i-to-i teaching in Jaipur

Today i started my i-to-i Teaching English in Jaipur experence.  I am here for 4 weeks teaching English to under privaledge children.

How the beer is served at the Rock

I arrived at the guest house at 12.00noon expecting to meet Karnika, who is our "Indian Mother" while we are in Jaipur, but unfortunately she can't make it and so i meet Major Sen (the guest house owner) instead.  Major Sen takes me through the main house, into the garden and into another house that is the otherside of the garden.  The house is a bunglow that used to belong to their parents, there are 3 twin bedrooms, a lounge/dinner and a kitchen.  The bathrooms are outside and there is a western toilet, but you are not allowed to fluch toilet paper down it!! 

Major and Mrs Sen

The bathrooms consist of a sink and mirror and 2 buckets with jugs in them.  These are our showers!!  They are called Bucket baths and you fill the buckets with water, lower a heating element into the bucket and wait 10 mins for the water to warm up.  You then remove the heating element and use the jug to pour the water over yourself.  It actually isn't as bad as it sounds and as the water is warm it gets you just as clean as a proper shower, but doesn't waste as much water.

As i walk in the house i meet Nick who is 21 and from Skipton (just outside Leeds)!!  He is doing the comunity volunteering project for 1 month before travelling on to china and New Zealand to meet his girlfriend (Nicky!!).  Nicky is also travelling at the moment, but is heading west and currently in South America somewhere.

The Guest House

We are given lunch and then decide to go out for the afternoon as we are told the other 2 girls are not arriving until later that evening.

As we walk around Jaipur we are hastled by beggers etc, but find this on little boy very ammusing.  He is asking for food and is very persistant, but we have been told not to give them anything as they are not a poor as they look.  This little boy though is not giving up and walks the entire length of the road with us, even after he realises we are not going to give him anything he still walks with us.  He is quite entertaining, Nick manages to get rid of him by pointing out some other white people who look richer!

We get back to the guest house and i met Rovina (Mrs Sen) who is a big fat jolly woman who looks after us!

Hannah arrives arround 7 pm.  She is 19 from London and between uni courses.  She is just here for 2 weeks doing the Theater and Education project.  She is thin, Blond and elegant!  Heather then finally arrives around 10.30pm and our group is together!  Heather has been in Jaipur for 2 weeks already on the comunity project, but due to 2 boys( who are leaving today) she has had to move guest houses and is staying with us now.  The boys managed to get themselves kicked out of the other guest house for climbing a  fence to retrieve their cricket ball from the other garden!!  Heather is 22 and just finished uni, she has another 6 weeks in Jaipur before heading back to Peterbrough.

As we talk we ind out that Heather's boyfriend lives in Weatherby and his best Friend works behind the social club bar!!  I think it is Jackie's son!!  It is so strange that there are 3 of us who all live/lived so close together!

We go to bed hacing not meet Karnika.  The 2 boys have been ill and had to go to hospital, 1 with dehydration and 1 with over eating!!