but can only do that when the AC is on cos otherwise my computer overheats and craps out
so fingers crossed for this weekend !!!!!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Wednesday Thursday and Friday 21 22 and 23 October
wednesday - we got back from Goa at 6.45 am so we did some washing, had our hindi class - the penultimate - and met with Mina and Eszter then relaxed
thursday - back to work .... it was great to see almost all the kids back at the creche
I had really missed them ... surprisingly
we decided to do self portraits in watercolour with the kids as they love painting but they just seemed to paint pictures of animals and cartoons ... ohhh well
friday - we decided to have a crack again at making mobiles .... it was a lot more successful this time round and we have some beautiful mobiles - just need a wire to have them from now
in the afternoon the kids had asked to write on lined paper so we took some note pads and it turned into a massive cut a thon .... those kids and scissors is amazing
thursday - back to work .... it was great to see almost all the kids back at the creche
I had really missed them ... surprisingly
we decided to do self portraits in watercolour with the kids as they love painting but they just seemed to paint pictures of animals and cartoons ... ohhh well
friday - we decided to have a crack again at making mobiles .... it was a lot more successful this time round and we have some beautiful mobiles - just need a wire to have them from now
in the afternoon the kids had asked to write on lined paper so we took some note pads and it turned into a massive cut a thon .... those kids and scissors is amazing
Diwali
We were fortunate to have some time off for the festival of lights - Diwali - so we headed down to the beaches of North Goa.
Friday 16 October - Sangam's 43rd Birthday
this afternoon we celebrated Sangam's 43rd birthday on what is to become international Sangam day
we had a great time dressed in our sari's, getting mehendi, eating party food, sending birthday wishes to Sangam on the birthday wish tree and chatting with all the friends of Sangam from the local area
We had some nice speeches and presentations. Pune division of Bharat Scots and Guides presented a stunning Diwali lamp which is hanging proudly in front of the Hall
Getting to Goa from Pune involves an overnight bus leaving from Swargate which is the main bus area in Pune.
Swargate is about 30 mins away from Sangam via rickshaw and trying to get there on Diwali Friday night is a bit of a nightmare - also known as trying to rip the Westerners off ... and we had Mollie's "boyfriend" as our rickshaw driver who has also taken us to work that morning too so I said to him that he is always trying to rip us off and he laughed when I asked him how much he had made out of us today
The bus ride down to Goa was not too bad, we all managed to get some sleep and we were awake when we crossed the border into Goa ... and headed down to Mapsa
Mapsa is the town where all the buses stop for the beaches in North Goa and from here you can either catch a taxi, rickshaw or local bus to your final destination
We decided to catch the local bus to our Guesthouse in Anjuna as we like the adventure and also as we had to check in at 11am and it was close to 7am
We got to Anjuna and followed the instructions on how to reach our guesthouse ... but we got off the bus far too early (the directions are for car not walking!) and we found the right direction and then .... walked ... passing thankfully on the way the restaurant Sara wanted to try - Blue Tao - so we stopped there for a good long while had some breakfast and read our books
We got to our Guesthouse - Evershine Guesthouse http://www.evershine-guesthouse.hostel.com/
and we could relax - we were a tiny bit early but our host Sebastiana welcomed us, and we sat leisurely on the veranda until the current occupants of our room checked out and we could move in
Evershine is a great guesthouse, it is clean, easy to find, and the hosts are very friendly as well as their two dogs rosie and palu. If you need accommodation in Anjuna I recommend Evershine
After a quick sleep/shower/change into swimming costumes we headed down to the beach ......
Anjuna beach itself is very rocky and you can not really relax properly on it so we headed past all the stalls for South Anjuna which is a sandy beach
We found a posse on the beach and were swamped by hawkers trying to sell their wares ... I am not kidding you - imagine four girls being surrounded by 10 women or transvestites tryiing to ply their anklets, necklaces, and other crap because we are westerners - we were quite vexed by the situation and thankfully Mollie took control and got rid of all the ladies/men ... who also told us to never return to 'their beach'
It was really nice to be on the beach again although I had forgotten how sand gets everywhere!
The sea was so warm too and not too rough although there were rocks in the sea which you occassionally stumbled upon
It was really nice to see how excited the girls were to be in the sea in their bikinis and matching sunhats
I really do think that the conservativeness of Pune can get to you eventually - especially when you are more used to being able to wear tee shirts with your shoulders being uncovered
So we arrived on Saturday and in the Diwali festival this is the day of the Laxmi Puja, Laxmi is the goddess of wealth / finance / and good luck. we didn't puja laxmi but we did spend the evening playing a really compedative game of Ludo ... at our new fav Anjuna restaurant - the Blue Tao
Saturday is also the main day of fireworks ... and the home across the road from the had an amazing display
it was very loud, very bright and Mollie and Sara got hit in the face by residue from the firecrackers
Panajim has some hidden gems of Portugese quarters ... Mollie and I did the suggested walk in the lonely planet guide and we had a great time!
