Namaste Friends!
It has definitely been a crazy and exciting 2 weeks! Following Republic Day some new volunteers arrived and we decided to go on an excursion into Delhi on the train. The train ride in, while hectic, cannot compare to our ride home. On the way into Delhi we managed to find the women's section and had an uneventful r2 hour ride into the city. Once in Delhi we walked around Connaught place, bought some gifts and grabbed a bite to eat. We headed back to the train station around 3 to ensure we arrived at the orphanage before it closed at 7pm and waited for our train to arrive. The Delhi train station is incredibly busy and in order to find out which platform your train is arriving on you need to listen to the half Hindi half English announcements over a barely audible loud speaker. When your train is finally announced you need to run to the platform before it leaves the station and jump in whatever car has space or you will miss the train. Due to the lack of time allotted to passengers to reach the train, we were unable to find the women's cart on the way back of Faridabad and ended up in a cargo car filled with men and boxes; we were the only women in the car and we were initially terrified. We relaxed a little as the train started and then men left us alone but when we reached the next station people rushed into the car and it was so crowded that we had to sit on boxes stacked 5 feet above the floor. I do not recommend sitting on boxes on a crowded train by an open door to anyone. Also, my anxiety grew when we got to the next station and so many people tried to get into our car that men were actually hanging out of the train and holding on with only 1 hand. Since I was so close to the door I was certain that the man who held onto the hand bar closest to my head was going to fall because he kept losing his grip and would let go and then grab on again. When we finally got to our station we found out that the platform was on the other side of the train and we were certain that we only had two options, jump on the tracks or miss our stop. I am not sure how any of us made it across 20 people in less than 3 minutes so we could get out of the train but I know I had to jump boxes and push/kick people to get out in time. I can guarantee that it will be a few weeks until I work up the nerve to take the train again.
Our next adventure for the week was our pancake making endeavor. On Sunday we made 300 pancakes for the girls from scratch! I found an eggless recipe online that made 10 pancakes and multiplied the recipe by 30. It was definitely an experiment to make the pancakes because I was unable to find a measuring cup so I had to convert all the cups into ml and I used a water bottle to measure out the amounts. Surprisingly the pancakes came out really well, but 1/2 into the batter I became convinced that there we were not going to have enough so I made another batch with bananas. When it was finally time for breakfast and I began distributing pancakes, it became abundantly clear that we were going to have batter for at least 150 pancakes left over. The girls were not a fan of the new taste. Dayana, two other volunteers and I, ate pancakes for breakfast and lunch and we were trying to figure out how we could finish the batter without making ourselves sick from eating so many pancakes. Luckily, when we arrived at dinner we were told to finish making the pancakes because the girls would be eating pancakes and chapati for dinner. When we finished making the banana pancakes I felt horrible as I passed them out to the girls because they were forced to take one and I new that very few actually liked the taste (the banana pancakes were delicious though, they tasted like banana bread!)
Finally the crazy week ended with a trip to Surajkund Mela. On Wednesday we traveled to the huge crafts fair that is held every February just outside of Delhi and spent 6 hours with 30 of the older girls shopping, watching traditional dances and eating. The day was long but wonderful and I was able to find some great gifts!
The one unfortunate thing that happened during the week was that Neeha left the orphanage. I actually found out after she left which made me really upset, but her last day at the orphanage she spent most of the morning in my room with her friends taking pictures. I went out a few days ago and developed all the photos I had with her and made an album that could be sent to her grandmother's house so she can remember our time together and some of the girls she was closest with.
Love you all and miss you!
Allie
It has definitely been a crazy and exciting 2 weeks! Following Republic Day some new volunteers arrived and we decided to go on an excursion into Delhi on the train. The train ride in, while hectic, cannot compare to our ride home. On the way into Delhi we managed to find the women's section and had an uneventful r2 hour ride into the city. Once in Delhi we walked around Connaught place, bought some gifts and grabbed a bite to eat. We headed back to the train station around 3 to ensure we arrived at the orphanage before it closed at 7pm and waited for our train to arrive. The Delhi train station is incredibly busy and in order to find out which platform your train is arriving on you need to listen to the half Hindi half English announcements over a barely audible loud speaker. When your train is finally announced you need to run to the platform before it leaves the station and jump in whatever car has space or you will miss the train. Due to the lack of time allotted to passengers to reach the train, we were unable to find the women's cart on the way back of Faridabad and ended up in a cargo car filled with men and boxes; we were the only women in the car and we were initially terrified. We relaxed a little as the train started and then men left us alone but when we reached the next station people rushed into the car and it was so crowded that we had to sit on boxes stacked 5 feet above the floor. I do not recommend sitting on boxes on a crowded train by an open door to anyone. Also, my anxiety grew when we got to the next station and so many people tried to get into our car that men were actually hanging out of the train and holding on with only 1 hand. Since I was so close to the door I was certain that the man who held onto the hand bar closest to my head was going to fall because he kept losing his grip and would let go and then grab on again. When we finally got to our station we found out that the platform was on the other side of the train and we were certain that we only had two options, jump on the tracks or miss our stop. I am not sure how any of us made it across 20 people in less than 3 minutes so we could get out of the train but I know I had to jump boxes and push/kick people to get out in time. I can guarantee that it will be a few weeks until I work up the nerve to take the train again.
Our next adventure for the week was our pancake making endeavor. On Sunday we made 300 pancakes for the girls from scratch! I found an eggless recipe online that made 10 pancakes and multiplied the recipe by 30. It was definitely an experiment to make the pancakes because I was unable to find a measuring cup so I had to convert all the cups into ml and I used a water bottle to measure out the amounts. Surprisingly the pancakes came out really well, but 1/2 into the batter I became convinced that there we were not going to have enough so I made another batch with bananas. When it was finally time for breakfast and I began distributing pancakes, it became abundantly clear that we were going to have batter for at least 150 pancakes left over. The girls were not a fan of the new taste. Dayana, two other volunteers and I, ate pancakes for breakfast and lunch and we were trying to figure out how we could finish the batter without making ourselves sick from eating so many pancakes. Luckily, when we arrived at dinner we were told to finish making the pancakes because the girls would be eating pancakes and chapati for dinner. When we finished making the banana pancakes I felt horrible as I passed them out to the girls because they were forced to take one and I new that very few actually liked the taste (the banana pancakes were delicious though, they tasted like banana bread!)
Finally the crazy week ended with a trip to Surajkund Mela. On Wednesday we traveled to the huge crafts fair that is held every February just outside of Delhi and spent 6 hours with 30 of the older girls shopping, watching traditional dances and eating. The day was long but wonderful and I was able to find some great gifts!
The one unfortunate thing that happened during the week was that Neeha left the orphanage. I actually found out after she left which made me really upset, but her last day at the orphanage she spent most of the morning in my room with her friends taking pictures. I went out a few days ago and developed all the photos I had with her and made an album that could be sent to her grandmother's house so she can remember our time together and some of the girls she was closest with.
Love you all and miss you!
Allie
Sounds like great times, and I'm sure those pancakes were awesome. We all know how you are about baking! :)
ReplyDeleteMiss you bunches!