Everything it was meant to be

Paris is exceeding my expectations. On our way to Biarritz we had a full day in Paris due to our flight delay. The Eiffel Tower was amazing and worth waiting 44 years to see.

We had a lovely two days in Biarritz and even managed some beach time. Despite thunder, lightening, and heavy rains our flight back to Paris left on time and we wandered the Louvre until my feet ached and I could walk no more. We ended our day with 2 bottles of champagne.

Today is sunny and hot - we spent the morning at a flea market and plan to wander the Marais this afternoon.

Everything is good.

Paris, Here We Come....

Maybe.

Paris has been my number one destination for as long as I can remember... and I am about to have a dream come true with a 7 day "taste" of France including 4 days in Paris.

I have spent hours searching websites for the right flights, the right hotels, the right restaurants, the right walking tours, the right museums..... I am beyond excited.

But we are currently in limbo. Our flight scheduled to leave at 23:50 hrs was pushed to 00:20 hrs. Then it was pushed to 01:45 hrs.... and now it's canceled.... sigh.... so we spent 5 hours taking the new train to the airport (which is pretty cool by the way - it cost us $2.50 each to get to YVR and then $30 for a cab home since the train had stopped running for the night), hanging out at YVR and then cabbing home.

We are reschedule for 13:00 hrs .... keep your fingers crossed.

Family Camping

I love spending time with my Aunts and Uncles and Cousins. It re-enforces the bonds that were made in my childhood. It's always so good to see them.

Hoto and I were invited along on a camping trip this weekend on Hornby Island. Our party consisted of my mum's sister and her husband, their two adult sons and respective families, and my mum's brother and his wife. They all live in the same small community on Vancouver Island and so this type of outing is quite common for them. They all know each other well and spend a good deal of time together. It shows in how they joke around, in how they care for each other's children, and how they're comfortable being cranky now again with each other.

The weather gods were once again on our side and we enjoyed warm evenings around the camp fire, hot days on the beach, and swimming in the warm waters of Tribune Bay.

Here's Hoto making a mer-man out of my cousin:

And here's a shot of my cousins just enjoying the beach the way that kids do... magical kingdoms made of sand, walking on water, playing in the surf....:


What's not to like about summer?

Summer Holidays

As a kid, I loved summer holidays. I loved the freedom of going barefoot and wearing nothing but but my swim suit for 2 months. Except on the Princeton Racing Days parade day... then I also wore my cowgirl hat.

We have just had a lovely BC summer holiday; a week on Okanagan Lake, a little outside of Naramata. A perfect lakeshore house with good friends and brilliant sunshine. Hoto had some great wake boarding on unbelievably still, early morning waters and I recharged my solar batteries laying on the deck and paddling around the cold lake on my air mattress. We ate too many barbequed burgers and drank too many bellinis. My skin is summer brown and my eyelashes are almost blond. The holiday was really, really lovely.

We drove home via Princeton and as I gazed out the window at the Similkameen River, I was happy all over again that as a child I tubed and swam in a small town river and ran barefoot with my brothers, cousins, and friends. Those experiences make the simple, quiet summer holidays that much more relaxing and somehow, that much more comforting.

And today we went to the beach in our backyard - which was pretty spectacular too.

Hanging Baskets

We are just back from a great weekend in Kelowna where we met up with friends on a hanging basket shopping trip... yes.. hanging baskets. Beautiful ones - 40 of them to be exact.

The small Rockies town where our friends are from apparently is not able to properly grow really good hanging baskets, and so they have to go further afield for them. We were just happy to enjoy the hot Kelowna sun, drink copious amounts of great wine, ride bikes, and enjoy the wonderful company of our best friends.

I always seem to get the crappy part of the drive on trips to and from Kelowna and this time was no different. Beautiful clear skies and great roads on the way there when hubby was at the wheel and this is what I had to drive through on the way back:
We were laying poolside an hour before this photo was taken.

The trip was well worth it though. Thanks for a great weekend guys!

From 28 degrees to 2

We left Vancouver on a beautiful June day. Twenty-eight degrees and more fantastic weather on the way:










I took both of these shots on a bike ride to/through Stanley Park.