Pamajim is inland on a river - it reminds me a lot of Istanbul being on both shores of a river and having a lot of bridges spanning the river
Friday 16 October - Sangam's 43rd Birthday
this afternoon we celebrated Sangam's 43rd birthday on what is to become international Sangam day
we had a great time dressed in our sari's, getting mehendi, eating party food, sending birthday wishes to Sangam on the birthday wish tree and chatting with all the friends of Sangam from the local area
We had some nice speeches and presentations. Pune division of Bharat Scots and Guides presented a stunning Diwali lamp which is hanging proudly in front of the Hall
Getting to Goa from Pune involves an overnight bus leaving from Swargate which is the main bus area in Pune.
Swargate is about 30 mins away from Sangam via rickshaw and trying to get there on Diwali Friday night is a bit of a nightmare - also known as trying to rip the Westerners off ... and we had Mollie's "boyfriend" as our rickshaw driver who has also taken us to work that morning too so I said to him that he is always trying to rip us off and he laughed when I asked him how much he had made out of us today
The bus ride down to Goa was not too bad, we all managed to get some sleep and we were awake when we crossed the border into Goa ... and headed down to Mapsa
Mapsa is the town where all the buses stop for the beaches in North Goa and from here you can either catch a taxi, rickshaw or local bus to your final destination
We decided to catch the local bus to our Guesthouse in Anjuna as we like the adventure and also as we had to check in at 11am and it was close to 7am
We got to Anjuna and followed the instructions on how to reach our guesthouse ... but we got off the bus far too early (the directions are for car not walking!) and we found the right direction and then .... walked ... passing thankfully on the way the restaurant Sara wanted to try - Blue Tao - so we stopped there for a good long while had some breakfast and read our books
We got to our Guesthouse - Evershine Guesthouse http://www.evershine-guesthouse.hostel.com/
and we could relax - we were a tiny bit early but our host Sebastiana welcomed us, and we sat leisurely on the veranda until the current occupants of our room checked out and we could move in
Evershine is a great guesthouse, it is clean, easy to find, and the hosts are very friendly as well as their two dogs rosie and palu. If you need accommodation in Anjuna I recommend Evershine
After a quick sleep/shower/change into swimming costumes we headed down to the beach ......
Anjuna beach itself is very rocky and you can not really relax properly on it so we headed past all the stalls for South Anjuna which is a sandy beach
We found a posse on the beach and were swamped by hawkers trying to sell their wares ... I am not kidding you - imagine four girls being surrounded by 10 women or transvestites tryiing to ply their anklets, necklaces, and other crap because we are westerners - we were quite vexed by the situation and thankfully Mollie took control and got rid of all the ladies/men ... who also told us to never return to 'their beach'
It was really nice to be on the beach again although I had forgotten how sand gets everywhere!
The sea was so warm too and not too rough although there were rocks in the sea which you occassionally stumbled upon
It was really nice to see how excited the girls were to be in the sea in their bikinis and matching sunhats
I really do think that the conservativeness of Pune can get to you eventually - especially when you are more used to being able to wear tee shirts with your shoulders being uncovered
So we arrived on Saturday and in the Diwali festival this is the day of the Laxmi Puja, Laxmi is the goddess of wealth / finance / and good luck. we didn't puja laxmi but we did spend the evening playing a really compedative game of Ludo ... at our new fav Anjuna restaurant - the Blue Tao
Saturday is also the main day of fireworks ... and the home across the road from the had an amazing display
it was very loud, very bright and Mollie and Sara got hit in the face by residue from the firecrackers
poor Linnea
Saturday night Jane and Arielle joined us as they had to work Saturday day as we still had participants at Sangam who were all leaving for Agra and their other Indian exploration trips
It was really great to see Jane and Arielle outside of Sangam as we never have time to hang out together as we're all so busy with our Sangam work
Sunday we decided after a nice breakfast at none other than Blue Tao to head to Vagator beach
Vagator is approx 20 mins north of Anjuna and is very shallow and wide
There are two sides to Vagator - Vagator which is the main beach and is more for the Indian diaspora whereas South Vagator is smaller but is where the Westerners hang out mainly as there are toilets and cafes .... not that either were open when we were there
There were not as many hawkers on the beach either so we were left in relative peace apart from when Sara wrote her boyfriend's name in the sand ....
