Yaay I'm finally here! I arrived last Wednesday around 6am, so after being awake for 24 hours we all spent the next couple of days sleeping and getting over our jet lag in a hostel in Hyderabad. Then on Friday we all went to our different projects (there's 20 of us)- I didn't have far to travel because ours is already in Hyderabad but some people got planes and trains to the north and south so we said our goodbyes and will probably be meeting up at some point in the holidays.
The first day at the blind school was a bit daunting, loads of blind children running around and asking our names and banging on our room door. Then there were the awkward moments where you have to ask someone to repeat something again and again...and again until you just nod and say 'yes' pretending to understand! But after a few days we've settled in and are enjoying it more and more as we get to know everyone.
So far the major differences between India and the UK;
The roads are insane. They are absolutely crazy! Lanes don't seem to exist in India and cars are constantly beeping their horns and overtake literally inches away. When we asked our host where his left wing mirror was he was like "why would i need one of those?"..
Being in an auto rickshaw is an experience too.. they aren't the fastest things ever so its a little bit scary when they turn around on a major road and cars look like they're about to crash into the side of you. Then there's the motorbikes; you see whole families on one bike, like a father driving, a mother on the back holding a tiny baby and a child in the middle, and none of them wearing helmets, its crazy!
Driving through the streets you come across the odd cow and family of buffalo's just standing in the road.. a little bit weird :p
When people tell you you'll be eating curry 3 times a day in India, they weren't joking. This morning we had chapattis with literally the spiciest curry i have ever had, my eyes started watering because it was so hot, not the best thing first thing in the morning!! But other than breakfasts its been mostly nice, still spicy though! Me and my partner Holly are eventually starting to get the nack of eating with our hands (there's a proper technique apparently) after a week of the staff laughing at us attempting it. The other day me and Holly cheated a bit and put bananas and jam in our chapattis for breakfast, which then tasted more like pancakes and were lush :)
Everyone always talks about the smell that hits you in India, but to be honest I haven't noticed it really.. the only thing I've noticed is that the school smells a bit but only because of the river next to it, and oh my god passing a truck with dead animal carcusses in it that had blood dripping down the street was vile... it made me and Holly wretch - possibly the worse smell i have ever smelt.. but now we know to cover our noses when passing those trucks!
Yesterday was really fun, it was Ganesh's birthday so there was a statue of Ganesh put up in the school and we dressed up in saris and had a bindi and orange stripes painted on us, and had rice and petals thrown at us by the kids. It was really nice to experience it not as a tourist if that makes sense?
So far the weirdest thing that has happened to us was when a bird got beheaded by a ceiling fan and came flying at us as we were walking through a classroom - the body whacked my leg and the head hit Holly's - we didn't know what it was until we saw it in two bits on the floor, the feet were stil moving on the body and the beak was still moving on the head.. weird!
The heat is bearable and Holly has a million mosquito bites and up until today i had none hehe so i don't think they like me but i'm not complaining :p Oh and Indians doing their head-bobble is so funny, really hoping i don't pick that up and come back home doing it!
So thats an outine of my first week here, there's loads more to write about but i don't have any time left, we're hoping to start teaching next week so hopefully i can write more about the school next time, and i'll try to upload a picture of some sort asap :)
The first day at the blind school was a bit daunting, loads of blind children running around and asking our names and banging on our room door. Then there were the awkward moments where you have to ask someone to repeat something again and again...and again until you just nod and say 'yes' pretending to understand! But after a few days we've settled in and are enjoying it more and more as we get to know everyone.
So far the major differences between India and the UK;
The roads are insane. They are absolutely crazy! Lanes don't seem to exist in India and cars are constantly beeping their horns and overtake literally inches away. When we asked our host where his left wing mirror was he was like "why would i need one of those?"..
Being in an auto rickshaw is an experience too.. they aren't the fastest things ever so its a little bit scary when they turn around on a major road and cars look like they're about to crash into the side of you. Then there's the motorbikes; you see whole families on one bike, like a father driving, a mother on the back holding a tiny baby and a child in the middle, and none of them wearing helmets, its crazy!
Driving through the streets you come across the odd cow and family of buffalo's just standing in the road.. a little bit weird :p
When people tell you you'll be eating curry 3 times a day in India, they weren't joking. This morning we had chapattis with literally the spiciest curry i have ever had, my eyes started watering because it was so hot, not the best thing first thing in the morning!! But other than breakfasts its been mostly nice, still spicy though! Me and my partner Holly are eventually starting to get the nack of eating with our hands (there's a proper technique apparently) after a week of the staff laughing at us attempting it. The other day me and Holly cheated a bit and put bananas and jam in our chapattis for breakfast, which then tasted more like pancakes and were lush :)
Everyone always talks about the smell that hits you in India, but to be honest I haven't noticed it really.. the only thing I've noticed is that the school smells a bit but only because of the river next to it, and oh my god passing a truck with dead animal carcusses in it that had blood dripping down the street was vile... it made me and Holly wretch - possibly the worse smell i have ever smelt.. but now we know to cover our noses when passing those trucks!
Yesterday was really fun, it was Ganesh's birthday so there was a statue of Ganesh put up in the school and we dressed up in saris and had a bindi and orange stripes painted on us, and had rice and petals thrown at us by the kids. It was really nice to experience it not as a tourist if that makes sense?
So far the weirdest thing that has happened to us was when a bird got beheaded by a ceiling fan and came flying at us as we were walking through a classroom - the body whacked my leg and the head hit Holly's - we didn't know what it was until we saw it in two bits on the floor, the feet were stil moving on the body and the beak was still moving on the head.. weird!
The heat is bearable and Holly has a million mosquito bites and up until today i had none hehe so i don't think they like me but i'm not complaining :p Oh and Indians doing their head-bobble is so funny, really hoping i don't pick that up and come back home doing it!
So thats an outine of my first week here, there's loads more to write about but i don't have any time left, we're hoping to start teaching next week so hopefully i can write more about the school next time, and i'll try to upload a picture of some sort asap :)
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