Monday, December 26, 2011
Christmas and the day after
Namaste Everyone
Our time in Kolkata is fast coming to an end – we attended early morning Mass on Christmas day and unlike breakfasts at home on Christmas morning, we had our modest chai tea, banana and this time a sweet bun before heading off to our homes.
The patients in each of the homes were dressed in new clothes for the Christmas day, and as a special treat each received a small bag containing various food items of bhujia – (nuts & savoury bits), sweet cake & lollies).
In our home – Prem Dan – (a men & separate women’s section) we washed and cleaned and wiped down the mattresses as usual; only this time we made up beds with new floral linen. (What a treat! These were possibly donated) Such a small act but ever so pleasing for the patients.
The decorated day-rooms and nativity scenes in each home brought with it a sense of shared unity and happiness for the residents of these homes. Their smiling faces from such simple pleasures – and their modest and humble manner is a lesson many of us can learn from.
Working on Christmas day in the big picture of things makes it all worthwhile.
Returning to our hotel saw us all preparing for our much anticipated “Christmas Party” at the Fair Lawn Hotel just around the road in Sudder street.
There was much excitement as the girls were literally wrapped in their sari’s. we had two Indian ladies helping with this job – Amidst the metres of brilliantly coloured fabric and SAFETY PINS, a stunning group of girls in their magnificent saris was the end result.
Not to be outdone, the boys were also busy outfitting themselves in all manner of Indian attire. What a handsome group!
Our meeting on the hotel balcony to await ‘Father Christmas’ was an absolute picture – soooo breath-takingly colourful - truly a visual symphony!
It was like a Paparazzi fest – camera’s flashing no end.
Fathe r Christmas assisted by Mother Christmas gave everyone a secret Santa present – all sorts of presents were received and ripped open revealing; scarves, Indian trinkets, watches and other such pleasures.
THEN ‘THE PARTY’ – our colourful procession weaved our way from our hotel down the street and along the narrow lane then up another two streets to our destination – The Fair Lawn.
What a welcome sight – a dazzling array of coloured lights – glittering and flashing, a superb display of flowers meticulously arranged – Simply glitz and glam. What an atmosphere!
We were made to feel most welcome and were entertained with Christmas carols followed by a Magic show – After this we made our way into the dining room – What a sight! – A mass of streamers overhead and our tables littered with every kind of party toy! There were party hats, blow-out whistles, Christmas crackers, masks and noise making toys galore. If you are imagining this !!! well it’s all true – the temptation turned to fruition. We went crazy – blowing roll-out whistles, pulling crackers, rattling, shaking and full on party noise making with all the toys- Talk about ‘Noise Pollution!’ But – what fun. We sang our lungs out and enjoyed all the night had to offer – including being waited on by white-gloved waiters – a fantastic night.
We consumed the night completely and in the end made our way home happy with the night’s events.
Today we have had the day off – although some people did wake early and went on to work in some of the Mother Teresa homes. For the majority however it has been an R&R day.
Tomorrow we will resume our 5 am start and Wednesday will be our final work day in our designated homes.
A few more Haiku for you
Dinner last night
Whistles, crackers, noise
White-gloved waiters, turbaned heads
Christmas as Fair Lawn
Titagar Leprosy visit
Sardines in a can
Pushing, shoving, holding on
Train-ride to TitagarBernie
Stigma safeguards change
Skewed perception deters hope
Time and faith gives chance Mitch
Where touch is needed
Yet touch is so redundant
Touch deeply – one knows Mitch
Lepers lie twisted
And socially rejected
But so strong in faith Chris Vincent
We are all safe and well and have had you all in our thoughts during this festive season.
As usual our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Bernie
You will soon be receiving another blog entry from another two students.
Our time in Kolkata is fast coming to an end – we attended early morning Mass on Christmas day and unlike breakfasts at home on Christmas morning, we had our modest chai tea, banana and this time a sweet bun before heading off to our homes.
The patients in each of the homes were dressed in new clothes for the Christmas day, and as a special treat each received a small bag containing various food items of bhujia – (nuts & savoury bits), sweet cake & lollies).
In our home – Prem Dan – (a men & separate women’s section) we washed and cleaned and wiped down the mattresses as usual; only this time we made up beds with new floral linen. (What a treat! These were possibly donated) Such a small act but ever so pleasing for the patients.
The decorated day-rooms and nativity scenes in each home brought with it a sense of shared unity and happiness for the residents of these homes. Their smiling faces from such simple pleasures – and their modest and humble manner is a lesson many of us can learn from.
