The resources entry is being sorted offline, so I will put that up soon
BUT...... I thought it would be a good end to this career break blog to post good news.
When I was at the India camp, I went online to the jobs pages of the University of Bristol (www.bris.ac.uk/boris) and applied for a new job, online, from a dial-up connection, and with the threat that the electricity would go off anytime without warning.
I completed the application form without a CV to hand (all from memory, having been away of work for 4 months), pressed send, and yes, the electricity died about 30 seconds after the page disappeared! I just hoped that the form had reached the right person in the Personnel Department, and then went out to sit around the open fire and talk about our next day's teaching!, and kinda forgot about the application for the rest of the time in the camp.
On one of my first days back in the UK I went onto my email, and found I had an interview invitation! The days before the interview were nerve-racking, I had to prepare a presentation, and my work skills were certainly rusty! I could hardly sleep and did so much preparation for this interview. I was determined not to fail this one, as I have done so many times previously.
On the day, the interview, I felt, did not go well. I confided to C later on that I thought I had failed this one too. I kinda pushed this to the back of the shelf and yet really hoped that I would get it.
The next day, I missed a call at 0858 from the Uni. I immediately rang back and AT advised that I had indeed got the job!!!!!
I am now the Postgraduate Programmes and Industrial Liaison Officer in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Bristol.
The sense of achievement of getting this, and knowing that taking the CB had led me to this point, was overwhelming and it felt so good to have such an end to my career break.
It was not the aim of the CB to get a job immediately when I got back(!) but having matured and experienced so much when overseas, having removed myself from stressful environments at home, having dealt with a lot of health issues even when away, and got myself into a more positive frame of mind and outlook, moving beyond pettiness and other issues in my previous life, I obviously convey a much more positive and confident persona, in that if I can take on a period of change and adventures away from my comfort zones, then I can tackle anything and see it as a challenge.
I feel the CB has been the best thing I have done for a very very long time.
Initially it was a means of removing myself from both places of work, for many undisclosable reasons, but it turned into a period of personal and emotional development.
I met so many wonderful people along the way;
I know there is a wider world out there that is so accessible and my wanderlust has only just started!
I did so many things that I would not have done, or been able to do, in the UK;
I did so many things that challenged my attitude towards my disabilities (chronic pain, swelling feet, TCS flare-ups);
I faced and out-stared acute homesickness and although this put a dampner on some days, I knew that I would get through it.
I realised the value of what I have at home (family, friends) and how much they mean to me.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog.
Bye
Monday 26 May 2008
Friday 9 May 2008
Resources for this trip
On this Career Break trip I have used many companies, hostels, hotels, transport arrangements, online resources, etc. So to help you with planning such a trip, here are some resources that I have found useful:
TO BE UPDATED
TO BE UPDATED
Monday 31st March - going home day
Yes I was up at 0100 as we had an airport pickup at 0200!! These couple of days I am suffering from jet lag and sleep deprivation :). Yvonne and I were dropped at the International AP departures, but we were too early to go through to check-in so we tried to rest and snooze - very difficult on metal chairs, with people all around and bags to guard. The whole AP is being redeveloped and there is building work everywhere - inside and out, airside and landside.
Once we got into the terminal we joined the Q for security and then the vagaries of Indian bureaucracy and intransigence came to the fore - the whole line was shut down and we were forced into another 2x as long a Q and had to wait to get through passport control and security. My feet were pounding with pain and heat intolerance, but once on the other side, we only had about 1/4 hour to wait for boarding. Once I was on board I put my watch to GMT and our travel time was reduced from 9hr25 to 8hr15 which was great. I was not impressed with the service of the BA cabin crew tho - give me Qantas every time.
As we headed west and got into Europe, I got more excited about getting home, and crossing the Channel and seeing the green of England for the first time, I was nearly crying to get there. I danced a little gig of excitement where I stood at the back of the plane. We came into LHR along the A4/M4 and the plane was floated in. The soft light of an English spring filtered in through the windows and yes, I was home.
I heaved my heavy rucksack onto my back for the last time out of a plane and walked down the empty aisle through to First class - if only I had the money to travel like that! I got wheelchair assist through to Arrivals - give me Australian hospitality every time, as my welcome home by the BA staff was not exactly very "welcoming". Due to the chaos with the opening of T5 (altho we came into T4), our bags were delayed and I was itching to get out of the baggage reclaim, but had to wait even longer to see J,J&M.
As I walked out of the Arrivals door I could see J&M standing at the end of the line, with J in his buggy and they were waving and arms outstretched and huge smiles. I moved as fast as I could (with painful feet) and dragged my 26kg bag behind me, and suddenly I was there - I was home with the people I love and missed so much. Little J was sleepy but absolutely gorgeous to behold and hold. I couldn't get and give enough hugs, but there is time enough for all that. Outside the air smelled sweet, not polluted, out of a clear sky, and the sun peeking through the clouds.
I'm home.
Once we got into the terminal we joined the Q for security and then the vagaries of Indian bureaucracy and intransigence came to the fore - the whole line was shut down and we were forced into another 2x as long a Q and had to wait to get through passport control and security. My feet were pounding with pain and heat intolerance, but once on the other side, we only had about 1/4 hour to wait for boarding. Once I was on board I put my watch to GMT and our travel time was reduced from 9hr25 to 8hr15 which was great. I was not impressed with the service of the BA cabin crew tho - give me Qantas every time.
As we headed west and got into Europe, I got more excited about getting home, and crossing the Channel and seeing the green of England for the first time, I was nearly crying to get there. I danced a little gig of excitement where I stood at the back of the plane. We came into LHR along the A4/M4 and the plane was floated in. The soft light of an English spring filtered in through the windows and yes, I was home.
I heaved my heavy rucksack onto my back for the last time out of a plane and walked down the empty aisle through to First class - if only I had the money to travel like that! I got wheelchair assist through to Arrivals - give me Australian hospitality every time, as my welcome home by the BA staff was not exactly very "welcoming". Due to the chaos with the opening of T5 (altho we came into T4), our bags were delayed and I was itching to get out of the baggage reclaim, but had to wait even longer to see J,J&M.
As I walked out of the Arrivals door I could see J&M standing at the end of the line, with J in his buggy and they were waving and arms outstretched and huge smiles. I moved as fast as I could (with painful feet) and dragged my 26kg bag behind me, and suddenly I was there - I was home with the people I love and missed so much. Little J was sleepy but absolutely gorgeous to behold and hold. I couldn't get and give enough hugs, but there is time enough for all that. Outside the air smelled sweet, not polluted, out of a clear sky, and the sun peeking through the clouds.
I'm home.
Monday 24th - Monday 31st March
Our last week in the camp! Where has the time gone?
Monday school was fun, which was weird as I helped Michael with the maths class and we didn't do much English. I felt I was failing at teaching them anything, but this was to change by the end of the week. In the evening we were treated to a load of electric fireworks - the transformer on a powerline shorted out, just outside the camp perimeter, and as the roofs are made of straw, the manager was a bit concerned about the sparks. However everything was OK and the only thing that happened was that we lost all electricity for the evening. We could sit round the fire though, in total darkness and enjoy the starry night sky before the moon came up!
