Gina writes:

There have been many times in the past few years when I've realized what a great thing it is that VSO places volunteers from many different countries to work in many countries.

1. I realized it before starting my placement, when attending the interview and 2 trainings in Ottawa. Since some parts of Canada speak French as their first language, there were two groups during the trainings, the English-speaking group and the "Francophone" group. Further, there were a number of volunteers who were living in Canada or the U.S. but were from other countries, including Peru, Kenya, and Poland. We were going to places all over the world, but we were also from places all over the world.

2. When we arrived in India, the international flavor was so much more amplified. In addition to being in India, we were in the month-long training with other volunteers from the England, Scotland, Ireland, the Phillipines, Kenya, Australia, and Canada.



Our conversations weren't just about Indian culture and experiences; we learned a lot about each other's background and cultures too. An unexpected side of VSO that I didn't anticipate, but loved. Example: A few weekends ago, some volunteers came to stay in Koraput for the weekend, as a respite from the heat of Bhubaneswar. Our gatherings consisted of 2 Americans (me and Corey), 2 Australians, and Irish girl, and a Filipino!

3. I keep in touch with some of the volunteers that we were in training with in Ottawa, through blogs and Facebook. To know that the 64-year-old nurse in Sri Lanka and the family of 4 in Namibia and the young couple in Cameroon are experiencing similar things to me is comforting. It's interesting to have the shared perspective of all being VSO volunteers, but to learn about the countries that they are in as well.

4. I was glad once again for the "VSO network" when Corey and I were planning our post-placement trip in Nepal and Thailand. VSO has an office in both Nepal and Thailand and we've already been in touch with them, so they are available to us if we find ourselves in trouble or just need advice. Also, one American volunteer that we know has been working in Nepal for the past 2 years and another has been working in Thailand for the past 2 years. We'll have a chance to see one, if not both of them, for a meal while traveling! And they've been helpful with travel tips. What a great resource to be able to depend on!

5. After we return to the U.S., we'll be maintaining communication with a number of volunteers that we've met while here in India. We have open invitations to London and Cape Cod and we'd look up friends in Australia, the Phillipines, Canada, and Ireland if we were ever there on a trip.

What I'm trying to say is that my interactions with other cultures has been so much more than I anticipated. Discussions about the differences between "Western" culture and Indian culture are interesting, but they're made more fulfilling when the discussion is about U.S. vs. British vs. Filipino vs. Indian culture!

Oh...and any volunteers wanting to visit the great city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania? OPEN INVITATION!!

Gina writes:

Yesterday was a holiday to honor Ganesh, the elephant-headed god of knowledge and remover of obstacles. He's one of the head gods in Hinduism.

SPREAD celebrated this holiday with a puja (religious ritual of blessing) in the office. I had witnessed this once before, for a holiday in January, but was excited for Corey to attend his first office puja.

We arrived at about noon for the 11:30ish puja. Just before 3 p.m. the priest finally showed up! Apparently, he's in high demand on festival days, rushing from one engagement to the next. We had to wait until after the puja to eat lunch, so the rituals got underway immediately.

All of the specific items were prepared and ready for the puja - milk with honey, sandalwood, certain leaves, colored powders, a squared mound of dirt, coconuts, fruits and sweets, and of course the Ganesh idol/statue. Bidyut, SPREAD's director, was dressed in traditional silk robes to perform the puja. The priest chanted and sang specific verses, while cuing Bidyut to perform actions at the right times.





After about 15 minutes, my favorite part began. They built a fire right in the middle of the office! It got pretty big at one point.





The fire itself was not a problem, since the floors are concrete and their aren't curtains or anything to catch on fire. However, the room became extremely smoky after about 10 minutes and it was really irritating to the eyes.



The entire puja only took 1 hour, the perfect length! Here is the area after the rituals.



We finally got to eat at 4 p.m. The food was pure veg, which means no onion and no garlic, but at the same time, was richer because of the use of ghee (clarified butter).

I love this part of Indian work culture, because it's so different from Western ways. Imagine sitting down with your coworkers to perform a traditional ritual to bless your office space, books, computers, etc.!

One last picture: a colleague's son, dressed in traditional Oriya garments of his very own size! So cute!

