Kristina in India

Motorcycling in India

2010-01-13T00:52:00.000-08:00

Carl (A new Norwegian boy who has arrived), Aslak and I went to Manali for a couple of days to rent a scooter and drive in the mountains. Apparently all the scooter places are shut, so we get to rent motorbikes. I was a bit nervous seeing as I had only been driving automatic scooter before, and not a heavy bike. But, Aslak taught me some tricks and it went fine. I was the only one who had a license, and that was only for a scooter or a moped, Aslak had been driving moped a bit back home, but no license, and Carl had never driven a two-wheeler before. So solution; Carl sat on the back of Aslak’s bike and the motorbike man didn’t even ask for license.

We drove on 180 cubic bikes, so they are not that heavy if you compare to 500 cubic ones. However, for me; it was heavy enough. But, man, what a feeling to drive around in mountains with the peaks covered in snow. We drove around where we did paragliding and came up to about 3000 meters. We wanted to go to a place that was 3998 meters, but it was recommended not to go further up due to ice on the roads.

I remember when Tore took me on his red bike, we drove only for 100 meters or so, but it was such a rush and I was sure I wanted to have my own bike one day. I think I was about 9 or 10. Today, at the age of 19 (2 years before I am allowed to drive in Norway) I got to drive a heavy motorbike all alone. A dream come true; and it happened in the Himalayas!

It is an incredible way to experience the landscape here, so I definitively recommend it to anyone who likes to drive bikes!

The day after, Aslak and Carl went paragliding. I went up to take off point with them, and, man, the view was amazing. The layers that look like fog on the picture are actually layers of pollution!

...and a happy new year!

2010-01-13T00:49:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve 2009 was celebrated with lunch at Riverside restaurant, then in the evening Trine and Aslak left for Delhi since Trine had her flight the next night. Seeing as Aslak had lost his phone I sent mine with him, you really shouldn’t go to Delhi without a phone. At 23.00, Indian time, I went to the only ISD (international phone calls) booth open at this time of the night. It was in a very dark street about 10 minutes away from my flat, but the only one I met except the shop keeper was a cow. I call my friends whom I was supposed to celebrate with and it was the best phone call I have ever made. These last days I’ve been quite homesick, so that phone call cheered me up a lot. There were about 3 fireworks at 12, but I don’t think they qualify to be called fireworks. A very boring evening, however, that phone call made New Years Eve perfect for me. Sounds lame? Well, keep in mind I was celebrating alone.

First Aid Evening Sessions

2010-01-13T00:47:00.000-08:00

Today I realised that it has been a while since I’ve written about the voluntary work I do here in Kullu. Not too long ago, Ankit’s trekking crew was trained in First Aid, and Ankit (our local co-ordinator) wanted some evening sessions in addition to the daily sessions given by a doctor. He asked if we could do it seeing as we all had done at least a basic first aid course.

We only did a few sessions in a hotel room, but we got to go through DR.ABCD, recovery position, burns, cuts and bleeding, and some scenarios. I must say it was fun because I hadn’t done much first aid since before the summer when we had the last big scenario at school with the first aid team. And then I didn’t get to do as much as I wanted because I had heavy sun burns all over my legs. When I walked it looked like I had shit my pants, to put it gently. These few evening sessions made me remember how much I like doing first aid and it was very refreshing. Also, the trekking crew said it was nice to learn from me as well since I had a completely different style than the doctor. The doctor was very technical and advanced when explaining. I was simple and spoke the common man’s language. At least according to the feedback from the trekking crew I was easy to understand.

Very often you feel useless when doing voluntary work; I remember Pete (my English teacher) also mentioned that at school. So in a way I was prepared for it, but it does not make it any less frustrating. At least when doing social voluntary work you sometimes feel like you disturb the daily routine of the children at times. So the first aid evening sessions came as a fresh breath of air, a real confidence boost where I felt useful again.

Christmas Away From Home

2009-12-30T02:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas in my home is like at many other homes; we all have the same routines we do every year. We all know what is supposed to happen, but we are still very excited because there is the surprise in the evening with the opening of gifts. In Norway you celebrate on the 24^th with the gifts and everything. It is a time of the year when family come together and have a nice time. For us these last years it has been my sister coming back from France, my brother coming home from Åsgårdsstrand (about 4 hours away from Mesnali), and me coming home from RCN. This year my brother came back from Åsgårdsstrand, my sister came back from Poland where she studies medicine, but I did not come back from India. This was my first Christmas away from home, my first Christmas away from my family and many of my friends. For me, a person who loves Christmas because of the traditions we have, this was very different than what I am used to.

Aslak and Trine went and got a Christmas tree! Quite creative :)

I had Christmas dinner at Nisha’s whilst watching a cricket match between India and Sri Lanka. Fortunately, seeing as I am in India, India was doing well. Soon after dinner, Aslak and Trine calls and say they have tea and cake ready at the flat. It was a nice surprise, so I went over to the flat and I finally felt a little of that good old Christmas mood floating through my veins. Bendik called as well which was a really nice surprise, and after we watched a movie I called home. It was a pleasant evening indeed, but nothing like Christmas at home in white winter land.

However, one Christmas had to be the first one away from home. Perhaps it was good to have it in a place where the day is not given any attention, because when I celebrate it next time away from home in a place where it is given attention; that will not feel like such a drastic difference. Imagine if I had celebrated in the U.S. this year, I would have missed home because it would be a Christmas away from home. But when I in the future celebrate somewhere else, I’ll be glad that there is at least a proper celebration.

Christmas this year was different, but still a nice evening; a good experience to put in my backpack.

Travelling In India with Kitty and Eloise

2009-12-28T00:04:00.000-08:00

McLeod Ganj - Again

Before Kitty and Eloise were leaving we travelled a bit to see McLeod Ganj (seeing as they had not been there) and the Taj Mahal. In McLeod Ganj we went to see the English Church, Tibet Museum (I didn’t see that last time, but it was really interesting and informative. I recommend it!), the temple next to where the Dalai Lama lives, and in the evening a French café showed a documentary portraying the journey Tibetan refugees have to take to escape from Tibet to Dharamsala. We also did some shopping, so I got to buy some nice gifts from here. We stayed only one night, but it was enough. Oh, and we also ate at a restaurant called Mc’Llo where they had a picture of Pierce Brosnan eating there. They were so proud of it they even devoted a whole page in the menu for his picture. That was really funny and cool.

Delhi

In Delhi we stayed at a family that has daughters at UWC. They lived in a really nice house and it was like we had left India when we walked in. However, it did feel a bit uncomfortable with servants walking around not letting us take a glass of water ourselves. It was a very big contrast to Kullu where we live in the cold mountains and work in orphanages.

The youngest daughter was going to watch New Moon with her friends in the cinema, so we came along as well. The cinema was in this massive shopping mall where only very rich Indian people went. The movie was so, and so, but the whole experience was so surreal. When I think about it I almost can’t believe it was real. It was so posh, and I many of the children running around were so spoiled and rude. For them, the woman who’s house is a piece of plastic and some cardboard does not exist. They see her, but she is no one. I am glad we went though, because it made me experience a completely different side of India. It gives you some perspective, and I can’t say that I like the situation. But then I wondered, isn’t this how we are back home? The only difference is that we have don’t have the children knocking on the window of the car begging for money. It is a topic that has been bothering my mind a lot, and I can’t come to terms with the situation, nor can I come up with a conclusion for myself. It is just easier not to think about it, but then I do like the people in the mall. Perhaps that is what they have to do to be able to lead some sort of a happy life; just not think about it.

Taj Mahal

The day after we went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Our train left at 07.10 in the morning, but we didn’t have any tickets. It was quite busy so I wasn’t very careful and managed to get ripped off about 600 rupees. But we had the tickets and we were on the train at least. If you are taking a train in India, book in advance and do not book less than 2^nd class. We traveled 2^nd class and that was okay, but if you want comfortable you should book c/c which has proper chairs and air conditioning.

In Agra we booked a rickshaw for the day for only 300 rupees. We had him for 8 hours as a personal guide taking us to places to eat, sightseeing and giving us advice before going to the Taj Mahal. That was a good thing as well because he said there would be people saying they were guides included in ticket prices, and then afterwards would demand money from you as they were not.

The Taj Mahal was a bit smaller than I expected, but a magnificent piece of art. The whole area is built in symmetry so that it is esthetically beautiful. He even got an extra mosque built, so that there would be one on each side of the Taj Mahal. What makes it even more beautiful is that it is not built to show off wealth or power, but it is an expression of a man’s love to a woman. Everything is in marble, even the flowers which decorates the building. At first I though it was paint, but then I cam up close and saw that is was marble. It is truly worth seeing. We spent about 2 hours and 30 minutes there. If we there was not more to see, we would have spent more time there.

Agra Fort

A king in Agra got a fort built for himself and his 12 daughters. Much of it was locked up for visitors as it was unsafe. It was unsafe because one could get lost so easily and because the floor was falling apart some places. What was interesting was how some of the same pattern for decoration at the Taj Mahal was also used at Agra Fort.

I am glad we went here as well because it gives a good impression of ancient Indian architecture and design. From before I have seen architecture from the Netherlands, England, France and Italy (as a tourist where I have gone to look at this specifically), but this was quite different. The architectural style was simple, but yet grand. It was relaxed and elegant at the same time. It was made to show off wealth without disturbing the inner harmony. Of course, this is only the feel I got from it. The intention could be completely different or very similar for all I know.