Tuesday we had no hot water whatsoever!!, just the cold water coming out of the standpipe in our "bathrooms" (that is a posh word for a room, 4 ft wide, 8 ft long, concrete on the floor and a straw thatch, shared with lizards, a mouse, a grasshopper and spiders of various sizes and speeds). However the "cold" water was very refreshing as the heat in the mornings is really high already and the cold water feels good on the skin.
At school, I failed in my lesson giving - the kids didn't understand what I was trying to tell them and their interest wandered. This set the tone for the rest of the day - I felt a real failure, even when I plan a lesson it all goes wrong, what can I get right these days?!?
In the afternoon I just HAD to get away from the camp and my hut so I walked around the bare dusty area behind the compound and listened to music from home on the MP3, which reminded me of C and all the adventures we had had before I left. The devastating homesickness I felt in NZ returned and I went back into my hut and shut the door on the world. Yvonne came in to see me and we talked for some time, which really helped to put a bit of perspective on my so-called failure. She implied that we are still all feeling our way, getting things right or not, and so I should not blame myself for "failure". Even us just being on the project is a good thing, and a lot more rewarding than just lying on a beach or similarly non-productive holidays. I also voiced my missing people at home - J, J, M, C, and how I wish to see them all again after so long away.
Wednesday: forgot to say for yesterday, I had a visitation from "the mouse"!!. He literally fell out of the straw thatch onto my mosquito net and when I pinged the netting, he bounced off onto the floor, scuttled away into the bathroom and I haven't seen him since. He must have climbed the walls again tho, as I could hear him munching away again in the thatch!! A wonderful pic opportunity today was to see the sun rising over the desert - a red/orange orb rising very quickly through the stand of trees, changing to a deep yellow and then blinding colour and in a matter of minutes the sky changed from deep blue to reddish pink, orange and then yellow. It was quite brassy by the time I stopped taking pics, and that indicated the heat of the day to come - overwhelmingly hot, even the wind coming in through the barred and netted windows of the school was hot.
At school I did opposite words, and this was a hit. I playacted things like in, on, under, up, down, hot/cold, wet/dry, and illustrated them through items and actions. We went out to the school water tap and played with the water and sprayed little Usha with water, which she loved. Right at the end we made paper planes and had fun throwing them around the concrete block of a classroom
Thursday: the kids rewarded me today by quoting back at me the names of parts of the body and the opposite words. At last a success in my teaching - perhaps the playacting helped them remember stuff. The trouble was I had a HUMUNGOUS headache today and so ironically was not in the mood for playing with them! When we got back for lunch, I missed the meal as I just had to sleep for the afternoon. The heat was overpowering and despite loving the sun, even in the evening I could not sit out in it.
Friday: last teaching day. Up with the mouse today, which sounded like SuperMouse, and had to deal with a hot desert wind blowing very strongly. We gave presents to the kids today - pens, pencils, rubbers, cloths from the wet/dry lessons and they all loved them. A couple of the girls were crying as we left the classroom, and I hope that we made a different to their lives even for a short time.
Party time in the evening. Some of the white girls in the camp borrowed saris and dressed up in them. Michael wore his light blue scarf that he picked up in Jaisalmer and Chris borrowed a red piece of cloth to wrap round his head. Unfortunately I was feeling extremely off colour still and had to sit out the dancing, and only drank water all night.
Saturday: the threatening illness came out today. I don't know what it was but I overslept till 9.30, therefore missing breakfast, and when I did move it felt like my whole body was full of lead, and I was utterly exhausted. I spent all day on my bed, totally exhausted, mostly sleeping, no power in any limbs at all, and feeling like I was sickening for flu. The heat was again overpowering, but I couldn't go out in it anyway. I eventually got up at 4.30ish and just had to pack my bags. As I did so, I did a little bit (about 10 mins) and then had to sit down again for 20 mins to get any strength back. So frustrating and right at the end of the project - grrr. I did manage some dinner, and we ate it out in the dusty courtyard as the heat was huge even late at night. Our group was back down to 8 people (as the rest of the camp had gone on tiger safari) and so we had quite a nostalgic night, recalling our highs and low, successes and failures, lessons learned, funny things that the kids had said in classes, shopping in Jaipur, the Taj Mahal, the Amber Fort.
Sunday: we had to be up by 0330 as we were on the road by 0400. There was no electric power, as they also didn't put on the generator, so I had a cold face wash from the standpipe again. We were driven to Dausa and got the train to Delhi from there. It came steaming into the station and huge clouds of black smoke poured out of its stack - pollution!! As the train came in, Manoj realised we were nowhere near our carriage and so we had to hare down the platform, pulling our really heavy cases and rucksacks behind us, and literally shove everything and everyone onto the train through an open metal doorway, and bundle in. We only just got on as the train moved off and we said our last goodbyes to Manoj and to southern Rajasthan.
The journey to Delhi took us 7 hours, as it stopped for about 1/2 hour for a breakdown ahead of us on the track. Viv and Graziella slept in the bunks above the main seats, and poor Michael was suffering from Delhi belly (again right at the end of his trip which really spoiled the last days for him). I had to brave the Indian loos - literally a hole in the floor of the toilet room, and I could see the tracks moving underneath the train as it barrelled along! On the outskirts of Delhi we went through terrible shanty towns, enormous piles of rubbish and squalor, worse than we have ever seen anywhere. When we got to Delhi main station, we had to bundle off again as we only had 2 minutes to get off, and the platform was terribly slippery and shiny. We played cat and mouse with the traffic to get back to the Hotel Perfect, but I managed to get some great pics of street scenes, people, vehicles and buildings.
For our final night we had dinner on a rooftop restaurant - a variety of dishes and tastes. It was very humid in town but all of us enjoyed the meal and we were all very quiet, thinking of the achievements we had had in our time in the camp, and I was thinking how weird it was to be at the end of all my travelling days (so far). Where did the time go - 4.5 months seems to have gone in a flash, and yet I have all those pics and all those flashes of memories to keep me going for a long time yet.
Monday school was fun, which was weird as I helped Michael with the maths class and we didn't do much English. I felt I was failing at teaching them anything, but this was to change by the end of the week. In the evening we were treated to a load of electric fireworks - the transformer on a powerline shorted out, just outside the camp perimeter, and as the roofs are made of straw, the manager was a bit concerned about the sparks. However everything was OK and the only thing that happened was that we lost all electricity for the evening. We could sit round the fire though, in total darkness and enjoy the starry night sky before the moon came up!
Tuesday we had no hot water whatsoever!!, just the cold water coming out of the standpipe in our "bathrooms" (that is a posh word for a room, 4 ft wide, 8 ft long, concrete on the floor and a straw thatch, shared with lizards, a mouse, a grasshopper and spiders of various sizes and speeds). However the "cold" water was very refreshing as the heat in the mornings is really high already and the cold water feels good on the skin.
At school, I failed in my lesson giving - the kids didn't understand what I was trying to tell them and their interest wandered. This set the tone for the rest of the day - I felt a real failure, even when I plan a lesson it all goes wrong, what can I get right these days?!?
