Christmas in India

Well I'm not sure where to begin - a dead body on the beach, a drink with the Captain of the Indian Football team and an Indian wedding invitation. What an exciting couple of weeks it has been despite my injured ankle and having very little mobility. I am used to Indian time now but I still couldn't believe the police took 2 hours to turn up and recover the dead body on the beach. We thought nothing of another Indian falling asleep for a few hours and it was rather a shock to discover that he had actually stopped breathing.
My first sporting outing was not to a cricket match (they are all cricket mad) but to a football stadium where a local Goan team was up against one of the big clubs from Calcutta. I wasn't prepared for the English-type passion and after having bottles thrown at us for supporting the away team, we decided to move seats and keep quiet when they scored. It wasn't quite the same standard as the Premiership but we saw four goals and a red card. An entertaining afternoon out was completed with a drink with the national captain who doesn't quite have Beckham status in his country but we felt honoured anyway.
But I think the most exciting news was a wedding invite - I have always wanted to attend an Indian wedding but wish I hadn't mentioned that I was previously a wedding planner, I'm not sure what to expect when I turn up next Saturday. The ceremonies here are very different from England with sometimes thousands of guests - I must find something to wear.
Almost the whole camp of volunteers left last weekend so it has been a pretty quiet week with only a handful of us left. Saying goodbyes are never easy but it's something I will have to get used to during the year.
The children welcomed me back to work this week and we threw a Christmas party for them, Jingle Bells in the sun still doesn't work for me. I don't think I've ever seen such terror as when
Father Christmas arrived with sweets for the children, they were sobbing and couldn't get away fast enough from him, I don't think they've ever seen him before. The presents we had wrapped for them went down very well, just a few crayons and some sweets but you would have thought we had given them a thousand pounds each. Every day they bring a smile to my face and remind me how lucky I am.
I've also managed a bit of pampering this week with an amazing pedicure, head massage and manicure. I believe eyebrow threading originated in India so I gave that a go too, it made me forget I had been bitten to death by mosquitos the night before, I didn't realise I was that tasty.
I'm off to Palolem Beach tomorrow for Christmas so am looking forward to a glass of something under the palm trees to celebrate and hopefully a phonecall home to speak to my family.
I hope you all have a great Christmas and will update again before I depart for Thailand.
  
 

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School Teacher

Unfortunately I'm writing this update from my sick bed – after a bad fall and spending yesterday in casualty having my ankle x-rayed (luckily no broken bones just a bad sprain). I really wouldn't want to repeat the visit, the hospital was not a nice place to be and the casualty ward was open so I was right next to a lot of blood and groans, I did feel a bit of a fraud. Thank goodness I had Sushila with me to translate and guide me in the right direction. Well hopefully I'm on the mend and will only be off my feet for a few days.

Apparently the children are missing their teacher and hope I'm back soon – I think they enjoyed the pom-poms we made and the dance we did together earlier this week. I never imagined that standing in front of a class of little ones would be so much more terrifying than giving a presentation to a room full of peers. I think I'm improving each day but they are difficult to control and the language barrier doesn't help. Repetition is key and songs are very popular as they repeat everything parrot fashion. No materials are available so creativity is important, using whatever we can find on the beach we'll try and make some musical instruments next week. The classroom is tiny and very dirty, the children all sit on the floor and I know the meal we give them is probably the only one some of them will have all day. Some of the children we know are out begging in the afternoons to earn money for their parents, it really is heartbreaking and I know we can't do anything to change the way they live. Hopefully we can just bring a bit of fun to their lessons.

I haven't had a chance to do much exploring since we arrived but am hoping to head south next weekend to visit a couple of local spots including Palolem beach which is supposed to be the most beautiful in Goa. I did manage a trip to the world-famous Anjuna market last Wednesday which was a fantastic lesson in negotiation. I knew that haggling was the done thing but didn't realise I could be so hard, I did have to question myself when I was walking away from a sale because I couldn't get the price down another 20p – sure enough they called me back and I walked away very happy. The colours are just beautiful in India and I've bought some amazing clothes to wear for work, the jewellery is so cheap and I had to stop myself buying linen bedding, I have to remember I won't be home for a year and don't want my backpack to weigh me down.

The food is becoming more palatable and I'm actually enjoying the spicy dishes (no more kormas when I get home), the occasional chicken is very welcome and the Goan speciality, fish curry, is an absolute winner.

I've had a lot of firsts In India and this week I took a ride on the back of a motorbike which was not as terrifying as I had imagined, noone wears helmets and they are all lunatics on the road so was very pleased to reach my destination in one piece.

My Hindi is not coming along too well as the local dialect is Konkani which is quite different. I'm amazed at how good my fellow European volunteers are at speaking English, it puts me to shame but hopefully I will put that right with my Spanish lessons when I get to Bolivia.

