TOILET PAPER!!!

Oh how I love toilet paper! It can be used as packaging material, cleaning your glasses, wiping your nose, removing make-up, making toilet seat covers. making wedding dresses and most importantly wiping your bottom.

Naturally, I forgot the most important hygiene material on the planet. Don't get me wrong, I love wiping with my hand but there are some problems that follow. First, your hand is wet and you feel like it is the most unsanitary thing on the planet right after you wipe your bottom after defecating and then you have to open the door to wash your hands....Yuck! Second, in many cases the water spout is on the right side of the squatter toilet  and you have to use your left hand to wipe and in order to do so you have reach all the way around your body to get to the spout just to loose all the water as you steer it towards your bottom and, in some cases, you hit the handful of water right into our undies which leads to my least favorite thing about wiping, getting wet. How I hate having to squat on the toilet waiting for your bottom to dry and realizing it is nearly impossible so you pull on your pants just to realize that it is going to take a lifetime for it to dry through two layers of clothing. When I was talking to Beau I came to the realization that boys and girls have very different anatomy making it more difficult for girls than for boys. So, due to my passion of hating being wet I bought toilet paper.

I might consider my squattet-toilet-wet obsession the larger extent of my culture shock. I am adapting to the Indian head nod that many of the Tibetans use also. Here is a video that can certainly show it better than I can explain it.

I think it is really interesting. I didn't understand it too much when I arrived in India but the more I have interacted with individuals through interacting with rickshaw drivers, bus drivers, tailors, and friends I am beginning to understand the variety of things it can mean, including: yes, no, okay, and I am listening.

Now for the exciting stuff.....

 

 We are officially in the camps now. Our PAP's came on last Monday and we registered with the police on Tuesday and moved into the camps. I called Damdul, the manager of the Organic Research and Training Center (ORTC), and he asked me to start on Thursday. I have now worked 3 full days. I expected to work just a few hours a day but it has turned out to me a lot more (usually 7 to 8 hours a day). The first couple of days Beau helped me out to make sure I would be comfortable being on the farm by myself and knowing a little bit about the Tibetans I knew I would feel more than safe. 

The first day Damdul sat us down and talked to us about his plan for me and made sure that it was suitable with my plan for myself. We decided I would volunteer 4-5 days a week and one of those days we would discuss any questions about things I was learning. It has been the perfect plan! Damdul took us around the first day and showed us how to make natural pesticides out of custard apple leaf, lantana, boganvia, neem, and cow urine. The best part was that everything you could find growing on the farm. He helped us cut off what we needed from the bush and then it was our job to chop it all up. I really enjoyed his teaching technique. He would show us how to do it then just leave it up to us. By the end we had a wonderful slurry of natural pesticides.

The methods of the farm are very economical. Under U.S. law cow dung cannot be directly placed into a compost so they first make a slurry of 10 percent dung and 90 percent water and place it in a cement dome where it can build up methane gas. That gas is directed towards the kitchen where it can be used on the gas stove. Once the dung is sufficiently drained of methane it can be placed in the compost and eventually contribute to growing healthy plants. The plants are later sold and the remains are fed to the cows where the cycle can start again. It's really a brilliant way of cycling a single product, dung. The farm is mostly self-sufficient because it grows plants they can eat, they have a well to draw water, and gas from the dung -- very little things are outsourced at all. 

The next thing we learned on the farm was how to carry out vegetative propagation of sweet leaf (stevia). This is no short process though it is fairly simple. For certain plant species you can cut off the flowering portion from the root and use the mature sections of the plant to reproduce the plant. To do it properly you must cut the stem at a sharp, clean angle to allow it to absorb as much nutrients as possible so it can grow roots and continue plant growth. This project lasted the major part of 3 days and there wasn't even that much stevia and I will be doing some more in a week or so. Damdul informed me that his purpose in doing this is to plant 2 acres worth of stevia. Currently, the ORTC dose not export their products but by just selling it in India they make 150 rupees per kilogram. 

The other day it was my job to fish through all of the black pepper plants in the nursery and discard the dead plants from the live plants (80 percent were alive).  So I moved over 1,000 black pepper plants from one spot to the next. By the end of the day I was completely sore and it is not going away. I have been stretching, walking, and having Beau massage but I still feel like a crippled turkey. I am hoping the pain will leave soon because the work on the farm just continues. 