There were also squirrels there walking around, I got a nice picture of one.

Going Back to Kullu

The buses back to Kullu always stop at this one place where one can eat and use the toilet. I wasn’t hungry, but I thought I should use the toilet since I was going to be on the bus another 12 hours or so. On the table by the toilets I see a familiar back. It was Aslak, the other Norwegian volunteer, sitting with his girlfriend Trine. I knew that she was going to come and visit for Christmas, but it was still a bit fun that I met them there. She is a very sweet girl and we have had a lot of fun here in Kullu. Especially when shopping for material. There is a guy who is closing down his shop, so there is 50% off on all material. I bought so much, so now it is all at Nisha’s. (They are the neighbouring family who work as tailors)

I live in a room next to Aslak’s, it is bigger than the old one, has a bigger kitchen, and a bathroom with a proper toilet and a shower that has hot water!! It is very nice not having to wait for the water to boil and not having to use a bucket when showering.

Manali with Preeti and Nisha

2009-12-27T23:55:00.000-08:00

Seeing as Kitty and Eloise had short time left, all three of us went to Manali with Preeti and Nisha. We were all told to put on full suits (Indian clothes) by Nisha and Preeti, so Wednesday morning we were looking smart and ready to go. In Manali we went to a temple that resembled a traditional style for Norwegian churches. Inside was quite different though. No paintings of the gods or anything, very simple and nice.

Afterwards Kitty, Eloise and Preeti dressed up in traditional Indian mountain style clothes. We got some nice pictures. I didn’t want to because we had already done it at Bashing orphanage, and in Manali they charge money. Not much if you compare it to Norwegian prices, but much for Indian rupees. The price would equal to about 1 kg of potatoes.

Then we walked around in town looking at shops and stuff like that. We had a really big lunch where we ate Punjabi food (food from Punjab state, I live in Himachal Pradesh) and it was really good. It was a nice relaxing day filled with laughter and fun.

Dharamsala – McLeod Ganj

2009-12-14T02:45:00.000-08:00

We came back from the trek on a Sunday, the boys had then gone to Dharamsala and my mother said she would very much like to go as well. So Monday morning at 8 o’clock she and I are sitting on the local bus to Dharamsala, or more specifically to McLeod Ganj because that is where the Dalai Lama is in exile.

The bus is no better than any of the other local buses; it drives really fast and the roads are horrible so you get car sick very easily in India. My mother was as unfortunate as to throw up after about 2 hours and we were to sit on the bus for 8 hours. She told me she was feeling car sick and I had to break it to her that the system here is like this: if you need to throw up you open the window and stick out your head. About 10 minutes went by and then she asked if I could open the window. Leaning over me and out of the window she throws up several times. I couldn’t help but laughing because I found it such a memorable experience. However, when she put her head back inside and I saw how pale she was I stopped. Then she put it out the window again. Fortunately she didn’t get more ill after that.

After a really long bus ride we finally arrive in McLeod Ganj and Alf meets us at the bus stand. The boys met a monk who got us really good seats at a teaching the Dalai Lama was giving because the Russian Buddhist Community had arranged a session as the Dalai Lama could not come to Russia. So we check in at the hotel, go for dinner and then my mother and I go for a short walk as we have been sitting on the bus the whole day.

The next day we get up early to make sure that no one takes our seats at the Dalai Lama teaching. I tell you, if we had not had that monk with us, we wouldn’t be so lucky. Some were acting ridiculously because someone else had taken their seat. The thing is there are no reserved seats, you just put your pillow and leave it there, but if you don’t show up in time, you have a problem. It was very funny as well because many of the ones causing a small scene were Buddhists. Here you have the people of harmony arguing like crazy over a small spot on a carpet.

We sit and wait for a bit, find a good position to sit in and stuff, when it goes quiet. Then a powerful voice, but what must be many men, utters the word OM. And they keep on chanting it until the Dalai Lama has taken his seat. Everyone stretches their head, I search and search, and when everyone has gotten a look at him and sits back in normal position; I see him. I have a clear view straight at him. His first teaching is in English and he talks very much about how in the modern world technologies and political systems have developed in a good way, but what it is lacking is a certain type of compassion. This, however, the modern world has realized and has started looking for it and try to understand it. And one of its focal points when searching for this is in the Buddhist beliefs. The type of compassion is a genuine, selfless compassion. When he was talking he would very often laugh at his own jokes. My mother and I found it very amusing and concluded that he reminded us of Santa Claus, but not the commercialized one, the proper one.

During the afternoon we went to an English Church in McLeod Ganj. It is very special as it is from the colonial times, and the glass in the church window by the altar is actually Belgian. Imagine that! The church is called St. John’s Church in the Wilderness. Quite the catchy name, ey? After that my mother and I had an Ayurvedic massage. This was really nice and soothing. Then, we went to have something to eat before my mother was to take the bus to Delhi as she was going to visit Taj Mahal. It was really nice that she came to visit, we had a great time.
(My mother also got her eyebrows done with a thread)

Next morning, we go to our second teaching where he speaks in Tibetan, but we had bought radios where some of the channels had an interpreter translating for us. This day he talked about Buddhism and how to reach Nirvana. He used many terms from Buddhism that I recognized from the Bhagavad Gita. If we had not studied this piece from Hinduism in philosophy; I would be completely lost.

On the way back we take a taxi since none of us really wants to take the local bus. The boys had eaten some chicken so I decided to try the same one since they didn’t get ill from it. I ordered and I got a different type. I couldn’t finish half of it before I felt sick. In the taxi I managed to hold it for 2 hours and then I threw up. Coming back I wasn’t able to eat anything, so on Friday (2days after) Panki’s wife puts me on this cure where I drank some herbal tea in the morning, and got a special mix together with rice for lunch and dinner. The day after I was perfectly normal again; natural medicine is the best medicine.

But McLeod Ganj is definitively a place worth visiting if you are going to India. You don’t have to stay longer than 3-4 days, but you ought to visit. Here you get to see some of the Tibetan culture, left over from the colonial times, Buddhist community, and Indian community. A wonderful place with a beautiful view.

4 Days Trekking in the Himalayas

2009-12-08T23:37:00.000-08:00

Thursday morning Ankit drives my mother, Panki, Kitty, Eloise and myself to Sai Ropa (southern parts of Kullu Valley) where we meet our trekking team; a crew of 4. My mother and I are a bit amazed as the only things we have to carry are our clothes and sleeping bag. The crew carries our food, cooking equipment, tent etc. Talk about service! The trek happened liked this; the first day we walked to the gate of the protected area. This means that no humans are allowed to live within this area in order to protect the wildlife there. The second day we walked up to a top close by and then straight to camp site number 2 which is about 45 minutes from camp site number 1. Day 3 we climb the highest peak of our trek and sleep at camp site number 2. Day 4 we pack up and go back the same way as we came. We walked in Thirton Valley area and were camping by Thirton River.

Day 1:
The first day we walked only 10 km, but it was in a beautiful area. When we got to camp site 1 we had our packed lunches, looked a bit around and when it was getting time to make a bonfire; we collected wood. My mother and I shared a tent, and Kitty and Eloise shared one. It was weird having a crew that fixed everything for us. It was like we were trekking with a restaurant or something. Everyday we got some light food when we got back from the hike, then tea, and dinner. They also packed lunches for us, breakfast was amazing; everything from pancakes to porridge! They would even wake us up at 7 to give us hot ginger water. But back to day 1, for the camp fire there wasn’t really anywhere to sit, and when collecting wood, my mother and I came across this huge log that was perfect for two Norwegian females to sit on. We brought it back and now, when someone else comes; they have a nice place to sit.
Day 2
Here we walked to a valley that had small, small villages on the mountainsides. Our highest point of the day was 2900 meters, and the view was beautiful from there. It was rather steep to climb up, but we had a nice pace. Before leaving Panki had warned us there might be bad weather, but we were extremely lucky during our whole trek; sun all the time! At about 2700 meters there was a primary school that has about 12 pupils. It seemed quite remote, but it still had electricity and some boards showing the English alphabet, the Hindu alphabet and one showing an overview of how to get proper nutrition.
When going to camp site 2 poor Kitty slipped on the rock when crossing the river, so her legs got soaked. We also met some cows and bulls, and Eloise got in between the bull and a calf, so the bull started threatening her with its horns. 3 times it tried to stag her; it was quite scary when it happened because it was the end of the day and we were a bit tired, but when thinking about it afterwards we realized it just wanted to scare her, not really hurt her. Because if it would have wanted to; it would have. And it could have done so easily.

I didn’t get to bring my camera (But Kitty brought hers) this day because Panki needed to borrow it as him and the rest of the crew (Except Sanju who went with us) went looking for a medicine that grows on the mountain side. The medicine grows in a dead zone; this means that if you fall down from there you die. So it was quite a mission, but that managed to collect some and get pictures of it. Apparently, there are no official or published pictures of this medicine known to the world. So Panki will be the first one, and he did it with my camera! I have the pictures, but I don’t want to put them online. I am sure you can understand why.

