We gathered in the kitchen at 8am and had our breakfast. I am going to have to get a picture of the two gentlemen that take care of all the meals in the Jesuit residence - just to pay them a bit of tribute. They make sure you don't do too much on your own. I have only to sit down at the table when magically coffee appears before me, followed shortly after by a plate of eggs and toast. I can really get used to that kind of treatment. Anyway, after we all had our breakfast we were loaded into the community mini van for a trip to the step well.
The step well is what remains of an old palace. The well was created so that servants could easily get to fresh water by walking the steps to the water perhaps 4-5 stories below. This well is not small, baby Jessica would be safe. In fact, the general width of the steps is about fifteen feet. It is decorated with hand carved lattice work and the home to many green poppets (Gujarati for Parrot). It is a well known tourist attraction and therefore heavily visited by the poor in the area. I was told by Pinky that instead of working these individuals have made begging their main occupation. I was also told to not give out any money - no matter how much they begged. So I ignored the few that approached me and headed down into the well with the rest of the team.
Forgetting Dr. Thorn's warning to stick together, Vince and I lagged behind the rest and were approached by two men that insisted that I take their picture. I did, but then they proceeded to follow me. They wanted to see the image - well it wasn't good enough so they asked to take another - which I did. That still didn't satisfy them. They really wanted me to take a clear picture so that you could see the poster they were holding. It became quite clear that they wanted the message printed on it posted somewhere - they even showed me the name of a web page that they said contained 'knowledge'. Not wanting to appear to be the rude American I reached to take the poster, but they wouldn't let me have it - I really wasn't sure why. Thankfully Fr. Vinayak came to my rescue. I still don't know what the poster said, but he read it shook his head and crushed it into a ball. I am guessing it didn't promote happy thoughts. Not wanting a visit from the local government I deleted the picture with the clear writing. I still have the other one. Not sure why - maybe just to include in this blog.
After that great adventure Vince and I once again wandered away from the group. We were taking pictures in the grassy area when we noticed a camel cart wandering past. We each took a few shots and headed back. We told Ashley and Steve about the camel and before you could say "watch where you step" they were on a foot race to catch up with the beast.
Vince and I met the group on the way to the car. When Ashley and Steve joined us they told of the success of their camel expedition. Fr. Vinayak chuckled and told them that we would see many camels at our next stop. He was right - we saw 36 - at least. You see we had turned down the road to our next stop and there was a camel farmer exercising his herd. Being the good tourists we all jumped out of our minivan and began another camel chase. It was neat seeing them up close and personal. In some cases a little too personal. The farmers were very patient with the crazy Americans and even posed for some pictures. I often wonder what they think of us taking these odd pictures. I wonder if they would find our streets boring.
Well, on with the story. We stopped for lunch and mass services at a school. Mass was held in the Unteshwari Mata Maria Mandir, or the Shrine of Our Lady of the Camels. Very fitting. The inside of this shrine was remarkable. The walls and ceiling are covered in ornamental mosaic's of glass and ceramic. At lunch I noticed that Vince was looking a bit pale. It would be revealed later that this was due to him being a little too adventurous the night before and trying a sweet called "water balls". Basically a sweetened bit of water inside a puffed up piece of bread. The problem is that the water was not filtered. Let it be known that green is not a good color on Vince.
On the way to our final stop of the afternoon, Ghandi's home, Vince invented a new game "name that smell". I think it was partially to keep his mind off of how bad he felt, and partially to keep the rest of the crew from getting sick due to a combination of stop and go driving and the exhaust coming in the open windows. One thing is for sure - it was a good game as every 10-15 feet there was another different scent coming into the van. I grew up near a tanning factory so I knew what some of the smells were - but some were better off unnamed.
At Ghandi's home everyone split up and relaxed a bit in the area where Ghandi had called home and delivered his sermons. It is on the river and there are high walls protecting the cliffs. When you look over the wall you have another pleasant surprise - more green poppets. They have managed to use their strong beaks to make burrows in the wall - sometimes you only see a tail hanging from the hole.
I watched them fly from the bank of the river up into the trees. They are truly beautiful when they fly.
Over in the far courtyard is a school that is still in operation. Young children were in the yard jumping rope and playing cricket. I watched a group of boys chasing kites as they fell from the sky. The festival of kites is on the 14th of January so much practice is taking place. You have to be careful with these kites, the strings are spun with glass so that you can easily cut the string of an opponents kite. One woman has been killed this year when her throat was slit by some string.
Ok - back to happy thoughts.
After our trip to Ghandi's home we made it back to the Jesuit Residence in time for Tea. 4pm - tea time has become a favorite time of day. I have decided to start this tradition at work when I return. I have been told I need to purchase tea before I leave. The evening was spent preparing for the final week of the workshop. Video's were downloaded from the camera's and all the batteries were recharged. On Monday we will be giving the student groups one final instruction on Windows Movie Maker and then they are on their own to finish their stories. Two students have been selected to work on the webpage. Steve and I will guide them along.
We will launch the site by Friday and show it to the community at the graduation ceremony along with the favorite pictures handed in by the students.
Only 4 days remain of our workshop. Friday feels like a long way off, but I know it will go fast.
After the well we headed to a nearby school that is focused on children with disabilities. As we were
No comments:
Post a Comment