Sally Duckworth

salEd

Sally Duckworth

I'm about to embark on an Indian adventure...I've never considered writing a blog before but maybe this is a good way to keep everyone up to date! I'll be finishing the last part of my social work degree in India, the first 7 weeks in Chennai, the next week in Nilgiris and the final 7 weeks in Cochin.



Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney » Mosman December 11th 2011

I woke up this morning wondering why on earth it was raining when it was no longer monsoon season. I then wondered how my mattress made of foam and some form of twigs had become so cozy, squishy and lovely. Then I remembered I was back home! No one warned me about post-India depression, but its hit me like a brick! I managed to sleep quite soundly on the plane from Mumbai to Singapore, it was a mix of waking up drooling and constant head nods but still better than my usual sleep patterns on planes. But taking off from Singapore to Sydney I was overwhelmed with a huge amount of sadness, I can't explain it (I definitely couldn't explain it to the stewardess that was trying to comfort me hah!) but I couldn't stop wailing ... read more

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jaipur November 24th 2011

Where to begin! Firstly some things never change. You know when you’re little and there are things about your parents that you know, then you grow up and that’s how you think of your parents at that stage in your life? For example, I remember my dad’s smell. The special dad smell, a combination of cologne cigarettes, black coffee and masculinity, which was a smell and memory specific to a time in my life around the age of 7. My memory of mum at this stage of my life is her blow-drying her hair in her underwear. I think this will also be a memory instilled after this India trip (yes she brought her hair dryer to India), Mum in her underwear blow-drying her hair. Nothing changes. We have had an incredible time over the past ... read more

Asia » India » Goa » Palolem November 17th 2011

I definitely know my standards in terms of hotel rooms have altered significantly since I’ve been in India. Tonight I’m staying in a shit-box in Delhi. I’m not going to lie, I knew it would be a shit hole but reality has really hit because tomorrow night mum we have to sleep here too…sorry Mumma! I have the last section of time in Goa. Goa could be any tropical tourist haunt in the world but I’m not going to lie, it’s awesome!In terms of finishing uni and wanting to celebrate it was an awesome destination. I stayed in a cool beach hut place that had a restaurant attached and the reality was, if I wanted to sleep eat and swim all day, I could! I was in a place called Palolem which is an awesome stretch ... read more

Asia » India » Goa » Margao November 12th 2011

The reality of finishing uni has most certainly not sunken in yet! I’m still in Fort Cochi, which is where we’ve spent many weekends so maybe it will all sink in once I’m on the train! I’m hoping the train is going to involve lots of sleeping. This is probably quite unrealistic but it will at least be an easier trip than the trip from Chennai to the Nilgiris! Last night I had an awesome dinner at a place called Dhal Roti. As I was sitting there reading the Rohinton Mistry book ‘Family Matters’ the charismatic owner told me that Rohinton Mistry had spent a week visiting the restaurant about 12 months ago. I’m not sure why I chose to read another of his books; I’m still devastated after reading ‘A Fine Balance’! It’s later in ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi November 6th 2011

Keeping up to date with what is going on in the world hasn't been the easiest in India. All the news channels are consumed with local news - strikes, deaths, cheating bollywood stars. And when I do get to a tv with world news, the truth is I'd rather watch Friends or Fabulous Cakes (yes it's true!). So when I turn to my reliable source NINEMSN I expect to be overwhelmed with accurate and up to date news. But alas NINEMSN you have failed me. I may know that Justin Beiber has potentially impregnated a young teen and I may know that John Lennon's tooth has been sold for a ridiculous amount of money, but NINEMSN why (!) WHY can't you tell me whether or not Beyonce is pregnant? Is this child even legitimate? Are Beyonce ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Varkala October 25th 2011

I have been paired up with a social work student from the college we’re connected to at prac. He is super keen and definitely the fastest walking Indian I’m yet to meet! The problem is, he and I can’t communicate. I know what you’re thinking, of course we can’t, we speak 2 different languages, but that’s not it, he’s very fluent in English. Our conversations go like this: Him: So Sally today we’re going on home visits Me: Oh cool, I’d really like a day in the office so I can catch up on stuff Him: We will be walking from house to house gathering information for the clients case notes Me: Ok, should we get a bus there Him: They are recipients of Child Sponsorship Me: That’s great I really wanted to get better insight ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi October 11th 2011

1. Some men in India have hair growing from their ears. I'm not talking inside their ears or a fine fur over their ears; I'm talking sprouts of hair 4-7cms long. (I will do my best to discreetly photo document this in the near future). 2. Sari's are in no way a cooling device. In fact anything that is culturally appropriate for women to wear might at well be made of thermal material. 3. Apple computers are user friendly...for everyone else but me! 4. Indian people have incredible balance. I have drawn this conclusion myself based wholly on the fact that there are squat toilets on trains and people were coming out of the bathroom dry! 5. You have to cut your fingernails often if you are going to eat with your hands. 6. A lot ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi October 8th 2011

Time has become a bit of a blur recently. We're in Kerala, which seems a world away from Chennai. Prac is really interesting. So far we have been visiting the services that Rajagiri provide which have some similarities and some differences to the services in Chennai. I've had some thoughts recently: Birkenstocks are the best thing that happened to my feet. I am a reformed critic and I recon you would be too if you tried them! If that woman touches and hisses at me again I'm going to pull my hair out strand by strand. Seeing a dead body is surreal and real all at once (we saw one after a social worker had to go to a funeral, not the first, but the first up close. Her eyes, mouth and ears were being stuffed ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi September 24th 2011

We were all so relieved that my dysentery had surfaces a week before we had to get on an over night train. Relieved that was, until the dysentery reappeared again a week later, when we were due to jump on the train that night. The next few hours were a blur of panic, doctors and buying ‘stoppers’ whilst trying to fit the contents of my room, into a significantly small bag! Fortunately we made it to the train, found where we’d be sleeping and met the people we’d be sharing our little section with. The next few hours were also a blur of cramps and squat toilets (I’d like to meet the genius that thought squat toilets on a moving train were a good idea) and solitaire and then it was 5 in the morning and ... read more

Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Chennai September 16th 2011

Well If I'd thought I'd escaped significant illness, I'd thought very wrong! Maybe I'd become complacent, maybe I was getting a little too comfortable in my surroundings, maybe my body just couldn't take another curry. Regardless of how it happened, it definitely happened. We had gone to dinner on thursday night, a relatively dirty place but no less dirty than any other dirty place we'd been to! I'd stuck to my usual dousing hands in hand sanitiser routine, but I guess this time it didn't matter how much hand sanitiser I used, things were about to go pear shaped! I woke up a few times in the night, stomach cramping, sweat dripping from my forehead, but it didn't seem any different to any other minor bad belly. But by the morning, it hadn't subsided and by ... read more




Tot: 0.137s; Tpl: 0.005s; cc: 16; qc: 87; dbt: 0.0994s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb