A Google Map of all the travels we've had along the way...and upcoming ones as well!
You can zoom in and out and move around the map to see the destinations!
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Monday, August 24, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
To Glasgow I go!
Once again Stephanie and I have booked another adventure outside of Ireland! I really should just stop looking online at flights...but the good news is this one isn't nearly as far as India or Budapest, and is just for the weekend.
In September we will officially be traveling to Scotland to visit a new friend of ours for the weekend. We were able to book flights round trip for only 18Euro off Ryanair, as much as we wanted to protest this airline. We know we are going a little bit back on our word but since the Budapest incident (see blog during Easter time) we haven't given them a dime!
So we will travel with them, but we refuse to be happy about it!
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And just to clarify, I am aware I will be visiting Scotland in September. AKA: cold. But hey, this Southern California girl has been living in Ireland the past year...
P.S. DON'T FORGET TO VOTE ONLINE FOR MY BLOG IN THE COMPETITION!! Follow this link to visit my submission and at the bottom you can rate it with the 5 blue stars. But first, at the bottom of my blog on that page, look to the right and click the link that says 'create log in/sign up.' The just create a user name and you can vote!!
CLICK TO VOTE FOR ME!
DEADLINE OCT 1!!
VOTES DECIDE WHO WINS!!
In September we will officially be traveling to Scotland to visit a new friend of ours for the weekend. We were able to book flights round trip for only 18Euro off Ryanair, as much as we wanted to protest this airline. We know we are going a little bit back on our word but since the Budapest incident (see blog during Easter time) we haven't given them a dime!
So we will travel with them, but we refuse to be happy about it!
View Larger Map
And just to clarify, I am aware I will be visiting Scotland in September. AKA: cold. But hey, this Southern California girl has been living in Ireland the past year...
P.S. DON'T FORGET TO VOTE ONLINE FOR MY BLOG IN THE COMPETITION!! Follow this link to visit my submission and at the bottom you can rate it with the 5 blue stars. But first, at the bottom of my blog on that page, look to the right and click the link that says 'create log in/sign up.' The just create a user name and you can vote!!
CLICK TO VOTE FOR ME!
DEADLINE OCT 1!!
VOTES DECIDE WHO WINS!!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Vote for Me to win an Ultimate Adventure!
So I have recently entered in to win an Ultimate Adventure blog competition. I had to blog about what my ultimate trip would be if time and money were no object and then the post with the most votes in October will be shortlisted and a winner chosen!
This means I need all your votes and support in order to have a chance! I have posted my entry on the site (link below), but need anyone and everyone to go online to http://www.i-to-i.com/campfire/TaylorFlores/posts/988-The-Taylor-made-Ultimate-Wonders and at the bottom of my post you can vote with the little blue stars! You may have to create a quick account to vote (so they know you are a real person) but then you can erase it later if you want!
Thank you again for all your support in keeping my travel bug fed!! Please spread the word!!
:)
This means I need all your votes and support in order to have a chance! I have posted my entry on the site (link below), but need anyone and everyone to go online to http://www.i-to-i.com/campfire/TaylorFlores/posts/988-The-Taylor-made-Ultimate-Wonders and at the bottom of my post you can vote with the little blue stars! You may have to create a quick account to vote (so they know you are a real person) but then you can erase it later if you want!
Thank you again for all your support in keeping my travel bug fed!! Please spread the word!!
:)
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Holy Cow! My 'tails' from India
Hey Guys!
So I just recently got back from three weeks of travelling throughout India and doing the Community work in Bangalore project from the company i-to-i for two of the weeks. I was assigned to the SKID project, which is teaching and working at a deaf and hearing impaired school in the city. Never having really worked with special needs children, or teaching children in general, needless to say I was quite nervous! I was worried I wouldn’t be able to really do much, help out, or get the full experience as if I was on a different project. But I can just tell you that once I finished my first day at the school I couldn’t imagine working at any of the other projects! India was definately a place that when I had decided to go I thought, "Hey why not? It was never on my main list to visit but I'll go, get the experience and then move on.." But having been there I never thought I would want to return as much as I do. Not only are there so many amazing places I didn't get a chance to visit, but the people, customs and culture are SO different it's a great experience. I have never witnessed so many different sights, smells, customs and more. It's hard to explain but maybe after this blog it will make a bit more sense and encourage someone else to travel a place they never thought of before--beyond the "top destination" list in their mind. I will go ahead and get to the day-to-day at the project later, but first I will tell you about my arrival in Bangalore, the orientation and housing.
On arrival:
After a long journey from Ireland to Bangalore, I was so exhausted but very excited at the same time. I had begun my day at 6 am July 4, and after a few airplane switches I arrived into Bangalore at 7 pm, July 5th. We flew Air India most of the way and I was nervous at first about the food, but was pleasently surprised. We had a variety of movies, music and TV shows to watch on the plane (like any other long distance flight) but what was interesting was the blurred out chests of women, especially any slight clevage that was showing. There were even points in movies where a whole conversation about sex was taken out. Once we arrived and after going through customs, sitting for hours in airports and airplanes, I was so overwhelmed when I went through the double doors. Even though I was travelling with my friend Stephanie, I felt lost as I looked up and there is a huge wall of people yelling around you. It’s as if I had a huge stamp on my forehead saying “foreigner,” and I had people left and right asking if I needed or wanted a taxi. But as soon as I looked straight ahead I saw the i-to-i sign that was waiting for us.
It was such a sigh of relief not having to deal with anything and having my pick up arranged for me from the time of booking the project. Right from the airport we were whisked away to our accommodation, but not before getting an inside look at all the driving Indian roads have to offer. Cars buzz around you so fast, and while we were driving in a three lane highway- there were about eight lanes of motor-vehicles filling up the lanes! It was like watching a big game of Tetris and seeing all the little pieces fit together where they had room: cars, taxis, rickshaws, motorbikes, etc. There was even a time when we were flying down the road and had to dodge out of the way from three enormous camels crossing the main highway! This was also the time when you notice a lot of trash and cows hanging out on the roads.
