The escape.

Though I am starting to get used to the chaos and oddities of Bangalore, I felt it was time to take a leave of absence for a weekend and head over to Mysore. It had been a long week filled with the common frustrations of working in a foreign country and I finally felt ready to brave the transportation system all by my lonesome.

As I have told some of you already, Chethan likes to monitor my every move. I realize it is with the best protective intentions, but it drives me mad. I am constantly reminded to wear sunscreen, drink water and must always be walking two steps behind him. Those are the ‘do’s, but don’t you fret, there is a whole other list of do not/cannot/should nots. Apparently, I cannot carry my own bag, cannot choose what I want to eat at a restaurant, should not hail my own rickshaw…and the list goes on. How do they think I function when they are not around? I am fully capable and this gender differential makes me angry. To top it all off, Chethan feels the need to insist I visit the hospital for something as little as a mosquito bite and does not take no for an answer. He will continue to call my phone and send me text messages at an incredibly persistent effort. If I refuse, he will go as far as to call a doctor to visit the office. Catch my drift? I am the vulnerable little white foreigner constantly under supervision from several Indian watchdogs. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that so many people are looking out for me but it makes me feel smothered and incapable. Anyway, thus was the reason for my exodus.

Roadside tender coconuts
for all!

David and I in the
Big Banyan Tree

Luckily, David heard of my plans and remembered that he had a meeting to attend there on Friday and offered me a ride. I figured it was a safer bet than taking the bus. He also suggested that Chethan come along (joy!) so we could meet with a focus group expert and visit some PHCs along the way (neither of which happened). It shouldn’t have surprised me, but we left at 10am and only arrived at 4:30pm….it’s a 3-hour drives distance. There were several stops made along the way (roadside peeing, tender coconuts, drinks…etc) and then once we finally started getting close, David wanted to turn around and visit the Big Banyan Tree which was right outside of Bangalore. It was major backtracking….I was frustrated but the tree was 400 years old so I figured it was worth a visit! On our way, we ran into a Bollywood celebrity…very exciting stuff! Don’t ask me for his name.

Chethan, Felix, CELEBRITY, and me

Once we finally got to Mysore, we ignored David’s request to stop for lunch and went straight to Ashodaya – the sex workers collective where Elayne works. We hung around there for a bit…and got some interesting demonstrations on how to secretly administer a condom during oral sex. It was very interesting to see the drop-in centre and hear a bit about the work they do. The condom negotiation strategies they teach the sex workers were particularly interesting.

Once David and Chethan headed back to Bangalore, I could finally relax a bit. The next day we visited the palace and an incredible market with tons of flowers (and bees), perfumes, incense, tiffins and bangles galore. 

BANGLES

Perfume/paints/incense shop

Tiffins!

We ate a lot of good food and just roamed the city shops. Though we got a pedicure from hell, and a rock was thrown at Elayne while we were watching an amateur cricket game, it was a very enjoyable trip. Mysore is so beautiful and much less crowded and congested than Bangalore. Very refreshing.

Elayne and I in one of the many sweet shops.
(mmm Mysore pak)

My plan was to board the Bangalore bus at 2:45pm on Sunday and I was naively convinced that there were no difficulties involved. I was SO wrong. I must have said goodbye at least 5 times to bolt to an approaching bus desperately trying to reach the door in an angry mob of local travelers. It took forever to successfully make it, despite the fact that I had a ticket and no one else did. Note to self: there is absolutely no need to buy a ticket in advance.

So that concludes my adventure report! There is so much more to say but I’ll leave some stories for when I get back.

I’m boarding the train again tonight for Koppal field visit #2 for the week. I shall try and keep this blog thing going but its starting to annoy me so the posts may come a little less frequently in future. My apologies.

FIELDtrip

Me and Chethan

This past week has really given a whole new meaning to the idea of a ‘field’ trip. Ms. Frizzle would be so proud. Rather than the magic school bus, I journeyed via overnight train with David from CFAR, Mallika and Chethan. It was quite the experience. They handed out ‘clean’ sheets and pillows to set up the beds which were stiff as a rock. I was seriously worried about having to sleep in a sauna, but we were in the second class of the train with A/C! I was very relieved to feel a relatively cool breeze once on board. I slept on the bottom bunk and it had a curtain I could pull across which was great…I could finally hide my identity and feel like less of an outsider. I was so thankful to be with frequent train travellers since there was no announcement or any sort of indication of where each stop was. Trial and error!

