Night Out!!

Finally I went for a *much* needed night out :)
For all of you that know me well from home you'll be surprised to know I made it an entire month without going out for drinks and dancing! It had been too long since I had a good fun evening, so Christa and I went out and met up with Mary T who works here, and Soya (a past PA) and her boyfriend Deva who lives in Pune.
It was a fantastic evening! It's so fun to meet new people, share stories, and laugh so hard your cheeks are sore by the end of the evening. We went to this nice restaurant/bar called High Spirits in Koregan Park (the neighbourhood where the Osho Ashram is). It was really nice, we sat outside and got to enjoy the evening amid candle light, with lots of greenery around, and mother nature worked with us and it didn't rain until we left to come home.
It was great to get some distance from Sangam, since we haven't gone away enough and we start our next event "Holistic Living" tomorrow. Actually we only have one group here so far - the others were supposed to arrive in the early morning today but their flights kept getting delayed or cancelled. So currently one group is in Delhi and the other I think might be in Europe still. I guess this is a good taste of what to expect working in India during the monsoon...
We are already going into full monsoon prep here and ordering buses when we can to get around town because apparently it gets really hard to get rickshaws in this weather. Everyone keeps talking about the bridges being shut down - and the more they talk about it the crazier it seems! It hasnt been raining too intensely here - today was probably the first day of pretty constant rain, but then it was cleared up by around 5pm...the idea that things will start shutting down soon because of the over flowing rivers seems wild.
This event should be a lot of fun because theres a lot of stuff going on that is brand new to me. Some of the sessions include:

The laughter club (laughing yoga - which was on my to-do list so i'm super excited about it)
A holistic living panel discussion - where we're having professionals from 3 medical fields ; ayervadic medicine, naturopathy, and more modern medicine
A visit to the National Institute of Naturopathy - where I haven't been yet, so it should be fun
Bhuddist Meditation
A visit to the Osho Ashram - also where I havent been yet, and it's a big thing for Pune so that will be good
A cultural performance - a play

All of it should be lots of fun, but thinking of it all reminds me I need to go get some sleep so I can make it through the rest of the week!

ps- this is a picture of Babli all tucked in...our night watchman Mangesh is the *sweeeeetest* man in the world and he loves the dogs here like they're his own and he's always taking care of them and he tucked them into their new "beds" so I just had to take a picture

Wedding Indian Style!

Right off the bat I will let you know...no I did not get married! :P
BUT I did get invited to my first wedding! (and can you believe I actually tied it myself!! We had an hour and a half sari - bootcamp with Aruna this week and now we're pros)
It was fate I tell you...I had a bad day yesterday with news from home, and I think the novelty of India was wearing off. I'm still adjusting to living with people here - it's a little different when it's not my loveable Dromore girls. I got really used to living with people who are similar to me, and people I chose to live with...I have to keep reminding myself to move past the cultural and social barriers that make living together a little more awkward than back home.
So we got the invite from Rehka - our local tailor who does all of our sari and punjabi outfits, and for our participants too! Which meant that last week she had 35 sari's to tailor. eek!
Anyway, her little sister was getting married (arranged marriage) so she came by with an invite for all of us, and so the 4 of us volunteer staff went with Minakshi our wonderful Administrative Assistant who is from India so she could explain a lot of the ceremonial stuff to us.
We arrived just in time for it to start, and as I'm getting used to - being a foreigner means you are front and centre for *everything*, even if you don't know anyone! haha. So we strolled in about 2 minutes before it all started and got seats in the front row. It was lots of fun to see all the gorgeous sari's and the bride in her whole ensemble.
They did a lot of ceremonial acts, and we got to check out the fire part of the ceremony where they had to walk around the fire a number of times, and do a lot of other traditional acts to bring good luck and blessing.
Then we went down to eat lunch, and since we have Maharastrian dinner here every event - where you eat in your sari on the floor on a banana leaf plate and eat all the traditional foods we were totally prepped! All the food was the same, and none of us had to use cutlery, we're pros now - no one was staring and laughing at least...and it was really nice to get some serious spice in our food again, I think the ladies here think we can't handle it and have been jipping us on the delicious spice.
Then we went back upstairs to the hall, went up on stage to give our gift and get our picture taken by a bunch of guys and then we hung out while Rehka brought her 5 sisters and brother over to introduce to us. It was lots of fun, but I realised how badly I need to start my Marathi lessons so I can speak to people - all I've managed to memorize are the numbers 1-6 and the colours...and i'm pretty sure that won't take me very far.
Anyway that was my day, the wedding along with a couple ice coffees and ice cream it cheered me right up!

