Clinton Foundation & Classical Music

Yesterday was yet ANOTHER school holiday. They happen almost every week here! This time they were celebrating the birthday of a poet. It amazes me that Indian children are so smart, because they seemed to be pulled out of school a lot!

This week I've been helping our Fair Trade business get ready for Christmas. We're finalizing our new brochures, printing banners to take to festivals, updating our tags, photographing our new items and planning inventory levels in order to achieve the profit we need. We've also started the LONG paperwork needed to complete our registration with the World Fair Trade Organization.

I also worked with the Anti-Human Trafficking team to identify their biggest team challenges so that we can come up with an action plan to address them. It looks like the biggest issues (which are likely common across many non-profits) are a lack of funding and people to get everything done. Actually, those are also Frito issues, so I guess they're common wherever you go!

One night I had the pleasure of attending an OWC Professional Women's Group wine event for the Clinton Foundation. I loved hearing their Indian CEO speak on their activities here and learned that they will be shifting their focus from HIV to Malnutrition (a much bigger issue here today).

Last night I attended a wonderful classical music concert and heard a trio of musicians from South African perform Beethoven, Mozart, etc. It brought back memories of my early days as a ballerina (since dance class always played classical music).

I'm already in my 7th week here and I can't believe how well it's gone thus far. Time is flying by, and I'm loving this experience. It's definitely met all of my expectations, and on top of that I've stayed safe and healthy.

I LOVE the team here and really enjoy spending time with all of my new friends. It will be sad to say goodbye in 5 weeks!

Beautiful Surprise

My biggest concern about taking this sabbatical was how spending 3 months away from Dana would affect our marriage. But I have to say, it's been better than I could have ever imagined. We're able to talk almost everyday, and instead of feeling far apart, I feel like I did when we were dating! I get so excited to hear his voice. It's pretty awesome - and I give all the credit to God.

So in honor of my amazing husband, I wanted to post a "long-distance dedication" to him. This was sort of our theme song when we were dating in business school because I thought it captured my feelings so perfectly at the time. I love India Arie's music - this song is called "Beautiful Surprise".

It's like yesterday
I didn't even know your name
Now today
You're always on my mind
I never could have predicted that I feel this way
You are beautiful surprise
Intoxicated every time I hear your voice
You've got me on a natural high
It's almost like I didn't even have a choice
You are a beautiful surprise

Whatever it is you came to teach me
I am here to learn it cause
I believe that we are written in the stars
I don't know what the future holds
But I'm living in the moment
And I'm thankful for the man that you are, you are, you are
You are everything I ask for in my prayers
So I know my angels brought you to my life
Your energy is healing to my soul
You are a beautiful surprise
You are an inspiration to my life
You are the reason why I smile
You are a beautiful surprise

I LOVE Mahabalipuram!

I’m so glad I came here. While you only need 1 day to explore it, I highly recommend it to anyone traveling in India. There are more Westerners here than I’ve seen anywhere else, but I’m told there are even more in Goa. Surprisingly, none seem to be American however (they’re European).

I did some window shopping (the shopping here is better than other places I’ve been and the shopkeepers are very friendly) and then enjoyed a milk shake at Bob Marley Café, overlooking the beach and enjoying the relaxing breeze. No one “lays out” at the beach, but it’s fun to watch the children play and the fisherman in their colorful boats.

Afterwards I got my first ayurvetic massage. I actually don’t recommend that. It was sort of this oily mess. It smelled weird, incorporated a chest massage (that really tests how fast your reflexes are), didn’t include a top sheet (no room for modesty here) and gave me the heebie-jeebies because the table had the same type plastic tarp that I saw being used in the brothels! Still, I’m glad I tried it or else I would always wonder if it was good.

For dinner I splurged on awesome seafood at the “Blue Elephant” where I enjoyed the biggest, most amazing tiger prawns (shrimp) I’ve ever had – cooked in tomato, garlic and onion. (By splurge I mean $12, but this was double the cost of my quite comfortable room at the Siva Guest House). One funny thing was that I didn’t see beer on the menu (I’ve actually never seen it on the menu in India) so I ordered Diet Pepsi – which is RARE so I was happy to find it. When I saw everyone around me drinking beer, I finally realized (after 6 weeks in India) that just because beer is never on the menu doesn’t mean they don’t serve it. You just have to ask for it!

Later I moved to this cute, rooftop French place called “Le Yogi” that had cushions on the floor and colorful lanterns. There I had a delicious nutella and banana crepe and chai tea. Yum! It was a terrific place but it would have been even nicer had I not been traveling alone.

The next day I took a yoga class (on an open-air terrace overlooking a temple) and explored some of the famous rock carvings. This 1-day excursion was a wonderful treat!

Feasibility Studies & Fair Trade Conferences

This week I’ve been back on the road again continuing a “feasibility study” to explore if and how we should expand our anti-trafficking team to a new city. I met with partner NGOs (like International Justice Mission and Justice Ventures) to understand how widespread the problem of girls being trafficked for forced prostitution is in this area.

This weekend I attended a Fair Trade conference to learn more about how we can grow our fair-trade business (that benefits young women from slum communities). The conference was soooo different from what you would expect in the US.

First, the accommodations felt more like summer camp and had no towels, soap, toilet paper, blankets, etc. I am getting used to these things in budget hotels, but didn’t expect a conference to be like that! However, Dana would LOVE the fact that people are also as laid-back as they would be at summer camp – and often like to take off their flip flops and walk around barefoot (he hates shoes). This is perfectly acceptable here even at conferences and in restaurants!

Second, it was so unorganized. Talks would start and end hours after their scheduled time. It was really interesting to watch and observe the differences since the US is always so focused on efficiency.

