Poetry: Don't Quit

A poem I found that is helping me get through all of my work:

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but don't quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a fair and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,-
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

~Author Unknown 

Getting Started

I have been working diligently the last three weeks to pull together my work and research for this presentation. But as the deadline quickly approaches I realized that there are certain things on my checklist that I have been unintentionally/intentionally avoiding. 

Sushma and I are putting together a documentary and I need to write the voice over script for it, but for whatever reason I just really can't seem to bring myself to do it. I also had plans to write a children's story that could be printed and maybe even turned into a animated series. I wrote the outline for the story over a month ago, but I have yet to even try to sit down and write out the full thing.

 I think I am procrastinating these things and making excuses for myself because they are things I have never done before. I have never written a children's book, and I certainly have never written a voiceover script.

But with only a few days left at DSK before I go to Goa the time to get started on these things is now. 

I know if I don't finish them before Goa it is not that big of a deal, I can finish them later. But with projects like these its hard not to just find another later to get started...So that means I have to make a conscious effort to get started. 

I know getting started on a project is always the hardest part... but what I have forgotten is that once you get going everything else comes along a lot easier.

 So today I am going to make a conscious effort to get started with these two projects. Writing this out to the blog world is my accountability with myself. 

Food for Thought: Haida Indian Saying

"We do not inherit this land from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."

Centre for Science and Environment

This reason I was off line last week was because I was in Delhi for a training at the Centre for Science and Environment. I spent five long days from 10a.m. to 6p.m. learning everything I possible could about the Environmental Impact Assessment Report and the Social Impact Assessment Report. 

All business who wish to set up an industry or expand a current project must fill out these reports so that the government can assure that they are using the best possible practices to mitigate their negative impact on the environment and the individuals who live in the surrounding area. 

That is the theory anyway. Though from my experience a majority of these EIA reports are done in a hurry and there is no monitoring body that assures the industries actually follow threw with all the promises they make in these reports. 

Above is the picture of the class after our certificate ceremony. 

(the guard didn't really know how to work the camera...but it was a good crew)

I went with Sushma and Laxman to the training.

Though the training seemed incredibly long at times, I am glad I went. It gave me a whole new perspective on development, and provided me with a bunch of information about what practices and technologies different industry should and can use to reduce their impact on the environment. Plus I made some amazing contacts that will really help me with my research for my capstone project. 

Food for Thought: Albert Einstein

"A human is a part of this whole called by us the 'universe', a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical illusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desire and to a portion for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to force ourselves to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole in its beauty."

~Albert Einstein 

Finals Week

Finals week is always the week that everyone dreads at school.

 It is a week of late nights, early mornings, tones of caffeine, and hours spent with your head in a book or glued to a computer screen just to so you can finish all of your last minute assignments or pass that final cumulative test. 

This is my last week here at DSK. Next week I will accompany the entire Navsarjan staff to Goa for their strategic planning meeting. The meeting will take place over a three day period,  during which time we will hear reports from all the field workers and district coordinators. Once we finish hearing about what was accomplished this past year, we will set to the task of planning the agenda for next year's work. I will be presenting all of my findings and work up to this point at the end of the third day. They gave me an hour to go through the environmental issues that I see threatening their target audience (the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes), and provide suggestions for how to mitigate those issues in a new Environment Issues Campaign I designed to be implemented over this next year.

    

My research and work in India is far from over. But having such a big presentation to prepare for makes me feel like its finals week all over. 

I have made my rather long to do list, (which just keeps getting longer) and now I am sitting down to work. With any luck I will be able to pull off this massive presentation and finish everything on my list. 

Wish Me Luck! 

Meeting the Family in Nadiad

This past weekend Sushma took me to her home town of Nadiad so that I could meet her family. It was a wonderfully relaxing weekend filled with a lot of good food and down time chilling with the family. 

As per custom in India guests are always treated with the utmost care, and are constantly being feed. I actually think I gained three pounds this weekend from all the food they gave me. 

Pictured above and below is Sonu, Sushma's adorable son who is four years old. 

Above is a family photo of Sonu, Sanjiv, and Sushma on their bike. When they were showing me around the town I jumped on the bike behind Sushma. Definitely not one of the safest rides I have ever been on, but we weren't going very far and we never went very fast. 

Plus now I feel as though I can honestly say I have fully experienced every mode of transportation here in India. 

Above is Pani Puri...one of Sushma's favorite dishes. 

Nadubhai reading to his grandson. It was really cute how much Sonu loved his grandfather, they take a walk together every night after dinner. 

Sushma's inlaws Nadubhai and Shardaben whom Sonu and Sanjiv are currently living with. 

Sanjiv's family including his brother Asim. 

Pictured above is Sushma's family, two of her sisters, her parents, her brother in-law and her niece.

They all wanted a picture with me and the family. Sonu is an incredibly energetic little boy though and did not really want to sit still for the photo. 

This past weekend will probably be one of the first things that comes to my mind when I think back about the time I spent in India. It is amazing how much love this family had, and how readily they opened their home and their hearts to let me in. I am incredibly grateful to them all for their kindness and generosity and will cherish this weekend for the rest of my life. 

Lake Udaipur

After a week offline I am finally coming back to the blogging world to finish my photo tour of India with my Mom and Aunt. After a whirlwind tour of Ahmedabad, we went to Lake Udaipur for the weekend. We left midday thursday after going to see Sarkhej Roza. It took five hours by car to get to Lake Udaipur but it was well worth the drive. 

Pictured above and below is Sarkhej Roza. It was really a beautiful place and they were in the process of restoring it, so that was nice to see. 