Accommodation:
It took about an hour to get into the city with traffic, and we dropped off one of the other volunteers we picked up from the airport at the Katary Villa volunteer accommodation. Stephanie and I where then taken down to road to the other volunteer house, Shirley’s. In Shirley’s, about 6 volunteers can stay there at a time (two sharing a room) and it is literally just down the road from the other volunteer house, which can hold up to about 7 volunteers. The accommodation was nice, two single beds in a room, each room has its own Western-style bathroom with shower, plenty of room and there was even a cabinet that locked where Shirley recommended we put our valuable things in when we were gone during the day- just in case. The whole time we were there neither house had a problem about things getting taken or missing. The Katary house had an issue with security and leaving the key to their rooms, but they addressed that with the in country team and were able to figure something out so that they felt comfortable and secure. Every day there was a boy who would come to Shirley’s house and clean the floors, so Shirley would have him come into the room and just wipe down the floor in our room, etc so it stayed pretty nice. It was here that Stephanie had our first encounter setting up and sleeping with mosquetto nets, which was very entertaining!
To be honest we didn’t live with much hot water, but you get used to it and it’s not too bad. Hey, at least there is clean running water which is a luxury! The shower head didn't have really any pressure (just kind of trickled out) so we mainly splashed ice-cold water on ourselves from the two faucets that are below the shower (kind of like a bath). Shirley has solar panels for hot water, which once she realized we weren’t getting any they cleaned them off and we had warmer water either very early in the morning or in the later evenings. But in reality I wouldn’t expect to have hot water and it’s just all part of the experience. (This is where the baby whipes came in REALLY handy!)
Meals in Shirley’s House:
All meals were provided with the project and depending on when your project started in the morning, Shirley would make you breakfast accordingly. Breakfast would consist of fried Eggs, plenty of toast with selection of butter, jam, tea or coffee. If we were on project for lunch, Shirley would pack a lunch to take for us which normally is something left over from dinner, or normally a wheat wrap type thing with either veggies, rice, potato filling or meat. (Never always knew what it was, but it was good!) Then dinners varied but normally would have different rice, curries, meat, potato stuffing, sauces, etc. The different foods ranged from spicy to mild to no spice at all, so there was definitely something for everyone. But, we also had a few vegetarians and a vegan on the project, so Shirley would always make sure that either breakfast, lunch and dinner would be okay for each of them. In that case, the breakfast and lunch meals would vary- but any dietary needs would be addressed fine.
**But I do just want to note that I came to India not being able to handle barely any spicy food, and by the end of the trip I had definitely adapted. If you absolutely can’t handle spice then just know that you would be able to get on just fine, but maybe with a few surprises along the way. But a lot of the fabulous local food has a kick to it, so I would suggest going out on a limb and trying it. You never know, you may come back like me with new taste buds!**
The very next morning we had our Orientation at the in-country Coordinator’s house- Asha Dev. We were able to meet all the volunteers who were starting the same time we were, and spent time hearing about India and how the different projects started and how Asha became involved. We got a welcome binder with LOADS of information from things to do and see locally, plus some of the most popular places to visit on weekend trips. Asha went over all security issues and any problem we had she made sure to address everything. After getting all settled we went to a nice buffet lunch at a Hotel nearby, where all the other in-country volunteers came to meet us. From here we went into the city to do any shopping, money exchange or just to look around and get our bearings. We had that day to do anything we wanted to or get anything we needed before starting our projects the next morning. Some volunteers needed to get more traditional-style tops to where at some projects which were more strict, but they are very easy to find and really cheap! Any information like that was provided by Asha and we knew for the most part what to expect for the project. In addition to Asha, Mina is also there who is a good friend of Asha’s who came on board with i-to-i to help out with all the volunteers in country. Mina and Asha split up who would pick up which volunteers (dependent on start times and locations) so that we wouldn’t have to worry about how to get to the projects in the morning on our first day.
So the next day, Tuesday, Asha came and picked us up at about 9 or 9.30 am and showed us the way to our project. She made sure to have the driver go the way we would walk, and when there were one way streets she made sure to clarify the fastest route we would take. This was really helpful since we would be walking home from the project, but also because if we took a rickshaw (street taxi type vehicle) they might want to charge us the Meter price instead of haggling down to a set distance price. This sometimes can be the best way to go, but ONLY if you know the best/fastest routes to have them take or else they will take you for a long and pricey ride. (Even though when you convert it back, an expensive ride would only be €1 - €2!) The SKID project was about a nice 20 minute walk, and we started most mornings between 8.30-9 am. School ended around 2-2.30pm so the times were really nice, giving us the whole afternoon to explore. Since we generally would go out and do things at night with all the volunteers, we normally wanted to sleep in as long as we could, so after the provided breakfast we normally caught a rickshaw ride to the project and then would just walk back in the afternoon. Since the project was pretty close, some drivers wouldn’t want to go since it wasn’t that worth it, but you shouldn’t pay any more then 20 Rupees to get there one way (Meter price is 14 Rupee…either price is still under €1).
The Project: SKID
After setting foot onto the school, I have never felt so needed in my life. There was no big dress code for our project, but mainly just have to your knees covered, and your chest if you are a girl. We were able to wear tank tops, but normally had a scarf to wear around our neck to make sure we were as respectful as possible. But I felt the most comfortable in sandals, capris or linen pants, a lightweight T-shirt or even local Kameez top I bought there. Jessie, the Principal of the school, welcomed us after Asha dropped us off and asked if we had any preferences to where we worked or what we did. Stephanie and I didn’t mind if we were in different classrooms, we just wanted to help where we were needed the most. So we split up and I was taken to a classroom upstairs where I worked personally with Nadisha, a boy in the class who was a bit slower at English and Social Studies then the other kids.
There is a range of different ages in the school and different hearing abilities as well. Some of the kids have really good speech while others either haven’t begun talking or don’t have a great hold on pronunciation and sound yet. Many of the children can read lips but for the most part you are almost acting out the things you need to communicate. It sounds more difficult and harder then it is, but the kids are so eager to work with you and teach you sign language that you pick up things very quickly. I worked with Nadisha in a separate room to make sure he finished filling in the missing word in a sentence, or did all his writing. In addition to working with Nadisha, I would help out in the Arts and Crafts room with the really little kids, or help draw posters or pictures the teachers needed for lesson plans. Not to mention just run around with them during Play Time!
