3 weeks left in Bangaloraaa. and Happy Easter also. only. actually.

Hellope! So i am officially crap at writing this blog but you knowwwwwww, so many more fun things to be doing than sitting on a computer!!
So where have i been since i last wrote...... Went to Mysore on a camping/safari type thing with all the gap guru crew. was a very funny weekend.. saw some elephants, monkeys... had a tribal dance! went rafting... saw the mysore palace 'illimination' (allumination) which was pretty impressive. went to a markett... feels like ages ago now! i guess it was though.
Then have been schooling, working... making worksheets. its all about phonics and ch and sh and th and oo and ee.! the kids are still amazing. and the annual day was one of the best nights ever, quite emotional! the play was briliant. and a Kanada film star came and watched and gave a speach which all the kids, parents and teachers loved!
Then went to Goa for a few days... lots of beaching, swimming, sunbathing (ish), eating, drinking, dancing, scootering.... was very fun. Was like a holiday. you dont feel like you're in India at all. Full of hippy travellers and lots of white chavs too but was a nice break. oh and me and deepa had champange bought for us which is always good!! Tried to get a little brown but pretty much failed miserably.. sunbathing is just oh so boring.!
then back to Bangalore for a few days then offfff to Delhi and Rajasthan on gap guru trip thing.
Had a very good week. there were 20 of us which was a bit of a mission at times and a bit school trip like but also pretty hilariouso. Went to Agra- saw the Taj Mahal... amazingggggggggggggg. so surreal to actually see it first hand! Then had 20 hour train journey to Jasilmer... bloody long but wasnt too bad. long journeys are nothing now.! Jasilmer was awesome. saw a fort... lots of fretwork. its all about symmetry repetition pattern! ha ha. bought some nice things.. then went to Jodhpur... did more stuff, wont bore you with it all! then Jaipur where we celebrated holi which was WELL fun. my hair is still pink.
Now im back in Bangalore and must make the most of my 3 weeks left here. Dont want to leaveeeee! although am looking fwd to seeing the familia and angie ofcourse! but time is going too too quick and ill be home before long which is good but means i have to get a job, argh!!
But yeah am happy and having lots of fun and wont ramble on any longer!
I hope everyone is relly well.
Lots and lots of love. X X X.

A couple of photos.

a quick note....

Have no time as per usual but just wanted to say that i will write properly soon! Im still alive, well and happy. Still having lots of fun and lots of random experiences. Saw Serena Williams play yesterday at the Bangalore Open to name one!.
Off to Goa for a few days tonight for lots of sun, beaches and maybe a few bevvies?! so all in allllll everything is super duper. 2 months down... crazy. Love to everyone and hope you're all well. X x x.

Bonjour.

OOOpieeeeee, have just realised that i havnt written for ages and ages!
Right so quick low down (is that the right phrase?!) on what i have been up to....
Went to Coorg insetad of Hampi a couple of weekends ago as couldnt get any accomodation in there cs President was visiting?! Coorg was beauty though, a lovely little hill station. We hired a jeep to take us and there we stayed in a house surrounded by coffee plantations. We had gorgeous food there too, was nice. Just very chilled. Visited a waterfall, that kinda thing. Oh and a buddhist temple placey. and we had a camp fire. and our driver was a grumpy nutter. but was funnn.
During the weeks ive been cracking on with teaching!!? trying too. and having lots of fun doing it. then meeting up with people etc. lots of kingfisher beer, yummm.
Some new gappers arrived the other week, we all met them at Hemas house one evening where we had our very own waitor and food that she'd had catered for us especially, was amazing. Hema is a legend. then went to a country and western bar in cooke town and showed the locals how its done. We got that dance floor filled.
Went to the cinema the other day too. was a hindi film 'taare zameen' something or other. wasnt a singy dancy one but was well good. quite sad, had a few tears among my sweet corn snack.! ive got see some full on bollywood films though, they look amazing.
And now i have just got back from Pondicherry which was my first sight of the indian sea. on the east cost in Tamil Nadu. Is an old french colony so everyone speaks french and it feels like your in europe, good food too. was really fun. did lots of relaxing on the beach (fully clothed, always an experince!). walking, cycling, chatting to randomers. met some mexican dude called Mali who had been living there for years cos of this wierd spiritual guru thing they have there called 'the mother' and sri something... cant remember these names! but yeah, he was funny as, told us his life story, we all did a bit of meditation together too whilst listening to mozart!!!? so random.
Im loving that kind of thing here though, everyone wants to know where your from, what your doing here, what u do at home etc. you feel like a right celebrity, im gonna miss that when i get home!!! and you hear lots of interesting stories too which is the most interesting part.
oh and before i forget - caroline, anna, frada - sleeper buses here are WAY better than in thailand. way more spacious, and you can get proper sleeper ones where you can lie down in your own bed thing. bit hard to sleep cos of moving around but no chance of getting cramp which is the best thing!!! lots of indian men farting/snoring though. lovely way to fall asleep!
and this week my plans are... well not really sure!! have been doing some reading assessments so more of that and more going out and more having fun!
and at the weekend we go to mysore and go camping in a tiger/elephant reserve?! all courtesy of gap guru, thank you!! so that will be muchos fun.
sorry that my spelling has been uber crap. have forgotten how to use my brain!!
Love to everyoneeeeeeeeeeeee. leave me comments! missing you all lorra lorra. xxxxx.

