tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2009-11-08:/MokoFeed2009-11-08T07:04:14+01:00tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2008-06-14:/2008/06/14/pokhara-4314119/suzannaface2008-06-14T11:09:23+02:002008-06-14T11:14:21+02:00 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/pokhara/2572388" title="pokhara"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/388/2572388_3b210ba8b9_s.jpeg" alt="pokhara" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>i'm actually back in kathmandu now, but this picture of fewa tal (pokhara's famous lake) brings back a bit of that fresh air feeling which is sorely missing here in the congested city.</p> <p>nepal is an incredibly beautiful country, once you get out of the built up areas. we hadn't planned to stay in pokhara as long as we did, but if your mum's going to slip in a monsoon storm and break her arm, necessitating a cast for six weeks, then pokhara is the place for it to happen.</p> <p>we stayed in a guest house run by the tibetan family of the pestalozzi director from dehradun and awoke to views of machhapuchhre through one window (the as yet untouched fish tail mountain) and the world peace pagoda above the lake through another.</p> <p>i got into a routine of getting up at 4am to go for walks along the lake before the sun came up, walking as far out as time would allow and stopping to have tea with village families who were preparing for the day ahead. these interactions with local nepalis were wonderful. i have found people here to be incredibly open, friendly and welcoming, and the lack of common language not a problem between people who enjoy smiling so much. the children, especially, are such a joy.</p> <p>mum and i took part in further selection tests and home visits for the upcoming intake of pestalozzi children, which was fascinating and humbling, but otherwise the two and a half weeks in pokhara passed by in a dream of walks, views, cafes, and hospitals. the closest we got to the annapurnas was when we took a taxi to sarangkot one morning (a hill station above pokhara) to watch the dawn break over the mountain range. beautiful.</p> <p>the highest we got was probably in gorkha - the ancient capital and former name of nepal, half way between pokhara and kathmandu - where we climbed up 1500 steps to a temple above the small town and were afforded gorgeous views in every direction. i'm very tempted to come back to nepal and do some 'proper' trekking at some point, although the way my calves complained (for days) after all those steps, i'd have to do some serious training before attempting anything too ambitious. </p> <p>i miss those hills here in thamel - tourist-ville of kathmandu - where an endless stream of taxis, cycle rick-shaws, motorbikes and people squeeze through the narrow and monsoon-muddy streets. but tomorrow i say goodbye to nepal as i head back to india for a final blast of heat and curries before returning to the uk in just 9 days time...</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2008/06/14/pokhara-4314119/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2008-05-17:/2008/05/17/kathmandu-4184677/suzannaface2008-05-17T07:58:04+02:002008-05-17T07:58:04+02:00 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/suzanne_038/2532660" title="suzanne 038"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/660/2532660_8672cb4c8a_s.jpeg" alt="suzanne 038" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>it took two days to get here from dehradun: the overnight train east to gorakhpur was great; the jeep north to sunauli was jam packed with 13 sweating people; the cycle rickshaw over the border was precarious in amongst the lorries; the overnight bus to kathmandu was painful for the long-limbed; and the taxi to the hotel was daylight robbery!</p> <p>i made some friends on the train and passed the time playing them indian and nepali tunes on the flute and violin, which made me very popular. but then i lost my new friends crossing the border and continued north alone. as a single white [very tired] female i guess i was easy prey and got ripped off by some dodgy geezer when i arrived in the big city at dawn. nepal is apparently the second poorest country in the world after somalia, so i hope this guy enjoys the bit of cash he got from me. </p> <p>everybody else in kathmandu is incredibly friendly and polite and i've spent the last few days lazily loafing around, taking advantage of hotel room service and hammocks, international food and, best of all, high roof terrace views. at first sight, the city is a tourist heaven, with funky cafes and gift shops, stunning temples and prayer flags fluttering in the breeze. but three days of wandering from one eatery to the next is enough. </p> <p>it's impossible to ignore the stark contrast in living standards between the [numerous] western tourists and the local people; the bright appealing shopping areas for us moneyed folk and the chaotic grimy bazaars where the nepalis shop; the exclusive roof-top restaurants where i sip my cappuccinos while reading my novels and the squalid corners where street kids stuff crumbs into their mouths. when will my charming nepali waiter get to head off on holiday, and lounge around in london bars, writing his latest thoughts on life in his personal diary?