After spending just a little bit of time there, you definitely see the need for volunteers at the school. The school provides hearing boxes for each child, which is like a hearing aid that is attached to a little sound box that fits into their pocket and helps them pick up sounds and the teachers use it to speak into, and then the kid would repeat the sentence- working on speech. The sad thing is that the children have to leave the sound-boxes at school everyday because the families don’t realize the worth of each one, which can lead to them selling it on the street or it getting misused and broken. The SKID school is one of the only schools for hearing impaired children, and there was even a boy at the school who travelled 4 hours on the train every day with his grandma to attend. The school uses basic American Sign Language, but there are adjustments they make to certain words and letters in the alphabet. I didn’t know a drop of sign language before going, but you pick it up so fast and by the end of the week I already knew how to sign the full alphabet and a few phrases to get me through the day. Plus, you aren’t really at a disadvantage if you don’t know any signing because the school has its own version that can’t be found online or in any books. It has become special to that school which means everyone (even the teachers) have been in the same position as you!
Roughly 100% of all the parents and families of the children do not know sign language and either don’t care to learn the basics to communicate with their child, or encourage signing or English in the home. The school openly encourages parents to come to the school any time they can and sit into the class to learn some basic ways to help their child, or see what their child is learning in school. During the whole time we were there I never saw one parent come into the school. To be fair, a lot of the families are busy working and trying to earn money to get by- but a lot of the students are sent to school mainly to get out of the house, or be kept off the streets.
The class numbers vary but there is roughly about 10-15 students to each class, and the students who are a bit slower on certain subjects are sat in the back of the class- out of the horseshoe shape seating of the other students. The normalities of being in country are very different from that of home, and sometimes it was hard watching and observing these things. The children that are considered “slow,” or “behind,” are actually incredibly smart and just need the right attention and motivation to work. That is where the volunteers come into the picture and can really help out. You get to struggle with them trying to find some way to communicate the sentence, but as soon as you do and you see that face light up with the right answer it just makes your whole day. This is the same for any project and it was great coming home every evening and all anyone can talk about is their day at the project and what success they had. As volunteers you get to bond over a lot of things together, and even get the chance to visit each other’s projects if yours ends early, etc. I could go on for hours about all the kids I worked and fell in love with: Veesim, Mamatha, Elf, Chandon, and the list continues on and on. I also learned a lot about the other projects in the area from the volunteers with me, so if you do have any questions feel free to ask me.
I have never had so many hugs, hand-holding and high fives in my life like I experienced during those two weeks. My time at the school could have easily been a few months and still fly by so fast. I have taken loads of photos and videos of the students at the school, so please feel free to look through them! The last day at the school was literally heart breaking. Most of the students understood that we were leaving because we could use sign language to explain we were going on a plane home to our families. The look on their face just dropped but then came over and gave us a huge hug. She even pointed to the calendar to ask when I would be back. We picked toward the end of 2010, so now I better start saving money again! Being at that project has to be one of the best things I have done, and while it was challenging as long as you have a sense of humour and love new adventures you will do just fine.
Life in Bangalore:
While living and working in Bangalore, there are plenty of things to do and see. There are amazing Temples, museums, Botanical Gardens, salons, and gorgeous public buildings. In the welcome binder that Asha and Mina provide for you, there is also a bunch of good places to eat out, bars and even contact numbers for cooking and Bollywood dance classes (two favourites of volunteers). The cinema also is definitely something to experience, and most nights there are multiple events going on that volunteers all head out for.
For the most part, every weekend will be spent travelling outside of Bangalore and no need to book anything before you arrive. Even though we were there during monsoon season, it was still a popular time to travel but we were fine to book things that week we wanted to go. The in country team will help and advise you on good places to go and prices. We went over to the East Cost of Pondicherry with all 8 of the volunteers at that time and had a blast. We caught the Friday night bus (about 8 hours) and arrived in around 6 am. We just went around to the different hostels and guesthouses to find the cheapest rate and best rooms, and then caught the late night bus back on Sunday night. On arrival into Pondicherry it was about 90 degree at 6 am! So it was definately a change from the nice temperate weather in Bagalore, but was also nice to get some sun! It ended up being cheaper to book one massive room for all of us volunteers, which worked well considering we all got along great and were around the same ages.
We arrived back into Bangalore early Monday morning with enough time to get back, nap for an hour or two, then catch breakfast and head to work! For most trips you will want to catch the night bus since the destination will probably be quite lengthy, and this way you won’t miss out on any daytime there. The overnight bus was definately an adventure. I lucked out, but the majority of our seats were in the VERY last row of the bus (about 5-6 seats across) and it was a nightmare. Because the roads are SO bad, and I'm talking basically no pavement, potholes and more, it was the most rediculous and horrible ride of my life. The bus driver would speed over any bumps SO fast that it literally knocked the wind out of you and there were times half asleep you would go flying and fall out of your seat. Stephanie came back with at least 5 battle wounds just from the bus ride! After about 8 hours one way you would expect to have a few...
When my project was over I headed up to Goa for about 6 nights, as many volunteers will plan to do more travelling as well. Even being there for 3 weeks wasn’t enough time to see all the places I wanted to in India. Two of the volunteers I had met who basically saw the most of India were there for about 6 weeks—and even cut a week short of volunteering in order to travel. Because there is so much to see and the country is so vast, you could at least use 8 weeks up and still wish you were there for longer!
Goa was beautiful but SO quiet during the off season. It is definately a place to visit but if you do go when it is off season be prepared to entertain yourself, and if you go during the busy season- be prepared to spend lots of money. The good thing about off season was that we could haggle down to cheap, cheap prices because for them any service was good service! Steph and I spent the days hiking, exploring, getting pretty in salons and even renting a motorbike! Since Goa is the beach area, everyone has motorbikes and it really is the best way to get around. It took some time getting used to driving it because it's was so heavy to turn (which is why i ran into a wall once), but I was a lot better then Stephanie. She got another battle wound after she accelerated the bike instead of breaking and put her feet down to stop...not smart. We basically crashed a bit before headed right into a bus and Steph hobbled away with a torn up foot. (But it is much better now but still recovering!)
No matter if you are in Goa or Bangalore, anywhere in India has the same attitudes in regards to cows...they rule over anything. It's not so much the fact they are sacred that is in your face or noticeable, but more that they have roam over everything. They literally go where ever they want, whenever they want. This includes the middle of the road during high traffic time, your front yard, the beach, dumpster, etc. Because they aren't raised for food/meat purposes, it was weird to see them so thin and boney, but also hard to see them eating out of trash bags or on the side of the road. They definately have major attitude and this includes the bulls that will also be walking on the sides of the road. In Goa there were a few times where Stephanie and I thought we were going to get run down by them. We were even chased down the tiny and narrow street by a bull and had no where to go because on either side of us were just water filled rice fields. It's very bizzar but really does put you in your place!
