Katie Revell

Dunbar Pride

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 18:00:35GMT

Dear Katie, I've been meaning to write for ages to tell you how interesting I have found your blog. It's an excellent record of your experiences and I hope you are getting lots out of it. It would be interesting to contemplate some sort of link with the school if the technology will allow. Even an e-mail exchange. What do you think? E-mail me on praffaelli@dunbargrammar.elcschool.org.uk. Keep up the good work Paul

I've moved house

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 10:42:04GMT

This blog has moved.

Its new location is http://exc-el.org.uk/blogs/katierevell .

You can subscribe to the posts here , and the comments, if you want, here . See you there!

blog

Thu, 23 Nov 2006 16:53:24GMT

Katie, Just read your letter with pictures forwarded by Liz, and then logged on here. It's a superb record of your life and feelings. Well done! And many thanks for your paper letter received quite a while ago. Much appreciated. Continue the good work. Winifred

Just a short one

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 07:12:51GMT

I'm still trying to catch up with myself here, so bear with me!

Last week was marked by flooding around the Hostel - not a huge surprise considering the torrential rain that had been battering us for three days straight. It's happened once before although this time it was a lot worse, with water which must have been three or four foot deep in places. While we revelled in the rain which served as a nice reminder of home and had a welcome cooling effect, we were unaware of the extent of the flooding in the rest of the city - those living in tents and shacks in the slums would have been completely helpless. Many villages in the Krishna district (our's) and neighbouring Guntur district have been completely washed away, and roads made impassable. The disaster management department of the Atheist Centre has been busy bringing food supplies to the worst-affected areas. According to the paper, many farmers have turned to fishing their fields as alternative income!

After exam leave, the degree students are now back so we've got a (relatively) full timetable once more. We've also been increasingly involved with activities at SKCV. The founder, Matthew, (or "Pitagi" - father - as the children call him) returned last week having been in hospital in England for a number of months. He'd been in the UK fundraising, visiting family and generally networking when he fell and broke his back. Only now has he been able to return "home" to India. It's been interesting to talk to him and learn how exactly SKCV began. Having been living in the USA, he came to India for a few months, turning away from a potential career in the film business in search of a spiritual path. While living in Mumbai, he would meet streetchildren during his morning walks on the beach. One of these, named Raju, had some English and befriended him. One night he brought a small boy, suffering from malaria, to Pitagi, who took him to a doctor he was aquainted with. The boy recovered, and Pitagi suggested to Raju that he tell the other children that they could come to a one-hour class at his small flat in the evening, provided they bring some vegetables with which to make a communal meal. As word spread, more and more children came to the class, and the thing snowballed, with the doctor offering free treatment and a neighbour, who was a retired teacher, taking over the teaching of everything except English (so that the children could learn in their mother tongue). The group started receiving donations, and eventually grew into what is now SKCV. It's an impressive story.

On Saturday evening there was a welcoming event at the boys' village for Pitagi, involving dances with fire from the older boys, much letting of of fireworks (by all ages) and a viewing of an excellent new DVD made about SKCV. It was an enjoyable time and great to finally meet the man from whom the whole thing originated.

On Sunday we visited the site of the new girls' village. At present, they're in a small rented house which, although better than nothing, is not really adequate for the needs of the growing group. The opening ceremony is due to take place on the 9th of January (Pitagi's birthday) although, needless to say, it's not expected to be completed until around April. It's looking good, though, with a large school block, canteen, hostel and lots of outdoor space. There's also going to be a swimming pool and a stage. Watching the girls wandering (many barefoot) around the building site (a three-storey building with, as yet, no external walls) was slightly surreal, coming from a country where Health and Safety reigns supreme. In India, the idea is very much to look after yourself, and the suing culture seems a world away. Balance, I think, is best.

I'd love to put up some pictures, of which I have lots, but it still doesn't seem to be working! Ach well. I know the site is going through some changes (and looking very good) so I'll sit tight on them until the problem's sorted.

