2 weeks ago I landed back in England after the most fabulous summer imaginable.
Challenging, exciting, interesting, heart-breaking, fun and a million more things, it was the best experience I could have hoped for.
So now I have gone thru all of my pictures here are links to all the albums. Unfortunately I can't post any pics of the kids, particularly those from Bangalore - I would hate for any misuse or for it to affect a possible adoption.
Here goes...
Goa & Mumbai: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=101946&id=273100314&l=136c4809be
Beginning of Bangalore adventures (inc. Mysore): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=104356&id=273100314&l=a572892eaa
Weekends away - Hampi & Kerala: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=106967&id=273100314&l=9f94b0e9c7
Fun times in Bangalore: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=106996&id=273100314&l=214f34decf
Drawing to an end of a fabulous summer (inc. the amazing, if slightly theme-park'ish' Shiva Temple!): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=107000&id=273100314&l=d881559bce
Enjoy! xx
Wednesday, 2 September 2009
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
New photos!
Another album, Hampi and Kerala...
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3793717&l=cdc3856394&id=273100314
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3793717&l=cdc3856394&id=273100314
Saturday, 15 August 2009
Last weekend in Bangalore...
So the time has finally come to leave India, a prospect I have mixed feelings about. I'm so sad to end the amazing experience this has been and leave the children I have quickly grown to love at the orphanage, plus leave a country that has challenged me in so many ways. At the same time home means seeing family and friends who I have missed and who have supported me the whole time I've been here, plus Heather's wedding a week from today!!
Last weekend I had a day in Bangalore on Sat - seeing the Iskcon Temple - a massive modern Hare Krishna temple which was great to see and very intense, The Bull Temple - a small Hindu temple but very nice and Tipu's Summer Palace - a nice 'shell' of what was once a beautiful small palace with some nice gardens. I then went and did a little shopping, can't resist the bargains!!!
Sunday saw a trip to the Shivanasmudra Falls - amazing natural beauty, went to 2 sights, the second involving one hell of a hike down some uneven 'steps' down to the waters edge in the heat then a little boat ride to the falls. Really beautiful and nice to see something thats a contrast to architecture.
This week has been quite sad knowing its my last at the orphanage - the children are fantastic considering their enthusiasm and friendly nature despite some horrific backgrounds. Although teaching has been a challenge at times (the week and a half with no teachers leaving me and 1-2 other volunteers in complete control after only 2 days with them pushed me to my limit) I have enjoyed working, playing and being with them so much. I was actually quite emotional on friday when i left, especially when some were asking 'you coming tomorrow aunty? you come monday?' Unfortunately some bad ice left me unable to go thurs and fri morning (NEVER AGAIN!) so i missed my own leaving party and cake!! but i still got to say my goodbye. What makes me abit happier is knowing the children are all at some point adopted and go to new homes where they will get the childhood and love they deserve, 2 are expected to leave in the next month for their new homes which is very heartwarming.
This morning Adam and I went along to the local park to the flag hoisting ceremony for Independence Day. Not knowing what to expect I was really touched that the local residents welcomed us giving us little badges and sweets, chatting to us about where we were from, what we were doing, how we liked India and telling us about their lives whilst the crowd congregated watching incense be lit, and awaiting a member of parliament come to raise the flag and all to sing the national anthem. It was nice to be part of a small celebration and be welcomed so openly.
The rest of this weekend I plan to eat nice food (provided my stomach will allow it!!), go to Cubbon Park and maybe Lalbagh Botanical Gardens and have a meal with the other volunteers. Then its a taxi Sunday 6pm for my first flight at 9.30pm, ouch!
When I return I will post more photos, i'm currently upto 1800+ so just a few!!!
love xx
Last weekend I had a day in Bangalore on Sat - seeing the Iskcon Temple - a massive modern Hare Krishna temple which was great to see and very intense, The Bull Temple - a small Hindu temple but very nice and Tipu's Summer Palace - a nice 'shell' of what was once a beautiful small palace with some nice gardens. I then went and did a little shopping, can't resist the bargains!!!
Sunday saw a trip to the Shivanasmudra Falls - amazing natural beauty, went to 2 sights, the second involving one hell of a hike down some uneven 'steps' down to the waters edge in the heat then a little boat ride to the falls. Really beautiful and nice to see something thats a contrast to architecture.
This week has been quite sad knowing its my last at the orphanage - the children are fantastic considering their enthusiasm and friendly nature despite some horrific backgrounds. Although teaching has been a challenge at times (the week and a half with no teachers leaving me and 1-2 other volunteers in complete control after only 2 days with them pushed me to my limit) I have enjoyed working, playing and being with them so much. I was actually quite emotional on friday when i left, especially when some were asking 'you coming tomorrow aunty? you come monday?' Unfortunately some bad ice left me unable to go thurs and fri morning (NEVER AGAIN!) so i missed my own leaving party and cake!! but i still got to say my goodbye. What makes me abit happier is knowing the children are all at some point adopted and go to new homes where they will get the childhood and love they deserve, 2 are expected to leave in the next month for their new homes which is very heartwarming.
This morning Adam and I went along to the local park to the flag hoisting ceremony for Independence Day. Not knowing what to expect I was really touched that the local residents welcomed us giving us little badges and sweets, chatting to us about where we were from, what we were doing, how we liked India and telling us about their lives whilst the crowd congregated watching incense be lit, and awaiting a member of parliament come to raise the flag and all to sing the national anthem. It was nice to be part of a small celebration and be welcomed so openly.
The rest of this weekend I plan to eat nice food (provided my stomach will allow it!!), go to Cubbon Park and maybe Lalbagh Botanical Gardens and have a meal with the other volunteers. Then its a taxi Sunday 6pm for my first flight at 9.30pm, ouch!
When I return I will post more photos, i'm currently upto 1800+ so just a few!!!
love xx
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Update finally!
So upon arriving in Bangalore my life has just been crazy! Busy everyday and most nights even if its just all the volunteers meeting up and having a chat I think I'm going to need to sleep for a month when I return!!
I'm going to try do a quick summary of my times in Bangalore so far...
