I made it back Austin on the 12th and I have finally adjusted to the time. My last day in Pondicherry turned out to be quite the adventure. While sitting in a coffee shop I met two more travellers travelling alone. One was a girl named Mae from Shanghai and the other a guy named Todd from California.
Mae was originally on vacation from school with her friends and decided to extend her stay. Her friends could not handle the heat so they went back to China after 2 weeks and Mae is travelling for one month. Todd is in India for five months researching sustainable housing development. He is volunteering one year of his life to build stustainable buildings for ashrams in North India.
After to the coffee shop, Mae and I went for a bike ride through the town to visit the bazaar. This was a bit scary (especially since I was side saddle on the back of the bike) and we were force walk the bike a couple of times. From the bazaar, we went to a nearby Hindu temple which had a live elephant in front. The elephant had a name tag wich read Laksmi (I think that is the Hindu god the temple was devoted to). I don't know much about the Hindu religion. Someone had told me that the temples are a lot like museums if you don't practice the religion. They were correct! There was a lot of art work with the god's face representing different regions of the world, plus there were decorated idols through out and another small temple built within the larger temple. After leaving the temple, Mae and I met Todd for dinner at cute International restraunt, then we said our goodbyes.
I left Pondicherry the next morning. I went in front of the ashram to catch a rickshaw but the driver was no where to be found. The nearby beggar yelled loudly for the driver until he came running from across the street. For this, I tipped the beggar 10 rupees (equivalent of a nickel) and I had never seen anyone so happy! He kissed it and said thank you over and over again. I'm starting to wonder if I had given him 100 rupees instead, b/c 10 rupees really didn't buy much (or everything was really price gauged).
I told the driver where I needed to go and he knew for sure, exactly which bus I needed to take to get to the Chennai airport. So, here we are headed down a busy highway to the bus station, when he stops and flags a bus that is headed in the opposite direction. He tells me that is the bus I need to take and I should catch it before I miss it. I asked "Are you sure?". He said "Yes, hurry go catch it!" So I jump out, threw rs50 at him, jumped over the cement divide and run onto the bus and driver tells me it was the wrong bus and I needed to cross the street. I argued with them just a little bit (as if I would really know) before they convince me that it was indeed the wrong bus. I run back around and of course the rickshaw was gone. I then jump over the divide again and cross 3 lanes of busy traffic. On the other side I met some very helpful rickshaw drivers (as always), but of course it was a passenger that told me I needed to go a block and half to the bus station. At the bus station I finally found the correct bus, but the adventure still did not end! After a 3 hour ride I was unsure which stop was mine. I finally see the airport and I asked the guy where my stop is. He said to me"You missed it!" I screamed "What? Why didn't you let me know?" So the driver stopped the bus in the middle of another busy street and told me to get out here. I then had to cross more lanes of busy traffic and walk until a rickshaw driver had to pick me up and circle around to the airport!
Despite the arguing, negotiating (and even one time boycotting them) I did with all of the rickshaw drivers, I had to depend on them a lot! Really without them and some locals I don't think I would have made it very far (or in some cases too far).
I finally returned to The States via the O'Hare Airport in Chicago. I was starving and very tired of Indian food. The first thing I order on U.S. soil is an Ham and Swiss Panninni and it was the best thing I have ever tasted! I don't know if it was really that good or if my taste buds were just happy to have something besides curry. As I was sitting,(and devouring the sandwich) in the terminal to catch the flight back to Houston, I start to notice all of these ladies walking around with their big, blonde, bouffant hairstyles, carfully managed make up, rhine stone studded pants-I think "Yes! Texas women!!! I am almost home!"
So now the adventure is over and I am happily back at home. I have to say this trip has made me appreciate a lot! Things like drinkable water, toilet paper, set prices, and traffic rules will never be taken for granted. It's great to be home!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Pondicherry
I left Ft. Kochin and arrived at the Ernakulam Town Train Station 3 hrs before my departure time! I have learned that time doesn't really mean much here, so it is best to be early rather than late. Also I did not want to surrying the streets looking for a rickshaw after dark.
