East Coast

Have just arrived in Perth and am now staying with my friend Emma who i worked with in London. It is so nice to spend time with her and she has a lovely house in a place called Alfred Cove. Have been having a lazy time since i got here as travelling up the east coast has exhausted me!

I loved Sydney and met some really nice people there. I met up with my friend George and her boyfriend and a couple of his mates. It was so nice to be with friends and we had a great time, we had a lovely day out at Manley and gorgeous dinner and drinks at Darling Harbour. I also experienced mardi Gras which was fun......! From there i went up to the Blue Mountains and saw the 3 sisters and a few more cool sights. Unfortunately we had the most boring tour guide in the world who sent everyone to sleep on the coach and half the time i had no idea where we were or what is hould be doing!

After Sydney i headed up to Port Macquarie which i really liked, although i came face to face with a massive water monitor when i was doing a 6k coastal walk which scared the hell out of me and then i was convinced i was going to be bitten by something horrible and be left in the middle of the bush all alone! Quite clearly that didn't happen but then as i came down onto one of the most beautiful beaches ever i cam face to face with a nude man! No one told me it was a nudist beach, i was doing my best to not look down but it was difficult especially when he seemed intent on having a chat with me! It was a very eventful walk!

I thought Byron Bay was highly over-rated, maybe because i was staying at an awful hostel with awful people but i didn't stick around there for very long and then headed up to Hervey Bay and went over to Fraser Island for a few days. I loved Fraser island and ended up meeting some people that i had met in NZ so we had a great time, it was lovely to see them again. I spotted a dingo in the bush behind the beach, although at first i was thinking to myself, 'that's strange that someone has brought a dog on the beach!" Then clicked that it was a dingo! He was pretty cheeky as he came up and started sniffing our bags looking for food. I like Australia but there are far too many scary animals here, the other day i almost trod on a snake, have seen the biggest spiders ever, seen salt water crocs and even the cute koalas can be bloody vicious!

Then it was off to Airlie Beach and over to the Whitsundays. Had a great time there and a very drunken time as it was St. Patrick's Day so a few green (!?) beers were drunk that night! I then went up to Cairns, i really enjoyed Cairns and had a lot of fun there, i met up with some really nice people and stayed for a while. I went out to the outer reef and did some snorkeling, it was amazing! The visibility was fabulous and the fish and coral are so cool. Although i felt terrible on the way back to Cairns, i probably shouldn't have drunk so much red wine the night before!

I also headed up to Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest which was stunning, again though far too many big spiders for my liking!

The east coast was great and i saw some really cool stuff but i am so happy to be in Perth now, so far i love it! It's nice not to be in hostels anymore and having my own room is luxury and Emma has made me feel so welcome. The weather has been fantastic for most of my time in Oz, much better than the UK weather i'm told!

Sydney II

i met up with George and Danny and a couple of Danny's mates from home. We went over to Manley on the ferry and had lunch in the sunshine, it was so nice to see George, i have been missing being in the company of really good friends. Danny and his friend were doing a shark dive in the aquarium so we had fun watching that, i'm glad i was watching and not doing it as they looked pretty scary! We all went out in Darling Harbour that evening after champayne in their hotel suite, a bit of much needed luxory for me! Had the best seafood and drank far too much, it was such a lovely evening and Danny's friends were really good fun. Managed to find my way back to the hostel, (moved to the YHA, much nicer!) and coped with my hangover the next morning.

Sydney

Arrived in the pouring rain and didn't think much of that! Found my hostel,a glorious place called 'The Globe Backpackers', was completed paranoid about bed bugs as a girl that i met in Auckland told me she was eaten alive by them when she stayed in Sydney! Anyway all ok and bed bug free! Thankfully the rain stopped and Friday was a lovely day, spent most of it wandering around the city and taking in all of the touristy sights. Yesterday was Mardi Gras and it was a crazy day.I went to a bar with a whole load of people from the hostel and obviously started drinking, by the time the parade came around everyone was pretty merry. It was difficult to see the whole parade as it was so busy but i managed to see lots of it and it was outrageous!

