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What a week! I have been going non-stop, trying to finish off my teaching, saying farewell to all the boys and making the most of my last days in Dehradun.
It has sadly come to an end, and yesterday marked my departure from northern India; a departure which came far too soon. It was very sad to leave behind all the boys and Isaac’s family, whom we have all become very close to. We have lived with them like a family and spent everyday together for the past month so it was a poignant moment.
The week began with English lessons on nouns and adjectives. I also set a comprehension on Hansel and Gretel for homework which they completed really well. I felt like a proper teacher when I took their books home to mark and gave them all points to work on! Tenzing Phuntsok (known as TP – the 18 year old who is very bright) gave me some beautiful earrings after the lesson. He bought them so they would match my skirt, which I wore at the Governor’s house on Friday. It was very sweet of him. In the afternoon we played our usual volleyball match along with other games such as dodge ball.
On Tuesday we revised adjectives and introduced the boys to pronouns. After this lesson, I received another gift. This time from Nyima, to say thank you for teaching him and being friendly to him. Nyima is the one who I think is the most volatile and prone to relapsing. He has been in and out of the centre for nine years and was in rehab three times before that so I really made an effort with him and it was so nice to see that he appreciated it. In the afternoon, after games we all went to a local Tibetan fair. The word ‘interesting’ is the best way to describe it. It was definitely not your typical English fun fair. The big wheel ride was operated by two young boys, situated inside the wheel, turning it like hamsters! They had to swing from one side to another to slow the wheel down and I was terrified just to watch them. There had apparently been an accident several years ago where a woman’s hair got caught in the wheel. As a consequence, her whole scalp was pulled off and she died. I couldn’t believe the ride had not been closed down. There were also several food stalls, (all to be avoided!), people selling bangles, whistles etc. and there were games to play, such as throwing hoops over prizes and shooting balloons with an air rifle. There was also a place to get tattoos and you could see the exposed needles just lying on the floor. It was a completely local fair, as it was in celebration of a local god. We were the only outsiders there so we were stared at a lot, even with the Tibetan boys. It was also extremely hot so we didn’t stay long but it was an experience!
On Wednesday I gave the boys a selection of poems I printed out from the internet. They were Wordsworth’s ‘The Daffodils,’ Roald Dahl’s ‘The Tummy Beast,’ Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If,’ and Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ We had come across rhymes in Hansel and Gretel and some didn’t quite understand it but others did, so I started off by showing simple rhymes in ‘The Tummy Beast’ which is a silly but fun poem. They read aloud ‘The Daffodils’s’ really well but unfortunately that is all we had time for. I am glad they have all got copies of the poems and hopefully Isaac’s aunt will continue teaching them. Later that morning we were taken to a school that has been founded by the Governor. He has taken 40 girls, aged between 11 and 13, from deprived backgrounds a built a boarding school for them and paid for each of their educations. The school has been running for two years and it is a remarkable achievement. The girls are extremely well behaved and very eager to learn. They all wear smart uniforms, have matching hair cuts and behave in the most disciplined manner. They were all very happy and sung us two songs, one in Hindi and one in English. We were then told to perform something to the girls, and flash-backs from the ‘Let it be’ disaster all came flooding back! Luckily, I had the Roald Dahl poem in my bag so whipped it out and we all recited it in exaggerated voices to entertain the girls. Thank goodness it went down well and we were saved from singing! It seems to be a custom here that whenever we meet new people, they request us to sing and dance, and none of us are very good at it. I will have to work on that one for when I volunteer again. The girls then asked us questions about England and we in turn asked them questions about their school.
In the afternoon we all spent time chatting with the boys, making the most of our last few days together. They have all written individual notes for us and we have done the same for them and we have all exchanged contact details. I also videoed a mini-interview with four of the boys; Nuang, TP, Lobsang and Nyima. I got the idea from seeing the local reporter interview Nuang and Dargael and I managed to get the questions he asked translated. I used some of them but mainly adapted them to what I knew about the boys already, so I have a record of their life stories from their own voices. I am really pleased I did it and I only asked those boys I knew well enough, as it is a sensitive issue. Nuang even came back with a list of more questions for me to ask and a suggestion for a better ending so we recorded another part, as he wanted me to be a good journalist!
