April 28th continued...

This entry is coming straight from my Travel Journal, after I got home last night.

I have had the most amazing birthday ever!
It was nice to wake up and open my cards and present from home, Shem text and I had a load of messages from friends on fb.
This morning teachers and students were coming up to me, shaking my hand, saying Congratulations or "Many happy returns of the day." Ashok gave me a Birthday card after asking Ruby's permission to do so - what a total sweetheart.
Rehearsals this morning were very thorough and a lot of hard work. But it was nice to see the kids wanting to practise againa and again and getting excited about performing.
Tonight went very well. The running order was:

CONTEMPORARY DANCE
SHINE
TAP
TOP OF THE WORLD
BASKETBALLERS

I was so proud of them all, Contemporary was perfect, they were spot on and their style was great.
Shine was hilarious! Our Hursh kept grabbing the mike, shouting the lyrics and the other two must have left their English minds at home cause it was all jibberish!It was adorably funny though and the dancers were brilliant, as they have been from the start.
My Tap routine was a shocker as it was announced one act early - I didn't even have my shoes on when they called me to the stage! Earlier on I had realised that Tap Shoes on the stone stage was a close second to fingernails on a blackboard, so guess what... I danced on this huge table, center stage! A little scary but I so enjoyed it! I've alwasy wanted to do a piece without music and everytime I paused the audience all clapped before I started off again.
Top of the World was great, especially considering we only finished this routine two days back. Elizabeth sang well.
And the basketball boys were perfect to bring something new to the place; I know most of the audience had never seen Tap live and I don't think many had seen Basketballs used in dance either. The boys confidence really shone through.
After a short, unplanned speech from us, the kids came onstage for their final bow and gave me a beautiful, big, chocolate "Happy Birthday Vikki" Cake, a necklace I'd seen weeks ago with Ruby and two certificates of thanks for Bryony and I for our time at the school and the sponsorship money. Jagu and Vundenar bought me a really cute orange and gold Indian style top too, which was sweet. Jagu's two nephews were born today, on my Birthday, too.

After our acts followed some surprsie performances in honour of my 19th and our last day at school. Jignesh and two other teachers performed an amazing Indian and Hip Hop clash which got the whole crowd going. And ten ladies from the Nursery (including our very own Wunderbar) performed a beautiful traditional and modern mix of Indian dance in their lovely costumes. Ruby enjoyed it so much she announced after their ten minute performance that they would all receive 5000 rupees each!
There was a belly dancer too and Brij - from our Contemporary group - had kept quiet that he was doing a surprise Michael Jackson style Indian routine by himself. What a star!
I recorded all the performances, it was such a great atmosphere.
Shanil and Sappy turned up towards the end with a bouquet of roses for me!
After the show the 100+ people from the audience joined the cast and special guests for food and our kids tried and tested our chocolate cornflake cakes.
We had some nice 'snaps' taken with the kids, Malay, Ashok, Ruby and Kirit, Raji, Vundenar, the Indian dancers, Sappy and Shanil and the school staff. So much was going on I had to phone home every few hours to give updates!

I really enjoyed the entire night and was still on a bit of an adrenaline rush when we got home and Ruby gave me a beautiful sparkling ankle bracelet - something I've wanted since our arrival here, can't wait to wear it back home and be reminded of a totally fantabulous night.

April 28th in India

It's my birthday! Smiles all round!

Students and teachers have been coming up to me all morning, shaking my hand, wishing me a Happy Birthday or saying "Many happy returns for the day!"

I got a card from Ashok - what a sweetheart! I've already told Malay that that means he'll look really bad if he doesn't turn up with one sooner or later...

So tonight's the big night, our end of term performance to mark our last teaching day in school. It's come round quickly, and yesterday we got a real shock that it had been moved up to today when we had been preparing for April 30th...

But a few pep talks with the kids and a lot of hard work in a short space of time and we're there, ready to go. They're coming back to school tonight at 6pm for a couple of practises on the stage before the show starts at 7. Hope the hard work pays off!

Aftershow party doubles as my Birthday Party, so we're looking forward to what we hope will be a really great night :)

Day 40 in India...