In the afternoon I just HAD to get away from the camp and my hut so I walked around the bare dusty area behind the compound and listened to music from home on the MP3, which reminded me of C and all the adventures we had had before I left. The devastating homesickness I felt in NZ returned and I went back into my hut and shut the door on the world. Yvonne came in to see me and we talked for some time, which really helped to put a bit of perspective on my so-called failure. She implied that we are still all feeling our way, getting things right or not, and so I should not blame myself for "failure". Even us just being on the project is a good thing, and a lot more rewarding than just lying on a beach or similarly non-productive holidays. I also voiced my missing people at home - J, J, M, C, and how I wish to see them all again after so long away.
Wednesday: forgot to say for yesterday, I had a visitation from "the mouse"!!. He literally fell out of the straw thatch onto my mosquito net and when I pinged the netting, he bounced off onto the floor, scuttled away into the bathroom and I haven't seen him since. He must have climbed the walls again tho, as I could hear him munching away again in the thatch!! A wonderful pic opportunity today was to see the sun rising over the desert - a red/orange orb rising very quickly through the stand of trees, changing to a deep yellow and then blinding colour and in a matter of minutes the sky changed from deep blue to reddish pink, orange and then yellow. It was quite brassy by the time I stopped taking pics, and that indicated the heat of the day to come - overwhelmingly hot, even the wind coming in through the barred and netted windows of the school was hot.
At school I did opposite words, and this was a hit. I playacted things like in, on, under, up, down, hot/cold, wet/dry, and illustrated them through items and actions. We went out to the school water tap and played with the water and sprayed little Usha with water, which she loved. Right at the end we made paper planes and had fun throwing them around the concrete block of a classroom
Thursday: the kids rewarded me today by quoting back at me the names of parts of the body and the opposite words. At last a success in my teaching - perhaps the playacting helped them remember stuff. The trouble was I had a HUMUNGOUS headache today and so ironically was not in the mood for playing with them! When we got back for lunch, I missed the meal as I just had to sleep for the afternoon. The heat was overpowering and despite loving the sun, even in the evening I could not sit out in it.
Friday: last teaching day. Up with the mouse today, which sounded like SuperMouse, and had to deal with a hot desert wind blowing very strongly. We gave presents to the kids today - pens, pencils, rubbers, cloths from the wet/dry lessons and they all loved them. A couple of the girls were crying as we left the classroom, and I hope that we made a different to their lives even for a short time.
Party time in the evening. Some of the white girls in the camp borrowed saris and dressed up in them. Michael wore his light blue scarf that he picked up in Jaisalmer and Chris borrowed a red piece of cloth to wrap round his head. Unfortunately I was feeling extremely off colour still and had to sit out the dancing, and only drank water all night.
Saturday: the threatening illness came out today. I don't know what it was but I overslept till 9.30, therefore missing breakfast, and when I did move it felt like my whole body was full of lead, and I was utterly exhausted. I spent all day on my bed, totally exhausted, mostly sleeping, no power in any limbs at all, and feeling like I was sickening for flu. The heat was again overpowering, but I couldn't go out in it anyway. I eventually got up at 4.30ish and just had to pack my bags. As I did so, I did a little bit (about 10 mins) and then had to sit down again for 20 mins to get any strength back. So frustrating and right at the end of the project - grrr. I did manage some dinner, and we ate it out in the dusty courtyard as the heat was huge even late at night. Our group was back down to 8 people (as the rest of the camp had gone on tiger safari) and so we had quite a nostalgic night, recalling our highs and low, successes and failures, lessons learned, funny things that the kids had said in classes, shopping in Jaipur, the Taj Mahal, the Amber Fort.
Sunday: we had to be up by 0330 as we were on the road by 0400. There was no electric power, as they also didn't put on the generator, so I had a cold face wash from the standpipe again. We were driven to Dausa and got the train to Delhi from there. It came steaming into the station and huge clouds of black smoke poured out of its stack - pollution!! As the train came in, Manoj realised we were nowhere near our carriage and so we had to hare down the platform, pulling our really heavy cases and rucksacks behind us, and literally shove everything and everyone onto the train through an open metal doorway, and bundle in. We only just got on as the train moved off and we said our last goodbyes to Manoj and to southern Rajasthan.
The journey to Delhi took us 7 hours, as it stopped for about 1/2 hour for a breakdown ahead of us on the track. Viv and Graziella slept in the bunks above the main seats, and poor Michael was suffering from Delhi belly (again right at the end of his trip which really spoiled the last days for him). I had to brave the Indian loos - literally a hole in the floor of the toilet room, and I could see the tracks moving underneath the train as it barrelled along! On the outskirts of Delhi we went through terrible shanty towns, enormous piles of rubbish and squalor, worse than we have ever seen anywhere. When we got to Delhi main station, we had to bundle off again as we only had 2 minutes to get off, and the platform was terribly slippery and shiny. We played cat and mouse with the traffic to get back to the Hotel Perfect, but I managed to get some great pics of street scenes, people, vehicles and buildings.
For our final night we had dinner on a rooftop restaurant - a variety of dishes and tastes. It was very humid in town but all of us enjoyed the meal and we were all very quiet, thinking of the achievements we had had in our time in the camp, and I was thinking how weird it was to be at the end of all my travelling days (so far). Where did the time go - 4.5 months seems to have gone in a flash, and yet I have all those pics and all those flashes of memories to keep me going for a long time yet.
Monday 21 April 2008
Saturday 15th - Sunday 23rd
Saturday/Sunday 15/16: we went on a Tiger safari this weekend down in Ranthambore NP. Unfortunately we didn't see any tigers, although they were in the park as the other trucks did see them. We saw a lot of other wildlife though - monkeys (running along the wall of the hotel, twirly tails held high in the air), chipmunks, pretty birds, peacocks, deer, bambis, scops owl. We were in open-air vehicles and the dust was so bad, I could literally scrape it off my face and I swear we were walking dust poles! The hotel was not that good, and by the end of the evening we were all wanting to be back in our little mud huts! Sunday: we were taken to Sawmodpur market. It was hot, dusty, exhausting, and I didn't buy anything. However I took lots of pics of the spice, and fruit stalls, the food vendors, the materials/saris/bags stalls, the hogs roaming in the streets, the kids begging, the camels being driven along. I felt more and more sick by the end of the day and indeed was when we got back to the camp. Felt drained and off colour. Yeuk!
Monday: Michael cycled to work today and he became known as "Michael on the Cycle" to all of the camp! He really was the Indian Professor! When we walked into the class, they all stood up and chorused "Good Mooorrrrning" and all their faces lit up into smiles. That really lifts my mood, whatever mood I am in.
This week our workshops are cookery classes (last week it was the Hindi lessons). Today we learnt how to cook Mixed Pulses in a lovely spicy sauce, and then had it for dinner.
In the evening today we heard drumming from the nomads camp just outside the camp gates. Manoj went over to them and invited them into the camp, and we were treated to a free dancing show, with drums and pipes, and the women and kids sitting in the shadows of the fire's twilight. Very evocative. They are here for the feast of Holi which comes up over the Easter weekend.
Tuesday: had to knock down the birds' nest which they have been busily building right above my bed. I know it is cruel, but I don't want birds s**t all over me and the mosquito net when the eggs hatch. I voiced to Sarhu today (the project helper/translator) that I was missing "green", and he agreed - he comes from Himachal Pradesh, up in the mountains and was just posted down here in rural Rajasthan, so he does understand where I am coming from.
