Bettiah was the “big adventure” of this week, but there were several other things that I accomplished/participated in that were so much fun and so I am excited to share them with you!
Project
I mentioned last week that our 4th solar oven was underway but was unsure about it being completed before Sophia and I leave Patna. Well, I was quite pleasantly surprised, and am happy to say that our oven is 100% built and we have begun testing!! 🙂 It took a lot of work but I am really proud of this because it probably included the most chemical engineering I’ve done all summer. I was in my element completing energy balances and calculating how much energy would be required to cook the rice vs. how much each of the solar tubes could actually provide. Which, interestingly enough, was one of the reasons Sophia and I were so doubtful about this oven. We were under the impression that SAAP would have to order more tubes and that they would probably take about a week to get here, leaving us with no time left to test the oven. We were very wrong though and the workers had no problem taking apart an existing piece of solar equipment to use the tubes on our new design. Feel free to ask me more about how the solar tubes work when you see me next!
Railway Station Church
So perhaps you have picked up on this, but I am terrible at remembering names of places (although I think part of that is the places I have been are usually referred to as “the place we went that side” by Fr. Jesu and Fr. Paul). I visited a really old church with Fr. Jesu which was by a railway station and the property is actually the railway’s property also! So I am calling it the railway station church aka “the church we went that side” 🙂 There was a social action center close by to this church also, and we got to meet the 9th and 10th graders there. It was a similar interaction to those I had in Bettiah where I introduced myself, explained my project, and then answered questions. The cool thing about these classes is they were studying science and math so they were really excited that we were studying the same things they were. We also had the privilege of meeting Fr. Joseph, 81 years old, who introduced himself to us by saying “just so you know, my wife Mary died so I’m single.” He also got very excited when we told him we were from Ohio, and he immediately exclaimed “Oh! That’s by Kentucky – the home of fast horses and slim girls!” I think he’s my new favorite priest here.
Savan Mahotsan
We did go to one last training center with Fr. Jesu, but this one was in Patna so it wasn’t too far and we didn’t get any flat tires 🙂 they were having a Savan Mahotsan celebration, and while I still have yet to figure out what that means, it was SO much fun. All the teenage women were dressed in their sarees and there was a dance competition so Sophia and I sat in awe as we watched several beautiful performances take place. Rosemary came with us and it was the cutest thing because she got all dressed up and I could see her taking notes on the women’s dance moves! She was very excited. We also watched a reenactment (kind of like a nativity play) of whatever it was they were celebrating. There was some sort of “baba” (god) who I think was trying to cure a very sick (or possibly dead?) man. The most ironic thing was for the hospital scene they brought out a fake saline drip that looked very similar to the one in Sophia’s arm during week 3 and it was definitely an uncomfy but also hilarious moment. The play was very similar to the ones that you see kind of thrown together during vacation bible school and the strained chaos and slightly embarrassed laughter of the teens throughout the play made me smile.
After the reenactment, we were taken to another room where we were treated to sprite and sweets while one of the teens did mehndi decorations on our hands. Although, they were ruined rather quickly when we were pulled into the middle of their dance party! We had such a good time with the teens, letting them teach us their dance moves and of course taking so many selfies.
That brings me to the end of week 9, and also to the beginning of my last week in Patna. Ahh! I can’t believe I am saying that. I will spend week 10 in Patna wrapping up my research and then will take a week to be a tourist and do some fun travelling before I fly home. I can’t wait to tell you all about my adventures!
See you soon 🙂
An Indian Summer 