And here is what Alberta had for us:


12 to 14 cms of snow... followed by hail, wind, rain, more snow, and a spash of sunshine just to tease us.

Nothing like June in Alberta...

Niagara Falls

Pretty impressive...


And I like this store too..

Niagara-On-The-Lake

After a bumpy start, I finally managed to get to my hotel in Niagara-On-The-Lake where I am attending a sales conference for work. I thought I had the perfect plan. Take a mid-day flight, arrive in the early evening, enjoy someone else driving me to the Niagara region, make arrangements for some Sunday sightseeing.

Right.

Have you ever been to North Bay, Ontario? I have..... crazy electrical storm activity caused a diversion of my flight and made for me arriving at my hotel at around 12:30 a.m. in the pitch black and regretting the fast food chicken burger I'd eaten as a last resort for dinner.

But today is a fresh new beginning. I have until 5:00 p.m. to visit the falls and take in some of Niagara's amazing wineries... that is if I can find some form of transportation. I've called 3 places so far with no luck whatsoever. It seems all the tourists in the area had the same idea as me.

It's killng me. The sun is shining and I was ready to roll at 0800 and now it's 10:20 and I'm still looking for a ride.

Maybe Niagara Falls will always be just a picture in a magazine. Sigh.

Annual FFC Garage Sale

Well, we managed to hold our 3rd Annual FFC Garage Sale and this was definitely our most successful.
I would like to send out a big thank you to everyone from the Vancouver Fundraising Group who generously donated so many items. I would also like to express sincere appreciation to my family and friends for once again cleaning out the closets. I'll be back next year!!

We had a wide variety of items for customers to choose from (no we weren't camping - these tents were part of the sale).

Our garage sale attendees were also very generous and we received a number of "on the spot" donations by way of additional sale items as well as financial ones.

We had a great day and then treated ourselves by taking advantage of the fantastic sights Galiano Island has to offer including:

Enjoying Sarah's Garden


















Walking the Dogs





Enoying the Sun and Surf


Levor was just happy to have his garage back to normal...









Thanks again everyone.

Safely Home

Well, I managed to make it home in one piece. Hoto and I calculated that I had been up for about 53 hours by the time I hit the pillow on Saturday night. I woke up Sunday morning with a bit of a cold (or possibly a combination of jet lag and allergies) and that dizzy, spacey feeling that jet lag causes. We just kinda hung out for the day and I went to bed pretty early last night.

I stepped on the scales this morning, curious to see the results of my high carb diet in India combined with loads of walking and sweating in the hot sun. I don't eat meat in India so it was entirely vegetarian for me. We would eat a bit of fruit in the morning when we first got up and then have breakfast at the cantine around 0900 or 1000 hrs. Breakfast was usually some sort of bread type product (chappathi, dosai, porata - spelling? or poori - deep fried chappathi), sambar and coconut chutney along with a plain omlette if we wanted. I ate lunch around 1400 hours and this consisted of rice, sambar or masala, an additional spicey veggie dish made from okra or carrots or cabbage, and papadums. We had "fries" a couple of times at lunch too which were really, really tasty. We rarely had dinner because we ate lunch so late so I usually just snacked in the evening on fruit bars that I had brought from Canada along with some local biscuits and banana chips.

At any rate, the scales are telling me that I am down some 10 lbs or so... which I'm not sure is entirely accurate since we had to replace the battery on the scale - Hoto says it seems to be weighing light for him too. I certainly don't feel any lighter and my clothes aren't fitting any differently. The main reason I am somewhat preoccupied with my weight is due to the most common comment I had in India, which was "Auntie, you have much fat"....

In general, the Indian people are quite honest. They don't mean to be insulting, they simply state the facts. And the fact is, I am quite a bit more rotund than I was 5 years ago when I visited FFC and no one hesitated to tell me that. Laughing and smiling they would say, "Auntie, 5 years past you were thin and now you have much fat", or "Hahahaha... I don't know you as you have much fat now"....

I had cream of wheat and tea for breakfast this morning. Let's hope the scale heads in a downward direction as I start training for another mini-triathlon... Ideally, the next time I visit, my friends at FFC will worry about how thin I am and want to fatten me up...