</p> <p>this is the first time that i have been a proper tourist - in south india i was hosted by jaise and in the north i was working and felt more like a resident than a visitor - so i'm grateful that my pestalozzi colleagues have now arrived from dehradun and i will be engaged for the next few days in helping them with the selection of nepali children to join next year. i'm really looking forward to getting involved with the locals again, assisting with the children's tests tomorrow and then making home visits to the successful families - an exciting opportunity to see behind the scenes! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2008/05/17/kathmandu-4184677/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2008-05-06:/2008/05/06/goodbye-crazy-kids-4136820/suzannaface2008-05-06T06:20:49+02:002008-05-06T06:22:15+02:00 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/gone_crazy/2426491" title="gone crazy"><img src="http://data3.blog.de/media/491/2426491_3e478b883f_s.jpg" alt="gone crazy" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>it has been quite an experience. i'd never lived with kids before, so the pestalozzi foundation house, with its 25 (lovely but nevertheless demanding) children has been a huge change in way of life for me. with just a few days left before i leave for nepal i'm preparing to say goodbye to everyone and am making the most of the time i have left here. i am ready to go now though. since the children started going to school a month ago, my job has been one of chasing rather than teaching, which isn't half as much fun. i'm really looking forward to having some freedom back, and exploring further afield. </p> <p>and the water is running out. the residential house we're living in was not designed to hold 28 people, and as the weather hots up (and we all crave more and more cold showers) there is increasingly less water coming into the tanks. it's a real problem and rainwater harvesting hasn't yet caught on here either, which is puzzling. </p> <p>in this heat, my favourite time is at night, sleeping under the stars (and a mosquito net) on the roof, where i'm also out of earshot of those pesky noisy children. the last couple of nights, however, i've had to make a hasty retreat inside due to dramatic lightning storms that light up the sky, as well as the town of mussoorie on the hills above dehradun. the wind rips through the house, and all the doors bang open and shut, like some crazy horror movie, with cups smashing in the kitchen and washing strewn here and there in the morning. </p> <p>we're all off pick-nicking this weekend to celebrate my departure, and i'm promised the possibility of swimming again at the spot where we're going. some of the nepalese kids i might see again while i'm in nepal, but to the others it is goodbye and good luck, and thank you for a fantastic time! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2008/05/06/goodbye-crazy-kids-4136820/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2008-04-23:/2008/04/23/tiuni-4081973/suzannaface2008-04-23T07:13:28+02:002008-04-23T07:13:28+02:00 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/suzanne_002/2485164" title="suzanne 002"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/164/2485164_c910f5a367_s.jpg" alt="suzanne 002" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>tiuni is a small town in the himalayas and it takes about 10 hours to get there on a bus. i was very lucky to have a seat. the ticket conducter spent most of the journey on the roof, along with many other people. in fact, it seemed to be a game of 'how many people can you a adorn a bus with', but all with much humour and big smiles. 