Sick :(

I got sick last night. I thought since I had made it through a week I wouldn't but I guess I jinxed myself. Another girl was sick at the same time but she was way worse and got an iv today of fluids b/c she was so dehydrated. Luckily during the day I only had …

Sankrat

Today was the official start of summer here and also a women's festival, called Sankrat. We were all very excited for it because we had bought pretty fabric and got sarees tailored (a short girl's delight) for it. We also thought we'd get henna for that but there was no time so we'll do it …

Artificial Limbs

CRHP has a building for making artificial legs. They are called the Jaipurfoot b/c the guy who invented it came from Jaipur. They have a screw/hinge at the knee so it can be bent easily. This is considered "appropriate technology" b/c it suits the cultural practice if squatting, can be made from materials easily obtained …

Aurangabad Fort

After the silk factory we went to the Aurangabad fort which we had passed multiple times driving through. From the outside it doesn't look very impressive- just some stone humps above the ground. But it's so different once you get in! Again there were lots of peddlers. Also at each place they were selling Taj …

Silk Factory

On Sunday morning we unfortunately had to leave the hotel. But our first stop was shopping! We went to a family owned silk factory and watched someone make a himroo scarf for a bit, which is specific to that area. It is a blend of cotton and silk. They explained how the machines work and …

Baby Taj

After the caves we stopped for lunch at that restaurant where food was ordered for us. Then we went to the mini Taj Mahal because we were a but behind schedule and had to stop there before it got dark. We didn't have time to go to the hotel in-between and my phone died so …

Ellora Caves

Our first tourist stop was the Ellora Caves. Right as our van parked more peddlers swarmed us and would barely leave us alone, it was like that everywhere we went. We had a guide take us through the caves which was nice b/c he would tell ppl to stop taking pictures of us and explain …

Driving in India

This weekend we took a "field trip" to Aurangabad. We left Saturday morning and stopped at a restaurant on the side of the road for breakfast. I ordered "bread butter" which was literally a butter sandwich with white bread and some ppl got a cheese sandwich (shredded cheese on bread). None of us knew what …

Comprehensive Rural Health Project

Comprehensive Rural Health Project has a campus that includes a hospital, lots of housing, mess hall, preschool, library and training halls. There are lots of lights up for the holidays in so many different colors and draped down the big buildings that look magical at night. It is very dusty here. People stare a lot. …

Adolescent Girls Group

This afternoon we observed the Adolescent Girls group which does activities promoting education, health, etc. They had cards that either had a benefit or obstacle to education and they had to choose which it was. They were things that are not a problem in the US: early marriage, long walk to school (dangerous, parents worry), …