Hi everyone!
Well, I am happy to report I have successfully completed my first (research related) field visit. Everything went as smoothly as could be expected. I must give a special shout-out to my field coordinator / partner-in-crime / all around cool dude, Anantvijay, for his hard work in setting everything up ahead of time. I had become used to things running smoothly during my stint with summer school (thanks again to impeccable planning), but as you may have guessed, that is not the norm here in India. The fact that I have a research grant and was able to pay for these extras seems to have made all the difference (thank you, DGHI!!). Plus, I think I am lucky to be placed with a great team who really value the project I am working on.
As you can see, I did find a translator after all. I had an AHA! moment and reached out to a colleague that my advisor introduced me to while he was visiting in June, and she found me someone very quickly. His named is Dev Vrat and he is an MBA student in Udaipur doing translation work on the side. He came along and led two focus group discussions yesterday. Admittedly, it took him a bit to find his stride, hence the first group went very slowly. He was open to suggestions and ended up doing much better for the second group. I am looking forward to working with him for the rest of the coming week.
I admit, I am feeling quite anxious about the level of work I have to accomplish in the next few weeks here. Not only am I responsible for completing these focus groups, but I will also have to write a report and give a presentation to the NGO. Also, I have been asked to work on setting up the next round of surveys for my advisor, which will hopefully take place in November/December of this year. I am adament that I have at least SOME time for travel and fun, especially seeing as I will be celebrating my 26th birthday here! Others may not agree with me, but I can already feel my stomach tightening with anxiety at the thought of everything I have to do. Beeing cooped up in Udaipur isn't going to help me get anything done any better. So, I am planning short trips to Mumbai (August 7 - 11) and Delhi (August 14 - 17) to see friends and have a little fun Then, I will come back and present my results before heading home on August 20th.
One thing that might de-rail my plans are the rains. It has been heavily raining since last night, and I am headed back to the field Monday - Friday. There were already some bridges that had been washed out and huge rocks that had fallen and were blocking roads yesterday (Friday). If the rain really picks up it could make going to the villages impossible. Which means I will have to go back to the drawing board! We shall see what happens ...
Yesterday was a bit dreary, but I did manage to snap a picture of Kherwara during the monsoon season. I will post a picture from a few weeks ago for comparison :) Granted, these are different villages, but you can see a definite change in the vegetation already!
Well, I am happy to report I have successfully completed my first (research related) field visit. Everything went as smoothly as could be expected. I must give a special shout-out to my field coordinator / partner-in-crime / all around cool dude, Anantvijay, for his hard work in setting everything up ahead of time. I had become used to things running smoothly during my stint with summer school (thanks again to impeccable planning), but as you may have guessed, that is not the norm here in India. The fact that I have a research grant and was able to pay for these extras seems to have made all the difference (thank you, DGHI!!). Plus, I think I am lucky to be placed with a great team who really value the project I am working on.
As you can see, I did find a translator after all. I had an AHA! moment and reached out to a colleague that my advisor introduced me to while he was visiting in June, and she found me someone very quickly. His named is Dev Vrat and he is an MBA student in Udaipur doing translation work on the side. He came along and led two focus group discussions yesterday. Admittedly, it took him a bit to find his stride, hence the first group went very slowly. He was open to suggestions and ended up doing much better for the second group. I am looking forward to working with him for the rest of the coming week.
I admit, I am feeling quite anxious about the level of work I have to accomplish in the next few weeks here. Not only am I responsible for completing these focus groups, but I will also have to write a report and give a presentation to the NGO. Also, I have been asked to work on setting up the next round of surveys for my advisor, which will hopefully take place in November/December of this year. I am adament that I have at least SOME time for travel and fun, especially seeing as I will be celebrating my 26th birthday here! Others may not agree with me, but I can already feel my stomach tightening with anxiety at the thought of everything I have to do. Beeing cooped up in Udaipur isn't going to help me get anything done any better. So, I am planning short trips to Mumbai (August 7 - 11) and Delhi (August 14 - 17) to see friends and have a little fun Then, I will come back and present my results before heading home on August 20th.
One thing that might de-rail my plans are the rains. It has been heavily raining since last night, and I am headed back to the field Monday - Friday. There were already some bridges that had been washed out and huge rocks that had fallen and were blocking roads yesterday (Friday). If the rain really picks up it could make going to the villages impossible. Which means I will have to go back to the drawing board! We shall see what happens ...
Yesterday was a bit dreary, but I did manage to snap a picture of Kherwara during the monsoon season. I will post a picture from a few weeks ago for comparison :) Granted, these are different villages, but you can see a definite change in the vegetation already!
Pareda village, Kherwara block (mid June)
Sagwara village, Kherwara block (late July)
Thanks for stopping by! I'll be in the field all next week, but will update when I get back (a promise of more pictures for next time, even if they are a bit dreary)!
xoxo
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