The Peacock

A woman in the community drew this henna on my arm and then I painted away!

Another day, another book

Reading: Becoming an Ally by Anne Bishop and Experiments and Experiences in Social Work Practice by Dr. Gokhale

Listening to: The appartment's electricity buzzing

Waiting for: Lacey to arrive!

Valentine's Day

Reading: Radhika's Story: Surviving Human Trafficking by Sharon Hendry & The God of Small Things
Listening to: Bob Marley's Every Little Thing Is Going to Be Alright
Eating: Chocolate cake
Wearing: Traditional Jingle-y Bell Anklets
Missing: Home

Reading - Outlaw: India's Bandit Queen and me by Roy Moxham

How to Fit in at the Movies in India - You stand to sing the national anthem before the film and then talk loudly on your cellphone while the film plays.

Favorite Hindi Phrase - Tutta Frutta, it means break as in if a plate breaks or if you are speaking poorly, as in "broken hindi"

Photos

Today we were supposed to go to a youth event, but got lost and ended up at a temple. This is India.
This is me and my friend Sonali who is an MSW student here in Pune. She is also a make-up artist and has introduced me to wearing a bindi.
The two girls I am traveling with (Mika and Jana) and two Pune girls that adopted me as their sister.
Indian dance. Beautiful!
Jana and I hard at work. Or pretending to anyway. So far the most we have contributed is editing the English in some of the kids files, lol.

One Week in India

listening to: the traffic and people speaking hindi

reading: Ghandi autobiography, the mother goddess comic book

thinking about: the ethics of clinical trials on human subjects

phrase of the day: save on fuel, spend on your wife

Being "Crazy"

I don't remember the name of the writer or the paper, but someone once wrote about how there is still a lot of societal racism in the world. I will use "" when I am speaking of something that is not a biological fact, but a social construction that leads to lived realities. The writer challenged "white" people to ask themselves what it would be like to have to deal with internal questions that "black" people deal with on a daily basis. I think this issue translates to invisible discrimination by the "sane" against the "crazy".

Do you wonder every time you have an emotion if it is a symptom of something the doctors say is wrong with you?
Do you have to watch the way you speak in academic circles when sharing your "crazy" experiences as this may credit or define you from that point forward?
Do you have to keep quiet when someone makes an offensive joke to avoid an awkward defense and silence?
When you access a social service, will your "crazy" status define whether or not they will give you services?
Will your health records show up on a criminal record check?
Do you feel shame or guilt taking a sick day because your symptoms are different than the flu?
When you tell someone about your life do they automatically categorize you as either a victim or a menace?