I apologise again for the long gap in between this post and my last post! It feels like a lot has happened since then and I can't quite remember when everything happened so this post will probably be a bit all over the place. But here goes..
I will start with work at the hospital. Not much has changed in the last few weeks. We have started to realise that if something is supposed to happen today, it means tomorrow. If something is supposed to happen tomorrow, it means next week. Basically nothing happens on time. It is quite funny when you think about it, but it can be frustrating at times, especially when it involves getting us work to do! We have started spending time in the children's rehabilitation department which has been really interesting. The clinic is for children with a whole range of disabilities and it provides speech therapy, physiotherapy and special education to help children and their parents. It is really fascinating to watch but it can also be quite sad. We spend a couple of hours there every day just observing, and then in time we will be able to help with any tasks they need doing. There is also an adult rehab department where we can help out by recording audio books (if they can understand our accents) and learning brail so that we can make brail books. Patients are sent to this department if the doctors can do nothing for their sight so that they can receive counselling and training. They give classes on how to use computer programs and also teach people how to cook and clean so that they can take care of themselves in the home. It's amazing that the hospital provides all of this, and its all free of cost!
Last week we booked the trains for our first long weekend away from our project. At the end of November we are going to Hampi, a small town about 12 hours away by train where there are lots of ancient boulders which form an amazing landscape. There are also lots of temples and ruins to visit so it should be quite nice. We are also trying to organise meeting up with some of the other volunteers over Christmas and New Year which is proving quite difficult since everyone seems to have different holidays! Hopefully we will sort something out and we'll be able to spend Christmas together on a beach in Kerala!
Last week the hospital organised various different sports and arts contests which we went to watch. Here are some pictures of the rangoli (patterns made with multicoloured powders) and mehndi (henna) competitions:
After watching these competitions we went out for dinner with some friends. The first excitement came from being in an air-conditioned car. And then the food. I can't even describe how good it was to have a meal outside the hostel or hospital! I had chicken noodle soup, ginger prawns and chicken biryani (spicy rice with chicken in it). I was in such a good mood after the meal, the food made me so happy.
October seems to have been a constant festival with holidays every week and people celebrating all time! Last week there was a Hindu festival during which people go dancing every night and Holly and I were lucky enough to take part in this. We were taken to a massive outdoor function hall where there was a live band, loads of food and over a thousand people dancing in the same place, at the same time. The atmosphere was amazing, I have photos of the crowds but they don't even do justice to the amount of people there! Of course we were also made to dance but it was actually quite easy so we didn't mind. It was so much fun and we ended up getting in at 2 o'clock in the morning which did not please the security guard who had to wait up for us!
I will start with work at the hospital. Not much has changed in the last few weeks. We have started to realise that if something is supposed to happen today, it means tomorrow. If something is supposed to happen tomorrow, it means next week. Basically nothing happens on time. It is quite funny when you think about it, but it can be frustrating at times, especially when it involves getting us work to do! We have started spending time in the children's rehabilitation department which has been really interesting. The clinic is for children with a whole range of disabilities and it provides speech therapy, physiotherapy and special education to help children and their parents. It is really fascinating to watch but it can also be quite sad. We spend a couple of hours there every day just observing, and then in time we will be able to help with any tasks they need doing. There is also an adult rehab department where we can help out by recording audio books (if they can understand our accents) and learning brail so that we can make brail books. Patients are sent to this department if the doctors can do nothing for their sight so that they can receive counselling and training. They give classes on how to use computer programs and also teach people how to cook and clean so that they can take care of themselves in the home. It's amazing that the hospital provides all of this, and its all free of cost!
Last week we booked the trains for our first long weekend away from our project. At the end of November we are going to Hampi, a small town about 12 hours away by train where there are lots of ancient boulders which form an amazing landscape. There are also lots of temples and ruins to visit so it should be quite nice. We are also trying to organise meeting up with some of the other volunteers over Christmas and New Year which is proving quite difficult since everyone seems to have different holidays! Hopefully we will sort something out and we'll be able to spend Christmas together on a beach in Kerala!
