Coming To An End

So I have 11 days left in India. It is a very strange feeling to know that I will be setting foot on US soil soon, it feels like I just got here. In some ways I am ready to go back but there is just so much to see in this country that I don't want to leave. I have resorted to coming back at some point and exploring this country further.

At the beginning of the semester the professors were always telling us that we will not realize what we learned here until well after we have left this place. So if I see any of you that read this blog and you ask me what I learned or what I learned about myself I will have to get back to you on that one. Maybe I will come back to this blog and write a final entry on that subject in however long it takes me to realize what I did here.

These last 11 days will be full of writing, preparing for my presentation, and shopping for last minute gifts (I am pretty much done but there are things that have managed to slip my mind for the past three months). The weather seems to have cooled down just a little bit, and by that the temperature has probably dropped only a couple of degrees, it is still well above 100F don't worry.

There is nothing much to report just that I will be seeing some of you very shortly and I can't wait!

Peace

Agra

My internship has been going well, and I have observing the programs that CFI runs. They are all really interesting and seem to be making an impact on these kids lives. The slums that I have been going to are a lot different than the ones that I saw in Mumbai. One of them was very crowded and the homes were very small, maybe the size of a single dorm room for a family of four. I am in the process of writing my big paper, and I met with my advisor yesterday and he's the type of person than hates structure. So this paper is basically going to be my reflection and thoughts along with trying to write a paper that would be satisfactory for back home if I ever needed it- not gonna happen. He doesn't want quotes from other readings pulled in, and it will basically be one long journal entry ending with whether or not I think the NGO is doing a good job and what they can do better. AWESOME

This past weekend five of us went to Agra, and one of my friends dad came as well! He treated us the whole weekend which was really nice, and the monuments we saw were beautiful. The Taj is unbelievable. It is made completely out of marble and has intricate carvings and in-laid work, and all of the in-laid work is made with semi-precious stones- basically really expensive! We also saw the Agra fort which reminded me a lot of the Amber Fort in Jaipur- i think they were done around the same time. We also saw Fatehpur Sikri which is an abandoned city 30km outside Agra. It took 15 years to make and then everyone left and went to Agra. It is thought that they left because there was no water, but normally thats the first thing you look for in a city, so it is kind of a mystery. We flew into and out of Delhi and didn't really see much of it which is fine, I feel like it is mostly government buildings anyways.

Ok thats all for now, I am spending the weekend in Pune and will be writing furiously!

Peace

Go Go Goa!

Sorry I haven’t updated in a long time, last week was exams and I had a lot of papers to write! I probably wrote more in these past two weeks than I have ever. I had about four papers to do all over the length of 8 pages, no fun. But classes are over and its time for Internships! I still don’t have an internship lined up, but I am hoping to work with an NGO that does slum rehabilitation. This NGO does a couple of things, they may put sanitation systems in a slum, add proper roads, or construct low rise apartment buildings. The basic objective of my internship is to see how this NGO chooses what projects to undertake in the slums, and where the funding comes from. Hopefully I will get this started soon because April will fly by!

This past weekend a few of us went to Goa and it was so fun! It was great to relax for four days after doing papers, and the resort we stayed at was amazing. It was pretty small, had two pools and was right on the beach. We also had really good seafood, and it was a nice change from the Indian food we have been having for the past 3 months. We got back this morning at like 6am, after being on a sleeper bus for 8hrs.

It is weird to think that I have a month left, and then I am heading back home! These three months have gone by quickly, and April is going to fly. This coming weekend I am going to a tribal village for my Public Health class, the following weekend I am going to Agra to see the Taj, then we have about two weeks after that! Crazy!

Ok not much to report just that I am happy classes are over. I will post again soon!

Peace