Week 1 - Arrived, met all the lovely volunteers and chilled out for a few days meeting up for lunch and going shopping - amazing for clothes, jewellery!!! Tuesday night i went to a cooking class with Taylor & Steph, so hopefully i can cook some good stuff when i return! out thurs eve to Beach :) Thurs and Fri started at the orphanage where I now volunteer 10am-4.30pm mon - fri, its exhausting but rewarding all the same. The kids and staff are brilliant. A special thanks to Eli who showed me around.
Weekend 1 - Sat - Went with one of the guys Trish to Mysore for the day - amazing!! finally getting there on the 'super fast' bus (hhm) we saw as much as we possibly could ; Srirangapatnam - temples, a mosque, death place of Tipu Sultan, the tomb of Tipu Sultan, Fort, Summer Palace, Gumbaz Mausoleum. Back to Mysore itself then for lunch and then onto St Philomena's church (beautiful gothic building) Chamundi Hill (my 1st visit in a temple and lots of monkeys!! also amazing views) then back to Mysore Palace. Which at 7pm was lit up - POSSIBLY THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE EVER!! i fell in love with it and was gobsmacked!
Sun - met all the other newbies and we went to Bannaghatta National Park for the day - seeing Elephants, bears, tigers (inc white tigers) lions, deer - really nice. In the evening we went for a farewell to Trish/welcome to the new people drinks at Beach which was really nice.
Week 2 passed in a blur! Orientation, Lunch and shopping on monday followed by Harry Potter in the eve - ancient cinema but 100 rupees a ticket (just over a quid) you cant complain!! The orphanage was a CHALLENGE this week - no teacher as she was ill then the other teacher for the younger ones also went off sick - this meant with 2 days experience I and other volunteers (some mornings there was me and a 15 yr old girl) were looking after and trying to teach 16-20 crazy children!! Tiring, hard, challenging at times when you have to discipline, it certainly took volunteering to the extreme.
Weekend of this week was fantastic tho!! Fri saw 9 of us trek upto Hampi for the weekend - 5 of us (me, anna, kirsty, eilidh, jon) went on the overnight train - 3 tier non a/c - what an experience!! we were expecting harry potter style trains, it wasnt(!) but it got us there with some sleep and a western toilet!! Hampi was amazing - over 4000 sites of ruins - temples, palaces etc. A chilled out sat day then an afternoon evening walk up the biggest rocky hill (i swear it was a mountain!!!) to see the most breath taking views before sunset. getting down was another group bonding experience - barefoot often sitting down sliding down dodgy bits!! a nice meal (after waiting upto 2 hours for food) then another day of ruins and shopping on sunday closed a fantastic weekend - then the train back on sunday night!!
Week 3 - Another blur -monday especially as I had broken sleep on the train then straight to work after a quick shower and breakfast. No teacher again i nearly cried (actually i did on tuesday it was a tough day!!) Monday eve i got to see Jenny my coordinator from Goa who was visiting Bangalore - lovely to see here and catch up :) Tuesday was another cooking class - perfecting my aloo paratha, lime rice and learning channa masala (chickpea masala - so tasty!!) Wed the teacher came back to the orphanage so a big improvement there and after work i could pick up my outfit ive had made to measure!! A gorgeous maroon/turquoise/gold dress, turquoise pants, and a scarf with all the colours in :D Wed another visit to Beach for drinks chatting and dancing, all good fun!
Thurs was a day at the orphanage then a quick dash to the train station to catch the overnight train to Kochin in Kerala.
Weekend 3 - Kerala!! A lovely 3 day chillout - fri was spent wandering round Fort Cochin, Mantancherry and Jew Town (yes its really called that, a road called synagogue lane, and a synagogue called Pardesi - white jew.) (a shame the dutch palace and synagogue were closed but nice to see everything all the same. Saw the chinese fishing nets, remains of the old fort also and had a nicely timed seafood thali lunch whilst it poured down!! Fri was a lovely meal in a fancy hotel.
Sat saw 7 of the 10 of us go to the Backwaters for a cruise on a houseboat, tour of a village including a very loooooooooong time spent on coconuts and plants - all very interesting but the guide was abit forceful with his facts!! a gorgeous thali lunch then a cruise down the narrow backwater canals on a canoe - so relaxing esp after the stop for some chai! In the eve we went to a restaurant on the roof of a hotel - abit of a din from the traffic but lovely all the same.
Sun was a chill out day for me, after rudely being made to check out at 8am (they wanted 6am!!) we stayed in the area where we were staying - Ernakulam - went for b'fast, a walk, to an art gallery, and shopping before grabbing food before the coach journey home!!
(not alot nice to say about the coach journey having been at the back under the air con unit - cold and bumpy journey not much sleep and straight to work monday no time for a nap!!)
This week so far has seen me go to watch Love Aaj Kal (not sure on the spelling) - a bollywood film and out to a bar/restaurant called Zara's last night - lots of fun. Its cooking class tonight then an early night to bed- i'm exhausted!!
lots of love to all :) xx
I'm going to try do a quick summary of my times in Bangalore so far...
Week 1 - Arrived, met all the lovely volunteers and chilled out for a few days meeting up for lunch and going shopping - amazing for clothes, jewellery!!! Tuesday night i went to a cooking class with Taylor & Steph, so hopefully i can cook some good stuff when i return! out thurs eve to Beach :) Thurs and Fri started at the orphanage where I now volunteer 10am-4.30pm mon - fri, its exhausting but rewarding all the same. The kids and staff are brilliant. A special thanks to Eli who showed me around.
Weekend 1 - Sat - Went with one of the guys Trish to Mysore for the day - amazing!! finally getting there on the 'super fast' bus (hhm) we saw as much as we possibly could ; Srirangapatnam - temples, a mosque, death place of Tipu Sultan, the tomb of Tipu Sultan, Fort, Summer Palace, Gumbaz Mausoleum. Back to Mysore itself then for lunch and then onto St Philomena's church (beautiful gothic building) Chamundi Hill (my 1st visit in a temple and lots of monkeys!! also amazing views) then back to Mysore Palace. Which at 7pm was lit up - POSSIBLY THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE EVER!! i fell in love with it and was gobsmacked!
