May 18th-19th: Weekend adventure to the Taj Mahal

Where to begin...Little did we know when we set out for our weekend adventures, that we were in for quite the bumpy ride...literally. We knew that we wanted to see the Taj Mahal this past weekend. Since Agra, where the Taj is located, is quite far from where we are working, we split up the journey, travelling to Jaipur first.

On our drive from Railmagra to Udaipur, we saw a camel in the middle of the road! As our car approached it began to run, and we were literally chasing a camel in a car for 10 seconds. Then we saw a herd of camels on the side of the road. It felt like we were in a jungle safari and we could not stop laughing for the rest of the drive because of how odd the experience was. Only in India!

Having dinner at the Celebration Mall in Udaipur.

We set out Friday night from Udaipur after a light meal savouring the local pizza (which you should always double check is not spicy!) We were heading for Jaipur (about 9-10 hours drive) from Udaipur on the (drum roll please) infamous sleeper buses. Not knowing what to expect, we were a little apprehensive, and rightfully so. We got on and immediately knew it was going to be a long night. The bus was packed and hot. Sleeper buses are a popular way to travel in India and consist of double decker 'sleepers' or little closed cubicles where you can sleep lying down in either a single or double. Using the pillows provided is not recommended. The 6 of us had booked 3 sleepers, but one of our sleepers was double booked so sadly myself and Vikas had no place to go. We decided to let the couple who were already fast asleep in our sleeper stay so I ended up bunking with Vita and Ana on a bottom sleeper while poor Vikas sat on the one seat in the back enduring falling luggage and a constant stream of people getting on, who were, not to our surprise, also double booked. I was amazed at the family of 4 who shared one sleeper with their young children. The ride was so bumpy, it wasn't rare to bump your head even while lying flat in the sleeper. Gravol, movies on our laptops, and an iPod were our survival kit for the rough night. Also, there is no toilet on the bus, so be sure to jump out at stops.

Ana on the sleeper bus!

We finally arrived in Jaipur to the smell of urine, lots of dust and tuk tuk drivers swarming us asking if we wanted a ride to the hotel. We all piled into a tuk tuk, two of us in the trunk, and arrived into our hotel for a much needed morning nap and the first hot shower of the trip. Spent the day purchasing our return train tickets (quite the adventure in India!), visiting a beautiful temple, fort, palace, and finally shopping till 9:30pm.

Sunday morning, we set out at 6am for the Taj Mahal which was another 5 hours from Jaipur. We had hired a driver for the weekend through the hotel, which was a great way to travel all weekend, not to mention very affordable. After a breakfast of omelettes, we arrived in Agra. It was wildly hot, but packed nonetheless at the entrance to the Taj. We could barely believe we were about to see the Taj Mahal! As we walked through the main entrance, the top of the Taj came into view and we immediately pulled out our phones and cameras to capture the amazing moment. If you're heading to the Taj, we strongly recommend you get a guide. Our guide was able to steer us clear of pick pocketers, crazy crowds, and take us through giving us a basic history. We learned the Taj is an ode to one king's wife who died in childbirth with her 14th child. It took 22 years and 22,000 labourers to build, and it truly is just as beautiful as what you see in photos. We were all amazed with the beauty of the white marble in the bright sun. No filter needed!

We spent the evening traveling back in the AC of the car to Jaipur and explored Fatehpur Sikri on the way. Needing to be back at the construction site Monday morning, we vouched for taking an overnight train back to Udaipur. Not even the sleeper bus could have prepared us for the sleepers on the train. Unfortunately, we had booked our train tickets too late, so any AC cars were already booked and we were relegated to the sleeper class. Due to the large population, first class train tickets need to be booked months in advance. The sleeper class train consists of 3 bunks one above the other on two sides of train. Open air, lots of people, and loud blares from the train may keep you up but otherwise it was both terrifying and exciting to ride with the locals.

We arrived Monday tired but impressed that we survived the ride and ready for the day ahead.

Eunice Hii
DWC Volunteer Participant
Railmagra, India: May 2014

May 16th: Women's help line & police station in Rajsamand

Today we had a day off work to visit the Jatan office in a different village called Rajsamand. We learned about a women's help line that Jatan runs for all of India. Women can call at any time of day for anything, whether they need help or have questions or want resources.

The team sitting in on a women's meeting in Rajsamand.

We visited the Rajsamand police station and got a tour. In the police station, there are two women counsellors trained to specifically deal with family conflict in cases of dowry arguments, and they were brought there because of Jatan.

In some rural village,s a women's family must give a dowry in the form of money, animals and possessions to the man she is marrying. If the woman is from a poor family, it is difficult for them to find a husband who is willing to accept a small dowry, and so there is conflict around this issue.

Later in the afternoon we visited the beautiful Rajsamand lake. It was the perfect end to a day off work.