I really do hope to get back to the school and would love to spend two months with the kids again, teaching and traveling. While India is a harsh country, with some extreme poverty, it is one of the most amaxing places I have been. There is so much depth and history that goes untouched, and as lucky as I was- I only had a breif moment of touching it's surface.
So I just recently got back from three weeks of travelling throughout India and doing the Community work in Bangalore project from the company i-to-i for two of the weeks. I was assigned to the SKID project, which is teaching and working at a deaf and hearing impaired school in the city. Never having really worked with special needs children, or teaching children in general, needless to say I was quite nervous! I was worried I wouldn’t be able to really do much, help out, or get the full experience as if I was on a different project. But I can just tell you that once I finished my first day at the school I couldn’t imagine working at any of the other projects! India was definately a place that when I had decided to go I thought, "Hey why not? It was never on my main list to visit but I'll go, get the experience and then move on.." But having been there I never thought I would want to return as much as I do. Not only are there so many amazing places I didn't get a chance to visit, but the people, customs and culture are SO different it's a great experience. I have never witnessed so many different sights, smells, customs and more. It's hard to explain but maybe after this blog it will make a bit more sense and encourage someone else to travel a place they never thought of before--beyond the "top destination" list in their mind. I will go ahead and get to the day-to-day at the project later, but first I will tell you about my arrival in Bangalore, the orientation and housing.
On arrival:
After a long journey from Ireland to Bangalore, I was so exhausted but very excited at the same time. I had begun my day at 6 am July 4, and after a few airplane switches I arrived into Bangalore at 7 pm, July 5th. We flew Air India most of the way and I was nervous at first about the food, but was pleasently surprised. We had a variety of movies, music and TV shows to watch on the plane (like any other long distance flight) but what was interesting was the blurred out chests of women, especially any slight clevage that was showing. There were even points in movies where a whole conversation about sex was taken out. Once we arrived and after going through customs, sitting for hours in airports and airplanes, I was so overwhelmed when I went through the double doors. Even though I was travelling with my friend Stephanie, I felt lost as I looked up and there is a huge wall of people yelling around you. It’s as if I had a huge stamp on my forehead saying “foreigner,” and I had people left and right asking if I needed or wanted a taxi. But as soon as I looked straight ahead I saw the i-to-i sign that was waiting for us.
It was such a sigh of relief not having to deal with anything and having my pick up arranged for me from the time of booking the project. Right from the airport we were whisked away to our accommodation, but not before getting an inside look at all the driving Indian roads have to offer. Cars buzz around you so fast, and while we were driving in a three lane highway- there were about eight lanes of motor-vehicles filling up the lanes! It was like watching a big game of Tetris and seeing all the little pieces fit together where they had room: cars, taxis, rickshaws, motorbikes, etc. There was even a time when we were flying down the road and had to dodge out of the way from three enormous camels crossing the main highway! This was also the time when you notice a lot of trash and cows hanging out on the roads.
Accommodation:
It took about an hour to get into the city with traffic, and we dropped off one of the other volunteers we picked up from the airport at the Katary Villa volunteer accommodation. Stephanie and I where then taken down to road to the other volunteer house, Shirley’s. In Shirley’s, about 6 volunteers can stay there at a time (two sharing a room) and it is literally just down the road from the other volunteer house, which can hold up to about 7 volunteers. The accommodation was nice, two single beds in a room, each room has its own Western-style bathroom with shower, plenty of room and there was even a cabinet that locked where Shirley recommended we put our valuable things in when we were gone during the day- just in case. The whole time we were there neither house had a problem about things getting taken or missing. The Katary house had an issue with security and leaving the key to their rooms, but they addressed that with the in country team and were able to figure something out so that they felt comfortable and secure. Every day there was a boy who would come to Shirley’s house and clean the floors, so Shirley would have him come into the room and just wipe down the floor in our room, etc so it stayed pretty nice. It was here that Stephanie had our first encounter setting up and sleeping with mosquetto nets, which was very entertaining!
To be honest we didn’t live with much hot water, but you get used to it and it’s not too bad. Hey, at least there is clean running water which is a luxury! The shower head didn't have really any pressure (just kind of trickled out) so we mainly splashed ice-cold water on ourselves from the two faucets that are below the shower (kind of like a bath). Shirley has solar panels for hot water, which once she realized we weren’t getting any they cleaned them off and we had warmer water either very early in the morning or in the later evenings. But in reality I wouldn’t expect to have hot water and it’s just all part of the experience. (This is where the baby whipes came in REALLY handy!)
Meals in Shirley’s House:
All meals were provided with the project and depending on when your project started in the morning, Shirley would make you breakfast accordingly. Breakfast would consist of fried Eggs, plenty of toast with selection of butter, jam, tea or coffee. If we were on project for lunch, Shirley would pack a lunch to take for us which normally is something left over from dinner, or normally a wheat wrap type thing with either veggies, rice, potato filling or meat. (Never always knew what it was, but it was good!) Then dinners varied but normally would have different rice, curries, meat, potato stuffing, sauces, etc. The different foods ranged from spicy to mild to no spice at all, so there was definitely something for everyone. But, we also had a few vegetarians and a vegan on the project, so Shirley would always make sure that either breakfast, lunch and dinner would be okay for each of them. In that case, the breakfast and lunch meals would vary- but any dietary needs would be addressed fine.
**But I do just want to note that I came to India not being able to handle barely any spicy food, and by the end of the trip I had definitely adapted. If you absolutely can’t handle spice then just know that you would be able to get on just fine, but maybe with a few surprises along the way. But a lot of the fabulous local food has a kick to it, so I would suggest going out on a limb and trying it. You never know, you may come back like me with new taste buds!**
The very next morning we had our Orientation at the in-country Coordinator’s house- Asha Dev. We were able to meet all the volunteers who were starting the same time we were, and spent time hearing about India and how the different projects started and how Asha became involved. We got a welcome binder with LOADS of information from things to do and see locally, plus some of the most popular places to visit on weekend trips. Asha went over all security issues and any problem we had she made sure to address everything. After getting all settled we went to a nice buffet lunch at a Hotel nearby, where all the other in-country volunteers came to meet us. From here we went into the city to do any shopping, money exchange or just to look around and get our bearings. We had that day to do anything we wanted to or get anything we needed before starting our projects the next morning. Some volunteers needed to get more traditional-style tops to where at some projects which were more strict, but they are very easy to find and really cheap! Any information like that was provided by Asha and we knew for the most part what to expect for the project. In addition to Asha, Mina is also there who is a good friend of Asha’s who came on board with i-to-i to help out with all the volunteers in country. Mina and Asha split up who would pick up which volunteers (dependent on start times and locations) so that we wouldn’t have to worry about how to get to the projects in the morning on our first day.