Arriving at camp site 2 we decided to wash in the river, but that was freaking cold, so we just ended up with a cat wash as we say in Norwegian. Which is a really, really quick wash where you don’t get to use soap or anything. We had to cross the river midways as the sun was shining on an island there. My mother stayed on the other side, there was a small spot with sun there. Anyways, on the way back, Kitty wants to throw her shoe over to the other side (remember how they are soaking wet after she fell earlier during the hike). Well, that did not turn out great. I stand on the other side ready to catch, but the shoe goes straight up in the air and plop, down in the river. I rush to one of the stones, throw myself down on the stomach; stretch out my arm just as the shoe is coming. Unfortunately, my arm is to short. I swear; if it would have been 2-3 cm longer I would have gotten it. But off it went. We look for it a bit further down and, man, was Kitty lucky. The shoe had gotten stuck in a whirl pool close enough by some rocks for Kitty to be able to reach it.
Day 3
This day was the peak of our trip, we climbed 1000 meters in height, and the highest point we went on was 3200 meters. This top was called Shilth, and the view was beautiful. It took us a good 3-4 hours to get to the top (if I remember correctly), but it was tiring. We just went up, up and up in zig zag the whole way. But quite so often, these birds flew from their trees to warn off other animals that we were in the area. They are called Monal(s in plural), and Panki said he had never seen this happening so frequently during one trek. It was really cool and it cheered you up a bit seeing as we didn’t get much view in the beginning as we were surrounded by trees.

When at the top we were amazed. You know these old movies where a girl or a boy is walking with the sheep in the mountains; well that was the feeling both my mother and I got when looking at the view. It was as if we were in one of those movies. It was so surreal and beautiful at the same time. My mother and I walked a bit further up, and up that hill we found a place with lots and lots of bird feathers, and here and there, there were holes. We pondered a bit about them and then my mother realized they were tracks from a bear. Panki had told us earlier that the area we are trekking in has a lot of black bears. That was really cool, but we didn’t see any though.
Walking down, my mother had already gone ahead as the rest of us had an extra short break. I followed Sanju, whilst Kitty and Eloise came a bit later with Panki. Sanju taught me the techniques him and the rest of the crew uses for walking down. It is as if you run down the mountain with bent knees and the butt down; it went so fast. We even caught up with my mother! Almost down the three of us waited for the rest, and suddenly my mother tells us to be quiet. She had heard some sounds that could come from an animal. Sanju who has a bit of a more trained eye than us, spotted a deer not to far away, it was really cool. I had my binoculars with me as well so that we could see it better. Shortly after Kitty, Eloise and Panki arrived, but then the deer had already gone.

Day 4
As usual we are woken up at 7 am and given hot ginger water in our tents. But this morning, Sanju sees some deer on the other side of the river as he gives my mother the two cups. I had now seen two deer on the trek! I love seeing animals that don’t interact that commonly with humans.

After having breakfast and packing up, we take a group photo and start going back to Sai Ropa where our transport is waiting. We go with our head cook, but it’s not long until the rest of the crew catches up with us. Then my mother and Sanju goes faster to see if they can get some local hand made mattresses (made out of some special leaves) because my mother wants to bring one home.

I walk with the head cook as he would most probably be able to spot things I wont just because I am to busy looking at where I am walking. And, man, did I make a good choice; suddenly the head cook stops and points right ahead where a small mountain leopard runs down the mountain side. Just 10 meters away from us! I wasn’t fast enough to get my camera out, but it was really cool. That just made the trek even better.

So, do I recommend people to go trekking in the Himalayas? Why, yes of course!

My Mother Came to India

2009-12-02T01:19:00.000-08:00

Two days after Fiona left my mother arrived. It was of course sad that Fiona left, but I hope she will enjoy New Zealand where she probably will learn lots about farming. My mother came morning on the 17th of November and the neighbouring family gave her breakfast and chai. After that we walked around in Kullu as she had been sitting for a few days now. In the afternoon she came to Kelheli with us and she helped me keep the boys calm when I was teaching First Aid. Since I had the youngest group (age 7-9) language barrier is quite the problem. But they now know the different topics we are going to talk about, and they know how to get protect themselves when helping someone with an electricity burn. How to treat it etc. will be next time’s task. It took us a good 45 minutes or so and then we were all tired of the massive focus of concentration it took us to convey the message that if you touch a person who is in connection with electricity, you as well will react to the electricity + how to get the danger away from the person without being burned.

On Wednesday we walked more around in Kullu and my mother got me a goose feather jacket for the trek before we went to the drug rehab centre. There we had a productive meeting on how to get the session better, and then we had the session. It was really fun and the men seemed to enjoy it greatly. I have decided, however, that I will not be continuing there. Kitty and Eloise will though, which is good because the men truly seem to enjoy that we come.

In the evening my mother and I went to Valentino’s to eat and we had bruchetta, pizza, 2 jasmine teas each and apple pie. It was really nice. Oh, I almost forgot that we had a massage as well. A self-taught lady gave it, but I must admit it did hurt a lot and for the future I will use one that isn’t self-taught. Not that it was bad, just that if you get wrong type of massage it could give you more stress than energy apparently.

Two Day National Workshop on Positive Mental Health & Wellbeing of Children in Institutional Care (Under JJ Act) – a Rights Based Approach

2009-12-02T01:18:00.000-08:00

The Kullu Project was invited to India’s first National workshop on children in institution and their mental health. 3 of us could go, Ankit was one and he wanted Fiona as she had been a part of the Kullu Project for a long time. So it was Kitty, Eloise or I to be the third person. I said that I didn’t have to go (even though it would be great fun!) as I have been to a similar thing before with Rafto; Kitty and Eloise were to decide between themselves. I was so surprised one morning when we had breakfast when they said that they had decided that I ought to go, but so grateful.

Evening 5th of November Ankit, Fiona and I take the bus to Delhi. The bus was all right, but not great, because when sleeping I would sometimes wake up in midair landing hard on my seat again and again. But, we got there and the place we stayed in had a shower with hot water! We came in the morning, had some breakfast and when I took a shower there were proper green parrots flying outside the bathroom window. One of those moments that you imagine before coming to an exotic foreign country. (Or, what at least is exotic for me as a Norwegian)

The Workshop worked like this; there were presentations from different organizations, very seldom people would ask questions, but many took notes. The presentations discussed a lot about how to recognized children who had been traumatized by different situations such as parents being murdered, tsunamis, child soldiers etc. Then, it went on to talk about how to deal with these kinds of things and how to help the child develop in a ‘normal’ way as traumas affect the biological and mental development of a human being.

Different methods were discussed as well. For example, one lady talked about how the use of games and toys can be used in treatment. She had two main categories; organized games and free games. Organized games are when the psychologists (or whomever) participates in the playing and steers the direction of the game to find out more about the mind of the child. Free games are when the psychologist is purely observing, the lady presenting found this method as the best one. Personally, I would say a mix is good because in free games you will guess a lot (most probably you will guess right though seeing as you are an educated person in the field), but in organized games the child might not be able to express him or herself freely and you will lose much valuable information. Therefore a mix is good so that you can make sure your data is correct.

The second day the audience was much more interactive, but a lot of it was in Hindi. Many had PowerPoint in English, but presented in Hindi. This was good because then we all got something out of the presentation. In the end the workshop came with a declaration that they want to present to the government on children’s rights. It was an all right declaration in my opinion, but they did not want to define their words. Someone suggested that they ought to do it, but they said they were not lawyers and therefore not suitable to do it. In my opinion, if you make a declaration you ought to define the words you are using so that the declaration will say exactly what you want it to say. Everyone can define what they mean with their words; we even do it in our daily language when misunderstandings occur or whatever.

The workshop was really helpful for the understanding on how to go about when changing the Bashing Orphanage, and we got some really good contacts as well. I could probably write pages and pages about the weekend, but I think I will stop here so it doesn’t get too much to read.

Kelheli Skit

2009-12-02T01:17:00.000-08:00

Coming back from quite the excited weekend with Manikaran and paragliding, we are met with a challenge at Kelheli. We are asked to make an educational skit for the boys to perform at an all state orphanage competition that were to take place in Shimla 12th of November. We had about 2 weeks on us before the 12th of November so we were a bit taken aback, but we said that by Sunday we would have a script ready. We brainstormed and brainstormed. All of us came with ideas of skits. Some completely new some with inspiration from TV shows (especially Team Antonsen, a Norwegian TV show). In the end Fiona and Kitty came up with one that we adjusted it a bit here and there. If I may say so myself; we made a really good skit about Global Warming.

We divided so that Eloise, Kitty and Fiona would teach the skit to the boys participating, whilst Alf, Aslak and I would have games with the rest. It was really fun, because when we came back from the trek (with my mother!) the boys told us that the skit had gotten 2nd place out of 400 something participants, and they were the only ones to have it in English. They also performed a dance and a song, and they got first place with their dance. I will try and upload a video I have of it and the skit. I must warn though; I am not the best person to record videos! The dance is a traditional Kullu folk dance and half of the boys are dressed up as girls. It's great fun and a good dance.

To Pee or Not to Pee - That is The Question

2009-12-02T01:16:00.000-08:00

In Vashisht we find an all right room for 100 rupiees which is about 13 NOK which is very cheap. We decide to go shopping and I find a shop that has the vagina pants as we called them at RCN, but they are apparently called Ali Baba pants. I must admit that even though ‘vagina pants’ has its charm; I for some weird reason prefer Ali Baba pants. Jasmijn had asked me to find some as well, so I thought ‘yeee’. I bought 4 pairs, and Fiona 1, but in the end Fiona ended up not wanting hers so I have now 5 pairs. But not all are for me; I have for Jasmijn as well.

