My oh my, what a week

Hello hello

I remember last year I had to give a presentation to high school seniors and their families on the international opportunities offered at Northeastern. I was participating in a student panel and I was there to talk about my experiences in South America as well as my co-op at the Office of International Study Programs. It was an open house for students who had been accepted to the University under the Early Action program. 6 or 7 1.5-hour long sessions over the course of 3 days. I remember it well largely because it was the first time I'd ever worked with Ketty Rosenfeld, the director of Northeastern's International Co-op program.

"The first thing I ask a student when they come into my office and tell me that they want to do an international co-op," Ketty said to our audience as she started her presentation, "is, 'Why do you want to suffer?'"

I identified with what she was saying. I had gone to a place where people speak a different language than I do, deal with different problems than I do, have different values than I do. I had experienced "culture shock," both when I arrived in Argentina and when I came back to the United States. I had experienced the frustration that comes when taxi drivers and sales clerks try to hustle you because you're a foreigner, when you can't get anything done because of the lax sense of time that the Argentines have, when you spend an hour and a half trying to get to class by taking the subway, 2 buses and a cab only to arrive and be told by the security guard that your professor has decided not to teach that day. I thought that I understood the suffering that Ketty was referring to.

This is a whole new ball game.

It's as if the Hindu gods are laughing with each other at my expense, throwing every challenge and setback at me, putting me through some kind of cruel hazing ritual to humble me. When I arrived last Tuesday, I was informed that the internet in my apartment hadn't been working for a couple days but that steps were being taken to fix it. Every day, nothing was done. I was told by one of the Deshpande Foundation staff that I had to register with the Police Commissioner here in Hubli under the terms of my visa, but was not given any guidance in the process, no matter how many times I asked. How was I supposed to get a document notarized in a foreign city? How was I supposed to get a copy of my rent agreement when I had had no part in the arrangement of the housing? How was I supposed to print out necessary documents when no one would give me the code for the printer? I was promised a cell phone, but none was given. On Thursday, I noticed that a hole was slowly but surely being burned into the cord of my computer charger, a ticking time bomb until I was cut off from the world completely - no computer, no cell phone, no internet, no resources. I called 3 different phone numbers for Apple in India to get a replacement and was told every time that they did not ship to customers here, I would have to go to my nearest Apple store, which was 10 hours away in Bangalore. Working 10 hours per day 6 days per week does not give one time for such journeys, so instead I lost $200 to purchasing one in the United States and having it shipped here to India ASAP. I was charged with creating lesson plans and assessment strategies but given no information whatsoever on the people I would be teaching and assessing. There was no communication, no feedback, no help to be given.

Saturday night, when I had deadlines looming for my final papers from Ireland and still had no internet with which to do research, I decided to check into a hotel nearby which would provide me with "free" wireless. The room ran me approx Rs 2500 per night ($55). Over the course of the next week, I would stay there 4 nights.

My spirit was steadily becoming crushed. I was still jet-lagged - I would inevitably wake up before 5 in the morning and be absolutely exhausted before 8:30 in the evening. I had no energy or motivation to do the essays that were still hanging over my head. I felt as though I had come to a country where with little effort I could live on less than $5 per day only to see my money disappearing at alarming rates. I was frustrated and desperate, anxious because I didn't know what was expected of me at work and angry because I felt as though I had come all this way only to be neglected. I was tired of haggling with rickshaw drivers who were trying to charge me exorbitant rates for a ride to a hotel which was already costing me far too much, then trying and failing to explain to them where the hotel was when they couldn't understand any English at all. Then, on Monday, I started feeling the familiar signs that things were going to start to go south health-wise. The food and water adjustment was catching up to me, just in time for the new Fellows (my students) to arrive. I managed to make it through most of the day on Monday, which was the orientation program for the Fellows, only to have to excuse myself from one of the programs late in the afternoon. By Tuesday I was essentially on a diet of water and cornflakes, however the week before I had arranged to have lunch delivered to me at the office daily (a common practice at the DCSE). On Tuesday, it came time to pay the woman who delivered the food (the food that I was unable to eat). Savita, a former Fellow who now works at the DCSE and has to some extent taken me under her wing, came to me and told me that I had to pay the weekly fee. I opened my wallet and discovered that someone had helped himself to all of the cash inside - approximately Rs 1600 or so, which is equitable to nearly one weeks salary.

So I'm sick, I can't eat for fear of being incapacitated in the middle of teaching a class, my papers are late or on the verge of being late, and I still have no internet in my house and am on the verge of being in India illegally because it's coming up on 2 weeks and I still have not registered with the Police Commissioner. Thursday night I checked into the hotel once again in the hopes of making progress on my essays with the help of the internet there, and after having to request that they move my room in order to give me a better wireless signal, I plug my charger into the wall only to hear a crackling sound that is in essence a death rattle, and my computer dies. No progress was made on the essays, and that no progress had cost me another Rs 2500. If you were one of the "lucky" (yeah right) few that were able to talk to me over the course of this week, you know the state that I was in. I was furious. I was frustrated. I wanted to go home, but at the same time I hated home. I hated Ireland. I hated India. I basically hated everything.

Things are better now. Emboldened by a new ally in the DCSE (Dulcie, another American woman placed higher up in the organization), on Friday I essentially declared war. The day brought a combination of everything from charm and finesse to a good old-fashioned American temper explosion. Lo and behold, at the end of the day, the internet in my house is fixed and I am in possession of a brand-new laptop to hold me over until my new charger arrives. I'm still careful with food - in my experience the sickness that hit me this week is just the "warning" wave - something stronger will surely hit in another week or so. But it's nice to be able to finally settle down in my new home and not have to pack up and go to a hotel every other night. If you've ever wondered what life would be like without internet, I suggest NOT trying it, especially in the wake of a recent move halfway across the world.

Also, after spending a couple days with the Fellows, I have to say that this job has the potential to be one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had, or will ever have. They're 30 of the most brilliant and inspiring people I've ever met in my life and I am privileged to know them, let alone to teach them and help them on their journey to greatness. The fact that they consider themselves to be fortunate to have me here teaching them blows my mind - every one of them is the kind of person in my opinion everyone should aspire to be. Alas, with the inspiration comes anxiety from extreme pressure. More than anything else, I don't want to let these people down. More on them later.

That's all for now guys, its time to buckle down and get some real work done. A lot of you checked in via facebook this week asking about India and life and such so this is kind of a response to that - don't worry, I'm not so discouraged anymore, I will just be happy when things are settled and Ireland academics are left behind me and I can devote all of my attention to my class and making a temporary home here in Hubli. Thanks for the messages and wall posts, they really brightened up my life when I was finally able to see them last night! Keep it up :)

Hopefully I'll be able to post more soon...say...tell you something about what India is like? Explain where I'm living and what I'm doing? Do more than just complain about things? Yeah I think that'd be good.

Take care for now, all!