Where oh where to begin; as always I am stumped on how to start describing my experiences over the past 48 hours. But I will try my best as I sit here on a bumpy old bus headed toward a village with the other Indian delegates (yes, finally!)..
David and I got up early on our last day in Goa for one final dip in the Arabian Sea. As we were walking toward the water, we noted that the beach was completely devoid of people. But soon, our less-than-20/20-eyes squinted as David pointed at a series of dark blobs in the distance. When we got closer, we realized that the blobs were actually cows! Eighteen cows to be exact, all laying on the beach together. It was quite the amusing sight - I wish I had a camera with me! While we were swimming, I saw them all get up suddenly and walk towards the houses beyond the beach. I guess it was time for breakfast?
After enjoying jokes and games at the Goa train station together, we had a not-so-pleasant train ride back to Mumbai that evening. Not all of us got our own beds, so some of us had to share the narrow platforms with each other in the sticky heat. Let's just say we were more than happy to get off the train at Dadar!
We arrived at another Helen Keller Institute for the Deaf and Deaf-Blind facility somewhere outside of Mumbai. So tired, sweaty, sticky, and grumpy.. Food and showers were in order. Finally, the Indian delegates began to arrive, and we had an opening ceremony to commemorate the start of what we hope will be a long-lasting relationship between deaf Americans and deaf Indians. One woman offered a gold candle to us, asking both communities to light four separate wicks. Once all alighted, it would represent the eternal flame we all have in our hearts for the empowerment and success of deaf people worldwide. A beautiful notion that physically sort of failed, since the fans kept blowing out the flames! But still - it was an appropriate symbol to start off our week together.
Alim arrived that day, and it was good to see him! Unfortunately, the facility as well as its maintainers did not meet our expectations. The entire building, intended for deaf and deaf-blind students apparently, was full of iron bars and unwelcoming rooms. The walls around it were topped with shards of glass. At night, as we were playing spoons with everyone, one worker started turning off the lights, angry that we weren't in bed at 9.30. They also locked gates that were present at the landing for each stairwell, which enraged us even more because a) it limited interaction between the boys and girls, and b) it is a fire hazard, not to mention completely restricting.. We started to feel like prisoners, and wondered how the regular students during the year are treated here. As it got darker and darker, the building began to seem more and more creepy/imposing. the woman in charge of the building was mad that we weren't all in our beds, and eventually we were made to go back to our rooms and go to bed. Definitely not the ideal night, and Alim is making arrangements today for us all, including the Indian delegates, to stay at a hotel/hostel for the rest of the week. I have to say the final straw was when they shut off the fans in our rooms during the night; it was hot enough with just the fans, but I kept waking up drenched in sweat on a hard pallet bed. Gah! The one sweet relief was the small pool they had - we were able to swim in the morning, which of course made me very happy.
Now that our night from hell is over, we're all on a bus headed for a rural village. We will get into our groups - my group consists of myself, Mia, Hiren, and Chichen (sp?) - and meet with families with deaf children to discuss education and communication with them. I don't really know what to expect, but am curious to see how the day pans out! Miss ya mom n dad!
-avi
Alim C.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.
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