Weekend 2

After a day of working on my research report at the office, I met with Helen and Mari to go to the supermarket. I’ve wanted to bake for a while, and though there aren’t ovens in the kitchenettes in the dorms, I thought I would try to see what I could do. It was my first time out of the compound since the little incident last Friday, so I thought I would be safe and bring a mask that I got from the medical center. I see a fair amount of people wearing masks of some sort on the streets and, as three lighter-skinned girls in western clothes, I figured we couldn’t get much more conspicuous anyway. We hailed a cab – a really fun one with decorations and playing loud music – and drove about 15 minutes to a strip of shops.

The store was like a grocery store mixed with a Target or Wal-Mart. A lot of the food had dates on it that had already passed, but I believe they print “Packaged on” dates instead of expiration dates. For about 500 rupees, or around 12 dollars, I got a set of ingredients, a hair clip and some chocolates. After the store (and an embarrassing confusion about needing to sign after using the credit card) we stopped at a street vendor for something Helen and Mari were really excited about – Pani Puri. After handing out plates to the ten or so people gathered around the stand, the vendor takes these thin, hollow ball-shaped shells of fried dough, put some lentils in them, dunked them in a broth of spiced water, and puts it in a plate. You have to eat it in one bite since it’s filled with water. It was pretty good, but I couldn’t handle all seven that the ten rupees bought. They also tried to rip us off a bit by saying Helen and Mari had had two plates’ worth, even though they definitely didn’t, and besides had only asked for one.

Kinder Joy in India!!

At dinner I met a really cool couple who is visiting ICRISAT for a week or two. The husband is German, and the woman Indian, and they are running a primary school in northern India for no profit. (They also have an adorable baby!) They invited us to come up to the school any time to help teach English lessons, as they are pretty short-staffed – 4 teachers for 50-some students in five different grades. I wish I could travel up there to help for even a week!

I also learned that it is illegal in India for couples to display almost any affection - to kiss, or even holds. If the police catch this, you get a fine, and, if appropriate, a call to your parents. It's strange, as a lot of the TV showers and music videos convey very different messages - they might as well be soap operas from the US or MTV.

On Saturday morning, we swam at the pool all morning until lunch, playing variations on Marco Polo.

Then, we baked! I was quite happy to be back in the kitchen – it felt almost like home. I used a hot plate instead of a stove top to make no-bake cookies, and I had to estimate the amounts because everything was in grams and there weren’t any measuring cups or spoons anyway – it felt a bit like a science experiment – but they turned out very well, despite a bit of burning!

Since we plan to have a sort of farewell dinner/party tonight for four of our friends who will be leaving this week, some other cooking/baking went on. Helen made a pasta salad and British dessert, Banoffee Pie (pie crust [crushed biscuits and butter], toffee [boiled condensed milk], bananas and cream), which was delicious. Sahima made a Bangladeshi dish, Khichdi, or rice cooked with lentils, vegetables and spices. And Amita, who does a lot of cooking, made some Indian food – fried balls of gourd-flour balls with curry. I don’t know what that was called, but it was really good.

After watching a little Harry Potter on HBO, we met in one of the dorm rooms to have our party, with all the good food and some Indian music. Everyone loved the cookies :). I’m going to make them again soon.

(Puja, Amita, Uma, Mari, Sahima, Helen, Millind, Me)

(Sahima let me borrow one of her beautiful kurtis from Bangladesh.)

I got back to my room before midnight, and stayed up until about 1:30 AM to greet Shraddah, the other World Food Prize intern working at ICRISAT. Unfortunately, her main suitcase didn’t make it to India with her. But I'm glad she's here!

On Sunday morning, I showed Shraddah around and then met with some friends for a lunch of leftovers at the pool.