Last week the hospital organised various different sports and arts contests which we went to watch. Here are some pictures of the rangoli (patterns made with multicoloured powders) and mehndi (henna) competitions:
After watching these competitions we went out for dinner with some friends. The first excitement came from being in an air-conditioned car. And then the food. I can't even describe how good it was to have a meal outside the hostel or hospital! I had chicken noodle soup, ginger prawns and chicken biryani (spicy rice with chicken in it). I was in such a good mood after the meal, the food made me so happy.
October seems to have been a constant festival with holidays every week and people celebrating all time! Last week there was a Hindu festival during which people go dancing every night and Holly and I were lucky enough to take part in this. We were taken to a massive outdoor function hall where there was a live band, loads of food and over a thousand people dancing in the same place, at the same time. The atmosphere was amazing, I have photos of the crowds but they don't even do justice to the amount of people there! Of course we were also made to dance but it was actually quite easy so we didn't mind. It was so much fun and we ended up getting in at 2 o'clock in the morning which did not please the security guard who had to wait up for us!
On Sunday we went to buy our first sari to wear for Traditional Day this Saturday. The amazing selection of colours, materials and patterns meant that of course it took ages for us to pick something! We also had to make sure we chose something light-weight because otherwise it would to too heavy for us to wear for the first time! Eventually I chose a dark green and maroon one and Holly chose a royal blue one. I ended up spending much more than I intended but once I saw the one I liked I just couldn't find anything else the same! So even though it was expensive, I had no choice but to buy it. I wrongly thought that we were finished there, but after buying the material you then have to take it to a tailor to get the blouse stitched. We put this off for a few days but as we need it for Saturday and the tailor can take several days, we had to get it sorted yesterday. None of our friends knew where to go but eventually one of their mothers kindly offered to take us. We went to the village beside our hostel where she asked around several people looking for a ladies' tailor, and after wandering down some dodgy looking side streets we ended up in a women's house which was actually the tailor. After a lot of talking in Telugu (I still don't know what was said) she agreed to stitch our blouses for Friday and then we just left her to it. So my expensive sari is currently with a stranger in her house, on a street where I certainly would not go alone during the day, let alone at night. Fingers crossed all will be fine! We then went to buy some jewellery to wear with our saris. I have ridiculous amounts of bangles to wear on each wrist! They will definitely sort out my bingo wings. No doubt we will take lots of pictures on Saturday so I will put them in my next post!
Unfortunately I have been ill since Sunday night. I don't actually know what was wrong as the doctor wasn't very communicative but after two days in bed I am feeling much better now, just tired! Holly was very good to me and bought peanut butter and chocolate which I enjoyed once I was able to eat again! I'm not sure if I ate something dodgy because the last thing I had before being ill was pizza from Dominos! It would be ironic that after eating curry every day for seven weeks the first stomach problems I've had were after eating pizza..
Tonight there is a big foundation in celebration of the hospital for all the staff, students and their families. There will be lots of food, singing, dancing etc so no doubt I will have loads of pictures to put up on my next post!
Here are some random thoughts and pictures that don't really fall into any particular category:
- When I was ill, Holly went to the shop by herself and was in the lift was a man who managed to start up a conversation, ask for her number and tell her he loved her, all between the 1st floor and the ground floor. When they got out she told him she was married so he'd leave her alone!
- We were walking from the village back to our hostel and two men on a motorbike stopped in front of us and watched us walk passed. They then drove on, stopped, and watched us walk passed again. This happened four times. Very odd.
- We keep accidentally leaving our bathroom light on when its dark, leading to an infestation of hundreds of insects which we spray with repellent which kills them, leaving hundreds of dead insects everywhere.
- I used to love rice. Now, not so much.
- I can't remember what it's like to feel cold.
- We had our BMI calculated and by Indian standards I am overweight.
- I just want to mention how proud I am of my little sister, Isla, who was in a professional ballet at Eden Court last weekend and how much I wish I could have seen it!! My wee star.
 |
| A little boy threw this bag of candyfloss through my window in the car on the way to the hospital! |
 |
| After discovering how cheap watermelons are, we are eating them daily! |
No comments:
Post a Comment