Sun - met all the other newbies and we went to Bannaghatta National Park for the day - seeing Elephants, bears, tigers (inc white tigers) lions, deer - really nice. In the evening we went for a farewell to Trish/welcome to the new people drinks at Beach which was really nice.
Week 2 passed in a blur! Orientation, Lunch and shopping on monday followed by Harry Potter in the eve - ancient cinema but 100 rupees a ticket (just over a quid) you cant complain!! The orphanage was a CHALLENGE this week - no teacher as she was ill then the other teacher for the younger ones also went off sick - this meant with 2 days experience I and other volunteers (some mornings there was me and a 15 yr old girl) were looking after and trying to teach 16-20 crazy children!! Tiring, hard, challenging at times when you have to discipline, it certainly took volunteering to the extreme.
Weekend of this week was fantastic tho!! Fri saw 9 of us trek upto Hampi for the weekend - 5 of us (me, anna, kirsty, eilidh, jon) went on the overnight train - 3 tier non a/c - what an experience!! we were expecting harry potter style trains, it wasnt(!) but it got us there with some sleep and a western toilet!! Hampi was amazing - over 4000 sites of ruins - temples, palaces etc. A chilled out sat day then an afternoon evening walk up the biggest rocky hill (i swear it was a mountain!!!) to see the most breath taking views before sunset. getting down was another group bonding experience - barefoot often sitting down sliding down dodgy bits!! a nice meal (after waiting upto 2 hours for food) then another day of ruins and shopping on sunday closed a fantastic weekend - then the train back on sunday night!!
Week 3 - Another blur -monday especially as I had broken sleep on the train then straight to work after a quick shower and breakfast. No teacher again i nearly cried (actually i did on tuesday it was a tough day!!) Monday eve i got to see Jenny my coordinator from Goa who was visiting Bangalore - lovely to see here and catch up :) Tuesday was another cooking class - perfecting my aloo paratha, lime rice and learning channa masala (chickpea masala - so tasty!!) Wed the teacher came back to the orphanage so a big improvement there and after work i could pick up my outfit ive had made to measure!! A gorgeous maroon/turquoise/gold dress, turquoise pants, and a scarf with all the colours in :D Wed another visit to Beach for drinks chatting and dancing, all good fun!
Thurs was a day at the orphanage then a quick dash to the train station to catch the overnight train to Kochin in Kerala.
Weekend 3 - Kerala!! A lovely 3 day chillout - fri was spent wandering round Fort Cochin, Mantancherry and Jew Town (yes its really called that, a road called synagogue lane, and a synagogue called Pardesi - white jew.) (a shame the dutch palace and synagogue were closed but nice to see everything all the same. Saw the chinese fishing nets, remains of the old fort also and had a nicely timed seafood thali lunch whilst it poured down!! Fri was a lovely meal in a fancy hotel.
Sat saw 7 of the 10 of us go to the Backwaters for a cruise on a houseboat, tour of a village including a very loooooooooong time spent on coconuts and plants - all very interesting but the guide was abit forceful with his facts!! a gorgeous thali lunch then a cruise down the narrow backwater canals on a canoe - so relaxing esp after the stop for some chai! In the eve we went to a restaurant on the roof of a hotel - abit of a din from the traffic but lovely all the same.
Sun was a chill out day for me, after rudely being made to check out at 8am (they wanted 6am!!) we stayed in the area where we were staying - Ernakulam - went for b'fast, a walk, to an art gallery, and shopping before grabbing food before the coach journey home!!
(not alot nice to say about the coach journey having been at the back under the air con unit - cold and bumpy journey not much sleep and straight to work monday no time for a nap!!)
This week so far has seen me go to watch Love Aaj Kal (not sure on the spelling) - a bollywood film and out to a bar/restaurant called Zara's last night - lots of fun. Its cooking class tonight then an early night to bed- i'm exhausted!!
lots of love to all :) xx
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
New photos!
Just uploaded some final pictures of Goa in the previous album
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=101946&id=273100314&l=136c4809be
Now trying my hardest to upload some pictures I've taken in Bangalore, Mysore and the National Park - theres hundreds so its just a selection!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=104356&id=273100314&l=a572892eaa
:) x
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=101946&id=273100314&l=136c4809be
Now trying my hardest to upload some pictures I've taken in Bangalore, Mysore and the National Park - theres hundreds so its just a selection!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=104356&id=273100314&l=a572892eaa
:) x
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Arrived in Bangalore!!
Hey all,
just a quick post to let you know I arrived in Bangalore safely and just getting used to my new surroundings :) Its so busy here I'm abit shell-shocked I think, but the others are really nice and making sure they invite me to things!
Already been to a cooking class, bought some jewellery and ordered a couple of outfits, phew! (spending alot of money, ah!)
I will post later this week with full details, theres lots to tell.
Love fran xxx
just a quick post to let you know I arrived in Bangalore safely and just getting used to my new surroundings :) Its so busy here I'm abit shell-shocked I think, but the others are really nice and making sure they invite me to things!
Already been to a cooking class, bought some jewellery and ordered a couple of outfits, phew! (spending alot of money, ah!)
I will post later this week with full details, theres lots to tell.
Love fran xxx
Saturday, 11 July 2009
What a week and a half....
Its been a while since i blogged and I'm not really sure where to start!!
Last tuesday I started with pains in my stomach chest and back but thought i was just abit run down so stayed in Tues eve and all of Wednesday (including missing a night of shopping!!) By thursday i was still aching but not as much so thought it would pass and went off to my projects, school in the morning and the orphanage in the afternoon. With a full appetite I had loads to eat at tea, including 2 large helpings of Goan sausage -VERRRRRRRY SPICY!!! Friday i woke up to have the tight chest, aching stomach and then a bad back but went to school anyway. BIG MISTAKE!!
By the time school finished i couldnt breath properly and could barely walk - i got home just about (crying, yes how embarassing) and collapsed on my bed - i say collapsed i mean gently sat down and cried some more as any movement i made caused so much pain :( A trip to the doctor (who may i add poked and prodded me so hard i cried some more) a trip to hospital in Mapusa to have an ultrasound of my chest, stomach abdomen and uterus showed nothing so back to the doctor who gave me some anti-acid tablets and told me NO PAINKILLERS.