As soon as I entered the train, I felt like a fish out of water! Everyone looked at me quizzically and all I could do was smile and say "Hi" as I made my way to my seat. When I made my way to the bunker, that sleeps 8, I immediately thought I was in the wrong place. I thought they tried to bunk women together, but I realized this is not the case! I was bunked with 7 men! Despite the initial discomfort, the ride wasn't that bad. I opted for the top bunk and slept rather deeply. The train stopped at 7 am in Chennai (Madras) and I immediately hopped on a bus to Pondicherry.
This bus ride was the most true Indian bus experience I have encountered thus far. At first we left Chennai with only a few people on board, but we stopped in each village and more and more people jumped on, while few jumped off. Before I knew it, we were packed! Just when I thought no one else could fit, a bus load of people crammed in at one of the villages. The crowd was so dense that eventually the lady sleeping next to me was pushed so close that she slept on my shoulder for a little bit. Tho this was overwhelming (like most things here) I enjoyed the experience!
I arrived in Pondicherry and the rickshaw driver brought me to a little ashram ( recommended by Lonely Planet) that has guest rooms for very cheap (about $2/nt). The ashram has a really nice meditation garden and you are required to remove your shoes prior at the gate. I walked through it bare foot this and morning and the grass is so plush it's like walking on carpet.
Pondicherry is a cute town with a pleasent beach promenade along the Bay of Bengal. It flourished under the french influence and is great vacation spot. It has very rocky beach sides and intense waves. I would love to swim, but not to sure on the safety of the tide.
While at coffee, I met an Italian girl that is living in New Delhi and vacationing throughout S. India. She's staying at the same guest house and we had dinner and just walked along the beach.
This place is a much better vacation place than Ft. Kochin. It is much livlier in the evening time and you don't have anyone pestering you to buy something every 5 steps on the beach. Plus, it offers more than five streets for tourists. Also, unlike the other areas, it is very clean (at least along the promenade). This is the only town in which I have seen trash pick up.
Originally I was thinking of seeing only a few other areas, then move on to another seaside town near Chennai but I realized I just want to relax a bit. So I went booked the room for one more night. I'll leave by bus in the morning to catch my 5 pm flight in Chennai.
Today I thought I would try my luck and rent a bicycle to tour the streets. This is really difficult! In America, we drive on the right side of the street, in India, it's the left. I forgot and ended up going the wrong way into oncoming traffic! Fortunately, the Indians are used to dealing with this and looked out for me. I'm probably just going to stick to the tourist side for a bit and I think I may have to retire my use of the back when I get back to the guest house.
This is definitely my last stop before leaving India. I next post will be made from and American computer. There are a lot of sites to see, so I should log off and enjoy this little town.
See you in the U.S.A!
~Lisa
As soon as I entered the train, I felt like a fish out of water! Everyone looked at me quizzically and all I could do was smile and say "Hi" as I made my way to my seat. When I made my way to the bunker, that sleeps 8, I immediately thought I was in the wrong place. I thought they tried to bunk women together, but I realized this is not the case! I was bunked with 7 men! Despite the initial discomfort, the ride wasn't that bad. I opted for the top bunk and slept rather deeply. The train stopped at 7 am in Chennai (Madras) and I immediately hopped on a bus to Pondicherry.
This bus ride was the most true Indian bus experience I have encountered thus far. At first we left Chennai with only a few people on board, but we stopped in each village and more and more people jumped on, while few jumped off. Before I knew it, we were packed! Just when I thought no one else could fit, a bus load of people crammed in at one of the villages. The crowd was so dense that eventually the lady sleeping next to me was pushed so close that she slept on my shoulder for a little bit. Tho this was overwhelming (like most things here) I enjoyed the experience!