Missing home...

Monsooooooon

The monsoon has finally arrived! Its been wet and COLD(er) and fabulous! Rickshaw rides in the torrential rain arent so much fun, especially because many rickshaws don't have the side covers so basically when you hit a puddle, or another car whizzes past you, you get a soaker. haha. But whatever I'm sure I'll get used to it, and figure out the tricks to stay slightly dry!
With the monsoon coming we've had many more blackouts. The power here tends to go out every once in a while already, but because we have a generator we're usually fine. The other day I wasnt even aware that the power was out in our area until they decided it cost too much money to have it running through the night so they turned it off. The last few days we've had to do the same thing, so 11 oclock is lights out - literally. Which is hard when I forgot to bring a flashlight so I'm using some 1970's mini "torch" as they call it, that barely works to get around the buildings. I realised the other day I came really poorly prepared for this whole "monsoon" thing...no flashlight, no raincoat, no sensible shoes...i think i'm gonna need to go shopping again soon!
Thats the other thing though, I have no clue how people here wander around in flipflops during the monsoon. I get that they're the only shoes that will dry out after stepping in a puddle a foot deep, but everything here is made of marble, so its soooo slippery! I'm gonna be lucky if I manage to make it through the whole trip without wiping out and killing myself!
I was feeling sad about having to say goodbye to our first group of participants after the event ended the other day, but I FINALLY got to talk to Katie after 3 weeks of calling and calling and calling, so I feel much better now. It was the taste of home that I needed...in the form of an hour and a half phone call! whoops, good thing everything is cheaper here in India.
I desperately want someone to come visit me - so that when I go home I will have someone who actually understands my stories, and what I'm talking about, and knows where I've lived. I have no idea how I am going to be able to explain half the things I've experienced to people...
Hopefully I will get Deepak our computer guru in soon to fix the network so I can post pictures on here to help explain the stories...
xo

Essence of India

SO...
our first event - Essence of India started on Saturday and ends in just a few days!
It's been lots of fun to take people through the town, and watch them experience new things. Its been a big learning experience - and its been fun going through an event for the first time. I got to greet the first group who arrived at 4 am last weekend, which was good. Im constantly trying to remember what worked really well for me when I was getting the tours, and what questions I wanted answered to help the participants through it all.
The best part for me was shopping with them yesterday morning. We take them out to the older part of the city to Laxmi Road and take them to Kirti's a large sari shop. It was so much fun - when we went it was only 5 of us, this time there was 20 of us and the men who worked there had almost half of their merchandise on the floor, tables, desks to show us. It was awesome. Some of the people bought up to 7 or 8 saris/punjabis, etc. It was great. Then we took them through the market nearby and down line bazaar - a marketplace down a road selling everything you could ever want, and then to bangle alley :)
I think im gonna have trouble here though because I bought another sari - it was only 210 rupees (like 5 bucks) and a shirt, and an anklet...if I do these tours every other week and I go on my own I'm gonna need another suitcase! haha.
It's been really fun watching some of the girls/women get excited about the culture and adventure. They are up for anything, having a great time, and falling in love with this place like I did. It's too bad this event is only 7 days, I think I will want to keep the participants around after most events...

