july 28

And i'm on my own...

The Ian's, Sheila and Susie have just set off for Agra to see the Taj, so the fun begins. We had some tea and chocolate after they made us cry a little so now we're ok.

Last night as a farewell dinner, we had a feast. Fried chicken, gravy and mash, eggplant subghee, potato subgee and chapatis. Then marshmallows for dessert!

We've had a few hot days with very little power for the fans.

Priscilla and I are going to spend the next two months cooking our hearts out, in order to make a cookbook which we'll sell to raise money for a new oven. The only problem is she just tips in however much she feels like so we'll have to work on determining some measurements.

Tomorrow I'll be moving into my permanent room which is quite big, has a walk through room with a wardrobe in it and a bathroom with a shower and a western style toilet...luxury awaits!

I'm looking forward to finally being able to settle in, and I'll get a routine of my own now that the others are gone.

Missing coffee right now but am enjoying myself enough to cope...x

july 24

no school today as the principal told the outside kids they weren't starting back until monday...

it's rather hot here... just hoping the power stays on today so we can have the fans on, or that the rains come and drop the temperature.

room plans have changed. i'll be moving this coming thursday to a room in the little girls hostel with a closet and bathroom...luxury!

the kids have just descended and we've had to take a few photos... as above! there's cynthia, as usual, kindra, anthea, me, and a boy whose name i'm yet to remember...

my first dose of developing world medicine yesterday. one of the older girls got spiked by a rusty nail so i went to the chemist and got her a tetanus vaccine for Rs 10 which is 25c. Rohini was a fabulous patient and said it was the best injection she'd ever had...i haven't lost my touch! It felt very empowering, nursing for the first time in 5 months and doing something that only I could do for her.

We had fried eggs and potatoes for dinner with chipatis of course, and instead of the usually sweet chilli sauce one might eat in Australia, they have 'hot & sweet' chilli sauce here...x

july 23

The rain has stopped and the heat is back. We're absolutely dripping, but thankfully we have power most of the time so we can keep the fans on. The upside is our clothes have finally had a good drying day as some of them have been hanging around for a few days in the humid air...

The girls and I experimented putting cornmeal in one of the loaves of bread today but the ants got to it during the first rise then it came out of the oven solid as a rock...will have to work on our technique.

The kids had today off school again, after the government of the area closed all the schools til tomorrow, as some local children died in the floods this week. It's been a big job to keep them entertained all day, i can't imagine what school holidays are like.

Sheila and I made paper puppet-men with split pins today so the arms and legs move. then with some of the older-ish girls, we drew pictures of girls and stitched on beaded jewellery.

The kids are really enjoying the crafts and games we brought over which helps!

I'm getting better at chipati rolling. It's quite an art.

Priscilla and I are making Indian pastries today for afternoon tea.

Hopefully the tailor will bring over our first day suits today. Then the others will come when theyre ready.

Warm!x

photos

we've been having lots of fun with photo booth on my laptop. heres a couple of fun pictures, including april, at the top, who i spend time with in the kitchen. she's as moody as me so we get along just fine!x

july 21

here's gayle, cynthia and me. i've been helping gayle with her home-ec study today.

it rained all night, we've had at least 500ml in the last 24 hours. we've had 71cm since sunday.

it has only just stopped raining this afternoon and we've had no power since this morning.

the kids were off school because it was flooded and the kids who come from the outside couldn't get in to the farm either.

so this morning i helped make the bread again, and i'm teaching the girls some techniques which are producing great results.

we then had a craft morning this morning where the kids made thank you cards for all the businesses that contributed to our fundraising.

potato and egg curry for lunch, then this afternoon we went for a walk to see the river which was dry only a few weeks ago. we started off by wading through the cow house...nice... then around the back of the buildings through calf deep swamp water which has just come up in the past few days. the young boys were such gentlemen, holding our hands to balance us as we slid around. sheila got stuck in the mud and we all had a good laugh! as it was chucking down with rain at the time, our rainjackets and umbrellas proved pointless.

after circling the farm, we headed off through the fields, through the nomadic community who use some of the land and into the jungle. mud, sludge, slime, floodland, swamp. i'm really not sure how to describe it. like nothing i'd seen or done before. we just waded through the jungle knee deep in water, with the kids periodically slipping and falling into the 'puddles'.

we finally made it to the river and it was amazing. we stood on the banks in sinking sand and watched the water rush past. it was a good 20 or 30 meters wide.

on our way back, some of the older boys had driven a tractor-trailer down to pick us up and took us on a hairy ride back. a nice hot shower in the guest house and cup of tea to welcome me.

finally we've got power this evening, and have enjoyed a lovely dinner of chicken and liver soup, beans, daal and chipatis.

did i mention i learned to roll the chipatis...im not very good at it mind, but sheila and i figured out the mechanics of rolling it and ill get better with time and practice.

im loving spending the mornings in the kitchen with the girls, getting to know them and learn to cook indian style.

the children are gorgeous and ive spent lots of time with cynthia again today...x

july 20

its raining and we kindly have no electricity, even tho the farm pays for full electricity.

i'm up, showered, had breakfast, done the dishes, made bread, peeled potatoes and its only 9:30.

im sitting here with cynthia, a little nursery girl, the only one of her age, as she plays with her doll and phone...very sweet. its sad for her cos shes the only small one and the boys her age are rough with her and steal her clothes.

went to the market yesterday only to find the closest atm is 12km in either direction so looked at materials for suits, and will go again today, on the bus this time, to the bigger town and hopefully buy some material.

the boys can get cotton, tailor made, best quality suits and a shirt for $25 - $50. amazing!

we're about to have morning tea, pancakes!

the picture is of me and cynthia and the flower behind my ear is from one of the ladies, picked from the garden and it smells amazing!xx

we're here...

After a 6 hour flight to Singapore and a 5 hour flight to Delhi, we went on the most incredible 6 hour car ride I have ever experienced. It was insane, indescribable yet strangely made sense.

The kids here are amazing. So happy. It's great to be able to help out.

The 5 month old twins are tiny, so it will be great to work with them and see them grow and develop.

It's just hot and rainy here. Where the guys were going to build the playground is a massive puddle. So we're just waiting for the rains to pass.

If only South Australia could experience this kind of rain.

I'm looking forward to the next 9 weeks, knowing my outlook on life is going to change dramatically.

I felt truly blessed last night with a roof over my head, a fan and some mozzie repellent.

The simple things in life become the most important.

The only thing missing is... a good latte! In fact, just some fresh milk would be nice!

But i can't complain, I have everything I need and feel like I'm living in luxury...x