I arrived in Pondicherry and the rickshaw driver brought me to a little ashram ( recommended by Lonely Planet) that has guest rooms for very cheap (about $2/nt). The ashram has a really nice meditation garden and you are required to remove your shoes prior at the gate. I walked through it bare foot this and morning and the grass is so plush it's like walking on carpet.
Pondicherry is a cute town with a pleasent beach promenade along the Bay of Bengal. It flourished under the french influence and is great vacation spot. It has very rocky beach sides and intense waves. I would love to swim, but not to sure on the safety of the tide.
While at coffee, I met an Italian girl that is living in New Delhi and vacationing throughout S. India. She's staying at the same guest house and we had dinner and just walked along the beach.
This place is a much better vacation place than Ft. Kochin. It is much livlier in the evening time and you don't have anyone pestering you to buy something every 5 steps on the beach. Plus, it offers more than five streets for tourists. Also, unlike the other areas, it is very clean (at least along the promenade). This is the only town in which I have seen trash pick up.
Originally I was thinking of seeing only a few other areas, then move on to another seaside town near Chennai but I realized I just want to relax a bit. So I went booked the room for one more night. I'll leave by bus in the morning to catch my 5 pm flight in Chennai.
Today I thought I would try my luck and rent a bicycle to tour the streets. This is really difficult! In America, we drive on the right side of the street, in India, it's the left. I forgot and ended up going the wrong way into oncoming traffic! Fortunately, the Indians are used to dealing with this and looked out for me. I'm probably just going to stick to the tourist side for a bit and I think I may have to retire my use of the back when I get back to the guest house.
This is definitely my last stop before leaving India. I next post will be made from and American computer. There are a lot of sites to see, so I should log off and enjoy this little town.
See you in the U.S.A!
~Lisa
Monday, April 6, 2009
Fort Kochin
I left Alleppey around noon and was unable to make a trip to Varkela as I had originally planned. The bus ride would have taken 3.5 hrs and I did not want to be rushed to make it back to Ernakulam for my evening train ride to Madras. So, I opted to hop on the bus back to Ernakulam to make my way to Ft. Kochin.
On the bus I sat next to a very pleasant local lady by the name of Rienna (like Sienna). She was very informative about all of the small towns we passed through. She pointed out all of the famous churches, temples and manufacturing plants. She also told me of things I should see while in Ft. Kochin. At one point she tapped me on the arm and said "look to the left". I looked and saw several market shops set far off the road, in front of the shops were large yards about the size of two football fields. She said that every year in December, elephants are brought in from all over Kerala and are washed in the yards. She said the area is crowded with hundreds of elephants and the streets are shut down from traffic. Unfortunately this isn't the season and I would have to come back in December to enjoy that experience. She gave me more information about the shops and coasts in Ernakulam. So I decided to jump off the bus where she did and explore the town a little bit. Ernakulam is basically a smaller version of Bangalore, so I walked to the coast, took a few pics and jumped on another bus to Ft. Kochin.
I realized within the first 10 minutes of being here that Ft. Kochin is a prime tourist area for Europeans and Indians. The quaint little streets are lined with cottages and shops that show off the towns Dutch and Portuguese heritage. The beach is lined with rocks, Chinese fishing nets, small row boats and fish markets. The area is very pedestrian friendly and the rickshaw drivers practically beg for business. Sunset is, predicatably, at 6:30 and I lingered around the coast until I could take some pictures.
After a few pics and a little shopping. I went to the hotel to clean up and find some food. I opted to eat in a cafe just adjacent from my hotel. The cafe was run by a very charismatic, drunk local who was very apologetic when my drink to not make it to me in a timely manner. After an hour had passed and I still had not received my food, I heard him go into the kitchen and yell, loudly, at the workers. I ordered another soda and when I did not receive that for a while, again he yelled at the workers. After over an hour and half I made friends with a traveller from Brooklyn. He joined me for dinner and I asked them to bring another plate. This took some time and prompted more yelling and some dishes being broken in the kitchen. After each of these incidences, the charismatic drunk would always return with a pleasant smile and apologies. The irony of it all is the name of the restaurant is Cafe Calm!