Sunday was the hardest day for me. As great an opportunity as this is, and as enviable as all the experiences sound, it's not always easy.

I started to miss home more than I had done before. Of course I missed my family and friends (and the food!) from the beginning but while it's all still new and exciting, and because you've got one of your best friends with you for the journey, it's not on your mind so much.

But it does catch up with you. And it did with me this weekend. Cause it's not any fun when you're at home and you get those days where it's not quite right, and you're waiting for something to make you feel yourself again... and it's a hundred times harder when you're so far away from all those home comforts that lift your spirits so easily, and for the first time, too.

And I couldn't curl up in my duvet and watch TV aimlessly, or let it all out in some tear-jerker chick flick, or eat chocolate, hug all the right people, or spontaneously drive to Glamorgan for a chubi pick me up (that ones for you, Shemmy!).

But I got to speak to my parents, who always put the world to rights for me and who have always brought me back into my own whenever I've gotten lost before. And then all that blue-ness passes, because home never leaves you, even when you leave it for a while... Xxxx

Day 37 in India

So, we've been to Udaipur! Stayed with the Prince of Udaipur... as we do!

"Prince" Raj, who to us was just Raj, is Kirit's brother in law, we were also staying with Kirit's sister Geeta, and their son, Shivraj.

It was a four hour car journey, a five hour bus journey and a fifteen minute drive in the Prince's jeep to get there but it was a good change of scenery, like Diu, it was a different side to India. So nice to see a bit more greenery, more trees, more flowers, that's something I really miss about home.

On the Thursday, we went out with Raj to the old part of town, we made a good friend when the Prince introduced us to an art shop owner guy named Vicky(!), who saw to it that we got free Sprite and water every fifteen minutes!

We went to visit the famous Crystal Palace, a huge Palace with corridors and stairways like you see in the Labyrinth! It was a really nice day out, we drank some of the best Iced Tea ever, and actually enjoyed the sunshine in the afternoon for once, sitting out in the gardens watching the world go by.

We went to market after this, wound up in little book stores, shops with dozens of little handpainted or handcarved figures, and saw for the first time the typical Alladin style shoes for sale - very tempting, but we resisted! And it was a nice little moment when a guy from behind us shouted "Excuse me!" and we turned around to see him sat on top of an elephant, which passed mere meters away from us! Surreal.

The next day we had to return to the Crystal Palace because, brilliantly, we had missed the main attraction - the Crystal gallery. Don't ask how, we still don't know.

But this time we managed it, there were crystal glasses, tables, sofas - even a crystal four poster bed!

After this Bry treated me to lunch in the restaurant as an early birthday treat and we both got our fix for home food with Penne and Tagliettelle!

The highlight, I think, was the performance we saw on our final night in Udaipur. Tickets had been arranged for us for a dance show and it was so good! The atmosphere was great, the audience all sitting on cushions on the floor or on benches surrounding the stage (at ground level).

We saw women balancing pots of fire on their head, traditional Indian dances using symbols attatched to all parts of the dancers bodies, a puppet dance(!) and the big finale... a women, not one you'd see and think - dancer - balanced not one, not two, but nine pots on her head whilst dancing, full speed, on broken glass and even lying down at one point. Magical!

Day 33 in India

We've learnt to cook some more Indian food, we are so gunna wow you all when we get home! Maybe a bit more practise before then though...

Yesterday we went for a Picnic with all the nursery school teachers to Palitana. First, let me say, Indians apparently don't have the same notion of what a picnic is - they ate all their food on the bus.

It was a nice day, but very tiring. We left at 9am (having already taught dance for an hour) and first visited a farm house where it was nice to mix with the Village people. I like taking part in their day to day lives. I learnt how to play the kids' tyre game (basically you roll it as far as it will go!) and finallyyyy got to attempt to balance an urn of water on my head. Not. Easy. Seriously, I thought the whole dance thing would work in my favour here, I have pretty good balance and pretty good posture most of the time, but I struggled. It was heavy too - and we only tried one small one - these women balance three or four on their head at a time!

We spent a few hours at market window shopping the sari's and jewellery and all those nice but random stalls you find! And we got home about 9pm.

