A flawed week and a flawless weekend

This past week has been a bit tougher, at least compared to the easy breasy first week. It started with one of the volunteers, who had been sick for several days, catching an early flight home and leaving. Apparently she left her sickness as a parting gift, because two of the other girls got sick. The next day, four other volunteers finished their time here and left as well. On that same day, we found out that the teacher of the school had quit. The next day I got sick to my stomach and had to skip teaching for the day. And then the following day, my bunk mate got even more sick. The kind of sick that makes me extremely uncomfortable to be around... I must say, when you live with the same people in such close quarters, your relationship goes to a whole other level. This group may be just as facinated by bowel movements as I am lol... but back to the trying week. So, after the sickness had made it's way through the group, Amita and Prenay, the husband and wife coordinators of the program, called a team meeting to ask for our feedback and then address some issues. What could have been a very productive meeting, turned into the staff versus the volunteers, who can out argue who. As I said in a previous blog, I've been quite satisfied with my stay, and really had no feedback or complaints, but by the end of the meeting, I felt attacked, disrespected, and angry, for myself and my team. I am relatively easy going, but, as my kindergarten teacher told my mom years ago, I have an over-developed sense of justice. Without giving details, the meeting, the feedback, and the issues, were handled poorly. Period. Maybe it is a difference in culture, but I tend to think it more just a difference in personalities. Who knows. But I expected more. Seems to be a common theme in my life.

Question: Is it better to have high expectations, and run the risk of most likely getting disappointed? Or is it better to have low, or no expectations, and hence be happy with whatever?

Despite the tension in the volunteer home, I still love going to teach and spending time with the kids, and have continued to enjoy my time in India. Although I am disappointed in how things at the meeting went down, I know there are some things you can change, and some things you can't. Some things are worth fighting for, and others aren't. Maybe with alot of arguing and effort I could make the staff give in, but in this case, I think it is just better to let it go and go with the flow. Certainly not worth hanging on to and staying angry about.

While this week may have been a bit lacking, this weekend definitely was not. I had an amazing time in Ranthambhore with my travel buddy Sam. We explored the impressive Ranthambhore Fort on Saturday and then went on a Tiger Safari on Sunday. We had to drive about 20 minutes into the Ranthambhore Park, across the plains, and into the jungle before reaching the fort. It was perched up on the top of a hill looking down over the contrasting plains and jungle. The buildings wer massive, almost like a small town, and had a dreamy ancient feel to them. There were monkeys everywhere, claiming the fort as theirs I suppose. Dinner was amazing as well. Our driver took us to a cheap local place. The food was amazing, very filling, and cost a total of $3! The Tiger Safari the next morning was a success as well. We spotted two tigers (which, apparently, is quite lucky), in addition to several other animals. The deer here seem to be much bigger than those in the states. I never realized how big camels were either.


I really enjoyed the change of scenery and the opportunity to get out of the city and into the wildness. I love seeing the different types of land, the different people, the different arts/crafts/fabrics, the different food. It's such a blessing to be able to travel and volunteer and not just be a tourist looking from the outside in, but actually be living in and experiencing the culture and the country. Hopefully I am able to give even just a small portion back to what this country and experience has given me.

Friendly Honking

Every day the program driver takes us to the school and back. Riding around Jaipur is quite an experience in and of itself. Red lights and lines on the road are taken more as suggestions than laws, if not completely ignored. Sometimes it seems like the dotted lines in the middle of the road serve as the invisible third lane for passing. When I first arrived in Delhi, I was picked up at the airport at 5am and had another 5 hour car ride to the volunteer home. I immediately noticed the frequency at which my driver, along with everyone else on the road, honked, and for no apparent reason. After a while though, I figured out it’s almost done as a courtesy. Here, cars share the road with big trucks, rickshaws, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, camels, and the occasionally free wandering cow, none of which have exceptionally great rearview mirrors. So, from what I’ve gathered, it’s just a polite way to let the other vehicle, animal, or person know there is someone coming up behind them about to pass. I’ve grown to kind of like it (it’s much more pleasant than the typical angry honking of America), and I have a feeling it prevents accidents as well. Rickshaws – the three-wheeled, motorized, open-air buggy things - are everywhere. With a bit of haggling, you can catch a ride to anywhere in the city for 50-100 rupees ($1-$2). Despite the dusty air and the bumpy ride, they’re actually quite fun. Camels are used like horses here, hauling building materials, food, or whatever else.

Cows on the other hand are not used for any type of work. There are just random cows all over the place. Ironically, you can't find beef being served anywhere. In India, where Hinduism is the prominent religion, cows are considered sacred and can never be killed. They are raised up to a certain age, and then set free to roam the city. On any given day you may see a car, a camel, and a rickshaw all stopped in the middle of the road waiting for a cow to cross.   

