Surveying and Getting Check Ups

I wasn't going to write a post today, but my heart is full and I felt the need to write.  It seemed like a quiet day, but so much happened today. This morning I got to chat with the older girls before they went off to school and it was wonderful. I had a chance to learn a few more of their names and chat with them about their favourite subjects.

I also helped with a bit of surveying and it was fun to be able to climb the mountain paths with my survey rod.  Although I didn't enjoy the aroma of surveying near the pig pen, the rest of it was fun.  Tomorrow John & I are going to work on the hydraulic model of the new pipeline. I bet you're all jealous (especially my co-workers).

Later in the afternoon when the rest of the civil team was either gone or having naps, I went down to the girls dorms to play with them for a bit during their free time.  I had so much fun with them! Some of them went and got their doctor's kits and gave me a check up.  All around I heard them calling me, "Didi (sister)" "Didi look here!" or sometimes if they were really desperate for me to look "Diiiiiii." It has been a little easier connecting with the kids this time around.  I know some of them remember me, but some of them don't, so I'm not sure what is making it easier this time.  Perhaps, just because I'm a little bit familiar with the way this place works now. Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of moments where there are dynamics I don't understand, or where I'm not sure how to carry myself, but I do feel more connected more quickly than I did last year at this point in the project.

I realized today how much I love spending time with these kids.  How much they inspire me.  Some of them have hard pasts, but they inspire me to live fully. Leaving these people behind this time is going to be that much harder.

Be sure to check out the video I posted on Facebook of the kid's acrobatics tonight.

Until next time,

Jaimee

 They wanted me to take a picture of them playing cricket! The girls thought it was so funny to pose in the background.

 It was so fun to watch some of the older girls practice their traditional dancing in between the bamboo sticks.

Karina in mid air.  I love this girl.

Back here and loving it.

I arrived back at Shanti Niketan Children's Home last night.  It was so wonderful to be greeted by familiar faces at the train station and to see the people's excitement here to see a few of us returning volunteers again.  I was so touched when I arrived by how they told me that they had been praying for my visa to come through and at their genuine happiness of my (and the rest of the team's) return here. 

This morning Matthew decided we could sleep in a bit since we got in so late and meet at 8 for our opening meeting.  At 7:30 am, we heard a pounding on our door only to have a few of the girls come in and serve us tea in bed.  I've never experienced anything quite like that before. . . but it was fun.  Tomorrow though, we will be up earlier so won't have to experience being served tea in my pyjamas.

I had so much fun interacting with the kids today, and seeing the astonishment on some of the smaller ones faces when I called them by name.  I'm also looking forward to interacting with the older girls that I haven't really seen that much yet this time around.  I had so much fun just sitting around and chatting with them last year.

Work wise things have been great too.  Since this project is largely focused on water supply, I have enjoyed working with a larger than normal civil team, with 3 volunteers (including me) and an intern that are focusing on water.  I really enjoy the collaboration of knowledge and I know I'll learn a lot as usual.  Tomorrow, we may go into a nearby city to scope out materials before the construction team gets here.  One of the main jobs of the construction team coming from BC, is to construct a new water supply pipeline.

So last night, all of us in the guest house heard some weird noises at 4 AM.  To me, it sounded like monkeys jumping on the roof and scratching.  The guys are all convinced it is a rat in the wall.  I've decided I'm going to stick with my monkey scenario, because monkeys are so much cuter.  I asked the director and he says there are lots of monkeys in the area, so clearly it's got to be a monkey right?

Tonight the kids all put on a welcome program for us which was so nice.  They danced and sang and recited bible verses and put on dramas.  It was just excellent and I loved it so much.  Hmuni, the director told us they are putting on another performance at the end of our stay that is an hour of dancing.  I'm so excited for that!

As I'm here, I'm so grateful for all these people teach me.  Despite the sometimes awkward way I feel in a foreign culture, it feels like I have returned somewhere that somehow feels a bit like home.  These people teach me so much.  These kids, they remind me, that grace is always enough, even when nothing else is.  Even as I am here, I am reminded of the people and places I love in Uganda and other parts of the world, and I feel the weight of the challenges there.  Somehow I think there are some of us that always feel the weight of humanity on our shoulders.  And perhaps this isn't always a bad thing, even if it seems somehow difficult. 

