Jan 10 A Day to Explore and Relax

Today I got up later than normal and went on a tour with the other volunteers. We saw the Lotus Temple which is amazing, but we couldnt go in. Then we went to Humayan's Tomb which is breathtaking! It is a tomb of Mughal architecture which the Taj Mahal was inspired by. Its not the Taj Mahal but it is still absolutely incredible! When we first got there I spent lots of time taking picutres and exploring, to realize that the area I had been exploring was only section. The Main part was further away and even more amazing, which I did not think could be possible. The architecture is just so different from anything I have ever seen before. Its unlike anything in the U.S., but also unlike anything I saw when I was in Europe. Totally unique to this part of the world. It is far older than the country I live in! Seeing something that ancient and magnificient made me realize the truth of what Dr. Aswini has told us when he spoke. He talked about how India was an ancient and continuous society, making it more complex and set in its ways than a nation like the U.S.

Afterward we had lunch at a nice restaurant and then came back to the base to watch a movie and rest. It has been a very long week for me and it was so nice to take it easy. The doctor ordered me to take it easy for a few days. I have made a list of my priorities for this week concerning my research. I plan to focus on meeting with my contacts. I am going to speak with several fo the CCS staff members, the head of the NGO I work with, as well as the 2 people I met, Daniel Lala and Professor Aswini. I have some sense of hwo to research, but speaking to several people who are knowledgable about NGOs in general and in specific ones will help me to direct my research. I believe that talking with several people first will help me to focus in on my topic. I want to see how NGOs work in India; the roles they play in society and whether or not those roles would be filled without these organizations. I am interested to see how broad the scope of NGO work is and what types of people they target. I have made lists of questions and discussion topics for each person I wish to talk with so that I will be prepared. As I meet with these people I will post summaries of my findings. Today was a good day for getting oraganized for the week.