Nabbed a much needed lie in on Sunday!

Mmm that day was HAWT but very nice :) not tooo hot :) but still hot! haha i enjoyed it loads... the bus journey was different....very...VERY loud! Seriously, imagine being crammed in a school bus full of indian nursery teachers playing very loud music... and walking around as if theres enough space on the bus! lol it was an experience in itself but also...fun to be apart of.

The farm house that we settled in for a couple of hours was lovely :) big red farm house with cattle, lots of shade, surrounded by fields or crops and stuff :) a couple of horses and yeah...it was just nice to relax after that bus journey.

Popped into market for, well quite a while... bought some stupidly funny keyrings that i could resist, and not much else, but it was really nice to look around and browse :) Once we got back to the farm house we chilled for a little bit more and made our way to Palitana town to visit a few temples. One we had already seen that had amazing views and another smaller one that was quite interesting. Although as they were doing their type of service and passing round a mini bowl of fire for everyone to cleanse themselves with i did feel slightly out of place...

It was a looooong day but it was really fun :) oh and the other little farmhouse across the street was growing sugar cane, im shocked at how fast those girls can devour a cane thats about at least a meter long... plus a cute little baby with a BEAUTIFUL mother :)

Day 32 in India...

All the Hindi we know so far...

Kyaa aap ko English ah tee hay? Do you speak English

Aap ka nam kyaa hay? What is your name

Chello. Come here

Namastay. Hello / Greeting

Bitte. The Indian equivalent of "my lovely"

Dee ra boliye. Speak more slowly - this ones come in handy!

Bucte nah hay - I'm not hungry...

Bani - Water (another good one to know!)

It gets us by!

Day 29 in India

We met the Prince of Bhavnagar this week. I know, right, who'd have thought?!

We went to his lovely home nearby and met the Bhavnagar Polo Team, who joined us in a tour of his trophy room where he has collected over the years a total of 55 animal heads - yes, i counted. Obviously, since it's been illegal, there have been no more additions but if there were any more it would be less of a house more of a museum. He even had those rugs which are flat animal skins except for the stuffed head...

On Saturday we watched a friendly Polo Match - something we've never seen before, and that night we went to the Millionaire's house for a party with the Prince, the team, and a lot of other people! It was a little like a Cribs moment, the pool was all lit up, the garden was decorated and chefs cooked around the edges where we could all see. Fancy!

At school, we're busy working towards our performance and this week I took my turn in the Kitchen - attempting to learn how to cook from the maids! Bare in mind between like 8 of them, nobody speaks any English. But it was so much fun! Made roti's, and our much loved Chi - without burning myself!

We've also met one of the children we will be sponsoring - thanks to all the support from you guys at home! His name is Harsh (pronounced Hursh) and he is absolutely adorable. Actually, we taught him in one of our first classes here and he stood out from the beginning. He is 5 years old with the cheekiest of smiles, speaks English very well and with such confidence, and he was the first child to bring to our attention the Indian tradition of touching someone's feet as a sign of great respect for them. He's lovely, and an excellent student, but since his Dad died a year or two back, his Mum was struggling to keep him in school.

That was one of my favourite moments, finding out that we get to help him. He's asked me since, "You are my sister, yes?" So sweet.

AHA! Nillambag palace!! (the hotel where the giant indian wedding was held). We popped over to the hotel that was once the Kings palace, and i had a quick look around, remebering all the stairs and the balconies, particularly the one which Paul and Renu made their speeches :)

After climbing up the flight of stairs we met and shook hands with the majority of the international polo players :) one of them in particular stood out as a shorter version of Ashley Cole and Therri Henri mixed... we secretly nicknamed him Ashley Henri...inventive i know! Anyway, it was rather hot! So we moved on to the millionaires mansion (Charad) whos profession is actually selling sinks to B and Q back in England. And his passion is playing Polo.

The photos i took on my phone just doesn't do the mansion justice. It is, like Vikki said, an Indian version of Cribs!

