Hejhej!
This entry was actually written two weeks
ago, but I didn’t get the chance to post it on time…. I hope y’all will enjoy
reading it, even though it’s a bit out-dated. Love!
Hello again!
I’m back! Sorry you didn’t hear from me these past two weeks. Internet is sometimes a bit of a problem here…;).
I’m back! Sorry you didn’t hear from me these past two weeks. Internet is sometimes a bit of a problem here…;).
I wish i had written earlier so that I
could tell you about all the things that have happened in smaller portions. As
it is, I will probably forget to write about half of it. But I promise I will
do my best to give you most of the highlights!
After having had many exams for one whole
week, the boys were set free to have 10 days of holidays last week. They were
so happy to not have to study for more than a week! Most of the boys go home to
their villages and stay with their family. Since most of the boys are orphans
or half-orphans, they stay with aunts and uncles, grandparents or other
extended family. Some boys, however, remain at the Transit Home.
For this group, there was a folk dance
workshop for four days. Anne and me were feeling adventurous, so we joined. It
was interesting to get to know the traditional styles of dancing in this
region, which include different types of dances with sticks, flags and vases
which are carried on the head while dancing. The boys enjoy dancing a lot, so
they were very interested and enthusiastic during the workshop. I was also
happy to be able to dance, I must admit that I do miss it A LOT. The workshop
was ended with a performance for the older boys and staff at the Boy’s Home.
After those physically challenging days, w
settled ourselves comfortably in the car and took off in direction of the
mountains. Since the boys were still on holidays we were left with 4 more free
days. On the way to Ooty, which is at the western boarder of Tamil Nadu, we
visited Salem. We went there mainly to visit three more Don Bosco projects, one
of which is a home for HIV infected children.
A few hours after leaving Salem, we started
going uphill and so the first of many breath-taking panoramas. The mountains
are a bit different here from what we are used to In Europe, there is no
gradual build-up, where you have some hills first, then some bigger hills, and
the n even bigger hills before you reach the actual mountains. Here it is flat,
flat, flat and the suddenly there are mountains. It is impossible for me to
capture the beauty of the landscape in words or even in photographs. Everywhere
you turn it is green, but not just that, it is so green that the greenness of
it all almost blinds you. It’s a bit like being snow-blind, but then with
green. In this region, there are many tea plantations, which provide work and
income to the villagers. Again, we stayed at a Don Bosco project, which is also
surrounded by many rows of tea trees. Although we knew that it was going to be
colder in the mountains, the temperature hit us like a shock. It was still
around 15°C, but after having gotten used to 35°C every day, it felt like it
was closer to zero! Oh oh oh, I’m already scared of coming back to Northern
Europe in December!
Close to Ooty, there is a national park,
which we went to visit. Mudumali/Bandipur National Park is home to wild
elephants, antilopes and deer varieties, bisons, wild boar, different kinds of
monkeys and even about thirty tigers. Altough there are many animals living
there, being able too actually see them is a matter of luck. So we entered the
Park with all our fingers crossed and the camera at the ready, and…. We got
lucky!!! We saw five wild elephants, 2 singles and one family with a little one
and big hoards of spotted deer. We also saw many monkeys, but only one kind and
groups of bisons (Those fellows are big! Our driver, Akash, got very nervous
when one bison seemed to take some interest in us…). We were also lucky enough
to spot a few peacocks and wild boar.
After seeing the national park we proceeded
to Mysore, where we visited the Maharaja’s Palace. It was very impressive, only
a pity that tourists can only see a small portion of the building complex. The
inside of the palace is decorated with a love of detail that is astonishing and
hints at the wealth that the royal families must once have possessed.
We spent the next day visiting the sights
in Ooty, which includes a Tea Museum, where we got to know about the process of
making tea, the rose garden, a beautiful lake and the botanical garden. I was
especially impressed with the rose garden where we found endless varieties of
rose in well-maintained flowerbeds. If you’re ever in the region, it’s worth a
visit;)!!
We travelled back to Pondicherry yesterday,
since the boys are starting school again today.
On a more serious note, i have a question
to those of you who managed to read to the end of this enormous entry;). I’m
trying to find funding for an excursion that Anne and me would like to organize
for the boys. Our plan is to take them to Trichy, which is a city located south
of Pondicherry with rich cultural heritage. It would be something really
special for the boys, most of whom have never been outside of Pondicherry and
their native villages. In Trichy we would like to have mass at a big and
beautiful church for those boys who are Christian (which is the majority).
After that we would like to visit Rockfort Temple which is a historical as well
as a spiritual place. In the afternoon we would like to visit the Kallanai /Grand
Anicut Dam, which was built during the Chola empire in the 2nd
century AD. After that we will go for a swimJ… So
we hope to have an educational program as well as a good time for the boys! As
we will take all of the boys (150), you can imagine that some cost is involved.
The total cost will come to approximately 500€. We have been able to raise 300€ up
until now, so if there is anyone among you who thinks he or she would like to
donate a few euros, it would be a great help! Any amount will make a difference.
You can transfer donations into my german
or my dutch account:
German:
Inhaber: Kristin Anett Wiskemann
Kontonr.: 3017195824
BLZ: 20110022
IBAN: DE98201100223017195824
BIC: PBNKDEFF
Dutch:
753981661 - Mw A
K Wiskemann
IBAN: NL56INGB0753981661
BIC: INGBNL2A
Many, many
thanks in advance to all of you who pitch in! I personally guarantee that your
money will be used to put a smile on the boy’s faces!