February 26th, 2013 – India is like a sizzler…

Had two lectures this morning – urban planning & sustainable environments and politics and development. Then we had lunch at the school, but instead of cooking the food like every other day, they decided to give us dominos and ice cream. Yum. So many people were out though because of food poisoning and various other ailments. Scared that will soon happen to me.

After lunch, we decided to walk around a shopping street. I was super hot and tired so I was kind of out of it the whole time. Then, I hung out with two of the translators and interviewed people on the street for a project. The project is about the causes of poverty, so we need to interview people who live below the poverty line and ask them about their experiences. Easier said than done. How do you ask people, essentially, “why are you poor?”

I decided to talk to street vendors. They were very willing to talk and share their stories, and as I interviewed them, many (I’m talking MANY) people surrounded me and talked too. Some people blamed the government, some blamed the poor themselves. It was so interesting, and such an amazing experience that I have never had before. One of the people I interviewed is 24 and married to an 18 year old. I met her and their two kids. She got married to him at age 15.

After, we came back to the hostel and all went out for dinner because it is one of our friend’s birthdays. Some people got sizzlers, but I just got rice. Then we went out for ice cream after…duhhhh. 

February 25th, 2013 – Riding Solo

Had a lecture on politics and development in the morning, and then another about culture and society after. We talked about global health and I actually knew something for once so that was grand. Then Persis (our Ahmedabad coordinator) told me that she contacted her friend who owns a beauty salon and set up a meeting for me…not to get my hair cut or anything, but so that I could interview them about weddings. So, after class, I went with a few friends to the mall for a hot second and then took a rickshaw on my own to this place for the interview. This was scary for two reasons. One, I was alone. And two, I had no idea where this place was. The rickshaw drivers only know landmarks, so Persis gave me a list of landmarks that I could tell the driver, and then I would just have to get out at the landmark and find this random apartment building and go to the third floor.

Well…I did it! Ahmedabad is a lot less scary than Delhi. I took a rickshaw and found the building pretty easily. I had to ask a bunch of people, but they were all friendly. And then I walked up the eerie stairs to the third floor and conducted my interview. It was great. I took a rickshaw home after alone and felt on top of the world.

We ate dinner at the hostel. They made us a typical Bengali-style meal. Delicious. 

February 24th, 2013 – Goat on a Leash

Was so productive in the morning. Did lots of my readings, wrote a paper, caught up on emails, etc. After, we ate lunch at a local restaurant called “Healthy Eats” that claims that they serve everything in olive oil. Don’t know why that is healthy…It’s cool though because the entire menu (like most places) is vegetarian, and they can also make dishes “Jane style”, which is a religion (like the equivalent of making a dish vegetarian). Then some of us walked to a market along the river edge. It was absolutely insane. We saw a goat on a leash. Besides it being super crowded, people followed us, stared at us, and a lot of people touched us. It was very uncomfortable. It’s like when you see something new for the first time and need to touch it…except I’m the new thing that people want to touch. The market had a lot of every day things, not so many things to buy for souvenirs. We walked back to the hostel and then my friend and I ventured out to find an ATM. We met this nice boy who walked with us to the ATM because he was going in that direction anyways. People in NY would NEVER go out of their way to do that.

Then we came back to the hostel, had some tea, and did some more work. For dinner, we went right next to our hostel to a restaurant that was really good. I had some kind of paneer with rice. Then we went out for ice cream (the same place as yesterday). Equally delicious. 

February 23rd, 2013 – Most Confusing Meal

Woke up around 9am and headed to breakfast at the hostel. A bunch of us met up at 10 to take rickshaws to the step well. The step well is a gigantic well that you can walk down, and it is beautiful. It’s like a gigantic archeological structure that used to be used to collect rain water, but now is just a site to take pictures at. Very cool. Then we drove to Ghandi’s Ashram, which is where Ghandi lived and studied (he is from Ahmedabad). After, we went across the street to a restaurant run by the state and had super delicious, really cheap food. I had vegetable biryani, which is like vegetable fried rice but so much better.

Then we came back to the hostel and did some work…I did my work outside because it is so nice out. Then a few of us decided to go to dinner. We walked and got lost and ended up at a different place than we intended…but it was good anyway. We ended up at a place that had Italian, Mexican, Mediterranean, and French food….super weird. The meals were like worldly cuisines with an Indian twist. After, we went to ice cream. It was like a Cold Stone, except way cheaper. The ice cream was delicious. Walked back, watched some tangled, and went to sleep.

February 22nd, 2013 – Hygienic Snacks

We had a Urban Planning and Sustainable Environments lecture in the morning, and then we had another lecture about google earth and how it relates to urban planning. Then we had lunch at the school, followed by another lecture on the caste system. I’m still super confused by the caste system, but at least it cleared a few things up…and taught me that it is the most confusing system ever. After that, a few of us decided to walk back to the hostel. We passed a really cool market on the way. We all met up for dinner after at a place known for its “snacks.” Our coordinator described it as “a restaurant that serves hygienic snacks”. The food was delicious. I tried sugar cane juice…yum. Probably the first juice I have ever liked in my life.

After, a bunch of people came back to the hotel and had some whisky (which is interesting, considering this is a dry state). But they got tourists licenses and a stamp in their passport that allows them to buy alcohol here…kind of a cool story. I didn’t have any because my tummy has been mad at me recently. But we still had fun all hanging out with each other. 

February 21st, 2013 – One Month Anniversary

We had a lecture this morning on the Riverfront Development, which was very interesting. It was about how the government has displaced many people in Ahmedabad along the riverside in order to develop and beautify it, and these people are living in horrible conditions as a result. Then we did our neighborhood presentations from our visits from the day before. Then we ate lunch at the school, which was delicious as always. After lunch, we had another lecture on poverty, and I got a lot of great ideas about a potential thesis topic.

Then a few of us decided to go out shopping around the neighborhood. We wanted to find a particular jewelry shop that we heard was good, but it took us 2 hours to find it. We had some ice cream along the way, and getting lost was kind of fun in a crazy way. We finally found it and bought some earrings. Then, our whole group met up at a really awesome place for dinner that had sizzlers. Sizzlers are giant plates of food (veggies, chicken, pasta, French fries) all piled on top of each other mixed with sauce and served on a sizzling plate. It was soooo yummy. For dessert, we got sizzling brownies…which is just what it sounds like…a brownie that is steaming hot with ice cream on top. One of the best meals and desserts I have ever had in my life.