Yes... I did say "next time"....

Singapore

Landed safely at the Singapore Airport and am waiting for my flight to Vancouver via Korea.

As a last minute task, I decided to splurge and buy one of the big boys a bicycle last night (Johnny, I knew you'd approve). Gopi has a pronounced limp and I thought the bike might make it easier for him to get to school and also provide some great exercise for his legs. One of the staff went to buy it for me and it was just what I'd pictured for him.... not exactly a high end bike, but definitely nicer than most I saw around Podanur - it's candy apple red. He was very excited about it and although he doesn't ride much, he has been learning on some of the other boys' bikes. He was just really, really pleased; all smiles and thank-yous. I'm glad I spent the 3000 rupees....



The ride to the airport was the same hair raising adventure any trip in the FFC van is - the roads in Podanur and Coimbatore are filled with massive craters (also known as potholes) and these are separated by speed bumps every 500 metres or so. The van is 15 years old now and I can't believe it's lasted as long as it has. It seats 12 comfortably, but I'm told that for one event (a staff wedding), they managed to fit in 32 other staff members and volunteers. What I love the most however, is that there is only one handle to raise or lower the windows so you have to share it around.... Of course the traffic is crazy with everyone driving where ever they can find space, dodging dogs and people.

My porter at the airport was extremely helpful. He not only got my bags out of the van but loaded them onto a luggage cart, led me through the terminal, telling me what documents I'd need for each of the 7 check points, helped me through security, transfered my blow drier to my checked bags (they wouldn't let me carry it on the plane), showed me where to check in, informed me what time immigration would open and showed me to the waiting area - it couldn't have been easier.

Looking forward to being home. I'll post photos on my FaceBook page and send out a photo link to everyone. Thanks again for your kind comments and warm thoughts.

The Last Day

Well it has arrived - my last day. What a fantastic place this is. Everyone from the community, to the financial donors, to the staff, to the volunteers to (especially) the children. I have had another amazing, life enriching experience and will leave another small piece of my heart behind. I've made my good-byes to the toddlers, the cantine staff, the babies, and to my sweet Malathy. I only have to get through saying farewell to the other volunteers, finish packing and I can make my way to airport. Mahni Driver is coming to pick me up at 9:00 p.m. for a 12:30 a.m flight from Coimbatore to Singapore.

Hoto, my love, I can't wait to see you.

Seline the Goat

In my great hurry to tell everyone about my snake sighting, I totally forgot to blog about a great honour that has been bestowed on me.

Yesterday morning, one of our female goats gave birth to 3 kids. A baby girl was the first to come into the world and as luck would have it, she was turned the wrong way and needed quite a bit of assistance from Lawrence, our Caretaker of the Goats (and head Gardener). By the time she came out, Lawrence thought she was dead and so focused his efforts on the other two kids about to be born. Two of our volunteers were there and they noted that the baby female was breathing and so Lawrence's capable assistants cleaned her up while he welcomed her two brothers into the world as well. I got over to the goat farm to see them a few hours after they were born - really, really sweet. The males were doing really well, already up on their rickety legs and wobbling about. The wee girl was not walking but allowed me to hold her and she suckled on my fingers for a bit before bleating her displeasure when there was no milk forthcoming. Lawrence announced to the volunteers present that the female kid was to be named "Shelley". At least that's what he meant... however, the Tamils have a tough time saying my name as they don't have the "sh" sound in their vocabulary. They also generally spell English words phonetically (I do the same for Tamil words)... so my goat's name is spelled Seline.... and pronounced Seelii (I'm not sure why they've added the "ne" at the end as they don't pronounce it - one of those English language tricks... you know, the silent "ne").

What's interesting is that the goat kids only get their mothers milk for 5 days and then they are switched to cow's milk. This is because we need every drop of goat's milk for our babies and toddlers. Since starting the goat farm, and putting the children on goat's milk, the number of illnesses including GI issues and pneumonia have dropped drastically. Our babies also put on weight faster and keep the weight. So our goats are really quite an important part of the project and contribute to the well being of our babies.

