Namaste!

Namaste! We made it to Udaipur (with a gripping 5 hours in Mumbai domestic terminal) and – cliché alert here – are loving every minute of it! So far, we’ve got pretty stuck in with Samvit and the DAAN Foundation (www.daanfoundation.org – definitely check it out). We’ve been preparing resources for the DAAN Foundation youth centres in two rural villages (maths... not exactly my forte, but ho hum) as well as leading games and activities with them. They’re... energetic! They’re great, a lot of enthusiasm but seem to be a fan of slapping each other.

And then there’s Samvit himself. What a hero - he’s super ambitious and very dedicated to what he’s doing, but that doesn’t mean he takes everything too seriously. He’s got a story for every situation (particularly during the twelve daily chai stops – he loves chai. He needs chai. He IS chai.) and we all know, or at least hope, that we’ll be in his stories in years to come. And his Jeep... no seatbelts, no indicators, doesn’t really lock... it’s a fab vehicle, and surprisingly agile when it comes to dodging street-dwelling cows and the magically appearing motor scooters. By the way, did you know that here it’s the driver on the main road who’s responsible for looking out for drivers zipping out of side roads? That’s crazy, right?! But somehow it works – I’ve only seen one accident, but then I guess when nobody’s going faster than 40km/h, there’s not much damage going to be done.

AND THE FOOD! Now you know I’ma  big fan of food. ALL food (except sweetcorn. And mushrooms. And actually a few other things, but shush.). But seriously, dear people of the Internet, the food is UNBELIEVABLE. Sure, the toasted chili pepper and lettuce sandwich for breakfast this morning was a bit of a surprise (now that gets you up and going for the day, trust me), but everything that has come near my mouth has been incredible. But how long I can last before I get craving for a juicy, oozing steak dipped in baked Camembert, I don’t know...