Blogs from Paratwada, Maharashtra, India, Asia

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Asia » India » Maharashtra » Paratwada April 20th 2006

Bas! Finished! The twelve weeks of my placement draw to a close tomorrow! I've made a lot of very good friends here, whom I'm unlikely to see again for a long time, and I'm really going to miss them all. But I'm definitely ready to move on from here and am really looking forward the next month's travels. I don't know what I'll do without Baby though, cooking me three delicious meals a day and brewing her special blend of chai for me! After a final cup of it tomorrow morning, I'll say my final goodbyes and then catch a local bus over the mountains and board the overnight train to Agra. If there are no delays, I'll reach there just before 5am on Saturday, find a hostel to dump my pack, and then head back ... read more
Getting stuck into the Holi festival (basically an excuse to have a huge 'paint-fight')
Buying vegetables (subzi) at a market stall
If you're keen on goat head, hoof, blood or stomach lining - this is the place for you!

Asia » India » Maharashtra » Paratwada March 25th 2006

Eight down, four to go! The twelve weeks of my placement are slowly dragging by, although at times it feels as if each successive week lasts longer and longer. I'm comfortable here now - and grateful for how God's helped me adjust to this very different culture - but I constantly find myself itching to swing my pack up onto my shoulders and head back out into the big, wide world! I have to keep reminding myself what an amazing opportunity this is, and am trying hard to suppress my impatience and make the most of this experience while it lasts. Now that I've been here for some time, the days have slowly settled into something of a routine and are usually fairly similar. Most days, I spend a surprising amount of time just waiting for ... read more
I still haven't gotten a shot of the REALLY full ones =P
Kids in Hilda village
Bittu, Jitu & myself at Chikaldara hill station

Asia » India » Maharashtra » Paratwada March 6th 2006

While I'm always grateful to accompany the EFICOR staff here as they work, and fascinated to learn about what it is they do and why, there haven't been many opportunities where I'm able to actually be of much help to them, (mainly due to the language barrier). The main exception to this has been what little technological know-how I have - I've helped Jitu learn to use the new office camera, continue to give Sujal frequent computer lessons, installed a CD burner on the office computer, and yesterday succeeded in setting up internet access in the office! So I'll now be able to access the net much more frequently, work and electricity permitting, (there are at least two lengthy power cuts a day, which the state government excuses as "load-shedding"), and hope to catch up on ... read more
A villager demonstrates the depth of water in the bottom of an open well
Looking on while Sujal tests the depth of this new open well
A colourfully-dressed woman tosses stones onto a new 'bund'

Asia » India » Maharashtra » Paratwada February 23rd 2006

Namaste to you all! ('Namaste' is an interesting Hindi greeting which means something like 'I recognise the divine within you'.) Thank you very much to all who've been emailing and messaging me, (my Indian mobile number is +919860659764), over the past month! My access to the net is infrequent and always very brief, but when I do get the chance, I really look forward to reading through your emails and finding out what you've been up to! I'm just sorry I haven't had more time to be able to reply individually just yet. Anyway, I'm now almost four weeks into my Work Experience placement with EFICOR (Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief) in Paratwada, (in the north-east of Maharashtra state). I'll pick up the story from where I left off last time and give a ... read more
Korku women in Hilda, one of the most remote villages that EFICOR works in
A little girl in Hilda village
A cautious monkey keeping a wary eye on visitors to the Hindu shrine it lives around




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