10 hours is a long time to spend on a bus, but the views were spectacular and uma, my travelling companion, is excellent company. the himalayas are really big, and really rather impressive. </p> <p>we went to tiuni for preliminary selection of children to come to pestalozzi next year. it is a very remote place and the level of education available in local schools there varies, but is generally pretty poor. anyone with any money sends their children on the long journey to dehradun, to attend schools in the [comparative] big smoke. we were looking for families of the top students who couldn't afford to do this. it was a real privilege also to visit the homes of present pestalozzi children and get a fuller picture of where these children come from and the dramatic change it is for them to live in a hostel in dehradun, far away from their families. </p> <p>uma and i stayed with ashok, the one and only local doctor, who is a very busy man. his house is above the fast flowing river - the loudest thing in tiuni - whose noise i would go to sleep with each night, with a belly full of ashok's wife's wonderful food. four days in the mountains were a most welcome break from the busy routine of school and book/uniform buying that has been consuming all of my time recently. i feel good in the mountains, where the air is pure and the people are innocent, and i am very much looking forward to returning to the himalayas in a few weeks; this time in nepal, where my mother is meeting me - hurrah!</p> <p>the weather in tiuni was rather reminiscent of wales - cool and wet, with a wonderful freshness hanging everywhere - and a pleasant reprieve from the heat of dehradun, where it is now summer and very hot. i think back to those chill blained days in winter and wonder if they really can be only a couple of months ago. i've just come back from another off day in rishikesh, where the temperatures are even higher, and i could do nothing during the day but lie under a fan and watch the ganges flow past while reading my book. it was very hard work...</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2008/04/23/tiuni-4081973/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2008-03-24:/2008/03/24/holi-3928943/suzannaface2008-03-24T08:44:20+01:002008-03-24T08:44:20+01:00 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/holi/2426490" title="holi"><img src="http://data3.blog.de/media/490/2426490_e1e33773f7_s.jpg" alt="holi" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>holi is the hindu festival of colour, a celebration of the end of the cold period and the beginning of the hot season, and an excuse for anyone and everyone to go wild in the streets. i was somewhat anxious about holi arriving, as we'd been warned to keep the hostel gates shut and wear only our oldest and scruffiest clothes. as a woman i was also warned to watch out for men's roaming hands... just what was going to happen to me? </p> <p>there are wet holis and dry holis, depending on whether or not water is mixed with the coloured powder that was on sale in shops everywhere. this year was a dry holi and we bought each child a pack of bright coloured dye, plus a few water guns, because 'dry holi' or not, rules are never adhered to india. hair and body fully oiled to prevent permanent staining, we went to our science teacher's house to play. married to the chief brigadier of this region, she enjoys the perks of a high-end army life and lives in a mansion surrounded by vast lawns and incredible flowers, as colourful as our faces became. </p> <p>playing holi was a lot of fun and continued in the street back home, where we threw water-filled balloons at our neighbours and laughed at the drunks stumbling by (drunk people are rare in india, compared to in the uk, but when you do see them they are like cartoon caricatures, unable to walk in a straight line and singing at the tops of their voices).</p> <p>easter sunday was a tranquil affair by comparison, with a chocolate hunt and dance performances. i accompanied our two christian children to church in the morning, or rather i waited outside as the hindi service took place inside to loud indian music. we have hindu, christian, muslim and buddhist children (with me the non-religious infidel in their midst) and we celebrate the festivals of all the respective faiths. </p> <p>we're getting up at 4:45am these days to practise for the start of school next week. i only ever used to see that time in the morning because i hadn't yet gone to bed. waking now at this time i realise it is the hour of the dog chorus (and there are many dogs), which comes before the bird chorus. with an early breakfast it's then a long time til lunch. if only there was something other than rice and dahl... in fact, as it's my off day, i just might go and make myself some mashed potatoes instead, perhaps even with a bit of tomatoe sauce.