All Shook Up

Today I went out to more villages, this time with an NGO who is doing development work, espeically with women. If I thought the roads were bad before, that was nothing compared to today--not only were the roads bumpy, but Rajen, the driver did not have anyone to tell him to slow down. I am pretty sure my insides are now soup.
BUT the visit was great. I went to a meeting of women in the village who meet regularly to learn about maternal care (nutrition, safety, delivery, postnatal care etc.). I was so glad to have finally seen a meeting like this after hearing about them so much. The tone of the meeting was kind of like an older sister talking to her younger sister about what she should do--the woman from the organization even solved a dispute between a mother and daughter-in-law. It reminded me again that even though on paper these meetings look straight forward (with set topics and information) in real life there are people and it gets messy. There was also alot of talk about how you should breastfeed your baby NOT give it cow/goat milk. It seems so odd to me that this would be something you have to explain, but the pediatrician I talked to before said the same thing.... At the end of the meeting I spoke in Hindi and then had to have everything I said (all 3 sentences) repeated so as to be understood. I also stopped a falling baby's head from smacking the ground. Go reflexes.
The best part about the village, though, was that afterwards the volunteer from the village who leads the meetings asked if we wanted to have tea. The woman I was with looked doubtful but asked me if I wanted to and I said "yes!". So I got to walk through the village to her house. The path was really narrow, some of it brick, some of it dirt all of it different levels. There also seemed to be no order to the houses either--raised up on platforms, put into the side of a hill, some painted some just dirt, all facing different directions. Once again, I don't think the reality of it all sunk in (or has yet). We arrived at the house just as I was about to be run over by an advancing bullock cart. I went up to sit on a bed under the straw roof overhang and wait for the tea.
As I was waiting, the man who had been leading the educational flashcards went to a bed in front of the next house lower and I saw that there was a tiny baby sleeping there. He picked her up in both hands as though she were a small wobbly package, walked up and deposited her on my lap. I barely had time to realize what he was doing and move my bag. I was told (through translation) that it was a premature baby who has just now reached the 9th month when she should have been born. She was SO tiny and sleeping and lovely. I was given another blanket to put around her and just sat grinning like a moron at the baby while everyone else gathered round to stare at me. For a while she slept with one finger on her cheek as if she was pondering things and once or twice opened her eyes to look at me. I could have sat there for a long time, but was given my tea and biscuits and then we had to go.
Back onto the roads to go to another meeting (also good, but babyless). Along the way we had accumulated people in the car and we were now discarding them. We then drove the car through tiny winding roads of another village to get to a wedding. We got out, I looked at the huge pots of food, we were given some sweets and then back into the car again.
When we got back to the office I met with the woman and man who started the whole organization and then I gave the woman a ride home so that we could talk. She told me about how the organization started and it sounded just like everything I have been thinking would be good--they spent 2 years just going to the slums and talking to people and gaining their (reluctant) trust. She said that at first people didnt' believe that she wasn't a political campaigner looking for votes. When she said she wasn't they asked 'then what are you going to get by coming here and working?' and she said that she would get thier friendship, and they didnt know what to make of that. She is going away until February 25 but said she would take me to meet people in the slums after that if I can make it. I'd really like to go, but of course, we'll see.
This day, combined with a conversation I had with the medical students last night (about student politics) has made me very excited again about being here and seeing everything and what I will do next. I had been starting to feel a bit tired, but at the moment my energy is back up : ) Sorry for the writing hiatus.