Holi Cow!

I think it is a pretty widely know fact that in Hinduism cows are sacred. This means that cows are allowed to go where they want and pretty much do as they please. This also means that I will NOT be able to buy beef at the local market.

Since I live in the middle of Kolkata it is not very common to come across wandering cows in my neighborhood. This past week was an exception! Right on the usually busy main road near my flat I came across a couple of cows trying to sate their thirst.

This last week was also my first time to play Holi. Holi is the Hindu festival of color. Imagine a water fight but in addition to water balloons and water guns, you also throw colored powders all over each other. If you play Holi correctly, you'll be tye-dyed by the end. I didn't plan ahead, so I didn't have clothes that I was ok with ruining by playing, I'll be more prepared next year.

I did let the women at the office play Holi with me a little. Enough to take an obligatory Holi picture, but not so much that my clothes were wrecked!

Roadtrip Woohoo!

This past weekend I visited my friend's home, met his wife, son, and sister-in-law. It was such a fun and unexpected visit.

The food was delicious, the company was delightful, and the kid was hilarious. What more could you want?

Well, we took it up a notch. Upon hearing that I would be willing to drive in Kolkata, an offer of going for a drive was extended! They had access to a car and we could take a drive out to the villagey areas around Kolkata. So, after lunch, we jumped in the car and took off, testing my abilities to drive a manual on the left side of the road on less than smooth roads.

Thanks to years of training in Tanzania, I rose to the challenge.

We drove until we came to an open field where kites were being flown. Recent construction in the area left it much less green than it had previously been, but it also meant that there were food stalls along the side of the road in case one needed a snack after driving all that way!

We made it back to Kolkata in time to quickly visit a floating market (market stalls set up on boats in the midst of a little pond) before they dropped me off at the metro station.

As they waved me out of sight at the metro I giggled to myself over how wonderful the day had been, how unexpected and fun the drive had been, and how warmly welcomed they had made me feel. What a blessing!

Building New Skills

One of my jobs is to develop leadership training and soft skills training. Ever since I took the Learning that Lasts course (4 years ago) and began teaching it I have discovered a love for teaching adults and making learning fun and memorable. Every month I'll design a half day class on a different topic and then teach it 3 or 4 times.

March is the first month in which I am giving these classes! The main goals of this month's class were to learn the difference between collaboration and competition, orient ourselves towards collaboration in the workplace, and have a lot of fun.

I faced a few challenges whilst designing this lesson. The major one was; how best to communicate the primary messages when I am still very much so learning Bangla. I had a lot of help both during the planning and execution of the class to get that part sorted. My Bangla is improving but it will still be a while before I can give a class solo.

Another challenge was to find the right games to play that would illustrate the points but wouldn't need too much verbal explanation. The games that are quickly explained and understood in the West are not necessarily the same games that are quickly explained and understood here (and vice versa).

In the end we played musical chairs, built pyramids in teams using cups, strings, and a rubber band, and told a round-robin story. There was a lot of laughter and joy throughout the class. They loved the new games I had introduced. They also seemed to grasp the main point that each of their jobs is valuable and important and we must all collaborate in order to complete our goals.

I get to give this class 2 more times this month. The lesson plan seems good, I just need to work on my Bangla skills. Wish me luck!

A Week in Bangkok

This past week I travelled to Bangkok for the Asia Region Anti-Trafficking Conference. It was an incredible opportunity to connect with others from all around Asia who are working in one way or another against modern day slavery and human trafficking.

The diversity of ways that this issue is being tackled is incredible! There are those who fight it through existing legal systems, those who provide skills training and others who provide employment for trafficking survivors, there are those who provide after-care, those who provide advocacy, those who fundraise, those who analyze supply-chains, and those who target changing cultures so that the demand for slave labor is reduced.

It was both motivating and challenging!

I went to this conference with two of my colleagues. This was not just their first time out of India but also their first time to fly! I love flying so much and it is a particular pleasure to vicariously experience a first flight all over again.

When we were not in the conference we made time to wander around Bangkok a bit. I really appreciated their quirky and beautiful city beautification techniques.

Food was also a very important part of visiting Bangkok. The street food was amazing! There were fruits and vegetables everywhere. Then there were of course all the rice and noodle dishes!

And, of course, Durian! It's a famous fruit for dividing people between the lovers and the haters. It is banned in the hotel where I stayed and is the most expensive fruit in Thailand. So, of course I had to try it and decide for myself on which side of the divide I reside.

I tried to like it. I really like liking things. After several bites and several attempts to see its merits, I decided that I was allowed to dislike durian.