Poorly in Pushkar :(

I have missed a day of the trip today as I have been poorly all last night and today, most gutted I missed out on a shopping day!  But am feeling a bit better now so hopefully by tomorrow i'll be fine and dandy again.  Since leaving Udaipur, we have been to Jojawar, which was brilliant as it's a tiny town and not toursity at all.  We went for a walk around the town and it was like we were celebrities- everyone came out of their houses to say hello, it was the friendliest place ever.  And the hotel we were staying in played the drums and scattered flower petals on us as we arrived- arriving at a hotel wiggling is the way forward.  We arrived in Pushkar yesterday, on the way we were driving down a really bumpy road which sme people were in the process of laying so we stopped the bus and helped them for a bit.  Carrying rockson your head is really hard!  The women who were laying the road told our tour leader that we were the first foreigners they had ever met and the first to get out of a tour bus and help!  On the itinerary today was a camel ride, I didn't go on it as it was a couple of hours but I did manage to have a quick 2 minute ride up and down on one, they are the funniest animals I have ever seen.  Tomorrow we leave for Jaipur, I will update again when I get chance x

Trip so far.....

Wow, the first few days of my trip has been amazing.  The group is a really good mix of ages and nationalities (English, Indian, Canadian, Australian, Danish, Austrian and Icelandic!) and everyone is really friendly and getting on well.  After starting in Delhi, we have been so far to Jodphur, Ranakpur and we are now in Udaipur.  The trip is so well organised and so we have seen some amazing things already, including a Rajasthan cultural show with all of the traditional folk dances, we visited a traditional family home of the bish noi sect of Hinduism and were given opium water, I have had a minature panting done on my nail and taken part in a painting class where we were taught the art of traditional Rajasthan minature paintings, I helped make chapatis in a Sikh temple and we have seen some amazing old forts and palaces with breathtaking views.  It is very hot up here, much hotter than Goa, it was 42 degrees in Jodphur.  I have taken my first sleeper train from Delhi to Jodphur which was actually ok, apart from the people that get on the train in the middle of the night and start really loud conversations! This is my artwork from the painting class today, I was quite proud of my little self!  I will put up some more photos when I have more time.....

Arrived in Delhi...

The journey up here from Goa was fine and you can always tell it's a good hotel when amongst their instructions they instruct that "lady guests of ill repute are not allowed", brilliant.  Just about to head out and explore for a bit before the 'gap adventures' meeting later where i'll meet everyone else on my trip.

mango house no coming, delhi coming!

On Friday I waved goodbye to everyone at CWT after having a lovely last week.  We had the usual end of the month birthday party on Thursday which we managed to hire the open plan roof terrace of someone's house for which was perfect, especially when it thundered it down outside which it has a habit of doing presently... it was the usual chaotic mix of music, dancing, cake and games with the addition of a broken arm :( One little lad who is usually the most boisterous boy you could ever meet broke his arm the day before and so spent most of the afternoon just wanting to sit on my knee and take pictures with my camera.  It was hard to see him in so much pain but we managed to get some ibuprofen to his sister the day after and give her instructions as to when he has to take it.  The pain didn't stop him lying to try and get more cake and ice cream and cheating at bingo the next day when he realised there was dairy milk involved, a boy after my own heart... as far as i'm concerned anyone that turns their '1' into a '7' is just showing initiative...

We also managed to take an updated photo of morning school on Friday to go in the school room.....

 

And that was it!  End of Children Walking Tall for me, it wasn't too sad leaving as the children are very used to volunteers coming and going and I've had an amazing time with them over the past 3 months.  And I managed to fit in a last 'penguin dance' before I left, just for you casey.......

 

 

So this week I'm just packing up my flat, sorting out what to take on my travels and what to post home in a big parcel and doing odd jobs (including applying for a job back in brum which feels quite surreal sat here in Goa...)  I head up to Delhi on Sunday to join my tour group which is exciting but a bit daunting, I've got so comfortable here, but I keep reminding myself that this seemed daunting before.  I will try and update my blog as much as possible while I'm travelling but it may just be short posts rather than the essays I've been writing recently you'll be pleased to hear!  That's all for now folks, over and out ......... xx

 

 

latest rumblings...

Hello!  Amazingly, I only have one week left at CWT now, it has gone so quick in a way but it also feels like years since I left home.  The rain continues to fall here, although it's been really hot recently, and so we are still running afternoon sessions in the little school room at the slum.  I swear my ears are ringing when I leave some afternoons... the other day, I attempted to teach the older ones how to play 'wink murder', they sort of grasped it although when they all stare unblinkingly at the 'murderer' it sort of makes the detective's job not that tricky! 
The kids are back in the school routine now for the most part.  Although one little boy, who has just started school, has already been in trouble for running out and coming home and only seems to attend occasionally.  Bhakti, the Indian teacher at the charity, has spoken with his parents who are apparently not keen on him going to school in the first place.  This seems difficult to understand but I guess is just another example of the difference in culture.  The charity will try to encourage the parents to send him to school by offering incentives and by taking back his school bag which he was given so fingers crossed.
I have been busy at the mango house recently, putting together a set of PSHEE/SEAL type activities which could be run with the older children on topics such as bullying and sex and relationships education.  It was something that I wanted to be able to do myself but it has just not been do-able.  However, if we finally get the licence back to have children at the mango house, then future volunteers could have a go if they wished.
I am looking forward to leaving Goa now to be honest, much as I've loved it, I feel like I've spent enough time here and I want to see what some of the rest of India is like.  I've also just about had enough of the constant hassle from men here, although it may be even worse up North, heaven forbid....On the bus the other day, the conductor came over and sat next to us and showed me a picture he'd taken on his phone of me and Emily, another volunteer.  We were both totally unaware of it being taken and it was taken some time ago.  I made him delete it but he bizarrely couldn't see what the problem was and seemed to think I'd be flattered!  I seem to spend more and more time covering my face when men lean out of cars trying to take pictures of me, ooh it's a good job I'm not famous I'd never cope!
Out of work, we played at being 'daytrippers' last weekend and went to visit a spice farm (did you know cinnamon and bay leaves came from the same tree?!) and then onto Chandor, which has some amazing Portugese mansions which the owners showed us around.  The ballrooms were just too stunning not to have a quick waltz round, it was like being Elizabeth Bennett for 5 minutes! 
We tried to see a hindi film at the cinema yesterday but only lasted until the interval as by then none of us had the foggiest idea what was happening, still it was an experience, the style of the film reminded me of pantomime- all slapstick comedy and over exaggerated expressions and movement.  I do love how they play the Indian national anthem before every film though and everyone has to stand up, can't see it working at the odeon on Broad Street somehow! 

 Potting up the curry and rice.

 Bhakti, the Indian teacher and Saroja, the amazing cook.

 daytrippers

 braganza fernandes house

morning school....

 shopping is a colourful experience...

singing in the rain

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...

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.

Talent Show

In answer to 'Britain's got Talent', Children Walking Tall hosted our own talent show last week.  It was in combination with the monthly birthday party which we have for all of the children whose birthday it has been that month and also Kris' birthday, who is one of our volunteers.  The children had prepared dance routines (complete with hisses of 'wrong way' and nervous giggles) which they performed and we also had a magician who visited along with a giant mouse (slightly scary) and the usual birthday party games and cake and ice cream.  Much hysterical over excitement was had by all....

 The group starting school on Monday, looking a bit apprehensive...