrow is a tour of the Hero Honda factory - they are the leading supplier of motorcycles over here - and trust me there are many! They look awesome and fun...I am excited. I saw Honda and was hoping we would see something on AI, but not so. that's OK!
AND we just pulled into our enclave so we'll be home soon! i hope everyone is doing well, i definitely miss things back home but this is truly an incredible experience!

more pictures

A few more - we had a lovely greeting at the first school - Carin and I are posing :)
the 2 girls dancing are at the 2nd school - they were so cute and did a wonderful job. One girl had so much confidence - it was wonderful to see because at the first school when girls would sing or dance they would just look at the ground. the other picture is our second greeting at the second school (hence the red dot on my forehead and flowers in my hair)

Pictures

not sure why I am having so many issues with pictures :) It took about 30 minutes to upload these last night :(

The first one is of the water jugs that the people fill every other day. then, there is a close up of one of the posters in the school class room. it is entitled something like "things good boys do"!!! Then, we have a picture of the team with many of the students on a terrace outside of their classroom - so many cute children!!

Day 2, I think...

Already SO much has happened that my mind is constantly in motion. This is my first real chance at the internet although I am still having issues connecting to some websites (for example, webmail for work). It is a slow connection and reminds me (almost) of when we had dial-up on the farm :)

SO....the 15 hour plane ride was great...we had on demand tv shows, movies, games, and music. i didn't even take my netbook out. I watched Modern Marvels (yes, I know i'm a nerd) and some PG movie. I slept a little, looked at the music, and then listened to my music. We had Indian food on the plane - it was actually delicious and a good start. When we arrived, the airport security was very tight because of the upcoming Republic Day security. there were armed men everywhere. Welcome to India...

We stayed at a hotel and the next morning had a wonderful Indian breakfast. We didn't see much of the city the night before because we got in around 10 pm and it was dark and foggy. So, the next day (Monday, 25th), we really got to see traffic and parts of the city. We had a briefing and discussed some of the upcoming events. Then, after lunch, we were taken to our host families and prepared for a Rotary dinner. My host family is Charoo and Tarun with their 3 children. They are very nice and live in the Sanik Farm area. A "farm" around here is just an enclave or grouping of houses on larger plots. It is further away from the city and quite nice. the house I am in backs up to about 5-6 acres of vegetables. The family has a helper for the kitchen and a driver. Different way of life....

This morning we got up quite early (6 am) and went to the Republic day parade. It is crazy how tight security was - everyone was patted down and went through metal detectors. nothing besides the official invitation and identification was allowed inside. So, no pictures :( still, the parade was awesome! the first half was just of the different military organizations - they all had on colorful uniforms. the typical head-dress looked like a sunshine mohawk :) There were bands and even a band riding on the backs of camels! There were also floats from each of the different states and some of the ministries (like Agriculture - it was covered completely in flowers). the finale was a fly over from the air force OH! and they had big tanks and this multiple missile launcher and the biggest missile I've ever seen in the parade too.

After lunch we went to 2 of the 5 schools that the Megapolis Rotary club sponsors in low income areas. These just blow my mind. The children are so cute but just left to their own devices because the parents are laborers and leave every day. in the first area there was no water - the government brings in water tanks and they fill up old plastic jugs for the next day or 2 use. The area is like something I've never seen. in fact the whole city is truly shocking for me. it is very good to see and appreciate, yet my heart just aches to see the condition in which these people live.

After the visits, we did a bunch of shuttling everyone around and I came back to my home for a couple hours before another club dinner. (we eat dinner around 8:30 or 9 pm each night). i got a tour of the upstairs of the house - it is absolutely beautiful! and looked at their wedding pictures. it is culture here for the groom to ride to the bride on a white horse - how romantic! the whole process is quite interesting. I am excited as we will be able to attend at least one wedding (already been invited to another one!).

Some funny moments include Ravi saying that if we see a popular Hindi movie we should see "three idiots" or "avatar" ... nice :) passing cookies between cars at the stoplight because our hosts must think we are always hungry! almost being hit about a million times because the lines on the road do not mean a thing, really. Seeing cows walk down the middle of the street and avoid traffic.

Some not so fun moments - never having a warm shower (hot is completely out of the question...warm would be sooooo nice), seeing dogs all over the streets, children coming up knocking on windows and begging, going to restrooms and finding that toilet papers is simply not used (learned to now take it along wherever I go), having to take some pepto bismol tabs, and the list goes on.

we have been having so much fun though! the hosts are so wonderful and nice. They are sweet and thoughtful. the children in my house are great - the youngest boy (4 years old) was sitting in my lap in the car for about an hour this afternoon. He doesn't speak much english (mostly Hindi if anything) but he was talking to me...I felt terrible that i had no idea what he was saying. for some reason Hindi is not really sticking with me...