SKCV Evening and College Tribal Programme

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 05:33:27GMT

I now realize that the last post probably doesnt make much sense, since the last you all know I was only just back from Chennai. Well, in the interim weve been away (again): this time over West to Karnataka, namely Bangalore and Mysore. More on that later.

We have, however - despite appearances - not just been gallivanting around like were Gap Year students or something. We have been busy here in Vijayawada too. Firstly, and this seems like an age away now, there was the cultural evening at the SKCV Boys Village which I mentioned in my last (but one) post. This was in honour of some Rotarians from Tamworth who had sponsored various projects in Andhra including the Boys Village - and were visiting them on a shockingly brief 4-day tour. Considering it took us that long to work off the jet lag and realize where we were, it was either a bold or foolish endeavor, although I think perhaps their accommodation and travel arrangements were rather more comfortable than ours

As is customary in India, the evening was delayed by several hours, so it was dark by the time everyone sat down to enjoy the show. The mozzies, of course, were out in full force, but thankfully the impressively energetic dancing distracted from our rapidly emptying veins. The delay did, at least, mean we got to see a beautiful sunset over the mighty river Krishna, on whose delta Vijayawada is built. The Boys Village has a wonderful setting on the banks of the river, just down from the famous Krishna Barrage (built, as we were proudly told, by the British theres still an interesting nostalgia among many, even those who have been born since Independence).

After the dancing - traditional, North Indian style by the girls and the boys Backstreet Boys interpretation there were the usual Rotary formalities up on the dais, with the Tamworth and Vijayawada groups opening the meeting, introducing each other, thanking each other profusely, closing the meeting, and retiring for supper. The children sat with saintly patience although Im sure they cant have understood any of what was going on. We were told afterwards (to our disbelief) that the setup was far more informal than that back home. We were (unexpectedly) invited to eat with the Rotarians an odd, but tasty mélange of Indian and British-cooked-by-Indians: curries and rice and poppadums and macaroni cheese. It was an enjoyable evening, with the children, as usual, doing themselves proud and receiving deserved praise from the English visitors.

On Saturday the 7th of October there was yet another programme at the College this time to celebrate the culture of the Tribes of Andhra Pradesh. Andhra, were discovering, is one of the most Indian, and certainly least touristy, of the South Indian states, and tribal culture is still strong in the most rural areas. There were a number of high-ranking politicians and officials here as well as groups from two different tribes; the former to make speeches and the latter to perform dances and singing (although to be honest I think the event might have been more productive had it been the other way around). The morning (after, of course, a late start) was taken up with around 3 hours of introductions and speeches by the dignitaries sadly mostly in Telugu.

The afternoon, however, was more engaging, with dancing and music (percussion) from the members of the tribes. The men were wearing helmets with what I think were ox horns on them, and would occasionally break from the dancing to simulate clashes between beasts, bashing their heads together in a violent fashion. The girls danced in a line, lead from the front by an old woman who would improvise moves as she went. After a while some of the College students joined in, too; Im sorry to say we chickened out and just watched instead.

As well as praise for the culture of the tribes, there was also a lot of talk of the necessity of development that catch-all word which is used so frequently when discussing places like Andhra. Development, the word, of course has positive connotations: it means progress, improving the situation. But none of the speakers really ever explained what it meant in practice what it was that needed to be developed and what exactly this entailed. In India, development often seems to be used interchangeably with Westernised without much consideration of whether the Wests way of doing things is appropriate here (or at all).

It seemed odd to be lauding the centuries-, or even millennia-old traditions and way of life of these people while simultaneously emphasising the need for this vague notion of development which, inevitably, would lead to the degradation of those very things. Of course, as a highly privileged Westerner its arguably not my place to judge; its all too easy to take the middle-class-leftie stance without appreciating the actual situation. However, surely, for example, illiteracy is not a problem not even a relevant concept in a village where there are no books and no street signs and where no-ones occupation requires them to read? I do realise that, of course, there are millions in dire poverty and much to be done to alleviate this. However, it seems to me that, especially in rural, tribal areas where lack of money does not necessary equate poverty, comparing the situation to a Western context of flush toilets and school textbooks causes us to invent needs and problems (and corresponding solutions) when really there are none.