So the next day, Tuesday, Asha came and picked us up at about 9 or 9.30 am and showed us the way to our project. She made sure to have the driver go the way we would walk, and when there were one way streets she made sure to clarify the fastest route we would take. This was really helpful since we would be walking home from the project, but also because if we took a rickshaw (street taxi type vehicle) they might want to charge us the Meter price instead of haggling down to a set distance price. This sometimes can be the best way to go, but ONLY if you know the best/fastest routes to have them take or else they will take you for a long and pricey ride. (Even though when you convert it back, an expensive ride would only be €1 - €2!) The SKID project was about a nice 20 minute walk, and we started most mornings between 8.30-9 am. School ended around 2-2.30pm so the times were really nice, giving us the whole afternoon to explore. Since we generally would go out and do things at night with all the volunteers, we normally wanted to sleep in as long as we could, so after the provided breakfast we normally caught a rickshaw ride to the project and then would just walk back in the afternoon. Since the project was pretty close, some drivers wouldn’t want to go since it wasn’t that worth it, but you shouldn’t pay any more then 20 Rupees to get there one way (Meter price is 14 Rupee…either price is still under €1).
The Project: SKID
After setting foot onto the school, I have never felt so needed in my life. There was no big dress code for our project, but mainly just have to your knees covered, and your chest if you are a girl. We were able to wear tank tops, but normally had a scarf to wear around our neck to make sure we were as respectful as possible. But I felt the most comfortable in sandals, capris or linen pants, a lightweight T-shirt or even local Kameez top I bought there. Jessie, the Principal of the school, welcomed us after Asha dropped us off and asked if we had any preferences to where we worked or what we did. Stephanie and I didn’t mind if we were in different classrooms, we just wanted to help where we were needed the most. So we split up and I was taken to a classroom upstairs where I worked personally with Nadisha, a boy in the class who was a bit slower at English and Social Studies then the other kids.
There is a range of different ages in the school and different hearing abilities as well. Some of the kids have really good speech while others either haven’t begun talking or don’t have a great hold on pronunciation and sound yet. Many of the children can read lips but for the most part you are almost acting out the things you need to communicate. It sounds more difficult and harder then it is, but the kids are so eager to work with you and teach you sign language that you pick up things very quickly. I worked with Nadisha in a separate room to make sure he finished filling in the missing word in a sentence, or did all his writing. In addition to working with Nadisha, I would help out in the Arts and Crafts room with the really little kids, or help draw posters or pictures the teachers needed for lesson plans. Not to mention just run around with them during Play Time!
After spending just a little bit of time there, you definitely see the need for volunteers at the school. The school provides hearing boxes for each child, which is like a hearing aid that is attached to a little sound box that fits into their pocket and helps them pick up sounds and the teachers use it to speak into, and then the kid would repeat the sentence- working on speech. The sad thing is that the children have to leave the sound-boxes at school everyday because the families don’t realize the worth of each one, which can lead to them selling it on the street or it getting misused and broken. The SKID school is one of the only schools for hearing impaired children, and there was even a boy at the school who travelled 4 hours on the train every day with his grandma to attend. The school uses basic American Sign Language, but there are adjustments they make to certain words and letters in the alphabet. I didn’t know a drop of sign language before going, but you pick it up so fast and by the end of the week I already knew how to sign the full alphabet and a few phrases to get me through the day. Plus, you aren’t really at a disadvantage if you don’t know any signing because the school has its own version that can’t be found online or in any books. It has become special to that school which means everyone (even the teachers) have been in the same position as you!
Roughly 100% of all the parents and families of the children do not know sign language and either don’t care to learn the basics to communicate with their child, or encourage signing or English in the home. The school openly encourages parents to come to the school any time they can and sit into the class to learn some basic ways to help their child, or see what their child is learning in school. During the whole time we were there I never saw one parent come into the school. To be fair, a lot of the families are busy working and trying to earn money to get by- but a lot of the students are sent to school mainly to get out of the house, or be kept off the streets.
The class numbers vary but there is roughly about 10-15 students to each class, and the students who are a bit slower on certain subjects are sat in the back of the class- out of the horseshoe shape seating of the other students. The normalities of being in country are very different from that of home, and sometimes it was hard watching and observing these things. The children that are considered “slow,” or “behind,” are actually incredibly smart and just need the right attention and motivation to work. That is where the volunteers come into the picture and can really help out. You get to struggle with them trying to find some way to communicate the sentence, but as soon as you do and you see that face light up with the right answer it just makes your whole day. This is the same for any project and it was great coming home every evening and all anyone can talk about is their day at the project and what success they had. As volunteers you get to bond over a lot of things together, and even get the chance to visit each other’s projects if yours ends early, etc. I could go on for hours about all the kids I worked and fell in love with: Veesim, Mamatha, Elf, Chandon, and the list continues on and on. I also learned a lot about the other projects in the area from the volunteers with me, so if you do have any questions feel free to ask me.
I have never had so many hugs, hand-holding and high fives in my life like I experienced during those two weeks. My time at the school could have easily been a few months and still fly by so fast. I have taken loads of photos and videos of the students at the school, so please feel free to look through them! The last day at the school was literally heart breaking. Most of the students understood that we were leaving because we could use sign language to explain we were going on a plane home to our families. The look on their face just dropped but then came over and gave us a huge hug. She even pointed to the calendar to ask when I would be back. We picked toward the end of 2010, so now I better start saving money again! Being at that project has to be one of the best things I have done, and while it was challenging as long as you have a sense of humour and love new adventures you will do just fine.
Life in Bangalore:
While living and working in Bangalore, there are plenty of things to do and see. There are amazing Temples, museums, Botanical Gardens, salons, and gorgeous public buildings. In the welcome binder that Asha and Mina provide for you, there is also a bunch of good places to eat out, bars and even contact numbers for cooking and Bollywood dance classes (two favourites of volunteers). The cinema also is definitely something to experience, and most nights there are multiple events going on that volunteers all head out for.
