All my love

Just a short post to say, all my love to Abi and her family. Her dad managed to hang on for her return before he passed away, and I am so glad Abi got to spend that little bit of precious time with him. We are all thinking of you out here in India, stay strong.

x

Ganesh!

My first festival in India, Ganesh's birthday, has been so exciting. All around Tangutur there are giant Ganesh decorated with flowers and offerings. Every night for the past week there seems to have been a different procession or event going on for us to see; from a Indian style children's dance show (we heard Raja was dancing so stayed all night to see him, but he didn't show!) to small plays in the middle of the street - too many events to describe, so here are my top three...

1) On the evening of Ganesh's birthday I went up to Ramana's other house, ate (disgusting) festival food, watched a bit of Indian TV and then went outside to sit on the balcony, to find a group of men absolutely soaking wet. Slowly I began to work out what was going on. A coconut was suspended in the air with one man lifting it up and down. Men took it in turns to try and whack the coconut whilst a group of boys threw buckets of pink water at them. It was so entertaining, especially when men were soaked with water before they even took their place below the coconut, so that they wouldn't back out!

2) Walking to the shops one day, we managed to get caught up in a procession. A Ganesh was lifted onto a trailer and pulled down the street towards the sea by a tractor. In front of the Ganesh, offerings were made and people danced to Indian drumming. When the Ganesh went past and we had eaten the rice we were given, we suddenly realised purple powder was flying everywhere and we were being targeted. It was so fun getting involved with the procession even if everyone was laughing at us!

3) Some of the evening processions are slightly scary, because of the secretive drinking which goes on. However, Raja and his friends took us to the final procession of the festival in Tangutur. From the distance we could hear Western music playing and as the procession went past we saw a group of boys "disco dancing" to "I Gotta Feeling" - its fair to say we all giggled. Then came the extremely loud Indian drumming and delicious lemon rice which was a great end to an amazing festival.

Despite the unsettled start with Abi's depature, this week has been so exciting and fun, and I can't wait to have another meal out on the streets with the local people at the next festival!

Changes

Last night Abi left for England. It has been a rollercoaster of a week, but I know that she has made the right decision as her dad is very ill. Now that she is safely on her way home, it is time for me to start making adjustments and accept that my year is going to be completely different from my original plan. I am determined to stay strong and  have as bigger impact in my project as I can, but I know that the challenge is now even greater. I will now have to face the cultural and language barriers alone and will have no one to share the ups and downs with. But I now have a unique opportunity to fully immerse myself into another culture and become completely independent.

Two other Project Trust volunteers are staying with me this week, and I cannot thank them enough. They have helped me to feel more comfortable in my village - which I have fallen in love with - and get to know some of the local people a bit better so that when I am alone I will have some company and people to go to for advice. Not only that, they have helped me out with the teaching; my classes are so loud and excitable that I'm exhausted by eleven o'clock! As much as I hate to say it, I think it's time to stop with the fun games lessons, and start being strict Katie, otherwise my children will never learn anything. So glad Abi left her Grammar Book because I've already had to read up on things for Class 2's lessons!

I also feel very grateful that I am living with my host's family. The children are all lovely, in particular Raja (who is the same age as my brother) who always talks to us and shows us where different things are in the town. He has promised to show us all of the Ganesh celebrations (turns out Ganesh's birthday lasts one week, not one day!) so will hopefully tell you all about them later in the week.

Hello, and welcome to India!

At 4am Indian time on Tuesday 12th September, 20 tired and sticky Project Trust volunteers arrived to Hyderabad airport to be welcomed by our Assistant representative, who introduced himself as "This is Abilash, Bhavari's son". After another hour in a van with our overloaded bags strapped to the top we arrived in Secunderabad exhausted. The next couple of days were spent resting and recovering (lots of sleeping!) as well as trying out the local cuisine - as well as a couple of (very spicy) pizzas. A tiring day of orientation was followed by a meal at Bhavari and Sugathi's house (our rep and his wife) which really made me feel like part of a family and it was strange to think that we would all be going our separate ways.

The next evening Abi and I, along with two other volunteers, boarded a sleeper train to Ongole which was a bit of an adventure; with luggage bigger than us even getting on the train was a struggle! We braved the toilets (which was a hole onto the tracks), noticed a rat nibbling at our bananas, and finally attempted sleep in our tiny bunks surrounded by lots of loud snoring men. But we made it to Tangutur, and so far I am loving it! Our host, Ramana, is so friendly and helpful, even if he does do everything in Indian time. The village is bigger than we imagined and the bus stand area is full of shops which all seem to sell a mix of everything! But we know where to buy Sprite (14 rupees!) so at the moment we are happy!

The school is tiny with very limited resources, but I am really excited to start teaching some of the children who are always so smiley and bubbly - constantly waving and shaking our hands. The children use slates and chalk and there is very little paper. So far we have been 'observing' the younger classes, which has swiftly turned into teaching - saying nursery rhymes, spelling out words and teaching the alphabet. I was surprised and slightly shocked at the teaching style - the teachers seem to prefer to sit in the corner helping individual children rather than addressing the class. Their English is quite limited and they speak with thick Indian accents, so hopefully I can help them a bit too! The methods of discipline are also shocking; the slightest step out of line or mistake in an answer and the children are beaten on the head or back with a cane. It is hard to deal with because the teachers find it funny, and I am one of the teachers now. Disciplining the children in my classroom (they are so loud and excitable!) will be difficult, because they are so used to being slapped or caned. But I can't wait for a challenge and hope that the power comes back on soon so that I can get my timetable.

Ganesh's birthday tomorrow so we have a holiday - can't wait to experience my first festival!

P.S. Know lots of you have been pestering me for a blog update - the power here is on and off all the time so I never seem to be able to get access to the computer. Have found the internet cafe now though, so hopefully will update more regularly from now! Will add photos soon.

Manic Packing!

Departure day has nearly arrived and the James Household is pretty hectic - typical me leaving everything until the last minute!

Just a very short post to say a huge thank you to everyone that has supported me this far. I cannot believe I really am about to go and spend a year teaching in India. Keep your eye on this blog for (much less brief) posts on how I am getting on!

My address for those who want to keep in contact by letter:

Sri Chaitanya High School
Tangutur 523274
Prakasam District
Andhra Pradesh
India

Or you can follow me on Twitter @katiebethjames

Lots of love x