Taste of Chicago 2019

I went to the Taste of Chicago after..four years. I went there my first month in Chicago and it was an experience, but I hardly knew my food preferences the way I do now. Back then, I just ate to live, now in addition to that, I eat for flavor and texture and more than sustenance. We (bf and I) went on Saturday, day 3 of the four day festival. There were pop ups each day as well, that's not something I remember from my visit but imagine has been around for a minute. We pretty much loved everything we ate and so now have new restaurants to frequent soon (since we don't spend enough money on eating out already lol).  

In terms of buying tickets, they should have had stanchion I think. Although I also think it shouldn't be that hard to have self-service kiosks for ticket purchases or the option to have tickets on your phone that the vendors can scan it. Maybe by 2020.

Kimcheese Fries

Let's start with the chicken noodles from Ukai -- straight up delicious. We also tried jerk chicken from a place whose name I marked on our flier and then promptly lost in the post-trip exhaustion. It was almost 90 degrees so there was a lot of sweating, and there were a lot of people. Next up were amazing pierogis from Kasia's (a name that haunts me because of the Rabbit Girls story, rather real life experience). Then some tamales and it was time to take a break because it rained suddenly. I'm a classy lady and I promptly wore my poncho, which in retrospect looks like it could be a garbage bag. This picture of me eating kimcheese fries (yes, you read that right) wrapped in my fashionable poncho, sums up 2019 well so far.

When Mother Comes to Visit

My mom is visiting. It's becoming a tradition that when she visits I plan a short trip somewhere fun and frivolous. Last year it was Universal in Orlando. This year we are in Los Angeles, a city that was the first city in this country that I visited. I was sick at the time and bewildered by the enormity and how to navigate my way around. But I remember the trip to Universal and Disneyland as being marvelous, if only because of how far removed they were from anything real. Between that memory and S's gushing praise for the city from a recent visit, the plan was solidified.

Getting her from Chicago was not a nightmare even though our original flight was delayed enough for us to have missed our connecting flight and so Southwest rebooked us onto a direct flight with no fuss. Our suitcase didn't arrive with us and honestly it was remarkable how easily they found it and delivered it to our hotel. I was both grateful and also unperturbed by this -- losing a suitcase is not fun but it is also not the worst thing that could happen. As long as all lives and limbs are intact, it could always have been worse.

Yesterday was spent taking a bus tour of..well not just LA but also surrounding cities. Griffith Observatory has to be my favorite and if I ever come back, I plan to hike the trails there. Everything else, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Rodeo Drive, while entertaining was so far removed from what I think of as reality that it didn't really interest me much. Learning about the likes of Petra Ecclestone is hardly a way to feel good about yourself and I am working hard to avoid comparisons these days, I find that I am leaning too easily into the dissatisfaction that comes with them. Hollywood boulevard was lively and had stores we could enter knowing that of something catches our eye, we could buy it (Marshall's, Forever 21). It was also good for souvenirs (I'm a sucker for a whimsical magnet).

I type this from a 30 minute long queue for a Matterhorn ride that better be something special because this is an interminable line, further disenchanting me from this fairytale world.

My favorite part so far is the fact that my mom and I both enjoy the downtime at the end of a day full of touristy activities. Being able to buy my own wine (as opposed to the exorbitant hotel prices) also makes my holiday better.

Toss It

Settling in means I've been trying new bus routes, taking walks around the neighborhood, even chilling with my new flatmates one evening. I had Grace and Frankie on in the background and I am so impressed with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin - those ladies are rocking the seventies. There was a baby-birthing scene so inaccurate, it drew a lot of scorn from me. She said and I quote "I think the baby is in my pants" and then there really was a baby in her pants and all of this happened in a few minutes, with her mostly standing. Seriously.

Rainy days, summer days

Via Edwardmonkton.com

I've moved into YET another space. It is actually rather nice, has a window in the room with great natural light. The house has a back porch and more importantly a functional washer-dryer. Laundry is important for the soul. It is furnished and I have only had to buy minimal stuff such as linen and an incense-holder and lots and lots of chocolate-flavored cereal. The rain has been almost constant these last few days. The more I move, the faster I have learned to feel settled in. The frills fall away and I am slowly stripping to the bare essentials of what I need although there is a still long way to go in that process.

Modern Indian Woman?

Results of a quick Google search

I've often wonder about what the term 'modern Indian woman' means, especially as modern can still be said with a hint, if not an overtone of derision. I have often heard the statement 'you are too modern' being thrown around, with the intent to insult and hurt. Often I've heard the modern used as a 'trait', 'an attitude', which women need to phase out as they grow older (read: arrive at a marriageable age).

Notes on a conference

 I've been at a conference in DC this week (an entire week, I myself am not quite sure why). This is a trip that I had to cut short and I return home day after tomorrow and I am looking forward to that. It has been nice to get a change of scenery, parts of this semester have been the equivalent of walking through water and quicksand all together. It was also the first conference where I presented (alone) from some research (really basic) I am doing on understanding expectations of organizations that host students for fieldwork. I think the presenting bit is supposed to be a milestone of sorts (but am also aware that a lot of people present at this conference, it seems to be more inclusive than exclusive, which is nice for newbies like me). I was really nervous but different folks pointed out that depending on who is presenting sessions are sparsely attended (true for the one I was in) and people present preliminary results of their work (I did).

Chicago

This was the week of a whirlwind trip to Chicago, a city where I have never been and got to spend far too little time. I had gone for a group interview for something I have applied for and it was a good experience. I was anxious, because I haven't really done a formal group interview, and wasn't sure what to expect. I went in telling myself that I would learn from the experience, as nerve-wracking as it may seem. It was funny, everyone's name tags had color codes on them, reflecting the degree programs they were in (MBA, Education) but my International Development got none. Sadface.

