Bilingual Survey Complete

I don't care if I really should be doing open-ended interviews first! I don't care if my survey is based only on what other people have seen up in the hills! All I care about is as long as I find someone who reads Hindi, I'll have a translator who can help with my research!


Originally, my plan was to do focus groups or long, open-ended interviews before writing a closen-ended questionnaire. But my Hindi is not good enough to do that alone, and I don't know if I can find a female translator up in the hills who also speaks English. No one at the Institute has been able to find someone for me. So, I wrote this close-ended questionnaire, so that I could at least get some information. If I do find a woman who speaks English, then I will follow through with my original plan. But for now, I at least have this beautiful survey, which is in both English and Hindi!

I couldn't have done it without Dr. Uniyal and a very sweet PhD student, who did the translating. Although, he got very shy about some of the female problems that he had to translate...poor guy. I have uploaded one page, so that you can all see what it looks like. I'll try uploading the whole thing when I have a little more time. Right now, I have to make some copies of this thing!

Internet Saga...complete for now

Now two of my numerous inernet devices are fixed! So I have a decent chance of being able to talk to people when I'm up in the Hills!!! It feels good to not worry if I won't talk to Peter or my parents for two weeks. I know that hard core people go for longer, but although I am hard core enough to threaten a defenseless telecommunications salesman, I am not hard core enough to go without my support network for that long.

Now I can just focus on not throwing up during my eight-hour-long drive to Joshimath tomorrow. I'll make sure to take lots of pictures. Even if my survey doesnt' work and/or I can't find a translator, I'll be able to go hiking and visit some of the holiest places in both the Hindu and Sikh faiths!

Sameer versus Sagar: The Internet Saga

As any of you who have traveled to India might know, there are these USB drives that can hook your computer up to the internet. They are actually more common than WiFi. The companies however, know that they are providing a relatively new service that pays out big for them. In fact, that's probably why these same companies make it difficult to access WiFi. So I now have three of these things, which are not cheap, because each one keeps having some service or connection problem. Most sane people would have just gone without internet for awhile, but given that I'm in a long-distance relationship AND I'm applying to medical school, I am not sane. Not this year anyway. I have one that can have any SIM card in it, which is good for traveling. I have a Reliance Netconnect and a Tata Docomo. The Docomo I just use for skype, because it is 3G and can actually support skype, although it is pretty expensive, so I try not to use too much data on it. As of yesterday, both my Reliance Netconnect and my Tata Docomo stopped working. Have I mentioned that I'm going to the field tomorrow? Needless to say, I was upset. I went to Sameer's Telecommunications, which sold me the Tata Docomo and Sagar's, which sold me the Netconnect. Both told me that it would be fixed by the evening. As of 10:30 AM they were still not working. Here are the events that transpired.
--Sameer's--
Erica: I came here yesterday and Amir told me that my papers never got delivered.

Sameer: No, they are having the papers.

Erica: You weren't even here. They don't have the papers. Amir called and asked them to pick them up.

Sameer: Yes, the boy is coming... (I at this point assume that Sameer does not have telepathy, and therefore cannot suddenly realize that both the paperwork is not where it should be and the boy is running to go get them.)

Erica: I am leaving for Joshimath tomorrow. This needs to get fixed.

Sameer: (blank fish-like stare) Joshimath tomorrow... (goes over to computer and begins fiddling with my USB drive...begins calling company, but says nothing as he tends to five other--MALE--costumers.)

Erica: (after waiting seated for five minutes, walks up to counter and beings staring at Sameer.)

Sameer: (wondering if girl with significantly higher percentage of muscle mass might kill him): Are you going to Wildlife Institute?

Erica: No, I am staying here until it gets fixed.

Sameer: (making no attempt to actually fix anything): Please be seated

Erica: No. I want to watch you fix it.

Sameer: Actually, it will not be fixed for sometime.

Erica: How is that possible? Amir told me that it would be fixed yesterday.

Sameer: It did not happen, because I was not here.

Erica: (Finding it hard to believe that anything would get started because of Sameer) Amir talked to the guy who was supposed to pick it up. He just didn't do it. You need to talk to him now.

Sameer: It will work in sometime.

Erica: When?

Sameer: 11:30

Erica: If it is not fixed by then, then I am never recharging here again.

Sameer: (blank fish-like stare) Okay

Erica: I will be back at 11:30. It should be fixed.

Sameer: (now completely dissociated): Okay

--Conversation about netconnect at Sagar's---

Erica: I have bad news.

