बर्फ़

As much as people talk about how great it would be to live in California and have it be 75 everyday - there is something incredibly beautiful about seasons. I think Aaron himself has lamented about California's lack of seasons. For me, the best part of seasons is winter. I know the cold is terrible, getting your car stuck in snow, shivering, having your hands go numb. I'm not going to pretend I like those things. I don't. I like feeling my hands and wearing t-shirts. But the one thing that winter gives us is the first snow. Every year when winter comes around I remember the hot summer months and times when I knew what sweat felt like, all the while bitterly enduring the cold. But then, there is the first snow. I can say with full confidence that in the past 5 years I can remember the day of the first snow, easily. Every single time I forget what it looks like, what it feels like to see those thousands and thousands of flakes spiraling, twisting, churning down toward the earth. It never fails to restore my faith in winter and justify all the cold days I've already endured. Today was the first snow in Mussoorie. As I walked up to the office on 4 hours of sleep, miserable for being awake, little snow flakes fell one by one slowly and then quickly. And just so you know, as great as the first snow is, by march when there are three feet of snow and I'm freezing it's not enchanting anymore. But neither is 3 months of 90 degree days, so I guess the key, as in the rest of life, is balance and moderation.

Community

Community is one thing that I believe is important to any person's existence.  Community itself can take many forms and serve many different purposes.  You could be involved in community literally around you.  You could be involved in a church community, some sort of sport community, a professional community or really just the network of friends you've built up.  Whatever it is, I think it's an essential aspect of life to cultivate. 

Living here in India, working for EMI, this sense in me has only been heightened.  Our mission here is to serve with our professional knowledge.  Yet if it were limited to that, just our professional knowledge, it wouldn't quite be enough.  I would go as far as to say, it wouldn't be a meaningful experience.  What makes EMI what it is, is the reputation it has developed throughout India.  EMI's reputation is one of true service where we spend time to get to know our clients to care about their needs and then listen to their ideas.  From there we use our knowledge to come up design ideas and then present them to the clients, again, listening to what they have to say.  It's a process that is iterated over and over again, making sure that the client's vision is achieved.  The affect this has on the clients is unmistakeable.  There are already two projects that have lasted over 10 years that EMI has had a part in from the very beginning.  In fact I've already had the privelage of visiting and furthering our involvement with these two projects, a missionary retreat/recovery center in Tamil Nadu and a boarding school in Dehradun.  Walking around, seeing the buildings EMI has designed come to fruition, being used as they were designed and then hearing the directors talk about the effect EMI has had on these projects is all more than enough to quell any doubts I might have about working here.  Even though I might just be another intern among dozens, another cog in the machine, it's good to know that what you're doing is of some significance.    

Also, trying to get back on track, EMI considers the local community extremely important.  They not only heavily, heavily encourage you to get involved in a church but keep strong ties with most locals.  A perfect example of this was Thanksgiving.  We had a gigantic thanksgiving.  In fact I can never remember a Thanksgiving day/dinner that was so frantic.  There were about 20-25 people in all that ended up coming.  That included the 5 interns, 3 staff, and then a bunch of people from the community that came.  There was even one guy that might have been invited off the street.  I'd never seen him before and he showed up 10 minutes into dinner.  There were also several people that didn't show up because of illness....so it could have been bigger.  The dinner itself was set up as a potluck with everyone assigned to their certain tasks.  What made things even better is that instead of everyone cooking their things at home and just showing up with them, everyone spent the whole day at our office, using our kitchens to do their cooking.  It made for an incredibly hectic, but fun environment the whole day.  Even as the dinner was starting, there was something very awe-inspiring about the shear mass of people.  With over 20 people all bringing something, the dinner was gigantic and fantastic.  Dessert, too, was great – chocolate truffles, apple pie, pumpkin pie, and german chocolate cake.  Of course following in the tradition of Thanksgiving, I gorged myself until I didn’t dare take another bite. 

Yet, maybe better than the actual dinner was the spontaneous dance party that erupted as we cleaned up.  Within 20 minutes of finishing dinner, the big table was moved out of the room and the music was blaring.  I also learned that Indians like Outkast, the Gorillaz, and Lady Gaga, but not M.I.A. 

