My first week in India and all that led up to it!
I arrived in India almost two weeks ago and was immediately met with a sense of clarity. It may have stemmed from my relief to finally have reached my destination following a long two-day journey, but it also felt as though I was exactly where I was supposed to be. The weeks leading up to my departure were filled with uncertainty and stress – I bought tickets for my trip a mere six days before my departure due to circumstances surrounding my mom. I was met with doubts, insecurities, and a lack of hope. The instant I exited the airport doors and stepped into the roaring streets of India all the negativity drained from my mind and was replaced with sheer excitement.
In Tallahassee, I spent my days doing average household chores and spending time with my friends from high school in a city that I have never moved away from. It was comfortable and familiar – for me, it is my life. I sat in my childhood home in a peaceful neighborhood, devoid of noise, markets, and people. I spent time with friends that I have spoken to almost every day since my freshman year of high school and ate nostalgic childhood meals. I was immersed in an environment almost completely defined by ease.
My neighborhood in Tallahassee
I had a loose idea of what my experience would look like in terms of the Indian environment. I would be going to a city that I had visited every two years and seeing family members that I had lived with for a significant portion of my life. When I arrived, all my expectations about the environment were corroborated and I felt nothing but excitement to be in an incredibly different environment. On the way home from the airport, I looked out the window and observed every aspect of the country I was so incredibly excited about – the honking cars, the women walking around in saris carrying pots atop their heads, street dogs ravaging for food, and finally the overwhelming heat. I understand the qualities I just described may not seem the most appealing when compared to the calm environment a quiet neighborhood in Tallahassee offers, however within India’s never-ending chaos, there is also never-ending beauty. And then came my first day of my internship. I entered the TIDE office on the first day with an eerie sense of ease, I had expected to be much more nervous. I immediately met another intern and found that everyone in the office was incredibly kind. They are all upper-level college students, graduate students, or post grad – so I am by default the youngest- but they accepted me with open arms, and I was able to build meaningful relationships with people within my work environment.
The view from right outside my grandfathers apartment.
My colleagues are all born and raised in India, which brings an incredibly different perspective to my CBI. As a result, I have learned a large amount of new information, and I am able to self-reflect on my past relationship with my CBI. I have spent my first week primarily learning about the prior research done by the team. From that I have gained a lot of context, specifically about constraints teachers face in terms of government action and how underprivileged communities respond to different philosophies of aid in education. My mindset has also shifted away from a western perspective on education and it’s values. As a result, my CBI has become increasingly sensitive to underprivileged communities and places an emphasis on how the government uses schools to implement change within society.
My friend Ananya and I after visiting a school and experiencing an incredibly slow rickshaw ride in 106 degree heat.
I am also incredibly lucky to have visited villages to interview children concerning the effectiveness of certain initiatives. The experience was incredibly fruitful because of the conversation that sprung from it. I met a man who described the effectiveness of NGO activity as something that doesn’t directly spring from their work. He recounted that organizations taking interest in their communities motivates villagers to present themselves in a cleanly and organized manner, which in turn forces them to reevaluate everyday habits that ultimately contribute to issues they are trying to combat – such as cleanliness. This perspective was fresh and was not an idea I would have considered. That aspect of the visit is what makes me so incredibly excited to continue working on my CBI.
With new perspectives, I plan to continue to work on my CBI earnestly and begin semi-structured interviews by the end of next week. I am elated to keep making friends, learning from others, and continue my work with TIDE.
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