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Today I tagged along on a field visit. We left directly after class and went to Malda, which is a separate district around an hour away. I went with Sha-na-watch, and two other men. I think one of them in a Father, and the other is an employee at SWI. I don’t remember their names (I am still awful at remembering Indian names), but they were both very nice. The drive took quite a while, at least an hour and a half. I enjoyed every minute of it! Well, that may be a lie, I enjoyed every minute that I was visually exploring the new area, and was genuinely terrified any time I let my eyes slip to the road. Its not that the drivers have poor driving skills, if anything, they are some of the most talented drivers I have ever seen. Instead what terrifies me is the, shall we say, quirks of the vehicles and the tendency to play chicken with other cars. For example today the car had a small hole where the shifter connected to the ground, so you can see the road beneath you. Or in the other vehicle the speedometer fluctuates 10-15 km constantly, so you never know what speed you are going, instead you know a range. The cars are in proper working condition, and none of these small quirks affect the driving or the safety, but they still shake my nerves a little. Also in India the tendency is to drive in the middle of the road, this often makes sense since the sides of the road are filled with bicycles, pedestrians, and other various forms of non-motorized transportation. Even if you stay on the left (which is the correct side) you often need to pass large vehicles that are carrying goods, and to do this you have to veer into the other lane. But when two cars are coming from opposite directions and they are heading straight towards on another, and you happen to be sitting in one of the cars, it is unnerving. Even though each time it happens the cars swerve to the left at exactly the correct moments, it still teases with my nerves.
But back to the field visit. We arrived around 11:30 and I joined the Self Help Group Training for a few hours. The training was for skill development, the SHG’s were learning to make bicycle flowers. They are like giant pipe cleaners that you shape around the center of your bicycles wheels for decoration. The women showed me how they made the flowers and it was really cool. You took wire and laid dyed and cut raffia strands onto it. Then making sure that it was even you folded more wire on top and twisted. The man who was running the training explained that the women sell the bicycle flowers at market and are able to contribute to their household income with that money. The trainings are free for any members of the SHG’s, and although the supplies are provided for the trainings, there is the expectation that once you have the skill you are able to procure any materials on your own. Sha-na-watch told me a little more about Self Help Groups and the way the microfinance program works. The members (10-15) contribute a small amount of money every month to a communal bank account. The money builds up over time and the members are able to ask for loans to begin small business projects or in case of a family emergency. The system also ensures the groups’ meet regularly and that they are not too dependent on the organization. It was really cool to be able to learn this about the details of the groups, especially while I was there witnessing such a key element in the function of the groups. The training was held at a large Catholic campus, with a school, a hostel, a convent, some training rooms and the residence of the parish priest. So there were kids all over (since it was a holiday) and they kept poking their heads in the window trying to get a good look at me. We had lunch and coffee with the priest after closing the training with a few speeches and some congratulations.
Class was good today, I had 7 students and most everyone showed up on time (even though this morning was particularly foggy). I am really beginning to find a useful routine in class, and I am also tuning my ability for effective communication. The students are great, and they challenge my knowledge of English and enhance my knowledge of India everyday.
The best news of the day is that I successfully completed my first Sudoku, which is pretty impressive considering its Friday and they get progressively hard beginning on Monday and ending on Saturday. I was very proud, and cut it out to use as a bookmark. I also discovered also thoroughly enjoyed dinner. My favorite new dish is potato and egg mixed together with spices. It was wonderful! I also found some English movies on television after dinner; I was flipping between Pirates of the Caribbean and Shrek the Third. And I caught a half an hour of Friends today, which has become a renewed favorite of mine. The dogs were nice on my walk to bed; the just sniffed me. I appreciated their refrain from barking.
The sunsets here are beautiful, the sun is a perfect red circle as it sets on the horizon and when we go on field visits you can perfectly see the horizon 360 degrees around you. There are no buildings obstructing your view, just hazy sky. Another favorite of mine in India are the trees, there is a particular tree, which has a huge trunk that is composed of tons of little trunks intertwining. Sometimes when you are driving down the street, the trees on both sides form a tunnel. I love those drives the most, I feel like I am in the Sound of Music skipping down the road and merrily singing in German clothes made of curtains!  The tree tunnels (as I have dubbed them in my mind) are another of my Indian favorites.
Skype didn’t work today, which is a bummer, but hopefully once my laptops gets set up with a more stable internet connection, skype can become a regular occurrence. I am still missing everyone at home (all of my various homes) but today I was able to reminisce without feeling sad, just a little incomplete. The best is when I think of things from home that make me laugh. Sending my love.