Gina writes:

Note: In Koraput, the verb used to indicate shopping of any sort is "marketing"...I laugh to myself when I hear this since both my BA and MBA are in marketing!



Marketing in Koraput (or anywhere in India, for that matter) is an interesting experience.

• Each store only sells certain things, some of which are obvious at first glance, some of which aren't. For instance, we've learned the place to buy mushrooms year-round is not the vegetable market, but the main milk-seller.
  
• Most of the stores have a counter separating the customers from the goods, so you have to know what you're looking for or you can point, but it's hard to browse.
  
• A lot of the stores sell the same basic items (e.g. rice, flour, sugar), but the quality, specifically the likelihood of bugs, differs between them, so you have to get used to which stores have decent stock.
  
• At a lot of stores, you'll just be spending 50 rupees (1 USD) or less and the shop owners sometimes don't have or won't give change. So you have to plan ahead and try to use largers bills when you can, to increase your stock of small bills and coins.
  
• Almost all of the shops close during the afternoon every day from about 2-5. This is there lunch break, but can be frustrating.
  

Here are pictures of some of the shops that we frequent. Notice the HUGE numbers of signs!

This is Santosh's shop, one of our favorites for vegetables.

Here's the main milk seller. The owner likes to chat Corey's ear off, so we always have to plan a few extra minutes here. We don't even know his name, we just call him Omfed Guy (Omfed is the name of the milk brand).

At Rolex Xerox, we don't buy physical products, but we buy internet time. This is where many of our Sunday evenings have been spent, squished in a little closet, using the high-speed Internet to Skype with our families and friends.

This store doesn't look like much, but tends to have a lot of things that similar stores don't. The owner is really friendly and loves when I ask for things in Oriya.

Here is the tiny shop right outside our front gate. Literally about 20 feet away, this shop has gotten us out of a bind more than a few times by selling basics like eggs, potatoes, laundry detergent, and chilis.

This is our electrician. Take anything to him and he'll fix it!

Here's the craft store! I really never thought there'd be a place like this in Koraput. The shop owner lets me slip behind the counter and browse to my crafty heart's content!

There are two stores that I don't have photos of. One is what we call "the department store" which just means that it's slightly bigger and offers a little more choice on brands and sizes of products. The other is "Amar's" where we get special goods like toilet paper and peanut butter and tuna. We buy cereal and soda by the case from him, to decrease the load on the 1-mile walk back to our house!

The trek to so many different stores to buy basic groceries and household needs can be frustrating, but the personal relationships that we've developed with the shopkeepers is something that I'll really miss when we return to the U.S.

Corey writes:

So this past week, Gina and I were on the road again, this time traveling to Puri for a VSO Conference. Puri is on the east coast of India, on the Bay of Bengal. It's a popular tourist destination within India because the original Jagganath Temple is there. (Apparently the one we have in Koraput is just a copy.) It also has a few miles of great beaches which draw even international tourists.

Gina and I thought we would take the opportunity to spend a few extra days after the conference to get some sun and see what's what. She'll be following up with a blog on the fun part of the trip later.

We left Koraput after work on Monday (last Monday) and took the overnight train to Bhubaneswar (or Bhub if you don't have the time). No problems on the trip, we arrived to a blast furnace of 90+ F and about 4000% humidity. We screamed and ran for the A/C room at our friend AnnMarie's. After an awesome tofu scramble (yes I'm becoming a damned hippy) and a few hours chilling (get it?), we ventured out to the Big Bazaar close to her work. This was culture shock for us hicks rural volunteers: four floors crammed with merchandise, air conditioning, and "helpful" staff! We selected some treasures we can't get in K-put (Kidney Beans! Yay!) and got out. Later we caught the VSO bus to Puri and after two hours, we arrived at the Holiday Resort.

As soon as we checked into our hotel, we got busy with one of the prime reasons for the conference: catching up with all the folks we have't seen in three months. It's like a dinner party where everyone has interesting stories to tell.


The next day, Wednesday, we started the conference proper. This was where we got to another conference goal: sharing professional information. We heard about what is going on, and going well or not-so-well throughout the VSO partner NGOs. This continued, with frequent food breaks, until Friday afternoon. The conference ended with a choose-your-own-adventure trip, we decided to visit a small artist's village close to Puri. We bought some nice art, but ultimately it was more of a sales pitch than our visit to Kotpad. Stay tuned for the rest of our trip when Gina writes next!

Here's a map with some of the landmarks in Koraput. We'll continue to update it as we go along!

