Training

Time is flying..... Training is nearly at an end......we leave for our placements tomorrow!

Training has been a long, beneficial but sometimes a tedious part of my Indian adventure. We begin every day with an hours lesson of Tamil, which to be honest I quiet enjoy, I'm fairly confident with the basics but the sentence order is soooo messed up. I'm excited to get out into the schools and practice my new language skills for real. We have also had interesting lessons on Indian culture (the do's and especially the don'ts), and the practicalities of life on placement - boring stuff like finance ect...... and don't panic mum we have been well informed on the health and safety.

We have concentrated on civil participation for the bulk of our training and delivering this in schools and sustaining our work by setting up after school clubs (some of which currently exist, some of which we will be setting up a fresh - exciting eh?!?). So throughout the month of  in Feb we will be placed in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Vellore in three sub teams tackling the schools in each area. Restless have been more than prepared and we have many materials and booklets that will no doubt serve as our bibles throughout the duration. Many of the lessons are for 6th - 11th standard (basically secondary schools) and tackle issues from community right up to human rights...... it really is very interesting and we will be reaching 6000 kids in each sub-team. There is such a focus on non-formal education techniques (there's a session on making puppets) which is right up my street and I have been called upon several times to run some energizers...... the work I did in Africa last April is going to prove so valuable. The final section of our training had been on livelihoods for the 'out-of-school' youth, but as we won't be delivering this till after our top up training in March we are very much focused on the task ahead..... I could be teaching as early as Monday (with classes of up to 100 students on my own with a national volunteer).

So Finally, just to inform you a little about my specific placement........... I'm going to Vellore! It's situated the furthest from the city Chennai (where we are now), but its still going to have all the amenities and resources that we need.
I will be placed with..........the delightful Will and Jack. I'm sooooooo happy with the placement that I have been chosen for... there was also ment to be one other girl staying with us but she is off back to the UK next week..... So it's going to be up to me to keep the boys in check! Team Vellore!!

Spice is Nice!

For those of you that know me particularly well you will be fully aware that my tolerance to spice is pretty much non existent - spring onions and peppers were literally my limit.Since our arrival we have yet to receive a meal that is not packed with chilies....... HOT! HOT! HOT!

To begin with I found it quite a struggle and had to stock up on cereal and such things at the supermarket, but this would not do for the duration of my 3 month stay in India..... I am now a changed woman.

Eating only a small amount of the chili packed breakfasts, lunches and dinners my taste buds have been set a tingling and have changed at an alarming rate. I am wafting own full plates of rice, chapattis, poppadoms and an array of vegetable curry's. Alongside this we have not eaten any meat since landing in Chennai.....probably the longest I have ever been without it. But I am fully embracing the vegetables and fruit (coconut and banana trees line the streets here). Anyway, bit of a pointless blog but many of you expressed your concerns about my 'spice issues' back home and this is just to let you all know......Spice is nice!

My Indian Adventure Begins....

I have arrived in India - in fact I've been here about five days now and already it feels like a lifetime.

We arrived in Chennai on Tuesday night, and we were immediately confronted with its chaotic roads. Constant beeping and carrying your entire family on one small motorbike is a common sight. The following morning we were chauffeured to the Restless Development office on an auto-(rickshaw), which was nothing short of terrifying but en route I slowly learnt that as suicidal as some motorists appear, if you are confident enough even a small auto -(rickshaw) can alone stop full flowing 15motorbikes wide traffic. Travelling by bus is also quite the experience as the Chennai folk openly board and exit the rammed buses whilst in motion. Doors and windows are a rarity on any vehicle.

Chennai itself is much different to any other city that I have visited. On first arriving I was quiet daunted by the prospect of three months living here, (as its difficult to avoid the rubbish that covers the city, and general standard of living, dogs roam the streets starving, and we accidently walked into the slums) but its amazing how quickly we've all adapted and are fitting into the Indian way of life, despite the soaring heat. Culturally this place is so different but it is nothing short of amazing! There are some aspects of Indian life however that I will struggle to get used to..... there is so much waiting. We arrived fresh faced and eager at the restless office only to be told that we needed to register at the police station.......about four hours later we finally left! The time it takes after a decision has been made to go somewhere and actually leaving can be quiet frustrating.

After training yesterday one of the national volunteers offered to take us to the beach, (apparently its the longest beach in the world - they keep telling us this but i'm dubious to believe them) it was nothing like what I was expecting. Once on the sand you had to walk through a mass market in order to get to the sea, and unfortunately the beach is treated much like the city in that rubbish is left where is falls. It was beautiful to watch the sun set while we paddled our feet in the Bay of Bengal.

Apart from that training is in full swing now, and i'm thoroughly enjoying working with the national volunteers. The Restless Development India staff have been brilliant in helping us settle in and with each day I eagerly anticipate my placement more and more.