Namaste, team!
I have finally emerged from the jungle. While I have actually slightly enjoyed not having total access to wifi, I must admit that not being able to blog definitely affected me at times. I love sharing my adventures and venting about all the awesome and weird new things that I'm experiencing, so not having access to my daily self-therapy had me in a slight tizzy.
ANYWAY.
I'm back and back for good. We have safely arrived in Jaipur and are at a super cool new hotel. Before I get into that, however, I should probably share some detes about the last six days!
We arrived to Dahanu Thursday afternoon and were greeted by our hosts at the hotel with lunch. After the six hour drive from Pune, the American squad was really excited to see a home cooked meal in front of us. We chatted a bit and then had time for a brief nap before heading to Tamarind Tree, the school and farm area that we would be spending all of our time, for dinner. I have to admit, I was a little worried about the upcoming days after seeing my new jungle habitat; lots of bugs and lots of monsoon action, but it was definitely a welcomed change of pace.
Because Thursday was more of an orientation day, Friday is when the program actually began. I struggled a bit through morning lectures because I was pretty tired and still getting used to yet another new place, but the day immediately got better when we were able to interact with some of the children at the school. They were so excited to see us, and we, of course, could not wait to work with them, and we helped them through an activity. Like everything else we do around here, a small dance party erupted in one of the outdoor classrooms as we ended the day on a high note.
Saturday was a very humbling day, being that we visited a local village in Dahanu. We walked around the area and visited various people's homes. Like other things, I had prepared myself for what I was going to see, but it wasn't until I was actually surrounded by mud walls did I gain a better understanding of village life in rural India. There is absolutely no way that I can fully comprehend it, simply because I was only there for a few hours and have obviously never lived in that type of environment, but I felt that it was something very important to see and recognize.
Sunday was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We journeyed to another village to visit a Warli artist's home and see his amazing work. Warli painting is a form of tribal art and is simply beautiful. The fact that I was able to sit in the artist's house and watch him create masterpieces was truly amazing and something that hasn't really sunk in yet. It was such a unique experience and I have some cool paintings to bring home. After leaving the village, we were able to go back to the hotel and chill out. Our hotel had a great view of the Arabian Sea and we took some time to venture to the beach for a nice walk.
Monday was back to the busy swing of things with a lot of discussions. We spent a lot of time talking about and seeing the technological projects that Tamarind Tree is working on, so it was a day full of interesting topics.
Tuesday was by far my favorite day in Dahanu. A few of us woke up early for a walk on the beach to collect some shells. We then were off to Tamarind Tree for a lovely day of spending time with the kids. We got to teach a class, dance, and answer all of their questions. Their bright smiles made the long days in the jungle well worth it. The night ended with us helping with dinner and celebrating our new American friends', who are volunteers at the school, anniversary.
Today was a bit of a doozy. We had a farewell breakfast in the jungle before hopping in the SUV's to head to the Mumbai airport. Seeing the city was really great after days in the wilderness and a three hour drive. We had plenty of time to check-in, drop off our bags (still haven't had to pay any overage fees... yahoo!), grab a bite to eat, and hit up the book store.
As we sat down for lunch, I couldn't help but order the chicken fingers and fries. Yep... definitely not my best idea. Being that I haven't eaten any meat in about two weeks (most Indian cuisine is veggie), my body was not a fan of the chicken and definitely let me know it.
The plane ride was quite the adventure, as I was super nauseous, had to dump the magazines out of the plastic baggie in the seat in front of me, run to the back of the plane, dodge the people waiting to use the washroom, and then proceed to get sick (I'm sure you know what I mean). My embarrassed self had to peek my head around the curtain to ask the flight attendant for a napkin. Even worse, I had to explain to the guy that walked out of the washroom that he needed to watch his step because there was some stuff on the floor. After gathering myself, I headed back to my seat and then had every attendant come check on me for the duration of the flight. Definitely not my favorite moment of the trip, but I guess I have a pretty good story now. I can't really define this lovely event as anything but "Yep, that happened to Kirst."
Sooooo, here I am in Jaipur, still not feeling my best and hoping that this bug will go away by morning. This is the last leg of the trip (WHAAAA?!) and I definitely want to enjoy every minute. I'll get around to posting pictures from Dahanu at some point, now is simply not the time.