I'll stop by to visit with Seline on my way to the guesthouse again today. Not sure if she'll make it or not, given her traumatic birth, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Strikes and Snakes

Well, another first.... my first Indian snake - in the flesh, so to speak. We had all retired for the night when there was a big commotion outside with the word "snake" said in high, excited voices. I donned my glasses and pj bottoms (it's too hot to sleep in anything but a t-shirt) and went to investigate. All of my other housemates were up and standing around the front door to the guest house while one particularly excitable one was providing all kinds of advice to the boys outside. I learned that a snake had been spotted at Sophie's house, one of the houses on our property (near the guest house I stay at), and some of the big boys had been called over to deal with it. One of our male volunteers came along and they had "stunned" the snake and were happily showing it off to us. It was still alive and still curling its tail and squirming.... Sarah thought it was a viper but I guess vipers are green and this one was brown so we're not sure just what kind it was. But given that all snakes in India are poisonous, it seemed prudent to keep my distance. Don't worry Hoto, I did not take a photo although some of the other ladies did. They boys went on their way, happy with the evening's events and taking the snake with them in a plastic grocery bag. It was unclear what was going to happen to it. They don't like to kill snakes in India. I have to admit, it was a bit hard to get to sleep after that - wondering what might come calling (or crawling) in our own quarters....

Have I mentioned that my head is itchy?

We had another new boy dropped off today. His grandmother brought him and it was obviously a very difficult decision for her. As I understand it, the boy's parents had deserted him after he was born. He had polio and is mentally challenged. The grandmother was crying at the thought of being parted from him, but also realized that she was having a lot of trouble caring for him on her own - financially and phsyically. It was very sad. It really makes you realize that the decision to let a child go must be agonizing for parents (or grandparents) - in the end most of them want what's best for their children and sometimes that means leaving them with us.

Dinner tonight was cancelled as our driver strongly recommended that we not attempt to go in to Coimbatore as demonstrators had blocked the roads. Most of the shops were closed today as well. I don't believe it will affect my trip home at all as it should all be finished with by tomorrow (Thursday) and I am not flying out until late Friday night/early Saturday morning.

Tomorrow and Friday I will spend with the preschool, kindergarden, and FFC school children and then make some recommendations to the Director; mostly to do with hygiene and behaviour management. And of course try to encourage more outdoor playtime. The ayahs just don't want to give the little ones any outdoor exercise - it's no wonder they have a tough time getting them to sleep at night.

Love to everyone and again my thanks for your encouraging comments - they keep me going.

This and That

We had two children enrolled yesterday - brother and sister ages 2 & 3 years old. They've been here before and we are hoping that they won't be staying long. Their mother is a young woman who grew up at FFC. I went to the toddler room and the boy was crying for his Ahma in such a sad way that I couldn't help but pick him up. He layed his head on my shoulder, one arm flung about my neck and shuddered with his sobs. He eventually fell asleep there and when I tried to lay him down, he woke up and started crying again. I sat beside him and he lay his head on my leg and cried a bit more while I rubbed his back - just a child seeking comfort. I kept thinking about all the things I should be doing - helping build the path for one of our blind girls, handing out donated gifts, working in the pre-school or kindergarden.... and then I decided that giving comfort to this one boy who was missing his mama was the most important thing I could be doing at that time.

This trip I've seen something I hadn't seen before in India. Funeral marches. I think they must be transporting the deceased to the graveyard or crematorium... the body is placed on a cart and is covered by a transparent veil. The cart is pulled by 4 or 5 men with what I assume is family walking behind. Some time later, the cart passes on its way back, empty now with just the men pulling it for company.

We are planning a volunteer dinner tomorrow night as two of our group head North on Thursday and I am leaving late Friday night. Two new voluteers arrived yesterday, one from Toronto and one from Portland. Our plans may be for naught though since we learned today that the entire state of Tamil Nadu is going on strike tomorrow in protest of the attacks against the Tamils in Sri Lanka. We've been told that all of the shops will be closed as a result and I imagine that the restaurants will be too. It will be interesting to see but my post may have to wait if the Internet Cafe is also closed.

