Monday: so i went to the SEDS school this morning and the school was in performance mode - they were practicing for Independence Day on 15th August. Each grade had to present something - either a song, dance or personal stories about what Independence means to them. The teachers here had choreographed a dance routine for the older boys to perform so they had all gone and locked themselves in a room so they could practice. So look who became the new unofficial kindergarten teacher....me. I say 'unofficial' because a handful of little kids (probs no older than 6yo) were just running around the playground unsupervised, climbing on rocks and just being kids - some of it was enjoyable, some of it was so really risky and dangerous from an Australian perspective. So i just really quickly thought of a game. We played Simon Says but without the Simon bit. Good to know the little ones enjoyed doing the Maccarena as well as Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes over and over again.
It was lunch time and we had the privilege of having lunch with the female teachers. For some strange reason, the male and female teachers eat separately. So we sat on the floor in a room and they all opened up their lunchboxes and shared their meals with us that they prepared. Chapati (a kind of bread), as well as different curries and rice were all presented to us. They also made a pasta dish in case we didnt like curry haha. They even made dessert for us; some kind of sweet ball (it was delicious). So all in all it was great. They asked us questions and vice versa.
Later that day, it was home time and Ronny said we should catch the bus into the main village (About 20mins away) to experience a bus trip in India. It was after school when we did this, so we saw the teachers get into an auto rickshaw (i thought Tuk Tuk was its name, but they call it auto rickshaws here). We asked if we could jump into their auto since they were going to the main village too - Penukonda. So an Auto fits 3 ppl comfortably, yet this is India, and we had 12 ppl in the rickshaw. what an experience haha. we sat at the back facing the road. Im pretty sure we were only travelling 40km/h for the entire time. The driver blasted his Telugu electronica music to the delight of the teachers. Then Ronny started dancing in his seat. Road workers who stopped construction as they were in awe of seeing this beglium dancing to indian music. So funny. i joined in too and i think we may have embarassed the teachers, or ourselves. either way but they said it was the funnest auto ride they've ever had, so that was good to hear. We pulled up at a train crossing which can take about 10minutes, so we just sat there waiting for a train to pass. Afterwards Ronny and myself hung from the back of the auto, continuing to dance to Indian music. I forgot to mention that the female teachers are muslim, and so they donned the burqa prior to the drive. it was good to speak to them about it as i wondered if it was hot wearing a black burqa. They said sometimes it did but they enjoy wearing it as well as the face covering as well.
We pulled into Penukonda, and Ronnie took us to see some more sights of the village. There was a Islamic Shrine around here with much history. We tried finding it but we found a mosque firstly. i got to go in as well as Ronny, but unfortunately Cait was not allowed in. Whether it was because she was female or because she didnt have a head covering im not too sure. We were greeted by the imam and shown the history of the mosque and how its made out of stone. Afterwards we continued on our journey trying to find this shrine. We found it, but first we had to walk through a bazaar. Cait brought a head scarf, and i was advised to buy a small muslim cap to cover my head too. The bazaar was lined with beggars much like the church i went to in bangalore. as we continued, we encountered the shrine. This place is of significance as i was told that muslims from around the world would come here on pilgrim. im not exactly sure who was in the shrines, but again we followed the procedure of washing our feet and following the pathway to the shrines where ppl would pray there. Again Cait wasnt allowed in so she had to wait outside. Much history was here so it was great to see. It kinda felt like we were in the middle east more than india.
It was lunch time and we had the privilege of having lunch with the female teachers. For some strange reason, the male and female teachers eat separately. So we sat on the floor in a room and they all opened up their lunchboxes and shared their meals with us that they prepared. Chapati (a kind of bread), as well as different curries and rice were all presented to us. They also made a pasta dish in case we didnt like curry haha. They even made dessert for us; some kind of sweet ball (it was delicious). So all in all it was great. They asked us questions and vice versa.
Later that day, it was home time and Ronny said we should catch the bus into the main village (About 20mins away) to experience a bus trip in India. It was after school when we did this, so we saw the teachers get into an auto rickshaw (i thought Tuk Tuk was its name, but they call it auto rickshaws here). We asked if we could jump into their auto since they were going to the main village too - Penukonda. So an Auto fits 3 ppl comfortably, yet this is India, and we had 12 ppl in the rickshaw. what an experience haha. we sat at the back facing the road. Im pretty sure we were only travelling 40km/h for the entire time. The driver blasted his Telugu electronica music to the delight of the teachers. Then Ronny started dancing in his seat. Road workers who stopped construction as they were in awe of seeing this beglium dancing to indian music. So funny. i joined in too and i think we may have embarassed the teachers, or ourselves. either way but they said it was the funnest auto ride they've ever had, so that was good to hear. We pulled up at a train crossing which can take about 10minutes, so we just sat there waiting for a train to pass. Afterwards Ronny and myself hung from the back of the auto, continuing to dance to Indian music. I forgot to mention that the female teachers are muslim, and so they donned the burqa prior to the drive. it was good to speak to them about it as i wondered if it was hot wearing a black burqa. They said sometimes it did but they enjoy wearing it as well as the face covering as well.
We pulled into Penukonda, and Ronnie took us to see some more sights of the village. There was a Islamic Shrine around here with much history. We tried finding it but we found a mosque firstly. i got to go in as well as Ronny, but unfortunately Cait was not allowed in. Whether it was because she was female or because she didnt have a head covering im not too sure. We were greeted by the imam and shown the history of the mosque and how its made out of stone. Afterwards we continued on our journey trying to find this shrine. We found it, but first we had to walk through a bazaar. Cait brought a head scarf, and i was advised to buy a small muslim cap to cover my head too. The bazaar was lined with beggars much like the church i went to in bangalore. as we continued, we encountered the shrine. This place is of significance as i was told that muslims from around the world would come here on pilgrim. im not exactly sure who was in the shrines, but again we followed the procedure of washing our feet and following the pathway to the shrines where ppl would pray there. Again Cait wasnt allowed in so she had to wait outside. Much history was here so it was great to see. It kinda felt like we were in the middle east more than india.
Glad to hear you are dancing and showing your moves!!!
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