North Island - New Zealand

I'm just about finished in New Zealand and have had the best time! The north island has been very different to the south but equally as enjoyable. I am now back in Auckland and fly out to Sydney tomorrow, unfortunately i diddn't realise it was Mardi Gras and have had a nightmare getting accommodation but have managed to get a hostel so it's all good, or as they say here in NZ - sweet as!
I started in the north by staying with Iris, who has a lovely house in Waipukarau, which is about an hour south of Napier. We travelled down to Wellington together and met up with Glenda and we all spent a few days exploring 'windy Wellington'. It was great to spend time with them both and i'm looking forward to seeing Glenda again soon in Perth. I met up with Sally in Wellington and we had a quick whizz around Te Papa which was good. It was so nice to see Sally and i'm so pleased about your news! (I hope you are looking after yourself). We spent a day in Napier which was great as it was the Art Deco weekend and there was so much going on. Everyone was dressed up for it and it was an excellent day. I visited a place called Roturua which was really smelly, Miri told me to take a clothes peg and i wish i had as it was really bad at times! Had a great time there and met some really nice people.
I have just got back from a trip up to the Bay of Islands which was brilliant. The first few days weren't great though as there was a freak rain storm and it didn't stop raining for about 3 days, but i was in good company and we all had a good laugh. We couldn't get up to the Cape as the road had to be closed due to flooding so i ended staying there longer than anticipated but i loved it. We went in a massive 4x4 on the 90 mile beach and our guide said that out of the 200 trips he has made on the beach our one was in the top 10 of the scariest! It was such fun although at times (the ones where the driver couldn't see where he was going) i was a little worried that we weren't going to make it! But we did and it was great. i went sand surfing on the biggest dunes i have ever seen! I was absolutely petrified when i had finally walked to the top but the only way was down so off i went! It was so funny, i did it 5 more times!
So here ends my New Zealand adventure, it has been such a lovely experience and i know for sure that i will be back here soon as there is still so much for me to see and do.
Thanks New Zealand, you've been 'sweet as....'

South Island Trip

I have just been on a short trip around some of the sights in the south island. I am completely in love with New Zealand, it's such a beautiful country and the people are so nice. I went over to the glaciers and did a glacier walk on Franz Josef which was really good, my legs were aching a tad the next day but well worth it, it was amazing! I then headed through Wanaka and into Queenstown where i stayed in a really cool hostel and met a ton of really nice people, we had one day of rain so we all stayed in and played monopoly, quite amusing with a load of different nationalities. I didn't throw myself off any bridges on a piece of elastic or out of any planes but had lots of fun. I then went down to Te Anau and over to Milford Sound where i went kayaking for a day. That was the highlight of my trip as i just loved it! (thanks Rocky for the advice, you were right it was so cool!) Had a really good group and guide so it turned out to be a really lovely day, and no rain, which considering it rains about 300 days a year there, i was pretty lucky! I went back to Queenstown for a night and caught the bus back to Christchurch the next day. I really enjoyed the travelling thing, i was a bit concerned about the 'dorm' living but ended up meeting so many people that putting up with a few broken nights sleep was was well worth it!

I now only have a couple of days left here in Christchurch before i go up to the north island. I will be sad to leave here as i have had such a lovely time here and staying with Miriam & Mikey and Claudia & Zane has been so nice. They have all made me feel so welcome and part of their family that it's going to hard to move on, but i am looking forward to seeing what the north island has to offer, it has stiff competition from the south! Plus i have a few people to visit there so that will be great.

Miriam has been doing her up-most to turn me into a domestic goddess, i am now an expert sushi maker and we even made a dress for me yesterday! I say 'we', i cut out the pattern and then tried it on at the end! I feel my input was adequate! It really has been great to relax and un-wind after the hecticness of India and i am very much getting into the kiwi way of life, i have even sometimes started saying 'aye' at the end of my sentences!

The next chapter - New Zealand

Have now been in Christchurch for 2 weeks and loving it. I feel so relaxed and have been made to feel so welcome by the CC crew it's going to be difficult to move on. I have been staying with Miriam & Mikey and Claudia & Zane, it's been great spending time with them all, it beats Streatham any day! Have swam with dolphins, which was just amazing and learnt to make sushi (so doing all the important things in life)!

I really feel like i have recharged my batteries and feel ready for another trip. On Friday i head off for a short trip around the south island, taking in a glacier walk and hopefully some kayaking.

Yesterday i experienced the thrills of a football match, Mikey and i went to watch Canterbury v Auckland at the ground in Christchurch. Their football isn't quite in the same league as English footie, one man shouted out a few chants but even he sounded half asleep. As for the players, it took a while for some of them to get warmed up. It had a good old community feel to it and it was good wholesome fun. Auckland beat Canterbury 3-0 just in case anyone is interested!

