This has been a difficult week. I am struggling with a ton of physical pain, and going through physical therapy to help get it under control. My ability to sit for long periods is diminished, causing me much frustration.

Trying to find information on cultural life of American Indians has not been easy. I was able to get an idea of where Saujani’s family comes from, and their traditions, which they held to even while living through much prejudice.

While I enjoyed the librarian experience, there has been no articles written about Saujani since 2012. I ordered the book, and now have to make the trek to Corvallis so I can read it and understand her more.

Trying to weed through the myriad of information you get when you type in “American Indian” is frustrating. I found that by adding the title “Asian” I am getting more information that applies.

I grew up in the same era as Saujani, I’m only a few years older. I find it interesting to dissect what I was experiencing during my childhood. Trends in education, technology commonly used in the home, are almost funny to me, as I experienced them first hand. I remember getting our first dishwasher, which we didn’t quite trust, and getting an Atari.

Finding statistics on education and Indian Americans is not easy, but I am searching as much as I can for the right information. Hopefully this week will be less painful and more fruitful!

My experience with the librarians and data bases was most informative. I was able to get a response from Answerland, and the respondent was most helpful in directing me for my search. I also used the text option for asking the OSU librarians, and found their information helpful as well.

This was the most exposure I have had to data bases, so I was a bit uncertain when I started, but feel much more comfortable now. While I am still trying to formulate my ideas on how to approach the subjects, I feel that these venues will be the best way of getting the answers I need. Since Saujani isn’t an inventor, per se, but a person who is making a difference in girl’s lives by teaching them to code, I am struggling a bit with how to answer the topics. But I will get there.

One benefit of living in McMinnville is that we have both the Chemeketa Library and Linfield library right here. I have already contacted Chemeketa and have ordered a book on women, including Saujani, who chronicle the mistakes they made at work, and how it helped them in the long run. This should give me insight into some of the topics I need answers for.

The subject of my cultural research is Reshma Saujani. She is an Indian-American lawyer and politician. Saujani was born in Illinois, and is of Gujarati descent. Her parents lived in Uganda until Idi Amin expelled all the inhabitants of Indian descent in the early 1970’s.

Her culture differs from mine in that she is a practicing Hindu, while I am a Christian. She faced prejudice which I never have.

In her interview on Makers.com, she talks about being a Hindu, with her mother wearing a bindi or a sari, and people making fun of her mother for that. She mentions being a child and not being able to find a toy license plate with her name on it, and leading a march to bring awareness to prejudice. She talks about her desire to change the world, and the struggles she went through to get into Yale, as well as winning a grant and starting her non-profit organization.

Reshma founded Girls Who Code in 2012 to help girls overcome the gender gap in technology. Her goal is to teach 1 million girls how to code by 2020. She is an inspiration and I am looking forward to learning more about her. Since she is still alive, I think the possibility of an interview is pretty good.