Tina Travels

We have had almost three days of torrential rain and thunderstorms. It is snowing in the higher elevations around us. For the inhabitants of Dharamsala this is a welcome sight as they have prayed for rain in fear of impending drought.  It did not snow as much in the higher elevations in December and January and they count on this snowfall each year for their water supply.

Sunday evening I fell sick.  I tried and tried to wish it away but as I was going to sleep at 7:30 with three layers of clothing and two blankets I slowly began to doubt it was a passing ’bout of something’.  Oh how right I turned out to be come Monday morning. I asked to go to a doctor and off I went at 10am Monday in the pouring, cold rain. It was just a 5 minute drive but endless as I held onto the door handle over countless bumps and potholes. The doctor saw me immediately, asked my age, took my temperature – an impressive 100.9, my blood pressure and looked down my throat.  She had me jump up on a table and lay down to finish the exam – the table was much too short for me which gave her a chuckle (happy I can make someone smile even when I feel like S*#T).  She promptly prescribed an antibiotic, some electrolyte powder and I lost track of what the third pill was for but I didn’t care. I would do ANYTHING to feel better!  I was back home before 11:00 am and I went straight to bed.  I did not get out of bed until noon on Tuesday.  It is now 5pm Tuesday and I am feeling so much better.  No fever and very few body aches left.  I know I am on the mend and remain ever grateful to this doctor that uttered very few words except “how old are you?” and “ok” but somehow knew the perfect medicinal concoction to cure me.

So the rain Gods not only answered Dharamsala’s prayers, they have some how bestowed a blessing on me as well. I have missed two days of school but my kids have not noticed (and I feel less guilty) because they have not gone to school.  I did not realize that when it rains this hard they don’t come. It is too difficult to travel by road with these flooding rains – duh! – how much we take for granted back home.
Thank you Rain Gods!

We have just had our first lesson in Indian style movie dancing this afternoon. This serves as our entertainment after our day of work here. Speaking of which, I will share a typical day now that I am finishing my first week here.

Our days begins with a traditional Yoga class at 7am, breakfast at 8:30 and preparing for our day’s work from then until our 10am departure by van along a narrow, windy and extremely bumpy road.  We reach the Sheela Chowk Daycare Center by 10:15am and stand outside to greet the 15 children as they come.

The school is a 12 x 20 cement slab with four concrete walls (sadly I still cannot get my laptop to work and that inhibits me from uploading pictures but I am still trying to get this solved!), a door and one 3 x 3 opening with steel bars to serve as a window. Thankfully, volunteers before me have painted colorful murals inside and out to make it more cheery. There is one table that serves as the teacher’s desk, her chair and 10 plastic chairs for 15 children. There is no electricity and no running water. They run outside to go to the bathroom and when they run back we pour cold water from buckets over their hands to wash them. There is one gas burner where the teacher’s helper cooks lunch for the children each day. Each of these Preschools is funded by the Government of India and their main goal is to track the growth and provide immunizations and supplements for the malnourished. Melissa (my partner volunteer, a very sweet 19 year old college student from Northern California) and I are assigned to the poorest of these Preschools here in Dharamsala so many of the children arrive hungry and when the burlap bags are layed evenly across the floor for lunch at 12:20pm, they excitedly take their seats there and hold out their steel bowls that some have brought from home in a sack. This is the only time that silence permeates this little cement room as they hungrily cup their small fingers into human spoons and shovel the rice mixture with precision into their mouths. Not one grain of rice drops to the ground. We were informed by the Staff that takes care of us here that all these children come from homes that can at least give them two meals a day.  This time of day is both saddening and gratifying at the same time. On one hand they are so happy and we have helped fill the past 2 1/2 hours with happy learning and play, and on the other hand the sadness just creeps in as we get ready to leave for the day.  I guess it is the mere helplessness one feels at the mercy of this   poverty .  But I am quickly snapped out of my sad thoughts when we wave goodbye.  I throw big kisses and I hear a cheery chorus of “good bye DeeDee” (which means older sister in Hindi), followed by a few advanced students who yell in English, “see you tomorrow”!  As we drive off in our van, a few children run to the front door to wave us off until we have driven completely out of sight.  Ah, another day…pause…we decompress from the physical and emotional toll it takes on both of us on our 15 minute drive home.

So, an afternoon of the fun and fantasy of Bollywood surely lifts us all to a happier place…even if it is just an afternoon.

Well it took me quite a few days to write my first posting but here I am!  I landed in Delhi seamlessly and was immediately immersed in the Indian way of life.  We had 2 1/2 days of orientation in Delhi which consisted of meeting the staff of CCS and our fellow volunteers, as well as a few lectures on the History of India (I didn’t quite expect to be back in school but it is funny how relaxed I take in information at this age compared to the college students with me taking notes).  We were taken on a shopping expedition to buy Indian clothing as they want the women to blend into the culture.

We flew Monday afternoon on a small turbo prop plane to Dharamsala, at the gorgeous foothills of the Himalayas.  Again, a small orientation and dinner… oh, by the way, the food is definitely good but I am already getting tired of the “indian spice” cooking so just maybe I will be successful in losing a few pounds (a little side goal of this trip I had on my mind).  The weather has been spectacular and the air so fresh here in Dharamsala.  About 65 today in the sun, although by 5pm it does start getting very chilly but still very nice.  The house we are staying in is quite beautiful and we have endless terraces on every floor to bask in the sunshine.  The staff is just wonderful and all my fellow volunteers are terrific – mostly young college girls.

This morning we rose to a Yoga class at 7am, breakfast at 8:30 and we were finally off to our placements by 9:30.  This is actually the HIGHLIGHT of the trip so far – meeting my 15 children today was incredible.  They are simply adorable, happy children ages 1 to 5.  I can already tell the oldest girl, Ria is most likely going to become my assistant!  My partner volunteer, Melissa and I are responsible for coming up with learning activities and games to play for each day so that planning will take up a part of every afternoon.  We will be at the nursery school every day from 10am to 12:30. 

I will post photos as soon as it is possible and hopefully be more in touch now that we are settling in to a routine.  I just can’t stress enough how incredible the experience was on Day 1 so I am so looking forward to the days and weeks ahead.

I leave for Dharamsala, India on January 29, 2010.  If you are interested in following my travels and volunteer work you can find it here.  I will try to make entries at least once a week and include photos whenever I am able to.