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Published: October 23rd 2008
View from our back step
I hope to do some hikes in this direction soon to get a better view of the Himalayans.Dharamsala is gorgeous. Although I did like Delhi, I am very happy that I chose to volunteer here. It is very relaxing and tranquil here. The people are so nice and very friendly. I noticed today in the bazaar that CCS volunteers have made quite an impact on the community already. Many shopkeepers asked us if we were CCS volunteers and were happy when we said yes. If we say one Hindi phrase, the local people are so impressed and say: “Wow, you are fluent in Hindi!” It amazes me that there are many people here who speak excellent English when it definitely is not their first language and probably not even their second. I feel kind of silly when I cannot even converse more than a couple sentences in their language. However, they love when we make the effort.
The weather here is perfect. It gets up to about 25 - 27 degrees with a nice hot sun, and the evenings cool off for a comfortable sleep.
I started my placement on Tuesday at a small daycare nearby. The kids are obviously adorable and have the greatest smiles. It is kind of sad because they come from lower
Pakerty
The spelling is probably incorrect but one of the smartest kids in our class. income families and will not get the same opportunities as others. The daycare is single room with a small yard (which is apparently rare for these daycares). We sit with the children on a rug in the middle of the concrete floor to do lessons. Although I will only spend a short time with them everyday (10 to 12:30), I hope I can teach as much as possible. There are supposedly 18 to 20 kids at this daycare but today we only had about 12. This is apparently normal since Indians take a lot of religious days. We learned earlier that every religion has a minimum of 2 holidays and kids do not go to school more than one third of the year due to this. Apparently the teacher will also occasionally just not show up and take a “religious day.” You have to love India. ☺
I don’t know what it is about Indian kids and photos, but all the kids at the daycare and the ones I have run into walking around point at the camera and say “Photo! Photo!” And so I dig my camera out, take the lens cap off, look through the viewfinder and
see them all staring at me with stunned expressions and mouths hanging open. They absolutely love seeing themselves on the screen after, pointing and giggling.
Every Wednesday is Tandoori night. The cooks make tandoori chicken in an authentic tandoor oven and bring all the food up to the roof where we are all gathered around the fire talking, dancing, and partying to the latest Hindi “hip-hop” hits. A couple people also lit fireworks. I cannot say enough about the cooks they have here. Everything they make is delicious. They even made a birthday cake for me, which was a complete surprise.
Only in India (some random observations for the day) ...
-Men sleeping inches away from the road in the middle of the day
-At the bazaar, if the shopkeeper does not have change, he will sometimes give you cough drops
-You are woken up early in the morning by men spitting out your window. And I mean coughing up some serious phlegm ...
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Seema
non-member comment
It is so nice to see your picture with the little kids all around you. They will always remember you, Kathleen. You are truly making a difference in their lives. Proud of you!