this is a pic of Jane and I
Saturday evening we were joined by Anders from Norway for dinner and Eszter and Einar who had come down for a couple of days. We went to the Sea Queen which also shows two films an evening as there is not much of a night scene during the off season in Goa
Monday we decided to have a day trip to see Old Goa and Panajim. Sara decided that she was sick so stayed behind in Anjuna with the promise of staying in the Guesthouse compound ... only to go to the beach ... the trust has gone! everyone else came with us to Old Goa
Old Goa is the old Portugese capital and it is very calm compared with other places in Goa and also Pune
Old Goa was once bigger than London, Lisbon and Rome but was quickly disbanded as there was bad malaria and dysentry outbreaks today it is a UNESCO world heritage site
In Old Goa there are a lot of very large churches and Cathedrals - Se Catherdral, St Francis of Assisi monastry and Bom Jesus (where the remains of St Francis of Assisi are held)
St Francis of Assisi Monastry
St Catherine's Chapel
Se Catherdal
Bom Jesus where St Francis of Assisi is entombed
There is also this beautiful arch - the Viceroy's arch
The girls decided that it was too hot to sightsee so they headed back to Anjuna so Mollie and I went to Panajim - Goa's current capital and also the murder capital of Goa at the moment - there has been a spate of murders in Panajim of Foreigners ....
Pamajim is inland on a river - it reminds me a lot of Istanbul being on both shores of a river and having a lot of bridges spanning the river
river activities
an example of the Portugese influence
me looking hot and tired after a long day sightseeing
Mollie and I brought these fans as it was so hot to help cool us
in 36+ degrees they just blow hot air at us! but we have fun with them!
Tuesday 20 October was our last day in Goa and we decided to just laze around until our bus at 5.30pm
We just hung round Anjuna, had breakfast at a new cafe, and browsed all the beach stalls for fun things to purchase and then sat at a cliff cafe over looking Anjuna and had lunch .....
We got to Mapasa in time for our 5.30 bus only to find out that ..... it went at 7.30 so we have 2 hours to waste around the bus station .... luckily baskin robins had AC and ice cream
Our bus ride was not as good as the way down, the bus had a lot of turns and bumps so we could not sleep as much. Once we arrived at Swargate it was an effort getting a rickshaw to Alandi Rd ..... and somehow Sara and Mollie's bags got covered in Fishwater from being in the hold - mine seemed to be ok :)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thursday 15 october
Today Sara joined us at our Mobile Creche
We started the morning off with doing some weaving of cardboard, however the kids found this a bit too hard so we were luckily saved by a visit from half of the trefoil ladies
It was great to have a visit from the trefoil ladies as they have been asking so many questions about our site and our work and for them to be able to see it for themselves was just fantastic
Nothing prepares you for the shock of what conditions these kids live and work in ....
In the afternoon we made masks
these went down great as there was hardly any kids because of people going back to their villages for Diwali
I really hope that we will be able to stick these on the wall as they are stunning
We found some interesting paint outliner which worked just like the elusive glitter pens
We had Moussaka for dinner - another first for Sangam during our time here
It was like eating beef mince with potatoes and no flavouring ....
Tomorrow we're off to Goa .... so no blogging until next week - we're back Wednesday!!!!
We started the morning off with doing some weaving of cardboard, however the kids found this a bit too hard so we were luckily saved by a visit from half of the trefoil ladies
It was great to have a visit from the trefoil ladies as they have been asking so many questions about our site and our work and for them to be able to see it for themselves was just fantastic
Nothing prepares you for the shock of what conditions these kids live and work in ....
In the afternoon we made masks
these went down great as there was hardly any kids because of people going back to their villages for Diwali
I really hope that we will be able to stick these on the wall as they are stunning
We found some interesting paint outliner which worked just like the elusive glitter pens
We had Moussaka for dinner - another first for Sangam during our time here
It was like eating beef mince with potatoes and no flavouring ....
Tomorrow we're off to Goa .... so no blogging until next week - we're back Wednesday!!!!
Wednesday 14 October
Today was our one month left anniversary
We decided to do a lot of Diwali things .....
In the morning, however, we decided to do time and clock reading as we had learnt that in our Hindi class
It was shocking how badly it went down as the children are so fascinated with my watch
we made them all clocks which had hands they could move
They were more happy drawing pictures of clocks ... and then flowers
In the afternoon we drew diyas - diwali lamps and the children decorated these
The idea was to put these on the outside of their Diwali cards
In the evening Linnea and I went to MG Road to buy supplies like cardboard etc and it was madly busy with people doing their Diwali shopping
It was nice on the way home as we got to see all the Diwali lights everywhere and it was like Christmas!
We decided to do a lot of Diwali things .....
In the morning, however, we decided to do time and clock reading as we had learnt that in our Hindi class
It was shocking how badly it went down as the children are so fascinated with my watch
we made them all clocks which had hands they could move
They were more happy drawing pictures of clocks ... and then flowers
In the afternoon we drew diyas - diwali lamps and the children decorated these
The idea was to put these on the outside of their Diwali cards
In the evening Linnea and I went to MG Road to buy supplies like cardboard etc and it was madly busy with people doing their Diwali shopping
It was nice on the way home as we got to see all the Diwali lights everywhere and it was like Christmas!