Gina writes:

In Koraput, we work six days a week, so we're definitely going to learn to make the most of our Sundays. Here is what our first Sunday was like. My apologies for such a long entry, but I thought this would give you a feel for a) the hospitality that we're experiencing here in Koraput, and b) the process of shopping in India.

6:30 a.m. - Corey got up, had cereal and bananas for breakfast, and hand-washed all of our clothes from the past week.

9:00 a.m. - I finally got up (is it any surprise?) and ate breakfast.

9:45 a.m. - We received a text message from Hilary asking if we wanted to join her and her husband (who's visiting from the U.K.) for a trip to the market. We'd been looking forward to going to the market on a Sunday, since it's the day when hundreds of tribal people come into Koraput to sell their wares, and people bus/drive in from all over the district to shop, so of course we said yes! We'll be away at a conference near Delhi until Thursday night, so we weren't planning to buy many perishables, but we wanted to see the market anyway.

10:45 a.m. - We walked to Hilary's house (about 3 minutes away) and left for the market. We had made a list of housewares and kitchen staples that we wanted to purchase during our first weeks in Koraput, so we started working on it. Store #1 had a pressure cooker, but no screw-top food containers. Store #2 had screw-top containers of various sizes and shampoo. Store #3 had a large kettle, complete with a lid (very hard to find in Koraput!). Store #4 had most of the spices and kitchen staples that we wanted (rice, oil, flour, baking powder). When we entered the market, Hilary purchased eggs from the egg store, vegetables from the vegetable store, spices from the spice vendor, and stoneware pottery from yet another stall. We purchased a wool blanket for the cold Koraput nights and some paper-thin towels for cleaning rags (yes, from two different stalls). On the way back out to the main road, we made the mistake of walking through "non-veg alley" where you can buy the freshest chicken and fish you've ever had (I'll leave it to your imagination what that means and what that area smelled like...). We then separated from Hilary and her husband and went in search of lunch. (Store count: 7)





1:00 p.m. - Lunch at Hotel Annapurna (restaurants are called hotels here for some reason). There were some seats available at the same table as three young girls (maybe 18 years old?), so we asked if we could sit with them. Since nothing on the posted menu was actually available, we just asked to have the same thing that the girls were eating, which was three samosas and some potato onion curry. The girls spoke decent English and were happy to talk to us, so lunch was entertaining in addition to being delicious and cheap (just under $1 total for water, 2 meals, 2 desserts).

1:30 p.m. - We stopped in at Amar's store to say "hi" and to pick up a gift that he had for Mike (he lived in our house until Saturday and we'll see him at the conference before he returns to the U.K.). Amar speaks good English, works hard to order anything that we Westerners want, and maybe most importantly, owns the only shop in town that sells toilet paper (sometimes).

2:00 p.m. - We finally arrived home, sweaty and exhausted and heaving with bags of stuff. We relaxed a bit, then put away our purchases and finished unpacking/organizing our belongings from our suitcases. We also spent a good deal of time cleaning the kitchen and arranging the shelves just the way we wanted (oh, the excitement of making a place your own!).

4:00 p.m. - Our landlord, who lives above us, had extended an open invitation to come up to meet his family. We didn't want to turn down such a generous offer, so we got ready to go up, but then realized that his gate at the bottom of his stairway was locked.

4:30 p.m. - Corey received a call on his cellphone from Siba, a young guy from SOVA. Siba asked if we had plans for the evening and then invited us to go with him to his friends' house and then just hang out for a bit. He showed up about 20 minutes later and, for a few minutes, we entertained our first guest in our new home! He took a look at incomplete shopping list and said he'd help us find some of the items and get a fair price.

5:00 p.m. - We made our way toward the center of town to go to Siba's friends' house. We had some pleasant conversations about why we were volunteering and what we hoped to achieve, a nice change from the standard (where are you from? how long will you be here? do you have children?). We were of course served chai and biscuits.

6:00 p.m. - On our way to the center of town (for the second time in one day!), the power was out and it was getting dark. A few days ago, one of Koraput's two transformers blew, so power has roughly been supplied to Koraput about 1/3 of the time. A frightening experience wandering lost in Koraput in competely pitch-black darkness last Thursday made us really regret forgetting our flashlights. Luckily, the power came back just as it got completely dark. For the next two hours, Siba's help was invaluable as he led us to shop after shop that had exactly what we needed, and at fair prices. Store #1 had nuts and chickpeas. Store #2 had a dish strainer. Store #3 had eggs. The liquor store (which is unlit, behind black metal bars, and not a place where women are welcome) had beer. Store #5 had hangers and a laundry brush. Store #6 had straw floor mats. Store #7 had onions, potatoes, and ginger. We stopped at a street vendor for coffee and when Corey was talking to a curious gentleman (who paid for our coffee!), I was invited into a home nearby to chat and pet the dog. Store #9 had metal bowls and a wok (called a "kaida" here). Store #10 had yogurt. We also stopped at about 5 stores that did not have what we were looking for or were charging too much. (Store count: 15. Total store count for the day: 22.)

