India 2008

2009-02-20T04:11:00.000-08:00

February 20, 2009

Namaste from Eluru. We spent the last week in kakinada and enjoyed all of the hospitality of that lovely area. We also held another successful LN-4 hand clinic and fitted 9 people with new prosthetics. We visited many projects including the Kiran eye institute, the old age home, blood bank, Godarigunta school and the physiotherapy unit at the central hospital. Our GSE coordinator Bobby planned many fun activites including dinner at the beach, complete with veggie burgers and a boat trip down the Godavari river with lunch under the trees. We can feel it getting hotter every day but are all doing well. Our hosts are arranging for us to see many of the tourist sites in Andhra including the Sarpavaram temple and the lovely Shiva temple at Samalkot.

It was fun to celebrate kate's birthday in Kakinada, complete with cake and singing. We also appeared on a local TV station/community access channel where we talked about our experiences in India.

Eluru is a small city by Indian standards (only 500,000 people with unknown numbers of cows, pigs, dogs and water buffaloes roaming the streets) and we are enjoying the hospitality of the club President very much. Last night we were honored to attend a hindu wedding - the dinner was at 8 and the ceremony started at 11:30 - when we left at 1 a.m. it was still going. An average wedding in India includes hundreds if not thousamds of people and even more flowers, food and music. The ceremony is extensive and involves everyone. Amanda and Kate enjoyed the women's sarees more than anything...complete with more gold jewelry than one can imagine.

Many thanks to all of our Indian Rotarian hosts and friends....we will all be coming back with the obvious benefits of eating delicious Indian foods for a month! We miss all of our families and friends and look forward to seeing you soon and sharing our many many photos and wonderful experiences with you all.

Namaskaram to you all.

Photos from Kakinada and Eluru

2009-02-20T03:52:00.000-08:00

15 february - now in Kakinada

2009-02-15T01:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we said a sad good-bye to all of our friends and new families in Visakhapatnam - a very big thank you to all our host families and we will miss you! On 7h Feb. we held our second LN-4 Hand Camp at Hamal Mahal. Once again, the response was overwhelming -we worked with the local rotary clubs to screen applicants, fit them with new prosthetics and then worked with them to practice movement. Seeing a young teacher (a double amputee) write his name with 2 new prosthetics was overwhelming. Bringing the LN-4s and participating in the hand camps has been a highlight of the trip. Doing good feels good - especially in a country where many people lose their limbs to electrical accidents.
Rotary Club Cosmo hosted us on a bus trip and picnic/dance party in the woods in the tribal area of the Araku Valley. Rotarian Suryarao hosted us at his palatial resort home for a mid-tour break (complete with a small dinner for 60). Tom and Craig made quite a splash (literally) in the pool! Tom hurtling down the slide watched by a small crowd....
Before leaving, we visited Srikakulum and the beautiful sun temple, and the lovely city of Anakapalle. Everyone where we have visited the people (especially the kids) have been wonderful - warm, welcoming and always up for photos! We have seen numerous Rotary club projects --all the clubs contributing to their communities in a myriad of ways. All of us non-Rotarians are very impressed with the work of Rotary here in India. In a country where the government cannot provide basic services like education to all its citizens, private groups like Rotary are an integral part of the social safety net. For example, 25% of blindness in the world is found in India (due to sunlight, vitamin deficiencies and lack of routine care) and Rotary is certainly helping to reduce that number. Similarly, the government schools often lack benches, desks, uniforms and even plates - Rotary clubs have adopted schools all over and provide for many of these basic needs. Again, this important work counters illiteracy and gives many poor children a chance at education.
All of us find it hard to believe that we are over half-way done with our GSE trip. Tom (Mr. Rotary) continues to be our fearless leader and works to provide Kingfisher whenever possible. Carmen is our chinado (little one) and wows everyone with his mandolin playing and Telegu speaking. We seem to attract lots of attention wherever we go as this part of india does not see many foreign tourists. Food continues to amaze as does all of the color, sound and smell of India. Namaste to all of our friends and family at home - we will try and bring the sun back with us!
P.S. We are trying to upload more photos but having some difficulties - this is India, super high-tech yet water buffaloes wandering on the national highways....