Tuesday 13 October
Today we had the day off as the event was going to a Sari Factory and we wanted to join the fun!
The Sari Factory is about an hour's drive from Pune/Sangam and it mainly makes Poona Saris and Punjabis
It was very fascinating as they make everything from dyeing the cotton to weaving into the correct patterns and making the fabric
I brought a Punjabi ... but I am going to use the fabric for cushions or something as the cotton is very soft and they are a spectacular indigo colour ... as I do not need another Punjabi
We had samoas for lunch - worth a mention as this was the first time I have had them since I arrived in India!
In the afternoon - Mollie and I braved the outside world (the state elections were being held and there were people everywhere) and we went to get our eyebrows threaded
the lady who did it this time was not as good as the first lady
We had our third to last Hindi lesson and we gave Kalpuna our teacher a Diwali card and she was really touched
That made up for us not being able to remember anything - she was a little angry about that
In the evening we had a performance of Gandhiji's life by the children from Maher
It was amazing - best performance I have ever been to - better than Broadway or the West End
It was also good to know that we had been learning the same things in our Schooling as they learn in India
The Sari Factory is about an hour's drive from Pune/Sangam and it mainly makes Poona Saris and Punjabis
It was very fascinating as they make everything from dyeing the cotton to weaving into the correct patterns and making the fabric
I brought a Punjabi ... but I am going to use the fabric for cushions or something as the cotton is very soft and they are a spectacular indigo colour ... as I do not need another Punjabi
We had samoas for lunch - worth a mention as this was the first time I have had them since I arrived in India!
In the afternoon - Mollie and I braved the outside world (the state elections were being held and there were people everywhere) and we went to get our eyebrows threaded
the lady who did it this time was not as good as the first lady
We had our third to last Hindi lesson and we gave Kalpuna our teacher a Diwali card and she was really touched
That made up for us not being able to remember anything - she was a little angry about that
In the evening we had a performance of Gandhiji's life by the children from Maher
It was amazing - best performance I have ever been to - better than Broadway or the West End
It was also good to know that we had been learning the same things in our Schooling as they learn in India
Monday 12 October
Today as it is the Diwali holidays Linnea joined Mollie and I at our Mobile Creche site
In the morning we did alphapet things as we had been given a great wooden alphabet by Muriel who was a CVP at the beginning of the year
It didn't go down too well - the kids just don't like the roman script
so we got our our flashy new flashcards - of words like dog sit cat car etc
and we had some of Indian places ... so I attempted to draw India on a map and it was terrible but the kids did seem to like the cards even though they did not understand that it was a map of India and they could see how far away these places are compared with where Pune is etc
In the afternoon we attempted to make Diwali decorations like lanterns and stars but it was too much for the kids so we just did some cutting and gluing
In the morning we did alphapet things as we had been given a great wooden alphabet by Muriel who was a CVP at the beginning of the year
It didn't go down too well - the kids just don't like the roman script
so we got our our flashy new flashcards - of words like dog sit cat car etc
and we had some of Indian places ... so I attempted to draw India on a map and it was terrible but the kids did seem to like the cards even though they did not understand that it was a map of India and they could see how far away these places are compared with where Pune is etc
In the afternoon we attempted to make Diwali decorations like lanterns and stars but it was too much for the kids so we just did some cutting and gluing
Sunday, October 11, 2009
update until Sunday 11 October
Monday 28 September
Dessera - no work - holiday
we just relaxed around Sangam and painted some more pictures for our new creche's walls
gwen and jill left as their time had some to an end
Tuesday 29 September
back at our creche
we had fun with the kids as it had been a holiday and we were given a lot of money leaves
the money leaves need to be kept inside a book and they are worth their weight in gold
Wednesday 30 September
today was our usual wednesday off where we have our Hindi class
we also had a great day as we tried out a course at the polytechnic of the muslim girls orphanage
our choices were indian tie dyeing or candle making
I choose tie dyeing and it was so interesting once we saw our completed squares
in the evening jane, arielle and I went out with some guys jane met in Leh on a rafting trip
we had an interesting evening, saw some new parts of pune, and went to stonewater which is next to hard rock but is more techno
Thursday 1 October
today we were back at work and it was hard work!
we always find that we never do anything right with the kids
in the morning I took the little kids 4-6 and we did animals games while mollie took the older kids 6-14 with friendship bracelet making
in the afternoon we had a crazy time and made paper hats out of newspaper ... it was chaos but great fun and even two weeks later the kids still wear their hats in the afternoon
I felt really nauseaus and slept all afternoon/evening
we had a trefoil lady come early before their old lady event who collapsed and was in ICU for over a week with severe dehydration - so if you get the runs, do something about it don't ignore it!! especially in India
Friday 2 October
Gandhi's Birthday
holiday for mobile creche so .... I went to door step school
in the morning I cleaned our CVP area in the programme room, and tried to finish laminating my amazing flash cards
in the afternoon I went to help the swedes at door step school
door step school is another community organisation Sangam works with ... the kids seem more wealthy but there are some street kids who I amazingly got involved in a fun game of cat and mouse
I had an interesting rickshaw ride to door step school .... it cost me 100r and was a pune ticky tour!
