Hi,
Sorry this took so long.
I have very little access to the internet and no wifi near me. I have only seen one internet cafe with wifi. Most are just public computers. I am keeping a log of writing and pics as often as i can on on my personal computer. Not sure when I will be able to post it all on the blog. May use a flash drive at some point.
I am located pretty much out in the sticks. Very little technology. I'm lucky if I get running water half the time. I sleep with lizards and spiders. I am suddenly no longer scared of bugs. I live in very simple lodgings, with a cot and fan and western-ish style bathroom. We have the fan running all night and sleep with no covers. Its usually about 38-40C during the day and not much cooler at night. I have no idea the translation to F. But its fucking hot. WE usually wake up around 6 am as the power is cut daily from 6-9am. We start working at 6:45am. The Village I am in is called Chinnupatti 5km from the small town of Vattnagundu. Many of the people here have never seen a westerner before. Its very strange. Everyone waves or yells hello when passing by and children run up to us to ask our country and touch us. Many of the people here have never heard of the US and some haven't heard of America. Its very strange. Wherever we go we are stared at or circled. I currently have a guy trying to read what I write. He is just standing behind me.
Over all everything is great. Still getting adjusted. Most of my days are good. Periodically I wonder what the hell I got myself into. At the Farm there are seven volunteers including myself. Five guys and two girls. Three guys from Holland, one from England, one France and the other girl is from Denmark. Everyone is 10 years younger than me and a lively group. It keeps things fun, though i am much more mellow than they are. Daily we have the local children greeting us at our gate. They know our schedule. Work and meal times. They are very sweet and high energy. At the end of the day this can be a bit trying but I am getting use to it. I have about 5 girls that follow me around. I finally know their names. They ask multiple times a day to repeat their name to be sure I remember.I have found again that I have no ear for languages. I have picked up a few words of Tamil, but not much more. The children know some English so that is helpful. Our supervisor Raisa, who runs the farm is the only adult Indian that speaks English here.
Some highlights of what I have been spending my time doing include:
Going to a cattle market. We purchased a cow. The cow had a calf the following weekend. We now have a total of 5 cows. The cattle market was probably one of the most surreal moments I have ever experienced. A mass of cows and people in a rather small space. We spent the morning walking around cows and we all felt like the cattle. We were followed and circled wherever we went. Can't describe it.
Planted a small plot of lentils at an orphanage. Great fun. The kids like to get involved. The kids are very high spirited which is great. Many of them have families. Some of them are there for boarding to go to a school farther from home. Some are there because their parents can't afford them. Most are actual orphans. They love having visitors and teaching us Tamil and finding out where we are from. Had a cow dung fight. Never thought I would be so intimately involved with cow dung.
Reforestation - outreach in the village I am staying in. Planted trees and some smaller plants around the village i am staying in. Had a great response from everyone. Everyone wanted a plant in their yard. The women actually started fighting over who got which plant or tree. The children were fighting over who got to help carry tools and water. Most of us had children climbing our backs during this as well. They are out on holiday right now so they are trying to help us with everything we do.
Waste Water Treatment Plant - going next week
This project is probably one of the best projects with Projects Abroad in India. Raisa keeps us busy and we do a lot of outreach with the community. She also takes us to other farms and facilities having to do with conservation so we get a well rounded pic of how things work here and the Indian's view on what we are trying to do.
That is it for now. Not sure when I will be able to post again.
Sorry this took so long.
I have very little access to the internet and no wifi near me. I have only seen one internet cafe with wifi. Most are just public computers. I am keeping a log of writing and pics as often as i can on on my personal computer. Not sure when I will be able to post it all on the blog. May use a flash drive at some point.
I am located pretty much out in the sticks. Very little technology. I'm lucky if I get running water half the time. I sleep with lizards and spiders. I am suddenly no longer scared of bugs. I live in very simple lodgings, with a cot and fan and western-ish style bathroom. We have the fan running all night and sleep with no covers. Its usually about 38-40C during the day and not much cooler at night. I have no idea the translation to F. But its fucking hot. WE usually wake up around 6 am as the power is cut daily from 6-9am. We start working at 6:45am. The Village I am in is called Chinnupatti 5km from the small town of Vattnagundu. Many of the people here have never seen a westerner before. Its very strange. Everyone waves or yells hello when passing by and children run up to us to ask our country and touch us. Many of the people here have never heard of the US and some haven't heard of America. Its very strange. Wherever we go we are stared at or circled. I currently have a guy trying to read what I write. He is just standing behind me.
Over all everything is great. Still getting adjusted. Most of my days are good. Periodically I wonder what the hell I got myself into. At the Farm there are seven volunteers including myself. Five guys and two girls. Three guys from Holland, one from England, one France and the other girl is from Denmark. Everyone is 10 years younger than me and a lively group. It keeps things fun, though i am much more mellow than they are. Daily we have the local children greeting us at our gate. They know our schedule. Work and meal times. They are very sweet and high energy. At the end of the day this can be a bit trying but I am getting use to it. I have about 5 girls that follow me around. I finally know their names. They ask multiple times a day to repeat their name to be sure I remember.I have found again that I have no ear for languages. I have picked up a few words of Tamil, but not much more. The children know some English so that is helpful. Our supervisor Raisa, who runs the farm is the only adult Indian that speaks English here.
Some highlights of what I have been spending my time doing include:
Going to a cattle market. We purchased a cow. The cow had a calf the following weekend. We now have a total of 5 cows. The cattle market was probably one of the most surreal moments I have ever experienced. A mass of cows and people in a rather small space. We spent the morning walking around cows and we all felt like the cattle. We were followed and circled wherever we went. Can't describe it.
Planted a small plot of lentils at an orphanage. Great fun. The kids like to get involved. The kids are very high spirited which is great. Many of them have families. Some of them are there for boarding to go to a school farther from home. Some are there because their parents can't afford them. Most are actual orphans. They love having visitors and teaching us Tamil and finding out where we are from. Had a cow dung fight. Never thought I would be so intimately involved with cow dung.
Reforestation - outreach in the village I am staying in. Planted trees and some smaller plants around the village i am staying in. Had a great response from everyone. Everyone wanted a plant in their yard. The women actually started fighting over who got which plant or tree. The children were fighting over who got to help carry tools and water. Most of us had children climbing our backs during this as well. They are out on holiday right now so they are trying to help us with everything we do.
Waste Water Treatment Plant - going next week
This project is probably one of the best projects with Projects Abroad in India. Raisa keeps us busy and we do a lot of outreach with the community. She also takes us to other farms and facilities having to do with conservation so we get a well rounded pic of how things work here and the Indian's view on what we are trying to do.
That is it for now. Not sure when I will be able to post again.
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