from Darla Shaw, professor of education at Western Ct. State University in Danbury, Ct. Traveling as part of the Humanitarian Travel Group from WCSU.
In the past five days our group has traveled to the Taj Mahal to Akbar, Acra, to Delhi to Jaipur. The sites and scenes are fabulous but now I am where my heart belongs. I am in Calcutta where we are working with people of all ages.
Yesterday Rosalee, our leader in Calcutta, took us to visit an orphanage of disabled people from age 11 to 50. These were all people who were found family less on the streets and would have had no quality of life whatsoever if it were not for this program. There were probably about 3 in the group.
We were welcomed into the orphanage with a multitude of hugs and handshakes. We were shown the crafts and paintings and saw parts from their famous show. This group has been in newspaper articles and on TV because of the work that they do in regard to music and drama. Even with varying disabilities these people are able to put on huge productions based on the work of the poet, Tagore. The level of talent was incredible. Even the deaf, dumb and mute took part in a major role.
After a rather lengthy performance we now thanked them them through singing the Barney song with hand motions. We then involved them in the song and they loved.it. Next we sang We Shall Overcome together as a group. They sang in several languages. We sang in only one language. Finally we danced with the people in the orphanage to a wild drum beat and the girls played with the hair of our women. They hated to see us go and we also felt sad to go, but our bus, Priscilla was waiting.
As we left they gave us beautiful little Xmas trees that they had made. It was a wonderful day and a wonderful way to start the heart of the trip.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
David's notes
Jeannie is too tired to think so I am writing for both of us. It's been a problem getting internet access at our hotels, thus the lack of information here.
In addition to the sights we have seen our local guide has taken us visit with several artisans (read "retail opportunities") that have turned out to be kind of nice. We went to a shop where craftsmen work with marble and semi-precious stones to create inlaid pieces from large table tops to small jewelry boxes, picture frames and other items. The workmanship is intricate and very beautiful. We succumbed to the rum and coca drinks that were served and bought some stuff. Then we were on to a shop that sells pashmina woolen goods (from Kashmir) - another buying spree. Today we saw a larger shop on the grounds of the royal palace where many kinds of crafts were on sale - paintings, enamels, textiles and woolens, marble inlay work and other things. After some sifting there were some very nice and interesting things.
Traffic was another matter. Dusty and dismal on the way to Agra from Delhi and not so good from Agra to Jaipur until we were many miles out of town. The guide told us we were on a "good road" today, which turned out to mean a road in the process of construction. It's a divided highway but many miles of it are completed only on one side, so there is two-way traffic. There were also sections where both sides were complete, and on those sections there were two lanes in each direction. The thrilling part was that there was no real indication which was which, so we would be barreling down the fast lane and look up to see a truck heading for us head-on. Mr Toad's wild ride. Last night was also a Muslim festival which apparently commenced at about 2am with a very loud concert near the hotel, lasting until about 5am. We racked up about 3 hours sleep. Tonight should be more restful.
In addition to the sights we have seen our local guide has taken us visit with several artisans (read "retail opportunities") that have turned out to be kind of nice. We went to a shop where craftsmen work with marble and semi-precious stones to create inlaid pieces from large table tops to small jewelry boxes, picture frames and other items. The workmanship is intricate and very beautiful. We succumbed to the rum and coca drinks that were served and bought some stuff. Then we were on to a shop that sells pashmina woolen goods (from Kashmir) - another buying spree. Today we saw a larger shop on the grounds of the royal palace where many kinds of crafts were on sale - paintings, enamels, textiles and woolens, marble inlay work and other things. After some sifting there were some very nice and interesting things.
Traffic was another matter. Dusty and dismal on the way to Agra from Delhi and not so good from Agra to Jaipur until we were many miles out of town. The guide told us we were on a "good road" today, which turned out to mean a road in the process of construction. It's a divided highway but many miles of it are completed only on one side, so there is two-way traffic. There were also sections where both sides were complete, and on those sections there were two lanes in each direction. The thrilling part was that there was no real indication which was which, so we would be barreling down the fast lane and look up to see a truck heading for us head-on. Mr Toad's wild ride. Last night was also a Muslim festival which apparently commenced at about 2am with a very loud concert near the hotel, lasting until about 5am. We racked up about 3 hours sleep. Tonight should be more restful.
India
Just a quick note. We have been so busy traveling that I have not had a chance to keep up. We have also had internet glitches and I have been so sick. I think the pollution has been so bad in Delhi and Agra that it has gotten to my lungs. Hopefully things will improve for me. We have been on a whirlwind tour traveling by bus from Delhi to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort then hopped back on the bus the next day to Jaipur to see the Observatory, the Pink City and Maharajah's Palace. We have now collapsed in our hotel. Will give more detailed updates later.
Monday, January 5, 2009
India January 5 2009
Hello to All-
This is Christine Wagner, Director of Hearts & Hands for Cambodia. www.heartsandhandsforcambodia.org We are again traveling. Jeannie Hatcherson has put together another group. Nine of us will be in India- Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and Kolkata. Four of us will continue on to Cambodia to assist H&HC Sobbhana Day Care in Battambang where we will meet another four people coming in from the US. Our travel group will be introducing themselves throughout this blog.
I am from Atlanta, presently in Connecticut where it is freezing. I am visiting my mother and meeting up with our group who will fly out of JFK today. We have all been madly packing and getting ready for this big trip. I will be gone for 5 weeks. The last week for me will be spent in Singapore where I lived for four years. Check back for our periodic posts. We have some interesting experiences coming up!
This is Christine Wagner, Director of Hearts & Hands for Cambodia. www.heartsandhandsforcambodia.org We are again traveling. Jeannie Hatcherson has put together another group. Nine of us will be in India- Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and Kolkata. Four of us will continue on to Cambodia to assist H&HC Sobbhana Day Care in Battambang where we will meet another four people coming in from the US. Our travel group will be introducing themselves throughout this blog.
I am from Atlanta, presently in Connecticut where it is freezing. I am visiting my mother and meeting up with our group who will fly out of JFK today. We have all been madly packing and getting ready for this big trip. I will be gone for 5 weeks. The last week for me will be spent in Singapore where I lived for four years. Check back for our periodic posts. We have some interesting experiences coming up!
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