We are now on day 14 of our wonderful adventure in India and we have seen and experienced so much. Our stomachs remain healthy and thus far none of the team have suffered from the famous “Delhi belly”! Our minibus driver Kahn is fantastic; his English abilities are on a par with our Hindi but we are improving every day! We have many laughs and smiles during our long journeys and at times Kahn thinks we are all crazy and overexcited! We are always well stocked with food and drink (thanks to our kind Rotarian hosts) and our minibus feels like a campervan minus a bed and toilet!
As the “queen bee” and team leader, I have now been given the shortened nickname of “buzzy” and my laptop bag, which contains the itinerary programme has the nickname of the “buzz bag”! I enjoy using my qualification of tour guide manager and guiding the team through our journey here in India. Our average journey time from city to city is between 4 and 5 hours and our time is well spent discussing our experiences, eating and catching up on sleep! We have all adapted well to the differences between India and the UK including the regular electricity cut off between the hours of 9am and 11am. The team have all experienced and overcome individual challenges during the trip and some of our anticipated anxieties and concerns have fortunately not come to fruition.
The team have very much enjoyed staying with their respective hosts and equally enjoyed the discussion and debate about the similarities and differences in our cultures. To this end, these discussions had invoked a degree of reflection on some aspects of our own culture in the UK.
We are treated like VIPs wherever we go and photographed at every opportunity. Our GSE visit has been featured in a number of Indian newspapers and we would not be surprised if we found ourselves in the next Indian edition of the Hello or OK magazines! Our presentations to the various Rotary Clubs have all been well received and the team is always warmly greeted with beautiful garlands of marigolds.
Each person’s role within the team continues to develop. Ben continues to write and edit this blog and is now also my bag carrier and bodyguard when I need to cross the road! Graham is chief translator having studied and learnt more Hindi than the rest of the team. Anna remains lead carer to me and also laundry maid when I am in need of clean clothes! Cassie acts as the team’s health and safety officer regularly voicing her concerns over various matters! Sophie continues to be an outstanding photographer and in her spare time, a leading consultant on Indian fashion (often supported by Cassie).
We are all very happy here and have high spirits. On the rare occasion one of us has a little down time, it only lasts a short while as there is always something new and fascinating to experience and enjoy.
More from me next week!
Cathie
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| The team with Kahn on the way to Jaiselmer |
Hi Cathie - I love your weekly review, and tell the team your pictures go from very good to excellent to outstanding and whatever comes after that! Peter
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