Hyderabad

So I actually just came back today from a few days in Malaysia, but I'll have to blog a bit in pieces to catch up! So this entry will be about my trip to Hyderabad July 2-4.
I flew to Hyderabad (2-hour flight south of Delhi) on Saturday morning (the 2nd) and caught a taxi into the city to meet my Tufts friend, Maggie, and her new husband, Mohit. We then took a bus (my first time on a bus in India! protected by the safety of male-female segregated seating!) and a rickshaw (fitting me, Maggie, Mohit, and their friend Sam in the back) for a snug, long ride to the other side of the city to have an amazingly delicious home-made lunch of specialties of the region, Andhra Pradesh, at Maggie's pastor's house. My first time eating Indian food with my hands (or hand rather, and only the right one to be proper, not that dirty left hand - the "personal" i.e. toilet hand) - curries, dal, rice, and all! Eating lunch in someone's home is an affair of a few hours, complete with a siesta - yes, they will offer up their couches and beds for you to take a good nap after eating! Maggie and Mohit then moved along to their B&B wedding gift at a fancy hotel in town and I headed to my own hotel. Night started to fall and the only exploring I did at that point was to buy some fun lip balm (I like to buy local flavors everywhere I go, who doesn't) and contact solution (which involves a lot of circling to different chemists [tiny drug counters] and finally an optician's office where a clerk needs to hop on his bike and go somewhere to find you some non-brand-name solution while you wait for 20 minutes and the little old man behind the counter tries to explain the mysteries of the retina). I'm still stuffed from lunch but have to order in some biryani - the specialty of the region - rice that is infused with the flavors of marinated meats that it is steamed with... really nice, though was way too much food for me after such a big lunch feast.
The next day, Maggie and I met up and had a hearty breakfast of naan, rice, and several different curries. We then went over to the old part of the city to get me some "jootis" (little flat leather shoes) and "chapals" (sandals made of camel leather). That Maggie is a hundred times better at bargaining than I am. We hopped into the tiniest little bicycle rickshaw - likely meant to hold one baby and not two adults - down to the Charminar, the big landmark in Hyderabad - a big structure with four minarets and arches all around. We climbed up to the top to get a great view of the hustle and bustle of old Hyderabad. I asked Maggie whether it was OK to take pictures inside, and she said "of course - people may even ask to take a picture of you!" Which one guy did - and Maggie scolded him in Hindi and told him we were not a tourist attraction. From there, we walked through alleys filled with bangle shops to Chowmahalla Palace, a beautiful 200-yr-old royal estate, and nice reprieve from the business of the bazaars and chaos of traffic and people.
On Day 3 in Hyderabad, I went with a CHAI colleague from our Hyderabad office, Anita, to visit a hospital in Nalgonda (2.5 hrs from Hyderabad by car) in which they'll be building a nutrition rehab center. It is always very interesting (and sometimes hopeful or sometimes alarming) to see the conditions and meet the staff of different hospitals in rural areas. Once we got back to Hyderabad in the afternoon, we honored the 4th of July at a restaurant that served us hot dogs, burgers (lamb - no beef of course), Hawaiian pizza, apple pie, and banana bread!
Soon afterward, I had to hop back on a flight back to Delhi. Overall, a great trip to Hyderabad with some sight-seeing, field visit, and good fun with Maggie and Anita! They also were great in giving me a refresher course in haggling and fending off weird men - just what I needed halfway through my summer in India.

I'll save my trip to Malaysia for the next entry!
:)

P.S.

Forgot to mention yesterday that my crazy auto driver was offering to let me drive the rickshaw. "Next time"...

:)

I survived the FRRO.

