Kenya
So, this is my first post from Kenya...and so the adventure begins!
I have recently started with One Acre Fund, an organization that has a mission and a vision that I really believe in. I am quite excited to be out in the field again, it has been quite some time. there is something different about the energy that one feels when they are within arms reach of the people that you are helping and working with. I recently went to an input delivery, this is where the farmers received the fertilizer and seed to continue the planting season, and it was amazing. To see the smiles on their face when they picked up the products, knowing that after the long rains they will be able to harvest and earn income, income that will go to them, as they have paid off all of their loans. This is amazing. The excitement in the air, the energy, the happiness and the sense of accomplishment. You can tell they are already thinking about how they will spend the money that they earn - on food, kids education, medicine, etc. But, not only are they getting seed and fertilizer, they are getting chlorine tablet, ORS, Zinc tablets and training on how to use all of those items to improve their health. Wait, there is more, they get training from all the Field Officer on how to plant the seeds on how to increase their overall yield...women and men, both are being trained equally.
So the adventure begins...and it will be a fun one!
Guanaja...
A nice place to get lost - Guanaja...
So a couple months ago i went to Guanaja - a small island north of Honduras. I was out there for a capstone project...man was it sweet - i would post all the pics, but then you might get jealous. well this picture is up there cause i am finally all done with my Guanaja experience and what an experience it was.
So this is india -
welcome back to my pics - it has been a while - and my time in india is now drawing to a close...it has been an amazing time! in about three weeks i have done much more than i could have ever imagined! time here has flown by...between research, weddings and traveling there is not much else to talk about...the time has flown by - i have traveled by almost every form of transportation - train, plane, automobile, bus, camel drawn cart, scooter, rickshaw - at some times hoping from one vehicle to another! i have sat in a honda city (the equivalent of a civic) with 7 of my cousins - piled in with 5 in the back seat - i have sat on the runway of a two-prop plane for an hour waiting to fly back, in one day i was traveling for 10 of 12 hours...the other two were at my cousin actual wedding ceremony! haha! this is india. i met C.K. Prahalad...he wrote the book, "Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" - that was amazing, talked with him for about 20 min or so, shared with him what i was doing and why i walked up to him to speak to him...i met my mom's side of the family - which is HUGE...i toured a factory of my uncle...spent new years partying with my cousins - loving every minute of it...i have bucket bathed, showered, wiped my face after a long train ride, i have sat with the wierdest people (still had fun) didn't know i was getting onto a train till it was about to leave...this is india...my family is amazing...the people i have worked with out here are amazing...i have had a good time...so ends my research work and my time in india - these images are ones that i saw while driving to an from site visits - here a traffic jam is too many cows on the road - an man takes a years worth of grain and flour home, and listen isn't it alway good to see something "Nice" - haha! gotta love india...the things you see while you are on the road will just BLOW your mind...there is no rhyme or reason...camels, cows, dogs, goats, sheeps, cats, people, bikes, motorbikes, scooters, rickshaws, tempo's, cars, buses, 5 people to a motorbike, a car full of a family of 15 - all sitting on top of each other on bumpy roads for hours...you see it all...and my favorite - men pissing on the side of the road EVERYWHERE! gotta love it man...the world is our bathroom... so where to from here...mexico - then school, then onto honduras...then back...then school...then ??? till later...
Oh my what a day...
Talk about a long day, I don't know how anthropologist do it - honestly...spending the day interviewing and talking to people about things...and researching, like collecting data is frickin TOUGH! i am lucky that i am working with an organization that is well established, has excellent record keeping and is willing to help me with everything. Let me tell you - this was day one of my interviews and it NEARLY kicked my ass. but that is alright, an ass-whooping here and there is necessary, needless to say, i am tired. the good thing is that i don't need to translate too much and i am getting into the habit of each night after all my work, writing down everything - thoughts from the day, ways to make my research method better, things that i should have done differently, things that i will do differently next time, better ways of asking questions, not thinking that surveys are self-explanatory and there is a ALOT of handholding that goes along with it, knowing that if you are conducting a survey in another language that you have to be fully prepared to talk about it or at least have the people you are going around with well verse is what you are ACTUALLY trying to accomplish - realizing that people don't understand the concept of Social Economics...even more so when people live in joint families, the money all goes into one pot, so there is no break out of income and an understanding of how income should be broke out - yeah, this is fun - i mean it is a learning experience and an eye opening one, but also SUPER exhaustive and crazy time consuming...
but i will say one thing - the group that is helping me out here JSS it frickin AWESOME! they have pulled together this week to help me collect my data and hopefully achieve the goal of getting 100 interviewee's...now that is impressive - the pull and power they have in order to do this is extremelly surprising to me and is awe inspiring. actually a government run organization that has its SHIT together. i can't believe the level of detail that they have in record keeping and everything! this is absolutely amazing - without them, not even one interview would be possible...and with them, i might actually achieve my goal of 100...which is even more amazing, take for instance tonight, two staff members and a driver were with me for two hours just to chase down 9 people! it was frickin awesome - we were driving and the trainer would see someone on the side of the street and would tell the driver to stop, we would jump out and then interview the person RIGHT there, it was awesome - a couple times i almost got hit, but hell, it was fun! i mean these people are AMAZING! i can't even begin to tell you - they are helping me to just help me, wow - and the most i can give them back is recognition in my paper...but they will be recognized and i will be sure to take a staff photo for my files - amazing...absolutely amazing...