 Well, I think that just about does it. I am loving the people here and the experience is wonderful. Someday I plan on coming back because it is such a beautiful place. See for yourself:)

First week in India

       I really don't know where to start or what information to detail. I could never convey all of our experiences or my impressions so far so I will only hit a few. We arrived to Bangalore on Tuesday evening. I was tired and worn out from the 30 hour adventure and had yet to find out amount of time and struggle was yet to come. After waiting 45 minutes to get through immigration because we didn't have an address of where we were going I began to realize that I really didn't know where I was going -- I didn't know how to navigate here. I was just grateful I had my husband to wake me up when it was time to get off the plane and guide me through immigration, or, rather, deal with customs with me. Walking out of the airport we spotted a sign that two boys were holding saying "Kharuna Home". We both knew that was one of our contacts in Bylakuppe but we also knew that Samson, one of Dave Shuler's friends, was picking us up. That was the begining of our problems. Luckily we found Samson and he took us to Krish Homes where we would be staying that night. Later we found out, to our bewhilderment, that Kharuna Home had driven all the way from Bylakuppe just to pick us put.  Well, what happened happened and we had no control or knowledge of what happened until we had already come and gone so the story continues......Krish Homes was a nice place with a balcony, two beds, shower, bathroom, and balcony that over looked the hidden street in Bangalore. It ran up into a grove of mango trees. The neighboring houses seemed very nice. Most of the houses had balconies, nice rugs, and clean patios. It is hard to tell much else from just the outside of the building. We arrived in Bylakuppe very late and found out that we weren't suppose to stay there. We stayed just the night and ate dinner there (thukpa). Our living quarters will be very nice. We are in a building in the back of Namgyal's house. There are 3 rooms (the bathroom, washroom, and bedroom). Our room has two beds separated by a nightstand. The beds are wood slated frames with thin blankets and topped with Tibetan decorated rugs. The rugs or mostly dark blues and reds. At the foot of the bed is a stand with a very very modern TV. It is much nicer than I expected and much more westernized than I expected. The washroom consists of a shower (very cold!) with a metal drain in the floor and a small wash machine in the corner which is something I never expected. The bathroom is a squatter with just a nozzle for water to wipe your butt. Make sure you only use your left hand! I had to learn how to use them very fast because we forgot toilet paper. It has been a good experience.       When we were at Namgyal's he told us quite a bit about farming. A knowlege about agriculture here is very common knowlege which I didn't expect. He explained to us about how maze has been a very large crop in Bylakuppe but it is not very profitable. Usually the corn is only grown for cow feed and is not able to be consumed by the people. It was supprising to find this out because almost all extra land here is a well plowed farm or coconut tree farms.
        On Monday we were able to visit the Organic Research and Training Center where I was able to talk to Tenzin Damdul. He explained the maze as a plant that does not give anything back to the earth. Currently they own 80 acres of organic farms which they use to invite Indians and other Tibetans to see that vegetables, fruits and herbs can grow well if they put the time and patients into it. Currently, Mungod has over 1000 acres of organic farming. Damdul explained that although farming is not a good way to make a sustainable income they are doing much better because they are growing 6 herbs that are sold for medicines. He clearly explained that once I obtain the PAP I will certainly be able to work on the farm. It is the perfect season right now because everyone is starting to plant.
       As far as my class on Tibetan Medicine I have not been able to learn much yet. I have a few books I want to read which I have to wait for them to get here and then I can begin to ask questions. A Tibetan nurse came to Kharuna Home last week and told me of a Tibetan doctor's office that I might be able to learn at.
      Not having the PAP has made things frustrating. We have been able to build rapport in the Kharuna Home but it does not extent out of that besides with Damdul. I pray that it will come soon so that I can move on with my project.
      My adventures here have been very small in comparison to what I will experience but one thing I learned on the very first day was that Indian standard time is 10 times different not that it is good or bad but plan on everything being twice as long as they say. On our bus ride from the airport to Krish Home I was told that we would be there in 30 min from the time we asked and it ended up being a good 1 and a half hours later. As Beau's Hindi teacher says Indian and Mormon standard time just adds up.



      Now since posting pictures is kind of sketchy here because we have to use an internet cafe. I will post pictures of places that we have gone to in our free time.
The Golden Temple

Sera Monastery

Mysore

Getting Ready to Leave

We, my husband and I, began packing for india the other day. Our house is being subleased to a soon to be married couple who will be moving in April 23 and will live there till we get back on August 23. Our house was a disaster so we began packing up clothes in the bedroom, moving our bed into the living room (more room), we moved our couch into the bedroom so we would have a study area with the desk in the same room, and cleaned up the kitchen. We left enough cloths our for the next couple of weeks. We have to be our of our apartment on April 23 so we get to be homeless till the 28th. We need to stay in Provo because I will be working double shifts so here is to sleeping in the back of the truck and showering on campus! No we just need to do our actually packing for india. We are starting to prepare by buying the alternate plug-ins and getting clothes that we can take but after finals week it will have start becoming more and more prepared. We need to get bug repellents, malaria medication, our last Japanese Encephalitis shot, maybe water purification tablets, and train tickets. The website (http://traveltips.usatoday.com/travel-light-india-1062.html) I was reading suggested the following:

"Things Needed

• 1 pair of closed-toe shoes/sandals 
• 1 pair of light flip-flops 
• 3 shirts and pairs of socks 
• 2 pairs of underwear 
• 2 pairs of trousers/shorts 
• Paperback books 
• Pocket digital camera with high-capacity flash disk" 

I am excited to get everything packed and ready. After our homeless week is over we will be able to stay up in Salt Lake until will leave on May 6th. We are both getting very anxious. Now the next thing we need to figure our is how we are going to travel in india. The indrail pass seems most plausible but we are debating whether we will pay trip by trip or just pay for the unlimited pass.

