first day...

Yes the holiday has ended- today was my first day at CWT.  It was sort of like every first day in a new job in that you spend it sort of trailing around feeling a bit like a spare part and trying to be useful in any way you can!  Met some of the other volunteers though which was really good and one of them is moving into the same place as me on saturday so it will be good to have her nearby.  This morning (after waking up early for the first time in a couple of weeks...) I got the bus to Mapusa and then changed to get another bus out to the mango house (marcella if you're reading this I was thinking about your 'particular way' shall we say of catching buses and whether you would get away with it here!).  Mapusa bus station is crazy!  Not sure I have ever seen that many buses so when I got there I was wondering how on earth I was ever going to find the right one.  I asked a couple of bus conductors and luckily it was just opposite where I got off the first bus so it was OK I scrambled on to it just as it was pulling off (no pesky health and safety here you just leap!).  CWT goes out to 2 slum areas currently.  I went to the first one this morning, called Karaswada, where we just had small children who don't go to school (the older children go to school 6 mornings a week).  We spent a couple of hours doing alphabet, numbers, songs and colours.  They practise writing numbers and letters on little chalk boards and on the chalk board at the front and they practice recognising different letters, with each one standing for a word and an action (D is for dance- I liked that one!).  It was really good, the children are so enthusiastic, noisy, keen to learn and chuffed to bits when they get something right and you praise them.  They also like sitting next to you or holding your hand and swinging around endlessly!  It was then back to mango house for a yummy lunch before I went to the other slum area called crossroads in the afternoon.  We had a mix of different ages here as the older ones finish school at lunchtime.  To be honest I'm sat here wondering how to describe it as I did find it quite difficult.  Although it is a tiny slum the conditions are dreadful, I don't think it would matter how much preparation and research you did beforehand, when you actually are there it is something else.  I did feel a bit choked just seeing the awful conditions the families are living in, but again the children are so happy and energetic and full of beans.  The older ones did homework and the younger ones read books, sang songs, played games and did some colouring in.  It is amazing to see how excited and happy they are to receive a colouring sheet and a crayon, obviously something which school children in the UK take so much for granted.  Unfortunately, we discovered that 4 small children had been surviving without their parents, who had gone away somewhere, for the past 4 days.  the youngest of which can't have been more than 18 months ish.  They were taken back to mango house and fed big meals and washed and given clean clothes and patched up medical wise.  Obviously this was quite difficult to comprehend and, to be honest, quite heartbreaking, but at least they have the help of CWT.  So all in all, I'm exhausted!  But glad to be doing something now.  I was starting to get a bit low being by myself all the time and by moving from my hotel to the apartment, I sort of disorientated myself as I had got to know where everything was near the hotel and now I have to start again.  But it's all part of the adventure I suppose!  Right that was an essay Ms Mawby would have been proud of (please don't correct it Jo!) so I better sign off.  Hope you're all well.  St George's students I hope you're being the wonderful well behaved young people you can all be and are working towardss your exams.... (do you need another reminder?  I'm sure you're getting lots already!).  Please post a comment on here if you're reading this it would be lovely to hear from you.  And just to say again- thankyou so much for the amazing send off, I've shown the poster you made me and the card to everyone! xxx

new pad

some photos of my apartment, i always find it hard to take pictures of rooms, you can never get everything in!  wanted to wait until it looked a bit prettier but never mind, at least you get an idea....

 (i do have a fridge too it's hiding in the corner!)

 gorgeous new throw- i love it!

 see i'm ok, if a bit shiny!

new pad

so i moved into my new place today, it's good but even hotter!  it's got ac but trying not to have it on at the moment as apparently it gets even hotter in the next couple of months before the monsoon, and i don't want to start relying on it, tis very hard though.... will post up some photos when i've got some, maybe tomorrow.  hope you're all doing good.  feel free to leave me a comment it's like a ray of sunshine (or on second thoughts, a nice cool breeze here!) when you do... xx

pictures- i did it!

 the beach a few mins walk from my new apartment

tsk, they bloomin get everywhere........

