A few things I’m grateful for: my team, air conditioning, uber, bug bites that don’t itch, and hotels that have hot water.
A few things I miss: fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, ice, always having access to toilet paper/toilets, animals I can pet.
A few things I could live without: humidity, ear infections.
Visiting the Victoria Memorial with the guys
I’m happy to say my experience in Kolkata so far this summer has been unique. When I first found out I was headed back to the same city I lived in last summer, I was a little worried I might just be repeating the same experiences all over again. Luckily, with a new team and a new fellowship, it feels less like I am having the same experiences and more like I am building on the previous ones. It was nice to come back to a place where I already had friends and connections, knew how to get around, and most importantly, knew what to expect from the weather. I spent last summer here without AC sweating 24/7 (I wish I was exaggerating), so I spent the months leading up to this summer mentally preparing myself for the worst combination of heat, humidity, and pollution. To my surprise, the heat this summer has been a little more bearable, and having AC has truly changed my life.
The moment I realized Aloo Paratha and curd was my new favorite breakfast dish
I’d also like to say that I’m really happy I got placed with Nate and Carson for this research. We’ve gotten to be close friends, and I feel comfortable talking to them about my feelings about anything. I also feel like I owe them a million favors after they went so far out of their way to help me get medicine and see a doctor when I had an ear infection. I’m glad we get along so well and work well together, but mostly I’m glad I’m the butt of all their jokes instead of some other poor soul. Carson is currently compiling an arsenal of ugly pictures of me that I can only imagine he’s holding onto until my birthday when he decides to go public with them.
On another note, I’ve realized encountering extreme poverty on a daily basis is not any easier the second time around. The first few days here I was constantly circling observations through my head, looking for answers, and realizing I didn’t have any. I brought with me the journal I kept during my time in Kolkata last summer, and decided to read through that at the end of our first week here. I couldn’t believe that a year earlier I had written down the exact thoughts that were in my head, almost word for word. A year had passed and those thoughts and questions about the world had completely left my consciousness when I went back to my familiar life in Santa Clara. A year later, I didn’t feel much closer to having any answers about the injustices in the world and my place in it.
Filming a solar water pump
Luckily, I am at the very least starting to get some answers about the impact of solar energy on rural populations here. We’ve been able to interview farmers who are saving money on diesel by switching to solar irrigation pumps, teachers and students who no longer have to worry about power cuts with solar powering their schools, fathers and mothers whose children can now study using solar lights, and women who no longer have to pump water for their households by hand since the installation of solar powered water pumps. We’ve spoken with engineers who are passionate about the potential of renewable energy, and government officials who are proud to bring energy solutions to their communities.
Of all the interviews we’ve conducted so far, I think my favorite is one we did with the principal of a school that has had a solar rooftop installation for about 8 months. We spent a while talking to him in his office before the interview, where he expressed the pride he
Sitting in on a women’s joint liability group meeting in Odisha
feels for his school and his confidence in renewable energy as the future of India’s energy system. His excitement was infectious, and I felt like that simple conversation reconnected me with the reason I chose to study the environment and renewable energy solutions. It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture when we’re so focused on our specific deliverables, but hearing this man reflect my feelings about the need for a drastic shift away from fossil fuels grounded me in a way I haven’t lost sight of since that conversation.
In the midst of all of our research, which has been basically non-stop since our first week here, we’ve had some pretty funny moments that I’ll share to end this post:
- On one of the first days we were here our uber driver abruptly pulled over to the side of the road, disappeared, and a few minutes later returned with his mom, wife and baby so he could introduce us to them.
- “Team bonding” for ONergy employees basically means having a dance party at work.
- Some people go to extreme lengths to stare at us when we’re walking down
PJ making friends with the village leader
the side of the road—I saw a guy almost fall out of a moving bus because he was leaning so far out the window!
- I had an ear infection in Odisha and when we asked to see a doctor the employee we were with told us he’d take us to a specialist…and we ended up at a gynecologist’s office.
These obviously don’t seem as funny as they were in the moment, but they are a small glimpse into the kinds of ridiculous experiences we’re having here in India that we wouldn’t have anywhere else. It’s sad knowing we only have two more weeks left here in India, but I wouldn’t trade the time I’ve had here this summer for anything.