There started my worst weekend in Goa, thankfully the other girls and my homestay looked after me so well i was in bed all weekend barely moving or eating as any movement caused so much pain, i get pains remembering it now. By sunday night i just wanted to come home!!
Monday morning Debbie who lives in the house where I'm staying took me with Michelle one of the other girls to hospital in Candolim (the next town down) where i was admitted straight away, given some pain relief and put on an i/v drip for 3 days and told I wasnt allowed any food, though i had no appetite. (I say hospital, tho it was more like an old run down nursing place run by nuns, lol.) I had another ultrasound which this time showed inflamation and tension my large intestine so least they found something :)
In my room there was another bed so thankfully Michelle stayed with me Monday day, Tuesday day & night, and Jenny my coordinator from i-to-i stayed with me on monday night - i don't know what I'd have done without them :) I also need to thank my mum and dad for ringing me everyday multiple times a day to check on me and those who text me - i was so down and pretty lonely it really helped me :)
If anyone knows me they'll know my fear of needles and blood so you can imagine how sick i felt with all the injections going through my i/v and the drips i was on!! the room was basic but clean (apparently) - with another bed for guests. Too many flies for my liking and Michelle woke upto a COCKROACH on her on wed morning which neither of us were too happy about, esp when the nurses shrugged it off and wouldnt kill it!! The doctor believes a combination of a reaction to spicy food and my malaria tablets that caused the pain - so its bland food for me now and im off the tablets, so far so good :)
Thankfully i am much better now after having my last injections on thursday (i was released wed night to come home to sleep but went back in the morning - ive never been so glad to leave a hospital!!) and was able to visit both the school and the orphanage to say good bye yesterday which was quite emotional. I'm sad i missed out on this week and will miss all the children. I left lots of sweets at the school and the orphanage as i've already taken in paper and pencil crayons and didnt want anything the children could fight over or something that could be kept from them :)
I move onto Bangalore on monday so im just chilling out for my last weekend in Goa :) All the other volunteers have gone to Mumbai so im having a quiet one - will do some last minute shopping and visit the beach again. My first week in Bangalore is free thankfully so I'll just slowly explore and carry on recovering :) I'll miss the homestay family I have had the pleasure of living with whilst here, Debbie Richard Dorothy and their parents are all lovely and are always there to have a chat and a laugh.
I hope Bangalore brings more adventures but none to hospitals or medically related!!!
I'm off now to have a wander. Lots of love to everyone xxx
Last tuesday I started with pains in my stomach chest and back but thought i was just abit run down so stayed in Tues eve and all of Wednesday (including missing a night of shopping!!) By thursday i was still aching but not as much so thought it would pass and went off to my projects, school in the morning and the orphanage in the afternoon. With a full appetite I had loads to eat at tea, including 2 large helpings of Goan sausage -VERRRRRRRY SPICY!!! Friday i woke up to have the tight chest, aching stomach and then a bad back but went to school anyway. BIG MISTAKE!!
By the time school finished i couldnt breath properly and could barely walk - i got home just about (crying, yes how embarassing) and collapsed on my bed - i say collapsed i mean gently sat down and cried some more as any movement i made caused so much pain :( A trip to the doctor (who may i add poked and prodded me so hard i cried some more) a trip to hospital in Mapusa to have an ultrasound of my chest, stomach abdomen and uterus showed nothing so back to the doctor who gave me some anti-acid tablets and told me NO PAINKILLERS.
There started my worst weekend in Goa, thankfully the other girls and my homestay looked after me so well i was in bed all weekend barely moving or eating as any movement caused so much pain, i get pains remembering it now. By sunday night i just wanted to come home!!
Monday morning Debbie who lives in the house where I'm staying took me with Michelle one of the other girls to hospital in Candolim (the next town down) where i was admitted straight away, given some pain relief and put on an i/v drip for 3 days and told I wasnt allowed any food, though i had no appetite. (I say hospital, tho it was more like an old run down nursing place run by nuns, lol.) I had another ultrasound which this time showed inflamation and tension my large intestine so least they found something :)
In my room there was another bed so thankfully Michelle stayed with me Monday day, Tuesday day & night, and Jenny my coordinator from i-to-i stayed with me on monday night - i don't know what I'd have done without them :) I also need to thank my mum and dad for ringing me everyday multiple times a day to check on me and those who text me - i was so down and pretty lonely it really helped me :)
If anyone knows me they'll know my fear of needles and blood so you can imagine how sick i felt with all the injections going through my i/v and the drips i was on!! the room was basic but clean (apparently) - with another bed for guests. Too many flies for my liking and Michelle woke upto a COCKROACH on her on wed morning which neither of us were too happy about, esp when the nurses shrugged it off and wouldnt kill it!! The doctor believes a combination of a reaction to spicy food and my malaria tablets that caused the pain - so its bland food for me now and im off the tablets, so far so good :)
Thankfully i am much better now after having my last injections on thursday (i was released wed night to come home to sleep but went back in the morning - ive never been so glad to leave a hospital!!) and was able to visit both the school and the orphanage to say good bye yesterday which was quite emotional. I'm sad i missed out on this week and will miss all the children. I left lots of sweets at the school and the orphanage as i've already taken in paper and pencil crayons and didnt want anything the children could fight over or something that could be kept from them :)
I move onto Bangalore on monday so im just chilling out for my last weekend in Goa :) All the other volunteers have gone to Mumbai so im having a quiet one - will do some last minute shopping and visit the beach again. My first week in Bangalore is free thankfully so I'll just slowly explore and carry on recovering :) I'll miss the homestay family I have had the pleasure of living with whilst here, Debbie Richard Dorothy and their parents are all lovely and are always there to have a chat and a laugh.
I hope Bangalore brings more adventures but none to hospitals or medically related!!!
I'm off now to have a wander. Lots of love to everyone xxx
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Photos!!
So i've finally made it onto a computer that will let me upload some photos, about time! They on facebook in an open album as i cant seem to upload on here yet, will work out how soon tho :)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=101946&id=273100314&l=136c4809be
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=101946&id=273100314&l=136c4809be
Quick post!
