Hello again from India :) just a quick post today to make use of a computer while I can. Feeling very upbeat about everything at the moment – definitely seem to be getting more into the swing of things and the Indian way of living; when they say twenty minutes, they mean two hours, be laid back about not having found a certain accommodation for us (?!) and when crossing the roads, hesitating will not help you – RUN.

The Indian volunteers have returned to their community as VSO India decided that in order to give opportunities for everyone, using local volunteers is best. This means that we do not live in a host family. Before, it was usually the more privileged young people who volunteered as they had the ability to travel and were more accepting of having international strangers living in their homes. We are all missing them already. They have come out of their shell so much and have such individual characters, despite the language barrier. My Hindi is improving – well I’m learning one new phrase a day, but somehow my pronunciation isn’t quite up to scratch as I seem to have the mick taken out of me quite a lot, but in a nice way. I have also learnt my Hindi name – ‘Jyoti’, so we gave them all their English names – Nigel, Steve, Simon, Rupert, Kevin and Arnold, while Angela and Mary for the girls. I don’t think they were too impressed. They look out for us so much –helping us cross the roads (consisting of grabbing our hands and walking while shouting at the Rickshaw drivers) and one of the girls, Angelie even asked me why I was sad when I had a stomach ache. I have also never been called ‘beautiful’ so many times before, English boys definitely need to take note! So basically, myself and two others will be staying in an apartment in Putna, the capital city while the other 4 will be staying in Nalanda, a rural town about 2 hours away. Each weekend, we will alternate and visit each other so we will still remain a strong team.

Yesterday, we had a mini tour of Putna, including another Rickshaw ride and were shown the hospital, a basic doctor’s ‘surgery’, the chemist, a convenience shop with shampoo etc. We then experienced another Indian speciality of sugar cane juice. This is made on the road in front of you with a machine that squeezes out the juice from the canes, similar to an old fashioned clothes dryer, but motored. They also put lime juice in it for a bit of zing. Seeing as it is 32 degrees here, this was so refreshing.

This morning we went to the Gandhi Maiden area, including a Gandhi museum of which we spent a lot of the time talking to a school group who were adorable. The teacher came up to me after and told me we had made them ‘very happy’. I bought Gandhi’s autobiography for 36 rupees, around 45p, so I plan on coming home very enriched. We then climbed the landmark Golghar, a huge dome shaped granary built by the British army to avoid a repeat of the 1770 famine. (See learning lots of facts already, haha). It has a staircase either side with 250 steps. Even in the heat we climbed it! And it was worth it, the view was incredible – on one side was built up houses and roads etc, while a turn to the right was the Ganges which was enormous.

We are due to start our work placement on Monday so have been given two very detailed information packs to read about the ‘Learning games for girls’ and ‘Women’s sexual and Reproductive health’. These involve a basic script that the ‘animators’ (people delivering the session) use. They each last 30 minutes. This was explained to us that they are only short because most of the women do not have the time to give due to chores, children etc, so Reach India is a very accessible charity, designed to include as many women and adolescent girls as possible. Some of the sessions cover basic things like hand washing and the effects of not doing this properly, while others cover menstruation and pregnancy, designed to inform, reassure and prepare.

Everything is going really well, but it still hasn’t sunk in how long I am here for, it still feels a bit holiday like, but when we start work, I am sure this will all change. Hope everyone is well and look forward to talking to some of you on Skype (internet cafes only 20 rupees an hour). 

P.s sorry no pictures today - computer is even slower than usual!