At the room we play games for hours before going to bed and in the morning, my rucksack is broken (or, my sister’s actually. The one you got from school Mia. Universitetet I Vest-Agder. Sorry about that. I think a happy Indian has it now though) I have no idea how it got broken, but it could be related to that I tried to put too much in it. Anyway, after a hot bath in the hot springs and breakfast, we walk down to the orphanage. On the way, though, there s a Tibetan jewelry shop and we decide to go in. I find to really nice bracelets, one with blue mona lisa stones and one with green gronch (can’t remember the exact name’) stones. Seeing as my mother is coming soon and she won’t be able to go to this shop because it was to close that week and go down south (out of season time), I decide to buy the green one for her and the blue one for me. The guy however wants 1200 INR in total for it. I want to pay 800 I say and that it is not so important for me. It is too low, so I don’t buy it, but the girls are still looking around in the shop, so after 5 minutes the guy asks me what price I am truly willing to pay for it. I had just been thinking about it because I really liked the bracelets and I said 900, but nothing more. 900 and I buy them right away. They guy agreed after some thinking and calculating, but he didn’t seem too happy. That could have been an act, but I’d like to think it was because I got a good deal.

At the orphanage the children were at school, but Fiona had some presents for the lady who works there. She is extremely kind and she helped us a lot to find a daily structure for the Bashing orphanage. We stay only for some chai and then we go to the Kullu Project Library which is at Tourist Hotel in Manali. It is basically a box with handy books. We also met Kate; a volunteer at Mission Hospital in Manali. We had some more tea with her before we got the bus back. The bus back went over Naggar which is on the opposite side of the river. I didn’t realise this at first so I got a bit stressed out. This only made me need to pee and we were on a bus that did not stop for those things within the next two hours. I did all right, but then after 1 hour and 30 minutes, Eloise tells me she needs to pee as well. After about 30 more minutes I really need to pee and if Eloise hadn’t told me that she was not able to hold it anymore I wouldn’t have done what I did next.

I grabbed the man selling tickets, asked if he could stop a place for 2 minutes so that my friend and I could pee. Surprisingly enough he said yes and after 10 minutes the bus driver found a nice place to stop, so Eloise and I ran out of the bus, behind a small top of sand and bushes, I made sure no one could see use and we could pee. I seriously could not stop peeing. I had had tea for breakfast, tea at the orphanage and tea with Kate + I had been holding it for a good 2 hours.

When we come back on the bus, people stare at us and smile like crazy. EMBARRASSING! Apparently, two ladies had taken our seats, but the ticket man had said to ‘no,no, they are coming back’ before shouting to everyone on the bus ‘they just needed to pee’ According to Kitty and Fiona everyone bursted out in laughter and leaned over to the windows in case they could see us. But, haha, they could not. A bit embarrassing, but it made it a fun bus ride and a good memory.

Paragliding

2009-12-02T01:15:00.000-08:00

Friday before leaving for Manikaran (which was on a Saturday), Ankit says that on Monday we go Paragliding! At first I think ‘WOW’, but then I remember how I have told myself not to jump off of any clip or mountain or anything like that. I did hang in the air after a boat in Rethymnon in Crete, and I would jump out of a plane in a parashoot, but not something like this. I have heard too many scary things about it in the Norwegian news. But then again, when will I ever get this chance again, and Ankit said that where we were going was a professional place that had done it for many years and was doing it in world competition as well. All this could just be gibberish of course, but I decided I had to try. Knowing myself, I am sure I would regret it because I have wanted to fly for so long. When opportunity comes knocking on your door, shouldn’t you at least invite it in for a cup of tea?
So on Monday, Ankit, Dipti, Adeesh, Panki’s wife and son, Aslak, Alf, Fiona, Kitty, Eloise and I go in the car on our way to paragliding. Kitty, Eloise, Fiona and I sit cramped in the luggage space, but I am sure we got the best view when driving. Except for Ankit, Dipti and Adeesh who were in the front seats. In the mountains in Manali we wait for the crew to arrive, and at that moment there’s only Aslak, Alf and I who have decided we are doing it. Eloise and Fiona are unsure, whilst Kitty is sure she doesn’t want to do it. The crew arrives and the 6 of us go in the back of the jeep and we go up. It is quite the ride as he drives really fast and we don’t have seat belts. You can see on the picture what I mean when I say that we sat in the back of the jeep. We sat in the open air space.

Alf is the first to jump and then me. We were on about 5000 meters height, the air was really thin, and, boy was I nervous. I couldn’t stop talking and laughing, and I could definitively not stand still. But I get hooked on the guy who is flying with me (they even had to show me, because I was so sure he was not), and the tell me to run, run and run. I started running, but then I was above ground and they told me to keep on running. I thought; ‘can’t you see I am so short that I am not able to reach the ground,’ but the buy behind me ran instead so we got enough speed so that the wind caught us and we were up in the air.

What a rush, I still laughed, but not a nervous laugh, an excited laugh, a happy laugh, a good laugh. It was amazing the take off, but after a few minutes I realized that flying is even better. We were so, so high up. Not far away some Himalayan griffins were flying, and they can fly really high up! To my left there were trees and rice crops, to my right I could stare right into some of the more amazing parts of the Himalayan Mountains. My god, that was beautiful. I wish I had brought my camera up there, because the angle was so good to look from. As cliché as it might sound, being up there, hanging in the air being amazed by the mountain view was harmony and peace. The griffins not so far away, the air so, so fresh, and everything so still; life was floating between peace and harmony. The perfect place to be.

Landing was smooth as well’ I just had to stretch out my feet and the my pilot did the rest. After Aslak, Fiona and Eloise (in that order) landed as well, and Kitty came down with the jeep, we all sat around the landing place chilling. I slept in the sun for a bit, the boys went to look around and the girls played cards with the people we jumped with. After Dipti and Panki’s wife landed we all sat around a small fire and had some really good pizza and played some guitar while enjoying the scenery and the day.

Kitty, Eloise, Fiona and I stayed in Vashisht for the night as we wanted to go by the orphanage. I will write more about that in the next entry.

Manikaran

2009-12-02T01:13:00.000-08:00

As Fiona, Eloise, Kitty and I felt like we needed a change of environment, Fiona suggested we’d go to Manikaran as it is famous for its hot springs. It took us about 2-3 hours on a local bus to get there. I must admit that after having read in Kitty’s tourist book about India we all imagined something rather grand-ish. But when we got there I was in for a surprise. Manikaran is a small, small village and it doesn’t even look very nice. But its surroundings, however, are beautiful.

We walked down the one street Manikaran has and soon found a nice place with hot springs. It turned out to be a temple and the main place for the hot springs there, so quite many people came by. As we looked around we saw that people were putting bags in the boiling water, and it took me quite some time to realize that the bags contained rice and some fruity stuff. We bought some and by the time the food was ready we had spent 1 hour and 30 minutes there.We went into the main building as well to check things out and saw that there was a hot cave and public baths there. The baths were so full that we decided only to be in the hot caves. After that we had two horrible tasting chais from two different places, but we soon forgot about them as we were leaving. Behind one of the mountain tops we could see the moon coming. The moonrise happened within 10-15 minutes or so. It was so fast and really amazing. I mean I have seen sunrises and found them to be beautiful and peaceful, but seeing the moonrise intrigued my mind very much.

But we had a bus to catch; we didn’t want to stay in Manikaran as most disappearings are from here. When we came back to Kullu Nisha told us that about a month ago a white, dead two months old baby was found in a nearby mountain. We were glad we were safe! All the taxi drivers told us, though, that there were no more buses going to Bunthar (we needed to change in Bunthar). We were slightly freaked out so we eventually went to a hotel asking for the bus times and the guy at the reception said that there is one leaving now.

Back at the bus stand we were a bit skeptic as we saw no bus whatsoever. Then on the road above the bus stand a bus comes, but we thought it might not come by the bus stand, so we ran to the road as fast as we could and we barely made it. The bus, however, did not stop for us, but it turned in to the bus stand and waited there instead. We felt rather silly, but so glad there was a bus.

In Bunthar the bus stopped on the ‘wrong’ side of the river, so we had to cross the bridge to get the right bus to Kullu. The taxi drivers said they would take us there for a good price, but we thought we were so smart when we told them we knew a good price was a bad price and that we could just walk over the bridge. The taxi drivers told us that there is no bridge. Anything to get money, huh? As it turned out, the bridge was under reconstruction, but other people were walking there as well. We just had to climb under the bridge and cross the river. Easier said than done.

I wore and Indian outfit and not quite used to wearing t yet, so I first got stuck in some wires that held the stones together (the path was sort of shaped into some stairs, but not really at the same time), but fortunately a boy behind me helped untangle me. So I got down to the river. The others are much longer than me so they had managed to get across the river already. It was only two meters or so that we had to cross and there were stones there that we could use. But, seeing as I am less than 1.60 meters this can be quite the challenge. I literally had to stand on one rock and throw my self towards the next stone reaching out with my hands. It went all right, but I did wish I was a bit taller though. A short moment of weakness right there, but I am back loving being short.

Diwali

2009-10-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

Diwali was on 17^th of October, and I am only writing about it now, 26^th of October. I have no idea when I will have time to put this on my blog, but you ought to get an idea of how time works around here. It does not exist; I don’t have time to do everything up to date. But this entry is not about the Indian concept of time, it is about Diwali.

