And so it begins...

As I sit here in the Jatan office thinking about this past week, it has been a whirlwind of events: meeting new people, seeing much of the surrounding area, and getting settled into my host family.

While I have taken in so much at my host NGO, there is still so much to learn about what they do and who they help. Last week, I came into the office and read and read and read. Thankfully, they have many reports and studies which I was able to flip through to understand the organization. Much of the staff also speaks workable English making the transition quite smooth. As most of my time with Jatan will be spent working on a 'project,' from the first day I was keeping my eyes peeled for where I could chip in. Pretty soon it was made apparent that the there was a project I could start working on. Essentially, I will be researching and developing materials to be used for occupational health trainings for the migrant communities. Over the past ten years, Jatan has done much with this population so this project is a natural next step. Granted, I feel very inadequate for this project, but I will give it my best shot! Regardless, it continues to be enlightening as to how this grassroots development work gets implemented in such a locale.

Last week, I was able to go out into the 'field' (ie the satellite communities around Udaipur where Jatan works). In some ways, I feel like I was on a bull back in San Antonio at the rodeo, I was tossed from place to place in the field, jumping on random motorcycles and taken to another office or event. I was able to meet many friendly folks as well as the Jatan staff at the other offices. The color of my skin was also much more apparent than here in the city, ergo I got much more attention. Nevertheless, on Friday I found my way back to Udaipur crammed like a sardine into a government-run bus.

The weekends have been a nice reprieve. The interns placed in Udaipur typically get together and share a meal together and just catch up (ie share funny and frustrating stories of the past week). All in all, this time has been really great so far (minus learning Hindi...that could use some work:/. It's hard to believe I will be here three and a half months, but I know it will fly by. I hope everyone is doing great wherever you are!

Paul

Once I get an improved internet connection, I should be able to put some pictures up.