Saturday 3 October
Mumbai
today we had an early start to catch our 7.15am train to mumbai and it was really fascinating ride, in the women's carriage ... it was all 5 cvp's mollie linnea sara katusko and i plus our new programme vols jane and arielle
we got to mumbai and went straight to our hostel - the salvation army red shield hostel, it was clean and cheap and had a good breakfast
then we headed straight down to the gateway of india to try for elephanta island ..... but of course we could not go as it was threatening rain and the boats were not going so we decided to try again on Sunday
we had a delicious lunch at a real bakery and then we split up and went to the museums
I went to the Prince of Wales museum which was filled with all sorts of good stuff ... especially statues of hindu gods and goddesses
we had a nice cool down in Barista and then it was time for shopping!
we had a great time shopping on coloba broadway at the stalls linning the roadside
I brought a really cool maxi dress that is short enough for me and some jewellery - stone necklaces
we had dinner at Leopolds - leopolds is a mumbai travellers/expats institution - it was also targeted last year with the mumbai bombings which makes me a little scared as it is like right in the heart of tourist central
I had bad chilli pains so I had some spaghetti bolognaise and it was delicious
most interesting about leopolds was they served yardies on their beer menu and random french ladies asked you to pose for pics for their mag/newspaper articles
I went home early after dinner with linnea who ate some bad chicken and katsuko while the others went to a club near the maidens
Sunday 4 October
Mumbai part two
during the evening a massive storm hit mumbai, it was very firece electric, the lightening lit up like a light bulb and the thunder was so loud it was like a drum over your head .. so it was safe to say we did not get much sleep that night!
in the morning it was still raining so we made the decision over a delicious breakfast of semi normal bread, hard boiled egg and an amazing banana to find some other things to do instead of elephanta
so we went to gandhi's house which was pretty cool and we even managed to catch the bus there!
and then we went to see what was showing at the cinema but it was all in hindi so we spent a couple of hours at a bookshop with a cafe and then we went to have lunch at a very recommended restaurant by mumbaites and the guide book .... it had food from all over the world
it was ok, I wouldnt rave about it!
after lunch we walked through the maidens as the rain had stopped a bit to the shopping area to spend some time poking round in the department stores
it was a real treasure of a walk as we saw some great things like the university and some cool buildings and some neighbourhoods ... after a bit of a search we found the Bombay Store and had a good nosey round, they have some nice stuff, I brought another cushion - 'I love India'
then we went to Barista number 2 and had a drink while waiting for our train back to Pune
on the train on the way home we had sleepers so we had a bit more space and we could stretch out and sleep if we needed to
I read the whole way home, one and a bit books. our carriage was mainly full of young muslim men who looked very handsome in their white shirts and caps but they did not close the toilet door once they had finished and the smell in the carriage was unbelieveable and indescrible
Monday 5 October
the most memorable part of today was discussing at lunch with the teachers that we went to Mumbai for the weekend ...they couldn't believe it!
a new kid started who has a special need and his name is sonja and he loves me and gives me the 'eye' all the time - should teach me for trying to help him cut things
Tuesday 6 October
today Eszter came to visit us in the afternoon and we made pom poms
the kids loved making them and then pulling them all apart!
Eszter invited us over for coffee and ice cream and we had a great evening chatting
Wednesday 7 October
today was wednesday day off
the trefoil event started today and we had our hindi lesson in the lounge which kept getting interupted
then we rushed over to Karmini's school
Karmini is Kirti our yoga teacher's twin sister and she is the principle of a DES private school english medium
we had a great time listening to the kids recite poems and make diwali lanterns
in the afternoon we had our CVP meeting with Mina and Eszter and we did some things with the event like 'meet the family' and the crazy musical chairs game we all play
we also booked our goa accommodation - third time lucky and we went out to buy salt for making play doh and tried to get bus tickets to goa and back for our diwali holiday
Thursday 8 October
today decided to make a sign for when the trefoils come to visit us on their bus tour
we had drawn the outlines of the letters 'tara mobile creche nyati' and the kids coloured them and stuck all sorts of sequins and glitter all over them
in the afternoon we attempted to get the kids to do the alphabet with playdoh but they ended up making kitchen things like chapatti rollers and bowls but they all had a great time anyway
after work we decided to try and get these bus tickets for goa incase we had any trouble - we noticed a couple of travel agents in vishrantwadi but they were both closed/shut down so we caught a rickshaw into the train station and hit the travel agents lining the road by the train station ... after much negotiation we managed to get the tickets we needed for a semi reasonable price
we then went to get the train tickets for my birthday weekend in mumbai / the third attempt to get to elephanta island / shopping part two
we missed dinner completely and come home and went straight to laminate our sign - which turned out fantastically and really stunning ... so dinner was late but worthwhile
Friday 9 October
today we hung up our birds and attempted to hang our sign
and then we made diwali lanterns with the kids
it was international nite so we stayed in and had a laugh at the old ladies and their presentations
i did not know cinderella was a british fairy tale
Saturday 10 October
this morning we went to visit the buddhist meditation centre which is close to sangam
we learnt about the activities the buddhists are working on with the dialits
the dialits are the untouchables and are the subcaste which clean up human excretement
their work seems amazing, and much needed
after chai and questions we did a meditation which was scary kind of ... we sat on cushions, and did a breathing exercise with four parts but it made me a little dizzy and scared of falling the 6 inches to the ground from the cushion as well as my legs falling alseep
apparently buddha could sit for 3 hours cross legged - amazing!