More photos

2009-02-04T02:20:00.001-08:00

Carmen finds Nirvana in Visakhapatnam.
Artistic display on the Krishna River bank.

Konda Palli toy factory worker, painting in the sun.

GSE team visit to the Visakhapatnam Rotary blood bank. This program was developed by the Visakha Port City Rotary club, and is operated by them as well. This is a beautiful facility, and a excellent model of community service, compassion, and dedication to helping others.

The Deacon Tom English prays to the Kingfishers utop the Kondapalli Fort site in Vijaywada. Man, it's hot up here!

2009-02-04T02:07:00.001-08:00

February 4, 2009

We have traveled northeast and are now in the beautiful city of Visakhapatnam, right on the Bay of Bengal. The Rotary club of Visakhapatnam welcomed us warmly at the Waltair Club, originally built by the British in the late 1800's. Since then we have disbursed to different host families around the city. Yesterday we visited a school and a Rotary eye hospital. The school was established by lady Rotarian Chaya and provides a private-school quality education for a very nominal price. Chaya herself particpated in a GSE exchange to Arizona several years ago and reported that she incoroporated many things that she learned during that trip into her school. The children were lovely. When we asked them their favorite subjects, the uniform answer was math! Perhaps our American schools could learn something....

The eye hospital was established and funded entirely by Rotarians -- both Indian, British and American. The hospital provides surgeries and basic eye care to rural Indians and performs some 81 surgeries a month (the 7th busiest hospital in the country). As usual we also enjoyed a delicious lunch of tandoori fish, palek paneer, tomato curry, briyani, and various naans.

Today we visited the Rotary Blood Bank, a project of Rotary Club Visakha Port City. Again, the blood bank was established and is currently run entirely by the Rotarians. It provides blood at half the cost of the government blood banks. We next visited a school for visually challenged girls, also supported by Rotarians. After our visit, we drove north of the city to see the early stages of another IT area (Silicon Hill). Perched atop lovely hillls overlooking the Bay were the skeletons of countless new technology businesses and planned housing for some 100,000 employees. Despite the world economic slow-down, India continues to boom and expects to grow its GDP by some 7% this year. Construction is everywhere in this city.

We are having an amazing experience. Chaya told us yesterday that Indians believe that God visits your home in the form of a guest. We can certainly vouch for that. All of us are meeting wonderful people, eating delicious food, and seeing a glimpse of the real India. While all of the classic stereotypes are here (cows ambling along the roads, horns constantly blaring, colorful markets, monkeys, temples everywhere), we are also seeing the commitment to education and community service.

Carmen has become our language guru as he is picking up Telegu (the local language) incredibly quickly. We can always find Craig as he is usually the tallest person around for miles! Mr. Thomas (as he is called) is doing a great job of looking after us all.

Weather continues to be warm and steamy -- can't say we are missing February in Oregon!

Namaste.

Photos of week 2

2009-02-04T02:07:00.000-08:00

Vijayawada & Visakahpatnam.

Vijayawada

2009-01-30T05:29:00.000-08:00

Subhodayam! This means "good morning" in Telugu. We have been in Andhra Pradesh for one week now, and we are learning the language quickly. The trip so far has been a beautiful experience, as we have been welcomed with great hospitality and enthusiasm. India has been an eye-opening explosion, fillied with color and vibrance.

We made history by being the first GSE group to undertake a service project as part of our exchange. We distrubuted over 40 hands in Vijayawada to amputees who received them with joy. 75% of the receipients lost their hands through electrical accidents; the remainder from mechanical accidents. The Indian press has covered our every move. Google us on the Hindu Times.

Our host families are scattered in different neighborhoods throughout Vijayawada, giving us a great exposure to the different lifestyles in this colorful town.

A range of experiences.... hill fort death walk; Tom's prayer for Kingfisher Beer, answered within one hour; Ayurvedic message, facials and mehindi; toy making workshops; a home for street kids; dance rehearsals; swimming the Krishna.