One of the labourers came to the guest house yesterday to fill some holes in the walls - one of our volunteers is convinced that by filling these holes, the ants and cockroaches won't be able to get in. It was interesting to watch the processs though... he first threw water at the holes (about the size of my fist) and then mixed up some sort of concrete in a bowl. Then he took careful aim and threw handfuls of the mix at the holes, mostly getting the mix in. He then took broken up brick and placed chunks into each of the holes, threw more concrete mix at the hole until it was full and then smoothed it out. Looks like it did the job....... although we spied a cockroach at the bathroom sink some 4 hours later.....

More Introductions

Sharon
This 7 year old boy is sponsored by my brother. He came to FFC through Cradle Babies having been abandoned when he was 4 months old. He has TSC (Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, a rare multi-system genetic disease that causes tumors to grow in the brain and on other vital organs) as well as a congenital heart disease. Despite all of this, he is an outgoing boy who is friendly and happy - he likes lots of attention. He has been begging for a watch lately so you can imagine his pleasure when he opened his sponsor gifts and there was a brand new watch. Everyday since, when ever he sees me, he calls out "Auntie!" and points to his wrist watch and grins.

Gopi
Sponsored by my former employer, Gopi came to FFC when he was 8 years old. He was from Calcutta and spoke only Hindi. He was found wandering around the train station and was picked up by Child Line. He is 16 now and is a very nice, well mannered boy. He had polio as a baby and so had some developmental problems with his legs but he gets around fine. I was really pleased to watch him during the Republic Day celebrations when he did a karate demonstration and broke 4 boards with a single karate chop!

Helen and Susan - sponsored by Cathy, Greg, and Erika
I am putting these two into the same paragraph as they came to us at the same time.

Helen is 5 years old and very sweet. She smiles shyly at me whenever I see her. She lives in the toddler room but goes to grade 1 at the school.

Susan is almost 6 and can only be described as having no fear. She is often seen causing a bit of trouble in the school room and is often reminded to stop talking and to get to work.

Their history is a bit sketchy - I am told that they were being cared for by an old woman who was not related to them but who had hoped to start her own child minding business. She struggled however, and ended up living on the street with the 2 girls who were just 1 and 2 years old at the time. The old woman ended up giving the girls to Child Line and they were brought to us.

I think that's it for now. If there is someone I've forgotten, please let me know.

Thieves in the Night

So the wedding wasn't really a wedding.... it was more of an engagement party with the wedding to take place the following morning at 0500 hours... We arrived and were greeted with much enthusiasm and much video-taping. The camera man had a blinding light that he was using and filmed us meeting the bride, standing on the stage with the bride and groom and then eating.... yes, he filmed all of us awkward Westerners shovelling food into our mouths with our hands. The local people make it look so easy but it really does take a lot of practice to eat with just your right hand - rice is small.... and the sambar is pretty gooey... Dinner was lovely though and we made a quick exit immediately afterwards - which seemed a bit rude to us but which was accepted well enough. We were barely there 20 minutes.

There was more excitement to come however.

Some 4 months ago, thieves came in the night and chopped down one of our Sandalwood trees near the main office and stole all the wood. This was done about 40 feet from the night watchman's shack. Last night they came again for a second tree at about 0330 hrs. This time however, the watchman saw them and called for reinforcements. One of the male volunteers along with some of the older boys chased them off but alas the damage was done and the tree had been completely sawed through and had fallen onto the office. We called the police though and they came and looked. We won't be able to even keep the wood from the tree as Sandalwood is protected so the government came to collect it this morning. We have just one left.

I had a great afternoon yesterday - I bought some small, soft yellow balls with happy faces on them and went out to play catch with the small boys. There were very impressed with my throwing and catching skills and even though I tried to encourage them to play against one another, they kept yelling for "Auntie" to come back. Levor and Sarah also brought out a large number of bottles of bubbles and we ran around blowing bubbles at each other. It was really wonderful just to run and throw and play and listen to the sound of the boys' laughter on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Missing Home

Just spoke with my hubby - he's out for dinner with some friends. I had to report to him that although I'm pretty sure there are no poochies in my hair (lice) yet, I may have managed to pick up some scabies on my right hand. That's what I get for hanging with the toddlers and babies so much. One of the other volunteers has put a homeopathic remedy on the infected area on my hand so we'll see what happens - it might just be heat rash....