For the most part, every weekend will be spent travelling outside of Bangalore and no need to book anything before you arrive. Even though we were there during monsoon season, it was still a popular time to travel but we were fine to book things that week we wanted to go. The in country team will help and advise you on good places to go and prices. We went over to the East Cost of Pondicherry with all 8 of the volunteers at that time and had a blast. We caught the Friday night bus (about 8 hours) and arrived in around 6 am. We just went around to the different hostels and guesthouses to find the cheapest rate and best rooms, and then caught the late night bus back on Sunday night. On arrival into Pondicherry it was about 90 degree at 6 am! So it was definately a change from the nice temperate weather in Bagalore, but was also nice to get some sun! It ended up being cheaper to book one massive room for all of us volunteers, which worked well considering we all got along great and were around the same ages.
We arrived back into Bangalore early Monday morning with enough time to get back, nap for an hour or two, then catch breakfast and head to work! For most trips you will want to catch the night bus since the destination will probably be quite lengthy, and this way you won’t miss out on any daytime there. The overnight bus was definately an adventure. I lucked out, but the majority of our seats were in the VERY last row of the bus (about 5-6 seats across) and it was a nightmare. Because the roads are SO bad, and I'm talking basically no pavement, potholes and more, it was the most rediculous and horrible ride of my life. The bus driver would speed over any bumps SO fast that it literally knocked the wind out of you and there were times half asleep you would go flying and fall out of your seat. Stephanie came back with at least 5 battle wounds just from the bus ride! After about 8 hours one way you would expect to have a few...
When my project was over I headed up to Goa for about 6 nights, as many volunteers will plan to do more travelling as well. Even being there for 3 weeks wasn’t enough time to see all the places I wanted to in India. Two of the volunteers I had met who basically saw the most of India were there for about 6 weeks—and even cut a week short of volunteering in order to travel. Because there is so much to see and the country is so vast, you could at least use 8 weeks up and still wish you were there for longer!
Goa was beautiful but SO quiet during the off season. It is definately a place to visit but if you do go when it is off season be prepared to entertain yourself, and if you go during the busy season- be prepared to spend lots of money. The good thing about off season was that we could haggle down to cheap, cheap prices because for them any service was good service! Steph and I spent the days hiking, exploring, getting pretty in salons and even renting a motorbike! Since Goa is the beach area, everyone has motorbikes and it really is the best way to get around. It took some time getting used to driving it because it's was so heavy to turn (which is why i ran into a wall once), but I was a lot better then Stephanie. She got another battle wound after she accelerated the bike instead of breaking and put her feet down to stop...not smart. We basically crashed a bit before headed right into a bus and Steph hobbled away with a torn up foot. (But it is much better now but still recovering!)
No matter if you are in Goa or Bangalore, anywhere in India has the same attitudes in regards to cows...they rule over anything. It's not so much the fact they are sacred that is in your face or noticeable, but more that they have roam over everything. They literally go where ever they want, whenever they want. This includes the middle of the road during high traffic time, your front yard, the beach, dumpster, etc. Because they aren't raised for food/meat purposes, it was weird to see them so thin and boney, but also hard to see them eating out of trash bags or on the side of the road. They definately have major attitude and this includes the bulls that will also be walking on the sides of the road. In Goa there were a few times where Stephanie and I thought we were going to get run down by them. We were even chased down the tiny and narrow street by a bull and had no where to go because on either side of us were just water filled rice fields. It's very bizzar but really does put you in your place!
I really do hope to get back to the school and would love to spend two months with the kids again, teaching and traveling. While India is a harsh country, with some extreme poverty, it is one of the most amaxing places I have been. There is so much depth and history that goes untouched, and as lucky as I was- I only had a breif moment of touching it's surface.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Fourth of July, 2009!
HAPPY 4TH of JULY!!
I’d like to think I have always been ‘patriotic,’ I mean, what a normal person who has never personally been affected by war is, but is very in tune with worldly issues. I am one of those who love and support the troops, but never agreed with some of the reasons they were going and doing the things they were in the first place. But we won’t get involved with my feelings on President Bush.
While I am very excited that this day, my Independence Day, I am getting the amazing chance to travel to India for three weeks I was a bit bummed about missing out on all the festivities back home. The BBQ, fireworks, drinking, etc…But then I got a call yesterday morning that really put all my feelings in place. It’s not where you are or where you aren’t, but who you have in your heart and what you think about.
I have always considered myself lucky. I mean, I have never really had to face any huge traumas and when the war escalated over four years ago and I never lost anyone personally close to my heart, and still haven’t. The generation ahead of us had a lot of good friends leave after high school to fight a battle that made hearts ache across the country.
But I received a phone call from an extremely old friend letting me know not to worry and his trip to Iraq “won’t be as bad as it sounds.” To which I replied, “OK, but still, no one wants to hear your going to Iraq for possibly 10 months.”
So this Fourth of July is dedicated to all the friends and family we have overseas or back on American soil that we don’t see everyday, or even in over 5 years. You will always be in our hearts and thoughts. Thank you for doing what you do, so I can do what I do.
That’s honor.
I’d like to think I have always been ‘patriotic,’ I mean, what a normal person who has never personally been affected by war is, but is very in tune with worldly issues. I am one of those who love and support the troops, but never agreed with some of the reasons they were going and doing the things they were in the first place. But we won’t get involved with my feelings on President Bush.
While I am very excited that this day, my Independence Day, I am getting the amazing chance to travel to India for three weeks I was a bit bummed about missing out on all the festivities back home. The BBQ, fireworks, drinking, etc…But then I got a call yesterday morning that really put all my feelings in place. It’s not where you are or where you aren’t, but who you have in your heart and what you think about.
I have always considered myself lucky. I mean, I have never really had to face any huge traumas and when the war escalated over four years ago and I never lost anyone personally close to my heart, and still haven’t. The generation ahead of us had a lot of good friends leave after high school to fight a battle that made hearts ache across the country.
But I received a phone call from an extremely old friend letting me know not to worry and his trip to Iraq “won’t be as bad as it sounds.” To which I replied, “OK, but still, no one wants to hear your going to Iraq for possibly 10 months.”
