I'm so torn on where to start with my first India post! It seems that there is so much that I want to share about my experiences so far, so many pictures I want to post. Please keep in mind that I have only been here for five days and that my observations are very limited.
As others who have travelled to India shared with me, I have also found this to be a country that overwhelms all of the senses. There is the aroma of food cooking mixed with the smells of rotting food and garbage in the streets. There are the sounds of music and laughter intermingled with honking and angry voices. There are lovely apartment buildings next to structures where no one should live...but they do. There are well-dressed people with dogs on leashes walking along the promenade alongside stray dogs and people washing their laundry on the garbage-littered shores of the ocean.
The teachers and children at the school are extremely friendly and respectful. After our sports day (more about that in the next blog post) I was using a short Indian-style broom to sweep up the floor of the toddler room in the school. The ladies who cook for the school were apparently distraught that I was performing such a task. The broom was scooped out of my hand after 3 short sweeps. I am particularly fond of the one cook who shares pure, unreserved laughter with me; the kind of laughter that causes our tears to run and has us doubling over. We don't speak the same language and really have no idea what we are each laughing about, but it forms a connection that requires no words.
Here are some photos I have chosen to share.
Laundry drying on the shore. The people are meticulous with the folding. The finished laundry reminds me of clothes neatly folded in a retail store in Canada.
Teachers and volunteers in one of the classrooms. There are no desks or chairs, but there are a few wooden boxes for a select few to sit on. The two standing at the back are students that I have come to know.
The sunset from the promenade. So far the smog has not been as bad as I had anticipated.
Lastly, my travel tip for this week: the best thing to leave at home.....judgement.
"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." Mahatma Gandhi
2 comments:
Excellent last statement. I don't think I could handle India, so I admire you for what you are doing. I think I'll stay in my comfort zone!
I'd like to think I would leave judgements behind...but would India be so far out of my comfort zone that I could not? I think the people would be quite easy to fall in love with but the sights and sounds? Not so sure. I have such admiration for what you are doing Kim and look forward to reading more about your experience. Thanks for taking the time to blog.
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