Wednesday: I was dropped off last and late at school today and when I got there, Michael had already started Old Macdonald - they had learnt the words and sounds so quickly I was really proud of them. Michael had a bad session today, as he tried to teach times-tables, but they just copied the tables and had absolutely no idea what they were doing, and the lack of English understanding really does not help.
Thursday: a huge wind blew up from the west overnight and I had to shut the shutters to keep all the dust out. It went on for a long time and the door rattled - all the gaps in the straw thatch and under the door didn't keep the dust out very well, so I had to shut my bag completely, and wrap up clothes and journals etc. I had to shake out my bedding as it felt all gritty when I got up. Today had a mega pain flare up and overall inordinate weakness. I slept most of the day under the mosquito net and missed meals - not a good day at all.
Friday: felt a little better today and not so weak. At least I had power in my muscles and didn't ache so much. This was a good thing as we had to be driven 6 hours west of the camp to Pushkar to go on our camel safari. It was the start of the Holi holiday (festival of colours) and the colours (red, blue, green, yellow, purple) were being thrown everywhere, including at vehicles. Whenever we stopped we had to shut the windows against being splatted! It was odd going back to Jaipur as we have been there on so many occasions, that I could actually recognise the streets and routes we were taking. The road west to Pushkar was amazingly good - all tarmacked, traffic lights, overpasses - quite the westernised style of road-building.
In Pushkar our hotel was the Ram Guti Guesthouse and it was the best hotel we have stayed in so far. The porch and round front tower were painted in white, with pale blue and yellow edgings, with a brown tiled reception area, with a Ganesh shrine on one side and heavy wooden furniture. Graziella and I had the largest bedroom and it was like a suite with 2 single beds, a settee stretched round the corner walls, a huge bathroom and a fan that was like a helicopter's propeller, it was so large and efficient!
We decided to go out into the market area as it was cooler by now. We walked along a tarmac road but it was all covered with the dust and muck we are now immune to. We passed bag shops, sari materials, jewellery outlets, fast food/fried food stalls, fried sweetmeats, a juice bar very colorful fruit stalls, open smelly fires burning in the gutters. We went down through a gap in the buildings to the edge of the lake and the view across the ghats was stunning with the setting sun illuminating the lake and the white buildings. We ate at the Moon Garden restaurant and we all chose Italian dishes. I had penne puttanesca and after so long on a plain diet I enjoyed the taste, but ate too much rich sauce! The others had pizza and felt similarly rather full-up afterwards, although there was always room for vodka and brandy, in our large room so that everyone could sit down and rest after the long day.
Saturday: Holi day. We watched the festivities from the roof terrace. The adolescents go round the streets with drums and water, and then either mix the powdered colours with the water, or throw it dry! Either way it makes an awful mess, of clothes, specs, skin, and I was glad to be above it and just enjoy the colours an fun from far away! I got a lot of good pics of the fun.
In the afternoon we walked to meet our camels. Mine was led by 2 boys and they did a wonderful job of leading it, making it run/jog, and encouraging it on. Getting on was a challenge - you have to lean right back and then lollop forwards as the camel gets to its feet. I found myself gritting my teeth and straining to not fall off - Michael got a very funny pic of me, which he has just sent through email - thanks Michael!!!
Once we got out of Pushkar, the scenery was so different to around Sunderpur. It was in a hilly area, crops like maize, mango trees, marigolds and farmed roses in the small protected fields. The farm holdings were very simple structures, often just 4 sticks stuck into the ground and the "walls" made of grass woven together and slotted in between the sticks. We got off the camels for them to have a rest and a drink and we were all walking like John Wayne! My coccyx and upper legs felt numbed, but it was all good fun and an adventure. The sun was going down by the time we got to the camp (5 hours of riding), and we were surprised to see proper pitched tents, with camp beds, mattresses, pure white sheets with blankets, and the best thing of all (which you will never believe) we had a flushing toilet in its own little patterned canvas tent, right in the middle of the rocky desert. Unbelievable, but great :). We had dinner around the open fire, and our group of 8 were the last to go to bed (after midnight) as we were talking so much about all our adventures.
A gale force wind and sandstorm blew up overnight and the beds were covered with dust and sand. Thankfully I had tied in the the apron to our tent tightly, but Viv and Jenny had dust even in their sealed bags. However I used the time during breakfast to walk up to the top of the dunes and got pics of the blue-tinged sunrise, with the sun's rays shooting through the clouds. I also saw geomorphology in action - the sand was being turned into stone as its colour and texture changed from a light cream to a honey color. I also got some pics of desert plants, footprints and sand patterns
Most people opted to walk 1km back to the road but I rode in the cart and getting down from the wooden flat-bed to take a pic of the camel's feet, I ripped my right hand on a metal nail. Thank goodness I had had an update of my tetanus vaccination! Once we were back in Pushkar we went out to the markets again and I bought pretty soft cotton bags, and a Rajastahni wall hanging (blue silky materials, different stitching and textures) which I had been looking for for ages. We reached the Brahman temple but my feet were too sore to go any further and so I sat with Chris in a roadside cafe and had pure freshly squeezed OJ. Not done through a machine though - this was literally pushed through a hole in a wood nozzle with a pointed piece of wood, and the juice and bits all served up in a long glass. It was the first street food I had had and it was SO delicious and refreshing. For lunch we stopped at the Sun and Moon restaurant and the tortoises mooched around our feet and nipped Jane's toes!!
The road trip back to the camp, via Jaipur was 6-7 hours long and very tiring indeed. Everyone was pooped out at the end of the trip but we had a quiet night round the campfire and I went to sleep to the sound of the mouse nibbling at the straw above my head!
Monday: Michael cycled to work today and he became known as "Michael on the Cycle" to all of the camp! He really was the Indian Professor! When we walked into the class, they all stood up and chorused "Good Mooorrrrning" and all their faces lit up into smiles. That really lifts my mood, whatever mood I am in.
This week our workshops are cookery classes (last week it was the Hindi lessons). Today we learnt how to cook Mixed Pulses in a lovely spicy sauce, and then had it for dinner.
In the evening today we heard drumming from the nomads camp just outside the camp gates. Manoj went over to them and invited them into the camp, and we were treated to a free dancing show, with drums and pipes, and the women and kids sitting in the shadows of the fire's twilight. Very evocative. They are here for the feast of Holi which comes up over the Easter weekend.
Tuesday: had to knock down the birds' nest which they have been busily building right above my bed. I know it is cruel, but I don't want birds s**t all over me and the mosquito net when the eggs hatch. I voiced to Sarhu today (the project helper/translator) that I was missing "green", and he agreed - he comes from Himachal Pradesh, up in the mountains and was just posted down here in rural Rajasthan, so he does understand where I am coming from.
Wednesday: I was dropped off last and late at school today and when I got there, Michael had already started Old Macdonald - they had learnt the words and sounds so quickly I was really proud of them. Michael had a bad session today, as he tried to teach times-tables, but they just copied the tables and had absolutely no idea what they were doing, and the lack of English understanding really does not help.
