Onward....
Hello again,
My two-week volunteer vacation has come to its conclusion today. Tonight I board the train to Jaisalmer, in the desert of western Rajasthan. I’m sad to be leaving. Overall, it’s been a good experience. It definitely has not been without it’s frustrating moments, though.
Basically, the program is designed to help with conservation of a lake here in Jaipur. There is a beautiful palace in the middle of the lake and the setting is fantastic. Unfortunately, a large part of the city sewer system drains into the lake, which makes it smell awful. In fact, I have to say that it is by far the most vile, repulsive, and nauseating lake I have ever seen. So coming to volunteer here for a few weeks is really going to do very little to help the situation.
For the last 2 weeks, we’ve been attempting to bird watch – not very successfully, to be honest. Although I do recognize some of them at least…. We also helped with a birdwatching workshop for the schools in Jaipur. It was organized by our coordinator and guest house owner, Minoj. The kids were very amused by the white folks hanging around, and very curious. There was a lot of blatant staring. But for the most part, they were all very well behaved and curious about the birds and animals and plants along the way. It was fun. And I think that is probably the best way to make an impact here, by teaching the children about conservation and the environment.
Other than that, we spent three days on an island in the middle of the lake, removing invasive plants so that native plants can be planted in their place. We didn’t have shears or a decent ax or a shovel so it was a lot more work than it could have been with better tools. But that is just how things are done here. It’s very different. And of course, it is always an adventure getting to the island in the first place. I mentioned the lake is vile. I HATE being in a boat in the middle of it. It’s terrifying. So it was always a relief to be done for the day. I am definitely not going to miss going to the island.
I will miss the crew here, though. Steve and James are great – a lot of fun to work with. And the whole family at the guest house is wonderful.
But it is time to move on to other things! So I’ll give an update soon!
-Kt
My two-week volunteer vacation has come to its conclusion today. Tonight I board the train to Jaisalmer, in the desert of western Rajasthan. I’m sad to be leaving. Overall, it’s been a good experience. It definitely has not been without it’s frustrating moments, though.
Basically, the program is designed to help with conservation of a lake here in Jaipur. There is a beautiful palace in the middle of the lake and the setting is fantastic. Unfortunately, a large part of the city sewer system drains into the lake, which makes it smell awful. In fact, I have to say that it is by far the most vile, repulsive, and nauseating lake I have ever seen. So coming to volunteer here for a few weeks is really going to do very little to help the situation.
For the last 2 weeks, we’ve been attempting to bird watch – not very successfully, to be honest. Although I do recognize some of them at least…. We also helped with a birdwatching workshop for the schools in Jaipur. It was organized by our coordinator and guest house owner, Minoj. The kids were very amused by the white folks hanging around, and very curious. There was a lot of blatant staring. But for the most part, they were all very well behaved and curious about the birds and animals and plants along the way. It was fun. And I think that is probably the best way to make an impact here, by teaching the children about conservation and the environment.
Other than that, we spent three days on an island in the middle of the lake, removing invasive plants so that native plants can be planted in their place. We didn’t have shears or a decent ax or a shovel so it was a lot more work than it could have been with better tools. But that is just how things are done here. It’s very different. And of course, it is always an adventure getting to the island in the first place. I mentioned the lake is vile. I HATE being in a boat in the middle of it. It’s terrifying. So it was always a relief to be done for the day. I am definitely not going to miss going to the island.
I will miss the crew here, though. Steve and James are great – a lot of fun to work with. And the whole family at the guest house is wonderful.
But it is time to move on to other things! So I’ll give an update soon!
-Kt
posted by Kt at
12:25 AM
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