On Monday of this week I started working on the project with CARE Kenya. I have been really (pleasantly) surprised by the support I have been receiving from the country office here. First thing on Monday morning we had a team meeting to orient me to the project and staff and discuss the logistics of moving forward. I'm really blown away by how productive and dedicated everyone on the team has been thus far. The next morning I went into the field in Kibera (the largest slum in Africa ont he outskirts of Nairobi). Though I haven't had the opportunity to [View Full Entry]

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Despite my ever present fear of dying in an airplane crash, I made it to Nairobi without a snag. I pretty much slept the entire way from Amsterdam...which was a bad idea because now my schedule is all screwed up and I have a touch of jet lag. Besides that, though, I'm very surprised with what I've seen so far. This is my first time in Africa and my boss was prepping me before I left. I kind of expected chaos when I got off the plane, like it was in India. It's not like that at all here. Even in [View Full Entry]

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Well, Daisy D has arrived (hooray!) and we have been chillin in Delhi for the last two weeks. I have been hard at work on the project and Daisy has been touring the city until I finish at the office. It was awesome to see a good ole famliar face and catch up with each other on the other side of the world (once again). Today was actually my last day at ACCESS. Yesterday I gave a presentation on my research and findings and recieved a lot of praise and acclaim. ACCESS wants to publish the report I write to distribute [View Full Entry]

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It's been a while since I last wroteand much has happened. Here's a quick run-down: After Rath Yatra festival in Puri I met with a small NGO there and then travelled to Bhubaneswar for another meeting. I really liked Orissa, the country side is really beautiful--tropical jungle, rice paddies, and green fields and hills. Bhubaneswar, on the other hand, is the armpit of India. It's really dirty and overcrowded, the hottest place I have been, super conservative, and everything shuts down at 11:00 at night. There are bars to hang out in, but they are all in seedy alleys or underground [View Full Entry]

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I have been bloggin a lot lately, but there's just a lot more to talk about over the past week or so. Yesterday I went to the opening day of the world famed Rath Yatra (in English called the Chariot Festival or Car Festival) held in the holy city of Puri. Apparently, this festival is the most important Hindu festival of the year and draws throngs of pilgrims fom all over. The festival is centered on the diety Lord Jagannath, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Massive "chariots" (which look more like temples on wheels) carry three images of dieties, Jagannath himself [View Full Entry]

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The powers that be somehow have a way of making you eat your own words. In my last blog I asserted that I had become somewhat savvy on traveling via the Indian Railway system......uh huh. Not two hours after posting that blog, all of a sudden, my trip took a major wrong turn....literally. So it's like this: I purchase a confirmed ticket in Chennai headed for Bhubaneswar in the north (which the computerized ticket clearly states). I board the train at 11:30 pm on Tues. Everything is cool for the whole night and next morning and then, right after writing the [View Full Entry]

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I've gotten pretty good at navigating India by train. Currently I'm aboard the Howray Mail train bound for Bhubaneswar, Orissa. I left Chennai last night around 11:30pm and will arrive in Bhubaneswar at about 10pm tonight...yes, that's almost a 24hr train ride!! It's ok though, this time I sprung for an A/C sleeper, so it's not bad at all. I actually really like train travel, it's feels more rustic (in a good way) and you get to see the countryside as you go along. Also (and maybe more importantly) it's dirt cheap. I paid 35 USD to go about the equivalent [View Full Entry]

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So, earlier today I was in Big Bazaar (the Indian version of Walmart), listening to the entire Bryan Adams Gold Collection over the loud speaker when I realized that I have not written a blog in a while. Why was I in Big Bazaar you ask? Well...my freagin brand new digital camera I bought (specifically for this trip) just quit working out of the blue a week ago!! Minorly irritating. I took it somewhere and they said it would have to be sent back the factory. SOOO....that is why this blog has no pictures. Pune--the New India After BombayI took a [View Full Entry]

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Ahmedabad I arrived in Ahmedabad at the beginning of last week. It was really only for business and there is not much to do in this extremely conservative state (completely dry as well). Travellers tend to avoid Gujurat...not much to see and very hot in the summer. The people there are very religious; there is a large Muslim and Hindu presence of course, but Jainism is most represented in this state. True Jains believe in elements of Hindu and Buddhist faiths, are staunch vegetarians, and also do not eat any vegetables that come out of the ground (sometimes I wonder what [View Full Entry]

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My last few days in Jaipur I saw some amazing forts and palaces, Including the Amber Fort, Jaighar, and the City Palace, home to the Maharaja of Jaipur. The ancient walls and forts are the highlight of Jaipur....the city is loud and chaotic and extremely touristy (even though I was one of the only ones). Prices are inflated and the city has lost much of its alleged charm. The best part about Jaipur was Jantar Mantar--an observatory built by the same guy that built Jantar Mantar in New Delhi (see previous blog). This one however is much bigger and contains all [View Full Entry]

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