The prince of Bhavnagar (very lovely, funny old man) is, well funny! Very good relaxed host :) and it was lovely to sit outside in his backyard of something like... 5 acres? with a man made pool, that admittedly had dried up due to the poor monsoon and epic heatwave we're currently experiencing! But nonetheless...it was lovely sitting under this giant tree on a stone bench next to the prince whilst being surrounded (literally) by polo players... it was a good day...

Harsh! OMG is adorable! I love him and want him as my little brother... no offence Max... but hes such a bright little boy! So so cheeky and just hillarious! Im amazed by how well he speaks English! :) Hes definately the one we're gonna photograph in the Mallards tee shirt :)

Very hopeful for his bright future! I think he said he wanted to be a pilot! :) SO IMPRESSED! and jealous... i wanna be a pilot...

Day 21 in India

What a palava! I'm sure you've all seen the pictures by now (I can't even look at them without squirming!) but I burnt myself tonight. Such a silly mistake!

Basically, we were looking forward to some home food as we'd bought in Pasta from the shop the day before. So when I got home at 6, I put it straight in the pan. Then Kirit popped in and said last minute change of plan - be ready to leave at 6.30pm for an evening out. So then, panicked by the thought of missing out on our pasta, Ruby got out the pressure cooker to speed things up.

FOR THE RECORD - i have never used a pressure cooker before! She said it would be done in five minutes (what I didnt know was that she was going to take care of it from then on) so I came back downstairs in five minutes and in an incredible lapse of foresight and sense, opened the pressure cooker and really hot water just exploded up in to the air.

Luckily, it only got a little bit of me. And even luckier, Kirit heard the commotion and came straight into the Kitchen, where i was standing trying to make sense of what just happened, and tipped two whole bottles of cold water over me!

It's only funny now though, it wasn't a good night; my arm was all red and the burn on my chest was apparently second degree. But we went straight to the doctor and got it cleaned up in no time, and two weeks later, you'd barely notice it.

Lesson learned!

Yeah, i basically was asleep on the bed dreaming...not sure what of, and then Vikki rushed in talking and stuff and all i was thinking about is why am i awake, what is going on, theres no blood so you'll be fine! hahaha. Oh dear... Vikki is accident prone it would seem...

Day 43 in India...

Okay, it's fair to say we missed a bit... so, time to recap!

Day 18 - A weekend in Diu

After our day trip to Ahmedebad was cancelled last minute the weekend before, Dimple wanted to make it up to us with a whole weekend away in Diu. I'd heard a lot about the city from Bry and Ber because they spent some time there in December when Paul and Ren's wedding was taking over India :P - twas bliss!

It was our first time away since arriving in India. The drive was a bit of a challenge in itself - but the bumps that literally threw us in the air were hillarious!!! Seriously, Air Con is like a life saver here... it was so hot in that Jeep! Finally we arrived at the border, and after passing underneath it, took the very next left into our hotel! Hotel doesnt do it justice really, we'd call it a resort. Think palm trees, pool, bar (non alcoholic, of course-what you on about? lol Diu isnt a dry state, there was alcohol...that we didn't drink...what fools are we!) and a short walk to the beach.

So Friday night it was hiring out the scooters (which were, what... 1 pound 20 for 24 hours?), Haka noodles at the hotel - mmmmmmm - and then off out exploring for the evening. Diu is classed as an island even though it's not totally separated by Sea, so we ended up at the beach - that was bound to happen! We got to see the tiny fishing villages and go for the novelty of tipping our toes in the Arabian Sea. But someone got a little bit carried away, right Dimps? Yes. Wet skirt for her for the rest of the evening!

While Dimps tried to dry off (with no success as it was dusk already) Bry and I tried our hands at driving the scooters. It's harder than it looks. In my case anyway. And baring in mind I didn't make it look easy in the first place. Avi eventually gave up being my stabalisers and I'd say I managed a good minute before handing back over the keys.

From here we drove to Bon Appetite, a one of a kind restaurant with treehouses, hammocks and beanbags taking up most of the space. We decided to eat here on the Saturday and had to come the night before so he knew how many fish to catch!

The drive back to the hotel was really pretty. Its a different side to India. Palm trees instead of the ones painted red and white to keep termites at bay! And the harbours, and little boats made it more of a postcard scene.