So this Fourth of July is dedicated to all the friends and family we have overseas or back on American soil that we don’t see everyday, or even in over 5 years. You will always be in our hearts and thoughts. Thank you for doing what you do, so I can do what I do.
That’s honor.
"A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life wrote a blank check Made payable to "TheUnitedStatesofAmerica " for an amount of "up to and including my life." That is Honor, and there are many people in this country who no longer understand it"
-Bryce Ford, US Marine
May the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face
-Bryce Ford, US Marine
May the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Never sit on the sidelines of life: INDIA
Like many of you may know, Saturday, July 4, I will head to India for three weeks!! What better why to celebrate Independence then to test it personally.. I am spending two of those weeks to volunteer in Bangalore at a local school for deaf and hearing-impaired children. This is one of the many volunteer projects that we have with the company I am currently working for, i-to-i.
View Larger Map
What on earth am I doing in India?
The school project is called Sheila Kothavala Institute for the Deaf- SKID, and is partially funded by the Government and supported by an NGO, called the Deaf Aid Society. The majority of staff are fully trained specialist teachers with some help from local volunteers who work part-time.
My main activities will be working with the children, teaching written English, math and getting involved with games, crafts, and other extra activities at the school. I will have some time to work and teach one-to-one with some remedial students who are a bit behind, to help bring them up to the level of the rest of the class.
If you’re like me at all you’re probably wondering how this is going to be done while many of the students are deaf or severely impaired in hearing. I was in communication with a past volunteer of ours who worked at the SKID project and she said it was an obstacle at first, but many of the children can read lips and while you are teaching them you are also learning from them useful sign language for everyday activities (as they don’t use our conventional American sign language).
I will be working at the SKID project from about 9 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday, but will probably give some time at the other project we have that I mention below. There are plenty of resources at the school provided for the children, but Stephanie and I are planning on going to the discount store here in town and pick up some books, crayons, etc.
After working at the school I am also going to try and head over to another project, which is helping to provide schooling for children from local orphanages and slums. This one really stuck out to me as many orphans and children in India are deprived of many opportunities to have a successful education and the project aims to keep the children away from the slums.
My accommodation is going to be a local guesthouse (basic but clean) and there is space for up to 5 other volunteers besides myself. I am going to be sharing a room with Stephanie, my roommate now and other i-to-i intern, and all of our meals will be provided of local cuisine. The housing has basic amenities (western style toilet—very lucky!) and there are local facilities for internet and washing any clothes if we need- but I will be bringing a mosquito net in addition to the bedding provided (malaria stay away!)
Plane, Travel or Automobile?
We are heading out of Cork on Saturday afternoon and first fly into London. We have a few hours in London before catching our main flight to Dehi, India where we will catch a connection to Bangalore. We finally get into Bangalore around 7 pm on Sunday, July 5th. We are going to be met at the airport by the in country team and then taken to our accommodation for the night until our orientation in the morning. Here we will meet all the other volunteers and find out how everything is going to run and all the details. Then, from what I understand, we will go into town and get any necessary things we need for the project or while staying in Bangalore.
My volunteering runs from July 5- July 19, and then Stephanie and I are taking another week to travel around before coming back to Ireland. We don’t have an official itinerary because, well frankly, we wouldn’t probably stick to it anyways. So our plan is to visit the city of Kerala on one of the weekends during the project, and then mainly visit Mumbai and Goa on the West Coast of India. Unfortunately we won’t have enough time to get up to the North of India where the Ganges and Taj Mahal are (around 33 ½ hours one way by train) so I may have to leave the North of India for another time.
View Larger Map
Since accommodation (and everything for that matter) is really inexpensive in India we have booked a weeks stay in Goa at a beach side resort/hut thing for barely any money. That way whatever day we decide to take the train to Mumbai we can stay there for one night, and at least we have our main accommodation booked and barely lose out on any money.
I won’t really have internet to keep up the blog while I’m gone, but I will have my personal journal with me and be recording all the events and daily activities/emotions. I will update this when we return. Stephanie and I get back into Ireland on July 25 just before midnight, and then will make our way back home, July 26, on the bus. So just give me some time to finally have a proper shower and I will get online soon enough to share my stories and pictures!
View Larger Map
What on earth am I doing in India?
The school project is called Sheila Kothavala Institute for the Deaf- SKID, and is partially funded by the Government and supported by an NGO, called the Deaf Aid Society. The majority of staff are fully trained specialist teachers with some help from local volunteers who work part-time.
My main activities will be working with the children, teaching written English, math and getting involved with games, crafts, and other extra activities at the school. I will have some time to work and teach one-to-one with some remedial students who are a bit behind, to help bring them up to the level of the rest of the class.
If you’re like me at all you’re probably wondering how this is going to be done while many of the students are deaf or severely impaired in hearing. I was in communication with a past volunteer of ours who worked at the SKID project and she said it was an obstacle at first, but many of the children can read lips and while you are teaching them you are also learning from them useful sign language for everyday activities (as they don’t use our conventional American sign language).
I will be working at the SKID project from about 9 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday, but will probably give some time at the other project we have that I mention below. There are plenty of resources at the school provided for the children, but Stephanie and I are planning on going to the discount store here in town and pick up some books, crayons, etc.
After working at the school I am also going to try and head over to another project, which is helping to provide schooling for children from local orphanages and slums. This one really stuck out to me as many orphans and children in India are deprived of many opportunities to have a successful education and the project aims to keep the children away from the slums.
My accommodation is going to be a local guesthouse (basic but clean) and there is space for up to 5 other volunteers besides myself. I am going to be sharing a room with Stephanie, my roommate now and other i-to-i intern, and all of our meals will be provided of local cuisine. The housing has basic amenities (western style toilet—very lucky!) and there are local facilities for internet and washing any clothes if we need- but I will be bringing a mosquito net in addition to the bedding provided (malaria stay away!)
Plane, Travel or Automobile?
We are heading out of Cork on Saturday afternoon and first fly into London. We have a few hours in London before catching our main flight to Dehi, India where we will catch a connection to Bangalore. We finally get into Bangalore around 7 pm on Sunday, July 5th. We are going to be met at the airport by the in country team and then taken to our accommodation for the night until our orientation in the morning. Here we will meet all the other volunteers and find out how everything is going to run and all the details. Then, from what I understand, we will go into town and get any necessary things we need for the project or while staying in Bangalore.