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/flowers/2426530" title="flowers"><img src="http://data3.blog.de/media/530/2426530_1bef669ef1_s.jpg" alt="flowers" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2008/03/24/holi-3928943/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2008-03-11:/2008/03/11/indian-wedding-3854874/suzannaface2008-03-11T09:13:55+01:002008-03-11T09:13:55+01:00 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/indian_wedding/2398835" title="indian wedding"><img src="http://data3.blog.de/media/835/2398835_f5098d47e0_s.jpg" alt="indian wedding" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>salwa kameses (the popular long dress and baggy trouser suits) have given way to sarees as summer hits north india. last night i experienced my first indian wedding, or at least a small part of an indian wedding, because these functions last for days. i attended the reception party of some neighbours of my friend uma and was privileged to witness the impressive spectacle of an indian bride. uma dressed me up in a fabulous saree and i hope that my unusual presence at the event did not detract too much attention from the happy couple (although i didn't see either one smiling that much). the elaborate decorations on and around the new husband and wife were in stark contrast to the mess of food and plastic cups that littered the huge flashing marquee. having taken delight in spending a couple of hours getting ready, trying on an assortment of uma's sarees and grappling with the metres of slippery fabric, we left the reception pretty quickly, as soon as we had queued up to have our pictures taken with the bride and groom and eaten a bit of the vast array of food. weddings are big business in india and i shudder to think how much last night's affair cost. i loved wearing a saree, however, and have been lent a couple to practise with; it's really quite important to tie them up correctly.</p> <p>the children are at home for just another few weeks before they start going to school. now is a time of entrance tests and uniform puchasing, books, pens, shoes and bags. as a treat for all their hard work, we all went to a river at the weekend to swim, which was heavenly. modesty demanded i wear clothes to swim but that could not stop me from delighting in the rare pleasure of being in water. it's getting hotter here every day and lunchtime siestas are starting to make a lot of sense. </p> <p>i've just realised that i have my dress on inside out, so am going to run home before anyone notices. it seems i haven't quite mastered the art of indian clothes yet after all ...</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2008/03/11/indian-wedding-3854874/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2008-02-13:/2008/02/13/spring~3721615/suzannaface2008-02-13T14:07:45+01:002008-02-13T14:07:45+01:00 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/suzanne_009/2341977" title="suzanne 009"><img src="http://data3.blog.de/media/977/2341977_a164e730b7_s.jpg" alt="suzanne 009" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>monday was officially the first day of spring in india, celebrated with a festival called vasant panchami, when hindus wear yellow and the world is a brighter, happier place. i wore a borrowed yellow suit and welcomed in the spring by returning to rishikesh, the heavenly town on the ganges, which is surely hippy paradise. i've made friends with a charming man who runs a small restaurant/guest house on the banks of the river and is very discerning about the people he allows to eat/stay there. unlike indians everywhere else, who are always trying to intice you into their shops, he turns away anyone he does not like the look of; the lucky ones are welcomed with open arms and fine japanese/italian/chinese food (and splendid homemade spinach bread) and charged a measly rs 50 a night to sleep with the most fantastic view of the ganges. i wasn't even allowed to pay the rs 50 however, or to pay for my dinner, as i provided a couple of hours of violin playing instead. rishikesh offers yoga classes galore and every other person walking the paths along the river is a sadhu dressed in saffron, lending a very spiritual, peaceful air to the whole place. i took a great yoga class in a hall overlooking the ganges and was able to the see the lights of the pooja that takes place every evening on the river in front of the main ashram, listening to the drums and chanting as i attempted to balance on my head. pretty special.<br> as much as i love it, i am not going to move to rishikesh, as i joked to the pestalozzi director (who has already lost enough house mothers this year), but am certainly keen to return as often as my off days allow. meanwhile back in dehradun, the sun is shining brightly and it really does feel as if spring has sprung. the birds are tweeting loudly, the trees are blossoming, and the monkies are going mental. they stole one of each of three pairs of my favourite woolly socks from the roof. why didn't they just take a pair, instead of leaving me with three odd socks? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2008/02/13/spring~3721615/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2008-02-01:/2008/02/01/india_and_the_senses~3664480/suzannaface2008-02-01T14:29:02+01:002008-02-01T14:29:02+01:00 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/fh_children_1/2315074" title="FH_children[1]"><img src="http://data3.blog.de/media/074/2315074_88dc040fe0_s.jpg" alt="FH_children[1]" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>india is a treat for the senses: sights, sounds, smells, tastes and sensations</p> <p>things i notice...