A bit of a non-post

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 05:54:09GMT

Firstly, apologies for the recent lack of posts. Secondly, apologies for the future lack of posts. I will, I promise, do a proper update soon.

Things have been very busy since we got back from Bangalore on Monday. There was a College holiday for Ramaddan (Ramzan) on Wednesday and there have been exams as well, so the Internet has not been readily available. To compound this, I've been in what can only be described (in gross understatement) as a bit of a tiz for the past few days, having thought that I'd lost my passport (with all-important visa). As I found out this morning, it's not lost, everything is fine, and I can breathe again. However, I do now have a lot of people to contact so I can't do a long-overdue entry just yet. Hopefully by next week there'll be a bumper entry to make up for the silence.

Photos

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 08:35:54GMT

Katie, Last weekend we moved the site over to a new server (see http://www.exc-el.org.uk/content/index.php/main/weblogs/david_s_exc_el_blog/exc_el_has_moved_house). It's now clear there's a snag to be fixed with photos. I was caught out because _existing _ photos appeared OK. When you upload them, the system creates the various sized images that you might want to display - it's that step that's failing. I expect to get that fixed over the weekend, and your uploaded photos should magically appear... I look forward to seeing them! Best wishes, David

Our trip, continued

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 08:41:22GMT

The pictures don't appear to be working just now so I'll do them in a separate post.

On Saturday we visited Chennai's Theosophical Society. There seems to be a concentration of people interested in meditation, spirituality, alternative living and so on around Chennai and Pondicherry, and the Theosophical Society was certainly part of that "scene". It was set in lovely, leafy grounds which were a very welcome relief from the incessant noise, traffic and heat of the city. Theosophy, from what I gathered, is to do with looking at all the religions and finding the essential truth behind them. There was also some connection with the Occult and Annie Besant but I'm not sure where that fits in. To be honest good ol' Wikipedia will probably do a better job of explaining - www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy

We travelled down to Pondicherry - which, we've since discovered, has now reverted to its original Indian name, Puducherry - on Sunday morning, and got a room in an Ashram guesthouse near the seafront. Unsurprisingly there was a very "chilled-out" air and we were invited to take part in a meditation session, which we unfortunately missed. The other plus was that a twin room was only 80 Rupees a night - that's under a quid. So the benefits were material as well as spiritual...

Most of Pondicherry resembles all the Indian cities I've so far seen - rather busy, cramped, noisy and dusty. The "French Quarter", however, was - as the name suggests - incredibly European in design. Pondicherry was a French colony and a lot of the Gallic influence remains - there are several French restaurants and cafes, the street signs are in both Tamil and French, and the policemen still wear the kooky red caps. On Sunday we had pizza - worth the guilt. We then walked down to the seafront, which is still covered in large, angular boulders put there after the Tsunami destroyed the sandy beach. I hadn't realised the extent of the damage caused to India's coast, but apparently even parts of Andhra's seafront were affected.

It was a strange reverse-culture shock to see so many Westerners, Pondicherry being so much more touristy than anywhere we'd been before. Even the Indian residents appeared more "Westernised", with many wearing jeans and t-shirts - a very rare sight in still relatively traditional Vijayawada. I hadn't realised quite how "Indian" Andhra Pradesh still is, compared to much of the country, and it was odd not to be stared at as we walked down the street!

On Monday we visited Auroville, a town in woodland around 15km from Pondicherry. Auroville is more of a concept than a physical place. Established in 1968 by an Indian named Sri Aurobindo and a Frenchwoman known as "The Mother", it was intended to be "a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities." Although very obviously born at the height of the Hippie movement, and therefore with a certain '60s kitsch about it, it was a really interesting place. The town itself is still in the process of being built, although the centrepiece - a huge golden globe containing a giant crystal known as the "Matrimandir" - is already in place. Unfortunately, in order to view the Matrimandir, it's necessary to turn up at the visitor's centre at a certain time on a certain day and then return at another specified time to pick up tickets - needless to say, they want to know that you're keen before they show you their masterpiece.