Dimps and Avi showed us the Indian way to deal with food; order a lot of it; eat with your fingers and clear that plate - whatever it takes! I take full credit for introducing the Indian chip butty here - French fries and ketchup wrapped up in a hot roti - mmm!

We spent some much needed time by the pool. We spent some time in it until we realised it obviously wasn't excluded from the Indian spitting habit... gross. Bry tanned up a treat - i just got a plaster outline over my TB jab - better luck next time i guess!

The day time coudnt have been better. We hopped on the Scooty and set off by ourselves to see the island. Luckily, my driver, though a bit of a novice(!), had a good idea of where to go cause of the last visit to Diu. We did end up in the odd dodgy corner and dead end, and then it was a case of "just keeeep moving...." and get outta there! But it was so much fun, seeing the city this way, really enjoyed myself, just following our noses. We ended up back at the beach, by Sea Shell Museums, statues and monuments, a huge ship building port where they were making wooden ships I guess the old fashionned way! We weaved through little villages and just passed the time out in the sun.

Sat Night it was fish all around at Bon Appetit. Proper job, eyes and tails still attatched... good chop though, and all four of us ate for about what... a tenner? This was only topped by Chocolate Pancakes the next morning before leaving off for home!

Ahh...Diu... just what we needed after spending our first few weeks in hot hot Bhavnagar teaching! A proper little hidden holiday resort kind of place where alot of Indians go to holiday and very little tourists.

It was FAR cooler :) and apart from the knotty hair due to sea breeze and riding on the scooty as fast as i could...it was just reallllly great to chill out by the pool that we had 9/10 to ourselves! CHICKEN hakka noodles!! and alcohol... although i never drank a drop...

Especially enjoyed wearing whatever i wanted hahaha and revisiting the places i had been before. Plus exploring new places...ship building place at the other end of the island was new! haha so glad we wandered into that little village. So picturesque. And driving the scooty all day ensured tan lines :)

Something a little unexpected but very intriguing was Diu fort. Only stopped for 5 minutes but it looked very fun to explore.

Ahhh.... Diu hahahaha....will go back again next year for sure, just to chill out :) its so peaceful which is of course a huge contrast to Bhavnagar. My favorite most peaceful place that is perfect to visit and experience a bit of...'wow this world has hidden secrets' moment is the hidden little secret beach. Only locals know of it and its just a small bit of beach that is perfect to watch the sunset. To the left is a very small fisherman's village with the little huts painted in bright colours. And everywhere else that surrounds you is views of the other end of the island... sand...sea...and a whole lot of sky! :)

Definately one of my favorite places in the world. I can understand why people might go there and think its not very special at all...but sitting there with no one around, all by yourself, with this little bit of earth that you have all to yourself, dipping your toes in the warm Arabian sea is so rare to find. And a perfect place to think and chill out and have a laugh with your friends :)

I finally got the chance to show it to someone back home (vikki...duh) haha and i will continue to bring my loved ones over here to just chill out in a place that seems like your so far away from everything else :)

Baba at Bon appetit remembered me aswell :) haha so surprised. OMGosh it was such a good laugh last time i had eaten there with about 12 of us :) all the 'youngsters' hung out in the tree house...that was... well....renowned for being a sneaky place to truelly relaaxxx... haha and sitting at the tables crossed leg feeding the same cat our fish heads and fish tails was just really nice :) Definately another place i HAVE to bring my loved ones to experience. The food is all caught that morning at the fish market and then cooked on a charcoal grill when you arrive along with fresh salads and anything else you request :)

Never had such great tasting, fresh fish before in my life! And im not really the biggest fish person! :) So yeah...overall :) i LOVED Diu!

Day 15 - Gir National Park

So we woke early and dressed in our new indian attire to present to the children their school achievement awards. It was such a lovely day, and so sweet to shake all of the childrens hands and posing for all the photos infront of the huge audience of parents.



The kids are so proud of their achievements and they should be - there were so many international awards!!! - so many children gettign prizes for scores of 97 - 98 and 99% in the subject exams. But we have a soft spot for the awards of best fancy dress and best handwriting too!



