Had decent beds on the night train to Haldwani and after celebrating quickly with the carrage next to ours the Indian cricket win over Packestan I fell asleep quite quickly despite it being very bumpy. Got woken up at my stop by the nice french buisness man i met on the train and was on the platform at 4am in the dark, having booked my transfer to a small village to do some volenter work, i had had very little contact with any of them and what i had heard from them made no sense at all. So was by myself at 4 completely lost and ill be honest more than a little worried. Just following the stream of people to the exit, i thankfully found a man who new my name and where i wanted to go, he took me though the stream of other taxis drivers yelling and offer journeys and to a small very rickety car. Spent the next 7hours along very windy roads with cliff like drops (like those ones in the movies with cars just piled up at the bottom) and journied up into the hills. He droped me of at Bageshwah, a small town/village near the village i was to stay at.

Here i met the son of the family i was to stay with and waited for Mr Verma the organiser of the volenter project. After meeting Mr Verma, i still wasnt sure if it was him tho at this stage, we traveled up to Kanda.

Kanda is beautiful! Hilly with fields over the rocky ground, got some pictures ill try to upload later. At the house i met the family, the son i met before's wife, his pregnant sister, 2 nefues, his brother and mother. Theres were already 5 volenters there, 2 girls and 3 guys, all around uni age, spent the afternoon chatting to them, very relieved to have a flowing covosation with native english speakers :)

All the family stayed in the house, it was very very small, 2rooms, a livingroom/bedroom/eating room and a kitchin altogether about the size of my front room at home, if not smaller. Attacked was a barn about the same size with 3cows, a calf, a goat, and 2 baby goats and to my delight two of the cutest puppies!! The guests stayed in another building, with each room about the size of the other house. 1 room for the girls, 1 for the boys, and i got my own. It was pretty basic, tolet was a whole in the ground, shower and laurdry was in a bucket. Food was curry, for breakfast (yep curry for breakfast), lunch and dinner. You could say im not a fan of curry or anything even a little bit hot, but i still had seconds every meal and actually ended up eating more than most the others, can offically say i like curry! :) (but this curry is nothing like english curry, theres no meat and not creamy at all, noramally quite thin with a couple of beans or something).

Next day I went with the others up to Kanda, found it so friendly and quite after Dehli no one selling or bagering you, but everyone greating you while you walked. Everyone still stared, which ive found everywhere in India, they just stare at you without being imbarrised or looking away when you look back quite bizar. Here i also realised how much more i payed in Dehli as there was no second prise for tourests, we were in a way just included in the village life. Took a walk up to see the Himalayers, they were a little hidden but still apsolutly amazing! Would love to visit them one day! It was sooo hot and only a little dotted shade so we soon made it back. Chilled that afternoon again and got filled in with how everything works because the others were due to leave for Rishekesh in the morning.

Walked the others to Kanda that next morning to say goodbye. At Kanda we walked past a couple of barking dogs, all dogs there seamed to bark at any white people (ignored the indians, raciest dogs! lol :) ) I was last getting there, helping one of the girls with her bag and one of the dogs just went for me, biting my leg! Didnt hurt that bad at all and he managed to bite though my trousers (without tairing them, even tho they were linin) wasnt a big bite either but was kinda deep. The temple keeper after seeing what happened came to check i was ok, he insisted i get an injection as the indian dogs arent safe, I left it for a moment to say goodbye to the others as they got on the bus, but then followed the temple keeper up to the hospital.

The Kanda hospital was a constuction site, they were still building it but a doctor was there with a first aid room. The temple keeper organised everything, he translated it all and talked to the receptionist and doctor for me. They didnt have the rabies jab i needed here so they instructed me to travel down to Bagishwah for that. They did give me a jab there (ill be honest cant remember the name..) confused the hell out of me because i sat on the bed for my injection, they told me to lye down, i was like god is it gonna heart that much, i then got told to turn around and lye on my front, i was like wtf is going on!!?? Before i new anything they pulled down my tousers just a little bit and injected my bum cheak!! 2bf to them i sware it hurts less, with my dignaty only just in place we headed off to Bagishwah.

