Smiling from the Mountains
Wayanad, by name is not a new place for me. I have visited the place several times as a tourist and as a student for field work. But four months of experience here has taught be that I previously knew little of the real…
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Malayalam
Joys and Growth: Reflections from the First Five Months in the Field
On a Saturday afternoon in January, I found myself on the balcony of the Prasanthi Cottage, my current home. I took in my surroundings – the lush hills, the distant moos of cows, the airy dance of floating clouds. I sat, alone, with a…
Some Experiences of a Field Fellow
Visiting a Post-Landslide Community As some of you may know, between August 16 and August 30, Kerala was hit with the worst flood the area has seen in over a hundred years. What is very unfortunate about the whole thing is that some of…
Starting off with a Bang(alore)
There’s something magical about being cooped up in an airplane for 23 hours. It gives you a certain high of impending doom: O Ye mighty jet lag deity…be ever so merciful to me. The beauty of flying Lufthansa as opposed to *ahem* American for…
Diary of a Field Fellow: Ups and downs in the first few months of a fellowship abroad
It’s February 18, and so with that I have officially been in Wayanad for four months, or nearly half of my total fellowship. If I could go back to the day before I left for India and tell myself one thing, I’d probably choose…
A Global Neighborhood and a Beloved Community: Reflecting on the work and words of Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 15th was MLK Day this year in the United States, a federal holiday dedicated to the life and work of the American civil rights activist and pioneer Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. MLK Day has long been an important holiday for me personally,…
Adventures of a Field Fellow
October 24, 2017 Today officially marks the end of my first week in Prashanthagiri, and I’m just getting my feet wet in my role as Field Fellow — both metaphorically and literally. This morning I accompanied Gilgy on a partial field visit, stopping in…
Reflections from Profugo’s Newest Field Fellow: Anu Thomas
She told me that I could fly, that all I had to do was believe and wings would escape from my shoulder blades and I would become a great wild eagle, a stranger to tethers and cages. No, not an eagle, but a beautiful…
Good Day Sunshine
The rain has gone. Mara poy, as you would say in Malayalam. I no longer have to grab that umbrella each time I leave the house. The sky is blue and the sun is shining. The village where I am working has taken on…
Communication is Key
Good communication is the key to building strong and meaningful relationships, whether between a husband and wife or two business partners. The lack thereof can cause great strife and misunderstanding. Communication can be difficult between two close friends who share the same language, so…