So we thought we were done for the day, and came back to the office as always - its got A/C :D

- and Kirit suddenly presented us with an opportunity...if we were up for sleeping rough, we could leave that afternoon in the hope to see Asian lions at Gir National Park!!! - This is originally where i wanted to go for my birthday weekend! But as the lions had been spotted the night before, figured it wasn't worth waiting three weeks.

So we swapped indian tops for army combat trousers and boots...we also packed FAR too much for one night, as you probably would have guessed if you have ever been away with me before.



We were taken into this little village to meet 'the lionman!' (no not the one on t.v.) and he accompanied us into the wild along with his son, Kirit and Mallay in the army jeep...with no windows... and no guns...no protection at all from the wild lions...except for Mallay...so basically no protection at all!!! It didnt take long - 10 minutes in and we had spotted our first male lion! which wasn't difficult as it was about 3 meters away from the jeep! - remember the NO PROTECTION!

He stopped and stared but after a minute of human-watching he was back to being completely oblivious of our presence. It was really exciting doing our best safari style filming, but you had to strike the balance between using headlights or flashlight, cause you do not want to anger the lion... When you're filming it, and we tailed this first one for a good ten minutes, you have to remind yourself you're seeing the real Asian lion, in the wild... it doesn't sink in at first how lucky that makes us - aha, but luck is my middle name!

In total, i think we saw 5 males and 2 sleepy females, was it just me or did the females look bigger? - actually i think she was smaller but she was further away, that might have had somethign to do with it - lol. After watching them fall asleep, we decided to leave them to it and try and find our way out of the wilderness (we'd been off roading for a good hour). As we left, we just so hapened to drive past the amputated foot that the lions hadn't eaten from their kill the night before.

Everyone we've spoken to since has reminded us how lucky we were, most people go to Gir and come back with nothing except alot of dust. We'll get the Videos up on Facebook ASAP!

So once we got back to the Lionmans house, and after alot of spitting (on his part - gross! like, seriously disgusting, can't-get-over-it-nasty!) the family set us up with beds on the rooftop. I was almost as excited about this part as I was about safari-ing - i'd never had the whole sleeping under the stars experience so it was a first for me. And it was so cool waking up in the morning as the sky was lightening and the nearby temple was playing out it's music for morning prayers. The sunrise that day has been the most picture-perfect moment so far...

Although i foudn it a little cold, it was quite a pretty view, especially when Kirit decided to point out the places (that were only about 10 meters from where we were sleeping) where leopards, lions and panthers have been spotted harrassing the villagers... unfortunately we didnt see anything, other than a whole lot of chipmunks climbing the trees and some reallt pretty birds. We headed out pretty soon after sunrise to go back to Gir to find some spotted deer...in fact pretty soon after we past the entrance point we spotted bambi and its family :) it was really nice to see deer so close up! We reached the top of a hill...and needed to use washroom facilities..that were obviously unavailable...i wont say no more...i will especially not mention the 20 odd guys that decided to walk up the hill when vikki was peeing elsewhere... good times... oh yeah, that was a reeeal treat... hmph.

But i had some good laughs the rest of the day. There was one point when Kirit, Mallay, Bry and the Lion Man had gone for naps in the shade, so I was in the Lion Mans house with a family of about 8, only two of which spoke very basic English. One was 18, the other, who we nicknamed Danny Zuko based on his suave 70's style outfit (all the rage in India right now!) was 20. And it was this guy that made my day twice over! Firstly, because when the conversation fell quiet, he came out with "I am very handsome." Uhhh...... "In India, I am very handsome." Well.... *Completely seriously expression on his face* how nice for you.... lol. "Please, take my picture...." Ha ha. And after that, a classic moment when he expressed (and i somehow understood) that he didnt understand the lyrics of this really cool song he'd downloaded on his phone, and could i tell him what it meant... Ahem. Cue music..... "SMACK THAT - GET ON THE FLOOR, SMACK THAT - GIVE ME SOME MORE"
To quote the real Danny Zuko - Oh you make me laugh, Ha... Ha.. Ha.

