A picture speaks a thousand words: Settling In

So here I am, at the end of my first week in India. And what a week it has been!! Here’s what I’ve been up to. It only took me a bout three or four days to settle in. I was very homesick on Wednesday, which was hard for me because I’ve never experienced it before, this being my first time away from home over a week. I’m lucky I have the other girls to keep me company.

I’ve started teaching at Bedla Day Care Centre during the day and at the boy’s orphanage in the evenings. The day care centre is challenging because the kids are so young (only 2-6) and don’t understand a lot of what I say, but they are so cute and I love playing with them. The orphanage is fun but the boys can be difficult and hard to control, but they all have a lot of personality.

In between classes we’ve all been doing a lot of shopping in the city (which included buying sari’s!!). Everything is reasonably cheap (although I must say, India is not as cheap as I thought it would be). I’m starting to learn the art of bargaining as well, which is fun. We’ve already had some lunches and dinners out at various spots around the city, which have all been lovely and a nice change.

On Saturday it was Raksha Bandhan (the festival which celebreates the relationship between brothers and sisters) so we all dressed up in our sari’s and visited the boys at the orphanage where we gave them red bracelets and put red tikka in between their eyes.

Other things I’ve been doing are, seeing my first Bollywood film. Which was a very interesting and fun experience as the audience are constantly cheering, clapping, booing and laughing. I’ve also been doing Hindi lessons and cooking classes with the other volunteers and getting Henna done!! Oh and we visited a local disabled school on Independence Day to watch a show, but there was a slight hiccup when I fainted during the national anthem and had to be driven home – oops.

And there you have my first week in India, in a nutshell. Now enjoy my photos J