Jill Rebecca Wason, a YAV, wrote these letters between Sep ‘03 and Jun ‘04.September 23, 2003

Hello Friends!

I am now in the middle of my fourth week in India. It’s hard to believe how quickly those four weeks have passed by. They’ve been very busy…..

Francey (the other young adult volunteer in India) and I arrived in India on the morning of August 29. Our flights had absolutely no problems. In the weeks since then, we have learned to eat without utensils; been stuffed with food; attended a wedding reception, a housewarming/blessing, and a feast in celebration of a local festival called Onam; listened to child laborers sing about their stolen childhood; taken three 12h+ overnight train rides; bought Indian clothes; studied some Malayalam; tried to use the bathroom in a squat toilet with no toilet paper; visited the mining community of an abandoned mine; attended a variety show performed by very talented mentally handicapped children; and started to tolerate Indian food. Phew! As you can imagine, we’ve had a wonderful but tiring experience so far. Thus, there has also been much sleeping, at least for me.

A little over a week ago, we settled down for our work for the year. I am living in a town called Aluva; Francey is about two hours away from me. My work is divided between two sites. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I work at a local school. The school was originally for girls, but boys have recently started attending as well. On Tuesdays, I work with children in grades 5, 6, and 7; on Wednesdays, kindergarten through 4th grade. I would not describe my work there as “teaching.” Rather, I am there to provide some relief from the monotony of Indian education while helping the children to practice their English. So I play games with them, teach them songs, and tell them stories. It is quite fun, though the children can be quite rambunctious.

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