Suffice to say, community has been a large part of my life here.  Without the dozens of people in the area that I’ve gotten to know and spend time with, this experience in India would be significantly shallower.  Really, this is common sense.  Anywhere, anytime, if you don’t put forth the effort to invest in a community of people (no matter what form that may take) you’re really depriving yourself of one of the most life-giving things there is.    

OH. Almost forgot.

I took this picture today too.  I literally walked 5 or 6 steps out of our office hours to take it.  That should give you some perspective on how ridiculous it is up here.  The other side, where you can see Mussoorie and Dehradun is actually a lot greener and "hillier" but this side has those really amazing snow caps which were particularly beautiful today.

QUICKLY

Hey suckas,

Sorry for the lack of updates.  Internet has died in the office.  Many threats to the internet company later, there is little hope that it will return anytime soon.  Therefore I'm forced to make a trek down the mountain to use internet services.  That means I haven't had the quality time to sit behind a computer and pour out my thoughts to all of you. 

Fret not, this weekend I'm going to make some time to write about Thanksgiving here.  It was truly incredible. 

To tide you over, here is a picture of the mustache I grew to celebrate "No Shave November".  It was creepiest face I could imagine making.  Notice the curls on the ends of the mustache?  I was pretty proud of that.  That's also a picture of house I stay in.  Maybe I should take a proper one.... 

First of all, sorry if the font change is disturbing.  I wanted to try something new.  

This is a post dedicated to "finding my voice".  You see, whenever I think about updating my blog, immediately an anxiety begins to take over me.  Obviously there is some amount of pressure.  Last I checked, I have 18 followers.  Dear Lord.  That's a lot of pressure.  You guys expect something out of me.  You trust me to deliver, or else you wouldn't have made this public declaration of loyalty, this pronounced commitment.  I want to reward that.  I want to give the people what they want.  The trouble is my audience is quite diverse, isn't it?  There is this really complex gradient of people all here, reading for completely different reasons, more or less expecting different things.  I mean how do I cater to my mom, Mr. Colon, Zubair, and Chris Lewis at the same time? (sorry if I didn't give you a shout-out.  I'll try and get you in later).  The afternoon PBS answers is - you can't and you shouldn't have to.  After all you people are here to hear me right?  And that shouldn't have to change on a person to person basis.  This should be a defiant stand of individuality.  Yea it should, but it doesn't feel that way.  It's really a combination of not really knowing what you all expect and not quite knowing what I want to write.  All the other interns post breathtaking pictures and give succinct recaps of adventures they have had, usually limiting it to the light and cultural remarks.  I can't get too excited about constantly retelling events.  Plus, I didn't even bring a camera.  

The truth is, as romantic as it may seem to run away to the Himalayan mountains of India and work for an NGO that strives to serve the poor of India as best it can - it isn't.  It's just life over here.  Sure there are nice cultural quirks like the post man stomping around, demanding a 50 rupee tip or the two stray cats we've inevitably adopted (maybe those are the stories you want to hear about?), but in the end, it's the same.  People here laugh the same way, yell the same way, cry the same way.  People here are just as selfish, just as shameful, just as interesting.  It's just a little different.  There are lots of things that get in the way, make you think that maybe it's not the same, but in fact it is strikingly similar to everything you've grown up with.  Granted, my view is a little biased since I do work with many westerners, but my exposure to the "true" India and "true" Indians is extensive enough for me not to be mystified by it.  

So then if the foundation is the same, what is there to talk about? Plenty.  That's the fascinating thing about life.  No matter how terrible or blissful a day can be, there is something to take away from it.  That is what I want to share with all of you.  I want to share with you my lessons on life.  Sometimes it will involve a rousing Indian adventure, but sometimes it may just involve doing laundry and going grocery shopping.  If that's what you want to hear - musings from a person just trying to understand life (albeit across the ocean) - then you're in the right place.  If you think that sounds boring and a little confusing, then you're probably thinking what I'm thinking right now.  No no.  It'll be fun.  Maybe we can both learn something through this.  

....I always feel like I've written more than I actually have.


Oh ALSO - I'll be in Chicago from (approx.) Dec 18th to Jan 12th.  My visa demands I leave the country, so why not come home to some of the best people in the world for a while?

What I learned today....

After a lengthy argument, I learned today that "salad" is a word that classifies not substance but form.