During dinner, I found out that my new friend is a photojournalist working on his own private documentary of the Indian cultures. He works in television and film and took 2 months off to travel through India and add to his private portfolio. He wanted to take a picture of me outside, but while he was digging for his equipment I felt the sting of fire ants on my feet and had to rush off to rinse them. He is the first tourist I have actually had a real conversation with since arriving to India (aside from the U.K. family). I wish him well.
This morning I woke up and decided to venture onto the streets. I stopped and saw St. Francis Church where Vincent de Gama died and was buried for 14 yrs until his body was moved to Lisbon. After that, I ventured onto the beach area, where I did a little bit of chinese fishing with the nets. Basically I just pulled on a roped and yelled some rhythm with the fishermen. My next stop is Pondicherry and I think it may be very similar to this area.
Until next time
~Lisa
On the bus I sat next to a very pleasant local lady by the name of Rienna (like Sienna). She was very informative about all of the small towns we passed through. She pointed out all of the famous churches, temples and manufacturing plants. She also told me of things I should see while in Ft. Kochin. At one point she tapped me on the arm and said "look to the left". I looked and saw several market shops set far off the road, in front of the shops were large yards about the size of two football fields. She said that every year in December, elephants are brought in from all over Kerala and are washed in the yards. She said the area is crowded with hundreds of elephants and the streets are shut down from traffic. Unfortunately this isn't the season and I would have to come back in December to enjoy that experience. She gave me more information about the shops and coasts in Ernakulam. So I decided to jump off the bus where she did and explore the town a little bit. Ernakulam is basically a smaller version of Bangalore, so I walked to the coast, took a few pics and jumped on another bus to Ft. Kochin.
I realized within the first 10 minutes of being here that Ft. Kochin is a prime tourist area for Europeans and Indians. The quaint little streets are lined with cottages and shops that show off the towns Dutch and Portuguese heritage. The beach is lined with rocks, Chinese fishing nets, small row boats and fish markets. The area is very pedestrian friendly and the rickshaw drivers practically beg for business. Sunset is, predicatably, at 6:30 and I lingered around the coast until I could take some pictures.
After a few pics and a little shopping. I went to the hotel to clean up and find some food. I opted to eat in a cafe just adjacent from my hotel. The cafe was run by a very charismatic, drunk local who was very apologetic when my drink to not make it to me in a timely manner. After an hour had passed and I still had not received my food, I heard him go into the kitchen and yell, loudly, at the workers. I ordered another soda and when I did not receive that for a while, again he yelled at the workers. After over an hour and half I made friends with a traveller from Brooklyn. He joined me for dinner and I asked them to bring another plate. This took some time and prompted more yelling and some dishes being broken in the kitchen. After each of these incidences, the charismatic drunk would always return with a pleasant smile and apologies. The irony of it all is the name of the restaurant is Cafe Calm!
During dinner, I found out that my new friend is a photojournalist working on his own private documentary of the Indian cultures. He works in television and film and took 2 months off to travel through India and add to his private portfolio. He wanted to take a picture of me outside, but while he was digging for his equipment I felt the sting of fire ants on my feet and had to rush off to rinse them. He is the first tourist I have actually had a real conversation with since arriving to India (aside from the U.K. family). I wish him well.
This morning I woke up and decided to venture onto the streets. I stopped and saw St. Francis Church where Vincent de Gama died and was buried for 14 yrs until his body was moved to Lisbon. After that, I ventured onto the beach area, where I did a little bit of chinese fishing with the nets. Basically I just pulled on a roped and yelled some rhythm with the fishermen. My next stop is Pondicherry and I think it may be very similar to this area.