Thursday: a huge wind blew up from the west overnight and I had to shut the shutters to keep all the dust out. It went on for a long time and the door rattled - all the gaps in the straw thatch and under the door didn't keep the dust out very well, so I had to shut my bag completely, and wrap up clothes and journals etc. I had to shake out my bedding as it felt all gritty when I got up. Today had a mega pain flare up and overall inordinate weakness. I slept most of the day under the mosquito net and missed meals - not a good day at all.
Friday: felt a little better today and not so weak. At least I had power in my muscles and didn't ache so much. This was a good thing as we had to be driven 6 hours west of the camp to Pushkar to go on our camel safari. It was the start of the Holi holiday (festival of colours) and the colours (red, blue, green, yellow, purple) were being thrown everywhere, including at vehicles. Whenever we stopped we had to shut the windows against being splatted! It was odd going back to Jaipur as we have been there on so many occasions, that I could actually recognise the streets and routes we were taking. The road west to Pushkar was amazingly good - all tarmacked, traffic lights, overpasses - quite the westernised style of road-building.
In Pushkar our hotel was the Ram Guti Guesthouse and it was the best hotel we have stayed in so far. The porch and round front tower were painted in white, with pale blue and yellow edgings, with a brown tiled reception area, with a Ganesh shrine on one side and heavy wooden furniture. Graziella and I had the largest bedroom and it was like a suite with 2 single beds, a settee stretched round the corner walls, a huge bathroom and a fan that was like a helicopter's propeller, it was so large and efficient!
We decided to go out into the market area as it was cooler by now. We walked along a tarmac road but it was all covered with the dust and muck we are now immune to. We passed bag shops, sari materials, jewellery outlets, fast food/fried food stalls, fried sweetmeats, a juice bar very colorful fruit stalls, open smelly fires burning in the gutters. We went down through a gap in the buildings to the edge of the lake and the view across the ghats was stunning with the setting sun illuminating the lake and the white buildings. We ate at the Moon Garden restaurant and we all chose Italian dishes. I had penne puttanesca and after so long on a plain diet I enjoyed the taste, but ate too much rich sauce! The others had pizza and felt similarly rather full-up afterwards, although there was always room for vodka and brandy, in our large room so that everyone could sit down and rest after the long day.
Saturday: Holi day. We watched the festivities from the roof terrace. The adolescents go round the streets with drums and water, and then either mix the powdered colours with the water, or throw it dry! Either way it makes an awful mess, of clothes, specs, skin, and I was glad to be above it and just enjoy the colours an fun from far away! I got a lot of good pics of the fun.
In the afternoon we walked to meet our camels. Mine was led by 2 boys and they did a wonderful job of leading it, making it run/jog, and encouraging it on. Getting on was a challenge - you have to lean right back and then lollop forwards as the camel gets to its feet. I found myself gritting my teeth and straining to not fall off - Michael got a very funny pic of me, which he has just sent through email - thanks Michael!!!
Once we got out of Pushkar, the scenery was so different to around Sunderpur. It was in a hilly area, crops like maize, mango trees, marigolds and farmed roses in the small protected fields. The farm holdings were very simple structures, often just 4 sticks stuck into the ground and the "walls" made of grass woven together and slotted in between the sticks. We got off the camels for them to have a rest and a drink and we were all walking like John Wayne! My coccyx and upper legs felt numbed, but it was all good fun and an adventure. The sun was going down by the time we got to the camp (5 hours of riding), and we were surprised to see proper pitched tents, with camp beds, mattresses, pure white sheets with blankets, and the best thing of all (which you will never believe) we had a flushing toilet in its own little patterned canvas tent, right in the middle of the rocky desert. Unbelievable, but great :). We had dinner around the open fire, and our group of 8 were the last to go to bed (after midnight) as we were talking so much about all our adventures.
A gale force wind and sandstorm blew up overnight and the beds were covered with dust and sand. Thankfully I had tied in the the apron to our tent tightly, but Viv and Jenny had dust even in their sealed bags. However I used the time during breakfast to walk up to the top of the dunes and got pics of the blue-tinged sunrise, with the sun's rays shooting through the clouds. I also saw geomorphology in action - the sand was being turned into stone as its colour and texture changed from a light cream to a honey color. I also got some pics of desert plants, footprints and sand patterns
Most people opted to walk 1km back to the road but I rode in the cart and getting down from the wooden flat-bed to take a pic of the camel's feet, I ripped my right hand on a metal nail. Thank goodness I had had an update of my tetanus vaccination! Once we were back in Pushkar we went out to the markets again and I bought pretty soft cotton bags, and a Rajastahni wall hanging (blue silky materials, different stitching and textures) which I had been looking for for ages. We reached the Brahman temple but my feet were too sore to go any further and so I sat with Chris in a roadside cafe and had pure freshly squeezed OJ. Not done through a machine though - this was literally pushed through a hole in a wood nozzle with a pointed piece of wood, and the juice and bits all served up in a long glass. It was the first street food I had had and it was SO delicious and refreshing. For lunch we stopped at the Sun and Moon restaurant and the tortoises mooched around our feet and nipped Jane's toes!!
The road trip back to the camp, via Jaipur was 6-7 hours long and very tiring indeed. Everyone was pooped out at the end of the trip but we had a quiet night round the campfire and I went to sleep to the sound of the mouse nibbling at the straw above my head!
Monday 10th to Sunday 16th March
After finding out yesterday that we don't have hot water piped to the huts, I found the standpipe this morning. OMG that water was hot (it wasn't always during the month though)! However I will never complain about cold or badly working showers at home again - at least we can just turn the tap on, in tiled bathrooms, and the water comes out. In the village and our camp, all water comes from the well, which has to be pumped up by (usually) the women or the children. We are very spolit in the west as to what they have here.
As part of the morning chorus this morning I heard peacocks crowing from the open fields along with sparrows, pigeons and birds that look like the noisy mynahs in Australia. We all went native and dressed in our new Indian clothes, even the boys, and we quite felt part of the landscape. These dresses were to become part of us by the end of the month and it really made a difference in the schools to be dressed appropriately.
This morning we had a tour around the work areas - schools, day care centre, and a home-based school for adolescent girls who work on creating saris. I think the tiredness of yesterday and the travelling caught up with me as I felt very tearful that I couldn't do this teaching, that I wouldn't be able to get on with the kids. However all of the group was feeling the same and we all commiserated with each other and cheered each other up over lunch.
In the afternoon we had a meeting with the camp manager who allocated us to schools and work areas - I was paired with Michael from Germany to teach in Bagadi Primary School, and with Graziella to teach the adolescent girls. Being paired with Michael was great - he is a maths teacher in Germany and so I can watch his style of teaching and learn a lot from him. Before dinner we had Hindi lessons, using transliterated words, and not the Hindi script, but the words were very useful in the classes later on.
Tuesday: had a tiny splatter of rain this morning and heard thunder in the distance, but the day ended up overcast and warm. Every day now, we have to plan lessons between 9.30-10.15 and Michael and I worked together to plan them to be complimentary - i.e. I could help with maths and he with English.
