7.04.2007

Happy Independence Day United States of America!

A day in the life of a Cat in India:


* 6am: feel really tired..think I am getting a sore throat...hope it is raining so I don't have yoga...shoot! it is bright and sunny again.

* 6:20am: leave for yoga at 6:20am


* 7:15am: return to room, eat oatmeal and check email, fight urge to take nap, and work on data analysis from recent community surveys


*9am: meet with team to get organized for the day (usually have tea: black tea made with hot, very sweet milk)


*10am: 10 minute walk to the Delhi border where we can get an autorickshaw that will take us to the NGO


*~10:20am: inevitable breakdown of autorickshaw....today was the flat-tire variety....mmm, the side of the road is covered in human poop...




*10:45am: arrive at Deepalaya school - confirm with Principal which classes we can visit. Conduct a "quiz game" with three classes of students (which is a sneaky way to get more data for our suvey in exchange for chocolate)...with the 8th class actually being the weaker than the 6th and 7th, since all the best students tend to leave the NGO-run school over time


*1pm: collect the three classes in the lobby for our health/education related play. I make some small talk with one of the 7th grade boys

*2pm: We thank all the Deepalaya staff for a great four weeks and talk to the Principal a bit longer and tell her we will have our final report for her by Friday


*2:15: so starving!!!!! To Nathu's Sweets for one of my favorite lunches: North Indian Thali (shared with Jessica) and a Sweet Lassi drink. The thali is a collection of dishes: this one has a chick-pea curry (back/left), a paneer in masala sauce, and a section of lentils(back/right). The dishes come with rice (in the same tray section as the curd- the white stuff with bits of carrot) and roti (like naan only smaller and lets buttery) and some carrots and onions. The best part of the lunch is the sweet lassi which is really sweet, thick yogurt; the green things are pistachio shavings.

*3pm - autorickshaw ride back to the college

*3:30pm- meet with team members and learn from second supervisor that our primary supervisor has chicken pox...plans for next week are in the air (a condition we are getting increasingly tolerant of :)

*4pm - try to do some editing of report...and end up watching some Indian music videos on TV in Julie and Jessica's room

*6:30pm - round up most of the crew for a run on the field around sunset - one of the best parts of the day


*7:30pm - shoot the basketball around until it is dangerously dark on the slippery/sandy/broken concrete basketball court - go into the gym...smile as I do every day when I see the treadmills - they don't make them like this any more! You can build one at home - all you need is some 2x4s, a bakers dozen rolling pins, and a wide strap :) - no electricity needed.*8:15pm - shower up and head over to the canteen (cafeteria) for dinner to hang out with our Indian girl friends. They are on scholarship and are mostly from farming families in Ladakh. Ladakhis look Chinese and are primarily Buddhist. In this freshman class there are several sets of sisters of differing ages.

*9:30pm- excuse ourselves from dinner since we are all pooped (and chances are 2 out of 5 of us are having some sort of stomach issue...good times).

*10pm- post blog for you lovely people.


Love, Catherine

2 comments:

EMALMADA said...

Hello from Almada Portugal
Have a nice day

Unknown said...

nice post.

happy independence day!!


Independence day.