Corey writes

I've just passed a milestone in the "main" project I've been working on during the second year of my placement. But before I get into the details, let me give you some background. The project is called SAMADHAN: Citizen’s Action for Governance and the elevator pitch for the project is:

Citizens can file complaints with their local government by calling a toll-free number, by sending an SMS, by visiting the government office in person or through one of our “lead volunteers”. Once the complaint is registered, the government will act to resolve the complaint quickly. The interesting part is that the data about the numbers and types of complaints and the actions taken by the government are open to the public. This means that the district magistrate, the press or local NGOs can help motivate departments that aren’t solving problems. It also means that departments that are solving problems get some recognition.

For example, if I lived in Koraput district and my well is broken, I can call up a toll free number and file a complaint. The complaint will be viewed by the government and they will fix my well. I'll get status messages on my mobile phone at every step of the way too. Finally, at the end of the month, SOVA can review the status of all the complaints in the district.

This project is being funded by the United Nations Milennium Campaign and is being implemented two NGOs: SOVA and Samarthan. The website was programmed by Tangere InfoTech. It's been a good learning experience working as part of a loose team like this. The role I've been filling at SOVA has really been as project manager / technical guy. Like I was doing in the USA before coming here, I've been translating between the technical and non-technical people. I've been developing technical documentation and also just pushing the project along in Koraput.

About a month ago, we decided the project was ready for a "formal launch" event in the state capital. The purpose of doing a launch event there and not in Koraput was mainly publicity. If we launch the system in Koraput it will get covered by the Koraput papers. If we launch the system in Bhubaneswar and the Chief Minister comes, it will be in all the papers in the state. For our American readers, the Chief Minister is like the state Governor. He runs the state.

So we've spent the last month in a slowly building frenzy trying to squash bugs and clean up the website, developing documentation, and preparing to host a major event in a city that is 500 km away. However, this event really helped to solidify the team.

The launch was scheduled for 26 August and so we all arrived at the hotel/conference hall on the 25th. The final preparations were a little chaotic, especially since we decided to add a little drama to the launch by having an actual person with an actual problem call in from Koraput to make the inaugural complaint. It was very difficult figuring out how to patch the telephone system into the PA system.

In the end, the launch went off without a hitch. There was a good turnout of politicians, UN people, and the press. Here are some photos of the event (see if you can guess who the Chief Minister is).

You can see the website for the project in my district at http://koraput.samadhan.org.in. There are many other projects in India that use technology to connect people with their government, with varying degrees of success. If our project does succeed, I think it will be because of two things:

1. We have the trust and interest of the local government.
2. We have the trust and awareness of the local citizens.

There is no amount of slickness you can put in a website that will get these two things. It’s going to take a lot of hard work in the field and the political capital of an organisation like SOVA. Achieving one of these things without the other still means failure. It won’t be easy, but if we succeed, we will have created a whole lot of active citizens and hopefully in the process helped Koraput district.

Update 15 September 2011

Thanks to everyone who commented on this blog entry. I don't think I did a good job of communicating the reality of the project in the original post, so I want to make it clear that this project has not actually helped a single person to date. Myself and the other folks working on the project have put in a lot of work based on the assumption that this project will help people. But there are still a lot of big "ifs", and this project could easily end up in the pile with the majority of other projects like this that fail. I know this sounds negative but I feel like I've given the impression that this project is a success prematurely.

Gina writes:

In 3 months, we’ll be sitting down to an amazing turkey dinner to celebrate Thanksgiving… with our families… in the U.S.! As we approach the end of our 2-year odyssey, we have a lot going on in our heads, from logistics planning to finishing stuff at work to trying to remain “in the moment” in India.

Travel Plans

Our last day at our VSO placements in Koraput is somewhere around October 22. This date was chosen because our visas expire on October 27, so we can’t be in India after that. We don’t want to be starting new jobs until after the holidays, so we thought we’d take the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel for a month in Asia before traveling home!

