I'm back again from another weekend trip (they are becoming quite frequent). This time I went to rural villages in the district of Bolpur (still in West Bengal but a 4-5 hour train ride) to conduct case studies for the NGO that I volunteer for called Reach India. Before I left I had been quite upset because I was originally planning to go to the nearby state of Orissa but due to terroristic threats, I was not able to go. Instead of informing me of the change this weekend, Reach had asked a fellow student to update me with the details and the student in question didn't tell me anything. Low and behold, I find out 3 days before I am scheduled to leave that I am going on this visit (I was not a happy camper). Nonetheless, I packed up my belongings and headed out for the weekend.
I left from school to go to the Howrah station and take the train and then a short car ride to the village that we stayed in. I had a great time going from village to village and taking case study interviews of the rural women who had benefited from Reach's and the local NGO training. I used some of the few Bengali phrases that I know and people seemed quite excited that I was making an effort to speak in Bangla. The Indian food that we had was also quite delicious and cooked by a young man at the NGO building that we stayed at.
The accomodations were better than I had expected in such a rural village (I had a Western toilet and a bed with a mosquito net, which is more than I could ask for). The women that I interviewed all seemed to have greatly benefited from the training they had received both in monetary increases, and an increase in knowledge and team-working skills. Sometimes it was a little hard to have to use an interpreter to ask questions or receive clarifications, but all in all I think it was quite a success.
My favorite part of the weekend was riding an ox-driven cart. Most people ride them to get from village to village and Drew and I thought that it would be fun to ride one down the bumpy, dirt road. As we passed, people stopped to stare at the pale-faced foreigners riding a local ox-cart, and after the continuous staring we received, I decided to start saying hello in Bengali to all the people we passed. Needless to say, we had half the village following us by the time we reached our final destination. After getting out we were offered tea (I don't think I have ever drank more tea/chai in one day) and then we sat down and asked the villagers questions and vice versa. Seeing as I was feeling mighty friendly, I decided to ask them if I was the blondest person that they had ever seen and they all replied in the affirmative (we have all come to agree that I am the blondest person in India and so far I have yet to see a foreigner that could rival me so it is entirely possible).
All in all, the weekend was a success and I have many great interviews from women whose lives have been impacted through Reach India. I can only hope that once my case studies have been compiled and my research for the sexual and reproductive health module has been completed, that more rural women will have been positively impacted by the work that I have completed on behalf of Reach India.
I left from school to go to the Howrah station and take the train and then a short car ride to the village that we stayed in. I had a great time going from village to village and taking case study interviews of the rural women who had benefited from Reach's and the local NGO training. I used some of the few Bengali phrases that I know and people seemed quite excited that I was making an effort to speak in Bangla. The Indian food that we had was also quite delicious and cooked by a young man at the NGO building that we stayed at.
The accomodations were better than I had expected in such a rural village (I had a Western toilet and a bed with a mosquito net, which is more than I could ask for). The women that I interviewed all seemed to have greatly benefited from the training they had received both in monetary increases, and an increase in knowledge and team-working skills. Sometimes it was a little hard to have to use an interpreter to ask questions or receive clarifications, but all in all I think it was quite a success.
My favorite part of the weekend was riding an ox-driven cart. Most people ride them to get from village to village and Drew and I thought that it would be fun to ride one down the bumpy, dirt road. As we passed, people stopped to stare at the pale-faced foreigners riding a local ox-cart, and after the continuous staring we received, I decided to start saying hello in Bengali to all the people we passed. Needless to say, we had half the village following us by the time we reached our final destination. After getting out we were offered tea (I don't think I have ever drank more tea/chai in one day) and then we sat down and asked the villagers questions and vice versa. Seeing as I was feeling mighty friendly, I decided to ask them if I was the blondest person that they had ever seen and they all replied in the affirmative (we have all come to agree that I am the blondest person in India and so far I have yet to see a foreigner that could rival me so it is entirely possible).
All in all, the weekend was a success and I have many great interviews from women whose lives have been impacted through Reach India. I can only hope that once my case studies have been compiled and my research for the sexual and reproductive health module has been completed, that more rural women will have been positively impacted by the work that I have completed on behalf of Reach India.
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