February 22, 2023
Penultimate
It’s my second last blog as long as my math is right (it’s often not). I am conflicted about what that means. GCIL, so far, has offered much. We’ve seen and learned a tremendous amount. We’ve been exposed to a dizzying array of grand challenges. We’ve been offered a wide variety of tools to come…
February 21, 2023
Feedback
The beautiful countryside north of Bangalore I’m sitting here trying to decide what to write this blog about. I could write about so many amazing things here in India: the delicious food, the beautiful parks, the calm countryside when I get outside the city, or the friendly people. Maybe I could describe another fascinating well-rejuvenation…
February 20, 2023
Food for Thought
It’s Sunday morning, the end of week seven. I tested positive for COVID on Friday, yet here I am, drenched in sweat from a workout I just completed. Unfortunately, COVID has been spreading through our little GCIL community these past couple of weeks, and so far, I seem to be the only one that has…
February 17, 2023
Water Matters
Until living in Bangalore, I had never thought about water so much. Daily, I am introduced to new information about different types of wells, rainwater harvesting systems, municipal tap, and water being piped from the Cauvery River. While interning for Biome, I have learned so much about the complex issues that different communities face with…
February 16, 2023
Today Ain’t It
I started my day in Bangalore strong, waking up at 7am sharp and doing a workout on the balcony. I love feeling the fresh morning breeze while stretching and just casually watching hawks soar through the sky. It’s one of my cherished daily rituals. The rest of my morning was also quite pleasant. I walked…
February 15, 2023
Accepting Ambiguity
This week we submitted our initial reports and sent our babies off to the mentors for feedback. As we wait in anticipation to hear if our ideas have merit or will be torn apart, I’ve been reflecting a lot about the whole process we’ve gone through for our GCIL project. The process I’m referring to…
February 14, 2023
Trust the Process
With 3.5 weeks left to come up with a viable plan and solution, this week our group spent the first half finalizing our initial report. In hopes to help with the trash problem in Bangalore, we decided to focus our attention on black spots and beautifying them. With more than 1,200 illegal dumping sites in…
February 13, 2023
Monkeys are Mean, Ruins are Pretty (Hampi)
We woke up in the wee hours of the morning and hopped on a bus. I slipped on an eye mask as I hoped to bank a few more hours of sleep on top of the two or so I had gotten that morning in anticipation of our magical journey. As we moseyed along the…
February 10, 2023
Presence in the Present
As I jam to bluegrass music and write my blog, I am amused by the reality of my situation. I’m in India; I have been for some time now. How’d that happen? And yet, I feel like our group’s vocabulary changed overnight from, “We just got here,” to, “The end is near.” In a regular…
February 9, 2023
Get your kicks on week 6
And so here we find ourselves, approaching the end of week six, and the band marches on. The halfway mark has come and gone, and every day we come closer to our final deliverables. Unfortunately, one of our crew is down with ‘Rona but they seem to be managing well. Or at the very least,…