I brought some shampoo with me this time for lice, which I'll use before I leave just to be safe - I'll have to hope that the bumps on my hand heal before I leave and that I manage to avoid ringworm too... hazards of the job.

One of my house mates went to dinner the other night along with Sarah and Levor. They had a dinner meeting. They went to quite a nice hotel and when Katie came back she was telling me about what she'd had to eat, including a caramel brownie for dessert! I told her that I felt like I was on a reality TV show and that she had won reward and was now back at our camp telling me all about it.... I mean, come on.... caramel brownie with ice cream??!! I love the Indian food but that sounded pretty tasty to me.

We are off to a wedding tonight so maybe I'll be treated to some Indian sweets.....

Introducing.....

A number of the children I am getting to know here are sponsored by friends and family, so I thought I would find out a few more details for each of you.

Trisha - sponsored by Mez, Cath and the girls.
Trisha arrived at FFC when she was 8 months old in 2005. She had been abandoned at Tirupui (may not be the right spelling) Hospital and was placed with us via the Social Welfare Department. She went into foster care at around the age of 1, but her new mother didn't bond well with her and so Trisha came back to FFC and has been well loved by her family here ever since. She is an extremely gregarious girl whose sweet smile melts my heart everytime she aims it at me - which is often. She is very athletic and seems to be particularly good at soccer and throwing a ball. She loves it when I chase her around the playground, giggling and laughing when I catch her and throw her in the air; sometimes she just wraps her arms around me with an outpouring of love that only a child could give. Although hesitant at first, she quickly realized that she LOVED the Smarties in her gift bag.

Naveen - sponsored by my friend Eden's in-laws
Naveen came to us through Child Line in 2004 at the age of 4 having been abandoned at the gates of a theatre. I thought he was only about 4 years old when I met him as he is quite small, but everyone assures me he is 8 (Eden, the hoody was a bit big, but he'll grow into it). He is a very smart boy ("brilliant" in fact, or so I'm told) who listens to his teachers and is well liked by his school and house mates. He has been a bit shy with me so far, so I am hoping to get to know him better before I leave.

Surya - Sponsored by Marci, Rod and the Boys
Surya (pronounced Soo-ri-ya) is a very quiet and shy 6 year old boy. He is the oldest of 3 boys. One of his younger brothers is also at FFC with the youngest still with his mother. Surya's father died some time ago and his mother simply couldn't provide for all three children so she enrolled the two eldest with us. She comes to visit them when she can. Surya is also a smart boy and goes to school outside of FFC. He likes to play ball and was thrilled with the toy cars in his sponsor package. He had a tough time when he first came to us but has settled in nicely now and has become more outgoing with his house mates.

More introductions to come....

And Hoto... I'm afraid you'll have to rustle up your own dinner for a few more days.... I'm sure Marmalade Cafe is doing well by you.....

Ongoing Support and Kindness

Just a quick note today to say thanks to everyone for their kind thoughts and words. Your ongoing love and support help me each and every day.

Only 1 week more week here - the time is flying by.

Vellarusu

A few nights after I'd arrived, we had word at the guest house that a new child had arrived. He had come through Child Line, an organization that acts as a staging place, holding children until they can be placed in homes or orphanages as needed. Anyone from the community can call Child Line and report a child in need. Many of our children come to us through this group.

The young boy that arrived was dirty, a bit banged up, and appeared rather shell shocked. He said his name was Vellarasu which means Powerful Government in Tamil. He is about 3 years old and quite small for his size - about 10 kg. He is beautiful - huge eyes and very solomn looking. They asked him if he was hungry and he said no and then Levor asked him if he would like a toy and he replied "yes". Levor gave him a stuffed chicken which caused the lad to shriek and burst into tears..... the chicken WAS a little scary looking.

