Great news: yesterday was our final presentation (though, we're still working on the final final paper to be submitted in T-8 hours). Even better news: all of the TPS ladies were relatively wardrobe malfunction free. Why is this important? Well, a majority of the 12 females on the trip decided to wear traditional garb for our final presentation (read: saris). Since arriving in India, I've been mesmerized by the beautiful drapes of fabric that women somehow manage to wear on a daily basis. Let's just say that I never thought I'd be able to wear such things for a couple of reasons: 1) I'm taller than pretty much the whole country (seriously) and didn't think the fabric would be long enough to not look silly, 2) I have (had) no idea how to put the darn thing on, or ) how to keep the darn thing on. Despite the reservations, I gave in and decided to wear one for our final presentation, mainly because I didn't bring any business clothes but also because, well, when in Rome...
After several early-morning YouTube videos and a whole bunch of horribly-wrong attempts, Audra and I (sort of) mastered the art of putting on the sari! Or so we thought... When we got to ICTPH for our presentations, several women who work at the building pulled some of our group aside to fix the ill-tied saris. Apparently you shouldn't trust everything you see on the internet! :)
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| Allison, Eprise, Nancy, me, Audra, Leslie, Megan, Sonia, Dessa, and Josh, all rockin' traditional garb. |
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| Me with the arm candy of our trip, Josh and Shawn. |
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| Gift from Ravi and Ramesh! |
Anyway, all of the groups (cardiovascular disease, GI disease, maternal and child health, oral cancer, and oral health teams) gave incredible presentations. I couldn't believe how far we've come in such a short two months time.
After the presentations, ICTPH treated us yet again to a luxurious poolside afternoon, complete with dinner at the Chariot Resort. Rumor has it the Olympic-sized pool we swam and played volleyball in is one of the largest resort pools in Asia. A couple of my classmates and I then ventured down to the beach and decided to jump some waves in the Bay of Bengal. Such a great way to end the course! :)
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| The pool! |
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| Playing in the Bay of Bengal!! |
Do I see some bare midriffs in those saris? You can't show your shoulders, but showing a little belly button is OK?
ReplyDeleteOh, and your elephant is awesome.
It seems like an amazing experience you've had in the past months. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteJanene
I think you did a fantastic job wrapping that sari. It's beautiful! The draping looks great even when you are sideways.
ReplyDelete