07/13

00:24 (writing this on 07/14)

Blessed. One more day until I go to the village. Every day, I set goals that I want to accomplish for the day, and my success rate is not that high. But, today I may not have accomplished much, but I am in fact very prepared for my village trip.

When I got to the office, Swathi and Pallavi, my translators and friends, printed out all of the paperwork for the village trip. When they showed me the piles of paper, my jaw literally dropped. Not only do I have so many papers to fill out, but I am so glad that we were on the same page with the interviews! Although each interview may take up to 45 minutes to an hour, I am determined to make the most of each interview. Plus, I have such a beautiful and intelligent team!

Since all of my questionnaires and focus group paperwork were all completed, I spent the rest of the day relaxed. During lunch, Mariah and I went to IACD to get the blouse for my saree. Honestly, sarees are so beautiful. Each of the blouse are customized to fit one's body type and the saree even shows one's curves. I can't believe that I finally own one and I am most definitely going to rock it in Berkeley.

When I got back to work, I did not really get anything done. Well, that's a lie. I actually finished my introduction chapter, so I now have 4 more chapters to write (YAY for productivity). Since my mind is just not on the mood to do anything, I decided to learn how to wear a saree. So, Padmaja and Kavitha taught me how to wear one. Who knew that I would go through a modeling and paparazzi situation when I wore the saree?

I felt like a celebrity because of my outfit. Apparently, people think I am Indian here so the outfit just makes me more Indian! I have no problem with that because Indian people are so beautiful, kind and precious.

After the photo shoot, I only had an hour until work ended. Unfortunately, the wifi did not work, so my productivity level was very low at that point. But, I am just glad I am prepared for my village trip!

I left work ten minutes earlier because there was not much to do without wifi. So, I changed out of my outfit and went bike-riding with Gabbie, Olivia and Alex. The bike-ride was so chill and we even saw peacocks on the way. ICRISAT is such an animal and tropical resort, I tell you!

We finished in an hour and went for a swim. Chris has been effectively teaching me how to move my feet and my arms. Somehow, I am just very disoriented so I do not get anywhere when I swim. But, today I was able to successfully go from wall to wall! I really just have to "keep swimming, keep swimming", as Dory said in Nemo.

My biggest highlight was offering a helping hand. Well, it wasn't much of a helping hand, but it can count. Anyways, I realized that Gabbie didn't eat dinner, so I delivered her mac&cheese. That small deed made my night because the act of giving is so powerful. And, I gave Tita Ana a parting gift. I cannot believe that she is leaving with Tito Myer in 2 days. I am basically going to go back from the village and they will be in the Philippines by then. Well, that is part of life, people come and go, but the experiences and the impact they have had will always be permanent. I am just so blessed to have met them!

Now, I am all packed to go; I just need to knock out. 

*blogging will resume on Friday*