Burma is gorgeous!

I went to Burma for a week, stopping in Bangkok for a couple days on either side. It was a great trip -- Burma is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I'll let the pictures do the talking. Bangkok felt like going back to the US -- a big, busy city, where I drank Starbucks and ate sushi. The street food is the best thing about Bangkok, there is lots of great stuff and it's all cheap and clean.
Here's my album of pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64846389@N04/sets/72157631980212777/

Watching the election from abroad

I so missed being in the US during the election, especially for some really exciting races in Washington state. I did vote, though -- got my ballot through email!
This was by far my favorite comment about the whole election -- a tweet from Dana Bash at CNN:

@DanaBashCNN: Ladies and gentleman - 4.2 b spent for status quo government.

As the election highlights the large disagreements and polarization in America, I think this is one problem that we can all agree on. The amount of money spent on campaigning for the election this year was absurd. I don't know what exactly this figure is -- total spending only for the presidential election, for all the races combined, only for the federal ones, etc. -- but the point is that sooo much money was spent, and to what end? If this contributed to truly informing voters, I would be more ok with it. But I think the vast majority of this went to creating ads full of half-truths that helped to further polarize Americans and dumbed down complex issues into sound bites. I think there should be no campaign ads, so that people hopefully turn more to publicly funded debates, candidates' voting records, and their histories of achievements in office to evaluate them. On top of all that, the irony that we are spending billions of dollars on an election for which reducing the deficit has been called one of the most important issues is not lost on me. I wish there was a way to take all the money spent on these campaigns and use it for something worthwhile and lasting. Sigh. 

This NYTimes page also has some interesting information on campaign funding: http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/campaign-finance

Fun with tropical diseases

Last month, I celebrated one full year in Delhi by having dengue fever! Ok, it's not funny. It was scary and uncomfortable, but luckily I came out fine. But it's actually a big and growing problem. There have been a lot of cases in Delhi this year, the topic of several recent news stories:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/07/world/asia/alarm-over-indias-dengue-fever-epidemic.html?hpw

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Your-house-is-dengue-mosquito-s-favourite-spot/Article1-956476.aspx

I wanted to point out that it is no coincidence that there is no vaccine for dengue fever while there is for influenza, hepatitis A, or certain other viruses. Dengue disproportionately affects people in poorer countries, so the market for any pharmaceutical products developed to tackle it is potentially much less lucrative than, say, a new product for heart disease or something that afflicts lots of wealthy people. For this reason, dengue is one among a group of diseases that have been deemed "neglected diseases" to highlight their need for greater research funding. This relates directly to my project at work right now, which is to assess the funding given for health research in India, including which topics/diseases receive what proportion of that money and looking at that in relation to their share of the total disease burden. 

A wordy update

I apologize for my complete lack of posts over the last 3 months and more importantly, as pointed out to me by one of you, for the fact that the image at the top of my page this whole time has been of cockroaches! oops. I don't really have any exciting pictures to post, but will try to summarize some of the highlights of the summer without boring you entirely.

I guess one major change -- or gradual development -- is that life feels really normal here. When I first came everything was different, overwhelming at times, and full of new experiences. But now most things that used to frustrate or fascinate me, have become commonplace. And as I come up on one year in Delhi, that was the thing I think I was most anxious for when I first arrived -- for things to feel normal. It's a really nice feeling to be comfortable and settled, and allows me to see and appreciate new things about this experience now that I'm not jumpy and panicked every time I cross the street, lonely, or irritated by something that at home would take 15 minutes taking 3 hours.

Speaking of being jumpy while crossing the street, one of the more entertaining things I've done in a long time was going on Old Delhi by Cycle in July when friends from IHME were here visiting. This is a possibly disastrous idea that entails a group of tourists being led around on bright orange bicycles through the narrow, crowded alleys of Old Delhi. It was an obstacle course of humanity. I was--not always successfully--dodging cows, carts, trash, barking dogs, people, walls, moving vehicles of all varieties, children shouting greetings, pots of boiling food, butchered animals; annnd sweating like crazy in the heat! I would never do it again but I am really glad that I did!

There were a lot of goodbyes this summer, including my roommate and several good friends, but that, too, I've realized is just part of living here and meeting people from all over the world, who, inevitably, are likely to return home. I got to go back to Seattle and Alaska for two weeks in August, which was wonderful. I think my biggest moment of culture shock was being on a quiet lake in Alaska, with mountains rising over the still water,  and only a few people and cabins in sight. I could see so far!

I've kept up Hindi and yoga, which I continue to really enjoy. Gradually I am able to utter a few more sentences with confidence... And lately have been busy studying for the GRE and exploring graduate programs, since I've decided to apply for a PhD in global health policy/public policy/international relations for next year. It's a lot of work but I am really really excited about it and continue to become more sure that this is what I hope to do next. Advice welcome!!

And finally, the weather has gotten better! The extreme heat is gone, the monsoons are over, and although I never expected to call 90 degrees comfortable, I am loving it!

Miss you all and lots of love.

Disgusting!!!!!