Until next time
~Lisa
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Alleppey
So after a little help from the locals in Ernakulam, I made my way to Alleppey to see the backwaters. This has been a different experience than I have had anywhere else. In the beginning I was very uncomfortable. I finally relaxed during a backwater tour. It was far more beautiful than I imagined it would be. The tour takes you through the villages that are surrounded by canals. The canals are trimmed by coconut, some resort lodges and village homes. Boats are the main source of transportation for the people living in the villages and the town is more pedestrian friendly than the other areas.
Today, I plan to take a day trip to Varkala to explore the beach area then head back to Ernakulam to prepare for my train trip to Madras.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Madurai
After leaving the school, we were taken to the airport for a trip to Madurai.
We arrived in Madurai around 9:oopm. This traffic only gets worse, the more we travel. So I'm not going to comment anymore about it. Just know that that is the biggest risk I am taking here.
We met with Mr. Alegasan who started an NGO called CRED (Center for Rural Education and Development). The next day he took us to his village, Vallipatti (spelling may be off). Here we recieved a formal greeting. The ladies placed garland around our necks and flowers in our hair. Then another lady followed and placed tikkas (marks) on our foreheads. After a few meetings, we had lunch in true Indian fashion: seated on the floor and served on bannana leaves, instead of plates. It was the best Indian meal I have had thus far. After visiting this village, we went to another called Roorashetti (?). We were greeted the same way, but this time given tikkas at the base of our necks, above the sternum, meaning they welcomed us from their hearts. We had a meeting with a self help group and I spoke a little about preventive health. It is very hard to push preventive health in India.
After this, again the children were obsessed with the camera, so I took a few pics. We stayed one more night. I visited the Villipatti one more time to get an idea of what the women are doing.
I stayed last night in Bangalore and will leave for Kerala tonight on an over night train. I will spend 2 days in Kerala, then board an overnight train to Madras. I will keep you updated on everything as I can!
~Lisa
We arrived in Madurai around 9:oopm. This traffic only gets worse, the more we travel. So I'm not going to comment anymore about it. Just know that that is the biggest risk I am taking here.
We met with Mr. Alegasan who started an NGO called CRED (Center for Rural Education and Development). The next day he took us to his village, Vallipatti (spelling may be off). Here we recieved a formal greeting. The ladies placed garland around our necks and flowers in our hair. Then another lady followed and placed tikkas (marks) on our foreheads. After a few meetings, we had lunch in true Indian fashion: seated on the floor and served on bannana leaves, instead of plates. It was the best Indian meal I have had thus far. After visiting this village, we went to another called Roorashetti (?). We were greeted the same way, but this time given tikkas at the base of our necks, above the sternum, meaning they welcomed us from their hearts. We had a meeting with a self help group and I spoke a little about preventive health. It is very hard to push preventive health in India.
After this, again the children were obsessed with the camera, so I took a few pics. We stayed one more night. I visited the Villipatti one more time to get an idea of what the women are doing.
I stayed last night in Bangalore and will leave for Kerala tonight on an over night train. I will spend 2 days in Kerala, then board an overnight train to Madras. I will keep you updated on everything as I can!
~Lisa
O.M. Ministries, The Good Shepard School and the Dahlit Children
Sorry this post has taken so long! The days have been very busy and I haven't had time to find a place to browse the web and update the blog. So now let me back track.
On Tuesday March 31, 2009 I woke in Bangalor expecting the Lyttles to go and tour a local school without me. We had a flight that evening so I thought I had the day to browse Bangalor until we left for the airport. I am glad they waited for me to return to the hotel at noon! When I arrived at the hotel they were waiting with a man named Rajenthar (? I am not sure how to spell that I will call him Mr. R for the blog) and invited me to join them at the O.M. school. Since this man offered to take them to the airport from the school, I thought it would be best to tag along otherwise I would have to find my own way. Well the trip to the school was not anything I had expected. On the way to the campus, Mr R informed about himself and OM Ministries. He started the christian missionary program in 1964, today it is all over India and employees 5000 people. There main focus is to help the Dahlit caste (the untouchables) to rise up against oppression and find greater standing in Indian society. They provide education to the children and adults, job training, AIDS/HIV counseling, and are activists for the women and caste as a whole.