Working on Christmas day in the big picture of things makes it all worthwhile.
Returning to our hotel saw us all preparing for our much anticipated “Christmas Party” at the Fair Lawn Hotel just around the road in Sudder street.
There was much excitement as the girls were literally wrapped in their sari’s. we had two Indian ladies helping with this job – Amidst the metres of brilliantly coloured fabric and SAFETY PINS, a stunning group of girls in their magnificent saris was the end result.
Not to be outdone, the boys were also busy outfitting themselves in all manner of Indian attire. What a handsome group!
Our meeting on the hotel balcony to await ‘Father Christmas’ was an absolute picture – soooo breath-takingly colourful - truly a visual symphony!
It was like a Paparazzi fest – camera’s flashing no end.
Fathe r Christmas assisted by Mother Christmas gave everyone a secret Santa present – all sorts of presents were received and ripped open revealing; scarves, Indian trinkets, watches and other such pleasures.
THEN ‘THE PARTY’ – our colourful procession weaved our way from our hotel down the street and along the narrow lane then up another two streets to our destination – The Fair Lawn.
What a welcome sight – a dazzling array of coloured lights – glittering and flashing, a superb display of flowers meticulously arranged – Simply glitz and glam. What an atmosphere!
We were made to feel most welcome and were entertained with Christmas carols followed by a Magic show – After this we made our way into the dining room – What a sight! – A mass of streamers overhead and our tables littered with every kind of party toy! There were party hats, blow-out whistles, Christmas crackers, masks and noise making toys galore. If you are imagining this !!! well it’s all true – the temptation turned to fruition. We went crazy – blowing roll-out whistles, pulling crackers, rattling, shaking and full on party noise making with all the toys- Talk about ‘Noise Pollution!’ But – what fun. We sang our lungs out and enjoyed all the night had to offer – including being waited on by white-gloved waiters – a fantastic night.
We consumed the night completely and in the end made our way home happy with the night’s events.
Today we have had the day off – although some people did wake early and went on to work in some of the Mother Teresa homes. For the majority however it has been an R&R day.
Tomorrow we will resume our 5 am start and Wednesday will be our final work day in our designated homes.
A few more Haiku for you
Dinner last night
Whistles, crackers, noise
White-gloved waiters, turbaned heads
Christmas as Fair Lawn
Titagar Leprosy visit
Sardines in a can
Pushing, shoving, holding on
Train-ride to TitagarBernie
Stigma safeguards change
Skewed perception deters hope
Time and faith gives chance Mitch
Where touch is needed
Yet touch is so redundant
Touch deeply – one knows Mitch
Lepers lie twisted
And socially rejected
But so strong in faith Chris Vincent
We are all safe and well and have had you all in our thoughts during this festive season.
As usual our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Bernie
You will soon be receiving another blog entry from another two students.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Christmas Eve
Namaste from Calcutta
It’s that time of year again and despite the seemingly disinterested locals many of us look forward with excitement to Christmas 2011. We plan to dress in traditional Indian attire after a morning of volunteer work and dine at the Fairlawn Hotel.
The winter here is pleasant with low twenties as the average high. Thankfully this ensures that the neatly swept litter piles in the gutters maintain a low radius odour. The morning walk to the motherhouse also gives us opportunity to witness the gearing up of the Muslim community we stay near – raw carcasses hang from butchers, street sweepers fight a losing battle, taxis and rickshaws negotiate tight corners using horns rather than indicators and shopkeepers call for attention. In the morning the sun appears so dim and discoloured through the haze that it is mistaken for the moon.
Yet Calcutta is a far cleaner, industrialized and more modern city than Varanasi and what we saw of Delhi. There is much anticipation however for the supposedly picturesque Goa paired with the warmer temperatures promised. BBC weather informed us of the 35°C heat in Mumbai yesterday.
Our thoughts are with you as you again recover from more serious aftershocks – we have been assured all is well.
Shub Krismas
Merry Christmas
By Michael H and Kieran H
It’s that time of year again and despite the seemingly disinterested locals many of us look forward with excitement to Christmas 2011. We plan to dress in traditional Indian attire after a morning of volunteer work and dine at the Fairlawn Hotel.
The winter here is pleasant with low twenties as the average high. Thankfully this ensures that the neatly swept litter piles in the gutters maintain a low radius odour. The morning walk to the motherhouse also gives us opportunity to witness the gearing up of the Muslim community we stay near – raw carcasses hang from butchers, street sweepers fight a losing battle, taxis and rickshaws negotiate tight corners using horns rather than indicators and shopkeepers call for attention. In the morning the sun appears so dim and discoloured through the haze that it is mistaken for the moon.