Sagar: It's still not working?

Erica: Yes

Sagar: Let me call the main office. (calls main office) They are not picking up. If you do some work at the Institute and come back, I can tell you what they say. Leave your USB number here, so that I can give it to them.

Erica: Okay, thank you.

--End scene--

So, you see it's not the waiting that gets to me. It is the fact that costumers here only have to buy something once and then most vendors never care if the product actually works. Sameer also is consistently rude to me, while Amir is consistently really nice. However, there seems to be little pattern to when they are working. If I could just work with Amir, then I would probably be fine. But Sameer just stares at me and lies. And then I call him out on it and he immediately changes his story to only lie again. I don't like being a mean person, but I feel that aggressive behavior is the only way that people, wait, sorry, no WOMEN get anything done here. I recently read an article about power women in Delhi and Mumbai. They all said that they had to "roar" if they were ever going to be respected, while their male colleagues just had to go out for a drink with the boss. It is very strange to alter your personality just to be treated as an equal.

Even more pictures

I added more pictures to my Mussoorie album. I am going to Joshimath on Saturday, so soon I'll have pictures of the really big mountains!

https://picasaweb.google.com/101737615291512796999/MussoorieForTheWeekend

This is why I want to do this research...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/health/27cancer.html?_r=1&hp

This doesn't take place in India, but it embraces the utilitarian view of global health care that I think is often lacking in Indian public health. I hope to get an idea of how health care can be practically carried out during my time up in the mountains! Although, I don't think I'll be brushing any lady parts with vinegar. (Read the article if you don't get the reference.)

Also, the college dorm experience doesn't translate here...

I attempted to keep a loaf of bread in the house now that the monsoons are over. Well, it turned into a rather fascinating microbiology experiment while I was in Mussoorie. It is still just damp enough that it didn't take long for mold to spread over the entire thing. I put it on the counter to remind myself to take it out and throw it to a group of piglets that are near my house. (Pigs can eat mold, right?) Jannat came in to give me a peace offering of Assamese-style fish. He saw the bread and basically told me, "I told you that food goes bad in India!" It goes bad in America too, Jannat, we just don't have a ton of purity taboos. He began freaking out again, but then seemed pulled back to his house by the fish that he still had to eat.

I should mention that I'm pretty sure that I saw the fish that they cooked being put out into the hot, Dehradun sun this morning when I went to the Institute around 8:00 AM. They just bought it now at 7:00 PM.

Moldy bread waiting to be thrown out is less dangerous than fish that has been transported to a land-locked city, left in the heat all day, and then consumed. Just sayin'.

The good part about going to Mussoorie this weekend

So I did go up to Mussoorie before all of this drama started. And I took a lot of pictures. I figured to post pictures in album form, I would try using a picasa album. So here is the link

  https://picasaweb.google.com/101737615291512796999/MussoorieAndASikhFestival

I went up for Nick's birthday, and the next day was a Sikh festival complete with mock fighting. It was a lot of fun to watch in the crowd--and I wasn't groped once!

In case any of you are concerned, I spoke with Jannat and Didi today. I also have been e-mailing with the landlord to see if I maybe missed a house rule. The landlord, who is in Nepal, said that Didi and Jannat actually don't speak much Hindi themselves. They speak Assamese mixed with Urdu. So, it is understandable that fights might happen with all these language barriers. Apparently, Didi spoke almost no Hindi when she came to Dehradun three months ago.

Given this information, I talked to Jannat and Didi and it seems that they had gotten a call from my adviser asking where I had gone, because he couldn't reach my cell phone. Jannat told him that I had gone to Landour for a friend's birthday. Obviously, Dr. Uniyal was fine with this. He saw me yesterday and today and was completely himself. But I think getting a call from an authority figure who doesn't speak your language was really stressful for Jannat. He told me today that --

"Uniyal sir pucche "Erica kaha hai?" (Dr. Uniyal asked, where is Erica?)

"Mussoorie gaye'" (She was to Mussoorie.)

"Uniyal sir puchhe 'Koi?'" (Dr. Uniyal asked why?)

"Apka dostka 'happy new.'" ( her friend's birthday...? This is where I start getting it that Hindi is not Jannat's first language.)

I would continue translating, but I really can't remember exactly what was said. Basically, I did not tell Dr. Uniyal that I was going to Mussoorie. He tried calling me and couldn't get through. I can only assume that he wanted to make sure that I wasn't being eaten by monkeys and called Jannat. Probably Jannat doesn't have a ton of liberties with his job, and thought that either he or I had done something wrong when I left. So, he was pretty stressed out when he got back.

