suzanne in the sub continent

it's not really that cold, i suppose, because i'm not wearing a coat, or shoes, but the sun has failed to make a proper appearence for a few days now, and we even had thunder and lightning yesterday, which was actually really exciting.

i took the first 5 children to sit their school entrance exam this morning and had tears in my eyes as i waved them off. their intense studying for the past 6 months has all been for this one test ... but we greeted them again after three hours to shouts of how easy it was, so all the hard work must have paid off! five down and twenty to go ...

if the hills aren't too very ovscured by the thick fog that can tend to shroud them, we plan to take the children up to Mussorie tomorrow - one and a half hrs from here - as a treat, and a welcome change of atmosphere for us all. it can get quite intense being in the house all day, and i'm looking forward to seeing a new town, and hopefully even some views of those big old mountains...

i'm reading a great book about indian-english, which provides a fascinating insight into, and explanation of, the use [and frequent bastardisation] of english by indians. hilarious, and oh so accurate. i'll try note down some examples for next time.

missing my friends. big hugs to you all.

i'm settling into my new teacher/mother life now and finding both roles very rewarding. the children are so affectionate and quick to learn. We've been singing 'you are my sunshine' a lot together, and when i went to say goodnight to the girls a few days ago they sang me "you are our suzanne ma'm, our only suzanne ma'm, you make us happy when we are sad ... please don't take our suzanne ma'm away". i nearly cried.

they're learning the flute now too, and some have already mastered 'twinkle twinkle', which will no doubt be a relief to the neighbours, who have been subjected to high pitch screeching noises every break time since the children were each awarded their own instrument of torture!

i thought the many monkeys lingering around the house were so cute ... until they ganged up on me one day when i was alone hanging washing out on the roof. three of them crept up and jumped on me, and my screams of surprise brought lobsang la ma'm and vikrand running upstairs, thinking i had fallen off the roof or something. a bit embarassing, but i'd done nothing to provoke them; why would they go for me like that?!

having largely avoided budgets in my 3 years of fundraising, i am now responsible for my own expenses, those of the household, and the pocket money of all the kids, each budget recorded in a separate book, requiring 'bills' (receipts) for even the smallest amount - another example of the incredible lengths indians go to to make life as bureaucratic as possible! i prefer being with the kids than the figures, but i'm getting to grips with it all now.

my first day off took me into town and its busy market streets, where it is definitely an advantage to go with a local/hindi speaker. shops just aren't obvious in the way there are in the UK (it took me a few attempts to find the post office when i went alone for the first time, as there is no big red sign announcing its presence; you have to look really carefully to see that this particular counter handles letters rather than chickens or onions, which are also outside, camouflaging the post box). but on monday, aided by gayatri, i managed to select some beautiful material from the vast array on offer and was measured up by one of the many tailors scattered around the streets. my first made-to-measure outfits will be ready on sunday! can it really true that it will cost only 200 rupees (about $5) to have two new suits made just for me???

a woman travelling on her own in india definitely draws attention, especially a tall blonde one, and i was so grateful to be adopted by a nun during my 2 day journey to delhi! sister rosie befriended me on the platform before i boarded the kerala express and shared my bunk as she had no bed reserved, bringing me immediate respect (and safety) from the coach full of men we were sharing with.

i've now made it to dehra dun in the north of india and have started my new life as mother and english teacher to 25 children..! they are so lovely - selected by the asian pestalozzi foundation from poor families in india, nepal and tibet - and such a delight to live with. lucky really, because i have 16 hr days with them, starting at 5:45am... but it's not as bad as it sounds. once they're up i'm pretty free to read the paper, sip sweet sweet chai, and watch the families of local monkeys grooming each other and swinging form the trees (when they're not sneaking into the house to steal our food!). i give the children one or two hours of spoken english classes a day and am responsible, along with lobsang la maam (assistant house mother in the pic with me) for their general wellbeing.

coming from hot and humid kerala, where there is a temperature differntial of only 5 degrees c throughout the year, i am shocked at how cold it is here, and need to buy some more woollies quickly! it's as cold as wales here at night (and with no heating to speak of...), but hot in the sun during the day. january is the coldest month here, then from february it starts heating up towards a blistering april. the overnight train journey from delhi was painfully, sleeplessly cold, but now i have thick blankets and duvets to bury myself under.

everyone is so nice here. gayatri, a bubbly young indian woman who works in the pestalozzi office, has taken me under her wing and the two of will go clothes shopping, sight seeing and hiking on our one day off a week. i can't wait to explore the mountains, watch more hindi movies, and be measured by a tailor to have new frocks made to fit - what a treat!