Aj, śurū

Unless you've been living under a rock, you are most likely aware that in a week's time, I will be starting a 9 month stint in Hyderabad, India. After months of planning, preparation, a fair share of nerves and crazy excitement, I am about to head off and start my time as an IDEX Fellow. But more on that later. First, a word about this blog. I'll not flatter myself and think that each and every one of you will be breathlessly awaiting to log on each Thursday and see what I'm up to. Instead, all I ask is that if you're bored in class, at work, or really want to feel better about your life while reading about me suffering the effects of Delhi Belly, please take a moment to check in. After all, there's nothing worse than writing a blog that no one is reading, except maybe writing an exteremely revealing blog that everyone is reading. I also promise to do my best to keep this thing entertaining. I mean, if you know me, you know that I rarely go 24 hours without embarassing myself in some way, and given that karaoke seems to be the outting of choice in Hyderabad, well then, it's game on.

Okay so the second thing. Most of you, whether solicited or not, have listened patiently as I have attempted to describe exactly what I will be doing in India. I'm fairly certain I have told each of you a slight variation to the point that the rumor now going around is "Jenny's moving to India, alone, to work in some crazy school, and will mostly likely be living in a cardboard box." Okay maybe not that bad, but let me explain about the amazing IDEX Fellowship. There are 34 other fellows, all roughly my same age, from around the US, the UK and even India. We all applied to this fellowship and after applications and interviews, were selected to participate. We will be involved with a foundation, known as Gray Matters Capital, which works within the field of social enterprise, in particular, with Affordable Private Schools (APS). It may sound like an oxymoron, but in Hyderabad, as in much of the developing world, there are a large number of schools run by entrepreneurs in slum areas that are catering to the poor. This is because the government schools are notorious for their lack of teacher accountability and quality education, even to the point where most teachers don't show up for work or will sleep in the classroom. So, in order to fill this market failure, individuals opened private schools for the children of the poor, charging between $2-$10 a month and often waiving this fee for the very poor and orphans. Because parents are paying for their children to attend these private schools, teachers and principals are VERY accountable for the education they give since parents can just stop sending their children to this particular school which in turn affects the income of school owners and teachers. This does not happen in government schools where teachers receive a set salary regardless of student satisfaction. And the fact that these families, who often make about $2 a day, are willing to pay at all for this education when the government provides schooling for free means that quality education is very important to them. This is truly an example of the poor taking matters into their own hands and helping themselves.

So where do we fit in? We are interested in the field of Social Enterprise, meaning that we work with business models (as these schools are) to achieve social benefits and growth to the community, namely reducing illiteracy, increasing education, and thus, decreasing poverty. Each fellow will be assigned to an APS in Hyderabad where we will work with the school owner to implement our own programs. For example, past fellows have created libraries where students can work to offset tuition costs, or have created a camp focused on girl's empowerment. I am very excited to get my hands dirty and see what I can do. And being able to spend 9 months living in India just so happens to be a great perk of this program.(See www.oglethorpe.edu/idex for full details).

Hopefully it's now a bit clearer what the heck I will be doing now while abroad. But enough about this serious stuff, let me drop some facts about Hyderabad since many of you were worried I'd be living it up Slum Dog Millionaire style or in a grass hut. Hyderabad is in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh. The city itself is India's 6th largest, boasting a population of over 4 million and is known as the City of Pearls (Mother's Day present, anyone?). It was founded in 1591 by the Qutb Shah Dynasty although some date life in the city back to 500 B.C. About 55% of the city's residents are Hindu and 40% are Muslim with Christians and Sikhs making up part of the miniority. But really, you are wondering what I'm going to do for fun, right? Well Hyderabad is one of the tech capitals of India, meaning that LOTS of outsourcing has gone on here. It also has the second largest film industry in India with a film studio comprising over 250 acres. I am definitely shooting for a position as a token foreigner in one of these movies! This translates into great universities, western conveniences in places, and an almost unhealthy fondness for karaoke which means I'll fit right in. Most importantly though, there's a Wal-mart in the city which I'm sure can't be as scary as the one in Roseburg, and there's even an Apple Store and wannabe Starbucks that will be down the street from my apartment.

I think I've written quite enough now and if you've managed to stick with me until here, well congratulations! You are surely in the minority. I will try to post regularly on Thursdays although my first few weeks there will be a bit spotty as I will have to set up WIFI. And lest you forget about this blog, don't worry - I will be ceaselessly reminding everyone on Facebook to read. So for now, as they say in the subcontinent, pher milenge!