The Foreigner Regional Registration Office in Delhi. The stuff of nightmares.
So Monday morning I arrived at the office at 7:15 am (it opens at 9:30 am). A colleague, Michael, from a partner org needed to take care of some visa stuff as well and got there before me and fortunately put me on the magic list, so that we were #2 and 3! You then hang out in an outdoor waiting area until the office opens, getting eaten by mosquitoes (I got lit up), and watch the area fill up. The seats are split in half by Afghan Nationals (many refugees and immigrants coming to India) and Everyone Else. At 9:30, people frantically got into a line and amazingly a man goes down the crowd to make sure that you are in the order of the magic list. Things get tight in this line - like stacked spoons. I was lucky to have Michael guide me through - this process is a serious gauntlet of 6 or so stations/men that you have to get through. I got my way through #1 (magic list), #2 (security), and #3 (reception), but got the veto from #4 - the counter - the guy who actually stamps everything and makes it official. The letter I brought from John stating that I was staying at the apartment as a guest wouldn't work - the letter must come from the landlord. So after 3 hrs at the FRRO, I left empty-handed.
It took four days to get said letter from the landlord - seems like Indian bureaucracy loves lots of signed letters, but people don't actually like to sign them when you want them to.
I was actually looking forward to going to the FRRO with the letter in hand today, it's been that annoyance hanging over me since I got here and was hoping to finally get it over with. I showed up just before 7 am - number 5 on the magic list. No spooning today - they (faintly) called us up to stations #1-#2 one by one. This time, I couldn't get past reception. The letter from the landlord wasn't good enough for this brute (and calling the landlord's office and talking to his receptionist who knew nothing about this didn't help) - he wanted a copy of a utility bill and proof of ID from my landlord. It was difficult to hide my emotional defeat. I then whipped across town in rickshaws and sweaty heat to get home for the bill, to the landlord (spent 20 min walking around in the heat to find the house - so glad they were cool with me asking for more docs), and back to the FRRO. One of my auto drivers was a character - tried to teach me Hindi and was explaining how he did not feel Indian women were 'sexy' because they were fat (symbolized by puffing the cheeks out), and how Punjabi women were the greatest. I then sat in the waiting area, still worried that something wouldn't work and they'd send me away again (and wondering if Elaine Siew was capable of going postal in public?), and getting chatted up by a teenager from Afghanistan who seemed nice enough, until he started discussing the possibilities of me getting him a visa to the US or how difficult it is to not be able to touch women because he is an unmarried Muslim.
I finally got through to reception, where the same demanding, difficult man (to be polite) accepted my additional documents (phew!), which weren't even necessary for the next guy who actually stamps all my paperwork and approves my registration, i.e. the guy at reception had me running around town for extra documents for no reason. Not unusual for the FRRO. Anyway - #4 stamped all my paperwork, hallelujah! Then a quick trip to #5 -the cash counter - to pay my late registration fee (where the guy asked me when I got my passport photos taken - I said a couple weeks ago - and he said I looked [puffed cheeks] in the photos - what is it with men here today???) and #6 - the 'incharge' - who just takes your paperwork and maybe makes a parting joke.
I'm not sure if this description really captures the full stress and frustration that comes with the foreigner registration process in India, but it's something all expats dread, and I'm certain I could have had it a lot worse. It leaves you feeling defeated and exhausted - but now I am just relieved. Without this registration, I would not have been able to leave the country. Timing was key because I leave for Malaysia Wednesday night for my cousin's wedding - woohoo!
But before then, I am zipping off last-minute to Hyderabad, a 2-hour flight south of here, to catch my friend, Maggie, from Tufts who is there with her husband for a couple more weeks. I'll do some sight-seeing over the weekend and get a chance to meet part of the CHAI team in Hyderabad, where we have a whole other busy office and are doing some other exciting nutrition work, and hopefully get in a visit to one of our nutrition centers around there.

Hoorah for a successful registration and a weekend to explore!
:)

