The road to Dharwad…
Updated: Jan 14, 2021
Monkey family – so cute!
We have been in Dharwad for almost a week now, at it had been eventful! The bus ride to Dharwad from Goa was about 5 hours of bumby, curvy, mountainous terrain. I think we were lucky no one got car sick – but we did all remember to take our Dramamine! There were some interesting sights to see along the way. I’m surprised that you see people walking along the side of the road pretty much everywhere. Random pit stops for food, which they call “hotels”, we would pass by often. One point we saw a little family of monkeys by the side of the road! That’s how you know we are Americans – we all freak out about the monkeys and everyone else is like, eh whatever!
We arrived in Dharwad after the long bus ride and were welcomed very warmly. Dr. Hema, the president of the Food Science and Nutrition College greeted us, as well as the president of the University. We were given tea and cookies and went around the room and did introductions. We discussed what we would be doing while staying here in Dharwad and how our project would go. We will be studying the village of Marewad (Mar-ay-wad), which is the same village the previous interns visited, and continuing their work with new nutrition interventions.
Panoramic of my room. Cushy, huh?
I must mention the sleeping situation because it was very funny the next morning – I don’t think any of us slept very well! We went from resort, luxurious comforts in Goa to dorm style that is much more basic than dorms you see in the USA. I think my mattress is a piece of foam – needless to say it is very firm. And you will find little geckos on the walls everywhere…but I guess they are okay because they help eat the bugs that are everywhere. I’m finding that I am becoming a little desensitized to the presence of bugs the longer I am here. Who knows, maybe by the end of this trip I’ll be snuggling with lizards and spiders. HA! The bathroom was also a shower. Literally…the showerhead is right next to the toilet. Everything gets wet. I consider that we were lucky to actually have European style toilets instead of squatty potties. Gotta find that silver lining.
