Wannabe Mongolian

Afraid this is a proper unchecked update from an internet cafe so appologies if it is intirely illegable.

left for Beijing on the 13th arrived the next day. The forbidden city hostel is a quirky place but I liked it. Staff seem very keen to help but totally disorganised. You probably won't get the room you booked and your food will propably arrive 30 mins after your freinds, but the staff will bend over backwards to try and right it. First night I ended up in the dorm room, which worked out well as I got chatting to my friendly hugerian room mate. The next night Rosie arrived and we shared what can only be described as the love shack - single round bed with mirrors on the wall, we both laughed.

And then we flew to Mongolia. We stayed at the UB guesthouse on Jez's recommendation - cheers Jez as they have been awesome. First day was hectic, had to fly in, sort hostel, get to our orientation lesson with ger-to-ger, and work out how to get to the bus stop the next day. I have to admit the oriantation terrified me. It covered manners - don't point your feet or back to anyone or the ideal, near impossible in a seferical ger. Calls - 'call your dogs off', and 'I've broken my leg'. Dangers, including dogs, wolves, and lightening. And they dropped in that we were going by our tod and some families have only had a few visiters before. Oh and that there is no clean water. AHHHH.

All of my fears were uncalled for though. The trip was absolutely amazing. Not sure I can write about it all now, so you'll have to pester me for the details. We stayed with 3 familes. The first were a younge family, in their late 20's early 30's with 2 younge kids. The kids were adorable and I really enjoyed playing with them. The neighbours/relatives drop in often, they basically live as one big family, and all were very kind. They were keen to learn English and we chatted/pointed at the phrase book for many hours. The second family had a more hands off approach. They were an older couple, who had 2 older children who were away at school whilst we were staying with them.This was actually a nice break, and their Ger was situated at the bottom of a mountain which was perfect for hiking. The scenery was spectacular. Whilst we were there 2 other tourist goined us for 2 nights, Kevin and Grace - they were nice, but again wanted to keep themselves to themselves. The third family were again older with children away at school. however the Granny and I think brother and sister and law and their baby were all in the cooking ger with us through out the day. Again this family were faboulous hosts, warm freindly and have a great sense of humor which transcended the language barrier.

On our trip we went camel riding (Mongolian camels are a good deal fluffier and friendlier than Indian camels) Horse riding, and partook in everyday life, to the best of our abilities. Turns out I'm not a natrual Mongolian. Rosie and myself accidentally set fire to her hat whilst trying to stoke the fire with more dried horse poo, smoking out the ger in the process. Due to a shortage of horses I ended up riding a just broken pony on the last trip, and spooked it, making us gallop in circles - whoops. I keep forgetting that these horses don't trust me like Mr T does, I'm a bit out of practice with babies. However a sat to the bucking and galloping so didn't do too badly, still felt a bit silly being lead. I also suck at killing things, not that we were involved in that part of life - thats the mans job. Still, i feel far too much empathy for the goats/sheep/cows. It was fantastic watching the men catch them, and helping by standing in the way, but once the animal was caught and dragged to its soon to be death, I struggled to watch. Still, its lived a good life, and that's how it should be I suppose, much better than the meat factory in England. Its fascinating to watch how the family take care that not a single scrap is wasted. Leftovers are frowned upon, and if they occur they are used in the next meal some how. One morning we arrived at the kitchen ger to find that one of the Goats had been slautered. The meat was hanging on the ceiling to dry - a way of preserving the meat. the innards were being cleaned and prepared by our hosts for lunch, which turned out to be quite tasty despite their appearance. The innerds we didn't eat were made into pasties the next day, we helped make them, the women laughed at our kack-handed approach. Bones that humans could not eat were given to the dogs. The woman also make a huge variety of dairy products from cows and horse milk. We helped them make butter, a process which is painstaking, takes many hands and several days. Everyone works, even the Granny who is bent double, blind and only has 2 remaining teeth, but everyone works together, with respect kindness and good humour.

Their are so many more stories from our 6 day adventure, an epic ride across the planes, Rosie's failed nature wee (had to include it sorry Rosie), the monistary, 'shit shit fuck fuck get up Rosie the alarm hasn't gone off' race to the bus station, the sheep in the boot, pushing the van, 'i think wolves are behind us' walk, and many more but I'll have to tell you them in person.

We are now back in Ulaan Baatar (much nicer than the reputation it is given) in an internet cafe. The novelty of heating, running water, and toilets has yet to wear off. Nothing makes you appreciate a hot shower more than 6 days without one in the country.

next stop china, I can't access my blog there so wont be updating until Vietnam. So until then, tootles

So long fair well

Time for Goodbies in India. Saying goodbye to Pritvi at the orphanage yesterday was the hardest. He was clearly hurt that I was leaving. I wanted to say that I would miss him, but was afraid that preferential treatment would hurt the others feelings and possibly get him bullied. So I said nothing. He was very sullen all lesson, and when we went to leave he ran to to gate to wave me off. Really heart wrenching, I hate that I am also leaving him, like almost everyone else in his life. I'd like to write to him, but again afraid that preferential treatment will cause upset.