8:00 p.m. - We trudged home with our second set of goods. Siba offered to take his motorbike to pick up dinner, but we invited him to eat a simple meal with us. We were just planning to eat toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so we asked Siba if he wanted to try one. People in Koraput aren't familiar with peanut butter, so we aren't sure if Siba's exclamations of "Fantastic! Delicious!" were genuine or not! In any case, it was fun to serve American food to our new friend.



9:00 p.m. - Siba left for home, we unpacked the rest of our purchases, and sat down to enjoy our new home. The power was out again, but the candlelight helped us to appreciate our minimal lifestyle in a simple and charming way.

Gina writes:

This entry is a little late, but we've been really busy this week in classes, exploring Delhi, and spending time with the other volunteers.

Last Saturday, Corey and I decided to venture to Dilli Haat, a nearby marketplace known for crafts and foods from various parts of India. On the map, it looked fairly close to our hostel, so we decided to walk. However, walking a few kilometers in Delhi is very very very different from walking in the U.S. First, the dust and pollution of Delhi made our throats sore after walking along the busy streets. Second, the lack of sidewalks and so much construction made the walk a bit treacherous, since we had to pick our way along the streets, keeping as close to edge (and as far from passing traffic) as possible.

In any case, we arrived at the market in one piece and began perusing the stands. This particular market had a lot of household goods shops, cloth shops, purse/bag shops, and kitchen staples shops. We weren't looking to buy anything in particular, basically just taking in a typical Delhi experience. As we walked past a big shop selling gorgeous swaths of cloth, one of the shopkeepers urged us to sit down.



We sat down to look at the cloth, since I had planned on purchasing a few sets of salwar kameez. This is the traditional dress worn by Indian women. I'll have to wear these suits every day once we arrive in Koraput; (not everyone in Delhi wears them, since Delhi is more modern, but in rural areas, all women do). The shopkeeper showed us sample after sample after sample of cloth, in all different colors and patterns. I was overwhelmed by all the choices, but ended up choosing two sets that I was happy with. With all the activity, I was too anxious to drive a hard bargain, so ended up paying a little more than I should have (about $28 for the two sets), but lesson learned...

I took the cloth to the tailor across the way. He took probably two dozen measurements and asked questions about neckline, length, fit, etc. Then he said the suits would be ready the next day and would be 300 rupees for both (about $7)!

We had some trouble catching a rickshaw home, since a fence dividing the road prevented us from being able to ask rickshaws that were actually driving in the direction of our hostel. Also, the area didn't feel very safe after dark and smelled horrible! Once we got back to the hostel, we were a bit shaken, but we were glad to have had a very authentic Delhi adventure.

Side note: it wasn't until after we returned to the hostel that we realized we weren't even at Dilli Haat, like we thought, but were in fact across the street at INA market! No wonder we didn't see any crafts or food from around India!

The next morning, we returned to the same area to pick up my salwar kameez and find Dilli Haat. The trip was mercifully uneventful. Dilli Haat was okay, though a bit touristy, and we got the suits as promised.





I wore both salwar kameez this week, to get used to them. They are so comfortable! The scarf is constantly falling off my shoulders, but all in all, I'm super-excited about my new "uniform"!

Corey Writes:

This is the first of my "this is how things are different in India" series. Let me preface this by saying that we're in the Big City of Delhi, where everything is more expensive than it will be in Koraput. Here are some examples of what we have paid for things recently (in USD):

• Rickshaw rides: $0.80 to $1.40 for 2 to 4 miles
• Laundry detergent and assorted snacks: $2.60
• Sit-down meal (average): $1.80
• Sit-down meal for four with rice and bread: $5.30
• Two salwar kameezes, fully tailored (pics forthcoming): $32
• Cup of tea, served in actual cup-and-saucer: $0.08
• 4 bananas: $0.20
• 12 beers: $9.60 (no wonder no one drinks, I can eat ten meals for a case of beer)

We're still in the habit of converting everything to USD and then thinking how cheap it is. Over time, we'll start to think of things in Indian terms, so we'll have sticker shock about everything when we get back to the States.