PICTURES

Sickness has passed.  Wedding was a wedding.  Back in Mussourie, back to "regular" life.  I read "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy on the train and it was fantastic, one of the best pieces of fiction I've read in a while.  It's truly depressing and arresting in an uplifting way.  

Anyways, here are some pictures, since I've had so few.  They are all courtesy of my official photographer, Susan Kizzee.  There are pictures of the office (outside/inside), us at dinner, a group picture during a staff's going away party, a picture of us interns all together, and a picture of us during an weekend intern trip at Rishikesh.  Enjoy.

What to do?

For one reason or another "What to do?" seems to be a pretty popular phrase around the eMi office.  It seems to be the one phrase that is only appropriate reaction to the unpredictability of living and working in non-profit India.  The electricity is out for hours - "What to do?".  A water pipe broke outside and then broke again after being fixed - "What to do?".  You traveled down south on your vacation to take the GRE and see family and ended up getting a fever and diarrhea - "What to do?" 

That's what happened to me.  This week is actually my vacation week so I thought it would be a good time to come down south, see family, and squeeze in the GRE.  As it turns out, the night before I was to leave, I developed a fever and was faced with the decision of either staying in  Mussourie or continuing with my travels down south.  It would be the first time I would be traveling alone in India and I would need to take a taxi, overnight train, rickshaw, and plane to get to family - so was it worth it?  If my sickness got worse I would literally be stranded.  But I had already paid for all these things - including the GRE - so maybe it was worth the risk.  I decided to go for it.  Already half way through the taxi ride I was completely regretting it, contemplating whether I should ask the driver to take me back.  I arrived in Dehradun 20 minutes before my train was supposed to depart and there was no train.  The train arrived an hour and a half late - at 1am.  That gave me plenty of time to sit half asleep on a bench.  Regardless, made it into Delhi by 7am and by now, things had become slightly worse.  I had planned a couple of things to to in Delhi before going to airport (since my flight was only at noon), but now, having a hard time just sitting down, I wasn't sure what to do.  I decided just to go straight to the airport.  As it turns out, the Delhi airport has a section of nice, long, reclining chairs.  I just laid there and slept for about 3 hours before my flight.  That was great.  I arrived in Hyderabad and since then my family has been taking care of me.  I was forced to miss my GRE and because of the evil policies of the GRE testing center was forced to forfeit half of my registration fee.  I'm getting better but still...India isn't a fun place to have diarrhea - not to say it's fun to have diarrhea anywhere. 

Anyway...I should be fine by the wedding and will get to see my dad in the process.  I'll have to reschedule the GRE and make another trip to Delhi during some weekend.  But - "what to do?"

I can't think of a good title that doesn't sound emo.

Meeting people is an incredibly profound exercise.  It's really a window into just how much you measure people and box them into archtypes you have.  You see, growing up, constantly having to meet people I've realized that there is much I assume about people when I come to meet them for the first time.  Usually I look at the clothes they're wearing, where I'm meeting them, and what little information I have about them - to assume a full character sketch, filling in holes wherever I see fit.  Undoubtedly I'm not as imaginative or as creative as I would like.  Most people just end up a little flat, entirely one-dimensional.  If I meet someone that likes music, and that's all the information I have, I naturally assume it permeates into every facet of their life.  I know that it's not true for me, but in the moment, on gut instinct, it seems natural. 

Then, life kicks in.  The slow, methodical act of "getting to know" a person starts to happen to the point where one day you're talking with this person, laughing, thinking, scowling, whatever it is and you realize this is a real person, not the one-dimensional archetype you originally estimated.  You realize that this person is emotional, they like things, dislike others, can get annoyed, can laugh, their interests vary and in general, they want the same things as you.  They want a meaningful existence.  They want to succeed.  Suddenly you start seeing this person in three-dimensions, understands that there are faces and angles that you can't even see yet, but just as they exist in you, waiting to be found, they lie in this person as well.  All of that has happened with the people here I work with.  They all started out as one-dimensional cardboard cut-outs and have slowly morphed into something far more meaningful and far more worthwhile.

But that's not the reason I bring this up.  This happens a lot with people.  People change as you get to know them.  Some you grow to like more, some less.  Some people you grow closer to and other you end up drifting apart from as you realize that the way you look at life isn't complimentary.  I bring this up because at one point this summer my mom asked me, "So what do you think of India?"  My answer at that point was saturated in macro-political and economic themes.  I was talking about an emerging middle-class I'd never met, a sense of environmental responsibility I've never seen.  It was an opinion based off visiting relatives for a couple of months - hardly a clear picture of exactly what India was. 

