I should have thought of doing this long-overdue update sooner but I'm sure most people who'll be reading this will know a fair bit about my upcoming trip anyway.
In short - I'm off to India. Like last time, mostly with a focus of doing some volunteer type work but, unlike last time, I am going with some students. It's through an organisation called World Challenge and 6 of our boys from school signed up to take on the challenge and they needed a teacher to go with them. I am EXTREMELY lucky and grateful to be that teacher (I was told the boys put together "a short-list" of who they'd like to go, I'm not sure I want any more details than that!). It is their trip and they have had to plan and organise themselves for the last 18 months or so to get to this point. In country the boys are responsible for what we do, where we stay, how we get there, and what we eat whilst there. There is a huge amount of support and structure from World Challenge, especially with the provision of an experienced and qualified Expedition Leader, Pete, who ultimately will make sure we stay safe, have a lot of fun and do a lot of good. My role is really just pastoral support to make sure they don't act like muppets or miss home too much.
So general itinerary is to go to Sydney to meet up with another 3 students and teacher from a school there who are part of our trip and spend a day in the airport getting to know one another and do some build-up work. We then have a stop over in Thailand before landing in Delhi. We jump straight on a bus for an 18 hour ride up to Manali where we spend a week doing painting/building/whatever at a local school and getting to know the community. We then embark on a 13 day trek across the Himalayas to McLeod Ganj where we stay for a couple of nights before taking some R'n'R back down Dehli and Agra way. It's going to be truly amazing, if not a little cold (Google the weather in Manali at the moment!).
I have no idea if I will have a lot of opportunities to keep this blog updated as I don't call the shots and am at the mercy of the boys who may or may not take us to many interweb connections. Who knows. As with last trip, there's probably a high probability that even with an interweb connection, I'll lose motivation or inspiration to keep ya'll entertained and engaged. I wont even say I'll do my best at this. I'll do whatever happens! But please do check-in and leave a comment from time to time - it's actually been quite a kick to quickly go back over posts from my trip to Rwanda. [I realise I need to write more to follow up from there at some point too. One step at a time though.]
Ok dishes done, bed made, clothes laid out, bags packed and checked, tickets/passport etc checked. I get picked up at about 4.30am which is a litlle over 5 hours away. Might try sleep if I can. I've travelled alone before and felt way more relaxed about things but this trip has me a little on the anxious side of things, I guess because of the added responsibility this time around. It'll be awesome and can't wait to start.
Until next time...
Paul
In short - I'm off to India. Like last time, mostly with a focus of doing some volunteer type work but, unlike last time, I am going with some students. It's through an organisation called World Challenge and 6 of our boys from school signed up to take on the challenge and they needed a teacher to go with them. I am EXTREMELY lucky and grateful to be that teacher (I was told the boys put together "a short-list" of who they'd like to go, I'm not sure I want any more details than that!). It is their trip and they have had to plan and organise themselves for the last 18 months or so to get to this point. In country the boys are responsible for what we do, where we stay, how we get there, and what we eat whilst there. There is a huge amount of support and structure from World Challenge, especially with the provision of an experienced and qualified Expedition Leader, Pete, who ultimately will make sure we stay safe, have a lot of fun and do a lot of good. My role is really just pastoral support to make sure they don't act like muppets or miss home too much.
So general itinerary is to go to Sydney to meet up with another 3 students and teacher from a school there who are part of our trip and spend a day in the airport getting to know one another and do some build-up work. We then have a stop over in Thailand before landing in Delhi. We jump straight on a bus for an 18 hour ride up to Manali where we spend a week doing painting/building/whatever at a local school and getting to know the community. We then embark on a 13 day trek across the Himalayas to McLeod Ganj where we stay for a couple of nights before taking some R'n'R back down Dehli and Agra way. It's going to be truly amazing, if not a little cold (Google the weather in Manali at the moment!).
I have no idea if I will have a lot of opportunities to keep this blog updated as I don't call the shots and am at the mercy of the boys who may or may not take us to many interweb connections. Who knows. As with last trip, there's probably a high probability that even with an interweb connection, I'll lose motivation or inspiration to keep ya'll entertained and engaged. I wont even say I'll do my best at this. I'll do whatever happens! But please do check-in and leave a comment from time to time - it's actually been quite a kick to quickly go back over posts from my trip to Rwanda. [I realise I need to write more to follow up from there at some point too. One step at a time though.]
Ok dishes done, bed made, clothes laid out, bags packed and checked, tickets/passport etc checked. I get picked up at about 4.30am which is a litlle over 5 hours away. Might try sleep if I can. I've travelled alone before and felt way more relaxed about things but this trip has me a little on the anxious side of things, I guess because of the added responsibility this time around. It'll be awesome and can't wait to start.
Until next time...
Paul
Very excited for your trip! Sounds like it'll be super fun!
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