in the afternoon a craft afternoon was organised, i wrote some diwali cards and did some shopping at the stalls which had come in from a couple of our community partners - maher and ishwari
in the evening we decided we needed pizza so went to pizza hut and then onto high spirits
Sunday 11 October
today we had to go and buy some bits for our site, like books and crayons and things
we went to the big bazzar as we had been suggested but it was rubbish just one big department store
so we ended up at landmark on MG road
in the afternoon I attempted to upload pics and videos but they did not work so I had a swim
it was tuna casserole for dinner so we went down the road to our local safe restaurant and had a nice dinner of nooodles and mango lassis
I will attempt to attach photos and video but as so many people use the internet here now our wireless connection is not as great and I have had too many failed attempts today
this was updated just for you anna xxx
Dessera - no work - holiday
we just relaxed around Sangam and painted some more pictures for our new creche's walls
gwen and jill left as their time had some to an end
Tuesday 29 September
back at our creche
we had fun with the kids as it had been a holiday and we were given a lot of money leaves
the money leaves need to be kept inside a book and they are worth their weight in gold
Wednesday 30 September
today was our usual wednesday off where we have our Hindi class
we also had a great day as we tried out a course at the polytechnic of the muslim girls orphanage
our choices were indian tie dyeing or candle making
I choose tie dyeing and it was so interesting once we saw our completed squares
in the evening jane, arielle and I went out with some guys jane met in Leh on a rafting trip
we had an interesting evening, saw some new parts of pune, and went to stonewater which is next to hard rock but is more techno
Thursday 1 October
today we were back at work and it was hard work!
we always find that we never do anything right with the kids
in the morning I took the little kids 4-6 and we did animals games while mollie took the older kids 6-14 with friendship bracelet making
in the afternoon we had a crazy time and made paper hats out of newspaper ... it was chaos but great fun and even two weeks later the kids still wear their hats in the afternoon
I felt really nauseaus and slept all afternoon/evening
we had a trefoil lady come early before their old lady event who collapsed and was in ICU for over a week with severe dehydration - so if you get the runs, do something about it don't ignore it!! especially in India
Friday 2 October
Gandhi's Birthday
holiday for mobile creche so .... I went to door step school
in the morning I cleaned our CVP area in the programme room, and tried to finish laminating my amazing flash cards
in the afternoon I went to help the swedes at door step school
door step school is another community organisation Sangam works with ... the kids seem more wealthy but there are some street kids who I amazingly got involved in a fun game of cat and mouse
I had an interesting rickshaw ride to door step school .... it cost me 100r and was a pune ticky tour!
Saturday 3 October
Mumbai
today we had an early start to catch our 7.15am train to mumbai and it was really fascinating ride, in the women's carriage ... it was all 5 cvp's mollie linnea sara katusko and i plus our new programme vols jane and arielle
we got to mumbai and went straight to our hostel - the salvation army red shield hostel, it was clean and cheap and had a good breakfast
then we headed straight down to the gateway of india to try for elephanta island ..... but of course we could not go as it was threatening rain and the boats were not going so we decided to try again on Sunday
we had a delicious lunch at a real bakery and then we split up and went to the museums
I went to the Prince of Wales museum which was filled with all sorts of good stuff ... especially statues of hindu gods and goddesses
we had a nice cool down in Barista and then it was time for shopping!
we had a great time shopping on coloba broadway at the stalls linning the roadside
I brought a really cool maxi dress that is short enough for me and some jewellery - stone necklaces
we had dinner at Leopolds - leopolds is a mumbai travellers/expats institution - it was also targeted last year with the mumbai bombings which makes me a little scared as it is like right in the heart of tourist central
I had bad chilli pains so I had some spaghetti bolognaise and it was delicious
most interesting about leopolds was they served yardies on their beer menu and random french ladies asked you to pose for pics for their mag/newspaper articles
I went home early after dinner with linnea who ate some bad chicken and katsuko while the others went to a club near the maidens
Sunday 4 October
Mumbai part two
during the evening a massive storm hit mumbai, it was very firece electric, the lightening lit up like a light bulb and the thunder was so loud it was like a drum over your head .. so it was safe to say we did not get much sleep that night!