Took a share taxis for the hour journey (was only about 40pense which is crazy cheep but then there was about 12people cramed into a 7seater in the sweltering heat!) again the temple keeper came with me and showed me what to do. i wouldnt have even know there was a taxis serive, but he took me on this, right up to the hospital, he then, again, translated everything for me took me to all the right places and i got a rabies jab and told to come back in 2 days for another one.

We then took the chance for a look around Bageshwah, its a lovely market town over the gangies i think (or another holy river), we went to the temple and a couple of shops, it turned out to be quite a nice day.

Once we got the taxis back to Kanda and ide walked back to the house, i told the family about my bite they seams pretty unconserned and just said it was good i got my injections. That afternoon i found myself with nothing to do. I was there to volentere but had found nothing to volenter with. The family said they were fine when i tried to help them so i found myself just in my room organising my things and reading a little.

That night was the India world cup final against Sri Lanka. I can honestly say i now finally understand cricket, even tho the whole game was in Hindi. Actually enjoyed it aswell and even in this tiny village in the mountains there were fireworks when india won.

In the morning i helped with some plastering (was actually quite good fun) and mixing up the cement and sand to make plaster. I found the working men far more chatty and friendly and ended up really enjoying myself.

At Lunch Grace arrived, shes another gap year student from somewhere near leeds. It was nice to have another english person and we spent the afternoon and evening just chatting.

Next day was monday and i had to head back to Bageshwah for my other injection, i intended to go with my temple keeper friend and grace but the family said they'll sort it out. When i asked to go with the temple keeper they told me it was not safe and not to go with him, i found this irronic, as it was this man i didnt know who helped me out and really looked after me when i needed it and they had done vertually nothing for me, but they insisted 'you go alone' So i ended up on the back of a motorbike (around these rediculously swervy roads lets not forget with lots of crazy indian drivers) up to the taxis rank, everything was fine as i new where to go, but if i hadnt been before i dont know what they would have expected me to do vertually noone spoke english.

At Lunch 4more volenters arrived, Keira a nurse student about my age, her dad pete, a nurse practisioner, his mate Scot, a mechanic, and a women Pete met on another volenter project Caroline, a doctor. All were really nice and came with MASSIVE suitcases just of things to donate to the village.

Over the next couple of days we explored the village, went on more hikes to see temples and dear reserves and amazing views (which were sady mostly covered with cloud).

We helped out at the school, the kids are soo cute and really egar to learn, and many of them had the best english we had heard yet, we broke up in 2 groups of 3 to different classes where we tought them english and maths but mainly just played games. At one point the head teacher came to ask for help from one of us, i went and he put me infront of a young class (6-8year olds) and was littrally told 'teach them something', and left at the front of the class, i was like wtf!! But after a bit of chatter i worked out they love wordscrabble so i spent the next hour scrambling words and scoring them as teams (hardest bit was to spell the world right in the first place) was fun but im quite sure that i wont be a teacher in later life.

Caroline and I volentered up in the hospital we just watch the process and talked to the doctor there (who actually spoke alot better english than it seamed when i needed help) its quite a different process there where people dont wait to see the doctor but just talk in to the room untill they can make it to the front of the que to be seen. Bugs ran across the floor and no walls were painted or even finished being plastered in places but with all that said i think they did an awsome job. The catchment area for that 2roomed hospital was 35,000people, most of which were very poor and had to walk for the day to get there. but then again it wasnt overly busy and with those who came in it was pretty quick, there were few tests (and any who needed them had to travel down to bageshwah) so people were just patched up or given some medicine and sent on there way.

I enjoyed the volentering and loved meeting all the great people but found that i wasnt sure what help i was doing there, you could say that it was more of a business for Mr Verma and a culture check for the volenters, so after a week of the others being there we all decided to more on. Explore northan India a little bit.