As well as the more mystical side, Auroville is engaged in a lot of practical work, such as the development of appropriate and alternative technologies and building methods. They also have an organic farm and run courses on various aspects of their work and philosophy. I have to admit I wish we'd had longer there; I think to fully appreciate the place it'd be necessary to stay for a number of days. Their website is www.auroville.org if anyone's interested to find out more.

Sadly, on Monday evening we had to leave lovely Pondicherry to catch the bus back to Chennai. A combination of naivity and bad luck, however, meant that we missed our overnight bus back to Vijayawada. Some stress later, we found ourselves on a bus to Nellore, a place neither of us had ever heard of, having been assured that we'd be able to get from there to Vijayawada. Thankfully we managed to intercept a bus with two free seats and got back on Tuesday morning safe and well, if a little tired and unkempt.

After recuperation on Tuesday it was back to work on Wednesday. We now have a regular slot teaching young girls at a nearby streetchildren's home called SKCV (website at www.skcvtrust.com). This is hard work, but the girls are incredibly enthusiastic and very bright, and it can be a nice contrast to the sometimes austere atmosphere in the College. We're also going to be teaching the staff once a week and perhaps also taking part in some research work, such as helping to compile case studies of the girls. This evening we've been invited to a "programme" (any event is referred to as a "programme") at the boy's home, being held in honour of some visiting Rotarians from Tamworth which has some connection to the organisation. We've been told this will involve dancing, music and food, which sounds like an excellent combination.

We were treated to some of their dancing last week when the children performed at an exhibition of local NGOs being held at the College. The girls' dance was a traditional North Indian one, while the boys, decked out in shiny bomber jackets and white tracksuits, did a routine with more of a Michael Jackson flavour. Both were stunningly good, especially considering some of the dancers were as young as 5 or 6.

Hopefully I'll be able to get some pictures of the children strutting their stuff tonight, and will post them here when I can.

Weddings, travel, dancing, monks...

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 04:57:48GMT

It's been a bit of a crazy couple of weeks. The wedding on Monday went well - a similar affair to the first one but with 1000 more guests (3000 in total!). The bride and groom sat on a throne on a stage and were given garlands by their family members before the guests paraded across sprinkling flower petals on their heads. It's a nice way to do it, although very, very time consuming!

Because of the volume of guests, the evening was operated in a kind of shift system, with the first people to cross the stage being the first to eat. The meal took place in a large hall filled with long tables; banana leaf plates were dolled out by the extremely efficient caterers who then raced along the tables dishing out spoonfulls of each dish. It wasn't a particuarly relaxed meal - halfway through the caterers would start menacingly rolling up the disposable tablecloths from one end and hungry guests would stand behind ready to pounce on your seat - but very tasty nonetheless.

On Tuesday, after having been told three different things, it was confirmed that we had a week's holiday from the Wednesday. What followed was some frantic planning and ticket-buying, made incalculably easier by the help of an extremly professional final year tourism student. If any travel agencies out there have vacancies you could do a lot worse than to snag her. We decided to take a trip South to Tamil Nadu, taking in Chennai (Madras) and Pondicherry. We got an overnight bus on Wednesday having been unable to get train tickets at such short notice. The holiday coincided with a big Hindu festival (the name of which temporarily escapes me) so a lot of people were travelling.

On arrival in Chennai we whipped out the trusty Lonely Planet and made our way by bus to Broadlands Lodge, a rather tumbledown but lovely colonial house in the Triplicane area of the city. That morning we visited a nearby temple - not one of the more famous ones but nevertheless an interesting experience. In the afternoon we met a friend of the Tourism student's who had kindly offered to help us find our way around. She introduced us to her uncle, a businessman who was definately one of India's new middle class. Likewise, he was lovely, and it was interesting to see life from the point of view of an economically successful - and very westernised - family.

