Avian Fl-Who?!

For those of you not up with the latest and greatest in India, there have been repeated avian flu break outs in Maharastra. It's a ways from here, where I am, but it's still enough to have me worried about touching raw eggs and breathing in "chicken air." (Note* - I ate a boiled egg tonight.) The other day when I took the bus to Namakkal to go to Anusha's wedding (picture coming soon...), I decided to hold my breath whenever we passed chicken coops, of which there are plenty on the route. Just as I was making this decision, I heard the women's luggage next to me clucking! I was sitting next to baskets of live chickens. But I do applaud the women's awareness of proper health/hygiene behaviors, such as turning your head when you cough, etc. Unfortunately, she turned her head towards me whenever she coughed!

The wedding was fun and relaxing, and I got a chance to spend a day at our LEAD head office in Trichy on the way, too. It was fun to see relatives and actually converse with them in Tamil for a change!

The project is "progressing" (and I use that term loosely!!) My attention has been mostly focused these days on training the two/three staff that are directly under me. The field area where the adolescent girls live is too big for me to cover on my own. So I have, hesitantly, delegated the responsibilities. It is just so frustrating to work with staff who are NOT incompetent, but like to pretend to be!! Sometimes I worry that the coping-managing-mechanisms that I have resorted to here (like yelling, being sarcastic, scolding, spoon-feeding, etc.) will be carried back to la U.S.A. with me.

Last week the girls were involved in a palm leaf craft training session. Reports say that they enjoyed it, and picked up on it. There is apparently a good potential for sales in this product. (If the girls get good at it, be prepared to get these as gifts when I get back!)