Nothing says "welcome to the weekend" like coming home on a Friday evening after a long week and having to kill 8!!! cockroaches!!!! Ahhhh.
One guy didn't make it in the pictures with all the rest of these guys.
So traumatized.
Update--as I am writing this, Sue and I just got several more. Lost count. 13? kdjfldskjflksdjBaaahhhhhh

In other news, monsoons have arrived and Delhi is wet!

Final roach count close to 20. Literally not drinking anything to avoid my bathroom until tomorrow. Can't handle it. 

Pics of the week

All of the five-star hotels in Delhi are known for their fancy buffets. This week a family friend of the landlords' took us out to the dinner buffet at the Eros Hotel. They had Indian food, American, Japanese, Italian, Greek...

Dessert bar

Salad bar

This made me laugh sooo hard....so Friday was my roommate Sue's last day at work. She's leaving soon to move back to the U.S. I ordered this cake and asked them to write "Good luck, Sue" but a little got lost in translation...

Even hotter!

Couldn't resist the temptation to one-up my last post. Check out this HEAT!

In other news, I had my first experience receiving medical care here. It was just a sore throat, so probably the least threatening thing I could possibly go in for, but all went well. It's interesting the way that insurance plans work here--from what I understand, they almost all only cover hospitalizations, so any outpatient visits and prescriptions are all paid out-of-pocket. By US standards, those things are very cheap. My office visit was $18 and my prescriptions were about $1.50. I went to one of the nice private hospitals, but one of the big problems with health care here is that "doctors" will open clinics without actually having any qualifications. I think the problem is worse in rural areas than in big cities like Delhi. But, still, it's best to go to a hospital or follow a recommendation from a friend, because not every sign that says "doctor" means there is someone who has actually gone to medical school! This unregulated private sector is definitely one of the big challenges with the health system in India that needs to be addressed.

The Forecast

I am feeling quite pleased with myself for staying alive in this weather. I will blame my lack of blog posting on the heat sapping all my energy. See below for this week's forecast. The one redeeming feature is that it is not at all humid right now. That will come later in the summer and then it will be even more awesome. 

The woman who lives in the apartment below us moved out this weekend. She has lived there for almost 20 years and as you can see from the picture, she has a lot of stuff! We had a going away party for her on Friday night at the landlords' and they got out a bunch of old photos that we had fun looking through. Uncle brought out a list of all his previous tenants and was reading through all the names and reminiscing about each of them. It really made me realize how lucky I am to have a family here. I have been whining about the length of my commute to work for months and been planning to move once Sue leaves at the end of July, but now I think I've decided to stay. It's been a difficult month for me--been feeling really homesick, and sad that a lot of my friends here are moving away this summer--and I don't want to change my home, too. I'm a part of a family here and the prospect of moving out has made me finally realize what a wonderful part of my experience this home is. 

Nepal

I promise I am actually in India for work and that I do go to a job, but I have done a pretty good job of going on vacations lately :) I went to Nepal for 5 days last week--it was for a friend's wedding, but they ended up needing to have the events earlier at the last minute, so I didn't actually get to attend any of the ceremonies. Still had a great trip, though. People are really nice there and it's very traveler-friendly--I found it instantly more navigable than India is when you first arrive.
This is it for me for a while, though. No trips planned for a bit....I've finally signed up for a Hindi class which will meet twice a week and have found a yoga class I really like, so clearly I'm trying my best to get into stereotypical expat-in-India activities :) Next up--Indian cooking class.

Kathmandu

Not sure what these people are protesting about

Bhaktapur, an ancient walled city, no cars are allowed inside and people still live there. The buildings and temples are 300-500+ years old.

We spent two days hanging out by the river and going white-water rafting.

Sikkim

Last week I went to Sikkim, in northeast India. It looks very different from Delhi and the typical images you see of India. There are beautiful mountains (it's on the edge of the Himalayas), with small towns and villages scattered throughout the valleys, and lots of monasteries. The air felt so fresh and cool compared to hot, polluted Delhi!

Quitab Minar and Jama Masjid

It's taken me nearly six months in Delhi to see some sights that I'm pretty sure most tourists who are here  even two days manage to get to, but better late than never. A couple of weeks ago, I went to Quitab Minar - a very large minaret and surrounding Islamic architecture from the about the 1300s. And just last weekend, I finally went to Old Delhi. It's the most hectic and crowded part of the city, so I think it was actually good I waited a while to go; it would have been overwhelming when I first arrived. One of the most famous sites in Old Delhi is Jama Masjid - the largest mosque in India.

Quitab Minar surrounding area

The minaret. It's so tall, this picture doesn't do it justice. 

The colors of the stone and the designs carved into these arches are so beautiful. 

Me in front of the Jama Masjid. Nice outfit, huh? If you're showing much more than your wrists and ankles, they give you this mumu thing to put on. And of course, you can't wear your shoes. 

Jama Masjid

Old Delhi

Andaman Islands

I didn't end up going skiing this weekend after all, but I did finally get my pictures together from my trip to the Andaman Islands a couple of weeks ago. The islands are part of India, way off the southeast coast, in the Bay of Bengal.