in the morning it was still raining so we made the decision over a delicious breakfast of semi normal bread, hard boiled egg and an amazing banana to find some other things to do instead of elephanta
so we went to gandhi's house which was pretty cool and we even managed to catch the bus there!
and then we went to see what was showing at the cinema but it was all in hindi so we spent a couple of hours at a bookshop with a cafe and then we went to have lunch at a very recommended restaurant by mumbaites and the guide book .... it had food from all over the world
it was ok, I wouldnt rave about it!
after lunch we walked through the maidens as the rain had stopped a bit to the shopping area to spend some time poking round in the department stores
it was a real treasure of a walk as we saw some great things like the university and some cool buildings and some neighbourhoods ... after a bit of a search we found the Bombay Store and had a good nosey round, they have some nice stuff, I brought another cushion - 'I love India'
then we went to Barista number 2 and had a drink while waiting for our train back to Pune
on the train on the way home we had sleepers so we had a bit more space and we could stretch out and sleep if we needed to
I read the whole way home, one and a bit books. our carriage was mainly full of young muslim men who looked very handsome in their white shirts and caps but they did not close the toilet door once they had finished and the smell in the carriage was unbelieveable and indescrible
Monday 5 October
the most memorable part of today was discussing at lunch with the teachers that we went to Mumbai for the weekend ...they couldn't believe it!
a new kid started who has a special need and his name is sonja and he loves me and gives me the 'eye' all the time - should teach me for trying to help him cut things
Tuesday 6 October
today Eszter came to visit us in the afternoon and we made pom poms
the kids loved making them and then pulling them all apart!
Eszter invited us over for coffee and ice cream and we had a great evening chatting
Wednesday 7 October
today was wednesday day off
the trefoil event started today and we had our hindi lesson in the lounge which kept getting interupted
then we rushed over to Karmini's school
Karmini is Kirti our yoga teacher's twin sister and she is the principle of a DES private school english medium
we had a great time listening to the kids recite poems and make diwali lanterns
in the afternoon we had our CVP meeting with Mina and Eszter and we did some things with the event like 'meet the family' and the crazy musical chairs game we all play
we also booked our goa accommodation - third time lucky and we went out to buy salt for making play doh and tried to get bus tickets to goa and back for our diwali holiday
Thursday 8 October
today decided to make a sign for when the trefoils come to visit us on their bus tour
we had drawn the outlines of the letters 'tara mobile creche nyati' and the kids coloured them and stuck all sorts of sequins and glitter all over them
in the afternoon we attempted to get the kids to do the alphabet with playdoh but they ended up making kitchen things like chapatti rollers and bowls but they all had a great time anyway
after work we decided to try and get these bus tickets for goa incase we had any trouble - we noticed a couple of travel agents in vishrantwadi but they were both closed/shut down so we caught a rickshaw into the train station and hit the travel agents lining the road by the train station ... after much negotiation we managed to get the tickets we needed for a semi reasonable price
we then went to get the train tickets for my birthday weekend in mumbai / the third attempt to get to elephanta island / shopping part two
we missed dinner completely and come home and went straight to laminate our sign - which turned out fantastically and really stunning ... so dinner was late but worthwhile
Friday 9 October
today we hung up our birds and attempted to hang our sign
and then we made diwali lanterns with the kids
it was international nite so we stayed in and had a laugh at the old ladies and their presentations
i did not know cinderella was a british fairy tale
Saturday 10 October
this morning we went to visit the buddhist meditation centre which is close to sangam
we learnt about the activities the buddhists are working on with the dialits
the dialits are the untouchables and are the subcaste which clean up human excretement
their work seems amazing, and much needed
after chai and questions we did a meditation which was scary kind of ... we sat on cushions, and did a breathing exercise with four parts but it made me a little dizzy and scared of falling the 6 inches to the ground from the cushion as well as my legs falling alseep
apparently buddha could sit for 3 hours cross legged - amazing!