We were dropped off at Bagadi school first and here are some observations of the village as we were driven there: dusty, brown, rural huts, bricks sometimes, porches made of straw and branches, goats, dogs and cows roaming the streets, and in people's yards, water pumps at which children were jumping up and down on the pump handle to get enough pressure to get the water out, round flat pats of cow dung shaped and mixed with straw, laid on roofs to dry out and then are used for fuel and manure. A woman carrying a huge load of straw on her head walking down the middle of the road; men usually sitting on slatted beds, knees hunched up to their chests, white circular head-dresses; women working a huge circular open wheel to do the laundry in the field; laneways were bashed-down dust lanes, deep ruts and potholes; crops in the fields standing up in stooks or lined up at the edges of the roads for drying and then storage.
Class: Michael and I were led into a class of 7-12 year olds, approximately 12-15 each day. We had been told that today we would just be observing the teachers to see what we would be doing, but it immediately became apparent we would be doing the teaching TODAY and that literally were no teachers for these classes. Michael therefore started with number games, lining them all up against the walls and checking their counting and understanding of maths. I did a Look and Say on letters and images and I was really surprised by how much they did know and remember. I also asked them to spell parts of the body and although there was a lot of collusion on the part of all the kids, they clearly understood and remembered their spellings. It is just such a shame that their talents and aptitudes are hidden in rural schools, just because their parents can't afford (paying) schools in town or city for the talented kids.
Michael and I were pretty happy with what we achieved this morning, but the others felt really down-hearted and not happy with their placements. Again everyone gave moral and emotional support, which was valuable on all sides. We had chai tea at 4.00 and I had to have a nap before dinner as I was exhausted with today! Overnight I heard a lot of rustling and chewing in the straw - I think I have a mouse in the thatch!!
Wednesday: when the kids were naughty or non-attentive today I put on a "stern" face! but really they didn't need a lot of telling off. At break time, I taught the girls hop-scotch and as I said to C at home, it is a shame that adults have to grow up. When one has the opportunity to play with kids and play their games, and see things from their perspective, it reminds us adults what we have lost and what an opportunity to regain the fun and joy of life - which had been lacking in my life for so long.
As we left the school today the girls insisted on holding my hands - I had about 5 of them hanging off me as I walked down the rutted, muddy and wet-cow-patted lane; and the boys fought over the privilege of taking our equipment box back to the minibus. I promised them a rota of doing this through the weeks and they were happy with that. A lovely memory of leaving the school each day is the kids running alongside the minibus, waving at us with both hands high in the air and say Bye, ma'am, bye ma'am, bye gerugi (which is the Hindi word for (male) Teacher). Lovely!
Thursday: had to do the washing today. None of this shoving it into a washing machine. I had to lug the hot water from the standpipe, mix it with cold from the tap into the bathroom, and swirl around the Travel Wash gunge. I disappeared in a cloud of bubbles as I misjudged the amount of gunge I needed!! However the clothes were clean :). All had to be handwashed and then hung on the line strung between the huts - it looked like a chinese laundry when all 3 of us around our little quad had done all our washing! However with the sun being so hot, and getting hotter, I could do a wash after breakfast and it was all totally dry and stiff in the sun and wind by lunchtime.
I began the teaching day in a bad mood - something one of the staff had said had really wound me up, but do you know by the time I worked with the kids at school today my mood had lifted the clouds. Michael praised me for being innovative in teaching and we worked together on his maths problems, me illustrating what he was teaching by writing words and images on the board. Oh yes, we worked with dusty white and coloured chalks - non of this white board stuff. No computers either!
Afternoon I called home using the extremely cheap phone line. C answered and it was lovely to hear a familiar voice from home and to hear what was going on. I am so looking forward to seeing C again - even when one is travelling with people and working in a team, one can be lonely and miss the little things from home.
Friday: it was really cold overnight, would you believe, and I had to wrap my costume scarf around me and get into my sleeping bag. However the sun poured through the window - which is really a hole in the mud hut wall, supported with a wire cross and covered with mosquito netting. It warmed up fast today and in the afternoon I had to sit in the shade. Class was a disaster - my own fault as I didn't prepare well enough, but this was enough to make me feel very downhearted and again doubt my own abilities to see this volunteer project through, especially as everyone else had had good days and were crowing over their achievements. I took my MP3 out into the dust fields behind the camp and listened to music to myself. I had to get out of the camp just for a while, but people noticed and were very supportive later.
As part of the morning chorus this morning I heard peacocks crowing from the open fields along with sparrows, pigeons and birds that look like the noisy mynahs in Australia. We all went native and dressed in our new Indian clothes, even the boys, and we quite felt part of the landscape. These dresses were to become part of us by the end of the month and it really made a difference in the schools to be dressed appropriately.
This morning we had a tour around the work areas - schools, day care centre, and a home-based school for adolescent girls who work on creating saris. I think the tiredness of yesterday and the travelling caught up with me as I felt very tearful that I couldn't do this teaching, that I wouldn't be able to get on with the kids. However all of the group was feeling the same and we all commiserated with each other and cheered each other up over lunch.
In the afternoon we had a meeting with the camp manager who allocated us to schools and work areas - I was paired with Michael from Germany to teach in Bagadi Primary School, and with Graziella to teach the adolescent girls. Being paired with Michael was great - he is a maths teacher in Germany and so I can watch his style of teaching and learn a lot from him. Before dinner we had Hindi lessons, using transliterated words, and not the Hindi script, but the words were very useful in the classes later on.
Tuesday: had a tiny splatter of rain this morning and heard thunder in the distance, but the day ended up overcast and warm. Every day now, we have to plan lessons between 9.30-10.15 and Michael and I worked together to plan them to be complimentary - i.e. I could help with maths and he with English.
We were dropped off at Bagadi school first and here are some observations of the village as we were driven there: dusty, brown, rural huts, bricks sometimes, porches made of straw and branches, goats, dogs and cows roaming the streets, and in people's yards, water pumps at which children were jumping up and down on the pump handle to get enough pressure to get the water out, round flat pats of cow dung shaped and mixed with straw, laid on roofs to dry out and then are used for fuel and manure. A woman carrying a huge load of straw on her head walking down the middle of the road; men usually sitting on slatted beds, knees hunched up to their chests, white circular head-dresses; women working a huge circular open wheel to do the laundry in the field; laneways were bashed-down dust lanes, deep ruts and potholes; crops in the fields standing up in stooks or lined up at the edges of the roads for drying and then storage.
Class: Michael and I were led into a class of 7-12 year olds, approximately 12-15 each day. We had been told that today we would just be observing the teachers to see what we would be doing, but it immediately became apparent we would be doing the teaching TODAY and that literally were no teachers for these classes. Michael therefore started with number games, lining them all up against the walls and checking their counting and understanding of maths. I did a Look and Say on letters and images and I was really surprised by how much they did know and remember. I also asked them to spell parts of the body and although there was a lot of collusion on the part of all the kids, they clearly understood and remembered their spellings. It is just such a shame that their talents and aptitudes are hidden in rural schools, just because their parents can't afford (paying) schools in town or city for the talented kids.
Michael and I were pretty happy with what we achieved this morning, but the others felt really down-hearted and not happy with their placements. Again everyone gave moral and emotional support, which was valuable on all sides. We had chai tea at 4.00 and I had to have a nap before dinner as I was exhausted with today! Overnight I heard a lot of rustling and chewing in the straw - I think I have a mouse in the thatch!!
