Month: September 2007

Dear friends and family,

That’s right. Jamie and I woke up at four this morning, took a one-hour train to Chennai, and a six-hour train to Bangalore, where we met with one of our advisers for our research projects at Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary. We’ll not see the others for five weeks! Barring weekend trips to visit with each other.

Anyways, since my last update we completed the rural orientation at CCOORR with a visit to a waterfall and to a great institution of higher learning and outreach run by Hindus (the Chinmaya Mission). We said good-bye to Mr Amalan, our excellent host and mediator, and to Mr Chandran and Siva who always made sure we ate enough. The people I meet here are badly underrepresented in my emails and photos but they are the most charming part of India. Just today an Indian student on the train helped us figure out the station’s rickshaws after telling us all about how he was studying for the U.S. GRE. He was in fact narrowing down a list of U.S. universities to which he was going to apply.

Today the autorickshaw driver took my new notebook accidentally when he forgot to hand it back to me when we got dropped off. That, and it turns out that somehow I have Stephen’s passport. Hopefully he has mine, far away though he is. I’ll get it eventually!

Good news, though: Dr Suresh, our adviser at Mudumalai, described two promising subjects for our research projects. Mine will most likely involve monitoring of the avian fauna of the national park’s environs, and Jamie will probably do a project on seed selection in legumes there. Exciting! Much is still to be determined. By this time tomorrow we will be at the field station settling in, and I will elaborate on my project of the next five weeks.

Over the past week I have finally been encountering the more beautiful India. Our first three weeks in Chennai were great, but nothing compares to a train ride through the peaceful, cool countryside. I anticipate that the forests of Mudumalai will be even better.

I hope school is going well for students and professors and that the autumn has brought good sweatshirt weather!

Ever your loving,
Isaac H.

Dear friends and family,

It’s been another jam-packed week. We visited the Islamic Foundation Trust, an organization that provides support to Muslims, a minority which is under real and perceived persecution here in India. They were incredibly inviting and we had a two-hour roundtable discussion with seven of the members there. I’m amazed at the level of respect we get here.

Next was a daycare/orphanage/hospice for the poor. Then the Kalekshetra Foundation for dance and music. Then, a Buddhist temple. But topping them all was OfERR, an nonprofit that helps refugees from Sri Lanka to get basic services, especially education, in the state of Tamil Nadu, which is where we are. The folks there told us all about the conflict in Sri Lanka, about the impressive services they provide, and about all the difficulties they have faced so far in helping the refugees. I was so impressed.

One more thing. We bought our train tickets for travel break! That’s right – we all decided who wanted to go where over our two-week break in October, then we researched trains, and finally we rickshawed down to the train station and booked tickets the whole way through. Laura, Caitlin and I are going to Agra (to see the Taj Mahal), then to Mumbai to visit a friend of Caitlin, and then to Kerala on the western coast to see the backwaters and a national park there. The others are going to Darjiling, at the feet of the Himalayas. There will be pictures!

Anyways, I’ll try to keep these emails shorter. We leave Chennai on Tuesday for our rural orientation, followed by our research projects, so email may become more sporadic.

I hope you’re all enjoying the fall weather!
Isaac H.

Dear friends and family,

Kalai vanakkam! (It is morning there, isn’t it?)

I’ve been delighted to receive all of your emails – thank you so much to everyone who has been responding with support and encouragement. And yes, all your emails have been coming through – I just don’t have much time to respond to each one. Please continue to keep me informed, particularly on the changes in autumn – that’s one thing I know I’ll miss.

I’m all recovered from my run-in with the demonic Indian bacteria and I have a newfound determination to avoid ALL the unpeeled fruit Clara keeps giving us and to use mouthwash after every shower.

A brief description of the past few days (it’s all recorded with much more justice in my journal): we visited the Kalyani Hospital in Chennai and were shown around by a nurse named Juliet who was eager to show us _everything_. We saw babies being vaccinated, patients on dialysis, and people laid flat by the various things you can die from in India. While we were there a construction worker fell off the roof and had to go to the emergency room.

We also visited the Shore Temple, a centuries-old Hindu edifice on the ocean. We waded in the waters of the Bay of Bengal and three of us met two boys on the beach who, if I understood correctly, wanted Lauren and Michelle and I to give them money to eat, to buy their fish, to give them our water, to take their picture, and to help carry their boat somewhere. We didn’t oblige on any point.