4 weeks in

And 1/3 through the summer already! It does go by fast.
So Tuesday, Fabian and I took a roundtrip flight from Delhi to Bhopal (about 1h20 each way), leaving at 5:40 am and returning at 11:15 pm. The lovely thing about Bhopal is that they have already been hit by the monsoon so it was much cooler than Delhi, if not a little muggy. We met Caitlin and had a hearty breakfast of "poha" (flattened, seasoned rice, a dish of Madhya Pradesh) and omelets at her B&B. We went to our stakeholder meeting later that morning, where we met with state government representatives and people from UNICEF to go over our proposed study in the western part of the state. It will be the first of many meetings as some higher-ups need to sign off and give feedback.
After the meeting, we dropped by the State AIDS Control Society to say hello to the staff there, then went into Old Bhopal for an Afghani lunch. Despite all the flies around (good thing we got the VIP ceiling fan area), the food was delicious!
We made our way over to a coffee shop at a hotel for the afternoon to continue to go over work stuff. They just happened to have my favorite British dessert - banoffee pie!
Before getting on our flight back to Delhi, Fabian and I had dinner at the house of the state commissioner of education, an old friend of Fabian's. My first home-cooked Indian meal! Ever since I was a little kid and the Indian neighbors wouldn't invite me over for their dinner parties, I've wanted homemade Indian food - especially homemade rotis. Mission accomplished!
This weekend, it was finally time to explore Delhi a little more. Friday night, my roommate John had some Kashmiri friends over, who were good fun, and we went out to a bar (with a rooftop terrace that is NOT fun in hot Delhi). I've realized lychee wine is both delicious and dangerous! On Saturday, on what seemed like the hottest day ever, I went to watch a bit of John's cricket game - so now I have seen a live cricket game! I stayed to watch (and sweat incessantly) for an hour, then went off to a crafts bazaar called Dilli Haat. You pay 20 rupees (less than 50 cents) to enter the bazaar and get to enjoy a clean space with much less of the market hassle. I will have to return again before I leave but try not to buy everything - all the lovely scarves and hand-painted/carved crafts and pottery. They also happen to have a great food court with different foods from around India! I had some awesome, real Butter Chicken! (gotta say, better than Curry Point) The market is open-air though, so I guzzled tons of water and was so happy to take a cold shower when I got home and relax on the couch.
Today, John and I went to the police station to try to get the police to put something in writing to show that I live here in the apartment. So, it seems I have to register at the Foreign Registry Office here in Delhi, according to what the NY embassy stamped in my visa (despite the regulation that you do not have to register with a visa of 180 days or less). Any expat I have talked to says that the FRO is an absolute nightmare of contradictory, maddening bureaucracy. You will be there for hours, waiting outside in the heat or inside with no AC, possibly be sent home empty-handed and instructed to gather more arbitrary paperwork. I've been instructed by other expats to try to arrive around 6:30 am, even though the office doesn't open until 9:30, and if I'm lucky I'll be out by 1. Also, apparently they make girls cry. I guess every expat has to have their war story.
The police were not very helpful and didn't give me anything to work with, so I'll try to go tomorrow with whatever I can put together for proof of residence, plus all this other random paperwork that I had to get from CHAI.
Later this afternoon, it was slightly cooler due to the rain last night, so I went to take a nice stroll through Lodi Gardens - a well-groomed park in the city that houses the remains of 15th-century tombs, mosques, and shrines.

I'll come back with the FRO experience...
:)

Jhabua

It has been a bit of a whirlwind these few days!
Friday night I left Delhi at 10 pm to take a 12-hour overnight train (about $22 each way) to southwestern Madhya Pradesh (a state south of here, where we will be conducting our nutrition study in the coming weeks) with Fabian to spend the weekend in Jhabua. About a decade ago, Fabian and his father built a free, English boarding school in Jhabua for the local children, and he takes the train there and back every weekend from Delhi to check in on the school. Caitlin and Julia, who work with our partner, Real Medicine Foundation, also live there, so we all lived together in one house for the weekend.
First of all, the train is quite an experience. The only sleeper cars I knew were the trains in Europe, and these are quite different - again, the rule of 'maximizing space.' The beds flip up/down kind of like shelving units, and it's a bit squishy - no room for personal bubbles! They give you clean-looking sheets to sleep with, and you can order a little meal on the train. There's also plenty of vendors who go up and down the aisles selling junk food, chai tea, and toys. I can't complain because we were in the more 'luxury' cabins with AC; apparently in the non-AC sleepers, there are even people sleeping in the aisles. And despite my longtime fear of the Indian train toilet (even before I knew I would come to India), the toilet situation wasn't all that bad (I noticed on my way home, since I held it for 12 hours on the way there).
We arrived at Mevhnagar station at 10 am on Saturday. I could tell we would be the only foreigners in the region. People were quite interested in watching us move about, and I was interested in watching them walk their goats around on ropes!
We got into a Jeep and rode the bumpy roads for 25 minutes to get to the house in Jhabua. I soon came face-to-face with my lifelong nemesis - the squat toilet. As my only option for the weekend, we quickly made peace!
We got a bit of work done, went to the market, and visited Fabian's school where the kids will be piling in for the new school year this week. What a wonderful place for the kids! I hope they fulfill the dream of getting a pet elephant for the kids!
Saturday night, we had a German feast (since Fabian and Julia are both German) of imported Mini Wini's, potato salad, and pancakes!
Sunday, we discussed some more work issues, then had a great lunch at one of three restaurants in Jhabua. We checked in again at the school to check on preparations for the arrival of the kids, then they showed me the Maharaja's former palace in Jhabua. It's quite run-down now, having been abandoned for quite a while, but figure they could turn it into a fancy hotel with a million dollars or so!
They also took me to the Jhabua district hospital, which used to be a dump but has really cleaned up in the past year. Now it houses a state-of-the-art UNICEF-sponsored special newborn care unit. Unlike in the US, you can walk in and out of the different wards without showing ID or explaining why you're there. We also visited the pediatrics ward and nutrition rehabilitation center so I can get an idea of how malnutrition cases are referred in the field.
Fabian and I hopped back into the Jeep to go back to the train station for our 4 pm train back to Delhi (and I finally spotted my first child taking a poo in public! Yikes - don't walk through a field without watching your step). Seems I can sleep really easily in a moving vehicle, even if it's cramped (a whole family can buy a ticket for 1 seat and squeeze on one cot, I noticed).
Getting back to Delhi at 4 am was also an interesting experience, just taking a rickshaw back to my apartment in the middle of the night (don't worry - I went with Fabian's trusted driver). It's of course super quiet, and homeless people dot the sidewalks, sleeping. Most of them were sleeping on the narrow island between two-way traffic. I haven't quite gotten used to all the smells of trains and traffic and streets, but taking the auto home from the train station I suddenly got a whiff of an especially terrible stench. I thought we must be going past open sewage, but in the dark I started making out little shanty roofs of a slum. I asked about this today and indeed there is a big slum next to awful open sewage.
Had a couple hours of sleep and then a long day at the office today to prepare a grant proposal and get ready for tomorrow's meeting. Tomorrow, Fabian and I fly out at 5:40 am to go to the city of Bhopal in central Madhya Pradesh to meet with state government representatives and discuss our nutrition pilot study, set to take off in a few weeks. A quick turnaround - we'll fly home that evening and get back to Delhi at 11 pm.