Namaste!

Hello everyone.... so what have i done since i last wrote?! Well Caroline has arrived, shes nice.... We had our picture taken at the Lalbagh flower show and it was in the newspaper!! we didnt realise that people were taking pictures of us but to be fair its a common occurance there as everyones amazed to see foreigners!!! so that was well random.
School is going well, have been doing all sorts, mainly helping where i can and one on reading. Ive also been doing 'Buzz Words' so words the kids may struggle to prenounce or understand ie 'delighted' 'surpirse'!! We met the founder of the organistation last week, she was really nice, when she was younger she worked with mother teresa for 7 years so thats pretty cool!
There are also some other volunteers that ive met english/sccottish/austrian/indian so got lots of people i can meet up with which is always good... can get a tad boring just going home and reading!! We've had some funny moments like crazy auto rides that are free aslong as you go visit certain shops and pretend u are really rich and are gonna buy lots of the over priced stuff.
Have some clothes in the process of being made... cost me RS 125 so thats less than 2pounds! so good, and very exciting.
Have had a really funny weekend... had a pedicure... not good when uve got tickly feet, and it HURTS! nice to have clean feet for a while though before they get all dusty!
On Saturday evening me Sarah Milo and Richard ended up in a rude boy racer car, didnt think u got that kinda thing in India... but u do! we got a lift to this club called the ice club... inside a very very posh hotel! the club spilled out to around the pool and it has benefits being a western girl as is rare that u have to buy your own drink so that was pretty funny. although curfew is very annoying as have to be home at half 11. so wierd to be back at home before 12 on a saturday night!!! good for my health though im sure. !!!
on sunday a new girl arrived called Katrin who's also at Parikrma so met her at Hemas, and Alex and James who have been here a while but hadnt met them yet.
so yeah thats about it i think... im very bad at writing these things as have about 5 mins to do them in so they probably make no sense!!
has been a busy day at school today... kids can be ever so slightly too mental and is hard being a volunteer as have no authority but they are also lovely so its fine!!
off home now and then will be meeting ppl later for some drinks so keeping busy. gonna try and make it to a bollywood film some time this week too and then off to Hampi at the weekend.
Hope everyone is good back in EngalAndddd. cant say im missing the winter but missing the people lots of course!! Love to everyone. Keep in touch with what u are all up too! Mwah. xxxxxxxx.

One week down!