2A Class on the Humpy Express

Once we arrived in Koppal, it was a short rickshaw ride to the hotel which really exceeded my expectations. We quickly showered, changed, and then headed straight for the field office. We met with the research team there – none of whom spoke English – and briefed them on the project. It was great to get their input and comments on the tools we prepared and they were all very enthusiastic. They will be the ones who will be doing most of the field work so it was great to see that they took such an interest in the study. The language barrier forced me to pick up some Kannada and I’ve got a few phrases down! I still sound like a fool though. Even if I remember the 10 syllable words, if the accent is not right, its totally useless. Luckily I had Chethan with me! After a long day of edits and hashing out the details of the study, we headed back to the hotel.

Day 2 was a bit more action packed. We met with medical officers at primary health centres (PHC) and a few different villages where we interviewed pregnant women and adolescent girls and got a few focus groups done. Each village was drastically different than the next. In one, we were trudging through pales of hay and in another we were in a much more developed area with electricity – though it failed 6 times while we were there (so thankful to have a flashlight feature on my cell phone).

It was great to pilot all of the questionnaires and make sure they were culturally sensitive. We had a ton of changes to make after testing them out. It’s so much harder than I would have ever thought to ask the right questions and in the right order.

Focus group

Interview with the girl to the far left
(note: this was as close as they
would get to me)

I also started realizing how my presence was influencing the level of sharing, so I decided to take a step back from the actual interviewing process and the focus groups – translating just made it far more complicated than it had to be and I felt as though I appeared too intimidating. There was one interview that we did that actually required 3 translators and took hours. It was a pretty interesting execution of broken telephone (much less fun when the responses actually matter). Luckily, we have the local research team that already has rapport with the villagers. 

One of the girls we interviewed insisted on braiding my hair like hers. Later, her mom came of out of the house with a Jasmine flower ornament to attach to it (all the girls wear them as decoration). It was pretty cool.

The jewelery on these women was also so spectacular. So much colour. I am jealous. I love it. I am going to be decked out when I return. I already have some great bangles.

We ended up staying on the field until it was dark but were met with such amazing hospitality from each of the villages. At each interview, I was force fed chai served in the tiniest little cups….in addition to a killer deep-fried hot pepper delicacy. Come to think of it, most of the food I had in Koppal was  something deep fried and super spicy…I am currently in detox.

Funny story: While working in Mallika’s hotel room, the boys noticed a smell in the air and called the hotel cleaning staff right away. Their keen senses had accurately detected a big dead RAT that was right behind Mallika’s bed. Yikes. It had been shmushed to death. Poor thing. I was so very thankful it wasn’t in my room. I knew the hotel was too good to be true.

Taken after the bed was pulled away.
Not too sure how he died in that position...

All in all, the trip was a success! It was so HOT (40 degrees) and there was really no way to cool down. I was drenched in sweat at every step of the way…and wearing sleeves and pants…not fun.

David on the far left and the girls!
(they warmed up to me by the end)

David, me and Chethan on our
way back to Bangalore

Anyways, I returned on Thursday morning and then went straight back to work! I’ve been a bit dizzy and lightheaded ever since the trip and every muscle in my body aches but I think it’s finally starting to go away. YAY. I knew something must have been seriously wrong when the office catered a meeting with a UNAIDS rep with Pizza Hut and I was nauseated by the smell of it. That just wasn’t right. It is so much worse with the smell of curry and masala though. So, please disregard what I wrote about sticking to Indian food in my last entry…I think I have officially reached my limit. I spoke too soon. In the last few days, I’ve had lots of cheese and bread and even had the pleasure of going to Stephen and Janet’s (other founders of KHPT) for STEAK last night. I don’t know how I will ever get back into the swing of things. Sorry Monica.

Side note: in case you had ever wondered who would win in a battle between 4 angry squawking crows and a three-legged monkey, I can assure you, it is not the monkey :(

That’s all for now folks!

Curried Out.

I’ll take this next opportunity to tell you all about the culinary delights here in this part of the world. Before I begin, however, there is an important distinction to be made between the cuisines of the north and south of India. The north is characterized by naan, samosas, butter chicken etc (everything you know and love from home), while the south is composed of chapati, roti, curry and dosas (pretty much the same as the food I had in Kenya). I will admit, the absence of all the delicious Indian dishes we are familiar with from back home came as a disheartening shock to me.

Monica, the woman who cooks at my apartment, prepares veryyy spicy concoctions of minimal variety. Rice, chapati, and curry are constants with some sort of lentil dish and every now and then there is chicken or mutton (a practice of sifting through bones like a ravenous scavenger). Occasionally, she prepares something called “Magi” which is instant noodles mixed with onions, garlic and an amalgamation of spices. I am such a sucker for instant noodles. It's all quite tasty, though a little monotonous.