After that, a crocodile park! Amazing. This morning it was the Women’s Christian College. Our hosts at these institutions are so welcoming and happy to give tours even when they forgot we were coming.

A summary of what’s next for us:

We’re wrapping up our orientation in Chennai (a city of 7 million) in a week and heading to a rural public health center for a three-day rural orientation, as a group of nine.

After that we split up into groups of two or three as we head off to the sites of our first 4.5-week research projects. Jamie and I will be in Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary (please google it or “Western Ghats”). Our project will involve some aspect of conservation or monitoring within the national park (which has tigers!).

Then, it’s a two-week travel break! Our group of nine will split up. Four others and I are going to the Taj Mahal, Mumbai, and then to the backwaters of Kerala, on the Western coast. We’re also going to check out some of the amazing national parks and jungles in that area. And hopefully see a Kathakali dance, a regional specialty in which they re-enact some of the Mahabharata (an Indian epic seven times longer than the Iliad and the Odyssey combined).

Then, it’s off to our second 4.5-week research project. I and two others will be in a vector control research center called Vector Control Research Center. They research vectors (such as mosquitoes) that transmit diseases (such as dengue fever). My project will likely involve mosquito control, pesticides – we’re not sure yet. It will be laboratory work.

After that project ends (on 16 Dec) we have four days of travel before heading back to the United States! Hopefully we will make it to Goa, a former Portuguese colony within which we can – gasp! – actually wear swimsuits and go in the ocean.

Well, I’m off to bed. It’s a hot night here in Chennai – luckily the sound of the fan drowns out the fighting cats, the autorickshaws, and the mysterious buzz saw which always seems to be used nearby around midnight.

I am so glad to be in your thoughts and I am ever your loving
Isaac H.

Dear friends and family,

I’ve had my first experience with sickness in a Third-world country. I
may have picked up what Stephen had the other day. That, or something
from the unpeeled fruit that Clara keeps giving us. Yesterday I was
ill all night and then I went against my better judgement by going on
the all-day visits to the Essential Drugs manufacturing plant run by
ICSA (fascinating) and to two churches in Chennai (not so
fascinating). I was fine most of the way, but finally the heat and the
smells got to me. It’s hard to describe a ride through Chennai in a
cramped van, but when you pass by a slum or over a river (which the
slum-dwellers use as a toilet), the smell of human waste is
overpowering. Combined with the constant smell of exhaust fumes and
the heat, it was too much to bear. My vision constricted and I passed
out. The rest of the night was all vomiting, diarrhea, throbbing
headache, and cold sweats. Now I think I’m almost recovered, thanks to
Pepto-Bismol, azithromicin, acetaminophen, Sprite, and all the oatmeal
Clara has given me over the past day.

Still, it’ll take several more such experiences before I would prefer
a Minnesota winter!

Like I said, the Essential Drugs Program that ICSA runs was great. The
staff there greeted us kindly and showed us around the plant, where
they start with raw materials and from there manufacture many drugs
ranging from ibuprofen to antiretroviral drugs (for HIV). They had us
all put on hair, face, and shoe coverings and treated us like visiting
medical students. We seem to get that level of respect a lot around
here. Maybe it’s because medical students here start at age 16 or 17,
as we found out today. After the tour they gave us tea and biscuits
and let us each plant a flowering plant in the garden outside the
building, as is the tradition. Mine was a yellow rose – I look forward
to visiting them again.

Today I skipped the morning lecture for rest but was well enough to
hear a doctor from a Chennai hospital tell us about the rising
incidence of noncommunicable disease (such as diabetes and
hypertension) in India where communicable disease used to be the only
emphasis. He also left us dumstruck with the differences between our
countries’ healthcare systems. A doctor’s visit here is 1/1000 of the
cost of one in the US!

This afternoon we all succeeded in taking autorickshaws (on our own)
to the shopping center near here where we found a great bookstore and
women who were wearing – gasp! – t-shirts. Mariam even found a KFC.

And for dinner Clara made us noodles, spaghetti sauce and green beans.
She may be going too easy on us…

Ever your loving,
Isaac H.

Dear friends and family,

There is not a solid stool in all of India. The Indians has accomplished so
much in the past few thousand years but their civilization has yet to
emphasize the value of a diet rich in fiber.

