R & G in UP

at the point of the breakthrough from the old building into the new!

Roshni & Devrati finishing off a door

Gill with Diya & Hemanti

Border block the day before election day - right outside the School gate.

Roy & Dambar

New things:

Chipmunks chirping away – they are very loud. Saw a screech owl last night sitting on the football posts. Easy pickings of small prey near the badminton lights. (Do they really go for insects?). MASSIVE SNAKE (zoo proportions) last Sunday rustling through the wood pile – we went separate ways!! I described it to manager Roy & he said “oh it’s only a rat snake”. So no need to get one of the punes to detect & despatch…!

Today is election day, so we have to close the school.

So - painting in the new Mahima Niwas building. We heard yesterday that 4 of the new girls are coming Friday (we think – it’s hard to communicate with their tribes) NEXT WEEK so Gill & most of the girls have been finishing the windows & doors.

Scraping oil paint off the window glass – cos we don’t do “masking” here – what is masking tape? Nearest B&Q several 000 miles away. Scrape with a thin flat spring steel plate. Watch your fingers. Scrape the paint & whitewash off the floor too cos we don’t so dustsheets. Fantastic fun, everyone working on this project. Looking at the new dining room 15 X 8 m, there will be so much life & fun in there when the new girls have settled.

For tiffin (a meal sometime between breakfast & lunch today - well we did start early) – Chai (spice + ginger tea), dark Chick pea (“horse gram” – what they give the horses when they’re working!) with lemon juice & diced fresh hot green chilli. WOW! Pass me the water.

In the meantime J & R came back from voting with their thumbs & fingers blue from the identification ink! Local area election – Indians are less passive than the Brits re voting; but there is v little organisation & people are expected to wait in the heat for 2 hours before they can literally make their moniker.

Round 2 - Wait a minute – lets have some music while we paint – so we listened to mTm “Very Big God – O” & I told them Rhian didi (big sister) is singing. Roy R has got some posh Ipod speakers now. Very nice.

Wash your hands under the hand pump – after you’ve rubbed them in the dust of the ground to remove some of the paint.

And so to lunch – eating in the “mess” with the MN girls – so queue up & sing grace, then eat with your hands. Veg curry again (but lovely) with lotsa home grown rice. Mango pickle home made. Mmm… & because they love me, some raw chillis. Alright, only one - but that is plenty.

Drink from the pump.

All the painting is done now so we’re chilling until 4 when the girls will start their studies (they really are worked very hard, expected to pass and be able to cope alongside students from more developed backgrounds) so Jenny (headteacher & leader of the projects) makes sure G & I are busy too; I have a project to make sure Jayanti & Esther pass their maths & physics this year …! End of year exams are in March.

I am now the “Production Manager” – whatever that is - for this year’s School Magazine! J thinks I’d be able to do it. Bless her. (The magazine is meant to be Annual but last one came out 5 years ago!! We are aspirational here!!) Just noticed I’m missing out my articles “a” & “the” a lot – please put up with! I heard J say in the staff meeting “remember your articles” & here’s me – fine example – forgetting mine!

Oops...