The plans are just about finalized; we’re heading to Nepal for an 8-9 day trek up to a basecamp in the Himalayas. It’s not rigorous climbing or anything, just steady hiking with amazing views. Our friend Tim and his girlfriend did almost the exact trip; their blog entry about it is here. From Nepal, we head to Thailand for just over 2 weeks. We fly into Bangkok and then immediately leave it to head to the beach at Ko Samet for 4 days (info and photos). Then we head up to Chiang Mai to traipse about in the jungle, ride bamboo rafts, and ride elephants! After 3-4 days there, we make our way to the Northeast part of the country, where I will take part in a 4 day silk-making class, complete with finding the silkworms, feeding them mulberry leaves, spinning and dyeing the silk, and weaving a scarf! Corey will relax in the cute homestay and try not to show his jealousy of my experience! From Isan, we go back to Bangkok to catch our flight to Delhi-London-Chicago-Toledo. On our one day in Bangkok though, I’m running the Bangkok Half Marathon! Since Corey and I ran a big race in the hours before we left Pittsburgh, it seems to be an appropriate marker to say goodbye to Asia too!

We arrive in the Toledo airport at 5:30 p.m. on November 21, just in time for Thanksgiving!

Status Check

With less than 2 months to go (21 completed) in Koraput, we are doing pretty darn good. We’re both fairly busy at work, but not so busy as to be frazzled and stressed. Socially, we’re not doing too much “chasing after cultural experiences” and we’re not feeling guilty about that at all. Our house, with the cool breeze flowing through the open windows, is a peaceful and comfortable place for us. It feels like “home”.

We’ve been talking a lot about “when we get back…” and doing a lot of logistics planning (finding an apartments, jobs, registering our car, etc.). But we’ve been careful not to let those conversations and plans override our appreciation of the last few months in India. Contrary to what some blogs we’ve read and friends have said, the frustrations of day-to-day life in India are not getting to us any more than usual. We’re looking forward to hot showers and high-speed Internet and wine and Western-style workplaces, but the lack of it doesn’t seem more pronounced like we were afraid of.

Our 2-year placement seems to have been about the right length for us -- in terms of work objectives, immersion in another culture, and being away from the U.S. and our families and friends. We're excited about returning to a relatively unexciting life in the U.S., but are still enjoying our days here in India.

Gina writes:

Contrary to what you might think, we have a lot of free time here. That means that I've had the opportunity to do lots of crafting! This post is picture-heavy and will only interest some of this blog's audience, but for those of you who are interested, enjoy!

I brought a few cross-stitch kits with me to India, figuring (rightly) that they'd keep me busy for hundreds of hours while taking up very little space.

A 5"x7" Japanese girl. For sale.


A hugely complicated Thomas Kinkade scene. At least 150 hours of work! For sale.


The first 4 of a set of 6 Christmas ornaments/hangings.


This one was made for Corey's parents, another 100+ hour project! It was given to them last December when they visited and framed after they got home.


My favorite craft is knitting, but I didn't know what my access to yarn would be. I brought 1 big skein of mauve cotton yarn and a selection of knitting needles and hoped for the best. Much to my surprise, I found a craft shop in Koraput's main market!



The yarn available here isn't very good quality, but it's better than nothing. I've made a lot of random stuff from what I've found there.

Coasters. For sale. (This pattern is my own design, it's also for sale on Ravelry.)




I made some dolls that are totally impractical but fun to make and cute to look at!

Daphne Dabble




Samuel the Shopkeeper (with incomplete veggie accessories...I got bored)


Here they're joined by Ms. Mop-it-up, making a love triangle that only the dog notices because Daphne is too busy painting!


I embroidered this simple little bag for a camera or other small object.


Color-coordinated lining!


More toys/ornaments/something... For sale.


Some fingerless gloves (that still need some decorative buttons). For sale.




Not a great picture, but the sweater that I'm currently knitting. One more sleeve to go!


For my nephew who is due just 2 weeks before we get back to the U.S., itty bitty booties that look more modern/cute than most I've seen!


Also for the little dude.


And for his big sister Maris, leg warmers to wear to her dance class!


From the cotton yarn that I brought with me, I made two things.

A shawl/scarf for me.


And fingerless gloves. For sale.




For Christmas 2009 and 2010, Corey's parents bought me some gorgeous handspun yarn. I have 2 small skeins to use yet, but have made some cool stuff.

A little shoulder bag. For sale.




A pair of slippers that doesn't look too dorky.


