"At least we didn't each eat a whole bar of chocolate...this time we only ate half a bar each..." (saved my Ritter Sport for 4 months...that's impressive) as I celebrate the fact that I did not lose Didi's sari but apparently left it on the sofa when I came home last Thursday night. Well I panicked when I entered my room Thursday night and realized the white plastic bag was not in my hands, calling the resident director of the program and sending out an email to everyone asking if they had seen the sari. Today when I accepted it was lost and finally worked up the courage to tell her it was gone, she looked at me with disbelief and said, "But it's hanging in my cupboard!" And I didn't believe her until she pulled it out and showed me. I can already hear her on the phone laughing with her friends about my scatterbrained mistake.
Anyway I'll be home in the US in 3 days!!!! Today was the last day of presentations. We had some great internships on various topics, everything from homosexuality to micro finance to summer camp education to opening an Indian food brand to the American market. One that was really impressive was Jen's presentation on what rape victims face when seeking social justice. It was astounding to hear her findings, especially because the legal definition of rape must be changed in order for rape victims to be able to find any justice in the crime against them (it is so specific that it barely includes anything, and it only works for men raping women). A man's "immoral" character cannot be used against him, but a woman's "immoral" character can be used against her in court. Jen worked with an organization called Sayog- Human Rights and Law Defenders and compiled a report for them which will be presented to the police commissioner of Pune (first female commissioner in a very long time) by a pressure group made up of different women's organizations. Sayog hopes that if Pune makes a legal change, other cities in the state will follow suit and they will be able to bring the report to the Supreme Court for even bigger things! Jen was interviewed by the Times of India newspaper, and we're all excited that her hard work paid off.
I spent the afternoon with Melissa trying to navigate the public bus system of Pune in order to find our way to Sinhagad Fort. We made it there, with my legs literally protruding from the bus seat, ready to hike up to the fort. I mistakenly wore flip flops, which broke on the way down from my sweaty feet sliding around in them, and had to hobble the rest of the way on the rocks. It was a bit more strenuous than I had anticipated for doing in such hot weather but we made it! For some reason I can't upload a picture of it, but my photos are in my facebook album (skip to the end so you don't have to see a million pictures of my friends playing Ninja): http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1760606578442.2096982.1337370166&l=7c5db02dd6
GUESS WHAT?!?! I'll be seeing you soon!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway I'll be home in the US in 3 days!!!! Today was the last day of presentations. We had some great internships on various topics, everything from homosexuality to micro finance to summer camp education to opening an Indian food brand to the American market. One that was really impressive was Jen's presentation on what rape victims face when seeking social justice. It was astounding to hear her findings, especially because the legal definition of rape must be changed in order for rape victims to be able to find any justice in the crime against them (it is so specific that it barely includes anything, and it only works for men raping women). A man's "immoral" character cannot be used against him, but a woman's "immoral" character can be used against her in court. Jen worked with an organization called Sayog- Human Rights and Law Defenders and compiled a report for them which will be presented to the police commissioner of Pune (first female commissioner in a very long time) by a pressure group made up of different women's organizations. Sayog hopes that if Pune makes a legal change, other cities in the state will follow suit and they will be able to bring the report to the Supreme Court for even bigger things! Jen was interviewed by the Times of India newspaper, and we're all excited that her hard work paid off.
I spent the afternoon with Melissa trying to navigate the public bus system of Pune in order to find our way to Sinhagad Fort. We made it there, with my legs literally protruding from the bus seat, ready to hike up to the fort. I mistakenly wore flip flops, which broke on the way down from my sweaty feet sliding around in them, and had to hobble the rest of the way on the rocks. It was a bit more strenuous than I had anticipated for doing in such hot weather but we made it! For some reason I can't upload a picture of it, but my photos are in my facebook album (skip to the end so you don't have to see a million pictures of my friends playing Ninja): http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1760606578442.2096982.1337370166&l=7c5db02dd6
GUESS WHAT?!?! I'll be seeing you soon!!!!!!!!!!