Jannat is the oldest brother in his family and he sends half of his money home for his little brothers and sisters. He also just got married. I can only assume that he's clinging to his job for dear life, which I completely respect. He just kind of lost it last night. But we seem okay now, and Dr. Rawat--who I am renting the house from--said that he will explain more to Jannat when he comes back from Nepal for Diwali. That will hopefully keep Jannat from thinking that he will have to go back to West Bengal or that I will have to go back to America if I go to Mussoorie again without telling anyone.

First fight with India

Well, I just got into my first disagreement with Jannat (the caretaker) and Didi. They told me that I shouldn't go to Mussoorie ever or to the bazar at nighttime. I told them that I am American, but they still told me that I shouldn't do it.

I've already been pushed pretty far with the limitations on my independence here. So I realized that I didn't have the energy or the Hindi to explain to them that I used to live in West Philly and that when I was in Jaipur, I did actually deal with sketchy guys. I do not have to deal with those kind of creeps here. As for shopping at night. I went once to the bazar and came back at 9:00 PM. I took a rickshaw to make sure that I didn't walk anywhere dark alone. I only walked alone in the busy bazar--and I did see women there at night. Lots of women. As for Mussoorie, I went there this weekend for a friend's birthday. I stayed with friends and I was normally in the company of friends.

I know that all this seems very scary to many Indians. But it is much safer than I lives that I lived in West Philadelphia, and Jaipur for that matter.

So, I did the only thing that I thought they could understand. I said "no" and I walked away. It wasn't a culturally sensitive thing to do and it may have fractured the relationships that I have with them. But at the same time, I feel like I have to maintain the fact that I am an outsider here. If I become like a the Indian woman that they expect me to be, then I loose the independence that I wanted to exert through coming here. I made a conscience choice to not stay at my job at the University of Pennsylvania or to look for a new job at Michigan. I made a choice to explore and to push myself. I won't sacrifice the comforts of my home and my loved ones, so that I can stay in a bungalow in Dehradun and never go anywhere.

I know that Jannat and Didi don't actually have any power over my actions. I know that the better thing would have been to just nod my head and then keep going anyways. But I am not part of this world. I have my own ideals and ways of living my life, which I get tired of defending. I also fully understand that they are trying to look out for me and trying to be my family here. They however, don't even speak the same language that I do. So, how can they possibly understand how much I have had to be independent in America?

Most women of Didi's socio-economic background either work all day or stay in the home all day. They do not go out just to walk around the bazar and they do not just go to another town to visit friends. I hoped that they would see that as a student, I have a different background and different attitudes. But to them the dangers of being a woman are much more real here than they are to me.

I am beginning to wish that I had stayed in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore or another major city. While it would have been more chaotic, I would have more independence than what I have here. I feel like my every move is being watched. I am pretty much the only person who thinks and feels the way that I do in this community, which I wouldn't be if I were in an urban center.

Finally, and most importantly, I get tired of the cultural double-standard. I know that I am a guest in India , and I generally try to be very culturally sensitive. But I do not feel like people make any effort to actually understand who I am as an American. I suppose that a lot of immigrants and visitors to America feel this way as well. And it sucks. It is tough feeling like you give up a lot of how you were raised and it still isn't enough.

I don't feel great about the way that I handled the situation. But I am tired out and feeling cagey just by being back in Dehradun. It was so nice to be able to go out with friends in Mussoorie. I hope that I haven't completely damaged the relationships that I built up with Jannat and Didi. But I'm also glad that I didn't lie to them about who I am. I do want them to like me, but I want them to like me for who I am rather than who I am pretending to be while I am here.

Lobe marriage

Didi: Apka husband ke sath phone karti hai? (Are you talking on the phone with your husband?

Erica: (trying to find a cultural grey area to explain long-term boyfriend) Fiance?

Didi: Kya? Husband?

Erica: (trying to remember future tense): Hum shaadi hoge (should have been "hoga." I was trying to say "We will be married," which is a lie, but I figured my Hindi wasn't up for explaining "committed relationship.")

Didi: (looks understandably confused)

Erica: (Points to fake engagement ring to ward off potential creepsters) Fiance.

Didi: Kitne sal? (how many years?)

Erica: (thinking she means when will you get married) Char (4)

Didi: Ohhhhhhhhhhhh (giggles for about five minutes.) Lobe?