in the afternoon a craft afternoon was organised, i wrote some diwali cards and did some shopping at the stalls which had come in from a couple of our community partners - maher and ishwari
in the evening we decided we needed pizza so went to pizza hut and then onto high spirits
Sunday 11 October
today we had to go and buy some bits for our site, like books and crayons and things
we went to the big bazzar as we had been suggested but it was rubbish just one big department store
so we ended up at landmark on MG road
in the afternoon I attempted to upload pics and videos but they did not work so I had a swim
it was tuna casserole for dinner so we went down the road to our local safe restaurant and had a nice dinner of nooodles and mango lassis
I will attempt to attach photos and video but as so many people use the internet here now our wireless connection is not as great and I have had too many failed attempts today
this was updated just for you anna xxx
Friday, October 02, 2009
Sunday 27 September
today one of the old vols Manisha left as their time has come to an end
we decided to head to MG road early to collect our tailoring
it was so exciting getting our things from the tailor
my punjabi looks great with the skinny legs and my paisley silk top
in the afternoon we just relaxed, swum again
in the evening we joined Jill and Gwen for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe Pune
for a delicious cheese and bacon burger
we decided to head to MG road early to collect our tailoring
it was so exciting getting our things from the tailor
my punjabi looks great with the skinny legs and my paisley silk top
in the afternoon we just relaxed, swum again
in the evening we joined Jill and Gwen for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe Pune
for a delicious cheese and bacon burger
Friday 24 September
today Mollie and I spent a large majority of the day pasting newspaper onto the walls
It was good fun, we read out the movie section with the kids, discussed harry potter and other films showing in the cinemas in Pune
As it was the old vols last friday night in town we had a night out, starting at High Spirits
for some reason we got there late - think we must have enjoyed dinner somewhere
oh yea .... we saw the film UP at Inox near Pune University
it was great! definately worth seeing and very pertinent to Sangam !!! GG GS
there was a live band at High Spirits, we enjoyed passionfruit moijitos and had a good dance
we then headed to Casanova which is a bar open later and has dancing, it is supposed to be Bollywood themed but we danced to the same stuff as at High spirits
It was good fun, we read out the movie section with the kids, discussed harry potter and other films showing in the cinemas in Pune
As it was the old vols last friday night in town we had a night out, starting at High Spirits
for some reason we got there late - think we must have enjoyed dinner somewhere
oh yea .... we saw the film UP at Inox near Pune University
it was great! definately worth seeing and very pertinent to Sangam !!! GG GS
there was a live band at High Spirits, we enjoyed passionfruit moijitos and had a good dance
we then headed to Casanova which is a bar open later and has dancing, it is supposed to be Bollywood themed but we danced to the same stuff as at High spirits
Thursday 23 September
today we were back to our lovely new mobile creche site
we had a great time with Arielle who had come to our site for a C.A P as part of her new vol training
we had decided to make birds to go in our massive jungle - made from toilet paper rolls, straws and all sorts of other great stuff
It was the first day Mollie and I had given different groups to work with and it worked well
I had the 2-4 year olds and they all just sat round me while I made their birds for them
while the kids were having lunch Mollie and I started pasting the walls with our posters and newspapers
After lunch I helped the kids settle down to sleep and Mollie was up the ladder
we had a great time with Arielle who had come to our site for a C.A P as part of her new vol training
we had decided to make birds to go in our massive jungle - made from toilet paper rolls, straws and all sorts of other great stuff
It was the first day Mollie and I had given different groups to work with and it worked well
I had the 2-4 year olds and they all just sat round me while I made their birds for them
while the kids were having lunch Mollie and I started pasting the walls with our posters and newspapers
After lunch I helped the kids settle down to sleep and Mollie was up the ladder
Wednesday 23 September
Today was Wednesday day off and it was an action packed day
we had our weekly Hindi lesson - rickshaw conversations
Then it was time for our day trip with the other PV's the old and the new
First it was onto Ishwari. Ishwari is an organisation Sangam works with where girls from villages go and learn skills like sewing and embrodiery and cooking
Skills to help them when they are married and need a skill to help earn money for the family
When I was at Sangam two years ago I helped paint the stage with with waari art
Then we had lunch at Tulapur - this is very pretty where three rivers meet
there is a picturesque temple and we had these amazing bajies - onion and potato
Then it was onto Anand Gram
Anand Gram was the site of our Project Awhina two years ago where we painted four of the school's classrooms
It was a strange feeling going back to Anand Gram as we spent so much time and energy there
It was good to see the improvements especially the new dining hall
It was strange to see the classrooms as last time we saw them they were all sparkly and new
they have lasted well and that was good to see
we had our weekly Hindi lesson - rickshaw conversations
Then it was time for our day trip with the other PV's the old and the new
First it was onto Ishwari. Ishwari is an organisation Sangam works with where girls from villages go and learn skills like sewing and embrodiery and cooking
Skills to help them when they are married and need a skill to help earn money for the family
When I was at Sangam two years ago I helped paint the stage with with waari art
Then we had lunch at Tulapur - this is very pretty where three rivers meet
there is a picturesque temple and we had these amazing bajies - onion and potato
Then it was onto Anand Gram
Anand Gram was the site of our Project Awhina two years ago where we painted four of the school's classrooms
It was a strange feeling going back to Anand Gram as we spent so much time and energy there
It was good to see the improvements especially the new dining hall
It was strange to see the classrooms as last time we saw them they were all sparkly and new
they have lasted well and that was good to see
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