Yet only now, after having lived here for several months, carving out a niche for myself am I starting to realize the depth of India.  I'm starting to realize just how shallow and presumpitious my initial assessment was.  The everyday Indian is not governed my macro-economic policies and neither is it fare to blanket things I've read in Time magazine over such a large and diverse country.  Even people from neighboring villages here have very fundamental differences.  And once again, my in-depth time with India has shown me, at a very basic level, that India is not quite that "other".  It's very easy to be overwhelmed by the differences when first getting here and sure there are many paramount differences, but there is surprisingly a lot in common.  I don't want to start sounding too idealistic and "common humanity" but seriously, after all this time, indian people just seem like people not indian people.  Their lives and their desires manifest themselves in different ways, but it's for the same reasons.  They want the same things as we all do.  It's just acted out a little different in different environments. 

Does that mean I feel at home here?  Not yet, maybe never - but the point is that I'm starting to see India not as a place of the past or stastics to be impressively spouted to peers but as a place that is as nunanced, complex, and layered as every human being I've ever known

There is definitely a 'me' in Home

Hello!

Looks like it's time for another update on my state of affairs.  It's harder to tell these days when to write as I'm no longer traveling or having grand adventures - but just working in the office living on a fairly regular schedule.  Let's see...

I went hiking a couple of weekends ago.  I had entirely intended not to go because I was a little sick and wanted to sleep in on Saturday, yet Andy, Susan, and Ko came to my doorstep at 7am promising me open fields to run around and throw a frisbee in.  Having spents this past month in Mussourie searching in vain for a place to just put on my cleats and run around - this was like a call to heaven.  I immediately ran to my room and threw my cleats and disc into a backpack without thinking of the consequences of my action.  I didn't take heed to the fact that, yes I was still sick.  Also I didn't eat breakfast and failed to pack anything in my haste.  I also didn't notice that it was cloudy, muggy, and about to rain outside.  All these things became the end of me as we embarked on our hike.  The place we went to, George Everest House, was an old house of some sort (of exactly what sort, I have no idea) that had a field adjacent to it.  That's the only detail I cared about.  I didn't care to question how far away it was, or exactly what they  meant by field.  Of course I imagined an immaculately pruned, lush green soccer field at least 150 yards long.  Well........six hours later, after walking up and up and up and up and up - I arrived at George Everest House completely exhausted and degected at what lay in front of me.  First of all, we were so high and up and it was so foggy that to see beyond 15 feet in front of you was an absolutely possibility, so forget about throwing a frisbee at any reasonable distance.  Secondly couple that with cold rain, that was slowly soaking into me every hour of that hike up the mountain.  Then finally, come to terms with the fact that what was next to George Everest House cannot be considered a playing field by even the most optimistically minded.  It was filled with growing bushes every 2 feet, large amounts of livestock dung, and a gigantic sinkhole in the middle to top things off.  Overall it was maybe only 40X20 yards big anyway.  It's hard to say though, since, like I said, you could only see 15 feet in front of you.  So, as you can imagine, I felt betrayed, not as much by my friends, but by my own enthusiasm, my own willingness to abandon reason at even the slightest promise of ultimate.  Yet once I got over this, things started to take a turn for the better.  We decided to go to the nearby Tibetan settlement, Happy Valley, from there.  We were escorted the entire way by a pair of young, black energetic puppies.  They would run in front of us chasing each other, playfully running in between us - warning off monkeys and keeping our spirits up with their pure kinetic energy.  They followed us for maybe 4 or 5km before eventually disappearing, probably at the possibility of finding something to eat. 

