Kendra in India: Another day and more learned

For those of you who don't know India wasn't my first choice. Originally I wanted to go to Cambodia due to the cultural and especially historical draw is had to me. However through the competitive process I was not accepted. I am so blessed that I wasn't. This internship is my capstone project and is essential for me to graduate. We have people here (Krishnayya in particular) that will bend over backwards to help us complete our projects. On another note the program in Cambodia just fell apart. The NGO that they were working with no longer will work with the students (probably due to funding). If I had been accepted and decided to go to Cambodia I wouldn't have been able to fulfill the requirements of my internship and been able to graduate in Aug. Who knew being rejected was going to be such a blessing. 

Yesterday afternoon we asked Rajalaksmi to take us shopping. Now we could have asked Sudha but Rajalaksmi is amazing at bartering prices. We also just wanted to be around her. She's so spunky when she barters too. When she finally gets the price down she always smiles. Our goal to go shopping was mainly to get toe rings for Ashley and I (Toe rings on your second toe symbolize marriage) and to get a yoga mats for Oliver and Lizzie (who have started to do their own yoga session in the mornings that they don't run). We ended up spending over an hour in a jewelry shop looking for jewelry for a wedding we should be going to this Friday. According to Rajalaksmi that means we must have bangles, necklaces, and earrings...and you don't disagree with her. So all four of us girls bought our full set of jewelry to match our sarees. Ashley and I also bought toe rings and black bead necklaces (also a sign of marriage). When we went back to the house everyone was so happy to see us wearing  those symbols of marriage. 

During the shopping the four girls of course were enjoying ourselves, but the boys were not enthused. After a little while they left the shop completely to go find a place to buy shirts. After we were finished in the jewelry store we went and met them. We then made them stay at the clothing shop longer and try on some traditional shirts for the wedding. Weston's shirt in particular looks so good! We'll have to make sure that we take a picture of us all dressed up. I'm so excited. Hopefully today Sudha will show us how to wear a Saree (Lizzie and Jamie tried earlier to put theirs on and it didn't go so well). 

Today we did our first pilot test for our study. We're entering the data now to see what we need to change. Other than that and seeing another temple tonight with Dr. Prabhakar we aren't doing much in the way of research. Though we have decided that we'll be taking a boat ride and seeing where Dr. Krishnayya is from on June 24. It'll end up being about a four or so day trip. We're all very excited. 

I love and miss all of you!

Kendra 


A few random pictures, but most from the day mentioned above.... I think...

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