Yet Calcutta is a far cleaner, industrialized and more modern city than Varanasi and what we saw of Delhi. There is much anticipation however for the supposedly picturesque Goa paired with the warmer temperatures promised. BBC weather informed us of the 35°C heat in Mumbai yesterday.
Our thoughts are with you as you again recover from more serious aftershocks – we have been assured all is well.
Shub Krismas
Merry Christmas
By Michael H and Kieran H
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Slice of Heaven
Namaste everyone,
We have been in Calcutta for a week now. It has been a crazy experience for everyone, there is so much to see and do in this city, we have been pushed out of our comfort zones and we are often fighting an invisible wall of physical and mental fatigue. The journey begins at 5 am every morning as the Muslim call to prayer is used as our alarm clocks; we walk 20 minutes through the Muslim quarters to the mother house where we have a mass, then a breakfast of chai tea, bananas and bread. This is slightly less than we are used to in New Zealand but still manages to sustain us for the 3 hours till chai break at the mother houses. There are mixed feelings for the humble chai tea, its super sweet like condensed milk and is always served piping hot.
Now everyone breaks into groups of five or six and we make our way to our centers. The age and ability both mental and physical of the patients differ immensely. All the homes have there unique experiences but they all share the same vision. Its inspiring to see the joy we can bring to the patients with the most simple of actions. Mostly we help with chores, and in the afternoons we play games with the kids. Recently everyone has started to get into the Christmas spirit, some decorations have been hung in the rooms, secret Santa presents brought.
Today was our first rest day, after a wee sleep in till 6.30; we headed down to the mother house and met with Joan who was to be our guide for the day and our journey to the leprosy clinic. Joan is a gem in Calcutta, Joan has been helping with the downtrodden of Indian society for over 15 years. Her knowledge of customs and experiences were invaluable for us taking a real Indian train journey to the clinic safely and even where to find the cheapest saris in New Market.
The Leprosy colony, Titagarh can only be descried as beautiful. When the brothers took it over in 1974 it was described as hell, but now it is described as heaven. It has about 500 residents and is run by nine brothers. They are almost entirely self sufficient. We were taken on a tour through the gardens down a well kept path; here they grow a host of fruit and vegetables. There is also a fish farm and livestock, which are the happiest and healthiest animals we have seen in India so far! The people who have been cured are encouraged to work and reunite with their families to help them to make the most of their lives. We were very lucky to have this opportunity; many people do not get to see inside this haven.
The afternoons are spent exploring the city, last night many of us went to see Mission Impossible in the movie theater, they still have a half time break over here, tickets are a measly 60 rupees ($1.50 NZD) and for that you get reclining seats!
After that we had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Blue Skies. This restaurant quickly became a favorite for its cheap, yummy meals and fabulous service. We have spent many of our rupees here and will likely spend many more over the next week!
Looking now into the crystal ball, the future looks is bright with Christmas just on the horizon and assurance that Father Christmas will be in Calcutta around 5 p.m. on Christmas evening. Looking now even further ahead we see we only have 1 week left in Calcutta before our marathon train journey to Mumbai and then Goa.
To all at home, we hope all is well and that everyone is in the Christmas spirit,
Much love from Calcutta,
Craig and Johannah
We have been in Calcutta for a week now. It has been a crazy experience for everyone, there is so much to see and do in this city, we have been pushed out of our comfort zones and we are often fighting an invisible wall of physical and mental fatigue. The journey begins at 5 am every morning as the Muslim call to prayer is used as our alarm clocks; we walk 20 minutes through the Muslim quarters to the mother house where we have a mass, then a breakfast of chai tea, bananas and bread. This is slightly less than we are used to in New Zealand but still manages to sustain us for the 3 hours till chai break at the mother houses. There are mixed feelings for the humble chai tea, its super sweet like condensed milk and is always served piping hot.
Now everyone breaks into groups of five or six and we make our way to our centers. The age and ability both mental and physical of the patients differ immensely. All the homes have there unique experiences but they all share the same vision. Its inspiring to see the joy we can bring to the patients with the most simple of actions. Mostly we help with chores, and in the afternoons we play games with the kids. Recently everyone has started to get into the Christmas spirit, some decorations have been hung in the rooms, secret Santa presents brought.