Had the pleasure of meeting up with Emma Andrews last week as she was down for a wedding with her new boyfriend, had a lovely lunch at Claudia & Zane's and then we headed out for a few more drinks in town. It was so lovely to see her and am looking forward to my time in Perth with her.

I think I could definitely live in New Zealand, everyone is so friendly and welcoming. They even talk to you in shops! A little scary at first but now i am chatting away like a local!

Things I won't miss about India!

Things I will not miss about India

1. The flies! They bug me so much.
2. Being stared at constantly, it feels like i have just fallen from a different planet, everyone stares at me!
3. Sitting on a bus and being expected to chat to every single child on the bus so that they can practise their english. I don't mind usually but after being on a bus for 7 hours or so it gets a bit much.
4. Being invisible in queues.
5. The litter. It really is bad.
6. Men going to the loo everywhere, i have seen too many random willies for my liking!
7. Men spitting and hoiking their guts up.
8. Rickshaw drivers who say they know where you want to go but never do!

Apart from that i love India and i miss it a lot.

Up in the North

After the shock of leaving the ashram and realising that i now had 12 days to see some sights up in the North i tried to start to formulate a plan. I flew up to Delhi, it didn't take me long to realise that i didn't have the right clothes for Delhi! It was freezing!

Delhi airport was mayhem, as is the rest of it but i maneged to find my hotel guy who drove me to my lovely hotel! Not quite...it was colder in my hotel room than it was outside so i promptly changed. Delhi was a shock! It is a crazy city with people everywhere! I tried to get around on the first day by walking, not such a great idea and ended up having a pretty scary experience with some men and a rickshaw. Anyway had a good look around and met some nice people on a tour. The poverty in Delhi is on a different level to the south and it was sad to see all the street families living all over. I had 3 nights there and then went to Agra.

I have wanted to see the Taj Mahal for so long and i can safely say that it went beyond all my expectations, it really is the most beautiful building. I was awestruck by it, it's hard to imagine loving someone so much that you can build something like that for them! If only to be loved like that! I stayed at a great little hotel with the most amazing view from their rooftop restaurant, i could sit in the sun and gaze at it as much as i liked. It was great! I hired 'Shabbu' a rickshaw guy to take me round for a day, i went to the Baby Taj, Agra fort and saw the Taj from the back. Got a great photo of a goat in front of the Taj!

After Agra I went to Jaipur, but to be honest I wasn't really into seeing the sights as i wasn't feeling great. I met some German girls and they told me about a place called Pushkar. I headed off there, it is a very small town about 8 hours south of Delhi. I stayed in a really friendly hotel and met some great people. On Christmas morning i visited a Brahma temple and bought some flowers from a priest and went down to the holy lake. I wished good luck to all my friends and family and sent my flowers off, so you should all be ok for 2008 now, as I'm sure it works! I bought myself a few little pressies and then had lunch with some people i met, it was a very relaxing day. I travelled back to Delhi the next day, at first all was good as i had a sleeper train, i was just about coping with the occasional cockroach climbing onto my shoulder but it was when the rat ran past my feet that i realised i was really ready to leave India! Delhi was cold yet again but i decided to get around on the metro this time which was a completely different experience to my last time in Delhi. It is so clean, efficient and hassle-free! It is strange though as when you leave the metro you come face to face with a cow so you soon remember that you are in a crazy city. I thought i would be a good tourist and read the dos and dont's for travelling on the metro. Only in India would you find this: 'Do not travel on top of the train.' Classic!

I had a great time in India, it's was an unforgettable 3 and a half months but I was ready to move on and was feeling very excited about the next part of my trip. India can be very frustrating and infuriating at times but i wouldn't have missed it for the world.

