Back in business!

After a few days I'm back with what I think will be a working site! It's been busy so there hasn't been much time but I hope you don't mind switching to this URL. 

To update you:
It's Friday night now- I spent the week doing a combination of busy busy things. I moved into my new house. I cleaned my new house. I spent some time at the Jagori campus. I went to Dharamsala to pick up some supplies (pillow, garbage can, lunch containers). I went to the main road in Sidhbari 3 times. It's about 20 minutes down and maybe 25/30 back up. There I got a SIM card for my cell phone, found 2 restaurants (one Tibetan but they never seem to have their veg momos available, and one that serves Western food and many teas), found a shop called "My Earth Store" that sells organic products and some meditation books and things. Cooked a few meals, ate a few good meals at the NGO. 

Today was our first day working, since we take Thursdays off here and every second Wednesday. It was handy to settle in for 2 days and do errands before work. All 7 of us from McMaster went with Navneet (our main English-speaking friend and contact at the NGO) to the Knowledge Centre in a nearby town. This is a building with computer access for villagers, and 3 rooms for gatherings. This is where SATH (Social Architects for Tomorrow in Himachal- check it out at jagorigrameen.org) runs its youth group meetings and plans for events in the community. Here we met a group of SATH workers and sat with them planning for Maa-Beti Mela (Mother-Daughter Festival) which is on September 23. They expect about 400 mothers and daughters at this event and are planning activities and performances to celebrate and encourage positive mother-daughter relationships. We talked about factors that create a gap in communication between mothers and daughters here and what activities may help address those factors. It was very interesting but somewhat limiting with the language barrier. We had 2 people able to translate (Navneet as well as my friend from McMaster, Esaba) but even so it was hard to keep things going with full communication. We had lunch and tea with them and took the bus home for 2 rupees. It's funny because taking the bus down the hill is easy since it is less full, but taking it up is quite tricky and therefore we walk. It was 3km--tiring but manageable. Apparently that walk is about 1/10 of the type of walking we will be doing. Or trekking I should say. 

I'm sorry I can't copy your comments here but thank you so much for following. I miss you all and hope everyone is well. Keep updating me on your lives! I love to hear. 

This is the view from the deck on one side of my house. Absolutely beautiful although I've only seen it this one time. Monsoons mean it is very cloudy so I'm eagerly awaiting clear skies!

The view but a bit wider. On the right you can see the eves of my house. The house you can see is the back of the neighbours' house- it faces the road that goes up the mountain (towards Jagori) and down the mountain (towards the Sidhbari main road)

This is the view from the main meeting room in Jagori. You can see a few tiny house on the mountainside. I have already spent a lot of time thinking about who is up there and how they spend their time. 

Meeting on the first day. The 4 women on the left came with me from McMaster (I'd name them but can't really tell), followed by Navneet in the brown and Christina at the back in the blue. Christina arrived here 2 weeks ago from Boston and will be at Jagori for 2 years. Another foreigner here is Helen, who came from Scotland in May to a nearby NGO. She had a negative experience there and was able to come to work at Jagori. Her first day at Jagori was also ours. 

xo Clarke 

Blog seems to be broken...

September 12, 2012

I’m having a problem because I can’t access my blog. (Had somebody in Toronto post this for me).

In terms of my real-live life, things have gone quite smoothly so far but it’s still a bit busy for me. I find myself being jealous of other staff at Jagori or even people on the street because I can tell they are comfortable- they have a purpose in whatever it is they are doing, they have routine, and they are used to their environment. There are 2 men who do maintenance on the Jagori grounds and today I felt jealous of them. One group of people were extending a patio- round stones that they would later grout (sp?). Also outside one of the buildings they were putting in a new bench. I don’t know if they normally do so many new things but it was interesting to see. There is a lot of slatework here since there is a slate mine in the mountains behind us. the bench was very beautiful with slate that had been cut to fit one tile (laid to look like a diamond) between every 2 pieces of slate. I like to watch how people work and build here because it requires so much time and attention to detail that I don’t see as much in Ontario. Everything is done by hand. I wish I knew more about building so I could understand the differences between here and Canada better.

Tomorrow we hope to do a deep clean of our place. I don’t remember if I said this but I live with 4 of the women I came here with from McMaster. We have two bathrooms and two kitchens and all are in need of some real scrubbing and disinfecting. Also I want to do my room so I don’t feel like I can’t touch anything. Someone before me left a hot water bottle and I think I will take it over for cold weeks. Apparently we won’t need to buy space heaters since real winter doesn’t start until December. We leave early December.

Arrived!

September 10, 2012

We officially arrived in Sidhbari around 2:30 this afternoon. Being at the train station this time was maybe worse than the first time. Two of us (including me) were sick so there were extra bags to be carried by the well people. This was tricky since everyone has enough trouble just carrying their own bags. 

I have to go for dinner now but later tonight I will update if possible. I am feeling better so not to worry. 

Thank you all for the comments it makes me feel good to know people are reading. I feel disconnected from Canada so I’m very glad to have this going.

Last, my internet stick is not working properly so until I get a new SIM card I will have limited access. Hoping to get a SIM card for my new cell phone tomorrow. 

xo

Train + Amritsar

September 8, 2012

Today we woke up at 5am to catch the express train to Amritsar. We had a stressful experience at the train station because some con men who spoke good english pretended to help us but were really trying to get money through cab fares. They told us that our tickets we on the waiting list (there was a WT on the form so it made sense) and that we had to go to a government/tourist building that was relocated to 3 km away. The first man told us this and then I went with one other to go up to the counter to double-check, and right at the lines a man directed me into a particular line with authority, and then proceeded to ‘help’ by saying the same thing. We were seconds from taking off in cabs to try to do this before someone else in the group clued in and saved the day! It was a learning experience. I was very focused on moving the group quickly to do what ‘was necessary’ but didn’t think clearly enough to realize that we may have been tricked.