Rachel, I’m so sorry about the car! I wish you all could see it – the kids
here at ICSA (the kids with disabilities learning computer/electronics) are
so excited to hear about the entire family. They love when I draw out the
genealogy of the fam, including neices and nephews. Dad – the director
of ICSA (Dr Moses Manohar) remembers your visit last year and said to
say hi.

We’ve had such an action-packed few days it’s hard to provide a
snapshot. I’m in a rush because Clara promised to let us help make
pizza in the cramped, oil-steamy, kerosene-filled kitchen in which she
whips up such amazing food for us. Last night she showed us how to
make chapati and egg thaku, and I wrote down every step.

The other day Clara took us to a fruit market, a flower market, and a
vegetable market, which made us half an hour late for the church
service. It’s just as well since it turned out to be three hours long!
I zoned out a little at one point due to the heat and all of a sudden
the pastor was handing me the microphone asking me to introduce our
group in front of the hundred or so congregants! I managed to say
thanks for welcoming us and to explain what that we were students and
with Clara.

Andy, Kelly, and everyone else – Pown Raj says he remembers every one
of you (including “Xin, from China”) and he reminded me to say hi for
him.

Yesterday we had lectures on AIDS in India and on social work among
the rural poor. This morning it was an ecologist who ended by
suggesting some great national parks to visit. And this afternoon, we
had something new entirely: we split up into groups of two and three
and put on English workshops for the Jivana Jyoti kids here. It was
great. Caitlin and I were lucky enough to have one boy and one girl in
the class of 20 who spoke excellent English and who helped translate
how to play hangman and 7up. They all know at least a little English,
though. And we taught them a couple of songs. Yet it was humbling to
hear them render “We Shall Overcome” in a touching way after having
taught them nursery rhymes. They had rehearsed it extensively. They
loved drawing out genealogies with their new skills and explaining
their families, and comparing India and the US w.r.t. weather,
politics, and sports. Their enthusiam is inspiring.

The thing I regret the most is not remembering all their names. The
girls keep testing me on names – but they’re so long and there are so
many of them! I’ll try to study them better because they seem
disappointed when I can’t say it.

Anyway, it’s time for pizza a la Clara. We have to get down there
before she adds curry to it or something!

Ever your loving,
Isaac H.

Dear friends and family,

It’s been a week full of amazing things for someone who has only been out
of the country once. Since I last wrote, we’ve gotten more settled in to
the schedule here at ICSA and I must say, I have no objections to “Indian
standard time.” That is, things happen when they happen!

In the morning we have breakfast followed lecture by Ms Irene Manohar or
one of the many guest speakers which the folks here have arranged for us.
Then it’s lunch at 1pm with our delightful cook Clara who has also shown us
around the city a little when she has time. In the afternoon we either have
another lecture or we go on a visit somewhere in Chennai.

The lectures are fascinating. Dr Udayakumar told us about the ancient
system of control called the caste system and the deep prejudice all over
Indian society. Ms Ida Singh told us about the despicable treatment of
women here. And Irene is always there to answer our many many questions.

The highlight of my days here are the visits. Yesterday we took a van to a
daycare center that Ms Singh runs for the children of women who live in the
slums. She also puts on workshops in sewing to empower the women to earn a
little money at home. After that we went to one of the 1200 slums in
Chennai. I fully expected a sobering feeling of intrusion into these
people’s lives. The exact opposite was true. After we made our way down the
first narrow street, at least 40 women and their children greeted us with
fragrant and colorful sandalwood paste, bindis, and flower necklaces. The
girls put on a little dance performance and Ms Singh mediated a
question-and-answer session (both ways) between us and the women there. The
kids were absolutely delightful.

Later today we’re trudging off to Kapeleshwar Temple – I’m not sure by van
or autorickshaw. I prefere the rickshaws – it’s such an exhilarating ride!

The kids here at ICSA are amazing, too. Connected to the building is a
school for disabled and disadvantaged children where they learn computer
and electronics skills. Just the other night I went looking for Stephen
when I came across Laura, surrounded by kids, all of them eager to learn
and so excited to talk to us. Thankfully I had a pen and paper on me for
drawing things out and getting their names. They wanted to know all about
my family, about whether I had a marriage arranged, and what my hobbies
are. I had trouble explaining that we weren’t “on holiday.” It’s just as
well – I have trouble explaining this program at all! I am amazed that we
can communicate with people from the other side of the planet in such a
fundamental way.

