Day 4

This morning at 8 AM Dr. Ram, Bui, Usha and Dr. Easton Warwick and I headed to one of the greenhouses to take some pictures for the AVRDC newsletter. We posed among the vegetable soybean plants that were planted for the purposes of my project (having to do with “Prospects for Vegetable Soybean in India and its market acceptance, with specific focus on flavor of different varieties). They are just beginning to flower!

(Me, Usha, Bui and Dr. Warwick) (Dr. Warwick and Dr. Ram)

After that, Shahima and I had to be driven to the police station once more. On the drives there and back I saw a shepherd guiding a herd of about 100 goats, a van so full of people that the back doors were open so one man could stand on the and hang out, and a bus so full people were hanging out/sitting on the sills of the windows (and these are going speeds of 80-100 km/h – 60 mph?). At the police station, we sat and waited once more. Someone escorted us to another building, which seemed like a ritzy personal office, where we sat for a few minutes before being led out once more. After waiting another hour or so, we were told the man in charge (the SP?) was busy. Someone else handled our paperwork, but he wanted to meet us personally so we have to come back once more tomorrow. Here are some more shots from the road…

Those little yellow three-wheeled vehicles like in the picture left are the cabs, and they're everywhere.

Since the food is such a big part of this experience, here is a shot of my lunch! Chapati (the thin bread), daal (lentils), yogurt and a cabbage apple salad. Yum.

Days 2 and 3

After getting my cubicle and laptop at AVRDC yesterday, I had to go through some formalities. I went down to the LSU (Learning Systems Unit – I guess this is just administrative/coordinating people and such) to receive my official ID tag, which allows me into campus. I had to have my picture retaken because the first time my eyes were open too wide, I think (sometimes I struggle with the heavier accents – I hope I get used to that soon). After getting the tag, I realized they had spelled my name “Elser.” So I had to go back after lunch to get that fixed.

My cubicle and outside of the AVRDC World Vegetable Center Regional Center for South Asia

One of the stipulations on my visa was that I register with the police within 14 days of arrival. And, for some reason, the police station required 6 passport sized pictures of me, which I didn’t have. So Usha, a legume breeder at AVRDC, accompanied me “outside” to have my picture taken in a studio. This was the first I had seen of the real city in daylight, and the driving was even more unnerving, very much like Indian traffic is portrayed as. People just weave in and out one another, sometimes four or five people balance on a single bike, and sometimes up to ten people ride in one cab. Trucks have “Please Honk” written on their backs. I was told it is nearly impossible to cross the street – once a group of girls coming home from school clumped together in a large group in an effort to be let across. The only thing I saw almost completely stop traffic was a crossing herd of bluish gray cows. Here are some pictures from the road...

The photograph studio was open air, like all the other shops along the line. While waiting for the pictures to develop, Usha bought me a coconut so I could try drinking its water from a street vendor – he hacked off the top with a machete-like knife and then popped in a straw. (You can see the coconut stand to the left). After getting back to campus, I had to go to the LSU again to register for the police visit. While waiting, I met Alice from Kenya. Later on, for dinner, I ate two other interns – Bui from Vietnam and Khin from Myanmar.

This morning, after breakfast with Bui and Khin once again, I got to the AVRDC office by 8 AM. Dr. Ram began going more in depth about vegetable soybean (different from the grain soybean, which is what we have in Ohio) and its role in alleviating malnutrition. At 10, I was taken to the police station by the AVRDC driver and an LSU worker (whose names I don’t quite know), and Shahima from Bangladesh a but studying in Boston who also had to register with the police. The drive was about a half hour. After getting to the police station (another open air building – it was quite hot) and sitting for about an hour, we were told the person we needed was in a criminal meeting and it was unknown when he would be available, if at all. So we’re going back tomorrow morning. I saw some policemen carrying some pretty big guns. On the way home, we stopped at a mango market where Shahima bought about 4 kilos. I saw a lot of cows this time, both a creamy white kind and a dark bluish-gray kind . They’re quite elegant looking.

After lunch, I went back to the office for the tea break (chai!), and then went to the bank to exchange some money. $70 = 3,060 rupees! After work, I met with Shahima and Helene from France to go on a walk around the campus and look for peacocks. I’ve been told campus is 2-3,000 acres, of which the main campus is only a fraction – the majority is farm and open/natural land. We walked about 45 minutes and only got a third of the length down. It’s gorgeous – there are lakes, groves of trees, and winding baths overlooking the reddish sown plots, and all different types of birds everywhere. At one point there are an old little mosque, church and Hindu temple all in a line. We saw 4 peacocks, but all were too quick to get pictures. At dinner I met another girl, Mari, from Puerto Rico, and Tomo from Japan. Everyone has been very nice.

Pictures from our walk around campus...

Campus Tour

I got a converter! So here are some pictures of around campus.