A wine sock to protect our precious bottles!


A small rug of sorts to display figurines on a mantel.




That's about it. There are so many projects that I want to make, but we have limited space in our luggage. Only a few more months until I can go to a proper yarn store and make anything I want, without regard to size!

Gina writes:

Nothing much going on here lately, so here are some random tidbits from the past few weeks.

Dogs

From previous entries, you'll know that Corey and I are "dog people". During the past 20 months in Koraput, we've slowly increased the number of dogs that we pet and have named. There's Sango, Floppy and Fugs at SOVA, who I don't see anymore. There's Pandu at SPREAD. There's Good Dog, Puppy Girl and Blacky at our house. We don't feed any of them very often, just leftovers (if they've gone bad) or bones sometimes.

A few weeks ago, Pandu was acting lethargic and despondent. While petting him, I found a HUGE gash on the back of his neck, almost hidden because of his fur covering it, but a straight clean cut of about 2 inches, all the way down to the muscle. It seemed to have come from a workman's shovel/hoe and not from another dog. Ordinarily, I successfully ignore the dogs' ailments, since scrapes and limping and skin diseases are just part of being a wild dog in India. This time, though, I felt the need and ability to do something, since I really believed that the alternative was death for Pandu and I didn't want to find his cold body outside the office one day. He was warm to the touch, so obviously had a fever from infection already.

The next day was a Sunday, but I went to the office on my day off to check on him. I brought a can of processed chicken meat that we were not interested in eating and a bottle of general antibiotics that I have for us (ciprofloxacin). I explained to the office boy that the antibiotics would fight the infection and that was the only way that Pandu would live. The office boy lives at the SPREAD office and is buddies with Pandu, so he was worried, too. Anyway, long story short, Pandu took antibiotics for 5 days (1/2 tab twice a day) and was all better. After his fever went away, his wound healed well. Now he acts like is indebted to me for saving his life! Or maybe he just wants some more processed chicken-in-a-can!



As an exception to Indian norm, Pandu is allowed to come inside the office and lay on a mat just inside the door if it's raining. He comes in and lays quietly while it's raining and then, immediately after it stops, he moves himself to the doorstoop to continue his nap! So cute!

The other dog story from the past few weeks is that the two main dogs from our neighborhood, Puppy Girl and Blacky, have gone beyond their territory a few times each to walk with me all the way to work! The first few times they did this, I was really nervous for them, since they had to run through packs of snarling dogs in foreign territories.

This picture was taken the first time Puppy Girl came with me to work.


She was so scared that she tried to come into the office with me, but then just laid on the office stoop and whined for a few hours until a co-workers shooed her away. After she left the office area, I didn't see her until 2 days later when she was beat up and limping! I think she didn't know her way home and got in trouble with the older, meaner dogs.

Now she's come with me partway or all the way to the office a few more times and she's bigger and smarter. I always find her back at home after my day at the office.

A funny thing, though, is that Puppy Girl and Blacky aren't the only ones "escorting" me to work. Two times now, I've had groups of dogs (4 the first time, 3 the second time) following me most of the way! It must be a hilarious site to see the tall foreigner with 3 or 4 dogs right at her heels!

word has gotten around in the doggy circles that we are "friendly folk". There are 4-6 dogs around our house that we've never touched or fed that get up when we leave our house and start wagging their tails!

Rainy Season

You might recall from last year's blog entry that rainy season hits Koraput pretty hard. We were dreading the months of non-stop rain this year. However, it's been a mild season and the rain is much less than last year. It does rain on most days, but even then it's often in the evening, so I've only had to walk to/from work in rain that was more than a drizzle a few times. Unfortunately, the lack of rainfall has not led to diminished mold and mildew problems in the house. We don't have water seepage problems like many buildings in Koraput, but some condition in our house is such that almost any clothing/material/cushion that's not hanging and allowed to move around a bit starts to smell like mildew and sometimes even get white fuzzy mold growing on it. To get rid of the mildew smell, what works best is to wait for a day that's relatively sunny and put everything outside to let the sun kill the smell.



As for the clothes, we don't have the space to hang everything or the inclination to rotate everything from shelves to hangers in some planned method. So we end up with random pieces that are either smelly or actually have white fuzz on them.

