I wanted to write one final update about my time in India. I am back in Canada now, I have been for a day and a half. Perhaps this would have been more effective if I had written it while I was still actually there, but my final days in India were busy, so this will have to do.
The last few days at SNCH were filled with working alongside the construction team, trying to sort out materials and make sure they understood the tasks at hand before we left. I also had several opportunities to play with the kids which was wonderful. I learned to play cricket and an Indian game called Piet-too (or something). I kept on saying it wrong, and every time I would say it the kids would say "No, Didi, No" and proceed to say it louder. By the end they were all out yelling the name of it and I still wasn't saying it correctly so we decided to just start playing the game whether I could say it or not. It was a fun and crazy game that kind of resembled dodge ball but you had to come build a rock tower in the middle without getting hit by the ball.
As I reflect on my time in India I am so thankful for everything those precious children taught me. Shanti Niketan means "House of Peace" and it truly was a place of refuge. They have challenges, just as every single ministry I have been to does. But at the end of the day, they love each other and I was so inspired by what is being done there.
The last day in Delhi, we had our closing meeting and afterwards had some time to go craft shopping. In the evening, the staff, interns and long term volunteers from the eMi office met and had supper together which was great. I had a blast with them, and it was so nice to be able to spend time with people who see the world in much the same way that I do, as those kind of people are rare once I return home.
Returning home was weird, and re-entry hit me harder and faster than I was expecting. It was weird to me to be in the Toronto Airport and to hear people speaking English instead of Hindi. Driving down Portage Avenue once I returned back to Winnipeg, everything seemed so linear, the street signs so well thought out and the traffic so orderly. Yesterday, going into the grocery store, the very same grocery store that I have gone to every week for the past 5 years was almost sensory overload. I just stood in the middle of the aisle in shock for a few minutes. I was only gone for 15 days, I'm not sure how this is all such a surprise. It may have only been 15 days, but it may as well have been 15 years, as I seem to have forgot what life here is like and feelings of disconnect are sure to be present in the coming days.
Thank you for following my adventures.
Until Next Time,
Jaimee
The last few days at SNCH were filled with working alongside the construction team, trying to sort out materials and make sure they understood the tasks at hand before we left. I also had several opportunities to play with the kids which was wonderful. I learned to play cricket and an Indian game called Piet-too (or something). I kept on saying it wrong, and every time I would say it the kids would say "No, Didi, No" and proceed to say it louder. By the end they were all out yelling the name of it and I still wasn't saying it correctly so we decided to just start playing the game whether I could say it or not. It was a fun and crazy game that kind of resembled dodge ball but you had to come build a rock tower in the middle without getting hit by the ball.
As I reflect on my time in India I am so thankful for everything those precious children taught me. Shanti Niketan means "House of Peace" and it truly was a place of refuge. They have challenges, just as every single ministry I have been to does. But at the end of the day, they love each other and I was so inspired by what is being done there.
The last day in Delhi, we had our closing meeting and afterwards had some time to go craft shopping. In the evening, the staff, interns and long term volunteers from the eMi office met and had supper together which was great. I had a blast with them, and it was so nice to be able to spend time with people who see the world in much the same way that I do, as those kind of people are rare once I return home.
Returning home was weird, and re-entry hit me harder and faster than I was expecting. It was weird to me to be in the Toronto Airport and to hear people speaking English instead of Hindi. Driving down Portage Avenue once I returned back to Winnipeg, everything seemed so linear, the street signs so well thought out and the traffic so orderly. Yesterday, going into the grocery store, the very same grocery store that I have gone to every week for the past 5 years was almost sensory overload. I just stood in the middle of the aisle in shock for a few minutes. I was only gone for 15 days, I'm not sure how this is all such a surprise. It may have only been 15 days, but it may as well have been 15 years, as I seem to have forgot what life here is like and feelings of disconnect are sure to be present in the coming days.
Thank you for following my adventures.
Until Next Time,
Jaimee
These kids taught me to stand with arms wide open and accept whatever life throws my way.
Minu and Sherel
Sometimes you just gotta dance like no one's watching.
Surveying tank levels on the roof of the girls dorm.
Playing the game which I cannot say correctly.
This one was so happy to see me!
The beauty of Canadian fall has me rapt in awe. Wilson likes the leaves.
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