Prayas

It is Friday afternoon and I am sitting in an internet coffee shop in Jaipur.  Some of you might be wondering why I'm back in Jaipur.  Well, I will explain.  This past week has been a whirlwind of events.  On Monday, everyone took off for their internships.  Erik and I, along with 8 other students traveled to the south of Rajasthan.  We all met at school at 7:30 am, and by 2:30pm, Erik and I had arrived in Chittorgarh, at the office of Prayas.  We dropped out things off at the guesthouse, had chai, rested, and then went back to the office hoping to meet with the director.  However, the director was out of the office that day, so we were told we'd meet him the next day.  On Tuesday, we rested some more, ate food, went on a little walk to visit the caretaker's mother and children (which was the highlight of the day), and then finally around 9pm, the director arrived and we talked to him about what we would like to do for the internship period of our semester.  He decided to send us to one of Prayas' sites in Chottisagri, about 2 hours away by bus.  On Wednesday morning we were taken by motorbike to the bus stand, put on a bus and told that someone would meet us at the bus stand in Chottisagri.  We got to Chottisagri, although the bus ride was pretty hectic, and I somehow ended up getting mud all over the front of my shirts and pants?, and were taken to meet the site director.  He seemed less than enthusiastic about us being there, and told us to walk to the bus stand for food, and also didn't really ahve any plan for work for us, and wouldn't until after the holiday of Diwali (which ends the first week of November).  We were told to rest (some more) and we did.  Then in the afternoon Erik and I took a long walk.  The country side was beautiful and the people were very friendly, waving, saying hello, and welcome.  They also pointed out the temples we should go into, and it was a nice afternoon.  But, when we got back to the guesthouse, the director told us he would show us where the food was and take us on his motorbike.  He took us about 10 minutes away by motorbike, and then told us to eat and walk back.  I asked him to wait, but he made up some excuse about a low back tire on his bike and took off.  Erik and I had no choice but to eat the food there (not knowing if we had to pay for this food, or if it would get us sick, since it was just a road side stand). We ate, and then walked home in the dark (having to remember the way that we'd just seen once).  It took us 35 minutes!  And, the director expected us to do this three times a day for each meal, walking there and back.  So, we called up our MSID director and said that this internship placement wasn't going to work.  Erik and I both had put our best foot forward, trying at each stage thus far to make the most of the situation, but it just wasn't working out.  So, on Thursday morning we got up, found our way back to the bus stop, found a bus back to Chittor, and arribed in Chittor around noon.  We got back to the Prayas office, and they felt really bad about our experience and wanted a second chance, but both Erik and I were just so exhausted by the experience, that we decided to come back to Jaipur and try to start fresh with a different organization.  We are sure that Prayas is a wonderful organization, doing amazing and important work in the field, but we just don't think that the site we were placed at was ready for interns.  The staff at the office in Chittor was really nice, and we made good friends with them, but we didn't think that that friendship was enough to spend the next six weeks not working or observing the fields we hoped to study and work in.  Thursday we spent waiting for a taxi from Jaipur to arrive, but the driver didn't arrive until 7pm last night, so we decided to sleep in Chittor again and leave early Friday morning.  On Thursday afternoon, the Prayas caretaker, Shyamji, took us for snacks and played badmitton (sp) with us!  This morning we got up at 5:50am, and headed for Jaipur.  We are now staying at Erik's host family's house, because my host family is housing students for these 5 days.  But, on Oct 28, I will move back to my house for a couple of days to celebrate Diwali.  Then, on either Oct 29 or Oct 30 we will take a train to Jaisalmir and start with a new organization there.  We are hoping for the best!!  

Photos: Prayas Chittorgarh friends and bus station on way from Chottisagri back to Chittorgarh