Yes, after much anticipation, monsoon has officially arrived. It's been raining for just over a week now and in that short time, it has managed to change all of our daily routines, in and out of work. So it's out with going to Crossroads slum, playing outside with children and spending weekends sunbathing and in with having to cram all of the Karaswada children into our school room in the slum in the afternoons and weekends spent playing scrabble and watching Harry Potter so far! At least my vocabulary may have improved by the time I get back...
I have been wearing my wellies which have provoked many reactions in children and adults alike, who tend to either find them hilarious, want to try them on, call out 'nice shoes' or 'chapels nice' in the case of the children or just question the point of them altogether! So far, it has just been raining on and off, but the showers are heavier than any I've ever seen before and seem to cause even more power cuts. The whole atmosphere seems to have changed with the weather too, Calangute no longer seems like a holiday place as there are no tourists around and lots of places have battened down the hatches (or just disappeared altogether such as all of the beach shacks). Last Sunday, it almost felt like a grey sunday in England even.
The children don't seem bothered by the rain (I guess they're used to it) and come down to the school room to play with their usual energy and enthusiasm. I can't help but think about what their living conditions must be like in the rain though, and how dry they manage to keep in their shacks. I have the luxury of coming home to a dry building and am wholly thankful for that. I wonder how the rain affects not only their day to day life but also their health, there are certainly lots more mosquitos and other insects around now. I have seen a few children who are suffering from skin infections which must be irritating them, even more so in the rain.
Schools re-opened for the new academic year last week and so the Friday before was spent giving out new school bags, books, pencil cases, waterproof macs etc to the children which was a mammoth task. They had to return their old ones to mango house, or pay a small fine, in order to encourage them to look after their things. It was great to see their excited faces as they rummaged through their new bags and compared what they had with their friends...
I have been wearing my wellies which have provoked many reactions in children and adults alike, who tend to either find them hilarious, want to try them on, call out 'nice shoes' or 'chapels nice' in the case of the children or just question the point of them altogether! So far, it has just been raining on and off, but the showers are heavier than any I've ever seen before and seem to cause even more power cuts. The whole atmosphere seems to have changed with the weather too, Calangute no longer seems like a holiday place as there are no tourists around and lots of places have battened down the hatches (or just disappeared altogether such as all of the beach shacks). Last Sunday, it almost felt like a grey sunday in England even.
The children don't seem bothered by the rain (I guess they're used to it) and come down to the school room to play with their usual energy and enthusiasm. I can't help but think about what their living conditions must be like in the rain though, and how dry they manage to keep in their shacks. I have the luxury of coming home to a dry building and am wholly thankful for that. I wonder how the rain affects not only their day to day life but also their health, there are certainly lots more mosquitos and other insects around now. I have seen a few children who are suffering from skin infections which must be irritating them, even more so in the rain.
Schools re-opened for the new academic year last week and so the Friday before was spent giving out new school bags, books, pencil cases, waterproof macs etc to the children which was a mammoth task. They had to return their old ones to mango house, or pay a small fine, in order to encourage them to look after their things. It was great to see their excited faces as they rummaged through their new bags and compared what they had with their friends...
We did manage to get in one last beach trip before the monsoon which was great as all of the Indian staff who work at the mango house came along too. Everyone had a brilliant time and the children seemed particularly amused by my sun cream this time....
The biggest fan of my sunglasses
And lastly, I have a flight booked back home, it's from Delhi on 8th August and I'll be back in Manchester in time for a chippy tea, result.
Chippy tea it is then Liz! Love your ongoing story of life in Goa. xx
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