And so I end this post with a thankful heart and excitement of every single moment to come.  Some will be hard, some easy, and yet others wild with joy.  I hope I remember and embrace every single one.

Blessings,

Jaimee

 Karina is so much fun!

 The girls played a crazy game of cricket this afternoon.

 Checking out the new water meter installed since last time.  Exciting stuff!

 Sarita is so very cute!

 Love these girls!

 Matthew teaches some of the children addition.  Future engineers?

 Silly boys.

These boys are so rowdy and full of mischief.  I love it!

Onward to the land that I love

Well, we finished off the tour yesterday.  I am so happy to be done with the tourist business.  Although I must say, I really did love Jaipur.  More than Agra I think.  Perhaps part of it was that I had 9 hours of sleep the night before and I actually felt like a human being.  I had it in my head that Jaipur was some little tourist town.  It is a city of 7 Million People!  We visited the Amber Fort, The Observatory, and the City Palace.  And by the end of the day, having walked around in an extremely humid +30 C for 8 hours, I was more than ready to get on that air conditioned train.  My favourite part of all?  An elephant ride!  It was so much fun.  I forget my elephant's name.  However, the manhout (driver) told me that they generally train the elephants for 15-16 years on the flat ground before they get to come up and cart tourists up to Amber Fort.  And while we were waiting in line, there were these crazy peddler guys who kept on trying to sell us stuff.  I ended up buying this great Red Maharaja Hat that totally made me look like a tourist, but man am I going to rock the next costume party I go to.  And it was only $5.  The funniest part was when these peddler guys would not quit accosting me about buying stuff and John went in front of them, blocked me, and yelled in their face that I was with him and he better leave me alone.  It was so hilarious and I quite enjoyed having someone there to defend me, even if it was more just a nuisance situation than an actual danger.

I also really enjoyed the city palace, despite the fact that I was starving for most of it.  And you can totally rent two of the court yards to get married in.  Now all I have to do is find me a husband, get the Canadian Government to change who provides tourist visas and we're off to the races.

Well that is about all for now.  We are leaving later this afternoon for the Children's Home and I can't wait.  Although I am so very glad that I did the tour and had some great people to do it with, it emphasized the fact that I travel to experience the heart of a culture and to know and love the people I spend time with there.  Being a tourist is just not who I am.  But that being said, it was nice to have been able to see a new part of India, wear a ridiculous red hat, and ride an elephant.  Surely an experience I'll never forget.

Next update will be from the childrens home.  I can't wait!

Jaimee

 Mr. Total Dissolved Solids shows John and Pam the detail on the marble work at the Taj Mahal.

 Me & Pam at Agra Fort.  Can you see the Taj Mahal in the background?

 Hand making marble products.

 The Amber Fort.  See all the elephants on their way up?

 Me on the elephant.  So much fun!

 At Amber Fort.

 City Palace

Jaipur City Palace.

Hello From India

Good Day Everyone,

It is 6:30 AM and I am up.  Can you believe that?  Well let's just say that Jet Lag does strange strange things.  But I slept a full 9 hours last night in a real bed, which was fabulous after getting less than 2 hours sleep and then embarking on a full day tour yesterday. So I'm not sure how witty I'll be at this hour of the day, but I'll give it a shot.

After arriving in Delhi early Monday morning, I was picked up and driven to my hotel, and as I was driven through Delhi, I almost couldn't believe I was really here after all that it took for me to get here.  It didn't even seem real and I had to keep reminding myself where I was.  Walking to the van from the airport terminal I saw a sign in the parkade that said "No Spitting and No Cooking."  Wait a minute here people,  GOOD THING, I didn't bring my camping stove.  I totally could not have used it at the airport!  On a serious note though, it was a reminder to me of where I was now, and the sheer amount of squatters there are in this country.

