Big changes for all the family.

So, I am now officially part of a family of nomads. On 21^st September my parents took the final step towards being free from the shackles of responsibility by flying out to their new home in The Gambia. This plan is one that had been brewing since before I can remember, and even then I wasn't really aware of it until fairly recently. I've always realised, though not always consciously, that they haven’t been completely happy living ‘ordinary’ lives with jobs, responsibilities and a mortgage etc. So when their biggest (though obviously most delightful) responsibility, me, decided to move to India, they saw their opportunity to get out. After countless Skype meetings and plans ‘a’ through ‘q’ being conjured up and tossed aside, my parents finally had everything set into place. They booked their flights roughly a month after mine which, for me, meant that I managed to avoid almost all of the hassle of boxing up our belongings and selling the house! To find out more about how they’re coping in The Gambia and the work that they’re doing, visit their blog at http://dunlopmarshallwyce.wordpress.com/

Back to school

So, I've been living in Delhi for over a month now and I'm happy to say it feels completely normal. After taking a couple of days to get back into the swing of things, I haven’t really thought twice about the fact that my 19-year-old self decided to uproot, and move 5000 miles away from the only home I remember living in. My parents definitely played a big part in my decision as, without them, there’s no way I would have the confidence to be here right now. They have always been very supportive of whatever I have chosen to do in my life and they were very keen for me to come out here and have the best opportunities I can. “Fuck it, just go. Why the hell not” I believe were my father’s words on the matter. So here I am. Surrounded by great friends, with a really interesting job, in a country that never stops amazing and surprising me. What more could a girl ask for?

One thing I’d been really looking forward to ever since I started planning my return to Delhi, was visiting the school I worked at last time I was here. I couldn't shift the strange feeling in the back of my mind that the kids would have forgotten all about me by now. I needn't have worried. Not only did they remember me (I stepped in the gates and was swarmed with kids screaming “Jess didi! Jess didi!”), but they also managed to remember all the little things they used to wind me up about; mainly my very poor Hindi. I had organised to visit at the same time as the Teach for India fellow who led my volunteer project last time I was here, and who has taught me so much and played a massive role in my decision to come back to India (he is somewhat of a mentor but I'm yet to find a way of explaining this without sounding unbelievably lame!). By the time we had both arrived, the kids were well and truly bouncing off the walls and deep down I was too, though I had to pretend to be a grown up (until break time at least). After both observing and helping out in the lessons, I felt right back at home and it didn't half tug on my heartstrings when the kids asked if I would be coming back the following day. It was really great to visit the school and to see all the kids again and though it is no longer ‘my school’, it will always hold a place in my heart and feel a little bit like home.

Back where I belong

So 4 months on and I'm back in Delhi! 

After the usual cramped-up sleepless flight I arrived at Delhi airport to meet the taxi driver that my friend had booked for me to take me back to our accommodation. After struggling in the heat after a 5 minute walk to the car park with all my belongings strapped to my back, I swiftly drifted off to sleep to the familiar sounds of horns and shouting.

 After settling in to my accommodation (sharing a room with 2 other girls, one of whom I met on my last trip), my friend and I set off to surprise all of my other friends here in Delhi. For the last month or so I have had to lie to my friends about coming back to India, which was not easy, considering that at least once a day someone would ask me "when are you coming back to Delhi' to which my response was always "I'm not sure, probably mid September". Now, how I managed to keep this up for so long I don't know but it certainly paid off! Each time I jumped out of some obscure hiding place to surprise one of my friends, their faces froze in disbelief. To say the least, I found this hilarious!

 After finally surprising each of my friends we sat down for food and I instantly felt like everything was back to how it should be; In the country I love, with people I love and the food that I've missed. I have been in India for 2 days now and it still hasn't really sunk in yet. I'm sat in my room with our cooking lady sat on the floor gazing at me in bemusement and I really feel that this is where I'm meant to be (maybe without the eyes following me though!) Happy Independence day!