I wish i was there to have witnessed that once in a lifetime experience... So after my VERY sweaty nap! lol we had some "chop" :) and made our way back home. Which was quite fun in itself...chatting about movies, spotting blue buck, chasing blue buck...(Asias largest breed of antelope) and pouring water down vikki... childish but equally as funny... :) Twas a good couple of days but i dont think i've ever appreciated a shower more in my life, or ever will.

Day 12 in India

Adjustment period over!

We've settled into the school fully now - although the kids still do double takes every day!

Both of us are really enjoying Horse Riding in the mornings, despite the 5.30am starts. The first day was so much fun, being picked up on the bikes! It's already been accepted as a given that the best way to see India is on a scooty, it's such a laugh, but that morning Kirit and Mallay started up the real bikes to take us to the grounds. and O. M. G. It was terrifying! Ha. But so much fun! Of course my decision to go with Kirit was not at all strategic... Yeah - thanks for that! Mallay swerving round lamp posts, pot holes, donkeys! AND THE SHORT CUT!! Ha. Yeah... We have to "take turns" now...



So, coming up to the first fortnight... it's a challenge to remember everything that's gone on in that time! We're like brainstorming and just when you think you've remembered it all, there comes another flashback of something you'd forgotten.



Shopping with the girls was hilarious - aw, so much fun! There's two young teachers from school, Jagu and Vundenar, Jagu who we call Dolly (she's the smallest, cutest thing!) and Vundenar who we call Wunderbar... Wunderbra... Wonder Woman... the opportunities are endless! She hates it, so my nickname now is a chinese dish called Biryani :) its good :)

All this before we even pulled up at the market in our very own Little Yellow Bus. Shopping was so much fun - it's so cheap! I paid like a fiver for 3 tops and was amazed at this little habberdasherie type store where everything was 1 ruppee - thats basically free lol.

Every shop pulled out all their outfits for us to see, one at a time! In our favourite little hidey hole, we were given free drinks - celebs for the day! Locals even commented on how we were given drinks and they werent... felt a little bad but i guess celebs have to get used to it tooo :)



We also went to a beach nearby - nearby by Indian standards, which means an hour and a half away - with our driver (ha!), Ashok, and Mallay. Just walked along the shore, and chatted to this one Indian guy, oh yeah, he was non-stop! First he came over just wanting to meet us, get a quick pic or whatever, and then it was constant questions about our country, talking at us about the history, the attitude and we were like.... riiiight...by attitude we assumed either the war or womens attitudes and social status...



We went to our first lesson of Classical Indian Dance which is definately as hard as it looks! All being well, we'll have a little cameo in the production at the end of term in a routine with some of the beautiful dancers from the school. Can't wait for the costumes! Gotta get used to having bells round your ankles first..! Sounds pretty cool though, feet WILL hurt afterwards...trust...



Alang was interesting. I'm not sure if i've ever been more dirty in my life. Ha! That was hilarious, a solid line of dirt right down to her ankles! It's the biggest Ship Breaking... (Port..? Sure!) in Asia... we had a good look around at all the workers dismantling these ships all over the beach. We saw a team of men walking back through thigh high mud dragging some shipmen to shore on a dinghy! We should be going back soon to watch a ship dock...was really quite interesting, surprised to find a new interest in ship wrecking lol



The evening we spent at the Temples was probably the highlight though. Definately.

Another teacher from school took us to a number of temples within walking (uhh - trekking!) distance from his house. Such a nice atmosphere, you walk barefoot into these beautiful buildings decorated with so much colour, gold, flowers... We got our first Bindi's this trip, the little orange dots on your forehead, as well as Orange string bracelets, for... I keep forgetting... Vik..? PROTECTION AND WELLBEING! i keep saying happiness but i think thats asking alot... lol

See if that sinks in before the next blog... Unlikely! "TA TA"

some random photos from the first fortnight!

