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I have been so busy I have not had time to keep as up-to-date on the blog as I would have liked to. I’ll rewind to last week first:
I had to spend the week wearing glasses which many of you know I hate! I managed to lose one of my contact lenses in my eye and when it came out it had snapped so I had to go to the opticians to check it wasn’t in my eye. Thankfully it wasn’t but I had scratched my eye looking for it so was banned from contacts for the week.
The weather last week was cold and wet which wasn’t much fun. When it is cold here you really feel it, as all the buildings are made for hot weather so there is nowhere to warm up. I had many early nights just because bed was the warmest option!
We spent our English lessons teaching apostrophes, which the boys picked up really well but it took the whole week to work our way through the exercises. We also progressed with Hansel and Gretel and picked out any apostrophes in the passages. In the afternoons we played games such as hangman, Chinese whispers and general knowledge quizzes which all helped their English and it was lots of fun. On Friday we had a visit from an American couple who were interested to know more about the centre. We all had a big lunch with them and two of the boys told of their stories and sang Tibetan songs.
Last Saturday was our day off so we spent it relaxing. Amy made a treasure hunt for us all to do and Fiona and Kelly cooked in the evening and made a delicious dessert!
On Sunday we went for a picnic with all the boys and Isaac’s family at Lachiwala. Isaac’s mother made us English cheese sandwiches while the boys had the spicy alternative. We spent the day playing rounders, cricket and swimming in the river. It was such a lovely day and it felt like we were one big family.
This week has been a hard working week. Luke, Fiona and Stephen have been in charge of drama classes and were given the task to compose a sketch based on the experiences they have heard from the boys, in order for it to be performed at various events to raise awareness on the increasing drug problems here. We were told on Monday that it had to be performed on Friday in front of the governor of Uttrakhang, who is very important. So all of us chipped in and spent the whole week rehearsing with the boys and helping them learn their lines. We also managed to finish Hansel and Gretel so we will work on a comprehension with them next week and get Tenzin to illustrate passages.
On Monday, Nuang and Dhargal were interviewed by a regional reporter for a CD and magazine that will be distributed among the Tibetan society here and globally. I sat in on the interview which was very interesting. On Tuesday, Stephen and I cooked for everyone. We had planned to make tortilla wraps but couldn’t find any wraps so improvised with bread rolls and melted cheese on tortilla crisps. I cooked a mixture of vegetables; peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms and Stephen cooked chicken. For dessert we had banana and custard. It was great fun shopping for the ingredients and cooking it all!
On Wednesday we hiked to Mussoorie, a nearby village. We had to wake up at 4.30am and set off just before 6am. The mountain was 2200m high and was quite a hike but very enjoyable. The views were stunning and we saw some of the well-known schools set in the mountains, including Isaac’s old school. We reached the top by 11am and had lunch at Isaac’s uncle’s guest house. There was the option to get the bus down as many people were tired from the climb but luckily my hiking experience stood me in good stead and I managed to walk down with Luke and 8 of the boys. In the evening we all ordered takeaway pizza to treat Nuang and Kharma (the mentors we live with) and sat and watched a film together.
On Thursday, after a day of drama we went round to the boys’ house for tea. We helped cook mormors which are a Tibetan specialty; they are similar to dumplings with vegetables in. It was a lovely evening where we played games, danced and ate lots.
As I have been bonding more with the boys I have learnt how difficult their lives have been and the stories they told us in week one were in fact very diluted versions of the truth. Tenzin Phuntsok, who is 18 and extremely bright and lovely to teach, has had an horrendous upbringing. His parents separated in Delhi when he was 3 years old. His mother took him with her to Nepal where he was made to work from the age of 4, looking after goats. He had to lead them up the mountains in the snow and if he lost any, he was beaten. Yet this frequently happened as he couldn’t see more than a metre in front of him because of the mist. Aged 8 his mother sold him to a family as a slave and he has never seen her since. He was hardly given anything to eat and had to carry heavy loads. This is why he is now incredibly strong, physically and mentally. At 12 years old he found out that his father had been sending his mother money to look after him and had no idea about what had happened to his son. His father took him back to Delhi but could not afford to look after him and give him education. He was then sent to TYC where he has learnt English in three years and is grateful for everything he is given and so eager to learn. He is in the middle of writing his story in English and he has promised to send me a copy. I have in turn promised to help him use email so we can stay in contact.
One problem Tenzin, along with many others have is that they do not want to leave the centre. Nuang (30) told me earlier in the week that he has no goals and has accepted that he has wasted his life by his drug abuse and is grateful for his simple life as a mentor at the centre. Tenzin wants to go into the army because he thinks he is too old to go into education. He is only 18 and he learns things so quickly that we really want him to use his intellect. Isaac has told us to try and encourage the boys to have goals in life and not be afraid of moving back into the community. They all have wonderful qualities to them so we are trying our best but it is a sensitive issue.
The sketch on Friday was a huge success. The governor’s house was enormous with huge grounds and tight security so it was very daunting for the boys but they pulled it off. We also had a bit of pressure as Amy and I had parts in the sketch and it was an example to the governor of what we have been working on during our time here. Yesterday we found that we were in the local paper for the event so we were all thrilled.
I will type out the article for you to see:
COOPERATION IS MANTRA FOR BETTER SOCIETY, SAYS GUV.
23rd March, Dehradun.
“Governor Sudarshan Agarwai today said that cooperation and coordination help in building love and benevolent human society.
The Governor was interacting with the representatives of a social organization, “The Experiment in International Living,” at Raj Bhawan. He said that mutual and social interaction resulted in better societal development. He also appreciated the work being carried out by the organisation for international peace and goodwill.
The “Experiment in International Living” has been working for world peace since 1932 by introducing the culture of other countries to countries. The members of the organization visit various countries not as travelers but as family members and instead of staying in hotels, stay as residents of that country so that they could become well versed with the culture of that country.
National Vice President of the Organisation, Dr Arun Kumar said that the main motto of the organization was that by staying together people learned to live together.
Meanwhile, the Governor appreciated the organisation’s commitment towards eliminating drug abuse and said that youth were most under the influence of this social evil and power to eliminate the evil was also with the youths.
Present on the occasion were President of the Dehradun Chapter, Dr KH Chhabra, Rashmi Wadhwa, Satish Kumar, Anil Mehra, American and British students and members from East Asia.”
Dr Kumar is the person I stayed with two weeks ago and he is very passionate about international living and I have to agree that it is the best way to learn about another culture. I have gained so much from this experience and I really don’t want to leave next week. I hope to stay in contact with the centre and definitely will return in the future.
The only down-side to the last two weeks was yesterday when I woke up ill…again! I was sick twice and had diarrhoea so was in bed all day. I missed out on the shopping trip with Isaac’s aunt which I was annoyed about, as I missed all the shopping trips in Dehli due to illness. However, I am not letting it phase me and I have forced myself out of bed today and feel slightly better. Unfortunately Stephen was also ill but was not even holding down water. We both went to the doctors in the afternoon. I was given antibiotics but Stephen was put on a drip as he couldn’t stop vomiting and his blood pressure was low. He is still there now and I hope he is ok. It seems that we are plagued by illness everywhere.
I am now going to try and prepare the lesson for tomorrow as there is a lot to do in our last week here.
Thank you for all your lovely messages and I am glad you have been enjoying reading and viewing my photos.
Lots of love xx
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