Here we are able to condense our daily accounts a bit, as Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the second week saw us settle into daily routine of Deepalaya or Cheshire in the mornings, and Kamalini in the afternoons. The teaching was improving with every lesson as we got to know the kids better (and they got to know us better too), the patients at Cheshire were showing remarkable improvements in their conditions with several people walking and standing who hadn't been able to in the first visits, and the sanding, scraping and painting at the two Kamalini centres had almost turned into a well-oiled machine. Several of us swapped between centres over these days, so were able to experience the rewarding fruits of our work so far.
Lunch and dinner also fell into routine with vegetarian variations on curry, and even breakfast saw the arrival of curry with an interesting South Indian dish consisting of round white rice-breads, peanutty crusty donuts and a curried coconut sauce. But despite the routine, the days were as varied as the students we were teaching and the patients we were helping. Every evening would see the emergence of a fresh batch of stories from the day's work, and every bus ride or walk through the slums would stir new emotions and provoke new thoughts.
The evenings, however, brought variation of their own. We visited India Gate on Wednesday evening - a remarkable monument to the men of the Indian Army. In the distance, the lights of the Presidential Palace glittered against the night sky, while crowds milled down the long avenue running in a straight line between the two.
Thursday night saw an interesting dash through the streets by a few group members to the Defense Colony market to make some lucrative purchases, while others went to MacDonalds Indian style to try a vegetarian or chicken burger from the very different-looking menu.
By Friday we were tired from the week's work, but exhilarated all the same by the fast-approaching and long-anticipated day-trip to one of the 7 Wonders of the World.
-Nicole
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