We arrived at the school and you could hardly tell it was once a chicken farm. The old chicken coups had been converted into about 10 classrooms and offices. When we got out of the van we were led into the 4th grade class and were greeted by very eager and curious children. They welcomed us with a song and in return we sang one for them. During our song, 5 children entered the room with bouquets and presented them to each of us! I thought that was the sweetest gesture!! The young girl that gave me my bouquet was so cute and tiny that I gave her a hug immediately. I don't think she knew what to think about this, cause she was a little reserved. I forget that hugging isn't as accepted here as in the states.
After the flowers were presented, the kids quoted a few of there favorite bible scriptures and then we went to the next room, to the 5ht grade class. These kids each told us there dreams for adulthood, which were primarily doctors and engineers. After this meeting, we broke for a home style Indian lunch! My first and it proved to be very good.
While we were there, we met a team from a church Scotland. They were there to help with minor repairs and decorations. Also one of the women is a woman's activist and is forming a team with O.M. to help with there mission. They told me of the brothels that met the previous day. Many of the Dahlit women are forced into prostitution to help generate income for there families.
After lunch, I visited with the children for a bit. Some of them told me that they will wake up at 5am to catch the bus and it can take up to 2 hours to get to school. I found the young girl that gave me the flowers and discovered that her name is Samrin. She took me to her classroom and I could see on the sticker board that she is the class leader. She seemed well behaved. I met with several other children and they were all fascinated with the camera. They asked me to take pictures with them and they loved to see themselves on the LCD screen. Just before it was time to go, Samrin gave me a hug, then they all lined up for hugs. I could not believe that these sweet children were considered Untouchable!!! Sadly some of them may not complete their education. Many times as they get older, the families need them to work in order to contribute to the income and school will take a back seat.
I found out that 70% of the children are untouchables. Several of them, at young ages, are fluent in four languages (English,Hindi (national language), Tamil (state language) and the local language ( forgot what that was). At the end of graduation, all will be fluent.
O.M. currently has 100 schools and goal is to have 1000 by the end of the year.
O.M. is for Operation Mobility
On Tuesday March 31, 2009 I woke in Bangalor expecting the Lyttles to go and tour a local school without me. We had a flight that evening so I thought I had the day to browse Bangalor until we left for the airport. I am glad they waited for me to return to the hotel at noon! When I arrived at the hotel they were waiting with a man named Rajenthar (? I am not sure how to spell that I will call him Mr. R for the blog) and invited me to join them at the O.M. school. Since this man offered to take them to the airport from the school, I thought it would be best to tag along otherwise I would have to find my own way. Well the trip to the school was not anything I had expected. On the way to the campus, Mr R informed about himself and OM Ministries. He started the christian missionary program in 1964, today it is all over India and employees 5000 people. There main focus is to help the Dahlit caste (the untouchables) to rise up against oppression and find greater standing in Indian society. They provide education to the children and adults, job training, AIDS/HIV counseling, and are activists for the women and caste as a whole.
We arrived at the school and you could hardly tell it was once a chicken farm. The old chicken coups had been converted into about 10 classrooms and offices. When we got out of the van we were led into the 4th grade class and were greeted by very eager and curious children. They welcomed us with a song and in return we sang one for them. During our song, 5 children entered the room with bouquets and presented them to each of us! I thought that was the sweetest gesture!! The young girl that gave me my bouquet was so cute and tiny that I gave her a hug immediately. I don't think she knew what to think about this, cause she was a little reserved. I forget that hugging isn't as accepted here as in the states.
After the flowers were presented, the kids quoted a few of there favorite bible scriptures and then we went to the next room, to the 5ht grade class. These kids each told us there dreams for adulthood, which were primarily doctors and engineers. After this meeting, we broke for a home style Indian lunch! My first and it proved to be very good.