Third, I once again found myself in breakout discussion groups where not everyone could communicate due to different languages. India has so many languages that it makes something like a conference very difficult because it’s almost impossible to find a common one that everyone in a room will speak! Almost all of the women who attended were actually Artisans, none of whom spoke English – so I was a little lonely! (Regardless, they all looked beautiful in their colorful saris) At times the speakers would use a language other than English as well, so I used this time to create my personal “Best Year Yet” goals for 2010! So all in all, it was still pretty productive : )

Two other things I found amusing were that one of the leaders was named “jayakumar” (the same as the previous Frito CMO). Also, the conference was kicked off on the 2nd day with these words of inspiration:
“Every day is a gift. Yesterday, be happy that we all learned something. If you didn’t learn something, be happy you weren’t sick. If you were sick, be happy you weren’t dead.”

Sunday I’m heading out for a little 1-day detour to explore a village called Mahabalipuram, which supposedly has sun, seafood and sand. It’s a World Heritage site that is famous for its ancient rock carvings. This is 1st excursion I’ve planned (and my first bus ride on my own), so I’m praying everything works out!

More things I’ve found interesting here lately…

• What has been most shocking to me to here is to see some women completely covered in full bhurkas (where everything is hidden except their eyes). I really wasn’t expecting that, as I hadn’t thought much about the Muslim population in India. What is the most surprising is to me is that even though they don’t want to be seen, sometimes their black bhurkas are bedazzled with sequins or fancy embroidery!

• There are no top sheets in India (but no fitted sheets either – the top flat sheet is tucked in as a bottom sheet)

• Drivers often turn their cars off at red lights to save gas.

• (Even cheap) cell phones often double as flashlights. I love this feature on my phone and it has come in very handy!

• Men are frequently seen holding hands. Never women/men or women/women – just men/men. I was told there is nothing homosexual about this, even though homosexual activity does go on here behind the scenes. Try as I might, I just can’t picture Jaya and Eapen walking down the hallway at work holding hands : )

• I was told by an Indian beautician at the beauty salon that Westerners will try to be courteous and always say the work “looks great!” (whether it does or not) while Indians always look for something criticize.

• People don’t have the same “filter” here that we use in America. If they think you’re fat, they’ll just come out and tell you. (i.e. “oh your old teacher didn’t recognize you? Probably because you’re fat now.) I’m so shocked every time I hear these comments, but no one else seems to notice that anything rude was said. (and they don’t say them jokingly)

• Advertisements frequently come through my cell phone – SO annoying! When I get a text half the time it’s just an ad.

• All electrical outlets have a switch (like a lightswitch) that has to be turned on each time you want to use anything (like a computer or TV) and turned off when you’re done. I imagine this saves a lot of energy. (That’s when the power is working, because power outages are very common)

Thanks for the Treats!

Dear Aunty Cristina,
Thank you SO much for the gum and candy! The Oasis employees dived right into the gum, but also were kind enough to share it with us since the preschoolers were too young to chew it.

We're sure the preschoolers will enjoy the Starburst! We don't have them in India, so they're a fun treat.

Love, the girls in the vocational training program

Girls Club

Dear Aunty Rachel and Uncle Austin,
Today Christine visited us at the Girls Club. Girls Club meets once a week (at the same location as the slum preschool). About 70 girls (ages 9-17) intermittently come to the meetings, which are much like Young Life Events. We sing, pray and learn important life skills such as: the difference between good and bad touching, why it’s more important to study than to have a boyfriend, how to take care of our health, and how not to become victims of sex trafficking.

Christine shared some of your gifts with us today. We enjoyed mapping our interpersonal relationships using the crayons you sent for us. Then she gave us all friendship bracelets so that we could be friends forever! She said that this would help us remember you and that you are praying for our future.

Thanks for your love and friendship. We are sure that our younger brothers and sisters in the preschool will greatly appreciate the puzzles, stickers, pencils and sharpeners. We will also share the crayons with them.

Christine is selfish and she took all the gum and granola bars for herself! But that’s okay… God tells us to forgive : )

We Love You!
The Girls Club members from one Bangalore slum community

A vision of the slums...

I walk past some slum houses each day on my way to work. I just learned today that some of the girls in our vocational training program live here. It's so amazing how many people can cram into these little ramshackle tents.
The bare bones (before they are finished or when a family is moving)

The finished home...

Yay! Mail has arrived

Letters and Care Packages have started to arrive and I feel like a kid at summer camp! Some things make it and some things don't, but it's still great! The first letter was a sweet card from Sondra (2 letters from Judy and Rachel are MIA). The first care package from Cristina Cutri is still being tracked down, but Rachel's care package arrived today and I'm taking the goodies for the preschool over today! Thank you, thank you, thank you! If you haven't sent anything yet, please don't scramble to do so as it is expensive to send and may never arrive, but what has been sent has been a blessing!

A fun weekend of Gardens and Saris

Saturday I visited Bangalore’s Botanical Gardens with 4 donors who were visiting from Seattle. Strangers approached us multiple times asking to take photos with us. It’s the first time I’ve walked around in a group of Westerners, and it’s the first time I noticed everyone staring. So far, that hasn’t happened much. The gardens were quiet nice, and it’s wonderful to find sanctuaries of quiet away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Saturday night my host family dressed me up in a sari for “India Night” – a theme party hosted by the Overseas Womens Club. The event was held at the Grand Ballroom of the Leela Palace Hotel – so it was pretty much as nice as it gets (similar to a wedding at the Four Seasons). It’s amazing how painting your nails and straightening your hair for the first time in a month can make you feel like a totally different person! I loved wearing a sari and had a blast taking photos, getting henna painted, participating in a silent auction and raffle, eating a delicious dinner, sampling wines and watching a modern dance performance. The memorable event was one of my favorite experiences in India!