Wednesday: when the kids were naughty or non-attentive today I put on a "stern" face! but really they didn't need a lot of telling off. At break time, I taught the girls hop-scotch and as I said to C at home, it is a shame that adults have to grow up. When one has the opportunity to play with kids and play their games, and see things from their perspective, it reminds us adults what we have lost and what an opportunity to regain the fun and joy of life - which had been lacking in my life for so long.
As we left the school today the girls insisted on holding my hands - I had about 5 of them hanging off me as I walked down the rutted, muddy and wet-cow-patted lane; and the boys fought over the privilege of taking our equipment box back to the minibus. I promised them a rota of doing this through the weeks and they were happy with that. A lovely memory of leaving the school each day is the kids running alongside the minibus, waving at us with both hands high in the air and say Bye, ma'am, bye ma'am, bye gerugi (which is the Hindi word for (male) Teacher). Lovely!
Thursday: had to do the washing today. None of this shoving it into a washing machine. I had to lug the hot water from the standpipe, mix it with cold from the tap into the bathroom, and swirl around the Travel Wash gunge. I disappeared in a cloud of bubbles as I misjudged the amount of gunge I needed!! However the clothes were clean :). All had to be handwashed and then hung on the line strung between the huts - it looked like a chinese laundry when all 3 of us around our little quad had done all our washing! However with the sun being so hot, and getting hotter, I could do a wash after breakfast and it was all totally dry and stiff in the sun and wind by lunchtime.
I began the teaching day in a bad mood - something one of the staff had said had really wound me up, but do you know by the time I worked with the kids at school today my mood had lifted the clouds. Michael praised me for being innovative in teaching and we worked together on his maths problems, me illustrating what he was teaching by writing words and images on the board. Oh yes, we worked with dusty white and coloured chalks - non of this white board stuff. No computers either!
Afternoon I called home using the extremely cheap phone line. C answered and it was lovely to hear a familiar voice from home and to hear what was going on. I am so looking forward to seeing C again - even when one is travelling with people and working in a team, one can be lonely and miss the little things from home.
Friday: it was really cold overnight, would you believe, and I had to wrap my costume scarf around me and get into my sleeping bag. However the sun poured through the window - which is really a hole in the mud hut wall, supported with a wire cross and covered with mosquito netting. It warmed up fast today and in the afternoon I had to sit in the shade. Class was a disaster - my own fault as I didn't prepare well enough, but this was enough to make me feel very downhearted and again doubt my own abilities to see this volunteer project through, especially as everyone else had had good days and were crowing over their achievements. I took my MP3 out into the dust fields behind the camp and listened to music to myself. I had to get out of the camp just for a while, but people noticed and were very supportive later.
Saturday 19 April 2008
Thursday 6th - Saturday 8th March
Orientation days with Idex. We had Hindi lessons at the office which came in very useful at the schools later in the month. We had Indian food at lunchtimes (rice with seeds in, tomato, cucumber and beetroot salads, beans and vegetables in spicy sauces, chappatis or other breads (can't remember the name just now).
On Thursday we were taken to see a Hindi Bollywood movie. Now this was quite interesting as it was all in Hindi, and obviously it was a humourous film as the crowd broke into laughter at regular intervals - but we couldn't understand any of it!! The movie theatre was straight out of the 1970s - swirly carpets, pink shell-shaped decor, plastic flowers, a balcony for men to view/ogle what was going on below, the smell of stale popcorn, and over all the "smell" of India - mustiness, pollution, people, dust, dirt. We all decided to leave at half-time - indeed there was an interval in the film! We headed toward the old city and Jane and I hit the markets - she made good bargaining deals on jewellery and I bought a very nice blue top from the government shop in which I paid a fixed price - I was not in the mood for bargaining!
Friday - an exhilarating but exhausting day. We were picked up early and taken to the Amber Fort, just outside town. On the way there we saw a lot more of the old city - majestic red/pink buildings, shuttered up with red and green-painted shutters, an elephant being driven down the extremely narrow street so that it filled the street. The Fort was majestic on the hills - white/pale stone, gardens below, older red sandstone forts and walls above it climbing up the hills. We walked through the elephant stable yard and I got lovely close-ups pics of their feet, their painted faces, their gentle eyes and flapping ears. We had an elephant ride up to the Fort and it turned into an elephant traffic jam as some were going up and some coming down. We were also sprayed regularly by the ellies as they exhaled!! The sun was very hot and we felt quite regal climbing up to the Fort entrance.
The Fort itself was mind-blowingly beautiful - arched doorways, intricately carved in marble and stone, with inset semi-precious stones. The main gate fascia hasn't been changed in 400 years due to the quality of the original building. Elephant images were everywhere, especially holding up arches and doorways, a glass palace full of mirrors and glass, an inner sanctum for the maharajah and his wives only, secretive passageways which were illuminated only by the flash on my camera. As we walked out of the back gateway a monkey sat on the battlements and flicked water (or something else?!?) down at us.
By the time we finished there the heat was very high and my feet were complaining hugely of too much walking and stress on them. We walked in a group back down to the minibus and had a very welcome lunch and rest back at Idex office.
In the afternoon we went shopping!! Graziella and I shopped together as we were looking for the same kind of things - dresses and silks. We had great fun in one shop as the vendors kept pulling costumes, dresses and shalwars out of plastic bags, and we tried on many of them in a room the size of a kitchen long cupboard!! I bought a pure cotton outfit in bright blue with intricate stitching on it which I wore every day when teaching, and another one which was a heavier material which I didn't wear as it was too hot for me. Graziella's, in the same material, shrank in the wash! I found blue patterned bed covers, and she bought pure silks for her sisters, and I found some blue decorated bangles to match my clothes.
We were wandering along the covered walkway outside a material shop and suddenly a big brown cow just meandered across in front of us!!! with the beautiful sari material one side and the gutter and street on the other! Only in India!
We all convened at 6.30, having been walking round the market for 4.5 hours and we were all happy with our purchases. Chris and Michael had bought real "Indian teacher clothes" - white cotton shirts and trousers, and Chris had had shirts made, which would be delivered this evening. Only in India would you get such good tailoring and customer-oriented service.
Back to the host family and Anju surprised us by bringing out saris and Graziella and I played at dressing up - I bought mine as it is a bridal sari in a deep red, with blue silk fibres and gold edgings, and very beautiful indeed. Bed very late on our very hard bed - it was literally just the metal part of a bed, no mattress, which meant that we were both very stiff and tight in the mornings. The bathroom was small and serviceable but with no hot water, so we had to get used to cold bucket showers - such is life in urban India.
Saturday: up later today, with a tepid bucket shower, and after taking our farewells of Anju and Ritesh with lots of photos, we were taken to the Idex office and then got on the minibus which would take us down to the project camp. The group of 8 of us felt as though we had known each other for years now, and we all agreed that moral and emotional support would be very important to all of us in the following 3 weeks.
Out of Jaipur and back along the tarmac road. However we turned off at Dausa and got our first taste of rural Rajasthan - the conditions in the village were dire - poverty, child destitution, women in terrible manual jobs, dirt and rubbish piled all over , streets not tarmacked, animals roaming everywhere. Lalsot was worse, but our camp was about 10km further on and we were in deepest rural India villages called Sunderpur and Bagadi.