That evening we were taken by the family to celebrations for the festival which were taking place in the grounds of a school. There was dancing, which took place in the form of a big circle of people progressing round to some rythmic music. We joined in for one 'round' but unfortunately no photographic evidence exists. Sadly, we were so exhausted from the overnight trip (and intense heat) that we left before the "proper" dancing began.

On Thursday we were roped in to being extras in a Tamil film, the final scenes of which were being shot at a nearby beach. Although I do still feel slight pangs of guilt at having done this rather than visiting the stunning temples of Kanchipuram (our original plan), it was the kind of novelty experience which we couldn't pass up on. It was a fun, hot, tiring day, involving much waiting around and also a lot of background dancing. I have to admit I wasn't overly impressed with the two main "actors", who had evidently been cast for their looks rather than acting or dancing capabilities. The other "extras" were a motley crew from Russia, Kazachstan, Denmark, Holland and Spain, so it was interesting to find out what had brought all of them to India.

We had intended to leave early on Saturday morning for Pondicherry, but - due partly to our own negligence and partly that of the Lodge - we missed our checkout time and had to pay for an extra night. By this time we'd got to know some of our fellow lodgers - a very eccentric bunch including an Argentinian tourguide/writer, English bamboo sculptor and international Shaman monk. We ended up travelling down to "Pondy" on Sunday with the latter character, since he was making the trip as well. All I can say is that he was a very interesting person, and our conversations spanned pretty much every imaginable topic. He had lived in India for many years and so it was very useful to have someone who was a little more experienced with using the often erratic Indian public transport.

I'm going to have to leave it there but will fill you in on Pondicherry when I get a chance. I have lots of photos too so I'll upload them a.s.a.p.

Hello from Ireland

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 22:29:04GMT

Everybody here says hello - hope you've had a great trip! Love L & P

Weddings

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 11:19:45GMT

Another photo update with pictures from the first wedding (Saturday evening).

We're taking a quick trip south to Chennai/Madras and Pondicherry (back on the evening of Tuesday 3rd) so I'll do a proper update on our return. Lots to talk about!

Six of the Andhra Pradesh group (plus Bharavi's daugher Subha) in saris. Left to right: Katy, Hannah, Fiona (also at Maris Stella), Subha, Alice, Buffy and me. Posing in a sari turned out to be much easier than trying to walk in one..!

The bride and groom on the stage where they were sitting. The bowls in front of them contain flower petals which the guests sprinkle on their heads. Instead of exchaning rings they exchange flower garlands. This couple also exchanged a vegetable garland - Gora, the founder of the Atheist Centre, felt strongly that people should grow food before flowers, and this was to symbolise that principle.

Our mehindi (henna designs).

I'm going to have to leave it there but more when we get back!

Katie's Blog

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 14:25:22GMT

Good luck in all you do Katie. I'm following all your activities with great interest. Let me know if I can do anything to help. My very best wishes Jackie Auld

Tuesday 19th September

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 06:38:58GMT

Firstly, the last week has been gloriously overcast and we've had more rain than I ever thought I'd see here. The heat and sun of the first few days gave me a new appreciation for grey British weather, and that's what we're being treated to at the moment.

The first three days of this week we have no classes due to the mid-semester exams. The students in the Hostel have been working even harder than usual - largely because they have several hours of study time a day set aside where they are watched over. We have, however, been continuing with the social work projects - this afternoon we are going to the SKCV girls' streetchildren's home, probably to do some English teaching. We were supposed to be there yesterday but embarassingly couldn't find it (despite having been there before). After an hour or so wandering around a residential area near the College we returned, defeated. It was a really interesting walk at least - there's always a bizarre contrast between three-story luxury villas and tiny palm-frond shacks. And cows everywhere, of course. All the streets are lined with people selling fruit, sweets and hot food from push-carts.

We haven't tried any streetfood yet due to a combination of wariness and being completely over-fed by the kindly (but forceful) 'Aunties' at the College kitchen. Telugu borrows many English words and 'Auntie' is used as a term of respect for elders. Listening to Telugu is rather like hearing people speak Welsh or Gaelic, with the odd English phrase thrown in, often with the speaker completely unaware that they're using foreign words. We were offered 'chai' yesterday since the kitchen ladies thought we wouldn't understand the Telugu word, 'tea'.