Bollywood

oh my word, bollywood is my new favourite thing! As most of you know I'm a total movie addict...and I think I just discovered a new drug!
So tonight we went to our first Bollywood movie called Jhoom Barabar Jhoom - a new release here. We went on a Sunday night which is the biggest night for the cinema here and it was such a blast. We started our first event 2 days ago so there were 25 of us out tonight laughing our asses off at some of the absurd things. Like one dance number that had: a construction worker, a lakers basketball player, the girls from moulin rouge, can-can dancers,...and god there must have been more! The best part was it was all in Hindi so we had no clue what was going on, and every once in a while I would hear "chalo" (lets go) or they would throw in a random word in English but for the most part I was clueless. It made it so much more fun - ad libbing to movies is hilarious.
Okay so this along with hanging out with the Guides who meet here at Sangam weekly has made me desperate to learn how to dance!! These girls are like 8 years old and the best dancers you've ever seen, they can move like crazy! So I'm the staff member who is "on" for our Bollywood dance session in a few days when we get an instructor in, and after that I'm going to sign up for the beginners classes nearby twice a week. I can't wait to come home, hang out in an Indian restaurant or go to an Indian wedding with Dee (xo) and freak people out at least with my stories or attempts at fitting in! haha.
oh man, to all the people who knew i would love it here and fit right in, you were so right and you know me so well...I dont know if I'm gonna be able to leave this behind...

Address

A few people have asked for my address, so here it is...this isnt my blatant cry for packages (although they would be graciously accepted!)
Julie Creen
Sangam World Centre
Alandi Road, Yerawada
Pune 411 006
INDIA

Solo Adventure

One of our tasks this week was the go on a solo adventure to an unknown spot in Pune - so we would get comfortable being on our own and feel the excitement of navigtaing ourselves around on our own.
My task actually had two locations because I was sick on the day of "Pune Challenge" when the girls wandered around town all day to a number of popular spots! My locations were Sarasbaug, and Parvati Hill.
So at about 4 oclock after Indian Siesta I wandered out got some change for the rickshaw rides and headed off to Sarasbaug. On the way there I got to sit back and enjoy a roomy rickshaw ride by myself instead of being crammed in between 2 other people which was a nice change. The driver took me a way through town I had never been before so after about 15 minutes of seeing nothing recognizable I got a little worried in the pit of my stomach, which is something that I've been working on getting over. It's not like I know anywhere much anyway, and even if I did know we were lost I couldnt communicate that or find my way home - so I am teaching myself to sit back and trust the rickshaw drivers, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't!
When I got to Sarasbaug I was excited because I got dropped off on the road leading up to it and it was lined with carnival games, balloons, food stands, a tiny ferris wheel, etc. So I knew I was going to a fun place. I wandered down and walked into this massive park filled with people, a lot of families and people lounging in the sun.

When I openned up my package I found out it was a popular picnic spot for people and I had come at a good time with lots of sun to see it in full swing. In the middle of the park is a temple, and I went up and wandered around a bit. Sat there and did a little people watching, trying to get a hang of the customs and practices in the temples. Once again I am starting to get used to being stared at so often. It's a constant thing here - people will literally stick their heads out of cars to stare, not because I'm a girl or I think I'm pretty, but simply because I'm a foreigner. And since this was my first outing on my own I noticed it even more. Turns out our western culture teaches you that if you're being watched you should be fearful and worried, and so I spent a bit of time keeping that feeling in check as well. The best was a few girls who continuously walked past me giggling...haha, something to get used to thats for sure!

So after spending some time hanging out in the park I made my way back to the main road and got another rickshaw to Parvati Hill nearby. This place is amazing! It has a temple on the top of a hill, and these giant stairs leading the whole way up. The stairs are really long - like 8-10 feet long because they used to make a processional on elephants for celebrations up the steps and they needed to be large enough for the elephants! I loved it. So you wander up these steps and as you go up you can look out onto the whole city. It was incredible. At the top of the hill are a number of different temples, I went to 3 of them but there are at least one or two more, and there's also a museum. It was fun to wander around on my own and soak in the city, the history, and the beautiful day. I was lucky to take the trip on a clear day so I could see all the way out to the horizon.

