Update 2: Photos

Again here are some photos of what I've been up to during the last week:

Update: Photos

 Here are some photos of what I've been up to during last week:

Day 16-17: God is Good

Day 16-17 consisted of the following:

• Start of a new day
• Indian school life
• God's grace
• Afternoon walk

Tuesday 24 - Wednesday 25 November 2015

Start of a New Day:
Tuesday and Wednesday were both normal days at school, which I'm starting to get use to how things work.  I still can't get over how all the children salute me and say "good morning sir" every time they see me, it shows great respect.  I'm really enjoying teaching the children as they are so friendly and they learn so much. 

Day 15: School Cricket

Day 15 consisted of the following:

• School day
• Afternoon cricket
• Evening bible study

Monday 23 November 2015

School Day:

For school today I wore my new formal clothes and the older boys were telling me I now look like an official Indian.  When we finally made it to school in one piece from the bus ride the day went quite quickly.  Whenever it is a student's birthday they get to dress up in their most formal or special clothes for the day, the girls wear very brightly coloured dresses while the boys wear smart dress shirts.  It is a good way for people to recognise who is having a birthday that day and congratulate them.

Day 14: Relaxing Sunday

Day 14 consisted of the following:

• Church
• Sunday afternoon
• Week ahead

Sunday 22 November 2015

Church:

We had the same two church meetings in the morning as per last Sunday.  The first one was at the orphanage in a small hall and the second one was at the school in the main hall.  It's difficult to understand what is being said in the meetings as it is all in the Kannada language but I enjoy the singing and focusing on reading my bible.  Still haven't got the hang of sitting crossed legged on the ground, my legs just go numb with pain, but hoping I'll get use to it soon enough.

Day 13: Hunsur Town

Day 13 consisted of the following:

• Thoughts
• School
• Afternoon shopping

Saturday 21 November 2015

Thoughts:

It's really interesting teaching the kids at the school because I get to see what the future generations of India will be like.  Although the education and discipline are very good they seem to lack basic essentials of living, such as recycling - the kids will simply throw rubbish on the ground and not think twice.  From what I've seen of India I think it is still very much a third world country as virtually all of the buildings are run down, lots of poor people and livestock everywhere, and nothing to suggest they are moving towards a first world western society anytime soon.

Day 9-12: Indian Wedding at School

Day 9-12 consisted of the following:

• School
• Driving
• Upcoming

Tuesday 17 - Friday 20 November 2015

School:
The next few days at school were a bit easier as I'm starting to get use to how things work.  I'm taking more English and less maths classes as I find them a lot easier to teach.  For the English classes all the students have a textbook which is distributed from the Karnataka State Government.  It is actually a very good textbook, it is to cover 6 months of teaching.  I think we are to teach them one exercise each day, an exercise generally consists of a story or poem to read then questions to answer.  The classes that I teach are between 3rd and 8th standard which I think is about 8-14 year olds.  It is quite difficult to overcome the language barrier at times but most of the children understand basic English words.

Day 8: First Day of School

Day 8 consisted of the following:

• Last night
• School
• Food

Monday 16 November 2015

Last Night:

Last night after dinner I talked with the older boys in their room for a while, they are really great children, so friendly and nice.  It’s very difficult to put these experiences in writing because words just can't give the emotion felt that they deserve.  My heart goes out to these children so much, seeing them sleeping in cloth sacks on a flax mat on the concert floor is really hard to see.  Knowing that they have so little, been born into such terrible circumstances and seen such evil that no one should ever see, and yet they rejoice in the Lord, sing songs of praise to God and have joy in their hearts always.  The worries and cares of this world seem to fade away when I look at these orphans, it's really incredible, I  just hope to be able to love them, serve them and show them what Christ looks like, but yet I think they are more showing me.

Day 7: Church

Day 7 consisted of the following:

• Morning
• Church meeting
• After the meeting

Sunday 15 November 2015

Morning:

We went for a light jog just down the road with a few of the older boys at around 5:30am.  I was amazed to see that there were several other people jogging/stretching and setting up shop at that time in the morning.  The boys said that they go for a jog every morning and a lot of the people from the villagers also do this for good health.

Day 6: Children's Day

Day 6 consisted of the following:

• Arrival of Raju
• Children's day at school
• Night time prayer

Saturday 14 November 2015

Arrival of Raju:

The weather was a cool 19 degrees all day.  Raju, the owner of the orphanage and school arrived back at around 10pm last night from visiting another city in India.  Three French Christians were with him as they were visiting India to see the work of the Lord.  We had a good talk with them all in the morning, Raju is a very nice man to talk with. 