Diwali is the festival of lights and the festival where you worship the god of money. It is a festival of lights because this one god, or rich dude (can’t really remember), came back home after abandoning his home because he lost some kind of war. Be aware though that this information might not be correct as I seem to have forgotten lots of the details. What you do on Diwali is that you go to your friends and give away candy, during the night you eat and shoot up firecrackers and fireworks. But before fireworks and dinner you pray, or do puja as they call it in India. We got to participate and it was really cool.

What we did is that we had to use the right hand ring finger to put some red sticky stuff on the forehead of the mini statues of the gods. I was too short and unable to reach the gods so I had to go short people style and throw it towards the gods. Then we would dip some kind of flower in what I guess was holy water and drip it on the gods. After that we would do a wavy action with our hand over some candles, and in the before saying a silent prayer we would spread leaves from a yellow flower over the gods. It was really cool, but I felt a bit weird doing it as well.

The fireworks in India are insane! They make so much sound and go absolutely everywhere. There were very little safety regulations, which was quite worrying. But Ankit has a big house and on top of his roof we got a nice view to all of the fireworks. One, which was really bad, was a small bomb. All it would do is make the biggest bang I had ever heard, followed by a ringing sound in your ear. NOT fun. But there were others which were really nice.

Dipti, Ankit's wife, helping her son lighting the firecracker

Dinner was extremely good, lots of Indian food. I love the food here because it has so much taste. We don’t eat meat though as most of the people in Kullu Valley are vegetarian. Quite ironic how Bendik who’s a vegetarian had to start eating meat for Western Sahara (Apparently all he eats there is camel meat) and I who do eat meat had to stop. But, surprisingly enough, I do not miss eating meat.

People also paint their floors, I don’t know why. But take a look at the picture, it is really cool.

We slept at the neighbouring family as kids they said that would be safest. We had no problems with that whatsoever, because the last few days before Diwali kids have been knocking on our door leaving firecrackers outside ready to go off as we open the door. Many of the kids here are such pranksters. But all in all, Diwali was a good experience. (Apart from when I got a bit of a firecracker right next to my eye. But no worries; my vision took no harm from it)

New Volunteers Have Arrived

2009-10-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

Two Norwegian boys were supposed to arrive on the morning of Diwali, i.e. Saturday, 17^th of October. Friday, when we decide to go to Valentino’s to have a nice meal, Fiona gets a phone call from Aslak (from AC UWC) saying him and Alf (his Norwegian friend) are 3 hours away from Kullu. We’re then informed of their means of transportation which was that they got a ride from some nice people, and that they had been in the car for 12 hours already. With a car it should take approximately 9 hours from New Delhi to Kullu; so we get slightly worried thinking they are being kidnapped or something.

We call Ankit who says it should be okay, so we get curious to see if they’ll actually arrive in Kullu that night or not. Amazing how much drama the imagination of young minds can create. However, around 4 later I get a phone call from the boys saying they are in Kullu and need to know exactly where in Kullu they should go to come to Ankit’s. 15 minutes later we are all sitting outside Ankit’s house enjoying a bottle of wine. Aslak brought his guitar; we have already used it a lot at the blind school and the Bashing Orphanage.

On Saturday we celebrated Diwali, but I will post a separate blog about that. On Sunday, though, Fiona, Kitty, Eloise, Alf, Aslak and I went to Bashing so that Aslak and Alf could get a feel of the place as we will be very much involved there in the future. We had warned them that they children were quite loud and wild, but when we got there this was not the case. I don’t know if it was because the boys were there, or if the boy who ran around the most was sleeping; but we had quite the efficient sessions compared to last time.

Alf and I brought the youngest ones upstairs to practice some basic English. We had flash cards with different animals for the boys to learn. It was really fun, because one boy worked really hard and was so happy when he managed to remember the correct word. He also inspired another boy to try harder. The third one is more intelligent, so he would play at the same time as he was participating.

On Tuesday we all went to Kelheli (I think I finally found the correct spelling because this is how it said on a shop sign in Kelheli). We had bought a bed sheet and brought along some paint for the boys (remember how Kelheli is the orphanage with only boys?) to work with. We all made a twister game together with red, blue, green and yellow spots on the bed sheet. It was fun making it with them. We also did some skipping rope games. I think the Norwegian boys made an impact on the boys from the orphanage because there haven’t been any boys there for some years. This means that most of the boys staying there now haven’t had the experience of getting a visit from boy volunteers.

Henna – Mandhi

2009-10-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

For special occasion the females decorate their hands, and sometimes their feet, with henna paint (Mandhi in Indian, note that I don’t know how to spell it). Nisha, Preety (the sisters from the neighbouring family) and Fiona did it on Eloise, Kitty and me one evening. It was really cool, and it stays on for about 2 weeks. We decided to sleep with the crisp on, apparently it stays on for a longer time, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant to sleep with. But hey; no pain no gain, right?

Kitty's and mine

Eloise's

The Other Foreigners in Kullu

2009-10-25T09:01:00.001-07:00

Not that many tourists come to Kullu, most of them go to Manali to party and smoke up. This means that we are just about the only white people in Kullu. However, there is another big group of foreigners living here just at the end of Kullu; the yoga people. This group lives in a fenced up area which is, according to rumours, rather fancy. What they do is that they pay to go on a 6 months course to meditate and do yoga. Most of them are, for some weird reason, Canadians who believe they are yogis. Yogis are people who are on the best path man can be on, a rough explanation for you right there. But the ones who reside at this centre believe that they are superior people who do not bother to interact with the locals or anyone outside of their own community. Might sound a bit like how UWC students can be at times.

Anyways, when we go to the only Italian restaurant here; we always see some of them. Apparently, it is the only restaurant they go to. They all dress in the same style; sort of Jesus-like clothing, none of them talks to us, and whilst they think they’re behaving like people who’s had a revelation; we find them to be behaving like total asses to be frank.

So whenever locals talk with us they first ask if we are going to Manali, since we are not they just assume we are going to the yoga centre. So we tell them we are in Kullu to work at schools and orphanages and ask if they know Ankit Sood. Those who know think we are sluts who give Ankit a good time. Isn’t that just great? It makes me a bit ashamed of being white, but I take comfort in that most people know that we are here because of the project.

I have talked a bit with my mother lately and she has booked tickets to India! She is leaving Norway 15^th of November, and leaving India the 27^th of November. I am really excited because we are all going on a trek with Ankit further up in the Himalayas. I have a strong feeling that those days will be good days.

Kaleyli – We Went Alone

2009-10-25T08:58:00.002-07:00

Fiona wasn’t feeling too well, so she stayed at the flat while Kitty, Eloise and I went to Kaleyli to do games and introduce First Aid. I must say it was quite exciting since it was the first time we were going without Fiona.

We walked up to the bus station trying to find a bus going to Kaleyli. Fiona had told us to take a bus to Bhuntar or Mandi. If we were to take the one to Bhuntar we had to change, so we thought it to be best to take one going to Mandi. The bus system in India works in a messy, but organised way. You find a person working on one of the buses and ask him if his bus is going to Kaleyli. If it doesn’t he will work his butt off to try and find the right one. So we got on the bus to Mandi and got to the boys orphanage.

Arriving at the orphanage, we got chai from the family who’s responsible and went down to get started with the boys. We began with some name games where you do your name and an action. But, you have to remember everyone’s name and action. It was a good ice breaker as the boys found it a bit embarrassing. To get more of the boys involved we decided to do a game where you have to organise yourself by height or by month of birthday without talking. This they found to be great fun. We also did so that the one with the biggest hands had to stand at one end of the line, and the one with the smallest hands had to stand on the other. They only had 20 seconds to do, so the first time they were talking a bit and messed up the order, but the second time they had gotten the hang of it.

After some pictionary we decided to move on to Firs Aid as it was getting rather late. First Aid was quite the challenge to introduce. We ended up just explaining that we were going to teach them First Aid as language was quite a barrier. We had made a poster with drawings and words, but we realised we had to act it out. Eloise started fake-hitting Kitty, and Kitty would pretend to be in pain. We asked the boys what they would do. They answered that one would punch, and some said they would cry. Which sort of made sense, but it wasn’t until Eloise used to word ‘doctor’ that it all made sense. Such a simple word, but so easy to forget when one is caught up in one’s own plans. But they boys really enjoyed the First Aid introduction, so hopefully it will be something we’ll be able to carry out properly. We will need to find someone who can help translate a bit though.

Bashing

2009-10-25T08:58:00.001-07:00

One of the orphanages situated right outside Kullu is called Bashing. Here reside about 12 children together with a 19 year old girl. There are 2 girls aged 12 and 13, and the rest are boys. The house they live in has a small bedroom for the boys without any beds, a common room which is turned into a bedroom for the girls during the night, a small kitchen where an old woman who comes during the day cooks, and a bathroom which I have not dared to take a look at. The children do not own much clothing and there is no heating or warm blanket to keep them warm during these winter nights.