The last few weeks

I haven't been great with keeping this blog up to date but i do want to continue it so I'm going to have a huge re-cap now. My last weeks on the ashram were great, i knew it was all coming to an end and i decided to really cherish the time i had left. Katherin left and a new volunteer came called Nina, from Switzerland. I went on a week's holiday to Kerela and visited Kovalom and Kannyakumari. I loved my time on the beach, it was a good time for me because it enabled me to really think about the ashram and all the girls. I missed them a lot and was very excited about returning and spending my last 5 days with them. I knew that i was ready to leave and that i felt that i had had enough time on the ashram but that didn't make it any easier when it came to saying goodbye. Some of the high-school girls tried to persuade me to stay and there was an awful moment when i was with about 6 of them studying and talking about me leaving and they all started crying. It took a huge amount of effort on my part not to join them but i knew i had to be strong, plus the fact that i knew i was going to be a mess on the actual morning i left! Preevita and Maggie wrote me the sweetest note and drew some very cute pictures for me and Gowsalya also gave me a letter that i will keep forever. I felt very sad to leave Sugunya and Gowsalya as i really became close to both of them. I'm glad that they became friends and i am sure that Sugunya will look after Gowsalya and make sure that she's OK. My last weekend was nice as i was there on my own as Nina had gone on a PTA weekend. I gave my presents to the girls after prayer on the Saturday (ink pens and ink for the older girls and books for the younger ones). They were all so grateful and it brought tears to my eyes giving them out, it really hit home then that i was leaving. My last bedtime was hard, saying goodnight to the girls for the last time was very sad. I knew i would see them in the morning but bedtime was my favourite time and i will miss it a lot. I didn't sleep much on the last night and when Bala arrived it all seemed far too real. I said my goodbyes but thinking back they were too rushed, i was crying and i regret not giving Sugunya and Gowsalya a huge hug. All the small girls formed a line and were waving and shouting their goodbyes, i waved madly from the car and before i knew it i was out of the ashram and on the way to the airport. I can see Sugunya's and Gowsalya's face now so clearly, i really hope they are OK. Having now had some time to reflect on my time there i realise that i am so lucky to have met such amazing children and it's an experience that i will never forget. The girls faces are still very much etched on my memory and i hope that they won't fade. I know that it was time for me to move on but my heart is still with the girls on Madurai Seva Ashram.

Deepavali party

Life on the Ashram - part II

I stayed on the ashram for the weekend last weekend and loved it! It has a totally different feel, it doesn't feel so controlling. The girls had lots of free time and it was great spending time with them that didn't involve studying (or pretending to study as in most of their cases)! On Sunday donators turned up with lunch, this often happens at different mealtimes but this was different as we ate lunch over near the volunteers rooms and it felt a lot less constrained. It was one of the donators birthday so we all sang 'Happy Birthday' and then tucked in! I'm getting used to eating off a banana leaf and the food is so good! They always want us to eat far more that i can and i feel bad saying no sometimes but I'd be sick if i ate as much as they wanted me to! In fact we have had various donators turn up this week due to the fact that it's Divali. The girls are given so many sweets and lots of fireworks! It's crazy how different it is over here with the fireworks. On Sunday night we had a big party and a dancer came, the girls loved it! Then after it was absolute mayhem! All the girls (including the 4 year olds!) were given sparklers, fire crackers and small cone fireworks. There was nothing in the way of Health and Safety (the teachers among you would have been horrified! Not a risk assessment in sight!) and for about half an hour it was non-stop carnage! At the beginning i obviously had my teacher head on, i was shouting for them the stand back, make space etc. No one listened and they all just went for it! Imagine 140 children in a small space with numerous exploding devices! After a while i just thought to hell with it and loved every minute! Amazingly there were no injuries and the smiles and laughter from the girls was so heart warming, i have some great photos! It seems like India has gone Divali mad! They love it at you can hear fireworks and fire crackers at all times during the day, everyone is in such a happy mood and wishing each other "Happy Deepavali" all the time. I have learnt to say it in Tamil and have been practising with all the local shop-keepers. The girls all go home today to visit their families for 4 days so it is going to be very quiet on the ashram, I'm thinking of heading off somewhere for the weekend, there is a wildlife park about 4 hours away so i may go there.

