Passage to India, part 1

Record fuel and food prices.
Forest fires raging across the West (including one near my hometown).
Foreclosed-upon homes being looted by scrap metal profiteers.
Paris Hilton running for President.

Sounds like a good time to leave. Actually, with all the moaning and groaning going on in this country, it sounds like like a good time to leave for a country that has dealt with these problems (minus bratty heiresses, although I'm sure there are a few) for as long as it has existed yet whose citizens remain, for the most part, amazingly upbeat.
Of course, I didn't really take all of this into consideration when I decided to go abroad for a term. Mostly, I was feeling the travel itch, seeing the end of my college career looming ahead, and realizing I would need some internship credit to get there. So, over winter break, I found one that is sure to provide me with new and interesting situations and surroundings, while applying to my Environmental Studies degree and providing me with material for my senior thesis. That's at least three birds with one stone.
The organization I'm interning with is focused on promoting community-based agriculture movement in India, attempting to undo some of the damage done by the "green revolution" through public education, collaboration and research into traditional food practices. Since it's relatively small, I will get to participate in all of the above and more, I'm sure. For a more comprehensive description, go here, or visit Vanastree, the host organization's website.
One author I have been reading a lot of lately, Vandana Shiva, also does a good job of explaining the problem of biopiracy (agricultural corporations taking indigenous crops and patenting them, turning them into private property) and how grassroots organizations can counteract it. So check out her stuff for more information.

Anyway, my original plan was to go this summer. Then I learned about a little issue called Monsoon Season, and also realized that I could take fall term off and still graduate next spring (yippie - real world, here I come). So my scheduled departure date is now Sept 1st, arriving in Mumbai on the 2nd and flying into Hubbali, India on the 3rd. Then a driver named Mushtaq will pick me up and take me to the village of Sirsi, about 88 km southwest of there. Sirsi is in the state of Karnataka, in South India. (Map.) After twelve weeks of internship, I'll be traveling around the country for three weeks before returning home just in time for Christmas.
My internship supervisor's name is Sunita. I'll be staying on her farm and traveling to nearby cities about once per month to conduct research. I'll also go to other collective members' farms to work as needed.

So that's the context. In the meantime, I'm keeping busy, partly by reading up on India and agricultural issues and partly by answering the question "So, what are you up to this summer?" The answer to that question, incidentally, has been varied and highly entertaining (well, to me), so I'll probably get a couple blog posts out of it. When I actually get to India, though, I hope to keep updating about once a week. If you don't hear from me, call tech support...