The school today was much easier. the kids are too young to work out what was going on so we just had fun colouring in stuff. I have to confess my mind is not on the job today. In full worry about flights mode. Still got some nice pics, including our young love birds (Pooja and Ramesh - they are so cute).

Ooo forgot to write about our Dandia party. We all got dressed up and Fiona taught us Dandia dancing. Was really good fun, and I enjoyed looking like a girl for once (I know very unlike me).

And onwards to Beijing then Mongolia. Looking forward to seeing Rosie, and hopefully the end of curry (not that I have high hopes for mongolian food). Lets hope I don't eat horse.

Hidden Tiger Munching Dragon and the Greatest Wonder of the world - Ranthanbourg and Taj trip

We took the sleeper train from Udaipur to Ranthanbourg. Was actually really good fun – we played some card games before climbing into our respective bunks. I slept surprisingly well and was quiet startled when Ravi woke me up to say its our stop. It was 2am when we staggered out onto the station and waited for our lift. About 200 people were sleeping on the floor of the platform and outside the station, was a very odd sight, not something you’d see in England. Soon enough the rickshaw drives spotted us and charged over in force, luckily our jeep arrived in time to save us and they despondently walked away. The jeep ride to the hotel was great fun.

The fist day we enjoyed doing very little by, and in my case, in the pool. It was only half full but still considerably cooler than the 38 degree heat outside. After some lunch and faff we went on our first safari – hidden tiger munching dragons. There was no room for Ravi on our truck and seeing as he’s been many times before he decided to cancel and stay at the hotel. We boarded the massive truck all excited. The truck needed to pick up some more passengers from down the road. Our hearts sand when several young teenagers boarded, equipped with rustally bags, fizzy drinks, and shrill voices. Chances of seeing a tiger had fallen from slim to non. Bloody kids. We had to endure their company for the next 3 hours. It would have been a pleasant trip through beautiful jungle except the kids insisted on standing up thus blocking our view and falling on top of me on regular occasions. They also spoke loudly all trip and shouted every time they saw an animal. Grr. Just kids being kids I suppose.

In the evening some local dancers came to entertain us. There was also a group of Indian nurses staying at our hotel, and in true Indian style were fascinated with us. When they saw as sitting on the lawn waiting for the band to start they were quick to also pull up a pew, soon we were surrounded by 30 of them. The addition of the crazy Indian ladies actually made the whole party more fun. The chap showing us how to dance was seriously more feminine than me, and I completely failed to master and of the moves. Some of the nurses then decided to take the stage by forcibly removing the poor bewildered dancer. Soon we ended up in an Indian style dance off, was all highly amusing, we lost horribly – all of us bar Anna were but bounced off. The ring leader took a liking to Claire and invited her to their after party in their dorms. Feeling a bit out-numbed she declined. In hindsight we should have all gone it would have made a brilliant story.

The next day we visited the fort. It stretched for 5 miles across the mountain. A true symbol of strength and determination, both of which it took to climb to the top of the bloody thing in the crippling heat. After many breaks and photos we reached the top. From hear we could view a good deal of the national park, including the huge lake with two large crocodiles circling – they looked like matchsticks form the top. The fort included a mix of Hindu and Muslim temples. At the Hindu temple there was a great deal of activity. Footstalls and their merchants, many tourists and loads of monkeys. The monkeys at the entrance which we had ‘awwed’ at were passive mothers and their fluffy babies. The monkeys at the top however were food stealing ninjas, waiting for an opportunity to mug you. As we were leaving the temple Sabrina was just contemplating what to do with the sweet she was given when a large mother monkey solved her dilemma, by snatching out of Sabrina’s hand. This made us all the more weary as we had to walk through the crowds of monkeys back to the entrance.

In the evening we had our second safari. This one was just us (bar Ravi) on the jeep and much nicer. The drive was a beautiful mix of savanna type planes, woodland and jungle. We saw many animals on route as well as laborers sweating away in the sun. in the jungle we saw foot prints of a male heading one way and a female with tiny cubs heading the other – eee excitement. We silently waited by the river, but no joy. On our way back we saw fresh male tiger track over our own, we must have just missed them. The thrill of seeing evidence of such a beautiful animal alive and breading was enough for me, we were all very happy on our return.

One uncomfortable night train later we arrived in Agra. We made a short pit stop at our hotel to freshen up and have breaky then we were off to the Taj! The Taj really does live up to its reputation. So much thought went into it. Its perfectly symmetrical in all aspects. The Tomb is 8 sided for the 8 children who died and when you shout at one of the pillars you will hear your voice echoing a perfect 8 times. The stone sparkles under light like its glowing from the inside. Tragically the English took the gold which crowned the top of the Taj, it does make me feel a bit ashamed that my predecessors failed to see the Taj for the untouchable wonder it is. Nearer the end of the tour, after all the necessary cheesy photo’s were taken, we were ushered our by the armed guards. Some of the athletes from the commonwealth games had arrived and they were granted a private tour. I was no too upset as I was begging to lag in the 40 degree heat. Back the apartment, lunch at Pizza hut then sleeper train home. Brilliant trip!