We got to the camp after dark. It was purpose-built to house the volunteers in this area. We were welcomed with a bindi on our foreheads and very sweet chai tea in the recreation room. The buildings were long low mud huts, with straw roofs, a long thin "bathroom" area with a concrete floor, only cold piped water, no hot water unless it is heated when the power came on and it came out of a standpipe. The bed was hardboard tacked onto a metal frame, and I had a full mosquito net over mine. The mattresses were thin palliases, and I pulled two from the spare bed (as I had paid for a single room for this month) onto mine to make a really comfortable bed for the 3 weeks. The walls of my hut were nicely decorated with patterns and images but others had plain walls. The electric power was always intermittent, and we relied on the generator when the government-controlled power went off. Viv and I turned our beds over and over to check for er, bugs, and I saw evidence of mice being in the hut. We both feared that we had done the wrong thing coming here, but this was first night nerves.
After dinner, the brandy and vodka came out and a good time was had by all, and I mean all.
On Sunday we went to Lalsot for the market, but it was such a horrid experience for us all (being tagged by kids, cameras being pulled off shoulders, being pushed and shoved by the kids, digging into my back) that we went back to the camp within an hour. I was also very ill (er, bowel-wise) in the afternoon so felt under the weather, which was very hot and sultry this afternoon. Viv woke me up for dinner and I felt better later.
Monday 10th March: more updates to come. See you soon......
On Thursday we were taken to see a Hindi Bollywood movie. Now this was quite interesting as it was all in Hindi, and obviously it was a humourous film as the crowd broke into laughter at regular intervals - but we couldn't understand any of it!! The movie theatre was straight out of the 1970s - swirly carpets, pink shell-shaped decor, plastic flowers, a balcony for men to view/ogle what was going on below, the smell of stale popcorn, and over all the "smell" of India - mustiness, pollution, people, dust, dirt. We all decided to leave at half-time - indeed there was an interval in the film! We headed toward the old city and Jane and I hit the markets - she made good bargaining deals on jewellery and I bought a very nice blue top from the government shop in which I paid a fixed price - I was not in the mood for bargaining!
Friday - an exhilarating but exhausting day. We were picked up early and taken to the Amber Fort, just outside town. On the way there we saw a lot more of the old city - majestic red/pink buildings, shuttered up with red and green-painted shutters, an elephant being driven down the extremely narrow street so that it filled the street. The Fort was majestic on the hills - white/pale stone, gardens below, older red sandstone forts and walls above it climbing up the hills. We walked through the elephant stable yard and I got lovely close-ups pics of their feet, their painted faces, their gentle eyes and flapping ears. We had an elephant ride up to the Fort and it turned into an elephant traffic jam as some were going up and some coming down. We were also sprayed regularly by the ellies as they exhaled!! The sun was very hot and we felt quite regal climbing up to the Fort entrance.
The Fort itself was mind-blowingly beautiful - arched doorways, intricately carved in marble and stone, with inset semi-precious stones. The main gate fascia hasn't been changed in 400 years due to the quality of the original building. Elephant images were everywhere, especially holding up arches and doorways, a glass palace full of mirrors and glass, an inner sanctum for the maharajah and his wives only, secretive passageways which were illuminated only by the flash on my camera. As we walked out of the back gateway a monkey sat on the battlements and flicked water (or something else?!?) down at us.
By the time we finished there the heat was very high and my feet were complaining hugely of too much walking and stress on them. We walked in a group back down to the minibus and had a very welcome lunch and rest back at Idex office.
In the afternoon we went shopping!! Graziella and I shopped together as we were looking for the same kind of things - dresses and silks. We had great fun in one shop as the vendors kept pulling costumes, dresses and shalwars out of plastic bags, and we tried on many of them in a room the size of a kitchen long cupboard!! I bought a pure cotton outfit in bright blue with intricate stitching on it which I wore every day when teaching, and another one which was a heavier material which I didn't wear as it was too hot for me. Graziella's, in the same material, shrank in the wash! I found blue patterned bed covers, and she bought pure silks for her sisters, and I found some blue decorated bangles to match my clothes.
We were wandering along the covered walkway outside a material shop and suddenly a big brown cow just meandered across in front of us!!! with the beautiful sari material one side and the gutter and street on the other! Only in India!
We all convened at 6.30, having been walking round the market for 4.5 hours and we were all happy with our purchases. Chris and Michael had bought real "Indian teacher clothes" - white cotton shirts and trousers, and Chris had had shirts made, which would be delivered this evening. Only in India would you get such good tailoring and customer-oriented service.
Back to the host family and Anju surprised us by bringing out saris and Graziella and I played at dressing up - I bought mine as it is a bridal sari in a deep red, with blue silk fibres and gold edgings, and very beautiful indeed. Bed very late on our very hard bed - it was literally just the metal part of a bed, no mattress, which meant that we were both very stiff and tight in the mornings. The bathroom was small and serviceable but with no hot water, so we had to get used to cold bucket showers - such is life in urban India.
Saturday: up later today, with a tepid bucket shower, and after taking our farewells of Anju and Ritesh with lots of photos, we were taken to the Idex office and then got on the minibus which would take us down to the project camp. The group of 8 of us felt as though we had known each other for years now, and we all agreed that moral and emotional support would be very important to all of us in the following 3 weeks.
Out of Jaipur and back along the tarmac road. However we turned off at Dausa and got our first taste of rural Rajasthan - the conditions in the village were dire - poverty, child destitution, women in terrible manual jobs, dirt and rubbish piled all over , streets not tarmacked, animals roaming everywhere. Lalsot was worse, but our camp was about 10km further on and we were in deepest rural India villages called Sunderpur and Bagadi.
We got to the camp after dark. It was purpose-built to house the volunteers in this area. We were welcomed with a bindi on our foreheads and very sweet chai tea in the recreation room. The buildings were long low mud huts, with straw roofs, a long thin "bathroom" area with a concrete floor, only cold piped water, no hot water unless it is heated when the power came on and it came out of a standpipe. The bed was hardboard tacked onto a metal frame, and I had a full mosquito net over mine. The mattresses were thin palliases, and I pulled two from the spare bed (as I had paid for a single room for this month) onto mine to make a really comfortable bed for the 3 weeks. The walls of my hut were nicely decorated with patterns and images but others had plain walls. The electric power was always intermittent, and we relied on the generator when the government-controlled power went off. Viv and I turned our beds over and over to check for er, bugs, and I saw evidence of mice being in the hut. We both feared that we had done the wrong thing coming here, but this was first night nerves.
After dinner, the brandy and vodka came out and a good time was had by all, and I mean all.
On Sunday we went to Lalsot for the market, but it was such a horrid experience for us all (being tagged by kids, cameras being pulled off shoulders, being pushed and shoved by the kids, digging into my back) that we went back to the camp within an hour. I was also very ill (er, bowel-wise) in the afternoon so felt under the weather, which was very hot and sultry this afternoon. Viv woke me up for dinner and I felt better later.
Monday 10th March: more updates to come. See you soon......
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