Will report on Bhopal later this week!
:)

You know it's hot when your elbows are sweating

Though we did have one day of relief yesterday - my first Delhi storm! It poured and the winds were slamming against the house at around 4 am, and when I woke up, it was a cool 75 degrees, which later in the day turned into a good 90 degrees.
I have found a way to live stream the Stanley Cup finals online! (at 5:30 am) The problem is that our electricity has been fickle, so that I don't always have the connection to watch the entire game. I am thankful that the electricity came back on Tuesday night after a 2-hour break - no AC or fan can be brutal in this season, even at night.
I was duped for the first time at lunch this week - I could have sworn I was eating cubes of meat, but it was sneaky soy! I do eat mostly vegetarian here - as most people do - but I can't complain if it's good Indian food.
Went to a fancy Chinese Sichuan restaurant the other night in the next neighborhood. The food was really good, but the atmosphere was so bizarre - really fancy modern-looking restaurant, but the entertainment all evening was a Chinese woman singing soft rock hits with a karaoke machine. She did not entertain our table's request for her to sing "Welcome to the Jungle."
Work is very exciting - a lot of things are coming through for nutrition this summer for CHAI, and looks like I'll be doing a little bit of traveling to the field soon! It is really nice to be busy with work that I really like - instead of busy with work that is no fun or not busy at all.
I need to start taking more pictures to catch some random cool stuff I've seen around (Delhi is scattered with ruins and old temples) and good food I've eaten! I will try to be better about that.

:)

Momo phase

Namaste! Starting with a picture of my street in Delhi (and my roommate, John).
I think I'm finally over the jetlag.
Delhi has been super-hot, 110 degrees everyday - which is especially rough when the power cuts out (has been happening quite a bit lately) or when you're stuck in an open tripod taxi in "maximize space" traffic. There is this one intersection that I hit everyday on my way home from the office where you will sit through at least 3 green lights every time - brutal! And rumor is that the pollution is really bad here... Other than that, no complaints!
Over the weekend, I tagged along with my roommates to a random wedding reception, being the notorious wedding crasher that I am ;) It was a low-key reception for a journalist couple at the Foreign Correspondents Club, and a good chance for me to get some free drinks and cake, meet some cool new folks, and dance outside (in the heat) to some Hindi hits!
Work is going well - this week, I am working on putting together training modules to train village health workers on how to treat severely malnourished children. Great hands-on learning.
The big to-do in the news this past weekend was about a big-time yogi who was going on a hunger strike to protest corruption in the government. The police 'squashed' the whole gathering of followers pretty quickly - but not without controversy...
I've been trying more and more great local food - dosas and curries and lassis and chicory coffee... I've discovered street "momo's" in the market a block over from our neighborhood. They are steamed dumplings - it's that Tibetan influence - and I've been eating them almost everyday, and will continue to until I get sick of them. 8 dumplings for less than $1! :)