I found out some great news...tomorrow we are going shopping for clothes for the wedding and I get dinner with my family. We are also going to see a cancer hospital and another of the club's projects. Thursday i will be going to India's largest biscuit manufacturer's plant close to Delhi. I am excited! ALSO, one of our hospitality committee members said if there is anything we want to do, to ask. So, i took the LDS church address to him and asked if I could go on one of my Sunday afternoons that are "free time". He looked at the address, found when I would be close and it happened to be a free Sunday. so, February 6th I'll be participating in fast Sunday :) i'm super excited! AND we also get to participate in a polio immunization day! This was one thing I really wanted to do and was told we weren't going to be able to....well plans have changed! This will be wonderful...I'm so glad we are able to participate and really help try to eradicate polio in one of the last countries to have the terrible disease. this trip is truly beyond my imagination.

I'm going to post a few pictures and go to bed. I'm absolutely exhausted and need to sleep. a lot...So, hopefully I'll be back on soon but if not, here's a start. I've been keeping an electronic journal at least 1x per day to remember everything. i think I'll have to reorganize the pictures later. :)

Okay, pictures not working right now...will try to post on another page...

56 pounds...

I'm allotted 50 lbs for my checked luggage (x1 piece) unless I feel like pay fees for an extra bag or overweight luggage. Not 56. I'm looking at my main suitcase - it has plenty of room, just needs to lose weight. AND, as I look around my room, I still see my uniform, a pair of shoes, some miscellaneous items (including batteries, my camera, netbook, jewlery, glasses, etc.), 3 lbs of chocolate, and about 6 lbs of jelly beans that still need to go. hmmmm....this could be a challenge. Good thing I have a few days to work on it :)

I'm SO happy I went shopping with Susie today - I found a great black jacket ($4), some new collared shirts to go under the jacket (very professional, and about $3 each), another pair of Navy shoes (back-up for the Calvin Kleins - $5), and a spare pair of Gap Kakies ($10). I feel good about what I'm taking, hopefully the photos turn out well :S

I seriously feel like I'm going to get there and have forgotten something very obvious, like toothpaste. Or just one whole set of things, like, "ooops, guess I forgot that bag of socks!". I've never been on a trip this long or this far away - I think I'm just putting WAY too much pressure on packing :)

Well, back to the challenge I suppose. On a side note - the attached pictures are of the group heading to New Delhi in our uniform (we won't wear it all of the time - just when we visit clubs and give our presentation).

12 days and counting...

I simply cannot believe that in 12 days I will be boarding a plane headed for New Delhi, India! We had a wonderful Indian meal last Saturday with our language coach. She is an incredible cook and the food was delicious...it is rare that one can experience layers of flavor as we did that day. I was hoping to lose weight on this trip. Apparently I should plan for the other direction...

The most exciting news about Saturday is we got our itinerary! I am SO impressed with the level of detail - we really will have to sleep during the scheduled time. The highlights (at this point) will probably be an Indian wedding (SO excited - I even have a beautiful Indian dress/skirt to wear!), the tour of the Honda Factory, seeing the Taj Mahal, the University, and visiting with my host families - all 8 of them! I did see one Sunday afternoon that *may* allow me to attend church. I've researched the branches in New Delhi and I'm hoping that my host family lives near the one that has 2:00 pm service. (fingers crossed). I think it would be incredible to visit with the Saints in India :)

The most stressful part right now is making sure work is transitioned properly. It feels like the moment I sit down, something comes up AND my to-do list keeps growing. It started as 3 post it notes. I think I added a whole notebook page (list format) today alone. I suppose this is when prioritization comes in handy...

So, I have a plan, I am about 1/2 packed...everything is set out, now I just wait for my uniform to be altered. After that, I should be good to go. I think. If I can get it all packed in under 50 lbs. :S I cannot believe what an incredible opportunity this is! I'm a little nervous but mostly excited. I am glad almost everyone at work is supportive. I've had many people wish me well and offer bits of advice... "don't forget pepper spray", "do you think you'll need a knife...???", "take lots of pictures!", "don't drink the water", and my favorite thus far..." wear tall shoes". Things I may not have considered on my own ;)

This was a good mental break/dump...now I suppose it is back to work and hopefully some sleep...