Today was our first rest day, after a wee sleep in till 6.30; we headed down to the mother house and met with Joan who was to be our guide for the day and our journey to the leprosy clinic. Joan is a gem in Calcutta, Joan has been helping with the downtrodden of Indian society for over 15 years. Her knowledge of customs and experiences were invaluable for us taking a real Indian train journey to the clinic safely and even where to find the cheapest saris in New Market.
The Leprosy colony, Titagarh can only be descried as beautiful. When the brothers took it over in 1974 it was described as hell, but now it is described as heaven. It has about 500 residents and is run by nine brothers. They are almost entirely self sufficient. We were taken on a tour through the gardens down a well kept path; here they grow a host of fruit and vegetables. There is also a fish farm and livestock, which are the happiest and healthiest animals we have seen in India so far! The people who have been cured are encouraged to work and reunite with their families to help them to make the most of their lives. We were very lucky to have this opportunity; many people do not get to see inside this haven.
The afternoons are spent exploring the city, last night many of us went to see Mission Impossible in the movie theater, they still have a half time break over here, tickets are a measly 60 rupees ($1.50 NZD) and for that you get reclining seats!
After that we had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Blue Skies. This restaurant quickly became a favorite for its cheap, yummy meals and fabulous service. We have spent many of our rupees here and will likely spend many more over the next week!
Looking now into the crystal ball, the future looks is bright with Christmas just on the horizon and assurance that Father Christmas will be in Calcutta around 5 p.m. on Christmas evening. Looking now even further ahead we see we only have 1 week left in Calcutta before our marathon train journey to Mumbai and then Goa.
To all at home, we hope all is well and that everyone is in the Christmas spirit,
Much love from Calcutta,
Craig and Johannah
Monday, December 19, 2011
Kolkata - some reflections of our travels
Namaste Everyone
I thought I would quickly get on the blog and post a few reflections from the students of some of their observances so far.
I'm sorry the blog hasn't been as active as it should be - each student or student pair has been responsible for entering their accounts as we journey through this intriguing country. It seems the Kolkata events have hit a bit of a stand-still due to the change of routine in our working day (ie: we rise at 5 am ad walk from our hotel to the mother Teresa House for Mass at 6 am. after this we go downstairs to a back room where all the volunteers meet for a modest breakfast of chai tea, a piece of bread and a small banana. After this we pray for a good day working at our various homes, we then sing a very cool departure song to the volunteers who are leaving and then the door is rolled up and out we pour onto the Kolkata streets to make our way to the Mother homes scattered around Kolkata. Some of us go by bus, others walk and some can catch the train. This is the usual procedure of our day - we work until 12.30pm and then everyone from whichever home they are in make their own way back to our hotel - this is usually by tuk tuk or bus and as you can imagine lots of arguing takes place where students and tuk tuk drivers can be seen waving their arms profusely all the while negotiating a price for the ride. 10 rupees is what we negotiate and so far my group have managed to secure this price - Marty has laughed at some of us and told us we are quibling over 15c in our currency! I have to say many of the students are not only becoming street saavy they are also good at grinding down prices.
Anyway I really need to get back on track - Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that captures emotions, thoughts and a general sense of what is observed - It is written in 3 lines of syllables (5,7,5 syllables)- the first line is 5 syllables the 2nd 7 syllables and the 3rd 5 syllables. I was impressed with some of the observances of a few students - these are some of the observances
New Delhi Observances
Dust, dogs loitering
Horns blarring, people, tuk tuks
New Delhi immersed
A pigeon cooing
Outside my bedroom window
Contrast in Delhi
Kolkata Observances
There is loss and love
Life is abundant, precious
Can we comprehend?
Connor Eatwell
Western as Christchurch
but still never quite like home
Kolkata is bliss
Graig Stanton
Eyes with stories stare
from bodies twisted and torn
We help where we can
Henri Nelis
Love, laughter, tears, sweat
the real journey begins now
Life long memories
Georgina Milne
Stares from blank faces
As visitors pass them by
Are we invading?
Henri Nelis
I hope you have enjoyed these.
Hopefully you will get the next blog entry soon from the next pair of students - I have to say they have been trying desperately hard to get their blog time achieved - just so busy with other things right now.
We are all working hard and consuming all our new experiences.
Take care
Bernie
I thought I would quickly get on the blog and post a few reflections from the students of some of their observances so far.
