One week in

India welcomed us by exposing us to its crazy driving! If any of you have ever been in an Indian, African (or I assume Latin American, Chinese etc) city during rush hour, you will know what I mean. Despite there being three lanes marked on the road, there was often 5 lanes of vehicles which was slightly worrying. The Indians also seem to use their horn for every communication possible - overtake, don't overtake, idiot, thank you, I'm stopping, I'm coming, hello, why not honk right now, any movement of lanes, and on and on. It was an enjoyable and definitely exhilarating experience when you forgot about the any traffic accident facts.

After a fairly uneventful yet tedious 13 hour bus ride, we arrived in the small town which is to be our home for the next 3 months or so. 

The views on the way up from Delhi to the foothills of the Himalayas made us all grateful to be living in the mountains instead of in the capital. Our brief stint in the city was extremely hot, humid and dull. Admittedly this wasn't aided by the fact I had had very little sleep during my flight to India which made me less able to be excited by the place for more than the first hour or so. Don't get me wrong, I would love to explore Delhi when I am fresh faced - perhaps I will be able to before I leave for Uganda. However we were all much happier to reach the mountains and the slightly cooler and much less sticky air. 

The bus ride was not too uncomfortable and could have been so much worse as we weren't sharing it with any livestock or a greater number of people than available seats. It was very long and laborious during which I discovered several contortions I didn't know I could sleep in prior to the journey. 

Having been here for over a week now, I'm am slowly getting used to waking up to spectacular views all around us. We are truly blessed by the creation in north India! It is often shrouded by cloud because we are so high up, so we can feel in a bubble for much of the day which is very peculiar, but when there's a break in the cloud, the views are beautiful (as you can see).

I am loving Indian food. There is a lot of rice, which I am not tired of yet, but in three months time this may be a little different. We have a cooked meal at lunch and dinner time, but they aren't too heavy so I'm not eating tonnes. It is all very tasty but not overwhelmingly spicey. The curries are the highlight, especially the paneer one or any involving lentils and beans. On Thursday night I learnt how to make an Indian breakfast called alou parata (not sure of the spelling). It is basically a chapati with a potato mash with lots of spices in the middle and it is delicious! It was so much fun learning how to make them, and I was so much better at the end of the two and a half hours are making over 50 paratas. I have the recipe in my journal, so I may treat you lovely people to an Indian dish when I'm home.

Today, we are going shopping to get some Punjab suits made. It's all very exciting! The clothes here are beautiful - I have borrowed one suit a couple of times when it is respectful to have the local dress. They are super comfy and can be any pattern or colour, so very personal. Many of us are looking forward to out day trip too, despite the inevitable mud after the huge thunder storm last night which lasted for a good 7 hours at least and the probability of more rain. We had lots of power cuts last night which interrupted our work, but I got to test out my head torch which worked a treat.

Missing everyone at home, but settling in and loving India. And now that I have Internet, life is even better :)

Hello Delhi!

This is just a quick note to say I arrived safely in Delhi about 10 hours ago. It has all gone smoothly so far, praise God! I have met up with a bunch of the other students and staff who are all so lovely. It will be a very diverse course which is exciting. I will write again when we have completed the 12 hour bus ride we will embark on soon and give you more details of the people I am with and what I have experienced so far. Suffice to say I am very well (but rather tired and sweaty) and am loving India so far. Much love.

A special thank you!

To everyone who contributed to the beautiful photo album full of memories that mum gave me before I went through security - thank you all so much! You are responsible for a small weep over my final Starbucks chai latte for 11 months (another sad occasion) but I really appreciate the time you took to find such lovely photos! You are all amazing. Thank you!

Farewell England! 

Lasts and firsts

The day has finally arrived! In just over three hours I will leave for the airport to commence my gap year... Eeeeek!!!

I am almost packed, and I definitely will be in a couple of hours (well, I best be), so there is time to do some reflecting on the last few days as well as the next few. Every couple of hours since the weekend I have found myself thinking 'this is the last time... for 11 months' which is very bizarre. Things like my last cleaning shift (finally), the last time I will go to my church, the last swim session, the last night in my own bed (I'm going to miss it so much!) have all caused even more excitement and anticipation. However other 'last' experiences such as all the goodbyes have been harder to take in. It made me realise the many things I will miss whilst I am away as the majority of my friends are starting their fresher year at uni which I won't get to hear about as much as I would like. I won't get to go and visit them all, see their halls, meet their flat mates and so on and that will be tough to miss.

Looking forward, the next few days will be full of firsts which will more than make up for the things I will miss and will keep me from regretting those things too much. It's the first time I will live out of a rucksack which will be... interesting? I will meet several of my fellow D school-ers for the first time in less than 24 hours! I will hopefully explore Delhi. The 12 hour bus ride up to D.Sh will be an unforgettable first, I am sure. There are so many other things, but I can't keep rambling forever as packing is calling me, as is my final breakfast of Dad's wonderful pancakes!

Thank you for all your support, prayers and lovely texts/ cards/ letters over the last few months and days. I would be really grateful if you could continue to hold all of us who are travelling to D.Sh in your prayers for the next couple of days which will be very long and intense. I will blog as soon as I can to let you all know when I have arrived safely in India! Bring on this year and all it has in store!

The basics

I am currently sat in my room which seems to be shrinking by the minute as the piles of things to be packed are growing. How on earth do you pack for almost a year abroad?! The many unknowns of my gap year are making what is usually a simple task for me, very tricky. As you can see, much of my floor has disappeared with three more days to accumulate the remaining things to take! Hence, I am taking a break to inform you all about why I won't be around for the next 11 months or so. 

Many of you will know two of the biggest passions in my life are God and the poor, so it makes sense that these are going to be the broad themes of my year away. 

I will be leaving to travel to India on Tuesday (17th) which will be my home for at least three months, if not five. YWAM (Youth With A Mission) is a Christian organisation who run different 'schools' around the world, all under the broad mantra of knowing God and making Him known. I will be doing a DTS (Discipleship Training School) consisting of the three month 'lecture phase' (this is the knowing God bit) and then a two month 'outreach phase' (and this is making Him known). My home for the lecture phase will be in north India which, by all accounts, is beautiful. The outreach phase could take place anywhere in India or in surrounding Asia, but I won't find out where we will be going for another month or so. After I have graduated (how exciting) from the DTS, I will have two weeks before my visa expires in which I hope to travel and see some more of India, but we will see closer to the time is that is realistic.

Around the end of February, I will fly from India to Uganda where I will be living with a lovely Ugandan family for the next six months. This half of my year is a bit of a blank canvas as I don't know much of what will fill my time. But, at least to me, that's half of the excitement because God could have so much up His sleeve for those months and I don't want to mess up His plans. One project I will be getting involved with is the Acholi community on the outskirts of Kampala who have been internally displaced from the north of the country to the capital by violence in their home area. They fled to their current location, however they have poor living conditions, little hope of returning home but also little hope for the future as they receive no help from locals or the government because of their 'alien' identity. I will be working with a bead making cooperative in the community, and anything else which may help these wonderful people. 

I have visited Uganda before, so I know what I am getting in to out there, but India is a huge mystery. It should be a wonderful year, which I will do my best to keep you all updated on through this blog. Internet access may be sporadic to say the least, so please be patient with me. My prayer is that I will grow closer to God this year, that He will be glorified and His kingdom will touch some of the dark places on Earth through where He has placed me. Amen. 

Right, I best get back to trying to pack. Wish me luck!!

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