Hello all
As the sun is shining this is just going to be a quick post - need to make the most of it as it rained so much last week!
The weekend trip wasnt as good as expected due to it raining so much but i still enjoyed getting out of calangute and goa for abit! We travelled so far up the hills the views were amazing until we went up into the cloud and just saw white and got soaked!! Saw some monkeys, saw the waterfall (not enough water for my liking, monsoon season and all!) and saw a couple of temples, tho they were more like outside shrines than temples.
Friday night was very fun, went to a restaurant/bar called Take5 which was playing abit of live jazz and had dessert and drinks, then went to Cafe Mambos for drinks and a dance! Good fun but after a while i felt uncomfortable as there were a few creeps in there who i didnt like.
Sunday we went on a long walk, up from the house into the hills (complete with horror film style bones leading the way to an abbatoir, animal carcases in full view, not nice, scary dogs and children following us!) We came back and walked to Candolim, stopping off at Cafe Coffee Day for lunch, did abit of shopping (school supplies for me) then stopped for another drink to avoid the rain before finally walking all the way back to Calangute :)
This week its back to school and the orphanage. My prep is paying off as the kids are learning and i'm growing in confidence at teaching them and being strict (without beating.) The orphanage has many helpers i'm starting to feel abit obsolete so not enjoying that so much, espedially as the girls tell me they have no homework only for the sister to come tell me off for not making them work. Ah well.
Off to the markets again tonight, spend some more money!!
My simcard wont send messages to UK numbers anymore but still charges me (only worked out sun/mon that no one had received my messages for the last WEEK!!) So thts causing some grief, trying to get it fixed with the network but i may just end up getting a new sim card on a different network.
Hope everyone is well and please email me or send a message on here or facebook as that seems to be the way i'll have to respond for the time being.
Love xxx
As the sun is shining this is just going to be a quick post - need to make the most of it as it rained so much last week!
The weekend trip wasnt as good as expected due to it raining so much but i still enjoyed getting out of calangute and goa for abit! We travelled so far up the hills the views were amazing until we went up into the cloud and just saw white and got soaked!! Saw some monkeys, saw the waterfall (not enough water for my liking, monsoon season and all!) and saw a couple of temples, tho they were more like outside shrines than temples.
Friday night was very fun, went to a restaurant/bar called Take5 which was playing abit of live jazz and had dessert and drinks, then went to Cafe Mambos for drinks and a dance! Good fun but after a while i felt uncomfortable as there were a few creeps in there who i didnt like.
Sunday we went on a long walk, up from the house into the hills (complete with horror film style bones leading the way to an abbatoir, animal carcases in full view, not nice, scary dogs and children following us!) We came back and walked to Candolim, stopping off at Cafe Coffee Day for lunch, did abit of shopping (school supplies for me) then stopped for another drink to avoid the rain before finally walking all the way back to Calangute :)
This week its back to school and the orphanage. My prep is paying off as the kids are learning and i'm growing in confidence at teaching them and being strict (without beating.) The orphanage has many helpers i'm starting to feel abit obsolete so not enjoying that so much, espedially as the girls tell me they have no homework only for the sister to come tell me off for not making them work. Ah well.
Off to the markets again tonight, spend some more money!!
My simcard wont send messages to UK numbers anymore but still charges me (only worked out sun/mon that no one had received my messages for the last WEEK!!) So thts causing some grief, trying to get it fixed with the network but i may just end up getting a new sim card on a different network.
Hope everyone is well and please email me or send a message on here or facebook as that seems to be the way i'll have to respond for the time being.
Love xxx
Thursday, 25 June 2009
another week half way through..
Been a funny week, I have good days and bad days with the school. I've started doing prep on an evening for the following day - posters or drawings to use as teaching aids as the teacher has one tiny a5 book to use at the moment. The pictures have helped and im becoming more confident at taking charge and instructing the children. So far we've learnt body parts, shapes and fruit. Its colours tomorrow!
The teacher i'm with is very strict though, often hitting the children or using the wooden ruler to hit them which i find really uncomfortable. As the parents still havent paid book money the childrens books cant be ordered so its blackboard and chanting for the time being. I bought lots of colouring books and crayons for the children but they remain locked in a cupboard so I'm going to ask again when they can be used. I'm lucky though my class has 30 children, some are left for ages with a class of 60 or 40 screaming nursery children and no teacher all day in one case!!
Went for dessert (chocolate cake and ice cream, mmm) last night then bought afew more things, cropped trousers for 120 rupees, a dress for 150, both less than 2 pounds each! The weather had been fine all evening but as we walked back the heavens opened and despite my umbrella we got completely soaked!! I suppose this shouldnt surprise me as its monsoon season....!
We're planning to go out to Cafe Mambo on Friday which should be fun, its Mary's last weekend who i lived with in my first two weeks :) On Saturday a few of us are taking a a trip abit further north of Goa to see some Waterfalls and Temples and perhaps some monkeys which will be fun, I'll take lots of pics. Still trying to persuade the internet cafe people to let me use my usb for my memory card to show you all some pics, oh well!
A little well done to all my friends who've finished their degrees, congrats whatever you got :)
Anyway gota run, lots of love to everyone if ive forgotten anything i'll do a post tomorrow xxxx
The teacher i'm with is very strict though, often hitting the children or using the wooden ruler to hit them which i find really uncomfortable. As the parents still havent paid book money the childrens books cant be ordered so its blackboard and chanting for the time being. I bought lots of colouring books and crayons for the children but they remain locked in a cupboard so I'm going to ask again when they can be used. I'm lucky though my class has 30 children, some are left for ages with a class of 60 or 40 screaming nursery children and no teacher all day in one case!!
Went for dessert (chocolate cake and ice cream, mmm) last night then bought afew more things, cropped trousers for 120 rupees, a dress for 150, both less than 2 pounds each! The weather had been fine all evening but as we walked back the heavens opened and despite my umbrella we got completely soaked!! I suppose this shouldnt surprise me as its monsoon season....!