<br> <strong>sights</strong> - the cows, freely wandering the streets, looking for any eatables (as everyone calls edible foods), sometimes adorned with colourful necklaces, bellies perhaps swollen with young; a bull with pained horns. although i have never seen them being aggressive, the children keep their distance, afraid. but i watch this nationally celebrated animal up close, touching the camel-like hump in bemusement, just what is it <em>for</em>? also the monkies, swinging, arguing, grooming and pulling faces, so like humans.</p> <p><strong>sounds</strong> - chanting from the hindu temple round the corner, which i sometimes wake to, but which starts before my morning alarm, and is audible again after dark. then, the clear ring of the little bell we use to signal the start and end of classes/dinner etc. which i've not heard since my days at primary school. i remember the excitement these children have of occasionally being allowed to ring it. then the car horns! i can only imagine that it is for the simple fun of making noise that the indian drivers use their horns so much, as blowing the horn achieves very little in stationary traffic, other than to illicit an equally noisy reply from neighbouring vehicles.</p> <p><strong>smells </strong>- incense, filling the air of the busy market streets, in contrast to the rancid smells lingering around overfloing bins or the smoke of rubbish (plasic and organic) being burned. or the slightly sickly, unfamiliar smell that fills the house once a week when the milk cream is boiled to make ghee (each morning i scoop the hardened top off the large bowl of milk that was heated the night before and collect this thick cream in a tub). the leftover liquid is used to make wonderful homemade halwa, which is soft and totally different to the hard, pure honey & sesame halva we have in the uk. </p> <p><strong>tastes </strong>- cardamom is the first taste of the day as i crack pods with my teeth to make either chai or cowboy coffee (heated in a pan, like the tea, then strained). followed by the joy of chilli. hot chilli sauce on chipattis and dahl, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. the chilli makes my nose run and lips burn, but even as i gulp down water to ease the pain, i am reaching for seconds. there is a perverse pleasure in sucking air through my teeth to try and cool my burning, watering, mouth, and it surely adds a bit of fire to the freezing temperatures? in contrast to the chilli, yummy indian sweets. sticky; hard; infinitely varied. whole shops are dedicated just to sweets, with shelf after shelf of colourful, neatly displayed treats.</p> <p><strong>sensations </strong>- feeling the water of the river ganges flow over my feet; the sun on my face after a freezing night; and, i'm afraid, the pain of chill blains in my fingers (who would have thought i'd come to india and get chill blains! many of the children are suffering too) and the irritation of nits in my hair. aren't children just wonderful? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2008/02/01/india_and_the_senses~3664480/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2008-01-19:/2008/01/19/where_s_the_sun_gone~3599479/suzannaface2008-01-19T10:13:05+01:002008-01-19T10:13:05+01:00 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/img_6231/2275916" title="IMG_6231"><img src="http://data3.blog.de/media/916/2275916_0b332e75c8_s.jpg" alt="IMG_6231" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>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. </p> <p>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 ... </p> <p>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... </p> <p>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.</p> <p>missing my friends. big hugs to you all. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2008/01/19/where_s_the_sun_gone~3599479/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2008-01-10:/2008/01/10/monkies_money_and_markets~3555894/suzannaface2008-01-10T12:40:41+01:002008-01-14T11:18:01+01:00 <p>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. </p> <p>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!</p> <p>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?!</p> <p>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. </p> <p>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???