Well, time here is slowly winding down. I have less than a month to go working with Jatan. Hard to believe! But this past month has gone very well. About half of the other interns have moved on, either traveling or back at home. I have continued working on my project with Jatan: developing certain health materials for the migrant population here. I have received the surveys back from the field (finally!) and have been able to start collecting materials to form the basis of the training. Primarily, it will just entail first aid training and uses of a basic first aid kit. Eventually it will morph into more preventative care (ie how to assess dangers in the workplace, before they become a problem). Tomorrow, I am traveling to another city (about 5 hours away) to observe some workplaces of the migrants in hopes of starting to collect this particular information. Anyway, theres is much to do in my last four weeks here. I am happy to be busy here, but I can already anticipate having to leave 'unfinished' work. That's the life of a short-term intern, I suppose.
A couple of weekends ago, I was able to take some time off and travel with some of the other interns a bit. We went up to a city called Khajuraho. It is a place with numerous and gorgeous temples. What is unique about them is (there's no way around it) that they are quite erotic. It is an oddity especially in such a conservative religion. But it was a relaxing weekend for the most part. It took three different trains to reach the location, with many layovers, some in the middle of the night. So that was my first adventure on the Indian train system. I'm glad to have checked it out; it definitely is a worthwhile experience to seek out. But if you can, get a direct train :)
These last few weeks, I am trying to do all the little things I have not yet done. Yes, some are touristy, some a gift buying, but the main one is finding a Sachin Tendulkar cricket jersey (he is, without argument, the greatest Indian cricketer). So wish me luck with that one...I might have to get it Delhi though.
Anyway, quick update. Sorry for falling behind on these! But I can't wait to catch up with everyone in SA and NC. Hope you are well.
Paul
BTW the pictures is of the people who went on the weekend trip and behind us is gorge that floods during monsoon season. They called it the Indian Grand Canyon...a little bit of a stretch, but it was cool nonetheless.