One of the great things about both of the locations was that you are usually in the loud hustle and bustle of the city, with constant honking and the noise of rickshaws. But once you step inside some of these places everything seems to go away and it's so peaceful. Parvati Hill was defenitely calm and quiet.
I think this was by far my best day yet, I got to check out two places that were very much my style (looks like my manager is getting me), and I got the chance to chill out and enjoy it all on my own. It was empowering to get to keep wandering around having adventures and managing it on my own.
On the way back I hopped in a rickshaw with a driver who obviously was confused where I was heading, but I went with it. At one point I realised he was lost, so I navigated him to the bridge I knew that leads over to my side of the city, and from there could navigate my way home - about 15 min drive down the road. That was a good moment! Now I know no matter what if I can get the driver to this location I will get home in one piece :) it's really comforting to start to feel capable of getting around, and exciting to be recognising the places I've been and start making this place home.

Info on Sangam

Since most of you don't know much about Girl Guides I thought I would give you a little information to understand what I'm doing here, where I'm living, and who I'm living/working with
I am living right now at Sangam, the Girl Guide World Centre in Pune, India. The centre acts as a campground for any groups who want to use the space, a conference centre for our events and for any outside organizations, and a hotel/hostel for independent guests who want to stay for a day or a week or longer.
I am one of three Programme Assistants and our job is to help facilitate the 7 - 12 day events we hold for Guiding participants from around the world. During the monsoon season while I am here we will be holding 7 events:
Essence of India
Holistic Living
Ambassadors for Children
Education for All
Action in the Community
Community Action Project
Feasts and Festivals
Each event has a different focus and we will run sessions, invite keynotes, take tours, visit community partners, etc. based on the event. We try to keep a number of things common so all participants get to experience the culture and understand our area, so we will take them on a neighbourhood walk, go for dinner at an indian family's home, go shopping for saris/punjabi suits, etc. learn how to tie a sari, get mehendi (henna) done, etc.

The past 2 weeks has been my training and they had all of us experience all of those sessions, and it was lots of fun. We had a crash course of life in India!
The people I'm working with here aka my Sangam Family are:
Sally - the World Centre Manager - from Australia
Darshana - Deputy World Centre Manager - from India - Mumbai
CL - Programme Manager - from USA
Mary T - Event Administrator - from Ireland
Minakshi - Administration - from India
Aruna - Manages the domestic staff - from India
and then I believe 8-10 women on our domestic staff team, and 8-10 men on our grounds team. This includes our day and night watchmen who take care of us.
It's been a lot of fun working with the local staff because they're so sweet, and understanding when we have questions about things. The other day I was sick and the next day Mangesh our night watchman made a point of asking me how I was doing - when I didnt even realise he knew I had been sick. They are all very sweet and incredibly good to us. I'm still getting used to being so well taken care of...you feel a little guilty having people do so much for you, but during events we would never have the time to take care of those things!
Then there are the fabulous volunteers:
ME - aka Creen Machine :)
Christa - Programme Assistant - USA
Anna - Programme Assistant - UK
Virginia - Assistant Programme Manager - Brazil

So in a nutshell thats the way we work here, I will try to post an event schedule when we start next week so you get an idea of how the days are...and I will post pictures of the centre when the computers start working with me and upload my pictures! :)