Here is my dorm room...

Here are two views of the main campus/dorm buildings from under my building. Those are all mango trees!















A freshly fallen mango and the detritus.
















The troublesome socket.

The cute white dog in the Guestel guest service building, where I was using the internet, and the bike that is always at the base of the stairway out of my dorm.

This statue of Ganesh was excavated when the research campus was being built. It is over 1,000 years old and is still used for regular Hindu worship.

First Impressions

Hello!
I made it! And I can't really believe I'm here. I got into the Hyderabad airport at about 11:15 PM. The flight was nice - it was Lufthansa again - and I managed to sleep through a lot of it. I just followed the crowd through the airport and got through customs and to the baggage claim. It took almost a half hour for my suitcase to finally appear. Then I walked into the exit room which was just filled with people. Fortunately I found the "Isabella Esler" sign quickly and met Dr. Ram who took me to the car driven by someone else from AVRDC.

It was about an hour drive, and it was pretty crazy. The driver sits on the right side of the car and you drive on the left side of the street. Except the street lines seemed more like vague guidelines than anything. People don't really use turn signals, they just honk. The landscape outside changed so quickly, too, from the relatively nice airport to plain freeway to driving through a city street with tents and shacks and slums on either side. And then, suddenly, the gated, guarded entrance to the ICRISAT campus. We pulled in and I registered my laptop, and then in the office, and then was escorted to my dorm in the "Sorghum" building. (All the dorm buildings are named after ICRISAT crops). It's pretty basic, but bigger than what I assume my dorm will be at college in a few months. There's a bed, desk, closet, and TV (which doesn't work, though), phone, screened sun room. Bathroom is right outside around the corner. No air conditioning, but most places don't here, and there is a ceiling fan which keeps it pretty comfortable.

The next morning I met Dr. Ram at 7:30 AM (9:30 PM at home!) for breakfast. I got my first look at the campus, which is beautiful. There are nice green lawns and fancy white fences, wide stone walk- and stairways, beautiful trees. The canteen is buffet style, and I thought I might ease my way into the food here with a bowl of cornflakes, toast, and a banana. The milk was hot (for sanitation purposes) but it was actually pretty good. Then Dr. Ram gave me a walking tour of the campus - it's huge, 2,000 acres I think. I saw other dorms, the permanent living spaces, a lake, the pool and recreational center, the green houses, the medical center and bank, the regional offices for things like AVDRC... It was pretty empty, though, as it was the weekend. There were a few people riding around on mopeds or bikes (Dr. Ram warned me to be careful of traffic, since drivers just don't yield for pedestrians). There are a lot of cool birds here, and I've seen a bunch of lizards, two wild cats, and some frogs. There is also a really cute white fluffy dog in the reception office. I'm hoping to see a peacock and monkey at some point.

Dr. Ram met me again for lunch, tea (chai - delicious) and dinner. He is really nice, helpful and patient - I feel like I am asking redundant and sort of silly questions, as well as getting the directions down slowly. I'm attributing it to jet-lag. In between meals I got to nap, read, walk around outside my self, and try to stay awake.

One of the best parts of campus is the mango trees right outside the dorm buildings. There are different varieties, all smaller than the ones I was used to. Dr. Ram showed me which ones were the best. Apparently it's the end of the season, so people are out all the time gathering mangoes. I had one to eat and it was delicious. Every time a moderate breeze blows by, a couple fruits just drop off. I've started anticipating hearing the thuds from my room.

This morning, I met Dr. Ram for breakfast again and then we went to the AVRDC office, where I was given my own cubicle and laptop! I'm not entirely sure what to be doing right now, so I thought I would update this. While I have internet access in my room, unfortunately my laptop died and they didn't have a converter that fit the charger plug. But I think I'll be getting one soon. And even so, it's not a big deal since I now have this access at work and they have computers that are for public use in the campus office. I'm just hoping to get my laptop working sort of soon so I can use Skype again.

I hope things are well at home! I miss everyone.
-Izzy

Frankfurt

Everything seems sort of surreal right now. I'm sitting in the Frankfurt airport with about an hour until we board for Hyderabad... It's 9 AM here but 3 AM at home, so I'm pretty sleepy. But this is over the half-way point! I flew here on a Boeing-747, one of those big double-decker planes, so the flight was pretty nice and smooth. Germany looked so beautiful coming in - lots of forest and the cute houses/villages - and there were a ton of windmills, which were really visible even from pretty high up. The airport is nice... The attendants ride around on bikes and there are a few of these glass, cubicle-like Camel "smoking stations."

Next stop Hyderabad!!

I miss everybody already...

Hello!

Hello!

This will be my blog as I spend two months in Hyderabad, India as a Borlaug-Ruan intern at the World Vegetable Center. I will try to update daily with lots of pictures. I would love to hear about what is going on at home as well!

Just three more days until the flight!