Greetings from Tamil Nadu. I'm gradually settling into life in Kanchipuram and it's all going well so far. In fact, less than a week into my stay and I have achieved two things on my wish-list - to eat delicious South Indian food (I get to do this 3 times a day and thankfully the novelty has not worn off) and go to a traditional Hindu wedding, which to my delight I did last night with my host Jeyaraj.
I am living with the family of the Director of RIDE (the Rural Institute for Development Education), which is the NGO I am volunteering for. Jeyaraj, his wife Britto and son Jonas (and Joy the dog) have been so welcoming and Britto's cooking is superb, so I am feeling very well looked after. This week Jeyaraj and Britto have been introducing me to various aspects of RIDE's work, mainly relating to the challenges of life in rural Tamil Nadu for the Dalits (people in the lowest caste, traditionally regarded as 'untouchable'). I should be getting stuck into my work next week, which is likely to be focused on developing a programme of child labour eradication in the local stone quarries, something which RIDE has made significant headway on already in the silk factories.
My biggest challenge here is the heat, it is incredibly hot, all the time (I just looked up the local forecast and it described it as 'extremely hot' so I don't think I'm over-exaggerating). It's around 38-40 degrees C during the day, and only drops to about 30 at night, so it's very difficult to escape from. A brief ride in an air conditioned car yesterday to get to the wedding was a welcome break from it. The rooms in the house have fans but there's only so much pushing hot air around will do to ease the discomfort! The other difficulty here is the frequent power cuts. Luckily the house has a back-up battery so I haven't yet had to endure an entire night without a fan on, but it does put a stop to using computers.
At the weekend I'm hoping to explore the local area and maybe take a day-trip to Mamallapuram on the coast. I'll post some photos in my next update if the power-cuts allow!
I am living with the family of the Director of RIDE (the Rural Institute for Development Education), which is the NGO I am volunteering for. Jeyaraj, his wife Britto and son Jonas (and Joy the dog) have been so welcoming and Britto's cooking is superb, so I am feeling very well looked after. This week Jeyaraj and Britto have been introducing me to various aspects of RIDE's work, mainly relating to the challenges of life in rural Tamil Nadu for the Dalits (people in the lowest caste, traditionally regarded as 'untouchable'). I should be getting stuck into my work next week, which is likely to be focused on developing a programme of child labour eradication in the local stone quarries, something which RIDE has made significant headway on already in the silk factories.
My biggest challenge here is the heat, it is incredibly hot, all the time (I just looked up the local forecast and it described it as 'extremely hot' so I don't think I'm over-exaggerating). It's around 38-40 degrees C during the day, and only drops to about 30 at night, so it's very difficult to escape from. A brief ride in an air conditioned car yesterday to get to the wedding was a welcome break from it. The rooms in the house have fans but there's only so much pushing hot air around will do to ease the discomfort! The other difficulty here is the frequent power cuts. Luckily the house has a back-up battery so I haven't yet had to endure an entire night without a fan on, but it does put a stop to using computers.
At the weekend I'm hoping to explore the local area and maybe take a day-trip to Mamallapuram on the coast. I'll post some photos in my next update if the power-cuts allow!
Sounds like you're having a great time Alice! We hope you don't melt too much in the heat! At least the curry might cool you down ;o) Make sure you get some cooking tips so we can all enjoy it too when you get home!! Dan&Cat xxx
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