The nearest village is called Jaypura and is a 10 minute walk and the villagers have had little or no contact with westerners before. It is important for Raleigh to establish good relations and to integrate into the community and we have mooted ideas of perhaps teaching at the local school but more of that to come later in the expedition.
We have simple plans today and hope to browse the handful of hut like shops and gain our bearings but this is not what Jaypura had planned for us. We are treated like celebrities and cause as much of a stir as if Brangelina had just strolled down Oxford Street. A kind of “Delboy” character adopts us as his long lost family introducing himself proudly as Nagesgh. We are ordered to take Chai (tea) and I am gifted with jasmine garlands in my hair.
The children swarm to have their photographs taken as they giggle shyly as they are presented with their digital camera images demanding us to take more and more and the game does not appear to become tiresome. The children’s laughter is completely infectious and hypnotic and we leave the village full of joy.
Loving the blog, the new FB looks great. I'm sure you'll have an amazing expedition and you carry with you the very best wishes of all those who have gone before. A few words of wisdom from a Raleigh India veteran:
ReplyDelete1. Anna's energy bombs deserve a Michellin star in their own right.
2. Only mess with a Mark Ashby whiteboard if you want to be deployed to Siberia in flipflops.
3. Don't ever take Amanda's hot water!
4. It is possible to go through an entire expedition on little more than parrotta, bourbons and peanut butter although the world health organisation (and the medics) do not advise this.
5. Caution is to be advised when throwing ropes whilst bamboo rafting.
6. On your first day on a project site with a 20 letter name, the person on ops duty will ask a venturer to spell it phonetically. It's an unwritten rule (especially if Mark is on ops). Try to not to laugh throughout the subsequent attempt which carves the phonetic alphabet in pieces.
7. Appy fizz (like fizzy apple juice) is liquid nectar. I would do another expedition for that alone!
8. Logs-if you manage to make a shopping trip to Mysore and return with your sanity intact you are a better soul than I. In the absence of this, I would recommend appy fizz and bourbons.
9. Never miss a fancy dress opportunity, you'd be amazed what you can do with a bin liner and a pair of y fronts. The ensuing photographic evidence should be destroyed if you wish to gain employment post Raleigh.
10. More seriously, enjoy every minute, look after one another and know that whatever it is that you are doing it makes a difference.
Good luck
Kate
Just wanted to say a big hello to everyone at Raleigh India and how I look forward to reading about the up-and-coming expedition.
ReplyDeleteThe new field-base looks great and love the photos from the town. I can imagine it was a fantastic moment for everyone.
Hope all your experiences are as memorable and amazing as mine (and everyone from 09J's) were.
Much Love, Peace and Respect.
Luke
Hi James, thanks for txt on your safe arrival, was good to see you on the photos, everyone looks really happy, did send a post yesterday but not sure if you recieved it. lots of love Mum and Phillxx
ReplyDeleteit sounds amazing, i am so excited to come and join you soon!
ReplyDeleteHi James,
ReplyDeleteYour Mum sent me the blog details. Just been reading it. It looks really good but I can't imagine what you'll be doing - don't know anything about Raleigh International. So, I'll be reading the blog with a great deal of interest and I'll even send you a message every now and then.
Love
G
XX