Yesterday afternoon we spent a couple of sadly unfruitful hours at the school for mentally handicapped children. Despite the colourful impression I'd got a couple of weeks ago, the atmosphere yesterday was one of complete lethargy. I'm not sure if the teachers were just having an 'off' day, or if my first visit seemed more positive due to the speed with which we were shown around and the curiousity we sparked among the children. We arrived expecting at least to be able to help with some basic English teaching or to assist with whatever lessons were going on, but apparently there were no lessons. The children are divided into groups of about eight according to ability/level of handicap, and each group sits on the floor around a table with a teacher. Yesterday they were basically sitting vegetating while the teachers chatted amongst themselves. It was just really odd. One boy in particular was brighter than the others in his class and was able to recognise letters and spell out words from his English book, but the teacher just appeared completely disinterested, even when we tried ourselves to engage the children with flashcards. Obviously, resources are limited, but so apparently was any motivation or desire to teach. It was an interesting experience, in an unfortunate sort of way.

We went shopping at the weekend for sarees to wear to the two weddings which are taking place this weekend. After much pondering and bargaining we managed to make our purchases; pictures will follow once we've actually managed to work out how to tie them. The social work teacher who took us out, Lavinia, has promised to give us a crash course so hopefully we won't be at a complete loss. The ceremonies will be secular (being, as they are, weddings of members of the Atheist Centre) and so won't have the same level of pomp as a religious wedding, but with around 2000 guests from all over the world expected (the family has quite a lot of links) it should be interesting anyway.

To make up for the staid weddings, however, we've been invited to one of the student's houses for a Hindu festival which is taking place next week. She lives around 5 hours away by bus, near the beach, and her father and grandfather apparently speak excellent English and are keen to practice it on some native speakers..! It'll be great to see a different part of the region and the chance to experience a Hindu festival 'from within' is one we're not likely to get again. Apart from anything else, we get on very well with the girl and it should be good to see around her home town.

Yesterday we had tea in the kitchens with some of the workers. The Indian version is made with milk as opposed to water, as much sugar as tea, and is served - thankfully - in small cups. None of the workers speak any English but luckily the Social Work teacher Lavinia (who also stays in the Hostel) was there so she was able to translate. They're lovely people and are always grateful of outside company since they're kept cooped up for most of the month. Having gradually found out more about the circumstances they live in, I've realised I was rather rash in my original description of the Sisters. I shouldn't say too much, partly since it could cause trouble, and partly because it'd just sound melodramatic, but first impressions aren't always accurate. We've been hearing (and seeing) many things which suggest not everyone is as entirely imbued with the spirit of selflessness and charity as might appear. Anyway, perhaps more on that later - I suspect something will break before the end of the year.

Hopefully the photographs have been uploaded successfully - sorry for the tiny size; I will try and find out how it's possible to make them bigger.

Some more photos

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 05:36:58GMT

The College's main compound.

The Hostel's luxurious wasroom and toilet cubicles. This picture actually makes them look inaccurately clean, but they do the job.

And a detail shot of one of the toilets. Most Indian toilets are of this variety, and all have a tap and bucket nearby, partly as a manual flush and partly for...well...y'know...

In a saree lining shop on the main shopping street, Besant Road. I'm on the left; Fiona's on the right. We do normally wear punabi dress (a long top, loose trousers and scarf/shawl) but this must have been a washday.

Some photos

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 05:17:59GMT

This is really just an experiment to see if I can upload pictures. I haven't taken many yet but here are a selection.

An advert for Northumbria University ("The UK's Best Modern University") - in a dusty corner of Columbo Airport, Sri Lanka. I only include this since it made for such a surreal sight through jetlagged eyes.

One of our first views of India, from the Hyderabad hostel where we stayed for the first two nights. The gaping pit and open building site are a pretty good reflection of how much of Vijayawada, too, looks at the moment.

