Hello! I am coming to you all from an internet cafe just outside the colony. Our internet connection inside the colony has been so slow, it has been impossible to post on here! So, Angela and I decided to venture out, see our surrounding area a little, and try to update from here. So far so good, except I am still unable to post any of the photos I wanted to. I will try to get around that.
Two days ago we got the chance to travel into the city of Trichy and visit one of the temples the city and the state of Tamil Nadu are famous for, the Rock Fort Temple. The entrance was very unassuming, and situated on a busy road. Once we entered, we had to climb many staircases to get the to the top. According to a sign, it was around 200 but it definitely felt like more. We made it to the top, and while our feet were burning a little from the hot rock floors (we had to take our shoes off at the entrance), it was an amazing experience. We got a panoramic view of all of Trichy, and could see across the river where other large temples were looking back at us. There was a wonderful, welcoming breeze that rewarded us from climbing up all of the stairs in the heat, and it was a wonderful feeling.Afterward, we walked through a couple of markets, and experienced what a busy street of shops is like. It was nice to experience something else here in India and get away from the colony, however we definitely prefer the calmer environment of the colony. The hustle and bustle of the city was so much more than anything we had ever experienced.
It's been taking some time adjusting to life here in Trichy. The days are long and extremely hot, much hotter than what either Angela or I are used to back home in California. It's amazing to see the children from the colony running around and playing at all hours of the day, in the blazing sun, shedding no sweat and looking as if they are having the time of their lives. While the heat can be difficult to handle, we are getting through it! Today we fought through it and positioned ourselves in a breeze tunnel outside our bedroom, and it was perfect. Another thing about India is the government will shut off the electricity for hours in a day, so we can't use the fans to keep ourselves cool. Thus, we find other means. It is much different than being back home, but we'll eventually get the hang of it. If the people in the colony can do it, so can we!
We are slowly getting started with our work here at the Narikorovar Colony. It has been a bit difficult because the loan facilitator here is out of town for the week It is a bit had to get all of the women in the Chidiya coop together as well. Additionally, things in India are more laid back than in America and everyone runs on their own schedules, so it's been a bit of an adjustment period to this new way of life. However, yesterday, we were able to get started. I took photos of the various necklaces the women make for Nest to include in the look book I have to create for my first task. It was really fun to do this because I've been trying to get more involved in photography.I shot some really great angle of the necklaces. Angela and I also teamed up and I used her as my model for the jewelry, as I need to provide several angles of the pieces in the book and needed a way to get photos of them hanging. I can't wait to put it all together!
Today we met with our translator who will be helping us conduct the surveys of the women and implement the business curriculum. He was very nice and seems very easy to work with. We will start with having him translate the survey from English to Tamil, and then begin surveying the women from there. Since we have already come across problems with meeting all the women from Chidiya, we hope we don't have as much trouble going forward.
For now, I will start assembling the look book and production guide while we wait for our loan facilitator to come back Saturday evening. We hope to start the surveys next week and get down to business!
Until next time!
Two days ago we got the chance to travel into the city of Trichy and visit one of the temples the city and the state of Tamil Nadu are famous for, the Rock Fort Temple. The entrance was very unassuming, and situated on a busy road. Once we entered, we had to climb many staircases to get the to the top. According to a sign, it was around 200 but it definitely felt like more. We made it to the top, and while our feet were burning a little from the hot rock floors (we had to take our shoes off at the entrance), it was an amazing experience. We got a panoramic view of all of Trichy, and could see across the river where other large temples were looking back at us. There was a wonderful, welcoming breeze that rewarded us from climbing up all of the stairs in the heat, and it was a wonderful feeling.Afterward, we walked through a couple of markets, and experienced what a busy street of shops is like. It was nice to experience something else here in India and get away from the colony, however we definitely prefer the calmer environment of the colony. The hustle and bustle of the city was so much more than anything we had ever experienced.
It's been taking some time adjusting to life here in Trichy. The days are long and extremely hot, much hotter than what either Angela or I are used to back home in California. It's amazing to see the children from the colony running around and playing at all hours of the day, in the blazing sun, shedding no sweat and looking as if they are having the time of their lives. While the heat can be difficult to handle, we are getting through it! Today we fought through it and positioned ourselves in a breeze tunnel outside our bedroom, and it was perfect. Another thing about India is the government will shut off the electricity for hours in a day, so we can't use the fans to keep ourselves cool. Thus, we find other means. It is much different than being back home, but we'll eventually get the hang of it. If the people in the colony can do it, so can we!
We are slowly getting started with our work here at the Narikorovar Colony. It has been a bit difficult because the loan facilitator here is out of town for the week It is a bit had to get all of the women in the Chidiya coop together as well. Additionally, things in India are more laid back than in America and everyone runs on their own schedules, so it's been a bit of an adjustment period to this new way of life. However, yesterday, we were able to get started. I took photos of the various necklaces the women make for Nest to include in the look book I have to create for my first task. It was really fun to do this because I've been trying to get more involved in photography.I shot some really great angle of the necklaces. Angela and I also teamed up and I used her as my model for the jewelry, as I need to provide several angles of the pieces in the book and needed a way to get photos of them hanging. I can't wait to put it all together!
Today we met with our translator who will be helping us conduct the surveys of the women and implement the business curriculum. He was very nice and seems very easy to work with. We will start with having him translate the survey from English to Tamil, and then begin surveying the women from there. Since we have already come across problems with meeting all the women from Chidiya, we hope we don't have as much trouble going forward.
For now, I will start assembling the look book and production guide while we wait for our loan facilitator to come back Saturday evening. We hope to start the surveys next week and get down to business!
Until next time!
The temple sounds lovely! This makes me want to travel around India even more. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you are having a good time! And I can't wait to see your pictures later.