</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2008/01/10/monkies_money_and_markets~3555894/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2008-01-03:/2008/01/03/suzanne_maam_in_dehra_dun~3522826/suzannaface2008-01-03T13:20:07+01:002008-01-03T13:20:07+01:00 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/img_5805/2251738" title="IMG_5805"><img src="http://data3.blog.de/media/738/2251738_e68735d145_s.jpg" alt="IMG_5805" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2008/01/03/suzanne_maam_in_dehra_dun~3522826/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2007-12-26:/2007/12/26/christmas_in_india~3491320/suzannaface2007-12-26T08:51:23+01:002007-12-26T08:51:23+01:00 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/south_india_193/2235844" title="south india 193"><img src="http://data3.blog.de/media/844/2235844_96a9e347df_s.jpg" alt="south india 193" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>so after the wonderful tranquility of thiru we headed north to chennai, which is a huge and horribly polluted city, and i suddenly realised what a 'developing country' means: concrete construction - everywhere - with noise, cars, and fumes... i was quite shocked by the reality of indian cities with all that they entail: whole families living on the street, and air pollution so bad it's hard to breathe. but i did have a great biriyani and we visited the J. Krishnamurti centre for the afternoon, which was a veritable haven. his philosophy on teaching is very interesting. </p> <p>from there it was a delight to take the train to bangalore. the experience of travelling on an indian train lives up to all expectations: there is a constant stream of tastey dishes and beverages on offer, which change with the time of day and district you find yourself in, and i just love the freedom to sit in the open doorway and watch the world outside hurtle by. why would you want a seat when you can sit with your feet dangling outside the train???</p> <p>bangalore is the silicon valley of the east, and far more 'developed' than chennai. although at first sight it may be more pleasant, there are reportedly 1,000 new cars in the city every day, and the traffic pollution is rocketing. the gurukula (ashram) we stayed in just outside bangalore was one of my favourite places to be of the whole trip. run by a charming couple, it was peaceful and surrounded by trees, where i could play the violin and thread flowers from the garden. i was even taught my first raga.</p> <p>from there we headed through calicut back to the beautiful mountains of kerala. rain forest mixes with tea plantations and the most spectacular views of the western ghat mountains in an area called Wayanad, where we went for an early morning pedalo boating session on a lake, which we shared only with the water lillies for a while, before more tourists arrived. </p> <p>the contrast between tamil nadu, karnataka and kerala was most apparent when we arrived back in kerala, where there are big flashy houses being built everywhere and the street life is far more organised and sanitised than in the east. it's also much hotter and more humid here, accompanied by those pesky mosquitoes which had been absent in the cool mountains. </p> <p>we spent our last night on the raod in a town called allepey, where there was a temple festival taking place, involving many flashing lights, a full fun fair with big wheel and snake shows, and streets crammed with stalls and people. in the morning we took a boat ride down the popular kerelan back waters to kotayam, which was heavenly. i then went back to the kuriakose home to get ready for christmas with jaise's sister jainy, while jaise took more bumpy buses south to meet some friends. it has been wonderful to stop with the family for a few days, although there is hardly a moment to get bored, with neighbours to visit, food to be prepared, 3 year olds to entertain, and meals to eat! i decided to make swiss chocolate truffles as a contribution from my family christmas tradition, but didn't factor in the heat issue.... there is a reason why india doesn't really have any chocolate, and that's because it melts, very quickly. so i have made strange looking frozen chocolate things, which are popular nevertheless.</p> <p>christmas day was lovely, beinning with papaya fruit and chillie curry for breakfast, and ending with a trip to the local cinema, which was a hoot. although the film was in malayalam, i enjoyed the whole experience of slidy cinema seats, spicy peanuts and booming bollywood music, in a space at least twice the size of any british cinema i've ever been in. film is huge here and there are 10 cinema complexes with half an hour of each other!</p> <p>i'm off to delhi tomorrow afternoon and feel a bit nervous about the big city... fingers crossed, and happy new year everyone!