I'm sorry the blog hasn't been as active as it should be - each student or student pair has been responsible for entering their accounts as we journey through this intriguing country. It seems the Kolkata events have hit a bit of a stand-still due to the change of routine in our working day (ie: we rise at 5 am ad walk from our hotel to the mother Teresa House for Mass at 6 am. after this we go downstairs to a back room where all the volunteers meet for a modest breakfast of chai tea, a piece of bread and a small banana. After this we pray for a good day working at our various homes, we then sing a very cool departure song to the volunteers who are leaving and then the door is rolled up and out we pour onto the Kolkata streets to make our way to the Mother homes scattered around Kolkata. Some of us go by bus, others walk and some can catch the train. This is the usual procedure of our day - we work until 12.30pm and then everyone from whichever home they are in make their own way back to our hotel - this is usually by tuk tuk or bus and as you can imagine lots of arguing takes place where students and tuk tuk drivers can be seen waving their arms profusely all the while negotiating a price for the ride. 10 rupees is what we negotiate and so far my group have managed to secure this price - Marty has laughed at some of us and told us we are quibling over 15c in our currency! I have to say many of the students are not only becoming street saavy they are also good at grinding down prices.
Anyway I really need to get back on track - Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that captures emotions, thoughts and a general sense of what is observed - It is written in 3 lines of syllables (5,7,5 syllables)- the first line is 5 syllables the 2nd 7 syllables and the 3rd 5 syllables. I was impressed with some of the observances of a few students - these are some of the observances
New Delhi Observances
Dust, dogs loitering
Horns blarring, people, tuk tuks
New Delhi immersed
A pigeon cooing
Outside my bedroom window
Contrast in Delhi
Kolkata Observances
There is loss and love
Life is abundant, precious
Can we comprehend?
Connor Eatwell
Western as Christchurch
but still never quite like home
Kolkata is bliss
Graig Stanton
Eyes with stories stare
from bodies twisted and torn
We help where we can
Henri Nelis
Love, laughter, tears, sweat
the real journey begins now
Life long memories
Georgina Milne
Stares from blank faces
As visitors pass them by
Are we invading?
Henri Nelis
I hope you have enjoyed these.
Hopefully you will get the next blog entry soon from the next pair of students - I have to say they have been trying desperately hard to get their blog time achieved - just so busy with other things right now.
We are all working hard and consuming all our new experiences.
Take care
Bernie
Friday, December 16, 2011
16th December
Sorry for the late post, but here we go :)
Hello all, Tuesday this week was our last day at the Hotel Surya in Varanassi, meaning we had to leave the pool and room service behind. We then took part in the amazing race Indian style where the two person teams all took a rickshaw 8 km back to the Ganges river for another look as the weather was much clearer than the previous day. It was good to be able to see the river rather than just 5 metres around us like the previous visit. Here we experienced a few things like a body being cremated. There were a large number of cows down by the river. From there we rickshawed back to the hotel to collect our gear and mission to the train station in peak hour traffic. Big thanks to the hotel manager who got out and guided the bus through a busy intersection otherwise we would have been stuck for hours. Finally arriving at the train station we had a bit of a wait on our hands which was partially filled by playing cricket with a few of the people and a bit of street dancing. The 11 or so hour train ride was reasonably eventful free and we arrived in Calcutta safe and sound. We took taxis to our new home of two weeks, the Emirates hotel. It was good to get there and unpack. At the hotel we came across a group of Auckland boys who were doing the same trip except in a different order, it was good to have some communication with kids our age who could speak english. We exchanged tips and other bits and pieces we had all found out and learnt a few handy tricks. After this we walked down and registered for our charatible work and went for a visit to the mother house. The following day was a bit of a chill and rest day, we ended up down at the local park where some of us participated in sports with the locals. The kiwi football team came out on top with a 2 - 1 win over some local boys as did the kiwi cricket team winning there match. Jermaine was lucky enough to go behind the counter at the local Mc Donalds to inspect how clean and sanitary it was, turns out far better than our ones at home! Some people went to check out the markets around the corner. Coming to today we were all up nice and early to get ready for our first mass and day of work, we were at the mother house by quarter to 6 followed by our breakfast of 2 pieces of bread, a banana and some chai tea. Today was an interesting experience going to our allocated homes and helping out all the patients. It showed to us all really just how lucky we are to be healthy and able to live in a clean and healthy environment with loving families around us. I'm sure we are all looking forward to the up coming days of being able to go back to our centres and do our bit in helping out.
Cheers for your time:) blog from Millie and Tom.
