My stay here in India has been an experience that has helped me truly appreciate all of the resources and opportunities that I have back home. That's one of the most cliche things to say about a study abroad experience (gross I know) but I truly have learned to appreciate even something as basic as clean, fresh-smelling air, a relatively clean ground beneath my feet or a clean ...
SOU 375: Urban India
Transecting Hyderabad: The Communal Power of Water.
Spending the past two weeks in Hyderabad has rushed to the forefront of my favorite part of this trip thus far. The large central Indian city felt like it had so much to offer: crowded streets, great food, fun bars, rich traditional celebration, and even better people. By people, I mean Hyderabad Urban Labs. The past two weeks our group has had the chance to work along-side Dr. ...
Feminism at its fittest
Back in August, during our program orientation, Georgia Ringle asked the group to share our personal concerns about studying in India. My biggest worry was not being able to exercise regularly for an entire semester. Back home, I work out daily to reduce my levels of stress and anxiety. Unfortunately, finding places in India where I can go out for runs has been challenging at ...
Toilet Troubles
“Every day was agony – waiting for it to get dark so that there was no one around who could see me, forcing me to hold on even though my bladder was bursting,” Sangeeta Mali, 23. The lack of toilets in homes and in public areas throughout India makes this a reoccurring theme. More than 2.3 billion people in the world do not have access to toilets, and more than one-third of ...
The Invisible but Essential Workforce in India
During the span of two weeks, my stay in Hyderabad has given me greater insight on the dynamic nature of cities. While working closely with the staff members of Hyderabad Urban Labs (HUL), I have discovered the many layers that form the overarching image that we see in cities. Examining issues, such as waste management and uses of public space, has allowed me to see how various ...
A Fruit Stand or Two on Every Corner
Back home in the US, I work at one of Greenville's local juice shops. A whole slew of customers walk through our doors everyday; some come in to check out the newest trend in the restaurant scene while most come in because they are health conscious consumers looking for the rare fresh healthy meal. Although healthy eating is on the rise in the US and my generation (the ...
The Concrete Jungle – My Urban Indian Experience So Far
My time spent in two major Indian cities has been packed full of sensations and feelings that have overwhelmed me at times. Now that I’m back in Chennai I feel more comfortable because it is familiar to me and we are away from the Golkonda Hotel’s awful hallway music. After getting out into the city to do research with Hyderabad Urban Labs (HUL) and spending time in Chennai, ...
Public Spaces and the Use of Religion
Two neighborhoods: one with towering mansions offset from the road by lengthy, gated driveways; the other with tall, concrete apartments divided by alleys so slim that the presence of the sky is only known by thought, not sight. During my time in Hyderabad, I worked with Hyderabad Urban Lab (HUL) using GIS, a mapping application that allows you to insert your own data points ...
Construction boom in India
We did some significant driving these last five days, leaving Chennai to venture to Pondicherry and then to Mahabalipuram. Pondicherry is the capital of Puducherry, an old French colony, now a "union territory" of India. A union territory is a not like a state, in the sense that states have their own elected government, but rather the UTs are administered by the central ...
Zen traffic
John Williams Zen Traffic: India’s traffic Having stayed in India for the past week, I couldn't help but notice one trait of India’s people, and that is the calmness in the storm of mechanical chaos. With over 8 billion people populating this giant metropolis which is chennai, you will find it hard to maneuver your way around all the different bodies. This includes ...