Yesterday, John (the other civil), Pam (his wife) and myself did a tour of Agra.  We went to the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort.  Our tour guides name was something like Tkjashfdlkajsdf Dkla;sdjfasldkfj Sa;lskdjfl;askdjf,  we asked him to repeat it three times and still couldn't get it, so he told us we could call him TDS for short.  How awesome is that?  My tour guides name was TDS?  Do you know what TDS is?  A water quality parameter!  Total Dissolved Solids!  How fitting, since both John and I are water engineers.  I am so happy I am doing this tour, but I think that after 2 days of being a tourist I will have had more than enough of this scene.  I felt like part of the herd of cattle at the Taj Mahal it was so crowded.  Don't get me wrong though, it was magnificent, and the infrastructure and history in this country are amazing.

In addition to the Taj and Agra Fort, as part of the tour we also had to go visit some "artists" which is an obligatory sales pitch for any tour.  We went to a carpet place and a marble place.  The carpet place, we got to see how they hand make carpets and then they brought us into this show room, gave us each a Coke, and started rolling out all these carpets.  Fortunately they thought I was John & Pam's daughter, so didn't try selling to me as much.  I pretty much milked the role of disinterested daughter, because there was no darn way, I was spending $1700 US on an area rug, hand made or not!  We just sat there and the more they were silent, the more rugs they rolled out.  At one point I was wondering if they were going to roll out every blinkin carpet in the room, but we got up and left before they had that opportunity. The marble place was a bit more interesting and the sales pitch wasn't quite as long, and I kept thinking about the hilarity of what it would be like to have my friends over for supper on one of those marble tables that is worth more than my car and in some cases almost half as much as my condo, that looks like it belongs in a Victorian Palace.  I just cannot imagine playing Dutch Blitz on one of those tables.  Come to think of it, I totally should have told the guy that is why I couldn't buy one.

Anyway today we are touring Jaipur, and I will be more than ready to be done with this tourist image and get into the "real" India for the next almost 2 weeks.  There is a Fort here as well, and probably we'll be listening to more sales pitches.  I think I'll wait to to my craft shopping until we get back to Delhi at the end of our project because you can get craft's much cheaper there if you know where to shop.  These places are all highly expensive tourist traps.  Sorry friends, but I will not be bringing you home marble ornaments worth several hundred dollars.

Well that is all for now.  We stayed at a 5 Star Hotel here last night, which is fancier than any hotel I have stayed in in Canada.  It was nice as I was so tired, and the price of this entire tour, was cheaper than I would have paid for just the hotel room back in North America.  I almost feel a bit guilty, and I'm still reminded of where I am as I look out the window to a mid sized squatter camp, and there is a cow eating garbage just below.

I've been dressing in local clothing in an attempt to try and blend in more, however, yesterday at the train station it seemed to backfire on me as I had guys coming up to me and telling me how sweet I looked dressed as an Indian.  One of them told me I looked like an angel, to which I promptly ignored him and got beside John.  One reason, I'm glad I have him and Pam there to escort me.  Sometimes I feel like I'm being chased by the paparazzi here, with so many average everyday people having smartphones here, they will often just up and take pictures of you while you are on the train or walking down the street.  Let's just say, I'm glad I'm not famous.  

Well I'll post another update again some time.  I'm so excited to get to the children's home and see those kids again!

Jaimee

 We rode in this horse cart to the Taj Mahal from the parking lot.  I felt guilty for the horse the entire time, but it was nice to see how much the driver loved his horse.  I got to drive it, right through a police barricade!  And I chatted with the driver about the horse on the way.  His name is Bubaloo and he is 6 years old.

I finally got to see the magnificent Taj Mahal after this my third visit here.

India- for real?

Some of you know the journey I have travelled these past few weeks.  The journey before the journey.  The state of events that left me no choice but to hold all of this with an open hand, because it made me realize that it wasn't even mine to begin with.  You see, I am supposed to be in an airplane right now, on my way to Germany to spend a few days with a precious friend, and then on my way to India after that, to continue on with a water project at the children's home I was at last year. . . Instead I'm sitting at home typing on my computer and trying to make this all make sense.

