Today was our first day of classes at MCC. The principle gave a lecture on the history of MCC and Dr. Menon delivered a fascinating talk on natural resource management in India. After classes, we ventured off campus as a group. We crammed 10 students, 1 prof, and 1 driver into a bright yellow rickshaw! We drove to bank to exchange our dollars for rupees. Since we were rolling with rupees-on-rupees, we decided to celebrate by picking up some ice cream from a street vendor. For the record, Indian mango cream popsicles are spot on.
Despite the exhilaration of acquiring rupees and enjoying ice cream, I still can't get over the horrid water conditions in the city; trash, cow poop, and human waste fill the stagnant, open air drains. I couldn't help but think how petty my summer RBRI research was considering the dire conditions of Tambaram's water supply. Who cares about a low pH or an anomalous conductivity reading when there is human s__t in the water supply? India has a long way to go in improving sanitation conditions. Enforcing laws prohibiting public defecation would be a start.
Here is a video our rickshaw ride: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150245992837325
Despite the exhilaration of acquiring rupees and enjoying ice cream, I still can't get over the horrid water conditions in the city; trash, cow poop, and human waste fill the stagnant, open air drains. I couldn't help but think how petty my summer RBRI research was considering the dire conditions of Tambaram's water supply. Who cares about a low pH or an anomalous conductivity reading when there is human s__t in the water supply? India has a long way to go in improving sanitation conditions. Enforcing laws prohibiting public defecation would be a start.
Here is a video our rickshaw ride: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150245992837325
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