i love doing this work - it is awesome - this is what i enjoy, i can't wait to be paid for it! but until then i am one tired interviewer....
till later.....
it is nice to just walk...
it is amazing what you see when you walk around. you see people doing everything. from pissing in the field to working hard at doing nothing. it is amazing. at any given point in time, when you walk in india you will see three things without fail: cows, dogs and some guy pissing. it is amazing. you would think, that you would see other things - but no, this is a guarantee...i mean of course you will see cars, bikes, bicycles, vegetable vendors, etc. but, you will ALWAYS see those three things, in addition...
i went for several walks today around Ujjain. it is quite a pleasant town. i feel more comfortable with it this time than the first time i was out here. i feel more like it is my home and not as many people stare at me, which isn't really true, cause a lot of people stare at me. i think it is because i am walking around with a camera slung to my back and often i am wearing clothing that is not typical of people that walk. i know that sounds odd, but i wear nice clothes, and people that usually wear nice clothes drive or ride on scooters, yet i walk. haha! people love it...well, i don't know that for sure, but i love it...
but nothing beats walking around, i enjoy doing in D.C. and i enjoy doing it here in Ujjain. the thing is when you walk around, you feel more at home and comfortable with were you are...i guess it is because you go by everything at a more leirsurely pace...instead of flying by in a car! haha!
this was a random entry....
till later...
the 21st century in india...
this might sound odd to most people that are use to hearing about india in the news and the #1 place to outsource all forms of technology and hear about all the techonological advances that are happening in india, but what most don't realize is that is only in a small section of india. now, mind you it is expanding into more rural areas with projects such as E-Choupal, which is bringing kiosk to farmer so they can check the internet for fair market prices for their goods, but still internet and technology is still slow to make it's way all throughout india. i mean heck, even in the states you can go some places where they don't use the internet...anyway, this isn't my point and what i really wanted to talk about, i am talking about how now I AM in the 21st century in India...
so what do i mean by that, i have a cell phone and internet connection in my own room. now, while many of you might not be amazed with this feat, you should be. I am in a smaller town in India, an hour north of Indore called Ujjain. This town is surrounded by smaller villages, in fact, when you walk about 30 min away from my house you are already in village life, where people barely have a home (but they do have a T.V. and most have cell phones) but no connection to the internet. so i am proud. but this is partially cause i am living with my cousin, who is quite well to do here in Ujjain and was able to get me connected (cell phone and internet) by making ONE phone call and having it all done within a couple hours. amazing.
so now, i am caught up to the 21st century of india where i, just like the local vegetable walla, have a cell phone and the ability to chat with anyone at anytime...
so you are still reading this and saying "what the f is this guy talking about" - i would say, never mind. you just wouldn't understand unless you were out here and experienced it yourself.
till later...
Its raining fish....
I got up early, over my jet lag and feeling good - belly full of my aunts good cooking from the night before. brushed my teeth and started the day, i was excited about my AM run, it has been a while since i have been able to get up liesurely and enjoy a nice run in the morning. so i left nice and early, before it became too warm, at 7:15 - strapped on my running shoes put on my suunto and left. it was nice - the weather was pleasant, not too warm, a nice breeze blowing. i ran for about 30 minutes, my legs felt heavy due to the time between my last run and this one. but that is alright, i still ran for four miles and really had a good time. it was nice. it felt good to run and sweat out all my worries. so i finished my run, went and stretched out on a spot that was overlooking the sea. enjoying the cool breeze coming off the water, cooling me down from the run. i was watching the people walk by and enjoy their morning excercise, talking business and what they will be doing today. older women walked enjoying being out and social with their friends. what a great morning, tonight i leave for ujjain - the day was going to be good...i was walking out of the park, on my way home...smile on my face, ready to get the rest of the day going...
then i got hit by a fish.
yes, that is right, from above a dead fish came down and hit me - and kind of did the dead-fish-nasty -scale slide down my front and right onto my shorts. it took me by surprise, it was the LAST thing i was expecting to have happen. i mean, often times when a bird shares something with you, it is their poop - but not their meal. no bird came swooping down to grab it, it simply slid off me and onto the ground. i slightly lept back, not knowing what to think, looked up (hoping that there wasn't another one on its way) to see where it came from and there i saw him, the black ugly crow, with a big grin on his face, happy it hit me with the dead fish.
now is this a good omen or a bad? i don't know. but then again, i don't really believe in omens. but if i did, i must say, this couldn't have been a good one. haha! but yet, there you have it. what wierd thing has hit you from above? i mean i have been hit by acorns, bird poop, leaves, etc. - that is all fine and dandy, they come from trees (well not the bird poop, but usually from a bird sitting in the tree) - but not a dead fish. yeah, that is a first...i am sure wiered things have happened to other people, well that is a guarantee...but that is the wierdest thing to happen to me...
after that i looked around, and saw other dead fish on the ground - i came to realize that must be the place where they all get carried to and then dropped. making me feel better that maybe someone else has also been hit by a dead fish from above...i guess that is comforting? but still disgusting none the less...
so yeah, that is my wierd story of the day, i hope there are no others. i fly out this evening to ujjain to see my cousin-brother and do some work. super excited.
oh and my one warning is this, as you walk under palm trees, beware of the dropping dead fish...consider yourself warned.
till later....