Monica's daily copious creations

Indian food is all about the leftovers so that it may be nicely packed away in tiffin boxes for work the next day. So, as you can imagine, I eat a lot of the same thing for lunch and dinner. I like to have a little toast with jam or oatmeal every now and then to (un)spice things up a bit. I also bought an emergency box of kraft dinner at a grocery store – I look forward to that day. Yes, there are grocery stores around me with western labels, and I have also been told that I can ask Monica to prepare pasta or whatever else but I’ve decided to resist and only revert back to my culinary roots when absolutely necessary. It’s been a bit over two weeks now and I am proud to admit that I have not succumbed to a western restaurant or had western food once! It’s tough when Dominos, Pizza Hut and McDonalds are everywhere (and deliver!). Admittedly, I have inquired about the cost of a large pizza for future reference, and am excited to report that it is less than $10!! Mmmmm spicy curry pizza.

Ebony Restaurant buffet on the roof
with my friend Susie and her french friend

As far as going out for food, I went to The Kebab Factory the other night with my new roommates from Winnipeg (the founder of KHPT and his daughter) and the food just didn't stop coming. Yesterday, I went a little too wild at an Indian buffet (of course) on a rooftop in the downtown area with some friends. It was pretty fantastic. Other than that, I mostly just eat at home. As you can see from the picture above, Monica prepares sooo much food every day and it would be a shame to waste the spicy feast.

Manju's Cooking School 

Being as food-obsessed as I am, I have already managed to take a cooking class at Manju’s cooking school for north Indian cooking. It was really fun! There were only two other women there who seemed to be regulars, but they were hilarious Indian women who were definitely into the ‘foodie’ culture. Ironically, they just talked about the latest diets and problems with weight gain for the entire 4-hour class. They were also making fun of northern Indians, saying that they are all obese from their heavy curries with creams and curds, rather than the south Indian tradition of coconut milk-based curries. Despite the apparently high caloric count, the food we prepared was the best Indian food I had ever had. We made garlic-cillantro naan, kulcha (stuffed naan), bhatura (deep fried naan), palak paneer, paneer butter masala and malai kofta curry. Oh wow. Spectacular. The two other students cleverly came prepared with containers to bring some home. I just resorted to stuffing myself silly in my own biological container.

I have found that everything here surrounds FOOD. As a testament to this, the common greeting is not “How are you?” or “How is your day?”, but “Have you had your breakfast?” or “Had lunch?”

I was also surprised to realize how easy it has been for me to start eating with my hands. One part of me is just too embarrassed to ask for a fork at work, but another is just loving abandoning western practice for a bit and eating like a true Indian. Chapati is no problem – did that in Kenya – but the rice has been a constant struggle. There is serious strategy involved in the gather-clump-sauce-scoop-gobble process. Still trying to get the hang of that one.

I haven’t been sick once yet which is great news! I’ve been pretty careful not to eat from street vendors and very careful with the water.

Side note: the mangos here are spectacular. 

That’s all I have to say on the food front! I’m leaving for Koppal tonight until Thursday to do some initial field work, so I will report back upon my return!

Over and out.

Jane's a workin' girl!

For your consideration, I will attempt to post the next few entries based on theme to control for diversions. Also, there is just way too much to say....and I'm  too lazy to type it all. On this particular Sunday evening, I will provide you with an explanation of the WORK aspect of my life.

KHPT Office, Rajajinagar

Much to my surprise, the Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT) office is actually a huge skyscraper planted amidst the dirt roads, cows and street vendors. It’s getting a little bit ridiculous that I wake up in my air conditioned room, climb into an air conditioned office vehicle only to arrive at my air conditioned office. If it weren’t for the few brief power outages and Tiffin boxes in the lunch room, I would have no idea I was in India.

Jane's cubicle!

At work, I am known as Jane(h), which was unilaterally assigned on Day 1. As expected, I will be living under a less wacko-western, more understandable pseudonym during my stay here. I’ve even grown accustomed to introducing myself as Jane outside of work as well. Weird.

I am still desperately trying to find the right way to dress appropriately given the contents of my luggage. I must wear long-sleeves and pants every day...pretty manageable so far though. My co-worker, Mallika, took me shopping for kurtas, which are like long dresses that most often cover your shoulders, worn with baggy pants under them. Not exactly as exciting as my tye-dye mumus but I’ve found some nice ones with…wait for it…SEQUINS! I'm hoping to buy some more in the near future so people will like me more.

Anyway, back to the actual purpose of this entry - myself and my fellow intern, Chethan, are devising a qualitative study to assess the influence and role of media for maternal, neonatal and child health in Koppal (northern Karnataka) by interviewing various media persons, health service providers and community members. In addition, we’ve been collaborating with the Centre for Research on Advocacy and Health (CFAR) to provide some insider journalist knowledge as well as to complete the media tracking to monitor how tv, newspapers and radio convey these issues to the community of Koppal. The work is really exciting and seems to be the first of its kind! Not to get too much into the details, but the aim is to ultimately inform a proper intervention to increase positive perception of free government health services in the media. Our first visit to Koppal is in one week and I am SO excited to get a taste of village life and see what the ground reality is like. To give a brief background on Koppal, it's known for its weak literacy rates, backward caste system and really high proportion of child marriages (47%) - placing an incredible burden on young girls to conceive (a boy).