(Uma, Helen, Millind, Amita, Mari, Me, Shraddah)

Research

These past few days have not been too eventful, as I have just been researching at work: “Prospects of Vegetable Soybean in India and its Market Acceptance.” For the next two weeks I will be researching and writing a report, using some sources given to me by my advisers and the library here and, of course, the internet. It does feel a bit like a long school day; I come to work around 8 AM, have a lunch and tea break, and research until about 4:30. I do know, however, that it is important to be able to do this sort of research about what has already been done in the field, and I am learning a lot, especially since I know very little about the specifics of farming or plant biology or soybean marketing to begin with. I am just looking forward to a little more activity during the day – I get pretty sleepy, especially with the heat and humidity. A little fact I came across… The best fertilizer to use if one wants the sweetest vegetable soybeans is half chemical, half cow manure or fermented pig dung.

(This is what my cubicle is looking like)

There are a lot of different angles to take in this report, and I hope I can do a cohesive job of it – I wasn’t really left with many specifics. I assume I should focus somewhat on improved taste, as I will be doing a little experiment on that a few weeks down the line. But I’m also interested in some expanded uses for vegetable soybean (or edamame), like what it can be a substitution for (lima beans, butter beans, green peas). So I’m looking into some India-friendly recipes with edamame. While perusing foodgawker.com, I came across a few that look pretty good. Even if I don’t get the chance to try them here, I might at home! Like [ginger apple quinoa] or [feta blah]. I don’t think I’ve ever actually had a vegetable soybean, so I’m looking forward to actually trying one myself after the harvest.

Yesterday we did get to take a trip out to the field because the AVRDC mungbeans had begun to germinate (and the soybeans are on the way). We went with Usha as she brought a special bacteria, Rhizobia, to mix with the water for the mungbeans. Since they are legumes, they have special nitrogen-fixing nodules on their roots, which adding the Rhizobia will enhance. This means they don’t need to be fertilized as much and can be used as a green manure after harvest by being plowed into the soil to restore nutrients. An ICRISAT employee was there to do the watering as we watched (he didn’t want us to try, since the watering cans were heavy). Usha told us that ICRISAT has a pool of general employees of about 300, which are rotated randomly every 15 days to the various offices/departments on the campus. Usha wasn’t really sure why they do that, as it means they have to retrain the employees each rotation.

After work, Sahima and I rented a tennis court and racquets for 50 rupees (a little over $1) and tried to play for an hour. After a shower, I met some friends (Mari, Uma, Amita, Arvind, Mellind, Harshal) for dinner, a walk afterwards, card tricks and home-brewed chai in the dorm.

At the tea break yesterday during work, someone brought in jackfruit, so I got to try that for the first time. They’re yellow and slimy and about the size of a fist but more oblong, and really fibrous and sweet (almost too much for me). You eat them in one bite and then spit out the pit, which can apparently then be boiled or fried. I also bought some chocolate chip cookie things from the little convenience store on campus…

“The world’s best moulded chocolate chip cookies”

I love walking through the fields, which are outside the main part of campus but still within the fence of the compound, but today one of my colleagues suggested I not do so alone, just in case. So I suppose they will be a little less frequent now, unless I find a walking buddy.

The sky was really pretty yesterday...

Today it was one of Dr. Satish's last day at the AVRDC office (he is transferring somewhere else) so we went to lunch as an office today. Then during tea, they had a little party with cakes and snacks, and gave him a few little gifts and a card we had all signed.

(Neerja, me, Dr. Warwick, Dr. Satish, Tomar, Aguil, Usha, Rehanna, Huyen - the AVRDC office minus my advisor, Dr. Ram, who is in Australia for the next 3 weeks)

Weekend

After work on Friday I planned to take a quick trip outside with some friends to pick up a few things like lozenges and light long pants to cover up against mosquitoes, but the bad traffic/pollution led to some breathing problems and I ended up experiencing a Hyderabad hospital! (Just to be on the safe side - a friend said her aunt has breathing problems because of the city, and using an oxygen mask always helps her.) The first thing I noticed was that it wasn’t air conditioned – and the mall next door was. In fact, the mall next door had seemed all around a little cleaner and more high-tech. Not to say the hospital was terrible, but it was definitely a different feel than the ones I am used to... the nurses/doctor didn’t really write anything down, and there wasn’t soap in the bathroom (that I could find).

