Indian Diary

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The outcome!

07/07/05-Alright guys, arrived in India and making my way to the project. I've been to Mumbai, visited my friends in Pune and I'm currently in Goa, don't ask me why!! I'm trying to sort out email problems but it may come down to have to be updated about my life on this.!

Hello peoples, Not sure who will receive this, because there are mega internet problems, but I am in India. Feels like home! I'd forgotten what an awesome country this is how ace every day is in the intense hustle and bustle of Indian Sub-continent life. Nothing dramatic has happened of yet, been very, very tame by Indian standards although the rest of the group seem amazed (little do they know). What have I done, well we arrived in Mumbai and spent a night and day not really doing anything. We went to see the Gateway of India which was nice but unfortunately the nine fresh white faces drew a lot of fleecing and so wallets got stung a bit. Ouch! What can you do though?!? We headed of that night to Pune, where I was last time I was in India, to see friends, Deep Griha, and take part in the 30th Anniversary of DG. That involved being presented with a rose each a rendition of 'Flower of Scotland' on the stage then duet of 'Mairi's Wedding' by Inez and me for four girls to dance to. We hung about in Pune, met the current volunteers and had a tour of all to DG projects. Very different to when I was there and a lot of the projects I worked with don't exist now. We stayed 2 days in Pune and have now arrived in Goa which I personally think was the stupidest thing to do since it's not the tourist season and it's monsoon weather. We seem to have a nice sunny day so I suppose I should eat my hat really! Well for all you avid readers I should finish with a funny (bizarre) story. I was on the flight to Mumbai and it stops of in Muscat. Just before we land in Muscat I see the girl in front of me start to dangle her head guard cloth thingy-attached to the seat-in front of me and so after a while I grab it and throw it back to her. She does it again and seems in a playful mood so I pinch it again and throw it back. This time she passes her hand through between the seats and gives me the cloth then after thirty seconds grabs it and starts thumping me repeatedly in the testicles. I'm shocked as you can imagine so protect my loins till she stops. She then does the same, gives me the cloth, grabs it back and thumps me in the crotch. What am I meant to do, a random 7 year old Arab is repeatedly punching you in the balls, her mother is next to her!?!?! I grab her arm and she stops. Her sister jumps up and asks if I want her to sign the cloth so I say, ok and after 5 minutes of discussing weather it is legally allowed to sign a cloth she does so the ball puncher grabs it an writes 'I'm the most Famous person in the world'. By this time we have landed and the family gets up and the ball puncher turns to us and says 'I will never forget you in my dreams' so we all ahhh and say how sweet she is then she explains what she meant which was 'I'll never forget you. In Your dreams'. All a very bizarre experience, and admittedly the first new one I've had this trip.

08/07/05- Not much to report, but since I found a computer that will let me email you all I should drop a line. Hope you all got the last email that I sneakily sent to my mum to forward. Not really done much since then. No crazy storeys. Had a tour of south Goa and met this amazing guy who asked me where I was from. I said St Andrews and he replied ah that's near Edinburgh I just nodded because I thought, must be the only place he knows, and it's close in Indian terms. He then said 'Your post code is KY.... 11?' and I said no KY16. Amazing! He then proceeded to almost guess the rest of the group�s postcodes, or guess where they were from after being given their post code. All he wanted was some British coins. Brilliant. Other than driving in a jeep and have the horn tooting in time with Bob Marley songs, nothing much has really happened. I love India, really I do, but Goa at the moment is like a used silk Hanky. If that makes sense to you, good, if not ask me and I'll explain.

15/07/05 - Well I've arrived at the placement near Vijayawada and all is good, it's a beautiful quiet, dry, local place. The people so far have been very friendly and also seem very excited and apprehensive about having nine crazy white folk kicking about. We are still getting the royal treatment which is a shame because I for one rather it when you're treated like a family member rather than an esteemed guest that is waited on hand and foot and has their washing dine for them. Yesterday we went to Vijayawada (the closest city) to buy some resources. Now have school bags and pencils and pencils etc. for the 24 orphans. Before meeting Suresh in Hyderbad, we spent time in Hampi that was an awesome little community inside and ancient and very historically important area. It was a great atmosphere and I loved the place and would recommend it to anyone. I was totally absorbed and only realised when I left the ripping of that went on, not too bad, just a slight increase in price and that you're not allowed to use certain things unless you're Indian but probably worth the extra 20p to experience the awesomeness of the place!!!