The only flights to the Andamans are in and out of Port Blair, but we immediately took a ferry over to Havelock Island.

The beaches on Havelock are pretty amazing...jungle goes right up to the sand. Sand is so white and clean. Water so clear. No seaweed. No trash. Not even very many people. Sigh...

There are about six elephants that live on Havelock Island. Apparently they are left to roam around the island, but the tourist companies go get them whenever they need them for elephant rides, etc. If you shell out $200, you can go snorkeling with one! It would be pretty amazing to see an elephant swim, but that was a little outside my budget and I think there might be some animal exploitation issues that I'm not too comfortable with as well. 

Swinging on a vine.

Next we went to Little Andaman, another island which is even less touristed.

Traditional boats being built on the beach.

We bought coconuts from these women. Sooo good. 

Back in Port Blair, before flying out, I visited this old jail, which housed a lot of the political prisoners who were active in the movement for India's independence from Britain.

Sunset from one of the ferries.

Happy Holi!

Thursday was Holi, which is celebrated by getting together with friends and throwing colored powder and spraying water all over each other. I feel like kind of a Grinch because I chose to avoid this messy occasion, but Sue went for it. She came home looking like a smurf and several shampoos later, her hair is still pink! 

Breaking stereotypes of India

I always thought of India as a sweltering hot place (which I have been assured it will be in just a couple of weeks), but tonight I am going ice skating and next weekend I am going skiing! Ok, so the ice skating is in a mall, but the ski trip is to the Himalayas in the north part of India.
Last week I went to the Andaman Islands--I highly recommend it as a travel destination!! Will post pictures from that trip soon.

Valentine's Day: A Western perversion

A coworker alerted me to this website (completely serious), which encourages Indians not to celebrate Valentine's Day: http://www.hindujagruti.org/activities/campaigns/religious/valentine-day/

TED

Tonight I went to a TED event--a series of short talks from interesting people doing interesting work in India. The theme was social entrepreneurship. If anyone hasn't heard of TED, do yourself a favor and go to the website. My favorite organization that was profiled was Milaap, which does microfinance throughout India. It works similarly to other microfinance organizations, in that you loan an amount, the recipient pays you back once they can, and then you can choose to reinvest in another person. It's all done online and with just one seed amount you can aid several different people through the repayment and reinvestment cycle. It's also nice because you can read about and choose the people you are giving loans to. http://www.milaap.org/

This event was at a center that's affiliated with the American embassy, which means displaying the presdent and vice president's pictures is required. It made me happy when I saw these tonight and remembered the days when I had to cringe at Bush and Cheney's faces as I entered American buildings abroad!

Having leaders I'm proud of representing America...priceless.

Jaipur!

This weekend I went to Jaipur (see above). We went to the Jaipur Literature Festival: http://jaipurliteraturefestival.org/index/, a really cool event, but with toooo many people. I got to hear some interesting talks by authors--including the "Tiger Mom" and Oprah--and would have liked to go to more but since we were only there for two days, I wanted to get out and see Jaipur a bit as well. The people there are noticeably friendlier there than in Delhi, which if you had told me, I wouldn't have believed you can actually notice, but you really can. We walked around the Old City a bit and went to the Amer Fort. Here's an album with pics from this weekend, plus some random other photos from things I've done in Delhi in the past few weeks.

English as a second language

One of my goals while here is definitely to learn Hindi. What I didn't expect, however, was to have to learn English.
There are some interesting differences from how we speak English in the U.S. to how it is spoken here. A few of my favorite English to English translations:

Indian English : American English
ear bud = q-tip
lamp bulb = light bulb
ground floor = 1st floor, so 1st floor = 2nd floor, 2nd floor = 3rd floor, etc.
"I've just reached"/"Have you reached?" = "I'm here"/"Are you there?"
"just like that only" =  a phrase that doesn't really add any explanation but is added to the end of a lot of sentences as a sort of closing
"I belong to..." = "I am from...."
kitchen roll = roll of paper towels
specs = glasses
"What's your scene?" = "What are you doing?"

We've caved.

Sue and I have caved and hired a cook and I think we agree that it is one of the best decisions ever. She makes amazing food, it's really inexpensive and now I have more free time to learn Hindi and do other things. Win-win! Check out the pic below of what we came home to on a typical night this week....Hopefully I learn how to cook some things from her as well and this doesn't just make me super lazy. We'll see.                                              

Just a Tuesday night.

 Also, it's been super cold in Delhi. I know a lot of people probably don't believe it, especially given the insane cold that's been hitting my family in Alaska and friends in Seattle right now, but really--when there is no heating or when you're riding in an auto (the golf cart-type thing I take for half an hour to work each day) and the wind is blowing in the sides--it is cold! Check out these special socks that women here wear so that they are still able to wear their strappy sandals in the winter--there's a separate spot for the big toe. So funny. Sorry it's fuzzy, I had to sneak this photo on the subway without looking like a creep!