volunteer time

me and the new crew of volunteers uniting at a cafe for chats and plans:


after cruising the city in slums and posh spots in delhi for a week i was ready to move on. last saturday my volunteer program met up in some rented flats in a nice section of delhi. there is 21 of us in total. the range is huge as there is a family of 4, a father-daughter team, a mother-son duo, and college age kids ranging from engineering majors to broadcast communications and a few teachers and social workers mixed in. everyone seems to add something unique and the group is bonding fast. it is really really nice to get to start doing some work after seeing all the need and division between rich and poor.

we had a few days of orientation that included a little language, lots of chai (chai tea translates to tea tea, like table mesa...), lectures from local professors and great food. everyone began getting to know one another and prepare for placements upon arrival in dharamsala. there are a few different things that the volunteers are split between. each place is its own NGO and my overall program Cross-Cultural Solutions, acts almost as a broker to align locally established facilities with the volunteers needed to operate. some in my group are placed in day care, others in schools for english, computer skills, womens empowerment, youth centers and my placement is with a special school for developmental "differently-abled" kids from 6-18. currently there are five students at the special school (as it is called), three volunteers and a teacher that helps the kids with sign language, numbers, english, hindi and fun times. in two weeks the school is moving to a new house and will expand to have a speech therapist, physical therapist and a special education teacher. its really exciting because it is just getting off the ground and there are lots of preparations for the expected added attendance to rise to 15. it is really awesome to work with the kids and i will post later with more pictures and info about what is going on with my placement.



as for dharamsala, it is beautiful. we arrived into the city as it was literally wrapped in a cloud. it gave the place a real sense of mystery and excitement. the rout from the airport was filled with little villages, monkeys, rolling hills and lovely valleys as we climbed to the city on a mountain top. the city itself is beautiful and i have had a few custom made shirts and pants created for 10 bucks total. everyone is really friendly and the houses, meals and staff are terrific. it is really peaceful and i am excited to get a chance to live here for a while and be invested in the place that i am enjoying.

on the first day, me and few ohter woke before dawn and hiked up to a hindu temple for the god shiva perched above us just outside of town. we climbed as the sun rose and illuminated the land below. it was a tremendous way to get to know the place that is home. the views were spectacular and the feelings at the top were soaring with the receeding clouds. i am so happy to be here and feel very blessed to have been propelled upon this journey by so many wonderful souls back in the states. thank you all. hoorray life!!