Fulbright Conference

Last week I attended the Fulbright Conference in Jaipur, Rajasthan. A few highlights:

I took a sleeper train (no sleeping, though, since it was mid-day) from Dehradun to Delhi and experienced the claustrophobia behind blue vinyl. Overall a very pleasant experience, although I had to unexpectedly pay for my meals (meals on my previous train was complimentary - this time I had to pay a whopping $3 for breakfast, lunch and snacks).

The view from my top-bunk compartment:


I reached Delhi at 4pm on Saturday and met up with Rebecca, another Fulbrighter who I met through Andrew Lee. She's been living in Delhi for the past 2 weeks (arrived soon after I did, and we've been email pen pals), researching the impact of USAID on women's healthcare in India. A very sweet gal - outgoing, silly and welcoming. We shopped at a bazaar in Delhi and then returned to her house to eat pizza (just like American pizza) and relax. Sunday morning we boarded our train at 5:45am (groan) and headed the 5 hours to Jaipur.

Boarding our train at the Delhi station:


I sat next to a wonderful Indian couple (a steel trader and his wife) who explained the Hindi alphabet to me and insisted that I invite them to my wedding. Here I am with the wife:


We somehow found the other Fulbrighters at the station and loaded a bus that took us 40 minutes to Chokhi dhani, the resort where the conference was taking place. We were greeted with marigold leis and bindis and escorted to our amazing rooms.

Rebecca and I with our leis and bindis:


My room, complete with Western toilet and shower (including a shower curtain!):


After lounging by the pool, we headed into the "ethnic village" adjacent to the resort with several other Fulbright students. The village was essentially an Indian amusement park, complete with women in traditional Rajasthan dresses dancing, marionettes (famous Rajasthan tradition), camels, elephants, bullocks, ponies, a henna painting station (I had my palm painted, as they do for the brides at Indian weddings), and a magician. The park cost Rs. 275 (about $7) for outsiders (expensive for a middle-class family), but we got in free as guests of the resort.

It has been a goal of mine to ride a camel for 9 years, and I am proud to say that I rode a camel for Rs. 5 (12 cents) on my first night in Jaipur. Here I am riding the camel with Jessica, who is studying honey bee ecology in Bangalore:


Close and personal with my camel:


I also rode an elephant and a bullock cart. Here I am in the front seat of the bullock cart with Scott, who is studying the reintegration of child soldiers in Nepal:


The Fulbright Conference itself was truly a fulfilling experience. I finally understand what it means to be a Fulbrighter; I am a part of a family of curious, intelligent, and motivated people who want to contribute to global exchange and social improvement in India. The diversity of interests and research topics was remarkable - research projects ranged from papermaking and textiles to physical education, caste geography and pollution indicators in bird plumage. Everyone present was enthusiastic about the cultural differences they had noticed, and we compared stories about our observations and episodes of Traveler's Diarrhea. I made several strong friendships with students in Calcutta, Nepal and Bangalore, who I hope to visit in the upcoming months. I also made connections with several faculty from American universities studying conservation in India, and who might be good ties to a graduate school in a year or so.

The conference room:


Myself with Jessica, Rebecca, Scott and Kelsea, who is studying women's issues and volunteering at a children's school in the slums of Calcutta:


Myself with Sara (PhD on Buddhist women), Keya (writing a novel on her Indian grandfather), Nancy (PhD on Buddhists) and Anna (PhD on Mongolian Buddhists) in the lobby of the resort:


On our last day, we visited an NGO that helps rural village women set up micro credit loan committees to promote women's empowerment. We exchanged questions and then sang and danced in honor of the Holi festival.

The women singing:


Singing and dancing together:


Finally, we shopped at Julri Bazaar near the City Palance in old Jaipur and learned to bargain with the shopkeepers.

Myself in the bazaar:


The next day I toured the Amber Fort with Nancy and Sara. The fort was the previous capital before the mogul emperor built and moved to Jaipur, and is composed of a beautiful combination of Hindu and Muslim architecture.



At 5:45pm, a group of us loaded onto a train and headed back to Delhi, arriving at 11pm. I stayed the night at Rebecca's house and then took a train the following morning back to Dehradun.