I’m super relieved to be so busy and doing work with such merit and relevance. Chethan and I are slowllyy learning to understand each other’s accents and he’s been really helpful so far! He even brings food for me most days (sent from his mother, to the foreigner)! We've spent the week coming up with a concept note (proposal) for the study and are now on draft 3 after meeting with the lead demographer and CFAR. Still so much work to do.

Everyone at work is really smiley and nice. The only struggle I've been having is shifting my 'nod' to a 'shake'. Here, when you agree with something, you shake your head from side to side with an added jaunty bounce. It's rather confusing in meetings.

Well that's my work life for you all!

Up next: FOOD! Stay tuned.

The first post has arrived!

So here's how my first few days have been:

Aside from a very angry disruptive Hindu and a medical emergency mid-air, the flight to Delhi was pretty enjoyable! I had no problem sleeping – which I’m sure is no surprise to you all. Upon arrival, however, Elayne and I became painfully aware of our connecting flight cancellation due to the Air India strikes. We thankfully managed to recruit an Air India representative who would soon become our saviour after booking us on the last flight out. It was a race to get there, but we made it!

My apartment is above and beyond my expectations. Its located in Dollars Colony which is a high-income group neighbourhood – hence the name – with streets lined with lush trees. It’s really a very nice place to call home for three months. I share the apartment with two professors – one of epidemiology and biostatistics (YAY!) and the other of communications, which is right up my alley. The both live in Canada, though originally from India, but are sadly leaving in the next month. Apparently people come and go a lot from this apartment so expect to hear more about the roommates to come!

Project House, Dollars Colony, Bangalore

I’m staying in a double room in the apartment on the top floor and was expecting to have it all to myself until last night when an unexpected visitor arrived on my pillow, right next to my head, in the middle of watching Pans Labyrinth. It was a monstrous insect much too large to attack for fear of the dreaded ‘crunch.’ I obviously could not sleep knowing it was fluttering around my room, and was a little freaked at how the movie had become a reality in my very own bedroom. How mysterious. Anyway, setting my hesitations aside, I went in for a sneak attack at around 3am until it was completely obliterated. Success! It took a few hours, but I won this round!

The last two days have been spent getting lost, found and frustrated. I live at the 5a Cross off 3^rd Main – seems like it would be chronologically sensible, however I assure you, it is most definitely not. There are Crosses and Mains that start from 1 through x all over the place and each street looks identical to the last. None of my established landmarks held distinctive and I had no phone or map to work with. Patience was definitely tested. Alas! After two days, I can officially say that I know how to get home.

To my pleasant surprise, I have not been smothered or harassed nearly as much as I thought I would. Bangaloreans (?) are seemingly used to white folk like myself – I’ve barely even experienced any standard double-takes! Its glorious. I can't help but draw the contrasts with Kenya where people would scream out 'mzungu, mzungu' (foreigner) everywhere I went. Such a refreshing change. In fact, the rickshaw drivers here even completely ignore me! Most of them do not speak English and cannot read my address and deem a customer of such descent a waste of time. I’d say 8 of 10 drivers will refuse my service, and then when those 2 patient drivers accept, they usually overcharge, at which point I am in no position to bargain. Damn.

As a side note: in Mombasa, taking the tuk-tuks (aka rickshaws) was really only for the wealthy or tourists and so we would always take the matatu (mini-bus), but here it is widely accepted and common among locals. Interesting. I do not believe I will ever take the buses in Bangalore – they are extremely intimidating and to be honest, they look like they smell bad.

I’m getting used to the city – slowly but surely. Despite the preferred local transport, the battered landscape does remind me of Mombasa, however for every independent, run-down and decrepit shop/shack, there is a fancy glass-walled, air conditioned Colors of Benetton, McDonalds or Addidas store right next to it - a parallel reflecting the socioeconomic stratification in India that can be seen everywhere. Fact: I was told yesterday that 4 of the top 10 billionaires in the world are actually from India.

Anyways, before I bore you all to death, I am happy to report that things are going well! Friend count remains at zero…although I have about 24 new inside jokes with myself…pretty exciting stuff. I signed up for a cooking class and mayyy partake in a little early morning yoga with a woman down the street…maybe I’ll meet some friendly companions there! I also looked into a Hindi class, but apparently the majority speak Kannada here. Strange EH?

I officially start working tomorrow so stay tuned for another update!

More pictures will be posted soon - it takes too long to upload more now....but here's another! (just couldn't resist sharing the joy)

5-10 puppies in an overcrowded puppy shelter (for lack of better term)