Day Off

So yesterday was our first entire day off...hurray!!! It was good, Christa and I had a slumber party in Mary T's (our event administrator from Ireland) room because she's career staff and has an air conditioner in her room. Since we've moved out of the dorms on ground level, up to our rooms on the 2nd floor the heat is a little bit much, and one side of the building is cooler than the other because of where the breeze comes from, so slumber parties have been fun! We slept in until like 11 which was also great, ate and then headed out on a little day adventure. We went to Pune Central which is this mall that is basically one big department store and it's very Westernized. So chile it was nice to be around something familiar it was also crazy expensive and not as much fun, so we left and headed out to MG road where there are also lots of stores for shopping. We wandered around a bit, checked out some stuff, hung out in the Bombay store - this cute store with a little bit of everything: home decor, jewellery, clothing, aromatherapy, bags, wallets, stationary, etc. And we ended off at Barista - one of the local coffee chains in Pune. They have become our new favourite places :) The iced coffees are like only 2 bucks, and they come with like 2 or 3 scoops of ice cream in them if you want! its awesome.
I'm just heading out on my next adventure to the Parvati Hill Temple so hopefully I'll have some cool pictures of that to show in a few hours. xo

Graduation Day

This post is to assure everyone I am okay and being well taken care of here...I am been adopted into a great little family here at Sangam (the world centre) and this story is evidence of that!

So as most of you know I graduated on June 6th (yay!), but because I am in India I had to miss it...or so I thought.... :)
Turns out I had mentioned it to the right people, and my fellow volunteers and staff here at Sangam took the initiative to make my day!!
Right before dinner everyone was called into the Hall (our main conference area) and I was left in the lounge to be blindfolded and then dressed up. I walked into the Hall, they took off my blindfold and I saw everyone sitting in a row, waving Canada flags! There were red and white balloons and everything to celebrate the day. They had also dressed me up in a gown, with the scarf/collar thing, and a hat with a ribbon to move like the graduation cap.
I was seated next to my "mom" and "dad", my manager CL and her fiancee played house for my graduation and we all listened as I was awarded my degree (pictures will be up tonight), and we listened to my valedictorian speech: the "wear sunscreen" song from back in the day.
It was A-MAZING.
We followed it up with group pictures, champagne, and my favourite meal...PASTA!
It was so incredible, and so unexpected...so for anyone concerned about me being all the way over here missing out on things at home, don't worry I get to recreate everything, and have a little more fun with it! I did miss being able to be in pictures with everyone from home, but maybe WE can play dress up when I get back and re-enact it again! :)

Week One: Training

Week One Down...and SO much to say!
Wow.
So I left home on the 30th, flew into Paris, waited around for a few hours and left for Mumbai. On my 2nd flight into Mumbai I was sitting with a very sweet couple from the USA who are originally from India and took it upon themselves to be my guide through the airport and make sure I found my driver and everything. It was nice to have someone looking out for me like that, and have someone who knew the language to talk to my drivers a little!
So we finally arrived at Sangam (the Girl Guide World Centre in Pune) after about 3 hours driving with another one of the volunteers Virginia from Brazil, and got greeted by two of our dogs Bunty an Bubbly (named after Bollywood film characters). It was exciting to finally get here, see the place, and finally have a bed to sleep in! :)
The next day we started out training! I'm here with 3 other volunteers:
Christa - from the USA, also a Programme Assistant like me
Anna - UK, also a PA
Virginia - Brazil, the Assistant to the Programme Manager
and then the full time staff, from the USA, Ireland, India, Australia.
Training has been intense, and I finally understand what its like to be a part of it - instead of just planning and helping out with it. There's been so much information crammed into my brain it'll be nice when the cram session starts to slow down a little bit.
But training has been really great because we've got to try out a lot of things, and see little bits of many places around town. We've gone to the big market district - Laxmi Road, where I bought my first sari, punjabi suit, bangles and bindis! I can sense a lot of shopping with get done there in the future. We've also gone to another shopping area called MG road and wandered around. We've taken rickshaw rides everywhere which can be a little intimidating the first time but I think we're getting the hang of it now! We've gone to see a bunch of social organizations in the area, and different places we will be taking participants to in the city and that has been really interesting...i'm sure i'll have more to say about that later once I get a few more opportunities to check out their facilities and services.
Anyway, it's been wild...i'm loving every minute of it, and I am already planning ways to delay my trip home :) I will post pictures very soon
Love and miss you all!
xoxo
Jules