Trip to Pune: part 2

I didn't take me too long to get a feel for the area. There were very obvious landmarks and such, only that the city seems to continue on and on.
A couple days in I felt up to walking through the red-light district. Mid-day, I told the auto driver the location, memorized the direction, and upon arriving was greeted by basically what I'd just left. There are sections to the city and such, each I'm sure with it's unique qualities, only it wasn't what I'd expected. I'm not really sure what I'd expected from a red-light district, more open I guess.
So I wandered around for some time until seeing a cluster of young women obviously waiting for something. It was probably about 3oclock by now and, as I understand the routine, they'd probably not been awake for more than a couple hours or so. My naivete was helpful in that I could plunge into the place but it wasn't long until I was being semi-swarmed by prostitutes grabbing and touching my arms and propositions. The alley wasn't too long, a couple hundred yards, and luckily fairly wide. And being early in the day the experience was not as discomforting as it could have been. One of the girls, older, probably mid 20s, was obviously strung out. The experience was obviously sad and terribly eye-opening.
I tried to find that alley again the next day but could not.
A couple days in Christina and I were encouraged to make a day trip to Mumbai whereupon we would meet up with one of the lawyers for Freedom Firm and his wife.

Link to pictures: Pune pictures

Trip to Pune: part 1

A fellow volunteer, Christina Cameron, and I left Ooty for Pune on October 1. It was my first substantive trip in India and I soon discovered that there are some really beautiful spots near Ooty that hopefully I will be able to visit someday. The first part was by auto and was four hours to Mysore.
Late Thursday night, 10ish, we bored a train from Mysore to...I don't remember, basically north. Pune is a couple hours east of Mumbai and all that is west-central India. So after spending a restless night, though it's hard to complain given that we did have A/C and a bunk, we arrived at ?. From ? we took a bus to Kohlapur and from there a bus to another ?. And finally a nice bus from ? to Pune. It sounds not so great but it really wasn't so bad. It was nice to see the countryside. Unfortunately I'm not a very intelligent packer and having to bring my computer in addition to cameras was a bit nerve wracking and tiring.
In Pune, Poo-nah, the weather is hotter though it was fall and really quite nice. Warm with a slightly cool breeze. The city is far larger than Ooty at around 3 million people. The Christian presence is not what it is in Ooty though I never felt uncomfortable more just that I stood out, which is obvious.
We were booked rooms at a YMCA. Expensive and insect ridden, the rooms weren't terrible only the best of available options. Pune in many ways was the India I thought I'd be going to. I took the days to walk through the streets, and my lunches at McDonalds. Being so much larger Pune did have some of the Western conveniences I have missed. No beef, but still, pepperoni pizza from a Pizza Hut, chicken from a KFC and nuggets from McDonalds. If people had constantly been staring at me I could have believed I was home, almost.

Link to pictures: Pune pictures

Hand washing clothes and late night trombone practice...are a few of my fav-or-ite things

I'm sure by now I don't smell very good. Not on purpose. I decided I would try to hand wash my clothes again and again I was foiled by the clouds. It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon and I couldn't think of anything else to do. The actual washing is actually fun, or at least cathartic. But the clouds rolled in and having to hang wet underwear and socks from a shower rod for several days is not.
One of my neighbor's kids is learning to play some instrument, or practicing his elephant calls. Either way, it sounds pretty terrible. ...neighbors.
I shaved about a week ago. Forgot about that. I was collecting too much India in there. Hair's getting long though...still got that going for me.
New pictures:
Volleyball is apparently popular here. Spike ; Set
Inside of a Hindu temple I leaned in. Hindu Temple
I've got a play date, or something, with these kids at around 5. When they've gotten out of school. Kids

I'm going to the All India Congress on Church in Mission conference in a couple weeks. Train rides and about five days of events. It should be a great opportunity to get a feel for what the Church is doing in India.
Other than that, I'm working on Freedom Firm projects. Writing, photography, etc. And I'm working on getting my applications done for graduate school. Keeping busy.