cows, contemplating.

wobble averted...

was feeling a bit lost and bewildered yesterday but feeling more settled today after an afternoon at the beach,sorry to rub it in! think i'm just getting a bit lonely to be honest as i haven't really met anyone yet but i start my job on monday so hopefully that will improve.  i looked at a few more apartments yesterday and in true liz style, went back to one of the first ones i saw and decided to take that, it's just the same as dresses!  just got to go and confirm it tomorrow but they know i want it fom saturday so should be ok.  can't remember whether i described it in last blog but it's 1 bedroomed apartment with kitchen with fridge and gas hobs,  bathroom and lounge/dining room with dining table and chairs, sofas and tv with cable so can get some american channels, although i've watched a bit on the tv in my hotel room at mo and it's terrible!  oh and it has ac which will be handy as apparently it just gts hotter and hotter from now until the monsoon in may/june. oh and it's a few mins walk from the beach!  am gong to get indian sim card once i have my new address tom so will email the number and my new address, was going to put them on here in a state of sun induced blondeness but then realised anyone in the world can read this, scary.... am going to try to put some pics up here in a min, just a few of the beach that i've taken so far. and the cows. cows are EVERYWHERE here and seem to have much more importance than anything else on the road, inc humans, i was walking next to a mummy cow and her 3 calves yesterday and decided to stick with them as that seemed to be th safest option!  oh and also, wait for it........... I HAGGLED! ok so it was only for a bag and i still prob payed  well more than it's worth but still, it's a start and it wasn't as bad as i thought, kinda like chicken. ok going to try and attach these photos now, fingers crossed.....sorry guys i bought the little gadget that plugs into the computer and you put the memory stick into it but i can't get it to work, any tips?! will try again tomorrow, slaters x

first glimpse of mango house...

so after dragging myself out of bed this morning (i don't know if it's the heat, jet lag or my natural talent for sleeping but i literally can't get enough sleep- 12 hours last night and i'm STILL tired!) i made my first visit to Children Walking Tall's base, the mango house.  all of the volunteers seem really friendly and the place itself is lovely.  There weren't many children there as they are currently waiting for their licence to be renewed so they have to take school to the slums instead.  after meeting people and looking around, Rob, the guy who runs the project, took me to look at a few places to live (on the back of his motorbike, haven't done that since i was a teenager, rob may read this.... if so you're a fantastic driver!) that previous volunteers have/are currently staying in.  all of the places are obviously totally different to the houses we live in in the UK which you have to remember.  One of the places I really liked but am going to have a wander round and look at some more places tomorrow as there's lots of places available to rent as it's coming towards the end of the holiday season here.  average rent seems to be about 8000 rupees a month which very roughly works out at about 150 ish pounds i think so a lot cheaper than the UK.  will try to get some photos soon and post them up so you can see what it is like.  bye for now x

I'M HERE!

After what seemed like a mammoth journey, I arrived here yesterday in the middle of the night.  First impressions? Hot, lively and a total assault of all 5 senses!  So far I have managed to give myself an electric shock trying to fix a lamp- lesson learned- do not fiddle with electricity here, or at least turn it off first.... but i'm loving indian tea, although it may give me the sugar habit for life.  I arrived on 'Holi' day yesterday, a Hindu festival, managed to miss most of it by being asleep (shock) but when I ventured out there was still music and people dancing and brightly coloured chalk and paint everywhere, all over people and the street.  It looked like an artist had just dropped a huge bomb of colour and it had exploded everywhere.  I am already getting used to saying no i don't want a taxi every 5 seconds, my skin and hair colour makes it hard for me to blend into the background as much as I'd like but as I say I'm getting used to it already.  I'm hopefully going to go and visit The Mango House this afternoon to meet people and start going about getting somewhere to live for the rest of my time here.  Although I will be loathed to leave the lovely air conditioned room I have at the moment.  Will write more when I have more news, for now that's all folks x

Children Walking Tall....

Leaving brum...

I am saying a temporary goodbye to my beloved brum, snobs you better still be here when I return!