(I'm really fine, I just thought it was a sort of funny picture.)

So Saturday was a relaxing day to recover. I took a walk in the fields to check on the AVRDC soybeans. It's really pretty out there, and so dramatically different from the outside - cleaner, more open, quiet (though every now and then you can still hear the traffic in the distance). It was really windy today – birds would be flying into the wind and not actually moving. (Ava, I tried to get a picture of the flock of pigeons for you).

(I think that’s haze off in the distance, though I was hoping it would be storm clouds.)

I ran into this group of women walking along the paths. I was admiring their clothes (it seems strange to me that women here just ware such beautiful clothes for work on the farm), when they noticed I had a camera. They were really excited and wanted a picture (I think – there was a language barrier. All I got was “Thank you madame!")

And then one of them wanted to try taking a picture with me in it, so here are those. They all thought it was really funny that she missed both times :

(And these are their working/farming clothes! I feel so inelegant in comparison.)

Then it was lunch time. I have not gotten tired of Indian food yet, especially since they change the menu up so much that I can still be trying new things almost every day. I really love the chapati bread, and my digestive system should be phenomenal by the end of these two months as I’ve been having a cup of yogurt with almost every lunch and dinner. Arvind, another Indian friend did tell me that the canteen is not quite exemplary of “real” Indian food, so we might go to a restaurant in the city to get that experience sometime.

Vegetable jahlzfrezi, yogurt with kernels, chapati, fresh vegetables.

After lunch I had time to read, and go to the gym, as seen below … (They have one of those old-school machines with a band that supposedly shakes the fat off the hips). I was the only one in gym clothes (t-shirt, gym shorts) – the men I saw there were in polos and khakis, and the one woman was exercising in a full kurti/trouser ensemble. Afterwards I went swimming with Arvind, which was really nice - I don't know why I hadn't gone to the pool earlier. I felt too conspicuous in my swimming suit, though, so I wore a tank top over it just to cover up a bit more skin. I'm still figuring out what is acceptable...

It gets dark around 7 PM here, and then the bats come out. There are some small ones that flit around like at home, but there are also some cool huge ones. What with all the mosquitoes, I love the bats. I also saw a feral kitten on the stairway up to my dorm room:

Sunday was another relaxing day. I have sort of a cold, or a cough, or something, that I just want to get over. While walking the fields again, I came across what looked like a shrine at the base of this huge tree…

And, as usual, there was delicious food for dinner: Cow peas with tomatoes and onions, something else with coconut, roti (a slightly thicker version of chapati, I believe) and yogurt. I’m in one of my new kurtis, (which I think needs to be fitted). Also, I am writing this to the sound of what I think is a feral cat fight outside the dorm...

Finally, HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!!

Day 5 - Police and Rain

Sahima and I returned to the police station for the third time today. The experience was sort of exasperating but almost sort of funny. We were kept waiting for about an hour before some came over to search our things and give us each a pat-down. Then we waited another hour or so. At one point there was a loud crack, and a bugle trumpeted, and the people in the station all stood up. I did too, just to be safe. It was because the chief, the SP, was coming in, and everyone saluted him. This was the guy we were supposedly here to meet – but he just walked right past, and again we were kept waiting. Finally we were ushered kind of hurriedly over to his chamber (guarded by two guys with big guns), asked to sit down before the SP’s desk while he spoke with two other men. After about a minute, the SP apologized for not meeting us yesterday, and dismissed us. And that was it, after all the waiting. There is still a bit of paperwork, but fortunately we don’t have to go back (until August, when I will have to check in again before leaving the country).