22/07/05 - The work has been pretty easy, most days all we have to do is play with the kids for 2 hours after they return from school. The boys only really want to play cricket, which is easy enough to organise, but other things have happened like a limbo competition among other things. As for construction, our willingness has been seen as a bit of a joke especially the girls' enthusiasm. We've white washed two rooms and I helped put a roof on them (the rest gave up in favour of sunbathing and the slight fear of something dangling out of the roofer�s sarong! I thankfully didn't encounter anything being on the roof myself). Yesterday the blisters really started to develop when we had to dig the foundations for one of the buildings at the new orphanage site. The new place is needed quite desperately since the area here is quite cramped with the sudden influx of white people, maybe didn't need so many people eating all there food?!? It is great to get back to eating with my fingers and playing with the food, even if no one else will join me. We've kitted out all the children with school bags and pens and pencils etc and are organising a trip to the circus for them. This will happen just before we leave and after their exams. Unfortunately we have to get them all to skive school, I know it's bad, but hopefully one day wont matter.

26/07/05 - Our building has started back up. After digging the foundations (3 feet below road level) with upside-down spades we had 4 days of non-stop rain! It's been absolutely pouring here! I have experienced monsoon but never such a long whack of bad weather in the one go. Luckily the rain didn't refill our trenches with earth but made the building site a slippery, sloppery mess! We spend yesterday, in the drizzle carrying sand and bricks about and started building the rooms! Today some blue breaks appeared in the dark sky and work resumed. The morning shift managed to build the place up to floor level (1 foot above the road level) and a few managed to pick up a bit of a lobster look. Typical Brits when sun firsts appears! The invalid shift should be working now, it's got the girls who 'claimed' to be too ill to start at 08.00 (in all honesty I think they were actually ill) and the one eyed Neill who has managed to appropriate a wonderfully swollen eye, has donned an eye patch and resembles Pudsley (or is it Pugsly) Bear from Children in Need.

Un fortunately it's not just the whities who are ill but many of the kids are dropping off as well. Supposedly it�s a the general damp and drop in weather that has made them ill and it comes every year during monsoon. Some among our group think it's some mystical British bug brought by us to wipe out India?

30/07/05 - We're leaving on Tuesday and my last day at the building site has passed. I'm not too fussed because we were basically not needed and only humoured us by letting us go along. All we have next is to take the kids to an orphanage. To be honest there were too many of us in this group in a place with too little to do and for too little a time so we will not have had much effect. It is a shame but not much I can do now, but I definitely have not changed the world if anything. I'm really updating to inform people of the reality and magnitude for then Indian's hatred for Pakistan.

Neill and I were playing with the kids, well just really a handful of boys, and after the usual competition of which white boy can carry the most Indian kids in one arm there started the whole banter of saying 'Jamie is a bad boy'. This cause a divide as three boys said I was a bad boy and Neill was a good boy and three were saying that I was a good boy and Neill was a bad boy. This was the start of the teams! This lead on to my crew saying that I was an Indian man and Neil (wearing his England cricket top) was and English man which meant my boys were Indian and Neill's were English. Everyone was happy with his assumed personality. All of a sudden one from Neill's team (who is named 'The Cheat' from his usual way of playing most games) pointed at me and said 'Jamie is a Pakistan man', to which I retaliated, 'No you are all Pakistan men!' This innocent comment from me had the most tremendous effects as my group suddenly saw red at the suggestion of Pakistanis and launched an attack on Neill�s team. This was no ordinary attack my boys were knocking lumps out of them, three of them had one boy held up against a metal gate by the throat and one boy started a chant of 'India! India! Down, down Pakistan.' We quickly had to separate the boys and hold them apart and a helper shouted from the roof tops at them. All hanging their heads in shame the kids realised their over reaction but that will certainly be the last time I say the P word here!'

02/08/05 - A quickie before I jump on the train to Bangalore. The placement is over and there is travelling to do.

The kids have been having unbelievable treats. We gave out all the bags etc we bought, took them to the Circus and they got two cakes along with a multitude of cuddly toys.

The circus was good, the kids enjoyed the clowns. I personally like the walking dogs but the hi-light was the spewing water man. He started off by drinking about 100 glasses of water which he spewed straight back up, the he drank a glass of red water, followed by a glass of green water, then a jug of water. He then spewed back up a jug of red water, drank another jug of normal water and spewed a jug of green water. Amazing. The ids were buzzing, but that's all finished now.

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