Elephants, tanning and Ali Babas.

So I've almost had a week in sunny Goa and I thought that it was about time that I updated you all on my adventures.
I was feeling pretty jetlagged and gross on my first day so I did think that I had imagined how much I love India but this week has proved to me that I love it even more than I ever did. The weather is perfect, the people are amazing and the scenery is gorgeous. On our second day, Poppy and I got a new roommate called Mari Anne, who's from Norway and she's here for 8 weeks too so I already feel bad for whoever else might join us in our room later on because I think we're probably all going to be finishing each other's sentences in a couple of weeks time.
Also on our second day, we visited all the different work areas. There are three schools in the main slum, called Monte Hill: a government school; one little one for smaller children, run by IDEX; and an after school class for adolescents where they get taught English but we couldn't visit that one because, at the time, there were no volunteers available to teach there so it couldn't open and the kids couldn't learn anything. That really showed the importance of the work that IDEX does here.
After the slums we headed to an old age home, which was really tough. It was dark and every room had about six elderly people in it and they just seemed to sit there all day, until some volunteers turned up to talk to them.
Then we went to two other schools, set up by IDEX, which are based in two little slums by the beach. They're called the Netweavers' school and the Fisherman school and they teach basic skills to the kids of the slums, aswell as running classes in the afternoon's to help the kids who can go to school with their homework.
We also visited an orphanage where kids are taken, either if they have no parents or if their parents are unable to look after them properly due to alcoholism and other problems.
The final project was a computer class, mostly set up for women, where people can go to gain a qualification in computing so that they have a better chance of getting some employment.
I've opted for the Netweavers' school and the computer classes and so far they're going really well. The computer classes haven't really got started yet because they run 3 month long courses and Ive come at the end of a cycle so most students don't turn up but a new course starts tomorrow so we'll see how that goes!
The school is really challenging but I enjoy it. Because it's a new school, a lot of the kids don't really have any idea about the importance of education or discipline and they don't speak good English so they're pretty tough to teach but I think that it's going to be really rewarding.

The camp is gorgeous, with palm trees everywhere and hammocks that are perfect to spend the afternoon in.

There are two local beaches. One is Colva beach but there are a lot of Indian tourists there so we can't reall sunbathe at that one because it would be pretty inappropriate and I think we'd get photographed all the time, which tends to happen even when we're fully clothed so god knows what it would be like if we were in bikinis. It is really pretty though and the sunsets are amazing.

My view at Majorda beach

The other beach, which is a 30 minute walk away, is Majorda beach and that's even nicer. The waves are really intense though so you can't really swim and you have to hold on to your bikini soso tight but the breeze on the beach is just perfect so I was perfectly happy to just lie there and attempt to catch a tan (and I'm definitely a little more brown!) 

                                   

I think that I'd forgotten just how beautiful Indian sunsets are because I just couldn't take me eyes off the one at Majorda. 

As volunteers, we have to set a good example and represent IDEX in a good way so pretty much everyone tends to invest in some Indian style clothing and this results in some very funny looking people. I bought some Ali Babas the other day and I could probably smuggle a whole other person just in the crotch of them, which sounds bad I know but if you could see them properly then you'd understand. the picture really 

doesn't do them justice but they are pretty spectacular.

It's odd how quickly I've adjusted to the clothing restrictions though and now when I see tourists wandering around in just their swimwear, I definitely cringe for them a little bit, so maybe when I come home, I'll be covered up all the time but to do that, I'd have to invest in a completely new wardrobe so I seriously doubt it!

Yesterday, we went on a day trip to a spice plantation and it's really not as interesting as it might sound. It was basically just a tour around a little forest and every now and then you get stopped by the guide to point out what a spice looks like in the wild, which is interesting for the first ten minutes but the tour was 45 minutes long...

Me and Mari Anne entertaining ourselves

Without a doubt though, the highlight was the elephants. They have elephants on site which you can ride and even go for an 'elephant wash' where you stand in the river and get hosed down by their trunks but nobody opted for that so we all had a bit of a photo shoot. 

I can't believe that I actually got to touch an elephant. That's a life goal which has now been completed. There will be loads of elephant-related things to do in Thailand, though so this won't be the last elephant picture you see from me!

                                      

So far, everything here is amazing. All the other people at the camp is really nice but they're pretty much all European so I can hear myself starting to talk with a slight European/American twang which is reeeally odd but it's got to be better than speaking with a Gap Yah accent so I can't complain.
I just can't wait until everybody's all settled in because we seem to be getting new people here every day and it will be nice when everyone's comfortable with each other and I can actually remember everybody's names!


Homesick update: So far I'm fine. I spoke to my sister on the phone the other day which made me a bit sad but right now, there's nowhere I'd rather be than right here!

Delhi Belly update: *touch wood* everything's quite settled on that front but I ate ice cream and cheese yesterday so this might change within about 12 hours.