Life on the ashram

Sometimes i forget that i am living on an ashram in India! As the days go by, i go about my life with ease and it feels so natural to be here. When i stop to think about what i am doing and it's enormity, it blows my mind. The girls who live here are so lovely and giving and they have such a hard life. I am really enjoying getting to know them more and more each day and spending time with them is so fulfilling. Their days are exactly the same, day in day out. They don't have an exciting life but they are so happy with what they have got it definitely puts things into perspective and makes me feel so humble. They get up at 5 am and attend to their duties and then get themselves ready for their day. By the time i get up they have already had a busy 2 hours! I went to see their sleeping room the other day, those that don't sleep in the dining room, and it was so sad to see. They all have one suitcase and in there they keep all the treasured possessions, which really isn't much at all. They keep their keys on a piece of string around their neck and guard it with their life as it's all they have in the world. It makes all of our possessions seem so pointless and materialistic!
The other night i sat with Praveena and Preethi, 2 girls about 12 years old,Preethi showed me a huge scar on her leg and then told me how she was in her father's rickshaw with her pregnant mother one day when they had a crash with a lorry. Her father died in the crash and she was in hospital for a long time needing skin grafts, luckily her mum was OK and the unborn baby. This happened when she was about 6 and she's been on the ashram ever since. Praveena's story was a lot more light-hearted. When she was 6 she fell into an open fire and was in hospital with a damaged foot, broken arm and a head wound. She acted out how she did it and how she was bandaged up afterwards, it was very funny and we had a good laugh. She then told me that when her mother was visiting her one day she gave birth to her brother in the hospital toilet! I think i got the story right but you never know! Another girl found out last week that her mother had died, she had HIV, she was very upset and it was one of the many times that i have wished that i speak Tamil. Her father also died of HIV and she now only has a grandmother who is 91. Most of the girls have stories like this to tell and it breaks your heart to listen to them.

They have to study so much! Time allocated to play is so minimal compared to the time spent studying, they don't seem to mind as i guess they don't know any different. I stayed on the ashram this weekend and thought i would be able to play with them a lot more but it is all so controlled that they study on the weekend too. Today has been a bit better as we have had a lot more time to play and it's been good fun. We also had a visit from a sponsor today who brought lunch. I loved this as we all ate off banana leaves and i got some great photos.I bought some henna yesterday so we are going to spend some time this evening painting henna on each other.

I need to cherish every moment i spend here as it is a very special place, with very special people on it. I know my 3 months will be up before i know it and i don't want to take any of it for granted. When i leave these girls will just carry on doing what they do, hopefully remembering me in the process. But for me the memories will stay forever and i think will affect my life in the future.

I have started to give the girls English names, they love this! The only problem is that i am only just getting to grips with their Tamil names and now i have to remember another one! I have made life very difficult for myself!

Weekend in Cochin

Had a really good weekend in Cochin, i wasn't really sure that i was in the mood as have been thinking a lot about Mick and have been dreading this week but in fact it was exactly what i needed as it was really good fun. We caught the sleeper train on Thursday night which wasn't too bad although i didn't do a great deal of sleeping! Highlight of the journey was an indian man trying to grope Zoe through the partition, she feigned disgust but i think she enjoyed it really! We arrived after about 12 hours of travelling and only then realised that we din't know the address of the hotel that PA had booked for us! After trying to make numerous attempts to call PA and only succeeded in speaking to some random people who were absolutely no help at all we decided to go with the taxi man who assured us that he knew where he was going! Never believe an indian taxi driver or rickshaw driver, they always lie! He was so eager to get our fare that he tried to leave with just me and the bags, everyone else had gone to the loo! It was only when i pointed this out that he waited! He really wanted that 300 rupees! We finally arrived at the hotel, after asking about 10 people the way (i knew he was lying!) and checked in. The hotel was in the middle of no where and we decided to move to a more central one. However this news wasn;t taken very well by the hotel man who was very cross with us, in the end we ran out to our waiting rickshaw and found a nice hotel called the Princess Inn. It started raining at about 7pm that night and didn't stop till about midday the next day. No problem as we spent the next day at a place called 'Veegaland'. This was probably the most bizarre and random thing i have ever done or likely to do in India! It's a amusement/water park full of indians wearing all their clothes and shower caps! Very surreal! I spent the day in my pyjama bottoms which were fine until they got wet and then i turned into porno woman! Now the indian men really had something to stare at! Anyway it was a really good day, although there was a point when we thought we may die, but luckily Zoe managed to scream at the top of her voice that she was convinced that the ride wasn't safe. Not that anyone took the blind bit of notice of her, in fact the man operating the ride cranked it up even more due to her screaming!!! My favourite part of the day was watching Victor's face on the 'Humping Frogs"! Excitement over and we had a nice evening in a very posh restaurant and then went to a bar!! Yes, had my first beer for weeks!

Unfortunately when i got back to the hotel we had visitors! Poor Katherin was cowering on her bed as we had 2 of the biggest spiders in our bathroom!! I am not exaggerating but they were the size of my hand! I tried and failed to put one under a jug, we then had to call the hotel man - whose name luckily for us was 'Saviour' to come up and kill them. So not only did he he have to put up with 4 screaming girls but he had to kill 2 monsters! Armed with a broom, some kind of spray and sheer bravery he killed the buggers and we were safe! We then nicknamed 'Spiderman' for the rest of our stay! Arn't we hilarious!