The Tibetan settlement itself was a refreshing experience.  It had a quaint feel to it.  Even more so than Mussourie (where I live) which was surprising, but welcomed.  Since we were near famished by this point, the Tibetan meal at the local mess hall was a godsend.  We ordered 4 plates of momos, 3 plates of chowmein, 2 bowls of soup, 2 pieces of big tibetan bread, a plate of beef, 7 sodas, and some other things for a total of 250 rupees which is about 5 dollars.  Great - worth the trip.  We emerged outside, our stomachs full, our bodies rested, and saw that there was a high school soccer game going on in the big dirt soccer field located in the middle of town.  It seemed like everyone under 25 in the entire village (with many people over 25) were there watching it, heckling and cheering every bounce of the ball.  It seems like all the good players want to play offense so the worst players were stuck playing defense.  As you can imagine, without great defenders or a good goalie, the games can become a shootout very fast.  That's exactly what happened.  There were several pretty sick moments including a free kick that was bent into the top right corner of the goal and a viscious foul in the box that resulted in a penalty kick.  The soccer game was great to watch.  The energy from the crowd was contangious and it was clear that the players could feel it while they were playing.  It made for a very pleasant trip and a very pleasant visit to Happy Valley. 

Well that was a longer explanation than I originally intended.  Other than that, I've started to mess around with Indian cooking.  That could yield pleasant results for some of you when I come back. 

I started an oil painting class that meets once a week taught by this crazy South African woman that says like "terps" when referring to terpentine.  "Pavan, use the terps."  "Pavan, you can never have enough terps."  "I bought those terps at the stationary shop."  Goodness...  Anyways, Susan took a really depressing picture of me and of course, that was ideal for me.  When I'm done I'll have a nice and depressing self portrait to stare at on stormy nights.  I'll probably hang it in my room, in a ode to the vanity I grew accustomed to living with Prashanth. 

Also I went to a wedding this weekend.  It started 2.5 hours late and was a madhouse.  Duh...indian wedding.  One of the office's cooks had a daughter that was getting married and we were all invited to the wedding.  It was crazy in the sort of way that all Indian weddings are. 

That's all for now I think.  I watched the Dark Knight again, a couple of days ago - man, what a great movie.  That last shot with batman riding into the light with this cape flapping in the wind - love it.  It's pure batman, pure unadultered romantic batman.

Okay hope you're all doing well.  Someone watch a Bulls preason game for me. 

Just In Case You Didn't Know....

First of all, I need to give all credit to the one great Susan Kizzee (another intern here) who captured this moment with such grace and valor.  If it weren't for her and her talents I would not be making this post.  So....I hope that is some consolation for using a picture you took Susan.

Basically when I saw this picture I knew straight away that it represents everything I wish to convey about myself.  

If people ask about my life I should just start handing them this picture. 

Return Pt. 1

For those of you still reading - I've returned.  I know this post is long but please don't be disheartened.  I'm 68% sure that I have good things to say.

After about 16 days of traveling I'm back in Mussourie, in the office, sitting at my desk.  Much happened along the way, I traveled nearly the entire length of India.  I went to Kolkata, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, and then back again.  It certainly wasn't that long, but for some reason or another it felt like a long time.  It felt like time away from home and today felt like a homecoming - driving up the mountain, through the clouds to Mussourie.  That itself is quite an odd phenomenon since I was only here for a 10 days before I left.  Must have had a powerful effect on me...

But yes, what did I do?  How did I spend my time?  What did I learn?  How have I changed?  At this point, sleep logged and a little groggy from an oncoming cold - I can answer about half of those questions.

Essentially work at EMI consists of a project team taking a project trip somewhere, meeting with the client, seeing the site and then spending a certain amount of time doing whatever the client needs whether that is developing a master plan for a campus or just being a consultant on various engineering/architectural aspects of the project.  The project team itself consists of staff members, interns, and overseas project volunteers that are usually older and "well traveled" in their particular field.  They fly to India and participate in the project trip for a week or so and then fly back to their respective homes.  Some project volunteers are from India itself so I shouldn't imply that they all come from abroad.

Anyways, this specific trip involved two project trips back to back.  Firstly, a large team of us, 9 i think, traveled to Rourkela, Orissa and with the design of a master plan for an *orphanage* down there.  I say *orphanage* because that itself needs a little explaining.  From the night we arrived and met the client, it was clear that he was a man destined to carve his own path in the world.  His passions were wide and varied.  Basically he told us that he has interests but has been open to God's suggestion taking on whatever is asked of him.  This has led to his property being an orphanage (with about 64 children), a school, a dental clinic, a dairy farm, a self sustainable fish farm, and mental clinic.  The sign outside literally listed all of those things.  You can imagine what a man with his hands in so many pockets would be like.  He was constantly on the move, constantly telling stories, constantly projecting that which made him feel alive everyday.  Although overbearing at times, it was a blessing to say the least.  How often are we left to meet people that are so defiantly ALIVE?