Don't you wish you were here?

Amanda's GSE India Trip 2009

2008-10-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

Amanda's Bio

My name is Amanda Ferguson. I am 36 years old, and have lived in the small town of Cottage Grove, Oregon, for the last 10 years. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Davis N. Smith, who grew up with me in Annapolis, Maryland (forty miles from Washington, DC). My husband just started law school at the University of Oregon School of Law. Davis and I live in a small historic cottage in “downtown” Cottage Grove with our four cats. Our families live on the east coast, over 3,000 miles away. Our time and energy are devoted to our friends and our passion, theatre.

Amanda & Davis

During the day, I am a City Planner for the City of Cottage Grove. Cottage Grove is a small rural city of 9400 people. My job duties include: long range planning on urban & rural development, historic preservation, transportation planning, park design, water quality, natural resources, historic preservation, and urban design, and short range planning (building permits, compliance, site design). I work with the City Council, the Planning Commission, property owners, architects, engineers and builders on all types of building projects in Cottage Grove, including subdivision layouts, commercial design, restoration of historic buildings, parks and recreation planning, and home construction. I learned my field in graduate school at the University of Georgia (Historic Preservation) and Oxford University, in England (Town & Country Planning).

South Sister

I also studied Theatre Production at the University of Georgia, and have volunteered or worked for community theatres for over 20 years. Most of my time is spent at Cottage Theatre, an all-volunteer theatre in Cottage Grove that is located in a $2 million building (all paid for by community donations and sweat equity). I am Cottage Theatre’s Executive Producer and a member of their Board of Directors.
We produce 3 musicals and 3-5 comedies or dramas per year. I also work as a lighting designer at CT and the Very Little Theatre in Eugene. I have designed lights for over 60 shows at in the last 7 years.

Alexandria

I also dance and sing in musicals. I love all forms of live performance – music, dance, theatre. I competed as a Scottish Highland Dancer for 13 years, and have taken 8 years of modern/jazz dancing. I dance with the DAC Nooners, a dance “company” of older dancers (+30 – 65). We have a passion for movement and music of all kids, and it shows in our dance.

My other hobbies include watching movies, sea kayaking, hiking, reading and traveling. Davis and I own sea kayaks that we don’t take out nearly often enough. We love to float the rivers, estuaries and bays of Oregon and southwest Washington State.

I am very excited to visit India. I hope to learn many things about the culture, town planning and economic development in India that I can bring back to apply to my job and profession. I dream of exploring the architecture and historic sites of India, experience theatre and dance, and maybe even visiting a film studio. But mostly, I want to meet the people of India and make friends that will last a lifetime.

Can’t wait!

Posted by Amanda Ferguson at 1:46 PM

Namaste- India

2008-10-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

My name is Carmen Matthews, and I will be traveling to India in January of 2009. This is part of Rotary Internationals Group Study Exchange program (GSE). I will be documenting my travels, and providing information about the GSE program. I will also provide a glimpse of who I am.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

More FYI:)

Hello again to everyone! I hope this post is finding you in the best of spirits. I just wanted to develop the picture of myself a little more. As I said in my earlier post, I live in Oregon. To be more specific, I live right on the coast and have a wonderful view of the Pacific Ocean right out of my front window (see the picture). I live down the street from where I grew up, and where my Father and little sister still reside. I have a big, beautiful family and I feel blessed to be a part of such a wonderful experience. My Mother battled cancer for five years, but lost the battle in 2005. I still think of her everyday, and her love is what keeps my head up. My Father is a multi-talented and amazing human being who I look to as a role model. Both of my Parents were teachers, and someday I might decide to follow. My little sister is a beautiful dancer (just like her mother, who was a dance instructor), and a very respectful person. I love watching her grow up, she makes me so proud. I also have two older sisters, and a older brother who all live in Oregon and have families of their own. Family for me is the number one priority.