Like this hat!


We soak those clothes in boiling water with a dash of bleach. Seems to work!

Gina writes:

The idea that I want to write about today is difficult to put down in words but I'll try my best, since it's something I've been thinking about a lot over the past few days. The basic thought is that our experience here has been enriched because we've chosen to have such open minds and are on a constant look-out for new and different experiences. Continuing to embrace these attitudes could result in fuller lives after we return to the U.S. as well. Let me explain with examples:

Suspending Judgement

Day in and day out, we interact with coworkers, neighbors and shopkeepers. Countless times, they've done something or said something that initially seems weird or wrong or inappropriate. Whether it's describing a Hindu tradition, treating women as inferior, or cautioning against eating yogurt at night, we have a negative reaction for only one tiny second before telling ourselves, "Well, it's a different culture" or "That's how this person was raised, how can I blame them?" Because the people that we're talking to are from a culture/religion/background that is so different from our own, they get a free pass from our judgement. In so many cases, it's impossible to really compare aspects of the U.S. and India, so we've learned to not do that and just say to ourselves, "It's not wrong, it's different."

What I've been thinking is...why can't we take that same open-minded attitude and apply it to our outlook in the U.S.? When someone is acting uncouth or is espousing contrary viewpoints or maybe their actions point to their lack of education/upbringing, we should remind ourselves that we are each a product of our parents and our culture. Our actions and personalities are our own only to a limited extent. Sure, there are actions that really are inexcusable (both in India and in the U.S.), but I'd like to import my ability to suspend judgement of others to the U.S.

Beauty Beauty Everywhere

I have my camera with me almost all the time and am trying to learn to have more of a photographer's eye. Combined with the fact that I do live in a beautiful city, it means that I find the smallest and most innocuous things that strike my eye. My twice-daily walk through the paddy fields never fails to make me smile. Women in saris gracefully carrying jars of water on their heads and children on their hips is a simple, yet stunning visage. Puppies...enough said.

Who's cuter?


A cool-looking moth that we found on the office wall.


Beyond visual stimuli, I use the excuse "Who knows when I'll be back in India?" to appreciate the little things, like saying hi to the sweet old man who owns a little shop near the SPREAD office, a houseful of open windows to fill the rooms with bright sunshine, weaving between cows in the streets on my way to work or the market.

The view from our house.


Enjoying the breeze, the peace, and the view from SOVA's roof.


At times when I have that feeling wash over me of, "Wow, I'm really fortunate to be here in this place," it's not actually in response to something uniquely Indian. But the fact that I'm constantly on the lookout for things to cherish and remember means that I find joy in some things that I could find in the U.S. as well. For instance, as I've walked to work in the past few days, I've thought about how beautiful and peaceful some stretches of Pittsburgh are and how I should take greater advantage of them; specifically, I think about cutting through Schenley Park or Frick Park in Pittsburgh to walk to the grocery store on a fall day or to a coffee shop to spend time with an old friend. After I return to the U.S., I want to be more cognizant of the beauty that's all around me.

New and Different

Part of our time here as been the inevitable experience of many new and different things -- foods, festivals, friendships, and more. We've also put quite a bit of effort into specifically seeking out these experiences. Attempting to cook with a new vegetable, following the crowds to the location of a Hindu celebration, spending time at friends' homes even if it's kind of awkward, joining in the tribal dances or marriage processions even though the cameras come out and we know we look stupid. Taking part in these activities has provided some fantastic memories (and even better photos)!





Pittsburgh is fortunate to have a large multi-cultural feel to it. Throughout the year, there are fairs and events sponsored by different cultural groups--Polish, Indian, Chinese, German, and many more. And there are A LOT of restaurants serving dozens of ethnic cuisines. We've always had an interest in finding authentic ethnic restaurants and have attended our share of cultural events, but I'd like to be more grateful for those opportunities in the future. With a small shift in attitude, it really can feel like an adventure in another culture by just talking to an immigrant at an event or digging a little deeper to understand the culture presented at some festival or restaurant.

My point is that our experience of the world around us has a lot more to do with our outlook and attitude than with the stimuli themselves. Take some time in the next few days and try to see your world a little differently -- I'm sure you can find something beautiful and new!