Then of course, there was the children.  As I said before, there were about 64 children there.  Most of them were orphaned, the rest being simply abandoned by their parents (or single mother) who simply couldn't take care of them anymore.  The vast majority of them were under 7 and as young as 2.  With Christian persecution being the way it is these days in Orissa, most of these children have seen unthinkable atrocities.  In fact some of them have seen their family members murdered, whether that be parents, relatives or sibling.  I'm talking of 3 or 4 year olds seeing some of the most gruesome, evil acts humanly possible and then left to live with that as some of their earliest memories.  Honestly, it was daunting the first couple of days interacting with these kids.  I mean, they have suffered and seen things I can only dream of, abandoned with very little hope - yet I've lived on this earth for so many years, so many years worrying about my privilege of choice.  I've spent countless hours stressed about what I want to be, where I want to go, whether my life will have meaning, whether I will miss this opportunity or that opportunity.  They are all things I can stress about only if I have a "choice".  It's good to understand that choice isn't inherent.  It's not bestowed to everyone upon birth.  It's a great, great privilege and it should be treated with the respect and appreciation that it deserves.  Right but all that being said, how was I to interact with these children?  Most of them spoke Oria, the local state language, of which I have no exposure to.  But language was only a small barrier.  It was really seeing these small beings, these little humans as giants of life - their big round eyes bearing the weight of unbearable suffering.  At least that's how I perceived things.  In the end however, they were just children.  They were beautiful, beautiful children.  You see, I know a lot of people that dislike children or at the very least don't care too much for children.  I think many people are turned off by the fact the overwhelming adoration that most children receive almost instantaneously.  I wouldn't say I belonged to that group of people, but I wouldn't say I adored children.  I mean are they simply so cute because they are chubby, have trouble performing simple tasks, can't talk properly, and their bodies are completely out of proportion?  Maybe, but not these children.

This campus is a great place for them, a perfect place for them some might say.  Orphanages in general have a reputation of being a really brutish places, really hardening the skin of children and making them fight for every little bit of life.  This place couldn't be more different.  Essentially the entire place, despite its lack of formal facilities (many of the children sleep on the floor of the single school room they learn in), functions as a family - in the purest sense.  The children all sleep together, eat together, play together, learn together, and work together.  Now regardless of the fact that its a symptom of necessity, the way it's done is absolutely remarkable.

Now this church I had gone to the weekend before I left had a sermon about "debt".  It's a big problem in India.  Most people in his area are heavily in debt, destined to keep trying to climb out of a hole that is getting deeper by the second.  The pastor told this story about the first couple of years for the church.  Many people would come to him, come to the church and ask for deliverance from this debt.  It was something they couldn't bear anymore.  Wanting to love these people, the pastor happily made ways for this to happen.  In many instances he actually personally eradicated their debts.  They were very grateful, extremely overjoyed, but then over time something odd started happening.  Instead of growing closer and more involved in the church, most of these people actually ended up leaving the church all together.  They couldn't bear to face the pastor anymore.  They were essentially shamed, shamed of their dignity in front of him.  Although some instances demand it, it can be concluded that sometimes outright gifts can be more damaging then good.  There is a sense of dignity and respect that people want to maintain.  They want to be able to provide for themselves, to be able to make their own way.

The campus lived this ideal.  All the children are responsible for this place that they live in.  There are no handouts.  They aren't here for free.  They make their way.  The children wake up as the sun rise and being their morning chores; catching fish for dinner, milking the cows, preparing meals for each other, sweeping the campus.  It's a busy hive of activity, children of all sizes performing all sorts of tasks.  I even saw a couple of times a little child filling an entire water bucket much too big for them to carry.  Someone saw them struggling and came over without a word and helped them carry it wherever it had to go.  All of it is wordless, thankless - it's just their way of life.  It all essentially translates into a sense of ownership for these children.  This is their campus, their family, their life.  For so many children that have been completely stripped down, this must be incredibly empowering.  It works in magnificent ways, because you'd expect a fantastic amount of quarrels and fights among 60+ children that have little and have to share things constantly.  In reality, there are very, very few - shockingly little in fact.  The staff watching over the older kids, the older kids watching over the younger ones, and everyone watching out for each other.  Having stayed at the actual campus for a couple of nights with the survey crew, I can attest to the authenticity of these actions.  I was able to see the kids in some of their most intimate moments, fully unaware that anyone was observing.