Third Week:

Not much to write about. The work I'm doing for Freedom Firm right now is principally writing a paper for a conference, some other writing. It's been good though. I'd expand on that but future posts will delve into it in greater depth as I finish these projects.
A ten year old walked me home today, or almost. Sometimes it's a handshake, sometimes a picture but usually I just get stared at. Cute kid though. His birthday's Sept. 1. His sister's is a couple weeks after, they "fight well."
There's an interesting practice here (actually thousands of interesting practices but I'm going to write about this one). There are two men with leprosy I see everyday on my way to work. One of the means for destitute individuals to make money, I guess, is with a scale. I'm guessing people give them money to weigh them. What I find interesting is that in America most people would give money not to know what they weigh...anyway.
Let's see...I "head-waggled" someone recently. Didn't even realize I was doing it, and I'm sure it wasn't done well. The head waggle is side to side (head towards one shoulder and then back towards the other shoulder) and I've probably seen it about a thousand times since I've been here. It's sort of just a genial, "How are You?"; "Thanks"; etc.
Another interesting practice (I couldn't resist) has to do with medications, or rather the distribution thereof. I got a little ill, nothing too serious or unexpected. So one of the Freedom Firm staff, Jayson, took me to a place that sells medications. No prescription required. Luckily I knew what I needed; but the amazing thing was the price. For approximately a quarter I got an amount of medicine that would have cost $50 in America. It's not even generic, Glaxo-Smith-Kline. That made me happy. At least these people can afford medicine they need. (I'm trying to focus on the positive, since there are many serious consequences to this kind of practice.)
Weather is getting really nice, beautiful even.

Mostly Misc.

Week Two:
Things have been going well, still getting used to all the honking vehicles. Always with the honking. The smog here is really pretty sad as well, as is the amount of litter.
Made a couple friends, Moses who runs a Christian bookstore near the Catholic church. We watched some of the Discovery channel together. I don't know if a cat counts as a friend, but every morning:
Hello
you'll notice a gently nudging shoe, and then
Goodbye
...every morning.

My coworkers have shown me a couple spots with good food, which has been helpful. No more Pringles lunches. I'm getting to know a regular group of begging children, or trying to get to know. And there are a few more pic's online. It's been kind of slow going with that.

Informative Links on Human Trafficking

Geneva.usmission.gov

UNHCR.org

International Justice Mission Statistics

Link to Pictures

Copy and paste:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7271576@N07/sets/72157621979458668/with/3800226801/

Or click on the hypertext:
India Pictures


Thanks!

First Impressions

My driver, Rajeesh?, was nice, quiet... maybe a little crazy. At least that's what I thought initially. Driving here is very, very different. Those white, dashed lines, meaningless. I actually think I could probably do a pretty decent job driving around here except for the whole opposite side of the road thing. No stop lights, just a few blinking yellow ones which blink yellow both ways, so they seemed pretty useless. Random speed bumps took the place of red lights, I guess.
I'm not sure if we missed Bangalore proper because it never really looked like a city. But that's probably just my faulty understandings. The level of poverty here is about what I expected, it's the volume that caught me off guard. Lots of trash and pollution. Lots of people. We went through town after town after town. I guess living in Texas or even North Carolina it was hard to understand. There are metropolitan hubs with dense populations that extend out a ways, but eventually end. Not so here, or at least for the seven hours we drove.
Lots of stray dogs that all look alike. That was kind of strange too. I think I've seen two different dog breeds. No stray dachshunds or chihuahuas. Cows and lambs, a few horses, all along the streets. The people seem hospitable but few smiles. I did see one McDonalds that I still wish I had gotten Rajeesh to stop at.
Driving through Mysore was likewise full of dodging pedestrians and other vehicles, driving on the "wrong" side of the rode and incessantly honking. Which is different here two. It's not road rage, like I first worried, the honking has a whole range of expression. There are even different noises. I heard an elephant, looked back expectantly and was dissapointed to see just another car. There are duck ones as well.
We drove through a couple security checkpoints and an animal preserve. Everyone stares at me. I think I'm going to start staring back.
The animal preserve was nice. Several monkeys, elephants, peacocks. No tigers. I asked:
"Oh, the Tiger Preserve? So there are tigers here!?
"No sir... is just a name.
"Ahh... I was really wanting to see a tiger... maybe it's for the best.
"...yes sir.