I get to ride an elephant in like three days,
Kirst
I have finally emerged from the jungle. While I have actually slightly enjoyed not having total access to wifi, I must admit that not being able to blog definitely affected me at times. I love sharing my adventures and venting about all the awesome and weird new things that I'm experiencing, so not having access to my daily self-therapy had me in a slight tizzy.
ANYWAY.
I'm back and back for good. We have safely arrived in Jaipur and are at a super cool new hotel. Before I get into that, however, I should probably share some detes about the last six days!
We arrived to Dahanu Thursday afternoon and were greeted by our hosts at the hotel with lunch. After the six hour drive from Pune, the American squad was really excited to see a home cooked meal in front of us. We chatted a bit and then had time for a brief nap before heading to Tamarind Tree, the school and farm area that we would be spending all of our time, for dinner. I have to admit, I was a little worried about the upcoming days after seeing my new jungle habitat; lots of bugs and lots of monsoon action, but it was definitely a welcomed change of pace.
Because Thursday was more of an orientation day, Friday is when the program actually began. I struggled a bit through morning lectures because I was pretty tired and still getting used to yet another new place, but the day immediately got better when we were able to interact with some of the children at the school. They were so excited to see us, and we, of course, could not wait to work with them, and we helped them through an activity. Like everything else we do around here, a small dance party erupted in one of the outdoor classrooms as we ended the day on a high note.
Saturday was a very humbling day, being that we visited a local village in Dahanu. We walked around the area and visited various people's homes. Like other things, I had prepared myself for what I was going to see, but it wasn't until I was actually surrounded by mud walls did I gain a better understanding of village life in rural India. There is absolutely no way that I can fully comprehend it, simply because I was only there for a few hours and have obviously never lived in that type of environment, but I felt that it was something very important to see and recognize.
Sunday was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We journeyed to another village to visit a Warli artist's home and see his amazing work. Warli painting is a form of tribal art and is simply beautiful. The fact that I was able to sit in the artist's house and watch him create masterpieces was truly amazing and something that hasn't really sunk in yet. It was such a unique experience and I have some cool paintings to bring home. After leaving the village, we were able to go back to the hotel and chill out. Our hotel had a great view of the Arabian Sea and we took some time to venture to the beach for a nice walk.
Monday was back to the busy swing of things with a lot of discussions. We spent a lot of time talking about and seeing the technological projects that Tamarind Tree is working on, so it was a day full of interesting topics.
Tuesday was by far my favorite day in Dahanu. A few of us woke up early for a walk on the beach to collect some shells. We then were off to Tamarind Tree for a lovely day of spending time with the kids. We got to teach a class, dance, and answer all of their questions. Their bright smiles made the long days in the jungle well worth it. The night ended with us helping with dinner and celebrating our new American friends', who are volunteers at the school, anniversary.
Today was a bit of a doozy. We had a farewell breakfast in the jungle before hopping in the SUV's to head to the Mumbai airport. Seeing the city was really great after days in the wilderness and a three hour drive. We had plenty of time to check-in, drop off our bags (still haven't had to pay any overage fees... yahoo!), grab a bite to eat, and hit up the book store.
As we sat down for lunch, I couldn't help but order the chicken fingers and fries. Yep... definitely not my best idea. Being that I haven't eaten any meat in about two weeks (most Indian cuisine is veggie), my body was not a fan of the chicken and definitely let me know it.
The plane ride was quite the adventure, as I was super nauseous, had to dump the magazines out of the plastic baggie in the seat in front of me, run to the back of the plane, dodge the people waiting to use the washroom, and then proceed to get sick (I'm sure you know what I mean). My embarrassed self had to peek my head around the curtain to ask the flight attendant for a napkin. Even worse, I had to explain to the guy that walked out of the washroom that he needed to watch his step because there was some stuff on the floor. After gathering myself, I headed back to my seat and then had every attendant come check on me for the duration of the flight. Definitely not my favorite moment of the trip, but I guess I have a pretty good story now. I can't really define this lovely event as anything but "Yep, that happened to Kirst."
Sooooo, here I am in Jaipur, still not feeling my best and hoping that this bug will go away by morning. This is the last leg of the trip (WHAAAA?!) and I definitely want to enjoy every minute. I'll get around to posting pictures from Dahanu at some point, now is simply not the time.
I get to ride an elephant in like three days,
Kirst
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