We're planning to go out to Cafe Mambo on Friday which should be fun, its Mary's last weekend who i lived with in my first two weeks :) On Saturday a few of us are taking a a trip abit further north of Goa to see some Waterfalls and Temples and perhaps some monkeys which will be fun, I'll take lots of pics. Still trying to persuade the internet cafe people to let me use my usb for my memory card to show you all some pics, oh well!
A little well done to all my friends who've finished their degrees, congrats whatever you got :)
Anyway gota run, lots of love to everyone if ive forgotten anything i'll do a post tomorrow xxxx
Friday, 19 June 2009
2nd week drawing to a close...
Can't believe I've been here nearly two weeks! Starting to settle in abit more and get to know Calungute - having a quiet weekend here so hopefully I'll just spend some time on the beach and mooching around :)
School has certainly been an eye opener, having planned to teach the LKG class I've been placed in some more nursery rhymes I got moved to nursery - back to all the kids crying! No rulers thank god today (monday saw some rulers being wacked against their feet, in shoes thankfully!), just 2 of us singing away and holding hands so they'd be quiet for a minute!! The classrooms literally have blackboards, desks & benches, its such a contrast compared to the colourful classrooms of home stocked full of toys, games, pens & pencils, paper...
The orphanage continues to be just going in, moving round the 3 different rooms (1 - Primary, KG - 4th Standard, about 4-9 years old or so. 2 - is 5th-7th standard, 11-14 years old - my least favourite room as they're all hitting puberty, bitching and messing around!! and 3 - 7th (again) to 10th standard, 14-17 years old, roughly) Some days i'm really busy reading, doing spelling tests, checking homework, teaching french(!), others i'm finished pretty quickly so just move around chatting.
Where I'm staying is really nice, this week theres been 5 volunteers; Me, Mary, Annabel, Victoria & Kirsi. Mary had already been here 3 weeks before i arrived so has shown me about and given me advice :) (esp how to haggle!!) After Mumbai its been a quiet week, at some point we've all been unwell (we blame mumbai!!) but been out and about afew times, a night trip browsing the stalls that lead to the beach (picked up afew bargains - a dress for 150 rupees, about 2 pounds!), a daytime trip to the beach in our break then an hour at a local hotel pool - despite suncream im now a lovely, somewhat sore, shade of pink :( tonight for Mary's last night we're planning to go to the cinema in Panjim, although we're plannning to meet her and her friend for drinks in Baga tomorrow eve :) Debbie (the woman who runs our homestay) continues to be really nice, cooking some nice food and introducing us to a very nice coconut cake! Our coordinators Jenny and Pauline have also been looking out for us too, tho Jenny has now gone to the Uk for 2 weeks (she's actually going to Leeds one day which made me a little sad, i wish i could!!)
Next week school is from 9-12 so will be more draining, i'd like to do a tour of the temples at some point and go back to Mapusa properly rather than just getting a bus from there!!
Thats about it really, oh apart from EVERY night i keep having some crazy dream of some sort, its very wierd! Hope everyone is well and please continue to text, email or facebook me as its really nice to hear from home and keeps me going :)
lots of love xxx
School has certainly been an eye opener, having planned to teach the LKG class I've been placed in some more nursery rhymes I got moved to nursery - back to all the kids crying! No rulers thank god today (monday saw some rulers being wacked against their feet, in shoes thankfully!), just 2 of us singing away and holding hands so they'd be quiet for a minute!! The classrooms literally have blackboards, desks & benches, its such a contrast compared to the colourful classrooms of home stocked full of toys, games, pens & pencils, paper...
The orphanage continues to be just going in, moving round the 3 different rooms (1 - Primary, KG - 4th Standard, about 4-9 years old or so. 2 - is 5th-7th standard, 11-14 years old - my least favourite room as they're all hitting puberty, bitching and messing around!! and 3 - 7th (again) to 10th standard, 14-17 years old, roughly) Some days i'm really busy reading, doing spelling tests, checking homework, teaching french(!), others i'm finished pretty quickly so just move around chatting.
Where I'm staying is really nice, this week theres been 5 volunteers; Me, Mary, Annabel, Victoria & Kirsi. Mary had already been here 3 weeks before i arrived so has shown me about and given me advice :) (esp how to haggle!!) After Mumbai its been a quiet week, at some point we've all been unwell (we blame mumbai!!) but been out and about afew times, a night trip browsing the stalls that lead to the beach (picked up afew bargains - a dress for 150 rupees, about 2 pounds!), a daytime trip to the beach in our break then an hour at a local hotel pool - despite suncream im now a lovely, somewhat sore, shade of pink :( tonight for Mary's last night we're planning to go to the cinema in Panjim, although we're plannning to meet her and her friend for drinks in Baga tomorrow eve :) Debbie (the woman who runs our homestay) continues to be really nice, cooking some nice food and introducing us to a very nice coconut cake! Our coordinators Jenny and Pauline have also been looking out for us too, tho Jenny has now gone to the Uk for 2 weeks (she's actually going to Leeds one day which made me a little sad, i wish i could!!)
Next week school is from 9-12 so will be more draining, i'd like to do a tour of the temples at some point and go back to Mapusa properly rather than just getting a bus from there!!
Thats about it really, oh apart from EVERY night i keep having some crazy dream of some sort, its very wierd! Hope everyone is well and please continue to text, email or facebook me as its really nice to hear from home and keeps me going :)
lots of love xxx
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
An update on an eventful weekend!!
Hi there,
Mumbai was certainly an experience. We arrived at 6am after an 11 hour coach ride, only had afew hours 'sleep' so we (the 5 girls who went) were all pretty rough. Ended up in a hotel in Andheri (?!) - not the nicest of hotels or areas, could see some slum type areas out of the windows, right next to a fly over for a ridiculously busy road!! But it was cheap and we spent as little time there so it suited us fine.
On Saturday after checking in to the hotel (the rickshaw drivers took us on a round trip of Mumbai's most expensive hotels until they got the message that we werent rich, think they were on commission!) we went for breakfast on Bandrah. Nice to have pancakes and fruit!! It was then a 45-1 hour taxi ride down to south Mumbai to Colaba to see the sights. After abit of shopping went to see the Gateway to India which is pretty impressive, also the Taj hotel is right next to it. What we couldnt get over was the insane heat or the fact SO many people were staring at us, pushing children towards us to have pictures with us, asking themselves to have pictures with us or just taking photos on the sly or quite blantantly(!) This happened all weekend which was pretty insane.