While we were there, we met a team from a church Scotland. They were there to help with minor repairs and decorations. Also one of the women is a woman's activist and is forming a team with O.M. to help with there mission. They told me of the brothels that met the previous day. Many of the Dahlit women are forced into prostitution to help generate income for there families.
After lunch, I visited with the children for a bit. Some of them told me that they will wake up at 5am to catch the bus and it can take up to 2 hours to get to school. I found the young girl that gave me the flowers and discovered that her name is Samrin. She took me to her classroom and I could see on the sticker board that she is the class leader. She seemed well behaved. I met with several other children and they were all fascinated with the camera. They asked me to take pictures with them and they loved to see themselves on the LCD screen. Just before it was time to go, Samrin gave me a hug, then they all lined up for hugs. I could not believe that these sweet children were considered Untouchable!!! Sadly some of them may not complete their education. Many times as they get older, the families need them to work in order to contribute to the income and school will take a back seat.
I found out that 70% of the children are untouchables. Several of them, at young ages, are fluent in four languages (English,Hindi (national language), Tamil (state language) and the local language ( forgot what that was). At the end of graduation, all will be fluent.
O.M. currently has 100 schools and goal is to have 1000 by the end of the year.
O.M. is for Operation Mobility
Monday, March 30, 2009
Vellore
Yesterday was the most eventful day yet. We travelled to Vellore by car and I experienced true locomotion here. Driving in India is completely different than anywhere else I have been. I thought it would change once we got out of the city, but it didn't... it only got worse. Remember the racing video game when cows, deer and people would run out in front of you without any notice? Well I think that was originally a training video for Indian drivers that made it's way to the Western world as a challenging racing game. I am not exaggerating! While we were driving along the main thouroughfare (a toll road, btw) between Bangalore and Chennai, we had to avoid: goats, cows, rickshaws, motorcycles (that sometime carry up to 4 people) wagons carrying fruit, oxen and at one time an old man walking against the traffic in the middle of the road. The only way you could survive the roads is to understand the heirarchy. It's bus/semi, truck, car, rickshaw, two wheeler, bycycle then lastly people. The opposite of the law in the states. As crazy as the driving is, I never saw an accident.
We finally reached Vellore around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday and were greeted by a huge fort, evidence that at one time it was a garrison town. The fort seemed very interesting, and I would have liked to have visited it, but due to all of the events of yesterday, there just wasn't any time.
Vellore is known throughout India (and the world) for it's medical school, Christian Medical College. The college has a great history and the employees are very proud of it's heritage. Everyone that we met is committed to maintaining the universities mission. (I'll give a brief synopsis of it's history in another post.)
The purpose of the visit to CMC is to meet with the head of the RUHSA program, Dr Mony John. REACH is hoping that the RUHSA program can help them with research that will help them present significant evidence that REACH is a self sustaining program. First, we met with Dr. John in an impromptu meeting in the hallway in front of a lecture hall at the university around 9 am. During this meeting, he did not seem convinced that REACH was a feasible program. He stated that it has happened before and failed in other programs. Remember CMC is a charitable hospital committed to the poor and they do not force people to pay the 10 rupees required to sustain a good program in a community. This is primarily how their programs have failed at showing sustainability, but worked in other areas. After this initial meeting, Dr John arranged for us to tour CMC, a 2,000 bed hospital. This tour took about 2 hours, then we met him back for lunch. He invited us to join him with RUHSA in a 2:00 meeting. After about 3 hours of discussions in English and Tanglor (? the native language for that region), and Tanglish. Dr John finally stated that he liked the REACH model and would like to help, just the kinks need to be resolved and another area for a second pilot needed to be assessed for the program. This work is going to take some time. One of the things I have learned in India is that nothing is as easy as 1,2,3. It's more like 1,1,1,1,1,1.5,1, 2,1,1,1, 2.5,2.75,1,1.....3. That has been my experience on a small scale, I'm sure it isn't much different on larger scales.