When we got there I was shocked to see the state of their living situation. Especially since the orphanages we already had visited had been in a decent shape. We went in to the common room trying to do name games which worked out all right, but as they got comfortable with us things got out of control. It was when we were doing a writing game where we were divided into two teams that the children got rather noisy. I decided to take the little ones outside as they weren’t able to concentrate really well, but soon everyone came out and we could tell that the lack of a proper parental role model had influenced the children strongly. They had no discipline whatsoever. We would try to organise games again, but they would just run around trying to jump on our backs. When they played with each other, they played violently. It even got to the point where they would strangle each other for fun. I got so angry that I told that that it was not okay, but they would just reply that they were only playing. But I was now on a mission and every time I saw one kid hitting or strangling the other I put on a strict face and tell them to play nicely. It seemed to work, or; at least when I was looking at them they would stop.

Before leaving, one of the boys got knocked out. In First Aid terms he was only reacting to pain in the beginning, but his breathing was all right. I put some water on his lips and some on his head after putting him in recovery position. I kept on pinching his ears and pressing my nail underneath his to see if there was any improvement. Fortunately he reacted more and more strongly, and soon he made facial movements when hearing the sound of our voice. The girl who lives there had until that point only been there for two weeks and did not know much about how to take care of them, and in case of an emergency like this one; she would not know how to react. Their situation is very worrying. Also because right next door there are some boys living renting out small huts where people can party and smoke up. (This was not a term I knew very well before, but to smoke up basically means to get high on drugs) When those boys are bored they pick on the kids and just disturb their daily life. If anyone wanted they could just walk right in to the children since security was not on its best.

This is orphanage is run by a private organisation, and not the government. The one at Kelheli is government run and the standard there is much, much more better. We want the standard at Bashing to improve to the standard of Vashisht and Kelheli, so we are going to help set up a new home for them. This will require much funding and I hope that you are all willing to help on this. what is not much money for you; is a lot of money in India.

Manali

2009-10-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

It’s been a while since I’ve written now, but just after our hike we went to Manali to visit Mrs Sundershana’s orphanage and Vashist orphanage. We arrived during twilight and went to see a Buddhist temple before going to Mrs Sundershana’s, it was pretty nice but as I had to pay to take pictures I didn’t feel like it. By the time we arrived at Mrs Sundershana’s it was very dark, almost a bit scary. The orphanage was nice, but apparently Mrs Sundershana has started to take advantage of the situation. The children are not allowed to leave the house, teachers come to them to give lessons, and Mrs Sundershana is not to be disturbed unless there’s something extremely important.

After leaving, we stayed for about 20 minutes as we had to go to Vashist as well before it got too late, we felt that

we should definitively invest some of our time at Mrs Sundershana’s. Arriving at Vashist the children are busy preparing for Diwali; the festival of lights. We got some tea and started interacting with the children. They are so well behaved and easy to get along with. I sat with a group of boys and we started making mini

cricket out of play dough. It was great fun. The lady at Vashist gave us dinner and insisted on us staying the night over because, apparently, a grizzly bear was hanging around their house and she didn’t want us to go to a hotel in the dark. We had been extremely lucky not to meet it because when one of the older boys was going to shut the gate the bear was trying to get in; talk about action!

Kitty, Eloise, Fiona and I got the room where the older girls were sleeping. There were enough beds for all, but they insisted on us having the room alone. After getting ready for bed Fiona mentions how last time her and Anja (her sister) stayed there a massive spider lived in the room. I with my fear of spiders did not like this at all. The Hindus believe in reincarnation and any living being could be their late grandmother or whatever. I can’t remember who screamed, but the spider had not moved out. On the wall between the beds resides a big black spider! We all panic for a while until I say that we have to kill it. Fiona seems to catch on that I am seriously afraid of this spider and climbs on one of the bed with a shoe ready to kill it. But trying to kill a spider which is about the size of your hand when it has its legs spread out, and is rather thick, isn’t great fun when the ‘weapon’ you hold in your hand is a crock

(the type of shoes) about size 38. The spider moves further away and we try to find a bigger thing to kill it with. At one of the desks there’s a Spiderman board the size of an A4 paper saying Best of Luck. How ironic, but I grab it saying we can use that one giving my weird comments I usually do when I panic so that people won’t be so freaked out by it. I don’t know if it helps, but it is a habit I have which I can’t seem to control. Anyways, the spider is getting close to a hole in the wall and we realise we have to kill it before it gets in there because then it might come back during the night.

Fiona is still on the bed; they have bunk beds, and is now unable to reach it. We all close in on the wall trying to figure out what to do. Suddenly the spider falls off the wall, Kitty screams and runs to the back of the room jumping up on a table. Eloise is not far behind her, and I am about to follow as well. I see the spider running towards one of the beds and I think Shit, it will get away and then we won’t be able to kill it, so I smack the Spiderman thingy on the floor and luckily I hit the spider. I start jumping up and down having the creeps all over my body. I tell the other that I hit it and Fiona comes down from the bed and uses the crock to smash the Spiderman thingy properly down on the floor. We can hear this crunching sound which disgusts us, but also reassures us that the spider is dead. Oh m

y god I am SO relieved, but still a bit shaky. We sit and talk for a bit, and plan games we can do with the kids for the next morning. Going to bed I slept in the one the spider had been the closest to, and I was sure I was going to have night mares about that creepy bastard. Surprisingly I woke up several times during the night because of bad dreams about cows. I mean, how retarded is that?

At 5.45 AM we wake up, get chai and go out with the orphanage. There is a local bath with steaming hot water. I have never felt so white before in my entire life, but it was definitely

worth the warm bath. We go back to Vashist and the view is beautiful. Manali is higher up than Kullu, so some of the mountains had snow on the peaks. We start playing games with the kids, and after getting breakfast we take the bus back to Kullu. We had to leave a lot earlier because we were invited to a show one of the English schools was having. The show was nice, but it lasted for so long so we left after 2 hours and 30 minutes. Apparently it lasted for about 4-5 hours…

Outside the place we took a bath

Our First Hike in India

2009-10-14T01:01:00.002-07:00

At 8.30 Eloise, Kitty, Fiona and I have finished our chai (India tea) and are ready for hiking. It is quite steep, but it gives you the feel of actually getting higher every 10th minute. As we didn’t know the way, we asked someone for the best path. They said we could either take the road (which would take us many, many hours) or we could take a short cut we could not miss the path of. Seeing as we were leaving for Manali later, we figured the short cut was the best idea.

We found the short cut and started walking. After a while you get back on the road again and should find the path again a bit further along the road. We found something which could resemble of a path and took a chance. It was quite the climb with loose rocks making it more of a challenge. Half way I decided to go where there were more grass and fewer rocks. The others decided to stay on the path. I was lucky because the bundles of plants gave me a better grip and it made it easier to get up faster. About 7 metres away the others were struggling. Suddenly Eloise screams out as we hear rocks falling down. Kitty was unlucky and some of the bigger stones were falling down towards Eloise as she was climbing. Fiona who was on safer ground tried to go back again to help Kitty. It was quite the thrill as they all stood on unstable ground and if Kitty would fall, Eloise would be screwed. Fortunately Kitty gets up to Fiona safely, and so does Eloise.

Our rocky climb

Calming down after the a bit too exciting climb

I was so glad I had chosen the other way, but the worst part was that I couldn’t get towards them fast enough to be able to help very much. I could only contribute with encouraging words and advice. We were all quite relieved when we got up to the road. The path had a clear continuance from here and after drinking some water and calming our nerves down we went back on again. As we got closer to the top this strong smell hit us. We were surrounded by marihuana plants all over. Man, did that smell intense! It made me realise how big the drug business must be in India as it is so easily available since it grows wildly all over the mountains.

At the top we visited the temple and a guy who served it gave us blessings and some holy food. It was very sweet so we hid the left over in my back pack and threw it out. I am guessing that by now some animal has eaten it. Lucky bastard, not every day it gets holy food. I bet the other animals are jealous.

It took us about 2 hours and 30 minutes to climb up, and since we didn’t want to go down the same way and the road would take too long; we got a guy to call for a rickshaw for us to take us down. It was a really nice trip down; the view was beautiful and the air was fresh.

Inside the temple

The view from the top looking down at Kullu Valley

The Caste System; its Lungs are Breathing and its Heart is Beating

2009-10-14T01:01:00.001-07:00

Kullu is quite a traditional town according to Ankit. The caste system is very much in practice, and this surprised me a bit (but not that much) only because our chemistry teacher Ashok had told me in person that the caste system is no longer in practice. My human rights teacher Narender said it was in practice in very rural areas. Kullu is not in a very rural area not is it in a big city, so I expected it to value traditions, but I thought the caste system was getting out of Kullu’s system. But how more wrong could I be?

At the Kaleyli Orphanage for boys, we are going to help organize the personal information about the boys. First their names are to be noted, then their caste. Their caste is the second most important thing it hit me. You could be the kindest person in the world, but if you were a Dalit (casteless), ther isn’t much hope for you. In one way I am looking forward to start organizing their personal information because I will learn more about the traditional Indian society, and I will truly see for myself the caste system. On the other hand, though, it disgusts me that I have to classify the boys by caste. I feel like if I don’t protest against this it will be like I accept it. But things are different in India, especially in Kullu. I can’t just protest against a few thousand years of tradition, especially not as one of the few foreigners here. The only other foreigners are staying at this meditation place in Kullu where you stay for 6 months. Apparently a lot of Canadians go there, but they don’t interact much with the local community or go too far away from the meditation centre. It is supposed it be a rather big area that they have; we saw some when we went to the Italian restaurant. It is just nearby there.

