Bombay Darshan pretty much translates to 'fun in Bombay'. It is a common phrase that people here use when someone new comes to town and enjoys the city. I went to a relative's house a few weeks ago and they were stuffing me with yummy food and when I couldn't handle anymore, they just said 'C'mon Priya, this is part of your Bombay Darshan'!
My time at Ashray is winding down. My time in India is too! I’m still getting lots of work done for CCDT luckily. I’ve fixed up quite a few of their forms, guidelines and registers and am now working on a standard PowerPoint presentation for the agency. I’m also working for the pediatrician to come up with some sort of database for all of the kid’s medical records. The US government offers a free program called CareWare which is software that keeps track of HIV patient information. For some odd reason, I can’t access the government website from anywhere in India! My friend Richard had to download the manuals for me and email them. I finally managed to download the actual software myself but through an alternate website and on a dodgy Internet connection so my fingers are crossed, I hope it installs properly! I’m not sure if some of the government sites are blocked in different countries or if the Internet connections I tried are sketchy. In any case, the program is ideal for developing countries since it is free. I’m working on its installation and once it is complete, I will be able to see how useful it is and if it is practical with the types of computers at most NGOs.
Aside from my volunteering work, I have been continuously discovering Mumbai. Ashray is located on a great street full of nice shops so it’s nice to browse and shop every now and then when I scrounge up some funds. I got my haircut at a famous salon called Nalini & Yasmin. They are known to do all the Bollywood starlets hair-dos. They did a normal job and the salon was just like one in Canada except extremely busy like the rest of this city! My stylist did a great job and straightened my hair and made me promise that I’d blow dry my bangs (which there’s no way I’m doing in the summer in Mumbai OR Ancaster) and I just nodded and said ‘Ya, ya’. I think she was a little annoyed by my low maintenance attitude. Anyways, as I stepped outside, within two minutes, my hair went back to its normal Mumbai style – instant ringlets. The hair dresser would’ve been so pissed off! I should’ve gone back and showed her, just for kicks!
I went to see ‘The Dark Knight’ a couple of weekends ago with some friends and my cousin. It was really good and definitely worth the 100 Rs. ($3.50)!!! Last weekend was the most relaxing since I’ve been in Mumbai (mainly because I stayed home and didn’t do much but bake cookies!). My cousin came to my aunts place with her two babies and we all just relaxed (while the babies slept) and played while they were awake! My 1.5 year old niece sleeps only for an hour and a half in the day time and only 8-9 hours at night. She never falls asleep before 11:30pm so she is a handful! But, she is the happiest baby I’ve ever seen and it is great fun playing with her. I’ve taken hundreds of pictures since I arrived and most of them are of her or the kids in Ashray which I can’t publicize due to confidentiality purposes.
I went back to Colaba yesterday. My British friend Ed is going back home today so he needed to do some last minute shopping. I really got to practice my bargaining skills as I haggled with at least 5 different shop owners! I’m sure most of them will remember me now so if I need to pick up any last minute gifts, I’ll know where to go!
The Rotary Club of Bandra has invited me to come to one of their meetings this Sunday so I hope to go there this weekend. They visited Ashray for the Independence Day celebrations last week and they were happy to hear about my experiences here. They also gave each child a gift from their wish list so it was really nice to see them so happy.
The new boy that I mentioned in my last blog entry is doing well. After 2.5 days of crying and missing his parents, I came back after the weekend and he didn’t cry once. Of course he was still upset, but I could see how quickly kids adapt to new settings. I’ve now seen his naughty side as well, during his performance on Independence Day he kept tucking his long shirt into his pants when he wasn’t supposed to and he would look at me to make sure I was laughing at him! He is extremely sweet-natured and smart. He got admission to one of the better English schools here so I really hope he becomes something brilliant when he’s older.
Those are the only updates I can think of since the last time I wrote. Sorry for the huge entries – you know me, once I start typing…I just can’t stop!
Hope you’re all doing well
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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4 comments:
He kept on tucking his long shirt into his pants when he wasn't supposed to?!?!
What a little rascal!!!!!
Make sure you meet the export laws for CareWare. The EULA states that its your responsibility to verify that your use meets the export laws. Also, it seems that the CareWare software connects to some central database. Hopefully you'll have stable internet access to access that db wherever its installed.
RICHARD! I was talking about a Kurta Pyjama outfit which I didn't want to describe since my blog entry was already so long...but here you go:
It's a long shirt, that goes down to your knees and then, thin fitted pants, all in cotton. So, since the shirt is supposed to cover most of your legs, it looks really odd when you tuck it in! Especially when the rest of the boys were all wearing the same one and looking really nice!
Thanks for the info Bhaskar! That's why CareWare seems to be a bit sketchy for these types of NGOs since their Internet connections are hardly ever reliable! I think I'll stick with the current Access database that I'm using.
I can always count on you for techy knowledge!
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