After this meeting, Dr. John invited us to visit one of the RUHSA meetings. On the way to the village tons of litter could be seen throughout the streets. There were goats and cows living where people performed daily life activities. At one point I saw a person sitting on a porch eating a meal while the cow directly next to him urinated all over the place. So you can see the conditions are not the most sanitary. I was expecting similar situations in the village. However, the effects of RUHSA were effident. There was not a speck of litter through out the village (at least not where we were). It was unbelieveable the difference the cleanliness made. I was such a pretty area. We were invited by one of the women to join them in a self help group meeting in another women's homes. As we walked to her home, we saw an area in which the livestock were contained in separate areas. Compared to the other people I have seen in the area, the people in this village were healthier and happier. RUHSA has really made a huge difference, this is promising for REACH.
That is all I can write for now. I need to make my way to the rickshaw and negotiate a ride so I can be at the hotel by noon to check out. Tho I am only a few blocks away, nothing in India is one, two, three and this may take an hour. I would walk, but I'm afraid of getting run over.
~Lisa
We finally reached Vellore around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday and were greeted by a huge fort, evidence that at one time it was a garrison town. The fort seemed very interesting, and I would have liked to have visited it, but due to all of the events of yesterday, there just wasn't any time.
Vellore is known throughout India (and the world) for it's medical school, Christian Medical College. The college has a great history and the employees are very proud of it's heritage. Everyone that we met is committed to maintaining the universities mission. (I'll give a brief synopsis of it's history in another post.)
The purpose of the visit to CMC is to meet with the head of the RUHSA program, Dr Mony John. REACH is hoping that the RUHSA program can help them with research that will help them present significant evidence that REACH is a self sustaining program. First, we met with Dr. John in an impromptu meeting in the hallway in front of a lecture hall at the university around 9 am. During this meeting, he did not seem convinced that REACH was a feasible program. He stated that it has happened before and failed in other programs. Remember CMC is a charitable hospital committed to the poor and they do not force people to pay the 10 rupees required to sustain a good program in a community. This is primarily how their programs have failed at showing sustainability, but worked in other areas. After this initial meeting, Dr John arranged for us to tour CMC, a 2,000 bed hospital. This tour took about 2 hours, then we met him back for lunch. He invited us to join him with RUHSA in a 2:00 meeting. After about 3 hours of discussions in English and Tanglor (? the native language for that region), and Tanglish. Dr John finally stated that he liked the REACH model and would like to help, just the kinks need to be resolved and another area for a second pilot needed to be assessed for the program. This work is going to take some time. One of the things I have learned in India is that nothing is as easy as 1,2,3. It's more like 1,1,1,1,1,1.5,1, 2,1,1,1, 2.5,2.75,1,1.....3. That has been my experience on a small scale, I'm sure it isn't much different on larger scales.
After this meeting, Dr. John invited us to visit one of the RUHSA meetings. On the way to the village tons of litter could be seen throughout the streets. There were goats and cows living where people performed daily life activities. At one point I saw a person sitting on a porch eating a meal while the cow directly next to him urinated all over the place. So you can see the conditions are not the most sanitary. I was expecting similar situations in the village. However, the effects of RUHSA were effident. There was not a speck of litter through out the village (at least not where we were). It was unbelieveable the difference the cleanliness made. I was such a pretty area. We were invited by one of the women to join them in a self help group meeting in another women's homes. As we walked to her home, we saw an area in which the livestock were contained in separate areas. Compared to the other people I have seen in the area, the people in this village were healthier and happier. RUHSA has really made a huge difference, this is promising for REACH.
That is all I can write for now. I need to make my way to the rickshaw and negotiate a ride so I can be at the hotel by noon to check out. Tho I am only a few blocks away, nothing in India is one, two, three and this may take an hour. I would walk, but I'm afraid of getting run over.
~Lisa
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