In the late afternoon I went into Dehradun with Sally and Fiona so I could look around the shops, as I as missed out on Saturday. I managed to buy a curti, like all the other girls have, in a blue/green shade. I chose one that I could get away with wearing back in England. I got the top half shortened so it can be worn just as a top, as the trousers are a bit hideously baggy but unfortunately the tailor cut it a bit too short. It is still nice however and a good memory of India. In the evening I packed a big box of everything I need to send back to England, as I am coming to the part of my trip where I will never be in one place more than a few days so travelling light is essential! I was surprised by how easily I filled the huge box! It had quite a few books, clothes I no longer need (or no longer fit due to my recurring illnesses!) and a few things I have bought here. As I was busy listening to music and happily packing, I suddenly noticed I had been itching by back a lot. I then found out a mosquito had got into my top and bitten me all over seven times! The rest of the night was spent mosquito-hunting with Sally and we didn’t sleep until we had got them all.
Hence, on Thursday I was shattered. As we all needed to send boxes home, we had the morning off to go to the post office as these things take a long time in India. Luckily, we all managed to get them weighed and wrapped and celebrated with a drink at a coffee shop. At 2pm we met the boys and Isaac’s family at the cinema to watch a Hindi film: “Namastey London.” It was great fun! The audience cheer and clap when the Indian hero comes onto the screen. Unfortunately, the English were not portrayed in the best light. We were hoping it was all tongue-in-cheek but it was slightly worrying that some people might think that really was England. The basic plot was:
There was an Indian girl who had been brought up in London and was engaged to a posh, rich Englishman, called Charlie Brown! Her parents however wanted her to marry an Indian and took her to India, where she discovered its wonderful culture. Her parents tried to arrange a marriage for her and reluctantly, the daughter agreed, only because she knew the marriage would not be valid in England. So when she returned with her husband to England, she announced they weren’t really married and broke his heart. Being the hero, he took it all very well and stayed around to see her happily married to the Englishman. As he spends more time with her and her future in-laws and husband, he is the one who comes out on top. The English are seen as anti-Indian, thinking back to the colonial days, not accepting of different religions, and all the girls were dressed in VERY short skirts and frequently got drunk at night clubs! The funniest moment was when the English challenged the Indian family to a rugby match! Anyway, the daughter turns the Englishman down at the altar and runs away with the Indian and everyone cheers. The film was interspersed with the usual Hindi-style dancing and singing, which was particularly entertaining when infused with English dancers ands settings!
After the film, Issac’s brother Joshua showed Sally and I around some more markets in Dehradun and we saw where he collected his raw materials for his furniture business, which he runs with Isaac alongside the House of Peace. We were then rung to be told we were having dinner that night with Rashme, the organizer of ‘Experiment India’. We rushed back to get changed and spent the evening at her house. It was lovely but I was completely shattered and it was a late night as we didn’t eat until 9.30pm.
On Friday we spent our last day playing party games with all the children from nomadic tribes, who have lunch at Issac’s house. The boys joined in and it was great fun. In the afternoon, Amy and I gave our English class a present (a word game like boggle), a printed version of all the grammar lessons we have taught, and a photo of the whole group which we had taken earlier in the week. I think they were very touched. Sonam gave Amy and I a card and Tibetan scarf, and at the very end of the day TP came up to me to give me his pink hat which I had worn on the evening we spent with them last week. Tibetans are by nature extremely shy and I think the eight of us have had such an impact on the boys because we have made them come out of their shells. Their confidence has grown so much and for them to give personal gifts is a big step for them and Sonam’s hands were shaking when he got out the scarves. It is hard to describe the impact we have had on them and them on us.
At 6pm we were all given a tea party (cakes and cheese sandwiches!) and presented gifts from Isaac’s family, which included a Tibetan scarf and bag. I had made a photo album for them all, from the weeks we have spent here and we presented that to them. At 7pm it was time to say our farewells and we all felt very sad. Then we went home to reluctantly pack.
We left at 8am on Saturday morning to catch the 8.45 am train to Delhi, where we are staying until Tuesday. Karma, Namgael and Isaac took us onto the train with our bags so it was another sad farewell when they left. I really wasn’t ready to leave. We have been looked after so well by them all, I had the same feeling on the train that I had when I left my family in England to come to India. It is weird, that now I am departing from India it feels like leaving a home and I am anxious at leaving it behind. But moving on is part of life and I will always remember my experience in Dehradun; the things I have learnt and people I have discovered will stay with me forever. I have promised to return and I really will. The whole experience has been eye-opening. It suddenly dawned on me yesterday on the train, travelling is such a unique experience and being on my own, young and open-minded, I am finding out so much and that actually, I am living the dream.
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