It truly gave me an understand of why children are beautiful.  I would go as far as to say that it has made me adore children.  I now see the hope they provide, the shining beacon of light they can be in situations of complete darkness.  Yes, children are truly wonderful.  The moments interacting with them over the week are numerous and too many to retell here.  I can't afford to lose more readers by extending this post much longer.  Suffice to say, in between and in amidst all of our work there were plenty of memories with the children.  The senior member of our team, an architect from australia, actually had his birthday during the trip and the children put on a program to commemorate him one morning - which was beyond endearing.  They even all got in a line, all 60+ of them, to go up and hug Uncle Bill, wish him happy birthday, and give him a kiss on the cheek.  It was a moment worth admiring with tears.  Also, we decided to finish our work and dedicate our last day to simply "play with the children" which turned into a full pledged field day with prizes and everything.  We had races around the campus, with us stationed near a hose spraying kids as they went by.  We played sharks and minnows.  I mean we played various games that they all loved and laughed throughout.  At the end we also purchased a large tarp and introduced to them the glorious, holy concept of a "Slip N' Slide".  That was hilarious.  It was really great to see all these children discover exactly what a Slip N' Slide was and take to it with an unbridled joy and enthusiasm - even the little tiny ones.  It really brought out the joy in a lot of us.  We ended up having a race of our own.  Yea, don't worry.  I won.  A couple of us, including the 60+ year old Uncle Bill, took a ride on the Slip N' Slide, and generally we just laughed and ran around with all the kids during the entire day.

Yea it was fantastic.  It was something I will surely remember forever and I'm glad to have the opportunity to share this experience with all of you.  I have enclosed below a picture below of us all around their big tree on the last day.  The picture is a living lesson of why you should only have one person taking a picture at a time.  There were about 3 or 4 cameras in various places taking pictures as various times.  Everyone is looking in different places and most people have some awkward, forced look on their face because they aren't sure what is going on (yes, including me).

Okay that is enough for now.  I'll talk about the 2nd half of the trip in a later post.  In the meantime, I'm grateful for every single one of you.  Enjoy.

Where The Wild Things Are

The NY Time has written a great piece about the delays of Where The Wild Things Are and the character of Spike Jonze.  I highly recommend it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/magazine/06jonze-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2

Orientation = Over

As of now, intern orientation is officially over.  At this point we are deemed oriented and ready to experience Mussourie and India on our own with confidence and vigor.  Orientation itself has been a combination of seminars, games, interviews, day trips, and prayer - all designed to really make all the interns feel comfortable.  In a short week, there have been lots of things said and lot of things taught.  To be honest, most of them won't be remembered, but the main aim of the entire orientation was to make this place feel like home and your co-workers like family.  That was accomplished.

Other than that though, it's hard to decide what to write about.  I can write for hours and hours about thoughts or observations about being here, living here, trying to figure out my life - but that can be tiresome.  So a large part of me wants to just write when I have some spectactular or funny story to tell.  Maybe that would be better, albeit completely different.  Requests?

A board game rivalry has started among us interns.  We find time to play every night, at least for an hour and it always ends with everyone but the winner, completely furious and unsatisfied.  I'm glad that my addiction to competition will find a place to thrive here.  Losing over and over and over again has also reminded of the frailty of life.

Ha, right.  Going to a village in the mountains for the entire day tomorrow and then leaving on my three week project trip to eastern and southern India after that.  That trip to the project sites will be the basis of all the engineering work I'll do for the next 4 months.  It should be a lot of fun, but it will mean a break in updates for a while (probably).  Hopefully I have some "colorful" stories when I get back.  If I don't I can always just make them up.

Also, Ricky Rubio decided to stay in Spain? For shame Ricky.

Oh yea and I'm currently reading (in case this would be interesting):

The Tower and the Bridge: The New Art of Structural Engineering
Mere Christianity
Atlas Shrugged
The Argumentative Indian


Be back soon.

Quick Update

Well Hello...

