Post-Trip Recap of the Last Weeks!

Hello Loyal Readers!

Yup, we're home in the states by now. A whole 38 hours worth of air travel from Delhi to Boston. There were delays in Newark because of the snow as well as bumper to bumper traffic in the great city of Delhi. But Tina, Jessica, Brooke, and Adam are all safe and sound. Here is a backwards glance at what we didn't have time to blog during our exhausting last days.



In the airport on our way back to Boston. The security
didn't really like our rear axle of the rickshaw and wheels that we tried to transport home.
Oh, but we succeeded. A few weight fees later.

Nate Cooke taking pictures during our visit to an NGO.

Inside a slum dwelling during our visit to the Shri Naroti Lal Buddhist Society (SNBS)
who advocates education and health awareness in 79 slums of Agra.

This is a map that is drawn by a WSHG (women's self help group).
The WSHG meets once a week to be trained concerning natal health issues
like midwifery, new born baby care, and nutrition. They also collect dues (5 rupees a week)
to cover expensive hospital bills within the community.
Each of the 79 slums has their own map that marks the home of
women as well as women with
children under a year.

Upon arrival, they graced us
with bracelets that said "I love my India,"
flower necklaces, and painted bindis (dots on the head between the eyes).

An idea of what a lot of the streets look like.
The concept of trash can hardly exists here because
the social structure includes "sweepers" at the bottom of the barrel.
They are responsible for sweeping sidewalks and streets. It is generaly accepted
that trash should be dropped and the "sweepers" will take care of it.
(The caste system is supposed to be illegal but informally
runs in some parts of the country).

Trip Leader, Jessica Huang.

A view of the train station while we were in Delhi.
This is on our way to Agra where the group is going to interview an NGO. The train
was supposed to leave the station at 6:15am. Instead, it is pushed to 9:00am.
The 2 hour express train ended up being 5 and a half hours long.
No Biggie.
Then, on the way home, our train was supposed to leave at 6pm but instead left at 11pm.
We ended up rolling into our hotel around 5:30am.
Go trains and fog.
Read more about the effects of FOG in DELHI in the news.

A view from the cab on our last day in Kolkata on the way to the airport to
fly to Delhi.

Suprio Das shows us his double freewheel device
that drives his "electropump." On the very last day, we took many
pictures of the inventions he's been working on.

There is only one line that runs through Kolkata. It is the red line.
Ironically, there is a Park Street and Esplanade stop on it!
Here we are: underground, on the escalator, and gasping for the sweet smog air
of Kolkata.

We are on our way to the Electronics Market so we
can continue to quote prices for Bernard's cell phone charger.
Additionally, to Suprio's surprise, we will also purchase parts
for an entire cycle van as well as a bicycle.
In this picture, we are stranded on a bus for almost a half hour.

Adam explaining something (probably just saying "bam")
while in the garage door of Mr. Moulick's fabrication shop.
Tina and Jessica pretend to pay attention while smiling sympathetically.

From Left to Right: Suprio, Bernard, and Mr. Moulick at the
shop. In the middle, Bernard is holding his invention.
If you have ideas about what it should be called,
e-mail us!

Mr. Moulick and Bernard discuss the cell phone chargers:
How much will each part cost to manufacture on a scale of 5,000?

We triedto make some dried out Water Hyacinth into charcoal.
We didn't really think about the fact that a plant
with the word "water" wouldn't really dry out or burn very well. Oops!

Adam checks if anything is happening underneath.
Is it burning? Is it working? Is it...

We shoved sugar cane and newspaper in the bottom holes.
Suprio begins the burn.

Here is the set-up for the charcoal burn. We had all of the essentials
but ... ultimately, the water hyacinth failed to ever ignite. It just turned to dust..

The results from our village visit (24 hours later).
Our results weren't as accurate as we would have liked them
to be due to forgetting the sterilized bags in Boston,
but they were somewhat confirmed by our partners in Gobardanga.

Our group picture with some SEED boys. We taught them to put together
flashlights.. Well, actually, they were able to teach themselves
how to do that. Smart kids.

See! Light! The kids loved 'em!

Brooke in a circle lesson with the boys making some quiz boards!

Adam one-on-one with a student. It's like they're brains are mushing! (-rob)

Adam is attacked by the forces of LIGHT! by a really cute kid.
Tina helped all the younger kids put together their flash lights.

Again! The cute kid attacks! Jessica is his victim this time.

We made a circle to describe how electicity works.
You start some curent in a wire which is passed through the metal and supplies
POWER to the device you wish to make run!

The kids had a great time drawing.

Looking up at the entrance of SEED. This picture is worth
making larger and looking at in detail.