Surprisingly in just two weeks, what started as a venture to experience and gaze at the building blocks of a different country inevitably led to one's intrinsic journey and self-discovery.
I couldn't be more thankful of interning abroad, for the challenges I'm currently facin
g are taken for granted in conventional situations. As a previous RBKS intern (and my unofficial mentor) placed it: "You'll find in India that things move much slower, which is okay. But when it comes to the point where nothing is getting done then you must be persistent. Not condescending, but patient and persistent." Communication also became my most important challenge. I quickly learned that nothing can be assumed and one question could easily lead to five different answers if you can't navigate through the dialogue. My first field visit was the ideal opportunity to test these waters.
Along with my translator, Kamal, we traveled three hours by bus to a small city na
med Jhadol where I had close access to Pargevi and Kharadiya. I spent the night at Jhadol
to research these two villages and observe community life. The picture above is my night at the hostel with six other girls who are currently in teaching school. On a motorcycle, Kamal drove me along the edges of hills, through slim, winding pathways, passing desert-like landscapes with majestic mountains surrounding the background. When we arrived, little did I know that, technically, I had two translators, one for English to Hindi (Kamal's role) and another for Hindi to the villager's version of Hindi (community leader's role).
As I asked the villagers about water access, habitual illnesses, and daily routines, it became evident that a few things were lost in translation. The way questions were formed in these interviews were extremely vital as it may unveil clues to things unforeseeable even to the
villagers. Their only method of water purification from open wells to drinking cups is to pour it through a thin cloth. The villagers also believe that there is too much iron coming from some of the hand pumps, so they've eliminated that as a source for drinking water. To no surprise, illnesses and symptoms from unsanitary drinking water were common especially for children.When I returned to RBKS I spoke with the program director, Nitu Singh, to develop a needs assessment and development workplan. She told me to choose one village and I chose Kharadiya since their drinking water was much more severe in quality and thus had more opportunities for improvement. If my training programs go accordingly, I should directly impact 80 - 100 families. Oh yeah, I have lots of work ahead of me! Tomorrow I'll be visiting an environmental NGO to meet with administrators, conduct research, and find devices to test the content of water. Then, Saturday I'll travel to Kharadiya again to take some water samples, conduct semi-formal interviews, and attend a village meeting.
I've learned that when you choose to look beyond the lens of a tourist and attempt to interact within the Indian society, it's freakishly similar to living like a newborn. You wobble your way through each new day; wide-eyed, responsive, and naive to almost everything. At times it makes you vulnerable, but others it's like seeing the world in new colors.
The stares I'm getting by simply walking down the street is something I'll never be use to. In the same playing field, however, I feel like a walking sign spotlighting myself as the gullible foreigner. Despite of all that, from observing the clamorous traffic and embellished camels around central locations, to the challenge of picking up on things quickly, it's something to breathe in every minute of every day. I couldn't ask for something better to hand me a new perspective.
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