The next day I went to the toddler room to check up on him and there he was singing and dancing with the rest of the kids in the preschool - he is adorable. In the afternoon, we received a call saying that his parents were coming for him. This was a bit disconcerning of course as he had obviously been living rough. Vellarasu told us that his mother was dead so we weren't sure just who was going to show up.

His father arrived, along with his aunt and his grandmother and wanted to take the boy and confirmed that the mother had passed away some months previous. Vellarasu told his dad that he wanted to stay and go to school. There was much discussion that followed amongst the family. They sat outside in discussions for several hours. We fed them and Vellarasu visited with them. In the end they decided to enroll the boy with us and left. We were all relieved as the marks on the boys face and back told a story of their own.

The day after that I went and took half of the toddlers outside to play. Vellarasu was the only one who understood the concept of "catch" with a large ball. When I offered to pick him up for a cuddle, he didn't hesitate and he laughed and laughed when I tickled his ribs. He is eating and sleeping well and has confirmed that he is very happy to be with us. Children adapt amazingly well... of course there is a lot to be said for having 3 meals a day, biscuits and milk in the afternoon, children to play with, and lessons to learn.

Earning My Keep

Whew, what a day. After scrubbing our house from top to bottom last night with one of my roomies (and sweating like I'd just run 10 km) I didn't think I'd have any manual labour for a while. I was wrong though.

We have a room in the office building where we keep the community donations. Like many things here it was crammed full and extremely unorganized. So all of the visitors to the orphanage along with about 10 staff members and a couple of kids put in about 9 hours cleaning it up. We emptied first, cleaned it and then spent about 5 hours sorting everything and putting back what was useable. It was mind numbing, physcially demanding work. I again looked and felt like I had run about 10 km - face red, hair and clothes soaked with sweat and covered in dust, cobwebs, dirt and bug and mouse droppings.... yum..... I'm quite a treat right now as I came directly to the web cafe after leaving site.

But it is rewarding to see a job completed - so I'm satisfied with my work today.

I don't like spiders and snakes....

Or cockroaches. I really don't like cockroaches. We have a number of them here about the length of my baby finger and twice the width. When I say "here" I mean residing in our guest house. I'm ok with them as long as they don't run at me which they only do when threatened in some way (it's their defense mechanism - just like the 20 or so geckos in our rooms make the loud shrilling/clicking sound to ward off their enemies). I take my "shower" in the morning and keep a close eye on the 3 that live behind the door in one of the bathrooms. Shower being a relative term. We use a big bucket that we fill with water and with the use of a small jug to pour over myself, I have a "shower".

Of course cockroaches don't bite so that's good.... unlike the snakes and the dogs. There has been quite a problem with snakes (cobras and vipers mostly although as Sarah says "there are no nice snakes in India - they are all deadly poisonous) recently as Podanur grows and buildings go up, the snakes have no where to go so we see them more. Some months back they had a cobra come up out of the toilet in the office bathroom. No one used that loo for awhile. And there is a large tree near the office that has a number of holes in it. Cobras have nested in there (because that's where the rats are) and recently they had to call in the snake catcher as the kids saw a snake up in the tree. I guess it was a bit Elmer Fuddish as he covered up one hole and then sprayed some sort of concoction in another. The snake came out a third hole and bit him on the ass - literally. When he grabbed the snake by the tail, it whipped up and bit him on arm as well. He still managed to get the cobra into a bag and climb down the tree though, before collapsing in heap. Needless to say, he went off to the hospital.

I haven't seen any snakes yet for which I am most thankful. I was a bit nervous walking home in the dark last night after talking to Hoto as our driveway is long, dark and sides with an open field - perfect snake space. But it doesn't bother me too much.

The dogs can be aggressive and there are loads of them. But as long as you don't approach them or "look them in the eye" they seem to mind their own business. And the free roaming goats don't bother me although I might turn and run if one charged me.

The crazy traffic can be somewhat startling and I know Hoto would have a fit if he saw how close the motorcycles, cars, buses, and big trucks come to the pedestrians (including me). But that doesn't bother me too much either. It's just the way of things.

What I'm really afraid of? The ducks. The ducks near the office are incredibly mean. They hiss, they chase, they bite.... horrible things. I'm not sure why we have them... they're meant to be for the kids but no one can get near them.... I saw them out on the road near the office today and they actually chased away 2 dogs. I gave them a wide berth but they still hissed at me.