The Flight Over

The flight from Dallas to London went smoothly. My single-serving friend, George the Jordanian, was very nice to listen to. A seventy something year old man having just spent time with his children and now returning to the Philippines where he lives. All in all a decent time, unfortunately I was unable to sleep.
Upon arriving in London we shuttled over to our new terminal and again things went relatively smoothly. I couldn't really understand some of the things they were saying at the security checkpoint but I don't mind getting yelled at. (It didn't help to be so strung out). I did however find a Dr. Pepper! Probably my last. Sweet memories. A couple hours layover and then onto Bangalore.
Unfortunately here my seating was not so great. Set in front of a wall with unique, human cubicle style, seating and right in between two other guys. An Indian from Canada and a British guy. I think this flight was about twelve hours or so, also sleepless. I enjoyed watching Star Trek and some other television shows.
Needless to say, at the swine flu checkpoint I'm certain they had some doubts as to my health.
Bangalore airport was very nice, got my bags and found my driver.

Freedom Firm

"There has long been a need for NGOs (non-government organizations) to step in and help with human trafficking in India. Sex trafficking of underage girls is one of the most unacceptable and inhumane forms of trafficking, which in recent decades has attracted many NGOs to step in and make a real difference. Greg and Mala Malstead answered the call to start an office for IJM (International Justice Mission) in Mumbai to specifically target sex trafficking of underage girls. After 5 yeas with IJM, the Malsteads decided to start Freedom Firm, based out of Ooty, India, doing much the same work. The main difference is that basing their organization out of Ooty allowed them to start an aftercare home, called Roja (meaning “rose” in Tamil, the local language in Ooty), so they could not only rescue girls, but also restore them emotionally, vocationally, relationally, spiritually, and physically as well.

Today Freedom Firm has grown to over 20 staff, all working together toward the cause of rescue, restoration, and justice. The goal is to to have a greater and wider impact while refusing to sacrifice our strategy and effectiveness. We have seen an average of 20 girls rescued each year and hope this trend continues and grows. You are entering into this history and will play a key role in helping our effectiveness and impact across India."
Freedom Firm

Summary

When I'm leaving:
NC to TX, June 26
TX to India, Aug 2-5

What I'll be doing:
Principally, I'll be working, overseeing, the construction of an additional level to the girls' aftercare home in Ooty. Because of this work, FF will be about to rehabilitate 20 girls rather than their current space for only 4. Besides that I'll be helping to connect FF with people around the world who can partner with them prayerfully, financially, and otherwise; expanding the Freedom Firm photography database for media usage, helping to tell the stories of girls in aftercare; and overseeing a number of other important and ongoing projects.

What I need:
Prayer: for a smooth transition, fruitful experience, protection and of course for the girls and other workers as well as conviction and salvation for the individuals that partake in and perpetuate this, and...
I believe I have my monthly needs met, or will by the time I leave. Whatever money I am given will go towards helping me pay for insurance, supplies and helping me cover the cost of my immunizations and medicines. Also flights to the Pune location and back to Ooty, will probably only do this once or twice at the most, I think.
If this is something you feel led to partake in then you can write a check at Grace and put "Justin Hill" in the memo.
Actually a big practical need is if anyone knows where I could store about ten boxes that would help a lot.

When I'm returning:
Tentatively I'll be back next August. (to NC)