Heathrow 6pm met my colleagues from around England in eager anticipation for our epic discovery visit to India!
The flight left around 9pm and we landed in New Delhi at 10.30am staying in the airport for our next plane leaving at 2.30pm landing in Banglahor at 5.15pm...half the plane got off and then it quickly filled again with people travelling with us for the final leg on this monster journey, next stop Trivandrum arriving at 6.55pm...what a day!
The journey has been both enlightening and exhausting with not much sleep. The food on board has been a mixture of tasty and odd. When I asked what the options were the stewardess replied 'vegetarian and non-vegetarian' a phrase to be more commonly accepted over the next few days...
I think we've been fed every two hours for the time we've been airborne, at this rate I'll come back twice as big as I came! A mixture of fruits, hot sandwiches, curries and what feels like many more types of food have been taken: while we were waiting for our connecting flight in New Delhi, we had the audacity to actually have a quick bite to eat...
The travelling allowed the group to get to know each a little better, talking through what we wanted from the trip, our expectations and ultimately what it is as individuals we would like out of the visit to India.
The banter has already begun with people in good spirits, an air of excitement crossed with eagerness of adventure is creating a good atmosphere within the party...
The group is made up experienced professionals from the third sector: housing, mental health, addiction, support, youth work, training and education, however this journey into the unknown will require more than that. We will not only draw on each other's skills and experiences, but the strengths of friendships and bonds made over the coming days will be very much tested.
The adventure has begun and I for one, can't wait for anything and everything that comes our way!
The flight left around 9pm and we landed in New Delhi at 10.30am staying in the airport for our next plane leaving at 2.30pm landing in Banglahor at 5.15pm...half the plane got off and then it quickly filled again with people travelling with us for the final leg on this monster journey, next stop Trivandrum arriving at 6.55pm...what a day!
The journey has been both enlightening and exhausting with not much sleep. The food on board has been a mixture of tasty and odd. When I asked what the options were the stewardess replied 'vegetarian and non-vegetarian' a phrase to be more commonly accepted over the next few days...
I think we've been fed every two hours for the time we've been airborne, at this rate I'll come back twice as big as I came! A mixture of fruits, hot sandwiches, curries and what feels like many more types of food have been taken: while we were waiting for our connecting flight in New Delhi, we had the audacity to actually have a quick bite to eat...
The travelling allowed the group to get to know each a little better, talking through what we wanted from the trip, our expectations and ultimately what it is as individuals we would like out of the visit to India.
The banter has already begun with people in good spirits, an air of excitement crossed with eagerness of adventure is creating a good atmosphere within the party...
The group is made up experienced professionals from the third sector: housing, mental health, addiction, support, youth work, training and education, however this journey into the unknown will require more than that. We will not only draw on each other's skills and experiences, but the strengths of friendships and bonds made over the coming days will be very much tested.
The adventure has begun and I for one, can't wait for anything and everything that comes our way!
Day 1 - Kerala
We had a breakfast meeting with chair of Kerala district and student youth leaders from Aluva YMCA College. The conversations were around the work the YMCA is doing within education with students that come from real disadvantaged backgrounds.
We were then taken to the chair 's office with all staff of YMCA international guest house Aluva: they start every working day with a pray and a song before starting work: we were asked to be present and then to offer a pray. Ken spoke some thought provoking words within his pray on the hospitality that had already been shown. The student leaders gave us an insight into the work of the YMCA in Kerala: from KidsY, HighY and UniY. All work is around shaping the young people of India into good citizens: tackling social issues and creating a young population that is eager to help and support the poor in their communities and develop good projects which will benefit all of India: fantastic work!!!
We then travelled to the college and was greeted by the students , teachers and admin staff, a wonderfully humbling reception. After we met with the students, staff and chair who gave us a real insight into the project. A Q&A then happened between us all, allowing them and us to find out so much more on the feelings and emotions rather than the practicalities...the session finished by singing Indian national anthem...brilliant!
Following that we looked around the college and I went into the classrooms and generally fooled around with the children, I was quite taken with the affection shown and managed to get myself into some photos with the students...I found the meetings interesting but the time spent with the students was my real time: it will stay with me forever, the smiling faces, the laughter and enjoyment we got from each other's company!!!
We then had photo opportunities for the whole group outside complete with some students, a fantastic college which helps young people get an education when otherwise they would not.
At 10pm we left for the train station for our overnight train trip to Kanyakumari: train leaving at 10.40pm arriving 5.30am and our first engagement is 7.30am- should be fun!
The train ride was an adventure, 6 of us in a very small space. Bunks that were strapped to the wall fell into place when released in a way that made the best use of space for the sardines we had become . The other 3 in the party slept in bunks running down the corridor, absolutely bonkers ! I was shoehorned into the middle shelf and cooked for 3 hours until the station arrived when I casually slipped out the oven and back onto the station feeling a lot like an escaping gingerbread man....
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