My volunteering runs from July 5- July 19, and then Stephanie and I are taking another week to travel around before coming back to Ireland. We don’t have an official itinerary because, well frankly, we wouldn’t probably stick to it anyways. So our plan is to visit the city of Kerala on one of the weekends during the project, and then mainly visit Mumbai and Goa on the West Coast of India. Unfortunately we won’t have enough time to get up to the North of India where the Ganges and Taj Mahal are (around 33 ½ hours one way by train) so I may have to leave the North of India for another time.
View Larger Map
Since accommodation (and everything for that matter) is really inexpensive in India we have booked a weeks stay in Goa at a beach side resort/hut thing for barely any money. That way whatever day we decide to take the train to Mumbai we can stay there for one night, and at least we have our main accommodation booked and barely lose out on any money.
I won’t really have internet to keep up the blog while I’m gone, but I will have my personal journal with me and be recording all the events and daily activities/emotions. I will update this when we return. Stephanie and I get back into Ireland on July 25 just before midnight, and then will make our way back home, July 26, on the bus. So just give me some time to finally have a proper shower and I will get online soon enough to share my stories and pictures!
"Hey baby see the future that we're building
Our love lives on in the lives of our children
And that's something
Something worth leaving behind"
Lee Ann Womack
Our love lives on in the lives of our children
And that's something
Something worth leaving behind"
Lee Ann Womack
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Packing for India
Packing for a country where toilet paper is gold is a bit harder then you think it would be.
Not only do I have to pack for three weeks (two of which are volunteering) I have to make sure I have room to bring home everything I know I am planning to buy, plus some goodies from home for the kids. Not to forget the ever so important roll of T.P.!
This will be interesting- I'm sure I will confuse one kid at some point that Ireland and the States are together on a map. N ow, in the last few days I have to gather some 'fun stuff' from home to give the kids and my local home stay....
I refuse to give up my bobble-head Obama so how about a magnet..or better yet, bubbles! Yeah I know, I'm still thinking about it and planning to make a stop at the 2Euro store tomorrow.
Not only do I have to pack for three weeks (two of which are volunteering) I have to make sure I have room to bring home everything I know I am planning to buy, plus some goodies from home for the kids. Not to forget the ever so important roll of T.P.!
This will be interesting- I'm sure I will confuse one kid at some point that Ireland and the States are together on a map. N ow, in the last few days I have to gather some 'fun stuff' from home to give the kids and my local home stay....
I refuse to give up my bobble-head Obama so how about a magnet..or better yet, bubbles! Yeah I know, I'm still thinking about it and planning to make a stop at the 2Euro store tomorrow.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Paris Round Two: Disneyland!
In the beginning of the month was the big celebration of turning 23, once again a celebration abroad. I think this is becoming a new habit of mine. But for a variety of reasons (mainly visa purposes) I had to leave the country at the end of May, so we decided to go to Paris to celebrate my 23rd birthday.
Stephanie and I found cheap airfare over there, which also included two tickets for Paris Disneyland. So here we are, both going to Paris again for another time in less than 6 months and decided the only touristy thing we were going to do was use our free Disneyland tickets.
So of course it was a Bank Holiday weekend when we were there, which meant that I have never been more sick of small children and rude parents in my life. SO basically very similar to Disneyland back home I guess you could say. The park was clearly laid out to match that of Disneyland USA almost exactly. There were a few rides here and there that were missing, or made into a maze or fountain display but all the main essentials where there which made it nice since it was Stephanie's first trip to a Disneyland Park.
But it was a pretty funny experience to be standing in line for the rides and any animated character was speaking in French..made me laugh.
It's a Jones family joke..
The next day since Stephanie and I had both been to Paris before and have done all the 'touristy' things, we decided we wanted to just relax in the sun and enjoy Paris. So we left our hostel and went to the local supermarket and bought a bunch of meats, bread, cheeses of all sorts, dips and crackers. So we spent just about the full day laying out on the grass beside the Eiffel Tower reading, people watching and having a picnic with a big bottle of Sangria.
Later that evening we had planned on stopping back by the Tower on the way out, so Stephanie could see it at night for the first time. But while we were having a few drinks at the bar in our hostel, we met up with some of the fellow travelers we had been talking to the day before. There was a group of them who had all met in our accommodation with a mix from Canada, Ireland, the States, Buenos Aires, Argentina, etc. We all decided as a group to go to the bottle shop, pick up some drinks and then go out to the grass and hang out. We were among the 200 people thinking it would be a good idea so it was a long night of meeting people from all over the place.
I'm doing a cartwheel...you can sort of see me in two places at once..
A Day of Biking and Castles!
Tomorrow morning Stephanie and I have planned to get up at a reasonable time for a Saturday, and go bike ride to Lismore.
Lismore is about anywhere between 5-10 miles down the road (leaning more toward 10) and has one of the coolest castles we have yet to see, Lismore Castle.
So with a mental map, day pack full of lunch and two bikes we have decided to ride over and spend the day there. The last few weeks the weather has been amazing so I am keeping my fingers crossed it will stay like that for our adventure.
Since we are going to be out for most the day, I won't have a chance to upload more blogs- but when we return I will post a quick one about our adventure and with the photographs.
We will then be going out tomorrow night for our temporary good-bye to Dungarvan as many of you are aware that I will be heading over to India for three weeks next week. I'm flying out the 4th of July (somehow I doubt I will have fireworks this year) and coming back to Ireland July 26. Steph and I are going together and will be spending two weeks volunteering at a children school for the deaf and hearing impaired, and then one extra week of backpacking....
But more on that to come next week before I go!
Lismore is about anywhere between 5-10 miles down the road (leaning more toward 10) and has one of the coolest castles we have yet to see, Lismore Castle.
So with a mental map, day pack full of lunch and two bikes we have decided to ride over and spend the day there. The last few weeks the weather has been amazing so I am keeping my fingers crossed it will stay like that for our adventure.
Since we are going to be out for most the day, I won't have a chance to upload more blogs- but when we return I will post a quick one about our adventure and with the photographs.
We will then be going out tomorrow night for our temporary good-bye to Dungarvan as many of you are aware that I will be heading over to India for three weeks next week. I'm flying out the 4th of July (somehow I doubt I will have fireworks this year) and coming back to Ireland July 26. Steph and I are going together and will be spending two weeks volunteering at a children school for the deaf and hearing impaired, and then one extra week of backpacking....
But more on that to come next week before I go!
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