Vita Sackville-Hii
DWC U30 Team Leader
Rajsamand, India: May 2014

May 14th: Productive workday followed by "American" ice cream and the Sunset Temple

Whoever said noodles wasn't an acceptable breakfast clearly hasn't been to India! After that nutritious breakfast, we were fully ready to go to the work site and achieve the goals we set for ourselves yesterday. We arrived and got piles of sand ready for the cement mixture. We then went on to categorize rocks into sizes; this process ended up having around 5 sizes ranging from "super small" (with a Mexican accent), to small, to kind of medium, to medium to big and everything in between. Having completed this, we started building our own part of the wall, trying to communicate as much as possible and to help each other fit the makeshift puzzle pieces. We spent the whole day doing this kind of job and, I might add, getting very good at it.

As always, we went back to the office to have lunch and, before going back to the the work site, Chirag (our awesome translator) had no choice but to listen to our cries for ice cream. We tried a flavour called "American" and it was great - although nothing like you would find in America!

After finishing our work for today, we went to Sunset Temple, a beautiful one in a mountain. All the trees around were covered with bracelets and clothing, representing wishes people had made.

With roosters singing and locals cutting coconuts in the background, we took on the challenge of going through holes in between the rocks. This is done after you make a wish, and only people who are good at heart are able to go through. No, ladies and gentlemen, it is not based on body shape at all! You'll also be glad to know that everyone in our team made it to the other side!

After a bumpy ride back, in which the always adventurous Vienna chose to ride the motorbike with Chirag, we went back to the house. We played very intense card games before having dinner and going to bed!

Ana Gargollo
DWC Volunteer Participant
Railmagra, India: May 2014 

May 13th: More delicious food and trip to the Technical Resource Centre

Today was a bit of a frustrating day. We worked on building the last part of the foundation, which is a very technical process. We had to align rocks like a puzzle and then use cement to make the wall as flat as possible. However, because it was very technical work, it was hard for everyone to be useful and we constantly found ourselves doing nothing. We helped bringing rocks, mixing cement and bringing it to whoever was building, but it wasn't a very active day.

After a delicious lunch of cantaloupe, papaya, daal, chapati, rice and some type of curry, we went to the Technical Resource Center with Om. They showed us the tools they rent (for a maximum of 20 rupees per day!!) or sell to women in the village; these tools help them be more efficient in their work and therefore give them more economic opportunities, as well as time to spend with their children. After the demonstrations, we went to a field and used a sickle to cut food for cows and goats. We realized how much the new tools helped the process!

Later, we went back to the house and took much-needed showers before another (you guessed it) delicious dinner. We talked for a while about our frustrations of the day and decided to come up with a plan for tomorrow in order to be more proactive and productive.

Ana Gargollo
DWC Volunteer Participant
Railmagra, India: May 2014

May 11-12th: Visiting a health centre & experiencing an Indian wedding

Hi everyone!

We are able to access wifi on our lunch breaks at the Jatan office in Railmagra, so I'll give you some quick updates!

This past weekend we visited Mt. Abu, a four hour drive from our village. There is a beautiful lake called Nakki Lake and lots of Indian tourists. On Sunday, we went peddle boating on the lake.

Yesterday, we worked in the morning and then visited a health centre in the afternoon. The health centre serves as a hospital for over 50 villages around Railmagra and there are only 4 doctors! We were shocked when they invited us on a tour through the maternal delivery room and the infant and mother's care centre when we were covered in dust and dirt from construction. Some of the babies were so tiny and some of the mothers were 18 years old or younger.

In the evening we were invited to an Indian wedding. For some of our group, it was their first time seeing one! We got so many stares, especially while dancing, but it was a lot of fun!

Today we worked in the morning and we are currently having lunch that consists of cantaloupes, papaya, chapati, rice, daal and potatoes. We are also planning this weekend's trip to Jaipur and Agra to see the Taj Mahal!

Vita Sackville-Hii
DWC Team Leader
Railmagra, India: May 2014

May 9th: Women's empowerment meeting

Today, we sat in on a women's empowerment meeting in a rural village in Rajasthan. Women here are under the ownership of men for their whole lives. When they're young they report to their father, when they're married they report to their husband and when their husband dies they report to their sons. In the village, married women are not allowed to show their faces in public or when there is a presence of a male so they cover themselves in sarees. The violence women experience here is economical, social and emotional. We compared this violence against women to ways in which women are discriminated around the world and living in Canada does not protect us from this. As a protest, we joined the NGO Jatan in writing slogans on the walls of buildings around the village. There is still so much to be done to give for women's rights all over the world.

Vienna Lam
DWC Volunteer Participant
Dhaneriyagadh, India: May 2014

May 7th: Starting work on the women's washroom project

We left early for the Jatan office in Railmagra, where we had breakfast of corn flakes (in hot milk), poha (rice flakes), and bananas. Then we visited our project site for the first time. This is where we are to construct a community washroom for women over the next several weeks. However, as of now, all that is present is a plot of dirt with few linked narrow canals dug in.