From Micelle Angelo to Zero, fun and the hospital, and no longer the newbiee

Life has been ticking over in this new found normality. I’m feeling more at ease with India and teaching. Three things to note:

• Teaching
• Hospital visit
• Two new arrivals,

Teaching

Year one school kids are hard work, some are seriously hyper, I’m tempted to slip them some Ketamin at times. There is a particular boy I’ve taken a dislike to, Chinural (not actually how its spelt or pronounced but its all I manage to get out when I’m shouting at him to stop whatever he’s doing). His nick-name between Laura and myself is Mr Grabby hands as he’s always snatching, and when he’s not doing that he’s fighting. Nothing we’ve tried so far seems to deter him from his mischief. I realize that it’s perhaps unfair to form a grudge against a 4-6 year old, so try not to show my contempt, but I must confess my heart sinks when he shows up for class. I do also have my favorites, bright unassuming kids, perhaps because they remind me of myself as a child. Poojar is exceptionally sweet with big brown eyes and a quiet manner. Rahul is very bright and spends him time helping teachers and his class mates. Rajsuta is cute, gappy teeth but a big smile. Gampak is naughty, but essentially desperate for attention. The past couple of lessons he’s been an angle to please me, I can’t help but like him for that.

The orphanage boys have made less of an impression. Perhaps because I’ve seen them less, or perhaps because Claire takes more of a lead. Two boys stand out however. Dinesh (nice but dim) and Pritvi Raj (frighteningly cleaver). I may have inspired a slight crush on me when I drew Pritvi’s portrait. It was drawing time and as usual Pritvi have found something to entertain himself with whilst the others were finishing their worksheets. Unfortunately Pritvi was so immersed in reading the syllabus (our book) that he missed the handing out of drawing books. They were all gone by the time he decided he wanted to draw. This resulted in a mild sulk and Pritvi is not a boy you want to leave unamused, so I offered to draw him whilst he drew me. The picture I drew wasn’t bad, if I do say so myself, but to Pritvi it was clearly the best drawing he’d ever seen, I was Micelle Angelo, and he spent the rest of the afternoon staring at me with awe. This idealization was short lived. The next day was spelling and Pritvi monopolized my attention by getting me to help him with his worksheet (he didn’t need help). It was soon apparent that Pritvi could spell elephant and I could not, and the spell was broken. Still nice whilst it lasted.

my orphanage class

Boys playing games at orphanage

Hospital visit

I’ve been having jip with my stomark since I arrived and was getting a bit fed up. Laura was going to the doctor and I decided I should try going along myself = error. Turns out doctors = hospital. Laura went first and was seen immediately. The doctor wanted to admit her, but after some protest let her leave with some tests and drugs. He was just about to see me when an emergency case was rushed in. A young woman had taken poison, the family were understandably upset and it was all hands on deck as the hospital was short staffed that day (due to yet another festival). We ended up waiting for an extra hour before another doctor was available. I did feel rather daft as I wasn’t even that sick. At any rate when the doctor did see me he agreed with me that it was most likely to do with change in diet but put me through a blood test, stool sample, and drugs just in case. Joy. The drugs were worth it though, I feel 100X better now.

The day ended much better than it started with a visit to the monsoon palace (the set of octopussy) to watch the beautiful sunset and then a dancing/puppet show in the evening.

The two new arrivals

I’m no longer the newbie, Lindsey and Anna arrived on Sunday. They had quiet a first day! They arrived in the morning and after settling in they came into town with us. On the public rickshaw they were introduced the Indian concept of private space – ie there is no such thing, 9 of us were rammed into the tiny cabin. I was just commenting to Anna that ‘it’s amazing that more traffic accidents don’t happen’ when low and behold there was some commotion and a woman was carried off the street unconscious. There was a puddle in the road, I hope it wasn’t blood. Once we got into town we found that most of the shops were closed including ‘bangle man’ and ‘jewelry lady’. A little deflated we decided to head to big bizarre (the supermarket). A 22 public rickshaw did a U turn and offered to take us there. The keenness of the young male driver to have one of us sit up the front should have rung alarm bells, but good natured and trusting Fiona obliged them with her company. When we got off she was furious, they had ‘copped a feel’. Bastards. I think it should be pointed out that not all Indian men are like this, there is a bit of a misconception that white women are whores here, but a lot of the guys are still very courteous, this was just on of those bastards who isn’t. I suppose you get them everywhere when you think about it. Anyway, we arrived at big bizarre and ease our minds by shopping, was nearly forgotten by the end of the day.

Looking ahead.

Today we head off to Ranthanbourg (probably not spelt right) on the quest to see tigers. After that we are heading to Agra to see the Taij – ee the excitement. I shall update with photos on my return.

P.S Than you Ben for the photo’s I’m about to steal.