That is a part of what University of Hartford senior Katina Zampas studied when she visited some obscure villages in India to conduct a sociology project during spring break.  For Zampas, a member of the school's women's tennis team, it was a trip that gave her a firsthand understanding of the people and culture in a rural Indian village.

In 2006, University of Hartford students in the school's College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA) began a joint effort with the local Hartford chapter of a program called Engineers Without Borders.  The effort involved a venture in the tiny Indian village of Abheypur designed to provide access to clean water through the installation of water tanks within the village.

"The project has grown a lot in seven years," said Zampas, one of three people from the university on the trip.  "They like to follow up by bringing other students each year after the engineering work is done.  One year they brought art students to paint murals at the girls' school where the original project started.  This year they wanted a sociology student to help do research."   

Zampas, a double major in sociology and criminal justice, assisted University of Hartford research & evaluation analyst Marcia Hughes in studying the impact of the venture on the local villagers.  The main focus of the study was to see how access to fresh water affected the community and how the people worked together to support the project and make sure the water supply was maintained. 

"We went back this year to do social research and study the implementation of the project and the effect it has on people's lives," said Zampas.  "It was really interesting to see how much they value something that we find so basic and fundamental.  We take clean water for granted because we've never been without it, but for them it is so scarce that it becomes precious.  You can see how much having access to it has changed their lives."

One of the things the team studied was the gender rules within the society.  Zampas was fascinated by the difference the water tanks made for the women in the village.

"Before the tanks were installed the women would spend hours every day walking back and forth from these secondary sources of water," she said.  "We asked them what they do now with the time they save.  They said they do things like rest or sew or take up other projects and they can sell the things that they make."

There were other issues that the study team tried to help the villagers overcome.  They stressed the importance of working together to fix any problems with the water supply.  Sometimes, the villagers had waited for the Americans to return and help them.

"Ultimately, we learned that there are still some problems," said Zampas.  "The reason it's so important to study the sociology of a community is that the technical piece is only one part of it.  We tried to teach them to be self-sufficient and proactive.  The collaboration within the community after the work is done is what actually makes the project sustainable." 

Zampas is thrilled that she had the opportunity to make the trip, especially when she considers that it almost never happened.  One of the top students in her class, Zampas was recommended to Hughes for the project by her professor, John Stewart.  She sat down with Hughes just a few weeks before spring break to discuss the trip.

"She walked me through the project and showed me pictures.  I thought it looked interesting and she told me she needed an answer immediately if I wanted to go.  I didn't know whether I'd ever get another opportunity to go to India and do research.  I just thought I really couldn't say no."

That began an odyssey that nearly resulted in Zampas having to stay home.  After deciding to make the trip, she immediately asked her mother to forward her passport by express delivery.  USPS lost it in transit and it took two days before she finally tracked it down.  By the time she finished completing all the documents necessary for an overseas travel application she was told it would take about 10 business days to be processed.

"I told them I didn't have 10 days, but they said they couldn't expedite it," said Zampas.  "I said I'm going to call you every day and harass you because I'm going on this trip.  I already got myself vaccinated so I'm going."

The day before she was set to leave Zampas was told the application wouldn't be ready. 

"I called my parents and told them it wasn't going to happen," she said.  "I said I've done everything I can do.  I thought if it was really meant to be then somehow it will miraculously come and if not then maybe I just wasn't supposed to go."

Two hours later, Zampas got a text message telling her the papers she needed would arrive the next day.

"It was a complete relief and I was so excited," she said.  "I hadn't really let myself get excited before because I didn't want to be disappointed if it didn't work out.  By that time, I genuinely didn't think I was going to get it."

Initially, Zampas wasn't sure what to expect when she departed for India, but once her plane landed she felt like she was in a different world.

"We got there on Sunday," she said.  "Just getting in the car and driving from the airport immediately was a culture shock.  There is no speed limit.  There is no concept of lanes.  There are only dirt roads that are really narrow.  It's just chaos but somehow it works."

Zampas traveled to the village for the first time on Monday.  Her initial impression was a lasting one. 

"Seeing the way the people live in the village was mind-blowing," she said.  "I've never seen anything like it.  I thought even walking around the village that I was looking at a movie.   The houses were all concrete and a lot of them didn't have roofs.  It made me so appreciative of what I have."

The team left to go into the village at around eight o'clock each morning and didn't return until 10 at night.   When Zampas reached the village to start her work each day she found the villagers both inquisitive and welcoming. 

"Everyone was so open and curious and hospitable," she said.  "We would walk around and people would flock to us.  Literally there were like 20 people around you.  They would come up and shake your hand.  Everywhere we went we were turning strangers into friends.  I was out of my comfort zone and yet I still felt comfortable just because the people were so warm and inviting.  I didn't expect that."

Zampas enjoyed meeting the villagers but found that even with translators it wasn't always easy to communicate. 

"We were using a different translator every day which sometimes made it difficult," she said.  "The dialect that people in the village speak can vary from what the translators speak.  It was hard but you get so engrossed in the work that you don't have any other choice but to adapt and deal with it."

The team stayed with hosts at the local girls' school where the original project started.  Zampas found that to be one of the best parts of the experience. 

"One of the things I loved about this trip is that we weren't staying in hotels or seeing tourist sites," she said.  "You're going into people's homes and talking about their lives.  You get to see how genuine and rich their culture is.  It's such an authentic way to travel."

That type of travel entailed a lack of access to the outside world.  It presents a challenge that most Americans would struggle with but for a college student it was especially difficult. 

"We had internet access at the school sometimes but that was it," said Zampas.  "I would check my email and I would get these messages from my parents asking if I was ok.  Obviously, I couldn't use my phone.  I had never gone a day without texting.  I felt so disconnected because I'm used to being plugged in all the time."

Now that she's returned from India and feels plugged in again, Zampas can reflect on her trip's similarities and differences to what she's experienced as an athlete. 

"Tennis is an individual sport," she said.  "I'm used to being on the court by myself but this was a challenge in a different way.  Over there I was with a few people who I only met three weeks previously.  I couldn't talk to my roommate, my parents, my boyfriend, and I was so far away.  I feel like I really tested myself.  It did literally feel like I was on the other side of the world."

"I went to the tiniest little village in this huge country," she continued.  "I saw so much but I really only saw a tiny little piece of what's out there.  I'm so appreciative.  I hope I get to do it again."