Sunday was an organised boat trip by PA, not alot to look at but fairly pleasant. The guide asked us not to take photos of the warships (why would we want to anyway) and when i asked why not he answered, "because they are warships"! Ok point taken! In the afternoon 3 of us hired bikes and cycled around Fort Cochin, a lovely calm activity for a Sunday afternoon you would think.... it was apart from the fact i had chosen the bike with no brakes! Stopping was fun or rather not stopping was fun! We went shopping on our bikes, at least i had a good excuse not to stop when being hassled by a million stall holders!

All in all had a great time and really enjoyed hanging out with Zoe and Claire. My favourite sayings in India are; 'It's all an experience' and 'Patience in India'. We seem to use these catchphrases all the time! Another one that is becoming popular is; 'if it makes sense, it won't happen in India'!

Trichy - photos

Wow! I've been here 4 weeks already!

Had a change of plan for the weekend and ended up in a place called Tiruchirappalli which is 2 and a half hours North of where i am based. It's really nice here, very hustly and bustly but it has a really nice feeling about it. We went to see 2 temples yesterday, one called Rock Fort temple where we had to walk up 500 steps, a bit exhausting in the heat but it felt good to do some exercise! I really miss running! Will have to do loads when i get to NZ and Oz! Then we went to the biggest temple in India which was pretty impressive! Now i've seen that all other temples will be fairly mediocre! It has been nice getting away for the weekend and i think i'm going to try and do something every weekend as it's nice to have a change of scenery. I'm planning the trip down to the cape in a few weekends time as there is an organised one with all the volunteers so it will be better than heading off there on my own. Next weekend is a trip to Kochin which is in Kerela, it's a long journey but it should be fun. Life on the ashram is still really good, i have been doing lots of teaching and really getting to know the girls, it get easier day by day. They are all so sweet and it's so intersting finding out about them and their families. A lot of them are sponsored by various chariites in different countries. I had to fill out loads of forms the other day for 3 girls who were being put forward for sponsorship and take their photos. Still loving the food and (touch wood) haven't been sick yet! So many people have been, i must have a rock hard stomach!! Our cook is so lovely she always tries to make different things for us and it's fascinating to watch her cook, she has a gas stove but in the orphanage kitchen they just cook on open fires, again i love going in there and just watching what goes on. Although quite pleased i don't have to eat the food as the kitchen is pretty grim!
I'm learning lots of poetry at the moment as i study with the high school girls every evening and they have to memorise all the poems, i'll quote them to you when i get back!! They really struggle to pronounce some of the words, it's good fun trying to teach them. Although it can be difficult as most evening we have a power cut and then we just sit around with candles and of course studying goes out the window!
I still haven't quite got used to the Indian head shaking! They shake their heads as we do when we say no but they mean yes, maybe and sometimes no! It's all very confusing! They also make a sign with their hand which again can mean all 3! I am just about coping with all the staring! Everyone stares at us! All the kids ask you "How are you?" "What's your country?" "Whats your name?" and then that's all they know so end of conversation, sometimes they ask "What's your father's name? "what's your mother's name?" It's all very repetitive but very sweet!

Can't believe it's been nearly 4 weeks!

Hi,
Have just remembered that i'm supposed to be writing a blog! So it's a little late and loads has happened already but i'll try and keep this up to date from now on. Having moved to a new ashram last week i feel very settled and a lot less stressed! I'm trying to forget about the other one but Pandi told me yesterday that 'Mother Mother' was being moved and new management were going into Avaai Ashram so hopefully they will be nicer to the children and at least treat them like human beings! My new ashram is so relaxed, it's going to be difficult to move on, luckily i don't have to move for a while. We had a good weekend in Sivikasi, but a little too busy for my liking but it was good to meet up with the other volunteers and get to know them better. Am planning a trip down to Kannyamari (not sure how to spell it) this weeknd with a few people so looking forward to that. I'm planning a trip into Madurai tomorrow morning as i need to visit the waxing lady and have a look round some of the shops! Need to shop! Will try to add photos next time as took some very sweet ones of the girls yesterday and us playing cricket on Saturday, i was the umpire, what a joke that was! Choa!

Gearing up to head off!

The count down is on! I'm off on Friday! Feeling scared and excited but also sad as I am having to say far too many goodbyes!
Watch this space.......