07/06-07/10

18:00 (writing this on 07/10)

Grinding. This blog post is going to be a little different. Instead of doing a daily post, I am going to summarize my week into one post for two reasons:

1) As much as I hate to admit, I procrastinated with my daily blogs.

2) The majority of this week was focused on work (so I want to save you from reading the gory details).

I also split this up into two sections. The first section is my work updates, and the other one is just the fun shenanigans that I did during the week.

Work

This entire week, I focused on finalizing my work plan and questionnaires for the Dokur village trip next Tuesday to Friday. I can't believe that I would go to work in the morning, and then suddenly it would be the night and everyone is gone. Plus, I have stayed an extra 2-3 hours at work just to work on my research tool. And, to be frank with you, I am enjoying my work and my extra hours at work!

I cannot quite recall what I did on each day, so I am going to broadly talk about my project. As I mentioned before, I am researching the process of forming successful self-helped groups in Dokur. There are so many present research on the impacts, but not the procedural methods of the group. I am analyzing how each group (particularly the leaders) cope with environmental, social-cultural and economic barriers. Are the groups that cope with these problems faster more successful? What does a successful group even mean? How do you quantify success? All those questions and SO MANY other questions all aim to find the process of forming successful SHGs. When I go to the village, I am going to conduct 19 interviews: 10 successful SHG leaders, 5 failed SHG leaders, and 4 key informants (1 Sarpanch, 2 members of the Gram Sangham and the Village Revenue Assistant). I will also lead 2 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) between successful SHG members and inactive SHG members. These FGDs will give me an empirical understanding of quantify success regarding SHGs. And because of such a specific report, it is crucial to be prepared and have a very laid-out plan.

I have been working closely with my translators, Swathi and Pallavi, and supervisor, Padmaja.

I honestly love all of them so much. That sounds very weird, but I mean it! They have made my transition so smooth, and they always offer a helping hand. When I created my questionnaire, I thought that it was all over the place. Yes, it was all over the place, but they worked with me to polish it out to get the necessary information for my report. If Padmaja did not always have her doors open for me, I would still be as clueless. But, again, being confused is part of the process because it forced me to question and to find answers. I hated being confused, so I did everything I could to have my answers. And, Padmaja gave me almost all the answers that I needed! Swathi and Pallavi always uplift my mood because of their dynamic presence. They are beyond friendly and extremely intelligent. For example, we did our role-play of our questionnaire on Thursday and Friday, and they would crack jokes in the middle! I did not really care if that wasted work-time because it was such a relief to get a break from work once in awhile. And, to realize that I have other people to joke around while still working is such a wonderful blessing. Their enthusiasm for my project makes me extremely excited for my village trip. 

Since I have been making progress with my work, Dr. Bantilan and Tita Ana finally told me their expectations. They want me to present around August 10th in front of all the scientists of ICRISAT. They will even have it streamed internationally. When they told me that information, I felt extremely overwhelmed. I did not really know what to expect from myself with this internship. I did not even know what an internship really was when I first stepped on ICRISAT campus. Now, all of a sudden, I have to present in front of geniuses and I am just a recent high school student. I am just an incoming undergraduate college student. I am just this and that. And when I started thinking like this, I realized that I was putting limits on myself. Instead, I needed to think differently. I am given a huge task right in front of me, but if I am able to accept it and give in my best effort, the amount of progress and growth that I will undergo will become the greatest lesson of my entire life. That sounds like such a huge exaggeration, but it is true. If I am able to take it one day at a time, and believe in my potential and abilities, I can pretty much do anything that I set my mind to. Honestly, expectations are scary, but they are motivation too. People expect greatness from me because they see potential in me and they believe in me. I just have to see it that way and continue to stay grinding. 

Fun shannigans

On Monday, I went to Inorbit with Gabbie and Mariah after work to grocery shop for Alex's 20th Birthday. However, our first stop was Chile's because we craved American food. Did you know that I never ate at Chile's? My first time was in INDIA! Okay, I'll stop with the "first time stuff in India". I ate a hamburger and I felt like I was in heaven. 

