Happy 2008

I have been back from India for almost two weeks now. It is good to be back. My trip, though rewarding, was also kind of terrible. My mom and I got sick while we were out there, and coming home to recover was definitely, definitely what we needed. Mom was in much worse shape than me, and thankfully she is better now. She had us worried for a bit.

Anyhow, so now I am basically sitting around waiting for interviews. I have gone to two so far, and have another one coming up later this week. Studying for these interviews is somewhat fun... reminds me of the stuff I spent so much time studying in college and grad school. Finding the best way to articulate why I want to be a doctor and looking up the opportunities and resources different institutions offer are re-igniting the excitement of medicine for me... losing sight of that has been easy in the midst of living at home and working on this India project, which has been entirely unrelated to medicine so far. Now, all I need to do is get in somewhere.

Living at home is starting to get easier. My parents are cool about me going out pretty much whenever I want, which is really nice. Dad and I definitely still have our moments. Here is the thing with that: before, not only was I not living at home, but Dad was not nearly as vocal of his opinions. He was pretty easy-going... he would go to work, come home, and basically just chill. My brother and I were talking about this, and we both agree that all of a sudden he just started saying more stuff... really came out of left field. So we are getting to know him all over again, and it's a trip, but hopefully a lot of good will come out of it. He kind of suddenly decided that he wants the role of authoritative man of the house, so it doesn't really occur to him to ask my opinion or for clarification for something I'm doing (sometimes it doesn't occur to him to let me finish a sentence)... but we are working on that.

So, each new year for the past couple of years, my resolution has been to become more patient. I think God heard that one a little too clearly: my patience was tried more and more as time went by. This year, I am making no such resolution. I think I'm plenty patient. Now, I think perseverance will be a good goal for me to achieve. I have a few things on my plate between the India project and med school apps/interviews, and persevering will really pay off in making sure both of those are successful.

Here's to a happy new year.

BHEN for All: Offical Launch January 3rd, New Delhi, India

So I am in India these days. I came here on a little bit of a whim. I have been working on a project for the last few months or so: a visual campaign in the form of posters displayed on commercial trucks and buses to promote gender equality and access to health care and education for females in India. A mouthful, I know, but read it again if you have to and it'll make sense. Anyway, so I partnered with All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), the largest transport company in India (as in the largest number of vehicles; 4.5 million, to be exact), and they called me around mid-December saying they were ready to launch on January 3rd.

Before that date, we had a lot of things to set into motion: I had to finish poster designs, put pressure on my good ol' buddy Paul to finish the website, we had to get samples printed in the States to take to India for mass-printing (since it is so cheap, and decisions about dimensions and materials hadn't been finalized), and we had to meet with people to get the printing done before the 3rd. Thankfully, it all happened. We printed four sample posters and decided to use three of them after meeting with the company officials, and we printed 1,000 sets of three posters each for distribution. For now, they are in English, but they will be printed in other languages very soon. Every two to three years, AIMTC holds a convention in which the new president of the company is inaugurated and managers from all over India get together and discuss any issues they need to handle. The launch of this project was held during this convention; I gave a five or seven minute talk on the issues of female infanticide and sex-selective abortion, their implications, and what I was asking of the transport managers.

I have never in my life spoken to such an audience. I sat on a panel of middle-aged men who were chairmen and other important administrators of AIMTC, another keynote speaker, and the transport minister of India, Mr. T.R. Balu. Note, I was the only female on the panel, and the only individual below 35 years of age. My audience was about 200 men also, and a few of their wives sprinkled in the mix. An American-born Indian girl speaking before a 90% male crowd, sitting on a panel of men too. I thought I might feel awkward but I was actually quite comfortable. I spoke in English because, well, functionally that is all I can speak coherently. I tried to speak slowly, and honestly I am not sure how many people understood what I was saying, but by the response I received I know it was definitely more than I could have hoped for.

People were so enthusiastic to spread this message. Even before I spoke to the AIMTC managers, my uncle set up a talk with the local branch of the Lion's Club, a service-oriented society that actually originated in Chicago, which has dedicated this month to raising awareness about female infanticide and sex-selective abortion. It seems that many people here know about the issue and recognize that the deeper problem lies in the way Indians think, and not the acts which are the outcome of that thinking. That people are just waiting for an opportunity to get involved is such a relief, and has definitely made my trip a gratifying experience. I think the next 10 - 15 years will show great progress for India's society. It won't be enough time for all of the wrinkles to be ironed out, but it'll be something, and I am excited to see what the future holds.