So it has been a whole week! Hahaha sounds like nothing but really does feel like i have been here for ages. Have got home sick at times... when u remember you are here for months more and im missing people a lot as everyone would love it here and i want them (you) to share my experince! But all is fabby, having a wicked time. At school right now, have got a bit of free time before i go back to teaching again! Im not teaching as such, more observing and helping at the moment, but have got a timetable and will be doing a lot of one on one teaching with students who need help with their english.
The school is lovely and so are all the teachers, they are making me feel very comfertable. The kids are awesome too, although can be a bit mental! they grap you and dont let go for quite a long time.!!
Im also going to be helping making costumes for the annual day in March, which is where all 4 Parikrma Foundation schools meet up and do a play or something like that. There will be over 2000 people there, students, teachers, parents, sponsers etc, so that will be fun. Cant wait to do arty fun things with the kids.
This Saturday my room mate Caroline is meant to be coming, so lets hope shes nice!
Im going for a drink with a couple of Parikrma volunteers after work today so im keeping busy.
Have also booked some weekend trips. Going to Hampi the first weekend of Feb and possibly Gokarna next weekend if can get train tickets. Gokarna is just below Goa, really nice beaches but less touristy so that should be good. maybe tan a leetle?! so far my neck is bit brown/red but thats it!
umm what else.... im not very good at writing these things, u forget all that u have done!! oh, have got some material so i can get some clothes tailored for me, thats indian styley, long top and then trousers and scarf thing. !! mums worried ill be dying my hair black next! Its so cheap to get clothes made though, less than a tenner, and thats including the material. gorgeouuussss material, so many colours. You also blend in more if you wear more indian styled clothes and they are more comfertable. i do get stared out quite a lot its funny, families shove their kids into your lap to take pictures of you with them.!!!
ohhhh and yesterday i saw indian drag queens!? surely thats not acceptable in the very conservative india? literally everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at them untill they walked past and then started muttering!! was pretty funny to watch and for once i wasnt getting all the stares!
auto rides are still one of my favourite things, near death experinces every time, as is crossing the road. auto drivers often have to push other autos along with their feet whilst driving, to push start them. ive had times when theyve got out to go for a wee too!
bet yes i best stop as have got to get back to classsss!
Hope everyone is well and lots of love.
xxxxxxx.
also maaaa or paaaaa, can u please pass this web address on to howard etc? if you havnt already. xxxxxxxx.

IM HERE!!

So here i am in India. Right now i am in the Parikrma School. Today is my first day. I am not really sure what Im supposed to be doing but there is an American guy here who is kinda helping me out and so has showed me the way to the computer!! so thought id do a quick post!!
I helped some people reading this morning but they were more interested in the fact that my name sounded like Alex, which is a boys name.. oh my goddd!!! but they are lovely and soon im hoping to get some arty things on the go.
Im living with Tara in Cooke Town, shes really nice and is looking after me well. Im eating well and coping with the spice and using my fingers!
Ive met other gap guru gappers aswell who all seem lovely. A lot of them live in Cooke Town so thats useful for meeting up and what not. Some of them are also travelling from April onwards so Ive got people to be with which is gooood.
I found out my visa runs out on June 12th and is gonna be very hard to extend it so may have to come home a couple of weeks early, but thats all good as will be home for my birthday and maybe Glastonbury?!
But yeah is wicked here, very noisy, traffic is completly mental. worse than anything in thailand. Dont think theyve ever heard of road signs!!! I stand out big time as not very many white people here at all, but is fine, i love gettting ripped off my auto drivers!!!
Im hoping to start taking some hindi lessons so i can understand people a bit better and blend in a bit more. Im also gonna try and do some yoga with Tara!!
so yeah everyhting is good. hope englands good too. Missing everyone, please keep me posted with what you're all doing!\Big big love, and will let you know when i get my indian phone up and running. MWAH/ XXXXXXXXX.

Parikrma Foundation

This is the website of the school I'm teaching at so have a look if you fancy it.
http://parikrmafoundation.org/

Off in 5 days, arghhhhh!

This is my blog for my time in India so keep looking for updates and all that malarkly and comment as will want to hear from everyone lots and lots. x.
I have also created a flickr.com account where i will put pictures up. My user name is AliceLint so find me and I will put pictures up as soon as i have some.
Right so yeahhhh, my next post will be when I'm in India, how wierd! Gonna miss everyone lots, dont forget me, haha!
Loads of love. Alice xxx.



And the picture is so you don't forget what I look like!