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2007/12/26/christmas_in_india~3491320/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2007-12-12:/2007/12/12/tamil_nadu~3433118/suzannaface2007-12-12T15:55:48+01:002007-12-12T15:55:48+01:00 <p>it took us two whole days to cross from the west coast to the east side of India, on what seemed to be a never ending stream of bumpy, noisy buses. but looking out the window is always a treat, and there was much to take in, as Tamil Nadu is very different to Kerala. it is much poorer, and the huge, concrete houses that you can see springing up all over Kerala were replaced by small mud huts on the side of the road, with bicycles and motor bikes rather than cars. so many motor bikes! and so much plastic rubbish everywhere (which the cows, goats, pigs and monkeys chomp through looking for tid bits). i feel this compulsion to want to tidy up all the time, but jaise explains that many have tried and it is apparently a futile task. but the people are warm and friendly and full of smiles and waves. such beautiful open faces. </p> <p>we spent a day and a night in Pondicherry - a former French colonial town, with French restaurants and bakeries still, and a long beach front promenade. From there we were taken to Auroville where we were extremely well looked after, with guest house, food and scooter all laid on. Auroville is huge, covering 12 square kms. The goal is to have 50,000 permanent residents, but in its 40th year there are still only 2,000, and the water table won't support many more. nevertheless, they are building all over the place (largely in concrete...) and hope to attract more people, even though the acceptance process to become an Aurovillian is quite challenging. </p> <p>In the centre of Auroville is the 'Matrimandir' (mother's temple) - an enormous golden 'temple', dedicated to the woman known as The Mother who founded Auroville. After 35 years construction, it is almost completed, and we were privileged enough to be allowed entry... i can't say i was impressed. architecturally it is unique, but in my opinion it is nothing more than a big 'ego ball'; an embarrassment at the heart of an otherwise quite interesting project. it is like something straight off a James Bond film set, to match the [very impressive] solar cooker - a parabolic solar concentrator producing steam - which looks like a big zapper that Bond's enemy might have created in an attempt to destroy the world!</p> <p>we did meet some fascinating people in Auroville, especially a man called Balu who is running an instrument making project with local school drop outs - the 16/17 year old boys live together, making instruments during the day, and rehearsing music/dance performances in the evening. they will be performing in Delhi when I go through on my way to Dera Dun, and the plan is that i will play with them in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram there.</p> <p>jaise and i did our presentation about CAT and renewable energy, which went well despite the rather shambolic arrangements, and there is definitely potential for CAT and Auroville to work together in some way. </p> <p>we're now north west of Auroville, in a town called Thiruvanamalai, staying in an Ashram a few miles out of town, close to a friend of Jaise, who spends half of every year living on a farm with a local family. it is so fascinating to spend time with them: they cook outside still using wood, work their land for a living, and all sleep together in one small room, yet have a huge television with a sky dish outside, motorbikes, fancy clothes and laptops! it's quite a combination to get used to, but they are so welcoming and i manage to communicate with the mother with smiles and hugs and flowers, as she knows only a few words in English and my Tamil is non existent. i definitely intend to learn some Hindi for when i am up north. </p> <p>up early early tomorrow morning to climb Arunachala - the sacred mountain that draws so many tourists here from all over the world - before going to a function at lunchtime to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of the death of someone's mother, which we've been invited to attend. everything is celebrated here, and in style! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2007/12/12/tamil_nadu~3433118/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2007-12-04:/2007/12/04/kerala~3392207/suzannaface2007-12-04T09:03:20+01:002007-12-04T09:03:20+01:00 <p>hello!</p> <p>gosh, what a lot has happened in just one week. it has been a blessedly soft landing into india as i have been extremely well looked after by jaise and the kuriakose family, and i feel somewhat superior to the other white western tourists on the street, who might not know where to go or what to do ..! we have visited, and been visited by, about a million relatives and neighbours and friends, who come to stare at me and try and pursuade jaise to get married. lots and lots of 'very tasty' food - everyone wants to feed us, and if we're visiting say six homes in a day, it becomes hard to please everyone! such vast quantities of rice are consumed at every sitting!!!! there seem to be two types of people in india: the very thin and the very fat. i'm staying with the sareed bellies at the moment - lots of material and curves everywhere!!!