Different is Good

One of the things I love about traveling is the opportunity to gain a new perspective; to see and appreciate how other people live, eat, and interact. Believe it or not I came to India having only ever eaten Indian food once before. I like almost any type of food though, so I wasn’t worried. It tends to be a little more spicy than your average American meal, but not in a bad way. I think I’m toughening up my taste buds. Ben will be proud. Also, instead of having a main course of meat, you get a couple “main courses” (or two big side dishes, however you want to think of it) consisting of some type of vegetable(s) with spices and sauce. There is also always rice and some type of bread. Most of the time, the bread is just chapati (I probably butchered the spelling), which looks and tastes exactly like a tortilla to me. In fact, my whole first week I thought they were tortillas until everyone laughed at me when I asked them to pass the tortillas. Same food, different name, if you ask me.

When I registered for a volunteer program, I hadn’t even considered that, in addition to the new insight I would gain from India, I would also be surrounded by a number of different volunteers from all over the world, on different walks of life, with different views. At first it was a bit grating on my nerves, having to adjust to the vast differences in personalities and ways of thinking, but now I love it. Five girls have already left now, but originally there were four Australians, two girls from the Netherlands, three other Americans (one in college in NJ, one just out of college from Boston, and a 65 year old lady from California who has traveled all over the world), and a German/British girl that has lived in multiple countries and recently graduated from a boarding school in America. You can image how different we all are.

It’s always interesting to me seeing how people who are in the same situation, apparently experiencing the same thing, react in different ways. I thank the many Mexico mission trips and half-year long driving trip through Central America for my laid back attitude as far as accommodations and schedules and things are concerned. Normally, in the morning I go to teach school, and then in the afternoons I am off to relax or explore. However yesterday, when we got back from school, we were told that two of the girls that work in the afternoons for the women’s empowerment program were sick, so Keely and I needed to fill in. We had just enough time to scarf down our food and get a brief summary of what to do. Despite the last minuteness of it all and total lack of plan, I thought my class went quite well. The program is titled “Women’s Empowerment”, but it’s really just English class for girls in a rural area of town. I got the more advanced class, so we practiced speaking, reading, and going over different ways to say the time (half past 2, quarter to 5, etc). I ended the day with the game, “Categories”, which was a huge hit.

Actually, I'm trying to come up with some other games for the younger kids I'm teaching. It can be games to help with English, Math, or just recreation time. Right now, school seems a bit dry, all work no play type thing. And if I'm thinking that, I KNOW the children are. I think maybe the culture here is a bit more serious than where I come from. Anyway, if you're reading this and can think of some way to make it a little more fun for the kids, please let me know!

one week down, three to go

I spent an inappropriately long time trying to think of a title for this blog. Now I have spent an equally inappropriate amount of time trying to figure out what to write in my first blog entry. So much pressure!


But I am done drafting and redrafting. No more perfectionism from me or it will never get done. So with that said, please excuse my poor grammar, mispelled words (my new computer doesn't even have spell check!), and disconnected thoughts. This is just me.


The options were vast when I was looking for a country to go volunteer. Really, my only requirement was that I had not been there before and that I knew very little about the country. India certainly fit the bill. I've been here now a full week. It's had it's ups and downs but overall it's been good. I'm in the volunteer and travel program, so during the week I help teach at a school for street kids and then travel on prearranged trips on the weekend. This past weekend I went to Agra and saw the Taj Mahal, along with several other ancient palaces and mosques. I stay at the volunteer home in Jaipur (aka the pink city). Right now there are 10 other volunteers, but people are always coming and going so the number changes.


Apparently it's really difficult to upload pictures on this site, so here are three random ones. The one below is a fun picture of one of buildings at Fatehpur Sikri - The City of Victory.

This is the entrace to Agra Fort, near the Taj Mahal.

Rahul and Vishal

At the school there are about 20-30 kids, ages 4-12. In the mornings they walk to school from their houses, which are really nothing more than a few sticks holding up some tarps/fabric. "School" is in a little concrete building with two tiny rooms.The kids are split up according to their age and education level. It lasts about 3 hours, where we go over English and Math, with a little play time thrown in. So far, I have been kind of the extra person so I help out with both age groups. The kids are great, and pretty eager to learn. It makes me a little sad that this is the only education that they are getting. I usually end up helping with the kids that are a little further along than the others. With a real education there is no doubt they could go on to make something of there lives. Maybe they will despite the obstacles stacked against them. For the next 3 weeks I am their teacher. So while I'm here I will do my best to teach them as much as I can; and my new goal, to make it as fun for them as I can.


More to come later. But for now this will do.