It's a rollercoaster ride!!

It's hard to believe we're a third of the way through our time at CCD where we are volunteering for three weeks, and only 2 weeks left in India - time flies!!
The time volunteering at CCD so far has been a real rollercoaster ride. Our swirly mosaic design is very symbolic of how it has felt settling in and getting used to life in Madhyamgram!

India surely feels like a man's world, and I have really felt this throughout our journeys. In some ways being a couple has been great, as it's meant I've always had Jeff around which has definitely helped with feeling safer. In other ways it's been really difficult, as we are often dealt with as one - namely Jeff. This has been a real challenge and at times very frustrating for both of us. The Friends of Kolkata team working at CCD (a bunch of 9 talented, energetic and amazing individuals) have been great to connect with, and being with the team has allowed us both a bit more freedom - I don't have to feel like I'm burdening Jeff to come out and about with me all the time, and he doesn't feel the burden of needing to be with me all the time. This is so different to our experience of life in Melbourne, and goes very much against the very (sometimes too) strong independent streak in my personality! I think this has been the toughest thing for me, but has provided much food for thought, a great appreciation of what I have in Melbourne and greater learning about myself.

Like I said, we are working with a fantastic team full of brilliant and creative individuals. Some of the other guys on the team have been working with the boys at Muktaneer (the CCD boys home) on projects such as creative writing, block printing and drawing, photography and film-making, so we've had the chance to see the boys coming up with some really fun and creative stories, photographs and pictures - the guys love it!! Our work on the mosaic at the front of the school has attracted much attention from the locals (see attached photograph of some of the CCD crew working mosaicing to the local audience!) which has provided opportunity to chat with them a little bit and they all very excitedly await the next installment! The house where we are staying is about 4km from the school, and we walk or catch a rickshaw cycle van to and from school and the boys home each day, giving us a chance to wander through the market and the streets to and from work - there's plenty to see, smell, hear and taste (mmmm... way too many bengali sweets for us! They are apparently world renowned for their sweets!). In the morning we have been working at the school helping to sort out new resources, and it has been great to chat with a couple of the teachers and learn a bit about their lives. My absolute, absolute favourite times of day are 6:50am (yes you read it right!! I have become a morning person in India!) and 5:30pm when the boys do prayers. The boys stand in lines facing the front from shortest to tallest, and sing their prayers with their hands pointing heavenward in a prayerful gesture and their eyes closed. I am told that the "prayers" are not any specific religion, but a general prayer about tolerance, and good for all (but it's all in Bengali!). But the boys are so earnest in their singing (apart from the odd peek through closed eyes or cheeky wriggle), and particularly in the evenings all the staff join in. It's beautiful to watch and listen to, and reminds me to still myself and refocus, providing some points of plateau on rollercoaster ride that life sometimes feels like!