I am quite used to the mosquitos now and even the malaria tablets don't make me feel as sick as they did, so all is well in India and I look forward to getting back to school and writing my next instalment.

Namaste from India

Namaste from India

Well I can't believe I've only been in India for 2 weeks, I feel as though I've been here for years. The plane journey seems a distant memory and I've already forgotten the hassle at the airport and being bumped off the plane due to BA's overbooking policy. The £420 compensation will go a very long way in India.

So when I finally arrived at Mumbai in the middle of the night I was relieved to see my guides Shekhar and Vishal, they were very welcome smiles amongst the sea of faces in arrivals. They say you either love or hate Mumbai and I found it a big, dirty city so I was glad when we drove out through the 5 lanes of crazy traffic and up into the mountains (drivers in India are worse than the cab drivers in New York). The next few days trekking through the mountains were fantastic. I feel very fortunate to have experienced eating in a local villager's house and the hospitality shown to us was amazing. Our guide for the trekking, Rajesh Patade, is one of the greats to have conquered Everest and was extremely helpful in the midday heat but even he couldn't help with the fact we had no toilets for 3 days. After the trek, we stayed at an Ashram to study yoga and meditation, as soon as we arrived I realised we were in a very special place and many had travelled from around the world to visit. The Shirodhara I received (warm oil poured onto my forehead and massaged into my head) was one of the most relaxing treatments I've ever had and at £2.50 was an absolute bargain.

Catching the train to Goa was another experience, thank goodness I wasn't travelling in one of the lower class carriages, the six bunks in our compartment were tight but pretty comfortable. Luckily my rucksack was locked up with my pacsafe(a lifesaver, thanks to Amie) so I managed a good night's sleep.

I knew Goa would have many tourists but fortunately I'm staying in a house off the beaten track. Yesterday we visited all the volunteer projects including an AIDS hospital, a school for the mentally challenged, an old people's home, primary schools and day care centres. I knew this was going to be a wake up call for me but I wasn't quite prepared for what I saw and shed a few tears. Every project is so worthwhile, I'll be teaching English to 2-6 year olds who have absolutely nothing in material terms but they still have huge smiles, I think I can learn a lot from these kids.

So the work starts next week and I can't wait to get stuck in. I do get the weekend off so will hit the beach tomorrow and perhaps treat myself to a meal out – my body is in shock, no caffeine, alcohol or meat for nearly 2 weeks (my staples in England). I might even treat myself to a large gin and tonic (I can afford a couple at 80p each).

So my first impressions of India have been good, everything is so different from England and I have surprised myself at how easily I've slotted in to this way of life, I've had a couple of Hindi lessons so am now starting to speak the language too.

So that's 2 weeks in a few words, I will update again next weekend after my first working week.

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Time to go

I can't quite believe how quickly the last 3 months have passed since I made my decision to swap my very comfortable life in Plymouth for the poverty of India, Thailand and South America.
Not long now until I leave Heathrow to begin my journey of a lifetime and I'm unsure whether I feel more excited or terrified at what lies ahead.
After a month of goodbyes, listening to much advice from well travelled friends & family, I'm ready to go it alone.
On Monday, I will land in the extreme heat of Mumbai and Plymouth will be a distant memory.
Working with the children in Goa is sure to pull at my heart strings and I know it will be difficult to leave them behind.
But on to Thailand where I'll experience Thai cooking lessons and will hopefully become an expert in Thai massage.
Perhaps one of the highlights will be living alongside the Thai monks to learn about the teachings of Buddhism, meditation and their way of life.
Australia and New Zealand will allow me to catch up with family and friends before moving onto
possibly the most challenging part of the trip ­ South America - when I totally immerse myself into
the Bolivian way of life, living with a local family and improving my incredibly poor Spanish.
A month of intense language and culture sessions will help me integrate with the locals and move onto my next project, working in an orphanage where volunteers are desperately needed. I have promised my mother I will not smuggle any orphans through customs but leaving the children will again be incredibly difficult.
Trekking through Peru will cover much of the Inca Empire, including the breathtaking scenery of the mighty snow capped Andes Mountains, the Incas and their ancient empire and the driest desert in the world.
By the time I reach Ecuador I will be ready for the next challenge on a marine conservation and investigation project working with research scientists. I could be involved in anything from identification of humpback whales to a shark fishery monitoring programme, depending on what is required when I arrive.
My adventure will end on the Galapagos Islands working to aid the Darwin Foundation and Galapagos Park Services with their breeding and research programmes to safeguard the future of
the Giant Tortoise.
Who knows what opportunities will present themselves during the year? How I will ever return to normal life? Questions I look foward to answering.