Wednesday and today are project presentations. My project is very unique in that it does not apply to my major. Previous to coming to BYU and starting my major in Exercise Sciences I attended ASU were I was a Life Science major. I loved it there because it was so general yet specific. My classes ranged from general biology (i. e. plants, animals, fungus) to genetics, to cell biology, to human anatomy. It interconnected all living things -- cells, plants, animals and humans. Now my major is much more specific but considering I have completed all my necessary elective course I choose to do the project I am doing which is connected to agriculture, plants, and farming. My project presentations is as follows:

Title: A Survey of the Adaption of the Agricultural Practices in a Tibetan Refugee Community in South India

In 1959 the Tibetan people became so suppressed by the Chinese Government that they choose to flee to india. The Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala which has become a hub for the Tibetan Refugees. The Indian Government has allowed the Tibetan Refugees to settle in over 35 settlements spread across India.

In 1963 India's Green Revolution began. This introduced high yielding seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. Everyone began to take advantage of it because you could produce a large harvest and export the goods for profit. BUT these fertilizers and pesticides destroyed the 'healthy' soil.

In 2002 the Dalai 

Japanese Encephalitis

Today we got our second to last set of shots, the Japanese Encephalitis shot. It is a $261 (plus another $261) shot that I would say is well worth it! Though many may think is too costly, I know I certainly do, Japanese Encephalitis is something I rather not get while I am in India.
Japanese Encephalitis is a serious infection caused by a virus which is spread by the bite of an infected mosquitoes.

Bylakuppe is a very humid place, especially during the summer, during the monsoon. It is a rural community where mosquitoes are highly populated. Although it can be avoided to some extent by repellents, long clothing, and staying in screened areas it is hard to avoid for nearly 4 months.

A person who is infected by Japanese Encephalitis can have no symptoms while others will have raging fever, headache or severe encephalitis (brain infection). Symptoms of encephalitis are fever, neck stiffness, changes in consciousness, or coma. Approximately 1 in 4 people who are infected with encephalitis dies and of those that don't die, half suffer permanent brain damage. The shot is recommended to any travelers to Asia who spend at least a month in areas where Japanese Encephalitis occurs, those who are going to be engaging in outdoor activities or where there have been outbreaks. Considering that I will be working on rural farms in Bylakuppe (Southern India) where Japanese Encephalitis risk is high I found it worth the cost.

My sister-in-law's father suffered from encephalitis. I don't know much other than he wasn't really there in the head. One day last November he was taking a walk and crossed the street at an undesignated spot. A 20 year old girl hit him and killed him instantly. I don't want to be that crazy person that crossed the street at the wrong spot because I didn't know any better and even more importantly I don't want to cause a 20 year old girl, or anyone for that matter, to have to suffer the image or what happened like with my sister-in-law's father.

Scholarships

Scholarships! Yes, great things, and something I am definitely depending on. Money is certainly tight when it is costing about 13,000 dollars for my husband and I to go to Bylakuppe, India. I have been working long hours when I probably shouldn't be because I have been sick but you do what you gotta do. Last week I found out that I can now qualify for the half tuition scholarship for spring and summer terms. BYU requires a transfer student to attend the school a year before academic scholarships can be received and I finally hit that mark. I was already budgeting the scholarship because I thought I would get it but now it is absolutely in the picture now.

I started filling out the Field Studies scholarship today and I feel like I am lacking substantial answers to receive funding. For example, how will this experience fit with your major/minor or career goals? I am not exactly sure. I don't know how to apply this to an Exercise Science major. I choose this project because it was interesting and I have fulfilled all my electives previous to this project. I hope that it will be beneficial as being a mother and wife in being able to garden organically and provide various fruits and vegetables that can sustain my family to some extent but that won't be for a while. I am hoping that a 6.35 GPA will help get me a substantial scholarship because who can seriously beat that?!





Ok, maybe I'm not that smart....Beau got home and I was showing him my scholarship application and he caught my 6.35 GPA. I would have never realized it. I am slightly dyslexic especially when it comes to numbers. So, maybe I have a 3.65 GPA and I don't have a great reason to do my project other than to be with my husband but that is okay with me. I am excited to be with the Tibetan people and learn about how they learned to farm in India. I am excited to talk with Tenzin Damdul, the manager of the Organic Research and Training Center, and expereience everything Bylakuppe has to offer.

Tibet's Geography and Agriculture

Shen, T.H. "Agricultural Resources of China". Cornell University Press: Ithaca, New York. 1951. Print

Shen talks just briefly of the pasture lands of Tibet. He explains them as being rugged, desolate, and barren. Most of the land is wasteland and the rest is meager grazing land. There are very limited agricultural sections. Vegetables can be grown at the bases of the highlands, and barlely and grasses at higher elevations. Food produced there is not sufficent for the populations and depends to some extent on imports through caravan routes.
This kind of information is key in comparing farming in India and the changes and adjustments they have had to make to farm in India. Rain in Tibet is between 300- 600mm while in Bylakuppe it rains approximately 35in just in the summer.