Day 5: School Time

Day 5 consisted of the following:

• Getting ready for school
• School time
• At the orphanage

Friday 13 November 2015

Getting Ready for School:
A bell rang at 6:30am and all the children ran into a hall and starting singing a morning prayer for 10 minutes, it was a really nice and unique way to be woken up, much better than the loud speaker for muslim prayers.  We had breakfast at around 8am and it was by far the best breakfast I've ever had.  Really nice toast, butter, jam, cheese, eggs and banana.  I think it must of taken a fair amount of effort to make these meals for us but Keith said that it is custom to provide the best for guests.  

Day 4: Orphanage at Hunsur

Day 4 consisted of the following:

• Relaxing at Hotel
• Lunch time
• Traveling to Hunsur
• Welcoming from the Orphanage

Thursday 12th November 2015

Relaxing at Hotel:

It was about 26 degrees during the night but thankfully we had a room with a celling fan which ran all night long, without it you wouldn't survive.  Still getting use to the time zone changes, so couldn't get much sleep during the night, it was the same for Keith.  The noise of the city surprisingly quietens down after 10pm but starts back up at around 5am.  I still can't get over how noisy everything is, mainly car and motorbike horns going off everywhere.  Still feeling sick, really sore throat and headaches, but slowing getting better.  

Day 3: Mysore Adventures

Day 3 consisted of the following:

• Stay at Hotel
• Visiting the Catholic Cathedral
• Visiting the Palace of Mysore
• Roaming the streets

Wednesday 11th November 2015

Stay at Hotel:

Woke up at about 3am and couldn't really get back to sleep, my body clock is really off.  At 5:15am a loud speaker started up outside, it had a voice chanting something over and over, Keith said it was to let muslims know it was time to pray, but it sure did make a noise.  We had breakfast at the hotel, this time I managed to get an egg omelette and a puffed up rice flour dish called poori, both tasted great and were very filling.  I was still feeling quite sick, sore throat, and headaches so we spent a bit of time in the morning relaxing in the hotel room.

Day 2: The Journey to Mysore Begins

Bangalore, India - Mysore, India

Day 2 consisted of the following:

• Hotel stay at Bangalore
• Catching the bus to Mysore
• Bus trip to Mysore
• Mysore

Tuesday 10th November 2015

Hotel Stay at Bangalore:

We spent the night at the orange suites hotel in Bangalore.  Slept reasonably well, quite comfortable, woke up at around 5am and couldn’t really get back to sleep.  The phone inside the room went off at 7am which was our morning wake up service we asked for.  I still have quite a blocked noise from the Rabies vaccination I had last Tuesday, hoping it will clear up soon.  Since it was now day time I could now see out the window.  I saw a very strange and different environment, everything from dirt roads, stray dogs to motorbikes.  We ordered breakfast from the hotel as it was included in the stay. 

Day 1: The Longest Day

Auckland, New Zealand - Singapore - Bangalore, India

Day 1 consisted of the following:

• Leaving Auckland airport
• The plane fight to Singapore
• Singapore
• Plane flight to Bangalore
• Bangalore

Monday 9th November 2015 - 29 hour day

Leaving Auckland Airport:
Departed Auckland international airport at 1:30pm via Singapore Airlines.

Dad, Mum and Allen Rajan were at the airport to see me and Keith off.

Security at Auckland airport was very efficient.  Followed Keith into the business lounge as he is a premium member of Air New Zealand.  It was a very nice and relaxing place with great free food.

Introduction

I've decided to write a blog/journal detailing my experiences in India.  The purpose was to be for personal use so I can later look back on the journey but I realise there are some people who would be interested in reading these experiences and seeing how I am getting on, so I thought I would share it with you.

I'm not very good at story making and relaying experiences so it may become a bit of a boring read but I will try to make it as exciting as possible while remaining true.  I'm also not the greatest photographer but I will attempt to take pictures where I can.  I'm not sure how accessible the internet will be so updates may be irregular.  Please feel free to leave me a comment, suggestion, or advice.

As you may know already, I have travelled to India with the plan to work voluntarily at an orphanage and a Christian school in a small town called Hunsur for three months, I'm hoping to gain experience in knowing God and myself more deeply.  I expect many challenges and difficulties ahead and would appreciate your prayers.  

Map showing the flight path from New Zealand to India - Layover in Singapore - 14 hour flight

Map showing the cities I will be visiting - Bangalore, Mysore, Hunsur