But back to the issue we were talking about; the caste system. When it comes to marriage it is pretty much the same; you should marry someone from the same caste and it is all arranged by the parents. A love marriage (a marriage where you marry someone because you love the person) is a scandal! You can’t just love some one, you have to learn to love someone; and the only way to do that is through marriage. I am not so surprised, but deep inside of me it pisses me off. Even though I try not to show it because I don’t want to insult the local people, especially not since many of them are so friendly to me.

However, it is not like this all over India, but it is very much a reality in Kullu and there are many places in India similar to Kullu. I am so glad to have grown up in Norway where I don’t have to be dominated by the husband. The other day there was a day where the married woman was only allowed to fast and pray. She had to wear completely new clothes and new make-up. First, the mother at our neighbouring family said she had the day off. We saw this event as a rather positive thing, but when Fiona told us it was done for the health of the husband, we had quite a different opinion on the matter. There is of course no such day where the husband does the same for his wife.

8th of October

2009-10-14T00:59:00.000-07:00

On 6th of October I bought an Indian sim card. Per this very moment it is not working. Apparently I was lucky enough to buy from a company that was having trouble all over the Himachal Pradesh region. But, determined as I sometimes can be I walked back to the cell phone shop (now my second home here because I spend so much time there) where I asked them to fix it for me. Indians are very helpful, so the guy has been working his butt off to locate the problem, get in touch with the company and explaining everything to me. Supposedly it is going to be up running by tomorrow evening.

Today I have been hanging out at the cell phone shop, doing some laundry, trying to tidy up where I sleep and stuff like that. Nothing exciting really, but we went to the only Italian restaurant in town and we had garlic bread with tomatoes and stuff, pizza, soda, some fancy stuff I can’t remember the name of, and warm apple pie. It was like a small feast and we only paid 625 rupees. Which is approximately 75 kroner, I love India! That very same meal would have cost well over 1000 NOK in Norway.

These past days we have been hanging out at the blind school a bit and it has been really nice. The children there are very eager to speak English. We worked with the youngest ones who are 3-7 years old. When they are unsure of how to express themselves in English, they confide in each other to find the right sentences and words. It always makes me have to learn some Hindi. I only know a few words, but pani = water and Ma = me (I must add that I have no idea how to spell these words!).

After a while you forget that you are working with blind children and you say stuff like ‘look at this’ and when you can’t see something that is just in front of you, you find yourself saying ‘gosh, I must be blind’ Those moments are a bit embarrassing, but they usually don’t pay attention to it. We played some games with them while we were there. We had clapping games, ring games and gave them stuff they could make shapes out of. We would ask them to make a shape and they greet the challenge. One boy in particular was very keen on this. I asked him to make a heart. He had been so fast at the other shapes I had asked him to make, but this one was a real hassle for him. Then it occurred to me that he might not know the shape of a heart, so I drew it on his arm to help him. I couldn’t be more than 6 I think, but you never know; some of these Indian are quite short for their age. Anyways, he kept on struggling making the heart, so I made one that he could feel his way around and before you knew it he was on the right track. But he didn’t quite get the top of the heart where it goes a bit down. Suddenly the language we spoke was in our hands, me guiding his hands over my heart so that he could feel the shape and then over his heart so that he felt what part was missing. We had to do it a couple of times, but he managed. I showed him that now, our hearts were the same shape and the proudest smile came on his face. I could even see it in his eyes even though he was blind. I never expected a blind person to express such emotion through his, or hers for that matter, eyes as they could not see with them. It was a good moment.

Tomorrow we (Fiona, Kitty, Eloise and I) are going to Manali to visit some of the schools and orphanages there. It is about an hour and 30 minutes away from Kullu. We’ll stay at a hotel and come back on Saturday, because tomorrow morning we are going on a hike to one of the mountain tops. We’ll be able to see all of Kullu and probably more. Fiona said she heard something about a temple being at the top. I’m really excited about it, but it is going to be very steep. I’ll bring my camera and take some pictures J

Day 4

2009-10-07T03:32:00.000-07:00

Today Kitty is the one who is ill. I feel really bad for her because she has fever and everything. So Eloise, Fiona and I went up to the blind school because they are singing for some important man who is coming to Kullu. Afterwards we went to get something to eat which was really good bacuse I was hungry. But unfortunately my stomach didn’t like what I ate that much. Probably shouldn’t have had that banana milkshake… Stupid me. But it went all right.
Then, since today was the last day of the festival of the gods, we went to see all the gods gather at the fair before they would go back to wherever they came from. It was really crowded, and apparently one the gods come running at you, you have to move because people are apparently really scared of them. And that was so insane, because we were standing in the middle of this huge crowd, suddenly a god comes running and we just have to run to the side and try to stick together so that we don’t lose each other. It was a lot of fun, but a bit tiring as well. There are always a lot of people everywhere in India, and never silent.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to take any pictures, but the gods where colourful sculptures carried around by local people. They did not control the god, because it had a spirit of its own. So wherever the god wanted to go, the ones carrying it were forced to follow.
Back at our place we started watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but stopped in the middle of it because we were invited for dinner at the neighbouring family again. The food was so good; Eloise, Kitty and I realized we need to learn Indian cooking. When we got back again we finished the movie before going to bed. And for tomorrow we invited the girls to come over to watch a movie and eat some pasta with us. I think it will be a lot of fun. But first, at 14.00 Fiona, Eloise, Kitty and I are going to the blind school.

Day 3

2009-10-07T03:25:00.001-07:00

Plan of the day: meet Pretti (pronounced as in pretty) and go up to the fair where we would meet Neesha. Go to Kaleyli orphanage and then to the blind school to see the kids perform. We will be working at the blind school as well during our stay.

At the fair we took one of the things that look like London Eye, just way smaller. It was the first time I had been on one of those and it went really fast and kept on going for so long! Unfortunately I got sick and threw up, but I couldn’t spit it out because then I would only hit people. So we tried to signal that we wanted to get off, it took some time, but we finally got down. Having puke in your mouth is not great fun, and it was really warm as well so things got twice as worse. I felt so bad that I had to go back home together with Neesha and Pretti, whilst the others went to the orphanage and the blind school.

I slept for about 4-5 hours and then started writing my blog. I felt a lot better when the others came back, but was really jealous because I wanted to go with them. They had a great time and the show had been a lot of fun. The girls had a warm shower and then we watched a movie in the double bed; What a Girl Wants. It was nice to watch a really cheesy, girly movie, but a bit strange as we heard lots of Indian sounds outside. By Indian sounds I mean Bollywood music, people talking, cars/scooters driving around, horns blowing etc.

Day 2

2009-10-07T03:23:00.000-07:00

Today all three of us took a cold shower and we went with Fiona to the fair and then to visit one of the orphanages. It is an all boys orphanage at Kaleyli just outside Bhuntar. We got to meet the family which was in charge and talked with them about when it suited them that we could come and what sorts of stuff we wanted to do with the boys, and what requests they had. On Sundays and every second Saturday we can come and teach the boys how to use the computer. The orphanage was donated one by some electronics company, it is quite fancy actually! During the weekdays we can do what we feel like as long as it is after 16.30. We were thinking of continuing the English teaching that’s been going on, have some activities and teach them some basic first aid skills.
After having tea with the family (Indian tea is really good by the way!), we played football with the boys. That was really fun, but after a while we realized we had to start a new game. Some of them lose interest because it is usually the same who has the ball. We played Dodge ball and that was a major hit. The boys were polite always calling us ma’am (but that was probably because they didn’t remember our names…), and including us in the game even though we were the ones arranging it. I am really looking forward to working there.
During the evening we were invited to eat with the family Fiona is staying with. They practically live next door, and it seems they always have contact with the volunteers who stay here. The family consisted of mother, father, oldest daughter who is 20 (Her name is Djoti, but I am unsure of how to spell it, as with all the girls), Neesha who is 18, Pretti (16), and Asta (3). All the girls, except Asta, are sewing ladies and they make the most beautiful saris, trousers and shirts. It was cool to eat Indian food made by an Indian family. We had chipati, vegetables, rice and some sort of sour cream. At first we were a bit sceptic at what to do as we were 1. sitting on the bed, 2. didn’t have a knife or a fork (but we did have a spoon in the bowl of sour cream) and 3. none of the others had their food. Apparently it is Indian tradition for the guests to eat firsts. But then Fiona joined us and we just copied her. You just use the chipati (bread) as your cutlery. And we could use the spoon as well. It was really good we got tea afterwards.
The Girls in the family loves playing card games, so we played for 1-2 hours and it was a lot of fun. They seem to be really close, and the family is such a lovely one. We came back around 22.30, so I read a bit in my book before going to bed. My Sister’s Keeper is really good and nice to read when one is in India so that not everything one does has something to do with India.

Day 1

2009-10-07T03:22:00.000-07:00

After arriving I get tea and Kitty and Eloise are pretty tired as well, so we sleep for a bit. We live in a flat that has one bedroom, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. The bedroom has a double bed so Kitty and Eloise shares that one, the living room as a bed, a dining table with room for 4 people and a small table. The kitchen has a gas stove and a small cupboard. Now, the interesting part; the bathroom. I expected it to only be a whole in the ground, but there’s actually a western toilet there. Only that it doesn’t work. There is a whole in the ground, but it looks like a toilet. Check out the picture and you’ll see what I mean. There is no shower, but we have loads of buckets with water in there. We were also thinking of making a shower, all we need is two buckets and a hose.