We dug in the morning in 40+degree weather, took a chai break after 15 minutes and went back to work before lunch. After lunch we rested and resumed clearing the canals of dirt. Tomorrow we will be laying bricks and cement to construct walls.

While we were working some local children came to watch us. They are on summer break from May until July. When we took a rest under a large tree, we made some new friends and taught them how to play Stella Stella Ola and then they sang ABC for us.

We waved goodbye as we walked to a nearby house in the village of Morra to sit in on a youth meeting, a project sponsored by Jatan. The meeting happens once a month for children as co-curricular learning and a chance for them to learn social and personal responsibility. These kids are told to look up to leaders such as Gandhi to stand up against injustices they may experiences in their families and villages. They attend government schools where some teachers do not show up or teach according to the curriculum because they are paid either way. The youth group aims to let children know that they deserve a proper education and that they can speak up if their teachers are not teaching.

On the road today, we picked up a small turtle and saved him from getting run over. We named him "uger" like the Jatan initiative because we gave him/her a "new beginning". We also saw part of Indian wedding as village women paraded down the streets singing and later there was load music and celebrations. Our guide Chirag G tells us it is wedding season in Rajasthan. Fun!

Later in the evening, we rested and snacked on chai and Parle G glucose cookies. They taste like baby cookies only more tasty, especially with chai.

Vita Sackville-Hii
DWC Team Leader
Railmagra, India: May 2014

May 6th: Our new home in Railmagra

We had our bags on for the roof of a car heading to Railmagra. Thankfully, there was air conditioning!

We are staying with a family in their small house equipped with a television and electricity which often shuts off, cows which our house mother Snarha milks twice a day, a pet parrot which our house father GS loves, an open air kitchen and one indoor washroom. Vienna, Mariana and Ana sleep in GS's brother's house next door, and Eunice,Vikas, and myself have rooms in GS and Snarha's home.

Today we visited Jatan's office in Railmagra and had lunch of rice, daal, chapati, bananas and cucumber. After that, we met 6 girls that Jatan had adopted and given a scholarship to go to school. All were under 20 years old, and two were married. We made arts and crafts with them. A girl named Reeka discovered one of our cameras and took a bunch of pictures and videos. The girls also did beautiful heena designs on our arms and palms. Vikas and Chirag were brave enough in join in the heena party too.

We headed back to our house, and after a late dinner, we had a wonderful sleep.

Vita Sackville-Hii
DWC Team Leader
Railmagra, India: May 2014

May 5th: Visiting Jatan's office

Today's breakfast menu: Nutella crepes and grilled cheese with peanut butter that we brought. Delicious!

Today we visited the Jatan Sansthan office. It was a short 10 minute drive from our hotel. Chirag, our trusty guide, picked us up. He is our new best friend who is friendly, knowledgeable and answers every question we throw his way. Fun fact: he is in post graduate studies in English literature and he enjoys reading Shakespeare.

We met Kailash, the head of the office, and other executive of Jatan Sansthan, who were all so welcoming! They gave us care packages filled with hats, notebooks, pens, first aid kits, biscuits, water bottles, working gloves and info packets. They are worried about how we are handling the heat as May and June are the hottest months in Rajasthan with temperatures reaching up to 45 degrees. We are taking it slow and drinking litres upon litres of paani (water) every day.

We went out for lunch which consisted of chana (chickpeas), daal (lentils), rice, roti, naan and lassis (sweet yogurt drinks). At lunch, we learned how to properly pronounce "lassi" and eat the traditional Indian way with one hand.

After lunch we had a presentation about UGER which means "new beginnings". It is one of Jatan's programs that empowers women and supports their menstrual health. They make reusable sanitary pads out of cotton for women as a micro finance project . They also aim to increase the discussion around menstrual health and "put the 'men' in menstruation" as it is taboo here in India and also all over the world, including in Canada. Menstruation is often something hidden and not talked about even though it is an essential and natural part of human reproduction.

In the evening, Chirag took us to buy long sleeve shirts at a tailor shop with any colour or pattern you wanted and each for about 300 rupees, which is $6.

We went to bed early again and packed our bags to leave in the morning for Railmagra, the village where our building project will take place.

Vita Sackville-Hii
DWC Team Leader
Udaipur, India: May 2014

May 4th: Visiting the Royal City Palace of Udaipur

May the 4th be with you! Happy International Star Wars Day!

Today we visited the Royal City Palace of Udaipur. It is the second largest palace in India and is filled with beautiful designs, windows and views of the lake. Udaipur, also known as the Venice of the East, is a city with two lakes and a royal palace where the royal family still lives.

Later in the day we rode tuktuk which is 3 wheeled vehicle-half motorcycle, half smart car. We weaved around cows, stray dogs, pedestrians, cars, donkeys, horses and anything you can imagine - all sharing a 3 metre wide street.

We were all exhausted by the end of the day and happy to finally sleep at around 8pm. As we fell asleep we could hear the echoing sound of prayers from a nearby mosque.

Vita Sackville-Hii
DWC Team Leader
Udaipur, India: May 2014