Weekend things or the one with lots of elevator spiels

This was an interesting weekend. I am taking a class on Gender and Public Policy, and it is one of the most interesting classes I have taken in grad school. On Saturday, I had the chance to attend the Elect Her training, organized by the UMN Women's Center in collaboration with American Association for University Women. It seems to be primarily targeted at undergraduates, to encourage women-identified people to run for student government and hopefully in the long run for political office. There were icebreakers, student panels, quick elevator pitches and issue based discussions. They had a quite a lot of resources spread across tables.

Ahmedabad

View from Gandhi Ashram

My time in Ahmedabad has been far more intense and interesting than I imagined. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, especially considering I arrived at the start of an event that completely takes over the city with its sheer magnitude, in a week with important local and national holidays, and no meetings set up in advance. That being said, it has still been productive. Work-wise I have been able to learn new things, chat with some interesting people and get started on thinking in a particular direction.

Away

View from the hotel at night

By an interesting turn of fate, I am in Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar, for the Vibrant Gujarat event (and more). The professor I work for is a speaker her, and this led to me unexpectedly getting a pass to attend it, which seems to be quite the event. Really (I have done event planning in a former avatar and my heart quavered at the thought of all the coordination involved). Ahmedabad is a city where I lived as a child, where I have memories of a house outside the Army cantonment area, where I remember the rains that flooded the field behind our house, where I danced the garba with dandiya. I remember the house we lived in outside the cantt far more than the house to which we moved later. I remember taking my really young sister on a bike ride and crashing, the faint scars of which I still bear today.

All the missing

I remember so much from my childhood. I remember the childhood I did not have. I remember the childhood I did have. The one that was, for all its warts and flaws, a childhood. I can see that clearly, from the lens of adulthood, closer to thirty than ever. A new year starting is always a place of reflection and remembrance.

Snapshots

It is dusty, so dusty outside, that no matter how many times I wash my hands, I can see (or imagine) a layer of dust coating them. I decide today is the day I venture out, the list of small tasks has grown and in a way, I am now itching for action.

Dilli 2014

Let the shenanigans begin (quietly).

Tales from Bemidji

The lake booms, the ice cracking as we walk on it. It sounds like a gong, sometimes far, sometimes not too distant. It is breathtaking, it is quiet, almost surreal. It is peaceful, there is a restoring calm to the moments I spent on the lake. The winters, the snow, has grown on me. This was a break well-spent. I had reservations about leaving. The semester has been rough, and it felt wrong to leave. There are always too many things to do, even as I am teaching myself the art of saying no to the things I like, to avoid playing the busy game.

International Collaborative Research Forum

On Friday, I was able to attend a conference on campus and I am very glad I did! It isn't very often that I walk out of a conference thinking that all of it was useful for me but I definitely had that feeling after this one. It was called International Collaborative Research Forum and was held the renovated and fabulous and majestic looking Northrop Auditorium. After the opening session, there were parallel sessions for everything and I attended the ones on grant writing, ethics in international collaboration and internationalization in graduate education. I enjoyed all of these, especially the last one, where in addition to the Dean of Graduate Education at U of M, there were people from Council of Graduate Schools and the National Science Foundation.

Avatar ahoy!

Meet S. My grad school avatar. I have always had an interest in (not necessarily skills in) cartooning and I think this is a good and more productive way to deal with some of the realities of being in grad school. I am looking for help in learning how to sketch better, ideas for an occasional comic strip and suchlike. If you have suggestions or ideas, let me know. Have a great weekend! (You need to click on read more)

Why talk about gender?

One of the aspects I felt was most neglected in terms of preparing teams for fieldwork was addressing issues of gender, race and more. These are topics that make the best of us uncomfortable and I think it often seems that a classroom setting isn't the best to have an honest conversation. My definition of what an honest conversation is a moving, evolving one but in recent times I think of it as one where we are okay speaking about the 'bad thoughts' that we have. The idea should be to generate constructive counterpoints and of course, there needs to be a base in a desire to change. I guess I see little point in saying "I dislike so and so because they are such and such and I will believe this till I die."

Suggestions welcome

I am working on a piece to understand what motivates women to seek an international graduate education. I'd like to speak to both current and past students (who are studying/have studied outside their home country) and have a chat to learn more about why they made the choices they did. I'm starting to ask around and if you'd be interested in speaking with me or guiding me to someone, I'd greatly appreciate it! I'll be happy to give more details if required. Thanks.

The many everyday things of Hue

(Written a while back when in Hue, and now is as good a time to share it as any other)

It is easier to breathe here. It is hot, burning, lava-like and yet every once in a while there is a respite. Like the evenings. The occasional rainy days. The city is full of history, the streets full of bustle. Everyday brings something familiar and something new. I have fallen into a pattern, one that I will always associate with a happy summer. I know words and pictures will not do much justice to the experience. But I still try a combination of my favorite things: lists, words and pictures. 

The people selling lottery tickets, usually old. I was told it is considered unlucky to win as it splits families up over money.

A lottery ticket I bought.

On leaving

Saigon was exciting and bustling and full of making new friends, laughter and honest, spirit-fueled talks. It jarred a little after the quiet charm of Hue. I had forgotten how cities can sometimes tug and claw at you, how they demand attention. I walked, I explored, I marveled at the public spaces, had fancy coffees and missed the simplicity of ca phe sua in Hue, saw a water puppet show, saw the city from rooftops and balconies. I met people who were lovely and kind and felt like a harbor in the dark blanket that so much group work had settled on me. Now it is time to head home, for I am weary.

Water puppet show - fascinating

Outside the theater

Ben Thanh market