For employment, I am a regional manager for the Dutch Bros. Coffee company, and I love my job. I work with fun people, meet all kinds of people, listen to music at work, and serve up great coffee. Can you believe they pay me for that?! I do a lot of running around, but I still get my customer time, which is the best part. I have been working here for 7 years now, and I still get pumped to go to work. Keep on Kickin!

I am also the president of a non-profit organization. The organization is the Oregon Coast Music Association, and we provide musical performances and education to our area, including a two-week festival every year. Our festival has just celebrated its 30th annual season, and it was a huge success. The highlight of our festival is the festival orchestra, which is a group of 80 musicians who travel from all over the United States to be a part of our celebration. I am extremely grateful to be a part of this organization.

With my travels to India, I hope to get to experience some of the musical culture of India.I love to play music, and I hope to learn about their native styles of music. There is a picture here of the guitar and mandolin that I play. I think I will bring my mandolin with me to India, it travels better than the guitar. I also hope to learn about their management philosophies and the roles of non-profit organizations there. It would be amazing to see some orchestra performances, but that is shooting for the moon. I know the trip will be amazing, meeting the people and seeing them in their own culture will be a once in a lifetime experience. I can't wait! Talk to you all soon, Namaste.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Hello to all! My name is Carmen Matthews, and I live in Coos Bay, Oregon. I am beginning this blog to share my experiences with friends, family, and the world. The experience of a lifetime is coming my way, and I am eagerly waiting to depart. My destination-India. I have been interested in the culture of India for quite some time, and I have always wanted to travel to that part of the world. Recently, I was granted the opportunity to make my dream come true. Rotary International has a program called the Group Study Exchange (GSE), which sends a small group of people to other countries to broaden their experience and expand their outreach. This is a wonderful program, and I am so gracious for the chance to participate. I hope to provide a in-depth look at my journey India, as well as provide additional information about the GSE program. You will also get a glimpse of who I am as well. I can't wait to share more! For now, I will exit with my sign-out "peace and music." Talk to you soon!

Kate's Rotary India Trip 2009

2008-09-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

My name is Kate Wilkinson and I am a lawyer, a mother, a big sister and an involved community volunteer in Eugene, Oregon.

My family

My family includes my son, Benjamin, who is sixteen. Ben is a junior in high school, so he will be (hopefully) heading to college in two years. He enjoys playing lacrosse so I spent a lot of time in the spring watching games and helping raise money for his team.

I am the oldest of four and have three younger brothers. We have always been, and remain close. I have four nephews and one niece, and love being an Auntie! I am blessed to have many close friends here in Eugene.

My son and I after a lacrosse game

My work

I have been a lawyer for ten years. For the first two years, I worked as a law clerk at the Oregon Court of Appeals. That Court hears all appeals of trial court decisions here in Oregon.

A law clerk researches, helps to draft, and edits the Court's opinions.

For the last eight years, I have been a civil trial lawyer working in private law firms. I work on all types of civil cases -- contract disputes, employment issues, intellectual property matters, and fights over property rights. Most of my cases settle before a trial -- as do most civil cases in America. Litigation is often expensive and stressful, but sometimes the only way that people can resolve their disputes peacefully.

I also teach at the University of Oregon Law School. For the past several years, I have taught a course on "Interviewing & Counseling" which helps law students develop communication skills.

I am very active in my community. For the last two years, I have been a member of Eugene's first Civilian Review Board. Our Board review internal investigations into complaints about police misconduct. The process is part of a civilian oversight system for the police. Through my work on this Board, I have become very interested in issues of police oversight and reform.

Another area of interest is the role of women in the legal profession. In Oregon, we are lucky to have an active women's lawyer group, Oregon Women Lawyers (OWLS). I served on the Board of OWLS for several years and was elected the state-wide President.

Goals for the Rotary Exchange

First, I am so excited about our trip to India! I look forward to visiting this beautiful country, learning more about its history and culture and sampling the delicious spicy cuisine -- including Aavakaaya and biryani.

Professionally, I hope to learn more about the legal profession in India. Specifically, I hope to study and exchange information on the role of women in the legal profession, and how Indian lawyers balance the demands of the profession with family life.