I do not really crave American food, but I am slowly getting used to Indian food that I now need a variety once in awhile. I remember the first time I ate Indian breakfast, and I thought that I would never want to eat anything else (ICRISAT food is so delicious). But, I was wrong.  Before we went grocery shopping, we went to get our eyebrows done. Well, I was actually the only one that got them done since Gabbie's wasn't long enough, and Mariah did not want them done. I can finally say that my eyebrows are on FLEEK!

Threading my eyebrows and waxing my upper lip was a total of Rs 150 which is equivalent to $2. Great service too!!

Our next stop was the grocery store, and let me tell you something real important. Every time I go grocery shopping, I always buy more than what I need, and I get subconscious about the cost. I do not think that I know how to shop properly or save my money. Being an adult is very difficult...

When we got back to ICRISAT, I stayed up until 1 helping Mariah bake the pie. Did you know that you can make a pie with a stove-top? Well, now you know!

On Tuesday, we celebrated Alex's birthday. I was in charge of getting her to the room without her having a clue. Well, I failed at that! At around 7 PM, I ran to her dorm and she saw me running. Since everything was in the heat of the moment, I told her that I bought her a gift and that she should go with me to the room. Obviously, she kind of got an idea that it was a surprise party, and I was luring her to my room for that reason. Although she had a big idea, she just played along and I did too. I am just not good with surprises, but I did keep a straight face! 

When she got to the room, we all sang her Happy Birthday (but she was not as surprised). However, she was surprised with our vegetarian potluck! Home-made food is just the best types of food.

After our Birthday feast, we played fishbowl until midnight. Of course, Gabbie and I won because we are practically the same person. The entire night was filled with laughters, chill vibes and great company.

On Wednesday, my biggest and most exciting highlight was riding the bike with Mariah to watch the sunset. I took my time since I am still very new to riding the bike. Surprisingly, I did not fall that many times, but I was going 5 miles per hour (so that made sense). Riding around ICRISAT is such a beautiful experience because of all the various birds flying around, and the monkeys swinging on the trees. ICRISAT is literally a tropical, animal resort that has beautiful views to watch the sunset.

Since I learned how to ride a bike in India, I also needed to learn how to swim. Honestly, I am living the life here so far! Right after the bike ride, we went back to the pool and I got peer pressured to swim. So, I got changed and jumped right in! Others tried to teach me how to swim, but I just never listened or tried hard enough. This time was different. I listened to Chris and learned how to breathe underwater. At the same time, the other interns tried to teach me how to kick and move my arms. Since I was learning three things at once, I felt very annoyed when I would not get it. I wanted to rush through everything and be able to swim from wall to wall! But, everything comes with practice and I cannot be impatient! I am just glad that there are people that are willing to teach me one step at a time (or should I say multiple steps at a time?).

This entire week has gone by so fast! Next thing you know it is hump day, then it's Thursday! After work, I went directly to dinner since I went on overtime. This was the very first dinner that I was not fully present. I had so much to think about ranging from work to friend problems. I hated not being myself, and especially not contributing to the conversation. I wanted to be alone to think, but I knew that was just going to make the situation worse. So, I toughed it out and talked out my "problems" to Alex and Gabbie. I definitely needed to hear advice from outside sources to clear my head up. I even had a heart to heart conversation with Gabbie. Meeting people like her makes me very excited for college. I love having substantial conversations that go from personal problems to world problems to our interests and to our passions. I guess that is called simpin'.  Sometimes I think that I am homesick, but it is because I just didn't give myself the chance to fully get to know the people around me. Once I share my life story and I hear theirs, then it feels just like home again. And, it is slowly feeling like that in here. OH, and Alex did my henna.

Wow, I finally caught up with this blog! After spending another overtime at work on Friday, I went to dinner and swam with Mariah. Unfortunately, the other interns are on a 3-day camping trip and ICRISAT will definitely be quiet during the weekend. But, this is going to be the first and only chill weekend for me (so I am going to take extreme advantage of it). I love how this research campus has so much to offer, and I can literally do anything that I want. And, on top of that, people are down to do spontaneous things with me. I cannot believe that I only have 5 more weeks left here. And with those 5 remaining weeks, I am going to live in the moment and stay grinding to turn in the best research report (110% effort).