At work, I didn’t have much to do until Dr. Ram went out to check on the fields, and I came along. Since it began to rain, they’ve started to sow the soy and mung beans. They hire local women to come and do one of the farming, which helps support AVRDC’s policy of improving livelihoods…

It has begun to rain! I believe this could be the monsoon season kicking in? It’s nice on the one hand as it cools things down a bit (although the humidity remains high – to me, at least. I was assured that this is dry for Indian standards), but it also means that the mosquitoes are coming out in droves…

Also, I have a new favorite dessert: laddu, balls of chickpea flour, milk and sugar with some spices. I forgot to take a picture, but will try to get it again!

Beautiful sunset and...

DOUBLE RAINBOW!!

Night 4 - Market

Last night was pretty exciting. After work, I met Shahima, Helene and Amita and Harhsal (I am probably spelling these names incorrectly) from India. We headed out of campus to catch a bus to a permanent market inside the “high tech city,” a sort of touristy-mall complex. Immediately after exiting the campus it becomes an ordeal, as you have to cross two lanes of traffic moving in either direction. You really just make a dash for it whenever a slight gap appears. Harshal was able to help give the cues. We caught the bus and took a seat, where Shashima pointed out the symbols that denote seats reserved for women towards the front of the bus. It was then that I noticed that a lot of people stare at me. For some reason I didn’t notice it on the first few outings – but people really do just stare at Helen and I. It’s alright, though, as I stare at everything pretty unabashedly. I suppose we are pretty conspicuous; the area around campus doesn’t seem too touristy.

We arrived at the High Tech City area and paid a small fee (25 rupees or a little over 50 cents) to get in the permanent marketplace, where there were stalls and stalls of vendors with fabrics, bags, jewelry, saris, kurtis, pottery, etc. Stray dogs wandered around in here, too. They’re everywhere, and they’re really quite cute – some are so skinny or have limps, though. I really wish I could pet them, but I will resist.

The market was really fun. My goal was to get a kurti or two, and there were many options. Whenever you went near a stall, the vendor would come over and begin working you over. Being so obviously foreigners, they took pretty blatant advantage of us – agreeing to bargain with people before us but then not negotiating when it was our turn. I’m eager to practice bargaining myself. I’ll just have to work on calling people’s bluffs and being confident. Fortunately, Harshal speaks Hindi which would usually induce a lower price. He was very helpful – we would pick out something, point it out to him, and he would go bargain for it on his own, thereby getting a lower price. I came away with two lovely kurtis, (for less than 300 rupees, or 8-9 dollars each) and a new mug (50 rupees or about $1.25) that I can use on the tea breaks at work, all largely thanks to Harshal’s influence.

For dinner, we went to a Mexican restaurant in the mall that some of my company had said was really good and they were very excited about, which ended up being a Chili’s. It was a very Indian Chili’s though, which I liked for the better, as they offered a separate vegetarian menu, as well as things like Lentil or Paneer Fajitas (the latter of which we got – very good). Everything had a bit of a spice to it, too. And the service as a bit different – you had to ask repeatedly for water, and that sort of thing.

For the ride home, we rented a cab – which I was very excited about. When you stand at the street they come to you. You bargain for the prices on these, as well. Again, Harshal arranged for the price separately from us to get the better deal. We hopped in (Helene, Shashima, Amita, and I in the back with room for only three to sit, and Harshal in the front with the driver), and set off. It was much more intense than being driven in the closed car as before. At some points I could easily reach out and touch the bikers or other people in cabs next to us, as the vehicles get so close – even just an inch or so apart some times. There were a few terrifying moments of driving into traffic when making turns and nearly getting sandwiched between two busses. Our driver stopped twice without explanation to make purchases at stalls along the road. The funny thing was, though, despite the aggressive, daring driving, the cab-drivers pull over when they take cell phone calls. The two downsides were the occasional “interesting” smell, like stagnant water or mounds of trash or communal ditch-side toilets, and the pollution – I had to bring out the puffer.