Ups and Downs

The past week went by in a blur.

The initial submission deadline for the weather insurance paper was due on Wednesday (Thursday India time). So for the first part of the week, I juggled final data issues with output for tables that Jeremy sent me. Although I have had to strain a bit, it has been nice to put the statistics I  learned at Wagner to use. A month of daily Stata work and days spent figuring out output, reinforced my course work and has increased my confidence in the subject matter. Having said this, sitting in a hot, dim room in front of the computer for hours and days at end has not been wonderful for my spirit. It is also not what I had expected to be doing this summer. The days that I have been able to get out of the office have been my best days. For this reason, I was pretty disappointed (on many levels) when I woke up last Thursday realizing that I would be residing in the bathroom regretting last nights dinner instead of joining Monika in the field-- a well deserved trip after a week of computer work. Having no kitchen and eating out every meal in the last 2 months has made it difficult for me to guarantee that I am eating well prepared food. You just never know. I ate three times at the same restaurant before it made me sick. Anyhow, instead of visiting villages I stayed in bed. And on Friday and Saturday, I struggled to refocus my weakened mind to the lingering task of data work.

Sunday provided a refreshing new start. I woke up early and went on the "Heritage Walk of Ahmedabad." A tour that while a bit touristy was well worth waking up for. After a brief slide-show, about 15 of us walked through the narrow labyrinth-like streets of old town Ahmedabad stopping to look at 'pols' (inner city neighborhoods with gates), temples, bird houses, architecture and mosques. The tour began at Swaminarayan Mandir and ended at Jumma Masjid. Jumma Masjid is 600 years old and after walking around for a few hours in the cramped quarters of the walled city, I was not prepared for the spaciousness of the mosque.  I was also impressed by the precision of its architecture. While my camera could not seem to capture the maze-like streets, it surprisingly captured the mosque's precise construction. If you click on the second picture of the mosque, you will see that it looks as though the picture has been cut in half. The height of each pillar is so exact that they seem to cut through the photograph. As our guide said: "and they didn't even have computers 600 years ago!"

This week has been spent preparing for the end. I have been trying to wrap up my work so that I can leave for Kolkata and Darjeeling next Monday. Gunjan and I went to the VIMO SEWA office on Monday to sort out more mismatched information and today I met with Monika in the hopes of breifing her on Stata a bit so that she can use what I have done. Tomorrow she will leave with Divya to have some meetings in Chennai. It will be hard to say good bye since I have really enjoyed working with both of them.

Comments

[Rebecca]

I don't understand why the picture looks like it was cut in half....so sorry you were so sick. Love mom