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.