Okay. Apparently a henna artist is downstairs – I’m going to run!

Ever your loving,
Isaac H.

Dear friends and family,

The subject line says it all! I write to you from a steamy computer
lab in ICSA (Interchurch Service Agency) in Chennai, India.

The other day my group and I gave a wistful good-bye to Kuala Lumpur
as we sat under the radiant Petronas Towers at night. But truly all
our thoughts were fixed on India. The next day, we got to the airport
(five hours early thanks to some overzealous planning) and finally
hunkered down for the 3 hour flight to Chennai, which seemed brief
after flying over the Pacific.

Even from the air, I got a sense of how different this place would be.
Instead of a grid of yellow lights, Chennai appears from the air as a
patchwork of beady lines. Some areas are completely dark and others
are ablaze with the light of shopping malls and guesthouses (hotels).

Pown Raj, a 23-year old student who works at ICSA, picked us up from
the airport and we careened through the late-night congestion while he
and I talked about Bollywood scandals and Hindu gods, which I suspect
will provide limitless conversation potential in India. We shared a
seat because the minibus was so packed. Our driver careened through
the late-night congestion, while the Hindi music blared from the
speakers and the many drivers – cars, buses, autorickshaws,
motorcycles, and bikes – honked their horns incessantly. It was a
true initiation: noise, hot sweat, and the constant smell of exhaust.

The bombings in nearby Hyderabad also have caused quite a stir. No
worries, though – my student insurance provides automatic repatriation
of my remains up to $100 000 🙂

After we got our rooms (kingly suites, really) Pown Raj was nice
enough to set up mosquito nets. We’re very well protected – nets,
fabric treatment, and malaria pills (Malarone). If we do somehow get
malaria, the prevention is the same as the cure, that is, take more
pills! “Chemoprophylaxis” is my new favorite word.

In the morning I got up early to grab a paper in what will become a
morning ritual for us. The city here is such a different experience
than Chicago or Kuala Lumpur. Sleeping dogs, street vendors and dust
(lots of dust) made for a great early-morning taste of Chennai.

At breakfast we met our cook, Clara, who promised to go easy on us for
a couple of days spice-wise. She’s delightful. We’re going to be very
well-fed here. And busy. We have our syllabus for the next few weeks
and there are many guest instructors and trips to places in the city.
I’m excited!

Irene Manohar, the teacher/lawyer/wife-of-the-director, took us to the
US consulate to register our trip. We went via autorickshaw. That’s
right. “Rickshaw” plus “auto” gives you a tiny three-person cab and a
truly amazing battle through the packed streets. Our driver was so
brave.

When we got back, we had a brief lecture from the director of ICSA, Dr
Moses Manohar, followed by afternoon tea time where we drank chai and
sang for the staff. They know about St Olaf’s music reputation and
demanded at least two songs.

Soon, it’s dinner! Clara promised me something spicy when I proved I
could handle one of the little green peppers that were in our rice
earlier today. Almost all of you know I’ve been a vegetarian since I
was 17. But food is such an important part of culture that if I miss
out on some Indian food, I would be missing out on that much culture.
I ate oysters in NOLA and I’m going to eat whatever animal I’m given
on a plate here!

Wow! this email is long. Future ones will definitely be shorter. But
one more thing before we go off to dinner (it’s seven at night here).
I realize I haven’t done a good job of explaining what we’re doing
here. The truth is, I don’t know either. But this is what I’ve been
told:

My group of eight students and I are here at Chennai for an urban
orientation to India. We take lectures from professors here and see
the Chennai slums, for example, and get a feel for the country.

Then it’s off to a rural site called CCOORR for a three-day rural
orientation where we get a feel for the other India – the poorer rural
one. Then we split up and go to our separate research sites. Jamie and
I will be at Mudumalai, a wildlife sanctuary where we may do a project
on invasive plants, elephant populations there, or whatever ongoing
research they want help with. Then it’s a two-week travel break where
we can go wherever we want in India! We’ll have to start planning that
soon…

After the travel break, Caitlin, Lauren and I are going to Vector
Control Research Center near a small city farther south. They do work
with the mosquitoes that transmit malaria and dengue fever and other
diseases. It will be lab-based work. Oh, and we’re on our own – no St
Olaf professors accompany us on this semster-long program! Pretty
cool.

Wow. I’ve written too much. You’ll hear from me soon!

Ever your loving
Isaac H.