From the Gateway we then took a tour for 2-3 hours going to different sights such as Ghandi's house, the Jain Temple, the hanging gardens, Chowpatty beach (apologies if my spellings off i've forgotten my guide book) which was really good to pack it all in (esp as it was in an air con car) :)
Unfortunately we didnt make it inside victoria station (as of slumdog!) but we did see the outside. After we shopped the stalls in Colaba, had tea in Bandrah again and shopped abit some more before being utterly exhausted and crashing out about 10pm!!
What i couldnt get over tho as we took the taxi back to the hotel or as we were shopping in the evening were the sheer amount of street children or people begging, or as we drove to the hotel the slums, and people on the street. Mumbai at night is pretty scary and upsetting.
Sunday were we lucky to spend the day with our i-to-i coordinator and eat with her family and have some mendi henna done! Photos will appear at some point of my hands. Then it was the 12 hour coach back to Goa and straight down to breakfast before school.
I dont think i can quite describe the heat, sheer amount of people (and staring!!) and the intensity that is Mumbai. I'm glad i went as its an experience :)
-----
School is now up and running on a morning, the kids at first cried for the ENTIRE hour but now we just have tears for the first ten minutes. I am however singing my little heart out to brush your teeth, old mcdonald had a farm and other songs! Now free til the afternoon where i go help with homework at the orphanage, the girls are still lovely :)
Hope everyone is well thinking of you all, I will update again this week as i feel ive missed so much out!
xxx
oh and ive finally made it to the beach!!! :)
Mumbai was certainly an experience. We arrived at 6am after an 11 hour coach ride, only had afew hours 'sleep' so we (the 5 girls who went) were all pretty rough. Ended up in a hotel in Andheri (?!) - not the nicest of hotels or areas, could see some slum type areas out of the windows, right next to a fly over for a ridiculously busy road!! But it was cheap and we spent as little time there so it suited us fine.
On Saturday after checking in to the hotel (the rickshaw drivers took us on a round trip of Mumbai's most expensive hotels until they got the message that we werent rich, think they were on commission!) we went for breakfast on Bandrah. Nice to have pancakes and fruit!! It was then a 45-1 hour taxi ride down to south Mumbai to Colaba to see the sights. After abit of shopping went to see the Gateway to India which is pretty impressive, also the Taj hotel is right next to it. What we couldnt get over was the insane heat or the fact SO many people were staring at us, pushing children towards us to have pictures with us, asking themselves to have pictures with us or just taking photos on the sly or quite blantantly(!) This happened all weekend which was pretty insane.
From the Gateway we then took a tour for 2-3 hours going to different sights such as Ghandi's house, the Jain Temple, the hanging gardens, Chowpatty beach (apologies if my spellings off i've forgotten my guide book) which was really good to pack it all in (esp as it was in an air con car) :)
Unfortunately we didnt make it inside victoria station (as of slumdog!) but we did see the outside. After we shopped the stalls in Colaba, had tea in Bandrah again and shopped abit some more before being utterly exhausted and crashing out about 10pm!!
What i couldnt get over tho as we took the taxi back to the hotel or as we were shopping in the evening were the sheer amount of street children or people begging, or as we drove to the hotel the slums, and people on the street. Mumbai at night is pretty scary and upsetting.
Sunday were we lucky to spend the day with our i-to-i coordinator and eat with her family and have some mendi henna done! Photos will appear at some point of my hands. Then it was the 12 hour coach back to Goa and straight down to breakfast before school.
I dont think i can quite describe the heat, sheer amount of people (and staring!!) and the intensity that is Mumbai. I'm glad i went as its an experience :)
-----
School is now up and running on a morning, the kids at first cried for the ENTIRE hour but now we just have tears for the first ten minutes. I am however singing my little heart out to brush your teeth, old mcdonald had a farm and other songs! Now free til the afternoon where i go help with homework at the orphanage, the girls are still lovely :)
Hope everyone is well thinking of you all, I will update again this week as i feel ive missed so much out!
xxx
oh and ive finally made it to the beach!!! :)
Friday, 12 June 2009
Mumbai calling...
only time for a quick post, been chatting far too long on facebook!
Off to Mumbai this weekend with the four other girls i live with. 7pm coach tonight which will take between 10 & 11 hours, should be fun! Don't think Goa can prepare us in anyway for Mumbai, i saw the slums as i flew in/out of Mumbai on Sunday - right upto the runways which was pretty scary. Goa is relatively relaxed so i think this weekend will be abit of an eye opener, looking forward to it. Not looking forward to arriving back on Monday however, will have less than an hour to get ready to go to school - first day with the young ones after a quiet week in the office!!
Finally starting to settle and get a routine here in India, up at 8 (so nice to have a lie in!) breakfast half 8, school 9am, I finish 12-1ish, mooch around, lunch half1 then do my prep for the orphanage where i go from 3-6. The orphanage was crazy at first, well still is. They literally dropped me off and said 'teach'! I've got abit of a routine of checking homework, reading, teaching french (!!! last did that nearly 10 years ago!) and just generally chatting to the 70 girls. They're all lovely and polite. i cant understand some of them as their main language is either konkani or hindi, so i ask them to translate :)
Dessert the other night was really nice, a bar/restaurant called Brittos in Baga the next beach town up from us, right on the beach. It was nice to finally see the sea, even if it was in the dark. The beach for me has now been put on hold til next week as i have the mumbai trip booked :)
Hopefully I will be able to do a longer post or more descriptive post after the weekend, ive been here a while now and need to go back and prepare. I've never seen young children so excited by colouring pencils or paper so ive been spending money on paper and photocoping etc.
oh and my sim card here is abit dodgy, it seems to pick and choose who i can text so apologies if you havent heard from me i am trying :(
anyway gota run :) xxxxxx
Off to Mumbai this weekend with the four other girls i live with. 7pm coach tonight which will take between 10 & 11 hours, should be fun! Don't think Goa can prepare us in anyway for Mumbai, i saw the slums as i flew in/out of Mumbai on Sunday - right upto the runways which was pretty scary. Goa is relatively relaxed so i think this weekend will be abit of an eye opener, looking forward to it. Not looking forward to arriving back on Monday however, will have less than an hour to get ready to go to school - first day with the young ones after a quiet week in the office!!