Life after India

So here I am, 1 month later, sat in my house in the great British countryside, with clean clothes, a working shower, drinking water straight from the tap, sat on a comfy sofa, with a glass of red wine in hand. This is everything I missed while I was away so why doesn’t it feel as great as I imagined? I find myself missing so much I never thought I would while I was there; the hustle and bustle of the streets and trying to avoid getting run over. Buying freshly squeezed orange juice at the side of the road on a hot day. The jolly old man who owned our local corner shop who must have thought we had the worst diets ever! Feeling like the coolest, most attractive person ever while walking down the street even when in reality you actually look dreadful. Having people in my apartment keeping me awake at night playing the world’s loudest game of snakes and ladders. Having to shower under a waist-high tap. Being able to walk to the shops in my pyjamas with my face covered in paint without anyone looking twice. Forcing 5 people into a 3-seater auto and getting dead legs. The noise (it’s so quiet here!). Having a large group of friends nearby, always up for doing something and willing to act as tour guides. Countless invites to family dinners. Walking into school and being mobbed by a group of kids who look up to me even though I don’t really know what I’m talking about most of the time. Finding surprise videos of the kids misbehaving on my camera. Just generally being adored, though I am probably just misinterpreting fascination and good hospitality.

Basically, what I’m trying to say is I BLOODY MISS INDIA!

Soppy farewells

It’s time to turn on the waterworks... again. After school had finished I had more time to hang out with the other volunteers and friends who I met during my trip. Because of this, saying goodbye was all the more difficult because of the strength of these friendships. I consider some of the friends I made on this trip better friends than many that I have had back in the UK. Now, I don’t consider myself to be much of a crier, though other people may disagree, but my goodbyes in India were major exceptions. This is the end of the most incredible life changing experience, how could I not cry?

After saying goodbye to our Indian friends and volunteers, we headed to the airport, had our last beedi (Indian cigarette) in the hot Indian sun and went to check in to our flight. Upon checking in, me and 2 of my friends were upgraded to premium economy, this definitely lifted our spirits! We were met on the flight with offers of champagne and an even nicer surprise when I looked up and saw Hugh Laurie coming out of the toilet. “Hey guys! Hugh Laurie just came out of the bog!”

After landing we had to do yet more goodbyes which was once again very difficult. I had to say goodbye to the people I had lived with for the last 3 months, they had been my support system and my family and now I was leaving them. So, here I am back in dull old England, freezing my arse off and crying on the train back to York. What a sight I must be!

My last 2 weeks at school

In the last weeks of school most of our work consisted of tying up loose ends and creating display boards presenting the work we had done throughout our project. Stepping back and looking at the work we’ve done gave me a real sense of achievement and I’m so proud of all that we’ve accomplished! It is one thing to design and create a garden and library within a school but it is something else entirely to see the kids faces when they’re climbing on the monkey bars or reading a book in clear English from the library. Most rewarding of all is hearing “thank you didi. I love our new garden” and lots more positive feedback from the children, that’s the real reason I was so passionate about this project, it’s all about doing things for the children that will hopefully be sustained after we leave.

My last day at school was an emotional one to say the least. The children showered me with homemade cards stating how beautiful and amazing I am! I also received a wonderful reference from the Teach For India fellows that managed to start off my waterworks. There is something very surreal about standing in front of a class of 40 children in India sobbing and trying to explain how I’m feeling in broken English so the kids will understand me. I have decided that the worst thing to hear when you’re crying is “Why you cry didi? When you cry, it makes us want to cry”.

I’ve had an incredible experience in this school, I have learnt so much about the world and myself and I consider this the most rewarding experience of my life and I’ll never forget it. (Right, that’s enough cheese for one day!)

Happy Holi!

We have been lucky enough to celebrate one of the biggest Indian festivals in the heart of India, happy Holi!

The day before Holi there is a sort of mini Holi called Choti Holi. This is like the equivalent of Christmas Eve. Choti Holi was supposed to be a working day for us but very little work got done. After about an hour working in the office we decided to call it a day and start playing. The whole basis of Holi is to throw powdered paint and water at each other and...well, that’s about it. After lots of mess and screaming like kids, we decided to head home only to find that our water had run out. Great. We decided to spend the evening in our apartment, having a few drinks and generally getting in the ‘festive’ spirit.

The next day we slept in and missed Holi. Holi is traditionally celebrated in the morning and by the time we got up at midday it was pretty much over. Covered in yesterdays paint and sporting foggy heads, we braved the streets to get to the office. During Holi the streets are a dangerous place unless you like being attacked with water bombs everywhere you go. We got to the office, meeting a few of the staff members who were all more than a little intoxicated, even the shy little man Prakida who made everyone tea and dinner every day. It was in fact a little disturbing but he was clearly having a great time. After a half hearted day of Holi on the office roof we headed home to find that we still had no water. There was nothing to do but sleep. It was an eventful couple of days to say the least!