I'd take a cockroach over a duck any day.

Malathy

Malathy is the child that I sponsor here.

Not much is known about her history. We believe that she is about 6 years old (so she was only a year old when I was here last). Malathy has many challenges. She is blind and her left hand and foot do not have the full number of fingers and toes that the rest of us have. She also had a club foot (which has been operated on and with the help of a brace and hand crutches she is learning to walk). Most recently it has been confirmed that she is also quite mentally challenged.

Two days ago I went to the Big Baby Room where she resides to spend some time with her. She was just at the end of her nap so I played with some of the other babies until she woke up proper. Once she was awake and had pushed herself up into a kneeling position I went and knelt down beside her crib on the floor. She was on hands and knees and was rocking herself head to toe. I gently placed my hand on her back, softly calling her name and she jumped in a startled fashion. Then I rubbed my hand on her head, all the while, quietly talking to her. I rubbed her cheek with my knuckle and she stilled. Then slowly I opened my hand and she turned her head so that my hand pillowed her cheek and head... and she sighed and just stayed that way, perfectly content. It was a wonderful moment for me.

I saw her yesterday as well and she was very content to sit in my lap running her hands over mine as if trying to memorize each detail through her sense of touch. She wouldn't let the other babies come near, pushing them away when they crawled over to check me out.

So we sat and rocked and touched hands while I whispered that I loved her.

Privacy

It doesn't exist. I am in a web cafe near FFC and am sharing my small booth (and I mean small) with 3 young boys who are just too interested in me to mind privacy at all. They are staring at the screen, watching everything I type. Other, older boys stick their heads over the wall to see what I'm doing. It's all very India.

Well I made it. It was a long trip... 11 hours to Korea (1 hour at the airport there where everyone deplanes, goes through security, and re-boards), 6 hours to Singapore, 20 hours in Singapore, and then 4 hours to Coimbatore. We arrived at around 11:30 at night. Sarah managed to whip through security, but they were more interested in me - or rather my bags. One of them had the letter D chalked on it which means "doubtful". I had to open the bag and answer a few questions. They seemed to think that I had my bags stuffed with gold jewelry. They were disappointed to see diapers, children's clothes, toys, and craft supplies. Needless to say, they waved me on. (The boys have gotten bored of not being able to read my blog and have moved on to someone else's stall).

The guest house has been revamped; bedrooms where the bathroom used to be and bathrooms where the kitchen used to be. An extension has been added and a kitchen installed there.

I am currently sharing the house with 2 other volunteers. Katie, a tireless lovely young lady from Nebraska, and Barbara, a homeopathic clinician from Nelson, BC. They are both wonderfully enthusiastic and I am really enjoying their company. My room is inbetween theirs so I have to go through one or the other to get out. Our rooms are separated by curtains.

Privacy at it's best.

I felt a bit out of place when I arrived. Mostly just missing Hoto I suppose. But after a few days passed, I am feeling more comfortable. The children are wonderful. It's fantastic to see how much progress some have made and sad to see so many new faces.

My sweet Malathy (my sponsor child) is doing well. With the help of a physio-therapist and an operation, she is up walking with assistance. Her mental capacity is limited though, so one day she will be moved from the big baby room to special care.

For those new to FFC, there are a number of "projects" or houses spread out over 4 properties. Special care is where the mentally challenged children and adults are along with our extra special care cases. The guest house shares space with small boys house and Sofie's house where the more capable mentally handicapped residents are along with some physically challenged kids. I was amazed and so pleased to see Muthulakshmi this visit. She was in the toddler room 5 years ago and took her first steps then (she has CP). Now, she is very mobile and communicates quite well verbally (with a bit of signing to help). She even has a bit of English!

Today is mostly a rest day and tomorrow is Republic day. There will be an official flag raising and all of the children will attend the celebrations, each showcasing their area (singing, dancing, karate demonstrations, etc). I am looking forward to sharing in the fun.

Love to everyone. And sorry for the typos - my keyboard is ... well.... it is what it is.