Dimps and Avi in the Arabian seaaaa!
the most vile drink you can ever....ever....everrrr imagine! Think of rotten eggs, bile, sweaty feet and sulphur and you'll have a vague idea!
treehouse love in bon appetite in Diu!! look at the scary cow skull eyeing up vikki!
In Diu sat on the beach!
this is a rock people worship....LOLZ
hammock and Vikkiki! in Bon appetite!
some random cows in Gir national park in a little village
Sauren and Dharte...they followed us everywhere!
GOATS!
Malay...and the funky tree roots behind him!!
funky tree roots and vikki!
overly keen indian guy who spoke VERY good english... but decided to lecture us on our own countrys history...and then snap snap snap!
CHI!!!! :) best tea ever!!
by the Shiva temples! peace and quiet :)
i think this is in Gir
flower
CUTE baby!
sunsetting :)
the infamous peacock!

Day 5 in India

Cough Cough COUGH COUGH COUGHGHGUHGHGH... (that's Vikki working her Bronchitis)... Bad timing, no? but we're here! Indeed we are! Its been 5 days since we arrived... i feel like i've seen more in these 5 days than i have - Your whole life? - No lol ... in any of my other ventures taken in my gap year. Practically everything is as different as it could be to life back home, which is both good and bad. Good because we have maids that cook us delicious food, and (the maid is singing right now...) because we've been made to feel so welcome. The bad - there are families living in the streets, stray dogs on every road and we turn heads everywhere we go. But actually, these are the things that open your eyes the most.

The driving is shocking!!! On the first night coming home from the airport, it felt like a constant game of chicken (they drive in the middle of the road until they absolutely HAVE to move over). In fact our driver ended up reversing around a roundabout when he missed his exit!!!

I think i could have caved right then and there, but Bry - thats me! - said "just relax and trust them, they know what they are doing". And i did. And its worked for me every since. We drove past hundreds of people on an annual night walk, to a temple over 100km away. We even saw a model temple, all lit up and being pulled by a camel! So as you can imagine, everywhere i look, its new to my eyes.

"i want to go and..pick some of those.. willlld...strawberries!!" camt stop listening to pnau! blame jon ashman!

Its day 5, in India - my hair has no volume! my nails are filthy! and i miss my beef! - she's a beef girl our Bryony - lol but i wouldnt change it for the world! I love it here. Although i'm probably the only blonde in a ridiculous - amount - of - miles radius, i feel completely at home.

The food is different than before but it's all home-made and locally sourced. The fruit is really good. Mmm... that watermelon thing... That was so good! Mmm... We should have that again soon...

Our first class at school was a little scary, i was kinda nervous. Just glad I had Vikki with me, remembering that originally I was planning to come back by myself. Really surprised at how well the younger children speak English - although our names are hard for them to grasp! we had a letter from some little girls today saying "we love you, you are good teachers, Wicky and Brownie" - so cute! - And the 1st and 2nd standards (which are 6 to 7 year olds) struggle with our accents a bit.

Our sleeping patterns are all messed up. My siestas are far too long and obviously this isnt helping me with sleeping at night!

As of Thursday, we'll be getting up at 6am to go horseriding for an hour before school every day. That should straighten out our routine a bit! We've been warned about this one horse, Black Beauty, by Renu and Paul, and yet, as luck would have it, apparently this is the one we'll be learning on!

Our intial plans before arriving here were to do two plays, one each, of about an hour. But as it turns out, our ever wise friend Pamps was right when he said "don't try and plan anything, cause it won't end up going that way!" So now we are looking at two night of entertainment, condensing our plays down from sixty minutes to just fifteen, and including other acts of dancing, singing, and other performances to make up two variety shows performed over two nights.

and OHH - we're going to Kerala! We went to a travel agent yesterday to have a chat about our last ten days in India Okay, so we just asked Kirot (who we're staying with) how to spell Kerala and he doesn't think we should go there because it won't be much cooler in Southern India. He thinks we should go up North like we were planning orginally, but this is what we were thinking... Kerala is "God's own country" and basically paradise, full of greenery and apparently a lot of tea. It's said to be like a different culture altogether down there, and there's plenty of elephants! You know we're going to end up riding one! Yeah, definately... Well, when in India..!

We'll have to keep you posted on the plans for the rest of the trip, but so far, so brilliant! and we're not even a week in...