Erica: Lobe (trying to remember what "lobe" is in Hindi. Is it a verb or adjective?)

Didi: (Hand over heart) Lobe marriage?

Erica: (realizing this is the closest that she's going to get to "committed relationship") Haa. (yes)

Didi: Ohhhhh (giggles for about ten minutes) aur mai ("Me too" she looks very proud.)

So there you have it, "lobe marriage" is something that Didi and I have in common now. Kinda, anyways. She's four years younger than I am, so it's probably a good thing that she thinks that I've been married for four years. After this conversation she gave me metha paan or sweet paan, which is disgusting, but I felt like I gained a moment with our cultural-barrier-breaking conversation, so I was afraid to say no. Paan tastes as bad as it smells. She tells me that she loves it and that her husband really loves it. Even this explanation makes her look giddy.

Oh, to be twenty and smitten over paan again...

Pictures, because Peter sent me my camera

Outdoor Hallway at the Wildlife Institute 

Building at the Wildlife Institute 

Tree at WII

View outside my window

Going down the stairs from the roof

The terrace

Spices and tea

What passes for Euro-American style cheese

The Great Stupa at Clement Town

Buddha Statue at Clement Town

Okay, so these aren't my pictures...

The Hindu, which is one of the big newspapers here just ran a photo-journalism piece on where I'll be:

http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/article2470426.ece

I hope that this inspires anyone on the fence about it to go ahead and visit me!

"If I am in the interior, no one helps me."

This is one professor's point-of-view of women's health in rural Uttarakhand. I had several research meetings today AND I got a book in the mail on women's health in Garhwal. So I'm getting ready to really sink into my survey. The depressing part is that everyone seems pretty sure that there is either none or very poor health care where I am going. I also found out that it might be difficult for me to get up there for the next couple of weeks, because a lot of roads were destroyed in the monsoons this year. Looks like I'll have a very thorough survey by the time that I leave.

I am back in Dehradun. This past week was my last week of classes. They were great, but it's good to be doing research again. Also, my camera is here! So I'll post new pictures soon. I'm about to go out to the bazar to try to get some bedding and food supplies, but I did want to post that I finally have relatively reliable internet. SO if anyone wants to try to skype, my skype username is erica.face

Post more soon!

Bundar kharaab hain.

Macaques are monkeys that are slowly turning into people and are becoming increasingly greedy and deceptive as they evolve. If any of you have been in India, the monkeys that will attack you are macaques. They have shorter tails and pointier faces than most monkeys. They also want whatever people have. That could be your food, your clothes that are hanging out to dry, or your wallet.  One can tell that they are evil by their red faces and intense, beady eyes.

Nick—one of the student researchers who is also taking Hindi here—saw Planet of the Apes: Rise of the Apes before coming to Landour. He is convinced that the macaques need to be put in their place or else monkeys are going to take over.

Victoria and I thought this was a pretty ridiculous story, until disaster struck. I was in the apartment while Victoria was on the roof—roofs are flat here—writing in her journal. All of a sudden the monkeys who had been near the roof starting baring their teeth and screeching at her. As she tried to get to the stairs back down to the apartment, one reached out and tried grabbing her. He did catch her clothes, but she wasn’t bitten or scratched.

After she told us what had happened, we realized that we needed to go get her book bag, which was still up on the roof. We armed ourselves with a mop, a long-handled umbrella, a broom, and a towel—the towel was my suggestion, to make one look bigger. When the monkeys saw us, they did run away. But we found that they had gone through all of Victoria’s things and had ripped the book cover off of her Hindi book. There were also bite marks on her book cover and notebook. Fortunately, her e-reader remained unbitten. I still believe that the monkeys thirst for knowledge and that is why they tried to apprehend Victoria’s books.

At the end of the day, it is very much monkeys versus humans here. When we told the story to one of the Hindi professors he said: “Oh, monkeys are like this. The langurs are still timid now, but they will soon start acting this way.” We were all very shocked that he would be so complacent about the monkeys. In America we destroy the natural world. We don’t put up with living in it.

As a side note, langurs are about the size of an eight-year-old and would be much more dangerous if they actually began attacking people. Actually, langur populations are considered in decline partly because they are less aggressive than other monkeys. They are sacred in Hinduism, which I can understand when there are macaques around to make you look good.