</p> <p>apparently, i am the best person to be driving the family around (!!!) which means that i've been braving the absoulutely insane roads, into the city of Cochin, and up into the Western Ghat mountains. there are pot holes everywhere, sometimes cunningly disguised, it seems, and no-one adheres to the signs that everywhere say 'live and let live; obey traffic rules'. there are goats, cows, people bikes, auto rick shaws, "super fast" buses (as they proudly name themselves), trucks with bamboo piled metres high, leaning precariously round sharp bends.... in fact precarious is a very good word for india. cars hurtle at you from every direction, without ever indicating, and it's a wonder that the death toll isn't higher than it is.</p> <p>i'm never quite sure what's happening until it happens. i was awoken one morning to be told that that i was expected at the local school to play violin to the kids at their sports' day and talk to them about global warming, oh and we're leaving now. ok, i guess i'm awake! so a whole field of young innocent faces attentively listened to me, nodding furiously in agreement. i've also played for the local Fine Arts Society and been interview by the local paper about CAT and carbon and india. this afternoon we're presenting to the local college, before heading east over the mountains into Tamil Nadu, starting the journey towards Auroville. 5am bus tomorrow morning. at least this time i'll be inside the super speedy bus, and not trying to avoid it.</p> <p>kerala is very green, with coconut and banana trees everywhere. there are many different types of each: small bananas, fat bananas, green bananas, white bananas, and they have a thousands different ways of preparing dishes withrice, cococut, chillies!!!! and spices. tasty tasty.</p> <p>i've seen a couple of elephants - not wild, although they do exist around here up in the hills - but am more afraid of being squashed by a super speedy bus than an elephant!</p> <p>don't know when i'll next get near a working computer with working internet. nothing is as straight forward as in the uk, but it's great! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2007/12/04/kerala~3392207/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2007-11-26:/2007/11/26/the_new_job~3353554/suzannaface2007-11-26T11:05:33+01:002007-11-26T11:05:33+01:00 <p>as well as giving conversational english classes at the Pestalozzi village in Dehradun (6 hours north of Delhi), i have been asked if i would take on the role of House Mother... the woman who is currently doing it is leaving early and so they need someone from the middle of December. the job involves running a house of 25 eleven year olds - from India, Nepal and Tibet - and speaking only English with them (i don't have much choice there anyway). i will be up with them from 6a.m. until 9p.m. and be responsible for the ordering and collecting of food, fuel etc. and their general well being. it sounds pretty intense as the children have their lessons in the same house that they live in and it's a long working week (one day off a week), but it's a paid position (about £100 a month!) and the most fantastic opportunity to immerse myself in the local community and form real relationships with people. </p> <p>but before all that i have a month of sun and adventure with Jaise in the south, and we're getting on the plane this evening!</p> <p>i've had a lovely last week in Bristol, catching up with old friends and being pampered by my mum, whose birthday it was on Saturday. it's a big thing for her only child to travel to the other side of the world, and i'm really grateful for all her support and encouragement. </p> <p>i've got my rucksack and my violin (thank you Pippa!) and a huge sense of excitement - next stop Colombo, Sri Lanka!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2007/11/26/the_new_job~3353554/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>tag:elephantgalant.blog.co.uk,2007-11-20:/2007/11/20/goodbye_wales~3325539/suzannaface2007-11-20T15:40:41+01:002007-11-20T15:40:41+01:00 <p><img src="http://data3.blog.de/media/982/2158982_4fa5fe3275_s.jpeg" alt="saying goodbye" vspace="5" hspace="5"></p> <p>i am going to miss my friends in wales so much. thank you and i love you all.</p> <p>i'm living in the city now, with locks and keys and cars and Thai restaurants! in a week jaise and i will have arrived in cochin, where the temperature is 31oc, mmmmm.</p> <p>i somehow did manage to forget my toothbrush in wales - molly, are you still offering to bring it to me..? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://elephantgalant.blog.co.uk/2007/11/20/goodbye_wales~3325539/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>