I sent my passport away in August to get my travel visa, and thought nothing of it.  I hadn't had any issues the past two times I'd travelled there.  However this year, things were different.  A new outsourcing company, and with it a whole lot of problems.  I've been fighting with them the past two weeks to try and process my visa application in time for my planned departure today.  I fought hard, but my passport was still in Toronto when I needed to make a decision about cancelling my flights. And so flights were cancelled, hearts broken, and plans undone. By all accounts, I was staying home this time around, and my heavy heart felt restless about that.  Restless that I wouldn't get to walk on foreign ground for perhaps several more months, restless I wouldn't hold hands and play games and laugh with abandon at the antics of some silly little boys.  And then this afternoon, grace fell right in my lap. My passport arrived, a day too late, but maybe just in time, I'll never know.  I got most of my money back from the cancelled flights, despite not having cancellation insurance, and was able to book new flights to India leaving a few days later.  I won't get to see my friend in Germany, or experience her homeland with her like I thought I would, and in some ways it feels like that was stolen from me.  But this new reality is better than not going at all.   And you know what?  Through all of this, I have been reminded how much I am loved.  People have encouraged, prayed, and loved me in ways that I won't soon forget.  Thank you for joining me in the trenches, for sending me notes and texts, to those of you that know words are my love language and those of you who don't, thank you for being present these past few weeks.

One of my friends fittingly posted this quote by Elizabeth Edwards on Facebook yesterday seeming to speak to me right where I was at:

"Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you've lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that's good."

You know what?  There is good here.  Despite the disappointment about what was supposed to be, there is joy in my heart about what is yet to come. 

25 Ways You Know You’ve Taken The Road Less Travelled

1.       At the end of your project, you visit the ocean and the beach is deserted, save for your team and several dozen UN Troops on their break.

2.       You show your Mom the location of your next project trip on Google and she responds with “Whaaaaat, that’s right next to Pakistan!”

3.       You travel far into the African bush only to be greeted by a middle aged man who walked 30 minutes because he’s never seen a mzungu (white girl) and he heard you were coming to town.  Upon introductions, he asks if he can please have the experience of touching a white girl’s arm.

4.       Upon exiting the Port Au Prince airport in the midst of all the mayhem, a local porter comes up to your project leader, slaps him on the back and says “Hello, my friend!” because he actually does remember him from trips past.

5.       The sight of security guards with an AK-47 no longer surprise you.

6.       When meeting a village woman in the rural reaches of Uganda who insists on trying to tell you many things, none of which you understand, you’re first reaction is to respond in Hindi (even if you happen to know less Hindi than Luganda).

7.       WASH, DART, and NGO are a part of your everyday vocabulary.

8.       No type or condition of toilet will ever surprise you again.

9.       You’ve eaten things that would make that travel health nurse cringe, and at times it’s best just to close your eyes and pretend it’s chicken.

10.   Your friend in another province casually mentions that a family in her church adopted some Haitian orphans and you happen to have been to that orphanage (and are quite excited when you find that out!)

11.   Most people have never heard of most of the places you’ve been.

12.   You get tired of explaining to people that Africa is not just one big country.

13.   Home will never be quite the same. Once you’ve been, and been broken, “home” becomes a relative term.

14.   You know you’re almost a local when after being in the African bush for a few days your boda (motorcycle) driver comments on just how dirty you are.

15.   You have eaten a mountain of rice for breakfast and drank 10 cups of chai in a day and loved every minute of it.

16.   You have met an orphan in North India who knows more about American pop culture than you do.

17.   Some random and unrelated guy you met in Uganda over a year ago remembers you for the toilets you designed.

18.   You visit a remote village to complete a survey and they butcher their rooster for you and proceed to sit and watch you eat it.

19.   You try to explain to the local you’re staying with just what it is you are doing when she asks you why you spend all day in “the bushes” walking around with weird looking survey equipment.

20.   You find creative ways to describe sewage systems in order to find one that works for the translator.  In the meantime the locals looking back at you can’t contain their laughter for the poor white girl who is standing at the front talking about such things as toilets in public. In the event they aren’t laughing, they are offering their own toilet word suggestions for the translator.

21.     Being woken up by roosters at 5 AM (or 2 AM) is a regular occurrence.

22.   You sent some extra money for the family of your Compassion child, after which she wrote you a letter to inform you they bought a cow, and you got to meet that very cow.

23.   You’ve stayed in a hotel that has bats in the ceiling (and I’m pretty sure you all know how I feel about bats).

24.   You come home and are at a loss to describe to people much of what you’ve seen.

25.   You will never be the same again.