Features

Nicole Ward worked with the farm and allied sector of CORD (Chinmaya Mission for Rural Development) in Himachal Pradesh India.

Since being in India my whole concept of normalcy, as I know it, has been tossed right out onto the middle of the 401 during rush hour traffic and completely crushed by a giant Mack truck, and then crushed again by a million others.

I have to readjust everything in my mind and body to conform, if even a little, to the ways of the East. Everything from waking up in the morning is different.

Almost half the world lives on less than $2 a day.

That’s a lot of people.

Like most students, I’m not well-known for my exemplary eating habits. There are days I forget to eat, or I’m too busy to eat, or I can’t justify spending money on campus food when I could have packed a sandwich.

However, for me, food is always available.

Could I make it on $2 a day worth of food? Could you?

The $2-a-day challenge is one that is taken on by many development organizations.

Comparative politics at 8:30 a.m. is hard enough. With an empty stomach and no caffeine, the class became almost unbearable.

My roommates often wake up to the smell of my mushroom, asparagus and cheese omelet. Making breakfast motivates met to get out of bed at 6:30 a.m. Today I skipped the most important meal of the day and I couldn’t feel worse. Still, my biggest fear going into this challenge was not having coffee. Starbucks wakes me up every morning and keeps me occupied during long boring lectures.

I breathe Starbucks.

I was all sweaty brow and awkward smiles when the first $10 bill landed in my outstretched palm. I was almost apologetic when I handed the unsuspecting players their seven darts and told them tentatively to “fire away.”

Darkness! The deadfall sleet!