A street in Hyderabad, complete with cows (in the centre of the picture - apologies for the size). The man in white is our Country Representative, Bharavi, and the girl talking to him is my partner Fiona.

New experiences

Sat, 16 Sep 2006 17:58:43GMT

Hi Katie, Really interesting to hear of your experiences, both inside and outside the classroom. Teaching 35 students certainly is a challenge even for the most seasoned teachers! It is a good idea to continue allowing them to work in smaller groups as this is less threatening for the students and also provides a safer environment for them to try out their new learning. I guess that as you get to know them and they get to know you a little better you will be flying. When we had an boy from Calcutta stating with us a few years ago we were brought up to speed on the vast differences between our two cultures. Little has changed since then ! We look forward to following your journey and look forward to Liz and Philip's visit here in two weeks time. In the meantime, take care and enjoy the experience. Love from all in Clontarf, Anne

your news

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 12:32:30GMT

Hi Katie, really enjoyed reading your news from today - Tuesday 12 September. Gives a good picture of your work over there and it saves me asking your Mum all about you when she is trying to concentrate on her squash then she gives this as her excuse for losing! take care Shirley

Tuesday 12th Sept

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 06:35:38GMT

Yay.

This computer seems to have a bit of a vendetta against exc-el, so it's taken me a while to get here. But I now have a good chunk of time so I'll try and tell you as much as possible.

I'm actually supposed to be taking a class just now but unfortunately they seem to have absconded. I think the problem is that we've been timetabled some periods that are usually times for study/library so a lot of the students don't realise they're supposed to be in class. Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to sort out the problem asap.

It'd be good to get properly started - although we we were given our timetables at the start of last week, I've only taught three classes so far. There are various reasons for this - changes to the timetables, Teachers' Day celebrations and a couple of holidays for the Feast Day of Maris Stella. Those that I have taught have been to varying degrees of success. The first was a group of around 35 15 and 16 year-olds. Although the standard of English was largely very good, most students were reluctant to actually say anything, which made initiating any discussion a bit tricky. When I talked to them in smaller groups or individually they seemed to be more willing to talk, so I think I'll try that in future.

There's also the problem of the accent - although some students are very proficient at English, there is a disparity between the so-called "Indian English" which they talk and our British English. This works both ways, and I often have trouble understanding the strong accent and sometimes antiquated phrases. The teachers are very keen for us to help the girls "improve" their accent and pronounciation, although for communication amongst themselves and other Indians, their Indian English seems to be more effective!

I do now have a better idea of the standard of most of the students, which means I can plan activities which should make the deadly silences less of a problem. Although the girls are very keen to talk to us outside the classroom, this doesn't seem to be the case in a more formal setting. Any tips for getting the shy ones to talk would be very much appreciated!

There also seems to be a problem of demotivation among some of the students, which I initially found odd considering the expense and relative privelege of this standard of education. According to the teachers, however, many of the girls want to gain qualifications only in order to get a good marriage, irrespective of grade. Arranged marriage is still very much the norm here which surprised me at first, especially among educated families. It's still very much seen as a business arrangement based on practicalities rather than passion. I can certainly see some of the logic and I'm sure the divorce rate is a fraction of that in Britain, but it still seems to me a rather joyless way to live.

We've been getting to know some of the kitchen girls better since we're still eating separately from the students. This has been fascinating despite their broken English. We've gathered that one of them was studying at the college but had to stop when her family could no longer afford the fees. She now earns 600 Rupees a month (around 9 pounds) working in the kitchen seven days a week. Her parents work in the fields earing 50 Rupees a day. That certainly puts everything in perspective.

There is a lot of poverty evident in Vijayawada, with most of the buildings being very run down and beggars a common sight. There are, however, some positive stories. Last week we visited a "Street Children's Village" with two of the Social Work teachers. The village was set up by an Englishman 20 years ago and now provides shelter, schooling and general care for boys who were formerly on the streets (in return for keeping to certain conditions such as giving up stealing and smoking). They also have a girls' village and there are around 7 other NGOs in the city doing similar things. The place just had a lovely atmosphere and is obviously very successful - the project's Vice Principal, for example, is himself a former streetchild. Hopefully we're going to do some work there on a regular basis; I will let you know how that goes.

