Moving on

After a month and a half in Srinagar we are out. We called an abort on the field work a day early due to the coming storm that is about to hit the moutains. It seemed the prudent decision since the only other time it snowed since we've been here we spent the better part of two days pushing our bald tire, rear wheel drive SUV out of various mud pits and snow banks. In the interest of time and our sanity we decided it would be best to roll a day early and miss the storm.

Too many things come to mind about all the experiences since we've arrived. One thing I have to mention is a note of praise to our Kashmiri field crew. If every other person that we worked with had been as reliable as Showkut (our driver) and Shabir (Kashmiri Master's student) we probably would have finished a week earlier. Besides watching Showkut dish out some vigilante justice to the guy that tried to steal his cell phone, my favorite memory was the daily game of avoiding the toll collector. Showkut was pretty adept at using the dumptrucks as a shield until the oppurtune moment arose to make a dash for freedom. Unfortunately every so often the collector stood his ground, jumped in front of the car, and exacted the 5 rupee toll. Shabir provided our local protection, standing up for us in all matter of circumstances, from backhoe negotiations, to military encounters, to the occasional rude local. Without him the work would life would have been significantly more difficult. So our time in Srinagar ends and now we move on.