I would like to share my final journal entry from my last day at the nunnery, because I think it reveals the true ways in which I’ve been touched by this experience. Or at least the feeling. “It is my last day here at the nunnery. I woke up with the same feeling in my stomach as I have when I’m about to take an exam or perform on stage. Tight, anxious, anticipating. I can’t believe I’ve been here for…
I have about a million more – but here are a few pictures to paint some sort of visual of my Himalayan adventure… Abi-lay (grandmother) and I became best friends over the summer. I told her I wanted to send her photos of us together, but she told me that she doesn’t like looking at herself in pictures. Last summer, she threw all her photos over the bridge into the river! This photo was taken in Karsha village where I…
After interviewing several maids, something that continually surprised me was their intelligence in matters related to finance and income generation. Some women doing household work had never been to school while some had dropped out in just the third or fourth standard. These were people that were refereed to as “ungootha” in India, people that had to sign documents with their thumb print because they didn’t know how to sign their name. I had come across such a woman named…
As I took more and more interviews and asked the questions all in marathi (translating my questionnaire into marathi so that both maids and employers would be able to understand it is something that Tejal tai and I had worked on together) I realized all the possbile problems I could encounter. The employer obviously wants to come across as a very kind, caring and generous person which, unfortunately, not all are. In one of my questions in the questionnaire, I…
As I took more and more interviews and asked the questions all in marathi (translating my questionnaire into marathi so that both maids and employers would be able to understand it is something that Tejal tai and I had worked on together) I realized all the possbile problems I could encounter. The employer obviously wants to come across as a very kind, caring and generous person which, unfortunately, not all are. In one of my questions in the questionnaire, I…
My first research subject was a lady that lives in the flat across from us known only to me previously as “Kane Kaku” (pronounced kaa-nay kaa-koo, kaku means aunt). Kane is a typical koknastha brahmin name, what some people in punne call “ekaranta koknastha” because “nay” makes an eh sound (it is supposed to be the higher subcaste in the caste Brahmin). Tejal tai (one of Pushkaraj Kaka’s collegues/relatives/friends) had a lot of experience in research and interviews so she…
My first research subject was a lady that lives in the flat across from us known only to me previously as “Kane Kaku” (pronounced kaa-nay kaa-koo, kaku means aunt). Kane is a typical koknastha brahmin name, what some people in punne call “ekaranta koknastha” because “nay” makes an eh sound (it is supposed to be the higher subcaste in the caste Brahmin). Tejal tai (one of Pushkaraj Kaka’s collegues/relatives/friends) had a lot of experience in research and interviews so she…
I landed on the platform (train) and due to my lack of phone at that point, had to wait about 25 minutes before my aunt (Atya) came to pick me up. I spent that time observing the small chit chat of the people around me and the absurd amount of trash on the train tracks. From the time that I sat on my aunts scooter (activa) to the point where we entered the apartment complex I tried as much as…
I landed on the platform (train) and due to my lack of phone at that point, had to wait about 25 minutes before my aunt (Atya) came to pick me up. I spent that time observing the small chit chat of the people around me and the absurd amount of trash on the train tracks. From the time that I sat on my aunts scooter (activa) to the point where we entered the apartment complex I tried as much as…
My first week in India Day 1 7/20 Mumbai It has only been 20 hours since we got here and yet I feel like it has been over a week. Me and Vai arrived at 3:15 am and waited over an hour for our bags to find out that the bags were still in Boston (due to a flight delay and therefore a quick connection). Then we had to fill out paperwork and go through customs which took another…