The train was nice because our NGO booked us a good car. It was more pricey but there was room for all of our big bags with us.

In Amritsar we went for lunch and then to see the Golden Temple. It was very beautiful. My favourite experience so far. So many locals were going as well so I didn’t feel like a tourist. They took photos too and many people prayed. There were prayers being played over speakers and so many people in beautiful clothes sitting looking at the temple. We sat too. Everyone must wear a head covering and bare feet. You can buy caps to cover your head but I had my own covering to wear. The bare feet was very dirty walking up to the entrance. I didn’t think too much about what is on the streets. Then there is a water bath to walk through and you go in with clean feet. Wonderful experience.

Tomorrow we in fact have another day here (someone misread our tickets) and then Monday morning we leave for Pathankot.

Let me know about your lives! Email me!

xoxo

Clarke

Train Tomorrow

September 7, 2012

Tonight is our last night in Delhi. We are all tired and packing for the next step on our way to Jagori Grameen (this is the NGO I will be working with).

By the way, I will put up a description of what it is I’m doing here in India and who it is I’m with. There hasn’t been time to set everything up but hopefully things will settle down once I arrive at my home for the fall in Sidhbari, Himachal Pradesh.

Tomorrow morning we leave for the train station at 5:50am and then take a train to Amritsar. I’m excited because this is where my dad was born and I imagine where my grandma and her mother, etc., etc., were born. I understand it’s a tradition here to go back to your mother’s hometown for the last 3 months of your pregnancy to spend time with your mother as you prepare to give birth. Also the Golden Temple is there and that is our main interest as a group. We will stay one night in Amritsar (see the temple, go for dinner, sleep) and then take another shorter train to Pathankot. Here we will be picked up by taxis from Jagori Grameen, and drive another few hours to get to Sidhbari. So a long 48 hours ahead of me. And a long 7 days that I’ve now been away. It’s been great and so successful so far. Travelling as a group of seven is difficult and we’ve done so well.

Day one in Delhi: Arrived in the middle of the night, slept, woke up for breakfast at the hotel (included in our stay), walked to M Block market (5 minutes away) and exchanged money at a good rate. Then found taxis to go to Nehru Place which is where we spent 5 hours buying cell phones and internet sticks for Himachal Pradesh. It was long but an interesting experience. Then we went to Ekta’s (Chloe’s housemate and good friend from Waterloo) house for dinner. She was very generous to have all 7 of us over and the meal was amazing. It was a good way to eat the first night because we have nervous stomachs and were so tired from the flight.

Day two Delhi: Woke up late and planned to go to see some sights in Delhi, but then realized the Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays for prayer. So we emergency-planned and were able to leave within the hour to go to see the Taj. Normally you would leave at 7am to get to Agra (3.5 hour drive) and return at 10pm, but we left at 12:30pm and returned at 11:30pm. The hotel arranged a driver for us and we all crammed in together (I was lucky to be un-crammed since I get so carsick and they let me sit up front). There is a new fanct highway with toll booths and reflectors on all the lanes so the drive felt safe and quick. We saw the Taj Mahal and then went for dinner at a restaurant in our Lonely Planet guide. We have been told it’s good to follow to avoid sickness. Then we stopped at a marble factory for some of the smallest (cheapest and lightest to carry) souvenirs.

Today (day three): Took the metro to Old Delhi, which is in the north of the city (we are in South Delhi). The metro is really nice!! Better than TTC. And there is a women-only car on every train which we accidentally got onto and then after purposely got onto for the rest of the day. We saw the bazaars in Old Delhi, bought some Punjabi-style dresses (I will give the proper name later), saw the Delhi Red Fort (from the outside), went for a very good lunch, and then I came back to the hotel with Ceinwen. The others went on to see the Lotus Temple and then to M block market for some last minute provisions before leaving. Ceinwen and I went to M block and ran into them there.

All for now! I miss you!!!

Some Photos (Coming Soon)

September 5, 2012

Since things have been so busy I wasn’t able to put the photos up as they happened. BUT I have been working really hard to take photos and I think I’m doing well. It’s easy though- I’ve been able to see so many great things that it would be hard work to take bad photos.

I said to a few people I would post some photos tonight but, alas, I won’t. ..the internet is sort of slow or maybe I just don’t know how to upload well but I lost my patience and will try again later. The photos are at least on my computer now and I’ve decided which ones to post! I know this is all not very exciting until there’s something to see….

Landed in Delhi

September 4, 2012

Here goes my first post- Very tired after 3 days of travel (Toronto–>Paris–>Delhi). I left Saturday late afternoon and arrived in Paris 8am Sunday. I’ve been travelling with Ceinwen and two has been a good number. We walked all day Sunday with our bags but happily dropped them off at our hostel in the late afternoon. Slept well Sunday night which meant a good day Monday of more relaxed but still packed-in sight-seeing. Then to the airport this morning at 6:30am for another day of travel. Someone had an anxiety attack before the plane took off which was distressing but they must have calmed down or exhausted themselves because I didn’t hear them during the flight. 

Now we’ve all met up (all 7 in my group) and checked in to our hotel in Greater Kailash. It is a 3-star so we are paying more than we need to – still much less expensive than Toronto – but it is clean and very nice. It will be good to come home to a comfortable place for a few nights. 

For the next few days I’ll most likely be online in the evenings–maybe somewhere from 8pm-1am, which would be 1030am-330pm Toronto time. I want to upload photos of Paris and some of what I did and saw but first I’ll sleep. So hopefully tomorrow there will be something to see!

 Missing you all-