The other day as Nick and I were walking to class, the landlord’s wife began talking to us in Hindi. She said something about bangur, which is monkey in Hindi. The most commonly used negative adjective that we know is kharaab, so Nick asked her if she meant that bangurs are kharaab (or bad.) She nodded, but looked like she meant something more serious. I think that she might have been saying, “Monkeys are little bastards” in Hindi, or something to that end.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaque

This article does indicate that macaques are commonly used for medical testing. I’d like to note that even though I hate macaques, I don’t think they should be abused. I would however, suggest that only medications for personality disorders be tested on them. Look at this picture and you’ll see my point:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rhesus_Macaque_%28Macaca_mulatta%29_in_Kinnarsani_WS,_AP_W_IMG_5792.jpg

Then look at this and decide who you would decide is holy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarai_gray_langur

I have heard that where I am doing my fieldwork there are no macaques, only langurs, which is a relief.

Time for pictures!

Hello all!

After being nice to several people who were trying to "help" me to get my internet working, I found that my Hindi is not good enough to be nice and I tried out Jersey City manners in Mussoorie. Now I have the best internet that I've had since getting into India. I might have to go to a different store the next time that I need help though.

I finally have enough speed to upload pictures for all of you. Also, my camera should be getting in soon, so there should be better quality before I leave Mussoorie. Actually, I'm in Landour. Mussoorie is often call the "Queen of the Hills" and Landour is called "The Princess of the Hills." Both are very nice, but I'd have to say that Landour is much nicer albeit we are in a cloud for half of the day. Literally, I can't look out of my window now, because it is just fog.

My Hindi teachers are pushing me very hard--everyone is worried that I won't be taking classes long enough to get a good foundation in Hindi. I have classes with Mr. Joshi twice-per-day. He goes from being very relaxed to asking me questions in rapid succession and telling me that I can never speak so slowly in the market place. He says that the works should all sound like one word. Honestly, after listening to Hindi for three weeks, I think he is onto something. Between those classes, I have Mrs. Nazareth who talks fast and writes fast. She writes grammar in my notebook so forcefully, that it feels like the Hindi is in braille after she is finished writing it out. She is the person who seems most concerned with my short stay in Landour. My first class is the most calm, I just focus on writing. Nevertheless, the writing is the part that I'm the worst in, so I do prefer my language and grammar classes to that. I'm thinking about trying to get a private tutor in Dehradun or I could try to come up here once-a-week for a private lesson. We'll see what happens. I would like to be more comfortable with the language than I am now.

I'm also finally getting a grasp on my survey. I'll post a draft once I send it around to a couple of people for feedback. I think the premise will be asking women if they had a specific problem during pregnancy or after pregnancy (i.e. bleeding, night blindness, pains, morning sickness, fever etc) and how they got treatment for the condition. I think that will be a better perspective of the degree to which someone will stay in the village for maternal/postpartum health care. I would also like to ask questions about gynecological health, but I doubt that would go over very well.

Being in India is getting easier. I am very happy that I have my own place, more funds, and relatively okay internet now. Last time was more intense, but it also would have been difficult to sustain for nine months. Also, I was with a group; and now I am with a few Fulbrighters, but not for long. I'll be doing my field work completely alone. It shouldn't be a problem, the institute that I'm doing work with has very good connections there. But I'm sure that I'll be happy for my nice apartment and internet when I get back from the field.

As promised the pictures are here, I hope that you like them!

PS All of these pictures were taken outside of my window!

Just checking in

I'm doing fine up in Mussoorie. I've been very busy with classes and I've simultaneously been working on my survey for my research project. I'm living with two other student researchers and the apartment is working out wonderfully. We have a great view of the mountains and it is just a 30 minute walk to class (although entirely up hill.) There is a large family who invited us over to dinner on Saturday night, which was a lot of fun, except that there is a very distinct language barrier.

I've been feeling a little better--the cooler weather up in Mussoorie has been very refreshing. It's also nice to be living in a little city rather than the suburban area in Dehradun. I can go three feet outside our apartment and get milk, eggs, clothing, rugs, stationary--pretty much anything.

The one thing that I don't like about Mussoorie are the tourists. I don't get harassed as in Jaipur, but yesterday I saw a lanky American man, with a pony-tail, wearing a yellow kurta, and holding a pink Indian-ish handbag, and drinking a beer while he walked around Mussoorie. It's a little embarrassing how Americans and Europeans behave in India. Some people act like it is a constant Halloween party.

But other than that, I like Mussoorie a lot. The language teachers are great and I am having a lot of fun exploring the hills in Landour. I just hope that my Hindi is good enough to get around in Joshimath when I head out there!

Best wishes,

Erica