Finally starting to settle and get a routine here in India, up at 8 (so nice to have a lie in!) breakfast half 8, school 9am, I finish 12-1ish, mooch around, lunch half1 then do my prep for the orphanage where i go from 3-6. The orphanage was crazy at first, well still is. They literally dropped me off and said 'teach'! I've got abit of a routine of checking homework, reading, teaching french (!!! last did that nearly 10 years ago!) and just generally chatting to the 70 girls. They're all lovely and polite. i cant understand some of them as their main language is either konkani or hindi, so i ask them to translate :)
Dessert the other night was really nice, a bar/restaurant called Brittos in Baga the next beach town up from us, right on the beach. It was nice to finally see the sea, even if it was in the dark. The beach for me has now been put on hold til next week as i have the mumbai trip booked :)
Hopefully I will be able to do a longer post or more descriptive post after the weekend, ive been here a while now and need to go back and prepare. I've never seen young children so excited by colouring pencils or paper so ive been spending money on paper and photocoping etc.
oh and my sim card here is abit dodgy, it seems to pick and choose who i can text so apologies if you havent heard from me i am trying :(
anyway gota run :) xxxxxx
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Arriving in India
So i've arrived...
1 car journey, a lot of tears, 3 planes and a mad taxi ride later I made it to Calungute in Goa, staying at Casa Domana for 5 weeks.
Its hard to describe what it's like here - very hot and muggy, it had been torrential rain before i arrived but the most i've experienced so far is a shower. Everywhere is green, surrounded by trees - palm trees, fruit trees etc. SO many bugs, esp at night - thank god for mozzi spray and nets!!
Staying a in homestay - the volunteers live upstairs but eat downstairs in the family living room. The family are lovely, Debbie and her brother Richard run things, tho Debbie does the cooking. (all very nice so far and she tries to do us some traditional food everyday) The other volunteers are all really nice, so glad theres afew of us.
Had orientation yesterday and went out for lunch with our coordinators Jenny and Pauline, really nice :) (the food and the women!) Projects start today, went to the school I'm helping in today, they seemed surprised to see me which was a little weird, apparently the kids arent back til monday so i'm doing admin this week, what i just left! Hope that gets better and I help in a classroom, the Sister said quite loudly to someone else "why they send me someone with no qualifications?!" hm.
Going to the orphanage this aft which will hopefully be better - they're actually expecting me! I'm the first and currently only one to do this project (everyone else is in another orphanage) so we'll see how i get on - I think there could be a few hiccups along the way. Visited the other one yday with the others and was quite an experience.
Jenny is taking us out for desert this eve at a place in a baga beach so should be good, only stayed in our town so far..
I will try to get some photos soon, need to ask the internet cafe people about using my usb stick, i think they might charge me!
Missing home lots,
Fran xxx
btw i have a new sim card for while im out here but you can still text my normal number if that helps. My indian no. is 0091 (country i think) 9665146073
1 car journey, a lot of tears, 3 planes and a mad taxi ride later I made it to Calungute in Goa, staying at Casa Domana for 5 weeks.
Its hard to describe what it's like here - very hot and muggy, it had been torrential rain before i arrived but the most i've experienced so far is a shower. Everywhere is green, surrounded by trees - palm trees, fruit trees etc. SO many bugs, esp at night - thank god for mozzi spray and nets!!
Staying a in homestay - the volunteers live upstairs but eat downstairs in the family living room. The family are lovely, Debbie and her brother Richard run things, tho Debbie does the cooking. (all very nice so far and she tries to do us some traditional food everyday) The other volunteers are all really nice, so glad theres afew of us.
Had orientation yesterday and went out for lunch with our coordinators Jenny and Pauline, really nice :) (the food and the women!) Projects start today, went to the school I'm helping in today, they seemed surprised to see me which was a little weird, apparently the kids arent back til monday so i'm doing admin this week, what i just left! Hope that gets better and I help in a classroom, the Sister said quite loudly to someone else "why they send me someone with no qualifications?!" hm.
Going to the orphanage this aft which will hopefully be better - they're actually expecting me! I'm the first and currently only one to do this project (everyone else is in another orphanage) so we'll see how i get on - I think there could be a few hiccups along the way. Visited the other one yday with the others and was quite an experience.
Jenny is taking us out for desert this eve at a place in a baga beach so should be good, only stayed in our town so far..
I will try to get some photos soon, need to ask the internet cafe people about using my usb stick, i think they might charge me!
Missing home lots,
Fran xxx
btw i have a new sim card for while im out here but you can still text my normal number if that helps. My indian no. is 0091 (country i think) 9665146073
Saturday, 6 June 2009
packing...
after a day of on and off packing i'm still not finished but calling it a night! one bag just isn't big enough, although i know i can buy stuff out there i just keep finding more stuff to take.
camera - check. money - check. (paper) pants(!!) - check.
now off to bed, gota check in 3 HOURS before i fly as i'm technically longhaul even though my 1st flight is manc - heathrow. :) this time tomorrow i will be in the skies flying to India!!!
night night.
camera - check. money - check. (paper) pants(!!) - check.
now off to bed, gota check in 3 HOURS before i fly as i'm technically longhaul even though my 1st flight is manc - heathrow. :) this time tomorrow i will be in the skies flying to India!!!
night night.
Thursday, 4 June 2009
the first entry...
So hi there, first post, totally new to this so apologies if the blog looks pretty basic!
anyway i'll hopefully update this when i get chance with notes on my time in India, i leave in 2 days so got lots of things to do, namely washing clothes and packing...!!
will update later...
lots of love x
anyway i'll hopefully update this when i get chance with notes on my time in India, i leave in 2 days so got lots of things to do, namely washing clothes and packing...!!
will update later...
lots of love x
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