Hello all, Tuesday this week was our last day at the Hotel Surya in Varanassi, meaning we had to leave the pool and room service behind. We then took part in the amazing race Indian style where the two person teams all took a rickshaw 8 km back to the Ganges river for another look as the weather was much clearer than the previous day. It was good to be able to see the river rather than just 5 metres around us like the previous visit. Here we experienced a few things like a body being cremated. There were a large number of cows down by the river. From there we rickshawed back to the hotel to collect our gear and mission to the train station in peak hour traffic. Big thanks to the hotel manager who got out and guided the bus through a busy intersection otherwise we would have been stuck for hours. Finally arriving at the train station we had a bit of a wait on our hands which was partially filled by playing cricket with a few of the people and a bit of street dancing. The 11 or so hour train ride was reasonably eventful free and we arrived in Calcutta safe and sound. We took taxis to our new home of two weeks, the Emirates hotel. It was good to get there and unpack. At the hotel we came across a group of Auckland boys who were doing the same trip except in a different order, it was good to have some communication with kids our age who could speak english. We exchanged tips and other bits and pieces we had all found out and learnt a few handy tricks. After this we walked down and registered for our charatible work and went for a visit to the mother house. The following day was a bit of a chill and rest day, we ended up down at the local park where some of us participated in sports with the locals. The kiwi football team came out on top with a 2 - 1 win over some local boys as did the kiwi cricket team winning there match. Jermaine was lucky enough to go behind the counter at the local Mc Donalds to inspect how clean and sanitary it was, turns out far better than our ones at home! Some people went to check out the markets around the corner. Coming to today we were all up nice and early to get ready for our first mass and day of work, we were at the mother house by quarter to 6 followed by our breakfast of 2 pieces of bread, a banana and some chai tea. Today was an interesting experience going to our allocated homes and helping out all the patients. It showed to us all really just how lucky we are to be healthy and able to live in a clean and healthy environment with loving families around us. I'm sure we are all looking forward to the up coming days of being able to go back to our centres and do our bit in helping out.
Cheers for your time:) blog from Millie and Tom.
Monday, December 12, 2011
A River-ting Day at the Ganges
Kia Ora blog buddies,
Our day began with a splash at the early hour of 5:30am. We all woke up and rushed around to get ready after a night of fairy bread and birthday celebrations for our two birthday candidates Hannah and Kieran. We took a short bus ride north until we hit the edge of the Ganges River. Our bus then magically transformed somewhat like this .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4ts_77N-iM
Ok, maybe not quite like that. We were driven to some narrow windy roads and walked a good 10 minutes until we reached the stairs on which the Ganges river lay. We were thrown in the deep end and had to hop onto an old yet suprisingly spacious wooden row boat accompanied by the wise and knowledgable Mr Dupati. Although we could only see 5 metres around us, the fog gave the experience an almost mystical aura and gave a great opportunity for some self-reflection. We even got to view a Hindu cremation taking place at the famous Ganges cremation site. As the day went flowing by we also visited the second biggest Hindu temple in the world within the campus of the third largest university in India. Some students visited the silk factory in the afternoon to experience one of the last hand-woven silk factories in action. By the of the day, our thoughts and memories were saturated, and our energies run dry. Time for some much-needed R & R (rest and re-hydration).
Love from Eden Roberts and Jesse Bryan
P.S. Big shout outs to Deirdre and Marisa. Peace x0
Our day began with a splash at the early hour of 5:30am. We all woke up and rushed around to get ready after a night of fairy bread and birthday celebrations for our two birthday candidates Hannah and Kieran. We took a short bus ride north until we hit the edge of the Ganges River. Our bus then magically transformed somewhat like this .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4ts_77N-iM
Ok, maybe not quite like that. We were driven to some narrow windy roads and walked a good 10 minutes until we reached the stairs on which the Ganges river lay. We were thrown in the deep end and had to hop onto an old yet suprisingly spacious wooden row boat accompanied by the wise and knowledgable Mr Dupati. Although we could only see 5 metres around us, the fog gave the experience an almost mystical aura and gave a great opportunity for some self-reflection. We even got to view a Hindu cremation taking place at the famous Ganges cremation site. As the day went flowing by we also visited the second biggest Hindu temple in the world within the campus of the third largest university in India. Some students visited the silk factory in the afternoon to experience one of the last hand-woven silk factories in action. By the of the day, our thoughts and memories were saturated, and our energies run dry. Time for some much-needed R & R (rest and re-hydration).
Love from Eden Roberts and Jesse Bryan
P.S. Big shout outs to Deirdre and Marisa. Peace x0
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
