Last Week in India

Returned safe and sounds from Delhi yesterday afernoon- praise be the lord. The trip was not what i expected or hoped it would be and couldn't wait to get back. I was off the mark when I thought that travelling alone was a good idea, especially in a city where it turns out that everyone is looking for a buck...

I suffered a serious of unfortunate incidents (some my own fault!) including being on a very delayed ingoing bus, then a taxi driver who took me to his friends hotel (not the one I had booked and instructed him to take me to) - argument ensued, a hotel which had cockroaches in the bathroom, being shortchanged of money at a major monument (another argument, got the money back though), losing my (Rich's) camera in a museum (cried at that point), getting the camera back the next day (cried again through happiness), being followed EVERYWHERE by random annoying men, being shouted at in the street by a restaurant owner because I had mistakenly left circa. GBP 0.20p less than I should have done for the bill.... I just didn't know what was going to go wrong next!!

So- enough negativity! This is my last week in Jaipur and at school. The children have exams this week which should see most of them promoted to the next class level or 'standard.' I was assisting the English oral exams with the younger children (around 5/6 years old). The kids did pretty well. I am biased but the girls here are definitely more intelligent! Great to see them doing so well in a country that has not always favoured daughters.

During the tests I was talking to the Indian teacher in charge of this class. She has been absent a lot recently (hence me taking some of her classes solo) and she told me that her youngest son (aged 5) has typhoid and that her husband died a year ago. She's only 29. She was crying at this point in front of the class. Remarriage is not common here from what I can gather. What can you say?

Tomorrow me and the other volunteers are going out for a goodbye dinner in town then I'll have my last meal on Wednesday at the house with the family. Homeward bound! A month has been the perfect amount of time. The temperature here is getting extremely hot. Today was over 30 degrees which feels even hotter in the middle of the slum with flies all over you when you're running after small kids. I also have a hacking cough from the pollution and all the shouting. I never thought I would consider London air as clean!

The other volunteers are all departing after this weekend too. Best not to be the last one left - although I will sadly be missing a highlight of the Indian Festival calendar; Holi. This is celebrated by people throwing coloured paint, powder and water at eachother. Sounds like chaos but great fun! A bit about Holi- the weather changes in spring which is believed to cause viral fever and cold. The throwing of the coloured powder has a medicinal significance: the colours are traditionally made from medicinal herbs prescribed by doctors. People's families travel from all over the country to be together for this first Spring festival. I have to say I am pretty envious of all the amazing traditions, festivals and rituals they have here.

Will definitely be doing another post before I leave. Em x