We also visited a nearby school for mentally handicapped children. This, too, was run by an NGO - the government does provide some support but is obviously completely overstretched. Again, there was a great positivity about the place despite the deprived backgrounds the children came from. The organisation also does a lot of outreach work, supporting parents and increasing awareness about the children's conditions and their needs - there is still a lot of stigma and denial surrounding mental disabilities here, especially among lower-income families. We're going to visit some of their field projects this afternoon which should be very interesting.

I'm going to have to leave it there - there's lots more to say but it'll have to wait. Thanks for all the comments! :)

Ps - I will try and get some photos up soon, depending on how simple it turns out to be...

I made it !

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 08:28:43GMT

A little self congratulation required--I entered the world of the BLOG--well done me! Very interesting I found it too--well done Katie! I will pass details to other old fossils,such as Grandpa, so that they can keep informed as well. To enhance my knowledge and relieve my ignorance what does the 'B' stand for? Lots of Love from, Susanxxxxxx

Monday 4th

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 07:03:03GMT

We're quickly getting more established here and are getting (more) used to the food and heat. We haven't actually started our teaching but are supposed to be meeting with the Principle today to discuss our timetable. We've been warned, however, that time in India is 'stretchy', so any appointment is rarely concrete.

We still haven't seen very much of Vijayawada since we're yet to register our presence with the Police (again, the date of this keeps slipping...). We did see a little more yesterday when we visited a nearby supermarket (the "New Modern Supermarket"). Getting there was itself quite an experience: pedestrians come right at the bottom of the pecking order here and crossing a road requires speed, judgement and fluke. So far we haven't had any casualties but I'll be amazed if we get through the year without a few near-misses.

The supermarket itself was pretty similar to any Western one, although far busier. I'm embarassed to say we stocked up on some British-style crisps as well as some toilet paper - we haven't gone completely native on that front yet...

It was dark when we left and the streets were busy - the shops here stay open until about 8 or 9 in the evening and most people seem to come out around this time. The many beggars were a stark reminder of India's crazy inequalities - although the College is basic, it's easy whilst on the campus to forget how much better the situation is here in comparison to much of the wider city. Encountering one very persistent little girl in particular was quite a shock the system. It was clear that, realistically, we're always going to stick out on the streets no matter how accustomed we feel we are to the Indian way of life.

Yesterday we were invited to the nearby Atheist Centre for the "Condolence Meeting" of a preeminent Humanist and "freedom fighter", Saraswathi Gora. Our country representative, Bharavi, is married to her granddaughter and the whole family has a history of Humanism and social work. Although the service itself was rather long - and seemed especially so since it was conducted mainly in Telegu, the local language - she sounded like a fascinating woman. Despite the obvious ideological differences between the College (founded by nuns) and the Atheist Centre, they often collaborate on social projects. Although superficially the motivation appears different, the goals are the same.

All the staff and students here have been extremely welcoming to us and we're constantly being invited to events. We went to a concert at the College a few days ago which was described a fusion of traditional Indian and Western music. It was great to see the Indian instruments being played, although I was a little offended that the "Western" element was represented by a drum machine and a Casio keyboard..! Hopefully I'll be able to enlighten them with a ceilidh at some point.

We also went to church yesterday morning at the nearby Cathedral. On the way, we passed the Bishop's house - postively palatial in comparison to the surrounding buildings and with a guard on the gates. While the Sisters at the College are completely selfless and do extremely valuable work such as visiting the local prisons and slums, I'm not sure this approach is as true further up the hierarchy.

We've been getting to know some of the students better and have even begun learning names, which at the start was a nightmare. The standard of English varies but all are very friendly and infinitely curious. I'm looking forward to starting the teaching which hopefully will be soon..!