Our dinner this day was with Ankit. We had pizza at a place just around the corner. It was so good because their spices gave such a nice taste to it (not the spicy ones though). Ankit was really nice, I was so surprised because I imagined him to be an old man close to 60 or something, but he was actually 32 and quite fresh.

But we need some facts about Kullu; it is the valley of gods and has 365 different gods. At the moment the festival of gods are on and it’s ending on Sunday. Because of this there’s a show every evening and Fiona took us to one this evening. There were lots of Hindu songs and dances. The dances were really nice, some of them a bit ridiculous, but most of them cool. It was nice to see some traditional ones as well. After a while it got a bit tiresome, it lasted for a really long time. But then, to shake things up a Russian group had come to perform. That was insanely awesome, they dances ballet, but in a fast tempo, almost circus like. It was fun to see, but when the Russians were done we were tired and decided to leave.

My bed is right next to the door, so I was a bit scared because there are so many sounds, and loud sounds, in India. Every minute I thought someone were breaking an entry or something. But fortunately I had my ear plugs and suddenly I was really tired and I thought I was back home at the countryside where the only sound is coming from the neighbour’s sheep.

Travelling to India

2009-10-07T03:21:00.000-07:00

As I get up early morning Tuesday at 01.45 I am done packing and ready to go to India. I eat some breakfast drink some apple juice I believe it was, and brush my teeth. My mother and I leave at 02.30 and my journey has begun. Strangely enough we do not meet a single moose, but perhaps she saw one on the way back from the airport.

After an hour or so of driving my mother gets tired so we decide to swap seats. Driving goes well because I only have to follow the car in front of me, we are driving where the roads have been temporarily changed so that there will be room for the new ones. It is first when we get out of there that I realize I need glasses! I knew that after the IB exams my vision was a bit poorer, but it had improved a bit over the summer. So I decided not to go ahead and do something about it. I hadn’t been driving at night before at unfamiliar roads. So when I was going to see the speed limit sign I couldn’t read it before about 3 meters away from it or so! I found it to be a bit frightening, but figured I just had to slow down instead. My mother was sleeping so I didn’t want to wake her up. Who knows; maybe she would have panicked or gotten angry that I didn’t do something about it sooner. It was best to let her sleep so that she wouldn’t have a bad start. It could have messed up the entire day for her for all I know.

Anyways, my first plane left at 07.00 to Copenhagen and I got to sleep one hour before boarding. I arrived at Copenhagen after one hour of travelling and sleep. My next plane which was going to Istanbul wasn’t leaving until 12.10, so I realized I needed to get creative. Fortunately for me, the airport was big and had many shops and stuff. I get to buy some adapters at Expert and at a kiosk I bought a book. I hadn’t been able to see My Sister’s Keeper yet, and when I saw it was a book as well I though ‘If I can’t see it; why not read it?’ According to Kitty, the book is much better than the movie. So lucky me ;)

On my flight to Istanbul I slept, read a bit, filled out some health form and got dinner! That was really nice because I was hungry and didn’t feel like eating my packed lunch! I had some chicken and a really good piece of apple cake. Yummy! Arriving in Istanbul I could go right to transfer. The waiting area was huge! There were these massive stuff all over, an own eating lounge, a world lounge (very disappointing because all it had was Starbucks who only accepted Turkish money!), and other types of lounges which I can’t really define. By then I was really tired and had a low blood sugar level. I needed to get some energy so I bought an ice tea (couldn’t find coke) and a chocolate bar. I was good to go again.

The plane to India was massive; I’ve never been on a plane like that before! A boy aged 22 or so sat next to me. He had been in Turkey because of a Take won do tournament. He talked a lot and ended up giving me his mobile number. He asked if he could get mine; I said I only had a Norwegian one and that I could only use it for emergencies. Then he asked if I used internet. I just said I only used my email for business purposes only and smiled and laughed a bit. He thought I was some stupid girl who had no idea how to use a computer and right there and then I did not mind. He wasn’t disgusting or mean or anything it is just that he asked if we could be good friends, and the last time a stranger asked me that he wanted to be me to be his girlfriend. So I decided not to take any chances.

At 03.10 we landed (the plane left at 18.45) and I had slept, listened to some music and gotten a second dinner! Always nice to get food, saves me money. It took me two hours to get through the customs and the security checks and all that. But that was only because there were so many people there. Now I only had to wait approximately 12 hours for Kaka Sardirgi to pick me up. He is a friend of Panki who is Ankit’s brother. Ankit is the local co-ordinator in Kullu for the project. So what on earth was I going to do, because the airport only had a sitting lounge and a small café. Lucky as I am my mother had bought me a netting to put around my backpack which I could hook up to wherever so that nothing could get stolen from it. So with my backpack next to me and the small one in my lap I fell asleep feeling quite safely. But I must admit that it wasn’t until I saw another western looking girl sleeping that I dared to do it. I slept and slept and slept. The only times I woke up was when I needed to use the toilet. Apparently you are not supposed to go in and out of the entrance hall that much, so when I was going back in again the only guard with a gun stopped me. I was so scared! He asked who I was and what I was doing. I was so tired as well, so I just smiled and said I was from Norway waiting for a guy I had an appointment to pick me up. He looked at me saying ‘okay’, so I just added ‘so I’ll just wait here until 15.30 if you don’t mind.’ Let me add that 15.30 weren’t until 8 hours ahead! But he smiled back and said okay. I had a new friend and he had a gun. If I got into any trouble I knew just where to go. So I continued sleeping, it is an amazing way of making time fly.

16.00: Panki’s friend is still not here so I go to the police/taxi office to order a pre paid taxi. My bus to Kullu leaves at 17.30 and I should be there at least 15 minutes before departure. I get in and a young taxi driver takes me to New Delhi. It takes quite a lot of time; he asks me what Cannaught place is. Uuuh, he doesn’t know? It is where I am taking the bus from, stupid! So I get stereotypical and think he’s going to kidnap me and sell me to some disgusting old guy who’s in the trafficking business. Fortunately he did not, but as he doesn’t know where it is; I show him my bus ticket so he can get a more accurate address. We are going to Janpath Road, but it doesn’t help because he can’ fin Janpath Road even though I told him that the sign said to take to right, not left. Thank god I was being the map reader for my mother when we were visiting Mia in France! He says the address is unclear (stupid!) and that I have to go off right now (This is where I want to cry because I have no idea how far away Janpath Road is). Instead I get angry that he’s got the guts to do so. So I say ‘I paid for you to bring me to Cannaught place, Janpath Road; so you must bring me there!’ The stupid taxi driver, who took pictures of me while driving, says ‘no, unclear address’ I try to explain to him about the sign, but since he doesn’t want to hear I tell him to ask somebody for the way. Fortunately he does, but no one can help him. Then he looks at the ticket and sees some phone numbers to the bus organization. He calls them for directions and fortunately takes me to the right place. I didn’t have any network on my phone because Telenor doesn’t have cover in India.

Here I ask all sorts of people for help to find out exactly where the bus leaves from and in doing so I meet Kitty and Eloise, the two girls I am staying with in Kullu! But we have managed to book different buses so we only saw each other for like 5 minutes. But at least someone now knew I was alive; it was a breath of fresh air. People in New Delhi are quite helpful, everyone got me in the right direction and I found my bus. On the way I also saw my first wild monkey; imagine that; in the middle of New Delhi!

The bus ride took about 14 hours, but I slept a lot on the road. If you are going to India; bring earplugs so that you can shut out all sound. The Indians love to blow the horns on their cars. It is crazy, but I think it is a part of their driving system as well. Around sunrise I wake up and we are up in the mountains and I must say it is beautiful! When the bus driver told me we were in Kullu, I got off and found the nearest phone I could use. I was told to go to Sidarth Hotel, and Fiona (the volunteer who’s already here) would meet me there. She said I should get hold of a rickshaw and they would take me there. I, who had no idea what a rickshaw was just said all right and started looking for one. Strangely enough, I found the so called bus station. It is just a place where all the buses leave from, but here is no office or anything. They just shout out where they are headed to and people get on. I asked some people if they knew where Sidarth Hotel was, but they had never heard of it. The said I must be meaning Shandya Palace Hotel. Seeing as I was really tired and the connection was bad on the phone, I could have heard wrong. So they show me what a rickshaw is, it is this really small taxi which is really cheap. I’ll take a picture of it soon. Arriving at Shandya Hotel I get to borrow the phone and call Fiona, apparently I have the wrong hotel and it is only when I ask a police officer that I realize I am at the WRONG place. I am not in Kullu but in Bunthar, the neighbouring town. The policeman grabs a rickshaw for me and he takes me to the bus station where I am told what bus to take to Kullu. When I get off the bus, I grab the first rickshaw and ask him if he knows where Sidarth Hotel. Guess what; he does!! I get in and at Sidarth Hotel, Fiona is waiting for me. I am so happy and proud not only because I managed to find the place in the end, but because I didn’t panic (even though I wanted to), and I didn’t get kidnapped!

What is this blog about?

2009-10-04T02:08:00.000-07:00

This blog will be written by Kristina Miklavic, a graduate from RCNUWC'09, detailing her stay in India.

I will spend around 4 months in Kullu Valley volunteering at orphanages and schools. Every now and then I will post some pictures and some entries sharing my experiences.

Hope you will find This blog helpful if you are travelling to India, interesting to read if you are someone I know (or someone I do not know)

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