  Above is the view from our hotel in Lake Udaipur. 

Pictured above and below the local market.

 My mom really wanted to feed the monkeys (something they tell you not to do)....it ignored her for a while at first. 

 We took a boat tour of the lake.And stopped at the island below to get refreshments and walk around. 

The flowers were just to beautiful not to take a picture of. 

City Palace, we had to go back twice because we missed the museum part the first time.

On the second day we went to a fort about an hour an half away. It was absolutely beautiful even though it was fogged in most of the morning.

A man we met on our hike into the valley.

The main fort is pictured above. 

The gate to the fort we drove through. It has the second longest wall in the world behind the Great Wall in China.

Above more of the grounds in the fort. 

The drive to get to the place was absolutely amazing and we made the driver stop a million times to take photos. 

I had an absolutely wonderful time with my Mom and Aunt. It was nice getting the royal treatment for a weekend and playing tourist after working here. I hope they enjoyed the rest of their time in India. I am glad they decided to make the trip. 

In my time here I have found that this really is a beautiful country with so much culture and life. 

India Photo Tour Part 3

Day Two of my Mom and Aunt's adventure in Ahmadabad started out with a trip out to DSK. It was the day of the girls convocation so naturally they included my Aunt, my Mom, and me in the program. 

They opened with ceremony with a poem that said something about guests being as special as roses, and then threw flowers at us to honor our presence. 

After the ceremony was over my Aunt and Mom experienced DSK's cooking, and learned how to use the dishwashing station on campus.

After lunch we took a quick hiatus into the local village, so that I could take some photos for one of the cases I was working on. From there we went back to Ahmedabad to see all of the sites in the old city. 

First we went to this incredibly old Temple...it was really big and had two other separate temples in its complex....one for the women and another for the men. 

My Mom and Aunt had their first rickshaw experience....After my Aunt said she understood what she had read somewhere that said "India was the dance of inches". 

My Mom and Aunt covering their hair to go into a historic mosque, only to be denied entry because their skirts were to short.

Above is the Old Fort in Old Ahmadabad. 

 Another Mosque that we all did get inside to see, though we were not allowed into the actual prayer hall. 

The tombs of some famous kings...

I wish I could tell you the name of all these places, But honestly we saw so much that day I couldn't keep it all straight. 

 Another Mosque. 

 My Mom and Aunt in front of the Lake that Minister Modi turned into a park for the residents of the city. 

Our last stop of the day was at our driver (my Indian brother) Ritesh's house so that my Mom and Aunt could meet his boys. 

It was a wonderful day, but incredibly long. But I can honestly say I think I have seen all the best/most touristy and historic parts of Ahmadabad now. 

My Best Friend Corinne

Today is my best friend Corinne's Birthday. Corinne and I have known each other since we were five, we went to grad school and high school together. She is the first person I call when I know I am going home, and usually the last one of my friends I say bye to before I leave. 

Since today is her birthday, I decided I should take a break from my photo tour of India with my Mom and Aunt and write about my amazing friend who has bought so much joy to my life over the years. 

She has taught me so many things over the years so today in honor of her Birthday I thought I would share those things with you. 

Some of the things my Corinnja has taught me: 

...how to laugh so hard you cry.

...that the way others define you is not how you should define yourself. You are the only person who can determine who you are and who you want to be.

...when in doubt have a glass of wine, and when with a friend have a bottle. 

...if someone really loves you then they should/will love all of you. This means you shouldn't feel like you have to hide any of yourself from them. The person who loves you is human too and will experience the same embarrassing moments, moments of weakness, or frustration that you do and can ultimately help you move past those moments or laugh about them later.

...that snuggling is good for the heart.

 ...that life is too short not to hug the people we love. And in fact we should hug them whenever the mood strikes us so they know how much we really do care.

...that sitting on a coach catching up with an old friend is one of the best ways to spend your night. 

...that you should always say yes to trying something new with a friend. Even if you end up not liking what you tried it will bring you closer to that person and teach you something in the process. 

...that drama kids are the best kind of crazy. 

...that being yourself is the only person you should ever try and be. 

...that distance and time matter not when a friendship is true. 

...the things we will remember in life aren't time spent at work or in school, but the time spent with the people we love. So always make time in your busy schedule to spend time with your friends and family, because you will regret it later if you don't. 

I feel so blessed to have a friend like Corinne in my life, and I know she is one person I can count on for the rest of my life. 

Love you Corinne! Hope you had a Birthday as special as you are. 

Indian Photo Tour Part 2

Because of internet complications it looks like you are going to get two posts today of photos. Unfortunately, I am a horrible tourist and I visited so many sights in the first two days my Mom and Aunt were here that I really do not know most of the places names we went to. 

But I figured photos are a nice break from my usual text heavy posts. 

These are all pictures from the last temple we visited our first full day touring around Ahmadabad.

I wasn't really suppose to take pictures in this temple, but the architecture was so beautiful I couldn't resist. I received a harsh scolding from a worshiper though when I got caught. 

After that I didn't take a picture in a place I wasn't suppose to for the rest of our trip. I realized out of respect to my friends who are Hindu, I should respect the rules of the temples. 

 Mom my wanted to ring the bell, but her height was a bit of a problem. She ended up having to jump it was really funny...she was like a four year old who just discovered her new toy makes noise. 

We went to Vasala for dinner. It was an amazing restaurant that was both an experience and a great meal. They served delicious Gujarati specialities, and honestly the amount of food you got for ten dollars was insane. They even gave you goody bags with peacock feathers to take home as a souvenir when we left.