Sorry for my negligence.  I've already been here a week and I know the masses have been clammoring to know exactly what has been going on.  To be honest I've had time to write but I wanted to provide a proper update with pictures, stories, allegories and possibly even myths.  All of that has been pretty tough to get together - mostly because I don't have a camera of my own and am extremely timid when it comes to asking for anything from anyone.  I finally got up the courage yesterday to ask for a camera and as it turned out, it was pouring outside, making it impossible to go outside or see anything.  I was left to take a very dark picture of the front room of the office and of my desk - both of which can be incredibly misleading not seeing the entire picture.  It's like seeing Dennis Rodman getting married in a wedding dress but then never knowing that he was a Hall of Fame NBA rebounder.  I don't know if it changes anything, but it's good information to have. Anyways, here are those pictures.  Take them with a grain of salt.  I'll have more later.

I can't emphasize enough how beautiful this place is.  If you closed your eyes and imagined a mountainous paradise you would open your eyes here and find that God has shown you things you couldn't even imagine.  Everything here is literally situated on the side of the hill, beautiful stone roads winds up and down and around.  The town itself is so high in the air (around 7500 ft) that you're literally walking through clouds most of the day.  You can walk into your front yard and see some of the highest peaks of the Himalayas.  It's just unreal.  There is something every single day that literally just makes you stop what you're doing, if only to afford a couple extra seconds to look.

On top of that there is a flurry of wildlife that you literally  need to contend with everyday.  There are several species of monkeys that are quite active in distrupting your day.  I had to scare off a couple the other day that were going through my garbage.  There are wild dogs everywhere.  Some of them follow you and protect you from monkeys actually.  There are rumors of leopards - which would be incredible to actually see.  Then of course a myriad of insects and other things that are creepy, disgusting, and much bigger than you'd expect.  I've already seen some big spiders, but I'm told I have cockroaches, rats, and scorpions waiting for me.

Work itself hasn't really started.  We're still in orientation mode, getting lectures everyday about various things work and culture related.  Work really starts this Friday as I'll be going on two projects trips - visiting the sites and meeting the people I'll be working for the rest of the semester.  I'll be spending two weeks in Orissa and then another week in Tamil Nadu.  After we get back, the real office work will begin.  I'm sure the traveling around India on trains and planes, in jungles and metropolitan areas for three weeks should be a worthy start and adventure to start things off.  

Alright...that's it for now.  More later - sooner hopefully.

Orientation

Before India - there was orientation Colorado Springs... It allowed an opportunity for all of us interns from offices all over the world (Costa Rica, Uganda, UK, Canada, and India) to get to know each other before we headed off into obscurity. We stayed at a retreat center in the hills of Colorado, quite appropriately, called the Hideaway. Below is a good view of Pike's Peak from our backyard. The week has been spent going on hikes (lots of hikes) through the mountains, rock climbing (which can be seen below), various seminars to help familiarize us with eMi (Engineering Ministries International) and good quality time to become acclimated with the interns that will be traveling half way across the world with us. As some of you may know already, I'll be working eMi's office in the northern Indian city of Mussoories (about 3 hours north of Delhi). I'll be there with a couple from Memphis - who I met at orientation, a Japanese-American arthitect intern named Ko (who is already there), an Australian intern named Miriam, and various other staff members that are already there. The couple, Andy and Susan Kizzee, are the best people I could have wished for. They are extremely laid back, down to earth, and easy to talk to. Not to mention the fact that they are shining examples of what it means to be a young Christian couple after the heart of God. After only this week, they're like family. That can be said of all the interns here. We're all extremely different people, from literally all over the country and world. Everyone has their own quirks, their own eccentricities. Enough so, that I probably should write a short story some time borrowing from the eccentricities of the characters here. At the same time we all have our own differences - yet we're all here for the same reason. We're all here to serve the poor around the world in the best way we know how - engineering and architecture. That is a bond that is shockingly strong and unconditional. Really, only after a short week - these people are family. That's really the highest compliment I can give them. All of this just makes it harder to leave. Yet....there is work to be done.

Tomorrow the journey to India begins. I'll have Atlas Shrugged, the Roots crew, and the Kizees to get me through it enjoyably. I'll arrive in India and the reality of the next 9 months of my life.....

Below: me and Kizzees plus a group picture with all the interns.

Don't worry the writing will become more natural and expressive as I write a couple more of these.

Enjoy - more from India.